Sweetie's Mansionby Moon ShooterChaptersChapter 2- The Road to Yield Manor [REBOOT]CHOICECHOICE2Chapter 3- The Host of the Night[REBOOT]Chapter 4- The Real Nightmare Begins[REBOOT]CHOICE3CHOICE4Chapter 5- The First Battle with the Applebucker[REBOOT]CHOICE5CHOICE6CHOICE7CHOICE8Chapter 6- The Maiden in the Mirrored Hallway[REBOOT]Chapter 7- The Giggling Ghostie[REBOOT]Chapter 8- The Hunter Becomes the Hunted[REBOOT]CHOICE10CHOICE11Chapter 10- The Scavenger Hunt [REBOOT]CHOICE12CHOICE13Chapter 11- The Magic of the Mind [REBOOT]Chapter 12- The Resurrection of a MareChapter 13- The Fastest Mare DeceasedChapter 14- The Frozen Light SpectrumChapter 15- The Trickster's TrapChapter 16- The Carnival in the CourtyardChapter 17- The Reunion for a CrusadeIntermission InceptionChapter 18- The Taste of Fire and NeedlesIntermission InvestigationChapter 19- The Possesion PredicamentChapter 21- The StablevilleChapter 22- The Party Crasher (Segment 1/2: Tour of Her Tomb)Chapter 22: Party Crasher (Segment 2/2: Entering the Mansion)Chapter 22- The Stableville (Escaping the Memory)Chapter 23: The Bloom BreakingChapter 24: The Faker in the Fabric Factory (Part 1)Chapter 24: The Faker in the Fabric Factory (Part 2)Chapter 24: The Faker in the Fabric Factory (Part 3)Chapter 24: The Faker in the Fabric Factory (Part 4)Prologue- The Letter [REBOOT]Chapter 1- The Flight of the Cutie Mark Crusaders [REBOOT]Chapter 9- The Portrait of Yields [REBOOT]Chapter 20- The Intermission InterceptionChapter 2- The Road to Yield Manor [REBOOT]A-Am I dead? Sweetie thought. She was sure she was right as all she could see was blackness. When she tried snapping her eyes open, all she could see was blackness. Complete and utter darkness, this was what she thought of when she thought of death. However, she both let out a laugh in relief and a groan of anguish as she tried moving her aching muscles and felt herself lying on her back. "Heh heh... ow..." Sweetie supposed she'd take splitting pain over the alternative for now. The first time the filly tried to get up, she rolled onto her front, and getting on her front and hind legs, a pain shot through her, causing her to collapse in the blackness. For a few moment, Sweetie's mind shifted to worrying that her legs were broken. She tried again, this time with a little more success and less pain. She'd definitely done something to her legs, but for the moment, it wasn't anything drastic. It felt like enough pain that, with enough effort, she could ignore. "Ow..." she moaned again. If there was any other plus to the pain besides telling her that she was alive, it definitely woke her up faster. As she became more conscious of the surrounding darkness, fear started to set in. "W-where am I? Guys?" Sweetie didn't receive an answer. It was chilly out, but there wasn't any wind. It was completely silent in the woods, which set the little filly on edge. She'd never experienced darkness like this before. Usually there was at the very least the moon somewhere to tell her that there was something in front of her. This was the type of darkness where it was pointless to even have eyes, and it was horrifying. She didn't know where she was, it was dark, and her friends where nowhere to be seen. Sweetie felt like screaming for help, but instead, she kept yelling out for her friends. "Scootaloo?! Applebloom?!" She still didn't receive an answer. All she got was a faint echo of her own voice before it was swallowed up in the black void. Sweetie began hyperventilating. She was on the verge of breaking into a run in some random direction in a desperate attempt to escape the encompassing darkness. She noticed this and made an effort to take deeper breaths, calming herself down. "Alright Sweetie... Stay calm. You’re just a... alone right now." Sweetie thought, in an effort to comfort herself. Hoping the sound of her own voice, one of the few factors remaining that reminded her she still existed would keep her from losing herself. "Just need to see. Yeah a light. Just a little... oh yeah!" Sweetie remembered the solution to a problem like this. She felt along her sides, and sure enough, her saddlebags were still set firmly on her back after that crash. Thankfully she'd waited to open hers instead of ending up like Applebloom, who's personal effects, including the cape she tried to get, were probably scattered among the trees. She sighed. "Applebloom... Scootaloo... I hope they're okay. Hopefully together." She reached inside and felt around for what she was looking for. Sweetie had a set number of items she brought along with her on every crusade she, Applebloom, or Scootaloo went on, just in case. "No...no...aha! There you are!" Sweetie proclaimed with relief. She pulled out a silver handled flashlight. Momentarily sitting down, she clicked it. "Bah!" Not realizing it was pointing at her face, a magnificent beam of light shined in her face, blinding her for a moment and causing her to drop the flashlight. Once the after image of the light had left she smiled at her little flashlight that she picked up off the ground. It felt as though a burden had left her back, now that she could fight back the darkness with her little hand-held lamp. At least until the magically charged batteries let out. Sweetie stuck the base of the flashlight into her mouth, so she could walk while holding it. Her good feelings left as she realized that even with the light, it didn't shine very far. With such a narrow beam of light, she felt somewhat claustrophobic against the darkness. She looked around at her surroundings. As she expected, she was still out in Everfree forest. Then, it wasn't long before something clicked in her head. Hold on... I'm outside, and it's dark... it must be night time. How long was I out? And how is it so dark out? Where's the moon? Sweetie thought. Sweetie knew this darkness wasn't normal. The darkness she experienced was more like being a box with no opening that ever existed. Where was the moon? "Maybe it's just not getting through the trees." She tried explaining to herself. Either way, it wasn't anything she could worry about at the moment. She had to continue to survey the area to figure out where her friends were, and her next course of action. It soon became apparent she'd managed to fall onto a path. It was a simple dirt path, and about wide enough for 4 or 5 adult mares to walk side by side. It seemed like it hadn't been used much, considering the lack of hoofprints Sweetie found. After a little while, she ended up coming across the crashed paper airplane. She figured she must have been knocked off during the crash. Sweetie concluded since they weren't anywhere around the plane, Applebloom and Scootaloo crashed somewhere else, farther away from the plane than her. And if she, who probably had the worst of it survived, chances were her friends did as well. She went over to the crashed arts-and-crafts project to see it was definitely out of shape. Twigs and branches stuck out of parts of the wing, and leaves were all over the aviation device. All of their hard work ruined. "Better it than us." Sweetie mumbled. Sweetie continued to look at it, thinking. She knew it was a dumb idea, but she couldn't help but want to take the plane with her. She wondered if it could still be salvageable for something. Sweetie didn't know why, but she felt as though she was going to need the plane. Under further examination of the plane, Sweetie noticed something weird at the front of the plane, where Scootaloo was smacked out. A greenish splotch... no, it wasn't just a splotch. It was gooey and slimy, somewhere between a thin layer of gelatin and snot. Sweetie wondered if this was why Scootaloo let go of the rope and concluded it must have been. She saw a bit of blood mixed in the green, likely Scootaloo's bloodied nose. Where the heck did that? Sweetie then heard a roll of thunder, jumping and nearly dropping the flashlight again. "You've got to be kidding me." She looked up, knowing that there must be a storm coming soon. "Great, just what I needed. I've got to find my friends... then a way out of here. They can't be too far right?" Sweetie took one of the ropes still attached to the plane, putting it next to the flashlight in her mouth. With both the flashlight and the plane rope in her muzzle, she began to move forward into the forest, the plane dragging close behind her. Please guys... please be alright... *** Sweetie wasn't sure exactly how long it had been since she started walking. She had eventually started measuring time by every thunder roll she heard. Four thunder rolls of walking, dragging the giant destroyed paper CMC plane behind her, and shivering as she felt the air get colder and colder, she started to feel the fear to set in again. She knew very well, between the adventures her adult friends had supposedly been on and what she learned in school, that Everfree at nighttime was one of the most dangerous places to be. So many creatures around it, many of which deadly, she was nothing more than prey here. However, that wasn't what scared her as she walked. It would have, but it was still the absolute silence, besides her hoofsteps that scared her. There was no movement beyond the trees, there was no monsters ready to pounce her. In fact, the forest felt deader than ever because of something even deadlier lurking beyond her vision. Sweetie kept reassuring herself that nothing was going to hurt her in the forest. "Just keep moving... just keep moving..." Even with her constant self-reassurance, Sweetie couldn't help but feel a chill down her spine as she blindly wandered through the forest. She looked around for things to keep her mind off of the forest. This would have worked if when she looked around, she didn't just see a few trees before black. Sweetie cycled through the memories of the day, recalling its events leading up to her predicament. Perhaps she could recall something that could calm her down. Something good. Something comforting. Something about her sister perhaps? "Sweetie dear, I'll be going out with my friends today around three." Rarity said as she moves around the boutique, gathering various items, placing them into her saddlebags. "Oh yeah? Where?" Sweetie asked her big sister. "Oh just that nice old stallion's mansion. He's invited the Elements and I... you know, my friends, to attend his housewarming party." "Can I come?" Sweetie asked. "Oh, I'm sorry dear, but this isn't like one of Pinkie's parties... It's a party for grown-ups. Believe me, I'm sure you'd be bored to pieces." Rarity said politely. "And besides, aren't you going with your little friends to do... oh what is it you call it... crusading?" "Oh yeah! I almost forgot! Scootaloo said she was planning something big this time. Sure to get our cutie marks!" Sweetie said excitedly. She got up and begun to run out the door. "See you later sis!" "Alright Sweetie. I-" before Rarity can finish her sentence, Sweetie is out the door, headed off to create the Cutie Mark Crusader plane that brought her here. Rarity: the big sister she'd been virtually raised by, and likely one of the best friends she'd ever have, besides Scootaloo and Applebloom of course. She loved her big sister more than anything in the world. It was then Sweetie began to wonder where her big sis was now anyway. Was she still at that mansion with the rest of her friends? Or was she back in Ponyville, worried sick about where she was. Considering Applebloom and Scootaloo were probably also still missing, Sweetie imagined Rarity, gathering all of her friends, forming a search party for them. Twilight would probably think of some tracking spell to pinpoint their location. Rainbow and Fluttershy would probably be flying above Ponyville, and the forest scanning every inch of the town for the fillies. Applejack would probably search all of the places they'd usually be, like the CMC tree house, or somewhere around there. Pinkie would probably have some random search method or maybe she'd misunderstand the meaning of search "party" altogether and use some balloons. They had a tenancy to work like that together. Sweetie smiled to herself, with the thought that all of her closest friends were looking for them. However her warm smile faded at the realization: they hadn't been found yet. Sweetie assumed that she must have been knocked out for a few hours, and Rarity must have noticed by then that she was gone. However there was another explanation Sweetie was willing to consider. Perhaps they never came back to Ponyville. Maybe they were all still at the mansion then? The little filly wondered where that mansion was anyway. She remembered seeing it on their flight; after all, they were originally on a crash course with it. Sweetie wondered if she could possibly find that mansion. Maybe she could tell the mares of the disappearance of Applebloom and Scootaloo, if not, take residence there for the night. That made sense. If there wasn't a search party already looking for them the mansion was the best course of action, especially with the upcoming storm. If she didn't find an exit to Ponyville first, or her friends in the first place, she'd get help at the mansion (she honestly didn't know if she was going in the direction of either). Yes. Even if Rarity and her friends weren't there, she could get some help from someone. It wouldn't be like the whole place was empty. After all, some pony already came to town, claiming to live there. As this plan formulated into Sweetie's mind, she heard a loud crack of thunder above, causing her to jump, and re-awakening her fear. She stopped in her tracks. "Just thunder Sweetie... Just thunder." Sweetie said re-assuring herself. She slapped herself, trying to get ahold of herself. Sweetie knew the storm was inevitable, but she hoped it wouldn't start too soon. She still had no clue how far away the mansion was still. She then continued to walk forward. After another bit of walking, Sweetie got another chill down her spine. She got the distinct feeling... that someone in that darkness was watching her. "Don't be silly Sweetie... t-there's no pony in this wood besides you. Just keep moving." She continued to trek forward. The sixth thunder roll, indicated the storm was getting closer. She began to trot faster, careful to not let her fear force her to break into a run and trip herself. Then, the worst possible thing happened... Sweetie's flashlight went out, causing Sweetie to be once again surrounded by darkness and to stop in her tracks. Oh no, oh no, oh no. I could have sworn I changed the batteries in this? Why is it going out now? Sweetie took the flashlight out of her muzzle, and shook it furiously. It flickered on and off. It wasn't like the batteries were dying, as when the light went on, it was as bright as before. It was almost as if something were sapping power to the flashlight externally. Then, there was a sound that made Sweetie's coat hairs rise on ends. This time, it wasn't the sound of thunder clouds... but it was laughter. A sound that could be described as sadistic, low level, but high pitched laughter surrounded her. Whatever was... it was like it was laughing at her. "W-who's there?" Sweetie called out. The things around her. There was definitely more than one. They didn't answer, rather they kept laughing. "S-stop it! STOP IT!" Sweetie wanted to run, she had to run but a paralyzing fear anchored her to her spot. Her body wasn't listening to her for those moments. Only questions came. Where should she run? Where was the laughing coming from? She had to get away. Whatever it was would be after her if she didn't move now! O[She didn't hear it before, it must be in front of her, RUN BACK] O[It's been following her this whole time, keep moving RUN FORWARD] Author's Note As the title suggests, this is a reboot of an older version of the chapter. Once all chapters have been rebooted, I'll be adding new chapters. I suggest for consistency purposes, if you're new to the story, that you don't go past the reboots, however I will leave the older versions up if you'd prefer to continue on with the story. CHOICESomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.CHOICE2Then Sweetie heard one sound, it was just next to her ear. She heard but one single word, the air and sound of the speaker echoing inside of her ear: "Boo." Sweetie stuck the flashlight back in her mouth and bolted forward, letting go of the paper air plane. At this point, the thing would only slow her down, something she couldn't afford to be right now. The only thing she managed to keep in her muzzle was her flashlight. The flashlight flashed on and off, making it incredibly difficult for Sweetie to plan her steps and keep her co-ordination. She couldn't have counted the number of times she tripped and had to scramble up to keep running away from the malicious monsters pursuing her from the woods. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she was chased. The chill she felt turned into a light frostbite as the laughter seemed to get louder and louder. Her body was beginning to feel weaker as well, as though she were casting another telekinesis spell. Was it exhaustion from running? It didn't matter to Sweetie, as long as she could keep running. As long as she still had the chance to escape. She heard more rolls of thunder above her, rivaling the laughter for dominance in volume. The storm was getting closer. The things were getting closer. Her time was running out as the world seemed to be closing in on her. She kept running, the fear of falling again and getting caught by the laughing monsters allowing her to keep her footing now. Just as she thought that her body was ready to give out on her again, salvation, she saw an opening. A dim light emitted from it. Perhaps it was warm? She'd do anything to get away from this cold, and even better, help to fend off the monster she would likely be killed by if she stopped here. She pushed her last ounces of energy into one last sprint. The new light, once she saw where it came from caused the little filly to skid to a stop. In front of her, was the large, creepy old mansion. Lightning cracked and thunder rolled, louder than ever before as she gazed upon the menacing manor. Its windows were darkened, but any ones with light seemed to be lit with eerie yellow lights. The mansion... Sweetie thought, It's so much bigger up close... Sweetie felt a drop of rain on her nose. She then heard the monster in the wood's high pitched laugh, reminding her of the danger she was trying to escape. Without further hesitation, Sweetie pushed through the gate of the manor. The manor wasn't quite as menacing and threatening as the monster that frightened her in the woods. Even if it did look a bit frightening, surely it wouldn't compare to whatever was following her in the woods. [Continue] Author's Note Nice. [update 10/16/18] i have no idea why i thought these were a good idea. i am so sorry. Chapter 3- The Host of the Night[REBOOT]"Oh... okay... I think... I'm alright for now." Sweetie slammed the gate shut with a rattle. She breathed heavily in a crouched position, tilting her head back to the gate and dark woods beyond. She didn't shine her light directly onto the forest just yet, not prepared to see what thing that had chased her here. The thing that could be staring into her back at that very moment. Instead, she listened to the darkness as the laughter started to fade into nothing. Eventually, she worked up the courage to shine her light into the forest to confirm her hopes. Sweetie sighed in relief. She was right. At the very least, within the range of her flashlight, there was nothing but eerie trees. Though that didn't matter as her pounding heart calmed to a steady beat as she found herself staring out into the dark abyss beyond the gate. One might say she was caught in a trance as she stared. What was so alluring to the forest, the little filly couldn't quite put her hoof on. Maybe it was it the paper air plane she'd abandoned? She took it on a whim. Did she want to get it back? That couldn't be right, the only value that thing had was sentimental value. It was probably for the best it was behind her at this point. Perhaps she was worried her friends were still out there, and still had to survive against the thing she barely escaped from. Between Applebloom's lost items and Scootaloo's history of the most reckless behavior of the three of them, it would make sense she was worried. Then there was another thought. Or did a part of her feel safer in the forest? Sweetie heard a roll of thunder, followed by another streak of lightning. Sweetie was snapped out of her trance. She shook her head from the nonsense her subconscious was coming up with, and tried to pay attention to the more important matters. Like her friends. As far as she knew they were still out in the forest. Right now wasn't the time to worry about them, but do something about the situation at hoof. She still had to get in the mansion and get help. Otherwise, her friends would probably be out in a storm with no hope of rescue. Or worse, become the prey of that there was a thing out there. Sweetie had no time to lose. She then turned around to face the mansion. Despite its supposedly recent construction, it looked decades older than it should have. The walls along the mansion's face had vines, moss and other vegetation growing from it, cradling the structure in it's long dark green arms. For all she knew, they were the things keeping it from crumbling into dust. The face of the mansion was also littered with windows from broken to decently intact. Most of the windows were black, but those with light had an eerie yellow glow emitting from them. Sweetie assumed them to be candles, or a possible fireplace, but it still didn't help deny how creepy it looked. As she thought, It was definitely larger than what she saw from the CMC plane. It's height was somewhere around 10 to 15 floors, she didn't take the time to count. In fact, from a glance, it looked like some of the floors fused with each other from the placement of the windows. All of this loomed over Sweetie menacingly, as if trying to drive her back. Sweetie shook off as many of her feelings of nervousness and fear, disregarding them as irrational. "N-nothing to be scared of." She told herself. "It's just a house." and began to walk along the path to the mansion. Although Sweetie tried to stay focused on the path to the front door, her eyes couldn't help but waver off of it, curious as to what else this place had to offer. When Sweetie imagined the front of a fancy mansion (and being technically Canterlot born, she knew exactly what to imagine), she thought of beautiful grass and blossoming trees, complimenting the fanciness of the mansion. The front of this mansion didn't have any lush trees or grass, but it definitely "complemented" it by being the polar opposite. There was nothing but dead trees and dirt off of her path. Jutting out of the dirt were numerous slabs of stone. No matter how hard Sweetie imagined, the place looked like a graveyard. Why in the hay some pony would have a grave site in front of their house was beyond the filly. Especially if the place was so new. This felt like the setting to a Nightmare Night haunted house, rather than someone's home. The path she was on was composed of neatly packed stone. Along the sides of the path were statues. These statues weren't of ponies however, but rather they were of dragons and griffons. Sweetie stopped in front of one of the statues to examine it. It was of a griffon, starring off to the left of the path in a stately, dignified manner. At least it's body was distinguished in it's pose, however it's face looked off. There were cracks in it's mouth as though they were wrinkles, trynig to resist that face. Sweetie stared the statue, unable to shake the feeling that the statue was somehow familiar. Like she remembered seeing the face somewhere before. Thunder clapped and rain drops touched Sweetie's coat much more frequently. "Ah." She remembered the urgency of the situation. She cursed her short attention span as she ended her examination and ran for the entrance. As though on cue rain began, seemingly seconds later the world turned into nothing but water as the clouds showed no mercy for the filly. She made it to the door and takes shelter under it's stone awning. Her mane and coat were soaking wet, dripping with water. "Finally... I made it." Sweetie said, panting for breath. She choked some water out of her mane. "That's alright. I needed a shower anyway." She shook the rest water off of her body like a wet dog in an attempt to dry herself off. Amazingly she managed to get a fair amount of water off this way; still damp, but the excess water was off. She knew she had best dry off before she caught something nasty. "Now... doorbell. Doorbell." She found the doorbell up by the side of the door. However, it was too high up for little Sweetie Belle. She made an effort to knock on the door as hard as she could. "Hello?! Anyone home?!" she called, but received no answer. The lights from the mansion were enough to prove that someone was home. She concluded that the rain was too loud for anypony to hear her. Her only chance was the doorbell she was too short to reach. "I just got to hit that bell... wait a sec." Sweetie said to herself. Sweetie reached into her bag and took out a red rubber ball, with the letters C-M-C written in bubble letters on it. "Yeah, this'll do." Sweetie remembered playing wall ball as well as other activities with Applebloom and Scootaloo back at the Cutie Mark Clubhouse. They each took turns taking it home and being tasked to bring it each meeting of the three friends. It became something of a charm they passed around among each other. Another symbol of their "crusader-ship" next to their capes. "Guys... where are you?" Sweetie asked the ball, remembering a few of the games they played with it. Unsurprisingly the ball didn't answer. Sweetie used one of her hoof to aim the ball at the door bell. She then tossed it at the button to trigger the bell. The rubber ball hit the device and bounced back into the filly's hoof. A satisfying chime rung from the inside of the mansion. Sweetie smiled in satisfaction, thankful that she was the last to hold the toy. Minutes passed, and Sweetie started to worry that no one even heard the bell. Sweetie gave consideration to trying the bell again, when the door finally creaked open. Light seeped out of the inside of the mansion, flooding its door step. "Good Evening?" asked a stallion's voice said, coming from the crack in the door. A head poked out, looking left and right before looking down. "Who might this be?" He voice sounded more like a Canterlot native: dignified and fancy. It reminded her of the way rich unicorns or Rarity spoke. "M-my name is Sweetie. Sweetie Belle." Sweetie said through the door. There was silence as the stallion continued to look down. "P-please let me in. I need help." The door opened completely, fully revealing Sweetie's greeter. He was a unicorn, wearing what appeared to be a tuxedo. Behind his clothing were the features of a white mane, a yellow coat, and a cutie mark of a wine glass. From what Sweetie could tell, it was safe to assume he was a butler pony. For a few moments, the stallion just stared. He was looking directly at Sweetie, but at the same time looked at her as though she wasn't even there. Past her as if Sweetie was just a cloud of fog. However, he then expressed shock to see her. "Help?" he said. "What is a little filly like you doing so far in the forest during a storm? At night no less!" He seemed more interested in Sweetie's sudden appearance than her "Sorry. It's a really long story. Can I come in?" Sweetie said. The stallion stared at her again. This time, less airy and more directly at her. He bit his lip before shaking his head. "No." "N-no?" Sweetie was caught off guard. "I apologize for this young filly, er... Ms. Belle." he paused for a moment, obviously thinking about something "...but I'm not permitted to allow any-" The stallion looked back into the mansion again. When he looked back, Sweetie offered the biggest puppy dog eyes she could muster, hoping they'd change his mind. There was another moment of silence before the butler sighed. "Master Yield isn't fond of any visitors without being notified in advance... but I suppose he'll be willing to make an exception so long as there's no harm." the butler pony looked past her. "Is there anyone else with you?" "Huh? No." Sweetie responded. "I see..." he smiled kindly. It felt fake, as though he knew he was in for something for doing this."...well, come on then, let's get you out of that rain." The butler pony beckoned the filly in. Sweetie smiled, and trotted into the mansion. The inside of the mansion was more than a slight contrast from the outside. Once Sweetie entered the warmth of the mansion, and her coat instantly drying, she thought she was in an entirely new world. Light filled every corner of the room magnificently showing every detail of the foyer. The decor was new and shiny, as though it had just been built that day. The marble floor looked expensive, the way Sweetie could see her reflection off of it as she walked along side the butler. A grand staircase went up to the next floor along the center of the foyer, with doors on either side. Columns evenly placed around the foyer seemed to keep the roof stable, and from falling on top of their heads. There was fountain at the center of the room, with mirror faces decorating the base. Portraits of famous ponies, such as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, decorated the walls of the foyer. Other paintings of other dignified looking ponies that Sweetie didn't recognized were along the wall. None the less, they looked important, from the way they dressed, to their serious facial expressions. "Come along Ms. Belle." the butler pony said. "We must notify Master Yield of your arrival. I could only imagine how he'd react to a filly such as yourself suddenly showing up at his door step." "Okay mister butler." Sweetie said, following close behind him. "Um... this is a dumb question, but do you work here?" "Yes madam. I am the loyal servant of Master Specter Yield. As well as the supervisor of his other servants." the butler explained. "What's your name?" Sweetie asked "I mean, it's probably weird to call you 'butler' all the time" "Believe me child, it's less queer than you'd think. After all, that is my last name." "A butler named Butler?" He seemed to resist a groan before he spoke. "Yes. You may call me Spiffy Butler." he paused. "And... against my preference for formalities, I'd also prefer if you refereed to me by my first name." Sweetie giggles. "Okay Mr. Spiffy." She said. Spiffy ignored the filly's immature laugh. As they headed through the door to the left of the staircase, and into a hallway, Sweetie noticed how quiet the mansion was. The only ponies she saw were other butlers like Spiffy. She also noticed how lifeless and robotic they were in their actions as they performed their various cleaning and moving tasks around the mansion. They didn't even seem to notice the strange pair as they moved through the halls. "Um... excuse me Mr. Spiffy?" Sweetie asked. "But... isn't there supposed to be a party here?" "Yes, I do believe we did." Spiffy nodded. "Well... where is everypony? It's already over?" "Indeed." Spiffy confirmed. "Though I'm sure, according to your Ponyville standards, parties seem to last into the morning, hm?" If you're at a Pinkie Pie party, you're lucky for the party to end at all. Sweetie thought, but just responded to Spiffy with a nod. "Yes, well you see, Mr. Yield isn't fond of hosting extremely long parties. I don't believe it lasted for more than one or two hours." "O-only one or two hours?" Sweetie asked, surprised. "What time is it now?" "It's coming close to nine." Spiffy explained. Sweetie thought back to when her and her friends were working on the plane. Sweetie was sure they had been working for at least five or six hours. And even surer they had been working when Rarity left with her friends to head to the Yield mansion. By his logic, they should have noticed them back, or at least been found by the time she woke up in the forest. Then again, there was that peculiar absence of the moon to make things difficult. "Are you sure?" Spiffy thought for a moment. "...actually, I may have mistaken. It might have gone on until seven. Maybe I just remembered the time Master Yield wanted to end the party... I also remember it getting a little out of hoof, which may have stretched the party out a bit." "Really? How?" Sweetie asked. "I'm not entirely sure, I wasn't present the entire time. Only to clean up after their messes." Spiffy said. "But from reports from the others, and what I had to clean up, it must have involved something with a musical number, some streamers, and Ping-Pong..." That's Pinkie for you. Sweetie thought to herself. Sweetie could imagine Pinkie throwing some random activity with those random items. Either way, Sweetie supposed that made sense. Perhaps Rarity and the others were just getting home around the time she woke up. "Also, a young white mare also caught the eye of Mr. Yield, who he must have flirted with for maybe an hour or two. Definitely for a majority of the duration of the party." Spiffy said with a smile. "About the same completion as you. If not a shade whiter." "That's my sister!" Sweetie blurted out. There was something about Sweetie's tone that off put him off enough for it to visibly be shown. "Heh... sorry I um... sorry." "That's fine, but the Rarity character is your sibling? The group that came wasn't all your family, now was it?" Spiffy asked. Sweetie giggled. "No. They're like family to me, but they're just my friends." Sweetie said. "The white pony, you know, she's actually my sister... some of the closest family I have." "Oh..." Spiffy said. "I hadn't realized that... are you parents- no, I apologize, I shouldn't be prying into such an sensitive-" Spiffy tried. "Huh? Oh, no. That's not what I meant." Sweetie said. "My parents are just busy ponies and the rest of my family's all over Equestria so I barely see anyone that isn't Rarity. Still, she takes care of me like my mom and dad used to." "I see." Spiffy said. "... Miss Belle-" "Call me Sweetie." Sweetie requested. "Alright then Sweetie. If you wouldn't mind my asking... how did you find yourself on this property?" "Oh, that... It's a long story." Sweetie begun to tell Spiffy everything she recalled. He had a demeanor that seemed trust-able. His eyes were entrancing, but not at all menacing like the forest. Besides, even if it was just a mask, it wasn't as if telling her little story was going to hurt any pony right? She started with telling Spiffy about her friends and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and their desire to obtain their cutie marks. Sweetie then told Spiffy about the paper airplane project, their newest attempt at getting their marks. She told him about the lack of planning, resulting in the crash in the middle of the forest. She then told of her trek through the forest, eventually getting chased by some unknown monster to the mansion. Spiffy listened to every word of the filly's story. Spiffy shook his head. "Though it's not my place, I must say, how did you imagine that plan would work out?" Sweetie shrugged and sighed. "I dunno. Ever have one of those ideas that just 'seemed like a good idea at the time' and nearly got you hurt badly?" "I suppose I'd be lying if I said I didn't make my fair share of idiotic decisions in my youth." Spiffy agreed. "As for the monster, I'm sure you're aware Everfree is known for it's monsters. One of the things your friends warned us over the party." "Yeah, I know about them. I don't know what all of them are, but I know about them." "Neither do I, but I suppose so-long as you're within these walls you'll be fine. In the time we've been here, not one creature, besides ponies, the dragon, or the occasional griffon, has wandered onto these grounds. I can assure you you're safe here." "That's a relief... just wish my friends were here..." she then gasped. "MY FRIENDS! T-They're still out there!" "Actually, that's something I wanted to discuss." Spiffy said calmly. "Were there two of them? A yellow filly and an orange filly?" Sweetie turned to Spiffy. "Yeah! You saw them?" He nodded. "Yes, they came through here somewhere around sun-down. They asked for directions back to Ponyville. I remember greeting them, and giving them the directions, saying they should make it there before nightfall if they moved hastily. Strange..." "What?" Sweetie asked. "They never mentioned you." Spiffy said. "Like you, I queried if they were alone, and they said it was just the two of them." "A-are you sure?" Sweetie asked. "Positive." Spiffy said. Sweetie's heart sunk. Did her friends really come through here, without making any effort to even look for her? Did they forget about her? Sweetie shook her head at the thought. Applebloom and Scootaloo were her best friends. They must have had a good reason for not mentioning her. Maybe the sun was still up and they figured I just head home. I'm not that big of a scardy cat to run away without making sure my friends are okay girls. "Ah, here we are." Spiffy said stopping in front of one of the doors in the hallway. "This is Master Yield's study. Please speak to him with respect... but you seem like a well-mannered filly already. Still, your presence is rather unexpected and is worth noting." Sweetie nodded. "Wait, you're coming with me?" He shook his head. "I still have quite the array of tasks to complete before the hour grows too late." He raised a brow "I can leave you on your own, correct?" "I guess." Sweetie supposed. "Okay, then. Bye, Mr. Spiffy." Spiffy nodded and walked off further down the hallway, and entered a door of his own, leaving her alone for the moment. She felt a chill through the hallway at the sudden solitude, as though the atmosphere had suddenly changed now that she had lost her escort. Weird. She thought with a brief shiver. Must be a draft somewhere. Sweetie entered the room and was once again greeted by the warm comforting atmosphere that resided in the study. It was lit by a single fireplace, but it is enough to make out the major details of the room. It had a blood red carpet, tan walls, and two comfy looking love seats. On the fireplace mantle were expensive looking plates and china. Maybe about 30,000 bits worth or more. Above the mantle was a large portrait, larger than the ones the filly had seen before, of a stallion. From the gaunt frame, dark green coat, red mane, yellow eyes, and brown splotched cutie mark, it must have been the pony Rarity described. "Spiffy, my stallion, get me another glass of wine. I feel like celebrating." the stallion said. A glass with a sip of purple liquid floated in front of a chair before retreating back behind it, followed by a sip. "Ah... Years of work are finally about to pay off." "U-um, I'm not Mr. Spiffy." Sweetie said nervously. "I'm Sweetie." The speaker paused for a moment, as if in momentary shock, before revealing himself from behind the chair facing the fireplace. From what Sweetie could tell, it was the same pony in the portrait over the fireplace, only with a few more years on him. The same pony that had been described to her by her sister as well, wasn't it? His yellow eyes caused the filly to take a step back. They looked as though they belonged to some kind of deranged monster, rather than a normal pony. Eyes she could have easily imagined sharing the same sockets as the thing that had chased her less than 20 minutes ago. They were much more menacing in person, than through the portrait. How could the mares she called friends call this one anything resembling "good natured"? "A kid?" the stallion said. "What are you doing in my mansion at such a late hour?" He seemed annoyed at the sudden arrival. This was probably what Spiffy was talking about when he said his master wasn't fond of guests. "I-I'm sorry sir. I didn't mean to..." Sweetie trailed off, once again, getting caught by those yellow eyes again. She couldn't help but stare into them. They seemed to pull her in, rather than drive her away this time. It was the same hypnotic state she felt when she was staring out into the forest. Something pulled at her gut that there was something "abnormal" about this stallion. She felt as if she would go insane if she kept staring into those eyes. "S-sorry. I'll just-" She wanted to run. The way he looked at her made her want to run out of the mansion right then and there, and take her chances with the forest. She didn't want to be here- "Oh, I see." The old stallion Sweetie assumed to be Specter at this point laughed, causing Sweetie to take another nervous step back. The only reason she didn't run out at that point was that his eyes had softened, becoming less intense. Instead they looked more welcoming. "My apologies... what was your name?" "Sw-" "Wait, wait don't tell me..." he thought for a moment, then looked back at her. "I'm sure somepony told me about that mane before... yes. Mulbery mane. Green eyes. Sweetie Burn?" "Sweetie B-elle." She corrected hesitantly, as if doing so ran the risk of him ripping her head off right then and there. "Right, right, Sweetie Belle. One of my guests mentioned you living with her. I figured from the description she gave, you must be the little filly she was talking about." "Right..." Sweetie said softly. "Well, Sweetie, I didn't mean to sound so rude in that greeting. Please, have a seat." The stallion Specter beckoned her over to another seat by the fire place. Sweetie followed the stallion's instructions, taking a seat in the chair. From here she got a better look of the pony. Like the butler, he is dressed in a tuxedo. His hair is well kept and neat. If it wasn't for the different colors of his mane and coat, and the fact he looked considerably older, she might have mistaken him for Spiffy. "Um... are you... Mr. Specter Yield?" Sweetie asked to confirm. Specter nodded. "And you are in Yield Manor. Created and owned by the Yield family." "So your family built this place?" He blinked. "Yes. I'm sure as you've probably already realized, this mansion was built rather quickly. Unlike your earth ponies in Ponyville, we use magic to set up our architecture." "I know. Rarity said that's what they do in Canterlot too. Sometimes in Ponyville even." Sweetie said. "But... it's just that this place is so big... and kind of old looking too... no offense." "None taken Sweetie." Specter smiled. "I'm actually quite aware of the deterioration of my abode. You see, usually, when ponies use magic for building, it's on a much smaller scale than this. The smaller it is, the less quickly it will age. Likewise, the larger it is, the quicker it will age... and as you've noticed, this mansion is quite large." "But... If you knew that this mansion was going to get older so fast, then why did you make it so big?" Sweetie asked. "My, my. You are a curious little filly aren't you?" Specter said, pausing for a moment. "Claustrophobia. Are you aware of the definition?" Sweetie nodded. "Isn't that when you’re scared of being in small spaces?" "Yes. Phobias like that are common within our family. Fear is a bit of a genetic disease I suppose you could say... but yes, I couldn't live in a small space, so I had members of my family build this mansion for me. On a temporary basis of course. I can't really see this mansion standing for longer than a month now." "Oh." Sweetie said. "Temporary?" "Yes, I have some business to attend to between Ponyville and Canterlot." Specter said. Before Sweetie could utter a "Like what?" he added: "Confidential things, I'm sure a young filly like you couldn't understand." Thunder rolled outside before Sweetie can continue her interrogation. "Quite a storm tonight." Specter said looking out the window of the study. "What brought a filly such as yourself out here?" Her gut told her not to trust this stallion, but Sweetie's head saw no reason not to. She had already told his supposed "right hoof stallion" so one way or another he would find out. Best to hear it from the horse's mouth as the saying goes. She told the same story she gave to Spiffy. "I see. You've been through a lot tonight... how would you like to stay here, in my mansion for the night?" "What? N-no, I couldn't." Sweetie said. "I'd really like to get back home. Rarity is probably worried sick by now." It wasn't just that however. Sweetie's instinct told her to get out of this mansion while she still could. Though, in all honesty, there was nothing driving her away from the mansion, aside from the front she'd already passed. "Ah, Miss Rarity, that kind pony from the party." Specter laughs to himself. He seemed to lose himself in memory for a moment. "What an... interesting group of ponies... especially that white unicorn." "She's my big sister." Sweetie said flatly. "I'm aware." Specter noted. "None the less, I can't allow you to go back out into that storm." "What? Why?" Sweetie asked. "Why do you think?" Specter raised an eye brow. "Just listen." Sweetie heard the rain beating against the window of the study. It was pitch black outside, and the only light came from the lightning that flashed through the sky. "Even with supervision Miss Belle, I'm not sure you'd make it back to Ponyville in one piece, even if you were an adult, let alone a filly." Specter said. "If your sister truly loved you, I'm sure she'd rather you stay here, safe, and be worried, than find you drowned the next morning in the rain, hm?" As much as Sweetie hated to admit it, Specter was right. At this point, it was suicide going back out into the storm. And there was also the matter of the laughing thing, more likely than not, was still lurking in the forest somewhere. And her friends were safe, so there was no real reason to go back out. "I'm only looking out for your best interest Sweetie." Specter said. "I'm not sure how I'd live with myself if something happened to you, the sister of such a beautiful mare." -Flinch Why does he have to talk about her like that. She's not yours she's- "...well... I guess you’re right. I'll stay." Sweetie decided. "Excellent." Specter got up out of his seat. "Here, let me take you to your room." "You mean Spiffy isn't going to?" Sweetie asked. "I think it would be much more efficient for us to just go to your room, rather than locate some butler to do it for me, wouldn't you agree?" Specter said. "After all, if he was the one to escort you here, and felt it necessary to leave you alone, I'd imagine he has more important things to do." Sweetie had to agree. "Yeah, I guess." The two exited the study, and walked back to the foyer. Specter led Sweetie up the stairs to the second floor. As Sweetie looked up, it was too dark. She couldn't even see the ceiling of the mansion. "Miss Belle?" Specter asked. "Yeah?" Sweetie asked. "Once we get to your room, could you do me one favor?" Specter asked. "What?" Sweetie asked. "Don't leave it." Specter said flatly. Sweetie stopped. "Huh? Why?" "I... just don't feel comfortable with a little filly running around my mansion unsupervised. Please understand. I trust you will respect my request?" Specter asked. Sweetie doesn't feel comfortable the way he asked, but she nodded. It was his house after all, and she had to respect his wishes. "Okay... or as Pinkie might put it: Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Specter smiled. "Yes, quite." After walking through different hallways of the mansion, they found a bedroom. "Here, I hope it is to your liking." "It's... wow." Sweetie said. The room was splendidly furnished with a chair, a couch, and a queen sized bed. A dresser was along the side of the bed, with various perfumes and scented items, which made the room not only appealing to the eye, but the nose as well. The room didn't feel fit for a filly. It felt fit for a princess. "Thank you so much Mr. Yield." Sweetie said, taking her saddle bags off and placing them on the dresser. She then headed for the bed. She got on, and immediately felt her previously tense muscles release at the comfort of the bed. It was so soft and comfy... the grips of the sand pony had begun to take Sweetie off to dream land. Sweetie felt herself drifting into sleep. Before Sweetie is fully asleep, she heard Specter silently laugh to himself. "Sweet dreams..." he said, before closing the door to the bedroom. The odd thing though was it sounded different from before and Sweetie yawned. ...somehow Sweetie nuzzled against her pillow. ...familiar... [Continue] Chapter 4- The Real Nightmare Begins[REBOOT]"No...NO! Get away from me! Go away!" Sweetie screamed this as she ran through the forest. Her voice cracked as she strained her vocal chords to call for someone to save her. She wasn't sure how, but she was back in the darkness again, trying to escape from the laughing monster in the wood. Just like before, no matter how fast she ran, the laughter seemed to be faster. Just like before, as the laughter got closer and louder, Sweetie Belle felt colder and weaker. The entire scenario felt so real, so experienced, she wondered if this was actually happening, and her finding the haven in the mansion was the dream. Sweetie saw the opening to the forest. "The mansion! I'll be saved!" Dream or not, Sweetie believed that beyond that opening was the mansion. There she would be saved by just making it through the gate. She wasted no time in bolting through it. This time, she found herself not in front of the mansion this time, but in a clearing, with a campfire set up in the center. Evenly seated around the campfire were six mares, two fillies, and a baby dragon. It was her friends. Sweetie immediately identified Rarity by her white coat and purple mane. "Rarity!" Sweetie called, as she entered the small campsite. Sweetie embraced her sister, burying her nose in Rarity's mane. "Sis! I thought I'd never see you again! I-I was so scared that I-!" "Relax Sweetie Belle. You're safe here. Just relax. You're safe. Relax-" Rarity continued to repeat, as she wrapped her fore legs around her, stroking the filly. Sweetie found it odd the way she spoke in such a mono toned voice. At first, Sweetie didn't care what Rarity sounded like, but only that she was there. She felt just a little safer with the thought that her friends, especially her big sister, were there to protect her. The relief however was short lived when she heard something else. A new laughter. This laughter didn't come from the woods however, but within the circle of mares around the fire. Sweetie turned her head out of Rarity's mane to confirm who she couldn't believe it was. Applebloom was looking at her, laughing, with a sick, twisted grin on her face. Her leg was extended toward her, her hoof pointing at Sweetie's face as though she were laughing at something hilarious sitting in between her eyes. She almost didn't even look like Applebloom anymore, with that toothy grin spread across her face. "W-what are you-?" Sweetie was about to ask Applebloom, but then Scootaloo then joined in the laughter, and following close behind her, Spike. They both had the same grins on their face. "S-stop..." Sweetie said, but her friends only got louder. Then, Applejack started to laugh and grin at Sweetie Belle. Then Rainbow Dash... then Fluttershy... Pinkie Pie, and finally Twilight Sparkle. "Sis, please! Make them stop! Make-" Sweetie looked up to see her sister grinning as well. Rarity laughed, and was no longer hugging the filly, but holding her in place, as she struggled to get free. "You're not my sister...! Let me go! Hey! Let me go!" Sweetie commanded. Her (sister?) only got louder in her laugh. "It's fine sister! Why are you trying to get away? Why won't you let me love you?!" She said as she laughed. "It's fine! Relax! IT'S FINE! RELAX!" Their laughing had begun to gain in pitch, and was soon on the same level as the monster in the woods. Sweetie managed to break free of her sister's grip, but immediately felt colder, despite her close distance to the fire. She backed away from her so called friends, into the trees. As she did, her flank hit something. Not a tree, not a bush. It felt like a pony- no the feathers of a griffon- no, the scales of a dragon- no. What was she touching? It wasn't normal. It was strange. It was deathly cold... Before Sweetie had a chance to turn around and identify the monster, it grabbed her and lifted her by the waist. It lifted her up into the air, and then threw her her back down. However, she didn't feel any pain from the fall. Instead, when she got up, she felt a biting cold cover her waist. When she looked down at the area the thing picked her up from, she saw her white coat had begun to turn dark grey. She felt the nerves in her body scream in agony as they died, unable to survive the cold. The grayness and coldness was spreading through her body. Once it reached her hind legs, which she collapsed on. It then it went to her upper body, then her forelegs, which she collapsed on next. Sweetie lied helplessly on the ground, her hooves in front of her face, and unresponsive. She tried to scream, but no sounds came. Her vision grayed along with the rest of her body. The last thing she saw was her hooves being stepped on by some "thing" she didn't have the strength to look up at. Her hooves shattered like ice under the pony's hoof... no... no, it wasn't a hoof anymore... it was changing into something else. She felt her grip on her life slipping away, and she accepted her grim fate, as she used her remaining strength to close her eyes for the last time. GAME OVER [Ary Tgain?] Tee hee! *** [AMBIENT RAIN] Sweetie tossed and turned as she suffered though nightmare. She eventually, and thankfully felt herself wake up, as she was introduced to the back of her eyelids and the feeling of a blanket over her body. Though she woke up, she didn't want to wake up and therefore kept her eyes closed. She was still in that mode between consciousness and unconsciousness and still tired. She wanted to go back to sleep, and perhaps have a different dream. Possibly one that didn't involve her dying. Sweetie felt a chill along her coat. Instinctively, she curled herself into the blanket more. That didn't do a thing. Sweetie started to shiver in her semi-consciousness. It was only getting colder as minutes rolled by. It was as if all her body heat was gone, and she was cold all of the way though. --Just like the woods --Just like the dream --Just like the lonely hallway --Only worse The chill of the night turned from cold to freezing, as if it were a winter day. That freezing temperature turned into frostbite to the filly. It stung her, which convinced her to open her eyes to find the source of the cold. It couldn't have been an open window, it had to be something closer to her. When she opened her eyes, she wasn't staring into the darkness of the room, but something else. Sweetie wasn't sure whether or not it was a pony, but it certainly wasn't normal. It glowed green, much like the sludge Sweetie found on the plane. It's eyes were the same color as it's body, but it didn't have any pupils. It's eyes were dead, but it's face was very much alive as it grinned at her, much in the way her friends had in her nightmare. Sweetie didn't have time to scream as the (pony?) thing put a hoof over her mouth before she could let out a peep. The thing laughed as it grabbed Sweetie by the neck with it's other hoof, lifting her into the air. It was impossibly strong, and despite, from what she could tell, it not having wings, it seemed to float up higher as it brought her above the bed. Though it was green like the pony's body, it wore a tuxedo from what Sweetie could tell. The first pony Sweetie could think of when she saw the suit was Spiffy, or at least one of the other butlers he'd mentioned. The strange thing however, was that it didn't have any hind legs, or flank to speak of. Instead was just a tail that funneled into nothing. Sweetie compared it to a tornado. Was this some kind of ghost? The ghost pony used the hoof over her mouth to force it into Sweetie's throat. Sweetie struggled to free herself from the ghost's grip, but it was useless. Sweetie would have screamed again if she wasn't gagging on the pure subzero leg that was taking up most of her esophagus. She could barely breath, let alone make sound. After what felt like an eternity, as Sweetie felt herself ready to lose consciousness, she felt the ghost grab something within her. Oddly enough, Sweetie didn't feel like it's any of her internal organs. No, this was something else entirely. Something magical. Sweetie felt weak and cold as the monster griped her with its freezing hooves. No, not just weak, she felt like she was dying as the ghost got a firmer grip of whatever essence it was trying to obtain. And she knew she would die if she lost the consciousness she was so desperately fighting for. Before the ghostly monster could pulled out the thing it had grabbed a hold of, a miracle happened. A light shined on the ghost- DING! -causing it to scream in pain. The thing let go of Sweetie, dropping her back onto the bed, as it faded away into the darkness. Sweetie didn't question where the light came from, what it just did to the specter, or who the pony in the shadows with the flashlight was. None of her senses were working, her mind wasn't functioning. There was nothing but fear as she automatically grabbed her saddlebags and galloped as fast as she could out of the bedroom. She ran down the hallway, trying to determine where to go in the darkness. Everything looked the same, from the pottery on stands in the hallway, to the various other paintings on the walls. No. No, that was wrong, It was different. Very different from when she first walked through with Specter, but Sweetie couldn't put her hoof on what it was, nor did she feel inclined to wait around and ponder on it. Through sheer luck, Sweetie managed to find the stairway. She ran down it, tripping over a step, and falling down the last few. Lightning flashed for a split second, followed by booming thunder, revealing the foyer. It wasn't a lengthy flash, but it was enough to confirm Sweetie's suspicions. The mansion had definitely changed since she first came in. From what she saw in that moment, everything had an abandoned look, rather the new one Sweetie had seen when Spiffy took her through the foyer. Sheets covered the fountains, statues, paintings, and any other furnishings in the room. Though one other odd change Sweetie noticed was that two spots on the wall with paintings were clear. Though it didn't matter to the filly. All she wanted to do was get out of that mansion, and escape the thing that had tried to kill her. She didn't know what she'd do once she was outside, but surely her chances out there were better than in here. Sweetie charged for the door, and tried to ram it open. However there was a problem: it wouldn't. No matter how hard the filly pushed, kicked or yelled at the entrance to the mansion wouldn't budge. "C'mon! Open!" Sweetie gave one final yell at the door, followed by one final assault. She rammed her small frame against the large door, with no better luck in opening it. "Dumb door!" All she had felt was a pain in her upper body from the attempted forcing of the door. She collapsed on the floor, and started to cry, fearful for her life. Sweetie's ears sharpened up as she heard the laughter again. As her body went cold again, she found herself too weak to get back up on all fours. Only her hind legs were responding correctly. Sweetie flipped herself over to turn herself around, to face the green thing (ghost?), following close behind her. Sweetie used her hind legs to crawl away from the green thing as it grew closer to her. Sweetie backed herself against a wall, cornered and helpless. "Help!" Sweetie tried to yell, however, her dry throat kept her from her plea being very loud. "Help!" She tried again. "Someone! P-please! NO!" The ghost pony was barely a foot from her face by now. It grinned at her, desiring something from her. The thing inside her. It wanted it. She would die without it. But it wanted it. Sweetie shut her eyes tight. She was going to die here. It would get what it was looking for and she would die once it did. No. That was wrong. Something horrible would happen, but she wouldn't just die. Something would happen that would make her wish she was dead. However, instead of her own death scream, she heard a small- Ding -sound. The sound that reminded her of something metal. Sweetie opened one eye to see the ghost pony wasn't grinning anymore, but it had its own terrified look on its face. Shining on her and the ghost was the light of some pony’s flashlight. The next thing Sweetie heard was the last thing she expected to hear. It was the sound of a vacuum cleaner. The ghost was pulled away from Sweetie as it screamed in terror. Sweetie, through the darkness saw another pony, this one actually looking normal rather than acting as their own personal night light. In her hooves she held something, Sweetie couldn't quite make out through the darkness. Is it the hose to some kind of vacuum cleaner? It would make sense considering what she was hearing. Whatever it was, the ghost tried to fly away from it, but was unable to escape it's grasp. After moments, a trail of the ghost began to streak back to the device the pony was holding. They let out one final wail before getting sucked into the device. Once the ghost pony was gone, the unidentified pony collapsed onto the ground, and stopped moving. Sweetie's heart raced in her chest, having difficulty processing what just happened. A pony just saved her from a ghost thing in a mansion she was somehow trapped in, with a portable vacuum no less. If that pony didn't come, her fate would have been sealed. As minutes passed Sweetie remained pressed against the wall, starring at the pony, still lying motionless on the floor. Slowly, Sweetie regained her mind, and started to calm down. Sweetie, although the pony just saved her, wasn't ready to approach the stranger. Instead, once Sweetie regained control over her fore and hind legs, she reached into her saddlebags, to pull out her flashlight. She turned it on, and shined it on the pony. Sweetie's nearly dropped her flashlight when she saw who it is. Her lavender coat, her purple mane with the maroon stripe going through it, her star like purple cutie mark, faded, but clear as day. There was no doubt in Sweetie's mind that she had just been saved by none other than- "T-Twilight?" Sweetie said, shocked. What was she doing here? Didn't Specter say she was headed home with the rest of her friends? Twilight mane, tail and coat was muted from it's original. Her body was shrived and frail. She looked almost as old as Granny Smith. Maybe even older. In her mouth was the flashlight, now turned off. In her right was a vacuum hose that went around to her back. Strapped to her back by some saddlebags was a weird looking grey box, with a cylinder sticking out, above 6 lights. One of the lights glowed green, and the others, red. Sweetie shakily detached herself from the wall, and proceeded cautiously to the mare. Sweetie stood over her, horrified at what she saw. She didn't move. Was she dead? Sweetie shined her light close to Twilight's face, looking for some sign of life. Just as she noticed her chest was ever so slightly going up and down, Twilight's eyes snapped open, revealing her dark purple eyes, pupils contracted. Sweetie jumped back, as Twilight struggled back onto all fours, once she did, her eyes snapped on Sweetie, along with her her flashlight and vacuum hose to point at the filly. "Wait! Wait! Twilight!" Sweetie said, turning off her own flashlight so Twilight could get a better look at her. "It's me! Sweetie!" She stared at her for a moment before her eyes softened. "...S...Sweetie?" Twilight said. Her voice sounded as old and frail as her body, as if she were ready to drop dead right on the spot. "Who..." "Twilight, it's me! Don't you remember?" Sweetie asked. Of course she remembered. She had to remember. But the mare just stared at her with a blank expression. "Sweetie Belle? Rarity's sister remember?" "Sweetie... Belle... Rarity's... my friends... no..." Twilight lost control of her jaw as her flashlight fell out of her mouth. Oddly enough, she didn't seem to notice. Not shining the light directly on her, she looked like a silhouette shook her head as though trying to shake herself from a dream. She fell down again, trying to remain conscious. Sweetie rushed over to help the mare back up onto all four of her legs. As she did, Twilight coughed violently. "Sweetie... you're Sweetie..." she mumbled. "Yes..." Sweetie was at a loss for words. For a good few minutes, the two of them were complete strangers before Twilight could remember her face. "It's... It's not safe here... we need to... that way..." Twilight said as she pointed her flashlight to the door on the right of the stairway. Sweetie nodded quietly. She allowed Twilight to lean on her as they moved through the door. Twilight pointed them through to dining hall and eventually into another room with a stairwell. They both headed down the stairwell, taking them down to another door. Twilight's horn glowed faintly, as the lock on the door releases. This room led them into a new room. This new room was definitely a change from the rest of the current mansion, as it was actually decently lit. The room's walls were completely composed of metal. The walls hummed softly as if a small bee were behind each panel. The room was filled with mirrors of different frames, one of which, of a fountain around it. Sweetie couldn't help but be reminded of the fountain she first came in looking at in the foyer. Against one of the walls was a large network of devices, the one farthest to the left having a little hole about three inches in diameter. Twilight collapsed onto the ground again, exhausted from the walk. "Twilight?" Sweetie asked. "Hold on Sweetie... just... give me a moment to... catch my breath..." Twilight said. She let out a weak laugh, and tried a faint smile, as if to calm Sweetie's nerves of the mare who looked as though she should be on her death bed. "I'm... not as energetic... as I used to be you know..." "...what happened here?" Sweetie asked after a few minutes. "Where is every pony? I thought you headed home with Rarity and the others." For the first time since she saw the mare, Twilight let out a single sarcastic laugh. "HA!" Twilight said, after which, having a coughing fit. The sudden burst of energy made Sweetie jump. "T-twilight?" "Where did you get that idea?" she said sharply. "Huh? Uh... Mr. Yield told me." Sweetie said. She chuckled to herself. "Of course he did... He lied to you." Twilight said coldly. "He lied to all of us... it was a trap, and we ALL FELL FOR-" Twilight coughed again towards the ground. Her sudden outburst drove Sweetie silent. "Sorry. I didn't mean to yell like that... I... I just can't believe what happened..." Tears were running down Twilight's cheeks as she looked back at Sweetie. "I... I watched them Sweetie. I watched that monster... that ghost drag Spike away and I couldn't do anything. He tried to save them and I froze. I froze. And now... even with this thing, I'm not sure if I can do anything about it anymore..." She wiped them away. "Twilight... where's my sis?" Sweetie asked. "Where is she? Twilight where-?" "Dead." Twilight blurted out with gritted teeth. The blunt word hit Sweetie like a train. Dead? Rarity? That. Dead? Rarity? Isn't. Dead? Rarity? Right. The two words didn't seem to work compute or compile in the her mind. It didn't seem real. As Twilight seemed busy in her sobs, not receiving an answer, Sweetie backed away from the mare. It took a moment in her depression for Twilight to realize what she'd just said to the filly. How it sounded. "No... you're lying." "Sweetie... wait, that's not-" Twilight said. Tears for the third time that night, were running down the filly's cheeks. She covered her head and ears as if some unpleasant sound was driving her mad. "NO! RARITY IS NOT DEAD! SHE ISN'T DEAD! SHE ISN'T-" "SWEETIE!" Twilight yelled, before letting out another coughing fit. Twilight forced herself to move over to the filly and embrace her. "I'm, sorry... I..." There were soft sobs that came from under her. Twilight sighed, feeling as though she might regret saying what she was preparing to say. "W... what I said was wrong." Sweetie looked up at Twilight. She paused for a moment before nodding. "Yeah... that came out wrong. Your sister isn't dead." "What?" Sweetie said, wiping her tears away. "She... she's not? Then why did you say she was?" "Well... yes, and no." She cleared her throat. "Honestly I don't know what happened to her specifically, but right now, all I can do is assume the worst for all of them. And that's... that's death." Sweetie continued to stare at her. Trying to decipher how that was supposed to make her feel better. Twilight continued. "But death works differently here because... technically, we're all dead... Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow, Applejack, Fluttershy... and I, in a sense. Anyone unlucky enough to find their way in this place, dead... but... but we're not at the same time. At the same time alive." "Huh?" Sweetie asked confusedly. "I-I don't get it." Twilight sighed. "I really wish I could explain all of this to you... but there really isn't much time." Twilight got up, shakily on all fours. "I need to head back out there, and try to save at least one of them. If I'm suffering in half-life, then I can't imagine what it must be like to be like one of those ghosts." Like one of those ghosts Did that mean that her friends could be-? "Save? You mean, everyone who came here is in danger?" Sweetie asked. "Danger?" Twilight looked at Sweetie and her dumb question. "Sweetie... you've seen the ghosts, haven't you?" Sweetie nodded. "Then you know?" "I... you're not saying that they're like those things right? That's-" "Exactly what I mean." Twilight finished. "What?!" Sweetie said shocked. "How?" "Those things, those... ghosts is probably the best thing to call them right now, they... they're spirits, visible spirits. Abstract magical energy composed of the mind and memories of the pony drenched in concrete magic to give them form and pseudo tangibility. Essentially giving spirits new bodies that we can see and can interact in this world... and at the same time ignore some of it's properties. I've seen them move through walls for example and disappear at will..." Twilight explained. "They appear... to have the power to take out the spirits of ponies, and turn them into ghosts like them... Drench them with their own surplus supply of magic being constantly rejuvinated by the powerhouse the spirit is. They're mindless though. They're all controlled by that pony who calls himself 'Specter Yield'... we were so foolish... so stupid... then again, Specter managed to fool Celestia and Luna as well..." "Huh? You mean the princesses came too?" Sweetie asked. "Unfortunately... anyone who met Specter the first day he visited Ponyville was invited. Mainly the six of us." Twilight sighed, knowing Sweetie would inevitably ask for more information. She decided to keep going. "Even Spike got caught up in this mess." Twilight looked down at the tiled floor, closing her eyes recalling the day's events. She was silent for a good while, trying to gather all of her thoughts before she finally spoke. "We were all invited to a housewarming party. I'd think Rarity's told you that much already. When we arrived here, besides the aged mansion, it was pretty normal. Nothing out of the ordinary on the outside. Even though there was that horrible chill that kept coming and going throughout our visit. Pinkie was jittery the entire party. Heck, even Fluttershy was restless, as if we all knew something was wrong... but we ignored that gut feeling, accepting explanations to sate our suspicions. That Fluttershy was just off put by the size, Pinkie was just hyped up on sugar, and I was just feeling-" "A draft?" Sweetie guessed remembering she thought of the same thing earlier when Spiffy left her alone. Twilight nodded and continued. "Heh... worst part is had every opportunity to leave. The doors were open the whole time actually. But... we stayed past nightfall. We got distracted trying to figure out more about the folk from Stabletown... and Specter. Heck, not one of us cared when the princesses disappeared. Actually... it's funny. Like a dream, we knew they weren't there, but at the same time we were sure they were. It was like trying to become conscious in a dream the longer we stayed in that mansion. It was wrong the princesses would disappear without saying a..." Twilight bit down on her lip hard. She was obviously beating herself up for how weak minded she acted during that party. "I-it's okay Twi." Sweetie tried. A shudder to show how hard she was resisting breaking down again as she took a deep breath and continued on. "No one noticed until late. The sun was down, and I swear someone was trying to say that they were called off on 'celestial business', but that still made no sense because the moon wasn't rising. I knew. I knew something was off so I asked him. I asked Specter what was going on. I asked... him. I don't know why, but I felt like he knew. Maybe it was because I thought he was the one who spoke to the princesses last. Or maybe in the back of my head I... I knew. He answered me himself my flaw. 'You do ask an unhealthy number of questions'. I wish I didn't... not yet, so maybe there was a chance to escape. So he wouldn't attack so soon. Sweetie it's my fault they're dead now. My fault they're..." She began sobbing again. Sweetie wasn't sure how to respond, or console the mare any further, so she asked. "...what happened next?" "Laughs." her voice sounded dryer than ever when she uttered the word. "All of the party guests were laughing. And rotting. Sweetie, they weren't rotting before, but they were then. The place smelled horrible. Everything. Everything was changing. And then... they came. Those zombie like... hyenas spat out ghosts, ghosts came out of the walls, out of the ceilings, out of... any of the seven of us who weren't close to a door that wasn't the entrance like... like Applejack, or Fluttershy didn't stand a chance. I saw them reach into their throats and..." another whimper. "... I don't know what happened to the others, but Spike and I were the only ones who came here. That's why I'm sure they were caught." Another silence. "Twilight... y-you said Spike was with you, where is he now?" She didn't know why she asked that. She knew the answer, but didn't want to hear it. Why the heck did she ask? "After we found this place!" Her voice was louder now, as though she were scolding herself. "We... both found this room, and figured out it had some... property that kept ghosts out, as long as it's humming. When we knew this place was safe, we... decided we had to try and save them. Regroup, and plan our next move with some degree of rationality. At the time we wanted to believe that the others... Rarity, Rainbow, Pinkie, that they all got away, and were running for their lives somewhere else in this mansion. And that maybe they needed our help. We went back out and looked around." she swallowed. "It was okay for a little while. Not much came after us besides the stray ghost which we hid from we... didn't know that light could hurt them yet, but we found out because..." she closed her eyes. "Sweetie, I'm sorry." "Twilight, it's-" "Scootaloo was in an open room." Twilight cut her off. "Scoot...aloo?" Was it so outlandish to imagine her and Applebloom here. It certainly was a likely truth. A truth she should have realized the moment she realized the danger in this mansion. The real reason Spiffy could describe his friends so well. "Was she-" "She was alive but... She was still. Very still. Like she was petrified, but... not. In a room with this... thing. This device." Twilight pointed to her back, without looking. "Spike went to check on her while I went to get it. When I got it I... I don't remember what happened next. Just that there was a lot of laughing, and he was screaming something. Next thing I knew, I was running. I had a flashlight, this vaccum and... Spike was gone..." Looking closer, Sweetie could tell that the flashlight's handle was similar, if not exactly like Scootaloo's. It's handle was decorated with colored rubber bands as if to simulate a rainbow. If Scootaloo had truly attacked the both of them, or was somehow in cahoots with the ghosts- What happened to you Scoots? And even more, where was Applebloom? Sweetie didn't want to think about what had become of either of their friends. "It's... it's okay Twilight. I-if you don't remember, maybe he got away! And Scootaloo too... If you don't remember what happened to him." Another silence. "But..." she seemed to be calming down as her voice wavered less as she spoke. Talking about what happened must have been healthy for her, even if it was difficult. Like therapy. "When I was running, I got caught by one. When I was almost back here, one tackled me and lifted me in the air. My magic wasn't working when it was inside me, like a plug was blocking the flow... so I couldn't cast a spell to free myself. But at the last minute, when I shined the light on it, it wailed and disappeared." Twilight was holding onto the flashlight as if it were a talisman. "...but there was a price. It... ripped on my spirit. Perhaps your spirit is more malable, or maybe you were just lucky when I found you, but the ghost ripped apart of me out. I don't know what it did, but in turn, in exchange for maintaining my body, it began aging rapidly. Especially when I used magic. If I don't figure out how to regain my other half soon, I'll probably be dust before tomorrow morning if I use too much more... and that's if I'm lucky." "Oh..." So much bad news hitting her at once, all she can say is "oh" with a dry throat. Her friends had become some otherworldly entity, something horrible might have of her fellow crusaders (or at least Scootaloo), and now Twilight's life span was now limited to a half a day at maximum. As cliche as it sounded, the phrase "what else could go wrong" seemed oddly foreboding as she was afraid to find out the answer to that question. "When I returned here, I found a book. It wasn't here before, but... it discussed how this machine could catch ghosts. And... since I was likely the only one left alive, after doing everything to rejuvenate myself ready to go back out and search for my friends." Twilight opened her eyes again and looked at Sweetie. "Eventually I found you by chance. I didn't remember who you were, but if you were living, there was no chance I'd let you become one of them." "I... see." Sweetie could fill in the blanks from there. "Twilight... I'm sorry." Sweetie tried to give her condolences to the mare. She shook her head. "Crying over it won't save anyone. I did something horrible. I let my fear get the better of me, but this..." she showed the box on her back a little more enthusiastically. "This device, after a little examination has the ability to attract magic. But not just concrete magic, but abstract magic as well. Therefore, it can trap spirits within it. It's really is an amazing thing." "But... It's a vacuum cleaner." Sweetie commented. "Well... yes, it is fashioned off of a few of its components, but a vacuum, no, a normal magic cleaning could never trap spirit entities and magic like this. Whoever invented this device was a genius. Just as the book says, if the spirit is weak, the device can encase it. It's amazingly compact too." Twilight seemed much more lively now. Her depression from before vanished and her eyes filled with hope. "And guess what? This device... I'll call it the 'GCD' for Ghost Capturing Device... well, It's better if I show you..." Twilight walked over to the machine and put the nozzle end of the GCD into the hole in the machine. "Processing..." the machine said in a computerized voice. The machine reacted to the GCD by making the cylinder turn on the box. Then, something moved through the hose of the GCD into the machine, it's one green light going red, like the others. The entity from inside of the hose entered the first, box like part of the machine. It vibrated violently before moving the entity from the GCD into the next part of the machine, which looked a little like a dryer, with a window on the front. Inside, Sweetie could see a glowing green ball, beginning to get color to it, aside from the green. The ball was then flattened within the dryer like part of the machine. Finally, it moved to the third and final segment of the machine, where it was loudly slammed onto some kind of piece of paper... it looked like canvas, and it was given a frame. All of the items were then spit out of the machine from that part, onto the tile floor, into a portrait, much like the ones Sweetie saw around the mansion. Sweetie went over to examine it herself, and was somewhere between awed and shocked to see the pony that nearly stole her spirit in the bedroom. However, in the portrait, they didn't look dead anymore. Instead, it looked very much alive. His eyes were still green, however, now looked much less dead with actual pupils. It's coat was no longer a glowing green, but a light grey, his mane orange. He still wore a tuxedo, this time, not blending in with the rest of his body. "What did you do?" Sweetie asked. "I put his spirit... into that painting." Twilight explained. "The painting almost acts like a body for him." "But... if he's just trapped in a painting now... then how does that help us" Sweetie asked. "As you're may have figured, this canvas isn't normal canvas. It's actually a hybrid of something known as 'dust parchment'." "Dust parchment?" "Yes. Dust parchment is commonly used for summoning spells of small creatures and brings them to life for varying times. The stronger the parchment, the larger and more complex the creature you can summon. I... don't know what type this is, but I do feel it's strength." "You do?" Twilight smiled warmly. "I suppose you haven't been taught to detect magical energy as well as I can. But yes, it is powerful. And in theory, I can actually, if I can decipher what type of spell to use, charge it to summon the spirit in the painting into a living form." Sweetie blinked. "I don't get it." Twilight sighed. "The point I'm trying to make is... that If I can manage to capture my ghostly friends, and put them through this machine, I might be able to save them. Giving them a new body and in turn releasing them from Specter's control. Assuming he only has control of the spirits of those who've died." "You mean, by capturing them... you can save them?" Sweetie confirmed. All the technical stuff aside, that's all she needed to hear. "That's great!" "Now you see why I'm so excited about this." Twilight smiled. "...so, do you have any idea where to look?" Sweetie asked. Twilight's smile faded. "Well... I haven't exactly found them yet. Or any clues either." Twilight said. "Something tells me they're hiding from me now that I have this device. Either that, or my 'half life' isn't that appealing to the dead." Not too easy to look at physically either Sweetie thought. "...but I'll find them, don't you worry your little head." Twilight smiled, trying to keep the little spirit she still had left, up. "It's all taken care of. Don't you worry." No. A thought came to Sweetie's head as she came to a realization. No. Things wouldn't be alright. Ten minutes ago, Twilight could barely stand on her own four hooves. She thought- no, she must have been deluding herself to believe she, in her current state, could fight anything. No. She would die. She would probably die if she went out to fight those things on her own. Would Sweetie just let Twilight go out and kill herself? O[She'll be fine. Perhaps Sweetie should have more faith in her. STAY BACK] O[She'll die if she goes out. Sweetie couldn't forgive herself. TAKE HER PLACE] Author's Note I'll give you a chicken if you can find the sexiest reference in here. Also Dust Parchment CHOICE3I can't let her go... Sweetie was right. By letting Twilight go out into that mansion in the state she was in was just short of telling her to go kill herself. But what could she do? She did want to save her friends, right? The answer was obvious of course, but it was the last thing the filly wanted to think about. Twilight pulled out the GCD nozzle out of the machine and headed for the door. I have to stop her. Sweetie concluded. Without another thought, Sweetie got in front of Twilight, blocking her way to the exit. "Sweetie?" "Twilight, you’re not going back out there... are you?" Sweetie asked more out of stalling than legitimate curiosity. "Well, my friends aren't going to capture themselves are they?" Twilight said light heartedly. "N-no... but you can't go back out there!" Sweetie argued, hoping that it might open up some new option she didn't have the creativity to come up with. "Just being around those things almost... it almost killed you!" "I know the danger Sweetie, and I'm prepared to deal with it." Twilight said. "Danger's what I do, anyway. I am an element after all." "You're too weak! You're barely able to stand up on your own, let alone strong enough to stand up against one of those things!" "Then what Sweetie?" Twilight said, her annoyance was showing. "What do you suppose we do? Just sit around here twiddling our hooves, while our friends, your sister, and maybe more ponies are just kept as that stallion's playthings?!" Another surprise outburst that drove Sweetie quieter. "N-no..." Sweetie thought for a moment. She couldn't give into Twilight now. "M-maybe someone will come for us!" "No...no one's coming for us Sweetie. Or... at least with Specter's power, no one's going to make it very far." She sighed. "I'd hate to admit it but... if Luna and Celestia are under Specter's control, there wouldn't even be any light for anyone to go by to make it all the way out here. Even if someone knew the general direction of the mansion. And even if they did somehow make it, Specter's army would only grow. Not only would they not be prepared for what's in this place, but this GCD is the only thing I know of effective against the ghosts. It's a marvel... and a marvel that's difficult to comprehend, let alone reproduce. Any number of ponies who tried to fight even one ghost would be over powered by the sheer fact they can't touch it. Not without this one device or the ability to manipulate abstract magic." "Then...then..." Sweetie trailed off. She couldn't think of anything else she could do. It was painfully obvious that if Twilight Sparkle left that room to save her friends, she would die. No other options besides the one she decided in her head moments ago. It was unavoidable if she wanted to make it out of there alive. It was unavoidable if she wanted to save her friends. It was unavoidable if she wanted to see her sister again. Sweetie swallowed her fear to say three words. "...let me go." "What?" Twilight asked. Sweetie took a deep breath and sighed before saying it a little louder than before. "I said... let me go." Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmm... The words hung in the air for a moment. Silence filled the room, aside from the humming of the walls. Finally, Twilight spoke. "You’re joking with me, aren't you?" Her face had something that resembled a bewildered smile. "Y-yeah, I'm..." Sweetie wasn't sure herself. She wasn't sure what she'd just offered to get herself into. Twilight on the other hand started chuckling, as though she couldn't believe her ears. As if Sweetie had told a funny joke. Rather, a joke that wasn't supposed to be funny, but was so bad it deserved laughing at. "What's so funny?" Sweetie asked, slightly annoyed. "You. Talking about 'going' somewhere." her laughter became less and less as she tried to brush the joke off of her face. "It's not that funny. I said, I'll take your place and go save-" "No way in hay." Twilight said. She sounded serious at the realization Sweetie truly meant to head out in her place. "What? Why not?" Sweetie asked. "Are you serious?" Twilight sighed, as if this was just a bother to waste time. "A couple reasons. For starters, you're just a little filly, who barely escaped that ghost the first time. And there may be worse ghosts out there, and my friends are no exception. You can't take one on." Twilight closed her eyes again, looking away from the filly. Then, she opened them again. "And secondly... your Rarity's little sister. I'd...I might... I don't want you to end up like the rest of my friends alright?" "Twilight..." Sweetie said. "No." Twilight said firmly. The stress was beginning to show on the mare, in the way she talked. Her body was tiring the more energy she spent arguing with Sweetie. "I couldn't protect my friends, but I still can protect you! You’re not going back out there and that's final!" Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmm... The humming once again became the dominant sound of the room. "...then...then I'm not moving either." Sweetie said. "If you’re so bent on protecting just one, because they still happen to be alive, then I don't see why I shouldn't feel the same way. I'm scared of what's going to happen if you go outside, so I'm not moving from this spot, unless you let me go." "I don't have time for this." Twilight gritted her teeth, having enough of Sweetie. She tried pushing her to the side, however Sweetie was evidently stronger than the mare now, seeming like an impassable boulder when she tried pushing on her. "Why don't you just use your magic to move me?" Sweetie commented sarcastically as to bring up Twilight's own inability to use magic. "I need it to open that damn door when it locks again... and for the paintings. I can't waste it on you." Twilight spat back. Twilight stared down the filly with her dark purple eyes. They were filled with pain, guilt and sorrow. Sweetie stared right back at Twilight, trying to look strong, with her own green eyes, trying to convince her to let her try. While Twilight saw intense fear in her eyes... yet she also saw determination and courage as well. "...fine." The words were so surprising after the long silence that they managed to make Sweetie flinch. "Huh?" Sweetie said. "You heard me. You can... you can do it." Twilight sighed, as though giving up. "I'll let you go." "Thank Twi..." Sweetie said. "I won't let you down." "Somehow... I... I don't think you can." Twilight smiled. "Here, take it." Twilight undid the tie that connected the GCD to her saddlebags and allowed the device to fall to the floor with a clang. The mare huffed, as though the thing were getting heavy the longer she kept it on. "Get in front of that mirror." Twilight ordered. "So you can see how I tie this in case it falls off." Sweetie obeyed and went in front of the mirror. Twilight then lightly kicked the GCD like a soccer ball over to Sweetie. Maybe to show how sturdy it was? Or maybe because she was too tired to actually pick it up, or didn't see using her telekinesis to pick it up worth the magic usage. Sweetie watched through the mirror as she was outfitted with the pack and the excess straps on her saddlebags were used to tie it into place. Sweetie watched as surprisingly, it is a perfect fit for the little filly. Guess this is what she meant by 'compact'. "Alright, turn around." Twilight said. Sweetie did so and looked up at her. "Now walk from that end of the room and back. I just need to make sure it won't fall off." Sweetie did so. Between the device and the things in her saddlebags, Sweetie would be lying if she said it wasn't heavy. Twilight however nodded in satisfaction. "Now... Sweetie." Twilight said. "Capturing ghosts isn't easy, and because we don't really have any to practice one, I need you to listen carefully, so when you see your next ghost, you'll be able to fight it... do you have your flashlight?" "Huh? Oh yeah!" Sweetie said as she reached into her saddlebags, pulling it out. "Alright. You know to hold it in your muzzle, so you can keep walking, moving, right?" Twilight asked. Sweetie demonstrated. "Good. Now, the last thing you'd want is to be still in one place for too long so moving and shining your flashlight at the same time is key. "Now, when you see a ghost, shine your light on it. As I explained, that's their weakness. I'm not sure on the complete magical science behind it, but if their bodies work anything like concrete magic, I think that they're built in layers. A thin layer that the GCD can't suck up, and a thick layer the GCD can. You won't have much luck sucking any ghosts up until you get rid of the thin layer first, which seems to be broken by light. Do you understand so far?" Sweetie nodded. "Next, don't be around too many though, because if you do, the ghosts will steal power from the flashlight. Something I've also discovered is that much like the GCD can attract magical energy, these ghosts have the ability to attract and absorb small amounts certain types as well. The light your flashlight emits and the magical energy that makes it shine are two different things, so don't think that just by having a flashlight around that you'll be alright. You have to use it before you're overwhelmed." Sweetie recalled when she was in the forest and her flashlight began to flicker. She must have been running away from a large number of ghosts. That might explain why she was so cold. "When you do, you'll hear a sound, kind of like the sound of metal against metal." Twilight continued. "That's the sound of the initial layer of magic breaking. When that happens, the ghost will run away. It will fade away to somewhere else, in order to regenerate the magic shield using their spirit. That's good if you just need to get away from a couple... but if you need to capture one, you need to use the GCD before they disappear. When you hear the sound, let 'em have it. Suck them up and trap them in the GCD. The closer you are, the less time it will take for the magic to be sucked off. Thankfully, that magic doesn't regenerate quite as easy. If done right, the ghost to get sucked into the GCD. You got all that?" Sweetie nodded. "Yeah. Just one two punch. Hit them with the flash light, and hit them with the vacuum thing. Don't be around too many at a time." "Alright then, you're set... well, almost at least." Twilight said, going over to one of the mirrors which happened to be on a dresser. She reached inside of the dresser to take out a red yellow striped notebook, a rolled up piece of parchment paper, and a camera. "These things might be useful as you go through the mansion. I... left them here because the GCD was cumbersome enough as it was. First, is a type of journal I found when I returned. I... don't know if it was here when we first arrived or if it was brought here by someone but it was here. It contains pictures and descriptions of different types of ghost. It's known as a Mind's Eye journal... you might have seen one back in Ponyville." Sweetie nodded, recalling how she came across an expensive book (about 50 bits, and on 'sale') of a similar texture. [MIND'S EYE JOURNAL! Never have anyone read over your shoulder again!] In short, it was a book where only the writer could see what was written in the book, among a select number of others the owner could assign. Sweetie remembered mentioning the consideration of buying one to Scootaloo who had a fit at the idea she wouldn't have someone to copy off of anymore in class. "Problem is, like any other Mind's Eye Journal, it's locked from our eyes." "Ok, then unlock it." Sweetie said. Surely somepony so knowledgeable knew some way to release whatever enchantment kept it's secrets hidden. Twilight shook her head. "Even if I wanted to use my magic on it, this specific enchantment magic isn't quite that simple. It's a normal ME Journal, but it's been altered so it might take weeks to unravel that kind of spell." "Then how do I use it?" Twilight pondered. "Well... I have a theory. When I first found this book, the instructions on how to operate the GCD were inside, along with the butler ghosts I've been mostly seeing. So I think each time the holder of the book sees a new ghost, or discovers something new, it's automatically revealed in the book. Here, look." Twilight places the book in front of Sweetie, who flips it open. Sure enough, the ghost she first saw was sitting on the first page. Butler Ghost Common Gender: Male Desc: This ghost is the most common and simplest to capture in Yield Manor. It specializes in stealing spirits and freezing anything it deems hostile by grabbing it. Flashlights and Ghost Capture Devices work best against this threat. Main Weaknesses: Light "That's so cool!" Sweetie said, dropping the flashlight out of her muzzle. "You see something?" Sweetie nodded. "I'll keep it on me. This'll help." She places the book into her saddlebags. "The next thing is this camera. Something I also found in the room. It's also enchanted. I've never seen it in this design, but it's a type of scanner. At least that's what I assume." Twilight said. "Scanner?" "Yes" She gave it to Sweetie. Sweetie opened the back of the camera up. "Huh? There's no film!" Sweetie said. "That's why I figured 'scanning' was it's property, since I also felt magical energy off of it as well. According to the book, there are two functions that I found with this camera. First, if you try to take a picture of a ghost, you're able to start hearing what it's thinking. The other is with these mirrors. You see, there's something strange about the mirrors in the mansion. Supposedly, if you take a picture with one it will activate some kind of transportation spell, back here." "Teleportation? You mean like you?" Sweetie said, placing the camera in her saddlebags. "Finally, there's this. It's a map of the mansion... but I don't really trust it." Twilight said. "Why not?" Sweetie said. "Well, maybe it's just me, but this mansion... it feels like it changes. I already know it can. No, it very well might be right. Did you see how the foyer changed?" Twilight asked. Sweetie nodded. "Well, I have the feeling that rooms change around, just like the scenery. That's likely why it exists. It's also enchanted with a special tracking spell. It'll not only pinpoint your location on the map, but it will also tell what places you have or haven't explored yet, and it will change if the mansion happens to change." Twilight said. "And.. that's really just about it." "Gotcha. Notebook for ghosts, camera for transportation and mind reading, and a map for the mansion. Okay, I'm ready." Sweetie Belle said as she turned around to face the door. "Sweetie wait." Twilight said. Sweetie turned back around. "Yes?" "Sweetie it's... something that probably shouldn't worry me as much as it is, does however these things I found aren't mine. Even more, it looks like a majority of them's were made for being able to fight these things. Even room, was made for protection against ghosts... a safe room. Now isn't that strange?" Sweetie nodded. It was strange. Why would the house of a master of ghosts have a tool to fight his own ghosts? "There's two possibilities in my head right now." Twilight continued. "The first being the fact that these aren't his. Maybe the remnants of an enemy of his, which... might make sense since the room I found it in had it displaying like an old museum piece. The second... which is why I'm worried. He might just consider this entire thing some kind of game." "A game?" Twilight nodded. "That this could be apart of some 'plan' of his." she sighed. "Even with what happened with Spike and I, it was too easy for us to have obtained that device. I guess what I'm trying to say is... is I think something deeper a simple haunted mansion happening... I don't know what he'll try to do to you out there, but... I just wanted to let you know to be careful out there and to please, come back." Twilight said. Sweetie nodded. "I'll be back when I find our friends, so we can bring them back." Sweetie said. "I promise, that nothing's going to happen to me." "Stay safe Sweetie." Twilight said. "Don't I always?" Sweetie Belle asked. "No." Twilight said flatly. "... but, good luck." Twilight tilted her head over to the door. "Should be open. I think there's a timer on it where it closes every hour or so on it's own." Sweetie Belle once again clicked on her flashlight, and headed through the door. The door shut behind Sweetie as she once again felt the cold mansion air. In the darkness, a part of her just wanted to turn around, and head back into the safety of the metal room. Second thoughts were flooding her head as the weight of what she was preparing to do was starting to bear on her. But Sweetie knew that she couldn't turn around now. She wasn't going to. She had to do this. It was the only way she would see her friends again. It was the only way she would see her crusaders again. It was the only way she'd see her sister again. Rarity... I'm coming for you... She said as she headed back up the narrow stairwell to the dining hall. [Continue] CHOICE4She would be fine of course. After all, not only was she an Element of Harmony, but she was also Twilight Sparkle. The underling and favored student of one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria. Even if she did have some difficulties now with her "half life", Sweetie couldn't question her judgement. Twilight knew exactly what she was doing. Besides, it wasn't like Sweetie, someone who had barely touched the "GCD", stood a ghost of a chance against those things. Sweetie gave the aged mare a smile, a nod, and stepped to the side to allow Twilight to get to the door. There was a pause as she stared at the door. As though she were having second thuoghts for a split second. Instead, she spoke. "Sweetie?" "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "I... know this goes without saying, but I need you to do me a favor." "What is it?" "Don't leave this room." She said tilting her head back. "I don't know what's keeping this room powered, but so long as it's running, it's the only safe place in this entire mansion. And... since I know you-" "You don't want me to leave?" Sweetie finished. Twilight nodded. "Don't try to be a hero if something goes wrong. Whatever you hear outside, whatever you think you hear, don't open the door under any circumstances. Otherwise, I can't... I can't say you'll be safe." "I get it." Sweetie nodded. "Don't open the door for strangers and stay put." "Good." "I hope you find them Twilight." Sweetie gave some last words of encouragement. "And..." "Don't worry. I'll bring your sister back here in a jiff." She said, before leaving opening the door and leaving. It shut with an echoed metallic sound. Sweetie sighed as the sound of her hoof steps faded into nothing. Eventually, all she could hear was the sound of the humming walls. "I'll find your sister" "Please... Please do." Sweetie mumbled as she closed her eyes. She didn't realize how tired she was until she tried lying on the floor and found her eyes driffting off to sleep. *** "Huh?" Sweetie woke up. "Mmm... how long was I asleep...? Was that all a-" (dream?) As Sweetie's senses woke up a minute behind her, she realized she was still listening to that familiar hum. She wasn't dreaming. This nightmare was very real. She let out another sigh before looking over at the exit Twilight had left about... How long has Twilight been gone? Without a window, porthole, or clock to name in the room, time was foreign to her. Though considering how her body felt, it was safe to assume she had been asleep for at least an hour. Sweetie stretched her legs, and started walking around the room she now called her "safe room". Out of boredom, she felt like examining the mirrors. They held a strange aura to them. Was this magical energy Twilight had mentioned? No, these mirrors were peculiar, and certainly had magical energy coming out of them, but that wasn't what she was feeling. It felt like she was staring off the edge of a cliff into an infinite abyss rather than staring at her reflection. Sweetie looked at the multiple mirror frames in the room as well. Like she noted earlier, each one had it's own distinct design. There was the one with the fountain, then there was another mirror's frame that held nothing but smaller, color tinted mirrors as it's frame, and then there was one that had a design that resembled the branches of leaves- "AAAaahhhHHHHHHaaaHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Sweetie screamed herself and jumped back as the mirror she was looking in at the moment screamed at her, before exploding into tiny pieces. If Sweetie hadn't ducked as she hit the ground, the pieces of glass would have cut her into little tiny pieces. "Heeheeheehaaahaaahaaw" There was laughter. It didn't last long, but she knew she heard laughter for a few seconds. She heard it from the mirror first as it echoed throughout the room before suddenly stopping. Sweetie's heart rapidly beat in her chest for five minutes before she dared to look up at the destruction. The mirror was nothing but frame and shards now. "What... happened?" Sweetie asked. Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. There was just the hum. That was her only answer. Sweetie sobbed. "Please Twi... come back soon..." Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Sweetie's nerves were deteriorating by the non-existent seconds as she remained in the room. Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. That broken mirror. That laugh. It broke something in Sweetie as well. The hum was becoming overbearing now. She had to do something to keep her mind off of what just happened. Something to keep her mind off of the hum. She shuffled into her saddlebags to get her ball. she stared at it for a moment before looking up at a wall without a mirror. She began throwing it against the wall. One hit. Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Five hits. Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Ten hits. Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm- This is worse. This is worse. She hoped that something besides the maddening hum that was echoing on the inside of her skull would help. But no, it made it worse. The thuds against the wall weren't helping her. They were just adding to the echos. What's happening? This room was doing something to her. Fifteen hits. Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm- She had to leave the room. How long had she really been here? Twenty hits. Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm- She would die if she left. Twilight told her to stay. Twilight doesn't matter. Twilight's not coming back. Twilight's dead. Twilight's dead. Twilight's dead. Twenty-five hits. Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm- It's been a long time. It's been a really long time. It's been hours. It's been days. It's been years. Decades. Time doen't exist anymore. The world doesn't exist anymore. She had to gain control of herself. Why won't it shut up. She would be fine if she had just a little silence. Why won't it shut up? Why won't it- Twenty-seven hits. Hu- "SHUT UP!" Sweetie threw the ball against the wall harder than she thought she had the strength to. She hit it so hard she heard something she hadn't heard before. A click in the wall behind the hum, followed by it's silence. "Eh... eh heh..." for a split moment, the sudden silence felt amazing. As if a great burden had just been lifted off of her, the thoughts that were blasting through her head, the panic, the fear was gone. But then something came to her. The humming did stop. What exactly did that mean? "... property that kept ghosts out, as long as it's humming" As long as it was humming. Before Sweetie could realize what this meant, the lights above, one by one, began flickering off. Sweetie just watched as they turned off, her mouth slightly agape. "Oh." Eventually all of them were off, and Sweetie was trapped in the same blackness she experienced in the forest. She considered getting her own flashlight, but she didn't see any purpose. She didn't even try to make it to the exit to escape the impending danger. What was the point, when she heard all of the laughs surrounding the room? GAME OVER [Try Again] Chapter 5- The First Battle with the Applebucker[REBOOT][AMBIENT RAIN] "C'mon Sweetie. Come on." Sweetie mumbled to this to herself as she continued her accent to the top of the stairwell. She heard the sound of it's metal creak every step that she took, as though it were teasing her about collapsing under her. "If Twilight and her old flank could do it, you can too." The weight of the device was already enough for Sweetie. Not overbearingly heavy, it was also anything but light. The GCD, despite its small size, was somewhat straining on the filly's back. Hopefully she could get used to it. Even more, the GCD didn't have any kind of holster for the nozzle. Therefore, she had to walk with it while it was in her front hoof. In turn, it was awkward to walk, and Sweetie, more than once, had almost tripped over the thing, to fall back down the stairs. "Wouldn't want that." Sweetie rubbed her head at the number of lumps she would receive from hitting her head repeatedly against hard metal. She still had a faint headache from falling down the stair after all. Sweetie shook her head. Useless thoughts might get her killed out here, she had to stay focused on her goal. Save her friends. Save her crusaders. Save her... sister. Yes. The thought of saving her was the main thought that kept her moving forward despite the fear and anxiety trying to overshadow her in the stairwell. It was the only thing numbing the fear she felt as she climbed. As Sweetie reached the top of the stairs, she froze in place as felt a chill. It was the same warning chill Sweetie had felt both in the woods, the hallway and in her bedroom. Sweetie had felt that chill enough times to know what it meant. The red flag to something was waiting for her at the top of those stairs. "Here we go." Before the chill actually did freeze her, she continued on. Sweetie tried to prepare herself for a fight, trying to show her teeth to create a menacing face. Instead came a fearful face, with chattering teeth. So much for my war face. Sweetie reached the top of the steps, sighing with relief that there wasn't anything around. Still, her nerves were still too far on edge to return to being calm. Coming from behind the flashlight, out of her mouth was the mist of cold air. No matter what she wasn't seeing, there was no doubt in her mind. A ghost had to be nearby someplace and could very well be in the next room. The dining hall. Sweetie couldn't afford to let her guard down now. She cautiously walked from out of the stairwell, and started for the dining hall, and was immediately stopped by a sound. --Heeheeheeheehee It was the laughter of a ghost. Sweetie froze there for a moment, hesitant to head into the next room. She knew she would have to fight a ghost sooner or later. It was almost funny how moments ago she was sure she was ready to show one "what for and mean to be". Now her teeth were chattering louder than ever and her legs prepared to buckle for when it did show up. This is nothing. I can do this. Remember Rarity. Do it for Rarity. Sweetie coached herself to move on. Making sure her flashlight was in her muzzle firmly, and that as she walked the dangling GCD nozzle wouldn't be too far out of reach, Sweetie moved on into the dining room to find- -- ----------Nothing. The dining hall was empty, aside from a long table, chairs, glasses and plates, all of which covered by a white sheet. If it wasn't so likely that they weren't there until tonight, Sweetie might have assumed that their only purpose was to keep the furnature from accumulating dust from an abandoned manor. The manor she would have sworn was abandon at least if she hadn't remembered what it looked like only hours ago. "But... but I swore I heard it..." a mix of disappointment, worry and relief was in her voice. Nothing was here for the moment. As of now, all she could hear was rain pounding against the windows of the dining hall. Thunder was rolling outside along with it after the occasional flash of lightning. Sweetie looked out the window wondering when the storm was going to let up. Hehehahahaha It was her mistake. She let her guard down for a total of 4 seconds. She lost her focus for three fatal seconds. By the time she realized she heard the laugh, before her body would even bother reacting (whether out of the fear or panic the filly knew at the time) it was too late. From the side of Sweetie's eye, she saw something phase through the wall. To her horror, it was another ghost. Worse, this one looked different from the first one. It was smaller than the butler ghost and rather than being green it was a sickly yellow, and had a much larger mouth, yet for some reason she couldn't help but notice it's lack of teeth. Oppose to having a full set, it only had one. From what she could tell, the only real clothing it had was a bib. Sweetie also noticed it's laugh sounded a little younger, much like the sound of a young foals laughter, only much more high pitched and sadistic as though despite it's youth, it knew what kind of horror it was instilling into her. At the moment Sweetie tried to point her flashlight at the pony, it opened its jaw wider than the filly thought possible and spat at her. In the second it flew through the air, Sweetie couldn't help but acknowledge it's resemblence to the thing that hit Scootaloo and caused them to crash. Only this slime wasn't green. Instead a sludgy yellow slime hit her causing her to drop the flashlight and fling her in the opposite direction of the monster. In fact, the sludge hit so hard, it threw her back against the opposite side of the dining hall, effectively sticking her to the wall. "What the- No no no...!" At first Sweetie was surprised that the impact hadn't broken something in her, though her back certainly felt ached. Though she realized that was the worst of her problems as Sweetie struggled to get free, only to find it was no use. The mucus like substance was too thick, the filly could barely move under it. Once again, Sweetie felt helpless against the ghost as it approached her ready to try and steal her spirit. "This... was a bad idea..." She should have stayed in the safe room with Twilight. She'd only been out here a few minutes and she was already staring death in the face. Sweetie knew she wouldn't be as lucky as before. Like Twilight said, no one was coming for them. Sweetie and her were the only ones who hadn't been "ghostified" or whatever the term was. It was determined. If Sweetie didn't figure out how to get out soon, it would be Twilight alone. And how much longer would she last alone? Rather the better question would be would her body give out before the ghosts had a stab at her. She couldn't let such a thing happen. She wouldn't. She had to survive right now. Sweetie thought as hard as she could. Was there anything Twilight said that could save her? ...but a vacuum, no, a normal magic cleaner could never trap spirit entities and magic like this... Wait. Did that count things that came out of spirits as well? Were those spirit entities? Or magic? There was only one way to find out. Sweetie's hoof was already close to the button to activate the GCD. She held it, and effortlessly, the GCD slurped the yellow ectoplasm off of Sweetie's body. Sweetie fell to the wall onto the ground. She scrambled up to face the ghost. It knew she was free and that she would be after it now. She had to do something before that thing caught up to her. It was too late to run away now, she had to do something about this ghost. She- O[has to get the flashlight. GET THE FLASHLIGHT] O[has to gain an advantage. USE THE CAMERA] Author's Note Note to self: Test ambient rain sounds for effect Also /// == left off edits CHOICE5The thought of using the camera popped in her head. It seemed like an attractive idea at first to use her new gadget, but ultimately, she denied the idea. Something told her that it was a terrible idea right now. If that camera was a device to read the thoughts of ghosts, then it would be pointless. She saw it in it's eyes, even in that little foal's young, tiny, and arguably adorable form, it was insane. Whatever spirit that was drenched in that magical energy didn't have any thoughts to read. It frightened her so much to even fathom the ideas that might be running through the mind of that thing. Even more, to take the time to snap a shot of it would give up her chance at obtaining her lifeline. The only thing she could fight with, being her flashlight. Knowing this, she ran for her hoofheld (or in her case, muzzle held) lamp. With that in mind, she ran for her light. She grabbed the flashlight with a sliding hoof, her face coming centimeters from the ghosts'. So close she could feel a cold breeze coming from it's mouth and grazing her nose. Too close as she could see the very same insane eyes that already frightened her from a distance. Sweetie screamed as she jumped back and shined her light on the ghost. DING! The ding. The ding that told her the ghost was weakened. Now was her chance. "Got you!" She said as she pointed the nozzle of the vacuum at the ghost and hit the button, hoping she was right. A gust of air stretched forth from the GCD nozzle like a lasso and grabbed the foal ghost by the tail (or rather, where the tail might be if it didn't have that funnel like lower half). It's giggles turned into screams as it realized what Sweetie intended to do. A cocky smile crept onto Sweetie's face as she felt for once that she had the upper hoof on these things. Arguably, she could even say she was starting to enjoy this for a split second. However, her moment of glory was cut short as the ghost yanked at her, desperately trying to pull away from the suction of the GCD. "Woah!" the yank was so strong that it pulled Sweetie onto her stomach. It only looked like it from the air at first, but it looked as though the GCD really was acting like a rope connecting her to the spirit. And in turn, the ghost managed to yank Sweetie onto her stomach and begin dragging her around the dining hall. Along her stomach. "Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!" Sweetie complained as her stomach became subject to some nasty carpet burns. "20, 19, 18, 17-" What the heck is...? Sweetie heard at a low level, mono toned, numbers being emitted from the back of her head, yet at the same time the GCD pack as the ghost continued to yank away from her, trying to get away. It seemed to be counting down to something. Hopefully something good. As the ghost screamed, as the GCD continued to buzz lightly as it counted down, Sweetie held on for dear life as the floaty foal dragging her all over the dining hall. She couldn't help but notice how strong it was as it pulled her around. Such a small frame shouldn't have been able to drag her around so easily, even if Sweetie herself was small. Wait, what am I doing questioning logic, I'm catching a GHOST in a haunted mansion for Celestia's sake! Instead, Sweetie focused on holding on to the button, making sure at all costs not to let go and allow the ghost to escape. She had to call herself lucky for even making it this far, she knew to mess up might mean her not getting a second chance. Around the table, under the table, over the table, through the glasses under the cloth, the ghost tried to shake Sweetie off. Sweetie held on firmly wondering when the ghost would finally- "3, 2, 1, 0. Magic depleted. Processing Capture." the GCD said. With one final scream, the ghost streaked into the nozzle of the GCD and eventually disappeared into the pack. She felt it go up the tube before reaching the pack. Though she couldn't see it, on Sweetie's back, the first of the six lights glowed green. The rest of course still being red. "Capture successful." the GCD said. "Heh... heh heh..." she couldn't believe it. She caught one. She caught one of those ghosts, that monster that tried to kill her. Sweetie lied on the dining table, laughing breathlessly. All of the air in the world could have been gone, and she still would have chuckled at her dream like accomplishment. She captured a ghost. "Maybe... that wasn't a bluff after all..." Maybe she really could do this. Who knew? Maybe she could get to the bottom of this mansion and stop whatever was going on. After a minute or two, Sweetie got down from the table. With a breath, she took the next door back to the foyer. As she entered the room, her happy mood left. "W-what the... did this come from?" She said to herself through the flashlight. Some pony had definitely been through the foyer after her. The first indication were the candles that were previously in the room, unlit, were now up, dimly filling the foyer with light. It wasn't nearly magnificent as when she first came in, but it was light. For some reason though, it created a creepy atmosphere that almost made her prefer the darkness oppose to the light. What was more, Sweetie couldn't imagine the ghosts lighting candles. Didn't Twilight say they couldn't deal with light? They craved the darkness, and light was Sweetie's weapon. Sweetie's only explanation is that some pony who wasn't a ghost lit the candles. But then the question became: who? Specter and Spiffy popped into her mind. But... they're responsible for this, aren't they? She was missing something. Either way there was something definitely wrong with the fact these candles were lit. The second indication was a trail of orange sludge trailing from the fountain. It was a different color than the first two she'd encountered. This one was orange. Though there was something stood out about that color to the filly. Something familiar. Under further examination, she saw the mirrors on the fountain had been recently broken. Did whatever that crawled out of the fountain break them? If so why? Between the dimness of the light and these unanswered questions, Sweetie started to feel fatigued. Was it really that though? She shook her head. If she could really save her friends, she had to stay focused on the task at hoof. Sweetie decided to follow the trail from the fountain. It wasn't as if she was given any other clue to her friend's whereabouts but the trail, and the way that it tickled at the back of her brain made it too strange to be ignored. It was then she knew she had to follow it. The trail led through the right door by the staircase... the same direction of Specter's study. The filly headed through, and followed the trail down into another dark hallway. To her relief, as she followed it, no ghosts tried to ambush her. She became so focused on the following the path, that she'd stopped looking where she was going. It came to her surprise when her head hit a door, causing the flashlight to drop out of her mouth for a moment. "Ow." she said. She picked up the flashlight and stood back to see what she'd just bumped into. It was a grand double door. Around it, in the same glowing goo as the trail was the outline of an apple. No, not just one, but three apples, connecting to each other. Besides it's new cursive design, this shape was all too familiar. This cutie mark. "Applejack?" Sweetie said. Sweetie tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. At first, Sweetie thought it was the sludge, blocking the way of the door. She used her GCD to clean the goo off the door, much like the goo from the little baby ghost. When she tried the door again, it moved, but barely any more than it did before. There was one thing she could assume from this. "It's locked? Seriously?" This was annoying. Sweetie couldn't believe it. Here she was, just in front of the room Applejack was probably in, and she wouldn't be able to open it. No, there was a key hole. She wouldn't open that door without a key at least. But the key could be anywhere! The mansion was massive. How was she supposed to find the one little key to fit this one door? M...maybe it's not far. Maybe it's even in this hallway! Yeah! Sweetie thought optimistically. Well, I'd better get looking. There's no time to loose. Sweetie went into her saddlebag to take out her map. She opened it. Initially, the map showed the first floor of the mansion. It showed the foyer she'd just came from, the dining hall, the safe zone, and the hallway she was in and the rooms it connected too. As Sweetie held it, squinting to see the tiny rooms on the map, it began to reshape itself. Lines of ink moved around on the piece of parchment until it showed a blown up version of the hallway, along with its room numbers and names. An ink blot in the middle of the hallway map, indicating where Sweetie was. The door she needed to get in however, had a big question mark over it, along with the picture of a skeleton key. It was almost as if the map had read her mind. Woah, this is neat! Sweetie thought. Sweetie begun looking in the different rooms for the key. She tried to leave no corner unchecked, but the creepy decor of each room scared the filly. Everything covered in a sheet looked like a ghost every time lightning flashed. She didn't stay in any room for longer than 2 or 3 minutes. Even less when she heard an out of place creak that was loud enough to chase her out. Sweetie looked through different rooms of the hallway, where either a door was locked, or had nothing useful to the filly. Sweetie was ready to give up. "Ugh. Hopeless." She slunk against the wall at the far end of the hallway. If it wasn't here, it had to be somewhere else. And who knew how many rooms were in the mansion, no, who knew how many keys. She could spend her entire lifetime looking for a key in this mansion, only to find out it's the wrong one. Heck, for all she knew, Specter or Spiffy could have the key. "...wonder where they are...?" Twilight seemed fairly convinced that everything that had happened her was his fault. Considering what he said to her before attacking her and the others with that army of ghosts, it seemed likely. If that were true, where could they be? But at this point, if she couldn't save one of her friends by finding a dumb key, how could she hope to confront either of them? She sighed wishing something would come and point her in the right direction. Then, like a granted wish, she heard something. "Squeak" A squeak. A light squeak echoed through the hallway that Sweetie swore sounded like a mouse. Perhaps a little more "echoy" but a mouse all the same. Sweetie got back up, listening for the sound again. She stayed as still as a statue, straining her ears for the sound again. "Squeak" Sweetie looked around for the source of the squeak, eventually resolving to turning off her flashlight to test a hypothesis that she came up with. I wonder... aha! Then she saw it. Through the darkness of the hallway, was a small, glowing, golden, transparent mouse. A ghost mouse? Sweetie thought. What hasn't turned into a ghost around here? Though, unlike the other ghosts she'd encountered, rather than looking like insane, this one was far from threatening. In a way, she saw the little rodent as 'cute' as she found herself applying effort to resist "d'aawing" at it's preciousness right then and there. Especially as she noticed something about the tip of its tail, or rather it's lack there-of. At the end was a key! Could that be her ticket through that door? It seemed all too convenient, but at the same time, it made so much sense. She got close to it. She could feel the cold of its ghostly presence, but it wasn't as bad as the other ghosts. Once Sweetie was close enough, she pounced for the mouse. It dodged Sweetie as she fell on her stomach, scurrying away, squeaking fearfully. Sweetie thought fast, clicking her flashlight on, and aiming it at the golden ghost mouse. "Squeak!" the mouse taunted. The rodent wasn't even phased by the light, which surprised Sweetie. She thought that it should have worked on all ghosts... but then again, she'd only tried the trick on two types thus far. Did that mean that there were ghosts that were immune to her flashlight? "Great." The mouse escaped through a door, which Sweetie immediately went after it, scrambling back up and almost tumbling over the nozzle of the GCD again. She entered the room of the mouse, and looked around for it. The good news was that it didn't take Sweetie long to locate the cute golden ghost. However, the bad news was that it sat atop a bookcase, far out of Sweetie's reach. "What the-" Sweetie said. "How the hay did you get up there so fast?!" "Squeak!" the mouse explained. Darn it. Now how am I supposed to get that key? Sweetie thought. "Um... hey!" "Squeak!" the mouse responded. "Uh... how are you?" "Squeak!" the mouse complained. "So anyway, how about coming down, we could talk a little about that neat little key on your tail!" "Squeak!" the mouse declined. After a few moments of waiting, Sweetie continued on. "Oh, come on, please come down?" "Squeak!" the mouse insulted. "What if I said I had a nice uh... chunk of cheese down here for you." Sweetie tempted. The mouse looked down, and saw Sweetie was lying. It might have been her imagination, but Sweetie could have sworn she heard it scoff at her. "Ugh, what am I doing? I'm trying to persuade a mouse." Sweetie mumbled. "I must be nuts." "Squeak!" the mouse agreed. Wait a second... could something be in that book Twilight gave me? Sweetie thought. I mean, it's still a ghost, right? Sweetie reached into her saddlebag to take out the ghost book, and flipped through the pages. The first page still had the picture of the butler ghost. She got a shiver down her spine, looking at the face of that pony again. Though she supposed she would have to get used to it eventually. After all something told her it would't be the last time she saw this type. Sweetie flipped the page to find something new. There was a picture of the ghost pony she had just captured, accompanied with the description. Foal Ghost Common Gender: Male Description: This little foal ghost may appear harmless, but it is far from cute and weak. It vomits projectiles at its targets, and takes their souls as they are cocooned in its ectoplasm. If you find one, don't turn your back to it, or you'll find yourself stuck on your stomach against some wall (*hint* *hint*). If you find yourself trapped, use any device capable of sucking magic, or ectoplasmic waste to clean it off of you before it gets too close. If you don't have said device then what the hay are you doing here? Main Weakness: Light Wait... so that ghost thing threw up on me?! Sweetie felt ill at the thought of vomit on her, but swallowed back down any fluids that tried to come up her throat. She flipped to the next page, hoping to find what she was looking for. Sure enough, there was a little picture of the little mouse with the key. Golden Mouse Gender: ??? Bio: This little critter is one of the most harmless creatures you'll find in the ghost world. They are also very valuable, especially in ghost galleries, considering their difficulty to catch. Unlike most ghosts, it doesn't have a magic shield, so light has no effect on them. This also means they can easily be sucked up. This vulnerability is compensated for their great speed, reaction timing and keen sense of smell. There are ways of catching these cute little critters. The best way is to lure it with cheese. No matter what the situation, it will always come for the dairy product on instinct. The second way, though less efficient, is to scare it out with a cat. That will at least drive it out of its hiding spot, giving you a chance to catch it. Ghost cats or regular cats work either way. Sweetie read over the description several times. Two ways. The first being cheese, and she had already witnessed the mouse's interest in the treat. Unfortunately she didn't have any on her. The kitchen of the mansion might have had some, but she was afraid to leave the mouse alone; that if she left, she wouldn't find it again, putting her back on square one. It also said that the mouse was scared of cats, both alive and dead, but Sweetie didn't have a cat with her. Or did she? Suddenly, a memory sparked in Sweetie's mind. ~~~~~~~ "Opal! No! Get off of that!" Sweetie hollered at the cat. Opalescence, Rarity's cat, had come into Sweetie's room, gotten into her saddlebags, taken her Cutie Mark Crusader cape, and adopted it as a blanket. Rather than admiring the feline's ability to open her bag so easily, or the possibility she might have been a cat burglar in a previous life, Sweetie goes over to the cat, and grabs her cape. The cat resists the filly, stubbornly digging her claws into the fabric and holding on tight. "No! Your ripping it you dumb cat! You're ripping my cape!" Sweetie said angrily. "Let go!" Opalescence hissed back as if to say "No, you're ripping my cape. You let go first dear." She was angry. Angry enough where the idea of kicking Opal off seemed like an incredibly attractive idea for a split second. She disliked this cat a lot. Not particularly because of what she was doing at the moment, but- Rarity came into the room to see the tug of war going on between the filly and the cat. "What are you two doing?" Rarity asked. "Stop it at once! Sweetie!" "But she took my cape!" Sweetie said. "Get her off of it! She's ripping it!" Opalescence only hissed back at Sweetie. "Come here, my precious Opal..." Rarity said, using her telekinesis to float Opal up in the air. --That's why she hates that dumb cat. "Let go now." Rarity then used her magic to shake the cat from side to side gently, as though she were rocking her oppose to trying to get her to let go. Finally, the cape fell from of the cat's claws. It looked like she'd gotten bored with messing with Sweetie for the time being. Either that or she was to tired to fight. Hard to tell. Once that was done, Rarity set Opalescence down onto the floor. Opalescence stuck her nose in the air, and left the room to find something else to dig her claws into for her nap. Sweetie crouched down to her cape. Rips from the cats claws were all over the cape. It wasn't completely ruined, but the rips were very well present. She gritted her teeth as tears welled up in the little filly's eyes. It could be very easily fixed. It wasn't that big a deal. So why was Sweetie so angry? "Sweetie Belle-" Rarity started, but Sweetie cut her off. "Why do you treat that cat better than me?!" she snapped. "Sweetie. We can easily repair that cape. I specialize in that, remember?" She knew that. Of course she knew that, but that wasn't the- "That's not the point! You treat that cat like... like... like SHE's your sister! I thought you were on MY side? Why were you on her's?!" Sweetie cried. "Sweetie Belle... I-" Rarity came towards her, trying to hug and comfort the filly, but Sweetie wouldn't have it. She pushed Rarity away, stuffed her cape into her saddlebags, and stormed out of the room. Rarity sighed, following her out. Knowing her, she would be too mad to ask her to fix the cape for her anyway. ~~~~~~~ That was just earlier that day. She didn't know why she blew up like that. Sweetie knew that although she was her sister, Opal was like a foal to the mare. Plus, for all she knew, Opal probably couldn't control her spoiled personality with a high class owner like Rarity. Either way, Sweetie knew that Rarity loved her more than anything in the world. She sighed, supposing she was just angry that her cape was ruined for the moment. This wasn't the first time she had realized this either. After a small nap, and finding that Rarity had already started fixing the cape, Sweetie apologized to Rarity for her behavior later that day. Rarity did the same, and they both made up. She even forgave Opal, feeling that she still might have been in the wrong, even if the cat was the most annoying creature in existence she knew of at the time. Opal on the other hoof was extremely indifferent on the issue. Either way, Rarity sewed up her cape, however she had forgotten to clean it. Was it possible Opalescence's scent still be there? After putting her ghost book back into her saddlebags, Sweetie searched around them, and pulled out her cape. There were signs of fresh stitches as well as the few little rips Rarity had never finished with. Nothing about it had changed since then. Perfect. "Opal, if this works, you can have my cape." Sweetie said to the cat that was miles away, probably having a dream about the finest tuna money could buy. "Squeak?" the mouse inquired. Sweetie fanned the cape up towards the mouse. The mouse sniffed the air, knowing the scent very well. It squeaked fearfully, believing there was a cat in the room, ready to attack him (or her, who knew honestly). It jumped off of the book case, toward the floor. Sweetie took this as her chance. She aimed the nozzle of the GCD at the mouse and pressed the suction button. The mouse let out one last squeak before getting sucked into the GCD. The second light on the pack of the GCD glowed green. The key however, just hit the ground with a clink sound. Sweetie picked it up, and looked at the key. She grinned, and nodded in satisfaction. Sweetie headed back out into the hallway, back to the door that was locked. "Finally." she sighed. This was it. Before trying the key that she had found, Sweetie first put her ear to the door trying to listen to what could be inside. At first there was nothing. Then- thwack! thwack! thwack! She heard something distant behind the door. Something repeatedly hitting something. Where had Sweetie heard this sound before? Apples. Apples. Apples. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! She had heard this before. The sounds of ponies working at apple acers. Not just the sound of hitting, but the sound of bucking trees. There was no more doubt in Sweetie's mind. Applejack was definately behind this- THWACK! "Ow!" something kicked the door and in turn Sweetie's head, knocking her back. She moaned rubbing her aching ear. "What was that for?" It hurt, but it wasn't as painful as it was annoying. Sweetie could now hear the thwacking from behind the door, though now it had at least gone back to bucking whatever else that wasn't a door with little fillies behind it. Sweetie then shined her light to see the key hole. She stuck the key into the hole and turned. As Sweetie had hoped, it was a perfect fit. The door was unlocked. As Sweetie reached for the door knob, Sweetie hesitated. Fear had come once again, telling her, that she was in for something bad when she opened the door. And even more was that thing that had scared her from behind the door. Sweetie shook off the fear, knowing that if she didn't face it now, she would never save her friends. She would never save Rarity. Sweetie touched the ice cold knob, then griped with her entire fore hoof. She turned the knob and opened the door. As Sweetie walked in, she felt the floor changed drastically. She was no longer on marble flooring or carpet, but was now standing on dirt. Puzzled, Sweetie looked around with her flashlight. She was definitely not outside, considering it was raining cats and dogs out there. As she looked around further, she saw vegetation growing out of the ground. She saw things from potatoes and carrots to- "Apple trees..." Sweetie mumbled. It was some kind of indoor garden. However, with the lack of light, everything was shriveled and dying. Everything except the apple trees. Somehow, Sweetie didn't think that the plants were just dead solely because of malnutrition and lack of sunlight. And she knew better than to think that it was just a coincidence that only the apple trees seemed to be the plants thriving. Sweetie looked off into the distance of the room, and saw a sole glowing pony that appeared to light up a whole area, bucking a tree for apples. Her body was full, lower half and cutie mark included. Her orange body, yellow mane, and green, pupil-less eyes. No doubt about it, It was Applejack! Sweetie didn't think as she ran over to the mare. She was so relieved to see another familiar face. She wasn't thinking. "Applejack!" Sweetie exclaimed. "It's you! It's really you!" Applejack stopped bucking the apples. She stared into space for a moment before acknowledging the one who had called her. "Eh?" Applejack looked over at her. Sweetie stopped about two meters in front of her. Her voice was so echoy, so- Ghostly. "Ap..."Then it dawned on her. Applejack was a ghost now, she was dead. "...plejack..." Applejack smiled. "Well heyya little filly." Sweetie didn't respond. She was frozen in fear, realizing the grave mistake she just made. Blindly walking up to Applejack, ruining her element of surprise. Without considering what kind of ability that she had as the unknown type of ghost she had taken up. "...somethin' th' matter there?" So weird. So very weird. Sweetie didn't feel any enmity off of Applejack right now. She didn't feel safe, but she didn't feel like she was about to die quite yet either. "Sweetie?" The sound of her name snapped her back. "N-no." Sweetie choked out. "I-it's nothing." "Heh. Alright then." Applejack said. "Say, wanna help me then" "H-help?" "Mhm. Gotta keep buckin. See all these apples 'round here?" Not really because it's so dark. Sweetie thought. "Um... are you sure you have to-" "C'mon. You ain't gonna help me or what? I ain't got all night." That tone. That tone Applejack said that in wasn't as friendly as before. In fact, it almost seemed menacing the way she said it. Not like a request, but more like an order. "S-sure." Sweetie said without thinking. Nothing had happened yet. Applejack wasn't trying to kill her or anything, yet the tension and fear just kept rising in Sweetie's mind. She couldn't refuse. Only because she was afraid of what would happen if she refused. "Heh heh. Knew ya wouldn't say no Sweetie. Always do whatcha told, don'tcha?" "What?" Applejack chuckled. "Nothin'. There. Buck that one." she pointed to the tree Sweetie was standing next to- Wait a moment, that tree wasn't there when she approached Applejack. Where the hay did that come from? "S...sure." Sweetie said, getting into a bucking position. She never bucked a tree before, but she was sure that she was able to get it right. She looked up at Applejack. She stood a meter in front of her. "Go on now. Get to buckin'." Something was wrong here. Something was very wrong here. But Sweetie was too afraid to thing. Too afraid to say no, in that doing so would make Applejack do something horrible. ~~~~~~~ "Say Applebloom!" Sweetie called to her friend. "Huh? Oh hey Sweets!" ~~~~~~~ --Thwack! --Thwack! --Thwack! Sweetie quickly lifted her hind legs and kicked at the tree. Sweetie kicked at the tree, trying to buck the apples off of the tree. Applejack stared at her from behind, amused at the filly's fruitless attempts at getting a single apple to disconnect from the tree. Mmm- "C'mon now Sweetie, ya can do better than that!" Applejack said. "C'mon, harder!" ~~~~~~~ "Wow, you guys work really hard!" Sweetie commented. "Heh, thanks Sweets. Really, it's nothin' when ya really get used to it." "Uh... can I help?" "Nah." ~~~~~~~ --Thwack! --Thwack! --Thwack! "Harder! Harder!" Sweetie kept kicking at the tree, getting more and more afraid of how little progress she was making. What would Applejack do if she failed? She had to try harder. She had to hit harder. If she didn't do something, she would die. G- ~~~~~~~ "Huh? Why not?" Sweetie asked. "Well, if ya don't do it right, ya could really end up hurtin' yerself ya know." Applebloom explained. "Trust me. Ah know." ~~~~~~~ --THWACK! --THWACK! --THWACK! "HARDER." ~~~~~~~ "Ah." ~~~~~~~ Crack! "Ah!" Sweetie shouted as she felt a sharp pain shoot through her hoof up through her leg. Stupid, stupid, stupid! She wasn't thinking. She let the fear she felt when she realized the danger she in take hold of her and cause her to become Applejack's entertainment. She just went along with her order and began kicking, not thinking about the fact she had no clue how to buck a tree. "Ow..." Sweetie was sure something was broken when she tried to put her left hind hoof down. She doubted it was anything particularly bad, but she was sure she made a nice crack in the base of that hind hoof. Unfortunately, Sweetie didn't get the chance to comment as she received a swift kick from her side knocking her against another tree. Applejack had moved over to her side so fast that between her pain and natural exhaustion she didn't have the ability to counter or dodge. She didn't even have the time to take a breath and yell out before she flew. "Heh,yeh,heh,heh! Ya really are dumb, ya know Sweetie? Normal filly woulda saw that commin' from a mile away!" "I k...now..." Sweetie said breathlessly, getting back on all fours. She was aching, and her hind hoof was begging at her to get off of it, but she could still move. Unfortunately she wouldn't be running any time soon unless she wanted her hoof to hurt even more. "Ah... ah need a minute. Tha' was just too easy." Applejack shook herself from her laughing fit. "Woo... ah was supposed ta cripple ya. Didn't think it'da be that easy!" "Do... do I look crippled to you? I'm still going to catch you." Sweetie said, desperately trying to restore some shred of confidence she had when she fought the foal ghost, and caught the mouse. The same confidence that was shattered when she met Applejack. This orange ghost wasn't like those two, but rather on a whole different level of ghost. She didn't even need the book to tell her that Applejack was stronger than the thing in the forest, the butler ghost, the foal ghost, and the mouse ghost combined. In other words, one wrong step with this mare, and she might die. Problem was that she probably already made that wrong step when she rushed up to her. "Ah, ya are, are ya? Well before ya try and 'catch' me, why don't ah give ya a little lesson." "L-lesson?" "Yeah. Let me teach ya how a real applebucker does it." Applejack put her flank in the direction of the tree Sweetie had been trying to buck. With a swift kick Applejack bucked the tree. No, that was wrong. So wrong because she didn't just hear one buck, but what sounded like 100 simultaneous bucks of the living trees around her. When she looked around, she saw the imprint in orange goo of the two hooves that kicked the first tree. In result, what seemed like all of the apples fell from all the tree. Sweetie crouched and covered her head as numerous apples fell on her. "Whatcha think?" Sweetie got back up and looked at Applejack, and the ground now covered in apples. Suddenly, the apples around Applejack began floating and began hovering around her. This isn't good. Sweetie thought. She could now feel the full murderous intent from the ghost she was facing. Before she was playing around. Now she was prepared to kill her. "Ready for lesson two Sweetie?" "Any chance I could drop this class?" Sweetie asked sheepishly. Sweetie was a sitting duck where she was now. She had to do something fast. O[Sweetie won't last another minute in here. She has to retreat. RUN FOR THE DOOR] O[Sweetie needs to take cover from the next attack. RUN FOR THE TREES] Author's Note OOOOOO Submissive CHOICE6She doubted she would make it to the flashlight in time. Sweetie had spent too much time stuck to that wall that the thing was beyond reaching without having to pass the ghost. Another course of action. She had to take another course of action. But what could she do? ...! The camera! The thought came to her instantly. The mind reading camera Twilight had mysteriously found in the safe room. She could use it to find out what the ghost was thinking, and perhaps use it to her advantage! A hint to how she could beat it, or perhaps another weakness. Without wasting another moment, Sweetie went into her bag and snatched out the camera. Without a moments hesitation she put her eye to the viewer and pointed the lens at the monster in front of her. Oddly enough, with the thing inside of the viewer, she couldn't help but feel a buzz in the back of her head. However, her current fear and panic kept her from holding back her irrationality and click the shutter button with the tip of her hoof without a second thought. When Sweetie took the viewer off her eyes, all she could feel was the same buzzing sensation that she felt when looking at the ghost through the camera. Nothing happened. She couldn't hear any thoughts, she couldn't hear anything that resembled a pony's voice. There was only that buzz, and nothing else. No, that was wrong. There was something else, but it wasn't anything Sweetie was hearing. It was what she was seeing. The ghost which had been creeping up on her had stopped in it's tracks and was just hovering there, a few feet in front of her flashlight, just out of it's glow. It was looking at her with a puzzled expression. --Something was wrong. --Something was very wrong with the way it looked at her. After a long time of staring, she came to the conclusion that her and that foal ghost were connected somehow. Perhaps that was it. Could it read her thoughts as well? H-hello? Sweetie tried thinking. Perhaps it could hear her. Perhaps. --Something was wrong. --Something was very wrong with the way it kept looking at her. --Something was very very wrong with the way that it's grin came back without returning her response. "Heheeheehee-" it giggled but it was interrupted by something else. Something Sweetie didn't want to hear. Static. She heard static. The same static she might have heard on the radio her and her friends occasionally listened to at Rarity's house. "Mm-" Next came a headache. It started out soft, but quickly escalated to becoming head splitting. She was sure of it, her brain was trying to explode, but it just didn't know how. The pain was becoming so unbearable that she was willing to do anything, even let that ghost kill her, just to make it stop. "Oh... oh..." Sweetie was about to lose her mind. She was sure she was about to break. Was that ghost doing this? Maybe if she could get to her flashlight, she could use it and catch it and end- Then it exploded. The static in her brain exploded into a maddening mixture of cries, screams, laughs, and whispers. Cries of those who have lost loved ones, mourning over graves. Laughs of sadists torturing or perhaps being tortured. Screams of those being burned alive in fires. Whispers of ponies telling Sweetie of ways she wished she could die right now. "Make it stop... oh Celestia make it stop..." she was crying on the floor, sobbing. How long had she remained there, listening to those voices that scared her so. The voices that would drive any adult mad wasn't just eroding her sanity. It was obliterating it. If it kept up any longer, she knew she would have to- No more. No more. No more. No more. She couldn't take anymore. "Get out of my head!" She bashed her head against the nearest wall. She felt blood after bashing numerous times. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD." But it wouldn't leave. The voices in her head seemed hell bent on making sure they were louder than Sweetie's voice as they only escalated the louder she shouted. Sweetie collapsed to the ground, feeling trickles of blood seep from her forehead. Had she broken her horn? She couldn't tell with this incessant noise in her head. No more. No more please no more Sweetie was going deaf to the static, hearing nothing but that, as her body grew colder and colder. "No more... no more... please no more..." she let out pleading mumbles as she lie there, using her remaining strength. Or at least she thought she mumbled, the static was to a volume she didn't even know possible. A volume that should have blew her eardrums out, but refused to allow the filly the mercy of silence. She couldn't move. She wouldn't move. The static had froze her and she would never move again. "No more... no more... please no more..." She was doomed from here on out to be tortured by the static. Perhaps Twilight would come up and rescue her. But the idea was pointless as Sweetie's thoughts became more and more incomprehensible. The more and more the ghost's mind melded with hers to become the insane mess that it was. It didn't matter if Twilight saved her, for as long as she and that ghost were one, she would never have any piece of mind again. GAME OVER [Try Again?] CHOICE7Sweetie wasn't sure what Applejack was planning to do with those apples, but she was sure whatever it was they wouldn't be good for her. And if Applejack was the one controlling those apples floating around her, there was a sure chance she could do the same with the numerous apples around her. Here, Sweetie was surrounded. She had to get out of that room, and find some new place to fight her, or come up with a new plan. She had to get out of there. She couldn't fight Applejack now. With these thoughts, Sweetie tried to run for the door, or at least the direction she thought it was. She shined her flashlight in the direction she figured it was. Her light only stretched so far, and she had no clue if she was headed in the right direction as she ran through the seemingly infinite darkness. Applejack gleefully laughed behind her as she ran. Actually "ran" would be an exaggeration of what Sweetie was doing. A more appropriate term would be along the lines of "speed limped/stumbled painfully, trying not to trip over the field of apples". Her hoof was screaming for her to stop, threatening to shutdown her brain and leave her at Applejack's mercy if she continued to put such extensive pressure on it. Even though Applejack was still holding off her attack, Sweetie knew it wouldn't last long. Applejack wouldn't let her escape easily. She had to try though. She had to at least try to escape the room before- There! Finally, Sweetie saw her flashlight illuminate a wall and in turn, the door. If she could just reach that door, then she would escape! Applejack was still holding off her attack. Something was wrong here. Almost there. Something was wrong. Just a few more feet. Something was wrong. Just have to burst through that door and- WHAM! "W...what?" Sweetie's head came to not a door, but a wall. This door wasn't a real door, but rather it was a painting of a door. A large, comical painting of the door she came in. "Heh... eh heh heh..." Sweetie took a few steps back, almost completely forgetting the pain in her hoof. Funny. This is actually kind of funny. They replaced the door. HA. With a painting. HA. This was hilarious even Sweetie had to laugh. She might have laughed more if she wasn't brought out of her stupor by something hitting the back of her head and knocking her out. *** When Sweetie came to, she was lying in a very lumpy recliner- Wrong. When Sweetie came to, she was lying on top of a ball pit- Wrong. When Sweetie came to, she was lying on top of some apples. Right. Rather, she was being sandwiched between two layers of apples. One on the bottom, and one on the top. Her GCD was gone, her saddlebags were gone and her flashlight was gone. All she had left was herself. When her vision cleared, she could see Applejack, staring at her that wide ghostly grin on her face. "Ya wake now?" Sweetie only moaned in pain in response. She tried to move, but only felt pain in response. It was then she realized how tightly she was between these apples. She was trapped. "Heh, that's good. Here." Sweetie found herself floating upright next to a tree. She saw her face in the hollow by some mirror somepony had wedged inside. "What d' ya see?" "I..." "C'mon now. What d' ya see?" "I... see me. Ga-" Sweetie felt something hard strike her back. "Try again, ya can do it." Applejack put her foreleg around Sweetie's neck as if they were posing for a picture in the mirror. "I... see..." As her consciousness became full, she realized the situation she was in. She was trapped and disarmed. She didn't have any other chance to save herself or anyone else. She had failed. She saw. She had failed. She saw. "...failure." Sweetie said, defeated. "Heh. Ain't that the truth." Applejack said as she stuck her hoof in Sweetie's mouth. Gag. What was this pain. What was she doing? This is uncomfortable. This is painful. This hurts. This hurts. This hurts a lot. No. No. No. NO. NO! Once Applejack had grabbed ahold of what she was looking for, she yanked a few times before finally ripping something white out of Sweetie's body. There was a scream. There was a sharp disgusting sound. There was laughter. There was the sound of shattering glass as the mirror broke into pieces. Silence. And then more laughter. GAME OVER [Try Again?] Author's Note Disturbance when a spirit is ripped out of a body that causes mirrors to break when in contact. CHOICE8She had to move. She had to move now. With her hoof in the shape it was in, she had no chance of making it to the door, and she couldn't stay here. And the only thing she had around her were trees and fields of apples. As Applejack put her flank to her, Sweetie then got a good idea of what she was planning to do. Take cover. Without another thought to it, Sweetie bolted for the nearest pack of trees she could find. Applejack meanwhile bucked one of the apples at her at some impossible velocity. "Yipes!" One of the apples flew just over Sweetie's head, grazing her horn and eventually hitting a wall. Not like a fruit however, but more like a rock as she heard it crash into the wall. Guess that answers whether or not I can afford getting hit by one of those things. She then dove behind one of the trees and covered her head. "That not gonna save ya!" Applejack laughed as she turned into a blur, bucking numerous apples at the tree at an impossible speed. She was too strong. Sweetie wasn't prepared enough. How do I stop her! HOW DO I BEAT HER? Sweetie thought. Her levels of panic, helplessness, and fear were off the charts. The ghost mare was right, this tree wouldn't hold up forever. Considering the amount of force hitting the tree, and the sound of splitting wood, she didn't have much time. She was still alive now, but one way or another, she didn't have much time. She had to do something. But what? She didn't know how to beat her! ...but the book might. The thought came to Sweetie's head like an epiphany. Of course! The book! It helped her with the mouse, so maybe it would help her beat Applejack! Sweetie quickly reached into her saddlebags for the ghost book. She rappidly as she flipped the pages, nearly making the mistake of ripping the pages out of the book. Finally, she reached the most recent page. A picture of the ghost Applejack was displayed on the page, bucking a tree. Portrait of Honesty Gender: Female Desc: So you're taking on a portrait ghost already? Alright then, your funeral. To summarize, portrait ghosts are the most difficult ghosts to capture, given they usually have an immense amount of magic to suck out. They are the ones that can be put into a portrait, and brought back out as a living thing. Rather, they're the easiest to do so with considering how fresh the abstract magic on their spirit and more importantly the presence of their cutie mark. But I digress, on to the Portrait of Honesty. Some portrait ghosts, such as the Portrait of Honesty can't be affected by light. However, apples seem to effect her thanks to her apparent attachment to them. Try throwing a few at her if you can. One other thing is that she cannot tell a lie. Once again, as her name implies, if she consciously says something that is false, this will also have an effect on her. Perhaps even more than the apples. Your probably only going to get one shot at this, so I'd stay locked on that mare if you manage to get that magic barrier down. That's all I got for you. Good luck filly. Main Weaknesses: Apples, Lying Odd. Sweetie was somewhat puzzled at how the book was written now. She was getting more and more the impression she was less reading an instruction manual or a hint book, but a letter. Even more, specifically for her. How was it- Another barrage of apples took her from her train of thought. She didn't have time to consider the book's strangeness. She had her life to worry about. The apples. The apples were something, however she doubted she could fling them at her alone. Maybe she could use her GCD to fling apples at her? It was a vaccum cleaner so it could suck up apples. Could there also be a reverse function?Sweetie examined the nozzle further to see that it had a switch at the bottom of the nozzle. There was an arrow pointing down and there was an arrow pointing up. The switch was set to the arrow pointing down. "Really hope this does what I think it does." Sweetie activated the vacuum like device sucked up one of the many apples surrounding her. As she expected, the apple was too big to be sucked into the GCD, and just sat at the nozzle's end like an ice cream cone. She then flipped the switch. She then held her newfound weapon to her head to her head. Please...Oh please Celestia... let this work... She thought. "Hahahahahahaha!" Applejack laughed. "C'mon ya big baby! Fight like a mare! Quit bein' such a scared little-" Sweetie popped out of her cover for a split second, aiming, and hit the button, firing the apple at Applejack. It was a perfect head shot. Rather than phasing through her like she might have expected it to, it hit her head just like a normal apple would. It wasn't as fast as Applejack's apples, but it was enough to get the mare loose her focus. The apples stopped flying through the air at the tree, as they fell to the ground. "Ow!" Applejack rubbed her head. "Why'd you hit me wit' that apple?" "Uh..." Nothing. Nothing happened. No ding, no break. Just a really pissed looking Applejack. "A what?" Sweetie tried again, sucking up one of the apples on the ground, switching, and shooting at Applejack. This time in her chest. "Ow! Hey c'mon now! Quit that!" You're trying to KILL me, what do you expect? Sweetie thought, vaguely annoyed. But her fear returned quickly as she discovered the only thing the apples were good for was stunning her. There had to be something else she could do. It was then, Sweetie got an idea. It was shaky, but it just might work. It wasn't as if she had any other plans anyway. "U-uh... quit what?" Sweetie said, hiding the nozzle behind her back. "Ya know darn well what, quit throwin them apples at me." Applejack complained. Sweetie tilted her head to the side. "Huh? I didn't throw any apples at you." Applejack narrowed her eyes. "Now don'tcha go on lyin to me Sweetie." "I'm not lying. You're crazy. I wouldn't dare try to hit you." "Ya just did! Ah saw you!" "No you didn't." Sweetie said. "Yes, ah did!" Applejack shot back. "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No I didn't." "Yeah, ya did!" "No I didn't." "Yeah, ya did!" "Yeah, I did." "No ya didn't!" ding "Yeah I did" "NO, ya didn't!" ding "Yes I did." Sweetie said. "Ahm tellin you didn't hit me wit' that app-!" Applejack started, but stopped. What she heard next was what Sweetie hoped for. "Ah hay." Ding! Sweetie leaped out of her cover, making sure to set the GCD back to suck as she did. Applejack tried to fly away, but she is then caught in the suction of the GCD. "What the- No!" Applejack yelled. 50, 49, 48, 47- Applejack went crazy, trying to shake the filly off of her. She was now the terrified one, rather than Sweetie. As she yanked, Sweetie noticed how the numbers go faster. "44, 43, --Remeber the yank-- yank, 4241403938, 37, 36-" Sweetie noted this for any future captures. Perhaps she should do the same to decrease the time she has to be dragged around by whatever ghost she was trying to capture. In order to make sure she would be in the correct position to offer her own yanks, Sweetie pulled back on her to flip up so she could be dragged along the floor by her hind hooves, rather than her stomach. It was painful, but at the same time she felt more in control of the capture. "25, 24, 23, 22, 21-" Applejack started to get desperate. She started dragging the filly all around the room. She slammed the filly into several walls and trees. Between the intense shots of pain she got from her hoof upon every impact, she was constantly encouraged her to let go of the nozzle, and Applejack with it. Sweetie resisted that desire, holding on with every muscle in her small little hooves. She was too far now. She tried to keep the mare from moving so much, or herself from falling over on her stomach again. As the numbers went down closer and closer to zero, Applejack's screams became more high pitched and ghost like. Sweetie was so close, she was determined not to fail now. "7, 6, 5, 4-" Almost there. -- "3," Almost there. -- "2," Just one more. -- "1," Applejack lets out one last, high pitched, ear piercing scream. "0. Magic depleted. Capturing ghost." Sweetie expected, like the two times before, for the ghost to get sucked up, streaking into the nozzle. With Applejack however, a green lightning bolt stemmed from her. It went up to the little filly's body and started to fill her body with an electric shock. The muscle tension from the electricity allowed the filly to continue holding the button. Really, it forced her to now. Sweetie's eyes rolled back into her head as Applejack was forced into the GCD. After a minute of the pain of being electrocuted, Sweetie was allowed to let go of the nozzle. "Capture success. Ghost Capture Device at 50 percent capacity." the GCD said. She wasn't sure what had just happened. After so much electricity had coursed through her body (she still was twitching a little), she couldn't believe she was still alive. "Oh." Maybe she thought too soon as her vision began to blur and her head began to feel like it was prepared to float off her body. She felt different, after the shock. What had that mare done to her? No, that was wrong. Something felt incorrect to blame Applejack for what just happened. What had the GCD done to her? She felt weak, as if she wanted to fall down and faint right there. A peculiar light Sweetie was unable to identify illuminated the indoor garden, revealing every detail of the room. Suddenly, the vegetation that was previously withered begun to spring with life, changing the mood of the previously depressing room. It was almost as if a curse had been lifted off of that part of the mansion. Sweetie looked down in front of her, only to see Applejack's hat, remaining from the specter that had just tried to murder her. Sweetie picked it up and placed it on her own head, not really thinking. Maybe it could be a temporary trophy for her efforts. From her position, she could vaguely see a hollow in the tree Applejack was bucking. She noticed how shiny it was, so she stumbled over there to investigate. Inside of the hollow is a small golden facial mirror. Through the blurred vision and mind, Sweetie remembered what Twilight said about mirrors and the mansion. She shuffled around in her saddlebag to retrieve the camera. She tried to take a picture of the mirror. At first, she missed, as her motor skills were still recovering from the electric shock. She tried again, this time, with better luck. Once she took the picture, the world suddenly started spinning around the filly. Sweetie's body was unable to handle the newly found vertigo, and started to feel weaker than ever. She lost consciousness, as she was hopefully taken back to the safe zone. She did however have one final thought as she closed her eyes. Well... what do you know... I... did it... [Continue] Chapter 6- The Maiden in the Mirrored Hallway[REBOOT]"Sweetie...? Sweetie wake up." A voice. It was distant. Echoey. Ghost like. An instinct told Sweetie to get up and run, but her body refused to co-operate with her. So instead, she just lied there, hoping whatever was calling to her, would just go away, and not hurt her. "Sweetie..." the voice said. "Oh Celestia, don't you dare... Please wake up... please..." It was much clearer this time, and less ghostly. In fact, it became progressively more apparent that the voice was sobbing. It was familiar. It was older than most ponies she knew, but familiar all the same. Suddenly, the memories flowed back to her. The plane, the mansion, the ghosts and of course, the battle with Applejack ghost. Sweetie opened her eyes, light flooding her pupils. Her vision was still blurred though. Everything she looked at from her current position blended into each other like it wet paint. It took an abnormal amount of will, but Sweetie finally found the power to get up. As she did, blood rushed from her head. Her headache invited her to go back to lying on the ground. "Oh, thank Celestia. Your... your still ok." Sweetie turned to see her senior lavender pony, smiling at her. Sweetie weakly smiled back, before collapsing back to the ground again. Twilight rushed over to help the little filly. She felt her coat and gasped. "Oh no Sweetie! Your freezing!" Twilight said. "...wait, I know. Hold on Sweetie. Stay awake for me, please don't fall asleep. I'll be right back." Twilight laid the filly down, back on the ground, giving her the saddlebags on her own back to use as a makeshift pillow. Twilight unlocked the door to the safe zone and ran out. "T...Twilight don't..." Sweetie strained. The old mare was out and gone before she could even stop her. It wasn't as if she even had the strength to anyway. Sweetie just lied there. If she didn't feel pain, or had her muscles just a little bit heavier, she might have assumed she was dead. She felt her very life force was extremely weak, if not slipping away. Was it that battle with Applejack that did it? What did she do to her? "Oh... I think I'm dying." Sweetie whispered out loud, not as a fact, but just to see how it sounded. It sounded right. Not dead. Dying. She was sure of it. If this wasn't dying, she wasn't sure what was. "Twilight..." Where had she gone? What was she trying to do? Save her? "Twilight..." She couldn't. It was impossible. Even if there was some magic spell that could fix whatever had happened in that fight, it was doubtful Twilight even had the magical energy to cast such a spell. "Twilight..." Sweetie continued mumbling her name as she lie on the ground, waiting for her to return. She wasn't sure if she was doing this just as a prayer that Twilight would return, or a hope the sound of her voice would keep her conscious and from slipping back into a darkness she might not have climbed out of again. As she did, she tried recalling the fight in more detail. The green bolt of lightning that hit her. It did something to her body that shouldn't have happened. --Incompatible. It definitely changed her. She didn't know why, but she felt different. She felt like she'd been changed somehow after the fight with Applejack. But what was it? Was it anything that could help her? --Nachos! Considering at the moment she was a borderline vegetable, she doubted it. As minutes rolled by, Sweetie got more and more worried about Twilight. Sweetie thought of trying to get up again to go after her. Thankfully, the horrible dying feeling started to leave her (or maybe she was just getting used to it), but either way her body was exhausted. Sweetie wondered that if she felt like this for each of her friends (if she could manage to stand up against them that is), how she'd manage to catch them. It wasn't difficult to conclude that it was the bolt that came from Applejack was responsible for her weakness. For all she knew, the GCD could be the cause. Since she felt so bad now, if another of those bolts hit her again in her condition- Finally, after about 10 minutes of silence in the room, the door to the safe zone opened back up again. Sweetie used the little remaining strength she had to turn her head towards the door. It was Twilight, returned and limping back into the room. Twilight had definitely seen a ghost out there as she panted from running. She held something up weakly with her magic telekinetic powers. It was a red, glowing, heart shaped jewel. "Here Sweetie. Open your mouth and suck on this." Twilight said, levitating the heart in front of the filly. "Trust me. It should help a little." Sweetie followed the mare's order and opened her mouth. The jewel like thing was placed gently in her mouth, dropped on her cheek. Sweetie closed her mouth and begun to suck on the jewel. Rather, it wasn't a jewel, and Sweetie realized as her taste buds began reacting to the thing in her mouth. It was some kind of piece of rock candy, and a strange piece at that. At first, it was bitter, like a piece of unsweetened chocolate. Sweetie recalled having a similar 'treat' back at Sugarcube Corner. She hated the flavor, and almost wanted to spit the piece of candy out. But hey, if it's some kind of medicine, then it's not supposed to taste good, right? Then, the flavor changed drastically from bitter to sour. Sweetie remembered tasting candies like this on Nightmare Night. She remembered liking the particular flavor for a time, and eventually getting sick, and losing the craving for the flavor. Finally, the flavor transitioned from sour to sweet. Sweetie thought of Pinkie at that moment. She remembered how the pink pony would always offer all of her friends different treats and flavors she experimented with. All of which, had a similar, candy-like sweetness as the flavor in her mouth. One of her favorites that the pink party pony had given to them was the baked cinnamon butterscotch apples, with an ice-cream center, Pinkie had. Sweetie thought of the richness of the treat, and how it would also make her sick. Though, it was still so good, she'd always come back with her allowance to buy another one. Huh. Sweetie wondered. Where was the pink party pony anyway? Had she met the same fate as Applejack? --Soon Sweetie felt her strength returning as the candy melts in her mouth. Actually, that might be an understatement as the candy almost felt like it was regenerating her entire body. Within moments, her aches were gone, her bones weren't sore, her headache was gone, and her vision was returning to normal. Perhaps even a little better. It wasn't long before the filly hoped back up on all four of her legs, fully rejuvenated. "Woah!" Sweetie exclaimed, surprised from the sudden rush of energy. "Looks like some pony’s feeling better." "That's amazing Twilight!" To confirm her health, Sweetie stomped her hind hoof down twice. No pain, the bone was fixed! "What was that?" "It's a little something I put together while you were gone..." Twilight explained. "I forget the official name for if, but by its shape, I call it 'heart candy' or 'heart jewels'. It's a rock candy I made in the kitchen down by the dining hall." "Kitchen? I didn't see a kitchen." "That's probably because you were running for your life. I heard the commotion from earlier all the way down here and rushed up only to find it was over by the time I got there. Celestia I feel slow..." Twilight sighed. "Anyway, I figured if I couldn't help you catch ghosts, I could at least do something to make your job a task a little easier. I doubted you'd be able to fight those things all by yourself without something a little extra. I saw the mess you made up there and it hurt me to know you could at any time be severely injured." "So you made these?" Twilight nodded. "...how?" Sweetie tilted her head. These 'heart candies' were anything but your run of the mill first aid. This weird tasting treat virtually gave Sweetie a new body. "That's... kind of something I wanted to talk to you about as well. The candy..." Twilight thought for a moment. "To explain why this is so strange would be to explain their origin. Care for a little history lesson Sweetie?" "Would you stop if I said no?" Sweetie asked. Twilight ignored her. "The heart candies recipe is based on a universal healing spell taught, or rather mentioned in the restoration classes in the College of Canterlot. You know, where mare and stallion unicorns go to learn advanced magic. There, they say that this candy, or medicine was developed back in the more violent ages of Equestria. When we used to war with the neighboring zebra and griffon countries for land and resources." she sighed. "I'm sure they must have been mentioned in your classes?" Sweetie nodded. "Yeah. A lot of them were hurt or... what about them? Those were almost a hundred years ago!" "Try a thousand plus that." Twilight corrected. "If it was that short of time, we'd probably still be feeling the effects today. Anyway, in those times it was common for ponies to be seriously injured. So unicorns developed that medicine to heal ponies quickly so they could head back into battle. Hence these heart candies." "Oh..." "Now is there something that seems strange already?" "Um..." Sweetie thought for a few moments before finally answering. "Yeah! If they were that good, why don't we use them today? Is what we have better?" Twilight shook her head. "No actually. What the medical ponies of today use is a significant downgrade from the heart candies they used back then. Really, the only downside to them is the higher the frequency one eats them, the less effective they become." "So why use something worse?" "It's expensive. The resources to make these heart candies are so rare, it might cost a small fortune to make one cheap knock off of the candy, let alone the actual thing. They honestly don't require a lot of unicorn magic to work, so most of it's effects come from it's ingredients." "But you made one." "Correction. I made a number of them. I even had one on my way back to restore some energy. Which shouldn't have been possible." "Huh?" "Sweetie, when I came up after you fought that ghost, I had to find a way to help you. Since it wasn't the best idea to wander too far away from the safe room, the kitchen was the best option. I wasn't expecting to find anything useful if worst came to worst... which it did. But there they were, the ingredients set up, in order, in one of the kitchen shelves. It was just so... well, impossible that if the idea of the heart candies didn't pop into my head, I wouldn't have made the connection between the ingredients." Twilight closed her eyes. "And worst of all, just like the other supplies, I feel like they were set up just for us." There was silence. "...well... I don't think it's a bad thing they're there. Who knows what would have happened if you didn't get that to me." "True. Still..." Twilight shook her head. "No, you're right. I should be thankful. You might have come back to a breathing corpse if I didn't get one in me." Sweetie shuddered. "Sorry for the image. But anyway, the point is I managed to put together the ingredients and squeeze out enough magical energy to create as many heart candies as I could." "Are you sure that was a good idea?" Sweetie asked. "It was an investment. The heart candies, along with healing the body, also restores more magical energy than what's input in the first place. In turn, I managed to make as many as the ingredients available would allow." "Huh... oh, and why do they taste like that? Because of the ingredients?" "No, I just threw in a few extra flavors I spied in the kitchen. To make it taste better." "Better, huh?" "Yeah. Something wrong?" Sweetie nodded. "Yeah, uh... no offense Twilight, but could you leave the candy making to Sweetie?" "Hmph. Don't be like that Sweetie. You should have tasted them without anything added." Sweetie shrugged. True, some taste was better than no taste at all, she figured. Or at least better than whatever Twilight had said was there before. "Well that's cool... and it wasn't all that bad either... wait... Wait, you left the room?" "I think I said so." Twilight responded. "Twice if you count the time I just went out." "Are you sure that was a good idea? Even if I was in trouble." "Those ghosts aren't interested in me Sweetie. After all, they took most of my spirit, so what's left isn't enough to attract them... though I will admit, I did have a close call with one on my way back. I twisted my hoof a bit." Twilight sighed, looking at her left hind hoof, which was slightly out of place. "Doesn't look like I'm going back out back anytime soon." "Oh... that's good." "What?" Twilight asked annoyed. "W-well you shouldn't have gone out anyway. Even if it turned out for the better, that... that was really stupid Twilight." Sweetie criticized. "I was scared for you Sweetie." Twilight responded. "Fear makes you do stupid things." Sweetie kept her mouth to that response, remembering how she had mindlessly followed Applejack's orders out of pure fear. Another shudder. I can't let that happen again... Sweetie thought. "...well, do you have any more of those candies?" "That's the other thing." Twilight hung her head shamefully. "I kind of... lost them." "What? How?" Sweetie asked. "...they were red I think. The ghosts that attacked me on my way back. A few passed by me, but one of them decided to go after me. The one I've never seen them before. Must have been a new type." Twilight contemplated. "...oh yes. They surprised me, causing me to drop the bag of candies I had, spilling them everywhere. They stopped focusing on me, and went for the candies. I guess ghosts like those things... then again those things are like little tiny spirits in candy form the way they contain and generate their own magic through magical chemistry. Anyway, they gathered up the ones I dropped I had and flew off with them. I ran back here. At the time, I thought they missed one. I was in too much pain to go back and check... but then I found you lying here. I thought you were dead." "Oh... so your saying that there are more of those hearts somewhere around the mansion?" Sweetie asked. "If a ghost can't digest or absorb them, then probably." Twilight said. "But that's enough from me. Why did you come back? Did something go wrong?" Oh. She doesn't know. Sweetie smiled triumphantly. It was then Twilight realized Sweetie's new headwear. "Sweetie? Where did you get that hat?" "I got her." Sweetie said. "W-what?" "I got her Twilight! I found her, and caught her!" Sweetie said. "Y-you mean you found one of my friends? Already?" Twilight said in awe. "...Applejack?" Sweetie nodded in confirmation. "Well, what are we waiting for?" Twilight said excitedly. "Let's put her through the spirit printer!" "Is that what it is?" Sweetie asked, walking over to the spirit printer machine. "Well, that's what I call for now anyway." Twilight said. Sweetie stuck the nozzle into the hole in the machine like Twilight demonstrated earlier. "Processing..." the spirit printer said in its mono toned computerized voice. The machine whirled, taking out the three ghosts from the GCD, and moving them through the machine. The three lights that were previously lit green on the GCD went red again. The first painting to pop out was of the foal ghost. It was dressed in a diaper and a bib. It sat in the middle of the painting, drooling on a block. "Aww..." Twilight said. "It's so cute. How could you catch such an adorable little ghost?" "Trust me, I could deal with it." Sweetie mumbled to herself. The next thing to come out came out in a golden frame. It was the mouse that Sweetie caught in order to retrieve the key. Sweetie saw what the book meant by "valuable" as the gold shined in the light of the room. "A mouse?" Twilight asked, puzzled by this painting. "Yeah. It had the key to where Applejack was..." Sweetie said. Finally, another golden painting popped out of the machine. It was a portrait of Applejack. She wore a smug look, as she straightened the dress of tan and green she was wearing, tied together by a red button in the shape of an apple. "Odd." Twilight mumbled. "What?" "Nothing. Just... that dress is all." Sweetie shrugged. "If you say so. Okay, we have her. Now what?" "I'm not entirely sure yet." Twilight laughed nervously. "I really didn't think we'd get this far." "But we've only got one of them." Sweetie said. "Don't tell me you didn't think I could do it in the first place." "O-of course I did. I err... I..." Twilight thought for a moment, trying to come up with an excuse. "I didn't expect you to get back so quickly!" Gee. So much for the vote of confidence Sweetie thought. "You didn't waste any time catching her. I don't think you were even gone an hour!" Twilight said, trying to cheer the filly up. "Hey, who knows Sweetie. Maybe you have a special talent in ghost catching!" "Yeah..." Sweetie frowned, as she just remembered something. "Hey, what's wrong?" Twilight asked. "It's... kind of ironic you say that. The whole reason we're here is because my friends... we were supposed to try to get our cutie marks today... we... we even built a plane and everything... kind of how we got here in the first place..." Sweetie said. Twilight, though her curiosity wanted to know how the filly found her way so far from Ponyville in the first place, she let her continue. "Just thinking about them now I guess. I don't know what he did to Scootaloo from what you said, and I don't know a thing about Applebloom right now either... I don’t know. I guess I know how you feel with your friends and all... I guess I just miss them, is all. I just hope they're ok... even if they're ghosts..." "...Sweetie... there's something I've been meaning to tell you. You might find this interesting." Twilight said. "What?" Sweetie asked. "I err... remember when I first saw you?" Twilight asked. "In the foyer?" Sweetie asked. "No. In the hallway of the room you were sleeping in. When that ghost first tried to... you know." Twilight said. "Yeah?" Sweetie said. She had run out of the room too fast to notice anything, or anyone else. Only that a light had somehow saved her. "What about it?" "Well, a little after you ran out, I started hearing things. At first, I thought it was a ghost, but ... It sounded normal. Creepy as hay, the way they laughed, and muttered, but normal. It was the sound of a filly." Twilight said. "I... I thought I was just imagining it. You know, this mansion plays tricks with your head... mostly because I didn't see anything in the hallway. Then again, I didn't really investigate. I had to save you, after all." "Really? D-do you think that one of my friends could be there?" Sweetie asked. "If you’re feeling brave enough... it's a place to start looking." Twilight said. "Okay then. I guess I'm off then. I feel the best I've felt all night now, so if I could keep myself safe before, nothing can stop me now!" Sweetie said, taking the nozzle of the GCD out of the spirit printer. She headed for the door to the safe room and stopped. "Um... Twilight?" "Yes Sweetie?" Twilight said. "Um... promise me you won't leave here again? I mean, not unless it's urgent, or you have no choice or-" Sweetie was stopped by the waving hoof of Twilight. "Don't worry about that Sweetie. I can barely run anywhere until my hoof has healed." she smiled. "And besides, I've still got to figure out how to resurrect my friend from the dead. Trust me, I'll be too busy to worry about what's out there. I won't be going anywhere." "Ok. Just making sure." Sweetie said. "I'll bring back whoever I find, ok?" "Alright Sweetie. Remember, be careful, and stay out of trouble." Yeah, like that'll be easy. Sweetie said as Twilight opened the door to the safe zone, and Sweetie walked back out into the cold of the mansion. *** Sweetie headed back out to the candle lit foyer. She took her map out of her saddlebags, checking for her destination. According to the map and Sweetie's own memory, there were three doors at the top of that stairway. The one farthest to the left should have been the hallway where her bedroom was. Evidently the same hallway Twilight claimed to hear the filly laughter come from. The thought that her friend could possibly behind that door and just down the hall gave Sweetie mixed feelings. The idea of being reunited with one of her friends was exciting in itself, however since that story Twilight told with Scootaloo, she couldn't help but worry. What if it was Scootaloo? And what if what happened to Spike happened to her as well? She shook her head. One point or another, she'd have to face all of her friends. The Elements of Harmony and if it came to it, her fellow crusaders. Now wasn't the time to be afraid. With this mindset did Sweetie find the courage to walk up the staircase and head to the door. Suddenly, as the filly put her hoof on the door knob, everything went dark again. "What the-" There was a woosh that went throughout the foyer, as though a gust of wind rushed through. The candles were blown out by a that wind with no source. -Something's coming. Sweetie panicked, trying to open the door. The problem was, that it was locked. "No, no, no. Don't tell me I need another key." She shined the light on the door, to confirm her suspicions. "No. No way." Her suspicions were wrong. Dead wrong. "There's no hole. There's no hole!" There wasn't even a key hole. W-what?! How am I supposed to get through no- Sweetie's thoughts are interrupted by the sound of ghostly laughter. Immediately after the laugh, a red pony ghost phased through the door, just short of scaring the life out of Sweetie. It had a long tongue that stuck out of its mouth as if it were licking it's lips at the filly. She screamed, jumped back, and tripped over her hind legs. The next thing she knew, she was tumbling back down the stare case, due to some misplaced footing. She fell to the bottom, and lied there in a daze and moaning in pain. She shook her head, and got back up. "No... no way!" There wasn't just one of these ghosts. There were three of these red ghosts, one from each door, coming down after her now. Sweetie was outnumbered three to one. It wasn't looking good for the little filly. The chill was unbearable as her teeth chattered and her body became stiff from the cold aura the three ghosts emitted. Sweetie backed up as the ghosts approached her. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. Sweetie thought over and over as the distance between her and the ghosts seemed to become smaller and smaller. They let out wet, slobbery laughs, as if they were licking their lips as they laughed at her fear. Their elongated tongues swung side to side with the whisps that used to be their lower half like the pendulum of a grandfather clock. Just as she was about to touch her flank to the fountain, she gritted her teeth. What am I doing? C'mon Sweetie! Move! Sweetie knew this was just short of impossible. But if she didn't do something she would more than certainly join the fate of the rest of her friends. "No..." Yes, this was bad, and probably impossible, but she wasn't prepared to lose without a fight. "Aaah!" Sweetie gave a mad cry as she took her flashlight out with her hoof, clicked it on, and fiercely swept the three with the light from the flashlight. Between the speed of the swing, and how hard it was to keep a hold of the device in her hooves in the first place, the flashlight flew out of her hooves and across the foyer, stopping against the wall. It flickered a little as it rolled to a stop, though remained on for the time being. Ding! Ding! Ding! But that didn't matter at the moment. Those dings were her cue. She then aimed for the ghost at the center of the pack with the nozzle of the GCD. She hit the button and started to suck the first ghost in. 10, 9, 8, --Remember the yank-- yank, 765- The other ghosts vanished as the middle one struggled to get away from her. They were likely restoring whatever shield from the GCD suction the flashlight had destroyed. Like the last one, the ghost dragged Sweetie around the foyer. As she rammed into various walls as the ghost tried to shake her off, she couldn't help wishing she ate more back in Ponyville. She was sure she'd receive more bruises from the ghost running away from her than she would it attacking her. "3. 2, 1, 0. Magic depleted. Capturing ghost." The ghost let out one final cry before getting captured. "Capture successful." "Alright..." Not bad. She got one. "One down, two to go. Now, where are you...?" Sweetie said to herself, trying to keep her calm in the dark chilled foyer. She blinked. The flashlight. Here she was looking for another ghost to fight, and she didn't realize she didn't have anything to fight it with. Sweetie rushed for the wall her flashlight was against. Just as she was almost at the door, one of the red ghosts phased through the wall for a surprise attack. "Gah!" Sweetie had to much forward momentum to stop. Instead, she tossed herself on her side to duck down as low as possible. The ghost flew over her, skimming her coat with the maddening chill. She then scrambled up, stuck the flashlight in her mouth and whirled around. The ghost was still flying in the same direction. Sweetie looked at it with a puzzled expression for a moment. From behind her, she heard another laugh. "Oh no way." Before she could make another move, the filly was then greeted with a swift whip on her flank. "Wah!" Sweetie was knocked forward by the whip like tongue of the other ghost in the wall onto her face. "Hehehe*slurp*hehehehehaha*slurp*haha" Both ghosts now looked at her from a distance and laughed at her as Sweetie got up annoyed. "Oh, I'll give you something to laugh about." With her new found vendetta against the ghost who's tongue went where no tongue should ever touch little fillies, she whirled around as fast as she could and hit the red ghost with the beam of light. "Hehe-" while the other ghost continued laughing, the one in Sweetie's beam expression changed to horror. Ding! Second verse. Same as the first. Sweetie aimed the GCD at the ghost, pulling it into its suction, and was again dragged around by it. 7, 6, 5 yank, 432- Over the sound of the vacuum Sweetie may not have heard the laughter stop, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw the second ghost charge at her. She had no chance of dodging the cold, icy tongue of the ghost, as it wrapped itself around Sweetie's foreleg. The same foreleg keeping the suction button for the GCD held down. The intense chill shot through her leg as she was forced to let go of the button and in turn the ghost she was capturing. From the momentum of the ghost dragging her, she was thrown in the opposite direction of both ghosts. Thankfully, the ghost let go of her leg to let her fly. A few items, such as her flashlight, her ball and Applejack's hat fell. The ghost she was catching dissipated into the darkness out of Sweetie's reach. She was in pain, but she knew she didn't have the luxury of worrying about it then. "Hehehe*slurp*haha!" After all, the ghosts weren't just laughing at her. The ghost that had just attacked her was laughing while rushing at her again. Sweetie wasted no time in getting back up, getting her flashlight, and shining it on the ghost just before it managed to have another lick. Ding! Sweetie aimed for the ghost who hit her, and sucked it in. "10, 9 yank 8765, 4, yank, 3210. Magic depleted. Capturing ghost." The ghost is forced into the GCD. Finally, the last ghost re-appears. It looked around, seeing that it's buddies had gone. "What's wrong?!" Sweetie taunted the ghost. "Your haven't got your gang of ghoulies to back you up anymore?" The ghost pony looked at Sweetie, terrified. She aimed her light at the ghost, and begun to suck it in. Rather than starting back at 10, the GCD started from 0 and captured the ghost nearly instantly. "Capture successful. Ghost Capture Device at 50 percent." "Heh... heh heh." Well what do you know? To Sweetie's surprise, once the adrenaline began dying down, she came to the conscious conclusion that she was still alive. At least by the way her body hurt. As if to reward her victory, to Sweetie's relief the candles in the foyer re-lit themselves, and the foyer was with light once more. Sweetie sighed, happily for that little battle to be over and to not have to rely solely on her flashlight to see. Sweetie went over to pick up and put back on Applejack's hat, and any other bits and bobs that fell out of her saddlebags. Sweetie then heard a faint click come from the top of the stairs. Did that mean that the doors were unlocked now? "Oh... so that's how that works huh?" Sweetie headed back up the staircase too the door. Sweetie was about to touch the knob, but hesitated, as the last time she touched that knob, she was ambushed by those new ghosts. Sweetie pushed aside her paranoia, deciding that even if something else did happen, it wasn't like she would be progressing any further anyway if she just stood there. Sweetie opened the door to the hallway, and entered it's darkness. Sweetie walked down the hallway cautiously. As she continued to walk, she felt colder and colder, like a ghost should have been around there. Despite this, nothing popped out to scare her. Though the filly was okay with not being scared out of her coat, it only made her more tense as she continued to move. Sweetie passed what she assumed to be her bedroom, where she first saw the butler ghost pony. Sweetie's mind crossed Spiffy, the butler that first greeted her and brought her into the mansion. She wondered if he, and even every butler she saw were ghosts, disguised as regular ponies. She wondered where the butler was now, and what his role in all of this was. "Weird." From the little time she knew them before this whole mess started (or perhaps Sweetie became aware of said mess), Sweetie got the faint impression Specter, seemed to favor Spiffy over the other butlers. Even more, of all the ones she observed, he seemed to be the only one who managed to crack something resembling a smile when she walked with him. So did that mean he was special somehow? Was he like her friends and some victim of Specter, or whatever entity brought out the fate of this mansion? As she pondered, Sweetie continued down the extensive hallway. She had no idea that it was so large, but then again, such a large mansion was bound to have some long hall- Sweetie stopped dead in her tracks. She heard it now. It was the sound... the laughter of a filly about Sweetie's age. Maybe a year older. She didn't sound ghostly at all, just like Twilight described. Creepy. Not insane or ghost like, just creepy. Then again any subtle sound in this hallway would set Sweetie on edge, especially considering what kind of things wandered the mansion. It echoed through the hallway, but Sweetie couldn't tell where she was echoing from. It sounded familiar, but at the same time so foreign. "Hello? Who's there?" Sweetie called. "Please come out!" The laughter stopped. It then changed to crying, from the same filly. Cold sweat rolled down the filly's fore head. She was beyond tension now, and just plain paranoid. What was going on here? Where was that filly? Better yet, who was that filly? Sweetie suddenly felt dizzy momentarily, as if she'd just lost her equilibrium. As the dizziness went away, her vision became slightly distorted. She blinked twice and shook her head to attempt to get rid of it, but it wouldn't go away. --Not your eyes. It wasn't her eyes. It was something else.She shined her flashlight around the hallway, shocked to see that it was changing before her very eyes. When she looked more directly at the walls and ceiling around her, she nearly dropped her flashlight in shock. Ooze. Sweetie saw silver ooze coming out of the walls of the hallway. It was like incredibly thick mercury seeping through the tiniest cracks in all of the walls of the hallway. Anything in the hall was getting covered in the metallic ooze. Sweetie tried to stay away from the grey substance, but it wasn't long before it seeped on the floor covering the hallway marble floor and rug in the stuff. Sweetie found herself stepping in the ooze, against her will. It wasn't uncomfortable per say, but it was wrong. It was as though she were stepping into something not made of atoms or matter, but just empty space. Something she should have been infinitely falling through but remained on top. Something that shouldn't exist in the world. She thought of trying to go into one of the rooms, and get on top of a piece of furniture, to escape it, but all exits were blocked by it. Once every corner of the hallway was covered in the grey ooze, it suddenly shifted into either a wall, floor or ceiling. Once all of this was done, the hallway Sweetie knew was gone. The walls, floor, and ceiling of Sweetie's surroundings had turned into a fully reflected surface. The bedroom hallway had somehow become a hall of mirrors. "What... the..." She was afraid, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't awed at the sudden change in scenery, and the infinite Sweetie Belles to either side of her. The mansion changes around... Sweetie thought, remembering Twilight's warnings. Sweetie reached into her saddlebags to obtain her map. She looks at it, to find that she indeed was no longer in the bedroom hallway. The map registered her to be in a basement level of the mansion. "Level B-6... does that mean I'm 6 floors underground?" Sweetie said to herself. "I guess that means I'm... six under?" Sweetie chuckled, followed by a disgusted shudder at her own bad joke in an attempt at making herself feel a little less uneasy. "...who has a floor made entirely of mirrors anyway?" She noticed that the mirrored hallway is actually decently lit and therefore, there wasn't any reason to keep her flashlight on. She shut it off and put it in her saddlebags for safe keeping. The way the light bounced around the room, along with the mirrors reflecting off of each other was disorienting to the filly. From the many Sweetie Belles in the room she could see herself through the mirror, with her GCD, her new hat, green eyes, light mulberry mane, white coat, and two battle tongue mark the last ghost had left on it. "I can't believe that thing licked my butt." she shuddered. Less than two hours had passed and she'd already been violated enough physically and mentally to last her a lifetime. It was then she realized. She hadn't shuddered to what she was saying, but shivering. The place was incredibly cold. The coldest she'd experienced yet. No doubt about it, there was a powerful ghost nearby. The crying filly. Sweetie heard a filly crying now. It sounded like the same filly that was laughing earlier. She looked off in the direction she heard it from to see the filly. They were curled up in a ball, hiding her face. Her coat was dulled from its original color, but Sweetie was sure she knew who the filly was. It's rounded red mane and tail, and giant red bow. No doubt, the sad little filly in the hallway was Applebloom. She had been in the hall for a good minute, why hadn't she noticed her before? "Applebloom!" Sweetie said as she ran for the filly. It wasn't long however, before she hit a surface, falling back on her flank. Sweetie shook her head as she got back up. "Dumb wall." --Nope! Sweetie looked at her map. Sure enough, she was facing another mirror, according to it. "...dumb mirror." --There you go! Even more, she was facing the wrong way. She was facing a dead end. One of the infinite mirrors that held Applebloom's image lying idly in the hall. The mirrored hallway made it impossible to navigate by sight. Sweetie knew she wasn't going to go far without the map in the mirrored hallway. Every few steps, Sweetie looked at her map to tell she was going the right way. She made several turns, realizing the network of hallways was larger than she'd expected as she counted at least 20 steps before each turn. If it wasn't for the map, Sweetie wasn't sure how she'd be able to navigate to her friend, or even find an exit. "Then again..." this was a hallway of mirrors. And she had a teleporting camera that worked with them. Perhaps just taking a picture of a mirror would get her out of there. Though she'd worry about that later. Sweetie finally found herself almost there. All she had to do was round one corner and suddenly, as she approached the corner, she heard something. Not another laugh, or cry but singing. Someone in the hallway was singing a lullaby, Sweetie recognized. "♩Hush now, quiet now, It's time to lay your sleepy head...♩" --Hush now quiet now it's time to go to bed. The song was so blatantly familiar, she felt an impulse to break into song herself. As Sweetie looked up from the map, as she turned the corner. She saw another figure. A mare. A transparent mare that for some odd reason didn't show up in any of the mirrors. She looked down at Applebloom, as she was curled up, facing away from the ghost mare. Staring at Sweetie blankly as if she wasn't even there. As she stroked Applebloom's mane, Sweetie spied a glowing heart floated inside of the mare's see through body. Too familiar. Could that possibly be one of the hearts? Sweetie didn't quite understand what she was doing with or to Applebloom, but she didn't try to. All that mattered to the filly was who this mare was. Sweetie could tell from the pink mane, and yellow coat. "Flutter-?" Sweetie asked. Bah. Sweetie's impulse to call the mare and make the same mistake as before as she did with Applejack. The same mistake that nearly got her killed the last time. The ghost mare stopped singing, which raised Sweetie's caution level. She had to be prepared herself for a fight. The mare turned around to look at the filly. She grinned evilly. No. Not a grin. Not even a sneer, but a real, meaningful smile. "Sweetie Belle..." Fluttershy said. "Your... your here." Sweetie couldn't believe this was the ghost version of Fluttershy. When she saw Applejack, she was entirely different from her original personality. It may have started out vaguely like her, but it turned into something evil, maniacal, and psychotic and bent on Sweetie's destruction. This Fluttershy, was the Fluttershy though. The one Sweetie remembered. No, no, stay focused Sweetie. She'll change any second. Kind. Come on, don't let her get to you. Calming. Stay focused. Sweet. I have to stay focused or I'll die. Lovely. She still had that quiet nature about her voice, even if it was a little echoy. Her smile, rather than making Sweetie's skin crawl, made her feel good. It wasn't warm like usual, but it still felt like Fluttershy. "Fluttershy... what... what are you doing?" Sweetie said. She was beginning to forget the fact she was a ghost. She looked into her eyes, as they sweetly looked back. "Oh, I'm sorry." Fluttershy said. "I was just... I found Applebloom in this hallway, and she was scared. I was singing to her, trying to help her feel better. Stroking her to calm her down. She was crying and... and it just broke my..." she seemed like she was getting ready to cry. Sweetie thought of going over to look at Applebloom to make sure she was ok. Then again, Fluttershy would have done that already, right? Sweetie just didn't want to take her eyes away from Fluttershy's. And besides, the idea of moving seemed so unattractive. "Oh, ok." Sweetie said dumbly. Something was wrong, but her brain wasn't processing anything but the mare and her eyes. Something was creeping in the back of Sweetie's mind, trying to warn her of something. "I'm sorry Sweetie... um..." she bowed her head slightly as though she were guilty of something. Sweetie bowed her head slightly. "It's okay." "Well..." She raised her head. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but... how did you get here?" Fluttershy asked politely. "I, uh... I took... I took a plane..." Sweetie raised her head. "I took a plane with the Cutie Mark Crusaders... I crashed... I crashed and... found the mansion." Sweetie said. --Cold --So cold Sweetie felt cold. She could see mist coming from her breath as she was locked in the eyes of the mare. "Oh... A plane? I... I think I saw one of those around here..." Fluttershy said tilting her head to the side. "A-" Sweetie said, standing perfectly still. The mare started to approach her. Sweetie didn't move. Sweetie couldn't move. Her mind didn't move. Her mind couldn't move. Her body and even her mind were freezing cold, as the mare continued to stare at her. "W...w....what....w....w..." Why can't I move? Another 'innocent' smile. "Don't worry Sweetie. Were you worried about the plane? Oh, you must have worked hard on it..." Fluttershy floated lightly over Applebloom and continued her approach, maintaining that eye contact. "The plane is fine though... oh, I wouldn't want you to worry about it, so please don't... if that's okay." Let...- me...- g- "I know where it is... I saw it hanging somewhere. Here, let me whisper where it is in your ear..." Fluttershy said, getting closer to her. "N...no... Fl...tersh..." Two. Two. Two. Sweetie had made two dumb mistakes when she confronted Fluttershy as she finally realized what was going on. Fluttershy's stare. She had used her stare to capture the little filly. Sweetie had disregarded the ghost's kindness as Fluttershy, and succumb to the mare's town-famous ability. Her stare was able to render any animal, or in this case, any pony paralyzed as long as they remained locked with her eyes. As a ghost however, Sweetie body wasn't just paralyzed but her mind as well was slowing down to a crawl. She was cold, freezing the little filly's body all the way through. It was like some kind of death stare. "F... Fluttershy... please... don't..." Sweetie said, trying to break free of the mare's power. "It's ok Sweetie..." Fluttershy smiled sweetly, as she came closer to her. "It's fine... relax..." --Twitch --Liar. --Get away from me liar. "N...no... no! NO!" Sweetie yelled. She didn't know where she got that. That surge of (will? power?). But she somehow managed to jolt her head to the side. She felt herself somehow break free from Fluttershy's spell. Sweetie turned around the next corner and ran from the mare. Sweetie tried to remember where to go, estimating where she had to turn, not having enough time to look back at the map. Fluttershy didn't chase her, but rather calmly walked after her. She either wasn't in the mood for a chase, or was fairly confident Sweetie didn't have a prayer of finding the exit to the maze of mirrors. As she ran, Fluttershy appeared in every mirror in the hallway. "Don't run Sweetie... I'm sorry... Please don't leave me... I get scared when I'm alone... Don't you?" Fluttershy said through the mirror. "Ah!" Sweetie screamed. Everywhere she looked, she only saw Fluttershy and her eyes. She would catch her again if she looked long enough. Sweetie shut her eyes, determined not to be caught in the death stare's spell again. Sweetie thought hard. Maybe if she could get to her book, she could figure out how to catch her. The problem was that if Sweetie opened up her eyes again, she'd be caught by Fluttershy again. There had to be something she could do. Sweetie got an idea, as she felt the metal tip of the nozzle of the GCD. She wondered if it was hard enough to- With a wild cry, Sweetie started to blindly swing at the mirrored walls of the hallway. She heard the sound of glass breaking. Sweetie swung at each wall of the hallway a few times to ensure that it would be broken when she opened her eyes. The next thing Sweetie broke was the mirrored floor. She slammed it with the nozzle of the GCD, breaking it as well. Sweetie then slightly opened her eyes to see her handiwork. The panels of mirror immediately around Sweetie were ruined. Sweetie could still see bits and pieces if the Fluttershy ghost, but it wasn't connected enough for the stare to have any effect on her. "She'll be here any second." she reminded herself. Sweetie wasted no time in reaching into her saddlebags to find her ghost book. She snatched it out as her hoof grazed it's spine. She placed it on the ground and proceeded to flip through the pages. There were three new entries. The first one was of the red ghost pony. Licker Ghost Gender: Male Desc: This one's one of my favorites. Probably one of your least, but we all have our own opinions right? The licker ghost is a red ghost, known for its long tongue. It's attack consists of whipping it's victims repeatedly with its tongue. Process that anyway you like. It usually travels in packs of at least three or more. Like other normal ghosts, it is vulnerable to light. It will also get scared automatically if it finds itself alone, and it's pack gone. Don't take the ghosts on one by one. They move as a team, and will attack if a comrade is in danger. If there aren't enough to take power away from it, use a source of light to get all of the ghosts at once, and aim for one. Repeat this until all but one remains. I think you know what to do when that happens. Weakness: Light That was useless. Sweetie fliped the page to find a picture of the GCD. Sweetie was puzzled, as this was the first time that had happened. Why did the GCD have an entry? Sweetie quickly scanned the page. Info: Spectral Throwback Congratulations for finally opening the book again! I thought you'd forgotten it existed. In any case, by now, your GCD should have its new feature up and running. You wouldn't know that because you’re so forgetful don't check me regularly. The feature is known as Spectral Throwback. This allows you to take any ghost you find and throw them back up in an ectoplasmic ball that can damage other ghosts. Don't worry though. The Ghost Capture Device should expel the ghosts in accordance to the strength of the ghost, so don't worry about your portrait ghosts getting lost. Though I think I'll let you figure it out how to get it to work, rather than tell you myself. Happy hunting! A new feature? Though the prospect of a new ability was intriguing, she didn't have time to experiment with the GCD now. Sweetie flipped to the next page to find the picture of Fluttershy. "Here we go." Portrait of Kindness Gender: Female Bio: The Portrait of Kindness... one of the nicest ghosts that will try for your life. She is one of the few ghosts that will try to make your death as pleasant as possible. The Portrait of Kindness cannot and will not attack you by any means of physical abuse. Instead, she will use a death stare: A paralyzing stare that takes away life force the longer she looks at you. Keep in mind however, paralysis only occurs if you look at her eyes. Paralysis also occurs if she is but a few feet away from you, so keep that in mind as well physically. Thankfully however the ability of physical stare is weakened through any reflection of the stare. In other words, you can't get too close as she's facing you, making it all the more difficult for her to be caught. Though you cannot get too close to her, she doesn't have a magic barrier to break. That's all I've got for you... and unless you figure out how to get close enough to her without getting frozen... your doomed. None the less, good luck kid. Main Weakness: Kindness? "That's not helpful!" Sweetie yelled at the book. "Dumb book!" She would die. Sure it was nice to know that there was no magical barrier she needed to break, but unless there was some kind of weakness, she couldn't get close to her in such a narrow hallway with no hiding places. She was a sitting duck. Sweetie looked up to face Fluttershy, standing over her. Sweetie is paralyzed again. This time, Fluttershy's stare was too close and intense for the filly to have any hope in breaking it again. Fluttershy touched her body, and turned her around so that she would face her. This time, there was no Fluttrshy, no matter how well this version pretended to act like her. Her freezing hooves reminded the filly that she was still a ghost out to get her. Her freezing hooves told Sweetie wordlessly that there was no escape now. "Don't try to run again please." Fluttershy said gently. "This will be all over soon. Then, I'll take you to Rarity. Does that sound ok?" T...hat...w... Sweetie was unable to speak by now. She was unable to think as well. Fluttershy smiled as she gently opened the filly's mouth, which stayed open like a lid to a jar. "And I promise she never meant anything by what she said... she's just stressed..." Fluttershy said something strange as she reached down the filly's throat, cutting off her air once again. Fluttershy grabbed a hold of what Sweetie assumed to be her spirit. She once again, felt herself loosing consciousness. Sweetie was helpless to stop the mare. She was going to die now, and there was nothing she could do about it. Nothing she could do now. Nothing. To neither the mare's or the filly's awareness, Applebloom had gotten up while these events transpired. She looked mistily at the mare who was stealing her friend's spirit. Applebloom felt the ice cold blood in her body warming as she charged at the Portrait of Kindness. Her color was faintly returning. Applebloom leaped at Fluttershy, who she went right through... however, she didn't go through Sweetie Belle. Applebloom crashed into Sweetie, knocking her out of Fluttershy's hold, and both to the ground. Applebloom is thrown further down the hallway than Sweetie. Fluttershy gasped in horror. "Oh no." Fluttershy went over to comfort Applebloom floating past Sweetie. She weakly got to her feet, looking at the flank of the mare. She was close enough now, and could move. This was her chance! It was now or never. "I'm so sorry. Are you alright Applebloom? Are you h-" Sweetie aimed the GCD at Fluttershy and got her caught in the hold of its suction. "Ah!" Fluttershy screamed pathetically. "30, 29 yank, 28272625, 24" the GCD said. Fluttershy screamed in terror. Unlike the previous portrait ghost however, she didn't try slamming her against the mirrored walls. She just flapped her wings furiously, trying to escape the suction of the GCD. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you I just-!" Fluttershy cried, ghostly tears streaming down her face, as they were also sucked into the GCD. Sweetie couldn't help but feel bad for the ghost version of Fluttershy. Even if she was trying to kill her. "10, 9, 8 yank, 7654, 3, 2, 1, 0. Magic depleted. Capturing ghost." The GCD said. Suddenly, Sweetie realized. Wait a sec. This was a portrait ghost... does that mean that... ah hay. Sweetie thought as she shut her eyes, anticipating what would happen next. A yellow lightning bolt stemmed from Fluttershy to Sweetie as they both screamed out in pain. The lightning bolt seemed to pull the pegasus into the GCD, even though it was coming from Fluttershy to begin with. Sweetie held the button to the GCD as hard as she could, until the deed was done. "Ghost capture successful." The heart that was previously inside of the mare dropped to the ground with a few taps. Sweetie collapsed to the ground for a moment to rest. Just like before, she was weak, and barely able to move. Then she remembered. "The heart..." Sweetie thought. Fluttershy must have gotten a hold of one of the ones the ghosts stole from Twilight. Sweetie crawled over to the heart candy, and proceeded to put it in her mouth. It froze her tongue momentarily, due to the cold of Fluttershy's body. It was almost like eating a piece of wildly flavored ice. It was moments before Sweetie got up again feeling back to normal. "Heh... what do you know? Two miracles in a row." Yes. It was a miracle that Fluttershy had happened to consume one of the hearts. And yes. It had been a miracle that Applebloom had come to save her like that. "...!" Sweetie's looked over at Applebloom who was still shivering. "Applebloom!" Sweetie quickly went over to her friend, who lie on the floor chattering her teeth. She was still getting her color back from being virtually frozen alive by Fluttershy's stare. Still, she was alright. Sweetie's friend was still alive. "Applebloom..." Sweetie said. "T-t-that...tha' was s-s-o... c-c-ool." Applebloom chattered. She gave a weak smile at her friend, who smiled back. "Here Applebloom." Sweetie went into her saddlebags to take out her Cutie Mark Crusader cape. "Put this on. It might help a little." "W-wha' the h-hay h-h-happened-" Applebloom asked, for the first time, seeing the rips in the symbol of their group. "Just put it on before you catch something." Sweetie ordered. Applebloom obeyed Sweetie and took the cape. She curled up under it, trying to regain her body heat. "S-s-sweetie Belle?" Applebloom said. "Yeah?" Sweetie asked. "T-t-tha... thanks..." she said. Sweetie simply smiled at her friend. She looked into her eyes, as they fluttered shut. "...huh." Sweetie said as she went into her saddlebags to fish our the camera. "Weird." As she prepared to use the teleportation camera, Sweetie felt something was off. It was different from what Sweetie could remember. And for the life of Sweetie, she couldn't put her hoof on what was so peculiar about those eyes. [Continue] Author's Note Inventory: GCD, <3, Map, Camera, CMC Blanket, CMC Ball Infinite Sweetie Belles Chapter 7- The Giggling Ghostie[REBOOT]"You let that ill filly do WHAT?!" After the outburst, there was a moment of silence. The air was tense as rage flamed from Applejack's snout. "Shhh-! Don't do that!" Twilight complained, stopping the flow of magic from her horn. "If I mess this up, you might have to live the rest of your life flankless." Applejack was sticking out of her portrait, her head, neck and parts of her upper body exposed. Other parts, like the lower half of her forelegs, and lower body were still in the painting. Twilight was on the side of the painting, focusing her magic as hard as she could in order to continue to materialize her friend. It hadn't taken long after Sweetie left for Twilight to figure out how to begin the paint re-animation spell. The process was tedious to the mare, but at least it was working. She was getting her friend back. Once Applejack's head was out of the painting, she seemed to wake up, most likely due to her new physical brain activating. She kept up this process, while also using a low level healing spell on her brain, to make up for the brain cells she was losing due to lack of blood and oxygen. To be honest, Twilight thought that she could do it much quicker than she was now, if only her magic wasn't so weak. Though she had to be thankful. She could be so weak that she couldn't do something like this at all. Once Applejack's upper body was formed however, she was able to speak, and boy did she have some questions. Applejack didn't seem to remember being ghostified, but only coming to the mansion, and everything going black. Twilight explained that the mansion seemed to be haunted by ghosts controlled by their host Specter. Then came the question: If she was ghostified, how did she get her body back. After some pressing, tired Twilight was then forced to explain that due to her own weakness magically and physically, she'd entrusted Sweetie, the school-aged filly, and probably the worst person to deal with such a situation, to capture her murderous friends. "What the hay is wrong wit' you..." Applejack muttered, trying to tame herself at the threat she could become a paraplegic. "Will you stop already?" She sighed. "Look, I know it sounds like, but listen. I couldn't stop her, she was stubborn and... well, I didn't have a chance. Look, I know it was a stupid-" "Stupid? Tha' ain't even beginin' to describe what you did." Applejack criticized. "Tha' was careless! How could ya-" "What else was I supposed to do?" Twilight asked sharply. "I'm too weak to save you guys, and stop her to begin with. I tried to talk her out of it. Believe me I did." "Twi. What'd you think that Rarity’s say if she found that ill filly got gobbled up by one of them ghosts?" "You don't think I don't know that?!" Twilight cried. "I did everything I could, but I couldn't change anything Applejack. I'm sorry. I know it was stupid. Just a stupid old mare..." Tears rolled down the mare's face. "...Twilig... ahm sorry. I didn't mean ta make ya cry." Applejack started. "...Ah guess I juts’ know how Rarity’s feel if something'... ya know like' if something’d happen ta Applebloom." Twilight wiped her tears from her wrinkled cheeks and nodded. "I know... I just... I just I know I'm the one who's supposed to be out there." "Ah know. Ah know. Ah shoulda figured ya would've tried yer hardest to keep her out a harm." Applejack sighed and bowed her head down. After another few moments of silence, a new sound entered the room. Something besides the hum of the walls or the silence between the two. A whirling sound. Both of the mare's attention went to the back of the room as they saw a green light swirling around an area in front of a mirror with a mirrored frame. The sound came so suddenly as they were talking that it had shocked Twilight, and even caused Applejack to jump up in the air with the painting still attached to her unfinished body. "What in tarnation?!" Applejack exclaimed. "What in the hay is that?" "That... that must be her now. She must be using that magic camera I gave her." Twilight said. "Magic wha?" Applejack asked, confused. Sweetie Belle materialized in the room in front of the mirror. Though she wasn't alone. While she was still holding up the camera at the mirror with her right hoof, her left hoof had another filly, which she cradled around her neck, keeping her propped up. Once the whirling had stopped, the two mares could see the two fillies in greater detail. The filly Sweetie held was curled up under a red tattered blanket like piece of cloth with the Cutie Mark Crusader emblem of another caped filly on it. Though at first, neither of the two mares could tell who the new filly was at first, once Sweetie laid the filly down, exposing the red mane, and bow- "APPLEBLOOM!" Applejack exclaimed. "Aw no. Applebloom!" The filly lied there motionless, as the apple-bucking pony called after her. The trip back from the mirrored hallway had been disorienting to the filly, so she didn't even acknowledge the worried outbursts of Applejack at first. Sweetie shook her head, trying to regain her equilibrium, as the world seemed to move unsteadily. Once it stopped moving, and Sweetie's normal eyesight returned, so did her hearing. She looked up at the Applejack and Twilight. "Oh... hey guys." Sweetie said, still feeling a bit detached from reality. "How's it going?" "Sweetie... Is she..." Twilight asked, looking at Applebloom, lying on the ground. "Oh, yeah... she's fine. She just a little tired from being frozen. I guess." Sweetie said. "F-frozen? Is that what ya just said?" Applejack asked. "Yeah..." Sweetie smiled. "It was a close one... I don't think she would've lasted much longer if I didn't find her... I doubt I'd even be here if it wasn't for her to begin with..." Sweetie gave her head another shake, fully waking up her mind. "Hey! You figured out how to bring Applejack back!" "Yes I did." Twilight smiled slightly. "...only kind of though. It was easier than I thought too. Besides a couple extra precautions I had to make while I was materializing her, all I had to do was just pump the painting with a bunch of magic. The spell's so simple, you could even do it if you did it fast enough." "Nah. Probably not. I'm no good at magic, you know that." "Sweetie." Applejack said to herself. then something hit her. Hard. "SWEETIE!" "Gah!" Sweetie screamed in shock. "Don't do that! You'll give me a heart attack." "Guess it just comes with the revival." Twilight mumbled. Applejack on the other hand wasn't joking. Just by looking at the filly, memories rushed back to the apple-bucker's mind of that night. Or rather the most recent ones. It seemed so dream like, but at the same time so vivid. She might have still thought it was a dream if she didn't spy the hat on Sweetie's head. She remembered bucking a tree for a while. Sweetie coming in. The two talking for a while. Making Sweetie break her hoof. Then trying to kill Sweetie with apples bucked at speeds that might put Rainbow Dash to shame. "Aw Sweetie. Ya know I didn't mean it, ahm sorry!" "Huh?" Sweetie looked at Applejack puzzled. Then she'd remembered. Sweetie supposed that since it's already happened so many times that night, that she'd almost forgotten that Applejack did try to kill her. "Ah don't blame yeh if ya hate me or anythin' but ah didn't know wat I was doin' and... and..." Applejack hung her head low in shame. "Ah... ah didn't mean ta hurt ya... ah couldn't control mahself ta..." "Applejack, it's okay." Sweetie smiled. "It's not like you hurt me or anything." "Don't lie Sweetie, especially to me!" Applejack exclaimed. "Ah... made ya break yer hoof, and tried ta bash yer skull in with apples an' buckin' ya across the room... Ah remember... laughin' at ya ah..." Truth be told, Sweetie had forgotten about the hoof fracture and that pain in her side. It had been healed rather quickly, thanks to Twilight's heart treat. Applejack was obviously extremely hung over all of this, while Sweetie was much more indifferent about it all. Sweetie went over to Applejack and embraced the half-finished mare. "I'm not mad at you Applejack. Honest." Sweetie promised. "Ah... Ahm sorry..." Applejack said back hanging her head in shame. "I know. I know... oh yeah! By the way," Sweetie broke the hug to stand in front of the mare. "I think this is yours." Sweetie said taking off the mare's hat and placing it on her head. Applejack however, shook her head. "Nah... ah want ya ta hold it for a li'l longer. Fer good luck. Least till ahm out of this painting." Applejack said. Sweetie nodded and placed the hat back on her own head. Good luck huh? Sweetie thought. She'd definitely need that. "So... did you find another?" Twilight asked. "Find another wha'?" Applejack asked. "Well, as I told you, Sweetie's been using that little pack on her back to capture ghosts. That's how she brought you here." Twilight said. "Ah, righ'. The reason ahm in this thing. Brought back another though? Like one of our friends?" "Yeah, I caught another one of the portrait ghosts." Sweetie explained. "Portrait whats?" Applejack asked. "Ahm sorry, but ahm not rightly sure ah understand tha part." "Hm. Is that what the book calls us?" Twilight suggested Sweetie nodded. "Ah. Alrigh'." "Alright well..." Twilight said. "... you came back. Did you get anyone? Or just Applebloom?" "Yeah! This time, it was Fluttershy." Sweetie said. "Fluttershy?" both Applejack and Twilight said. "I guess that explains why it didn't take so long huh? She probably wasn't that hard to capture." Twilight supposed. "Actually... like I said, I'd probably have been done for if Applebloom didn't come along. She was killing Applebloom when I first saw her... just by looking at her." "Really now?" Twilight asked intrigued. "Yeah, with an alternate version of her stare. And tricking me by being really nice." "Hm... Applejack, and you said you killed her by using your bucking?" Applejack nodded. "Hm. I suppose these portrait ghosts use their talents to kill whoever they fight oppose to having generic powers of whatever ghost type they turn into." Twilight hypothesized. Sweetie nodded in agreement. That made sense, especially considering that both Applejack and Fluttershy still had their cutie marks. Definitely something she had to keep in mind. "In any case, we had better put her through the spirit printer." Sweetie nodded, and went over to the machine. She stuck the nozzle in the hole. "Processing..." the spirit printer said. The machine made several mechanical sounds as it took the ghosts out of Sweetie's GCD. The lights on Sweetie's pack all went red once again. The ghosts went through the machine. The three of them watched as the machine turned the ghost ponies into pieces of artwork. Rather than three paintings this time, only two came out. The first one to pop out was a portrait of a triplet of fancy looking ponies smoking something. One of the ponies let out it's long tongue as it smoked, reaching all the way down to the floor. "Somehow, I don't even want to know how those things attack." Twilight said, noticing the abnormally long tongue. "Good comment." Sweetie said, remembering how wet, slimy, cold and painful it felt on her flank. --Ugh. The final portrait to come out was of Fluttershy. She looked down shyly away from the painter, in her usual Flutter'shy' manner. She wore a dress, just like Applejack did. Her dress seemed much more organic, as it seemed it was made of leaves and flower pedals. It was tied together at her neck, with a butterfly shaped button. "Hey, I have a question. Were these the dresses you wore here?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah." Applejack replied. "They wer' all the dresses we wore to the gala. Thought, why mak' new dresses when we got some fine good ones, lyin' in our closets gatherin' dust?" "I guess that makes sense." Sweetie said. "But, then why aren't you wearing your dress like in the portrait?" "Sweetie, the painting reanimates ponies." Twilight explained. "It doesn't create clothing though. I think these portraits were ones that were taken of us and other ponies during the housewarming party." "Oh... ok." Sweetie said, as she took the nozzle of the GCD out of the spirit printer. "Well... hope you can get her talking by the time I get back. I'd better get going." "Beg yer pardon?" Applejack said. "What?" Sweetie asked. "Where do you thin' yer going?" Applejack asked. "Back out see if I can't find any pony else." Sweetie said. "Aw, no ya ain't." Applejack said. "Huh?" Sweetie said. "You ain't going back out there." Applejack said. "Why? You saw it. I caught you, Fluttershy, and about 4 of those other ghosts!" Sweetie argued. "I can take care of whatever's out there." "No, ya can't." Applejack said. "But-" Sweetie tried, but Applejack cut her off. "Listen ta me, little filly. Don't think cause ya caught a few ghosts that ya anythin' special ya hear?" Applejack said. "Ah... Ah maybe wasn't able ta really talk o move mahself, but ah saw things as a ghost. This place 's worse than ya think. Think ya've see horrible yet? Ya think ya hot stuff jus' cause ya caught two of probableh the weakest ghosts out thare? Sweetie. That's righ. Me and Fluttershy probably ain't nothin' ta what ah've seen. Ah'm only thinkin' of you, and that there idea of yers, going back out is plum crazy of you." "Well, I'm thinking of my own friends Applejack." Sweetie shot back. "I know that it's dangerous out there. To be honest, if I could, I'd stay right here, and close my eyes, trying to imagine that all of this is just a bad dream... but every second I stay here, is another second my friends could be in danger. Applebloom is here... so that means that Scootaloo is probably somewhere in the mansion too! Sure ponies have been turned into ghosts, but you saw Applebloom. Ponies can die here. And then they become those mindless... things! Right now could be a moment Scootaloo could be dying in some hallway... or even getting their spirit grabbed out of her body. No, Applejack. I... I can't stay here. No matter how scared I am... or how dangerous it is out there." Silence fills the room, aside from the humming from the walls. "Applejack..." Sweetie finally said. "You... you were a ghost, right? You wouldn't know by any chance where I could find another one of your friends... would you?" "Ah ain't tellin' you." Applejack said coldly. "Yer just a little filly over her head. Ah ain't sayin' nothin." "Ok." Sweetie shrugged as though it was nothing. "Wha'?" Applejack asked. "I guess I could just wander around the mansion, hoping I come across one." Sweetie bluffed. "And you know, If I don't have a destination, I could get lost... maybe even come across another gang of ghosts to practice on, if there aren't too many of them." Sweetie walked slowly to the door. "...Sweetie wait." Applejack said. Sweetie turned around. "Yes, Applejack?" She asked innocently, fluttering her eyes. "Ah... ah can't have you wanderin' these 'ere hallways li' that. An' since yer gonna go out anyway... n' Twi probably can't stop ya the way she is... suppose ah might as well at least tell ya where ya need ta go." Applejack closed her eyes, reaching back into her memories. "Ah remember... seein' ghosts... somewhere around the cookin' place. The kitchen. Ah remember seein' two ghosts. Ah think both of them were those our friends... what'd ya call them. Portrait ghosts?" "Portraits of Harmony technically, but go on." Sweetie said. "Now... don't be git'n all exited or anything. Ah didn't really git a good look at 'm... but ah thought one of them looked... kinda white." Applejack said. "W-white? You mean a white coat?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah. Ah think ya know wha' ah'm gettin' at 'ere." Applejack said. Sweetie smiled. "Yeah." There was only one pony that stood out in Sweetie's mind, who had a white coat. One that also happened to have a beautifully kept purple mane, and blue sparkling eyes. "Thanks Applejack." Sweetie said, going over to give the mare one last hug. "Now... once ah git outta 'ere, ya know ahma be takin over, righ'?" Applejack noted. "Righ now, I only got half of me and ah feel fine as a fiddle so..." Sweetie nodded with an "I know", understanding perfectly clear. If she could catch Rarity, she wouldn't be too keen on leaving her sister again anyway. "Be careful out there ya hear?" Applejack said as Twilight once again, opened the door for the filly. "And remember to get back as soon as you can! Come back if anything goes wrong!" Twilight said. "I know. I'll see you guys later!" Sweetie said as she headed through the door. --Pfft. Like anything's going to happen. MUSIC TIME! *** Sweetie figured Applejack had given her the closest possible place to search for her friends. It was most likely she wanted to keep her at a leg's length in case things went south though. Still, it wasn't that far, and it was the most solid lead Sweetie had received all night. Sweetie didn't have a long way to walk in order to reach the kitchen. After all, the entrance to the cooking area was just through the dining hall. It wasn't any further than the foyer was. Sweetie walked down the dining hall, her flashlight lighting her initial path, when the lightning didn't. The storm still roared outside. As Sweetie walked, she thought about several things. First off, was the location that Applejack had given her to look. It wasn't after she left that she realized that Twilight had probably already spent 10 or 20 minutes in that area making the heart candies. Even if it was her primary focus, she only mentioned having the confrontation in the dining hall with the licker ghost. Nothing about the kitchen. Even more than before, she wondered if this was more of a way to keep her busy while Applejack continued to come back to life, rather than a real hunting mission. Sweetie put aside her suspicion. After all, Applejack was the Element of Honesty. Not even her twisted ghost form could lie to the filly. Sweetie had watched Applejack's facial expressions. It was easy to tell if she was lying or not, anytime she managed to crank one out anyway. With Applejack's abysmal poker face, even the whitest lie she knew was a lie would make her sweat. Her facial expression was worried, but it wasn't a liar's face. Secondly, Sweetie also found herself thinking of her Scootaloo. She remembered the last time she ever saw her friend, was when she had that green stuff splattered all over her face. Scootaloo was the one who came up with the CMC plane idea to begin with. Sweetie didn't know wither she'd hit the filly for coming up with such a stupid idea or thanking her when they all finally reunited. True, things were horrible now, if they didn't find their way out to the mansion, then most likely no one would be here to save her sister. Like Twilight said, no one would be coming for them, and anyone who did wouldn't stand a chance against them. At least as a filly Specter probably didn't expect much of her. Either way, if she didn't come out, she'd never have seen her again. Sweetie's final thoughts before she found herself standing in front of the door which led from the dining hall to the kitchen was Rarity herself. The thought that her sister was behind that door eliminated any initial fear that the filly had. The thought that she'd be able to see her sister again was euphoric. Even if only one more time. She wasn't afraid to fight to save her sister, but then again what she felt now wasn't going to matter once she actually started fighting. At that point, the only thing that would matter was survival and victory. Sweetie pushed the cold door open and walked through, trying to put her bravest face on, but once again, just chattering her teeth. Once she entered the kitchen, she found nothing. As Sweetie had thought before, the kitchen was empty, and like the rest of the mansion, had an abandoned look. The kitchen was grander than what Sweetie was used to. It's size was like something she imagined in a big fancy restaurant, rather than someone's house. Though, unlike any thriving restaurant, rusted pots and pans covered any of the uncovered stoves. Racks with various ingredients and other cooking were all along the center of the room. The room had a misty feel to it. It wasn't a cold mist but rather a fog. It wasn't smoke, Sweetie figured, but it was definitely odd. Something was definitely off here. "How Twi managed to stay in here longer than a minute is beyond me..." Sweetie mumbled as she ventured further into the kitchen. Through the mist, she realized the kitchen was larger than she initially thought. It was like a never ending hallway of pots, pans, and cooking supplies. Sweetie then started to smell something. Nothing bad, but rather delicious. Sweetie's snout led her to an oven. The oven, unlike the rest of the kitchen, or the mansion for that matter, was new looking, and actually a bit shiny. On top of the stove were apples. They smelled of cinnamon and butterscotch. Suddenly, a memory hit Sweetie. It was of her birthday, only about 3 or 4 months ago... ~~~~~~~ "Surprise!" all of her friends had said at the door of Sugarcube Corner, once Sweetie opened it up. Sweetie was puzzled at the strange greeting at first. Sweetie never took surprises in instantly, unless they were meant to scare or shock her. The 'surprise' definitely shocked her however. She jumped back and fell to the pavement in front of the bakery. Sweetie smiled once she realized that the surprise was meant to celebrate her 10th birthday. "Well, come on you silly filly!" Pinkie exclaimed, grinning wildly. "Get on in here!" Sweetie got up off of her flank and entered the bakery. The inside was filled with balloons and banners that said 'Happy Birthday Sweetie Belle". It was a bit embarrassing to the filly to have her 10th birthday, and still be without a cutie mark, though any negative feelings were eliminated, thanks to her friends. "Hey Sweetie!" Pinkie bounced over to the filly with the exuberant attitude she'd maintained since filly hood. "You want to try something? I've been saving it for a super dooper special occasion!" "Sure Pinkie." Sweetie said. "What is it?" "It's a new treat I made!" Pinkie got close to Sweetie's ear, and whispered in a secretive, yet obvious manner. "I've been keeping it a secret, so don't tell anyone." "Sure Pinkie. Whatever you say." Sweetie rolled her eyes. "Oh come on Sweetie! You've got to Pinkie Pie promise. Ok?" Sweetie sighed. "Cross my heart and hope to fly." Sweetie pretended to flutter her arms like a bird. "Stick a cupcake in my eye." Sweetie pretended to have a cupcake in her hoof, and placed her hoof over her eye. "Ok. I call it the Sweetie Apple Surprise!" the pink party said happily. She took out of nowhere, a treat that resembled a candy apple. It had something sprinkled along its outer edge, and a hole in the side of it. "You named that after me?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah! I've got one for all of my friends. Applejack Creampie, Rainbow Dash Cupcakes, Twilight Sparkle Sprinkles..." she said. "And this one, just for you!" "Well, gee. Thanks Pinkie!" Sweetie said as she took the sticky apple, and placed it in her hooves. "Um... aren't these supposed to go on a stick or something?" "Nah. I like to lick it off my hooves when I'm done." Pinkie smiled. "Well? Try it!" Sweetie obeyed the mare taking a bite of the treat. It tasted amazing. Something about the mixture of the apple, cinnamon, and caramel coating blended together so well. To top it all off, the apple's core was somehow taken out, and replaced with ice-cream. "Mmmm!" Sweetie said, her mouth still filled with the treat. "This is great!" "Thanks!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Have as many as you like! There's more on the party table." I thought this was supposed to be a secret? Sweetie thought. "Have fun for the rest of the party!" she said. "If you need anything, you know who to call!" Pinkie bounced away. "What was that all about?" Scootaloo said, walking up next to her friend. "Oh nothing. Just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie." Sweetie said. ~~~~~~~ Sweetie smiled at the memory. It was fun though. This had to have been the second time her mind had been brought to the pink party pony. Both of those thoughts involved that treat. Was it just a coincidence in her mind? What was it about her that made the filly think about her? Sweetie stared at the treats lying on the stove. Her light shined solely on the stove for a good minute. She contemplated wither or not she should try one. It was then, Sweetie connected the dots. A tray of one of her most favorite deserts, lying on a stove freshly baked? It was almost as if whoever made those treats made them just for her or at least to get her distracted for a moment- "You should try one they're delicious." somepony whispered into her ear. Sweetie turned away from the treat to have her fears realized. The entire kitchen had changed. This time however, was by far the most horrifying transformation yet. It wasn't the quality of the place that scared her, but where she was that horrified her... for she was standing behind the counter, in the small kitchen area of Sugarcube Corner and face to face with the worst possible thing. *** "I... I can't believe I almost..." Fluttershy said, as tears rolled down her face. "We know." Twilight said stroking her back. "It's alright. You didn't have any control. Sweetie isn't mad. She'll tell you herself once she gets back." Twilight was getting better at circulating her magic in her old body. She was more and more quickly exerting magic into each painting. In this situation, Twilight resolved to taking a break from Applejack and working on Fluttershy. She figured that she could get more information about the mansion if more of her friends were able to speak. Plus, after seeing Applejack's outburst and guilt, and considering Fluttershy was Fluttershy, that it might be best to let her get her crying out so she could better handle when Sweetie came back. "I... I just wish I could have stopped looking at them. Just for a second... just to let them run." Fluttershy said quietly. She felt just as much, if not more guilt than Applejack did for her puppeteered actions. "Don't blame yourself. It was that damned Specter. He did that. He tried to hurt Sweetie and Applebloom. Not you." Twilight turned to Applejack. "Right Applejack?" "Yeah, tha' rattle snake's th' one who tried ta kill mah sis. When ah git mah hoofs on em... but ya, ah don't blame ya at all." Applejack gave a reassuring smile. "A-and you’re sure she's fine?" Fluttershy asked, looking at the filly lying down, motionless. "Yes, I checked her breathing. She's still freezing cold, but I think her body temperature is steadily returning." Twilight said. "Suppose th' best thing ta do now is let' 'er rest." Applejack determined. Twilight nodded in agreement. "But Fluttershy. I hope you don't mind me asking this but... how did you find Applebloom?" Twilight asked. "Well... it’s a little fuzzy. I'm still trying to remember what happened myself... I'm sorry." Fluttershy apologized. "No need to say you’re sorry, but just try... Think back to your last location." Twilight said. "Well, I know I went down to the mirrored hallway... then I remember Applebloom coming up to me, and staring at me... no... we talked. I don't remember what she said, but we talked... She looked a little different though. I... I just can't remember." Fluttershy closed her eyes, trying as hard as she could to regain that piece of memory. "I... I remember that she looked at me first... said something... then I got angry... I don't know why but I didn't like what she was saying. And she was staring at me like she wanted to get caught. At least that's what I thought at the time..." "Ya think she wanted ta get death stared?" Applejack asked. "W-well, I'm not sure. That's just what I remember thinking is all. I could be wrong, I'm sorry." Fluttershy said quietly. "Odd." Twilight said, glancing back at the sleeping filly. "I wonder what was going through her mind when she came to you." Twilight sighed. "Is that all you can think of?" "For now..." Fluttershy looked down. "Well, if ya think of anythin' else Fluttershy, tell us." Fluttershy nodded as Twilight resumed her focus her mind and magic on the paintings. *** "Wah!" Backed against the oven, Sweetie instinctively covered her face as she saw nothing but pink light stroke her vision momentarily. When nothing happened, she took her hooves off her face to see her new environment in full. "What the hay?" Sweetie said to herself through the flashlight in her muzzle. It wasn't just Sugarcube corner shocked her, but it was the same Sugarcube as her birthday memory, though now, it had the same abandoned look as the rest of the mansion... if she was still in the mansion to begin with. Sweetie noticed something outside of Sugarcube corner. It glowed in the darkness of the streets of what seemed to be Ponyville. It was most definitely a ghost... and Sweetie had a good idea of who that ghost was too. It's white coat, and purple mane... Sweetie couldn't think of anyone else it could be. It had to have been her... Rarity. Sweetie walked around the counter to head out to confront her ghostly sister, but something stopped her. It was the ghostly laugh. No. Not a ghostly laugh, but rather a giggle. A light-hearted giggle that was extremely familiar to the filly. A giggle that would have been familiar to anyone in Ponyville for that matter. She started to see mist in front of her mouth, indicating the dropped temperature. Her teeth begun to chatter on the flashlight in her muzzle. "♫When I was a little filly and the sun was going down...♫" Sweetie knew that voice well, as one of her friends. This was Pinkie. "♫I'd hide under my pillow from what I thought I saw. But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way to deal with fears at all...♫" She was watching her. Suddenly Sweetie remembered what Twilight had said. The powers of the ghosts adapted to their talents. If Sweetie was about to fight Pinkie here and now, there was something in the back of her mind that told her here she didn't have a chance. If Sweetie stayed here she would die. Sweetie cautiously approached the exit to Sugarcube corner. Where the heck was she? "♫She said, "Pinkie, you've gotta stand up tall and learn to face your fears. You'll see that they can't hurt you, just laugh and make them disappear.♫" Sweetie was almost at the exit. Rarity had noticed the filly through the window, and started to walk away. "Ha, ha, HA!" Suddenly, from under the feet of the filly, barely a foot away, a pink ghost pony with curly hair and bright blue eyes came up from the floor. The filly screamed was scared backwards into some tables and chairs that were around the bakery. The pink ghost giggled at the scared little filly. She dropped her flashlight. "Wow Sweetie! You sure are jumpy tonight!" Pinkie giggled. "Jumpie Sweetie! Or Jumpie Belle! I like the sound of that. Which do you like better huh?" Sweetie scrambled to her feet to face the ghost. "Aww. Jumpie..." Pinkie said sadly looking back on the stove in the back of the bakery. "You didn't eat any of my deserts. And I made them just for you!" Sweetie regained her mind. She wasn't about to hesitate this time, and fall into a trap like with Applejack or Fluttershy. Sweetie went for her flashlight, and pointed it at the ghost of Pinkie. *** Applebloom opened her eyes slightly to see the mares all on the other side of the room. Their focus had been driven away from the filly for the moment. As they were currently distracted, with a snake-like movement she crept from under Sweetie's cape, and hid behind one of the mirrors. To anyone who wasn't paying close attention, it almost still looked as if the filly was under its covering. She snuck closer to the three mares, trying to stay as hidden as possible behind the several mirrors around the room. She got closer and closer to the lavender unicorn pony. It wasn't long before Applebloom had made her way behind Twilight, managing to remain unnoticed- "Applebloom?" Fluttershy said, noticing the filly. "I didn't see you there. How a-" Before Fluttershy could finish her sentence, Applebloom yanked Twilight by the tail, breaking her flow of magic to the paintings, ceasing the reanimation process- "Gil-" "Ah!" -and nearly cutting Applejack and Fluttershy in half by the sudden disruption of steady magic. Applebloom took the old frail unicorn mare, and threw her to the ground with amazing strength. Even as a filly, and even in Twilight's current state, it was dream like she could even acomplish such a feat. But no one in the room was concerned over how she managed to do it. But why. "Applebloom!" Applejack exclaimed, shocked by her actions. "What in sam-hill do ya think yer doin?!" Applebloom ignored her sister and went over to Twilight, who lied on the ground, moaning in pain. She stood over the unicorn menacingly. "A...Applebloom?" Twilight said. No. That wasn't her. It... it couldn't be her. It just... Applebloom grinned before bringing her hoof down on the head of the unicorn mare. *** Pinkie giggled at Sweetie, as she seemed to dance around anywhere Sweetie shined her flashlight. It was useless. Sweetie couldn't determine wither or not her conventional flashlight to ghost capture method would work, simply because Pinkie wouldn't let her. It wasn't as if the mare was extremely fast, but it was almost as if she knew where exactly Sweetie would shine her light next. "Gah! why can't I hit you?!" Sweetie yelled. "Because I'm special! I even get my quotes colored! My name too! Oh, and I get two music notes when I sing now!" "What?" Per usual, Pinkie was making absolutely no sense. Wait... no... Sweetie realized. ...her Pinkie sense. If Sweetie was right, then it was hopeless. As long as Pinkie could anticipate her every move, she wasn't going to touch her. Sweetie stopped following the mare with her flashlight. It was obvious that trying to break her with light alone was useless. "Aw, c'mon Jumpie! Don't give up yet! I was just starting to have fun!" Pinkie said happily. "Oooh! I know what you need! Just a little motivation." Pinkie charged for Sweetie, too fast for the filly to react. The mare went right through the filly's body, chill filling every fiber of her being. Suddenly however, it felt as if a weight has been released off of Sweetie. Sweetie looked back on her back, and to her horror, the GCD was gone. "What the-?!" Sweetie yelled. Without that device, she was almost completely defenseless. "Jumpie. Looking for this?" Pinkie said, holding the GCD in one hoof. "Hey! That's mine!" Sweetie yelled. "Give that back!" "Ah, ah, ah! You've gotta catch me first!" Pinkie said, floating to the next floor. Well I can't catch you without that now can I? Sweetie groaned in frustration. She had to get her device back. She used her flashlight to locate the stairs, and quickly ran up them. Rather than finding the next floor of the Sugarcube Corner, she found herself in another hallway of the mansion. When she looked back, the stairway to her previous location was gone, as if it never existed to begin with. "What the hay is up with this place?!" Sweetie said to herself, panicking. She felt as though she were losing her mind. *** Applebloom forced opened the door to the safe zone. She began to drag the unconscious mare out of there. "Applebloom! APPLEBLOOM!" Applejack exclaimed. She was struggling to get free of the painting, but to no avail. She did however gain the filly's attention. Fluttershy merely looked on with shock, unable to comprehend what had just happened. "Yeah 'sis'?" Applebloom said. Though the way she said "sis" almost sounded sarcastic. "Whats the problem?" "What th' hay's wrong with you? Ya dang well nearly killed Twiligh'!" Applejack asked. Applebloom laughed. "Ah don't know wha' yer talkin' about. Ahm better than ever." For some reason, the accent she was giving wasn't the normal one Applejack was accustomed to. Instead it felt forced, as though it wasn't genuine. "And besides, pop 'd kill me if ah killed 'er here. Don'tcha worry though. She'll be dead eventually." "A...pplebloom..." "What's gotten in to you..." Applejack said angrily, though this time, it wasn't to Applebloom. It was quite apparent that this wasn't the Applebloom she knew. Either way, this time, she didn't answer. She simply dragged the mare out of the safe zone, and shut the door, leaving the two mares, halfway, sticking out of their portraits, trapped. *** --Where? Sweetie chased down the sound of giggling in the hallway. She desperately searched for Pinkie and her only means of defense against the ghosts. Sweetie saw the hallway was filled with locked doors and statues of guard ponies with their own weapons. The hallway was so narrow, that if one of them were to release, there was little chance the filly would be able to evade. --Just one little slip. Sweetie ran blindly, not noticing how her flashlight was flickering on and off as she continued down the hallway. Sweetie wasn't sure if she was looking for Pinkie anymore, or just running out of pure panic. Her breath was becoming shorter out of fear and exhaustion. --Are you sure you're breathing anymore? Apart of her wanted to just lie down in the middle of the hallway, and let Pinkie get away. Her adrenaline and will to live kept her on her feet and moving. She doubted she could stop. The guard ponies of the hallway seem as if they were watching as she continued down the narrowing hallway. Sweetie begun to feel claustrophobic as the walls seemed to be closing in on her. --The walls. --The walls would kill her. "No... no! Someone! Anyone! Help!" Sweetie screamed as she felt the walls close in all the way. Darkness befell the filly as she dropped her flashlight. "AH! AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" --And then silence. --And nothing else. [Continue] Chapter 8- The Hunter Becomes the Hunted[REBOOT]Nothing makes sense anymore... The world moved around the filly unnaturally, shifting around her. Her body felt numb and stiff as she seemed to be falling through oblivion. Darkness shrouded the filly where she couldn't even see her own two hooves in front of her. It was one of the darkest world's she's been in since the forest. "We have her." a voice said. It was distant, and Sweetie couldn't tell where it was. Her brain was processing slowly. She felt as though she'd heard these voices before, but it was all so blurry. Were they pony? Were they ghosts? Hard to tell when they echoed in her skull as they did. She couldn't think or process logic. All she could do was listen. "Yes, Pinkie was the one who managed to lure her into the unicorn's mental field. And even better, we now have that device. Make sure it is disabled, just in case." "Hey, are you sure she's not-" Zap! "Hey!" There was a pause before another giggle. "Okay! Well still, I can't believe AJ and Fluttershy even had a problem with her! She was super easy to deal with." a sigh. "I just sure wish I had a little more time to play with her though." "Come now Pinkamina, you know very well we don't have the time to fool around at this point. We don't have time. Specter is preparing the Princesses to create the eclipse. Even if this little filly isn't a threat, we need as much focus as we can. She must be eliminated" the voice said coldly "Okay, okay, I know. Kill the duck, and be done with it. Gotcha." "Duck?" "Well Scoots is already the chicken, it's the closest bird I could think of!" Echoed hoof-steps were heard trailing off. "By the way, what has become of the possessed filly?" another voice asked. "I think she's went down to the west basement of the mansion, around the kennel area. Celestia knows why." "And the dragon?" "The theater." "And the orange filly. What about her?" "Haven't found her yet." the voice sighed. "Though, I doubt she's even still alive. The last place she was spotted was outside, and the storm has reached its climax..." "Very well. Keep an eye out for her however. Remember, we don't need any more ponies running around the mansion." "Understood. Do you want your kid to finish off the elements in that safe zone? The ghosts can't seem to access it. "No need. According to her report, those mares are trapped and useless. There's no point in going after them. Just focus on making sure everything is prepared once morning finally comes around. There's no way they can stop us now." "♫Ain't no stopin' us now! We're on the mo-♫" "Pinkie!" "Okay, okay! I'm going!" Another giggle. Sweetie fell faster and faster, her head spinning at the speed she was going. She knew the ground was getting closer every second, and it wouldn't be long before she finally hit reality again... if she was even fortunate enough to wake up to one. *** Sweetie head hurt, and her body was sore. She was cold, but she was becoming accustomed to waking up like that by now. Sweetie's head was slowly but surely regaining its composure, that long as she attempted to get up. She shook her head and looked around. It was dark, but it not pitch black like that place she felt herself falling in. Sweetie looked around for the source of light, to find a pink glowing pony, sitting right next to her, smiling. "Glad to see you finally woke up! I thought I killed you the way you landed on your head like that!" She chirped. Sweetie mumbled something in response, but neither pony was sure what it was. Sweetie was trying to say something, but her brain was still getting up to speed. Finally, she spoke again. "W...where am I?" Sweetie asked. Pinkie frowned. "Aw. No thank you? No 'Thanks Pinkie for saving my life! Want a big old hug'?" Sweetie's memories started to clear up. "You... w-where is it? Where's my ghost catcher?" Sweetie felt along her back to find that it was in fact gone. But not just her GCD. Her saddlebags were also missing along with Applejack's hat. "Oh, that old vacuum cleaner? I kind of threw it out. I didn't think you needed it anyway." Pinkie said. "A-and my other stuff?" Sweetie asked. She shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I lost that too!" then giggled again. "My bad!" Sweetie gritted her teeth, though she knew she wouldn't get anywhere with Pinkie if she acted angry. That went for if she was dead or alive. With that, she took a breath and sighed. "What happened Pinkie. Please... tell me. Where am I?" "Well, my big bad boss guy told me to kill you!" she said happily. "But that didn't sound fun now did it?" Right. She did mention something about saving her life. Sweetie honestly shook her head. She was thankful that she'd disobeyed her "boss's" order. Sweetie wasn't ready to die yet. Though there was no reason for her to smile. If she was alive, then it would be unlike Pinkie in any form to not have something planned for her. She always had something planned. And in this case it would probably be something Sweetie wouldn't like. "I thought so." Pinkie said. "I thought I'd give you a sporting chance when I decided to. I wasn't going to kill a little filly while she was sleeping." "S-sporting chance?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah! That's why I brought you down here! To play a game!" Pinkie said. "You wanna know the rules?" Sweetie hesitated at first, but nodded. It wasn't as if she had a choice. "Great!" She said happily. "Now, as you've probably noticed, you're in a cage." "I-I am?" Sweetie said as she felt along the walls. Sure enough, It there were bars blocking the filly's reach to the pink party pony. The cage seemed like something from a zoo, made to hold animals. "Anyway, there's only one rule." Pinkie said. "Stay alive. I think you lose if you die." No, really? Sweetie thought. "Yeah really." "What? H-how did you know what I was thinking?" Sweetie asked. "I read your thoughts!" "What? How?" "By reading the fanfic, duh." Pinkie said something as though it should have been obvious. "I have the unpublished password so I see every chapter before aaaaanyone else!" "You read the what with the who now?" Pinkie ignored the filly for the moment, Sweetie's flashlight out of nowhere. She turned it on and held it under her face. "OOOOOOhhhhh. Spooky." A taunt to show that Sweetie couldn't hurt Pinkie with light alone. Sweetie figured as much, but she still could't help but feel discouraged at the reality check. The mare giggled as she set the flashlight on the ground, facing Sweetie, just out of her reach. Double taunt. "Now, I gotta run. Stuff to do! Fillies to hunt! Ponies to kill! You two have fun now." You two? Sweetie thought as the mare faded into the blackness leaving no other light besides the flashlight. Sweetie turned around to face some pony else in the darkness. She didn't glow like Pinkie, so she probably wasn't a ghost. No. This wasn't a ghost, but Sweetie wasn't sure if she knew this pony either. "Hey Sweetie." Applebloom said from the other side of the cage. The light emitted from the flashlight "A-applebloom?" Sweetie asked. Sweetie approached the filly, every step she took giving her a worse feeling in her gut. "Where are we? What's going on?" "Heh... ain'tcha worried about me?" Applebloom asked. "...'course not. Ya always were only concerned 'bout yahself. No wonder Rarity didn' love ya." Sweetie stopped dead in her tracks. Was it the hit of what she'd just said to her psyche? Or was it the fact that Applebloom would never say something like that to her? "A-applebloom? What's wrong?" Because something definitely was wrong with her friend. She could see through her darkness that her normal orange eyes were gone. They were replaced with an oddly familiar tint of yellow. "Why, there's nothin' wrong." Applebloom smiled. "Is there?" And her voice. It was Apppebloom's, but the accent was just wrong. Forced. As though someone were making fun of the accent instead. Applebloom finally made her own advance, but something in Sweetie convinced her to take a step back. Applebloom laughed at Sweetie's caution. "What'cha doin'? Ya ain't scared?" Applebloom said. It was now, Sweetie noticed a knife in the middle of the cage. A rusty carving knife. What was --Kill her Pinkie trying to --She's not your friend. make her --Kill her Do? --Kill her She didn't want her to... --Kill her or she'll kill you. O[She's not Sweetie's friend. GET THE KNIFE] O[She's still Applebloom, Sweetie can't hurt her. HOLD BACK] CHOICE10This thing wasn't Applebloom anymore. No matter how much it looked like Applebloom, Sweetie was sure it wasn't. It couldn't have been. The Applebloom she knew was still in the safe room. There was no way Applebloom would leave with her sister the way she was, let alone the fact neither Applejack nor Twilight would approve of her leaving the room to begin with. Plus, the Applebloom she last saw could probably barely walk thanks to Fluttershy's ghost, let alone follow her to wherever the hay they were. Right? It's the only thing that makes sense. It's the only thing that makes sense. Sweetie gritted her teeth as she did her best to convince herself of this. After all, she would most definitely be killed if she kept standing in this one spot trying to plan her next move. Trying to plan if she could indeed attack this look-a-like of the Applebloom. That if she didn't decide soon, she would die either by her Applebloom's hoof or by the tip of the blade that split their distance. Even from across the cage, she could see the murderous intent beaming in her eyes. Now wasn't the time for thinking. Now was the time for action. I've got to defend myself! Sweetie thought. Without her GCD, her saddlebags, or even her flashlight, she was totally defenseless. But that's why the knife was in the middle of the cage, right? --Kill Her She didn't want to. Applebloom or not, the thing looked too alive for her to completely put her into the mindset of murder. However, as the option continued to rebound in her head, and non other surfaced, she knew there was no other choice except to attack. M-maybe it's not even alive to begin with. Sweetie tried reasoning. After all. This thing wasn't Applebloom. This thing wasn't alive. This thing was already dead. It had to be. Sweetie took another step forward. Applebloom noticed this and grinned. "So, ya gonna play now are ya? Alright!" Applebloom quit creeping toward the knife and broke into a run for it. --Or you'll die. Sweetie broke through her leg's refusal to move and ran for the knife herself. Everything seemed to be in slow motion in the dark world for the next few seconds as both Applebloom and Sweetie fought each other. She saw in detail, despite the darkness and speed Applebloom pick up the knife by the end just as Sweetie picked up the blade by the handle. As they engaged in a small tug-o-war for the weapon that would ultimately determine their fates, Sweetie watched as Applebloom paid no regard for the knife digging in her mouth. Sweetie nearly fainted from watching what was happening to this doppleganger- --If you're sure she is one -of her friend. She's not my friend. --Are you sure? She's not my friend. --Are you sure? She's not my friend. --Are you- "Get away!" Sweetie yelled through the knife, pushing Applebloom away from her. The knife was in her mouth now, and Applebloom saw this. Rather than backing off, she grinned at the armed little filly, as though she were extremely happy about something. As though she had come up with an awfully devious idea. With that, Applebloom began creeping at Sweetie slowly again. Sweetie fumbled with the knife in her mouth, trying to get a better grip on the handle. Just as she nearly had it in a good position to defend herself (or at least she thought she did. She had no idea how to properly hold a knife by the muzzle to begin with, treating it more like a pencil than a weapon) the knife fell out of her mouth. She quickly tried to scoop up the weapon as she heard Applebloom pick up pace. When she finally had it up in her hooves- "Ha-*cough*" It happened so fast Sweetie barely could register anything. Not immediately anyway. She couldn't register the mass of weight that was on her legs and hooves that were holding the knife. The eyes that looked at her brigher than ever. The new, crimson moisture on her hooves, and- "*cough* hah! *cough*" -face. "Uh... ah... ah! AH!" The realization came to her as she realized what Applebloom was coughing on her. Blood. This was blood on her. "Ah! Aaah! Aaaaah!" Sweetie screamed as loud as she could, but she couldn't move. "Hahahahaha! *cough* Hahahahaha!" and this thing that looked like Applebloom, was still laughing at her, staring at Sweetie's horror. This thing. --Were you sure? It couldn't have been Applebloom, the way it still laughed so much with blood filling their lungs. It wasn't a pony, it wasn't real. --Are you sure? But it looked so much like Applebloom. That's why this was so scary. --Were you sure that your friend was dead? So very scary. And the blood felt so fresh. Cold, but fresh. --Are you sure now? Suddenly, Applebloom and suddenly pressed her lips against Sweetie's. Sweetie's last scream was muffled as she felt something slip down her throat. Applebloom shivered as she went limp and fell to the ground. Sweetie had let her down as she began to laugh. "Hahahahaha! *cough* Hahahahahaha! *cough* *cough*" GAME OVER [Try Again?] CHOICE11Applebloom took a few more steps forward as Sweetie took a few back, unable to attack. Applebloom approached the knife in the middle of the cage. Once she reached it, she looked down at it, then back up at the Sweetie. "Ya know... Ah never saw wha' the inside of a filly looked lik'." Applebloom picked up the knife and deviously. "Ah wonder what yers look like." Applebloom took up the knife in her muzzle. Not like one might pick up a pencil, or a non-Equestrian eating utensil, but with the knife pointing out adjacent to her face. The sharp end pointed in the direction of Sweetie. She put it in this same position with the same grin on her face. Her eyes widened and Sweetie saw the murderous intent Applebloom charged at Sweetie. "Ah!" Sweetie backed up and found her flank against the cold bars of the cage. Fear and panic filled her soul as she looked around trying to find a way out. There was none, or at least none that she could spot by the light that Pinkie had left for her. Sweetie saw that Applebloom was aiming for the neck as she came within a few feet of her. Sweetie managed to dodge the filly as she rammed into the bars of the cage. "Applebloom! Stop! Please!" Applebloom. Sweetie had called her Applebloom. That's why she couldn't attack her. Deep in her heart, Sweetie felt herself connected to her, and Sweetie knew that she was in fact still in that body. The body that was trying to kill her, but as long as that Applebloom was still there, Sweetie couldn't attack her. In short, Sweetie would either dodge have to figure out a way to dodge her for the rest of her life, find a way to escape or die when she got tired. Most likely the latter. Applebloom laughed at Sweetie's plea through the knife as she ran for her again. Sweetie managed to dodge again. "Stop! I don't want to fight you!" Applebloom charged for the filly one more time, this time, head first. Sweetie wasn't as lucky as before as Applebloom rammed into her, knocking her onto the cold metal floor of the cage. Before Sweetie had a chance to get up, Applebloom got on top of her. She spit the knife out of her muzzle into her hooves, grasping the blade's handle with extreme precision. She then brought it down on the little filly's neck. --Aw. Don't tell me you die that fast. If Sweetie didn't act fast enough, that would have been the end of her journey. She managed to catch the knife almost an inch from her throat. As Applebloom put more weight on it, Sweetie struggled to keep the sharp object from slicing through her. Applebloom was already stronger than Sweetie, thanks to the work she'd done on the farm (though at the same time, Sweetie couldn't help but find her a little stronger than she should have been), and had a little more muscle weight on her than Sweetie. She couldn't keep the knife off of her forever. "Why don'tcha jus' give up Sweetie?" Applebloom asked. "Ya'll gonna die anyway." "N- o... I..." Sweetie grunted words out as she tried to keep the knife from killing her. She would die if she didn't get Applebloom off of her in the next second. "I... can't." She would die. "I...-" Her friends would die again. "Can't...-" Rarity would stay dead. "-NO!" Sweetie refused the impending reality, and managed to toss Applebloom to the side onto her back. Sweetie scrambled up to her hooves. Her eyes were much more adjusted to the world around her, so she gave another scan of the cage for a way out. To what she could see, there was no doorway to the cage. T-that... that can't be right... Sweetie swore there was something wrong here. She had to have gotten in here somehow. But if it wasn't through a door, then- ...I was dropped in here. Sweetie concluded. --Like a baby in a crib! She looked up in the direction of the flashlight shine. She saw a strip of light above her. Though it wasn't the entire light from the flashlight. It was almost as if the light wasn't hitting a ceiling, but something before that. It was the edge of the cage! It didn't have a roof to it. However, she didn't have the time to try and climb out herself. If Sweetie just had a quick boost, she could escape. Sweetie quickly formulated a plan in her head to escape. All she would have was a moment, and possibly only one chance, so she had to make it count. Next to Applebloom timing and balance were now also her adversaries. As Applebloom got back up, she ran to the wall of the bared cage where the flashlight was. Applebloom got up and charged at her once again. Sweetie, much more prepared than the times before, dodged and let her banging into the cage. Applebloom laughed as she shook her head and got up, showing no pain despite how hard she hit the bars. Sweetie gritted her teeth, unable to imagine how much that should have hurt as she ran around Applebloom to a few feet behind her. Applebloom turned back around to charge at her again. Now. As Applebloom charged at Sweetie, Sweetie charged right back. This sudden burst offense surprised Applebloom but it didn't make her hesitate one bit. If anything, it only amused her further. Once they were about a few hoof lengths away, Sweetie leaped as high as she could and landed on top of the filly's head. She then made another jump for the top of the cage. Barely but surely, she managed to hook her leg over the edge, and pulled herself up and over. She fell on the other side of the cage with a thud. Sweetie moaned in pain, not expecting to fall from such a height, but managed to get up without anything broken. "Hah... hah..." Sweetie gasped for breath, not realizing how long she hadn't been forgetting to take healthy breaths. But she was alright. She was still alive and the one on the otherside of the bars was- "Hahahahahahahahaha!" Sweetie picked up her flashlight and shined it into the cage at the deranged yellow eyed filly. "C'mon... don'cha care about me?" she tilted her head to the side. "Why y'all tryin' yer dangdest ta get away from me? Ah thought we were friends." Sweetie wanted to say something along the lines of "You're not Applebloom", though her breathing wouldn't let her get the words out. "Cause ya know... ya never know when yer best friend could lose it." she put the knife in one of her hooves and held it to her neck. "And do somethin' she regrets, huh?" "No!" Sweetie gasped out. "Please!" She didn't notice them innitially it, but a few tears had already begun streaming down Sweetie's face as she came to the final realization. That was Applebloom's body. --Well now it's Applebloom's. The red mane, the yellowish coat, and the beating heart inside was Applebloom's. That's the message she was getting across. Whatever was inside of Applebloom's body wasn't Applebloom, but that body was hers. And if it died- Applebloom dropped the Applebloom laughed at Sweetie. "Yer a fun filly ya know? Most entertainin' friend ever." Applebloom picked up the knife and put the handle back in her mouth. "But I ain't gonna kill mahself just yet ya hear. Ah wanna watch ya go first." With unimaginable agility, Applebloom jumped to the top of the cage and balanced on the edge. The movement was so quick and nimble, Sweetie could neither awe in amazement, gasp in horror, or even think. All she could do is respond to her instincts. --Run. Sweetie ran as fast as she could away from her possessed friend. Like a cat jumping down from a high perch, Applebloom jumped down from the cage and ran to pursue her prey. Sweetie found herself in a narrowing hallway again, only this time thankfully, it wasn't closing in on her. It turned from a larger room to a smaller one with smaller caged most likely meant for dogs. For some reason, it reminded Sweetie of a kennel. What the hay was a kennel doing in a mansion? Though right now, that didn't matter, as Sweetie heard Applebloom approaching. Sweetie had to hide before Applebloom found her and gutted her with the knife. Desperate, she resolved to take refuge inside of one of the cages. She turned her flashlight off and it was dark again. Still Sweetie couldn't help but instinctively shut her eyes and cover her head as she she held her breath. She heard the hoof-steps. Clip... clop... clip...clop... "Sweetie..." Clip... clop... clip... clop... They were close. So close. So very very close. Thump thump. Thump thump. Sweetie's heart beat so loud that she was sure that Applebloom could hear it. She'd even stopped calling her name. --Maybe because she doesn't have to anymore. Clip... clop... clip... clop... Thump thump. Thump thump. Shut up. Shut up, shut up, shut up! Sweetie screamed in her mind, begging her heart to be quiet. It only beat harder. Thump thump. Thump thump. Clip... clop... clip- The hoof-steps stopped. Sweetie didn't know where they stopped in the darkness, but all she knew was that they were close. Applebloom was standing somewhere in the darkness. She dared not breath now, lest Applebloom be close enough to hear it in the dead silence of the kennel area. Sweetie dared not open her eyes in the darkness, fearing that she would only find two glowing yellow eyes staring directly at her. Sweetie's lungs were screaming at her to breath. Sweetie screamed right back in her head for them to wait just a little longer, or they wouldn't be breathing ever again. She was running out of air. She would have to breath. Sweetie needed to breath. She needed to breath. She needed to breath! Sweetie gasped for- CRASH! air. A large crashing sound filled the kennel just as Sweetie took in a gasp of air. Applebloom must have bucked one of the cages to scare her, or perhaps test if she was truly in the area. Sweetie hoped the crash had masked her breath. She sat there in the darkness as it became silent once again. Had Applebloom heard the gasp? Sweetie still refused to open her eyes to check. "Hahahaha... hahahahahahahahaha!" the laughter began again. The sound wasn't in her direction, but rather it sounded like it was away from her. The hoof-steps started up again. Clip... clop... clip... clop... Clip... clop... clip... clop... Clip... clop... clip... clop... Clip... clop... clip...clop... Clip... clop... clip...clop... They began moving away from her location, getting quieter and quieter until it was silent once more. --Safe. Applebloom was gone for now, likely looking for her in the area ahead. --Safe. Or perhaps she'd figured wherever she was she wouldn't get very far without her GCD. --Safe. Still. Sweetie had escaped for now. She was safe. She was alive. She was- "Oh Celestia." She sobbed. -doomed anyway. Sweetie covered her head in the darkness, and begun to cry. One of her best friends, and closest ponies in the world had just tried to murder her. It didn't particularly matter that it wasn't her, but even the thought she was being puppeted to do such a horrid thing like murder was where Sweetie finally reached her breaking point. It didn't help that she was the pony in question she was trying to murder. Sweetie was cold. The chill of the darkness caused the filly to shiver between sobs as tears rolled down her cheeks. The trail of moisture each tear left created a particularly cold spot where it felt like some freezing wing were digging into her face. Sweetie was lost. She had no idea of where she was, or how to get back to the safety of the safe zone, now that her map and camera was gone. Sweetie was defenseless. Her GCD was gone, and possibly destroyed somewhere, which not only ruined her protection, but it eliminated her ability to catch the rest of her friends. She wouldn't even know how to defend herself without the ghost book either. Sweetie was- "I'm scared... I'm so scared... someone... help..." She was scared. "I'm not brave... I'm not brave..." She whispered in the darkness. She didn't know why she was muttering that. Perhaps she was hopping some guardian angel would come down and save her from this nightmare. Someone would take pity on her and take her far away from this dreadfully chilly, terribly dark and depressing place. Perhaps back in the library, where she could cuddle up with a book to distract her from the horrors she'd already ensued. Perhaps back in the Sugarcube corner where she could wet her dry tongue with some of the sweet drinks Pinkie probably prepared for the coming morning. Perhaps to the Applefarm, which always tended to have a warm atmosphere even on the coldest of days. Or for that matter, Fluttershy's house, where she could start up a fire and cuddle up with the little woodland creatures she'd likely keep around the house. Or for that matter, the Carousel Boutique where she could slip into the bed and cuddle up with Rarity. "Rarity..." she continued to cry. To be honest, she was just as content with just lying there in the darkness. Lying there and just wish all of the horror away where she doesn't have to endure anything else. No more fear. No more sadness. No more depression. No more death. She felt trapped, not because she was in a cage, but there seemed- --The Carousel Boutique No. There was no escape. --Slip into the bed Sweetie wanted to just give up... --Cuddle up with- "N...no..." Sweetie said to herself. "I'm... I'm not brave... but... but I'm not a quitter." She forced herself to crawl out of the dog's cage as she coached herself. "I... I have to save my friends... somehow... I have to... I... I'm not going to die here." She got out of the cage still shivering, and waited a few moments to make sure it was truly quiet before activating her flashlight. Sweetie took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, and turned to face the way she'd heard Applebloom walk. Chances were, that was the exit since more likely than not, the other direction only held the cage and another dead end. Sweetie pushed herself forward into the darkness, the light shining the way to her path. "I can't give up. I have to try..." she muttered. "for Applebloom... for Scootlaloo... for my friends... and for Rarity... *** As Sweetie moved forward, the room opened up again thankfully. She was sure if she stayed in there, she'd become a borderline claustrophobic. Now, there were stacks upon stacks of the same dog cages. They were evenly placed around the room, but poorly stacked as though the slightest shake would topple them over. They sagged to the side, either from the poor stacking, or simple age and deterioration of the cages. Some had sheets over them, while others, their sheets had fallen somewhere down the bottom of the stacks cages. The area became so big, Sweetie almost compared it to a bit of a warehouse. "How... big is this place?" Sweetie mumbled. She actually began to wonder if she was still in the mansion at all. Suddenly, Sweetie froze in more ways than one. She stopped dead in her tracks as she felt the chill of a ghost nearby. She had a bad feeling that there would be more than one. She got behind a stack of cages, careful not to touch it, topple them, and blow her cover. To ensure she stayed concealed, she shut out her flashlight. She popped her head around the corner to see two ghosts patrolling the area. From Sweetie's position, she swore they resembled dogs, further supporting that these cages were in fact, for dogs. She got her head back around, pressing her flank against the cages harder than she desired to. Thankfully, the cages didn't topple. In fact they barely even moved, as though they'd been glued one on top of the other. I've gotta stay hidden... Sweetie thought. Can't let them see me... Sweetie couldn't afford to turn her flashlight back on now, unless they found her. Even then, there was no telling how many there were, so she couldn't risk using her flashlight in combat without her GCD. She popped her head back out slightly, as the dog turned around. She silently ran for another set of cages she saw in its glow. So far, so good... no wait, no! She saw the K-9 turn back around headed in her direction. Sweetie quickly rounded the cage to the opposite side of where the dog was looking. It stopped however. Sweetie held her breath. The ghost dog sniffed the air suspiciously. It knew something was different. It was difficult to tell whether or not it smelled the sweat beading down Sweetie's body, or the very essence of the fear she was emitting. It growled, and barked, alerting the other dog of a possible intruder. Sweetie didn't think. When she heard that dog's bark she bolted in the directions the cages spanned to. She didn't get more than a few feet before the dog turned around and saw the little filly fleeing into the darkness. It barked at her, and raced after her. Sweetie wasn't the fastest pony, but surprisingly, she seemed to keep a good distance from the two dogs that were chasing her. A distance that definitely showed signs of closing, but enough were she could keep her distance for a little while. If she'd ran from the dogs at a little later, they might have caught up to her. However, with the distance she held now she felt like she would somehow make it out of this predicament. That hope was quickly dashed when suddenly, her hoof tripped over something round and rubber. "Oh-" She didn't know how to react. All she knew was that in the coming seconds, she was about to be killed. All because of something horrendously stupid. A ball. It was a ball the dogs must have been using as a chew toy or a play thing. Sweetie fell onto her face, as the ball rolled right in front of it. Sweetie tried to scramble back up, but even she wasn't crazy enough to believe she'd actually get away. She was tackled down, by another dog. Sweetie didn't however let it get on her fully. Her reaction time was at its peak due to the amount of adrenaline coursing through her veins. She used the dog’s momentum to throw it off of her. Sweetie got up and glanced over at the dog she somehow tossed to the side. And ponies ask why I'm a more of a cat pony. Still, Sweetie took note at how much more tangible they were when they attacked her. Perhaps that was something worth noting. Sweetie ran sub-consciously grabbing the ball in her mouth as she racing to a new hiding spot behind another group of cages. Miraculously, the dogs lost sight of her, but they knew she was still around. They could still smell her. Sweetie once again, found herself holding her breath, hoping that the dogs wouldn't find her new hiding spot. Still, it was only a matter of time before they did once again and if they got to her again, she probably wouldn't be as lucky as she just was. Thankfully, Sweetie had a good feeling that she was getting close to the exit. After all, this room could only be so big, right? But at the same time, she felt the air getting colder and colder, telling her she didn't have much time. There were more dogs approaching from somewhere. She couldn't risk another mess up like that, for she doubted she'd escape a second time if she was seen again. Sweetie spat out the ball in her mouth and held it in her two hooves. It was too dark to see the full details of the ball, but Sweetie knew, from the familiar rubber texture, and the bit of magic marker sticking out of the etched on letters of the ball, that it was her CMC ball. Did that mean that her other items could be close by? That could come later though. For now she needed to figure out how to escape. Could she perhaps make a distraction using her ball? Sweetie looked outside of her cover, and saw that her suspicions had been realized. At least three more dogs than before had revealed themselves. One of the ghost dogs was far off, by one of the stacks of cages. She aimed the ball and threw it with all of her might at the cage. Any dogs that were in the area perked up their ears at the sound. All of them ran for the cages to investigate the sound. Sweetie, still keeping her eyes on the dogs, sneaked off in the direction she hoped to be the exit. To her relief, Sweetie found herself in front of a large double metal door. Sweetie creaked it open, and slipped through, closing it behind her. She leaned against the door and sighed. "Alright... out of the dog house..." She was more than relieved that at least she made it out alive. She felt slightly disappointed that she couldn't have escaped with her ball, but she could easily get a new one once she got out of there. Sweetie, at the thought of her friends, once again felt depressed. She didn't cry, as she had used up her recent supply after escaping Applebloom. Once she regained herself, remembering that feeling bad for herself for too long would only get herself killed, she thought about escaping. She never thought she'd be able to cross another ghost again without her GCD, but she'd just gotten out of a room full of them. Maybe there was still hope. "Yeah... maybe I can still get through this." She just had to find her GCD, as long as Pinkie didn't really 'throw it away'. It was still the only way to truly save her friends. Hay, if she could find the ghost book, maybe it could tell her how to release Applebloom from whatever had possessed her. Sweetie smiled. Things were horrible, but there was still some hope left. Hope that would keep her alive. Sweetie got up and activated her flashlight. She found herself in front of a spiraling stairwell, heading up. Sweetie knew that Applebloom had possibly gone through here too, so she still had to remain cautious. She began to slowly ascend the stairway, bracing herself for whatever the mansion would throw at her next. [Continue] Chapter 10- The Scavenger Hunt [REBOOT]"Alright. Just find the cylinder thingy and get out. Easy." Sweetie said this to herself aloud as she stood in front of a large circular stone. Moss had already begun growing all over it, as though it had been sitting there for ages. At least a couple of years, though this came to Sweetie as no surprise after witnessing enough the mansion's inability to choose an age for itself. The parts that weren't eroded by the mushy plant were cold and smooth to the touch. Though oddly enough, this chill didn't exactly feel as though it were from the temperature of her surroundings alone. Its size compared to the filly, or any pony for that matter was greatly different. From just how awfully foreboding the spot was, and the sense of dread that she got just by standing at the entrance to the next part of this underground catacomb, Sweetie didn't know whether to be thankful or fearful there still existed a way to proceed. The stone wasn't completely blocking her path as it should have been. There was a small opening just large enough for someone her size to fit through. This was good because she doubted she would be able to budge the stone. Even if it was rounded, it seemed too dug into the ground already to be budged by her own muscles. But then again, this also meant that Scootaloo had been through here as well. And Sweetie doubted that if the way forward was closed off before- But now wasn't the time to be thinking about even more things to frighten her. She was still trying to build up the bravery that must have shattered after she figured she was going to die, falling down that pit. Her confidence also needed some reconstruction from being saved by the types of creatures she was supposed to be fighting. Even if this one was nice. As Sweetie stalled her progression, she checked her map. Sure enough, as Madame had said, it offered no helpful information. On the parchment, rather than displaying her location, it was stained with a large question mark. Sweetie assumed that it wouldn't be useful until she managed to get out of the crypt, and up to the church, as the ghost mare had instructed. But first, she'd have to find her GCD part, which could have been anywhere in that crypt. Sweetie tried to remain optimistic however, just so she could convince herself to head into the pitch black catacomb. "Alright... for Rarity..." she said to herself, hoping the reminder to save her sister would convince her legs to move. "Let's do this." Sweetie took a deep breath, and walked to the small opening around the round stone slab. She squeezed through, and was greeted on the other side by a breeze of chilling air. She shivered, almost dropping her flashlight out of her chattering teeth. The mansion was already chilly for this time of year, but it might as well have been winter down in this catacomb. The area smelled of deceased ponies and some preservatives, possibly to keep them from rotting too fast or smelling so bad. Though whatever was supposed to keep the smell down had probably long since kept doing it's job. It didn't matter however, because the sheer thought of being around dead ponies was terrifying to the small filly. Sweetie toyed with the idea of going back to the other side with the torch light, and huddling in its warmth. The smell of whatever fuel was burning was probably better than this decaying smell. Or whatever was making such a stench. She of course quickly through that idea away before the temptation grew any stronger. She knew that she had to keep pushing forward as long as there was still hope. She couldn't waste any time with weak thoughts. She had to remain strong for now. At least until she managed to get her GCD back and Twilight caught. So, she went. There were several things on Sweetie's mind that helped her move through the darkness of the catacombs, and ignoring the creeping graves she passed by. Once again, her first, was her friends. Sweetie knew she'd eventually need to figure out how to release Applebloom's spirit from whatever controlled her. And even more, she didn't even know the fate of her friend Scootaloo, only that she'd been through here at one point. But that was good, wasn't it? Scootaloo had been through here and passed Madame. She wasn't sure what Twilight had encountered earlier. Maybe it was Scootaloo at a point she had been "mentally manipulated" just like Sweetie. After all, Madame had implied talking to her. And being a ghost, she could probably tell if something was wrong with the orange filly. If she were possessed, wouldn't Madame have warned her instead of just mentioning her arrival? Then again, Sweetie didn't exactly ask if Scootaloo was someone to be warned of. Madame wouldn't deceive her like that, would she? Wasn't she trying to help her? Though she did say "if" she made it through. By now she could either be possessed or- Now wasn't the time. That was a negative thought. And in a depressing place as a catacomb that stunk of something dreadful, bypassing the chills that also entered her nostrils, negative thoughts were the last thing she needed. Sweetie needed to keep hopeful. Hope that Scootaloo was in fact, alive and out of this nightmare. At least hopefully she would only be enduring one a little more pleasant. Secondly, there was Twilight, who Sweetie felt guilty of her demise. She felt heavily responsible, given that she felt something was wrong with Applebloom the moment she laid eyes on her, yet never spoke up about it. --She was cold, she thought. --She was tired, she thought. --She's fine, relax, she thought. But what happened, happened. Sweetie needed to save her friend, not only for every pony else, but to relieve her guilt. Finally, there was Rarity. Sweetie missed her sister for obvious reasons, yet there was another side of it. Something in the back of Sweetie's mind that wanted Rarity for a different reason. Sweetie wasn't sure what it was, but one word came to her. Doubt. Sweetie continued on her way down the catacombs, passing by countless rows of coffins. Exactly how many ponies were down here? And exactly how long? Because it went without saying these things had been down here for much longer than a week. Just like the coffins, Sweetie had lost count of how many blind turns and random decisions she took. It wasn't as though she had much of a choice at the time. All of the coffins and cubbyholes that also happened to hold coffins looked the same. And the ones with names were so worn that it would take too long for Sweetie to discern the difference between two. And the last thing she wanted to do was try marking the graves and have to touch the things. Sweetie could see the mist coming from her breath, indicating that the temperature was dropping even more significantly. This cold was different from the normal temperature the place held. She had enough experience by then to know that usually meant a ghost or two were nearby. But that was the only thing. Sweetie had yet to have any encounters with ghosts, or even hear so much as a giggle. The feeling was less comforting than it should have been. That sense of dread. That sense that told her they were watching her. Or perhaps not a ghost. But someone was watching her stumble through the morbid darkness. Sweetie felt an urge to call out to her spy, if it happened to exist. She held her tongue, knowing that any unnecessary sounds she made would be to her disadvantage. Sweetie still remained cautious and paranoid as she continued through the catacomb. Everything was looking the same to the filly. Every pathway she took underground seemed to lead to the same dead end. She was almost positive that she'd seen each coffin before, in the way that they were arranged. Sweetie must have been walking in circles for the time that she'd been down there. 30 minutes must had passed since she entered the crypt. It felt longer to her, but that shorter wander time was the only thing that kept her from thinking she wouldn't ever leave this place of death. That this place would be her tomb. Frankly, it was almost maddening to the filly. She felt a similar claustrophobia that she'd felt when she first chased Pinkie Pie. She had yet to see an exit anywhere, let alone the cylindrical ghost processor. Though again, Sweetie was becoming less concerned about reconstructing her GCD and more about when she'd eventually start rotting like the corpses around her. Had Madame lied to her? Was this just another one of the mansion's devious traps? It was becoming more obvious the ghosts weren't against messing with her before eventually dooming her to something, or more directly trying to kill her. At least Pinkie wasn't, but playing with ponies was in her personality. Still, Madame was an unknown to Sweetie though, so it was still something she was well capable of. Sweetie was a step away in her growing despair from cursing the mare. Just a step. But that's when in the darkness, Sweetie noticed something small glowing in the dark. Faintly, it glowed red. Sweetie wondered. Could it be the thing that just so happened to come to mind? In a way, she hoped it was as much as she didn't. She headed over to the cubbyhole where the open coffin holding the glowing red thing was. It was a bitter sweet feeling, but it looked like she was right. In the hooves of the skeleton of a pony long dead wasn't exactly a piece of the GCD, but it was still something the filly found useful. It was a candy heart. A vital consumable in the hooves of a decayed stallion. Sweetie hesitated at the thought of touching the dead body, disturbing it for something so valuable. Ultimately, she pushed the thought away. As disgusting as it, the thought of taking and- Sweetie shuddered slightly. -eating the healing item, she couldn't look past that it was an item would probably help Sweetie somewhere down the line. Especially in the absence of her GCD. Besides, it looked like any coat, muscle or any other swishy bits had long since gone. The skeleton looked clean enough. But still. Sweetie grabbed the candy heart with her hooves, and pulled on it. It didn't budge. It was as if the pony were still holding it with all of its might. "Nice death grip you've got mister..." Sweetie mumbled, trying to lighten the mood on her little tomb raider escapade. Sweetie tried to use both hooves to force the skeleton release its grasp on the heart. Suddenly, something green and glowing popped out from underneath the coffin, grabbing the filly to show her what a real death grip was like. In her panic, Sweetie found the strength (or maybe the flinch force) to release the candy heart, along with her fore leg, from the skeleton and ghost pony. The ghost pony rose from the coffin, with the skeleton inside of it. It was one of the first ghosts Sweetie had seen in the mansion. A butler ghost. Sweetie staggered back, and remembered her flashlight. She couldn't fight it, but maybe she could scare it away. She shone her light on the ghost. "Go-" she said through the flashlight. Ding! "...away?" Something was wrong. Despite being in such a bright light the ghost, did not disappear. It simply grinned at Sweetie at her futile attempt to drive it away. Sweetie didn't understand. It should have worked, making the ghost disappear just like the others! Was the skeleton acting like some kind of anchor, or perhaps that allowed it to stay with such confidence? Or was it just that Sweetie didn't have a weapon to fight it now to compliment her flashlight threat? Sweetie didn't ponder it long, as she tossed the heart into her saddlebags and ran. Sweetie wasn't sure where she was going, but as long as she couldn't use her map, would she ever? She heard the ghostly laughter echoing through the catacomb. She knew this would happen. In the back of her mind she knew. She was in a place surrounded by death. Surrounded by the essence that spirits were made of, of course there would be ghosts here. And a lot of them for that matter. Stupid. She was stupid. Sure she didn't have much choice, but she was stupid to not be more prepared for something like this. After all, in a mansion where ponies rise from the dead, she just accomplished the equivalent of walking into a hornets nest. And to seal her fate, kicking the nest by grabbing at one of their bodies. But it didn't matter anymore. Right now, Sweetie felt- no, she was surrounded. She knew that she had to escape somehow. She didn't know where to go. She was just as lost as she had been before. Sweetie ran, she skidded on her hooves at corners, and ran some more, knowing to stop for even a moment would mean her death. She didn't look behind her, but she knew that more than one ghost had to be on her flank. And who knew how many more were behind the walls, just waiting to pounce on her? Sweetie ran. Sweetie ran. Sweetie ran. The maze of coffins and cubbyholes seemed endless. She would be running until she ran out of breath, collapsed, or by some horror found herself at- Sweetie stopped. Dead end. Sweetie eventually found herself at a wall. "No way... no way, no way, no way!" Sweetie whispered angrily out loud. She looked back. They weren't there, but she was sure they were around the corner. She could feel the chills growing more and more. They were coming. Those ghosts would catch her and- "Wait..." She stared at the wall for a moment. She wondered. Was she really cornered? After all, of all the turns she came to, this was the only wall she'd come into. And the way the wall was shaped looked odd as well. Like it bulged. Sweetie felt around the stone wall frantically to find something. Something to prove her hopes were true. "Yes!" she quietly cheered. It wasn't just a bulge. It was rounded, like the slab she'd found ajar when she first entered the catacomb. But there was still a slight problem. It was sealed. Sweetie would have to figure out how to get it open before the ghosts were upon her again. She tried to move the stone, pushing its side. "C'mon... c'mon...! Budge!" She had to be strong. She had to be strong to move this thing- To her amazement, after a moment of pushing, the stone moved over easily. It was a little louder for something that seemed so much lighter than she expected but it moved. She managed to move it to the side, just enough to quickly slip through the opening. As she made it through, the stone fell back into its original position. Sweetie backed from the stone. She heard the ghostly laughter outside of the stone, but it didn't try to phase through the door. Did she loose the ghosts? As Sweetie heard the laughter fade away, she slumped down against a wall. "Phew... too close." She was safe for now. Sweetie knew she had to find the cylinder soon, but going outside now was next to suicide. She would wait in here for a few minutes before going out to continue her search. "Wait...where am I?" But that was when Sweetie began to take notice to the change in her surroundings. Sweetie shinned her flashlight around the new room. There didn't seem to be any other exits, but that wasn't what Sweetie noticed first. It was different. The stones, unlike the ones in the previous network of tunnels were a wildly different tint than the ones in this room. It was as though she had stepped into an entirely new crypt! "Weird... what's up with the change?" This new room seemed to be some kind of special burial chamber, as four coffins were lined with flowers and etchings of names. The first names of each pony seemed to be buffed out, only to leave the last name Yield. "Yield... are these..." No doubt about it, they had to be the coffins of the four family members of the Yield family. Specter Yield, Madame Yield and apparently two others. Kids maybe? Another strange detail about them were just how recent they looked. The coffins looked newer, and much more freshly placed than any other coffin Sweetie had come across thusfar. "I... wonder what's inside?" A morbid question of curiosity came to her. She tried to justify what she said by considering that the last one she checked had a candy heart. It wasn't out of the question that something this "different" might hold something important. Sweetie checked each of them to find they were locked. "Of course..." Now she was really curious. What was inside? In the middle of the room seemed to be a drain. Sweetie, given it was the only other thing that stood out, went over to investigate. She shined her light down its hole. At the bottom, something glistened against her flashlight. What the... what could that be? Sweetie wondered. She was sure it was important. The problem however that was it was just out of her reach, as she tried to reach down into the hole to get it. Suddenly, an idea came to Sweetie. --You're a unicorn right? You can use magic. Until the ghost mare mentioned it, Sweetie had near completely forgotten about the magical bone sticking out of her fore head. Then again, she didn't recall an instance in particular it wouldn't have been that useful. Her magic was weak. She could barely pick up the lightest fabric back at Rarity's Boutique. Her inability to stabilize her telekinesis magic had usually resulted in accidents with Rarity. Arguments among the ones they already had. Arguments and yelling- She shook her head. That wasn't important right now. Sweetie had a good feeling that the shiny thing was still vital in some way. She needed whatever was down there, and that had to be her main focus. Sweetie stood firmly over the drain and closed her eyes. "Visualize..." she mumbled. "Cast..." She visualized the object in her head. She saw it glistening at the bottom of the well against her flashlight and the thought of lifting it. Her horn glowed a faint white light. She visualized it slowly rising up out of the drain. She did it slowly, as keeping hold of the item was like balancing it on a pin. One wrong move, one careless release of magic and it would go tumbling down. Energy wise, it wasn't exactly easy on her either. Her legs felt weak as the little magic inside of her was drained into the telekinesis spell. She felt faint, and tired as the magic was depleted. Just a little more... When she felt as though she were at her limit, she let go. Following her sigh of exhaustion, the next sound she heard was a clink against the stone floor, as though something was dropped there. She opened her eyes to see a key, lying on the outside of the drain. Sweetie picked up the key, and looked at it. Just like the coffins in the room, the key was new looking. She wondered if the key could possibly be to the them. Finally, the curiosity of the their contents gave into the dread of them. Whether or not there was something good in one, she was sure she wouldn't like what was inside. Though while she was stuck in here, she didn't have a good excuse to not check them. It wasn't as though anything she needed would be easily accessible or quite frankly "pleasant" to obtain. Sweetie gulped, not expecting to be as lucky to find a completely decayed pony in such new looking containers of the dead. With that, she proceed to check the coffins. The first one she tried at the corner closest to the stone slab didn't fit. She then tried the second next to it. No dice. The third one wasn't any different from the last two. Each time a sense of relief came to her with a wave of disappointment. Sweetie wondered if perhaps this key wasn't even to these coffins, and instead to something else. When the prospect of having to sperlunk the catacombs even longer for one tiny keyhole to this one tiny key, suddenly any rotting, decaying, worm infested body that smelled like Celestia knows what didn't seem like such a bad thing. Finally, she stuck the key into the lock of the fourth coffin, the farthest one back to the left. As she turned it, it clicked open. She gave a bitter-sweet smile satisfied of her success as well as dreading to see what was inside. With another deep breath, Sweetie went over to the side of the coffin and began trying to push the cover off. It was heavy. It was really heavy. Either that or it was stuck. Either way, even when Sweetie put all of her muscle and weight on it, the thing wouldn't move. "C'mon, you've gotta be kidding. This has gotta be lighter that that dumb stone door!" Sweetie said through her teeth as she continued to push. "I can do this, I can push this- woah!" Sweetie slipped as the coffin cover suddenly became movable. CRASH! The stone cover fell off the other side of the, causing it to make a loud sound, and break the covering. Sweetie was sure that if the ghosts didn't know she was in there before, they knew now. She wouldn't have much more time before she either had to get out of there, or hide. Inside of the coffin was probably one of the most disturbing things Sweetie had come across yet. Inside of it was- Nothing. No, that wasn't correct. There was something but what Sweetie found inside wasn't what she was expecting at all. Inside was nothing more than the cylindrical processor Madame had mentioned. Sweetie was glad that she had finally come across the piece of her GCD after such a horribly long time, but there was something vital missing here. "W...here's the body?" There should have been a body here. Sweetie was sure that there were some bodies in the room, dead and rotting. She could smell them. She wished she couldn't desperately, but she did smell them. The other ones, she was sure had something in them, but why was this body gone. After staring at the empty casket for who knows how long, she shook her head and finally put the GCD part in her saddlebags. She wouldn't get her questions answered if she just stood here. Despite how quiet it was, it was still cold. She was still in danger, and now that she had the item she was looking for, she could finally look for a way to escape this place. Either way, Sweetie deduced that the one who put her GCD part here intentionally wanted to make it difficult to obtain without some ghostly, or stronger magical help. Thankfully, this one didn't do that good of a job. But that didn't mean that the other ones would be as simple. She could only hope- "Sweets, are you being weird again?" Sweetie turned around at the sound of the voice. It was familiar. It was a friend's voice. Sweetie turned around, she gasped. Whether it was out of surprise or fear one wouldn't be able to immediately tell. "Heh... but really. Glad to see you got out of that crash alright." Scootaloo said, smiling at her friend. "You... are alright, right?" The heavy slab of stone Sweetie saw from the light of her flashlight was completely tossed to its side. Sweetie didn't say anything in response. "Hey Sweetie. Somethin' wrong?" Scootaloo asked in concern, taking a step closer to her friend. "You okay?" That was wrong. Sweetie might have been able to move it by some miracle, but that was only barely. It was impossible for Scootaloo to do such a thing. Not without some help. Sweetie took a step back. Scootaloo laughed. "Oh come on. Don't tell me you're scared of me now. I got through here easy peasy. If you want to save our friends, you gotta be brave like me." That was wrong. The more she stared at her, the less she sounded like Scootaloo. --Just like Applebloom The more she stared at her the less she looked like Scootaloo. --Just like Applebloom From a glance one wouldn't be able to tell something was wrong, but the more she looked in this increasingly tense atmosphere, she could tell that this was not Scootaloo. No matter how much she wished it was. She wished that this was Scootaloo, and if she hadn't been hunted and nearly killed by Applebloom, she might have tackled to her to the ground, kissing her continuously out of sheer relief. But that wasn't the worst part. No, the worst part was how little she would move. For some odd reason, she couldn't move. But she had to. She had to move now, or else she would die. Sweetie- O[tries talking to her. Confirm whether or not this is her friend.] O[has to get away now. This isn't her friend anymore, she's just like Applebloom.] Author's Note Body Missing CHOICE12"I-I'm not scared of you." Sweetie stammered out, keeping her distance from the filly. "Huh? Then what the hay is wrong with you?" Scootaloo asked. "I...I'm not scared of you." Sweetie repeated. "I-I'm afraid... of what's inside of you." She spoke honestly. She had no reason to be scared of Scootaloo. Scootaloo wouldn't harm her. But- Scootaloo giggled. --Scootaloo would never giggle. Not here. "Wait Sweets, wait. Hold up. I'm not possessed or anything. Look at me!" Scootaloo said. She got up on her hindlegs, and outstretched her forelegs and tiny hooves to show herself fully. "Do I look like some crazed pony to you?" Sweetie had to admit, she didn't have the yellow eyes like Applebloom did. Still, there were too many contradictions that told Sweetie otherwise. "N-no... but that doesn't explain why you're still here." Sweetie said. "Huh?" Scootaloo shrugged. "I was trying to get through here, just like you." "But... but that had to be at least an hour ago... Madame said-" "Oh, that ghost lady?" Scootaloo said. "Yeah, she told me to look for some hunter. Never expected it to be you." The other side of Sweetie was starting to win as she didn't find any contradictions with her story. Sure, there were things wrong but the hope that she was actually speaking to Scootaloo was beginning to soften her up. She allowed Scootaloo to take a few more steps to her, without moving. Still, there was just one other suspicion she had. "B-but what about that door?" Sweetie asked. "How the hay did you move that big piece of stone?" "Sweetie... no offense, but you're kinda wimpy." Scootaloo said. "Moving that stone wasn't that hard." Sweetie couldn't think of any contradictions as Scootaloo approached Sweetie further. Wait a second- "Stop!" Sweetie said. "What?" Scootaloo said, disobeying Sweetie's command. Sweetie started to back up against the back of the burial chamber, her paranoia renewed. "H-ow did you know I was that hunter?" Sweetie asked. Scootaloo shrugged. "Lucky guess. Figured since you're the only one who's still alive, you had to be them. Plus you've got that little cylindrical ghost processor." --There! "Who told you it was that?" "...what?" "M-madame said she told " Her brain and body were still weak from the spell Sweetie knew something was wrong, but her brain wouldn't have it. She'd seen her friend again, and a part of it craved... or rather needed that company. Her brain wouldn't allow her to leave as long as she wasn't completely sure her friend was altered. "N-no! You were in the dark, without a light, and a crypt full of ghosts. It's impossible for you to have made it here untouched!" Sweetie said. "Let alone at all." Scootaloo stopped. She laughed at the filly. "I guess there's no fooling you anymore huh?" Scootaloo cackled. Scootaloo was joined by two butler ghosts at her sides, completely cutting off Sweetie's path back out to the crypt. "I was kind of hoping to get to do this on my own... daddy never let me do anything on my own." Daddy? Sweetie thought. Scootaloo cleared her throat. "But I guess if the job gets done, in the long run, it just doesn't matter." Scootaloo said. "Kill her." The two butler ghosts laughed at Sweetie as they charged her. At one split second, Sweetie saw the opening between Scootaloo and the two ghosts. She clumsily dodged the left ghost and weaved right around Scootaloo. She ran into the darkness of the crypt. She could hear Scootaloo cackling as she perused her. She was getting louder, faster. Scootaloo, given her dream to become as fast as Rainbow Dash, had practiced increasing her speed. She was one of the fastest Cutie Mark Crusaders, and compared to the three fillies, Sweetie was the slowest. Sweetie's heart pounded in her chest as she tried to locate a way out of the crypt, her friend quickly growing closer. Ghosts popped out of walls left and right, thankfully, not all of them had the skeleton weight on them. Sweetie shined her light on the ghosts popping out of the walls, and dodged or ran past the ghosts coming out of the coffins. Sweetie found the passages of the crypt expanding. Sweetie only hoped that meant something good- Sweetie's head hit a metal door, knocking her back. She shook her head as she got up, and opened it. She looked back at the orange filly, madly grinning through the darkness, her eyes turned a glowing yellow now. Sweetie went through the door and closed it. She looked up to see a lock she could turn. She turned the lock, and heard a click from inside of the door. Sweetie stood back and shined her light on the door in case any ghosts tried to follow her... Nothing came. Not even the sound of the orange filly trying to force the door open. It was as if the ghosts had completely abandoned pursuing her altogether. Sweetie worried for her friend who was still trapped inside of the crypt with those ghosts, but it was better than her being outside, trying to kill her. Sweetie sighed in relief, as safe for the moment. What was more, she managed to escape with the GCD part. "One down... two to go." she sighed. Sweetie weakly smiled in the darkness before shining her light around the area to find out where she needed to go next. She saw a staircase leading upward. Possibly to the church Madame mentioned? Sweetie climbed the staircase and entered the door. Thankfully, once she was through, the nave of the church was well lit. Benches for ponies to sit stretched to the back of the small church. The walls were glass artwork, depicting Princess Celestia and Luna in different scenarios from Equestrian history, one of which, Sweetie recognized as the banishing of Nightmare Moon, and the encasement of Discord. Sweetie determined this was some kind of church that worshiped the Princesses. She'd heard about other places in the vast country of Equestria, where the Royal Sisters were respected not only as princesses but as gods. Their power was great, but ponies close to Canterlot, where the sisters resided knew better. Though they had a long lifespan, and were considerably powerful, they were still somewhat mortal, and even had their own limitations. Because of this, Sweetie had never seen a church before in person, and in all honesty, it was unsettling to the filly, with its Gothic architecture and creepy lighting. Sweetie took out her map to check her location. Now that she was out of the crypt, the maps previous question mark swirled around, and turned back into a map of the mansion. According to the map, Sweetie was to the right of the large mansion. She was as far as she could get from the safe zone around the center of the mansion. However, she hadn't gone too far from the courtyard, which meant the dressing room and auditorium were only a few hallways away. She headed for the back of the room to the exit. As she passed the benches of the church, Sweetie noticed something white out of the corner of her eye, lying on one of the benches. Sweetie went over to investigate to find it was a scribbled note. Forgive me my Celestia. Forgive my children. Forgive me my friends. Forgive me my dear. As my intentions do not matter anymore. For I have committed an act to hurt us all... Sweetie held the note in her hoof. It was some kind of confession. Who could have written it? Sweetie placed the note inside of her bag. Something told her it would be a good idea to keep it handy... She headed out of the church area, and into another hallway. She began her trek back to the dressing room, that note's words still in her head. Who wrote that, and what did they do that was so bad...? *** Sweetie entered the dressing room hallway. The storm still raged outside in the courtyard. Rain puddled inside of the hallway, since she left the door open when she first left. The light from her flashlight reflected off of the water on the floor. Other than that, the hallway remained the same. There several doors with stars on them in the hallway. Sweetie begun her search in each room, which were thankfully unlocked. The first room was a normal dressing room. It had a mirror, make up table, stool, and wardrobe closet. Everything was covered with a white sheet, just like the other items in the mansion. Nothing out of the ordinary. Sweetie headed to the next room over. Still the same. Sweetie went to several rooms in the puddled hallway, to find the same style of dressing room in each, with slight variations here and there. Finally, Sweetie came to the middle door, not very far from the door where wind and rain was coming from. She touched the door knob, to find it significantly colder than the other ones. Sweetie knew that there had to be a ghost somewhere inside of the room. As much as she didn't want to, this was the most different room she found in the hallway. And plus, it only made sense that a ghost might guard the piece that threatened them so much. Sweetie took a deep breath, ready to face whatever was inside of the room. As she opened, she was surprised to find nothing. No ectoplasm, no laughing, no indication that a ghost, or any pony for that matter had been in there for a long time... accept one thing. It was the sheet. Unlike the other rooms, the sheet to one of the make-up mirrors was slightly to its side, exposing the mirror. It was cracked, as if someone had broken it too. This room was definitely altered from the other ones, and it was more than enough to urge Sweetie make a point to examine the room twice as thoroughly as the others. Sweetie looked around the room, in the dresser, in the closet, under the chair, making sure every corner of the room was searched. Still though, the filly didn't find a thing in the room. C'mon Sweetie. Think! It’s gotta be in this room! Sweetie thought. She wasn't sure what made her sure of it, but she could feel it in her gut she was right. Ok... I doubt they would've made it easy to find... so it’s gotta be hidden really well... somewhere I wouldn't think of checking. Sweetie looked around the room one more time before she got an idea. She checked all of the corners of the room... on her level. She had yet to look up though. Sweetie shined her light at the ceiling. Nothing was there, accept a candle chandelier. Sweetie saw how pieces of gold arched into each candle holder... though the odd thing was, one of the arches had a ridged ends and the candle holder was silver, rather than gold like the others. That was it! Her nozzle had been cleverly disguised as a candle holder. Hiding in plain sight. Though Sweetie could now see the candle, the new problem was that she couldn't reach it. Ok, I can figure this out. Just need a way to climb up there. Sweetie thought. Sweetie considered using the dresser, but it was too heavy, and didn't look like it'd be high enough to reach the chandelier. The chair was the same. Sweetie then saw the sheet. She wondered if she could use it to climb up. She took the sheet fully off of the mirror completely exposing it. It completely broken, as Sweetie could barely see her reflection. Sweetie's mind went back to the fountain. The last time this happened, she saw orange ectoplasm trailing from it. Sweetie wondered if this could be how ghosts got around. Sweetie didn't see it as too strange, considering she at one point used a camera to transport to safety. Sweetie rolled up the sheet, tightening it, twirled it around, and tossed it up to the chandelier. She missed her first time. The second time, she almost got it. The third time, the sheet licked across the arch in the chandelier. Finally, she managed to get the sheet to catch on one of the chandelier arches, looping over it. Slowly, making sure she didn't cause it to fall back down again, she moved her side of the sheet up, as the other side's tip returned to her. Once it made it to a level she could take it from, she took both sides of the sheet, and tugged, making sure it was firmly on. She took both sides, and started to climb. Sweetie's upper body strength wasn't great, but it was enough for her to manage to inch her way up the cloth. Her arms felt weak as if they were going to give out on her. She forced herself to remain strong as she climbed. Finally, she made it to the chandelier. Sweetie looked up at the nozzle and hose. She took one hoof off of the cloth to reach out to it. She took it with her hoof, and grabbed the hose, which easily detached from the chandelier base. "Got you." Sweetie said to herself. "Got who?" Pinkie said as she phased through the ceiling, right next to Sweetie's face. The ghost mare scared the filly into letting go of the cloth and falling to the floor. She fell with a thud, groaning in pain on the floor. Pinkie giggled. "Silly Jumpie. You aren't supposed to let go of the rope." Pinkie said. "Didn't think you'd see me again huh?" Sweetie looked up at the ghost mare. She didn't know wither to fear the mare, or loathe her overly joyful attitude. "I thought I hid that part extra well, dont'cha think?" Pinkie said. "Y... you hid my stuff?" Sweetie asked as she got up. For a moment, she forgot her fear. "I thought you threw it away!" "I know I did." Pinkie giggled. "But I just wanted to see how far you'd go to actually look for it." Sweetie groaned rubbing her neck from the pain of the fall. "Only one more part to find, huh?" Pinkie asked. "Y-yeah? So?" Sweetie said. Sweetie figured it wouldn't be any use to trying to escape the mare now. Her only weapon was to keep the mare talking... and knowing Pinkie, that wouldn't be hard. Besides, the mare must have come for a reason... then again, this was Pinkie. "I can't wait for you to find the last part. Then we can play!" Pinkie said, moving around behind the filly. She put her cold ghostly fore leg around Sweetie's neck. "I've been waiting all night for something to do." "Play? Play what?" Sweetie asked. "A game silly!" Pinkie grinned. "But first, I need you to do a couple things for your Auntie Pinkie." A favor? That doesn't sound too promising. Sweetie thought. "Oh, don't worry. It's nothing big." Pinkie said. "S-stop looking at my thoughts!" Sweetie said. She sighed. She knew she wouldn't leave without honoring Pinkie's request. "What... what do you want?" "Nothing you weren't gonna do already... but I need you to catch a few ghosts for me." Pinkie said. "Don't worry. Just two. Can you guess who one is?" Sweetie thought. Someone who she was going to catch already.... the only people she could think of was one of her friends... that was Rainbow Dash... Twilight Sparkle... and Rarity... "...Twilight?" Sweetie guessed. "Good job! And how about the other one?" ".... Rarity?" Sweetie guessed again. Pinkie made a buzzer noise. "Wrong!" She said smiling. "Actually, I want you to catch Dashie too." "Rainbow and Twilight?" Sweetie asked. "Why would you want me to catch ghosts for you? Aren't they your... friends?" Sweetie wasn't sure if any of the ghosts considered each other 'friends' like she did with the CMC and her Mane 6. " "Don't get me wrong. I love Dashie and Twi... though still, I can't play my game until they're out of the way. You'll start to see when you catch them." Pinkie said. "Kind of like... a surprise! I know how much you like surprises." "I hate surprises." Sweetie said coldly. The last thing she needed that night was another surprise. "I think you're gonna love these. Anyway, when you get that done, head back to the courtyard out there." Pinkie said. "Here, let me mark your map for you." Without the filly's permission, she reached into her bag and takes out her map. She opens it, exposing the mansion layout. She touched a part of the map that said 'Library'. A pink smudge was left in the area as she stuck it back in her saddlebags. "I'll be waiting for you, as long as you haven't lost the game by then. Kay?" Pinkie said. "Ok." Sweetie responded. "Well, See ya later. Good luck with the rest of that vacuum thingy!" Pinkie said, floating into the mirror. As she did, the mirror repaired itself, and was as if no pony had ever touched the thing. Left behind on the face of the mirror were words left in a pink sludgy ectoplasm: Get Ready For A Party, A smiley face drawn on the side of the phrase along with some balloons and streamers. *** Sweetie went back through the lobby and back into the auditorium. It was still well lit, so that meant that there weren't any ghosts nearby... then again, she did still feel a slight chill in the air when she opened the door. She also still had that bad gut feeling that something was out of place and wrong in the seemingly empty auditorium. Still, Sweetie only had one more part to look for, and she wasn't going to let some paranoia keep her back now. Sweetie turned out her light, and put it back into her saddlebags, as she walked into the auditorium. As she did however, she suddenly felt lightheaded. The world seemed to move under her feet as she walked in, causing her to stumble over into one of the isles between the rows of viewing chairs. Sweetie shook her head, as she got up trying to regain her equilibrium. Thankfully, the feeling subsided after a few moments. That was weird. Sweetie thought. Sweetie started looking through the seats in the large auditorium, checking for anything that looked like her spectral containment pack. She walked up and down the aisles, looking for where it might be. She didn't see it anywhere. All of the seats in the auditorium were empty. Sweetie realized that the pack wouldn't be hidden so carelessly. It had to be somewhere... but where could she look in the massive auditorium- Suddenly, Sweetie heard something. It was music... piano music. Sweetie turned her attention to the stage. The grand piano sat there, music emitting from it. Sweetie had heard the piece before and it was somewhat unsettling... it was the music of a death march. The sad, depressing sound of a death march that might be played at a pony's funeral. Sweetie cautiously approached the stage, unknowing of whatever could be up there. She felt more dizziness come to her head, but she forced herself to stay up on her feet. Sweetie climbed the steps to the stage to investigate the piano. Before she could see what was behind the keyboard, the music abruptly stopped. Something banged against the inside of the piano, as if some pony were trying to escape its black cover. Sweetie rushed over to try and free whatever was inside, but found that it wouldn't lift. Sweetie noticed a lock on the side of the piano. Once Sweetie let go of the lock, the banging sound inside of the piano stopped. It was silent once again in the auditorium. Sweetie tried to figure out what to do. Some pony was obviously trapped inside... but wither or not it was a friendly pony was the question that came to the filly's mind. It made her more hesitant to the idea of figuring out how to open the piano. Still however, Sweetie had a feeling that her pack was also inside of the piano, and therefore, she had to figure out how to get it open. Sweetie investigated the surroundings of the piano. Sure enough, there was no key to the cover's lock. Maybe the piano player had it? Sweetie went around to the keyboard. No pony was there. What was happening? It couldn't have been a ghost, because the room was still lit. It also couldn't have been Applebloom, or she would have seen her. And Scootaloo was still down in the crypt, otherwise, she would have seen her on her way back. But she could have sworn there was music playing just a second ago... Sweetie examined the keys of the keyboard, and found something peculiar on them. On the three wooden black keys, at the center of the piano, three letters were etched into each one. A-C-T Act? What the hay could that mean? Sweetie wondered. Then something clicked in her head. Sweetie went inside of her saddlebags to take out the note she found back in the church. Forgive me my Celestia. Forgive my children. Forgive me my friends. Forgive me my dear. As my intentions do not matter anymore. For I have committed an act to hurt us all... Was there some kind of connection? Like a secret code in the note that corresponded to the note? Sweetie examined the note further, trying to figure out what it was trying to tell her. It was something related to the piano... related to music. Then she noticed the letters. The way the verses ended and began. Forgive me my Celestia Forgive me my children Forgive me my friends Forgive me my dear As my intentions do not matter anymore For I have committed an act to hurt us all They were notes! Sweetie remembered this from music classes she took back at school. She may not have known how to play a piano fluently, or at all for that matter, but somewhere down the line she learned the keys of a keyboard. Sweetie wondered... One hoof at a time, she started to enter the notes around the black keys with the word "Act" etched in. F, C, F, C, F, F, F, D, A, A, F, A. Once the song was finished, something inside of the piano clicked. One of the keys, the B, popped up. Inside of the key was... an actual key. Sweetie took the key out of the space in the keyboard, and went back over to the lock with it. To Sweetie's satisfaction, it was a perfect fit. She turned the key, and took the lock off of the piano cover. Sweetie used the piano bench to get up to allow her to climb up, giving her better leverage on the piano cover as she lifted it with her tiny filly fore legs. She managed to flip it over. She looked inside of the piano. She stared, with expressions horrified, shocked, and confused. Inside of the piano, was the spectral containment pack... right alongside her filly friend, Scootaloo, who lie there, cold, still, and breathless. [Continue] CHOICE13There was no way in hay that this was still Scootaloo. There were simply too many things wrong with this picture. If she didn't leave before she got to close, there was no telling what the pony under her skin would plan to do to her. Something like breaking her bones before feeding her to the ghosts of the catacombs? Or perhaps something violent like holding her down, beating her to a pulp until her face was completely unrecognizable? These concepts, Sweetie could only comprehend concept and nothing more. She couldn't see someone who looked so similarly to Scootaloo- no was Scootaloo, but at the not anymore, ruining her like that. Then again, she could barely comprehend it when Applebloom was holding a knife to her throat. For a time, acting on instinct, but when the realization, and just the realization dawned on her it caused her to have near a complete mental breakdown. Sweetie didn't want to comprehend any of it right now. She had to escape before Scootaloo even had the chance to try something. Behind her was the door. If she timed it just right, she could move around her and bolt through. Where she would go once she was back in the catacomb network was unclear. Though that didn't matter. So long as she could escape this thing who wore her coat. Scootaloo... no, this possessed Scootaloo stared at her. Waiting. Expecting. Sweetie made a dodge to the right and bolted forward, determined to get past Scootaloo. At first it didn't even seem like she had even realized the move Sweetie made. She didn't even flinch. Sweetie figured that she had managed to surprise her with such an impulse move. "Alright, almost- wha?!" Suddenly, right in front of her, Scootaloo appeared. Did she teleport? No. She, even possessed couldn't and wouldn't be able to use any kind of magic. That wasn't teleportation. That was just sheer speed. --Rainbow would be proud. Before Sweetie could try another dodge, Scootaloo raised a hoof and jabbed her in her throat. "Guh-ah!" Sweetie gasped, falling to the ground. The jab wasn't enough to kill her. It was simply for all it did. To stun her while Scootaloo did as she pleased with her. She stood above Sweetie, laughing at her as she lied on the ground. Before she could move again, or even try to get up, she got on top of Sweetie, pinning her to the ground. The mad grin was there now. Her eyes shone yellow. There was no denying it at this point. She of course knew it down in her gut, but oh how she desperately didn't want to have to see it. Not here. As the last living memory of her friend. Scootaloo laughed. Sweetie struggled to get free. "Quit squirming." Scootaloo commanded. "I got you. You're my toy now. That means you've gotta do what I say. That's the rules. Ms. Pinkie said so." P...inkie? Regardless, Sweetie didn't stop trying to get free. Scootaloo tilted her head. "You stubborn mule, I said stop squirming!" With a quick movement, Scootaloo raised her hoof and slammed it down onto one of Sweetie's forelegs. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sweetie screamed. "Shut up!" Scootaloo brought down another hoof on Sweetie's other foreleg. "Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!" Sweetie whimpered. She tried to keep her mouth shut, under some vague hope that if she listened to her, the horrible mind splitting pain would stop. "Geeze, you're just like her." she spat. "Always whining over the stupidest things." Scootaloo got up off of her. It wasn't like Sweetie would be able to move with two of her legs virtually ruined. But the mad filly didn't stop there. "I thought I could have fun with you." Scootaloo brought down another hoof on one of Sweetie's hind legs. She screamed again this time, even louder. Though Scootaloo didn't seem to care. "But how in hay am I gonna have fun with a whiner?" "P...lease... please..." Sweetie pleaded. She could feel her consciousness fading from the intense pain. She knew once she fell asleep, she wouldn't wake up. Then again, with this kind of pain, would she really want to? "But... that's alright. At least now, I won't have to listen to you whiing anymore after this." and then Scootaloo brought one last hoof down on Sweetie. Sweetie blacked out. *** Sweetie woke up with a gasp. The air was very thin and stale. And smelly. Sweetie groaned. Her body was in unimaginable pain. --So much pain. Especially in her legs- It was then the memories of when Sweetie blacked out rushed into her little head. Scootaloo. She had knocked her unconscious by pinning her down and smashing at her legs. "Where... hello?" Sweetie called out. Her saddlebags were still on, surprisingly. It looked like Scootaloo hadn't stripped her of her gear this time. She supposed she should be thankful but something felt wrong about it at the same time. After all, it was way too convenient that she would leave something as vital as her flashlight in her mouth. Wherever she was. To avoid only incriminating her pain, Sweetie shifted the flashlight around in her mouth until she eventually managed to turn it on. Click! A circle of light beamed forward, only to be immediately stopped by some grey stone wall. "W...hat?" Sweetie said. It was then she noticed that her side was also against something rough and stone. And her back as well. It wasn't long before Sweetie finally concluded. She was in a coffin. "Hehehehehe...hehehe..." Then the laughter. That horrible horrible laughter. Low, but so very near. As if right next to Sweetie's- Sweetie slowly turned to the left to see what it was, dropping the flashlight out of her mouth when she screamed. It was a body. No, not like the one before, only a skeleton. This one was still decaying. It still had rotten eyes to look at her. Sweetie screamed. She rolling on her back in a panic. She tried lifting her hoof to push open the coffin. "Ah!" --The pain. The coffin lid was already probably heavy enough. With Sweetie's legs ruined like this, there was no way she would be able to push it open. Sweetie screamed even louder at what seemed to be one horrific realization to the next. She tried shifting her body best she could against the sides. Squirming inside as the teeth of the decaying pony began to chatter to compliment the laughs. Trying to escape somehow. Somehow. The candy heart! Of course! There still was a way out. She could just get into her saddlebags and- Sweetie bit through the pain and shoved her hoof into her saddlebags. It's not here. The air seemed to get thinner and thinner the shorter Sweetie breathed. The more she thrashed her broken legs into her saddlebags like a ragdoll, desperate to feel the warmth of it's glow. It's not here. "Help" Her throat was getting dry. So very dry as she cried out for somepony. Anypony. Anyone. Hoping they would hear. And somepony did in fact hear. Scootaloo in fact. She heard her ever so faintly from inside that little box of death. The one with the candy heart ever so neatly placed on top of it. GAME OVER [Continue?] Chapter 11- The Magic of the Mind [REBOOT]It–that doesn't make sense... Sweetie stared blankly at the filly's still body inside of the piano. She lay awkwardly, facing the side of the keyboard. Her hooves were swollen and red. Her body was cold and motionless. Her eyes were empty, not even containing the yellow tint of someone possessed. Sweetie noticed markings around her neck. "It's your fault you know." Sweetie turned her head on impulse to the sound of the new voice. Whom she saw was a purple scaled dragon, green bones sticking out along his head, back, and tail. It was Spike. At least, that's what he looked like. Sweetie stared at him. Her mind had stopped working at the sight of the filly. It didn't make sense. It just didn't. --Logic is gone "Do you want to know how she died?" Spike asked. Sweetie continued to stare at the dragon. He smiled, "She killed herself, Sweetie. The ghost inside of her made her hang herself." He proceeded to get on his tip-toes and cock his head down to the left, whilst pretending to hold something in his claws over the back of his neck, a rope perhaps. Sweetie didn't respond to the dragon, not even when he gave that creepy laugh, suddenly a little too deep to be the same Spike she knew. All she did was listen, unable to move; her throat too dry to speak back. She felt dizzy but not enough to make her fall over again. It was a similar feeling, similar to what she felt when she lost track of reality. --Logic left the mansion a few hours ago, sweetie pie "I watched her do it, too, you know." Spike said. "Here, it's the rope she used." Spike tossed it in front of the filly. "Think of it as a souvenir." "Sc–Scootaloo...killed...herself?" Sweetie managed to get out. She had a hard time believing the dragon's words. There was the filly, lying inside of the piano, right next to the GCD part. Sweetie didn't want to believe it, but there she was. Sweetie touched the deceased filly. She wasn't just cold; however, she was hard. She was like ice to the filly's touch. As she touched, a crack appeared on the filly's body. The crack spread until it covered the filly's entire body, and her body disintegrated. "You let her stay trapped in that crypt, and you forced her to kill herself. Just because you wanted to be safe." Spike said. "No, Scootaloo. No." Sweetie felt a tear run down her cheek. Did she really kill her friend? Was it really her fault? "You've always been a mess-up, Sweetie. You've been just a big disappointment to all of your friends and yourself. You even managed to get Twi killed because of how stupid you’ve been.” he chuckled. “I mean, how stupid do you have to be to let Applebloom, a pony who obviously wasn’t safe, in your safe zone? Hell, you KNEW something was wrong. Didn't you? But, you didn’t want to believe it," he paused, “or maybe you did, but you just didn’t care.” He tilted his head. “And Scootaloo, the little pony, you forced her into this dilemma. Dying from starvation in a crypt or dying over the course of a few minutes with–” he motioned an arm toward the rope “–that. But considering how lax you’ve been with this entire incident and how you’re just standing there, I’m sure you don’t care about that either.” He started to cackle. For every “Ha” that came from the baby dragon’s mouth, Sweetie's head throbbed. --He was right. Something was wrong with Scootaloo, but there was nothing she could do, but was that really true? She cared about herself and getting away more than her friend- was that really true? --It hurts. The truth hurts. The lies hurt. It hurts. Sweetie wasn't sure from where the pain was coming. Was it the dragon's words? Was it the truth? The world didn't seem real anymore. Ever-disconnected did her thoughts become. The world remained the same, but Sweetie’s mind was more and more lost with every word that came out of Spike’s mouth. --Scootaloo’s dead. Ow. Hahaha --Ah. Hahaha --Scootaloo’s dead. Ow. It seemed like a dream world to the filly. --Dream. Ah. --Nightmare. Nightmare. Just a big nightmare to the little filly. --Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Sssss. --She’s not dead. She’s not dead. Scootaloo, she couldn't be dead. It was impossible. Spike stopped laughing abruptly. “But, it’s okay. Everyone here is dead already. Either that or on their way, right?” The dragon laughed at the filly. He paused before speaking again, "Don't you worry, Sweets. I know just what to do. It'll take all the pain away." Spike took a deep breath and blew a flame onto the stage. A patch of the wooden stage was now on fire with the dragons green flame, “Just let it eat you. I promise you won’t feel a thing.” Sweetie simply stared off into the distance. Her mind desperately trying to put itself back together. "See ya, Sweetie." Spike said as he hopped off the stage and walked out the theater. The flame spread quickly across the stage, getting closer by the second. It was funny. Sweetie didn't hear the fire gnawing at the wood at that alarming rate. She didn't see the fire, bright enough to blind her as it was. But, she smelled the smoke. Her eyes contracted as fear and survival instinct took over her body. Sweetie grabbed the spectral containment pack and slipped the piece on her back under the straps of her saddlebags. Sweetie looked around, searching desperately for some kind of exit. The way back to the exit to the theater, however, was blocked by increasingly large flames. She saw a rope, likely for production, leading up to the catwalk at the top of the stage. If she wasn’t trying not to die, she might have visualized how ponies would usually drop from above for a show. Sweetie dashed for the rope, escaping the flames as they consumed the piano. She looked up at the high catwalk. It was a long way up, but her survivor's instinct wouldn’t have it. She was going to climb it. She wasn't going to die here. --It’s hot Through adrenaline and fear, Sweetie found strength she didn't even know she had as she climbed the rope up to the catwalk. By now, the entire stage's floor was consumed in the green flame. Smoke began to float to the top, almost suffocating the filly, causing her to cough as she climbed. Finally, Sweetie managed to make it to the top of the rope and climbed onto the narrow catwalk. She looked around, desperate for a way out. It was only a matter of time before the fire spread up and burned down the catwalk if the smoke didn't kill her first. --Hot and black. Sweetie squinted through the smoke, trying to find a way out. Sweetie crawled along the catwalk, looking around, feeling around for something, anything. --No air. Sweetie took one of the paths on the catwalk, which branched in several directions over the stage. She couldn't see. The only sense of direction she had was the catwalk, and the direction it went. Finally, she hit an end, a wall. She felt around it to find it wasn't a normal wall. It was rough and metal and an air vent! It had to be an air vent just large enough for her to fit through, too. Sweetie tried to pull the cover off of the vent. It wouldn't budge. It was bolted with four screws. "Come on!" Sweetie, or perhaps her survivor’s instinct yelled in frustration at the vent, banging her hoof against it in frustration. The situation was hopeless. It was only a matter of time before she breathed enough smoke to pass out and fell to the bottom to be eaten by the hungry, hungry inferno. She was already feeling lightheaded from a lack of oxygen. She was going to die if she didn't figure out how to get out of there fast. --Suffocate. So hot. Sweetie balanced her way back down the catwalk, careful not to lose her balance and fall into the blazing green fire below. She went down another branch of the catwalk at random, hoping to find a way to survive. That's all that mattered in the filly's head at the moment, survival. She didn't process why she wanted to survive. She didn't process how she was going to survive. She just wanted some way to survive. Sweetie hit another dead end. This time, however, she didn't hit a wall or a sealed vent. Instead, she hit something sticking out of the wall. Through the smoke, she tried to tell what it was. It was some kind of box with a handle. Sweetie took the handle and opened the box. She sifted through the box, feeling different items inside. There was a wrench, a hook thing, and a screwdriver! It was a screwdriver! Could it possibly fit the vent she was locked out of? Sweetie stuck the tool in her mouth and moved back up the catwalk. The heat was rising as the fire from the bottom moved up the walls and to the ceilings. She felt the catwalk becoming more and more unsteady as if it were ready to give under her weight. Sweetie was halfway when she heard something through the smoke over the fire crackle. It was the sound of metal bending. Melting from the incomprehensible heat. --Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot! Part of the catwalk was coming apart, and Sweetie felt it as it moved to the side. Sweetie nearly fell into the fire. Now, the filly knew to move faster. Sweetie reached the center of the catwalk and hoped the path she took next was the right one back to the vent. She would only have one shot at this. Sweetie chose the center one and moved up it as fast as possible. She hit the wall. It was hot from gaining heat but not like a wall should. It was as though heat had conducted on it. It was the metal of the vent! She made it! Sweetie proceeded to remove the bolts on her escape, ignoring the fire behind her. She felt the flames getting closer and closer to her flank. Sweetie caught the bolts as they fell out of the vent just out of instinct. She wasn't sure why though, but somehow, she couldn't help it. Her body was running almost on autopilot. Finally, after the fourth bolt fell into the filly's hoof, the covering of the vent with it. Sweetie stuck the screw driver back in her saddlebags with the screws and hopped into the vent. The force of her hop caused the fragile catwalk to fall into the fire. Flames licked the filly's flank as she made it through just in time to escape the fire. She yelped in pain at her burnt plot. Still, smoke was filling the vent, and Sweetie still needed to get out of there quickly. She moved as fast as she could through the small air vent into pitch darkness. She couldn't see anymore, but she was sure she had escaped the smoke after a few minutes. At least she got to a point where the black smog wasn’t filling her nostrils and lungs like a barbeque gone wrong. Still, that didn't cause the filly to slow down. Survivor’s instinct had finally decided to take a break and go back to sleep in the back of Sweetie’s brain. Right now, she was just blindly moving. Pumped with adrenaline that caused the filly to lose control of her body, which must have still thought it was in escape mode. Finally, she was forced to a stop as she hit a wall in the metal air vent. The pain threw off the filly's instinctive side and brought back Sweetie, who cried there in the small area. She didn't know why she was crying anymore. Too many things pressing down on her made it nearly impossible to discern which thing she was crying about now. --Crybaby. Was she still mourning the death of her friend? --Crybaby. Was she just still afraid for her life as she just escaped being burned alive? --Crybaby. Or was it just simple stress? Sweetie whispered one thing as her sobs transitioned into small hiccups, “I want to go home.” she wished pointlessly. And unsurprisingly, it wasn’t granted. Sweetie lay in the air vent for who knew how long. She just wanted the nightmare to end. She just wanted to give up. She just wanted to stay in that vent where it was safe. She just wanted to be safe. (But what about your friends?) "My–my friends?" Sweetie asked herself. (Don't they matter to you? What about your sister?) "Rarity." Sweetie responded to her conscience. (You can't give up now. You still need to help your friends. You can do it. Twilight believes in you. Your friends believe in you. You're their only hope. Don't let them down.) "I can't. I can't." Sweetie said as tears stream down her cheeks once again. "Scootaloo's dead. She's–" (That may be, but you can still save your other friends. You can still leave this mansion with the rest of them.) "I can't." Sweetie repeated. (You can, and you will. Just believe.) "B–believe?" Sweetie asked. (Believe you will save your friends. Believe you will see the end of this night. And, you will. Save Rarity. Don't let her down.) "Save Rarity, my friends and escape." Sweetie said. Sweetie nodded to herself and wiped the tears from her face. Sweetie squeezed through the air vent and managed to reach in her saddlebags to take out her flashlight. Sweetie clicked it on and continued to navigate through the air vent. She would keep moving forward. She would keep trying to catch her friends, and she would see the end of the night (or die trying.) *** The air vent opened up into a larger area. It was just enough room for Sweetie to sit up on her flank and stretch out herself from being cramped in such a small area for such a long time. She assumed she'd been crawling for about thirty minutes or an hour. At least that’s what it felt like. Sweetie decided that here would be the best place to start putting together the ghost capture device. She took off the spectral containment pack first, followed by her own saddlebags. She dumped the contents onto the metal surface of the vent. She took inventory of what she had: the mansion map, the golden star box, her heart candy, the screwdriver, the ectotube and nozzle, and the cylindrical ghost processor. Sweetie checked her head to see if Applejack's hat was still firmly placed on her head. Sweetie wondered if it actually did bring her luck. After all, she just escaped a burning theater with virtually no conventional exits. Sweetie put the other items to the side and laid in front of her the pieces to the GCD. “Okay. Got all of the parts. Now what?” There were only three parts, so it wasn't something that looked difficult to reconstruct. There were parts that needed to be screwed back in to each other; however, Sweetie did notice that some of the parts were missing screws. Thankfully, Sweetie kept the ones she used from the vent. "Huh, who would've thought that these would come in handy so soon?" Sweetie said to herself as she held the four screws in her hoof. She was almost happy she wasn’t thinking normally. Normal Sweetie would have been more worried about getting her flank scorched than catching some stupid screws. --Screw the screws! Sweetie only had four, and the GCD was missing about six. Two were missing in the place where the cylindrical ghost processor went, and all four were missing in the place where the ectotube connected to. Sweetie got to work. She put the spirit containment pack in front of her and placed the cylinder on top in the hollow it supposedly went in. She screwed the first two screws into place that were already on the cylinder. She added her two new screws, which fit perfectly. The processor was successfully reattached to the pack. Now, came the nozzle and tube. Sweetie examined the part. It was now that she noticed signs that were on the base of the GCD by the switch. There were three of them. The first one was an arrow that pointed down toward the tube. Sweetie assumed that that was the suction function. Next was the arrow pointing away from the tube. Sweetie assumed that it was the function that allowed her to blow like when she used it against Applejack. Finally, there was a green splotch. Sweetie found this sign newer looking than the others. Also, she could have sworn the switch only had two positions the last time she used it. Sweetie then remembered the ghost book had said something about a”'new feature.” She decided she would try it on the next ghost she confronted. Sweetie then attached the hose to the cylindrical ghost processor where a hole was located, surrounded by four more holes where screws most likely went. She screwed the two screws she had left in place. It wasn't firm, but Sweetie assumed that it would be enough for the machine to function somewhat properly. She could at least use it until she found some more screws. Once the tube was on the GCD, it lit up again. The red lights flashed on top. "Rebooting... Rebooting... Ghost Capture 3000 functioning. Warning! Ectotube is incorrectly configured. Please repair in order to have full functionality." the GCD said. Sweetie smiled. It wasn't a pony, and it certainly wasn't alive, but it felt good to hear the disembodied voice of her GCD. A voice that wasn’t her own. And arguably like one of a friend she hadn't heard from in way too long. Or expected to see again for that matter. The warning worried her a little, but she twisted the ectotube connection the GCD warned her about. It wiggled a little but not enough in which it would keep the device from sucking any worse. Sweetie supposed she would deal with it if it, at some point, became a problem. "Ok, that's working. That's good." Sweetie said to herself, putting her saddlebags on, followed by the GCD. "Now, where am I?" According to the map, she was right next to a hallway that would lead her to the library on the second floor of the mansion. Her destination was just a few doors down. Perfect. Finally, things were --Not dead. looking up for --Dead. Sweetie. --That is the question. She might just be able to catch another of her friends after all. She shook her head. She had to remain strong. Despite what Spike said and despite what she had seen, she refused to believe that her friend was dead. This mansion was wrong. Logic was wrong. To the point Sweetie couldn’t trust her eyes anymore. Not completely. Not without doubts. She might have been deluding herself. Maybe she was deluding herself. Maybe she was crazy. But she knew she wouldn’t move any further if she accepted Scootaloo’s fate. And besides. Even if she did die. Sweetie’s fault or otherwise. She could just recapture her. Right? --Soon! Sweetie placed everything around her back into her bag. She shined her flashlight around the larger vent to find her exit and bolted. She used her screwdriver to open the vent and got it to fall to the hallway floor below. Sweetie jumped out of the vent and into a new hallway. Suddenly, she felt dizziness take her over again, causing her to collapse to the ground. "Ugh." Sweetie moaned. "Why do I keep getting so dizzy?" She shook her head, trying to regain her equilibrium, but it didn't work this time. This dizziness was far worse than she experienced any other time that night. It was much stronger and disorienting. --Closing in on target~ Stay Frosty Jumpie! Sweetie felt the world starting to spin around her again. She leaned against the wall of the hallway, trying to keep herself up. The world stopped feeling real just like when she saw Scootaloo's body or when she found herself in Sugarcube Corner. The world didn't feel real as if it were some kind of dream sequence. --Ddddddddiiiiiiiiiiiivvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeee... Down the hallway, Sweetie sees another ghost, the ghost with a white coat and purple mane. "Rarity." Sweetie mumbled. Sweetie stumbled down the hallway to the specter version of her sister. Sweetie's mind was blank and wasn't working again. She was trapped in another trance as she moved toward her sister, passing the entrance to the library. Rarity beckoned to the filly as she got closer, sweetly smiling at the filly. Once Sweetie was close, Rarity exited to a door to her right. Sweetie followed, repeating her name under her breath. She followed her up stairs. Sweetie didn't know where she was going, but her brain couldn't process any reason. Right now, she was just following her sister on a subconscious whim. Finally, Sweetie reached the top of the stairs and entered a new hallway, identical to the one she was just in. The hallway seemed endless in its darkness. Far down the hallway, Sweetie could see Rarity, lying in the middle of it. --She's hurt Sweetie. You should go make sure she's ok. "Rarity...gotta...make sure...she's ok." Sweetie said, moving in the direction of the mare's location. The walls around the filly seemed to melt. Any paintings or artwork on the walls drooped down in a wet mess. Sweetie didn't care, however. She was almost to where her sister was. She felt something crack under her feet, something sharp, but she didn't look down to see what it was. All she cared about was helping her sister just– Lightning flashed, illuminating the world around the filly. Everything changed, back to normal. Nothing felt dreamlike, and her equilibrium was back. She was standing on broken glass, spread around the floor. What was in front of her was no longer her sister. No, she was standing in front of a broken window, looking out in front of the mansion and the rest of the forest. Rain lightly went through her mane and coat as the wind blew towards her. If Sweetie had just taken a couple more steps forward, she would have walked out of the window and fallen to her death. After that realization, she took a few steps back. What had just happened? Then, Sweetie remembered the words of Madame: You were being manipulated by the Portrait of Magic. Twilight Sparkle, it made sense, now. Twilight's ghost had been manipulating her all night. She must have been in her head, creating illusions, like Sugarcube Corner or Rarity or even Scootaloo's dead body. She remembered having a similar dizzy sensation back in the theater. Did that mean that her friend wasn't really dead? Could it have all just been one big mind trick? Sweetie felt relief at the thought she still might be able to save all of her friends, but then she remembered, she would still have to face Twilight, who almost convinced her to jump out of a five story window. How would she be able to fight someone who could manipulate her mind? Another flash of lightning occurred outside. Then, the lightbulb went off over Sweetie's head. Sweetie managed to break free of the mare's magical mental grip when the lightning flashed. Maybe, she could use it against Twilight? That was her advantage and her only chance at fighting the ghost mare. It was worth a shot. Sweetie looked out at the forest. She couldn’t have been in the mansion for more than a few hours, but she was already forgetting what it was like back outside. Back in Ponyville, back in the Boutique, back where her nice warm bed was, where Rarity would tuck her in every night. Sweetie shook her head, careful not to get too caught up in her homesickness. She still had a job to do. She still had to catch her sister and friends. Sweetie's attention turned to the front yard of the mansion, and she was shocked to what she saw. The first things she noticed were the holes in the ground where the graves were. It was as if some of the ponies underground had just climbed out. Sweetie knew that couldn't be good. The next thing she noticed were the statues along the path that led to the mansion. They were also missing or at least the griffon statues were gone. The dragon ones, thankfully, were still there as still as ever. Something told Sweetie that she was going to have to face a new enemy soon. She wished she still had her ghost book, so she would be ready for the incoming threat. Sweetie checked her map to find that there was another entrance to the library on her floor. Sweetie didn't see any reason to go back downstairs if the entrance was also on that floor. She headed back down the hallway to the entrance, the light shining her way forward. As Sweetie moved forward, something stopped her again. It was a chill, the chill that meant a ghost was nearby. Sweetie's guard went up as she prepared her GCD. Sweetie proceeded cautiously down the hallway, her flashlight ready for anything that might pop out. The next sound she heard wasn't a laugh but a growl. It was the sound something Sweetie imagined a dog might make. Was it one of those ghost dogs from the basement? How the hay did it get up here? Sweetie didn't see anything in front of her, but she could hear the growling getting louder and louder then it hit her. She wasn't seeing any ghost dog because it wasn't in front of her but behind her. “...stupid.” Sweetie thought. Sweetie whirled around only to be tackled by a fierce glowing red ghost dog. Her flashlight was knocked out of her muzzle. Sweetie fell to the ground. Unlike the last time she she was pounced at, she wasn’t as lucky. It managed to put its full weight on top of the filly. This type of ghost, was slightly more tangible, but still she could feel it slowly phasing through her body as it weighed her down, chilling her to the bone. It tried to bite her face off, but as it did, Sweetie held it back by holding its muzzle away from her face. “Get...” The dog didn’t hear her as it continued to bark furiously at her. WOOF! WOOF! WOOF! It snapped at her face, seeming to slip it’s cold snout further through Sweetie’s hooves. --Pain. So Cold. Pain. So Cold. Ah! “Get...!” WOOF! WOOF! WOOF! It even managed to snap at her snout a little bit, nipping and scratching her with it’s teeth. Though whether or not it was the sharpness of the teeth, or the sheer amount of cold in them that cut her snout remained to be seen. --So cold. Sharp cold. Dying cold. Dead- "GET. OFF. of. ME!" Sweetie said, holding back the ghost dog. She managed to toss the it to its side. She scrambled up and went for her flashlight. She took it up with her hooves and shined it at the ghost dog. Ding! The ghost dog howled as Sweetie activated her GCD. "15,14,13-" the GCD said. Sweetie quickly got back into the swing of using the GCD as the ghost dog dragged her around the hallway. She remembered her "yank" technique. "11, 10, yank, 98765, 4, 3, yank 210. Magic depleted. Capturing ghost.” the GCD said. The ghost dog howled as it was dragged inside of the nozzle through the hose, through the ghost processor, and eventually into the GCD spirit containment pack. It felt good to the filly to be able to catch ghosts again, not only the satisfaction of catching one but also the security that she could fight back again. Sweetie continued to move forward to the entrance of the library. Finally, she found it as she stood in front of a large door with a fancy picture of a book over it. This must have been it. The door was slightly ajar, confirming that someone besides her must have been in there and most likely was still there. Without further hesitation, Sweetie pushed the heavy door wider, so she could fit through. Another flash of lightning illuminated the library for a split second. Something was wrong. What Sweetie expected to see when she entered the library was quite different from what she did see. No, based on what she’d already witnessed in the mansion (one tends to have one’s expectations raised when you find a theatre and a church in someone’s god damned house), she hadn't expect something as small as Twilight's library. That said, she was really hoping this one would at least consist of a floor to stand on. Of course, the library was dark. From what Sweetie could tell, she was on some kind of balcony in the shape of half a circle. A banister surrounding it so no one would make the deadly mistake of falling off the edge to what could be quite the nasty fall. It stood just above what seemed to be infinite rows of book cases, evenly placed along the immense library. Her light didn’t seem to reach the bottom of the chasms of bookcases. Sweetie almost questioned if there was even a bottom to begin with. In contrast, there seemed to at least be a ceiling, which book cases that were against the wall alongside the balcony appeared to stretch toward. “Luna...” Sweetie mumbled. “Twilight would have a field day in here. What kind of pony has so many books in their…” then she remembered where she was, and realized if she noted all of the nonsensical things about this mansion, she wouldn’t get anywhere. Either way, she figured she must have been at least 3-4 stories up from the first floor. Even if there was something of a bottom, falling would without a doubt kill her. Sweetie shined her light around the balcony to see that there was nothing. There was no ladder or staircase to lead her back down to the first floor or even further up to the another one. The balcony was almost completely cut off, save for the bookshelves. “What's the point of having this here anyway?” Sweetie thought to herself, breaking quickly breaking her “no-nonsense mindset” by questioning the pointless balcony. Suddenly, she heard something slam behind her. She whirled around to find the door she'd just come through had shut. Sweetie moved over there and yanked on its handle to no avail. It was shut tight. There was no way back. "Come on! Open!" Sweetie yelled at the door. The door continued to stubbornly stay shut. Sweetie then felt a cold chill across her coat. It was official. She was definitely not alone in that library. Sweetie backed away from the door as though the door were the source of the chill. "No, there's got to be some way out of here. Think Sweetie!" Sweetie remembered her map. Maybe, she could find some new exit to the library. The filly took the enchanted piece of parchment out of her saddlebags and placed it on the floor of the balcony. She shined her light on it. "C'mon. Show me a way out." Sweetie whispered to the map. It zoomed onto the library. In the corner of the map, written in fancy cursive, it said that she was on the fifth floor. The map then started to show walls of the library in red ink. Could they be possible exits? Once all of the red lines showed, the map begun to write numbers next to each of the exits except one. It seemed that at the far side of the library was another exit, written in the normal black ink that said '5'. That must have meant that there was an exit on the other side of her floor. All Sweetie had to do, now, was get to it. Sweetie looked over the balcony banister. She saw there was a bookcase top that was just within a jump's length. Sweetie figured that she could use the bookshelves as her bridge to the other side. She had no choice but to brave the bookshelves now. At least it was better than standing there, waiting for a ghost to swoop down and attack her. She put her map back into her saddlebags and climbed onto the banister and balanced there for a moment before making the jump to the top of the bookcase. Sweetie didn't land stably as she almost fell over the side of the bookcase. Sweetie looked down to the floor. Her flashlight light couldn't reach the bottom. Sweetie knew that if she fell from this height, she wasn't going to get back up. Sweetie gulped at the reminder that one bad step would lead to her death. Sweetie took a deep breath. "Don't look down, just forward. Don't look down." She said to herself as she started to walk through the darkness. The library was so thickly dark; if it wasn't for her flashlight illuminating her path along the bookcase, she might have thought she was slipping out of reality again. Sweetie kept her guard up as she hopped to the next bookcase. It was cold, and she knew that if Pinkie was telling the truth, then Twilight had to be somewhere around here. Sweetie remembered Twilight was alive at one point; her spirit split into two. Until Madame mentioned it, a second Twilight had never occurred to her. Now that Twilight was joined with her other half and if she was able to mess with Sweetie when she wasn't at full power in the kitchen, who knew how strong she could be now? Sweetie saw another flash of lightning outside. She stopped and brought her attention to the window far off on a wall in the massive library; its curtains going up along its sides, allowing the lightning to enter the library. Suddenly, a roar of thunder, louder than Sweetie thought possible, came from the heavens. It was so strong that it caused the mansion to shake a little bit. The vibration caused Sweetie to lose her balance, and she felt herself fall over the side of the bookcase. She thought she was dead the moment she fell, but then her hoof grabbed something. Instinctively, she took a hold of the wooden plank that brushed across her hoof, catching herself before she fell. She pulled herself in, hugging the wooden plank with her foreleg. Sweetie confirmed it to be some kind of ladder. It felt weak, and from the emptiness under Sweetie's hind leg, it seemed to be broken. It didn't have a way down for her, but it certainly saved her life. Sweetie sighed in relief and then noticed something glowing in the darkness along the bookcase next to the ladder. With her flashlight miraculously still clamped firmly between her teeth, she shined her light at the spot. It was a book as Sweetie expected, but the spine of that book that red and yellow spine. Could it be– Sweetie, still holding on tight to the broken ladder, reached for the book. It was simply too far away, however, for the filly to reach for it; then, she got an idea. Sweetie took the nozzle of her GCD and aimed precisely at the book she needed. It slid out of the bookshelf and hit her GCD nozzle. It stuck there much like the apple did when she sucked it in. Sweetie let go of the GCD vacuum button and caught the book before it fell off into the dark bottom of the library. She identified it and confirmed it to be her ghost notebook! Sweetie grinned in delight. I guess it would make sense my book would be in a library. she thinks, not caring about the fact that it shouldn’t. She almost thought it was a good thing she almost got herself killed. Otherwise, she would have just walked over the thing. As she put her ghost notebook back into her saddlebags, she noticed something else. The other books, around where the ghost book was previously, began to glow. Did she just set off some kind of trap? "Ah… that’s not good." Sweetie said to herself. She didn't waste any more time on the ladder. She put her hind leg on the next plank of the ladder and started to climb back up to the top of the book case. Once there, she looked back down, going against her judgement. What she saw was light emitting from a whole section of books around the ghost book's spot. Books started to float out of their shelves and, eventually, to the side of the bookshelf of Sweetie. They opened their purple covers and started to fly after her. "No, no, no!" she said as she broke into a run across the bookshelf. She hopped to the next bookshelf just a little higher than the one she was on previously. She was barely able to keep her balance. The books were gaining on her, determined to knock her off of the bookcase. Sweetie was scared and felt helpless, but then, she remembered. She didn't have to keep running now. She had the GCD. Once a little distance was built between Sweetie and the books, she turned around and pointed her flashlight at the hostile transparent novels. Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! The books light shield was broken. Sweetie then activated her GCD as it begun to vacuum the ghosts into the pack. The strange thing, however, something that surprised Sweetie, was that the GCD didn't just start sucking up one ghost, but it started sucking up two! Sweetie didn't question how or why. "0. Capturing ghosts." The GCD said. The first two books went inside of the GCD without a fight. "Capture successful. Warning. Ghost Capture Device at 50 percent" the GCD said. Sweetie ignored the voice as she continued to suck up the ghost books flying at her. "0. Capturing ghosts. Two more ghosts were forced into the GCD again without a fight. Sweetie assumed by the amount of magic inside of them that they were one of the weaker ghosts. Still, there were about four still flying at her. The GCD continued to suck up books; however, this time, rather than sucking two, it sucked one. As it entered the GCD, the device beeped. This was followed by the lights on the back of the GCD blinking red, and the nozzle button to pop back up. When Sweetie tried to push it, it wouldn't budge. "Ghost Capture Device at Full Capacity. Please expel ghosts in order to gain back functionality" "Come on! Work!" Sweetie yelled at the machine. Sweetie then ducked from the incoming books as they flew over her head. Despite the small size of the ghosts, the chill they gave was overwhelming to the filly as though she'd just gone outside on a freezing winter day. They flew behind her for a minute before turning back around and flying back at the filly again. "Stupid vacuum! How do you take ghosts back out anyway?!" Then, Sweetie remembered “The new function.” Sweetie remembered from the mirrored hallway that the ghost book said the GCD had a function that actually fired ghosts back at them. Could she use that to fight? And, possibly, empty her GCD? Sweetie switched the GCD nozzle switch to the green sludge icon. "Spectral Throwback activated." the GCD said. The button released, giving Sweetie the ability to press it again. She pointed her nozzle at the books and hit the button. Purple sludge fired out of the nozzle at such an incredible velocity that it sent the filly back a step. The purple sludge hit two of the books and knocked them out of the air and down into the darkness of the library. Sweetie fired again, this time, only hitting one of the books. The recoil of the nozzle was ruining Sweetie's aim, but it was still working. Sweetie aimed one more time at the remaining book. She hit it directly, causing it to fly back a little before falling into the darkness. Sweetie held up her GCD with both of her hooves until she was certain that the books weren't coming back up. As she listened for any other sounds of ghosts or flapping books, the filly sighed. She was safe for the moment as she only heard the sound of rain pounding against the window of the library. Even so, instinct told the filly that that safety wouldn't last long. Sweetie decided that now that she was safe, it would be a good time to check out the ghost book. Maybe, she could find something useful inside. Sweetie opened up the notebook, shining her light inside, and flipped through the pages that she'd already seen. Finally, she came to a new entry. It was a picture of the GCD nozzle. Dual Capture Info: Oh boy, another upgrade. Late as usual, I see. Something you probably could have used earlier; this new feature allows two ghosts to be captured at the same time rather than one. As you can imagine, this is extremely useful when facing more than one ghost you need to catch. As a wise something or other said, two vacuums are always better than one. Earlier, I didn't even have the GCD! Sweetie thought. How the hay would she have known. She thought the book was way too critical. She felt even worse after realizing she was getting offended by a book. She turned the page, seeing a familiar face. It was a picture of Pinkie Pie. Portrait of Laughter Gender: Female Bio: The Portrait of Laughter, not sure how you plan on getting this ghost, but anyway, this ghost is one of the more difficult to capture of the Portraits of Harmony, yet she is also one of the only ghosts that won't try to kill you right away. This is for several reasons. The main reason, however, is because she takes joy in playing with her victims. She might work with other ghosts to mentally torture their victims, or she might just do it herself. The second reason is, well, this isn't going to be to your liking, you can't catch her. First off, she has the ability to process thoughts by simply reading them. Secondly, she has an extra sense, augmented by the ghostification process that allows her to predict her victim's every move. For example, when they will shine their flashlight. Even if you manage to shine a light on the Portrait's magic shield, it won't work or at least not with conventional flashlights. The only way that this Portrait can be captured is if she wants to be. Note: However, though this doesn’t help you, she does enjoy a good laugh. Maybe you could figure out how to use that? Either way, if I were you, I wouldn't mess with that crazy mare. Main Weakness: Laughter? The ghost book had just stated what she feared. Unless Sweetie could predict Pinkie's moves, she wouldn't have any hope of catching her. And what was this about “reading” thoughts? And to top it all off, the book said that she would have to want to be captured if she had any hope. This discouraged the filly as she flipped to the next page. This one, however, wasn't on a ghost. It was on possession. Ghost Possession Info: So, you've come across a possessed pony, huh? It was only a matter of time, especially in cases of fillies and other children. Ghosts may possess any pony, but they crave possession of younger, or generally more active ponies, given their longer lifespan, and general quality, given they are still growing. Portraits are also usually the ones that enjoy possessing these younger creatures. Unfortunately, the only way to release any creature from possession without the proper exorcism tools is death as the ghost will be released from its shell. Obviously, this will also kill the pony the body originally belonged to. Unlike the other ghosts in the mansion, this death is permanent. The only other way to release the ghost is if you can convince it to leave the body but good luck with that kid. Bodies aren't that easy to come by in such a secluded mansion of dead ponies. "K-kill my friends?" Sweetie said out loud, cold mist seeping from her mouth as the temperature started to drop further. "T-that can't be the only way. C'mon book! There's got to be another way!" Sweetie sighed. She supposed that she'd have to figure out how to cross that bridge when she came to it. She flipped to the next page, which had a picture of a glowing red ghost dog. K-9 Ghost Common Gender: Female These ghost dogs are simply pets of the mansion that were unlucky enough to have their spirits stolen by the ghosts. They are fast and will charge at you if given the chance. They also have the ability not only to smell normal bodily functions such as sweat, but also they can smell the hormone released in the brain that causes fear and adrenaline. In a nutshell, they can smell when you're scared. In addition, being dogs, they have a keen sense of hearing as well. One wrong move, they'll know your exact location. Though these dogs are strong, they are distracted easily as dogs tend to be. Try throwing a bone, a stick, or a ball to distract them for a moment if you find yourself pinned down. If you absolutely need to capture one, the normal light and suck technique will work fine, but I wouldn't try it unless they were traveling alone instead of a pack. Main Weakness: Light, Doggy Pleasures Sweetie flipped to the next page again, seeing that there was nothing particularly useful on the ghost dogs. The next picture showed a photo of Madame. Madame Yield Gender: Female Bio: What is she doing–… right. In any case, this is one of the Portraits of Yield. I didn't know that there were any still wandering around the mansion anymore. The Portraits of Yield are the closest family members to the one who owns the mansion, Specter Yield. I don't really have any information beyond that and what you know, kid. All I know is that she's the wife of Mr. Yield and has the ability to activate lights like candles, torches, and lanterns. Strangely enough, it seems as though she, unlike any other ghosts in the mansion, has her own thought process. She also appears to be on your side; if she is, good for you, but if I were you, I wouldn't put too much trust in that ghost mare. After everything Sweetie had been through that night so far, she wasn't sure if it was a good idea to trust Madame herself, but the ghost mare hadn't led her astray, yet. The next page showed a picture of the butler ghosts: inside of them was the skeleton of a pony. Spectral Skeletal Armor (SSA) Info: This is mostly used with ghost butlers, given skeletons of most grave sites on the property are compatible with their own ghostly bodies. This isn't like possession, mostly, because the pony is already dead. The SSA is used to allow ghosts to remain in their current form even if they are touched by light. Even worse, the Ghost Capture Device will not be able to suck up the ghost it has a hold of now that they are weighed down by the armor. However, if you can manage to destroy the skeletal armor inside, they will return to being normal ghosts. Try using the Spectral Throwback on them or any other function you forget to try out. "Finally. Something useful." Sweetie said to herself. There was one more entry. Sweetie flipped the page to find the picture of the books. Ghost Novels Info: These are basically one of the inanimate objects that have been ghostified. There isn't much to say about them besides that their only attack is flying through its victims, chilling them to the bone. They are extremely weak so much so that light destroys the little magic inside of them, causing for a quick vacuum. They do, however, like to travel in fairly large packs, so you'll want to make sure your device is as empty as possible when confronting a group. Though you don't have to worry about possessed or ghostified inanimate objects unless there is an incredibly strong ghost around them–oh wait, you're going after her, aren't you? You're doomed then. Doomed, huh? Sweetie thought. Is Twilight really that strong? "Oh, a Ghost Encyclopedia. Nice choice." a voice said behind her. “Though, I do hope you plan on returning it on time.” Sweetie whirled around on top of the bookcase to see a ghostly purple mare floating above her. “You wouldn’t want to pay the late fees. Would you?” "T–Twilight?" Sweetie asked. "So nice to see you, Sweetie. Glad to see you're still alive." She said, grinning at the filly. It wasn't nearly as strong as Fluttershy, but it seemed as though Twilight looking at her was giving her a bad chill down her spine. Sweetie stood, frozen with fear on the bookshelf as they shared stares with each other. Finally, Sweetie decided to speak. "T–Twilight. W–were you the one who made me see Scootaloo?" Sweetie asked. Sweetie just wanted to know. She doubted that she'd tell the truth. She was so sure she would lie, and yet- "Maybe." She said smiling. "You really should have seen that hopeless look on your face when you saw her in that piano!" So–so Scootaloo isn't dead? Sweetie thought hopefully. "And yet... That filly might still be dead though." Twilight added. "She's still possessed, you know, and she can still die. I have to remember to suggest that to her when I get the chance.” Her grin seemed to get wider at the thought. “Oh wouldn’t that make a great story Sweetie? Perhaps it will be in the history books. The tragedy of Scootaloo. The orphan who killed herself because her friend was too scared to help.” she paused, before looking at the book Sweetie was holding. “You read that in the book right?" "Uh, y–yeah." Sweetie answered. "Did you read anything about me?" Twilight asked. This was the first time Sweetie had seen the mare, so nothing would be written in the book until now. And she knew that. Sweetie remained silent. "Oh, oh well. I guess I can read it myself after I'm done with you." Twilight said. Her ghostly horn started to glow brighter than the rest of her body. "Oh Sweetie, I couldn’t begin to tell you the spells I’ve seen since this ghostification. Just by being here, it’s a buffet of magic, don’t you feel it?” I’m feeling something, but it’s not magical. “...you know, now that you mention that the Scootaloo thing, It probably won’t hurt to tell you about the interesting little illusion spell recently. It's called 'Mind Dive', and works best if you're close like we are now. Let me demonstrate it for you." Sweetie's flashlight flickered out as Twilight approached. --Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiivvvvvveeeeeeee Before she could say or think anything, Sweetie started to feel dizzy again as Twilight used her magic to prying- --Creeeeeeeeeek -into the filly's mind. Sweetie tried to keep her balance, knowing that she couldn't afford to fall now. Sweetie felt reality starting to fade around her in the darkness. She felt like she was floating even though she was sure she was still on the bookcase. --Creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! But was she really on the book case? --Creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! Maybe she should move a few steps to the left- --Creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek just to make sure. She tried to back away from the ghost mare along the bookcase. Her mind was beginning to succumb to the control of the ghost mare. She felt it harder and harder to resist the idea of just jumping off the bookcase to her death. Sweetie saw another flash of lightning flash through the library, releasing the filly from Twilight's control. The brief light also drove Twilight back a couple feet. Sweetie took this moment to close up her ghost book, stuff it into her saddlebags and run across the bookcase. She shook her flashlight furiously, getting little bits of light from it as she ran as it flickered on and off. Sweetie remained balanced as she ran across the bookcase top. Twilight wailed behind Sweetie as she ran. The next thing she heard was a laugh followed by some type of magical sound. Sweetie remembered hearing that sound before. It was the sound of a unicorn preparing or charging a spell, and Sweetie could only imagine that that spell could be for her. Sweetie didn't dare stop to look back at the mare as she charged her spell. Sweetie saw another bookshelf across from her that she could jump to. As she jumped, she heard some kind of explosion. Out of the corner of Sweetie's eye, she saw that Twilight had fired some kind of lightning bolt at her. If she had remained on that bookshelf any longer, she would just be a pile of ashes right now. Sweetie wouldn't be able to run from the ghost mare much longer. If she hit the other side of the library before she caught her, she would be cornered. She had to catch her and soon. Sweetie tried to come up with some kind of plan, but the filly found it hard to think while keeping her footing as she ran across the bookcase. Sweetie could feel Twilight in her head again. Sweetie Belle Sweetie heard a voice in her head. It was Rarity. Sweetie tried to ignore the voice. Stop fighting. We can be together, you and I. We can end this nightmare just stop running. "Get out of my head!" Sweetie yelled. She then heard another charging sound. Relax, Sweetie. I'm here for you. Don't run. Don't you love your sister? "You’re not my sister!" Sweetie said as she continued to run, jumping to another bookshelf, dodging another magic bolt. Is that how you speak to your big sister? Hmph. You were always a whiny little filly. I could never bear you in the Boutique. I thank Celestia for those–what do you call them? Cutie Mark Crusaders? Purple glowing books started to fly out of their shelves. They flew at Sweetie who ducked just in time before they could ram into her. She didn't waste time to get up and keep running. If it wasn't for them getting you out of my hair, who knows what kind of horrible things I might have done to myself? "Where's lightning when you need it?!" Sweetie asked out loud. "Lightning?" Twilight said. "Ah, of course. So that's how you've been breaking free. Why don't we just fix that?" "Oh, no." Sweetie said. She had just exposed her only real weapon against her magic mind spell. Twilight used her telekinesis to close the curtains of the large library window just before a flash of lightning could come through. She laughed, "That's better." --Dddddiiiiiiiiiiiivvvvvvveeeeeee... Being trapped in Twilight's mind spell was causing the filly to fall back into the loss of reality. Her will was slowly deteriorating as Rarity spoke in the filly's head. I probably would have hung myself if you were always around. All you were was a giant bother just a big annoyance. All you know how to do is ruin everything. Do you have any idea how many dresses you've ruined? How many mannequins and equipment you've broken. Sometimes, I wish mom and dad would just take you already. "Get out of my head." Sweetie said weakly. She slowed to a walk. She felt like collapsing. She had to break free. Somehow, she had to get that curtain open. She wondered. Sweetie reached into her bag, ignorant of the fact that Twilight was hovering right above her. "Giving up already?" Twilight laughed. "I don't blame you. I'd give up too if I knew how much my brother hated me." Sweetie found what she was looking for and pulled it out of her saddlebags. It was the metal screwdriver. Sweetie only had one, so she would only have one shot at her plan. She stuck in into the nozzle opening of the GCD. It was a perfect fit. Several purple books hovered behind Twilight ready to attack. "But I suppose like a good book, all things must end, including you, Sweetie." Twilight said. Sweetie switched her GCD to the blow arrow on the nozzle. She pointed it in the darkness, trying to remember where the window was. "Goodnight Sweetie–" Twilight started to say, but the loud bang that the GCD made interrupted her. CRASH In the darkness, Sweetie heard the sound of glass breaking. It was the window. Wind and rain entered the hole in the window where it was shattered, causing the curtains to flutter up, exposing the window again. A flash of lightning went through the library once more, releasing Sweetie from Twilight's hold. Though the filly lost her screwdriver, she regained her will. With Sweetie's brain fully functioning again, her perception of the world returned to normal; she remembered something. Sweetie remembered using the Spectral Throwback. She didn't even need to use the flashlight to take the book ghosts down. Could she use it on Twilight? As Twilight howled angrily, Sweetie aimed at the books behind Twilight as the books charged. She switched her GCD nozzle to the goo icon and shot the purple slime out of it. She hit a large group of books. She shot again, taking out another group of books. Sweetie jumped to the side to another bookcase as she shot another magic bolt. "Stay STILL!" Twilight yelled at the filly. "Dive in this." Sweetie said as she aimed her GCD at Twilight. It hit her directly, causing her to spiral back but not enough to take her down completely. Suddenly, Sweetie noticed her flashlight flicker on in her muzzle. Twilight was weakened. Now was her chance. Sweetie jumped back over the bookshelf and ran over to the ghost mare. She shined her light on the ghost mare. Ding! "What?!" Twilight yelled. "Gotcha!" Sweetie said as she switched her nozzle back to suck and hit the button. Twilight was caught in the suction. Twilight wailed as she tried to escape Sweetie's grasp. Sweetie was dragged along the bookcase, determined not to let go. "30, 29, 28, 27, 26" The GCD counted down. It wasn't long before Twilight decided to change direction. She started now to move across the several bookcases that went along the library. Sweetie managed to jump each one as she was dragged along. The mare was getting desperate to escape the filly. "15, 14, 13, 12" The GCD continued. "That's it!" Twilight yelled. Her horn charged as she looked back at the filly, who was still holding on to her as though her life depended on it. She was about to fire a bolt at Sweetie. Sweetie used her hind legs to move herself to the left on one of her jumps, letting her narrowly dodging the bolt and almost missing a jump and hitting the face of the bookcase. "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0. Magic depleted. Capturing ghost. The GCD said. Wait a sec. What happens when I catch a Portrait again? Oh, no. Sweetie thought as she shut her eyes, knowing what was going to happen next. A purple lightning bolt came from Twilight to the nozzle of the GCD. Sweetie felt the electricity travel around her small filly body. Twilight gave one final screech, a high pitched wail, as she was finally sucked into the GCD. There were now three green lights on Sweetie's GCD. Sweetie collapsed to the bookcase top, her flashlight nearly falling out of her mouth. The capture of the Portrait ghost had once again drained her completely. She lay there for a moment, catching her breath, trying to remain conscious. The next thing Sweetie heard was a giggle, echoing behind the sound of rain, thunder, and wind that was also in the library. "Oh, boy." Sweetie mumbled. "Don't tell me you’re not happy to see me." Pinkie said, appearing over the filly on the bookcase. "What? You? No of course not." Sweetie mumbled sarcastically. "That was really entertaining, though." Pinkie said, appearing over the filly. "I knew you could do it. I knew I asked the right filly for the job. As a reward, here, take this thing I found." Pinkie took out of nowhere a heart candy. Without permission from the filly, Pinkie stuck it in Sweetie’s mouth. Sweetie started to suck on it, feeling it heal her. "Why–why are you helping me?" Sweetie asked. "Aren't you supposed to be trying to kill me?" “You want me to?” “No!” “You suuuuuuure?” “J-ust tell me why you’re-” She giggled. "I can't have fun doing that unless you capture those two ghosties I asked you to. One down, two to go, Jumpie! You ready for number two?" "...sure." Sweetie said, getting back up. "Hey. I also got something else for you." Pinkie said. Again, out of nowhere, she took out another item. It was Sweetie's camera. "My camera!" Sweetie said. "Yeah, I decided to keep it on me, kind of like a trophy if you managed to beat Twilight?" Pinkie said. She held it out to the filly. Sweetie reached out to take it, but Pinkie snatched it back. "Hey!" Sweetie said. "Hold on. Don't be a grumpy Jumpie. I just need you to make me a promise." Pinkie said. "What?" Sweetie asked. "I know about your pony ghostie thingymawhat’sit. I know you're gonna try and bring Twilight back, but I don't want to see her, or anyone else out here catching ghosts." "H-huh?" Sweetie asked. Another giggle. "I want you. I want to see what you're made of. If I see someone besides you catching ghosties, well, I'm not sure I'd like that very much." Pinkie said cheerfully. “And I don’t like to ‘not like’ anything! I don’t think you’d want me to either.” "R-right..." Sweetie said. Sweetie couldn't afford to anger Pinkie. She was one of the most powerful ghosts she'd come across so far. If she could keep her happy, then, she had a better chance of survival. Who knew what she might try to do to her friends if she didn't comply? "The narrator’s right, Sweetie." Pinkie smiled. "So, what do you say?" "Fine. I won't let them try and catch any ghosts." Sweetie said. "Hmmm, I don't believe you." Pinkie said, winking. "You promise?" Sweetie knew what the mare was trying to say. She sighed, "Cross my heart and hope to fly; stick a cupcake in my eye." "That a girl." Pinkie said, handing Sweetie the camera. Sweetie took the camera before the pink ghost mare faded away into the darkness. Suddenly, candles in the room lit up. It was official. There were no ghosts left in the area. Sweetie sighed. She went in the direction of the next door to look for a mirror. It was time to get back to resurrecting her friends. [Continue] Chapter 12- The Resurrection of a MareFinally... made it. Sweetie thought as she stood at the opposite door of the one she came in. She sighed, knowing that she was only half way finished capturing her friends. Less if she counted Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Spike who by now, if they weren't posessed she was sure they weren't acting of their own free will. Then again, if they weren't, what could they be? The filly couldn't help but shudder at the thought. She had already had enough of the mansion, but she knew she had a long way to go before she could ever think of leaving. More over, there was her own mental capacity, because even before the half way mark, the stress was already beginning to sand away the remnants of Sweetie's own mental stability. She wasn't sure how much longer she would hold out. How much longer anyone could hold out for that matter. After retrieving her camera and Twilight's ghost, Sweetie saw it best to locate a mirror. The less of the mansion she had to traverse, the better. So with the camera, she could to get back to the safe zone in the blink of an eye. Or the spin of a head, whichever was a better simile. The filly couldn't imagine how worried Applejack and Fluttershy were. --Possessed. Sweetie couldn't help but gulp when she explored the potential status of the two mares. Especially since Applebloom had been possessed around them. --Since she probably killed Twilight. Sweetie desperately hoped that they were alright at all. It had to have been at least an hour since she last saw them. She took out her map to check out her location. As she expected, the map showed her on the other side of the library, still on the fifth floor. On the other side of the door was another hallway. Of course. This one seemed to have more bedrooms, like the last three she'd been through however. Sweetie wondered how many bedrooms were in the mansion anyway. And what would Specter be doing with so many bedrooms? Do ghosts sleep? Did they belong to them when they were alive- Sweetie shook her head. She was stalling, and she knew it. Somehow, she knew she wasn't going to like whatever was on the other side of that door. Sweetie knew better to put aside paranoia, but she felt she had to in order to convince her to head back into the darkness. The heat from the candles in the library, though faint, were comforting to the filly. Maybe it was her imagination wishing she were warmer, but it didn't matter. They were the warmest tongues of fire she had felt all night. At least when ignoring when she was almost burned alive in the theater. Sweetie took a deep breath, whether to calm herself, or take in the last bit of heat she thought she was going to feel for a while, and pushed the door open. As the sound of thunder paused momentarily, she heard the sound of the library exit creak open, light seeping out into the hallway. It almost reminded her of when she first entered the mansion. How Spiffy had allowed her to enter the mansion. Then, something occurred to Sweetie. By now, she was sure that any pony who was associated with the manor, butlers included, must have known about the ghostly presence. But she remembered that Spiffy had tried to drive her away. He didn't try very hard, but he did try. Was he trying to keep her away from the mansion horror? Shouldn't he have let her in without argument so he, or one of the butlers in the mansion could steal her soul? Or was he trying to warn the filly of the horrors of the mansion? Maybe he was actually a nice ghost, like Madame? It was a pleasant thought that she wasn't completely alone as she wandered the halls. Sweetie moved through the door, and into the chill of the dark hallway. She activated her flashlight, and shined it around the hallway, noting some of the landscape paintings. She recognized some of the paintings like the Everfree Forest she'd escaped just earlier that night. The weight of the door caused it to close on its own behind her. Sweetie heard a click. She turned around and yanked on the handle of the door. It didn't budge. "Locked. Of course." Sweetie grumbled to herself. The funny thing though was that it wasn't cold. It was chilly, just like the rest of the mansion, but it wasn't a ghostly chill. It didn't feel like there was any ghost around. Sweetie remembered that Twilight said that the mansion changed. Did that mean it could lock its own doors? And if so, when and why would that happen? The only circumstance Sweetie could think of was when some-ghost pony was lurking around. Then again, who said the mansion had to follow it's own set of rules? "Well, what've we got here?" Sweetie shined her light in the direction of the new voice in the darkness. Her heart pounded when she saw the yellow coat, and red mane of the filly she called friend. "Glad ja made it this far. Thought mah friend Spike woulda killed ya fer sure." Applebloom said grinning. The light of Sweetie's flashlight shined on the filly's possessed yellow eyes. The flashlight also reflected off of the knife in her right hoof. "Hay, ya even managed ta git cha' little vacuum cleaner back together. I gotta say, ahm impressed." "G-get out!" Sweetie yelled fearfully. "Get out of my friend!" "Hmmm... le' me think... nah." Applebloom said. "This here filly's got a nice body, and ah ain't leavin' it till' ah can git a grown up's body." Huh? I thought the ghost book said that ghosts preferred younger bodies? Sweetie thought. "Tell ya what. Just 'cause ah like ya. Before ah kill ya, I'll letcha say hi." Applebloom said. She shut her eyes and clutched her head with both hooves, causing her upper body to fall to the floor. She started to yell in pain. After less than a half a minute, she opened them again. They were their normal shade of orange again. "S...sweetie..." She whispered. "Applebloom? I-Is that really you?" Sweetie asked. "W...where are we?" She asked softly. It's her. It's really her! Sweetie thought. She couldn't help but grin. She was finally looking at her real friend... "Ah... don't feel so good." she said. "Sweetie... what's goin on 'ere?" "Applebloom." Sweetie approached her friend. She put a hoof on her shoulder... then she remembered as she felt the cold shoulder of her friend. In her weakness, she fell into a trap. Applebloom's eye changed almost instantly back to its possessed, crazed yellow. She swiped the knife in her hoof in an upward direction at Sweetie. The white coated filly jumped back, but not in enough time to dodge Applebloom's blade. The filly was cut around her left cheek, but she managed to avoid a critical cut. The cut was just enough however, to draw blood. Sweetie fell onto her back, looking up at the laughing filly. "Ya always wer' gullablest filly ah knew!" "Y-you don't know me. You're not Applebloom!" Sweetie yelled back. "Maybe, but ah still got that filly's thoughts n' memories." She said, tapping her cranium. "Somethin' bout a dragon crush... git'n a cutie mark... and yer little group the Cutie Mark Crusaders. That sound 'bout right?" Sweetie didn't respond. She just glared. Sure she was scared, but she also couldn't help but feel angry. Angry that this thing inside of Applebloom not only stole her body, but was parading around with her memories as well. "Aw, Sweetie. Ah know so much 'bout you, ya got no idea. Ah know how ya git on every pony’s nerves, how ya suck at magic, how ya mess up everythin' ya put yer little hooves on-" "Shut up!" Sweetie said. "...guess yer right. Let's quit the chit-chat and git this over wit. Now jus' hol'-" Applebloom started, but Sweetie had already scrambled up, and ran off in the opposite direction of the filly. "Ya always were a scardy filly Sweetie. Always runnin'." She said, putting her knife in her mouth, and walking after the filly. I've gotta hide! Sweetie thought. She went to several bedroom doors, all seeming to be locked. Why the hay is every door I find locked?!? She panicked, afraid that Applebloom would catch up to her while she was still in the open. --This hallway will kill her Every time she looked back, Applebloom was still walking. Yet, somehow, she appeared to be faster than her. It was like a bad dream, as no matter how quickly she ran, Applebloom was so close behind her. Like the hallway was becoming shorter and shorter, bringing their distance smaller and smaller. --Applebloom will kill her Finally, she came to a door. It had the etching of a flame on it. Inside of the flame was a golden plate that said 'Madame- Second Bedroom- No Children'. Sweetie broke the rule, and opened the door, quickly hiding herself inside, shutting the door behind her. She shined her light around the room to investigate. As the sign said, it was a bedroom, with yellow curtains dressing a window, a grand hoof carved wooden bed, blood red carpet, and a dresser- A dresser! That would have a mirror on it right? Sweetie shined her light on the dresser, as it bounced off of the mirror... but there was a problem... "Oh no..." Sweetie thought as she looked at the many cracks and missing pieces of glass on the window. Some pony, or some ghost, had broken it. Sweetie took out her camera, and tried to take a picture. No luck, the mirror was broken, and therefore, she couldn't use it for transport. Who broke it? Applebloom? Or a ghost traveling from there? Although the mirror on the dresser was broken, Sweetie noticed a book on the dresser. It was brown, and leather. It seemed like someone's special book. "Oh, Sweetie Belle..." Applebloom called from the hallway. "Ya can't hide from me. Ah can feel ya." Sweetie took the book, stuffing it in her saddlebags. --You're still dead though~ Sweetie was dead meat. Sweetie was dead meat. Sweetie was dead meat. Sweetie was dead meat. Sweetie was dead meat. There was no other exits and Applebloom was just outside the door. She was dead the moment she decided to take shelter in the room. She was dead the moment she stepped into that shifty hallway. She was dead the moment she last left Twilight and the others. She was dead the moment her friends took off on that airplane and crashlanded in the forest, only for them all to find shelter in this nightmare. Honestly, she wondered if she should have taken her chances with the forest and turned tail and headed back the moment she crashed. But the past didn't matter anymore. She was here, and if she didn't do something now, she would- The bed. The bed was her only chance. With a quick and final survey of the room, she slid under the bed, turning her flashlight out, once again, being consumed in darkness. She heard hoof steps outside of the bedroom. They seemed to pass by the room, slowly fading away. Maybe she walked away? Maybe she thought she was in another room? Maybe she left- Suddenly, the door slammed open, hitting the wall of the room loudly. It was so sudden and surprising, it made the filly jump under the bed. As if on cue, a flash of lightning, and roll of thunder follow the filly's entrance. For that split second, Sweetie could see her sick toothy grin, holding her knife. Something told her the filly knew she was in the room. Then again, it seemed like it was the only open door in the hallway. Where else would she be? Sweetie held her breath, much in the same way as when she hid from Applebloom down in the kennel. She could feel blood trickle down her face from the wound. The gain in her ear as she hid under the bed was enormous. Her heart sounded like a drum magnified by a boom box. Her tiny breaths felt like tiny whirl winds as they escaped her nostrils. And despite the rain, Sweetie was afraid that the sound of her blood hitting the carpet would bring attention to her as well. "Ah know yer in 'ere Sweetie. Quit hid'n so ah can cut 'cha." Applebloom said through the knife in her mouth. "Ah can smell blood ya know. Like one of 'em blood hounds, or one of them ghost pups prowlin' around." She sniffed the air and moaned in ecstasy. "Mmmm... yer blood smells sweet." No more lightning came, so the filly couldn't see Applebloom in the darkness. At first she determined her distance from her taunting voice and hoof steps, but that was seconds ago. Sweetie was sure that Applebloom wouldn't wait around in one spot for long... she must have been moving silently around the room now. Now that Sweetie had no idea where her friend was, she knew she needed to escape the room soon. It wouldn't be long before the filly checked under the bed. Sweetie decided the next time she heard Applebloom, if she wasn't close to where the door was, she'd make a run for it. Applebloom had to make a sound eventually right? Sweetie then felt something on her face, blowing the drop of blood in a diagonal direction as it went down her face. It was cold, like some pony had opened a window, and light wind was brushing on her face. Sweetie didn't hear any of the intense wind from outside in the room, so there was only one thing Sweetie could imagine it being: Applebloom's breath. It was like she was right in front of her, crouching to her level. Sweetie imagined if it wasn't so dark, she would meet eyes with the possessed filly. Sweetie moved back further under the bed, in order to get further away from her. She had yet to attack... maybe she didn't know she was under here yet? As she silently moved further under the bed, the intensity of the cold breath didn't lessen. It remained the same, almost as though they were remaining the same distance apart. As she found herself getting closer and closer to the wall the bed was against, a realization hit Sweetie. Applebloom was moving with her, trying to force her against the wall. If Sweetie didn't do something soon, she would be cornered with the blade wielding filly. The filly's heart thumped in her chest, seeming like the loudest thing in the room. Sweetie had to get out. It was now or never. Sweetie moved back further than she had before, making a shuffling sound along the floor as she moved back. Before Applebloom could attack her though, Sweetie charged forward under the bed, ramming her head into Applebloom. When she did this, she managed to push past Applebloom, and also having another brush with the knife along her face. It was deeper, and certainly much more painful, but still not enough to be fatal. Sweetie moved from out from under the bed, head throbbing from the impact with Applebloom's skull. She ran out of the room, reactivating her light so she could see where she was going. The filly dared not look back, but then again, she didn't hear any hoof steps pursuing her. Once Sweetie had gained some distance between her and the bedroom, she finally slowed down. There was most definitely no pony trying to catch up to her. Sweetie found it peculiar for Applebloom to just give up so easily. She couldn't see her just lying under the bed as she escaped. Sweetie wondered... did the impact to the head hurt Applebloom more than it did her? Could she have some kind of concussion or skull damage that kept her from following Sweetie? Even though Applebloom was still possessed, Sweetie wouldn't forgive herself if she actually hurt Applebloom, or any of her friends for that matter. That was part of the reason she decided to run from them. Besides, it wasn't like she expected to win in a fight against either of them, possessed or otherwise. Sweetie shined her light back the way she came. There was no Applebloom... but now, there were no doors. Sweetie remembered seeing doors on her escape, possibly leading to different bedrooms but now, they disappeared. Where there used to be doors and artwork, were now just blank tan walls. Where are you Sweetie Belle. "That voice..." Sweetie said to herself. It was ghostly and distant, but there was no doubt, it was her sister. Rarity was somewhere in the hallway. "Rarity?" Sweetie called out. Since Sweetie had already caught Twilight, there was no reason that the voice could be fake, or that it was some kind of illusion. Now that Sweetie didn't feel the dizziness and loss of will power, she could safely assume that everything she saw was real. That didn't comfort the filly as far as the hallway went, but it did make her feel an odd sense of joy that her sister was somewhere close by. Sweetie continued to walk down the changed hallway. "Rarity!" Sweetie called out, cold mist coming from her breath. "Rarity!" She called again. Sweetie... Rarity's voice was fading away. Was Sweetie going the wrong way? The filly turned around and headed in the opposite direction supposedly where she just came from. "Rarity! Rarity! ...Rarity?" Sweetie continued to call out. Now, there was no answer. The voice was gone, and Sweetie had lost her sister again. Rarity... where are you? Sweetie thought. Then, the hallway started to change again, right before the filly's eyes. Something started to seep out of the walls. It wasn't metallic like when she was transported to the mirrored hallway, but it was black, and much more wet and fluid looking. It was like black paint... but it had a strange depth to it, like she wasn't just looking at black paint, but out into darkness. The hallway seemed to be drooping around her to the floor as the black essence took over the walls, and eventually the floor around Sweetie's hooves. Within minutes, Sweetie found herself in an entirely new dark room. The mansion changed again... Sweetie thought. Last time that happened, I heard Applebloom, who was around Fluttershy. Does that mean... that Rarity's here? Sweetie took out her map, but the odd thing was... that it wasn't working. The same question mark that was on the map when she was in the crypt was now in this new room. Sweetie could only assume she was underground in some basement level, because she didn't hear any thunder or rain anymore. All there was the sound of her own breathing to keep herself company. Sweetie ventured further around the room to examine it, hoping to find some sign of her sister. Instead, all she found... were paintings. The paintings varied. There were landscape paintings, portrait paintings, abstract paintings, paintings of historical events Sweetie remembered learning in school. Until now, Sweetie assumed every painting she saw in the mansion, the Yields had bought from different places. Now Sweetie wondered if someone in the mansion painted all of these paintings. There were many paintings in the room, but there was a certain majority of them that concerned Sweetie. They were of ghosts that she'd seen around the mansion. There were several butler ghost paintings, foal ghost paintings, and even a few licker ghost paintings. All of these paintings, unlike the ones that came out of the spirit printer, were of them in their glowing dead form. There was one other painting however, that made Sweetie gasp. It wasn't well made... in fact, it was downright poorly drawn in crayon. It was like it was drawn by a young filly... "H-how the hay did this get down here?" Sweetie said out loud as she looked at her drawing. She remembered it well, as the drawing that brought Rarity to her senses around the time of the Sisterhooves Social. She remembered how Rarity had hung it in her room after the event was over... but she didn't remember the giant rip in the heart between the drawing of Sweetie and Rarity. Who the hay could have done this? Sweetie Belle. Darling... you're here. Rarity's voice was back, though still ghostly, louder than ever. It echoed through the gallery room. "Rarity? Is that you?" Sweetie asked. Who else would it be dear? Sweetie looked around the room, desperately trying to find the source of the voice. She traced the voice vaguely to an extremely large diamond shaped frame in the room. From the outer edges of the inside of the frame, Sweetie confirmed it to be a mirror. Covering the frame was large splotch white ectoplasm. Was this where Rarity was speaking from? Oh Sweetie, don't bother trying to look for me. I'm nowhere near you. Sweetie's heart sunk. She was so high on the hopes of being able to catch her sister, and at least end one nightmare. "W-where are you sis?" Sweetie asked. I don't think that matters right now dear. All that matters... is you. "Me? What about me?" Sweetie asked. Simply that this all needs to end. Now, please stop fighting. My darling Specter would truly appreciate it, and so would I. Darling Specter? Sweetie thought. She remembered how Spiffy had talked about Rarity 'catching the eye' of Specter. Could something have happened between Specter and Rarity? Sweetie shivered at the thought. "Sorry Rarity, but I can't do that." Of course you can't. Rarity's voice sounds much more harsh and angry, maybe even a little annoyed. You can't do anything I ask you to. There's always something, isn't there? "W-what?" You can't do anything right. At least not without breaking, burning, or doing something stupid. Sweetie tried to remember that this wasn't her real sister. Sweetie did her best not to let the mare's words get to her. Sometimes I wish I just let mom and dad just take you. Sweetie shook her head at the words that her sister had said. She tried to get the words off of her head as they stuck to her brain. That couldn't be true, could it? Sweetie had heard the same thing over and over again all night. She was beginning to forget what her sister really thought of her. Sweetie, I know how slow you can be, so I'll make this plain and simple. You're going to die here, and that's that. Please don't make this harder than it already is by fighting it ok? Maybe you can't do anything else right, but maybe you'll do that right. Good-bye my sister. Ghostly laughter filled the gallery room. Sweetie whirled around, shining her light back on the paintings. Now, they were moving inside of them, as if they were laughing at her though some kind of window. Sweetie realized that she was now surrounded by ghosts. Several butler ghosts started to climb through the windowed paintings. As more did this, Sweetie's flashlight started to flicker. This didn't look good. From what Sweetie could tell, there was no visible exit to the room... then again there was the mirror. Sweetie could tell from the edges that, like the mirror she found in the previous hallway, it was broken. Still, the mirror was fairly large, and the cracks on the mirror, as far as Sweetie could tell around the ectoplasm, were fairly spaced apart. The mirror was large, so Sweetie wondered if she could use just a segment of the mirror for travel. It was worth a shot. She just had to clean off the mirror with the GCD. Before Sweetie could start, she was rushed by the first free butler ghost. She dodged it, and shined her light on it. Ding! Sweetie activated her GCD and proceeded with capturing it. The GCD counted down, and eventually notified the filly that it was capturing the ghost. The ghost was dragged in like normal, lighting the fourth light on the pack. It wasn't long however before more ghosts emerged from the paintings. Sweetie's flashlight went out, making the only thing she could see the ghosts as they approached her, and the faint glow of the ectoplasm on the window. Without her flashlight, things seemed hopeless. Now's not the time to lose hope! A voice said in Sweetie's head. "W-who-" Sweetie asked out loud, backing away from the ghosts as they got closer. Madame. It's Madame. Listen to me. You can still fight back. You still have the Spectral Throwback. Use it! the voice said. "But there's too many!" Sweetie said, her flank hitting a wall. "I don't have enough-" Then hit more than one at a time! the voice said. Figure it out! There's always a way! Sweetie looked at how the ghosts were coming after her. She saw two of the six that were out, in a bit of a diagonal line. If she shot them at a different angle, maybe... Sweetie moved to the side, so now she saw one butler ghost in front of another butler ghost. She switched to the nozzle's goo icon and aimed carefully at the two ghosts. She shot a green sludge from the GCD at the ghost. The GCD impacted the first ghost, throwing it back into the second ghost, effectively hitting both of them with the one shot. As the ghosts wailed, and eventually disappeared, the flashlight flickered a moment before turning off. Sweetie's plan formulated in her head. If she could use her GCD's Spectral Throwback, and got enough ghosts away for a short time, maybe she could catch ghosts when there were few enough ghosts for her flashlight to work. The dual vacuum function she just recently discovered would definitely help in that department. Sweetie thought back to her fight with the lickers. Her flashlight worked when there were three ghosts near her... and it also worked in the crypt when she gained some distance from the other skeleton ghosts... distance wasn't in her favor in the closed off gallery, so her only hope was defeating ghosts faster than they appeared... though she probably wouldn't be able to keep that up forever. She would have to balance that, and cleaning the ectoplasm off of the window at the same time. That was her plan: shoot, light, vacuum, clean, repeat. Hopefully if Sweetie could keep that up, she just might escape the room... provided the mirror wasn't to shattered for her to escape... Sweetie strafed to the side as a foal ghost shot its yellow slime at Sweetie. She shot back with her own purple novel ghost sludge, with much greater accuracy. Once that ghost was hit and disappeared, Sweetie's flashlight activated dimly, just enough to hit the incoming licker ghosts. One lashed out its tongue at Sweetie, who dodged to the side. The second one aimed to hit her face, but she swiftly ducked, narrowly dodging the tongue that would have hit her eye. She then swept the two ghosts with her flashlight. Ding! Ding! Sweetie activated her GCD, catching the two ghosts in the gravity of the GCD nozzle. "...5, 4 yank 3210. Magic depleted. Capturing Ghost." the GCD counted before giving the filly the 50 percent warning. There was only one more butler ghost in the room, while other ghosts were still climbing out of the portraits. Sweetie took the opportunity to start cleaning the mirror. She moved over in front of it, and pointed at the sticky white goo. She activated the GCD nozzle and started the process of cleaning the ectoplasm. It was much thicker than the one she found on Applejack's door, therefore being harder to clean. Sweetie was only able to clear a small segment of the mirror, too cracked to use for transportation. Sweetie would just have to try cleaning another- The ghostly laughter of a foal ghost came from behind. Sweetie instinctively jumped to the side, narrowly dodging its yellow sludge. She turned around to see a butler ghost just feet away from her. Out of surprise and fear, she blindly shot the butler ghost, lucky enough to manage to hit it. She missed the foal ghost, losing her chance for a double hit. Another foal ghost from the side of the filly's eye tried to catch her off guard, shooting her with another shot of ectoplasm. Just barely, she dodged it, getting her left side grazed with some of the cold sludge she was hit with. She used her flashlight, just before it went out to catch the foal ghost. Ding! After the ghost was caught, Sweetie saw about six butler ghosts flying at her. She moved forward, ducking as they flew over her. Sweetie turned around and shot two of the six butler ghosts. Suddenly, the GCD stopped working. "Warning. Only ghost left- Level Portrait Ghost. Unable to process Spectral Throwback command." the GCD said. Twilight was the only ghost left in the machine. Even if she wanted to use her spirit, which she didn't, the GCD wouldn't allow such a strong ghost to escape. Most likely some kind of 'safety feature' for the GCD. Sweetie was out of ghosts, and out of defense, unless her flashlight miraculously decided to work. Sweetie took it out of her muzzle and started to shake it furiously. That method seemed to work sometimes when there were too many ghosts around. "C'mon... Come ON!" Sweetie yelled at the light device, as the butler ghosts approached her. The light flickered a moment, but didn't stay on. "Work! You dumb flashlight! Please!" She said desperately. Finally, for just a couple seconds, the flashlight flickered on. Sweetie swept the incoming ghosts with its rays. Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! While the first two ghosts were disappearing, Sweetie managed to catch the second two in the GCD's vacuum. Once the next two appeared behind Sweetie, she heard their laughter. She turned around and jumped back, this time, determined to make every shot count. She moved around to the side, in order to get the two ghosts to look like they were behind one another. She shot the both of them with the GCD. Once those last two ghosts were gone, Sweetie heard the laughter volume in the room increase. The ghosts would be coming full force soon, and Sweetie doubted she would be able to take them all on. She was tired, and her body was freezing. She felt numb all over, barely able to move correctly. The filly moved back over to the mirror and tried another section of cleaning. It was the same as the first. It was too broken for the filly to use. Sweetie heard more laughter from behind. She turned around to see just about every painting in Sweetie's immediate field of view trying to climb out of their own painting. One licker had already escaped, and lashed its tongue at the filly. She didn't have the energy to dodge it again. It lashed across her coat, throwing the filly to her side onto the cold floor. As she lie there, she forced her fore leg up to aim at the ghost and shot it before it could do anymore damage. Sweetie got up, knowing she didn't have any time to waste, fear fueling her determination to escape. Sweetie tried one last time with her cleaning, somewhere around the center of the mirror. This spot was also broken, but it was also the most intact spot she came across the entire mirror. It was her only chance. Sweetie took out her camera as she heard ghosts rushing for her. She snapped a shot of the segment of mirror. The world suddenly started to tremble under the filly's hooves. She started to spin, feeling the GCD take her back to the safe zone... *** "It ain't any good..." Applejack said defeated. "I'm sorry. I just can't get you out any further..." Fluttershy said in a similar tone. For the last couple hours since Applebloom had dragged Twilight's unconscious body out of the safe zone to Celestia knows where, the two mares had been trying desperately to escape. Given the lower half of their body's technically weren't even made yet, it was a fruitless attempt. The mares had finally given up hope. Applejack hung her head sadly, and Fluttershy had finally stopped crying, as tears stained her face. The situation looked grim. There was no pony coming for them, Applebloom had gone crazy, Twilight was probably trapped somewhere... or even dead, and neither of the mares had heard anything from Sweetie. They could only assume the worst. As the last bit of hope slipped from the mare's minds, they heard something from the far side of the room. A whirling sound. "W-what's that?" Fluttershy asked. "Is that... it is!" Applejack exclaimed happily. "Who? What's going on?" Fluttershy asked. Applejack and Fluttershy watched as green lights swirled around the area the sound was coming from. Within seconds, a filly materialized inside of that swirling light vortex. A hatted filly with a vacuum cleaner attached to her back. "Sweetie? Is that you?" Fluttershy asked. The filly still seemed to be getting her bearings after the disorienting transport. She shook her head. "Huh? Then who are you?" Fluttershy asked. "Ah think she's just tryin' ta git her head strait. Ya alrigh' there Sweetie?" Sweetie looked at the orange coated mare, and then at the yellow coated mare. Her mind was coming back. "Y... yeah. Just a little dizzy is all." She said. "What happened to you?" Fluttershy asked concerned. "You... I really don't want to... wow, I'm going to have to get used to that camera travel all over again, my head hurts." Sweetie said, lying on the ground. "Just give me a second." "Sweetie... ahm sorry but..." Applejack trailed off. She saw how tired the filly was, and truly wanted her to rest, but that wasn't an option now. "Sweetie... somethin' happened while ya were gone." After a few moments, the filly got back up, vaguely concerned. "What?" She asked. "Well... while ya were gone, Applebloom... she-" "Got possessed? Yeah, I know. She almost killed me." Sweetie said. "I think she also killed Twilight too, but I'm not really sure if that was her though..." "You... you know about Applebloom and Twilight?" Fluttershy asked quietly. Sweetie nodded. "Twilight got turned into a ghost, and Applebloom got possessed. Applebloom's now under Specter's control and stuff. Look, I know all of that, and I'll tell you all about it. Just give me a minute to..." The filly lied back down onto the safe zone floor, listening to the hum emitting from the walls. She listened to it, making sure not to fall asleep. Just to rest for a second. Applejack and Fluttershy respected the filly's request, silently watching as she lie on the floor. After about 10 minutes of rest, the filly got back up off of the ground, sitting in front of the mares. "Ok... now, what were you saying?" Sweetie asked. "Ah... ya don't seem ta be worried 'bout any o' this do ya." Applejack said. "Ya mind tellin us 'bout where ya were all this time?" Sweetie smiled weakly. "It's a long story..." Sweetie started around the time where she first left the safe zone, after she dropped off Fluttershy. "Um... S...sweetie?" Fluttershy interrupted silently and politely. "Hm?" Sweetie asked. "I... I'm sorry. I really am I..." She felt tears renewed in her eyes as they rolled down her cheeks. "I didn't want to... I would never want to... please forgive me..." The mare covered her face with her hooves, as she sobbed. She remembered much more vividly the thoughts that went through her ghostly head. Although she had her own thoughts, she also had the thoughts of a murderous ghost. The sheer fact she couldn't control herself to help the filly escape... she almost hated herself for the weakness. Sweetie went over to hug the mare. "I'm not mad at you. I don't blame you at all. It wasn't you..." The mare embraced the filly for a few minutes before letting go. She wiped the tears away from her eyes. "I... I'm sorry for interrupting." She sniffed softly. "Please... continue." Sweetie continued her story to when she entered the kitchen. She mentioned how there were supposedly two Twilight's: The first part of her spirit was one who could manipulate her mind, and the other was the one she saw get dragged out by Applebloom. She mentioned how, although she did see Rarity, she also met Pinkie, who lured her closer to Twilight's location, strengthening her grip, which led to her unconsciousness. She talked about how Pinkie wanted to 'play' with her, after stealing her stuff. She talked about the cage match with the possessed Applebloom and her escape through a kennel basement with some ghost dogs. Sweetie told the mares about the discovery of a friendly ghost named Madame, who gave her the magical box, and was aiming to help the filly. Sweetie then told about the search through the crypt, and the locating of her first lost GCD part. She told about how she was chased out into the church by a possessed Scootaloo. She told about the discovery in the dressing room of her second part, and the second appearance of the Pinkie Pie ghost. She told of how she found the third part, and how Twilight almost made her believe Scootaloo was dead. She told of her escape from Spike and the burning theater. She told of how she put her GCD together to capture Twilight's ghost in the library... and finally, she told of her second escape from Applebloom, and her first real encounter with Rarity's ghost. Sweetie sighed once her story was finished. The two mares had a slew of questions they wanted to ask the filly, but they decided to ask about the most important one. "So... you caught Twilight?" Fluttershy asked. Sweetie nodded. "Wasn't easy, but I did it." "Guess ya gonna print 'er out now?" Applejack asked. Sweetie nodded again, heading over to the spirit printer. She stuck the nozzle into the machine. "Processing..." The spirit printer said. The essence moved through the GCD into the machine. Twilight's ghost moved throughout the machine to finally be printed on the canvas in the form of a portrait. In the portrait, she wore a blue dress over her purple coat, tied together with a star button. "Alrig' ya got her on that there portrait... now wha'?" Applejack asked. "Well... now I've just got to bring her out." Sweetie said as she looked at the painting. "But... I thought that Twilight had to use different spells to get it to work." Fluttershy said. "Yeah, said somethin' bout them bein 'precautions'..." Applejack said. "Ya sure ya can do it?" "I'm the only one here that's a unicorn. I'm the only one who can..." Sweetie said. She knew she wasn't good at magic, and doubted that she would be able to do the job alone... thankfully, she had Madame on her side. Sweetie reached into her saddlebags and took out the golden starred box. "Sweetie? What is that?" Fluttershy asked. "It's the thing Madame gave me." Sweetie explained. "She said it would give me enough power to bring Twilight back." "But... Sweetie... are you sure that's... you know, a good idea?" Fluttershy asked shyly. "What?" Sweetie asked. "Ya know, Fluttershy does 'ave a point. Ya don't know anythin' bout that ghost besides what she told ya. How'd ya know she ain't trickin' ya?" Applejack asked. "I... I don't." Sweetie said. Besides the times in the crypt and the gallery room, Sweetie didn't know anything besides the fact she was Specter's wife... and that should have been a red flag for any pony. "But... we don't have a choice. There's no other unicorns in the mansion that aren't ghosts, and... and I don't have enough power by myself to do it. This box is our only chance." Before either Applejack or Fluttershy could try to stop her, the filly opened the box toward her. She gasped as she felt an intense light surround her body. Magic flowed from the box into the filly, filling her to the brim... and more. Sweetie started to lose control of herself, feeling her horn start to sputter magic uncontrollably. She tried to block off the magic, but it was like an uncontrollably fire hose, moving magic through and out of the Sweetie's body. She was way too small to hold even a fraction of the magic of an alicorn. Magic that came from the little filly's horn hit all edges of the room, even breaking some of its mirrors. One magic bolt hit Twilight's painting. When this happened, she didn't just come out. She shot out, hitting the ceiling before she could even grasp conciseness. She fell back down onto the canvas with a thud. The same thing happened with Applejack and Fluttershy, first hitting the ceiling, and then falling back onto the canvas. The magic surge lasted about 10 seconds, but the loss of control seemed to last an eternity to the filly. She just wished it would end, screaming the entire time... and finally it did. The magic abruptly stopped flowing from the filly's horn, and she fell to the ground, unconscious... When Sweetie finally came to, she felt dizzy again. Her vision was blurred, but she wasn't weak as though she'd just caught another ghost. She was helped up by some unknown figure she couldn't see through the blur. She blinked a few times, her vision returning. When it was back, she was face to face with the youthful face of Twilight. "Sweetie. Are you ok?" She asked concerned. "I... could ask you the same thing." Sweetie said, smiling weakly. Sweetie got back up on all fours, standing firmly to show the mare she could stand by herself. She looked behind her to see that she wasn't the only one who was touched by her surge. Applejack and Fluttershy stared at the filly with a similar concern, and finally relieved to see that she was ok... but something was different about them... the three of them... something that Sweetie couldn't quite put her hoof on. "Good." Twilight said smiling. The mare wasn't quite sure what to say to the filly she almost killed. Sorry? "You... you were very brave out there Sweetie. You've done so much tonight. I just wanted to thank you... for saving me... us... you know... and that, I'm sorry I almost..." Sweetie gave the same treatment she gave to Fluttershy, hugging her, and telling her that she's not angry. "Well... now that all of that's out of the way, I think I'll take that." Twilight said, levitating the GCD off of Sweetie's back. Sweetie, however, didn't let go of the nozzle, keeping the mare from taking it. "Um... Sweetie? You need to let go of the nozzle." "N...no." Sweetie said. She couldn't let her go outside to do her job. "Beg yer pardon?" Applejack asked. "What's wrong Sweetie? You don't have to do this anymore. We can take over." Fluttershy said. "No... you can't." Sweetie said. "What? Why not?" Twilight asked. "You should know. You were watching me. Right?" Sweetie asked. "When I could." Twilight said. "So?" "I... I made a promise to Pinkie's ghost..." Sweetie said, "...to get the camera back." "Ya told us already." Applejack said. "Ya don't gotta promise that mare anythin'. She ain't Pinkie." "I know... but I still made her a promise." Sweetie said. "That means I have to go out there myself." "No you don't." Twilight said. "Sweetie... look at yourself. Just look." Sweetie hesitated for a moment before going over to the mirror to get a good look at herself. What she saw... she wasn't sure if it was her anymore. Her coat and face was blackened by the smoke of the theater. Applejack's hat had gone from its normal brown, to a dark black. Her face was scarred with cuts from Applebloom's knife. The rest of the filly's body looked tired and worn, as though it were ready to collapse. The only thing that told Sweetie that she was looking at herself was her green eyes. "You don't have to go-" Twilight started, but was interrupted by Sweetie. "Yes I do!" Sweetie exclaimed. "If I don't go out there, one of you will. She... she can do things. She can't be caught unless she 'wants' to be caught. She's too strong, and if I don't honor her promise she'll... SHE'LL KILL YOU!" Sweetie's exclamation caused Twilight's magic flow to break, and drop the GCD onto the ground. It was silent again in the safe room, besides the light hum that came from the walls. After minutes, Sweetie finally broke the silence as she picked up her GCD. "Listen... I really want to stay here. I mean, I really really want to stay here... but if you go out there, you don't stand a chance now. Even with the ghost vacuum, you can't fight Pinkie unless she wants to be caught. That's what the book said anyway. And... something tells me Pinkie wants me to catch her... but I can't until I catch Rainbow Dash. I've got to do this. I... I'm the only one who can." Sweetie waited for a response, but didn't receive one. "Now... do any of you know where Rainbow might be?" None of the mares wanted to tell the filly to go off on her own into the mansion by herself, especially after the ordeal she'd just managed to break out of. Finally, Fluttershy spoke. "Um... I... I think I know." Fluttershy said quietly. "Where?" Sweetie asked. "She... she went up. To the seventh floor I think, to the outdoor dining place... or at least that's what I heard." Fluttershy said. "I was heading down to the mirror hall... I'm sorry." "Great. I'll head there after I wipe all this soot off." Sweetie said as she went over to her cape, as it lie coldly on the ground. She started to wipe her body with the cape, revealing her normal white coat. "Um... but there's one little thing about that." Fluttershy said. "What?" Sweetie said through the cape as she wiped her face. "The voice I heard say that... it wasn't Rainbow or Specter... or any pony really." "Huh? Who?" Sweetie asked. "Um... It was Gilda." Fluttershy said. The two mares looked at Fluttershy, their jaws dropped. Twilight shook her head. "I'm sorry, I could have sworn you said 'Gilda'. Must have heard you wrong." "N-no. I meant Gilda." Fluttershy said, looking down. "Ya ain't talkin' bout Rainbow's friend are ya?" Applejack asked. "Yes." Fluttershy confirmed. "Fluttershy. You must have made a mistake. That couldn't have been-" "No, I... I'm sure. I'd know that griffon's voice anywhere!" Fluttershy said surely. "Or... at least I think I would. Pinkie told you what she said to me when she first came to Ponyville right? I'd never... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell." "Who's Gilda?" Sweetie asked. Sweetie had never met the griffon in person, only heard bits and pieces about her from her friends. "A griffon who came to Ponyville a while back." Twilight said. "Made Fluttershy 'ere cry too." Applejack added. "That's horrible! What happened to her?" Sweetie asked. "Well... she left. She wasn't from Ponyville and the only reason she stayed was to see Rainbow. We haven't heard from her since." Twilight said. "She must have gotten caught by Specter and turned into a ghost." "That's... the other thing." Fluttershy said. Oh boy, there's more? Sweetie thought. "She... she sounded alive." Fluttershy said softly. "She didn't sound like a ghost at least." "That... that's definitely new..." Sweetie said. "Do you think she's possessed?" "M-maybe. I don't know, I never got to look at her." Fluttershy said. "Ok. There's a griffon out there that may or may not try to kill me. I'll keep that in mind." Sweetie said as she fanned Applejack's hat, knocking some of the soot off of it. "Well... I guess I've got to go back out now." "Sweetie..." Twilight said. "Be careful. Don't do anything stupid. I know, I know." Sweetie said annoyed. She moved to the door. "And one other thing." Twilight said. "What?" Sweetie asked. "If... if you see Spike. Don't hurt him." Twilight said. "Or mah sis, or Scootaloo." Applejack added. "I know. If I find myself around them, I'll find another way that isn't violent. I couldn't hurt them." Sweetie smiled. "And I don't know how... but I'll bring them back somehow." Twilight nodded and turned around to examine the spirit printer, wondering if she could possibly use it for some other purpose... it's then Sweetie noticed the difference in Twilight, and all of the mares in the room for that matter. It was their cutie marks... they were missing. Chapter 13- The Fastest Mare Deceased"Y-y-y...." Sweetie stammered out. "Hm? Something wrong Sweetie?" Twilight asked. "Y-your... where did it go?" Sweetie asked, trying to bypass her shock. "Huh? Where'd what-" Applejack asked, before seeing what the filly was talking about. "What the hay?" "I'm sorry... but what are you two..." Fluttershy saw what the mare and filly were now talking about. "Twilight... your flank..." "What about my flank? Is something on it?" Twilight looked over to her backside to see what the mares and filly were talking about. There wasn't anything on her flank... quite literally. Twilight's magic star cutie mark was gone, as though she never earned it to begin with. "M-my cutie mark! How?!" "It's not just you. Applejack and Fluttershy's are missing too!" Sweetie said. The two mares took a look at their own backsides. Applejack's apple cutie mark and Fluttershy's butterfly cutie mark are gone. They both look at each other in shock. "How..." Fluttershy asked silently. "Ah knew that box was trouble! Ah knew there was a catch!" Applejack exclaimed. "Box?" Twilight asked. "That box Sweetie got from a ghost named Madame... it gave her power to get us out of the paintings." Fluttershy said quietly, pointing over at the golden star box that lied on the floor. Twilight went over to look at the small box and examine it. Inside was a see though crystal. It was the type of crystals used to encase magic spells and charms. Twilight had studied magical crystals at one point, and had heard of certain crystals that could hold different levels of magic for longer bursts... but had never seen one like one the box held. "Well... this magic charm crystal explains how Sweetie was able to use so much power... but I've never heard of a spell that could remove cutie marks." Twilight said. "Applejack, I'm not sure if this box is the reason for our disappearing cutie marks at all." "Well why in hay not?" Applejack asked, still steaming over her missing cutie mark. "Simply because as far as I can tell, this is a magic crystal. Magic can't affect cutie marks. Trust me, I've tested it." Twilight said. "Then what then?" Applejack asked, " 'cause ah certainly remember havin' an apple on my plot when ah walked in 'ere." "I don't know. I honestly don't know." Twilight said. "All I know is that whatever took them away wasn't magic... or at least not this box." "...now what? We don't have our talents anymore?" Fluttershy asked. She imagined herself not being able to tend to the animals anymore. Applejack imagined not being able to buck apples like she used to. Twilight shook her head. "No. Talents can't be taken or given, no matter what." Twilight said. "...or at least not without consequences." Twilight recalled the Cutie Pox incident. "...but it's still impossible for our cutie marks to be just gone. They're somewhere, wither on our pony or somewhere else, I don't know. I'd need to investigate ourselves. Maybe run a few tests." "Um... Twilight? Is there anything I can do to help?" Sweetie asked. "Oh Sweetie... I couldn't ask you to do anything more than you're already forced to do." Twilight said softly. "I can do it. Is there something? Anything? Maybe I could do it if I come across it or something?" Sweetie asked. "...well, If you happen to find a book on cutie marks for me to reference to... or something written that I could look at regarding missing cutie marks, then that would be more than helpful... but only if you come across it. Don't go out of your way to do anything. Just catch Rainbow, and get back." Twilight closed her eyes, remembering following the filly with her mind, and how she had to run all over the mansion. "We don't want anything like earlier to happen." "You're telling me..." Sweetie said. Twilight magically opened the door, and let the filly out, back into the darkness. The mare closed the door back, as they all listened to her footsteps fade away. "... ah ain't gonna forgive mahself fer lettin' that little filly back out in that mansion alone.’Specially with 4 hooves ah can stand on righ'." Applejack said, staring at the door. "She'll be fine... she has to be." Twilight said as they all stared at the door together. *** Sweetie moved through the dining hall and into the foyer. It was still lit as before. "Huh..." Sweetie thought as she entered the room. It was the first time she'd really thought about it but, this was technically where it all started. Her entering the grand door that must have stretched up for three stories. And the meeting of the butler that she wasn't sure if he was or wasn't on her side. She had yet to hear from the butler, and somehow, she hoped it would stay that way. Friendly or not, the less ghosts, the better. The filly wondered... what time was it? If Celestia and Luna were in here, being controlled by Specter, then the sun probably wouldn't rise. She wondered what time it was supposed to rise? And what would happen if it didn't? She just guessed it would throw some clocks off... which still brought her back to the question... what time was it? Something in Sweetie's gut told her time was very important now. She was sure it was past 12 o'clock, given she probably arrived around 9 or 10, and had been traveling around the mansion for maybe 3 or 4 hours, given she was asleep for maybe about 1 and a half hours. Sweetie wondered why she was so concerned about time all of a sudden... was she running out of it? "Sweetie? Are you here?" a familiar friendly mare voice came from above. "Madame?" Sweetie looked up to see floating down was the dressed yellow mare. "Sweetie... glad to see you're still alive." Madame said. "P-please don't." Sweetie said feeling a shiver down her spine. "Hm? Something wrong?" Madame asked. "It's just... the last pony who said that to me was trying to brainwash and kill me." Sweetie said. "Oh, I apologize." the mare paused for a moment. "... but you did manage to catch her right? The Portrait of Magic?" "Yeah." Sweetie sighed. "Three more to go." "And I suppose my charm worked... like a charm?" Madame asked. "A little too well. I hope I never have to have so much magic in me like that ever again..." Sweetie said. "I'm quite surprised a little filly such as yourself has made it so far. Done so much..." Madame said. "... tell me. What drives you?" "My what?" Sweetie asked. "What makes you so determined to catch all of your friends." Madame asked. "They're my friends. I think that's reason enough." Sweetie said. "Friendship only goes so far my dear." Madame said. If Twilight were here, she'd have a fit over what you just said. Sweetie thought. "There's got to be something more. A much more powerful reason. Some pony, or something you’re looking for." Madame said. Sweetie thought. Something more? Well... there was some pony she was particularly concerned about. "I... I guess my sister Rarity. I... I just need her to remind me of some stuff is all." "You're... you're that white mare's sister?" Madame said. "You know her?" Sweetie asked. "Unfortunately... I've had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting her earlier tonight... and so did my husband, though I'm sure he wouldn't call the encounter as so... unfortunate." "You met Rarity at the party?" Sweetie asked. "Yes. The mule was flirting with my dear Specter." Madame said. "... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult your sister. It’s just... I hate it when people try to flirt with my Specter. It's just an attachment I've developed with him over the years has caused me to get a little jealous of little things." Sweetie realized something. Now she had Madame again. The mare knew things... important things, Sweetie wanted answers to. All of them stemming to one pony. "Um... Madame?" Sweetie asked. "Yes?" "There's something that's been tugging at me for a little bit. You said... Specter wasn't evil, the last time we talked... then who is he? What is he?" Sweetie asked. "He's... he's a stallion who's made a lot of mistakes in his lifetime. That's all I can tell you now." Madame said. "N-now? Why can't you tell me everything now? Where you're from? Who your family is? What is up with this mansion and all of the ghosts? Where-" "I can't tell you all of those things. You have to find them out on your own." Madame said. "Me? How am I supposed to figure this stuff out?" Sweetie asked. "Did you pick up the journal I left in my second bedroom?" Madame asked. Sweetie thought back to the hallway past the library... she did remember picking up a book before hiding from Applebloom. She reached back into her saddlebags to take out the book. She looked at its leather cover and spine, decorated with two yellow stripes. "Is... is this yours?" "Yes and no. It was Specter's originally... but he and I shared a journal as a bit of a trust exercise we kept on during our marriage. That we could write down our thoughts and trust the other wouldn't read them. Its how we were able to get closer... to trust each other... but we stopped it a little while back." "Huh? Why?" Sweetie asked. "There was... a bit of separation between us." The mare said. "In any case, that book holds any background history you'd want to know." That could be helpful... Sweetie thought. "...well, you wanted answers right? You'll find them in that book." Sweetie opened up the book to the first page, and something that shocked the filly... was the date. February 14th, 845 A.C I met the most beautiful mare today. It was during the mansion's theater day... the play of Shakespony's Redneck& Junebug... a fitting play of two lovers... a perfect time to meet the love of my life. As I greeted each of our guests into my home, I must have met eyes with hundreds of mares and stallions as they entered and took their seats for the play... but there was one unicorn mare in particular that caught my eye... Her yellow coat, her reddish mane... and gorgeous deep yellow eyes. I couldn't take my eyes off of her as she walked by with that sweet smile on her face. Spiffy Butler, my most loyal pony-servant had to snap me out of the allure that was the yellow coated mare. I didn't even get to ask her name as she passed by. I simply had to meet this wonderful mare. I had Spiffy go out in search of her in the theater. I didn't care if her family was there. I simply had to find a way to sit with her. The entire time before the play was to begin... about 30 minutes I believe I was a mess. The mare had caused me to fall in love with her... just by a glance. It was maddening, the only thing I could think of was the yellow coated mare... and the things I wanted to do with her. The simple thought of being close to the mare... looking at her... or simply thinking of her was intoxicating. I had to meet her. I simply had to. Spiffy didn't show up, as the play was going to start. I moved into the theater, looking desperately for that yellow coat... so desperately I wasn't looking where I was going. I bumped head first with a pony... a mare, and by Celestia it was the mare I was looking for. We sat on the ground for a few moments, locked in each other's gaze. I wondered if she was on the same wave length as me. Did she think about me? Did she feel about me? Of course, we'd just met. The only physical contact we'd felt was with our heads colliding into each other. Spiffy snapped me out of the mare's hypnotic gaze, and picked us both up. He then ushered us both to our seats as the play began. I owned the mansion, and had seen the play hundreds of times. Even if this were my first time experiencing the play, I doubt I could have taken my eyes off of the young beautiful mare that sit right beside me, looking at the play in such amazement. I stared at her... honestly, I'm a bit ashamed. I must have crept her out when she finally noticed my study of her. She asked me why I was staring at her so intensely. I felt my face heat up at the sound of her angelic voice. I told her that she was just more interesting than the play. It must have gotten to the mare, as she blushed herself. She asked my name, and I told her. I asked what her's was, and she said it was Sunflower Maidem Daisy. She said people call her Madame, because of how her middle name sounded. I wondered what her cutie mark was, but resisted the urge to look at her flank and possibly offend the mare. I felt like I had to be careful. After all, what could a mare, think of me after I'd just hit her in the head, and basically stared her down? She didn't seem into money, or into meeting me. She just seemed interested in the show before I came along... but then we started talking. The play went on, as we talked about everyday things. Politics, economics, art... and even a little gossip on the ponies around Stabletown. I think I even made her chuckle in our conversation. Then something kind of slipped out. I asked if she had a colt friend. She blushed again, this time, seeming more embarrassed rather than flattered. I tried to take back the question, hoping to change any negative thoughts the mare had about me. Instead, she answered the question with a quiet "no". The mare was still responding to me, as she blushed, tugging at her dress nervously. Was I making her nervous? I then asked if she wanted to stay after the play, where we could maybe have some dinner together in the dining hall. I expected her to say no. I was almost certain she would say no... but she said "sure". She said she'd just let her parents know she would be headed home later that night. I hoped I wasn't making her seem like I was forcing her into anything. I wanted her to 'want' me as much as I wanted her... I hoped she would love me. The play ended, and ponies left... all except the two of us, who still sat together in the theater silently. I was sure Spiffy would be making preparations for our impromptu date... but neither of us moved to head to the dining hall on the other side of the mansion. She looked at me, and I looked at her. We stared at each other, this time, having no pony to interrupt us. I didn't notice as she leaned closer to me. Before I knew it, our lips were touching... I didn't think. I couldn't think. The ecstasy of the mare was over intoxicating. I loved that mare, and she loved me back... or at least that's what I think. We didn't exchange words for the rest of that night. She did however stay in my room. I don't know how I couldn't be, but I was the happiest stallion in the world. No amount of money could make me want to change the moments as she lie with me as I write these very words. Nothing... Aw... What a romantic little story... Sweetie thought. Still though, the date couldn't be right. It dated over 2000 years ago! Maybe it was a writing mistake. The next couple pages talked of dates Specter and Madame went on. Sweetie skimmed through the mushy stuff, knowing she could only take so much of it at a time. She eventually came across an entry that talked of their marriage several years later, followed by an intercourcial encounter. Sweetie didn't really understand the details... she was still a little filly after all. Still, something felt dirty about reading about ponies doing those... things with each other. This is followed by Madame getting pregnant with two foals... It's then Sweetie remembered the request Madame had made to catch her children, and their butler, Sweetie confirmed to be Spiffy... the book might really prove useful if she could learn a thing or two about them. June 28th 847 A.C It's been a couple months since my stomach started to grow. My joy was overwhelming when I first learned that I was going to have a child. More, with Specter. When I first met him over 2 years ago, I would have never thought he was the one I would love, let alone bear the child of. I remember our first dates. He wasn't cheap... yet he never tried to talk with his fortune, like I assume most rich ponies do. He's sweet... and he even appreciates my art. He's even given me an entire gallery to place all of my works in, and lets me decorate his... our mansion. I suppose it's ours now. He's called it ours since our marriage, even though legally it still belongs to him... he treats me like a princess, while treating me like a mare. I almost feel as though he's too good for me sometimes. Still though, I only wish he wouldn't hide things from me. I still don't know how he makes so much money. And his cutie mark is odd too... I'm getting off topic. I'm having foals. Twins, as the doctor predicted. A filly and a colt... Specter was just as surprised as I... I can't blame him. Neither of us were able to think about that kind of thing after that... magical night. Specter, although shocked, I could see the happiness on his face. That's around the time we decided to marry. I'm sure I wrote about that somewhere in this book... my parents weren't exactly happy with the thought though. I'm sure they were happy for me to be married to such a rich stallion, but I don't think getting pregnant before that pleased them as much. And they still didn't know much about Specter besides what I told them. They were just as curious and intimidated about his fortune as I. Of course, even though they did allow it, even if they didn't they couldn't stop me from marrying that stallion. Anyway, Specter and I have been discussing what to name our little foals... I would decide on the colt, and he on the filly. I came up with the name of Marbles for the colt. I thought it was a cute name, and Specter smiled, saying he liked it. He always said he liked something I came up with, wither it be literature, or art, or music... Specter came up with the name Candy. I liked it too. Candy and Marbles. I think it has a ring to it... Specter told me about the 'genetic disease' that went down his family. When I first heard about it from him, I became afraid for my foals. I hoped they wouldn't have to suffer any kind of mental deficiency, or deformity. I couldn't live with myself knowing that my foals would have to go through that kind of mental stress, much like my grandmother, who suffered from chronic dementia since she was a little filly... though my fears were relieved when I learned it was nothing of the sort. In fact, it's something I kind of think is crazy. He said that his family has an ongoing phobia disease... something where every member of his family is afraid of something... wither irrational or rational. I told him everyone's afraid of something, but Specter responded that it was a little deeper than simple fear. He didn't want to go any further than that. Was he keeping some kind of secret from me? I don't know, but he told me not to worry about it. I trusted Specter, so I perished the thought of my children being endangered by such a phobia disease. I knew Specter would tell me anything that I thought was important, if he didn't want to keep it a secret... and even when he did lie, it was always to keep me, or even that butler that he cares about so much, safe. I'm sure he feels the same for my... our foals. As I write these words, I can feel my young foals, moving around in my stomach, kicking, and eager to leave my womb... in fact, they are kicking rather hard, now that I- The entry stopped abruptly there. Is... was she about to have the foals? Sweetie thought. Sweetie wasn't sure. She remembered stories Rarity told when she was in her mother's stomach. She kicked much in the same way Madame described. She could only assume... Sweetie turned to the next page to find... nothing. It was gone! The rest of the pages of the journal were ripped out by some pony. Who could have done this and why? And even more, where were the other pages? Sweetie had a feeling she'd need them. "Madame, where's the other-" Sweetie looked up to find the ghost mare had disappeared. "Right... leave me with more questions why don't you." Sweetie placed the book back into her bag. Well, time to get back to looking for Rainbow... now Fluttershy said she was on the seventh floor... oh Celestia... that sounds like a lot of stairs. Sweetie took out her map to find that there was a stairwell at the top of the foyer staircase through the middle door. She headed up and came face to face with the door. She hesitated before opening the door. This time, she wasn't afraid of what would happen if she tried to open the door... but what would happen once she went through it. She headed through and started to walk up the grand staircase. Once Sweetie made it up to the 3rd floor, something popped up in her mind. A memory... of Rarity. *** "Oh No... that simply won't do." Rarity said to herself. "No, no, no! Sapphire would never wear that. Throw that design in the garbage..." Sweetie walked into the mare's inspiration room, taking a bite out of a Sweetie Apple Surprise she'd just returned from Sugarcube corner with. It was in her muzzle, the hooves she walked on, covered in the caramel nectar from the apple. "Heh Shish." Sweetie said through the apple covering her mouth. "Not now Sweetie. Momma is very busy." Rarity said, not bothering to glance at the filly, completely focused on her dress design. Sweetie didn't quite process the importance Rarity saw. "Chome on. Ish shavensh seen shoe slall dhay." She said, still licking the inside of the apple in her mouth. "I said I don't have time Sweetie." finally Rarity glanced at the filly, with the sticky apple in her mouth, and caramel drenched hooves. She saw how they tracked into the room... it was a mess the filly had yet to notice. "And get that messy thing out of here!" She exclaimed annoyed. "Do you know how much work I'll have lost if you mess them up with that disgusting little apple of yours?!" Sweetie's eyes went wide at the sudden outburst, as she sat her on her flank. She threw the remaining apple up in the air, and managed to catch it in her mouth, proceeding to swallow it. It was a little trick Applebloom had taught her back at the clubhouse to dispose of an apple quickly. She looked at Rarity. "I... I'm sorry." Sweetie seemed to be on the verge of tears. Rarity sighed. She used her telekinetic magic to put down the pencil she used to draw her design. She walked over to the filly to embrace her. "Oh Sweetie. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I'm just running out of time to finish these designs up, and I simply can't afford to mess up you see." Rarity smiled at the filly. "Just... just let me finish ok? I just need to work right now." "C...can I watch?" Sweetie asked, sniffling. Rarity hesitated before answering. She knew the filly had a history whenever she 'watched' the mare as she worked... but then again, it wasn't as if she could say no to those green heart melting eyes. "Of course my dear." Rarity's smile faded. "Just... just watch though. Nothing more." Sweetie nodded. At least she'd get to spend some more time with the mare she looked up to not only as a sister, or a best friend, but a virtual mother, and role model... *** Sweetie came out of her memory, seeing herself on the 5th floor. She wasn't quite as fond of that memory, and how it ended. It seemed to only give evidence to the claims of the ghosts... Sweetie tried to think of a different memory as she climbed. Something happier. Something like her friends and their en devours to gain their cutie marks. *** "Cutie Mark Crusaders Cat Rescue Squad YAY!" the three fillies cheered. "Meow." Opalescence said at the top of the tall tree. "Thanks guys for helping me though," Sweetie said, "Rarity would have my horn if anything happened to that cat." "Don't sweat it Sweetie. We're in this together." Scootaloo said. "Besides, ponies do this all the time. This is a perfect chance to test out our cutie marks." "Yeah." Applebloom said, looking up at the cat in the tree. "Only thing ah can' figur' out 's how that cat got up there, on 'he farm. Ain't that Rarity's cat? Ain't she supposed ta be back at the Boutique?" "Yeah, but... I kinda chased her out." Sweetie admitted. "Why?" Scootaloo asked. "Well... you see that little crayon in her mouth?" Sweetie asked. "You chased her out for a crayon?" Scootaloo asked. "No... I was borrowing Rarity's special design drawing crayon to map out some ideas I had for getting our cutie marks and she snatched it out of my hoof... I don't know what it is with Opal and anything I have... she just likes messing with me. Anyway, I chased her here and..." Sweetie glances at Winona, who is barking furiously at the cat in the tree. "You guys saw the rest." "Go on Winona. Git!" Applebloom told the brown sheepdog. Winona's ears went down, upset she had displeased one of her masters, and left, forgetting about the cat. "Now the only thing is... how are we going to get that dumb cat down?" Sweetie said, looking back up in the tall dead tree. "Yeah... it's too hig' to climb." Applebloom said. "And I can't really fly yet, so that's not an option..." Scootaloo said. "... ah got an idea..." Applebloom said, leaving the two fillies. "Be ri' back." She ran off the farm. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo waited for their friend to return for a little while. Finally, Scootaloo picked up a rock off of the ground and chucked it at the cat. The cat narrowly dodged the rock she was assaulted with, and hissed at Scootaloo. "What are you doing?!" Sweetie said, stopping the orange filly from throwing another rock. "I want her down, not dead!" The orange filly shrugged, still liking her original plan. She threw a second rock. Sweetie knocked her hoof down. "Stop it you Dodo!" Sweetie said annoyed. "Ahm back." Applebloom called before Scootaloo could respond to Sweetie. She was followed close behind her, a baby dragon. Scootaloo sighed. "Look Applebloom, I know you like Spike and all, but what's he got to do with this." Spike wasn't listening as he looked up into the tree at the love of his life's cat. "Huh? What's Opal doing up there?" Applebloom went a crimson red. "A-ah don't know what yer talkin' bout." her blush faded. "'sides, ah got an idea usin' this 'im." Spike was still examining Rarity's pussy cat. "What's that thing in her mouth?" Sweetie Belle was puzzled. "What could you use Spike for anyway? He's barely older than any of us." "Well, list'n 'ere. Mah sis's gonna want this 'ere tree down ri'? It's dead and ain't no good fer apple buckin. So ah thought, kill two birds 't one stone." "What are you three up to?" Spike said, finally turning his attention onto the three fillies. "Well, what ah wanted ta do was set this 'ere tree on fire." "WHAT?!" Sweetie exclaimed. "I'm liking this idea." Scootaloo said smiling. "I'm not! I just said I didn't want to kill Rarity's cat." Sweetie argued "Sweetie's right! Why would you want to turn roast that cold cat into a hot dog?" Spike asked. "Hold on and list'n. Ah figured that if we set th' tree up on fire, the cat'd try an jump down. Then, we'd catch 'em!" Applebloom said, "and the tree'll burn so me and mah sis don't gotta worry 'bout cuttin' it down later! It's perfect." "I dunno, sounds kind of risky." Spike said. "And that cat's too stubborn to get out of that tree, even if it's falling down around her!" Sweetie said. "It's pure logic. It'll work." Applebloom assured. "...alright." Sweetie gave in. "I still don't like it. I don't even think I can even light raw bark." Spike said. "C'mon Spike. Please try?" Applebloom pleaded, with her large orange eyes. Spike sighed. "Whatever..." Spike got close to the tree, and blew his green flame on it. The small flame traveled around the tree, licking its base, but not igniting. As he ran out of breath, he looked to see that he had only left a few small burn marks on the tree. "Try again." Scootaloo said to the dragon. Spike took another deep breath, and blew harder with his green flame, this time, a little larger than before, but nothing abnormal for a baby dragon. This time, when he ran out of breath, the base of the tree glowed red with heat. Spike took one more deep breath to blow on the tree. The tree ignited with a green flame. "Success!" Spike exclaimed. The four children took a few steps back from the smoking tree. They all looked up at the cat sniffed the air, noticing the smoke. Fearfully, she dropped the crayon it held in its mouth, falling to the ground, breaking it into little pieces. "Oh no." Sweetie thought. Opal wasn't trying to get down, but was more frozen with fear. Sweetie knew that if she fell from that height without any precision, she wouldn't get back up. Then, Sweetie's fears were realized. As the fire traveled up the tree, much faster than any of the fillies, or the dragon could anticipate, it started to burn the limb of the tree Opal was perched on. The branch cracked, and before any of the fillies could do anything, the cat fell, likely to her doom. Then, out of nowhere, Applejack came out of nowhere, catching the cat before it could hit the ground. She was followed by Big Macintosh, and a couple more of the farm workers, holding buckets of water in their muzzles. They tossed them on the tree, extinguishing the green flame. The cat remained frozen as it lied in the mare's hooves. "What in the hay were you four doin'?" Applejack exclaimed angrily. "Um... Oh! I think that's Twi calling me. See ya!" Spike said before fleeing the scene. "You three." Applejack said angrily, before any of the three fillies could come up with excuses to escape punishment. "Farmhouse... now." *** Sweetie was brought out of her memory as she arrived on the 7th floor. Maybe that wasn't the best memory to recall. Now Sweetie just depressed, and more like she messed things up, by getting her friends into trouble, and breaking Rarity's design tool. She also missed her friends even more, and the adventures they would go on in order to obtain their cutie marks. "I'll get you back somehow..." Sweetie said to herself. Sweetie moved through the door, and into a new hallway, identical to the other ones she'd been through, though with different pieces of artwork. So... Madame made these? She's really good. Sweetie went over to examine one of the paintings with her flashlight, having a new appreciation for her ghost friend's artwork. It was a town. It looked luxurious, and beautiful. Not quite like Canterlot, but definitely a step above Ponyville. The town seemed to be much more diverse in community than Ponyville. The landscape painting was filled with ponies of all kinds. Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth ponies alike... but there were also a considerable number of griffons and zebra as well. She even noticed a buffalo in the background. In the painting, she could see Specter, much younger than the one Sweetie had become acquainted with. He smiled through the painting, possibly at Madame, who was painting it. Besides him were two twins... chances were they were Marbles and Candy. They looked around with their yellow eyes, much more interested in everything going on around them, rather than the painter, as foals tended to be. Sweetie looked off in the corner to some text that was written out in cursive. It said Stabletown... "So this is your home, huh Madame?" Sweetie said to the painting. Something seemed odd about it. Sweetie knew the mansion had an old look to it, but when she looked at the edges of the canvas inside of the frame... they seemed to be browned... as if they'd aged for a very long time. Maybe it was because it was a part of the mansion and aged along with the rest of it... Sweetie took out her map and checked to see where she needed to go next. According to the map, she was in a hallway, where if she headed left, she would head over a walkway over the dining area she'd just been through. If she kept that way, and went through the hallway the opposite end connected to, she would find her way to the outdoor eating area, and most likely, Rainbow Dash's ghost. She stuffed the map back into her bag, and headed to the dining hall area. Moving down the hall, she felt the gut feeling again. The same one she felt as she entered the stairwell to her current location. Her instinct was warning her of something... but given there was no other way she saw to the dining area, she could only keep moving forward. It wasn't like she was feeling cold anyway, so it couldn't be a ghost. Maybe it was just her paranoia acting up again. Sweetie came to the door, and pushed through it. The weight caused it to close behind her. Sweetie didn't bother to check if it was locked, afraid she would find it actually was. She shined her light around. Candles were across the walls, to her right. On her left, was a banister that kept any pony from falling down to the dining hall below. Also past the banister was a weak, yet luxurious looking chandelier. "So what are you? Fire proof now?" a voice said from the other side of the dining hall. Sweetie remembered seeing there was a second path on the map, on the left side of the dining room... and something in her gut was telling her that some pony was also on that side. "Because I could have sworn the last time I saw you, you were baking like... what do call that think Pinkie made... Sweetie Apple Surprise? "Spike? Spike is that you?" Sweetie called out. "And you can form sentences again. Isn't that just wonderful." Spike said. Sweetie was afraid of the fire-breathing dragon, but then remembered. He was still a baby dragon. Unless he found his way over to her side, she would be fine. "What do you want Spike?" Sweetie called. She knew she wasn't speaking to Spike, but she didn't know what else to call him. Still... something felt like she should have known what to call him. "Nothing but to see you burn in every way possible." He said. Sweetie could feel him grinning at her through the darkness. He laughed. "Hey... you ever finish reading that Exerpony book?" Sweetie remained silent. Spike simply laughed. "Probably not, knowing a scardy pony like you." Spike said. "... I remember that day you know. That day you came to the library, wining about how Rarity didn't love you." Sweetie didn't say a word, fearing to feed the argument she anticipated he would make about her sister. "She lied to you, you know. Twilight?" Spike said. "I'm with Twi all the time, especially when her and Rare get together. Now, I'm not going to stand up here and lie to you Sweetie. I've got the ear of a dragon. I heard everything that came out of Twi's mouth, and I'm telling you that she was lying." Sweetie bit her lip. Why didn't she just leave? Did a part of her want to hear what the dragon had to say? Sweetie didn't know. It was like she was anchored to the spot. "Of course she'd lie. You two were in a public library, and I doubt she'd want you to start bawling your little eyes out right then and there. No, I doubt she'd just drop it on you... but I know Twilight. She'll tell a lie every once and a while, and you can tell. You were able to tell too. Remember how she paused? Remember how she hesitated?" "She said that I meant the world to her." Sweetie blurted out. "True, but she also side stepped the question when you asked how many good things Rare said about you. Don't deny it. I'm using cold hard facts. I don't have anything that I know that tells me that Rarity hates you... but I do know she doesn't love you. She lied, Sweetie. Twilight-" "Shut up!" Sweetie yelled at the baby dragon through the darkness. "You're just a big liar! I don't care if you've got one or two of Spike's memories. That's not true! You're not Spike! You're just a liar." "Says the filly who called me Spike herself. Such a fickle one..." Spike said. "Tell me Sweetie. Do you remember anything that tells what Rarity really thinks of you?" "I don't have time for this." Sweetie said. Sweetie started to move down to the opposite side of the room. Suddenly, Sweetie noticed something out of the corner of her eye. It was two blue lights that came on from the opposite side of the dining hall. Were they the dragon's new possessed eyes? Sweetie felt like she'd seen those eyes earlier... Out of the darkness, there came a large orb of green light... coming straight for the filly. Sweetie jumped forward, dodging the fireball as it hit the path behind her, igniting it into a giant flame, blocking Sweetie's way back. How did Spike do that? Sweetie didn't know the dragon could let out so much fire! He had the breath of an adult dragon... maybe even stronger than that. Sweetie then remembered how Applebloom was able to jump out of the cage, higher than a normal filly should have been able too. Scootaloo, although she was definitely stronger than the filly originally, shouldn't have been able to move that stone slab so effortlessly. Did that also mean that Spike's breath was made stronger as well? Sweetie knew better than to just stand there and watch as Spike tried again to hit her. Sweetie ran for the opposite side of the dining hall. Spike fired another green ball at her, hitting the path behind her with its green flame. It was breaking up the path behind her, as she heard pieces of the path fall down to the bottom of the dining hall. "No point in running Sweets." Spike said. "I can see you..." Sweetie couldn't tell from the darkness ahead of her, but she figured she was about half way across the dining hall. Then, out of nowhere, a fireball hit the path ahead of Sweetie. Knocking her back enough to cause her to drop the flashlight in her muzzle. "Get up Sweetie. Get up!" Sweetie coached herself. She looked in front of her to see that she couldn't get through that way. She looked behind her to see her back path up in flames. She was trapped... or so she thought. The way Sweetie's flashlight fell, it pointed out into the darkness of the center of the dining hall. It illuminated the frail chandelier. It was Sweetie's only chance to escape before the segment of the path fell to the dining hall. Sweetie grabbed her flashlight, and stuck it back in her muzzle, tasting the soot and dirt from the burning pathway. It almost made her spit the flashlight back out, but she held it firmly with her teeth. Sweetie put her flank against the wall, feeling the pathway become less and less level. She listened to how it crackled under her very feet. She didn't have much time. Sweetie ran for the banister, and perched on top of it for a second before jumping for the chandelier. She reached out for it with her hooves, grabbing its edge. Spike laughed on the other side in amusement as she climbed on top. The filly heard as the segment of path fell down to the first floor. Ok, now what? Sweetie thought as she got on the chandelier. She could feel it coming out of the ceiling due to the added weight and stress. She saw another chandelier in jumping distance. If she could get to it... Sweetie got back as far as the chandelier would let her and made a running jump for the next one before it fell out of the wall, and onto the dining table seven stories below her. She hit the second chandelier perfectly, but this time, with too much momentum. As the dragon tried to shoot the filly, she just jumped to the next chandelier, trying to slow herself down. She continued to jump, and narrowly dodge fireballs, the momentum she had keeping her jumps long. Finally, after traveling along 5 chandeliers, she was able to stop by grabbing the edge of one. She jumped back over to the path she was originally on, and ran for the exit. She was almost there. Spike aimed for the top of the doorway, aiming to destroy the filly's exit. She rolled through, just as wood and debris fell around it, blocking it off. Sweetie's heart beat fast, after the near death situation. Adrenaline wanted to make her keep running, but she regained control of her little filly legs and brain to stop, and assess the situation. She took a deep breath, and went into her bag to check her map. She checked the map in order to figure out if Spike could still follow her. According to it, the paths in the dining hall all branched off from the dining hall. They wouldn't meet up for a few rooms. Where they met was at another hallway that led to the outdoor eating area. Sweetie would probably confront the baby dragon again, but if she moved fast, maybe she could avoid seeing him before she caught Rainbow Dash. Sweetie saw no time to lose. She headed down the hallway, to the outdoor hallway, preparing her for whatever Specter, or the mansion was going to throw at her next. *** Sweetie managed to beat the dragon to her destination... or at least that's what she thought. As she entered the hallway, where she started to hear rain echoing down it, she didn't see hind or claw of the possessed dragon. Something didn't seem right about that, considering everyone of the possessed ponies, or in Spike's case dragon was better, faster, stronger, and more agile than her. Then again, the same thing happened with Applebloom, who seemed to disappear along Sweetie's path as she escaped the basement. Maybe they had an alternate method of travel? Sweetie could hear thunder and rain outside. It sounded a little less harsh than before. The storm seemed to let up a little, so she assumed she would be able to venture outside with fewer problems than she had in the courtyard. She moved forward, eventually meeting a sliding glass window. She slid it open, rain immediately hitting her face. Still, the storm, as Sweetie had previously deduced, had become much more bearable. Sweetie went out, the sliding door closing behind her. Of course, of course. Sweetie thought as she heard it close behind her. Sweetie shined her light around, the rain limiting its shining strength. She didn't see anything out there. No Rainbow Dash, or any ghost to speak of. Rain hit the filly's coat, drenching her, causing her fluffy mane to fall down. The filly shivered... was she shivering because of the rain, or because there were ghosts nearby? Sweetie figured it to be best to look around the eating area. The area was filled with tables and chairs, as she expected. Some of them had umbrellas, which Sweetie took a moment to take shelter under every few minutes to rest. Lightning flashed, revealing the eating area for a split second. To the right side of the eating area, against a wall, Sweetie noticed something... there were statues over there. But not just any statues... they were the ones of griffons Sweetie remembered seeing on her way into the mansion along its brick pathway. What in the hay were they doing here? She got from under the umbrella to investigate. Sweetie found her way over, seeing that there was a flap at the top of the wall, shielding the statues from the rain. Sweetie touched each one, trying to find any indication any ghost, or pony may have transported them here. As she did, her hoof came across something. It wasn't cold, rough and hard... warm, feathery and soft... that wasn't a statue. "What the heck?" The griffon said, surprising the filly back into the rain, nearly giving her a heart attack. She sounded tough, and adult. Sweetie wondered if this was who Fluttershy was talking about. "G-gilda?" Sweetie asked as she shined her light on the griffon's face. Her eyes were golden... they didn't have the possessed look about them. Sweetie wasn't prepared to let her guard down none the less. She was already fooled by Applebloom and Scootaloo, and wasn't going to let herself get caught off guard again. The griffon paused for a moment. "What do you want pipsqueak?" She seemed to be incredibly uninterested in the filly's appearance. "I-I'm not Pipsqueak. I'm Sweetie Belle." Sweetie said. "Like I care, what do you want?" Gilda asked. "I'm kind of busy here." "W-well..." Sweetie wasn't sure if it was the best idea to ask the griffon such a question. Gilda intimidated the filly, and had a bad feeling that she wasn't on her side, but she didn't see herself having any other choice. Gilda was the only lead Sweetie had. Sweetie moved back under the flap. "I-I'm looking for a mare... her name's Rainbow Dash. Do you know her?" "'course I know her." Gilda said. "She's mine." "...your what?" Sweetie asked. "Mine. My property. My ghost. What, do I have to explain it to you?" Gilda said. Sweetie backed off, back into the rain. She came back, closer. She came back, trying to get her to tell her what she wanted to know, with her big green eyes. She even added some tears. They had no effect on the griffon. "What, you're crying? What a pacifier and a bottle with that?" Gilda laughed at the filly. "You're a bully." Sweetie said flatly. "Whatever kid... say, what did you say your name was?" Gilda asked. "S-sweetie Belle." Sweetie said shakily. Something didn't feel right. Gilda grinned at the filly. "Oh really... yeah, you know what, I think I will tell you where Rainbow is." she said. "Really?" Sweetie lit up. Had she finally gotten to the griffon? "Where? Where?" "Not here." Gilda said. "N-not here?" "She's not even in the mansion. Now use that little brain in your head and guess where she is." Gilda said. Sweetie thought. Where would the mare be? Think. Pinkie obviously wanted to catch Rainbow for a reason. She must have been keeping her from playing her 'game'... Sweetie wondered if she was doing something that kept her from doing that? Something that kept her from setting it up, and playing... Twilight was her mental powers, and Rainbow... what if it was the storm? Did that mean... "...up?" Sweetie said. "I guess you’re smarter than you look filly." Gilda said. "Yeah, she's in the clouds, making this awesome storm you’re standing in. And I should know awesome. After all, I am." "S-she's making the storm? Why?" Sweetie asked. "Why do you think?" Gilda asked. "To keep little losers like you away from the mansion until everything's all finished." "Finished? What are you-" Sweetie asked. "And don't think I don't know what you and that pink dweeb are up to." Gilda said. "W-what?" Sweetie asked. "You're not catching that mare. Not until you grow some wings." Gilda said. Sweetie was discouraged. If Rainbow was indeed up above the clouds, she wouldn't have a chance at catching her. She tried to figure out... could she lure the mare down? Sweetie was brought out of thought as she was kicked in the head by Gilda, knocking her further into the rain. Sweetie could feel the blood from her nose and mouth draining out of her nose and mouth, mixing with the water of the rain as she got back up. She was in a daze, but she heard Gilda laughing at the filly's pain. "Now that that's out of the way, let's get this over with. I gotta get back up there. She's slacking off." Gilda said. "I don't like you pipsqueak, and neither does Specter. So I decided it was time we took you out of the picture. All right, GET HER!" Sweetie looked up at the Gilda, and the statues she was around. There were about 5 of them. The statues eyes glowed with the same golden tint as the griffon. They started to move, erecting their wings. She heard, as they moved, the sound of stone against stone. No way... Sweetie thought. This did not look good in the slightest. Sweetie shined her light on the statues. As she feared, they didn't affect them. They grinned with their stony beaks, before one flew at the filly. Sweetie dodged to the right, falling to her side, still getting herself together after the blow to the head. She scrambled up, seeing the stone griffon come back around for another round. She dodged it again, this time with a little more focus. As it flew past her again, Sweetie ran in the direction it came from, away from Gilda and the other statues. "Come back! What are you? Chicken?" Gilda taunted through the rain. Sweetie's heart was beating fast. She couldn't beat the statues, and she didn't have any of the GCD Spectral Throwback to attack with. All she had was her brain. Was there any way she could fight back the griffons? Sweetie remembered how they flew at her. That was how they seemed to be attacking. Maybe she could use that to her advantage... Sweetie ran until she came to the opposite wall. She heard a whooshing sound, indicating that the stone griffon was making her third swoop. Sweetie planted her flank against the wall, waiting for it to come... she saw its glowing golden eyes through the rain. Now. Sweetie dodged to the side, her flank still against the wall. She heard as the griffon collided with the wall. On impact, the griffon's head was broken apart, obliterating it. Sweetie got a second idea. If she could get the griffon to collide with the wall, maybe she could get it to collide with other things? Sweetie heard the flapping of the stone wings coming at her. She moved forward, moving to the side, dodging the wing of the griffon. She got in front of the glass sliding door, she didn't even need to check to figure it was locked. She stood there, waiting for the griffon to swoop back and fly at her. She waved her flashlight in her mouth, in an attempt to attract the as she anticipated, the griffon flew at the filly. She dodged, as she listened to the sound of glass breaking, and stone smashing. Now she had her exit again, in case she had to make a quick getaway. She went back over to the wall, ready to lure the remaining three statues into the wall. Though this time, they didn't come. Instead, she heard steps. Sounds of stone against floor, as they walked towards Sweetie, their eyes glowing through the darkness. They had figured out Sweetie's plan, and were now aiming to corner her as a team. Now, Sweetie's flank was against the wall out of fear. Now what was she to do? She didn't have anything to fight back with now... did she? The GCD didn't have any ghosts inside for her to fight with... but she did just catch another portrait ghost: Twilight. Every time she caught a Portrait of Harmony, she remembered getting a new upgrade on her GCD. With Applejack, it was the Spectral Throwback, and with Fluttershy, it was the Dual Capture... what about Twilight? Sweetie looked at her GCD nozzle, and sure enough, there was a new icon on there. It was an icon that depicted a snowflake. Sweetie switched to it. "Elemental Capture A activated." the GCD said. She pointed her GCD at the statues, and hit the button. Instead of firing something at them, it started to suck up the rain. After a few seconds, the GCD said something. "Ghost Capture Device Water Containment at 100 percent." What does that mean?! I just vacuumed rain?! Sweetie thought. That's not helpful! It's then Sweetie noticed that the snowflake, unlike the other icons, it had two settings: up and down. Right now, the switch was facing down. What if she switched it up? The filly did that as the griffons closed in on her, still grinning. Sweetie pointed the GCD at the center griffon, which was closest to her. When she hit the button, a cold blast of mist came from the GCD. It was so big and wide, it hit all three griffons. They all slowed to a stop, covered in frost and ice. Sweetie pushed them over, as they fell, breaking into tiny pieces as they hit the ground. Sweetie heard a caw in the darkness. Suddenly, out of the darkness came Gilda. She was much faster than the statues. So fast, it took Sweetie a moment to realize that she was being held by the neck of the griffon. She sighed. "If you want something done right, you've gotta do it yourself." she said, gripping the filly's neck, causing her to drop her flashlight. Sweetie's air was cut off. She was choking. Sweetie struggles to free herself from the claws of the griffon. Gilda took the filly over to the banister that looked over the forest. Lightning flashed as she held her over the edge, as Sweetie looked at the final face she would ever likely see again. The face of a griffon that wanted her dead. She didn't seem possessed... but she wanted her dead. Why? What the hay was happening? Who was this griffon? What did she have to do with any of this? What was it she meant by 'finished'? Sweetie would never know... "What the hay do you think you're doing?!" said a familiar voice. Because Sweetie was being held by the griffon, she couldn't confirm. "What am I doing? What are you doing?" Gilda responded. "Get back up there and fix that storm!" "Are you trying to kill her?" the anonymous mare said. "No, I'm just trying to show her the view." Gilda said sarcastically. "Of course I'm trying to kill her!" "We're supposed to be ghostifying. Not killing them!" the mare argued. "You were up in the sky all this time, you didn't get the memo. Forget about turning them into ghosts, we've got plenty of those now. It's either possession, or death. This loser's been catching ghosts, so she's a special case. Specter wants her dead now." Gilda said. "That doesn't sound cool." the mare said. "You're a ghost. It doesn't matter what you think is cool." Gilda said. "Now let me do this." The griffon lessened her grip on the filly's neck. She could breathe, but she was now slipping through it. "Hold on!" the mare said. Sweetie saw a cyan glowing hoof move past her, and push the griffon in the chest. It was so fast, if it were any closer, it might have been considered an attack. She dropped Sweetie, just inside of the eating area. She lied there, catching her breath. She looked up to see it was in fact, who she thought it was that saved her: Rainbow Dash... why? "How do I know you're not lying? Just like you did with Scootaloo?" Rainbow asked. "What is it? You've got a fetish for killing fillies?" "I'm just doing my job." Gilda said bitterly. "How could I know that? Like you said, I was working with the storm all this time." Rainbow argued. "If you get in trouble, we'll both get in trouble, and I'll end up dead, like that Madame chick." Aren't you already dead? Sweetie thought, as she slipped further away from the griffon. and was something supposed to happen to Madame? Gilda groaned. "You're just as uncool as that... where'd she go?" Gilda asked, looking for the filly she could have sworn she just dropped. She looked over to the side, into darkness, before feeling her body got consumed in a biting cold. She screeched in pain from the intense frostbite. Rainbow simply watched, either still trying to comprehend that her master, as Gilda had put it, was freezing to death; or that she simply wanted to see her master freeze. Gilda was frozen on the spot... but it didn't seem like she was dead quite yet. Her eyes darted around, trying every part of her body to see if anything else wasn't encased frozen in ice. "Ghost Capture Device Water Containment empty." the GCD said. "You little brat! I'll kill you!" Gilda yelled at the filly. Sweetie got up from her location and took her hoof off of the nozzle button. Suddenly, in front of her flashed the mare she was supposed to be hunting. Rainbow scared the filly back onto her flank to sit back in a puddle of rain. The mare stared at the filly with empty eyes. "R-rainbow Dash?" Sweetie asked. She didn't receive an answer. The ghost mare seemed to be deep in thought. Sweetie wondered what was going on in Rainbow's ghostly head... then she remembered she could find out. She remembered that Twilight, earlier that night said something about using the camera to be able to hear a ghost's thoughts. If there was a better time to try it out, it was now. Sweetie, still keeping her eyes on the ghost mare who stared blankly at her, reached into her bag to take out her camera. She snapped a shot of Rainbow. C'mon Sweetie! Run! she heard the mare think. It was definitely the real Rainbow Dash. Was she using her own will to keep her ghostly self from attacking her? Stop fighting it. She can't escape. Its useless. Sweetie then heard another Rainbow Dash. It sounded much more ghost like, and intimidating. Even if she did run, we'd catch her, and kill her all the same. Tell ya what. If you give me back full control, I'll make it quick and painless. That's what I'm best at. Quick. Run, damn it! Run! Sweetie listened to the ghost mare, but instead of running away, she ran for her flashlight. She pointed it at the mare, expecting to hear a ding. Instead, her light bounced off of the mare, in several directions in the form of colors of the rainbow. The flashlight didn't affect her. NO! Rainbow yelled in Sweetie's head. Sweetie's eyes widened as the ghost mare flew at Sweetie such an incredible velocity; she didn't have time to dodge as she flew right through her little body... Chapter 14- The Frozen Light Spectrum"Get away from me you freak." Gilda said. Sweetie was starting to come to, after being phased through by the ice cold ghost. "Aw, C'mon Gilda. We're all friends here!" came Pinkie's voice, as ghostly and bubbly as ever. "I'm not your fried dweeb. Now are you gonna break me out or not?" Gilda asked, getting increasingly annoyed at the mare. "Only if you say Pretty Please with Peanuts and Pineapples." Pinkie responded happily. Sweetie tried to get up on all fours again, but her body wasn't listening to her. She couldn't remember why her body wasn't working right. She tried to recall facts. She was in a mansion, catching her friends turned into ghosts. Whenever she caught a ghost, she'd get shocked and put near death... was that why she felt like that? Did she catch a ghost? "Look loser, I'm the one in charge around here. You gonna do what I say, got it?" Gilda said. "Nah, that's ok. I'm no good at following orders anyway." Pinkie said. "Why don't you ask my Dashie to get you out? You’re in charge of her, right?" Rainbow Dash... that was the last ghost she remembered seeing. Did she catch her? She didn't remember it. All she could recall was fighting some bully griffon, freezing some statues... and getting flown at by Rainbow Dash. No, she definitely didn't catch the mare. She got away. Sweetie's nerves started to wake up again, as she felt the rain around her, lightly hitting her coat. She was lying in a pool of water that accumulated from the rain around her. Her muzzle stung from Gilda's blow, her body ached and felt cold, and miserable. She wished she could just stay lying there, but knew better. She knew she had to get up and out of the rain at least, and figure out what to do next. Besides, the last thing she needed was a cold. Sweetie made a second attempt at moving her fore legs in front of her, with much more success. It was painful, but she managed to push her upper body up off of the ground. She opened her eyes to see her flashlight, also lying in the pool of water. Thankfully, it was still working though it was in the rain for however long Sweetie was knocked out. Sweetie pushed herself up onto her flank, so she was sitting in front of the flashlight. Sweetie checked her back to see that her little GCD was still on her back, along with her saddlebags, which sat under it. She looked over to the edge of the outdoor eating area's banister to see Gilda was still there, just as frozen as before, and surprisingly still alive. One might have thought that the freezing of her body might kill them... what made the griffon so special? Hovering above her, was the pink ghost mare that’d been following her all night. Sweetie moaned in pain, as she rubbed out some of the tension at the side of her neck, gaining the two's attention. "Sleeping on the job are we?" Pinkie asked, abandoning Gilda to float over to the filly. "W...wha?" Sweetie asked, still trying to get her mind back up to speed. Pinkie was frowning now, which always meant something was wrong. The pink mare never frowned... at least not to Sweetie's memory. She seemed disappointed about something. "While you were taking a nap, Dashie..." Pinkie trailed off. "She's gone Sweetie. She flew away." "F...flew away?" Sweetie asked. Then Gilda's words came to her: you’re not catching that mare. Not until you grow some wings... "No... she can't be... she can't have escaped. No..." Sweetie bowed her head in shame, that she'd failed her task to catch her friend- Pinkie giggled gleefully, causing Sweetie to look back up at the mare. She was grinning again. "You should have seen the look on your face Jumpie! You were all like 'I failed' and I was like 'I can't believe she's so gullible'!" She laughed. "What are you saying? You mean, I didn't lose Rainbow?" Sweetie asked. "Well... I wouldn't say that." Pinkie said. “She's here, but she's not here.” "You mean she's somewhere in the mansion?" Sweetie asked. "Uh huh!" Pinkie chirped happily. This was good, now that Sweetie knew she didn't lose her chance at Rainbow... but something didn't quite strike the filly right. If she was supposed to be making the storm, which she could tell was beginning to die out, then why didn't the mare go back up? Sweetie then remembered how Rainbow managed to stall her ghostly self from attacking her. Sweetie decided to interrogate Pinkie and possibly confirm her suspicions. "... But why?" Sweetie asked. "You already know! You thought it yourself, Rainbow's got some strong willpower going on. Hm..." Pinkie thought for a moment. "... and I think I know what helps her." "What?" Sweetie asked. "Well, you know AJ and Rainbow right? Well, I was thinking... you know about their competitiveness right?" Pinkie asked. Sweetie nodded. She'd heard plenty from Rarity and Twilight about the two's competitive spirits to be better than one another. She even knew about the Running in the Leaves fiasco, where their competitiveness almost resulted in the end of their friendship. "What about it?" Sweetie asked. "Well, I figured that if Rainbow held something like that in her heart, she'd be strengthened by the thought of AJ." Pinkie explained, "And if that's the case, then when she saw your hat, those memories of her friendship with Applejack woke up, and got her to gain a little control over the ghostie controlling her." "I guess that makes sense." Sweetie said, touching Applejack's hat, happy it managed to come in handy. Hm... memories make a manipulated spirit's will stronger? Maybe I could use that to catch Rainbow with... "Maybe you can Sweetie, and I'm just the mare to help you." Pinkie said. "Huh?" Sweetie asked puzzled. "Y-you mean you’re going to help me catch Rainbow?" "Sure! That's why I came over here! I figured if you weren't dead by the time I got over here, I'd see if I couldn't help you out!" Pinkie said. "T-thank you?" Sweetie was unsure if she should have been thanking the ghost mare for giving her assistance. Still, she could have let her go after Rainbow all by herself, and let her die, right? Sweetie wondered... Maybe that memory thing is happening with Pinkie? Maybe she's fighting Specter's control? Maybe she's like- Pinkie giggled, taking the filly out of thought. "W-what now?" Sweetie asked. "Oh you silly filly. I'm not helping you out of the kindness of my ghostly heart. In fact, I look forward to you dying. I just want to have fun doing it myself. It's not always you get the chance to play with a filly as fun as you... so I wanted to do it myself!" Pinkie said happily. Sweetie's heart sunk, her hope doused. Should have known it was too good to be true... "I'm still following Mr. Yield's orders Jumpie." Pinkie said. I thought you said you didn't follow orders? "...but, I'm just bending his orders a teeny bit." Pinkie said. "I'm gonna have to kill you eventually, but I want us to have fun while I do it. What do you say?" "...well, at least you’re not trying to kill me now." Sweetie said optimistically. "That's the spirit!" Pinkie said, punching Sweetie in the shoulder. She flinched at the nearly instantaneous frostbite she felt as her hoof made contact with her shoulder. Sweetie then felt the cold and weakness rush through her again. She felt herself momentarily fatigued, and her she was reminded of her ache. Sweetie reached into her saddlebags to fish out something that could possibly mend the pain. "Wait a sec Jumpier." Pinkie said. "What?" Sweetie asked. "I'd... I'd save that little heart candy if I were you." Pinkie said. H-how does she know about my heart candy? Doesn't she have something better to do than to watch me all night? "Sorry Jumpie, you’re just so interesting to watch!" Pinkie grinned. "Besides, you don't feel like you're about collapse and die yet I hope." Pinkie did have a point. Sweetie felt weak, and hurt all over her body, especially in her muzzle. All that aside, she was 'fine'. Sweetie decided she would take the ghost mare's advice. "Well then... I guess we should better get going." Sweetie said, getting up on all fours. "Now hold up there Jumpie." Pinkie said, holding her hoof. There's just one thing need you to do... well, it's more of a suggestion." "What now?" Sweetie asked. Pinkie floated to the side of the filly and put her arm around her neck, her muzzle to her ear. "You see that frozen meany old griffon over there?" Pinkie whispered loudly as she pointed at Gilda, who was preoccupied with trying to free herself from her icy restraints. "Yeah?" Sweetie asked. "Push her." Pinkie said. "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "You heard me. You know you want to." Pinkie said. "Y-you’re not serious right?" Sweetie asked shakily. Sweetie knew what would happen if she did what the pink mare suggested. If she pushed her, chances were, her frozen body would break apart from the impact. The griffon was barely alive as it was. Sweetie doubted she would survive if she broke her up any more. "What the heck are you two dweebs whispering about?" Gilda asked. "I'd do it myself, but I'm kind of on thin ice as it is. I doubt killing Specter's little birdy would make him very happy with me." Pinkie said. Specter's little birdy huh? What exactly is this Gilda to Specter anyway? "I-I can't. I won't." Sweetie said. "Jumpie, let's face it. Sure, she's frozen, but she's gonna thaw out eventually. Especially after this storm is over. She's gonna hunt you down and kill you, and I doubt you'd fare very well against her. Why not just end it here and now? Just push her over, and be done with it. It's quick and simple. Just a little push, and there's one less griffon to claw at your flank." Pinkie said smiling devilishly at the filly. As much as Sweetie hated to admit it, the mare had a good point. Sweetie already had two fillies and a dragon that weren't ghostified on her tail; even more something told her that Gilda wasn't exactly possessed, which meant she couldn't save her. If Sweetie did something about Gilda now... killed the griffon before she could she could kill her... Maybe. Sweetie felt herself get up and walk over to the griffon, who'd kicked her in the muzzle so hard and coldly. She could still feel the pain as she walked closer to the griffon. She wasn’t sure what she was doing, but the filly knew she'd have to make a choice now. "What do you want pipsqueak?" Gilda asked annoyed by the filly's approach. Sweetie simply stared at the griffon. She didn't like her. She really didn't like her. Without any good reason, the griffon had tried to kill her, of her own free will. For a second, watching her break into a million pieces seemed like a pleasant thought... "No!" Sweetie said. "I won't do it! I can't hurt anyone like that Pinkie. Even if they are just a big smelly bully griffon." "What the heck are you talking about dweeb?" Gilda asked. Pinkie frowned, somewhat disappointed in the filly's decision, but bounced back with a smile and a giggle. "Oh well. It was worth a try. C'mon then, let's get going. I want to get this done before Gilda finally thaws. I don't want her to have all the fun." Sweetie walked over to the hole in the glass, where she'd crashed the statue of the griffon through. "Hey! Get back here and get me out! I'll kill you!" "I can't believe I'm saying this Pinkie... but neither do I." Sweetie said, imagining the horrible things the griffon planned for her... *** Before leaving the eating area, Sweetie sucked up some rain water with her GCD, unsure if she might need it later. She figured it was best to keep herself fully loaded with anything she could, just in case she had to defend herself. Sweetie walked over the broken glass of the sliding window, and the stone shards of the crashed griffon. They were sharp, but much like the window Sweetie had nearly committed suicide on, they didn't penetrate her hoof. Sweetie wondered if they were some ghosts possessing the stone griffon, or some kind of magic spell. Maybe she'd ask Twilight once she got back to the safe zone. She knew all about magic stuff, most of which Sweetie could never imagine being stuffed into her own brain. She was one of the smartest, most magical unicorns she knew... *** "Alright Sweetie, remember. Visualize the ball, and imagine it being lifted into the air." Twilight said softly to the filly. Sweetie looked at Twilight, then at Rarity, who was sitting to the side, watching her little sister attempt her first telekinesis spell. Sweetie looked back at Twilight, who looked at the little filly hopefully. A month ago, Twilight had been tasked with tutoring Sweetie Belle in magic, by Cherelee. The filly struggled with her ability to control her magic, and preform the most simplest of magic. This reflected on her school work, as she wasn't like a pegusi, or earth pony, who were taught how to muzzle write at an early age. Unicorns like her would often write using their magic... but not Sweetie, who rarely ever managed to turn in any legible hoof written work. Twilight had been working with the filly for the last month with little success... Twilight was even beginning to show slight annoyance with the filly. Only recently did she get the idea of Rarity, attending the sessions. Maybe her sister's presence might help the filly? "Ok Twilight." Sweetie said. "I can do this." Twilight placed Sweetie's Cutie Mark Crusader ball in front of her. Telekinesis supposedly worked best on familiar objects, which why the mare had chosen the ball. Sweetie gave one last glance at Rarity, who smiled sweetly at the filly. "Go on dear." She said to her sister. Sweetie heard sounds of ponies outside the library they were sitting in. Sweetie ignored the sounds outside, determined to get this spell right. She was going to show her sister what she could do. She was going to levitate the ball with her magic today, if it was the last thing she did. The little white filly closed her eyes and imagined her ball. An image of her and her friends playing around the tree house surfaced in her mind, but she pushed them away, singling out the rubber CMC ball. She saw it in her mind, and imagined it floating in the air, and her grown mare friends congratulating her on her first levitation. Maybe they'd go out to eat? It had been a long time since Sweetie had gone out with her friends and Rarity to- Sweetie shook the thought from her head, trying to focus... though it was kind of difficult with all of the ponies outside making such a commotion. She kept the thought of raising the ball clear in her mind. She then started to channel the magic in her little filly body into her horn, just like Twilight had taught her. Now she had to take the ball with her magic. As she did, the filly felt a connection between her horn and the ball. As though she were touching it, but not with her hooves, or any part of her body; rather she was touching it with her very mind. Now, all that was left was to lift the ball. Sweetie gritted her teeth, as she tried to push the ball up into the air. As her eyes were closed, she didn't hear either of the mares say a word. Was it not working? Did she have to try harder? She could hear more ponies outside of Twilight's library, most likely gathered at the town square, just outside of the library. Sweetie didn't have time however to think about something like that. All that mattered to her was levitating the ball and impressing Rarity. Magic left the filly's body, as she started to feel weaker. The effort being exerted from her body through the small amounts of magic made her almost want to collapse. She stayed strong however. She would do it for Rarity. For- "Rarity, where are you going?" Twilight asked. Those five words broke Sweetie's focus more than any number of ponies outside in the town square could have ever. The filly's clamped eyes snapped open, as she saw the rubber ball, which levitated only about a foot in the air, fall back down onto the floor, bouncing into a nearby corner. When she opened her eyes, she saw Rarity's tail as it exited the room. Sweetie's heart sunk. She didn't impress the mare... no, quite the opposite, she must have bored her into leaving... "C'mon, let's catch up to her." Twilight said. Sweetie glumly followed the mare, who was as of now, oblivious to her new mood. They both went outside to see what had caught the filly's sister's interest. It turned out to be a small group of celebrity ponies Sweetie had never heard of, but was sure Rarity mention among the hundreds of others. "Rarity..." Twilight said disappointingly to the mare. She wasn't listening to Twilight as she tried to follow the celebrity ponies along with the other group of mares and stallions equally interested with them. Twilight looked down at Sweetie, who still had her head hung low. "...Sweetie. You did really well..." The mare said, unsure of what else to say to comfort the filly. Sweetie knew how the white maned mare couldn't resist the desire to meet someone famous, which made her feel a little better about herself. At least she didn't 'bore' the mare... but Sweetie felt certain anger for the celebrity pony, which had to come around that one time. They'd virtually stolen her sister from her, on the day of her first levitation none the less. Sweetie hated celebrities... because they always seemed to take her sister, and only family away from her... *** Sweetie exited her memory to find herself further down the hallway, past the glass and stone shards. She'd been so lost in thought by the memory that she didn't pay attention to anything around her. All she could think about was that memory... and Rarity. Sweetie was beginning to get more and more worried about the mare. Sure, she was still a ghost, but Sweetie remembered Spiffy saying that the stallion had a thing for the mare. Sweetie wouldn't have her sister stolen from her again. Suddenly, the filly had a hatred for the stallion... not because he was trying to kill her, or that he'd ghostified her friends, but because he might steal her sister away from her again... and Sweetie wasn't going to let that happen. Sweetie shook her head, knowing she needed to focus on more important things, like Rainbow Dash, and how she was going to catch the fastest mare in Ponyville, and possibly Equestria. Maybe Pinkie would have an idea. "Hey Pinkie..." Sweetie asked, "... Pinkie?" Sweetie stopped, and shined her flashlight around the hallway. Sure enough, the ghost mare who promised to help her in her mission was gone. She must have left while Sweetie was remembering. So much for helping me... Sweetie decided that she'd best try and figure out how she can catch Rainbow anyway, despite her "partner's" absence. She sat down on her flank, and took out her ghost book, or as Twilight had called it, the Ghost Encyclopedia. She placed it on the floor, and flipped through the several pages, until she finally came to something new. It was a photo of the ghostly Twilight. Portrait of Magic Gender: Female Bio: Well, considering you have time to read this, you're either hiding for you're life, which I expected, or you managed to catch her... and if you have, good job. If not... well, you’re gonna get yourself killed in a few seconds anyway. The Portrait of Magic is one of the most magically powerful mares in the mansion. She is able to summon and possess pieces of literature to do her bidding, such as attacking you. She mainly focuses on ranged attacks, including creating magical lightning bolts to attack her victims with. Furthermore, she has the ability to use a magic spell known as "Mind Dive" which is a little like ranged possessing. She can manipulate your mind into doing her bidding, like a brain washer. Good luck getting close to her. Though I do have a little bit of good news for you. There is a way to break most Mind Dive attacks, and this is through light entering the eye, and breaking the hypnotic spell... now all that's left is to keep from getting barbecued by a bolt of lightning, or frozen by a flying book. If you do manage to break her control, and get close to her however, she uses most of her magic for her attacks. Naturally, since that magic is being transferred out of her ghostly body, her magical shield is weaker. That's all I got for you kid. Good luck... you’re gonna need it. "I showed you, huh book?" Sweetie said to the book, then realized I'm talking to a book... I guess I'm lonelier than I thought... Sweetie flipped to the next page, to find a photo of the statue of the griffons that nearly killed her. Spectral Stone Armor Info: Let's just say, you'd better hope you don't come across any more of these. The ghosts inside of these enchanted rocks puppeteer them from inside, by fusing themselves to different parts of whatever stone statue they've chosen. They are strong, and not even your Spectral Throwback will have any real effect on them. Unless you can physically destroy them, you won't get very far in fighting them. Luckily, because there is more than one ghost commonly in one statue, they occasionally have communication problems, and are ironically in result dumber than the average ghost, and can be fooled. If you ever find yourself face to face with one of those things, keep that in mind. It just might save your life. Though it didn't mention anything about the Elemental Capture feature, Sweetie had to agree with the book. If she hadn't tricked the stone griffons into crashing into the wall, and had to freeze them all, she doubted she'd have had enough water to take on all five of them. Sweetie flipped to the next page to find what she was looking for. It was a picture of the ghostly Rainbow Dash. Portrait of Loyalty Gender: Female Bio: Not bad you've managed to make it this far. Maybe I misjudged you kid... maybe you'll actually figure out how to catch the Element of Loyalty after all? In either situation, the Element of Loyalty, as far as light is concerned, is impossible to capture. Light passes through her, and bounces back off of her and into the colors of the rainbow. Normal light won't work for catching her... but maybe she'll break under a different light... but all that's only possible if you manage to get your light to shine on the speedy mare. She is so fast, that she can pass through light without even touching it. In result, she can phase through light. Her main attacks are commonly close quarters, but she'll usually use her speed to fly through her victims, freezing them from the inside out. You'd be lucky to survive one fly through, let alone what two might do to you. She also has the ability to control storms, given her background as a weather pony when she was alive. Being inside is the best option when fighting the mare... again, if she slows down enough for you to be able to. Good luck with your newest suicide mission. So my flashlight won't affect her... Sweetie thought. Though the book confirmed it, she figured that already after she tried it the first time. Then how the hay am I going to catch her?... I guess I'll just have to wing it. With no more new entries in the ghostbook, Sweetie closed its cover and stuffed it back into her bag. She took a deep breath, as she looked down the dark hallway, farther than her in her muzzle flashlight could reach. She didn't know how she was going to capture Rainbow, but she was determined to somehow. The more ghosts she caught, the closer she felt to freeing her friends, escaping the mansion... and rescuing Rarity. She wouldn't let her sister leave her without a fight. Not again... Sweetie walked down the hallway until she came to a corner. There, she decided to check her map. According to it, if she headed left, she would be heading in the direction of the hallway that led back to the flaming balcony walkway over the dining hall. She was sure the few doors she saw along that way were locked, and it wasn't if she could go past that hallway again. To the right however, would lead to a second stairway, the right side of the balcony walkway where she last saw Spike, and another hallway branching off of that. She could only hope that Spike had left the area while she was knocked out, as it was the only possible direction she could go now. Sweetie walked down the right hallway, further. As she did, she started to feel the chill down her spine. Her teeth started to chatter softly, as she saw cold mist coming out of her mouth. Hopefully that meant she was getting closer to Rainbow Dash, and not another gang of ghosts. The last thing she needed was to be ambushed in her weakened state. Sweetie started to come across new doors. Out of curiosity, and a little bit of doubt, she reached up to open one. To her surprise, the first door she came across was unlocked! That's a first... Sweetie thought. Since it was in fact, unlocked, Sweetie decided it would be best to check it out. It wasn't every door that would unlock so easily for the filly. She touched the knob... it wasn't cold, which probably meant there weren't any dangerous ghosts inside. Even so, Sweetie didn't feel comfortable opening the door. It just felt too easy... but after moments of hesitation, the filly finally opened the door. Sweetie was blinded with light. She staggered back from the intense light, but pushed herself to go further into the room. Sweetie's eyes finally adjusted to the light, and what she saw shocked her. The room... it looked normal, much like the rest of the mansion did on her first entrance... but that wasn't what surprised the filly the most. For inside of the room were three ghosts. First, there was Madame, who sat in front of a desk with a mirror on it against the far light red wall. She seemed to be writing something on a piece of paper, ignorant to the filly's presence. In the center of the floor, lying on the floor were two children, who looked only a year or two younger than Sweetie. They had similar features to each other, with the same yellow eyes, greyish coats and brown manes. Sweetie recognized them as a filly and a colt... she figured they had to be twins. They wrestled on the ground over a stuffed bear. Could they be Madame's twins? And if so, why had Madame asked her to catch them if they were right there behind her? "M-madame?" Sweetie asked. "M-madame, is that you?" Madame gave no answer. She seemed to be ignoring the filly... either that, or she didn't know she was there to begin with. She seemed to be intensely focused on her writing. "It's mine!" The colt said. "No! It's mine!" The filly said, "Mommy got it for me! Mommy said!" Sweetie wanted to try and communicate with the foals. She started to move forward, but she was stopped by the sound of Madame putting her ink quill down. Sweetie stood still on the carpet, as Madame got up. She ripped out the page from the book she was writing in, and rolled it up. She then kissed the rolled up piece of paper, and floated the ripped out piece of paper over to a chest on the far side of the room. She placed it into a chest against its wall. She turned as she saw a flash of lightning outside of the window. It seemed to scare everyone in the room, Sweetie and the foals included. "Another storm..." She said to herself. "Come along now you two." "Mommy! Tell Marbles that you got it for me!" the filly said. "Mommy! Tell Candy to share!" the colt said. Madame simply looked to the filly and colt and smiled. The then went over to the chest and took something else out of her pocket Sweetie couldn't identify and placed it in the chest before closing it. She took a key out of her orange dress, and locked the chest with it before placing it back into the dress's pocket. "Come on. Your daddy 'll probably be home soon from work. Let's go wait for him downstairs and help Spiffy make him a special dinner. Hm?" Madame said to her children. "And Marbles? Let go of your sister's doll. Do you really want all of the Stabletown kids to know you play with dolls?" Marbles thought for a moment, and finally let go of the stuffed bear. He seemed more worried the menacing look his mother gave him rather than what his schoolmates might think of him. Candy hugged her stuffed bear, while sticking her tongue out at her brother. "No fair..." Marbles sniffed. "Marbles, did you ask your sister to play with her toy?" "She wouldn't have let me anyway." Marbles claimed. "She's just a big plot-head." Its times like this I'm glad my sister's a mare and not a little filly. Sweetie thought. "Marbles, we won't have that kind of language in this household." she said. "Now stop bullying your little sister. That's no way of a gentle-colt like yourself to treat a filly." "You’re always on her side." Marbles said. "Because I'm the better one, right Mommy?" Candy said. "I love you both equally. Tell you what, I'll let your father decide who here's at fault when he gets home ok?" "... fine." Marbles said. Candy smiled victoriously, as Madame ushered her two children past Sweetie and out the door. "Hey! Wait up!" Sweetie said, following the three ponies out of the room... but when she looked around the hallway, they were gone. "Where did they... what the hay?" When Sweetie turned back around, the room changed back to its old abandoned look. The book was gone off of the desk with the mirror and replaced with a white sheet. The framed mirror was now broke, shattered and useless. A layer of dust now replaced the carpet. The only thing that remained the same... was the chest. "Why did they ignore me? Is the mansion playing tricks on me again? Or... or did I just imagine that? Am I going crazy? I know I saw ghosts just walk past me! I know I did!" Sweetie said. She checked her ghostbook. Maybe it would have something on Marbles and Candy, just like Madame... but there was nothing. It was as though she never encountered them to begin with. She took a deep breath. Whatever just happened, crazy or not, it didn't change the fact she had to keep moving. She figured the best thing to do was to check the chest. She walked over to it and tried to open it, but it didn't work. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was that Madame had locked that chest. She wouldn't get to see what was inside until she found the key. Of course... it's never that easy. There didn't seem to be anything else of immediate interest in the room, so Sweetie left, and decided to continue exploring the hallway. As Sweetie continued to walk down the hallway, she started to hear voices in her head. At first she was really beginning to question her mental stability of the situation... but then she started to recognize the voices. It was Rainbow Dash! Her voice was too low for her to know what she was saying, but it was definitely her. Sweetie figured it was from her using her camera to read her mind back at the eating area. She'd almost forgotten about that. She also heard the second voice, which she assumed was her ghostly form. Sweetie figured that Rainbow was hiding in one of the rooms... Sweetie moves from room to room, for the most part identical to each other except with a few new pieces of furniture, in different parts of each room. The next room she came across that was of some remote interest was a bathroom. There was something different about this bathroom however. It had all of the normal accommodations: toilet, sink, tub... and glass tile floor. What made the bathroom special was the sheer number of mirrored surfaces in the bathroom. Every design in the bathroom seemed to incorporated mirrors. It was almost like Fluttershy's mirrored hallway on a smaller level. What is it with mirrors and this mansion? Sweetie thought. Other than the extraordinary mirrors in the bathroom, it held nothing more of interest, but Sweetie decided to keep it in the back of her mind, just in case she could use it for something. Maybe if she was around it when she caught Rainbow, she could use it to escape. With nothing else keeping her there, Sweetie exited the bathroom to explore the hallway further. Down the hallway, she noticed something. She turned her flashlight momentarily to confirm what she saw. It was some kind of glowing aurora on one of the doors... possibly ectoplasm? Could that be where Rainbow Dash went? Sweetie ran down the hall to the door. Sure enough, there it was. On the door of interest, there was ectoplasm, in the shape of a thundercloud and thunderbolt. The ectoplasm, unlike the other ones she'd seen, its color changed. It started blue, then red, then orange, then yellow, green, indigo, violet, and then blue again. If this didn't scream Rainbow Dash at the filly, nothing would. No doubt about it, Rainbow was behind that door. Sweetie tried for the doorknob... but it wouldn't budge. The door was locked. "No way... no way... are you KIDDING ME?!" Sweetie screamed at the door. "Of ALL the doors in this stupid hallway, THIS is the ONLY one that's locked!" Sweetie banged her hoof against the door in frustration. The stress of the mansion was starting to get to her again, as she was starting to get sick of finding locked doors. Sweetie gritted her teeth, angrily... then she took a deep breath, regaining her composure. Now's not the time to be a little filly. I've got to be a big filly... for Rarity. Got to remember sis... got to keep moving forward. Sweetie figured she'd need a key. If this was anything like Applejack, she would most likely find it somewhere in the hallway. Hopefully it wasn't attached to a mouse's tail this time. Sweetie walked back down the hallway, and decided it best to try and check more rooms. She turned down a second hallway that was crossing the hallway of the chest room. She continued to explore the different rooms of the mansion, finding nothing of any real interest. She must have gone through 5 or 6 rooms in the hallway before finding a something different. It was the same etching of a flame. Could this be another of Madame's rooms? Thankfully, this door was unlocked, and she entered the room with ease. As Sweetie expected, it was a similar set up to the room Sweetie found on the 5th floor. Sweetie wondered what a mare could want with more than one bedroom. I guess that's just what you get when you're rich... Sweetie thought. Say... what's that? On the bed, Sweetie saw a lone piece of paper. It was ripped at its edge, but it was still readable. Sweetie went over to the bed and picked it up. Was this one of the missing pages to the journal? April 13th 852 A.C It's been 5 years since the birth of Marbles and Candy, my two beautiful foals. I love them with all of my heart, but at times, their activity can get a little... unbearable. Their sibling rivalry almost reminds me of myself as a little filly. I remember how my grandmother said, before her untimely death, that when I finally had foals, they would drive me crazy... Like today. Those two couldn't stop fighting over that little bear Specter got them for Christmas last year. They've been fighting over it since Marbles lost his own little bear in that mouse accident at Stabletown. Funny... I remember, back when I was pregnant, Specter told me something about how dangerous it was for a Yield to be afraid of something. When we discovered that he had musophobia, I told Specter that there was nothing to be worried about... but he still seemed somewhat worried about Marbles' fear... well something did happen today. He got scared today, of a little mouse underneath a dresser Spiffy must have forgotten to clean out in one of the bedrooms. This was the scary part for me... when he found them, after trying to hide Candy's bear for the umpteenth time, naturally he ran. But as he passed by my room on his way upstairs, I saw something different than a normal fear. I saw something as though he were running for his life. I gave chase to him today. He ran down our hallway, to the window at the end... without slowing down. "Get away from me!" He'd yell. "Get off of me!". I figure now that he was hallucinating of some respect, but then I was so confused and scared for my little foal, especially since he was running head on for an open window. Marbles was fast. Much faster than a mare like me, so couldn't catch up to him. I remembered the tears that came into my eyes as I ran, and imagined what would happen if he didn't stop soon. When it seemed like he was about to head out of the window, low behold, Spiffy Butler came out of one of the doors and closed the window, unknowing of the fearful charging foal until he made contact with the glass. Even then, at his speed, he managed to crack the glass with his little foal head, fracturing his horn and skull. Even as I write these words, I tear up at the memory of my little Marbles being in pain. After getting him to the doctor to patch up his head, we headed over to the Stabletown psychiatrist; where we signed up Marbles and Candy, mostly because I was worried for both children and their mental stability, for sessions to discover their problem. Our first visit, as the psychiatrist was doing his evaluation of the two foals. Specter, the entire time through, had one of those "I told you so" looks on his face... but he remained silent the entire time, as he watched the doctor put them through different psychiatric tests I couldn't understand. The doctor said that they both had a mental disease... a rare one only known to a small group of families in all of Equestria, one being the Yields known as Phobiapathy. He said it was so rare, that doctors didn't really have a treatment for it, but only knew that it was a disease that took one's fear, and multiplied it by 10 to 100, causing the victim to lose all control over themselves and a situation. He said there was nothing he could do... when we all returned to the mansion, the colt was back to his normal foal self, as Candy teased him saying he was crazy. I almost thought that her little insult might have some truth to it. Specter seemed to be giving me the cold shoulder for the rest of that night... something that only happened when he was really peeved, especially with me. I can only hope everything is back to normal in the morning... but somehow, with that Phobiapathy thing... I doubt that some things aren't going to be the same... Phobiapathy huh? That doesn't sound fun. Sweetie thought. I guess I'd better stick this in the book. Could be useful... She took out her journal and stuck the piece of paper inside before closing it and stuffing it back into her saddlebags. Sweetie shined her flashlight around, looking to see if there was anything else of interest in the room. There wasn't anything that caught the filly's eye... accept the closet door that was ajar at the wall to the far left of the bed. She went over to investigate. She pulled the sliding walk-in closet open. Inside was what you'd expect: clothing and hangers. Sweetie wondered... she remembered seeing the apparition of Madame put the key to the chest in her dress pocket. Could be still in that pocket? Sweetie moved through the clothing in the closet before finally, she came across a dusty old dress of the same shade of orange she saw on Madame. She reached into the pocket of the dress... and then she felt something inside. She pulled it out to see that it was a yellow, rusted skeleton key. She grinned happily. Now, we're getting somewhere... She figured it had to go into the chest. Her newest objective was to get back to the chest room, and see if there was anything else useful inside. She stuck the key into her saddlebags and headed out of the bedroom. Once she was back out in the hallway, she saw something in the distance. Something glowing... and pink. It was Pinkie! Where the hay was she? She used her hoof to beckon the filly over to her. Sweetie felt something wrong with the scene, but decided to meet up with the mare anyway. "Pinkie, where were you? I thought you were supposed to be helping me." Sweetie called to the mare as she got closer. Pinkie however didn't respond. She just floated there, grinning at the filly. Though grinning ghosts never made the filly feel any more comfortable, she was used to Pinkie's grin by now. Still, something about this particular way she was grinning rubbed the filly the wrong way. It was almost as though she were eager for something. As she finally got to where the mare was, she asked "How are we supposed to catch Rainbow if you keep-" Sweetie was unable to finish her sentence as Pinkie let out of the words "Sick 'em chicken.". At first, Sweetie was unable to process the random statement Pinkie had just said... not until Scootaloo came out of the darkness from behind Sweetie and tackled her to the ground. It was an ambush, likely planned by the pink mare. Pinkie giggled as she watched as the two fillies wrestled below her. Scootaloo eventually pinned the filly down as she took one hoof and put it at her neck. Sweetie started to choke. "Well, you two have fun now." Pinkie giggled, as she phased through a wall and disappeared from the scene. "Hey Sweetie. How many mares does it take to fool a stupid filly?" Scootaloo asked. "None! You just that dumb!" Scootaloo used her free hoof to begin punching Sweetie's face. Her coat started to bruise and her muzzle wound opened up again. Sweetie started to feel weaker in her struggle as she lost more and more oxygen. Scootaloo felt her starting to calm down. "Come on Sweets. It's no fun if you don't fight back. C'mon! Hit me!" Even when Sweetie was getting her face pounded in, the thought of hurting her friend with her one free hoof was horrifying. She tried to release herself from Scootaloo's grip around her neck, but she was simply too strong. If she didn't do something soon, she'd suffocate. She had to do something... she had to survive... she had to... Sweetie yelled as she used her free hoof to hit Scootaloo back in the face. In all honesty, Scootaloo didn't see it coming from the little white filly. She let go of her neck to touch her face that was now presently pained. Out of adrenaline, Sweetie threw a second punch at the orange filly's face, causing her to fall back off of her fully. Sweetie hesitated for a moment, worried that she may have really hurt her friend... but she didn't have time to hesitate. Sweetie scrambled back up onto her hooves, picked up her flashlight, and ran back down the hallway. Scootaloo let out an angry cry as Sweetie turned the corner of the hallway she assumed to be the one with the chest room. She counted the doors, hoping she remembered how many doors there were before she would hit the chest room. 3...2...1... here! This has to be the one! Sweetie thought as she slipped through into the room, hoping Scootaloo didn't track her back. She stood against the door leading back to the hallway, listening. At first, it was silent. This made Sweetie nervous in much the same way when she head-butted Applebloom. The little white filly didn't care that she'd just tried to kill her... she still hit Scootaloo, and felt sickly guilty over it. She hoped she could still walk around and move... Sweetie was both relieved and horrified to hear hoof steps outside of the door. They passed by the door, unknowing that she was inside. Sweetie silently sighed in relief. She had escaped Scootaloo... for now. Sweetie took a deep breath, shaking the chills she felt from hurting her friend. It wasn't as if she was dead right? She looked at the hoof she hit Scootaloo with, which had a dot of fresh blood on it. She shuddered and wiped it off onto the carpet. It still didn't feel good, no matter how many tries her friends had on her life. Sweetie went over to the chest and took out the key she found. She stuck it into the keyhole. At first it wouldn't fit, and Sweetie started to get nervous. This was the right key, right? She used all of her little filly muscle, in order to push the key further into the hole. Finally, it connected with the tumblers of the lock. Sweetie guessed it was harder to open because of the age of the lock. Sweetie was then afraid she might actually break the lock if it was also weakened by age. Slowly and carefully, she turned the key, until finally, it clicked open. When Sweetie tried to take the key out of the chest, it snapped in half, with apart of the key still stuck in the lock. Guess this is useless now. Sweetie thought as she tossed the remaining part of the skeleton key to the ground. The filly opened the chest up slightly, but was scared by a little golden mouse, which scurried out of the small opening. Sweetie fell back onto her flank as she watched the mouse phase through the wall and leave the room. Sweetie didn't see a key on it... she supposed it was just there to scare her. She opened up the chest fully to find it was some kind of jewel chest. Gems of all shapes and colors were inside... but there were two things inside of the chest that stuck out to the filly. The first being a piece of paper, rolled up much like the one she found on the bed, it was ripped on the edge... this must have been another one of the journal pages. Why was it locked up like this? Only one way to find out. Sweetie opened up the rolled up piece of paper and begun to read... June 24th 852 A.C Specter and I had our first fight today... I know I've written about other times him and I have fought. I suppose it's simply something that comes with being a married couple, but... but this one really made me... it made me scared of him for a bit. I'm not even sure what happened. I'm not even sure what I did wrong. It was about mid-day, I was working in the family kitchen with Spiffy to help make some snacks and cake for Marbles and Candy's birthday party in a couple days. It was going to be big, and we were just two ponies. After all, I doubted Specter would offer any help with him almost always being at his mysterious profession. Spiffy said that we needed flour, and he needed to go down to the cellar past the dining hall to get some. I volunteered to take his place. The stallion worked so hard, and I wanted to at least save him the trouble... but the funny thing was, he argued with me. I've never had that butler argue with Specter or I, given he was hired to serve us. He didn't want me to go down to the cellar myself... but I ordered him to allow me to go. I rarely use my status as Specter's wife against him, or anyone for that matter. It just seemed like the cowards way out of a situation, but the butler's resistance to allowing me to go fueled a curiosity in my heart. The mansion was so big, that I never gave anywhere Specter didn't show me a second thought. What was down there anyway? In any case, Spiffy was forced to let me go and receive the flour... but the mare-servant had the nerve to tell me to 'come straight back', can you believe it? I ignored him of course. I'm a mare, not some little foal that couldn't take care of herself. Well, I went down to the stairwell that led to one of the basement levels. Funny, it was behind a door with a very identical color to the wall... no wonder I never noticed it before. It was almost like Specter was hiding something behind the door. I went through and headed down the stairs, and came across two doors. The first one was a normal wooden door. I figured that was where the flour would be. I was ready to head in and get it... when I noticed the second door. It was metal, and had a magical lock on it. It was one of those kinds of doors you would either need to know the magical wavelength for, or be really good at magic in order to open it. I remembered seeing it in one of those catalogs Specter keeps up in his room. I couldn't open it... but I sure as hay could try. I put my ear to the door to see if there was anyone inside, but all I heard was a weird humming noise. Like there was something inside of the walls. I yanked on the door, trying to open it... then my heart stopped when I heard him. "What the hay do you think you’re doing?!" I turned around to see Specter. I almost didn't recognize him with his anger filled eyes... he was definitely irritated on my attempted entrance to the metal door. I asked him questions, but he shot each and every one out of the air. It turned into an argument... our voices yelled at one another, so loud that it went all the way up to the first floor of the mansion. It wasn't long before Candy, Marbles, and Spiffy came down to finally settle us down. After all, we weren't going to argue at each other in front of our foals, right? For the rest of the day, and night, Specter's been giving me the cold shoulder, so I'm probably not going to sleep with him tonight. He's keeping secrets from me, and I know it. I thought we were supposed to trust each other to the day we died? I... I can't let him see this journal. I'm going to hide it in my jewel chest where hopefully he won't find it. The last thing I want is to spark up another argument with him. Don't get me wrong... I love Specter... but I'm not entirely sure I can trust him anymore... Is... is she talking about the safe zone? Sweetie thought. She had to be... then it was true. Specter had the safe zone made for him... but why? Maybe it was some kind of bunker, for if his ghosts got out of hoof? Did that also mean that he owned the spirit printer, or the camera, or even the GCD? It didn't make any sense... The other thing that caught Sweetie's eye was a small gem with something inside... Sweetie wondered if she might be able to break the rock. With all of her might, she threw the gem at the nearest wall... it was no good. The gem bounced off of the wall like nothing. The filly wasn't strong enough to break it by herself. She needed more force... Maybe she could use the GCD? Sweetie made sure the device was set to "suck", and sucked up the gem so it stuck onto the nozzle. She then switched it to "inverted" and aimed it at the wall. She then shot the gem at the wall with the momentum of a bullet, as it hit the wall, and shattered into tiny little pieces. Something fell to the ground. Sweetie went over to examine it... It was a key! It had the emblem of a lightning bolt that shined different colors when Sweetie shined her light on it. She grinned, sure that this was the key that would allow her to get inside of Rainbow's room. Alright Rainbow... I'm coming for you now. *** Sweetie stood in front of the door that led back out to the hallway. She knew she had a little ways to go before she would make it to Rainbow's room, and there was still the matter of Scootaloo, who was still likely patrolling the hallway. Something told the filly that if she got her hooves on Sweetie again, she wouldn't let her escape so easily. She had to be careful... she couldn't afford to be seen by the filly again. Scootaloo was faster than Sweetie, more so in her ghostly form. She'd have to sneak over to the door... and there was only one way Sweetie could think of. Sweetie turned her flashlight out, and was immediately consumed in the terrifying darkness. She felt just a little colder, and much more afraid without some kind of light to look at. Her legs shook, as though they were ready to give out on her. Sweetie was already weak, and the thick darkness wasn't helping at all. She wasn't sure how long she'd survive in the darkness now. She had to move fast. With that, Sweetie felt her way around the door, and slipped out of it into the equally, if not more dark hallway. Sweetie then begun her slow walk down the hallway. The darkness was so thick, Sweetie started to feel dizzy, as though the hallway was spinning. Nothing felt there... Sweetie felt along the walls as she walked, to make sure she wasn't slipping out of reality again. Even though Twilight was caught, something told her that her mind was still not the safest place now... She felt her way around the corner, trying to keep her hoof steps as quiet as possible. When she heard a hoof step, she'd stop for a moment, to hold her breath... only to find it was her own hoof steps a little louder than she'd intended. In the distance, Sweetie could see the glowing ectoplasm on the door. It seemed to float in mid-air in the thick darkness she was in. She was close, and had to resist the urge to run to the floating light. Sweetie made it to the door and stopped in front of it. She looked at it, knowing Rainbow was behind there. She heard the voices in her head, seeming to argue about something Sweetie couldn't understand. It's then Sweetie realized something... she still didn't know how she was going to catch Rainbow Dash. What would she do?... Sweetie heard hoof steps... this time, she was sure it wasn't her own. There was only one other pony's hoof steps they could be. Sweetie reached into her saddlebags and pulled out the lightning key. She stuck it into the hole and turned. As she'd hoped, it was a perfect fit. She left the key in the hole as she rushed into the room. As she did this, the door closed behind her on its own and clicked locked. Sweetie was trapped. No... Why didn't I grab the key! Sweetie thought as she desperately tried to open the door back up. It was no good. She was trapped until she caught all of the ghosts in the room... but the question became... where were the ghosts in the room? Sweetie turned her light and shined it around the room. It was bare, and had nothing of any real interest. All there were, were four blank white walls. Was it some kind of empty storage room? No... it felt like something was here at one point. The question was... what? Without warning, the walls started to glow. They were, much like the ectoplasm on the door, changing colors of the rainbow. "Look what we have here? A little annoying filly interrupting my nap?" Rainbow's voice echoed in the room. You were sleeping? Sweetie thought. Can ghosts do even do that? "I was so bored waiting for you, I thought you'd never show up." Rainbow said. Sweetie looked around the room, trying to anticipate where she was going to show up. Sweetie! Stay sharp, I'm going to charge at you! the real Rainbow said in her head. Where? Where are you coming from? Sweetie thought back to the mare. "I can't believe there are ghost afraid of a little squirt like you." Rainbow said. "I don't know who you are, but I'm going to catch you!" Sweetie said to the ghost Rainbow Dash. "Tough talk, for a filly that can barely stand up straight." Ghost Rainbow responded. "Well, if you’re so tough, why don't you come out and face me like a mare!" Sweetie called back. "With pleasure." Ghost Rainbow said. Sweetie heard a boom, followed by a whoosh sound echo through the room. Dodge now Sweetie! I'm coming from the front wall! Dodge! Rainbow thought. Sweetie followed the mare's orders and shifted to the right, narrowly dodging a speeding Rainbow Dash. She saw a rainbow streak past her. She must have used her sonic rain-boom to charge her with. A few more inches and Sweetie figured she'd be as frozen as Gilda... probably worse, providing the rain-boom itself didn't rip her to shreds. Sweetie couldn't risk an attack from Rainbow, no questions. "Aw yeah, this is going to be fun. Boys? Looks like Sweetie here wants to dance. Let's see who's going to be her dance partner?" Rainbow said. Out of each of the glowing walls came a red licker. "Are you kidding me?!" Sweetie said. Sweetie! You've got to stay focused alright? Listen to me, and keep those things off your flank! You can do this! Just don't give up! Rainbow thought to Sweetie. Rainbow was right. Now wasn't the time to give up. Sweetie pointed her flashlight at each of the lickers. Ding! Ding! Ding! Sweetie pointed her GCD in between two ghosts, as she switched her nozzle back to "suck". She hit the button and caught both ghosts inside of her nozzle's gravity. The third ghost disappeared. 10, 9 yank 7654, 3, 2, 1, 0. Capturing Ghost. The GCD said. The two ghosts were caught, as two of the GCD's lights went green. When the third ghost showed up, Sweetie didn't waste any time trying to capture it. Instead, she switched to the GCD's Spectral Throwback, and shot it, causing it to fade away into nothing. "Let's crank it up a notch, eh Sweetie?" Rainbow called. Right Wall! Dodge Now! Rainbow thought to the filly. Sweetie jumped forward, narrowly dodging the streak of freezing rainbow. She went through to the other side of the room's wall. Suddenly two lickers came out of each wall, with a total of six lickers. Sweetie's flashlight started to flicker, so she knew she didn't have much time before it inevitably went out. Sweetie quickly swept the lickers with her flashlight before it went out. She then proceeded to capturing two more as the other ghosts disappeared. -7 yank! 654- The GCD said. Sweetie! To your left! Look out! Rainbow thought. Oh no. Sweetie was still catching the two ghosts. Still, as she held the GCD in her hooves, she used her hind legs to jump to the side, and effectively dodge Rainbow, while she captured the two ghosts. Not bad kid. Rainbow thought, impressed with the filly's quick thinking. As the 4 other ghosts appeared, Sweetie switched back to her Spectral Throwback, and shot three of the ghost... before the last one managed to get an attack in on her with her tongue. Sweetie yelled in pain, as she fell to her side. Sweetie! Rainbow thought. Sweetie, get up! Get up! Sweetie was having a hard time moving herself again as the red licker approached. She didn't have any more ghosts in her containment pack... things didn't look good for the filly. Sweetie wasn't about to give up just yet. She still had her flashlight in her muzzle. She moved her head to the side to shine her light on the licker. Ding! Sweetie used her remaining strength to switch her GCD back to "suck", and started to capture the ghost. It was a lazily done capture, for without the resistance from Sweetie, the ghost was less afraid, expecting the filly to faint at any second. 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 Capturing Ghost... The GCD said. The ghost's eyes widened in fear as it screamed and was sucked into the GCD. Sweetie lied on the ground, motionless. Her flashlight fell out of her muzzle and pointed at the back wall, illuminating everything on that side. Sweetie... Sweetie! Are you alright?! Say something! Rainbow seemed genuinely worried. I'm... I'm still alive, but I can't move. I just need a second. Sweetie thought. You don't have a second Sweets. I'm- "Here." Rainbow said as she hovered through the wall, and over the filly. She sighed. "I really wish we could do this more often, but I guess all good things have to come to an end. See ya Sweets." Rainbow picked up the filly into the air. She was there for a few moments, before Rainbow grinned, and gave her own ghostly cackle, before reaching down the filly's throat. Sweetie gagged at the cold ghostly hoof, as it grabbed her spirit. Sweetie didn't see herself escaping this situation. Rainbow had gone silent in her head. Is... is this the end? Did I lose? Game over? Everything seemed to pause when the sound of a key turning in the door was heard. "Huh? What the-" Rainbow said. The door opened, and the flashlight exposed a little orange filly. It was Scootaloo! She must have been hunting Sweetie and heard all of the commotion happening in the room. "S..S...Scoots?" Rainbow slowly whispered. Rainbow dropped Sweetie onto the ground with a thud. She was beginning to regain control over her body now, as she was able to stand up straight again. She looked at the filly and the mare, who stared into each other's eyes intensely. "R...rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo said herself. Rainbow floated down to the ground and sat there to stare at the orange filly. There was only one thing Sweetie could figure was happening. It was that memory re-awakening will thing Pinkie was talking about. Rainbow was Scootaloo's idol, and Scootaloo was Rainbow's biggest fan. They shared so much together, that they were like best friends. It was almost the equivalent of them being sisters... or even mother-daughter. They stood there locked, and Sweetie just stared at the both of them. Time seemed to stand still for a bit. Uh... Sweetie? I'm not really sure how long I can hold her like this... If you’re going to do something, do it now. Rainbow thought. Right, right. Sweetie thought, breaking out of her trance. Ok, so normal light doesn't work... and I'm all out of Spectral Throwback... now what? Suddenly, something sparked in Sweetie's head. She remembered a science lesson from Cherelee. It was something about ice and the slowing of particles. When something got colder, the particles in that item would slow to a crawl, or completely stop... did that apply to ghosts? Could she freeze Rainbow, like she froze Gilda? It wasn't like she could freeze to death, given she was already dead, and Sweetie still felt the water swishing around in her GCD. It was definitely worth a shot. Sweetie switched her GCD to Elemental Capture, and made sure it was inverted. Then she shot the freezing mist at Rainbow. "AAAHHH!!!" Rainbow screamed as the biting cold that surpassed her own normal ghostly temperature covered her body. It wasn't long before she was tangible and frozen solid. Luna above! That's cold! Rainbow said. At least you’re not killing me anymore. That's good news. Yeah, but I wouldn't say you’re out of the storm yet Sweets. Look! I think Scootaloo is losing control again. Rainbow was right. The crazed look of Scootaloo's possessed yellow eyes had returned. Scootaloo charged for Sweetie, who dodged the filly and ran out of the door. Sweetie grabbed up her flashlight and ran down the hallway, and took refuge in one of the dark rooms. She turned out her light and held her breath as she heard the hoof steps come closer and closer to her position. To Sweetie's horror, they stopped in front of the room Sweetie was in. She knew Sweetie was in there. Scootaloo stood outside of the door for a few minutes. Sweetie wondered what was taking the filly so long to open the door... then she said something. "I'll see ya soon filly. Stay sweet." Scootaloo said before walking away, Sweetie listened as the hoof steps faded away... eventually, it was quiet. Sweetie sighed in relief. She wasn't sure why Scootaloo had let her live, after all she was cornered in the room... but Sweetie didn't care. All that mattered was that she was still alive... Sweetie wondered… was that Pinkie’s ‘plan’? Did she want Sweetie to use her friend to catch Rainbow? To use her as bait, nearly getting herself killed?… She supposed it didn’t matter anymore. Now all that remained was to capture Rainbow, which she still had no clue how to do... Wait a second. Something dawned on the filly: The book questioned if she would break under a different light... or rather different lights. What if she put all of the colors of the rainbow back in Rainbow Dash when she shined her light on her? Would that work? If so, Sweetie had an idea of how she could pull this off. Sweetie ran back to the empty room with the frozen Rainbow in it. What the-. Sweetie, what are you still doing here? I thought you ran away? Rainbow thought. Oh come on Rainbow. I'm not going to just leave a friend behind. Then what are you gonna do? You can't save me. Light just bounces off of me, remember? Yeah, but I've got a plan. Just give me a second. Sweetie thought, as she began to push the frozen Rainbow Dash out of the room. She pushed her down the hall, and into the mirrored bathroom. Weird bathroom. Rainbow thought. What are we doing in here anyway. You gotta go? Rainbow To be honest, I’m not sure why I haven’t already. No, look. I'll show you. Sweetie thought back as she prepared her GCD for sucking for whatever would happen should her theory prove true. Then, Sweetie shined her light on Rainbow Dash. The light bounced off of her in the colors of the rainbow. The moved along the mirrors... until each and every one found their way back onto Rainbow Dash. Ding! Ha! Way to go Sweetie! Rainbow thought. The ice broke, releasing Rainbow. Now was Sweetie's chance. Now or never. Sweetie activated her GCD and began to suck up Rainbow. "No!" Rainbow screamed. 30, 29, 28- Rainbow desperately tried to get away from Sweetie, as she held on for dear life on the ride Rainbow was going to take her on. She dragged the filly out of the bathroom and started to drag her through the hallway. 22, 21, 20 yank! 1918171615, 14- The ghost mare tried desperately to release herself from the gravity of the GCD. You've almost got me Sweetie! Just a little longer! Rainbow cheered on the filly. 9, 8, 7- Rainbow tried throwing Sweetie against the walls at her high speeds. They hurt more than they did with other ghosts, but Sweetie wasn't going to let Rainbow down. She was almost there... almost- 3, 2, 1, 0. Capturing Ghost. Sweets, I feel tingly all of a sudden. That normal? Oh no. The lightning bolt. The who now? Sweetie wasn't sure if she was ready for it this time. She was already weak. Imagine what the bolt would do to her now- The lightning bolt stemmed from Rainbow to Sweetie. Both Sweetie and Rainbow screamed out in pain, as Rainbow was sucked into the GCD and silence filled the hallway. Ghost Capture Successful. The GCD said as a light on the back of the GCD pack came on. Sweetie laughed nervously. She didn't hear Rainbow in her head anymore... did she do it? I... I did it... I... Sweetie collapsed onto the floor, motionless. She was losing consciousness. She heard hoof steps as she lost consciousness. She didn't know who was coming, but she didn't care. She caught Rainbow... Only two more to go now... Author's Note [10/16/18] you know, going through this stupid story, the spelling mistakes are kind of growing on me. Chapter 15- The Trickster's Trap"She got another..." A voice said. It sounded familiar... way too familiar. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't expect the filly to... she shouldn't even be alive by now." This voice also sounded familiar, but not as much as the first one. "I guess she's just really lucky." This third voice... she'd had also heard it before. "Hmph. Let me take her on. She won't stand a chance against me..." "No. I can't allow her to capture you." "Dear, please. I won't get captured." "We're letting Pinkamina deal with the filly." "That rule bending mare? I'm not even sure she's on our side anymore. She's just playing with her!" "That may be true, but it is her nature. If anything, she'll keep the kid occupied until dawn. She has potential to stop our plans." "Oh, I beg to differ... in fact, I think we could use that filly. Especially if she manages to capture Pinkamina... yes, she's already been quite useful already." "Darling, what could you mean?" "Oh, you'll see soon enough, my dear Rarity."..... *** Sweetie woke up in darkness. She couldn't see anything. Everything around her was pitch black. She felt along her back. Her GCD was gone. So were her saddlebags and flashlight. It was the kennel all over again, and Sweetie was beginning to feel nervous. "No... where did that dumb catcher go?" Sweetie asked herself. Her fear turned into anger. "If Pinkie stole it again I'll-" "You'll what Jumpie." Pinkie said, appearing in front of Sweetie, nearly giving her a heart attack. She floated upside-down as she looked at the filly. "D-don't do that! You know I hate that!" Sweetie said. Pinkie just giggled in response. "What did you do with my ghost capturer? Why did you steal it again?" "Oh, stole is such a harsh word Jumpie. I prefer the word... misplaced. It sounds a little nicer, don'tcha think?" "Where is it." Sweetie asked angrily. "Aw cool your hooves Jumpie. You're not even awake yet and you're already getting all uppity. I'm just flying around in your little head right now." "A-awake?" Sweetie said out loud. It was true... the filly did remember blacking out when she caught Rainbow Dash. She must have been so weak that the bolt this time came closer to taking her life than ever. She must have passed out... or worse. "You’re on the brink of death Jumpie. Think of this little mind world as the bridge between being dead, and living." Pinkie said happily. "Y-you mean I'm dead?" Sweetie said nervously. "No you silly filly... at least not yet. If you were dead, I couldn't play with your head and do this!" Pinkie said doing a loop in the air. "Still though, you'd probably be dead if some pony didn't help you out... but that would be against the rules, right?" She giggled, then stopped as her face went serious, and she went right side up. She wasn't pleased about something. "... is... is something wrong?" Sweetie asked apprehensively. "Yeah, actually. I'm disappointed in you." Pinkie said. If was definitely something bad, if she managed to disappoint Pinkie of all mares. "You broke the rules, and now you're going to have to face some consequences..." "Huh? How?! What?!" Sweetie asked. Pinkie's face turned back to a smile and she giggled again. Sweetie looked at the mare nervously. Was she joking again? "That's the great thing about surprises Jumpie. You never know until you right in front of it! I'll let you find out for yourself when you wake up... if you wake up." Pinkie's giggle turned into a cackling laugh as she faded from Sweetie's sight. "I'll see you at the courtyard Jumpie! Don't keep me waiting..." And then she was gone. Suddenly, Sweetie saw a light in the distance... wasn't there a saying "not" to go to the light when you’re told you're dead or dying? Was this that light? Sweetie waited for a moment in her spot, before realizing that the light was coming toward her... it was coming fast too. There was no way she could outrun it, so she didn't even bother. She got up, and walked to the light. As she got closer to the light, she heard faded voices. Not like the ones she heard when she first "woke up" but they were more... familiar. Yes, she definitely knew these new mares. Then, Sweetie was blinded in a bright light... *** "I think she's waking up now." said a muffled voice. "Really? Oh thank Celestia. That's wonderful news!" said another, much softer muffled voice. Sweetie groaned from the light. "Mmmm... just five more minutes..." she mumbled, semi-consciously. "You sure she's alright Twi?" said another muffled voice. "I mean... she looked pretty bad even before I fought her..." "She's breathing, and she seems to be regaining consciousness. Let's just be patient with her." The voice sounded less muffled the more Sweetie climbed back into consciousness. The light around the filly as she opened her eyes began to fade, and become more adjusted to the new found light. Sweetie felt pain, but it wasn't as intense as the pain she felt back outside on the eating area. Her body felt tingly, as though magic were running through it as she lie there. As more magic flowed through her, the pain became less and less. She even felt a little stronger. After a few minutes of lying there, Sweetie decided to try and get back up. Unlike other times, it only took one time for the filly to roll over onto her front, and get back up on all fours. Her vision returned and she was faced with three friendly mares, who all smiled at her. They were Fluttershy, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash... Twilight must have printed her out while she was unconscious. As Twilight saw the filly was up now, she seized the flow of magic going into Sweetie's body from her horn. Did she use some kind of healing spell on her while she was out? Their faces had expressions of relief, but at the same time worry. No one spoke, for they just stared at each other. Finally, after a few moments of silence, Rainbow spoke up. "Well... look who's back from the dead, eh?" She tried to joke. Twilight nudged Rainbow hard. "Ow." "Sweetie are you alright? Is there anything we can do for you?" Fluttershy asked softly. Sweetie took a moment before processing Fluttershy's words, and shaking her head. "No... my Celestia, how long was I out?" "Well... you were brought here around 30 minutes ago... so I'd say around 45 or so minutes." Twilight said. "Brought here huh?... Who..." Then something went off in the filly's head. You broke the rules... Pinkie's rules. They were that no pony could help her out in the mansion. If someone brought her back that must have meant... "Y-you left the safe zone... didn't you?" Sweetie asked. "DIDN'T YOU?!" The mares were quite shocked at the filly's outburst, but they were somewhat expectant of it. "Sweetie, calm down." Twilight said. "Wait a sec... where's Applejack?" Sweetie asked. They were all silent. Only Fluttershy was the one, to point over to the corner, where the corpse of Applejack lie. "Oh no... Applejack no..." Sweetie went over to the mare in the corner to further investigate her, afraid at the same time of what she'd learn. Applejack was bruised all over her body, creating black and blue splotches all over her naturally orange coat. There were cuts on her that seemed to be recently closed, as they had redness around them, along with a few small drops of blood that seeped out of a few. Her eyes, which one of were black and swollen, were closed and still. "She... she isn't..." Sweetie turned back. "Sweetie... she's still alive if that's what you're asking, but she's been out since she bought you back here." Twilight explained. "Well help her!" Sweetie said. "She's barely breathing as it is!" "Sweetie, I've been doing everything I could, but I'm no medical pony. I can only do so much when it comes to healing magic..." Twilight said. "And I can't really do anything to help her without medical equipment." Fluttershy said. Sweetie went over to the spirit printer, where she saw her GCD and saddlebags lying in front of it. Rather than picking the two items up, she kicked the printer out of frustration. "Sweetie-" "I told you not to leave!" Sweetie screamed at the top of her lungs. Anger filled her eyes. "Hey kid! Cool it already. They already know going to get you was a stupid idea, but they did it alright?" Rainbow said. "Screaming about it like a little foal isn't going to help anyone." "Why did you have to leave..." Sweetie mumbled to herself. She broke the rules... and now the mares had made her job even harder, and she wouldn't even know how until it was too late. She'd probably end up like Applejack... was she worried about herself more than Applejack? Was that why she felt so angry? Ya always were only concerned 'bout yahself... Sweetie's head hurt again. What was happening to her? Somehow, the words of her possessed friends were getting to the filly. No wonder Rarity didn' love ya... Sweetie's head begun to throb worse, as she grabbed her skull with her hooves. Was she... starting to believe them? And if so, why? "We... we had ta git ya Sweetie." Sweetie turned to Applejack, who's green eyes were open, and looking at the filly. "Applejack... you're alright..." Sweetie said. Applejack tried to get up, but immediately fell down onto the safe room floor, and cried out in pain. The three other mares didn't waste any time in picking her back up. "Applejack, you need to rest. You’re not well..." Fluttershy said. "Ya think ah don't know that?" Applejack asked. "B'sides. Sweetie'll listen ta me. Ain't that right little filly?" Sweetie gave no response, though the mare did have a point. Something about Applejack, of all mares besides Rarity, she'd almost always lend an ear to, and may even heed to her advice. "Alri' just set me down over 'ere." Applejack said pointing to a wall. The mares did what she said, as they put her against the wall. "Alri' Sweetie. What d' ya want ta know?" "Why did you go after me?" Sweetie asked. "Cause ah... well, we, knew ya were in trouble... 'cause we 'eard a noise from back in th' dining hall. Somethin' crashin' down." "The walkway..." Sweetie thought. She should have figured an entire balcony walkway crashing down would spark some kind of curiosity in the mares as it was so close to their location. "Ah volunteered ta go n' investigate. All ah found was a bunch a burnin' wood n' ember. Ah knew that it had somethin' ta do witcha, and ah had a feelin' Twi n' Shy 'ere wouldn't agree with me if ah told 'em ah was goin' ta search for ya... ya know, not because they didn' want ta, but cause a yer little Pinkie problem... so ah went bah mahself, w'thout no one knowin. If ya gonna yell at some mare Sweetie, yell at me." Sweetie didn't say a word. She certainly wasn't going to yell at the orange mare... she was even beginning to feel bad about yelling at Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow. "Applejack... what happened to you?" "Well... ah knew ah had ta figure out how ta ya on th' next floor. Figured ya'd be on the seventh floor lil' Fluttershy said. Problem was, th' way ta th' foyer was blocked, so ah looked for a new way. Ah checked out the kitchen, and believe it or not, 'ere was a staircase ta th' led all th' way ta th' 4th floor. Ah took some hallway, tryin ta git to another staircase... dark as hay, it was, bu' ah managed ta see a little w'th some lighnin' help... then all of ah sudden, somethin' went across mah hoof, and somethin' else hard hit mah eye. It was still too dark ta really see it comin'. Gave me this 'ere." Applejack said, pointing to her black eye. "It was some kinda trap, I dunno. Ah figured some ghost must've set it up. Sweetie, the Mansion's filled with 'em now. Ya come across any yet?" Sweetie shook her head. It must have been Pinkie who set them up, after she found out Applejack had broken the rules. "There are all kinds a traps round 'ere. Ah found one when ah was on th' sixth floor, where it nearly carved me up lik' a turkey. Ah found another that almost crushed me lik' a pumpkin. Hay, one tried to break up the stairs under mah hooves lik' gram crackers. Ah'll tell ya, they're everywhere... n' ta top it all off, when ah was gittn' close ta ya, Pinkie decided ta pay me a littl' visit. She grabbed me up, and nearly froze me ta death... ah escaped though. Not sure how, but ah did, limpin away from 'er. That there ghost is crazy..." You don't have to tell me. Sweetie thought. "Ah found ya... but ah wasn't feelin' so hot, so ah hid wit' ya on mah back in ah little bathroom." "That weird mirrored bathroom." Rainbow added. "And... and you used my camera and the mirrors to get back?" Sweetie finished. Applejack nodded. "Smart little filly. Yeah, Twi 'ere told me how ya were git'n back with that little thing us'n mirrors. Glad ya still had it on ya... doubt I woulda made it back w'thout it." "You... shouldn't have gone after me." Sweetie thought. "You got really hurt out there-" "Are you kidd'n Sweetie? Ah jus' got a scratch 'ere and there. Ah thought you were dead when ah found ya. Barely even breat'n when I saw ya lyin' there in there. Ahm not sure what woulda happened to ya if no one came for ya." Applejack responded. "Look, Sweetie... ah know ya ain't to fond a me comin, but ya can't do this bah yerself. Yer just a little-" "I'm NOT a little filly!" Sweetie exclaimed. "And I have to do this by myself. It's the only way. Pinkie almost killed you... I have to play by the rules. If I don't, you'll all DIE! I have to do this by myself... I have to face Pinkie on my own... I have to..." The room went silent. Sweetie felt dizzy again... she felt a little woosy from yelling and stumbled to the side. "Sweetie... you're tired." Twilight concluded. "What?" Sweetie said. "Twi's right Sweetie. If you don't take a nap every now and again, you're not gonna even have a chance against Pinkie." Rainbow said. "Why don't you rest here before you go... and getting knocked out doesn't count. It only makes you more tired, trust me." "I... I can't. I don't have any time to waste." "Why?" Fluttershy asked. Sweetie thought for a moment. She wasn't quite sure why she said that. The longer she was in the mansion, the more she kept thinking about time. She wasn't sure how much time she had left of it, and she wasn't sure what would happen once it was up. It was like time was important... Morning... "I... I don't know, but I know I can't waste it." Sweetie said. "It... it's something about morning..." "Dawn?" Twilight asked. "What's happening at dawn?" "I really want to know... but I think I know someone who might know the answer to that." Sweetie said. Twilight seemed puzzled along with the rest of the mares. She couldn't imagine what the filly meant by "dawn"? Nothing abnormal was going to happen, besides the absence of the sun and moon. "Well... we can worry about the morning later. Right now, you need to rest." Twilight insisted. "Yeah Sweetie. If ya ain't focused when ya fight Pinkie, ya won't have no chance." Applejack said. Sweetie sighed. There was no arguing with the mares. Sweetie went over to her CMC blanket, and curled up inside of it. "Don't let me sleep too long. Ten minutes tops." She said... and she was asleep almost instantly. *** The three fillies walked into the barn of Sweet Apple Acres. At the front of the pack was a very disappointed Applejack. Who wouldn't be angry if three little fillies tried to burn down a tree for most likely no good reason? "Sit down." Applejack said to the three fillies, as she pointed three batches of hay. The three fillies obeyed the mare's order. The fillies took their spots, Scootaloo at the most right, Applebloom at the center, and Sweetie Belle on the left. Applejack glared at the fillies. "Now, b'fore ah git into yer punishment, might ah ask what in sam-hay were ya thinkin?" Applejack asked. The three fillies looked at each other, hoping one of the other would speak up for the group. As usual, Applebloom was the one to take the fall. She was always the one to take responsibility for the filly's actions, justified or otherwise. It was kind of an unspoken rule as her unspoken of leadership of the trio. "Sis, it's mah fault..." Applebloom started. "Ah... ah wanted ta git rid o' that tree n' git that cat out a th' tree too... so..." Applebloom continued. Sweetie however wasn't completely listening to the filly as she spoke. All she looked at was the annoyance, irritation and anger in Applejack's eyes. She recalled something... Applebloom wasn't one to get in trouble with her big sis. Even so, with Applejack's mother and father gone, she was left in charge of her as a parental figure, much like Sweetie and Rarity... though their methods of punishment as parental figures were quite different. While Sweetie and Rarity only had a "slap on the wrist/ time out" punishment system, Applejack's involved a much more severe punishment; such ones including corporal punishment. Sweetie recalled around the time Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were first developing their Cuitie Mark Crusaders persona. She remembered something about Applebloom getting caught taking from the Apple family kitchen for their tree house. Sweetie wasn't sure what Applejack did to Applebloom, but she was in a terrible mood for the rest of the month, and it was just a little harder to get food for the clubhouse. "Wait." Sweetie blurted out. Every pony turned to Sweetie. She wasn't sure what she did... but she decided to keep going with it. "It's... it's not really her fault AJ. It's... mine." Sweetie thought for a moment, then continued. She didn't want to lie to the mare... but stretching the truth didn't count. "What are ya talkin 'bout filly?" Applejack asked. "Well... Applebloom mentioned that she was going to cut the tree down eventually, and we needed to get Opal... who I chased her on accident, out of the tree. So... I thought it would be a good idea to burn it down. I mean, it would get rid of the tree, and Opal... well we thought she'd just jump out. We're sorry... but don't blame Applebloom or Scootaloo. I was the one who started it." Applejack stared down the filly, trying to see if she was lying. Technically speaking however, she did say that it was a good idea... and everything else was the strait up truth. Applejack sighed. "Ahm very disappointed in ya Sweetie. Ahm gonna have ta tell Rarity about this ya know." Applejack said. Sweetie shakily nodded. "Now y'all stay put. Yer not leavin this 'ere barn for the rest of the day. Got it?" Scootaloo opened her mouth to say something, but Applebloom stopped her, as Applejack left the barn to tend to the filly's damages. When they were finally alone, Applebloom and Scootaloo turned to Sweetie. "Ya know ya didn't have ta do that." Applebloom said. "Well... that's what friends are for. I couldn't let Applebloom take all of the credit this time." Sweetie smiled. "Besides, I know how you get when you get in trouble with Applejack." "Yeah. At least Rarity'll keep her flank intact. I doubt Applejack would let you off for... what's that thing called..." Scootaloo thought, looking for a word. "I think it's called 'arson''" Sweetie said. "What are you, a dictionary?" Scootaloo asked. "Still, Thanks Sweetie." Applebloom... *** Sweetie woke up from the memory. It was the first time in a while that she woke up without pain echoing through her body. She got up from the little sleeping mat she made from her cape, catching the mares attention. "How long was I asleep?" Sweetie asked groggily. "None of us were counting. I'd guess about... ten minutes." Rainbow responded. "Sweetie, you could sleep for a little longer if you like..." Fluttershy said softly. Sweetie shook her head. She had a duty to fulfill. "No. I gotta go now." Sweetie said as she stretched. She had to admit. The cat nap really made her feel better. At least her headache and irritability were gone... Sweetie went for her saddlebags and her GCD. She was assisted in putting them on by Twilight, with her magic telekinesis. Once she was sure she had all of her equipment: camera, map, ghostbook, and journal; she mentioned to the mares held different information on the yields; Sweetie headed toward the door that lead out of the safe room. "Hold up Sweetie." Rainbow said. "What's wrong?" Sweetie asked. Let me guess... "I'm sorry Sweetie for trying to kill you?" Sweetie thought. Sweetie expected another apology from the mare, not because she wanted one, but because it seemed to be the trend... but Rainbow had something else on her mind. "Well, I know you're probably going to end up going against Scootaloo again, somewhere in the mansion." Rainbow said, "Do you know how to fight?" "Huh?" Sweetie asked, somewhat caught off guard. "Well... I don't really fight Rainbow. I'm not a tough filly." Sweetie admitted. It wouldn't be the first time Sweetie was over powered by fillies just around her age range that night. "And I really don't want to fight Scootaloo or Applebloom, or even Spike." "Look kid. I know you're not into fighting an all, but I've seen those fillies in action. They're gonna kill you if they get the chance... and from what I've seen from you, I'm almost sure you'd let them." Sweetie didn't say anything, because Rainbow did have a point. She probably would have let Scootaloo kill her if her adrenaline wasn't pumping so much, and Scootaloo didn't put more effort into pinning her down. Sweetie probably wouldn't get such a chance like before to escape, so she'd have to defend herself from getting pinned down like that again... but the simple thought of hurting her friends, or any pony for that matter, made her shudder. Rainbow saw the apprehensiveness of fighting in her eyes. "Sweetie. I know you don't want to, but if you're put into a corner, sometimes you just don't have a choice but to fight your way out... tell you what, I'll give you some tips on how to fight, without really hurting anyone." Rainbow said. "It'll at least keep them off of you, you know?" With that, Rainbow gave Sweetie a brief lesson on combat. The mare basically told her about single hoof blocking, for when Sweetie is on her hooves, double hoof blocking, when she's on her back and needs to block, and light side jabbing. It wasn't in depth, as Sweetie didn't have time to waste. The lesson lasted about 15 minutes, as the other mares watched as Sweetie learned the basics of hoof to hoof combat. Sweetie didn't show much progress by the end, as she practice spared with Rainbow... but she did improve by a bit. Apart of Rainbow was a little disappointed in the filly's lack of progress, but she was pleased she got a little better in the small window of time. "Good enough." she sighed. After a moment of silence, Sweetie spoke to the mare. "...you too huh?" Sweetie said finally. During the brief fighting lesson, Sweetie noticed that just like the other mares in the room, her cutie mark was missing. Rainbow followed Sweetie's eyes to her own flank, and sighed again. "Yeah... but Twi's got it under control, right?" Rainbow said. "Huh?" Twilight said. She seemed to have been deep in thought during the minutes that passed by. "Oh, right... yeah, I'm sure I'll figure out what happened... oh, and Sweetie?" "Yes Twilight?" Sweetie asked. "I... I don't want to rush you... but please hurry back with Pinkie." "Of course!" Sweetie thought for a moment, before hearing the worry in Twilight's voice. It was... different somehow. "Why? Is there something wrong?" "I just remembered something... I think our talents are fading." All three of the mares in the room looked at Twilight at the new news. Applejack just faintly looked up at Twilight, also visibly shocked by the development. "What do you mean Twilight?" Fluttershy asked. "I mean, I could be wrong... Celestia I hope I'm wrong... but there's another reason why I didn't heal Applejack completely." Twilight explained. "I... I think my magic talents are leaving me, and I'm trying to figure out if the same could happen to everyone else." "That's crazy Twi! You told me we couldn't loose our talents because they were apart of us!" Rainbow argued. "I know what I said, and I know it's crazy... but the point is, I could be losing my control over magic, and without that..." "...ya can't brin' any ponies out of th' portraits." Applejack concluded. Twilight nodded her head and bowed it. "Sweetie... I know we've asked a lot of you already... but..." Sweetie understood. She walked to the door, as Twilight used her magic to open it. "I'll be back within the hour guys. Don't worry." Sweetie assured. "I'll have caught Pinkie and brought her back before you knew it." "You got this Sweetie." Rainbow said. "Thanks." Sweetie said, before the filly left the safe room, and the door shut. The mares heard her hoof steps outside fade away... and then she was gone. Rainbow went over to one of the walls and punched it angrily. "Why?!" She said angrily. "Why can't we do anything?!" The idea of letting the weak filly back out into the mansion alone ate her up since Twilight resurrected her from the portrait. Rainbow wasn't sure which stung more: being unable to assist Sweetie, maybe even take her place, or feeling so weak and helpless in their situation. "Why can't we help her?!" "Rainbow... we can only do what we can." Fluttershy said, trying to calm Rainbow. Fluttershy tried to put a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder, however Rainbow shook her off. "Rainbow-" Fluttershy said. "I tried to kill her, and all she did was save me. I haven't gotten anything to give back to her but some fighting tips she can barely even use... why can't I do more?" "Rainbow." Applejack called from the corner. "Maybe ya can't do ev'ry thin' ta help... but ya can do what ya can. Sweetie's doin' far more than a filly shou' and ya see what it's doin' ta her head... ya can't beat yahself over thin's lik' that. The filly needs all th' support she can git now... It's all we can give her... and each other. Now ain't th' time ta be worryin about how much help who can give who, ya hear. All we can do, is what we can." Applejack said. "I just wish I could do more." Rainbow said. "We all do." Applejack said. The safe room was then silent for a long time, before Twilight went to see if she couldn't help out Applejack's wounds any more... *** Alright... I'm headed for the courtyard. Pinkie said she'd be there... hopefully it's not another one of her tricks... Sweetie thought. Sweetie made it to the top of the stairs and headed out the door that led to the dining hall. Alright, now all that's left is to get to the foyer and find a hall to the- Sweetie stopped, as she was given a rude reminder of the current situation. She saw the glowing pieces of ember wood from the walkway she escaped from Spike on. Some of the embers glowed green from the dragon's flames, while others glowed orange from pure heat. It was like some kind of crude artistic light show in the debris that ultimately blocked Sweetie's path to the foyer. The filly was blocked off from the hub she'd used to get around the mansion. According to her map, it should have had hallways that led to all parts of the mansion... now she'd have to figure out another way to get to the courtyard. Then, Sweetie remembered something Applejack mentioned. She said something about a staircase that led to the fourth floor in the kitchen. Sweetie took out her map to confirm this. Sure enough, a door showed up in the kitchen on the map with red ink. Next to it, written in the same color was the number four, next to an arrow that pointed up. According to the map, that was the only other exit from the dining hall that wasn't blocked by the hot orange and green debris. Sweetie put her map back into her saddlebags and walked to the entrance of the kitchen on the other side of the dining hall. She stood in front, then hesitated. The last time she'd entered that room, she was put under the influence of the mansion and Twilight's mind dive. The last thing Sweetie needed was to be manipulated again... but Twilight was caught right? That meant that the kitchen was safe, right? Sweetie opened the door, and went into the kitchen. The lack of chill in the kitchen from before invited the filly to venture further in. The kitchen was the same as when she first entered, with shelves along the walls and center of the obnoxiously long kitchen. The kitchen looked as old and forgotten as she remembered, complimenting the rest of the mansion with the white sheets that blanketed some of the shelving. As Sweetie walked further and further into the kitchen, she found herself frequently checking her map to see how much longer she had before she'd reach the staircase. Once she was halfway there, the filly smelled something... something rotten. She followed it to one of the stoves. On top was a cookie tray, with apples... were these the apples that Sweetie saw earlier? What she remembered as freshly made, and pleasant to the eye, now looked mushy and sickening. Did Twilight make her see the rotten apples as Pinkie's Sweetie Apple Surprise? Glad I didn't eat those... Sweetie thought as she continued to walk. Finally, Sweetie made it to the stairway, which escalated behind a door. Sweetie opened the door and shined her flashlight into the thick darkness of the staircase. It was very narrow, possibly one stairway that was only used for emergencies. The walls were very close together, making the stairway a claustrophobic pony's worst nightmare. The thickness and chill of the darkness didn't help in the slightest. Sweetie couldn't help but get a bad feeling from the staircase, and knowing to heed to her gut's warnings, she proceed up the steps with caution. The climb started slow and steady, however as Sweetie climbed, she felt less of a need to be cautious and picked up the pace. It wasn't as if being any slower was going to help her, right? She figured she was about halfway up the stairs after a while. By now, the filly was starting to feel the cramped staircase start to get to her. Maybe she was starting to get a little claustrophobic herself. As she continued to push herself up the stairs, she hit a step. All of the steps she hit so far let out a creek, which the filly had grown used to by now... but not this one. This one let out a click, as though something had been switched. Suddenly, Sweetie heard something at the top of the stairs fall. Next, she heard the sound of it banging down the stairs, headed straight for her. Sweetie didn't know what it was, but she didn't need to, in order to hightail her flank back down the stairs. As she ran, she missed a step and tumbled down a few steps, dropping her flashlight on a step. The filly didn't dare stop for the light source as she sped back down the stairs. She ran down, tumbling over several times in the darkness only to miraculously regain her hoof traction on the steps to continue running. It was amazing that Applejack's hat remained on her head when she flipped down the stairs like some circus performer. The thing falling from the top of the stairs was faster than her, and she doubted she'd be able to beat it. She ran, her heart beating as the thing came closer. She wasn't sure how close she was to the bottom of the steps. It almost felt like there was no end to the steps without her light. She just kept running, hoping she'd eventually hit level ground. Finally, the steps stopped, and Sweetie assumed she was back in the kitchen. She got out of the way of the path of the hallway, as she heard the thing crash down. It was the sound of wood and various pieces of metal hitting one of the counters in the kitchen. The filly panted for breath, as she saw her flashlight lazily roll down the stairs into the kitchen. She picked it up and shined it where she heard the sound come from. What she saw, were pieces of what she assumed to be a wooden broken barrel. Sticking out of the pieces of wood, and the pieces of barrel that were still intact were knives. If the filly hadn't made it down in time, the barrel would have rolled over her, and ripped her up. This must be one of the traps Applejack was talking about. I gotta be more careful. There's bound to be more somewhere around here. Sweetie thought. ... wait a sec... didn't Applejack come through here already? She didn't mention a trap like this... was this just set up? Did... did Pinkie set this trap up for me to fall into? Sweetie shook her head. Applejack must have missed the trap, maybe climbed over the step that triggered it. The pink mare wasn't trying to kill her yet... right? Sweetie climbed back up the stairs, this time her caution with her the whole time. Finally, she made it to the top, and entered a new hallway. Ok... where do I go from here? Sweetie took out her map and checked her location. According to it, she was around the center of the mansion. To her left would be a dead end, giving her no other immediate directional options but right. If she followed the hallway there, she would eventually find a staircase to the foyer, and the other floors of the mansion. If she kept going, she'd find herself in a hallway that had rooms stretching around the perimeter of the mansion. She could probably find a way to the courtyard that way, but the filly figured it would be easier to take a foyer route. Sweetie walked down the hallway, thinking about how she could possibly catch Pinkie Pie. The book said she'd need to want to be captured... but how do you convince a ghost to want to be captured? Maybe... maybe she could get Pinkie in the same way she got Rainbow Dash, using memories to strengthen her will? It probably wouldn't be so easy. Sweetie couldn't think of what she could show Pinkie to wake her up... after all, neither Applejack's hat, nor herself had sparked anything visible in the mare's mind. She was also sure that none of her possessed friends would have an effect on her either. There had to be a way though... there always was a way. After a while, Sweetie was beginning to get close to the stairway. As she did, she noticed something as she shined her light on the ground. It was a shiny thread, next to a small mallet. The edge of the mallet's face was stained red with droplets of blood. Was this what hit Applejack in the darkness? Ouch... Sweetie said covering one eye. She couldn't imagine how painful it must have been for that to have been delivered to a pony's eye. Sweetie shined her light forward, following the thread to a spring mechanism sticking out of the floor in the center of the hallway. It sat to its side, the spring released, rendering the device useless. Least I don't have to worry about a trap like that. Sweetie hoped. As much as she hated to think that way, she hoped Applejack had already set off the rest of the traps along her route. Sweetie continued down the hallway until she reached the new stairwell that connected the fourth floor to the other parts of the mansion... but something stopped Sweetie from descending down to the foyer. The stairs were gone. "You've gotta be kidding me..." Sweetie said as she shined her light around the doorway to the staircase. The planks that made up the main foundation of the stairs were along the sides of the wall, hanging by some chain that Sweetie assumed to have pulled them out. The other parts of the stairs were probably debris lying at the bottom of the stairwell. Was this another trap set by Pinkie? One that Applejack set of and miraculously escaped? It seemed possible, as any pony that was on the stairs at the time they broke would have fallen 4 stories, or more if the stairwell led to the basement, to their death. Sweetie backed up from the stairwell doorway, and put her flank up against the wall. She bowed her head and sighed. Guess I'm not going that way. Gotta be another way around to the courtyard... Sweetie took out her map and checked her location. She still had the path around the perimeter of the mansion. It was longer path, but it would take her around to another staircase, down a few floors, through a few hallways, and eventually she'd find her way to the theater lobby. It was a bit of a hassle, but it would get her where she needed to go. All she could hope was that there weren't any ghosts along the way. Sweetie assumed she was finished with traps, as Pinkie probably set them up for any mare who tried to go after the filly on her hunt for Rainbow Dash. Pinkie wouldn't have made any traps off that path. She didn't want to kill the filly yet... right? That was the only other reasoning the filly could use to convince herself to continue walking down the pitch black hallway. After a while, the filly made it down to the end of the hallway, and turned left, which according to the map, would eventually take her down the staircase she was looking for. She turned... but something new stopped her. It wasn't anything she saw, or heard, but what she smelled and felt. Once she was in the new hallway, she smelled something funny in the air... vaguely familiar that reminded Sweetie of Rarity. She also felt something wet on the floor, as though some of the rain had gotten in. Out of curiosity, and against better judgment, Sweetie bent down to taste the substance on the floor. Once Sweetie stuck her tongue on the ground, it quickly shot back into her mouth, disgusted by the taste of the substance... but she was sure of what it was. Alcohol. Sweetie, being such a young filly, wasn't nearly old enough to drink, but that didn't stop her from once trying the beverage. Rarity always had a stock of some of Canterlot's finest wines, for every time she was visited by celebrity ponies to look at her dresses and designs. Sweetie remembered her curiosity getting the best of her as she tried the drink against Rarity's wishes. At the time, all she knew was that it was supposedly like grape juice, so her and her friends gave it a try. They all rejected the drink's bitter taste and were scolded on having it. To this day, Sweetie could never figure out how mares and stallions could stomach the beverage. The stuff she tasted on the floor was exactly like that, only it didn't have the same vague sweetness of wine. It was strait alcohol... why in hay was it poured on the ground like now? The filly kept moving forward, careful not to let herself slip on the liquid... then a realization struck the filly. This was alcohol... what did alcohol do besides taste bad? She remembered something she learned in Cheerelee's chemist's class. Something about alcohol and fire... it was flammable. Sweetie made her realization a little too late, as she felt her horn cross a thin thread and heard a click. From both in front and behind the filly, she heard the sounds of matches being struck. She didn't look back as she watched the match in front of her strike in the darkness. Time seemed to slow down for a few moments, as the filly watched as the lit match fell to the ground. The fear she felt during those few seconds made her almost forget to clench her teeth to keep the flashlight in her mouth. The match hit the ground and the hallway was set ablaze. Sweetie turned around to see that the path behind her was also now blocked by a wall of flames. She was trapped between the two fires as they closed in towards her. Sweetie panicked, knowing she needed to find a way out of the hall before she was cooked herself. The fact her hooves were soaked with the flammable substance didn't help. Sweetie looked desperately around as the hallway filled with smoke. She then noticed a door at to her right. She went for the knob. Please for the love of Celestia, be open! The knob turned, and she escaped into the room, before slamming it shut. Sweetie panted for breath in the dark room, as she heard the fire crackle and grow in the hallway. "Of course... It's never that easy..." It's now Sweetie comes to a new realization. She was safe now... but she was also trapped. The only exit to the rest of the room... was the hallway that was on fire, and she couldn't risk going back out there... especially with her alcohol soggy hooves. Great... now where do I go? Lightning flashes in the room, illuminating it for a moment. The first thing Sweetie notices is what's around the room. It's another bed room, but it's not like the others that looked to be Madame's... these walls were green with a blue carpet. The bed was obnoxiously large... probably one of the largest one's she's seen in the mansion. Could this be one of Specter's rooms? At the edge of the bed, Sweetie saw a journal page. She picked it up and started to read. It was dated a little earlier than the other writings... it seemed to be written earlier than the others. November 2nd 845 A.C Ms. Daisy... my little Sunflower and I have been dating for a few months now. At this point, I'm almost ready to ask her to marry... but there's just one thing I'm concerned about, and that's her meticulous curiosity. I've managed to keep her ignorant of the parts of the mansion I want to keep from her, but she always has questions... Like for example, our cutie marks. Today, she asked me about mine... I suppose now that we're getting used to each other's company, the shyness stages are long gone letting us dive into each other's personal matters... she claimed she couldn't tell what it was for the life of her, as she shouldn't have been able to. That led to her even asking about my profession, and how I've managed to gain my excessive fortune. Hmph... I've always side stepped the question which has sparked much suspicion in her. She's even come up with her own theories, like I was a part of some pony mob conspiracy... at least that's what Spiffy told me she'd discussed with the stallion. The mare is incredibly smart... even the blinding love we share can't shroud her suspicions of me. I haven't touched any of her journal pages, as we've agreed on, but I'm almost positive that she's starting to doubt me... so to end it, I had to tell her a bit of a lie... at least I'm sure she thinks it's a lie, but I suppose it's not completely true to begin with. When she asked about my cutie mark, I sat her down, with Spiffy for back up. I told her I lost it. I've told her my family owned a place in the wilderness catacombs outside of Stabletown where they tested different magical spells... and I told her that one spell went wrong and POOF... no more cutie mark. Spiffy was the only one to confirm this lie as truth for Sunflower... but she's smarter than that. She knew I wasn't completely beyond lying to her, and that Spiffy, my most loyal companion, would back up such a lie. I knew she wanted the real story... but I couldn't tell her yet... so I asked her about her cutie mark. I must have still had a piece of that paranoia of doing something to make the mare hate me, because for all the time I've been with her, I've barely given her flank a second glance. It was a flame... so I asked her about it. She said it was her talent as candle lighter at her grandmother's floral shop down on Rudder Street around the Stabletown town square... the funny thing was, that she didn't get her cutie mark by exactly lighting a few candles... quite the opposite actually... but then again, cutie mark stories are rarely that simple. No, she said that she started a fire by mistake as a filly... almost burned down the entire block, she said. I remember hearing about that little fiasco, but never paid much attention to it because of how quickly it was resolved... thanks to her. They didn't know what it was, but when the fire fighter ponies came, and they couldn't tame the flames... when the little filly came along, with her little bucket and pale, she seemed to put out more fires than them. From what she said, it was a real phenomenon... as though the flames would obey her, and only her. To be honest, I questioned if she had some psychokinetic abilities. She giggled, showing that I was on her good side again. She said she used some ponies thought the same thing, but secretively, she learned a few spells to manipulate flames. Still though, it's amazing that a little filly could pull of such a feat with simple fire spells. She said that once the flames died down enough for the fire fighters to take care of the rest, she found her cutie mark on the side of her flank. Though the rest of her family had some kind of flower cutie mark, she stood out with her little flame. Some of her family looked at the mare in awe for standing out, while others looked at her in disappointment, wondering if she was going to be able to carry on the Daisy florist name. The only one who was unchanged by this new development was her grandmother, who suffered from dementia and barely remembered who the filly was. She became like an only real family member to the filly... the story vaguely reminded me of Spiffy and I... after that, I'm sure we're done talking about cutie marks. I think she's finally gotten over not knowing my profession... at least I hope she has, for her own good. So... he lost his cutie mark? Sweetie remembered meeting the stallion earlier that night, and the brown splotch she saw where his cutie mark was supposed to be. But... that mark... shouldn't it be blank like my friends? What the hay is going on... and Madame's power... Sweetie seemed to have more and more questions for the ghost mare who seemed to be on her side. Rather than getting any answers, she was just getting more and more confused than before. Nothing was making sense... who the hay was Specter anyway? Sweetie placed her newest page inside of the journal, and turned her attention to the other item that had gained her interest. She shined her light at the window into the outside darkness. Could it be her ticket out of the room? It was one of those windows that opened up like a door on the left and right. Outside of the window, Sweetie's light shined on a few old withed flowers that sat on the perch sticking out. Worth a look... Sweetie tried to open the window, but it seemed to be locked. Thankfully, she didn't need another key to open it. She turned a lock next to a small knob at the center of the window door. She opened it up, and carefully climbed up and out onto the perch. From what she could tell, the rain and wind had died down significantly. All she felt was a light mist of water in the air, and the air moved a little short from still. The thunder boomed faintly in the distance as the storm was continuing to die. Mistakenly, she pushed over a flower pot, which fell over the perch. She listened for a few seconds before she finally heard it hit the ground in the darkness. "Looks like a long fall..." Sweetie gulped. She shook the fear from her body and looked around. Was there anything she could use to get around here? She shined her light to the left and saw that there were thick plants, vines and weeds growing along the side of the mansion. Maybe she could climb along the vegetation to the next window? No... that's stupid! Sweetie thought. It was too risky. All she would need is to grab a bad root, or vine, and she'd fall to her death... but as she looked back into the room, she saw her options were weighing thin. The fire was starting to burn down the door, and eventually into the room. It was spreading rapidly, and Sweetie realized she didn't have much of a choice anymore. Sweetie shined her light back onto the vines, and took a deep breath. She clenched the flashlight in her maw firmly between her upper and lower teeth, and reached for one of the ivy green vines. She yanked on it to test its strength. It wasn't comfortably strong, but it seemed like it would hold the filly's weight. She took a hold firmly on the vine, and swung herself onto the wall. She used all of her legs to stay hooked on the wall, as she wasn't a pony trained in climbing anything like this. She tried to raise her confidence by remembering how she managed to climb out of the fire in the theater... but that only reminded her how flammable she was now. And plus, that was a rope she could shimmy up... not a near flat surface like the vines growing. Sweetie took another deep breath through the flashlight, and started to move along the wall. Her hooves moved along the walls, as she started to gain a little speed to her climb. She was getting better and better the farther she went, and was beginning to feel a little more confident that she'd make it out of this alive. Finally, the vines stopped. This must have been the window to the next room. She carefully placed her hind legs onto the window perch, and eventually her fore legs. She tried to open the window... but there was a problem.,, two actually. The first problem was that the fire was still at that part of the hallway, as she saw the fire burning through that door as well. She couldn't use the room to escape even if she wanted to. The second problem was that the window was locked. Great... just great... Sweetie thought. It was now Sweetie had come to a new realization: the window she first came out of was originally locked... did that mean that the other windows were also locked too? Had Sweetie just locked herself out of the mansion? Sweetie thought of going back to the window and waiting for the fire to die back down, but she knew she didn't have time. It wasn't just that gut feeling either, but if Twilight was right, she would need to get her friends caught before her powers became too weak. She had to keep moving forward. There had to be another way back into the mansion... Sweetie continued her climb along the wall, resisting the urge to look down into the darkness. She clenched her flashlight tighter and tighter, afraid of being stuck, defenseless in the darkness if she were to drop it. Sweetie must have crossed seven or eight windows as she climbed. Finally, she was starting to get tired as she started to feel the burn in her filly muscles. On her ninth window, she decided to take a rest. The filly sat on the perch taking breaths, wondering how much longer she had to keep going. She checked the window she was sitting against. Of course, it was also locked, and the fire was still burning through the door... but it seemed a little fainter. Did that mean she was closing in on where the fire stopped? Sweetie supposed it wouldn't matter if she couldn't get into one of the rooms in the first place. Sweetie went into her saddlebags for her map and decided to check out her location. She wondered how far down the hall she was... she shined her light on the piece of parchment... it had a big question mark on it. Sweetie was a little annoyed with the map, but supposed that the outside of the mansion was just another place she couldn't use the map. She was about to put her map back into her saddlebags, when suddenly, the map was snatched from her hands. Something zoomed past her, nearly scaring the filly off of the ledge. Sweetie dropped her flashlight out of her maw, but caught it with her hoof by the end. "Who-" Sweetie called out into the darkness. "Well if it isn't my favorite little loser... Dumb Belle." came the familiar voice of a griffon. Gilda... Sweetie thought. She shined her light around in the darkness, desperately trying to find out where the voice was coming from. Lightning flashed, and Sweetie saw the griffon, hovering about 10 yards from the filly. She must have thawed like Pinkie said she would. "W-what do you want Gilda?" Sweetie asked the griffon, shining her light in the direction she saw the griffon when the light flashed. "What do you think? To finish what I started, are you that dull?" Gilda asked. "Why do you want me dead so badly?" "What's it to you?" Gilda asked. "W-well, if you're going to kill me, at least tell me why. I mean, you're not dead... or possessed, right?" Gilda laughed. "I'm too cool to be touched by one of those stupid specters." "Then why?" "At first, it was Specter's order." Gilda said. She then grinned at the filly. "But since you tried to turn me into a grifcickle, I think this little kill will be just for fun. Just for me." She's taking orders from Specter? Why? She doesn't seem like the type, so what for? What's the connection? Sweetie thought. Sweetie watched as she saw statues start to float up... but they weren't just griffons this time. Accompanied by them was the statue of a dragon, with the same menacing yellow eyes as the other statues. It was a grown dragon, unlike Spike, having a longer, much more snake like body. Sweetie briefly thought of a similar dragon that plagued Ponyville... Sweetie didn't hesitate any longer to start climbing for her life. She jumped onto the wall, just as a griffon tried to ram into her, and ended up crashing into the window. The dragon however, rather than trying to grab or fly into the filly, it shot a fire ball, much like Spike's only orange. The first shot missed the filly, but still did damage. The vines along the wall started to catch on fire, and burn in all directions, including the direction of Sweetie. She felt the vines weakening as the knots that kept the vines firm begun to thin out. None the less, she kept her climb up, not daring to slow down for any cautions. She hoped to at least make it to the next window perch which felt like it was miles away in the intensified situation... Finally, one of the vines Sweetie was on gave, falling from the wall. Sweetie screamed, as she thought she was going to fall to her death... but she held on firm to the loose vine, as it hung lazily from the rest of the vegetation network. She pulled herself back onto the wall of vines and continued her climb. She wasn't sure how much longer she'd last. A second griffon crashed right next to her, barely hitting and crushing the filly. The shock wave of the impact shook her off of the wall, and she fell for a moment before grabbing onto the vine wall before she fell too far. C'mon Sweetie! Keep going! Keep going! Sweetie said to herself as she climbed back up higher on the wall to her original path and kept going. By now, the wall was lit up by the dragon's flames, the orange tongues of the fire barely missing the filly. Sweetie's muscles ached from the climbing, and was sure they'd give out if she didn't rest them anytime soon. The situation seemed hopeless. She was surrounded, and had no way of escaping Gilda and her army of statues. Finally however, Sweetie made it to the next window perch, which she virtually dropped onto, nearly breaking the platform with her sudden weight and impact. As she sat on the perch, she wanted to keep going, but her muscles wouldn't respond... then, out of the darkness, a griffon statue crashed into her. "AH!" Sweetie yelled out in pain. It hit her with so much force; the statue sent her crashing through the window and into the room. Glass shards lied around the filly, along with stone fragments of the broken statue. The statue hit the filly, but it didn't have a good aim or hold on her. It pushed her through the window, but also slipped under her and went straight for the wall at the back of the room. If the griffon had crashed into Sweetie any higher on her body, she would have been in more pieces than the statue. Even so, the stone griffon did its damage, as Sweetie moaned in pain on the ground around the shards. Get up... Get up... Sweetie coached herself. She moaned in pain as she got back up onto her hooves. She looked at the exit of the room... it wasn't flaming, which meant that the fire must have stopped further back down the hallway. All things considered... that worked out better than I thought... she thought optimistically. Her optimism quickly diminished when she heard the angry screeching caw of Gilda. She may have made it into the room, but she still had a crazy bird on her flank. Sweetie made for the door and exited into the hallway, slamming the door behind her. From what Sweetie remembered from the map, she figured that this was the corner hallway that turned down closer to the courtyard. To her left, she could see the fire still burning brightly, but spreading slower without the aid of more alcohol. To her front, she saw the next hallway. More traps? Come on! Sweetie thought. The new hallway was filled with various bear traps, randomly scattered down the hallway. Sweetie knew that one wrong step, and she could lose a leg. She had to be careful... she looked back as she heard the sound of the griffon, and her gang of statues enter the room. She knew she didn't exactly have the luxury to be slow and careful at this point. Sweetie saw a lock button on the knob of the door and pressed it. That would hold her pursuers for a couple minutes, if she was lucky. With that, Sweetie proceeded to move down the bear trapped hallway. Sweetie shined her light at the ground, making sure to step in between the bear traps, and not on the mechanisms that would activate them. Where the hay did she get these things anyway? Sweetie wondered, both fearful and slightly annoyed with the number of bear traps. Sweetie barely made it a few yards down the hallway before she started to hear Gilda trying to bust down the door. "You think this can hold me Dumb Belle? You don't know what kind of awesome you're dealing with here." Gilda said from behind the door. I don't have time for these traps! She's going to bust through that door any second now! Sweetie wasn't going to make it through the hallway in time. She had to find somewhere to hide. The closest door she saw was one with the little etching of a ghost on it. Sweetie moved past the bear traps guarding the door, and silently slipped inside. As she did, she heard Gilda and her statues finally break down the door. "Huh... that dweebish ghost Pinkie must have set these up... but where the heck did Dumb Belle go? Search every room! She couldn't have gotten far!" Gilda ordered her statues. Sweetie wasn't out of the heat yet. She still had to hide in the room. Sweetie desperately shined her light around the room, and saw a closet at the back. Sweetie moved back silently to the closet, and hid inside, closing the door to a crack. She then turned her light out, causing her to be once again surrounded in darkness. "Find her! Find her and kill her!" Gilda said. It was silent for a few minutes. Sweetie didn't hear anything outside, nor did she expect to. She could see them hovering above traps, rather than trying to traverse them like her to look for the filly. She only wished she could tell where the hay they- The door slammed open, making the filly jump and almost blowing her cover. She saw two yellow eyes in the darkness, and small flames flailing up briefly below the eyes. Sweetie assumed that it was the dragon. She held her breath, knowing the dragon's ear could probably pick up on her light breaths. It looked around the room, every move it made giving off the sound of stone against stone. It seemed to sense her presence, but couldn't decide where the filly was. Just when the filly was sure the stone dragon would float over to the closet, open it, and light her like a candle, it floated out. It left the door ajar which allowed Sweetie to hear what was going on outside in the hallway. She heard the light sound of wings flapping, and more stone. The minutes that crawled by as Sweetie stayed hidden in the closet felt like an eternity, but Sweetie wouldn't move until she was sure that she was safe. Finally, her freedom to leave came with the harsh sounding voice of the griffon. "Regroup you slackers!" Gilda called out to the statues. Sweetie heard as the clunky statues moved to where Gilda's voice was coming from. "She must have gotten farther down the hall than we thought... doesn't matter though. She isn't gonna get far without this." Sweetie then heard the sound of paper being ripped up. It had to have been her map... now how was she supposed to find the courtyard? Let alone anywhere else around the mansion. "Split up to the rest of the mansions. If you find her, catch her, or kill her. Don't mess this up." The statues flew off into several directions, followed by Gilda, who let out a screech before leaving the area. Then, it was silent again. Sweetie sighed... another close call. Sweetie came out of the closet and shined her flashlight around. It was yet another bedroom, with similar furniture and color patterns as the ones she'd been in previously... the only difference however, was that the already large bed was a little bit bigger than the king she saw in the other room. She wondered why... Sweetie's attention turned to a music box that sat on top of the wooden dresser. It depicted who Sweetie assumed to be Specter and Madame. They were close together on the stand of the music box, kissing. Specter wore a tuxedo, and Madame wore a white dress... was this some kind of wedding gift? At the base of the music box was a small note, hand written. To the lovely couple of Yields, Remember to go back to a time of happier days. Those memories will last you a lifetime... Sincerely, ----------------- The name's ink was smudged out. Sweetie wondered why? Out of curiosity of what the tune was, Sweetie decided to wind up the music box... but there was a problem. It wouldn't turn. No matter how hard Sweetie turned to the right, she couldn't seem to get the music box key to twist. "Come on, you dumb box..." Sweetie said. Then she had an idea... what if she turned it backwards? As Sweetie turned the key counter-clockwise, she heard the clicking inside of the music box winding. When it winded completely, she let go to listen to the tune. It didn't make any sense. The music box just seemed to be playing random notes that didn't sound good... but they also sounded a little warped... as if the music box were being played backwards. Once the tune stopped, the music box key shot out of the player, and hit Sweetie right between the eyes. "OW!" Sweetie yelped. She rubbed the spot where the key hit painfully, and looked down at the shiny metal music key. Should she pick it up? "...why not?" Sweetie figured as she picked up the key and placed into a pouch in her saddlebags. Since there wasn't anything left of interest in the room, she saw her only option was to head back out into the hallway to at least try and guess her way to the courtyard. As she was about to leave, she heard something. It was the music box... it was starting to play again, but this time, it was easier to see a tune inside of the notes played. Suddenly, Sweetie's environment seemed to go a shade lighter. It was disorienting, but Sweetie managed to keep her head. Sweetie turned around to see if anything else in the room had changed... and sure enough there were now two glowing ponies, mare and a stallion lying together in the bed. It didn't take long for Sweetie to realize that they were Specter and Madame... and Sweetie couldn't put her finger on it, but something about all of this seemed familiar. The mare and stallion opened their eyes, and got out of the bed. Rather than walking normally toward the filly, they started to walk backwards together, back into the hallway. Realizing they wouldn't answer the filly if she tried to get their attention, Sweetie followed them back into the hallway. When she came out, the bear traps were still there, but the rest of the hallway had changed completely. It was fully lit, and showed every detail of the new, well-kept mansion. The walls were tan, with a wooden baseboard. The candles illuminated the hall, making it much easier to see without her flashlight, which she put away. Sweetie knew better than to question the mansion anymore, and focused on getting around the bear traps to continue following the apparitions she was seeing. Thankfully, the two ponies kept together and moved extremely slowly, allowing Sweetie to follow while staying careful. The two seemed solely focused on each other, lost as they looked lovingly into each other's colored eyes, not really caring where they were going... or where they were coming from? Sweetie wondered... could they be moving backwards because they were rewinding like the music box? She finally made it past all of the bear traps and found them heading down a flight of stairs. Sweetie followed them, carefully taking each step, hoping not to set of anymore traps that Pinkie may have set on her route. Sweetie wondered why Pinkie would try to in the first place... she did want her alive, right? Then again, this was Pinkie... who knew what went on in her mind... or what she had in store for Sweetie at the courtyard. Sweetie made it down to the bottom of the staircase, which she counted to be the first floor. Where in hay were these love doves leading her? She continued to follow the two down a network of hallways Sweetie would have never been able to navigate herself... until finally she found herself in the theater lobby. At this point however, Sweetie felt a little numb in the brain from staring at the two for so long. It was like they'd caught the filly in some kind of hypnotic spell, as she felt compelled to follow the two all the way to their destination. Sweetie followed the Specter and Madame apparitions into the grand, beautiful theater, newer than she'd left it. On the stage was the stage set up of a tomb, along with some props scattered along the stage. Sweetie recognized it as the last scene from the play Redneck&Junebug, where the two lovers die in a horrible tragedy in order to keep their love... suddenly, Sweetie had a hunch of what was happening. She had seen this before... or rather, she'd read it before, in the journal. The music box must have triggered another apparition, like the one she experienced in the chest room. The mare and stallion sat down in their seats, and Madame put her head against Specter's chest, as they embraced in a hug. Madame then looked up awkwardly at Specter, and engaged him in a kiss. Light flashed in Sweetie's eyes, and she was suddenly surrounded in darkness... no, not just darkness, there was smoke. She didn't know it until now, but she was breathing in smoke. The filly coughed, as she bolted out of the theater to escape the dark cloud. Sweetie fell to the theater lobby floor, coughing and gasping for air. She lied there for a couple moments, until she was able to get herself back together and onto her hooves. She'd once again, almost killed herself. Huh... if that's what smoking's all about... no way I'm ever trying a cigarette... Sweetie thought, as she let out another coughing fit. She sniffed, as she took out her flashlight, turning it back on, and placing it back into her mouth. Ok... I guess that works... if this is the lobby, then the courtyard should be... that way. Sweetie headed for the door that lead to the dressing room, and would eventually lead over to the courtyard. It was almost time to face Pinkie Pie. *** Sweetie entered the dressing room, which seemed just a little darker than she'd left it. The door of the hallway was still open after she'd gone to locate the second GCD part. She was reminded of how the GCD made a fuss about the ectotube being out of place, but it had yet to do malfunction in anyway. Maybe she didn't have to worry about it... The puddle of water from the door she'd left open to the outside had let the hallway flood slightly. The flooding however, must have stopped a while ago, around the time the rain stopped. Still, the water remaining was enough to wash the filly's hooves, taking away the alcoholic liquid that saturated them. There was one thing that bothered the filly... the torches from outside. They weren't lit anymore, making the courtyard pitch black... even without the torches, something felt odd about this particular blackness. Sweetie went to the door to the courtyard. It was then she heard the dreaded giggle of Pinkie. "Pinkie?" Sweetie called out into the darkness. "Pinkie, is that you?" As a part of her expected, all she received in response was Pinkie's giggle. There was only one way the filly would find out. Sweetie got that bad gut feeling as she shined her flashlight out into the darkness... that if she went out there, chances were she wasn't going to come back. She still had no idea how she was going to catch Pinkie, but the only way she was going to figure it out... was to try. Sweetie pushed herself out into the darkness of the courtyard. Her hooves found themselves walking across damp grass... but the grass seemed to turn dry under the filly's feet... soon they started to crumble under her feet, and she was walking on dirt now. "What the hay..." Sweetie said to herself, right before her flashlight went out. Sweetie started to panic as she was trapped in the darkness. She couldn't see anything, and her flashlight seemed to be useless now. Sweetie wanted to run back for the dressing room, but the cold fear of the darkness kept her anchored to her spot. "Jumpie!" Pinkie chirped as she appeared, glowing in the darkness. "So glad you could come to play with us!" "U-us? What do you mean 'us'" Sweetie asked apprehensively. "Aw, c'mon Sweets. Wouldn't be too fun of a game if there were only two ponies." the voice Sweetie recognized to be Scootaloo. "Yeah Sweetie. Ya don't think ah'd miss out on this do ya?" The second voice... no doubt it was Applebloom. "Honestly, Sweetie. I really hope you didn't think that it would be just as easy as going in to catch Pinkie and being done." The third voice was Spike's. "W-what are you gonna do? Kill me?" Sweetie asked in the darkness. "Oh Sweetie. Spike's right. It isn't that simple. Games need rules. That's what makes them fun. Do you want to know the rules to this game?" Pinkie asked. "...what?" Sweetie asked. Not like I have a choice. "That's right Sweetie." Pinkie said. "Now, the rules are kind of like hide and seek." "Oh! Ah love this game!" Applebloom chirped. "Now now Ca- er... Applebloom. Stay focused." Spike told Applebloom. "Alri' Sp...ike." Applebloom responded. Sweetie noted how in her excitement, she nearly pronounced Spike's name wrong. "The first rule is simple." Pinkie explained "My friends here will count to 30, and come kill you. If you die... well, you lose. In that time, I'd hide if I were you, but of course you'll hide! That's the name of the game! I just wanted to remind you, know how you hate to follow directions." But Applejack going after me wasn't my fault. Sweetie thought. "Don't worry Jumpie. I hate following directions too, but I just suggest you follow them just this once. I'm not sure dying your way is nearly as fun as mine. The second rule..." Pinkie continued. "... is that you can't kill your friends." "Why would I do that! I'm not a killer!" Sweetie exclaimed. "Oh quiet you." Pinkie said. "Let me finish... you also can't seriously injure your friends either. I know you're at least not beyond that." Sweetie kept quiet. It was true, she'd head-butted Applebloom and managed to draw blood from Scootaloo's muzzle. She supposed that was what Pinkie was talking about. Something still felt ill in Sweetie, realizing she was capable of that. "Finally, the last rule is... me!" Pinkie said happily. "If you can catch me... the game is over, and you win! Doesn't that sound fun?" "Yeah, but good luck catchin' that mare Sweets. She's a wild one." Scootaloo added. "Are you ready Sweetie?" Pinkie asked. ".... let's just get this over with." Sweetie said. "Just... turn my light back on." "Oh. I'll do one better." Pinkie said happily. "Spike, if you please." A green fireball shot up into the air, and changed from its light green, to a devilish pink. It hit the sky with a bang, like a firework, illuminating the sky, and lighting up the area. Streaks of white went through the sky, like some wild wind storm in the sky... but that wasn't what horrified Sweetie the most. What scared the filly, was that the courtyard was gone... it had changed into a place with a bunch of game booths, rides, and other complexes. "What the hay... Pinkie what is this?!" Sweetie asked. The children started to count. One... two... three... Pinkie started to float up in the air. "Will Sweetie be able to catch the strongest ghost she's encountered so far?" "PINKIE!" Four... Five... Six... "Will she survive the rest of her stay in Yield Manor?" Seven... Eight... Nine... Ten... "Stay tuned... and find out next chapter of... Sweetie's Mansion..." Chapter 16- The Carnival in the CourtyardThis isn't real! It can't be real! Sweetie thought as her possessed friends counting got higher and higher. Just a few moments ago, she was in the courtyard of the mansion... now, she wasn't quite sure where she was anymore. The sky had changed from its dark cloudiness to a disorienting dark shade of pink, with ghostly white lines flying through it. Wind whirled in the air above her, howling madly like some kind of sick animal. It wasn't the sky that had changed that horrified Sweetie the most, but it was her new location. As she ran, she passed by a sign that said "Stabletown Carnival- Here till the end of Summer!". She wasn't in the mansion anymore. Hay, she wasn't even sure she was anywhere around Ponyville anymore. The only Stabletown she could think of was the one that she saw in the painting, and read about in the book. Why was Sweetie here? Why would Pinkie take her somewhere so far away from home? And most importantly, how was she supposed to get back? Sweetie had been to a carnival before and knew what they were like. A few booths here, a ride or two there... But no, this carnival was different. It wasn't a normal one, nor did it have the abandoned look of the mansion. Instead, as Sweetie ran by each booth, She noticed distinct signs of burn marks, as though they had been on fire at one point. The toys and prizes in each booth had aged significantly, showing signs of wear and tear over the years. Sweetie doubted she could use any of them, but for the moment, she didn't see them as being useful even if they were in good condition. Now, her main priority was to hide from her pursues. Only then could she stop and figure out her next plan of action, whatever it may be... Hiding spot. Gotta find a place to hide from those crazies. Sweetie thought panicked. She wasn't sure if criticizing their sanity helped her very much. For all the filly knew, she could be going crazy herself. There! Sweetie noticed an open booth, with a crate in front of it. She hopped up onto the crate and into the booth. She put her flank against the wall, as she heard a "Ready or Not! Here we come!" simultaneously from her friends, as they cackled in the general direction they saw the filly run. Sweetie held her breath as she heard them run past the booth. She swore one of them stopped in front of her booth, but some of her fear left when they continued on their way. They'll be back... Sweetie thought. Need a plan... need a plan... Sweetie looked up to find that she had hidden behind a "Ball Toss" stand. Above her were cups, though blackened with smoke, were neatly stacked, likely to be thrown at by the balls that were scattered on the ground. One ball in particular caught Sweetie's eye. It was a little red ball with the words "C.M.C" written on it. It was hers! She thought she'd lost it for good after she left the kennel in the mansion basement. What's this doing here... she wondered, she then remembered Pinkie. She was likely the person who threw her here, so she wouldn't be surprised if there weren't one or two things that were familiar to the filly... then she remembered something else. Pinkie's game. If you catch me, the game is over! And you win! Her next objective was to find Pinkie and catch her. It was her only chance to escape this weird world. The ghost book had already said that she couldn't catch her unless she wanted to be captured... but the question became how could she make the mare want to be captured? Or at least get her magic shield down long enough to get her with the GCD. Then Sweetie had a realization: Pinkie would know... Who would know better how to capture pink pony than the mare herself? If Sweetie could get a snap of her with the camera, she just might be able to formulate some plan with her friend to capture the ghost. It was definitely worth a shot. It wasn't as though she had any other option anyway... Sweetie took her ball and put it in her saddlebags, in case she might find some use for it later. It wouldn't be the first time the ball had gotten her out of a serious jam. Sweetie looked over the booth to make sure it was clear for her to leave. There was no sign of the fillies or the dragon who were trying to kill her. With that, she climbed over the booth and back out into the carnival. She cautiously started to move down the line of booths, in search of Pinkie Pie. As she walked, she noticed several things. One thing was the large Ferris wheel, not too far from her location. She remembered a time that she'd been to a Ponyville Carnival, with a similar ride. Prior to the airplane the CMC had worked on just earlier that day, the filly had never really gone that high. She remembered thinking that she was flying once her and Rarity reached the summit of the wheel. She remembered how Rarity stood by her, smiling at the small filly's amazement at the view from the top... but as Sweetie thought of it, something changed. In her head, as she remembered the ride, Rarity changed. Her face turned from a smile to a grin... a toothy sickening grin that made Sweetie shake her head. Then she started to laugh... similarly to the nightmare she'd had earlier that night. Without thought of caution, she screamed at the memory. It wasn't her memory, rather it was a memory changed... was this new world really messing with her mind like this? Could she not trust her own memories anymore? The thought horrified the filly, as the memories were the only thing that kept her going. If the real memory of Rarity was gone... then what would she have left to keep moving forward with? Sweetie looked up fearfully, realizing what she'd just done. She looked around her immediate area... no one was coming for her. Did no one hear her scream? Maybe it was quieter than I thought Sweetie hoped. She continued to walk, looking around at the rest of the booths to avoid another memory. At one, she noticed a shooting gallery, with ducks as the targets. A rifle stood loosely in its stand, as the bolts that held it were missing. The game was made for unicorns such as herself, given no pony could really use the triggers efficiently with their hooves. Magic was commonly used for guns like these in order to pull the triggers. Sweetie herself hadn't ever tried it, for two main reasons. The first was the simple fact she couldn't manage to hold the thing, given her weakness in magic. The second was the prospect of shooting ducks, even if they weren't alive, seemed horrible to the filly. Sweetie thought of attempting to take the rifle with her, but decided against it. It wasn't like she was going to use it against her friends, right? It was just another burden Sweetie didn't need to carry... Sweetie continued to walk, hearing her hoof steps crunch in the dirt she was walking on. She was starting to get paranoid, as though there were other hoof steps besides her own... at first she assumed it was simply the echo of her own steps. Though she knew how unlikely this was, she knew it would be worse if she stopped, or broke into a run, alerting her friends to her location. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched... Sweetie found herself around the area of the Ferris wheel. She looked at the empty cart, in which she figured was made for an adult mare. She even saw the "you must be this tall to ride this ride" which was at least three times higher than the filly's normal height. Sweetie went to examine the ride... but suddenly, she was kicked from behind, forcing her into the cart. "Wow, you suck at this game." Scootaloo said, joining the filly in the cart. The door shut to the cart as carnival music began to play over the loud speakers. Sweetie was trapped on the ride with Scootaloo, as the cart began to slowly make its ascent on the wheel. "You were supposed to hide... ah well, guess that now that we found you, you lose huh?" Scootaloo had kicked Sweetie pretty hard in the flank. It took her a moment to get back up and face the filly. She was cornered by the filly, and probably wouldn't have an exit until the wheel descended again... if it did. In the meanwhile, Sweetie would have to survive Scootaloo. Sweetie gave her best battle stance, according to what Rainbow had shown her. Though Sweetie didn't mimic Rainbow's example very well in the safe zone, she found herself a little more solid this time. It was as though she knew what she was doing. In either case, Scootaloo laughed. "So you think you’re gonna fight me huh?" Scootaloo asked. "Now that's more like it. Come on!" Scootaloo came at the filly fast, and Sweetie proceeded to block, as Rainbow had demonstrated. She gave three good hooves to Sweetie as she blocked them, keeping her hooves in front of her face as she balanced on her hind legs and flank. The filly was strong, and Sweetie felt with each blow Scootaloo gave to her legs, the filly received unbearable pain. Sweetie felt as though if she didn't do something soon, Sweetie's leg wouldn't be able to take it, and probably break. Then, her head would be defenseless. Sweetie had to do something. She had to fight back without seriously hurting Scootaloo. Sweetie saw an opening during Scootaloo's fourth punch. It was now, Sweetie decided to take her chance. As Rainbow had shown her, Sweetie gave a quick light rounded jab to Scootaloo's side. The filly, although it wasn't a strong hit, it was enough to throw the filly off balance for a couple seconds, allowing Sweetie to push Scootaloo away to the other side of the metal 5 by 3 cart. For the few moments, the sound of hoof against bone had stopped, and the only sounds that filled the air were the sounds of the creaking wheel as it took the fillies higher and higher. It was another few seconds before Scootaloo said anything else. Scootaloo laughed. "Didn't know you could fight Sweets! I like that!" "There's a lot of things you don't know about me ghost." Sweetie said, trying to sound as brave as possible. "Doesn't matter. You still look stupid anyway." "I look wha-" Sweetie said before Scootaloo charged at her again. This time, Sweetie didn't have the reaction time to dodge. Instead, Scootaloo got Sweetie's head and banged it against the back of the cart. The sound of metal rung in Sweetie's head as she felt a lump forming on the back of it. Sweetie moaned in pain, but didn't waste time as she saw another hoof coming for her face. An instinct in Sweetie got her to push the hoof up, parrying the hoof. Sweetie thought quickly, seeing an opening in Scootaloo's chest, and gave another quick light jab in the area. Like before, it wasn't enough to hurt Scootaloo visibly, but it was still enough to give the filly a good sting. Scootaloo staggered back, to the opposite side of the cart. She laughed insanely at Sweetie, and charged for Sweetie. This time, she head-butted her against Sweetie's side of the cart. Sweetie couldn't have dreamed of blocking or parrying this attach, as she was thrown against her wall of the cart. Scootaloo then grabbed Sweetie by the upper-body, and slammed her down onto the cart floor. Sweetie faced her as she got on top of the filly. Scootaloo, faster than Sweetie could react, was pounded twice in the face. She could feel blood starting to seep from her nose again, and her body losing its grip on consciousness. Scootaloo could see it in her misty green eyes. She grinned. "You’re finished Sweets." Scootaloo said. Scootaloo brought her hoof down on Sweetie, but she caught it before it could reach her face. "Come on! Don't you give up?" "You... you’re not Scootaloo." Sweetie grunted as she kept the orange filly's hoof from reaching her face. "Because if you were Scootaloo, you'd know... that a crusader... doesn't-give-UP!" Sweetie wasn't sure where she found the strength to do so, but she threw the filly off of her, and back over to her own side of the cart. Sweetie got up, as her legs shook from the beating she'd received... and probably would continue receiving if she didn't get away from the crazy filly. Sweetie wasn't sure how she was going to do it, but she had to get off the Ferris wheel... but the only question was, how? Sweetie figured by now that they were at the climax of the ride... and even worse, it was now standing still, as though it had shut down. If the filly tried to jump from this height, she would most definitely not get back up... but there had to be a way down. There just had to be... Out of the corner of Sweetie's eye, she noticed something. Something white and triangular flying through the air... was it the CMC paper airplane?! What the hay is THAT doing here?! Sweetie understood less than she did before. It didn't make sense... but could she still use it? The way it was flying told her that it would fly a couple feet away from the cart she was on... she wasn't sure how she'd come up with the calculation by eye-balling the plane, but she figured that she had just enough of a jump arch to possibly land on it as it flew by. It was her best shot now... it wasn't as though she was going to survive any longer with Scootaloo. Scootaloo gave another insane burst of laughter as she charged for Sweetie again. Sweetie repeated the same plan she'd executed back in the basement when she fought Applebloom. She timed it just right, and jumped on Scootaloo's head, onto the railing that kept any ponies from falling out on the ride, and into the air. At first, she didn't think she was going to make it, as the plane looked farther away as she jumped... but during her jump, the strange thing was she felt as though she was floating. That little boost she received gave her enough of a stretch to land on the paper airplane. She grabbed the middle rope in order to keep herself from tumbling off. Once she felt she had a good hold on the rope, she looked back at Scootaloo, who simply stared at her. Her grin had disappeared due to the loss of her pray. As Sweetie flew further and further away, she finally sighed. She was safe- A gunshot rang through the air as Sweetie was starting to calm down. "What the-" A second gunshot rang through the air, this time, it whizzed past the CMC paper airplane. Sweetie carefully looked over the side of the plane, just enough to keep herself from tilting it, and causing it to fall. When she looked down onto the booths and booths of games below, She could see Spike and Applebloom, sitting there... but Spike wasn't just sitting. Instead, in his claws, he held the rifle Sweetie had neglected to take with her. Spike's hand-like claws allowed his fingers to slip behind the trigger of the rifle with ease, and aim it without the use of magic. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!" Sweetie said angrily. Another shot was fired, this time, it barely missed Sweetie, but created a fairly large hole in the plane. The shot hit just to the right of Sweetie, causing the new vent of air to force the plane to its side. As it fell to its side, it started to fall, at first gradually, but then her speed increased to the point she was almost falling. Sweetie was helpless this time to pull herself up. All she could do was hope that she survived the crash. Finally, she fell into a group of booths that surrounded a long line of picnic tables. The crash yanked the filly off of the plane, and caused her to tumble over onto the tables, and into a group of pies that were set up. It was as though some pony was setting up for some kind of pie eating contest. Thankfully, the pies and other foods set up cushioned her fall, as her face was filled with blueberry filling on the impact. Sweetie got her face out of the pie, which was thankfully not spoiled, but rather delicious and refreshing to have in her stomach. As she licked her face, she realized how hungry she was... she didn't have dinner that night, after all. It took a certain will-power to resist staying on the tables to eat the pies, though slightly burned, still just as good to eat. This is no time for eating. Sweetie convinced herself. Got to keep moving to find Pink- Sweetie then heard the giggle of the devil she'd just spoke of. Pinkie materialized in front of Sweetie, giggling. "You should see your face Jumpie!" Pinkie giggled at the filly's blueberry covered face. "You’re gonna make me start calling you 'Blue Belle'!" Now's my chance! Sweetie realized. "Now's your chance for what?" Pinkie asked. She must not have known about the plan Sweetie had planned for her. "Plan? Ooooh! What kind of plan Jumpie?!" Pinkie said happily, reading the story with anticipation. Sweetie reached into her bag and snatched out her camera. Pinkie frowned at the filly, realizing what her so-called "plan was". "Ooooh! I get it! No, not now Sweetie. What? I'm not good enough for you, so you need a second Pinkie?" Sweetie aimed her camera at Pinkie, who flew at the filly. Sweetie was barely able to hit the camera button as the mare snatched it from her hooves. "Hey!" Sweetie yelled. "Stop stealing stuff from me!" Pinkie simply giggled, as she chucked the camera as far as she could away from the filly. First her map, and now her camera was gone too. Still though, she hit the camera button before it was taken from her. Did she still get the shot? Sweetie didn't hear the bubbly mare's voice in her head, which caused her heart to sink. If she didn't get the shot, then how was she supposed to catch her now? "Gotta fly Sweetie." Pinkie said, floating over past the booths. "See you soon. Don't die too fast for me. Okay?" Sweetie didn't waste any time to giving chase to the ghost mare, who so nonchalantly flew from her. As Sweetie went around the corner that led out of the circle of booths to follow her, she is driven back by a shot from Spike's rifle. Sweetie doesn't wait to check out where the shot came from, as she retreated back to the pie eating area. Ok... Spike's somewhere with a gun, got me cornered and probably headed this way... great. Sweetie thought. She had to figure out an alternate route out of the eating area without completely losing Pinkie. Maybe she didn't get the shot, but she still couldn't give up on trying to catch her. As Sweetie turned around to check for another exit, she was shocked. Now, the pie eating area was filled with transparent ponies. The place was no longer burnt, but rather new looking, with every design of the booths showing vibrant shades of red and blue, along with other miscellaneous colors. The sky's creepy pink was replaced by a pleasing light blue. "What the..." Sweetie said to herself. Was she having another one of the flashes she'd experienced in the mansion? If so, did that mean... Sweetie headed into the crowd of ponies. Just like the last two times, they paid the filly no mind, as though she didn't exist. She could even pass through one of them, and they wouldn't notice. The filly passed through several ponies before she found herself at the front. Now, the previously empty line of picnic tables were filled with fillies and colts, their heads buried in pies. The plane had disappeared and the pies were back in their previous places prior to Sweetie's crash. Sweetie scanned the ponies eating their pies, and recognized one yellow ghost from her first vision: Marbles. On the side of the crowd opposite of Sweetie, she saw Specter, Madame and Candy sitting, watching their son/brother gorge himself on the blueberry pies. Sweetie noticed how Candy cringed at the sight... she wondered why and decided to get closer to the ponies. She sat in front of the family, who like every other pony, didn't even acknowledge her existence. "I swear. That colt has a bottomless stomach I tell you." Madame said to Specter. "He must get it from his mother." Specter commented. "I don't eat like that!" Madame argued. Specter chuckled. "Tell that to Spiffy who ended up making you 6 plates of food the other day." "Oh hush you. I didn't get the chance to eat the whole day with all of the ponies requesting help now a days. I swear, I've never heard of so much property damage in so long." Madame said. "I wonder what's causing it." Sweetie noticed Specter flinch at the words. Property damage... Was he somehow responsible for that? "Yes... it is strange... Candy, are you ok?" Specter said, changing the subject. "Y-yeah daddy. I'm... I just don't get how ponies can put their heads in stuff like that." Candy said. "The pies?" Madame asked. Candy nodded. "I'd just hate for my mane to get covered in that hot gooey stuff. It makes my spine feel all funny." The two parents looked at each other, and Sweetie had a good idea of why. Was that the filly's fear? What was more was if she was engaged with that fear, would she react the same way as Candy? Through exchanged looks, they came to a decision. "Candy, would you like to go somewhere else? You seem on edge." Madame asked. Candy nodded shakily. It seemed the more and more she watched the manes of the colts and fillies get smothered in the blue filling, the more nervous she got. "How about the mirror maze? Does that sound fun?" Madame asked. Candy responded again with a nod, this time taking her eyes off of her horror, and putting them on her mother. "Okay mommy." Candy said. Madame turned to Specter. "Will you two be fine meeting us there when this is done?" Madame asked. "That sounds fine." Specter said. With that, Madame and Candy went past the crowd of ponies and around a corner of booths. As they escaped Sweetie's sight, the pie eating area turned back to its original burnt state, and the ponies of the pie eating area disappeared. Sweetie was alone again... or so she thought. A bullet whizzed by Sweetie's ear, which forced Sweetie into a run. It didn't take much to figure out Spike was right behind her. She heard Spike laugh manically as she ran around the corner, following her vision of the Yield's example. Once there, she put her flank against one of the booths, breathing panicked. She did her best to calm her mind down, and figure out her next plan of action. Ok... they were headed to the hall of mirrors? Maybe I should too... Sweetie figured. The last time she followed one of the apparitions, she was pointed in the right direction. Hopefully that was the same case here, and not Pinkie leading her into another trap. Sweetie popped her head out of the corner, and took it back as she was shot at again. Spike was coming for her, only encouraging her immediate action. Sweetie moved in the opposite direction of Spike, heading down the line of game and food booths. She looked back, moving faster and faster, as she felt in her gut Spike getting closer and closer to the corner. Once he made the turn, Sweetie knew she wouldn't have a chance... especially if he decided to use his fire-breath again. They may have been slower than the bullets of the gun, but its wide range wouldn't be in Sweetie's favor in the narrow line of booths she ran through. Finally, Sweetie found the opening to the booth line. It opened up to a rounded area. Judging by its size and the statue of a clown pony, she figured that she was at the center of the carnival. The odd thing was though, that she never really imagined a clown to be in a carnival... but then again, the way it was designed reminded the filly of the Ponyville mayor, and her costume on Nightmare Night. It wasn't too outlandish to think that the carnival was something based off of the real Stabletown carnival and Pinkie's own memories. "There ya are!" Sweetie looked to her left to see Applebloom, her knife sticking out of the right side of her muzzle, allowing her to talk. "Hold up! I got here first!" Sweetie looked to her left to see Scootaloo, approaching her. "Oh, will you two quit arguing." Spike came from behind, aiming his gun at Sweetie. From all three sides, Sweetie was surrounded. Oh no... Sweetie thought, as the three came closer and closer to her. "Can't you keep your sibling rivalry buried for just a few seconds?" Sibling rivalry? What is he- Sweetie thought. Something then clicked in the filly's head. Something she should have realized a while ago... It made sense: the mistake of name, the way Scootaloo slipped the word "daddy" out of her mouth back in the crypt... "Bu' Spike, ah got 'ere first! Let me kill 'er! It's only fair." Applebloom argued. "Specter told me to do it! I should get to!" Scootaloo argued back. It was a little disorienting to Sweetie to listen to her friends argue over who got the chance to kill her. As Spike tried to calm the fillies down, Sweetie formulated an escape plan. It was risky, but if her theory was right, it was worth a shot. "Hey Marbles!" Sweetie called to Scootaloo, pointing to . "Check out that mouse over there!" "Huh?" Scootaloo said turning around fearfully in the direction Sweetie pointed. Now was Sweetie's chance. She bolted towards Scootaloo, and pushed her to the sides to the new path of booths. "No!" Spike said, shooting at Sweetie as she ran. His bullets nearly hit the filly's head, but she ducked at every shot she expected. One of the bullets whizzed through her hat and through her mane, nearly cutting through her skull. Scootaloo and Applebloom were ready to give chase to the filly, but Spike held his had up to stop them from pursuit. Despite the fact the filly was escaping, he grinned as he saw what she was running past. As she ran through the next line of booths, which would ultimately take her out of the concession area, he saw a barbecue stand... and behind it, from Spike's angle, three propane tanks. Spike, or rather, the ghost possessing Spike, was around long enough to know what happened when the heat and speed of a bullet pierced gas. Using the remaining piece of ammo in his rifle, he shot one sole propane tank with the accuracy of a hunter. The bullet immediately ignited the gas in the tank, creating a one-second chain explosion right next to Sweetie, who had no chance in dodging. Sweetie screamed over the explosion as it threw her to the side like a rag doll, and out of the sight of her pursuers. Spike put the rifle down to his side, to look at the wall of fire they created. Spike's smile faded after a few moments of admiration. Spike rubbed his neck before turning around, and walking away. "Come on you two." Spike said, heading to the opposite path of booths. "Wha'" Applebloom asked. "Bu' Spi', don't ya think we should check ta see if she ain't dead yet." "No... we have our instructions." Spike said. "But I wanted to fight her again. I want a rematch! That wasn't fair!" Scootaloo argued. "Listen to me you two... if Sweetie is still alive, that's a good thing. The longer she has to mess with her." Spike said. "You've enjoyed playing with that mare so far... imagine what she'll do once she loses her playmate? She'll get bored and come after us. The goal of all of this isn't to kill her as fast as possible. It's to keep her here as long as possible." "Sounds boring if you ask me." Scootaloo said. Spike chuckled. "From what I've seen in that mare, ghost or otherwise, it's never going to get boring. Come on. Let's leave the filly to her next little trial." With that, he cackled as he walked away. The two fillies followed his example and laughed as well... Sweetie moaned in pain on the other side of the flames. She muttered one single word. "...why?" she moaned painfully. "As if I wasn't in enough pain..." Sweetie got back up on her hooves and looked behind her. Her friends were gone... it wasn't particularly comforting to the filly to know that they could be anywhere, but at least they weren't here. In either case, with the wall of flames, the only direction Sweetie could go, was forward. In the meanwhile, she'd learned something. The fears of the ghosts inside of her friends. They were still evident... Can I use that? *** Sweetie had walked down the line of booths generally uninterrupted. She only stopped to look in a booth or two to see if there was anything she could use. Like the rest of the carnival though, there was nothing new enough for the filly. Despite this, there were different games along her path that still looked functional. Namely, a "Test Your Strength" bell, a game labeled "Filly Filling Ponies" and a slingshot game. Sweetie attempted to avoid the three mini-games, and remain focused on reaching the hall of mirrors... though with the lack of impending danger, and the overall boredom of the filly, she couldn't help but get a little side-tracked. Well.... I guess one game wouldn't hurt. Sweetie figured. She'd been spending the entire night capturing ghosts. She thought it would be good for her head to get in some leisure time. Out of curiosity, Sweetie went over to the Belly Filler Pony Game. Sweetie hopped up on the stool in front of the booth. In front of her was a little handle that was connected to a nozzle, similarly shaped like her own GCD. On top of the handle was a button. As she took a hold of the handle, the world around the filly changed back into the new version of the carnival. Sweetie noticed that there was a small crowd of ponies gathered behind her, likely parents of the two colts and filly that sat by her now. The one filly she noticed was Candy. She must have gotten as side tracked as Sweetie on her way to the "Alright you four. You know the name of the game." the pony behind the booth said. "Aim your squirters at the mouths of the ponies here." The pony motioned his hoof over to the figurines of ponies with their mouths agape. Inside of each mouth could be seen a little red mark, made for something to hit it, and inflate the pony. "The one who pops the belly of their little pony first wins! Who's it gonna be?" "Me!" Said one of the colts. "It's gonna be a cinch beating a blank flank like her." Sweetie's attention was briefly brought to Candy's flank. Like herself, her flank was bare, not displaying any cutie mark to speak of. Now that she thought of it, she didn't remember seeing a cutie mark on Marble's plot either. She felt for her, and immediately saw the sign of depression on the filly's face. That look, however, turned quickly from sadness to cockiness and determination. It was something that reminded her a little of her own friends. "You’re gonna eat those words." Candy shot back. "On your mark..." The pony started, bringing Sweetie's attention back to the game at hoof. "Get set... SQUIRT!" Sweetie hit the button, causing a stream of some purple gooey substance to spray from her nozzle. She initially missed the mouth of her pony, driving her back in the race. She quickly re-adjusted her aim, and hit the pony's mouth dead on causing it to fill up. The handle shook, trying to make her lose her aim again. Sweetie kept her aim steady, fueled with the unexplainable determination to beat the colts who'd insulted Candy. The colts however, slipped on their aim, and let the goo go onto the side of the mouth, causing them to be driven back in the race. Candy, unlike either of her opponents, had a very good aim, and didn't let a single drop escape her filly's mouth. It was but a few minutes before a bell went off. "We've got ourselves a winner!" the pony behind the booth said. Candy stuck her tongue out at the colts in victory. The colt closest to Sweetie just looked down, sour in defeat... however, the other colt wouldn't take it. He turned the nozzle over, so it was aiming at Candy, and shot the goo at her. "AH!" Candy screamed as the goo got all over her. The sticky gooey substance covered her, even her main. "G-get it off! GET IT OFF!" The colt didn't foresee this as Candy's reaction, as he and the other colt got down from his stool and backed away from the filly. Madame tried to approach the filly, but before she could, she bolted away in the direction Sweetie was originally headed. Madame gave chase to the filly, remembering what happened the last time her children had been consumed in their fear. As the vision ended, the ponies once again, disappeared, and Sweetie was brought back to the reality of the carnival. Sweetie wondered what had become of the filly, and where she would go now... but the good news was that she was headed in the right direction. If Madame and Candy were still headed to the hall of mirrors, she had to be going in the right direction. Sweetie resisted any lingering urge to check out the other game booths, and went on her way. It wasn't but a few more minutes before Sweetie came to a dead end... or rather, the end of the booth line. In front of her, was a double door. The door said: Mirror Maze- Enter At Your Own Risk. At the side of it, written in pink ectoplasm, were the words This means you Jumpie :D Sweetie gulped. The fear that had been numbed by her constant running prior was returning. She didn't have her camera anymore. Her map was destroyed, leaving her navigation to her own instinct. Worst of all, she still had no clue now to beat Pinkie... she would try, but something in her gut told her without help, she would most definitely fail. Sweetie reached for the door- Sweeeeetie Beeeellleee! Sweetie jumped at the sound of the new voice. It was Pinkie's. "Pinkie?! What do you want now?" Sweetie looked around for the mare, expecting her to pop up anywhere to scare her. Huh? What'd I do? Pinkie giggled. I'm just trying to have a little fun is all. Sorry if I scared you. I guess that act's getting a little stale huh? "Like hay you are..." Something clicked in Sweetie's head. "Wait... say that again." Say that again. "No, I mean... say what you first said. My name." Sweeeeeeetie Beeeellleee? You mean like that? Pinkie asked. "You... you called me Sweetie. Not Jumpie... Sweetie." Sweetie said. Yeah, I kind of wish I'd come up with that, but it sounded kind of mean..." Pinkie said. "I like a good joke once and a while, but I hate making fun of other ponies when their scared. "You’re... you’re the real Pinkie aren't you?" The one and only! Pinkie said happily. I guess the camera thing did work! Sweetie said. The filly figured that since she could communicate with her, there was no point in talking to herself. Why didn't you say anything when I first got you? Sorry Sweetie. I screamed super loud for you, but you didn't hear me. Pinkie said sadly. But hey! We can talk now, right? Are you in the mirror maze? Sweetie asked. Yeah, but let me tell you, it's like a maze down here. Pinkie said. That's what it's called. Sweetie commented. Oh yeah. It is supposed to be a maze isn't it? Pinkie said. Even though Sweetie couldn't see the mare, she could feel her warm smile in her head. Can Pinkie hear you? Sweetie asked. Which Pinkie? Pinkie asked. Which one do you think? Sweetie asked. Well... I can hear you, but I don't think the other one can hear us. She can hear me, but I don't think she's paying attention. She's busy working on a couple things. What? Sweetie asked. I can't tell you. It's a surprise. Pinkie said. You're not serious, are you? Sweetie asked angrily. Sorry Sweetie... but she forced me to Pinkie Swear! It's named after me, I can't break that. Pinkie said. Would you break a Sweetie Belle Promise? I don't think so. But she's going to try and KILL ME! Sweetie argued. Yeah... but I'm sure you'll be able to take care of it. Plus, you'll have me to cheer you on! Pinkie chirped happily. Sweetie Belle was beginning to get another headache, this time out of annoyance. She used the tip of her GCD nozzle as a make-shift ice-pack. She took a deep breath... at least she had the mare's support. Well... do you have anything that you could tell me that's remotely useful? Sweetie asked. Well, if how to capture me counts, then yeah! Pinkie said happily. How? Fight fire with fire. What? Sweetie asked. She's been scaring you all night, right? Why not return the favor? Scare her? Yeah! I always love a good scare. If you do that, maybe I could convince myself to let down my guard for you to have at me! Pinkie said. But what about your Pinkie sense? I can't even touch you with that. Sweetie said. Hm... good point... but her Pinkie sense works differently from mine. Sure she can expect stuff, but only by breaking the fourth wall. The what? Maybe I could distract her from the story, long enough for you to give her a good BOO! I have no clue what the hay you’re talking about Pinkie... but if it's a plan, I'm good for it. Happy to hear Sweetie. Just get through the maze, and you'll find her. M'kay? Good luck Sweetie! I'm here for you all the way. Sweetie smiled. It was refreshing to have a companion that would be with her in her battle to capture Pinkie... but something told the filly that her presence wouldn't make things any easier... Sweetie opened up the door to the mirror maze, and walked inside. As she entered, the doors behind her slammed shut, encasing her in darkness. Great. Now what? Why not use you hoofty doofty note- I mean flashlight? Pinkie asked. But it's not working. Sweetie said. Have you checked? Pinkie asked. ... Sweetie went into her saddlebags to take out her flashlight. She found it was switched off. Um... Pinkie... she didn't- Just switch it off? Yeah... Pinkie said. Sweetie sighed. She turned it on and shined it around. She looked behind her to find that her exit was gone, replaced by mirrors... but this wasn't what scared the filly. Sweetie walked closer to the mirror her flashlight was bouncing off of. Something wrong Sweetie? Pinkie asked. Sweetie couldn't think as she looked herself in the mirror. For what she saw wasn't the white filly she knew... but a freak. You look stupid anyways Sweetie remembered Scootaloo saying. At first, she'd just assumed it to be another insult... but it was true. She did look kind of stupid. For on her coat... were cutie marks. Not one, not two, not three... but four extremely familiar cutie marks. On the left side of her flank, there was Applejack's cutie mark of three apples. On her right hind leg was Rainbow's cutie mark of the rainbow bolt. On her left eye was what she recognized to be Fluttershy's cutie mark of three butterflies. Finally, right below her own horn, was Twilight's star cutie mark. "No way... their cutie marks... how... why...?" Sweetie thought. Twilight was right. Her friends' cutie marks didn't just disappear... they were attached to her. Sweetie... where and how did you get those? I... I don't know. Sweetie mind was brought back to the Cutie Pox incident, where Applebloom was given random cutie marks and took up their talents. Well... can you use 'em? Pinkie asked. Maybe... but I'm not really sure how... Sweetie responded. Sweetie took a deep breath. Another mystery... she wasn't sure what she was doing with these marks, or what their purpose was... but it didn't change the fact she had to keep moving. In either case, she still had to keep moving... though the question kept coming back, no matter how hard she tried... What in the hay was she doing with these cutie marks? *** Sweetie wandered through the mirror maze. her light bounced around the twists and turns disorienting... Sweetie wasn't sure how long she was wandering around... but she was sure that she'd have gone crazy if it weren't for Pinkie's company. The fact she still had a friend on her side was comforting, even if she wasn't able to help her completely. It almost helped her forget the impending doom that she was headed toward. And that's where foals come from! Pinkie chirped happily. I... I didn't need to know that. Sweetie said shakily. Oh come on! As Twilight always said, knowledge is power! Pinkie said. That's not knowledge, that's just weird. Sweetie said. No it's not, you silly filly! It's natural! You'll do it someday. Sweetie shuddered. Celestia, I hope not. Pinkie giggled in response. I could see you and Spike being a cute couple. No. Just like everyone knows Spike has a crush on Rarity, everyone who really knows Applebloom knows she's got a small crush on Spike. Not me. Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I just thought since you're Rarity's sister and all- No. Sweetie said flatly. Maybe some pony will make more ships you two someday. What are you talking about ships for? Rainbow was right... you are rand- Wait! Pinkie said. Sweetie stopped. What? Sweetie asked. I... I remember this part. Just... just keep going forward. The exit is just down that way on the first left you can find. Pinkie said. Pinkie... what's down there? Sweetie asked, shining her light down the maze. Uh... I... I got to go. Pinkie? Sweetie asked. She didn't want the mare to leave. She didn't want to be alone again. You'll do fine. Just remember to give her a good scare when you hear me again... got it? Especially when I start talking a lot. Hopefully, it'll be harder to read what you'll do next. Also keep whatever you do short and sweet... say, something that could be said in a sentence or so. Don't let it reach farther than one line, ok? Stay brave and safe for me ok? Sweetie nodded, barely understanding what the mare meant. There was silence for a few moments. "...Pinkie?" Sweetie whispered. There was no answer... the mare was gone, and Sweetie was alone again. "Alright Sweetie. Remember what Pinkie said. Stay brave. Stay safe." Sweetie took a deep breath and kept walking. She wanted to get out of the mirrored maze as fast as possible. She didn't have a good track record with too many mirrors in one place that night. Jumpie... dear, is that you? It was Pinkie again... but Sweetie knew very well this wasn't the real Pinkie. She spoke in a different voice. Sweetie figured she was trying to mimic Rarity's. "No point in trying it Pinkie. I know it's you." Sweetie called back to the voice down the way, not stopping for it. "What are you talking about dear? It's me." Pinkie said back... then Sweetie saw something, lying along her way. A pony with a white coat and purple mane. It didn't glow or move... it was Rarity's body. What the hay... Sweetie thought as she approached the body. There was a chill down her spine... there were ghosts around her... but the question became where? "Sweetie dear... what are you doing here? Why don't you just play by the rules like Pinkie asked so kindly?" Sweetie stood over the corpse of her sister. Her cutie mark was grayed out, as Sweetie expected, proving she was dead. Sweetie had learned back in Cherielee's class that discolor of the cutie mark usually showed signs of death or dying for a pony. Sweetie touched the body of her sister. It was cold... ice cold. The body's eyes opened up wide, showing a glowing green. Rarity's corpse grabbed Sweetie and wrapped its fore legs around her. Sweetie screamed as the ghost inside of Rarity laughed. Sweetie's flashlight dropped out of her muzzle and faced where she was coming from. Sweetie squirmed to escape the corpse's grasp. "Oh, hush now dear. It's fine. Relax... its fine... relax." Sweetie screamed. "Quit yer squirmin filly." came the voice of Applebloom from down the hall. "Jus' let it happen already." Sweetie saw the shadow of Applebloom as she approached. Her shadow was joined by Scootaloo's and Spikes. Sweetie squirmed as hard as she could. She thought... did she still have anything in her GCD to help her? There weren't any ghosts, so the Spectral Throwback wouldn't work... but maybe she could use the Elemental Capture... did she possibly have any bit of water in her GCD to use it? Sweetie managed to free one of her fore arm, and get her GCD nozzle. She switched it to Elemental Capture and pointed it behind her at Rarity's head. Something in Sweetie didn't want to have to do this to her sister, even if it was just her corpse. Even if she still had a chance to bring her sister back... it still didn't feel right doing anything to her body. Sweetie shook off the feeling and hit the nozzle button. She moved her head to the side, narrowly dodging the mist of freezing cold. Rarity's head was frozen within seconds, and Sweetie's right ear, was freezing cold. None the less, it was enough for Rarity's corpse to let go of her, and fall down to the ground. Once it hit, Rarity's head was shattered into pieces. Though there was no blood, the sight was extremely disturbing to the filly... Sweetie quickly got over the fallen corpse that was once her sister, and grabbed her flashlight. She bolted in the opposite direction of her pursuers, who laughed as she ran. Left! Left! Where the hay is that left! Sweetie panicked Sweetie checked each panel, hoping to find some kind of opening... finally she found it! There was one mirror missing from the wall to her left that turned into another pathway. This pathway, Sweetie could see light coming from a small opening. It looked like the window to another door. Sweetie ran as fast as she could, as she heard the hoofsteps of her friends close behind her. As she hit the door with her shoulder, she burst through onto the ground outside, as the doors once again closed behind her. She panted for breath as she lie outside. The wind and pink sky indicated she was back outside again. Strangely enough, being outside deactivated her light again. From what she could tell, she was in an entirely different part of the carnival. The only thing out here... was a rounded building. It looked as though it was meant so the ponies outside could see inside, however, it was blanketed with a large white sheet. The sheet reminded the filly of the mansion's abandoned look... did that mean she was getting close to escaping? Knowing Pinkie though, it wasn't going to be that easy. Sweetie figured it was her only lead, so she approached the building. Upon closer examination, in front of the sheet, she saw the name of the building on a sign, which said: Merry-Go-Round. Sweetie had heard of these types of rides, and how they were banned from amusement parks across Equestria. After all, it was basically a pony with a rod stuck through it. "What kind of weirdoes would want to ride something like this?" Sweetie said. She looked around as though some pony might have heard that... maybe it was just her own paranoia acting up again. Sweetie took a deep breath as she lifted the sheet to go under and into the ride. As she'd expected, it was dark inside. Sweetie was about to re-activate her flashlight, but she stopped as she heard something... it was a voice. No doubt about it, it was Pinkie... and Pinkie. She could vaguely hear them talking in the distance and figured neither of them had detected her yet. Sweetie remembered what Pinkie had told her. She had to keep her movements short as a sentence, whatever that meant, sneak up on Pinkie and give her some kind of scare... if that was even possible to do with the mare. Sweetie figured she could use the volume of their voices to figure out their location. There was no room for error here... she couldn't get caught. Sweetie took a deep breath before blindly walking up stairs in the darkness, and onto the Merry-Go-Round. The Pinkies giggled. "And then Specter was like 'Oh, kill this filly. Nueh nyeh nyeh nyeh' and I was like, are you CRAZY? I'm not gonna pass up an opportunity to mess with her now you know?" Sweetie took a few steps, trying to keep them short, sweet and especially quiet. I know! Some ponies just have to loosen up a bit The real Pinkie chirped back. Like back at the bakery, Mr. Cake was always "This amount of sugar this" or Mrs. Cake was like "This amount of flour that" Sweetie took a few more steps, nearly losing her balance at one point. Have you ever thought about throwing some kind of ghostie party? I'm sure Specter would love that! Pinkie suggested. "I did! But he said only when the Elements were 'erased' whatever that meant." the ghost Pinkie responded back. "He said his life depended on it." Sweetie found herself hearing the voices getting softer, so she stopped. Why is your boss such a serious silly? the real Pinkie said back. He really needs to learn how to have some fun! He needs a party Sweetie turned around and headed in her new direction, hoping she was going the right way again. "You don't think I don't know? I've gotta hear him all night complain about this and that and don't do this and don't do that... it gets kind of annoying... maybe once this is all over, I'll really give him a party he won't forget" Pinkie said, with a certain sinister tone to her voice. The voices were as loud as Sweetie had heard. She figured she was as close as she'd get. Oooh! Will you let me come? Pinkie asked. "You're much more fun than your friends, you know?" Pinkie said happily. "But what else would I expect? I'm the funest person I-" "BOO!" Sweetie yelled. Pinkie screamed, as she fell out of thin air... or rather phased out of something in the darkness Sweetie couldn't see. She laid on the ground, as though she had just gotten a heart attack. "Um... Pinkie?" Sweetie asked. "Did I-" Wait for it... the real Pinkie said. It started out as a small, weak giggle... then it turned into a stronger, much more Pinkie like giggle... then finally, it turned laugh... and finally an insane cackle, which drove Sweetie a step back. Pinkie floated into the air, laughing until she was fairly above. "Pinkie, it's not-" Wait for it. "That was a GREAT scare Jumpie!" the ghost mare exclaimed happily. "I've haven't been that surprised since... EVER! I didn't think you could-" DING! I got it! Sweetie! NOW! An instinct in Sweetie activated immediately. She took up her GCD nozzle, switched it to such and hit the button, aiming it at Pinkie. "Gotcha!" Sweetie said. With that, Sweetie was starting to get dragged along by Pinkie. 40, 39, 38, 37... the grey colored GCD on her back said. The thing that didn't make Sweetie feel comfortable, besides she had no will over where Pinkie dragged her, was the sheer fact... she was barely even putting up a fight. Rather than truly making an attempt to fly away, she flew on her back, gripping her stomach. She was giggling. "Stop it!" She said between giggles. "That tickles!" "This isn't supposed to be fun, you know!" Sweetie said annoyed, as she was dragged in circles around the Merry-Go-Round. Something was wrong. Sure, this was Pinkie's ghost, but Sweetie didn't think she'd be laughing as she was sucked into the GCD. 30, 29, 26... the GCD said. As it continued to count down, and Sweetie was still dragged around the ride, Sweetie got the feelings of dizziness and paranoia. She was going to get captured, but she didn't even seem to give a buck. Sweetie tried to yank the GCD nozzle back to quicken the capture... but it wasn't working! Every time Sweetie yanked, the GCD didn't change its pace in count down at all, as though she weren't even yanking to begin with. There was something definitely fishy here... 20, 19- "Ok, that's good enough!" Pinkie said. She abruptly changed her direction and charged at Sweetie. Out of surprise and fear, Sweetie barely dodged to her right, causing her to let go of her GCD button. The capture was broken. So close! Pinkie said. "I'll admit, using me to distract me from you was a great plan... and you were doing so well too." Pinkie said. "Ah well... maybe if you play by the rules this time, I'll give you another chance." Sweetie! You have to- "Aaaand that's enough from you." Pinkie said to herself. Sweetie! Don't give up! You can do it! You- Her voice sounded muffled... and then it was gone. "Pinkie?! What did you do to her?!" Sweetie asked angrily. "Oh don't get your hose in a knot. She's fine. I just pushed her a liiitle further into my sub-conscious. Now, we won't have any more intrusions in our game. Now that that's taken care of, we can continue. Meet me at the next area, once you've had a little fun with your friends, kay? Don't leave ti'll it's time." Pinkie disappeared from Sweetie's sight before any other words could be exchanged. Sweetie wanted to give chase to the mare, but she knew better than to disobey her order. She had to stay on the Merry-Go-Round until it was time... Time for what though? Sweetie thought. The filly activated her flashlight and looked around. The ride was just as it had been described to her when she'd learned about them. There were ponies made out of metal, and painted over attached to rods in a galloping position... but there were 5 ponies that were incredibly jarring to Sweetie. It was her friend's bodies... they were on the rods, their bodies in between plates on the end of their own rods, holding them in place. For a moment, Sweetie assumed the worst... that her friends had once again been turned into ghosts, or worse. Then she noticed, each of them had their own grayed out cutie mark, indicating they were her friend's old bodies. They were still dead bodies, but the fact they weren't her friends, or technically any pony for that matter, made Sweetie feel a little better. Suddenly music started to play on the Merry-Go-Round. It was starting to spin. "Oh boy..." Sweetie said, readying her flashlight. She felt a chill down her spine... there were ghosts coming. She heard the laughter of the ghosts echo on the walls of the ride. She looked around, expecting one or another to pop up at any time... but then, she heard a metallic click. Her attention was turned to her friends' old bodies. The rods holding them up by their torsos had shifted slightly, freeing them from the piston like rod. They all fell off of their posts, and got up... Sweetie laughed nervously. "You have got to be kidding me." From their mouths, they dripped red glowing ectoplasm, like a drooling hungry dog. Their eyes glowed red as well... they must have been being possessed by some ghost dogs... Sweetie contemplated using the ectoplasm they drooled as ammunition, but figured that there was too little for her to create anything. All she could hope, was that one of the ghosts that were giggling would show up. Sweetie's friends closed in on the filly, each of them grinning their own sick grin. One of them even barked at Sweetie. "Uh... nice doggies?" Sweetie said. Finally, one of the bodies, Twilight, leaped for the filly. Sweetie dodged to the left as it rammed into Applejack's body and threw them both off of the spinning ride. She herd them fall through the blanket, but she didn't see them get back up, or even make any sound indicating them hitting the ground. For once, Sweetie was happy she'd followed the ghost Pinkie's orders, for now, she was surrounded by some bottomless pit of no return. She couldn't leave now. "Never did think you'd make a good dog anyway." Sweetie mumbled to herself. Rainbow barked at Sweetie and lunged to bite her. Though the mare wasn't as fast as the real Rainbow, she did catch the filly off guard, and managed to land a on her hind leg. "OW!" Sweetie said, as she attempted to shake Rainbow off of her. Being mainly a vegan society, ponies commonly didn't have as sharp as teeth as K-9s, so thankfully, the bite didn't do any real damage to Sweetie's leg. It didn't change the fact it hurt like hay. Sweetie shook Rainbow off, only to be rammed in the head by Pinkie Pie, and nearly knocked off of the ride. Sweetie got up. She had to get rid of her friends bodies and soon. The last thing she wanted was to fall into the abyss she was likely around. Suddenly, like a bat out of hell, a foal ghost flew through the curtain, and tried to attack Sweetie. She got out of the way, just in time. Sweetie thought for a moment, as she looked at the foal ghost... what could it do again? It was then, an idea lit up into Sweetie's head. "Hey baby! Bet you can't hit me!" Sweetie taunted the ghost. The yellow foal ghost laughed and spit its yellow ectoplasm at her. Sweetie dodged as the ooze spread over the surface she was previously standing on. The filly sucked up the ectoplasm before jumping back to dodge another blast from the foal ghost. The first red light on the back of her GCD went green. She sucked it up as well. "Come on! You've got to do better than that! Hit me foal! One more time!" Sweetie yelled. The ghost gave one more hefty spit at Sweetie, who dodged it and sucked up right out of the air. Warning. GCD capacity at 50 percent Now to take care of you. Sweetie thought. She swept her flashlight in an upward direction to hit the foal. DING! Sweetie caught the ghost in the grasp of her GCD. As the GCD counted down, Sweetie was dragged past her friend's walking corpses. She did her best to drive herself and the ghost away from the edge of the Merry-Go-Round. ...5, 4, yank!,3210. Capturing ghost. the GCD said. The foal was then dragged into the confines of the spectral containment pack on her back. As she screeched to a stop, she whirled around to find her friends, simultaneously charging at her. The white filly didn't waste any time in switching to her Spectral Throwback function and aiming at her friends. Much like with Rarity in the mirror maze, it felt weird pointing her device at her friend's... she shook off the feeling and shot the GCD at them. The force of each shot she fired at the mare's corpses was enough to knock them each off of the Merry-Go-Round before they could get close enough to the filly. Once they were gone, the adrenaline in Sweetie's veins began to wear off, her heart was beating slower and calmer. She was okay... for now. As the music ended, and the ride stopped spinning, Sweetie heard Pinkie's giggle echo in the Merry-Go-Round, as though there were millions of her surrounding the filly. Suddenly, Sweetie's light went out and she was consumed in darkness once again. Before she could try and activate her light, she saw something. The walls of darkness she was around fell... literally. Like panels of cardboard, segments of darkness fell around the Merry-Go-Round, revealing a new path. In front of the ride, Sweetie noticed a new path had appeared... it lead to a mansion. Not the Yield manor the filly had first walked in on, but a mansion all the same. Was she even still in the carnival anymore? Having no other option, and there being no other building in sight, Sweetie hopped off of the platform of the Merry-Go-Round and headed for the mansion, sure she wouldn't like what she found once she got there. Sweetie walked along the path, having a slight sense of deja-vu as she walked... almost expecting to hear a ghostly "Boo" from behind. She looked around, feeling the chill, and seeing the cold mist come from her mouth. "Been here before Jumpie?" Pinkie's voice echoed in the wood that surrounded the path to the mansion. Sweetie ignored it, focusing her way to the mansion. She walked up the steps to the door... they weren't stone, rather they were cheap concrete... it was then Sweetie noticed a new sign on the door: Haunted Mansion- Enter If You Dare! "Bet you wish you got a warning like that before you came here, huh Jumpie?" Pinkie said. Sweetie didn't think, knowing while the mare was around, there was no point in doing so. She might as well be talking to herself... she did however hesitate when she went for the knob to the haunted mansion. "Aw, c'mon Sweetie. Don't be scared. I promise nothing's gonna kill you when you open that door." Pinkie reassured. "... probably." Sweetie took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Suddenly, a jack in the box popped in front of her at the door, causing her to jump back, and nearly out of her own skin. Pinkie laughed as the filly's heart thumped in her chest. "I didn't say nothing was gonna scare you!" Pinkie said laughing. Sweetie shook her head, regaining her composure. "You’re a jerk." Sweetie said. "I know." Pinkie chirped back. Sweetie moved the jack in the box to the side, and shined her flashlight inside of the mansion. The foyer, rather than being decorated with portraits like the Yield, there were bars and ropes, made for ponies that might wait in line for a ride. Sweetie moved past the bars and ropes to the front. "Are you skipping in line Sweetie?" "No one else is here!" Sweetie said. At the front, Sweetie saw a cart, made for ponies to sit in. It was much smaller than the Ferris wheel cart, and seemed to be made for two or three ponies just her size. On the platform behind it was a small control panel, likely controlling the cart. Against her better judgment, she went inside to investigate. "But what about me? How do you know you didn't cut past me and other ponies? We're all just a bunch of invisible ghosties anyway!" Pinkie said. "Oh! I know!" Suddenly, something around Sweetie's hind hooves clamped around them. "W-what the?!" Sweetie exclaimed. She looked at her hind hooves to find they had been chained to the cart. As it closed, she found that she was trapped. Pinkie then materialized next to the filly. "We can ride together! What do you say?" Pinkie asked. Sweetie simply responded with grunts, as she tried to free herself from her restraints to no avail. "Great! Now, we're gonna play a new kind of game. Want to know how to play?" Sweetie gave up on freeing herself, and hung her head in defeat. Once again, she was left only with the option to play along with Pinkie's games. "What?" Sweetie asked. "We're gonna play a game to test your aim all the same and get you fame!" Pinkie said happily. "What?" Sweetie asked. "Let's see how you do without your GCD's vacuum and your flashlight. It isn't going to work here. Isn't that right flashy?" Pinkie asked the flashlight. The flashlight flickered out. The only thing Sweetie could see now, was Pinkie's glowing body. "H-how did you do that?" Sweetie asked. "I'm Pinkie Pie! How else?" Pinkie chirped. Of course. Because that totally makes sense. Sweetie thought sarcastically. "Anyway, the name of the game is survival. Ghosties here are gonna try to kill you. Your mission, if you choose to accept it... well, not choose really, more like forced to accept... is to make it to the end of this ride, with your soul." Pinkie said. "But how am I supposed to fight ghosts with flashlight like this?!" Sweetie argued. "You'll figure it out. You’re the smartest ghost-hunting filly I know!" Pinkie said. "Wait... you’re the ONLY ghost-hunting filly I know. I guess that isn't saying much huh?" Pinkie gave a good long laugh. "Well, enough stalling. Let's get this show on the road!" Sweetie didn't have her flashlight to defend herself from any ghosts... only her GCD. It was likely empty of anything she could use... maybe there'd be something on the track? Pinkie looked at the cart panel and the red lever switched on. Lights scattered dimly along the mansion ride came on as the cart started to move down its track. Pinkie and Sweetie started heading down the way, further into the haunted mansion. "Here we go..." Sweetie mumbled. Pinkie didn't say anything. She just looked ahead of them, grinning in excitement of what was to come. The track clacked below them, and occasionally made a rusty squeaking noise indicating is age and instability. Sweetie imagined it could be easily taken off of the track if given enough force. She kept that in mind as she rode out of the lit part of the ride, into the darker segment. Lightning flashed to the side of the filly, drawing her attention to some portraits. Candles flickered at the sides of the portraits of the creepy looking ponies. Unlike the mansion she was originally in, none of them looked familiar to the filly. She figured they were just there for tension purposes, preparing for a- "AH!" Pinkie screamed as they both heard a large crack of thunder. As though on cue, the paintings changed into drooped melted versions of their originals. Sweetie was too scared to scream, as she wasn't sure what scared her more: the ride, or Pinkie's own high-pitched scream. Sweetie thought of saying something to the mare, but decided it was pointless. The only thing she'd try to do was scare the filly more. Pinkie giggled as the lights went out again. "Aw, don't tell me you’re scared already. We just started!" "I-I'm not scared." Sweetie lied. Another flash of lighting brought the attention of the two mares. It was by a table, with ponies heads face down on their plates. Another crack of lightning caused them to transition into skeletons... this time however, Sweetie noticed something glowing inside of 2 of the skeletons. Out of curiosity, Sweetie attempted to suck up the substances inside of the skeletal systems. Through the bones, she sucked up what she assumed to be ectoplasm. Her suspicions were confirmed when the first GCD light on her back lit up. I could use this... Sweetie thought. The filly looked at Pinkie, who merely smiled. Sweetie was having a hard time figuring out wither she was smiling at the filly for figuring out how to defend herself... or what she had planned for her ahead. Sweetie sucked up the second bit of ectoplasm, knowing she'd need as much as she could get. As she turned back to face the path ahead, only to be scared by a ghost that popped up in front of them. It giggled maniacally. "AH!" Sweetie screamed. She pointed her GCD at the ghost and hit the nozzle button. Rather than the sound of ectoplasm being expelled from the GCD, Sweetie heard the vacuum noise. It was then she realized that this wasn't a real ghost. It was just another prop, with a light inside of it to make it appear like the ghost was glowing. It wasn't real, but it also didn't make the filly feel any better. If she had switched to her GCD Spectral Throwback earlier, her fear would have caused her to waste her precious ammunition. She'd have to be more careful... if she were to run out of ectoplasm, she would be done for. Sweetie felt them turn in the darkness, likely down another part of the track. In front of the cart, on the ride's track the filly could vaguely see splatters of ectoplasm on the tracks. She sucked it up, causing her GCD to indicate it was half full. "Or half empty if you want to be negative." Pinkie said. On either side, Sweetie heard the sounds of glass breaking on either side of her. She looked around in the darkness, trying to determine where her next ghost would pop up. She switched her GCD to the Spectral Throwback, ready to hit any ghost that tried to pop out at her. Sweetie felt a chill up her spine, different from the one she'd been constantly feeling from Pinkie who sat right beside her. There was definitely another ghost close by... but it wasn't in front of her. Sweetie knew that the ghosts weren't beyond sneaking up behind her to get at her, even if she was chained down. Sweetie forced her torso around to see behind her, and sure enough, there was a butler ghost flying at her. Sweetie didn't waste any time in aiming at the specter, and shooting the ghost down with the GCD. "Not bad." Pinkie said. Sweetie! Front! Pinkie said. "Huh? I thought I got rid of you." Pinkie said. Sweetie whirled back to the front of the cart, and saw that there were two ghosts, a butler and a foal ghost, ready to upchuck at the filly. Sweetie wasted no time in switching back to her vacuum function. In barely enough time, she managed to hit the nozzle button and suck up the yellow ectoplasm out of the air as it was hurled at her. It entered her GCD as it indicated its capacity once again. Sweetie switched back to her throwback and hit the butler ghost as it tried to get close to her. The foal ghost spat at Sweetie again, which she caught again with her GCD's vacuum. The foal ghost gave up on trying to hit Sweetie from a range and charged at the filly. She fired her GCD at the foal and caused it to disappear. Pinkie? You still there? Sweetie thought. "Sorry. Guess she's a little more slippery than I thought. Don't worry Jumpie. She won't bother us again." Pinkie chirped happily. Pinkie! If you can hear me, I'm gonna get you out of there! Ok? Sweetie thought, hoping the mare, despite her lack of speech, could still hear the filly inside of the pink ghost mare's mind. "Anyway, that was really good!" Pinkie continued. "Let's say we step it up a notch. Kay?" Against most laws of physics, even in the ghost world, Pinkie snapped her hoof. On cue, the cart started to speed up. Lights flashed in the mansion, as though it were trying to give the filly a seizure. The rust sound below the cart, as it gained in volume and frequency, was maddening to the filly. She covered her head and ears for a moment, trying to block out the loud sounds of the cart. The suddenly... it stopped. "Hey Jumpie. Like roller coasters?" Pinkie asked. "What? No, I don't like them. What are you-" Sweetie asked as she put her head back up. The world around her had changed again. The pink ghostly sky was now visible again. Now, Sweetie was on a new track acceding, like Pinkie mentioned, like a roller coaster. In the distance, Sweetie could see ghosts flying around them. They were too far to tell what kinds they were, or if they were real or not... but it seemed like there were thousands of them. It horrified the filly. "W-where are we?! Where did you take us?!" Sweetie asked panicked. "This isn't the carnival! Where are we?!" "Calm down Jumpie. We're still the same place we've always been." Pinkie said. No it's not! It's different! Sweetie thought. It didn't make sense. Was Pinkie doing all of this? Could she alter reality so drastically?... Then Sweetie came back to the thought... was this even real? Finally they made it to the top of the roller coaster. From there, Sweetie could see the entire track. It wasn't made of one single track however. It looked like down the line, there were other tracks that stemmed throughout the world like a wildly growing vine. Random items, such as china, paintings, chairs, beds, you name it, floated in the air along the track. There were many twists and turns that Sweetie could notice,.. but Sweetie did see an exit: a gate at the end of the ride she couldn't quite see past. The two of them were up on the top of the tracks for a good 10 seconds... before the cart started to dip down. "Oh no..." Sweetie said to herself. "Here we goooooooooo!" Pinkie said happily behind Sweetie's scream as they flew down the track. Their rapid decline was too much for the filly to be able to think at all in those few seconds. She was caught between the normal adrenaline pump that came with riding in a roller coaster, and the instability that made her think the cart as going to fly off of the tracks at their first turn. Thankfully, once the cart leveled out and came to the turn, it smoothed in, somehow managing to remain on the tracks. The track turned into a portion of the ride that had other tracks stretching alongside it. HeheHAHAHAHA! There was another foal ghost to her left, accompanied by two butlers. Sweetie tried to stable herself as much as she could to aim at the new hostiles. As usual, the foal ghost tried to spit at the filly, which she sucked up with the GCD. As the foal was preparing its second spit, Sweetie took the time to shoot one of the butlers... then she heard something to the right side of her. Grrrrr.... BARK Sweetie's attention was broken from the two other ghosts and brought to the track to the right of her. There was a red, glowing K9 running alongside her cart. "Not you again." Sweetie said. The K9 barked again before leaping at the filly. Blindly, having no time to aim, she managed to hit the dog at the leg, sending it flying off to the side. Before Sweetie could turn back around to face her new butler and foal enemies, something slimy hit the back of her head, causing it to be thrown down onto the seat of the cart. Her head was thrown onto the seat of the ghost mare sitting right beside her. It wasn't as cold as Rainbow's ghost form, but it was cold enough for her teeth to chatter in the mare. "Get your head out of my plot!" Pinkie giggled. "You've got ghosts to fight." Sweetie panicked as she tried to release her head from the gelatin like substance that stuck her inside of the mare's body. Sweetie took a moment to breath, which helped her remember earlier that night. It wasn't the first time she'd been caught in the goo after all. She used her GCD to suck off the goo over her head... 18, 17, 16... the GCD said. Sweetie realized something... the numbers didn't count down when she sucked up the ectoplasm. Did that mean... that she was catching Pinkie? Was the Pinkie inside keeping the ghost mare's shield broken? Pinkie realized this at the same time the filly did. "Oh no you don't." She smiled, flying off of the cart, breaking away from the grasp of the GCD. "I'll see you later Jumpie." And like that, she was gone. Sweetie sucked the remaining ectoplasm off of her head, just in time for her to get back up and suck out another bit of the substance out of the air. The butler ghost was just a few feet from her face once she did. She switched back to her throwback and blasted it out of the air just as it was about to phase through her. The foal ghost spat again, and Sweetie sucked again. Sweetie caught another bit of spit before something clicked in her head: The last time she spent so much time trying to catch the ecto-spit from the ghosts, it had given up entirely on trying to hit the filly with it... why was it so persistent now? Behind you. Something said in Sweetie's head. It wasn't Pinkie, rather it was an instinct she felt. It was then she heard a second clatter of wheels along a track... they weren't her own however. Off of an impulse, she shot the foal ghost out of the air with the GCD. She whirled back to her left, to find that not only had the right track branched off further from hers, but there was a giant emerald green fireball headed for her cart. "No way!" Sweetie yelled, ducking in the cart. The fireball hit the cart with so much heat and force, Sweetie felt it on one wheel, tipping to the side, ready to fall off of the tracks. Sweetie managed to use her own weight, stretching her body across the cart, to push both wheels back onto the track. She popped up over the cart door to see her suspicions confirmed. Her friends were riding in a second cart to her right. Spike stood, aiming his mouth at the filly's own cart. Sweetie had to do something. If she took another hit like that, she was almost sure she'd tumble off the track. Sweetie thought of trying to hit her friend's own carts, but knew that if she did, they might get tipped off themselves. It was a simpler solution... but the filly couldn't even bear the thought of possibly killing her friends. Sweetie had to think. There had to be another way to stop her friends from causing her to fall into the pink abyss below her... then she got an idea. The foal ghost had stuck her head to the seat by simply hitting her at the top of her head, around her mane line. If she could hit Spike in the forehead before he blew another fireball at her, she might stick him to their own cart. Sweetie aimed carefully. The cart was a pretty fair distance away... too far for Sweetie to aim efficiently. She fired one shot of the GCD. She missed, causing Applebloom and Scootaloo to laugh at her failure. Sweetie crossed her eyes, now even more determined to hit Spike. She fired a second shot... she honestly expected it to miss, but she managed to hit Spike dead on in the forehead. A lucky shot to say the least. At first, she was afraid she might have knocked him off the cart, but when she saw that there wasn't a small purple dragon falling anywhere, and that the two fillies had ceased laughing, and were now looking down at the cart, she knew she'd succeeded. The roller coaster cart turned again, away from her friend's track... something told the filly that she was going to see them again very soon. After all, they'd pursued her up to this point. Sweetie looked forward and saw the gate was there. She'd made it. She aimed at the center of the gate, shooting it to make it swing open. She headed through, into the darkness. The gate closed behind the filly, putting her back in the dark. The roller coaster cart slowed to a stop, as Sweetie's flashlight, which at some point she'd dropped to the cart floor, flickered back on. Sweetie's shackles were released and the door of the cart opened. "Glad that's finally over. No more amusement park rides for me." Sweetie said to herself as she picked up her flashlight and walked out of the cart she'd hope she'd never have to set foot in again. She found her hooves on a new surface... it was made of wood. Ok... now what? Where do I go from here? She didn't take but a few steps forward before something hit her in the back of the head. Sweetie fell, knocked out in the darkness. *** Sweetie woke up, once again in darkness. Her body ached, and she could swear her ears were playing tricks on her, for what she heard was the sound of hundreds of ponies around her... kind of like a crowd. "Mmmmm...." Sweetie moaned painfully, getting back up on all four hooves. As her nerves woke up with her, she noticed something about her. Around her neck, and apart of where her mane was supposed to be, she felt something fluffy around it, kind of like cotton... no, not cotton... hair. When Sweetie tried to pull it off, it was stuck there. It was as though some pony had super-glued it all around her neck... Sweetie also noticed something else strange. Her muzzle had something round stuck to it, with smaller hairs sticking out of it. "What the hay...?" "Ladies and Gentlecolts! Welcome! To the greatest show in Equestria!" Pinkie said. It was then a light came on below Sweetie... and that she realized what kind of situation she was in. Far below her, she could see Pinkie, in the spotlight. She was wearing some kind of circus announcer outfit from what Sweetie could tell. Either Sweetie was really high up, or Pinkie was in some kind of pit. "Today, for your viewing pleasure! A live lion! Will walk across a tightrope, or fall to her death." L-lion? Where? Sweetie thought. The last thing she wanted to have to deal with such a large ghost cat. Suddenly, a spotlight from below shined on the filly, allowing her to see herself. She was in some kind of lion outfit, in a circus performer's tights. "W-what the hay?!" Sweetie yelled. Sweetie heard the crowd in the darkness cheer. The blinding spotlight that shined on her kept her vision limited, only being able to see what was immediately around her. She was atop some kind of wooden platform, connected to a large pole. Attached to the platform was a tightrope, which Sweetie assumed led to another platform across from her. "Give our Jumpie lion a round of applause and a good cheer every pony! It just might be the last she'll ever get!" Pinkie said. Some of the crowd of ponies cheered and clapped, their hooves together, but most of them simply laughed at the filly's situation. Sweetie checked her back... her GCD, her saddlebags and even Applejack's hat were gone. "W-what did you do with my stuff?!" Sweetie yelled at Pinkie. "Now folks, I know what you’re thinking. How could a fat scardy cat like that possibly want to cross a tightrope?" Did she just call me fat? Sweetie thought. "Well, let's just say we've given our little kitty a little... incentive to get across." Pinkie said. My stuff... Sweetie figured. "And if she doesn't get across in time... let's just say there'll be consequences. Doesn't that sound fun ya'll?" Pinkie asked. The crowd roared in response, ready for the show. She doesn't honestly expect me to tightrope! I can't do that!... Can I? Sweetie thought. She didn't have the best balance of any filly she knew... possibly some of the worst. Then again, she did have her friends' talents. If somehow, she could use one of them, could she possibly balance her way across the rope? She thought... Applejack's talent involved bucking apples... Fluttershy's talent involved care for animals... Rainbow's talent involved weather and speed... and Twilight's talent was magic. If only Sweetie had Pinkie's talent, as the mare had perfect balance, and also had a habit of breaking the laws of gravity... but then again, if she had Pinkie's talent, she wouldn't be in the situation in the first place. The she remembered... gravity. She remembered Twilight knew many spells, one of which was a gravity reducing spell, which caused the one it was casted upon, to disobey the laws of Equestrian gravity for a short amount of time. When Sweetie first saw it in one of her books, she had no idea what it meant... but now, thinking back on it, she did remember a few spell casting marks, symbols that represented magical spells, that now made sense to her. They were weak in her mind, and barely there... but they were present. Maybe she could lighten herself just enough for her to be able to get across with those few symbols... It was Sweetie's only chance at getting across... Sweetie took a breath and closed her eyes, visualizing the markings. Her horn glowed faintly... though she felt a bit more in control of her magic with Twilight's mark, her magic was still limited. She didn't have nearly as much magic as the mare, and barely had enough to cast the spell. Weakly, she managed to cast the spell on herself, causing her body to glow for a moment. Once it was done, she cut off her small flow of magic with a hefty sigh... did it work? Sweetie didn't have any more time to waste. She had to get across the tightrope as quickly as possible. Who knew what Pinkie had planned if she started to bore the mare. Just don't look down Sweetie... don't look down... Sweetie started to walk across the rope, leaving the spotlight. It was hard to see due to the sudden change in light, but she could still see the rope ahead of her. As she did, she started to hear piano music from below... she assumed it was Spike, given he had already displayed his knack for the instrument. Still though, she never thought he could play so quickly... As she walked, she noticed that her balance had increased, thanks to the lack of gravity trying to pull her down. Still however, she couldn't risk misplacing one hoof on the thin tightrope. Why a circus anyway? What the hay happened to the carnival? Sweetie wondered, doing her best to keep from looking anywhere but her own tightrope. Maybe it was because she wanted the author wanted to mix up the story a little bit. Pinkie suggested. It was the real Pinkie. Pinkie?! Is that- Shhh! She can still hear us. Just keep going. You need to wind up the music box! The what? What are you- Can't talk. She might really mess me up if she finds I escaped again. Pinkie said. Just get to the other side, and watch out. Watch out for what? Pinkie didn't respond. She was gone again. What did she mean by winding up the music box? the last music box she'd used was back in Specter's room... it did something to help her there... could it do something here too? The crowd was starting to get restless. "C'mon Jumpie! The crowd is getting really bored by watching you walk so sloooowly." Pinkie said. "Applebloom, would you kindly move things along?" "Don't mahnd if ah do." Applebloom said. Sweetie's curiosity caused her to look off of the tightrope and down into the circus arena below. She saw several things. She saw Spike, playing ridiculously on the piano. She saw Pinkie, flying off into the crowd of pones... Sweetie noticed that some of these ponies looked familiar... it wasn't a few moments before she realized that they looked like ponies from Ponyville! She spotted ponies like Derpy, Cherielee, Doctor, The Cakes, Lyra and Bon-Bon... along with other ponies that looked familiar. Had they somehow been turned into ghosts too? It didn't make sense though... how did they get changed so fast? And more importantly, what the hay were they doing in a circus? Sweetie also noticed something in the center of the arena... it was square and pink. Could that be the music box Pinkie was referring to? Finally... there was Applebloom, wearing a similar circus get up... though it also reminded her of her CMC costume they'd worn at the talent show. She stood on top of a cylindrical type cup, juggling what Sweetie counted to be about 4 knives. "Hey Sweetie! Think fast!" Applebloom laughed, tossing one of her knives out of the air and at the filly. Sweetie ducked, careful to maintain her balance as the knife whizzed by her head. "Give me a break already!" Sweetie yelled. If it wasn't enough she was basically doing a circus act, she was now being used as target practice! The filly kicked it into high gear as Spike's piano music became more and more intense. Sweetie had a second close call when the knife's edge grazed the back of her neck. She could feel droplets of blood touch the back of her mane and apart of the lion hairs. Sweetie was close to the other platform... she couldn't give up now. She saw another knife coming for. This one was impossible for her to dodge, as it zoomed for her stomach. Sweetie fell off to the side in order to evade the knife. Before she could fall, she managed to wrap her left foreleg around the tightrope to keep herself from falling. "AH!" she yelled. She looked down at Applebloom, who laughed at the filly. Sweetie didn't have that much time before Applebloom would eventually try again to hit her. Because the filly couldn't get a good grip with her hooves on the tightrope, she moved forward by swinging her foreleg over the tightrope, hooking her legs on to the rope with each swing. Slowly but surely, she inched her way toward the platform. Once she was there, she put all of her strength into climbing onto the platform. She panted tiredly... but she'd made it. "Phew... glad that's-" Sweetie said to herself before another blade flew by her head, grazing her ear and piercing the wooden plank the platform was connected to. "I'm already at the other side! Quit it!" Sweetie said, now more annoyed rather than scared. She turned around to see that the knife had struck just under where Pinkie had hung her saddlebags, GCD, and Applejack's hat by a looped rope. Sweetie yanked the knife out of the wood and cut the rope that held her equipment. She then proceeded to put on her saddlebags, followed by her GCD and hat. Guess I should keep the knife. Sweetie thought, holding it her hoof. Could be useful. Before Sweetie could put the knife in her saddlebags, the worst possible thing happened. The platform gave under her feet. It tumbled over the tightrope and fell to the arena floor... and for a moment, with Sweetie as well. Not good! Not good! Sweetie thought panicked as she hung on for dear life to the tightrope. "Time's up Sweetie! Oh, you got it? Great, but you look silly hanging there like that. Why don't you drop down for us, kay? I'll be right back..." She had to think fast. She was a sitting dictionary if she hung there any longer. There was no doubt in Sweetie's mind that she'd try again to hit her with her remaining knife. Sweetie thought... then she got an idea. She was hanging on her escape. She could use the rope to get down. Sweetie estimated that the rope's length was just a foot or two short of the height of the wooden pole. And the knife, which miraculously stayed firmly in the filly's hoof... if she cut the rope from where she was now, she could swing down. It was her only chance. Sweetie used her free hoof to begin sawing at the segment of rope that was behind her. Once she cut through, she immediately felt herself falling. She screamed fearfully as she swung for the ground. She underestimated the length of the rope... it wasn't long enough for her to simply fall to the ground, but it wasn't short enough for her to climb. Sweetie realized this when she felt the heat of her hooves scraping along the ground. It caused her to let go of the rope, and tumble onto the dusty circus arena ground. She rolled about 5 times before she finally came to a stop. It wasn't the most graceful decent, but she'd made it down from the platform alive. She got up, showing every ghost pony watching her that she was still alive. Suddenly, they all started booing for reasons Sweetie couldn't understand. "H-huh? What did I do?" Sweetie asked. The crowd only booed louder. Something about the mass ridicule, despite the fact they were all ghosts, was incredibly embarrassing and horrifying to the filly. She blushed, as her mind raced of what she could have done wrong. Don't let them get to you! Pinkie said in the filly's head. They're just trying to distract you! Sweetie shook her head and nodded. She couldn't get embarrassed by them, no matter how many ghosts there were. She's right. Sweetie thought back. For all I know, they're just mad because I'm still alive... wow, that's a little depressing now that I think about it. Sweetie looked over at the center of the arena at the pink box. That was her new objective: to use the music box. Whatever would happen once she played it had to be good if Pinkie were telling her about it now... The filly could only hope. Sweetie broke into a run for the music box, narrowly dodging another knife as it was thrown at her by Applebloom. Almost there! Sweetie thought as she approached the box. Suddenly, just as Sweetie was about to get close to the box, a cage fell from out of the sky, blocking Sweetie from the box. What the-?! "Ah ah ah!" Pinkie said over a megaphone from somewhere in the crowd. "It's not time for that game you silly filly." No! I need that music box! Sweetie thought. The filly gritted her teeth in frustration. "Uh oh. Our little lion is starting to get angry. Oh lion tamer!" Pinkie called. Lion tamer? What? Sweetie turned around, to see Scootaloo, in a similar circus/talent show getup to Applebloom... though rather than a knife, she wielded a flaming whip. The orange filly lashed out at Sweetie with the whip, which she managed to narrowly dodge to the side. Ok, I get the tamer thing, but why does the whip need to be on fire! Sweetie thought. Scootaloo laughed at the filly as she lashed out again at her. Sweetie dodged to the right a second time. Now Scootaloo was blocking her way to the cage. Applebloom circled around to join Scootaloo as they both approached the filly. Finally, Spike got up from the piano, and joined the two fillies as they began to back the filly up. Sweetie wasn't sure what to do. She didn't have anything to defend herself with, besides the knife she didn't want to have to use... and the GCD. She was sure the device was dry of water, but even if it was, she didn't want to freeze her friends. Who knew what the freezing temperatures would do to them. It wasn't long before Sweetie found herself against the cylinder cup platform Applebloom was previously standing on. She put her flank up against it. As Scootaloo and Applebloom laughed at Sweetie, Spike took a deep breath, ready to blow a breath of fire at the filly. Sweetie's eyes contracted, knowing she'd have to act fast in her cornered situation. An idea popped in her head: Could she use the cup as temporary cover? She didn't contemplate the idea for more than a moment before she slipped under the cup as intense heat surrounded it. Inside of the cup, Sweetie sweated from the hundreds of degrees that were surrounding it. Though it was hot, Sweetie wasn't burning. She was safe for a few seconds... now to come up with a plan, whatever it maybe. But what? She was surrounded outside, not even counting the crowd of ghosts in the audience. And she still had no idea how she was going to get to the music box... but there was one hope she had: The Ghost book. Every time she'd been in a jam so far, the ghost book had told her something useful in one way or another... could it tell her how to save herself without hurting one of her friends? Sweetie went into her saddlebags. Thankfully, her flashlight was stuck inside... she'd thought she'd lost it back at the haunted house. She took it out along with her ghost book. After putting it into her muzzle and shining it onto the book, she opened it to the newest page. Music Info: Not much on that subject kid. All that's known is that ghosts sometimes have a connection with music. They've been known to be used as a hypnosis type thing to pry into the hearer's mind and cause them to see things, such as memories... but sometimes, they can serve as an escape route, or even as a weapon against certain ghosts. They also appear at points a subject is possessed, or being hypnotized... think of your fighting to said music box served as you fighting to resist a ghost's control. Ghosts don't have control over it, and neither do the living. Again, it's a phenomenon no one really understands. Though since its ghost related, it's worth mentioning here. If you find a music box, or something musical, it'll probably be worth it to check it out. That's probably why Pinkie wants me to activate it. Sweetie figured. In her nervousness, the filly had skipped a page. She flipped back one page to see what she'd missed. Elemental Capture B Info: The second half to your Elemental Capture whachamacallit. Now remember when I told you about the first Elemental Capture? It could suck up water, along with other frozen substances, provided it could fit into the GCD. This one however, it can suck up fire and fire it back at them. Not too many fire ghosts, so I'm not sure how you’re going to use it... but here you go. Have fun being a pyromaniac. Fire Capturing huh? Sweetie thought. Before she could think anymore, she felt a large impact of heat against her cup shield. The cup flew off of her, putting her back into the light of the arena. Sweetie stuffed her ghost book back into her saddlebags as this happened. She got up to face her friends. "Game over Sweetie." Spike said, taking another deep breath for another fireball. Sweetie looked at her GCD nozzle to see the flame icon next to the snowflake icon. She switched to it, making sure it was set to "suck". Elemental Capture B activated. the GCD said. Spike blew his flame at Sweetie as she hit the nozzle button, aiming at the flame. The fire that approached her funneled into her GCD nozzle, as it was sucked into her Spectral Containment pack. The pack heated up, making Sweetie's back sweat. It took a few minutes before all of the air and fire in Spike's lungs were exerted. Elemental Capture B containment capacity at 100 percent. The GCD said. Sweetie was right back where she started. She knew Spike would try again to roast the filly, but she couldn't suck up anymore flames. She knew dragons were likely fireproof, but that still left her friends. Even if she could somehow drive Spike back, her friends, more likely than not, would try to attack her; especially Scootaloo with her new fire-whip. She couldn't even touch them with fire without the risk of burning them... but there had to be something she could do. She couldn't hurt them... But can I scare them? Sweetie wondered. Maybe she could bluff her way out of the situation... who knew, maybe the ghost possessing Spike didn't know that dragons were fireproof... Sweetie switched to her GCD to expel the flames she'd acquired. "Get BACK!" Sweetie yelled at her friends. The three of them laughed. "Whacha' gonna do? Shoot us?" Applebloom asked. "You don't have it in you!" Scootaloo taunted. "You’re just a spineless-" Sweetie tapped the GCD button, causing a large hot flame to burst from the nozzle. It was enough to drive the three of them back, and silent. "Try me!" Sweetie bluffed. She took a step forward, periodically tapping her GCD to keep them in check. For some reason though, Sweetie saw the fear in their eyes... they weren't afraid of getting burnt, or lit on fire... but the fire itself. Was this another fear from the Phobiapathy? Or something else... Sweetie was relieved that she was, for the moment, on the offensive... but she still needed to figure out how to release that cage and get to the box. As she continued to drive her scared friends back, she looked for some way to raise the cage. There was a rope attached to the top of the cage. Her green eyes followed the rope to the top of the circus tent to see that it was a part of a pulley system that led to some heavy looking bags being suspended by another rope to keep it from falling. That rope led to a segment of the wall that surrounded the arena. It was a ways high up, but the filly figured she could just get on top of the wall. She looked glanced over to where Applebloom's platform had fallen. It was just high enough to give her a boost up the barrier. After one final burst of flames, Sweetie broke into a run for the audience. She jumped up onto the cylinder platform, and then onto the wall that separated the crowd from the circus tent arena. As she did, Spike shot another fireball at Sweetie, which she managed to dodge. As she began to run along the wall, she was careful not to fall to either side. If she fell to the left, she'd be at the mercy of the Ponyville ghosts who continued to boo and put her down. If she fell to the right, she'd be back where she started in the arena. Though she had to be careful, she also had to move fast to keep away from Spike's fireballs. With that in mind, she ran across the wall to the rope. Thankfully, the anti-gravity spell, although it was wearing off, was still there, aiding her balance. She had a couple close shaves with Spike's green balls of fire. She even felt the tip of her tail get grazed with a little fire... but she managed to make it to the part of the wall with the rope. Looking up, it was a little more complicated than she'd thought. Tied to that rope were about three other ropes that supported the one they stemmed from. It looked as though even if she managed to cut the rope at the base, it would still weakly hold up the bag that would likely pull up the cage. The only way Sweetie could fix this, was by climbing up and cutting the ropes at their branches. She still had the crusaders and Spike to worry about though. She'd have to move fast, and still hope none of them managed to hit her. C'mon little lightning cutie mark. Please work. Sweetie said to Rainbow's cutie mark. With that, she hopped up onto the rope, and began to shimmy up. She didn't move nearly as fast as one might expect the 'fastest pegasus in Equestria' might imagine, but she definitely climbed faster than she did in the theater. She finally made it up to the portion where the ropes stemmed. While holding onto the rope with both hooves so she didn't fall, the filly took her knife into her muzzle and began to cut through each of the three ropes. Once she cut the first one, she heard the heavy bag slip a little out of the air. She cut through the second one, and Sweetie could hear the tension in the rope pulling on the final rope. Just one more... Sweetie thought as she extended her neck to reach for the final rope... though she wasn't fast enough to sever it. Sweetie slid down slightly, just in time to dodge a fireball from Spike. "Checkmate." she heard him say from the bottom. What is he talking about? Sweetie thought... then she looked up at the ropes. Now, the rope she was aiming to cut was burning... along with the one that she was climbing on. Oh Celestia no! Sweetie looked down, realizing how high up she really was. If she fell from that height, she probably wouldn't surv- Both ropes snapped simultaneously, and Sweetie started to fall. She screamed, knowing that once she hit the ground, she'd be done for. Sweetie! Pinkie said. I know this sounds crazy, but you need to hit the wall! You need to break your fall! Sweetie followed Pinkies advice. As she fell, she did her best to direct herself to the edge of the wall. In the end, her lower body hit the edge of the wall, causing her to front flip back into the arena. She hit the ground... hard. She didn't want to get up, but knew she couldn't afford to lie there for very long. Sweetie got up... or rather she tried to. After rolling over onto her stomach, and attempting to get up on all four hooves, she felt an intense pain in her right hind leg. She looked back on it, seeing something bulging through her coat un-naturally. It was then Sweetie realized... she'd broken her leg. Tears rolled down her face as the pain was unbearable. The crowd booed at her even louder, while some had simply started to laugh at the filly's new found pain. Then, when things seemed like they couldn't get worse. "Alright, I'm back..." Pinkie said over the loud speaker. "Oh what Jumpie! Look what you've gone and done! Rarity was right, you’re just a big mess up. I told you it wasn't time!" Sweetie looked through the blur of tears at the cage. It wasn't completely raised, but it was up enough for her to slip through. Sweetie! Are you ok? Answer me! Pinkie said. The worry in her voice was more evident than she'd ever experienced that night, or even for the entire time she'd even known the mare. I know it hurts Sweetie, but please. You need to get to that box! I promise you it's almost over. The chapters going to end soon, just get over there! "What? I thought I got rid of you! Ugh! No one’s doing their job!" Pinkie said angrily. Sweetie limped as fast as she could over to the cage. She didn't have to look to know that her friends were close behind her, laughing as they followed. Sweetie didn't care. All she could see was the cage... and all she could feel was the determination to make it there. "Rarity said you were always a stupid filly. She always told me how much you loved to mess up her dresses, destroy her sketches, and be an all-around trouble maker!" Pinkie said angrily. "I knew you wouldn't play fair! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!" The ghost mare's words stung. They made her seem like a little devil that Rarity would have just rathered give her up, rather than keep her to live with her when her parents moved away. The crowd, as they booed and agreed with Pinkie didn't help in the slightest. Her mind was slowly slipping into believing Pinkie... Just a little further Sweetie! You're soooo close! You've got this! Pinkie cheered. It was only Pinkie's somehow happy mood that kept the filly from strait up giving in. She wasn't going to let her friend down... and she wasn't going to believe Pinkie's lies. Pinkie laughed. "You think I'm lying don't you? You think 'She couldn't say that! She's my big sis and' blah blah blah. Fine. Don't believe your Aunty Pinkie. Maybe you'll understand if you do somehow manage to escape. Maybe listen when you actually hear it from her own-" "Shut up!" Sweetie yelled at Pinkie. She finally made it to the cage. As she slipped under it, the cage fell, trapping her inside. She looked behind her... her friends; they weren't following her. Rather than that, they were simply standing together, waving and grinning creepily at the filly. Sweetie shook her head. She had to activate the music box... She turned back around and went for it... but there was something wrong. The key was missing. That's not fair! Sweetie thought. She fell down, still in intense pain. Uh Sweetie? Don't you have a key of your own? Pinkie asked. What?... Oh yeah! Sweetie thought. She did have a key. The one she'd picked up from Specter's room. Sweetie went into her saddlebags and swam her hoof around until she finally found the tiny metal music box key. She stuck it where she supposed to go in the roundish hole, and turned it in the same direction as back in the one in Specter's room. At first, the box played nothing but nonsense... but once that was over, it started to play again. Sweetie was almost positive she'd heard Applebloom humming a similar tune after a solo visit with Pinkie Pie. As the tune played, everything seemed to go dark around the filly. The sound of booing ponies had ceased suddenly creating a silence that was just as thick as the darkness. After standing in darkness for a couple seconds, Sweetie decided to venture forward. It was then she found that the cage had disappeared, allowing her to proceed. The filly wasn't sure where she was going, or what would happen once the music box, but something in her head told her, no matter how painful it was, it was her only chance at escape... She limped onward in darkness until the music stopped. For a moment, everything was silent... then the world shifted around her. She was suddenly surrounded by maneiquins dressed in the various Gala dresses of her friends. Along with that, were several shelves of fabric on each of the walls of the new room Sweetie was in. Sketches of dress designs littered the floor... but most importantly, standing in front of the filly was a white coated, purple maned glowing ghost mare. "R-rarity?" Sweetie asked. "Rarity, is that you?" "Get out." Rarity said. "W-what?" Sweetie stuttered. Sweetie! Pinkie said. Look behind you! It took a little will power, but Sweetie managed to turn away from her blank faced sister. What she saw was Pinkie, lying tired on the floor of what Sweetie assumed to be Rarity's inspiration room. She moaned painfully. Sweetie! She's weak! Now's your chance! Pinkie said. Sweetie nodded, and switched her GCD to capture mode. She pointed the nozzle at Pinkie and hit the button. 15, 14, 13... Pinkie looked up, her eyes were fearful now. "Ha... ha ha ah...." Pinkie started as the numbers started to count down. She suddenly flew up into the air, and started to fly away from the filly. She began dragging the filly around the room. The pressure that was being applied to her leg was incredibly intense... but she was determined not to let go of her... not when she was so close. Not when she had the mare on the ropes now. She was dragged around the large room of the Boutique against her will. Her leg kept her from trying to yank at Pinkie again, but she doubted it would work anyway. 7, 6, 5 The GCD continued. Pinkie was starting to cry... no, she was starting to scream... no, she was starting to laugh... Sweetie wasn't sure what the mare was doing as she was being captured. But if anything, it was creepy as hay. It was a mixture of the three emotions of fear, sadness, and laughter... all of which didn't belong together. As Sweetie was dragged, she crashed into several pieces in the room. She crashed into a lamp, a few maneiquens, and some of the shelves. As she was capturing Pinkie, she was also destroying the inspiration room. It was somewhat ironic when the filly thought about it. She'd fixed up the room, and now she was destroying it just like... Rarity stared at the filly... there was a certain look of disappointment in her eyes that really got to the filly. The hypnotic stare almost made her want to let go of the GCD. Either way, something seemed familiar about the look... 3, 2, 1, 0. Capturing ghost. the GCD said. Uh oh... Sweetie thought, anticipating what would happen next. A pink lightning bolt came from Sweetie's nozzle, pulling the mare into the GCD. While Sweetie screamed in pain of being electrocuted, Pinkie laughed as she was finally dragged into the GCD. "Ha ha ha ha...." Pinkie said, before she disappeared inside. "That was fun..." those were the last words she heard... Rarity turned around and walked away from the weak filly. "Wait... Rarity..." Sweetie said as she reached for her sister before collapsing. She was still somewhat conscious, but it was slipping fast. The world flashed around Sweetie... and suddenly, she was back in the mansion. Before Sweetie completely lost consciousness, she noticed a couple things. First, that she was lying on some peculiar white surface. The second... was that there was a faint light on the filly. Not like a flashlight, but more natural... before Sweetie lost consciousness, one thought came into her mind. Something she wasn't sure if she should have been excited or horrified by... The moon was rising... Chapter 17- The Reunion for a Crusade"She... She caught her..." A voice said. Sweetie woke up in the same darkness as before... but this time, her mind wasn't as blurred and misty. Now, she could clearly hear the voices... and she knew exactly who's they were. "Rarity..." Specter said. "No Yield! This changes everything!" Rarity yelled angrily. "You said she wouldn't catch her so fast! You said she couldn't catch Pinkie!" "I know what I said. I didn't expect this in the slightest. I thought the mare would at least keep her busy until everything was set up..." "Now what?" Rarity asked. "The mare knows things! You know she has connections with-" "I know." Specter interrupted. "Then what?" Rarity asked. "Simple. We keep going of course." Specter said. "She may have caught her, but without her camera, or her map, she's going to have a pretty hard time reaching the safe zone. Especially since most of the paths to the dining hall are blocked. Even if she does somehow find a path, or her camera, she won't make it in time to have a chance at stopping our plan. Besides, she still has my kids, Spiffy and the griffon to worry about." "... the plan. How is that going by the way?" Rarity said after a pause. She seemed a bit more calm and collected. "It's halfway done. As we expected, the alicorn race has tremendous will power... but even it can be broken. Recently, I've managed to get Princess Luna under our control. Now we can force her to raise the moon in preparation for the second part of our plan. Worst case scenario, we can rip off her cutie mark and continue its movement ourselves when the time comes." "But what about Celestia dear? We need both of them, don't we?" "Celestia's will appears to be stronger than Luna's... it's going to be tough breaking her spirit like her sister's... but as long as we remain constant, and no pony stumbles upon the lab, it'll break all the same." Specter concluded. "So... we're fine then? My stupid little sister isn't going to stop us?" Specter paused. He seemed to be thinking of something, but Sweetie couldn't tell without seeing him. Finally, he spoke. "... it's quite unlikely, yes." "Specter honey? Is something wrong?" Rarity asked. Sweetie heard hoofsteps. "It's... just thinking is all... that's its all going to be over soon." "What do you mean?" Rarity asked. Specter sighed. "... nothing that matters anymore. You're right though... the stupid filly doesn't have a chance. "Do you love me?" Rarity asked. Specter paused for another couple of moments. "... of course I do." Sweetie heard a kiss in the darkness. "She... she didn't. He didn't make her..." Sweetie mumbled to herself in disgust. "Oh that sneaky little filly!" Rarity said angrily. "Huh?" Sweetie said softly. "What do you mean?" Specter asked. "She's spying on us! She's been listening to every word we've said!" Rarity said. "She heard me?" Sweetie said to herself. "Hm... I figured she'd try something like this." Specter concluded. "I need to go." "Specter honey? Where are you going?" Rarity asked. "I need to... cut off a few loose ends. You won't have to worry about her anymore." "This won't hurt our special plans later... will it?" "Not in the slightest. I'm headed down to the crypt. Just meet me in the church right above it when the time comes." "Of course. I love you..." "I know you do..." Sweetie heard the sound of a door shutting before any other words could be exchanged... *** Sweetie woke up from her slumber. After being brought out of the dream state darkness, pain immediately filled her tiny filly body. She didn't scream, or moan in response however. She was too groggy to even form those sounds. As usual, her body wasn't responding to her brain as it told her to get up on her hooves. Sweetie didn't mind however, for as long as there weren't any ghosts around, she felt she could use the couple minutes of rest. Besides, at least the weakness was an indication that she didn't imagine catching Pinkie... The memories of the carnival she'd somehow survived flooded back into her head. The filly opened her eyes slightly, looking at what was in front of her as she lied on her stomach. She was in a hallway... one of the mansion hallways from what she could tell. She was back... Great... Sweetie thought. I'll take this creepy old place over that crazy carnival. Sweetie wondered... what did happen. How did she end up there anyway? What the hay did Pinkie do to her? Besides the capture, did all of the events she remembered all in her imagination? It simply didn't make sense... did she really go crazy? Weakly, Sweetie's nerves and muscles began responding again. She felt like she could possibly get back up on her hooves again. When she tried, a sharp pain shot from her hind leg through her body. "AH!" Sweetie screamed before collapsing back to the ground, which made a crumpling sound on impact. Sweetie's urge to moan in pain had returned. Something told her that what she'd experienced wasn't completely imagined... the filly couldn't imagine any other way she could have gotten such an injury. That still begged the question... how? Could she mind dive like Twilight? Or was there some other method to the madness she'd undergone... In either case, Sweetie was still stuck with a broken leg, and she wasn't going anywhere... thankfully however, she'd heeded to Pinkie's words. I'd save that little heart candy if I were you... She still had the heart candy... Sweetie wondered if Pinkie planned this kind of situation... but for now, it didn't matter. She could use it to heal herself... hopefully. Up until now, the filly had only received small cuts, burns and bruises from her friends, accompanied by the freezing and weakness that came with capturing ghosts. Sweetie was sure the heart would fix her weakness... but what about broken bones? This was the most significant injury yet... what if it didn't work? How would she get around? Sweetie could only hope as she put the rock into her mouth and began to dissolve it with her saliva. As the melted substance went down her throat and into her stomach, she felt her stomach seem to explode. Not unpleasantly, or painfully, but rather an opposite feeling of relief. Her tense muscles released and over all felt stronger... but the feeling went to her hind leg. The cooling relief in the body part turned into a biting pain. Sweetie flinched, but bit her lip against the pain as she felt the fracture in her bone begin to close and mend itself. Thankfully, it didn't last for long... the pain turned into the same pleasing coolness as the rest of her body... Did it work? Sweetie wondered. She tried to get back up on all fours. There was still pain in her leg... but it was bearable. She'd be limping for a bit, but at least be able to move around. The pain was also something small enough that she'd likely be able to get used to. Sweetie looked around her, fully acknowledged her surroundings. The first thing that caught her eye was the surface she was standing on. It wasn't the red rug that she'd usually find stretched down the hallway that she'd found in the mansion... it was paper. Sweetie painfully limped off of the surface, flinching every time she took a step with her previously broken hind leg and stood back from it, realizing what it was: the CMC paper airplane. The nose was bent and the wings were a little wrinkled... but it was definitely in better shape than what she'd seen when she crashed earlier that night. Some pony must have seen it in front of the mansion and brought it in. Sweetie figured. Who the hay brought it in, and why would they go through the trouble of fixing it up? For whatever reason it had been done, Sweetie was glad some pony had fixed it, and was even happy that she'd gone through the risk of bringing it to the mansion. It was nice to know that the work she and her friends had put into it wouldn't go to waste... Sweetie turned around to face the other side of the hallway. Not too far down, she saw her flashlight, lying in the darkness. She stood still however realizing how clearly she could see her flashlight without any other light... besides the moon. The moon's up now... Sweetie thought, remembering the dark place she'd dreamed about. The moon was a part of some big plan Specter had... she wondered what it could be. All she knew was that it wasn't good... and something told her that she was the only one who could stop it... Sweetie shook her head. The only one to stop it? The filly was getting ahead of herself. Her friends were the ones who dealt with that kind of "Equestia's Only Hope" business, right? Better remember to tell Twilight about this when I get back. Sweetie went over and picked up her flashlight. She activate it as her eyes adjusted around the area it illuminated. Though her vision was once again constricted to where it shined, she could at least point out the details of the hallway. She kept that in mind… The filly already knew from the moment she woke up that she'd been moved from the courtyard... but the problem was the new location she was in... Sweetie had no idea where she was. Up until this point, the floors she'd come across had beige walls decorated with paintings of ponies or landscapes with a wooden baseboard covering the bottom half of the wall. On the walls, in between the other paintings were ponies that seemed to be drawn by a foal. The baseboard now also had different hoof crafted etchings of foal accessories and toys. "Heh. Perfect." Sweetie sighed. It was official: the filly was lost. She had no idea where in the mansion she was, or what floor she was on... and without her map, she was lost. It was fine though, for all the filly needed to do was reach into her bag, pull out her camera and- "Oh you've got to be kidding me..." As Sweetie looked back to get her camera, she remembered that Pinkie had thrown it in the carnival. She didn't have it anymore. This realization however wasn't what the filly was responding to, but it was rather the fact that her GCD was gone... again. "Great. I'm lost, and defenseless. Couldn't get any better than this." Sweetie said to herself. I've got to find the ghost capturer. I can't do much without it. Sweetie hoped that her friends, or any ghost for that matter hadn't decided to split it up like the last time. Sweetie took a moment to look through her saddlebags to take inventory on what she still had. All that was left was her CMC ball, the ghost book, the journal, and one of Applebloom's knives, another souvenir of proof she'd received from her visit to the carnival. There was no point in staying there anymore. She had to investigate her new surroundings in hopes of getting her bearings and returning to the safe room. Sweetie took a deep breath as she pushed Applejack's had firmly onto her head. The filly trekked forward, in hopes of locating her GCD and getting back to the safe room, which was more important than ever now. The mare knows things... If they were talking about Pinkie, then her de-ghostification was the most important thing of all. Pinkie might have held information that could very well be able to stop Specter. Sweetie had to get back to the safe room, if not for herself... But for all the ponies she knew and loved... *** Sweetie contemplated going back to get the paper airplane as she continued to walk forward, but shook her head at the thought. It was fine where it was, and she didn't need the extra weight on her anyway. Sweetie had the gut feeling that the paper airplane would prove useful in some way or another... but until she figured out what that something was, she wouldn't break her back over it like she did earlier that night. All she had to focus on was retrieving the GCD and Pinkie, who was hopefully still inside. Sweetie attempted to open several doors in the hallway. As she'd expected, many of them were locked. The ones that weren't locked held nothing of interest or material value to the filly. The rooms varied from powder rooms, to viewing rooms, to storage rooms, to plain old bed rooms, though in the end, they were all contained same dusty sheets that covered several pieces of furniture Sweetie didn't bother to check out. In some rooms however, Sweetie did take a moment to look out the window at the sky. It was still fairly cloudy, but at some points, the clouds opened up to show the night sky. Then, Sweetie could see the stars dancing around the moon. Something always seemed hypnotic about the night to the filly. She could never understand how some pony, even a supposedly immortal alicorn, could come up with such a thing with magic... Though the filly looked at the sky with admiration, she also looked up at it with fear. Every time she thought of the moon, she thought of Luna. Every time she thought of Luna, she remembered what Specter had said in the dream about her being under his control now. Sweetie feared the idea of having to go up against such a powerful alicorn... and if Specter managed to take over Celestia- Sweetie shook her head, taking her eyes off of the window she was currently looking out of. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about that. The filly turned around, and left the room, leaving the door open behind her in order to remind her she'd already looked through that room. Sweetie went from room to room to room to room, and didn't find a single useful item. Finally, after what she figured to be 7 rooms, she finally came across some variation... this new door that Sweetie stood in front of was one with an emblem on it. It was an etching of what Sweetie assumed to be a piece of wrapped candy. It reminded the filly of Bon-Bon, one of Ponyville's candy makers besides Pinkie and the Cakes, and her cutie mark... could this have been Candy's room? Sweetie reached for the doorknob, but something stopped her. The filly heard voices on the other side of the room. The ones that she knew very well. "Pull harder!" Scootaloo commanded. "It isn't going to come off if you keep pulling it like a baby." "It's not a baby stupid! It's called a foal! There's a difference." Applebloom said. Sweetie recognized her voice, but noted the absence of her country accent. "Whatever, you're pulling like you've got noodles for legs." "You didn't do any better." "Oh yeah? At least I got it loose." "I got it looser than you did!" "Nu uh!" Scootaloo argued. "Yuh huh!" Applebloom said back. They don't know I'm here. Maybe I can scare them when now that I have the element of surprise. Sweetie thought. In all honesty, Sweetie didn't even want to confront the possessed fillies, especially of her own will... but it was too much to hope that Sweetie wouldn't find something useful in Candy's room of all rooms. She put her hoof on the doorknob, ready to bust inside. One... Two... Th- Sweetie counted. Suddenly, her leg gave her a sudden jolt of pain. As Sweetie pushed forward into the room, the pain caused her to lose her balance and collapse to the ground. The two fillies inside, rather than being shocked, they simply turned to the filly, grinned, and laughed at her as she lay on the ground. Sweetie moaned in pain as she tried to regain control over her leg, as the intense pain went back down to moderate. She got back up on all fours to face her friends. "Looky who decided ta show up." Applebloom said. "When we foun th' vacuum thin 'ere in th' hallway, we done thought ya were still stuck in th' carnival place." "Cut the act Candy. I already knew you weren't Applebloom, but now I know who you both are." Sweetie said bravely. The two of them laughed at Sweetie. "I think she finally figured us out sis." Marbles said through Scootaloo's body. "Guess you can quit the lower class talk huh?" Candy sighed through Applebloom's body. "I was starting to have fun with it too. Oh well." Sweetie took a look at what they were doing. In Marble's hooves was the spectral containment pack, and in Candy's was the nozzle and ectotube connected to pack... barely. From what Sweetie could tell, Candy was trying to pull the piece away from the pack. The lack of screws appeared to make the task easier... "So you know who we are. So what? What's that change really?" Marbles/Scootaloo asked. "You’re still the same stupid filly with her friends trying to kill her." At first, Sweetie figured that they were simply trying to separate the parts again for Sweetie to go off and find again... but then she realized what their goal was when she noticed the green light on the back of the GCD flicker as pink ooze seeped from the point between the ectotube and the pack... they were trying to release Pinkie. "You're also the same annoying foal who every pony I've talked to can barely stand. Heh, even Ms. Fluttershy talked about getting you a muzzle." Candy/Applebloom added. As they spoke, Candy/Applebloom hadn't stopped pulling on the ectotube as Marbles held the pack in place. Slowly but surely, Sweetie could see the part coming off of the pack. Sweetie couldn't let them free the mare. That carnival was likely the only shot she'd get at catching the slippery mare. She had to do something. She couldn't imagine what the ghost Pinkie would do to her after that. Sweetie wasn't thinking as instinct took her over the filly as she ran for Marbles/Scootaloo. She didn't know what she was doing until she felt her head ram into the filly's body. Marbles lost her hold over her end of the GCD as she went to the floor with Sweetie. The white filly tried to hold her down, however Sweetie was reminded of Scootaloo's augmented strength as she threw the white filly off of her, and against the window on the opposite side of the room. She hit the window with such force, she heard a crack in the glass. Sweetie's leg started to hurt again. She wasn't sure which hurt more: her leg that had been previously broken, or her head which had hit the window on impact. She wasn't given time to think about such things as she was also reminded of Scootaloo's speed. What seemed like less than a few milliseconds, Scootaloo rushed over to Sweetie and pushed her head up against the window a second time, creating a second crack. Applebloom laughed as she picked up her knife and joined Scootaloo as they cornered the filly against the window. As she fell to the ground, Applejack's hat fell down from her head and right next to her. Marbles/Scootaloo turned the filly onto her back and got on top of her to pin her down. When Sweetie looked up, all she could see was Marbles/Scootaloo's grinning face. When she looked to her left, all she saw was Applebloom with her knife in her muzzle. Sweetie struggled to free herself, but between her leg and her throbbing head, she was stuck beneath Marbles/Scootaloo. "I was kind of hopping for more from you." Candy/Applebloom said through the knife. "Yeah. All you've gotta do is put a little weight on the big bad ghost hunter, and all she is, is just a little foal." As Candy/Applebloom began to approach the filly with the knife, Sweetie noticed something small and yellow dart out of the corner of her eye. It didn't have the same exact yellow tint as a foal ghost... could it be what she thought it was? And if Marbles/Scootaloo didn't seem to notice it yet... I've got to keep them talking. Just for a few seconds. "Wait!" Sweetie said. Candy/Applebloom stopped. "What now?" "A-aren't you gonna give me s-some last words?" Sweetie stuttered out nervously. "What? No way!" Candy/Applebloom said through the knife. "Aw, c'mon Candy. Let's just humor her. Not like she can squirm her way out of this one." Marbles/Scootaloo said. "You always want to do the opposite of what I want!" Candy/Applebloom said. "'Cause what you want is stupid." Marbles/Scootaloo said. "Your stupid!" Candy/Applebloom said. "At least I'm not the one who got us killed! Daddy said so!" "Nu-uh! Daddy said you did it! You got mommy killed too." Marbles/Scootaloo argued. Sweetie saw the thing out of the corner of her eye again. Her eye wouldn't go over far enough to tell if it was getting closer or farther away. All Sweetie could tell was that it was still in the room. Candy/Applebloom sighed. "Fine. What do you want to say." "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "Your last words? Unless you changed your mind." Candy/Applebloom said, grinning wider, eager to stick the knife through her throat. "N-no, no, I-I still had something to say." Sweetie said. She thought for a moment. What could she say or ask to keep her alive for a little longer. She couldn't make it too obvious she was stalling, or they might think the filly was up to something. "I-I just want... I just want to know why you... why you want to kill me so badly. T-that's all." "Why we want to kill you?" Candy/Scootaloo asked. Candy/Applebloom and Marbles/Scootaloo looked at each other, then laughed. Sweetie was too scared to ask why. "Well, a couple reasons actually." Candy/Applebloom said. Oh boy. Sweetie thought. She saw the thing dart across the room a third time. Sweetie figured it was scanning the room, looking for something... "First off... It's fun to see you scared." Marbles/Scootaloo said. "I haven't had this much fun messing with a filly since I was alive and I’d get back at Candy who used to touch all of my stuff." "No I didn't! Half the stuff you played with mommy gave to me! You only gave it back when mom threatened to tell all of your friends you play with mare dolls!" "I don't know what you’re talking about. I only play with stallion action figures." Marbles/Scootaloo said. I don't see what the big deal is. There's nothing wrong with guys playing with ponies. Sweetie thought. "The second reason is because daddy told us to." Candy/Applebloom said. Saw that one coming. Sweetie thought. "... though, he was kind of weird on it. First, he said he wanted your soul without hurting your body... then he said to capture you... then he really quickly changed it to wanting to kill you." Marbles/Scootaloo said. "Daddy was always weird." Candy/Applebloom added. "Your only saying that because he liked me better." I'm starting to sense some family tension here. Sweetie thought as she saw the thing pass by her for the fourth time. This time, she was fairly sure it was getting closer to her. "Third... because Miss Pinkie wanted us to." Marbles/Scootaloo said. "She's your friend right?" Until Sweetie brought Pinkie back to life, the filly was reluctant to call her "friend". Sweetie remained silent. "I don't know how a slow little foal like you could've possibly kept up with her. I haven't seen any pony as crazy as her since Mr. Bonkers who used to put together the parades." Candy/Applebloom said. "I don't really think that's important. Miss Audit always did say you couldn't stay on subject." Marbles/Scootaloo said. "Nu-uh. She wrote that on your report card." Candy/Applebloom argued. This is working better than I'd hoped. Just a couple more seconds... Sweetie thought. She hadn't seen the dart of yellow for quite some time now. She did however notice the hat jump one, as though something small had crossed it. "Forget you. Anyway, Pinkie wanted us to... and let me tell you, you're all she could think about the entire night." Candy/Applebloom said. "Yeah, either she reeealy hatted you, or she had a really big reason for wanting you so badly. We guessed if we killed you, we'd find out why." That's interesting... I've got a good feeling they're under Specter's control. From what I've learned around the mansion, they're brats, and sometimes a little crazy, but even dead, I couldn't see them as murderers... still though, what kind of sorry stallion gets their own kids to do their own dirty work? And even more... what kind of beef did the ghost Pinkie have with me that motivated her so much? I- Sweetie was brought out of thought with the feeling of a cold blade against her neck. She could see Candy/Applebloom's crazed eyes over her neck, her muzzle ready to make the cut. "And that pretty much sums that up." Marbles/Scootaloo said. "Well, it's been fun Sweetie Belle. Really fun, but like mommy said when we died... good things always have to come to an end." "Wait!" Sweetie said. Candy/Applebloom groaned through the knife. "What now?" "M-mouse." Sweetie said. Marbles/Scootaloo's eyes dilated in fear for a moment, but went back to normal as he/she laughed. "Like I'm gonna fall for that again. I'm not stupid." "Yeah you are." Candy/Applebloom said. "You can't fool me twice. Now shut up and cut her-" Marbles/Scootaloo said before she stopped. Sweetie knew why as she felt the coldness of the mouse's feet as it hoped up across her mane and onto her stomach right in front of Marbles/Scootaloo. "M-M-MOUSE!" Marbles/Scootaloo screamed as she jumped off of Sweetie. For a moment, Sweetie noticed something glowing in the filly's mouth, but didn't have time to see any more as the filly bolted out of the room. "Marbles! Come back ya big baby!" Candy/Applebloom said chasing Marbles/Scootaloo out of the room with the knife. Sweetie put her hoof to her neck. "Another close call..." Sweetie said, as she looked at the freezing yellow mouse sitting on her stomach. "Guess I should say thank you?" The mouse squeaked, not really understanding what it had just done, before running out of the room by phasing through a wall into the next room over.... and like that, Sweetie was alone again. "Fine. Leave me like everyone else. See if I care." Sweetie mumbled as she got back up on all fours. She rubbed her head. "As if I wasn't in enough pain. Gotta remember to thank Marbles for that later." Sweetie picked up her GCD and inspected it. Though the fillies had done some real damage to the device, the gap between the ectotube and the spectral containment pack wasn't enough to release Pinkie. Sweetie tested the GCD by hitting the nozzle button. Error. Unable to activate GCD primary functions. Please secure ectotube. The GCD said. "Of course it's not working why would it be working?" Sweetie muttered sourly. She was really beginning to get sick and tired of nothing working for her. She put the GCD on her back, her hat on her head and her flashlight back into her mouth. "Alright Sweetie... what now?" Sweetie figured it to be best for her to check out the room, considering it was the only one so far that was unlocked and different. It was a bedroom, but unlike the other ones, this one had a crib inside. Sweetie went over and looked inside. There were two items of interest inside: a journal page and a key. Sweetie went for the journal page and began to read. As she did, she continued to nervously look at the doorway, as though the children would come back in at any time... but something told her they weren't coming back anytime soon... July 2nd, 851A.C Today wasn’t an eventful one. Calm, but boring. Then again, I couldn't help but still make a journal entry today, just to have this recorded once. It's about our loyal, wonderful, trustworthy pony-servant, Spiffy Butler. I've known him since Specter and I first met and on from there. I trust the stallion with my secrets and even my life sometimes... then again, I can't help but not trust him at all. I'm probably the most shallow mare for thinking something like this, but I think that our butler, unlike the rest of them, is hiding something from me and my kids. I always knew that Specter had something to hide, likely regarding our immense fortune... but trying to find that out is like trying to get the Stabletown tailor, Ms. Axinite, to get dirty. She just won't allow it... anyway, there are a few things about Spiffy that rub me the wrong way that really shouldn't. First off, he's just like Specter. He's always so secretive... and considering he follows Specter when he goes to his "job" he lets no pony follow him to, he knows why... The other thing... his talent. I know that there are plenty of ponies who have other smaller talents that are accompanied by their main one that is planned on their flanks... but Spiffy's range of talents is abnormal to me. He can clean, cook at levels above any pony I know in Stabletown, learn at abnormal rates, great with animals, knows every inside and outside of every gear of the little devices that are around Stabletown... I even remember him instructing some of the pegusi on how to align the sky patterns, it's not normal I say! No pony should have that much knowledge, and be so talented at things they shouldn't have been able to do. Heck, it would have taken me a lifetime to learn what he knows, and get good at it. Today, I went up to speak to Spiffy. I could tell that he wasn't eager to talk to me, anticipating me to ask him about Specter... but instead I asked him about his cutie mark. Caught him off guard, I did. After regaining his composure, and thinking for a moment, he simply smiled and said to me "to serve". He then hurried off to instruct the other butlers on other various errands around the mansion... Spiffy is Specter's right hoof stallion, and along with my husband's secrets, I know he must have some of his own... and that's really what scares me the most. If they both have some big secret that I'm not supposed to know about... it must be big. And I'll bet by bottom bit that whatever secrets Specter has... It's somewhere in this massive mansion. Maybe one day I'll snoop around to see... "I wonder when Madame 'll actually find out what Specter's up to... maybe if she wrote that down somewhere, I can read it and have an idea what to do next once I've caught..." Something hit the filly... her sister, Rarity. She was the only one left now. All she had to do was catch her and she'd be done. She smiled, as the thought of seeing her sister again excited the filly. She was almost done... Sweetie reached through the crib for the key. She took it out to examine it... it had a marble stuck to its base. Better keep this on me. No doubt this is to Marbles' room. She stuck the key into her saddlebags for safe keeping. Seeing no other use of the room, the filly decided to head back out... but then she had a thought. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a mirror covered by a white sheet. Though she didn't have her camera, and probably couldn't use it, she was curious how she looked now. Sweetie went over to the covered mirror and hopped on the sheet covered stool right in front of the dresser the mirror stood on. She yanked the sheet off, and was shocked at what she saw in the reflection. It wasn't that her coat had gone a significant couple of shades darker, or the fact she looked dirty and beaten as some pony who'd just exited a mine... she knew she'd see that. What she didn't see however, was the cutie marks of her friends that had kept her alive through the carnival. "Where in the hay did they go?" Sweetie said to herself. It didn't make sense. One minute they weren't there, then they were there, then they weren't there again... It took a moment for Sweetie to figure that the time that the marks appeared on her depended on where she was, like when they only showed up at the carnival... the question became however, what was the difference? Sweetie sighed. Well... I guess if they aren't here, it's for the better. I wasn't looking forward to trying to explain it to the mares anyway... Sweetie hopped down from the stool and headed back out into the hallway. Making sure she was still headed in the opposite direction of the plane, she continued to look around for a screwdriver, that she was otherwise defenseless without... *** Sweetie continued down the hallway, faster than before. The longer the filly was in the hallway, the colder she felt, indicating that there were likely ghosts somewhere nearby. She stopped looking through rooms in any particular detail, now only opening each door and glancing inside to see if there was anything peculiar. She only wanted to find something to fix her GCD with as quickly as possible... it was around this time Sweetie regretted using it to save herself from Twilight's ghost. She kept her mind occupied by thinking of ways she could have gone about it differently. "Maybe I could have shot a book at the window? The library was full of 'em..." Sweetie said to herself, poking her head into yet another identical looking room. After seeing nothing special about it, she took her head out and headed to the next door she hadn't checked. "No... I was too dizzy, and there wasn't really enough time for me to reach down and get a book from the shelf I was standing on..." Sweetie reached for the doorknob and attempted to turn it. It was locked. "Don't think the throwback would have worked either. Ectoplasm's too soft I think... maybe I could have used one of the books in my bag?" Sweetie headed forward to the next door. She'd stopped hoping for doors to be open or different at this point. She was more running on an automatic function. Just check, move on, repeat. By now, she was more waiting than hoping for anything. What the filly couldn't figure out was what she was waiting for in the first place. "Well... I didn't really have anything besides the two books, my map, and the screwdriver I wish I didn't use..." Sweetie said as she turned the new doorknob. "Hm... well, I probably was a good thing I didn't use the ghostbook... wouldn't have gotten far without it..." She pushed the door, opening it as she stuck her head inside. "And if I wasn't kept somewhat in the loop with that journal, I wouldn't know anything really. I'd probably go crazy like-... huh, this is new." There was definitely something different about this new room. Unlike the other rooms, which were significantly lit by the moonlight, this new room was pitch black. This probably only meant that there weren't any windows in the room... but it was different, and that was more than enough reason for Sweetie to explore it. The filly was hesitant at first, knowing that this had to be some kind of ambush. She didn't know if it was the sheer coldness she felt, or her paranoia red flag going off the charts as she slowly headed into the room. Once she was a couple feet inside, the door shut behind her. click "No, no, no!" Sweetie said, shining her flashlight on the door, yanking on the door. It was no use. It was locked and she was stuck in the room. Great. How could things possibly get worse than this? Sweetie thought. Rather than being bombarded by ghosts, the exact opposite happened. Candles lit up the room along the red walls, allowing for Sweetie to see the perimeter of the room without her flashlight. The odd thing however, was that the candles seemed to be weaker than usual. The center of the room however, remained black. For the moment, Sweetie turned it off and stuck it back into her saddlebags. Against one of the walls, Sweetie could barely notice a tool box that blended in with the red paint it was against. Now we're getting somewhere... the filly thought as she walked around to the wall. She did her best to keep out of the darkness on an instinct, feeling nervous of what was in there. Once she made it over, she opened the box and began to search. C'mon... screwdriver. Screwdriver. Momma needs a... ha ha! Sweetie cheered in her own mind. Finally, she came across a yellow handled screwdriver similar to the one she found back in the theater. Chances were, it was similar enough to use to fix her GCD too... Sweetie wasted no time in taking the GCD off of her back and proceeding to screw in the loose bolts on the GCD. As they fell into place, Sweetie could have sworn she heard a giggle. C'mon Jumpie! That tickles! "...I've got to be hearing things. Please Celestia, let me just be crazy..." Sweetie said to herself. Once the bolts were screwed in tight, the giggling stopped, and the room was silent again for a few seconds. A piece of the pink sludge was cut off from the GCD and fell to the ground. Reactivating Ghost Capture Device vacuum motors. Device basic functions activated. Device add-ons initiated. the GCD said. Ok... at least that's taken care of. Now all I need to do is get out of here... no ghosts to fight, so there must be a key!... I think. Sweetie figured. Pomph! Sweetie heard the sound of candles spontaneously lighting behind her. She turned around to see the center of the room lit. In the center was what Sweetie saw to be some kind of... model. Sweetie went over to investigate... What the hay...? Sweetie thought as she figured out what she was looking at. She figured it out almost instantly when she saw the two three biggest structures of the model: A Ferris wheel, a floating roller-coaster network with no definable bottom according to the model, a giant circus tent... there was no doubt in Sweetie's mind that this was the Carnival/Circus place she'd escaped. There seemed to be small pieces of rope tangled and scattered on the different segments of the carnival, all stemming to a torch that magically hovered above the model. What the hay is this doing here... Sweetie wondered. ...Wait a second, this isn't right. The Ferris wheel was next to the haunted house, the carousel was next to the circus tent, and the main entrance was right in front of the floating roller-coaster. Sweetie also noticed that an entire portion of the carnival was missing altogether. Instead, it was a black square spot with an outline of a square on its edges. It was of the same perimeter and area of the other parts of the carnival. Wait a sec... I've seen something like this before. Can I... Sweetie thought as she attempted to move the haunted house segment over into the empty spot. The filly couldn't get a good grip on the house, so she tried using her GCD to suck it over to the spot instead. The piece moved effortlessly as it slid out of the square area it was bound to, revealing a similar outline to the blank spot of the model. Yeah! This is like one of those slide things we kept in Ms. Cheerilee's class for rainy days... *** Thunder rolled over the skies of Ponyville. Thunderstorms were a rare occurrence for regions in and around Ponyville, let alone during school and professional days. However, thanks to a certain temporary weather pegusis known as Derpy Hooves, an entire month of clouds were lost, putting the town in a drought. In such occasions, weather pegusi would get together and create large heavy storms in order to make up for the lost water. Ms. Cheerilee explained this, minus the part about Ditzy Doo to keep from embarrassing the filly and for her mother's mistake, to the school ponies who sat before her now. "And because the storm is so strong and dangerous..." she breathed, knowing she couldn't stall any longer. "Recess outside will be canceled for today, and likely tomorrow if the storm is still happening." As she'd expected, just like the morning-class, groans of disappointment filled the classroom. "Oh c'mon Cheerilee." Scootaloo complained from the back of the classroom. "It's just water." "And wind going near 200 miles an hour. I'm not sure even the Wonderbolts themselves could fly in this kind of weather." Ms. Cheerilee added. "And that's Miss Cheerilee to you young lady." "Yeah... but Rainbow Dash could." Scootaloo said. "Right Sweetie?" "Hm?" Sweetie said, snapping out of her daze. "Sorry, I'm just mourning the death of the recess I thought we had." "I never said you weren't having recess did I?" Cheerilee said. "I'm just simply saying that you'll be able to occupy your time with something else." "Like wha'" Pipsqueak asked in his normal Pontish accent. "Well, there are plenty of board games in-" Cheerilee started. "Ugh, those are so BORING!" Scootaloo said. "Scootaloo, be quiet already." Sweetie whispered to her friend. The last thing she wanted was the filly to earn another detention from the mare of whom she was getting on the last nerve of. Sweetie could see annoyance welling up in the mare's eye, as she swore she saw it twitch once. "Uh, what she means is... what kind of games do you have?" Cheerilee took a breath. "Well, we have 'Ponopaly', 'Troting and Clopping', 'Sliding Tiles Treasure', 'Word Stampede', 'Apples to- " One of the games, Sweetie had never heard of. As she opened her mouth to ask, Pipsqueak beat her to it, raising his hoof and speaking. "Ms. Cheerilee? Wha' was that third one? I've never heard of it." "Sliding Tiles?" Cheerilee asked. "Oh, right. That's an older game based off of the Daring Doo novels." Scootaloo's wings erected at the mention of the novel Rainbow Dash idolized. "Alright, now we're talkin'. How do you play?" "Well... the game is based off of a sequel in which Daring must solve different puzzles, in this case, a tile sliding one, in order to activate mechanisms to get the treasure. The rules are similar in the game. The pony who can solve the most puzzles in the given time wins." Scootaloo's wings went back to their sides at the thought of a puzzle. "Oh... well I guess it's worth a try." "I'll play it too." Sweetie said, wanting to play the same game as her friend. "Me too!" Pipsqueak said happily. "Alright. You three can play this." Cheerilee said, heading under her desk to pull out the game box. She handed it to the three of them as they came up to the front to collect it. "As for the rest of you, I'll place other games you can pick from. Play nice." The game box depicted Daring in front of a large area, with tiles scattered around a stone temple. Daring had an inquisitive look on her face as she tried to decipher the puzzle. At the bottom of the box, it said: 'Can you guide Daring Doo to the treasure of the lost temple?' As the other school ponies "This game looks pretty cool." Scootaloo said. "I wonder why I haven't heard of it?" "Maybe because you don't read the Daring Doo books... let alone at all." Sweetie smiled. "Hey, I read that one book." Scootaloo mentioned. "Written by Rainbow Dash, illustrated by Rainbow Dash and edited by Rainbow Dash." "It was pretty long though. A full blown novel." Scootaloo said. "I think I read that too... How I Got My Epic Cutie Mark and Made A Rainbow by Ms. Dash? Wasn't that like... 5 pages?" Pipsqueak said. "You’re not helping Pip." Scootaloo said. "Am I supposed to be?" Pipsqueak asked. "Let's just play the game." Scootaloo said, putting her hooves on the box. "Ok, let's see what we've got here..." Scootaloo opened the box. There was a square with light green outlines to form it into a grid. Around the square, there were bags with smaller tiles that seemed just about the same size as each square. The three children looked at the game in confusion. "... forget it. I'm playin' something else." Scootaloo said. "You two have fun with it." "Oh, c'mon Scoots." Sweetie said, trying to convince Scootaloo to play. "Nope." Scootaloo said, as she headed over to Dinky, Snips and Snails, who were playing Ponopaly. "Alright you three, I call the cloud." “But you’re always the cloud!” Dinky whined. "Guess she's out." Sweetie said. Sweetie was ready to follow her friend, until she noticed that Pipsqueak was still genuinely interested in the game. The two weren't the greatest of friends, but Sweetie wasn't about to leave the little colt to play by himself. "I guess we can figure it out ourselves, right Pip?" Pipsqueak nodded happily, as they both smiled. They opened up one of the bags and proceeded to place the tiles on the square board. Once they were set Sweetie looked at the board, realizing something. "Hey, Pip, I think this board is missing a piece." Pipsqueak examined the board, then shook his head. "No, I think this is about right. Ms. Cheerilee said this was a sliding game, right? Maybe we're supposed to slide the tiles. Try it." Sweetie took heed to Pipsqueak's hypothesis, and moved one of the tiles next to the empty spot into that spot. "Hey... don't you think this kind of looks like a picture? Like a square jigsaw puzzle?" "I guess we have to figure out how to slide the picture into place, huh?" The two messed with the puzzle for the few hours that were left in the school day. Cheerilee decided not to interrupt the children as they seemed to get engrossed in the various board games she'd lied out for them... either that or she was napping too long to realize when the indoor recess should have ended. Sweetie and Pipsqueak worked on the puzzle, barely making any real progress. They still managed to have fun as friends, talking and laughing as they tried to decipher the puzzle of the great explorer until- Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! The school bell rung, indicating the end of the school day. The school-ponies then proceeded to put away their games... all except Sweetie. Pipsqueak and Scootaloo stopped to see Sweetie still at the puzzle. Once they both had their coats put on, they went over to Sweetie. "Uh, Sweetie? Schools over." Pipsqueak said. "Right, I know." Sweetie said. "Just a couple more minutes." "You’re still at that puzzle thing?" Scootaloo groaned. "Mmmhmm." Sweetie said. "Listen guys. I gotta go. Mum 'll kill me if I'm late in this storm. See ya Scootaloo. See ya Sweetie." "Yeah, see ya Pip..." Sweetie mumbled, not taking her eyes off of the puzzle. Scootaloo silently waved as he headed out of the door into the rain. "Sweetie, you know Rarity'll probably kill you too if you're late." Scootaloo said. "Rarity wouldn't notice If I were a couple hours late." Sweetie said bitterly. "She's so into her celebrity ponies, she can barely glance at the clock." “Right, sore subject. Guess you’re still steaming over that fight…” Scootaloo said. Sweetie didn’t answer. After a few minutes, Scootaloo sighed. "Look Sweetie, sorry to break it to you, but you’re not gonna solve that thing any time soon." "Huh?" Sweetie asked, looking up at her friend. "Well... no offense, but you’re not the brightest pony out there." Scootaloo grinned sheepishly. "Doubt you'd finish it before tomorrow. Let alone… you know. Ever." Sweetie smiled cockily. "Wanna bet?" "If you could solve that sliding whatever before the end of school tomorrow, I'll..." Scootaloo thought. "I'll do your and Applebloom's homework for a week." Sweetie laughed. "You don't even do your own!" Scootaloo smiled at her friend. "Yeah. Guess we'll figure out what tomorrow huh? If you can, that is." "You can count on it." Sweetie said. "Alright, see ya Sweets. Don't stay too long." Scootaloo said. "I heard the rats love to come out at night." *** As Sweetie finished her memory, she'd also just about completed the puzzle. There were a few things she had to consider as she worked around it, such as the fact she couldn't move the floating roller-coaster, and the range in which she could suck up the circus models... but she managed to figure it out in good time. In the meantime, the filly was relieved that she could finally remember something that wasn't changed. It must have been another thing that came with the switching of worlds... but it didn't matter. As long as she still had the memories of who and what she was fighting for, she was sure she could keep moving forward. Thanks Pip... Sweetie thought. Like Scootaloo said, Sweetie wasn't the best when it came to puzzles, but if it weren't for the little colt, she would have never guessed how to solve the puzzle... maybe she would thank him once she got back to Ponyville... She used her GCD to suck in the last remaining piece into place. Now, everything seemed to be in place. The entrance was at the bottom, followed by a row of booths, the Ferris wheel, the food court, the center, the mirrored maze, the haunted house, the roller coaster, and finally, the circus tent. Sweetie suddenly felt a sense of pride, now looking at the path she'd managed to traverse. The odd thing though was that the ropes connected to the torch that were previously tangled, now seemed to be neatly set along the path that she'd taken. The filly wondered what would happen if she burned the torch and the ropes it was connected to... Sweetie went for the candles surrounding the model and used her Elemental Capture to consume the flames. Because the candle fire was so small, she didn't have much to work with, and she still wanted to keep enough light so that she wouldn't get so dark that she'd need her flashlight again. In order to ensure Sweetie got as much success igniting the flame as possible, she climbed up onto the model, careful not to damage any of the structures, or misplace any of the ropes. Once she was close enough, she gave the floating torch a good puff of flame. It ignited effortlessly, along with the rope. As the flame spread across the rope, lighting up every area Sweetie had been through with a bright orange flame, Sweetie heard something. It wasn't the sound of fire crackling, but it was a whistle. A small whistle Sweetie could only compare to when her sister would heat up water in her tea pot... an instinct in Sweetie told her to get off of the carnival model now. The filly leaped over the rides and booths as fast as she could, just in time to get off of the model platform as it blew up in a fiery blazed. Another trap... Sweetie figured. Why did I expect any less? It didn't end there. Suddenly, as Sweetie lied on her stomach in front of the blazing inferno atop the platform, she heard a ghostly laugh. The candles along the walls and around the model went out. The only light now illuminating the room was the fire trap she'd triggered. Sweetie noticed that the fire was dying quickly, and was almost positive she'd be in trouble when it went out. Thinking fast, the filly used her GCD to suck up some of the flames to defend herself with. She'd learned many times before that she couldn't rely solely on her flashlight to combat against ghosts... hopefully flames would work as well as ice did. By the time Sweetie's GCD was half filled with the fire essence, the fire was dead, putting Sweetie into the world of darkness once again. Sweetie felt the temperature of the room drop drastically. She readied her flashlight, shining it around the room, waiting for any ghost to phase through the wall. She was determined not to let them scare her- Three butler ghosts popped out of nowhere, surrounding Sweetie at a radius of about a yard. Sweetie jumped back at their sudden right into the hooves of one of the ghosts. It wrapped its forearms around Sweetie, trapping her as she dropped the flashlight. The filly struggled to get free, however it was no use. Her body was becoming too numb too fast for her to do anything significant. She still however, had her hoof close enough to the GCD to activate it. Sweetie's body stung with frostbite as she moved her hoof barely an inch to set the GCD Elemental Capture to expel. Once the two ghosts were within a hoof's length, she hit the button on the GCD nozzle. A burst of flames consumed her and the four ghosts. The heat was both refreshing and painful at the same time to Sweetie's front. It wasn't enough to hurt her, but the rapid change from cold to hot stung even more than the coldness of the ghost. She even felt a bit of the coat hairs on her stomach get singed by the flame. The ghosts however, weren't as adept to heat and light as she was. Ding! Ding! Ding! While the first ghost holding was simply hit by the light of the fire, the other ghosts, much like her, were hit by the flame itself. Their natural glow was overshadowed by the light of the flame as they ignited like a match. Their laughter turned to high pitched screaming as they flew around the room in futile attempts at extinguishing the flames. The ghost holding on to Sweetie let go and disappeared to repair its light shield and regain its chill from any heat it had consumed from Sweetie's flame. Once Sweetie was free, the filly didn't hesitate to switch her GCD back to its ghost catching mode in order to capture the two ghosts. ...3, yank!210. Magic Depleted. Capturing Ghost. the GCD said as the two ghosts were sucked into the confines of the GCD spectral containment pack. The second and third lights of the GCD lit up. Capture successful. Warning: GCD capacity at 50 percent. Ok. One more butler left... sure to be more. It's never that easy. Sweetie thought, readying herself for any other hostiles. She picked up her flashlight and stuck it back in her mouth, just in time for a licker to spin up in front of her. Ding! The glowing red licker had popped up right in front of Sweetie's light. Its grinning face went to horror in its mistake. "Ha! Saw you coming!" Sweetie said as she sucked up the licker. The fourth light on the Sweetie's back lit green. Her heart was pounding, adrenaline pumping through her veins. "Alright! Who's next?! I'll take on every last one of you!" Sweetie's moment of triumph and cockiness didn't last long as the room filled with laughter, louder than she'd experienced so far. On the far side of the room, three green butler ghosts phased through the wall... but they weren't normal ones. They were skeleton butlers... the ones Sweetie's light barely even worked on. Through the left wall came yet another licker and a foal ghost. To the right came another similar pair. As Sweetie's light went out instantly, her ears went down and her eyes dilated in fear. A bead of sweat went down the back of her head and mixed into her mane. "H-hey, guys. Y-y-you know I was kidding, right?" The ghosts’ laughter only got louder. Sweetie felt like covering her ears in an effort to block out their immense volume, but she shook her head. She wasn't going to give in to them now. Even if she was outnumbered, weaker, slower, less floaty... Sweetie got into the fighting stance Rainbow had shown her in the safe room. She wasn't as expert like with it as she was back at the carnival, but it was enough to show the ghosts she meant business... at least it was better than her "menacing" face as her teeth chattered in her skull. The ghosts’ laughter volume lowered slightly, allowing for Sweetie to process her thoughts normally. Here we go... can't afford any mistakes in this closed room... Sweetie thought. Just need to stay focused. I'm not going to die here. Sweetie gave the first attack, quickly switching to her GCD Spectral Throwback and hitting the middle skele-ghost. As she'd hoped, the flying ectoplasm did damage. However, rather than defeating the ghost, it simply damaged the skeletal armor, knocking it out of the ghost's body into the wall behind it. Ok, Skele-ghosts: 2 hits with the GCD Throwback to beat 'em. One hit makes them normal. Got it. Sweetie noted. Seeing their comrade defenseless, the second grinning skele-ghost got in front of the middle one as the third charged for Sweetie. Sweetie dodged to the left and ran forward as one of the foal ghosts took a shot of ectoplasm at the filly. The tip of Sweetie's tail caught a bit of the goo, but over all, she managed to dodge it as it splattered onto the ground behind her. Meanwhile, one of the red lickers flew up besides Sweetie and lashed its tongue out at her. She once again narrowly dodged it as she strafed to the right. She didn't however, escape the edge of its tongue as it slid across the side of her coat. Though it wasn't enough to knock her down, the filly did feel somewhat colder and weaker from the attack. Sweetie didn't let the licker have another go as she gave a shot of ectoplasm to the licker’s face, causing it to hit the wall and disappear for good. Three one of the green lights on Sweetie's back went red. One down, a hayload to go. Sweetie thought exhaustedly. Though the foal ghost was within range for her to shoot without missing, the filly knew best to save them for last. As a part of her strategy, she kept them around in case she needed to use their excursions for ammo. Instead, she shot at the second closest thing she could: the second skele-ghost. Much like the first ghost, the skeletal armor shot out of its body, whizzing past the ghost it was defending, and into the wall. Though Sweetie's hooves still shook from the immediate kickback the GCD gave upon firing a throwback, she managed to get in another shot, both ghosts and causing them to disappear like the lickker. Sweetie saw the final skele-ghost coming after her. She aimed her GCD at it, ready to destroy its light shield. Sweetie hit the button to fire a throwback. Portrait Ghost left. No other ammunition available. the GCD said. Of course not. Sweetie thought, cursing her negligence to count what she had left. The ghost rammed into the filly knocking her down. Sweetie managed to get up and dodge it as it came around for another attack. Sweetie circled around the skele-ghost, and dodged the licker’s tongue as it lashed out at her. She made it to where the foal ghost had previously spat at her and sucked the ectoplasm up into her GCD. She then proceeded to fire a shot of ectoplasm at one of the foal ghosts. It was a direct hit, causing it to disappear now. Ok... there's three ghosts left. That means... Sweetie thought, looking down at the flashlight still clamped down between her teeth. Sure enough, the light device flickered on, illuminating her front path. Sweetie circled back around the way she came to the licker. The red ghost tried to defend itself by trying to get a lick on the filly, however, Sweetie ducked just in time as she felt the chilling tongue graze her mane. She swept her flashlight in an upward direction to the licker. Ding! Sweetie went to suck up the licker, now that its light shield was broken. ...4, yank!3210. Capturing ghost. the GCD said. Sweetie whirled around to face the skele-ghost coming right for her. She immediately switched back to her throwback shot it with ectoplasm. It staggered back from the force as it's skeletal armor was ripped out. Sweetie charged for the ghost and lit it with her flashlight. Ding! Sweetie sucked up the butler ghost and turned back around to face the foal ghost, who was no longer laughing. It simply stared at the filly as she gave her own confident grin. "See ya." she said as she shot the foal with her last bit of ectoplasm. The ghosts were gone and no more came. Sweetie sighed in relief as the candles re-lit themselves. She was safe for now. Ok... besides nearly getting myself killed, what did that accomplish? Sweetie thought. Her first idea was to check out the door. Unfortunately, it was still locked, and she was still trapped. That hadn't changed. Sweetie then turned back around to face the model... it was a heap of ash now... or was it? She went over to the ash pile to get a closer look. Where the ropes had burned... there were embers. The glowing red embers were in particular shapes... they were numbers. Numbers 1 through 9 were writing in glowing red. They weren't in any particular order, and for the moment, Sweetie couldn't figure out for the life of her what it could mean... but after a few more seconds of examination, a thought came to her head. Could they be mansion floors? she thought. The font the embers were written out reminded Sweetie of her map and when it labeled which floor she was on. If that were true... then each area represented a floor of the mansion. Sweetie looked over at the pile of ash in which she could vaguely make out to be the food court. It had the number 8 written on it. That must have meant the camera was on the eighth floor. Sweetie made a point to remember that. The numbers weren't the only thing peculiar about the burnt model. Also, in the mist of the ash, a yellow chest with a red crystal at the lock had appeared. Sweetie stuck her flashlight back in her bag to investigate. Sweetie examined the chest, seeing that it had no keyhole, so Sweetie assumed she could just open it. It took a moment to realize she had to press the red crystal to release the lock. Once it was open, she took out each thing she found inside. The first thing Sweetie found... was an apple... not an ordinary apple, but a dessert apple, namely Pinkie's Sweetie Apple Surprise. The filly got a chill of fear, followed by a groan of hunger upon looking at the treat. "Please don't tell me what I think this means..." Sweetie said out loud. The last thing she wanted was to get the news that Pinkie was still loose. Sweetie then noticed a small note nailed to the apple. It was written in pink ectoplasm... apprehensively, Sweetie read it. Dear Jumpie, Good job catching me and those other c-a-razy ghosts! Didn't think you had it in you really, but don't think I'm done having fun with you yet! I've got one more super dooper fun game we can play before you get out of here. This one, I think you'll like the most... oh, I'll keep it a surprise for now, but trust me Jumpie. This one's gunna b gud he he he....It's also the only way off of this floor actually. I blocked all of the exits, so don't bother looking for any other ways around it... but don't worry. I promise. You'll want to play this one. See ya Jumpie! OXOXOXXO With Love <3, Pinkamina Diane Pie "Pinkie Pie. Even if you catch her, she'll still manage to mess with you." Sweetie sighed. "I wonder what this last game is, and why it's so special...?" Sweetie tested the hardness of Pinkie's candy apple. Unlike the previous ones, this one was hard and seemed to retain some warmth, indicating it couldn't have been made more than an hour ago. Sweetie decided to put away the apple for now, in case it somehow proved useful. She stuck it in a separate pocket of her saddlebags, so the caramel wouldn't stick to the other various items inside. Sweetie took out the next item, which she identified to be some kind of science beaker with a large cork on top. It glowed green, and seemed to be coated with a thin layer of ectoplasm on the inside. "Huh. Wonder what this is for? Might as well keep it. Wouldn't be here without a reason, right?" Sweetie put the beaker inside of her saddlebags. "What else, what else..." Sweetie said, going back to the chest. She next took out a piece of paper. It was a journal page... it was written by Specter this time. June 27th 852 A.C After the close encounter my dear sweet Sunflower, and my supplies... she hasn't trusted me. She doesn't say it flat out, but I can see it in her eyes 20/7. When we eat, when we walk, when we make love... she gives me the suspicion of a criminal, rather than a lover... I'm even getting the vibe she's trying to get my children on her side, rather than my own... but who could blame her, I suppose. That suspicion however, isn't why I've chosen to write today. I've written because of the semi-traumatic phenomenon that has occurred that I must have on record in case he makes me forget... In order to release some tension between Sunflower, my children and I, I bought us tickets to the Stabletown fair. I was never one to take my children to such... may I say 'commoner' events. I respect the general population a great deal, but there's always that danger when you have such a large amount of money like me... not to mention my line of work. In any case, we went, we had fun, the normal for a family outing as such... but things went bad when Sunflower and I separated with our kids. I'm not sure the details of how it started, but all I know is that Candy had a phobiapahy episode today. She ran amok though the carnival, and started a fire somewhere on the other side of the carnival... I'm not sure how, but considering it started in the second food court, I could only imagine in her fear, she knocked over something flaming... that's not important though. What's really important is what followed. Once the fire started and spread, naturally, my dear Sunflower attempted to put it out with her ability to manipulate flames... but she didn't put them out, oh no. Instead, when she touched the flames with her magic, they grew... no, exploded. I heard it from my side of the carnival, it was enough to stop the pie eating contest. Oblivious to any danger my lovely wife and child might be in, I followed the example of the other ponies and stallions and went for the entrance of the carnival. Thankfully, less than 20 minutes later, I was met with her, tears streaming down her eyes with Candy, holding on fearfully to the back of her neck. The fire spread quickly, engulfing the flames in an unquenchable fire. It took another good hour for the weather ponies to build up enough clouds to legitimately fight the fire. In the end however, very few injuries were reported and no deaths were registered... but that's not what scared me. This was my love's talent. To manipulate flames to her will, but in this case, she couldn't even control them it just didn't add up. I wondered if ........... but unlike the rest of Equestria, Stabletown, though it has plenty other problems, hasn't experienced any of those kinds of phenomena.......we had.......eal Some of the last parts of the journal entry were scratched out. Something was really up, and Sweetie knew it. What the hay was Specter talking about? Why had Madame's talent turned from controlling flames, to making them spread out of control? Just more questions... Sweetie placed her newest entry into the journal and went for the final item in the chest. It was a skeleton key. "Finally, we're getting somewhere." Sweetie thought. The filly didn't bother putting this into her bag, having a pretty good idea what it was for. Sweetie went back over to the locked door and stuck the key inside. As she'd hoped it was a perfect fit. She turned it and opened the door to exit. As she left the room, the candles flickered out and the room was dark aside from the faint moonlight that streamed through the opening in the door. Once again, checking to make sure that she was still heading in the right direction, Sweetie continued down the hallway to see what else she could find... *** After looking through a few rooms, Sweetie finally made it to the end of the hallway. She stood in front of the window that the moonlight mainly shined through. Upon arriving at the dead end, Sweetie saw what Pinkie meant through her note. To her right was what she assumed was another branch of the hallway. The path was blocked by a wall of boards nailed up to each other. The filly attempted to use her body to break it down, but it was no use. Either she was too weak, or it was too strong. In whatever case, that hallway was blocked off. To the left of the filly was a stairway. Much like the one on the 4th floor, this one also had its planks ripped out, reducing it to nothing more than a pit. Sweetie sighed, realizing she had no other choice but to play Pinkie's "game". She turned back around to face the opposite direction to head back to the plane... but she stopped. Down the hallway, she saw a glowing blue figure approach her. It was a unicorn ghost... no, it was a pegasus... no... it was an alicorn. Sweetie's eyes contracted in fear, knowing it could be only one pony. The raiser of the moon and princess of the night: Princess Luna. Sweetie watched as she approached the filly. Fear consumed her as she got closer and closer. Sweetie knew the power that alicorns had. She'd learned both in and out of school that alicorns were said to be the closest things mortals have come to gods. Proven by the church she'd visited earlier, they were even worshiped as legends. Sweetie knew that she couldn't hope to tame that kind of power... But could Specter? Sweetie thought. She remembered Specter saying that Celestia and Luna had unimaginable willpower... maybe she wasn't here to kill her. She wasn't even grinning like a ghost... Maybe she'd somehow escaped Specter's grasp? The thought caused the filly's heart to slow down a bit in her chest as Luna's distance grew shorter. Sweetie stepped forward. "P-princess Luna?" she called. The alicorn stopped in her tracks, staring at Sweetie. There was a pause for a moment before Luna finally spoke. "FILLY! TH-OU ART THE S-ISTER OF THE ELEM-ENTS?" She called. She seemed to be using her trademark Royal Canterlot Voice. It was quieter than she'd imagined, but she was definitely speaking way louder than any normal pony should have. It took Sweetie a moment to process what the princess had just said. She was the sister of Rarity, the Element of Generosity... "Yeah! I'm Rarity's sister! Sweetie Belle!" Sweetie said. "SWEET-TIE BELLE?" Princess Luna asked. "Yeah! I don't know if you've met her, but she's an element too!" Sweetie said. She was getting tired of yelling, so she began to walk over to her. Luna followed her example and began to walk toward her as well. "S-WEETIE! S-TO-P NOW!" Luna warned. Her words seemed forced, as though it were painful to speak every word that she yelled. "Huh? Why?" Sweetie asked, not stopping her walk. Luna's horn glowed blue, as though she were charging a spell. "BECAUSE I ART ABOUT TO KILL THOU!" She said. Sweetie's eyes went big as an instinct caused her to fall to her stomach and duck as a blue bolt of lightning whizzed over her head. "Woah! What the hay was that for?!" "I HATH NO C-ON-TRO-L OVER M-YSE-LF! R-R-RUN!" Luna yelled as she extended her wings, their length nearly taking up the entire width of the hallway. Sweetie scrambled to her feet and ran for Luna as she charged back. She had to get past her, as the path behind her was a dead end. As Luna had her wings extended, she also blocked the path in front of Sweetie... all but a small opening in the area between Luna's left foreleg and wing. It was small, but if Sweetie ran perfectly through it, she might be able to get past the mare. Sweetie leaped through the hole as Luna went to the side ever so slightly in an effort to help the filly get by. Sweetie rolled over, her outer coat freezing from the close encounter with the incredibly powerful ghost. Sweetie looked back at Luna as she turned around to face the filly. Now, she wore the same ghostly grin as the other ponies in the mansion. It twitched, showing some kind of futile resistance on the mare's part. "ha.... hahaha...RUN!" Luna forced. Sweetie couldn't believe it. Specter had managed to break Luna, the second most powerful being in her mind, into doing his will. "Ha...HaHAHAhahaha... RUN!" Luna ordered again. Sweetie took a step back in disbelief, trying to force her legs to move. "HaHAHEHAHARUNHAHAHAHEHEHEHEHARUNHAHAHAHA!" Luna laughed as she charged for another magic lightning bolt. That was enough to convince Sweetie to book it into the other direction, barely dodging Luna's second lightning attack. Sweetie ran, putting every ounce of energy into her escape. She knew that the alicorn alive had enough speed to beat Rainbow Dash as a ghost, and that she had no chance of outrunning her. Hopefully the real Luna could keep her ghostly counterpart slow enough to come up with a plan of action. For now, all she could do was run as fast as her little filly legs could carry her. Sweetie passed by many doors, and was almost sure that she'd passed more than she'd checked... no, she was almost sure. So far, the filly had left every door she'd come across open, and now, she was passing closed doors. That must have meant she had gone past her starting point... but the strange thing was, that she'd yet to come across the CMC plane. Had some pony taken it? If so, where and why? Sweetie kept running, until she heard a screeching caw some distance in front of her. Sweetie skidded to a stop. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Sweetie yelled. "I'm commin for ya Dumb Bell!" Gilda called from further down the hall. It was official. Between Luna and Gilda, Sweetie was trapped. She needed a plan, and fast. Somewhere to... Sweetie looked up at the door in front of her. It was the etching of a marble... it had to be Marbles' room. Sweetie didn't waste time to reach into her saddlebags, and snatched out the key. She stuck it into the lock and turned. The door clicked open. Sweetie raced inside and slammed the door behind her. She put the key into the hole on the other side of the door, locking it. That'll buy me some time. Sweetie thought panicked. Sweetie looked around the room. It was similar to Candy's room with the crib. The worst thing though, was the lack of hiding places Sweetie had other than under the crib, under the twin sized bed, behind the dresser, and in the closet. Even then, there was no doubt the mare and griffon would check all of those places. There was the window however... but Sweetie knew that even if she tried to escape out of there, she would never survive the fall to the bottom... but the window did give the filly an idea. Sweetie ran over to the window and unlocked it. As she did, she heard Gilda from the other side of the door as she tried to enter. "Break the damn door down mare!" Gilda ordered. Sweetie didn't have much time. Sweetie opened the window and laid Applejack's hat in front of it. She then sped over to the crib and hid under it as the door was busted down by a blue hoof. Gilda and Luna entered the room. They both looked around the room suspiciously. Gilda went over to look in the closet for the filly. Sweetie nearly let out a gasp as Princess Luna almost instantly looked at Sweetie under the crib. Sweetie assumed, much like Celestia and Pinkie, that she had a sixth sense that allowed the mare to know Sweetie's exact location. Then mare didn't say anything however, biting her lip to keep quiet. "Oh, Dumb Bell.... where are you..." Gilda asked. "Are you... under HERE!" Gilda asked quickly looking under the bed, as if to scare the filly should that have been her hiding spot. "Or... are you over HERE!" Gilda asked, checking behind the dresser. Seeing that she wasn't over there, she grinned, knowing there was only one other spot the filly could hide in the room. Gilda slowly went over to the crib. Sweetie closed her eyes and covered her head fearfully, knowing she was cornered... "W-AIT!" Luna said, stopping the griffon. "What the hay do you want?" Gilda asked her. "SH-E'S NOT IN H-ERE." Luna said. "What, do you think I'm stupid?" Gilda asked. "N-O, B-UT I BE-LIEV-E YOU D-O LAC-K C-OMMON S-ENS-E." Luna said. Gilda crossed her eyes and went over to the mare, standing over her. "Alright wise pony. Tell me. Where is she?" Gilda asked. "TH-E FILLY W-EN-T O-UT T-HE WIN-DOW!" Luna forced out, glancing over at Sweetie every few seconds. Thankfully, Gilda was too annoyed with Luna's insult to notice. "The window?" Gilda asked, looking over at the window that was wide open. Gilda went over to investigate. She picked up Applejack's beaten up hat and examined it. She threw it behind her and looked out the window. "She must have jumped into the courtyard down there... no way she could have survived a fall like that." "W-HY DO-TH T-HO-U NOT CH-EC-K?" Luna suggested, still unable to take her eyes off of Sweetie. Gilda went over and angrily put her beak to Luna's muzzle. "Look princess. I don't care who you are, but you'd better remember somethin'. You don't order me around, got it? I call the shots." "I W-AS M-ERE-LY MAK-ING A S-U-GES-TIO-N." Luna said. It took a few seconds before Gilda cooled down and got off of Luna. "C'mon, and follow me down to the courtyard to look around for her. And quit that Royal Canterlot Crap, no pony likes it, and it's annoying." Gilda flew down to the courtyard below. With one final look at Sweetie, she followed her new griffon master. Once they were gone, and Sweetie was sure she was safe, she sighed in relief. Sweetie was almost sure she would have a heart attack if she had any more close calls like that. Sweetie lied under the crib for a few moments to let her heart slowdown in her chest, and regain her composure. As she became much more aware of her surroundings, she noticed a peculiar smell in the air. "Ew... what is that?" Sweetie whispered out loud. She looked to her left to see that she was lying next to a moldy sandwich. "Yuck. Who hides a sandwich under their bed and forgets about it?" Sweetie noticed a sliver of yellow sticking out of the sandwich. Against her better judgment she slid it out of the sandwich. It was a slice of cheese, certainly better looking than the sandwich it was inside. Sweetie looked at the cheese, wondering why it hadn't aged like the sandwich... suddenly she heard something. Squeak. Though it was small, it was surprising enough for the filly to jump and hit the top of her head. "Ow..." she moaned, rubbing the umpteenth blow she'd received to her cranium. She looked forward to see that a little yellow ghost mouse had appeared right in front of her. "Oh, it's you again. Hi." Sweetie said softly. The mouse simply squeaked. Still holding the cheese, she crawled out from under the bed and walked to the center of the room to retrieve her hat. Once the hat was back on her head, Sweetie looked over to see that the mouse had followed her. "What?" Sweetie asked before looking at the cheese in her hoof. It squeaked eagerly. "Oh, you want this? Here you go little guy." Sweetie said, lying the slice of cheese in front of the mouse. Though Sweetie doubted the mouse had intentionally saved her life, she still felt she owed something to the little creature. After all, it was the only ghost besides Madame that didn't act hostile. Hm... wait a second... could I use you again? Sweetie wondered. Sweetie reached into her bag and pulled out the beaker she'd recently found. She wondered... Sweetie took the cork off of the beaker and placed its opening at the edge of the cheese, right next to the ghost mouse. She swept both the cheese and the mouse into the beaker. As Sweetie hoped, the mouse didn't phase through the glass or anything. It simply kept nibbling happily on the cheese. The glass must have been specially made to contain ghosts… "Don't worry little guy. I won't keep you for much longer. I just need you for a little insurance..." Sweetie stuck the cork back onto the top of the beaker, trapping the mouse inside. She then stuck the beaker on her head under her hat to keep from having to shuffle around her bag for it in an emergency situation. Something told the filly that this last game of Pinkie's would involve something with her possessed friends... Sweetie checked the crib, hoping that it might hold another item she would find useful. Inside the crib, there was a single key with a piece of peppermint stuck to its handle. Sweetie took it and pocketed it along with the marble key. There was no journal page to accompany it, and therefore, no other reason to stay in the room. Sweetie left the room, to face whatever the hallway had left to throw at her... *** Sweetie had walked for a good 4 or 5 minutes. She'd stopped checking rooms, having a good feeling she'd see a door that held something interesting inside of it. As she continued to walk for those few minutes, continuing to see nothing but a string of similar looking doors, Sweetie thought about going back to check the doors she'd passed... but then she came across what she was looking for. Sweetie stood in front of a large double door labeled "Play Room". On the two handles was a large lock with two key holes and a note taped to it. Sweetie took off the note and read it. Well, this is it Jumpie. This is one of those climactic thingies that authors like to do to keep their readers reading. That means that when you enter this door, you’re going to have to make a choice, and you’re not going to have much time to make it. I really wish you could have caught me later so I could watch... but I guess we can't all have what we want huh? Still though, I saved the best for last and the last... for you. Don't die too quickly Jumpie, M'kay? Good luck... you'll need it. Sweetie sighed as she folded up the note and put it in her saddle bags. She stuck the marble key and the peppermint key she'd collected into their locked and turned, releasing the lock and allowing Sweetie to enter. Sweetie gulped as she pushed the door open. and entered the play room. Once inside, she saw... no one at first. It was just a normal play room. Toys were scattered along the floor, dusty from age. A balcony window was open, allowing a cool breeze to enter the room. Above the filly was the CMC paper airplane, hanging weakly by two ropes. One at the tip and one at the tail. "Sweetie! How nice of you to join us." Spike said, revealing himself on the balcony. "Let me guess... Spiffy?" Sweetie asked. "Clever filly for you to make it this far. Wouldn't have expected you to make it this far when I let you into Yield Manor... Miss Belle." Spiffy/Spike said. "It's a shame that you weren't however, clever enough to realize that this was a trap." The door shut behind Sweetie, causing her to jump a little. The filly didn't take her eyes off of Spiffy/Spike as she examined him. He didn't have any weapons on him... however he held a rope in his claws. Sweetie looked up to see that it was attached to a pulley hanging by the rope at the tip of the CMC plane. Sweetie wondered what it could be for. It didn't look like the other end was connected to the plane.... "Didn't really have much of a choice, Mr. Spiffy." Sweetie said. "Young filly, there's always a choice. And I'm going to help you make one." Spiffy/Spike said. From the top of the plane, Sweetie saw Candy/Applebloom and Marbles/Scootaloo pop their heads over the edge of the plane. "What's up Sweetie Belle?" Candy/Applebloom asked through the knife in her muzzle. "Yeah! Sorry about running off like that. Trust me. Nothing like that is gonna happen again." Marbles/Scootaloo said. "You see Sweetie, our dear friend Pinkamina wanted us to play a little game." Spiffy/Spike said. "Yeah! Pinkie kept saying this one would be the best." Marbles/Scootaloo said. Her grin was particularly wide. "Well, are you going to tell me, or keep me in suspense?" Sweetie asked bitterly. "Sure! Why not?" Candy/Applebloom said. The two of them jumped simutaniously on the plane, causing the ropes it was attached to, to break and cause the plane to fall down to the ground. It was then Sweetie gasped in horror, as she saw that the other end of the rope attached to the pulley was tied around Scootaloo's neck. "No." Sweetie breathed. "Here's how the game will work." Spiffy/Spike explained. "You have say... two minute to exorcise both Ms. Applebloom and Ms. Scootaloo here. If you don't..." Spiffy/Spike backed to the edge of the balcony. "I'll jump. As you could imagine, this will cause Mr. Spike to dangle for his life and Ms. Scootaloo to hang... and I'm sure you wouldn't want that on your conscience, hm? There is a way to save her however if you fail... but I'll let you figure that out if it come to that. Those are the rules." T-two minutes to exorcise both of my friends, or they'll d-die? Sweetie thought. The filly still barely had any idea of how to exercise to begin with... did she? She remembered how the mouse scared Marbles/Scootaloo into running away... and that glow in his/her mouth... maybe she could scare the spirit out of her... but that still left Applebloom. She got scared when gooey things got in her hair... she didn't have any ectoplasm on her, but there was some on the plane. Sweetie's plan formulated in her head. It was something she could work with... but whatever the case was, Sweetie wasn't going to let her friends die. "And... let the games begin." Spiffy/Spike said spreading his arms, indicating the start of the clock. Marbles/Scootaloo charged at Sweetie as she dodged to the right, circling around the paper airplane. "C'mon Sweetie. You’re supposed to be saving your friends. Not running away from them!" Marbles/Scootaloo laughed. Candy/Applebloom leaped at Sweetie, attempting to cut her with her knife. Sweetie dodged again, as Applebloom attempted to swipe at the filly a good number of times. Sweetie received a few scratches in that time, but nothing enough to fatally wound the filly. "Once you’re dead, we're gonna get Pinkie back, and then we're gonna go after your stupid grown-up friends!" Candy/Applebloom laughed. After glancing at the orange filly, Sweetie noticed that rather than joining the fight, Marbles/Scootaloo simply sat by, watching as Candy/Applebloom kept the filly from her. All she had to do was wait until the minute was up... chances were, once Scootaloo's body was dead, Marbles would trade Scootaloo's body for hers... Sweetie wasn't prepared to let any of that happen. She had to stop the both of them... and she had a plan. "One minute left Ms. Belle." Spiffy/Spike said. Sweetie needed to get Candy/Applebloom off of her back and fast. Luckily, Sweetie noticed Candy/Applebloom get tired for a split second, opening her up to an attack. Sweetie seized the opportunity and rammed into the filly, knocking her onto the paper airplane. Sweetie didn't hesitate to leap off of the filly and over onto Scootaloo putting the filly on top of her. "Not so nice the other way around huh?" Sweetie said, trying to remain as brave as possible as her friend's life was ticking away. It was time to reveal her secret weapon. Sweetie took off her hat and took out the jar. Scootaloo's body went weak for a moment at the sight of the creature. "No. Anything but that!" Marbles/Scootaloo pleaded. Sweetie released the cork, pouring the mouse and cheese onto Scootaloo's stomach. The mouse was oblivious to everything around it as it enjoyed its dairy product. "No! Get it off of me!" Marbles/Scootaloo screamed, trying to get free of Sweetie. Between Marbles fear and inability to use the body he'd possessed correctly out of said fear, it was useless. "Get it off! GET IT OFF! GET IT!!! AAAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAH!" Scootaloo's mouth and eyes glowed as they went wide open. Marbles flew out of Scootaloo's body screaming and rubbing his body in attempts to get a mouse off that wasn't even there. Its tail was still somewhat inside of Scootaloo's mouth. Sweetie had but a few seconds now to get Candy out of Applebloom before Marbles' phobiapathy wore off and he flew back into Scootaloo. Sweetie noticed that the filly was still somewhat lying on the plane, looking up at her brother as he screamed. Sweetie seized the opportunity and leaped off of Scootaloo's unconscious body and over onto Applebloom, catching the filly off guard. Sweetie got on top of Candy/Applebloom in the same manner she did with Scootaloo. Applebloom spit the knife out of her mouth, loosely into her hoof. She tried to stab Sweetie at her side, however the filly managed to knock it out of the air, and cause her to drop it. "Thirty Seconds left." Spiffy/Spike said. Sweetie bent down and hugged Candy/Applebloom by the abdomen and rolled over once toward the tip of the tail, where the ectoplasm was. Candy/Applebloom saw how close her head was getting to the substance. Once Sweetie had wrestled her over to the green glowing splotch, the filly struggled to keep her head and mane up from touching the goo. "No! NO!" Candy/Applebloom cried in much the same way as Marbles. "Now, get out of my FRIEND!" Sweetie screamed as she forced the filly's head into the goo. The filly's red mane was covered in the goo, causing her to start hyperventilating before screaming madly. Just like Scootaloo, Applebloom's mouth and eyes began to glow before Candy flew out of Applebloom, leaving the filly unconscious. "Time to end this." Sweetie said as she went into her saddlebags and snatched out her flashlight. Quickly she swept the two children with her flashlight, so much so, she lost her grip and threw the flashlight across the room. Ding! Ding! "Gotcha!" Sweetie yelled as she started to suck them up with the GCD dual capture. 20,19,18,17... the GCD said monotone. At the sound of the vacuum and the feeling of the magic being taken off of their bodies, the two children began to panic. Like the other ghosts, the two tried to escape the GCD's grasp, but since they kept going in the opposite direction of each other, Sweetie wasn't dragged around as much as she might catching one ghost. ...14,13yank!1211109, 8... The two children's screams got louder and louder. Their tails had yet to leave the mouths of her friends, limiting their movements as well. In a nutshell, they were tied down by the bodies they possessed. "Not so fun when you’re the ones getting scared huh?!" Sweetie yelled at the children. "No! You can't do this! Mommy and Daddy wouldn't let you!" Candy screamed. I beg to differ. Sweetie thought, remembering Madame’s request. "Miss Pinkie said that this wouldn't happen! This can't be happening!" "Don't worry!" Sweetie said. 3, 2, 1. Magic Depleted. Capturing ghost. the GCD said. "You'll be able to tell her all about it now!" Sweetie said. Suddenly, something happened Sweetie didn't quite expect. The GCD let out two bolts of lightning similar to the ones it used to capture the portrait ghosts. The filly thought that this only happened when she was catching the Portraits of Harmony... The bolt of lightning killed Sweetie's adrenaline high, and converted it into pain. She screamed right along with the children as they were dragged into the GCD. Their tails were ripped right out of the mouths of her friends as they glittered on the floor for a moment before going still again. With one final scream, the children were dragged into the confines of the GCD, and the room was silent again. Sweetie weakly collapsed to her stomach, panting lightly. As Sweetie started to drift out of conciousness, her eyes went to her friends... she watched as their chests went up and down, showing signs of breathing... They're alive she thought as she closed her eyes, fainting... ... ... ... ... ... "Bravo Ms. Belle." Spiffy/Spike said. "Bravo indeed." Sweetie's head turned sharply toward Spiffy/Spike, as she still held a slim grasp on her consciousness. "Before I go, might I be so kind to ask you a simple question?" Spiffy/Spike asked. Sweetie could have sworn the dragon took a step back, closer to the edge as he talked. "W...what?" Sweetie managed to let out. "Can you... sing?" Spiffy/Spike asked. It was a random question, and one that puzzled Sweetie. Why the hay would he be asking that? "I... I guess..." Sweetie said weakly, watching as Spiffy/Spike took another step closer to the edge. It was then her brain began processing what he was about to do. "No..." She mumbled. Spiffy/Spike chucked. "Just a bit of curiosity on my part. Goodbye Ms. Belle." Spiffy said as he launched his ghost out of Spike's body, bringing back the dragon's green eyes. Unlike the two filly's the dragon was quite conscious as he began to fall backwards over the balcony. "No, no NO!" Sweetie screamed, finding energy she didn't even know she had to get herself up and run over to the dragon. "Woah! Woah!" Spike yelled as he fell. Still gripping the rope, he fell. As he did, Scootaloo regained some consciousness right in time for her to be yanked up into the air by the noose around her neck. She gagged, grabbing on to her neck in futile attempts to release the rope that was cutting off her air supply. Sweetie ran over and grabbed the rope, but not in enough time to keep Spike from falling over the ledge. Now, as Spike held on for dear life, the only thing keeping him from falling to his death in the courtyard below, was Scootaloo who hanged in the room choking. Sweetie did her absolute best to pull Spike up by the rope, but it was no use. She was far too weak to do anything to help the dragon. As the clock ticked further and further down as Scootaloo's eyes went red from lack of oxygen. Sweetie was running out of time... then a thought popped into her head. An evil thought in the voice of the ghost Pinkie Pie... Cut him loose. the voice said. If Sweetie cut Spike off of the rope, then Scootaloo would be released... but that would also kill Spike... did she really want to do that? She couldn't pull him up herself, so there was no way Spike was going to live... right? The thought sickened her. Sweetie was running out of options, and she'd have to make a decision fast. Cut Spike and let him loose... or leave him and let them both die... Shakily, Sweetie abandoned the rope for a moment to fish out Applebloom's knife from her saddlebags. She couldn't believe what she was doing. Though her hooves shook, she felt like a robot as she went to cut the rope and and let it fall along with Spike- "Sweetie!" Applebloom called running over to her. Sweetie dropped the knife and looked over at her friend. "Wha's happinin'?!" She asked panicked. "Why' is-" "Spike! Sweetie said. "We need to pull him up now!" Sweetie wouldn't have been able to pull up the dragon by herself, however with the combined strength of Applebloom and herself, they managed. Once Spike was up onto the balcony, Scootaloo dropped back to the ground, gasping for air. From all of the stress the filly had endured, Sweetie fell down right on the spot, unconscious and unmoving... Intermission Inception"Princess?" Busby Sword, one of the guards asked as he creaked the door open. When he received no answer, he swung the door wide open, allowing the torchlight from outside to . "Princess? Are you in here?" He asked again. Still, he received no answer. The silence gave the rookie guard a certain chill he wasn't used to. Though moonlight was softly blanketed over what the guard assumed was her bed, it was still quite hard to see what was inside. His horn glowed in order to turn on the grand lamps that sat in the corners of the room, illuminating it grandly. At the center of the room sat a bed of soft white feathers Celestia had gathered over the years of her rule. Over the bed was a large window in the shape of a sun, allowing the small clouded moonlight in. She's not here? Busby thought. Where could she have gone? The bed didn't show any signs of stress or movement, as the edges of the sheets were still tucked in at various spots under the feathers... however no new ones had shown up. No doubt about it, Celestia hadn't slept in her bed since the previous night. This rose the question however... what did that mean? Where was the sun Princess? The sun would have to be up in less than 2 hours. What if it didn't come up? A thought also stuck the guard. Prior to his recruitment, he'd been a common pony who'd walked around like everyone else. The only reason he went into the guard training nearly two years ago was because of the "Great Threats of Equestria" incidents. One’s notable included Nightmare Moon and Discord... He'd wanted to protect the ones who'd gotten hurt during their games and be able to save lives... or at least that was his surface reason. Part of him simply took up the job to be close to the princess on such an occasion so he'd be somewhat protected by such a powerful pony, both politically and physically. It was also partially the reason why he became a sun guard. Though Princess Luna wasn't exactly feared in Equestria, but rather loved, the guard still held some left after the Nightmare Moon incident as she watched guards get shot out of the air by her lightning. The guard wondered... could that mare have returned? The thought frightened the guard, but he shook his head. It couldn't be true... Celestia herself even assured that the manifestation of the mare's hatred and mental anguish couldn't have recreated itself. Besides, even if it was true, he knew he shouldn't have been too naive to think that a job as Equestria's basic military force wouldn't involve some kind of danger every now and again, even in the mostly peaceful country of Equestria... None the less, the guard knew well to notify his platoon leader of the sun princess's disappearance. Quickly, he bolted out of the room, running down the hallways to the main entrance. He remembered how he was complaining he was the one with the mundane task of checking up on the princess every hour or so... he just thought it was one of those things that guards gave the rookie to do to keep them from the important stuff experienced guards got to do. With that thought, he'd been severely slacking on his hourly check on the princess... specifically, this was the second time he'd checked on her his first night on the job. The first time was around seven o'clock yesterday, in which the Princess had still yet to return. He'd assumed that she was out doing... whatever sun princesses did. Ever since, he'd been wandering around Canterlot Castle, listening to the rain as it beat against the walls. Since it was nearly the end of his shift, and the rain had let up enough to actually leave the castle, Busby thought the least he could do was check on the princess one last time... The stallion finally made it to the Guard Barracks to confront platoon leader Duarte Knight, who was shining his sword along with Waite, a 2 year vet. Unlike Busby, they both had seen a lot of action between the two Great Threats. They both wore similar scars from the lightning bolts they'd received from Nightmare peeking out from the edges of their armor. They also held emptiness to their eyes when silent, hinting they'd been touched by Discord in some way. Other than the placement of their scars, their eye color, Waite's being purple and Duarte's being indigo, and the fact one was earth and the other was pegusi, they looked very similar to the other sun guards. They both, much like himself, had coats altered to be white by the enchanted golden armor they wore. Upon Busby's arrival, they both turned from their swords to the panting stallion. "Busby? What are you doing? Your shift shouldn't end for another 10 minutes! Get back to your post!" Duarte ordered. Waite was the first one to notice Busby's fearful demeanor. "What's wrong Bubble? First day on the job and you've already lost your nerve?" he laughed. Once Busby had caught his breath, he looked up at his superiors. "The... the princess." he breathed. Duarte looked at the stallion peculiarly. "What about her? Speak up stallion!" "She's... she's missing." he breathed. Durate and Waite looked at each other, then back at Busby. "Are you sure?" Waite asked. "Of course I'm sure." Busby said bitterly. "I checked her bed, and all around her room. She's not there. I doubt she even went into her room this night-" "Wait, wait wait." Durate stopped him. "You’re saying that she wasn't in her room all night? Why didn't you report this earlier?" Uh oh. Shouldn't have let that slip out. Busby thought. "I uh... wasn't exactly checking her in detail." "Not in detail? Or not at all." Durate said, crossing his eyes. He gave the stallion a look that made him gulp. After a few seconds of angry staring, he turned to Waite. "Waite. Get the moon guards to check on Princess Luna. Let's see if we've got two missing princesses. I'm going to notify all guards to search the entire castle for Princess Celestia. Neither of the princesses are found, I'll have a few moon and sun guards meet at the castle gates to discuss the next plan of action." Waite nodded and left the barracks room. Busby tried to turn to leave and clock out for the night. "Wait rookie." Durate said angrily. Oh boy. Busby thought turning back to the angry platoon leader.. "You..." the pegusi said before sighing. "You didn't do your duty tonight, and for that, I'm disappointed in you. You swore an oath to protect the princess and to serve her was your duty." Durate said. Sorry if walking back and forth around one door doesn't count as a 'duty' in my book. Busby thought. "I should have you relieved of duty right now... but until we find the princess, I need you to assist with the search around the castle." "Y-yes sir." Busby said. "Once the princess is found, I'll let her discipline you. She has her own... special ways of dealing with lazy guards such as yourself. The thought of Celestia punishing him did scare him, as Celestia seemed way too nice on the surface to "punish" any pony. Busby had read a book about a mare, who seemed to be happy, bubbly and cheerful, but in the end, she just gutted her best friend like a fish. "Well? What are you waiting for? Get out of my face. See if you can't redeem yourself by acting like a real guard who cares about his princess." Busby silently swallowed and nodded before exiting the barrack room. Outside, Waite was waiting for him. He gave the rookie guard a friendly smile. "Don't worry Bubble. Every pony does something like that on their first day on the job. Duarte gets on them all." he assured. "Only a hoofful of them get to the point of really getting it from the Princess, and she doesn't do much." "Really?" Busby asked. "Yeah. I mean, no one's been sent to the moon as far as I've been here. The worst I've heard is something about the princess liking to touch her guards... but that's probably just a rumor." Dear Celestia I hope so... wait... Busby thought. "Well, you'd better get going." Waite said patting Busby on the back of the neck before continuing down the castle hall. "Last thing we'd want is for some Knighty to find you just standing around... or he actually might let Celestia getcha." He laughed before leaving Busby alone. *** Busby walked around the castle, passing by other guards, both sun and moon looking for the same alicorn that was absent. The guard stallion figured that the princess of the moon was also missing, given the number of moon guards he'd passed by so far. He'd already checked a few rooms and briefly the dungeons. There was no sign of either princess anywhere. He decided to head out to the castle gates where Durate told the guards to meet. Once outside, the moist air hit his face. Water that lingered from the heavy rain that had pounded the night earlier seeped through the sides of his armor and into his mane. The feeling chilled the guard... Busby hated that feeling of coldness in his mane. He walked along the path to the castle gates, passing by the statues of ponies that had made names for themselves in Equesrtia history... for better or for worst. Busby stopped in front of one statue in particular. He knew this one well, as should any pony have for that matter. Standing in a triumphant pose, was the stone depiction of the god of chaos, draconequus of disorder, and male of mayhem, Discord. Standing next to him, was another stone statue of Nightmare Moon, standing smugly against Discord. Though they were two different villains with very different goals, the two seemed to fit standing together. Though Busby knew very well that Nightmare wasn't real, but he did know that Discord was. Busby closed his eyes remembering the story of what happened in the two stories... all guards knew this information, for they had to in order to pass the written portion of the Royal Guard exam. Nightmare was the one who hated Celestia for imprisoning her on the moon, fighting the princess over Equestria for 10 years... Discord was the one who liked to have fun messing with ponies, and managed to overthrow Celestia and Luna for 300 years... Busby remembered why Nightmare was released, given her banishment clock had just ran up. Discord however... he could vaguely remember. All he could remember was that it had something to do with three fillies... he remembered their names were Applebloom, Scootaloo and... but Busby couldn't remember the third one for the life of him. He figured she couldn't be that important anyway. Busby continued to stare at the statue, mesmerized, but he wasn't sure why. Was it the simple fact that he was standing in front of a god that couldn't move because he was encased in rock? Or was it something about the- "Sun Guard!" a mare called. Busby turned to face a guard who wore the armor and dark coat of a moon guard. Her flamboyant eyelashes indicated she was in fact female. "What do you know. I didn't know they let mares guard the-" Busby started. "Shut it rookie." the moon guard mare snapped. Sheesh. Try to be friendly. Are all guards like this to newbies? Busby thought. "What are you doing? This is a national emergency!" she said angrily. "The princess is missing and all you can think to do is stare at stones?" "It's... an interesting stone." Busby said timidly. The mare squinted angrily, indicating the stallion should change his approach. "Hey, my name's Busby. Busby Sword. What's yours?" "Busby... I'm surprised your application was accepted on account of your name, let alone your laziness." Hey lady. We just met. I haven't even taken a nap yet. Busby thought. And what's wrong with my name?! "Busby! Paita! Quit flirting and get over here!" Another moon guard called, accompanied by another moon guard, Waite and Durate. "You've got a job to do." Paita grumbled something before flying over to her platoon leader. "Come on you!" She called back to Busby. Oh boy... ten seconds and I've already got her hating me too. Busby thought. Sun and Moon guards always had a moderate rivalry, but no immediate feeling that represented whatever Peta Sharp felt toward Busby. Something told him that by the end of the night, the two would love each other to pieces, or potentially want to slit each other's throats. Maybe both. The unicorn sun guard trotted over to the group to join them. From there, he could see that they were all surrounding one of the royal chariots. "Alright, listen up the five of you!" Durate said. Though they weren't apart of the same team, all three of the moon guards stood strait and dignified to listen to what the platoon leader had to say. Busby was the only one who jumped before joining the rest of the ponies in the same manner. Durate shook his head at the stallion. "As of now, Princess Celestia is missing, and the country of Equestria is on national alert." First day on the job, and there's an official national crisis? Super. Busby thought. "Might I also add..." one of the moon guards came out of the small group to join Duarte. He was likely the leader of that platoon of moon guards. "... that Princess Luna is missing as well." "Right. As you all are aware of, this has happened before... must I mention the Nightmare Moon incident?" Duarte said looking at Busby. "What?" Busby asked. "Nothing... you just seemed like one of those who screwed through the test and lucked out getting the answer right." Durate admitted. The moon guards chuckled amongst themselves as Busby sighed. "I know all about Nightmare Moon and Discord... sir." Busby said. "As you should." the moon guard platoon leader said. "In any case, our first order of business is to alert the Elements of Harmony in Ponyville of this. You may know them from one of Celestia's pupils, Twilight Sparkle." Huh. So I'm going to meet the 'oh so famous' Mane 6 huh? Busby thought, commenting on the nickname he'd heard some of the Canterlot folk talk about. I guess that's kind of cool. "Though... keep in mind. We may be dealing with Nightmare Moon this night." Durate said. "Or a crazed Celestia." the moon leader commented. "This means, keep your swords close to you. You don't know what you might face tonight." Busby looked to his side to see that he in fact did not have a sword on him. "Uh... I don't have a-" "That's fine." Durate said. "Hopefully, you won't need one." The guard ponies began to pile into the chariot ready to go. Durate took his spot at the left of the harness to the chariot to fly it. "And if we do encounter one of the alicorns in a hostile mood..." Paita said in a tone the stallion couldn't help but process as seductive, walking past him. "...we could always use you as bait." Busby gulped once more as she finally took her spot at the front of the chariot to assist Durate in piloting the craft. "Come on Busby!" Waite called. "I kept your seat warm for you!" Busby sighed. His shift should have ended 10 minutes ago. And something told him... That his night had only just begun... Chapter 18- The Taste of Fire and NeedlesNo... no dream this time? Sweetie thought. She was in darkness now, with the same falling feeling she'd felt every other time she'd fallen asleep that night. However this time, there was no voice to sooth her... no memory to remind her... just darkness. Though Sweetie wasn't fully conscious to grasp any fear in her situation, it was still somewhat uncomforting. She couldn't do anything in that state. Her mental capacity felt extremely constricted in the dark environment. She couldn't remember anything, no matter how hard she tried. She couldn't think beyond simple thoughts. She wished she would just wake up to face whatever hell she had to go through next. The filly's wishes were answered as she saw the light rushing toward her. Knowing no escape from that light she walked towards it, feeling more and more pain as she did. No doubt about it, she was going to wake up in a few seconds... Sweetie Belle... It was Rarity's voice again, causing the filly to stop in the middle of the light. "Rarity?!" She called. Don't come after me Sweetie Belle... Please... The voice of her sister sounded sincere. It was a nice change from her yelling at the filly, wishing for her death for the mistakes she'd made with the mare. She almost wanted to honor her wishes... but Sweetie shook her head. "I... I told you... I can't do that sis, I'm sorry." Sweetie said to the voice. "I'm going to save-" Don't you get it?! I don't want to be saved you stupid clumsy filly. Rarity said. Her voice seemed to quiver with fear. She breathed for a moment before beginning to talk again. I can't leave him Sweetie. I... I love him. "No you don't!" Sweetie yelled. Who do you think you are yelling at your only sister in the world?! Rarity asked angrily. I'm the closest thing you have to love. Mother and Father don't leave you here every month to be with me. Deep down, you know they wanted to get rid of you. Give you up, but no... they decided to give you to me... to ruin my last chance at love! "I'm going to find you Rarity..." Sweetie said. Don't you dare! Not now! Rarity yelled. "I'm going to find you... and I'm going to catch you... and... and..." Sweetie said through gritted teeth. "I'm gonna HURT Specter for what he made you do!" You wouldn't. Rarity laughed. Sweetie wasn't sure where this new found anger was coming from. Did she really hate Specter that much? The kiss that she'd heard after escaping the carnival, though it gave her initial disgust, also plagued on her mind. Was it the kiss? The thought of Specter taking Rarity away from her again? Sweetie was almost afraid of what she might do when she saw Specter... yet another part of her wanted to find out. "I..." Sweetie started. "Rarity... you've got to understand! Specter's controlling you! Why won't you admit it?!" Hmph... you'd like that wouldn't you? You'd like to believe that I'm the victim here... no Sweetie Belle... Specter may have me... but he's not controlling me. Rarity said softly. Horrifyingly, it almost sounded like the real Rarity, as if Sweetie had taken a picture of her with the camera. "I... I don't believe you." Sweetie said silently. ...I'll warn you one more time Sweetie... Don't-Look-For-Me. Rarity said. Sweetie remained silent. It was no use if Rarity was under Specter's control right? The words stung the filly... but the only way the stings would stop was if she caught her and brought her back to her senses. It was the only way... right? Sweetie walked further into the light. She heard Rarity say something else, but she didn't listen. All she had to focus on was waking up, figuring out what next, and eventually saving her sister from Specter... *** Sweetie woke up painfully, though she'd done it so many times, it didn't come to her as a surprise. The filly knew she had to get up eventually, but she decided to make a point to rest for the moments she could. The weakness in her body noted that she must have caught another portrait... but that couldn't be right. The filly vaguely remembered catching Pinkie... but then who could be left? The only one it could have been was Rarity, right? The filly's mind was still extremely cloudy from waking up. Sweetie attempted to get up... as usual, she had a hard time getting up the first time. The second time, her body didn't even respond. The third time, was the same. Sweetie was starting to get scared. What had she done to make her body so unresponsive? She couldn't have been dead yet, for the pain in her body constantly reminded her of the life still miraculously her body... The hay did I do to myself? Sweetie wondered. She tried once more, finally getting her left hoof up. Then her right hoof, putting her into a push up position. When she tried to put weight on her hind legs, the broken leg pain wasn't as intense as the one that rang through her body. At least that was something that was getting better. At that point, she was on all four hooves. Sweetie blinked a few times to fix her vision, and shook her head, trying to get out the cloudiness that still lingered in her head. She looked up from the ground to see what was in front of her. The filly gasped when she saw her friends in the room. Applebloom was by Spike who constantly yanked at the door, trying to open it. Scootaloo was a little more active, looking around the room for something. Applebloom turned to Sweetie and smiled warmly. Sweetie however didn't process the smile as warm or friendly in any manner. All she saw was the grin of a possessed filly. "'Ey look! Sweetie's up!" Applebloom said happily. Oh no. Sweetie panicked. Scootaloo and Spike turned from what they were doing and also turned to look at the filly. "Hey Sweets!" Scootaloo said, climbing over the plane, followed by Applebloom and Spike. They walked together to confront the filly. Sweetie took a step back, but misplaced a hoof, causing her to fall onto her flank. Sweetie had to think fast. She was surrounded, for when she looked back, all she saw was the edge of the balcony. Sweetie had to do something. Sweetie, not completely sure of what she was doing, grabbed a hold of her GCD nozzle and shakily aimed it at the three of them. "S-stay back." the filly said softly. Though none of the children saw Sweetie as a threat, puzzled at her behavior they respected her request and stopped. "What? What's wrong Sweetie?" Spike asked. "Yeah, and what's that thing you’re holding?" Scootaloo asked. "S-stay back." Sweetie muttered again. The three of them took a step back. "Wer' goin' back Sweetie. No need ta be pointn' that there... whatchamacallit at yer good ol' friends ri'?" Applebloom said. "You’re not my friends." Sweetie muttered under her breath. The three looked at each other and back at Sweetie. They knew something was wrong with their friend, though they couldn't quite figure out what. She seemed to have a look in her eye... something between the feelings of paranoia, fear, anger, and distrust. They weren't sure what to say... so they waited. Sweetie kept her GCD shakily aimed at her friends for about a minute. The silence between the four of them for that minute was deafening. Finally, Sweetie decided to break it. "W-what are you doing?" "Waiting for you to stop acting so crazy." Scootaloo said. "I-I'm not c-crazy. You’re crazy. Y-you’re trying to kill me, remember?" Sweetie said. "Sweetie, were not the ones aiming a vacuum cleaner at you." Spike said. "'n wha's all 'is stuff 'bout killin'? No pony's tryin ta 'urt no pony." Applebloom said. Sweetie blinked 3 times, clearing her vision, and swallowed, moistening her dry throat. Her mind was coming back. Memories resurfacing of the capture of Marbles & Candy and Spiffy's escape... which meant... "Y-y... you’re not... possessed?" The three children looked at each other and laughed, causing Sweetie to take a step back. Once they were finished, they spoke again normally, rather than trying to speak in between laughs. "You sure are funny Sweetie. Possessed." Spike said, wiping a tear from his eye. "Where the heck'd you get an idea lik' that?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie couldn't believe it. It was them... it was really them. Her friends were back. No longer possessed by some evil spirit that wanted her dead... but good friends that only wanted the best for her. They were her real friends. Tears of pure joy began to uncontrollably stream down Sweetie's face. Applebloom and Scootaloo immediately knew that their friend needed them. They walked over to Sweetie to give her a great big group hug. Spike hesitated before joining in the hug himself. They weren't sure what Sweetie was crying about, nor did they know how uplifted Sweetie felt from the simple embrace of her friends. The hug was warm, not only physically from their combined body heat, but spiritually, Sweetie felt 50 degrees warmer. The feeling of her friend's arms around her was numbing, and for the moment, Sweetie couldn't feel an ounce of pain in her body. The hug over all... was healing the filly. Sure, the scratches and bruises were still there, but the filly was healed spiritually more than any heart candy could have. Sweetie wasn't entirely sure how long the hug lasted, but whatever it was, she thought it was way too short. Still though, she knew very well that she didn't have time to indulge in such simple things. She still had a job to do... it was still comforting however to know that she wouldn't have to do it alone anymore. Sweetie let the two fillies and dragon step back. She gave them a smile, in which they responded back in the same way. Awkward silence filled the room. What was a pony to say to the characters that'd minutes before, tried to kill her? Sweetie wasn't sure what to say... sure, they were her friends, but that didn't change the fact for the last few hours the fillies and dragon had made several attempts on her life. Just like the mares, she was for the most part, sure that she didn't hold any ill will against them... but the question became: how did they feel about all of this? "Um... crazy night huh?" Sweetie said in an attempt to break the silence once more. "I'll say." Scootaloo said. Her head was to the side as she stared at Sweetie, as though to get a different angle on the filly. "Sweets... you alright?" Sweetie let out a small chuckle. "I'll live." she said. "Ya sure? Ah reckon you done look li' ya saw a ghost when ya saw us." Applebloom said. What pony wouldn't be afraid of a filly who has the image of her holding a bloody butcher's knife in her muzzle burned into her mind? Sweetie thought. "Yeah! I thought you were gonna jump off of the balcony to get away from us." Spike added. After all I've done tonight, I could honestly see myself trying to escape like that. Sweetie thought. "Don't worry." Sweetie said. "I'm fine. I'm not mad either." The three children looked at each other again, then back at Sweetie. "...mad about what?" Scootaloo asked. "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah! What's there to be mad about? Should you be mad?" Spike asked. Sweetie paused, thinking for a moment. Why weren't they guilt ridden just like the other mares... excluding Rainbow Dash, who was likely holding it in. She might expect some pony like Scootaloo to maybe sidestep the events of the night... but not Applebloom or Spike. They didn't even look guilty... rather they looked like the same friendly faces that she'd seen nearly every day of her life... it was then Sweetie came to a conclusion. They weren't guilty because they didn't remember. She had to find out. "Um... guys?" Sweetie asked. "What's up?" Scootaloo asked. "I was just wondering... do you guys... remember anything? Anything at all?" The three looked at each other once again with uncertainty. "Well..." Scootaloo started. "Well, remember th' paper airplane, an' 'ow Scoots here got us crashed in th' Everfree forest." "We wouldn't have crashed if that thing didn't hit me." Scootaloo argued. "Anyway, ah also remember goin' ta look for ya wit' Scoots... then everythin' goes in a blur, then it's dark." Applebloom said. "Yeah... but i think I remember having some weird dream where this flying unicorn lady told me to look for something... can't remember what it was though. Same thing as Applebloom happens after that. A blur and darkness." Scootaloo said. "Yeah, ah had a weird dream too... ah think ya were in it too, Sweetie." Applebloom added. "What about you Spike? Spike?" Sweetie called. The dragon seemed to snap out of a trance like state. "Sorry, I was just uh... trying to remember stuff myself. Sorry Sweetie, but I can't remember much past coming to the mansion on Twilight, along with the other mares... after that, it's just a big blur followed by darkness." That must have been when Madame told Scootaloo to look for me, and when Candy tricked me into getting close to her... but it's true. They don't remember a thing... "Why? Should we be rememberin' stuff?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie wasn't sure if mentioning the events of the night in full was the smartest idea. She'd seen how her friends had broken down because of the guilt of knowing that at any point they could have killed the filly. Sweetie didn't want to put her friends over that same mental stress, or have to deal with their apologies. Besides, they were still out in the open of the mansion, and guilt over friendship wouldn't help keep the fillies and dragon as focused as possible. Sweetie shook her head. "N-not really." she said. "It's not that important." "It's not that important? Or did you forget too?" Scootaloo grinned, referring to the filly's history of forgetfulness. "Something like that." Sweetie said sheepishly. She could only hope she could forget what had happened earlier that night. Silence filled the room once again before Applebloom spoke again. "Uh Sweetie? Ya never told us what happened ta ya." "Hm? Oh right..." Sweetie said. I've uh... I've just had a crazy night is all." "Well? What was so crazy about it?" Spike asked. Sweetie knew very well that she didn't have the time to just sit around and talk, but she couldn't resist the thought of speaking with her friends again. She began explaining about the ghost situation, the Portraits of Harmony, Specter... she was extremely general as she told her story, only mentioning Candy, Marbles and Spiffy in order to keep from dwelling on the subject of possession. She kept her story short and sweet, realizing how fast her clock to get back to Twilight was ticking down. "Hold up a sec..." Spike said. "So, what you’re saying... is that for the last couple hours, you've been running around catching ghosts? Sweetie nodded. "... I don't believe you." Scootaloo said. "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "Well, it's kinda hard to see you running around... catching ghosts." Scootaloo said. "Well, I did." Sweetie said. And I'm getting good at it too... she thought proudly. "With... a vacuum cleaner?" Scootaloo said. "It's called the Ghost Capture Device. GCD for short." Sweetie corrected. "Whatever." Scootaloo said. "I'll believe that thing can catch ghosts when I see it." You'd be lucky if we didn't. Sweetie thought. "And... Pinkie's in that thing?" Spike asked. "Yeah." Sweetie sighed. "... uh Sweetie? Mahnd if ah ask a question?" "What?" Sweetie asked. "Where were we when all of this ghost tomfoolery stuff was happnin'?" Of course you'd ask that. Sweetie thought. Though the three of them, she had to admit, were some of the most curious filly's she knew, Applebloom was the one who was most inquisitive... right alongside herself. Sweetie simply shrugged. "I dunno." she said. Applebloom squinted at the filly. If there was one thing the sister of the Element of Honesty could see, it was a liar. "Ya ain't tryin' ta play us for no fools are ya Sweetie?" Applebloom asked. "Of course not!" Sweetie said, trying to sound offended. "I've got no reason to lie." "...alright then." Applebloom said, letting the issue go... for the most part. "Just hope you ain't keepin anythin important from us." Not important anymore... Sweetie thought. "Well, all that matters is that we're all together again, right?" Spike said. "Exactly!" Sweetie said. Applebloom gave Sweetie one last suspicious look before fully letting go. "Fine. What now then?" "That... that's the million bit question." Sweetie said. "Hold up..." Sweetie went to her saddlebags, and started to fish something out of her saddlebags. "Pinkie's ghost left me a note. I think it said something about a way out around here. Here." Sweetie took out the note and looked over it before giving it to them. "Now all we've got to do is find it." "What's this 'bout a game?" Applebloom asked. "Oh, uh... well, Pinkie's ghost really likes to play games with me. That's what it was talking about. I think you could figure out what it was..." Spike shuddered while Scootaloo rubbed around her neck area. They knew alright. "Ok... so this 'ere room was suppos' ta be th' way out? Where?" Applebloom asked. "Yeah. The door's locked, and we can't find a key anywhere." Scootaloo said. No key or exit? What kind of 'only way out' is this? Sweetie thought. Did Pinkie trick us and trap us in this room? Though the ghost was quite deceptive, something told Sweetie that Pinkie thought this through. There was a way out. "Maybe... we're not supposed to leave through the door. I mean, all of the exits to the staircases and hallways are blocked off." Spike mentioned after reading over the note a few times. "What do ya mean?" Applebloom asked. "Well... when I think of Pinkie, I never think it's the most obvious, or sane solution to a problem. I just doubt the door is supposed to be our way out." "Then where is it? The balcony?" Scootaloo asked. Though the filly didn't mean it at first, the four of them looked at each other. Considering it was Pinkie Pie they were dealing with, the possibility was there. Without a word, the four of them went back out to the balcony to investigate. After a few minutes of looking around, they determined that it was nothing out of the ordinary. It was just a normal balcony... "Hey guys look!" Scootaloo said, standing at its edge. "What?" they all asked. "Look down there! I think I see another balcony window." she said. Sure enough, past the gap that was the courtyard, there it was... a balcony, much like the one they were standing on now, across from them, one floor down. "That'll probably take us out." "Maybe..." Sweetie said. Applebloom however, disagreed. "No Scoots. That ain't gonna work." she said. "How come?" Scootaloo asked. "First off, how ya suppose we gonna git over there?" Applebloom asked. "The plane! Duh!" Scootaloo said, motioning over to the CMC plane that lay on its side. "Ok. Now supposn' we can even git enough speed ta launch it, let alone steer it ri', look at the balcony over there. Th' window's closed." Applebloom said. Sure enough, the filly was right. The balcony window on that side was sealed shut. "Even if we got it over there, we'd prob'ly crash inta th' window and fall over th' side of th' balcony. We'd need it open." "Well... I could always fly over there and open it." Scootaloo suggested. "You can't fly, and you know it Scoots." Sweetie commented. "Ok, maybe not fly, but I can hover." she said. "Just give me enough speed and I could probably clear that jump." "Tha' ain't a smart idea Scoots." Applebloom warned. "Come on. It'll be fine." Scootaloo said. The filly went to the door, opposite to the balcony door. She got into a pre-running stance. "And I guess there's no convincing you otherwise?" Spike asked. "Nope." Scootaloo said. "You’re such a stubborn filly." Sweetie commented. "Whatever. Just get out of the way alright?" Scootaloo said. The three children, although hesitant to let their friend attempt to hover past the large gap between the two walls, got off of the balcony and stood to the side. Once the way was clear, Scootaloo ran as fast as she could, before jumping off the edge of the balcony. Once airborne, the filly flapped her wings as hard as she could. Scootaloo had never learned how to fly, much like a good number of fillies her age. Still, she managed to keep herself from falling straight down with the little air she pushed down with her wings. She managed to keep her speed up as she hovered over the courtyard, down to the balcony... though she was slowing down. As the three children watched, fear ran through them at the thought that she might not make it... however, just barely, she got a hoof onto the edge of the balcony, barely managing to grab onto it, and hang from it. "Scootaloo!" the three of them called. Scootaloo attempted to flap her wings to push herself up, but they were too weak from the flight for any real help. Scootaloo was stuck, and losing her grip quickly. "We gotta do somethin'!" Applebloom said. Sweetie thought. There had to be something she could do to help... then she remembered. She was a unicorn. Sure she was weak, but she did know what was needed to perform a simple telekinesis spell... though there were two problems. First, Sweetie had never tried to lift anything over a pound or two, and even that was draining. Sweetie wasn't sure how she would manage to lift her friend who weighed at least 30 or 40 pounds... Secondly, there was the issue of distance. The farthest she could remember levitating something from was about 5 feet... oppose to the courtyard which had to have been at least 100 feet. Sweetie wasn't sure if she could manage such a feat... but seeing her friend dangle from the ledge, fear filling her eyes, she could only attempt. Without a word, Sweetie got herself as close to the edge as she could, leaning her head out in order to shorten the distance between her and Scootaloo as much as possible. She went so far that Applebloom and Spike went over to the edge with her and held her by the tail to keep her from falling over. They didn't ask what she was doing, seeing how Sweetie was trying to focus on Scootaloo. After looking at the orange filly for a few moments enough to get a mental picture of her, Sweetie shut her eyes. She visualized her hanging from the edge, and her lifting her entire body up onto the ledge... but it wasn't working. Sweetie felt bits of magic coming out of her horn, but given no pony'd said anything, she doubted the magic was getting put to good use. She tried again, putting more magic through her horn, straining her brain to lift Scootaloo... still nothing. As Sweetie increased the flow of magic, she felt herself getting rapidly weaker and weaker. She crossed her eyes, and gritted her teeth as the magic flow started to become painful. She went deep down into her body, taking every ounce of magic she could muster, hoping that somehow, someway, she'd be able to just this once, pull of a real telekinesis spell. C'mon... come on! Sweetie thought as she felt herself ready to faint. Please... work... Sweetie's legs began to wobble, as she was ready to collapse, a miracle. The sound of hoof against pavement, followed by a second, third and fourth. Sweetie opened her eyes to see that Scootaloo had climbed up onto the balcony, and was safe and sound. "See?" She called. "Told you it was fine!" "Aw save it Scoots! You'da gottn' killed if Sweetie didn't help ya!" Applebloom called back, mixed with emotions of anger and relief. "She barely helped. I had it all along!" Scootaloo laughed. There was a bit of nervous laughter mixed in... she knew very well she would have been a goner if the filly didn't come to her rescue. Sweetie collapsed onto all four of her knees, breathing heavily. Scootaloo stopped laughing from the other side, seeing her pain. Applebloom and Spike got on either side of her to comfort her. "She alright?" Scootaloo asked. "I'm... fine..." Sweetie breathed. "Just... a little... winded." "Y'all come back in th' room alri'? Rest a sec." Applebloom said, guiding Sweetie into the room. "She just needs to rest Scoots!" Spike called back. "Alright! I'm just gonna get this window open then!" Scootaloo said, turning to attempt to open the door. The filly yanked at it in attempts to open it, to no avail. "What's wrong?!" Spike asked. "It's shut tight! It won't budge!" Scootaloo said. "Are you serious?!" Spike asked. He looked back at Sweetie who'd nearly fainted to get her over there. "Well, is there any other way inside?" "Uh..." Scootaloo looked around. She went to the left edge of the balcony and looked at the window sill. "I think I see one of the windows slightly open on my side. I'll see if I can't get in through there." Scootaloo called. Spike didn't exactly like the idea of the filly jumping from window to window, but he didn't see her as having any other choice. "Fine! Be careful!" Spike said. "Careful's for scardy cats like Sweetie over there." Scootaloo said before jumping over several window sills to get to the one of interest. She opened it and headed inside, the window shutting behind her. Spike rolled his eyes. "I don't know how you deal with her on a regular basis." "Heh... you get used to it." Sweetie said quietly, showing signs of recovery. Silence filled the room as they waited for a response from Scootaloo. At moments, Applebloom seemed to still be combing pieces of the ectoplasm Sweetie had smothered all over her hair. Given that she didn't know what it was, and doubted Sweetie would, she kept her mouth shut about it... Minutes passed before someone spoke again. "Hey Sweetie?" Spike asked. "Hm?" Sweetie said, leaving some deep thought she was in. "I was wondering... is Twilight okay?" "Twilight?" Sweetie asked. "Yea' and wha' bout mah sis?" Applebloom asked. "Applejack?" Sweetie asked. She thought for a moment before responding. "They're... they're fine. I left them and the other mares in the safe zone when I had to go catch Pinkie Pie. Twilight was doing... some magic stuff, and Applejack let me borrow her hat." "Safe wha'?" Applebloom asked. "'n even more, why did mah sis letcha have 'er special hat? Don't look like yer doin much good to it." "It's this humming room that keeps ghosts out apparently." Sweetie said. The filly bit her lip on the issue of the dirty hat, knowing it would only lead to her talking about Applejack's ghost personality. The last thing she wanted to be on her mind was the issue that her psychopathic ghost sister had nearly killed her best friend. Thankfully, Spike spoke before the filly could ask again. "And... they let you just... go?" Spike asked. "What?" Sweetie asked. "Uh... yeah. Didn't really have a choice with Pinkie running around." "Bu'... why didn' some pony else go ta catch them ghosts ya were talkin' bout?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie looked at the yellow filly, unsure if it were smart to tell specifically of the course of events that occurred, leading to her being the only candidate to go on each ghost catching mission. She didn't want to worry her about Applejack, who was nearly crippled the last time she'd seen her. "Uh... you know. I just... I'm the best at it I guess." "Yeah, the best that has scratches and bruises on her." Spike commented. "I can't believe your even standing really. If I were you, I'd have stayed in that safe room and let some pony else go. You look like you've been through a lot." You have no idea Spike. Sweetie thought And trust me... I really wish I could've. "Well, I'll see about that when we get back." "Hm... if I had a quill, I could... Ack!" Spike suddenly grunted, clutching his head and falling to the ground. "Spik'!" Applebloom called. She rushed over to the dragon's side before Sweetie could even react. "Ya alri'?" "Yeah..." He said strained. "Just a really bad headache is all..." "Aw Spik'..." Applebloom said, stroking the back of his head. "Oh boy..." Sweetie said to herself, rolling her eyes and smiling. "Wha'?" Applebloom asked. "Nothing." Sweetie chucked, how wobbly Applebloom could get over the dragon at points. A few more minutes passed and Sweetie herself was beginning to get worried. Spike's headache didn't subside... in fact, the filly was sure it was getting worse. Out of sheer concern, Sweetie went to the side of Spike with Applebloom. "Spike, you sure you’re ok?" Sweetie asked, laying her own hoof on the dragon's body. As if by her touch, Spike released his grip on his head and looked up at her. He stared at Sweetie for a moment, before blinking and looking at both of the fillies equally. "Y... yeah, I'm fine." Spike said, sitting up. "Good. For a second, I was actually starting to worry." Sweetie smiled. "Yeah... me too." Applebloom said. Rather than a relieved look, she carried a puzzled one. It was like when Sweetie touched him... he was all better. It didn't quite rub the filly the right way for a second... "Hey guys! I got it!" Scootaloo called. Applebloom abandoned her suspicions for the moment to join her friends back onto the balcony. "Took you long enough!" Sweetie joked. "Whatever. Just fly the paper airplane over here already." Scootaloo called. "Alri'. Sweetie. Spik'. Mind helpin' me set up th' plane again?" Applebloom asked, heading back to the craft that still lie on its side. They both nodded and went over to flip the paper airplane. Considering its size they had to do it slow and careful, in order to avoid bending it in any way. The slightest mishap could cause the plane to glide to its side into a wall. "Hey..." Spike said. "You guys, sure this thing 'll fly?" Spike asked. "Yuh huh." Applebloom responded. "It'll fly. It's how we got here ta begin wit'" she said. "Huh... what about you Sweetie?" Spike asked. "What do you think?" "What?" Sweetie asked, caught off guard of the dragon asking her opinion. "Uh, yeah. It flies great... too great sometimes." the filly added, remembering how far it had managed to glide from Ponyville. "Oh, ok." Spike said, turning away shyly. No pony noticed his sudden timid nature. Once the three of them finished flipping the plane, they began turning it so it faced the window. Once it was set, Applebloom raised her hooves to her eyes, attempting to eyeball the width of the balcony window relative to the wings of the plane. Once she was finished, she turned to Sweetie and Spike. "Alri'." she said. "Ah think th' plane 'll fit in fine. Now we jus' gotta deal wit' a couple mo' things. First, since we're goin' down, ah think we're gonna need a little weight on th' nose." "We could hang my saddle bags there." Sweetie suggested. "Not a bad idea Sweets. It should be heavy enough ta bring the plane down a little, n' light enough ta keep us fr'm nose divin' ta th' ground." Applebloom said. Sweetie nodded in agreement as she took off her GCD, which sat on top of her saddlebags. She then took off her saddlebags themselves and hung them on the nose. Sweetie then put her GCD back on her back, holding the GCD nozzle in her mouth while balancing the spectral containment pack on her back. Without her saddlebags, which held the device in place with its straps, it sat freely upon her person. "Uh, Sweetie? Ya sure that there vacuum is worth all that trouble?" Applebloom asked. "Yeah. It's the only thing I can fight ghosts with, remember?" Sweetie said. She didn't however mention it was the only machine capable of saving her friends. That would only lead to more questions, she assumed. "Alri'. Just don't break yer leg over it. Or, some pony else's..." "Will you guys hurry up?" Scootaloo called. "It's crazy cold over here." Uh oh. That's not a good sign. Sweetie thought. "C'mon guys. What else do we have to do?" Spike asked. "Well, we jus' gotta pick our spots. Supposn' Sweetie and I can take our first spots. Ya can take Scoots' spot... If ya don't mind." Spike shrugged. "Sure. Why not." "Congratulations then Spike. You’re the new Scootaloo." Sweetie grinned. Spike simply looked away, rolling his eyes. "Now all we gotta do is launch th' thing." Applebloom said. "And how exactly do you fly an over-sized paper airplane?" Spike asked. "Well, we each grab a part, drag it as fast as we can, 'n jump on at th' last minute." Applebloom explained. "'least that's how we did it." "Just grab the edge of the paper next to that piece of fabric, and jump on when Applebloom says." Sweetie reiterated. "Gotcha Sweetie." Spike said. "..." Applebloom remained silent out of re-birthed suspicion as she went over to grab her edge around the center of the plane with her teeth. Spike followed Applebloom's example and grabbed his own edge around the front, behind Sweetie's saddlebags hanging on the nose. Rather than using his teeth, he used his claws, given he could actually run with his hind legs alone. Sweetie finally took her own spot at the tail of the plane, behind her own piece of fabric. Aside from Spike being at the front with the saddlebags the set up was similar to the one they'd done the previous day. "On th' count of three." Applebloom said through the paper. "One... Two... Three!" The three children ran for the window as fast as they could. Sweetie, much like earlier, lost her hoofing on the first step, however quickly regained it. The loosely sitting GCD on her back nearly fell off, though she managed to keep it balanced as she ran along with Spike and Applebloom. As they approached the window, Applebloom realized something... Spike was at the front, the smallest part of the plane, so he'd definitely make it through. Sweetie was at the back, behind the plane, so she wouldn't have to worry about hitting the sides of the balcony window either. Applebloom however, being at the center of the plane, and having the smallest window, realized she wouldn't make it. The plane would already only barely fit through the window, considering the width of the opening compared to the width of the wings. Applebloom however, was an extension of that length, therefore, if she kept going the way she was, she'd crash head first right into the side of the window. Rather than forcing her friends to stop, moments before the plane reached the window, she jumped on. Out of sheer confusion, Spike jumped on as well, following Applebloom's example. For the next couple of seconds, Sweetie was the only one pushing the plane. This caused some slowdown as Sweetie approached the balcony... however she was going too fast to stop. She ran as fast as she could, causing her to nearly forget about the GCD as it slid slightly on her back, in attempts to keep their speed up. She pushed up to the point she felt the plane pointing down, indicating it was going over the edge of the balcony. "Sweetie! Get on now!" Applebloom yelled. Sweetie hopped onto the back of the plane as she, Applebloom and Spike took a hold of each of the ropes attached to the pieces of fabric on the plane. They flew down, going into a slight slope before leveling out. "Can't believe this thing is working!" Spike said, looking around as he realized that they hadn't crashed yet. "Ah know! That's wha' ah said!" Applebloom said. It only took a few moments though, to realize how slow they were flying. The plane was covering some fair distance, however it was going more down than it was forward. In other words, it wasn't long before they realized that they weren't going to make it. "Uh... guys?" Spike said, unsurely. "Ah know. Sweetie. Yer in the back. Try yankin' yer rope ta pull us up a little." she said. "Uh, right." Sweetie said. When the filly went for the rope however, the GCD on her back slipped off and onto the side of the plane. The impact of the weight of the GCD on the back left of the plane, though it pulled them up a little, it also put the plane to its side. This new shift of weight also caused Spike and Applebloom to slip from their spots, and join Sweetie and the GCD on the left wing of the plane. Once their weight was added, the plane went more to its side, before spinning over so much, that it started to fly upside down, with Spike, Applebloom and Sweetie hanging onto the ropes. Sweetie could feel the nozzle slipping out of her mouth as gravity and momentum pulled the GCD spectral containment pack down. They all screamed as Scootaloo watched helplessly from the balcony, knowing all she could do was hope. The plane continued on its course, thankfully still moving for the most part, directly toward the balcony, They were almost there... though they could also feel their grips slipping more and more... before Applebloom lost her own first. "Applebloom!" Sweetie screamed as she put out a hoof for her friend. The filly was barely able to hook her own foreleg onto her catching her before she could fall to the courtyard below. The new weight on the filly, namely the GCD and the 35 pound filly, Sweetie could also feel her own grip slipping rapidly from the rope. Though her ability to grab things and hold onto them with her life had improved over the night, she knew she couldn't keep it up with only one hoof on the rope. The loss of grip wasn't the only thing Applebloom's weight had altered. The high weight on the back of the plane caused it not only to pull upward even more, but slow down the plane to something short of a hover. They were so close however to the balcony. They just needed a few more feet that they were sure the plane wasn't going to give them. The plane was going to fall down before they'd make it to the balcony's edge. "Spik'! Grab Sweetie's saddlebags and jump!" Applebloom ordered fearfully. "Are you crazy! I can't make tha-" Spike argued. "Do it!" Applebloom yelled again. No pony had ever heard her give the dragon such an intense order, and to every pony in earshot who knew Applebloom, it was a little jarring. Spike followed her order, swinging to the balcony by his own rope, grabbing onto Sweetie's saddlebags on the way. The dragon barely made it, landing feet first on the very edge of the balcony. "You too Sweets! Now!" Applebloom yelled again as the plane started to dip downward. Sweetie'd learned not to hesitate in such a situation by now, especially when her friend's life, along with her own, was on the line. Sweetie jumped herself, clamping as hard on the GCD nozzle with her teeth, as Applebloom who clutched to Sweetie's leg as she swung. They both managed to, much like Scootaloo, grab onto the edge of the balcony, just as the plane went vertical, and dropped down out of the air. "We gotcha." Scootaloo said. Though Spike originally went for Sweetie, Scootaloo beat her to it, beginning to pull her up. The dragon then went for Applebloom who hung right next to Sweetie. Scootaloo had more control over her strength, so she was able to steadily pull Sweetie up onto the balcony. Spike however didn't have as much control, as he pulled Applebloom up, he over-estimated her weight, and pulled her up, onto her. Applebloom lay on top of Spike for a few moments, the orange filly blushing out of sheer embarrassment. "Uh... ah...." Applebloom said. "Come on you two." Scootaloo said, breaking up the love fest. Spike lightly pushed Applebloom off of him, over to the ground next to her. He seemed unaffected by her shyness over the contact. Sweetie sighed. The guy could never get the signs. Sweetie thought. Applebloom had been crushing on Spike for quite some time now. She'd shown the obvious signs of the crush... but never had Spike even acknowledged it. Though this was by far, the closest contact the two had had in such a situation, the dragon still showed much ignorance to Applebloom's feelings... "Uh, Sweetie?" Spike asked, bringing the filly out of thought. "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "These um... these are yours." Spike said, handing her the filly's saddlebags. "Oh yeah! Thanks." Sweetie smiled, grabbing the bags by her teeth. Spike looked away again with the same shyness as earlier. Once again, Sweetie didn't notice... however, as Scootaloo helped her up, Applebloom noticed, and watched. Sweetie looked at the top strap of her saddlebags. The tie in which the GCD would be placed was severed. "Hey Spike? Could you do me a favor and tie this strap onto my back with my GCD? It's kind of hard to tie stuff without magic, and I'm still filling up my own so..." "S-sure." Spike stuttered, as Sweetie placed her saddlebags onto her back. Spike then helped the filly put her GCD on her back as well, with a particular gentleness that Applebloom couldn't help but notice. Why was he so careful with the filly, like she was some kind of delicate flower... was Applebloom getting jealous? It didn't take more than a minute for Spike to finish tying the severed strap on her back, along with the GCD. "Thanks Spike!" Sweetie smiled. "Uh huh." Spike looked down. Applebloom could have sworn he was blushing... "So much for our plane." Scootaloo sighed. "Now what?" Scootaloo asked. "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "I'm guessing you know more about this mansion than anyone here, right? What's next Sweets?" Sweetie thought. Sweetie thought for a moment. She felt the air around her, confirming Scootaloo's feelings. It was freezing, and no doubt about it, there would be a lot of ghosts on the floor. They couldn't stay there for long. "Keep moving." Sweetie responded. She took out her flashlight from her saddlebags. "We've got to get down to the first floor... then we can figure out how to reach the safe zone from there." "You mean you don't know?" Scootaloo asked. "I know where one or two things are, but this place is big, and moves around sometimes. Without my map, we're gonna have to just wing it when we get to the bottom of what I think is the mansion courtyard. One of them anyway. Just hope it's the one I'm thinking of..." Sweetie explained. "Fine then. Let's get out of here." Scootaloo said, heading for the door of what they all figured to be just another generic bed room. After she unlocked the door, Scootaloo went into the hallway, followed by Sweetie, followed by Spike, and finally, by Applebloom... *** "It's official... you three are nuts." Spike said once the filly was finished telling their story. "I wouldn't say that." Scootaloo said. "Fine. Then why in all of Equestria, would you think flying a paper airplane off of a cliff would get you a cutie mark?" Spike asked. "It could happen." Scootaloo said. "There's absolutely no logic in that." Spike said. "You could've been killed!" "But we weren't killed. And to be honest, isn't that all that matters at the end of the day?" Scootaloo asked. "That and you own sanity." Spike said. Spike and Scootaloo argued as they continued to walk the hallway, looking for a staircase of some kind. Sweetie didn't speak often, given for the last couple hours, she'd walked these hallways alone. Now that she was joined with her friends, and there was already a small bit of natural light filling the hallway, it was a whole new experience she'd need to get used to. Besides that, she had to stay focused on everything around her, doubting her friends understood how much danger they were in. The filly was determined to keep her friends safe from any ghosts trying to hurt her friends. Applebloom was also unnaturally quiet as they continued down the hallway. Over the half an hour from when she woke up from who knows what, she was almost sure that Sweetie had lied to them several times. Even more, Spike's behavior around Sweetie didn't make her feel very good... but she decided to let that go for now. "C'mon. It was just a little dare-devil shenanigans." Scootaloo said, defending her paper airplane idea. "And that's insane." Spike said. "No it's not! Plenty of ponies do crazy, daring stuff every day. Just look at Rainbow Dash! She's always doing all kinds of crazy flying tricks." "And those ponies are insane too. Either that or stupid." Spike said. "You calling Rainbow stupid?!" Scootaloo said, jumping in front of Spike, halting the group altogether. Applebloom and Sweetie turned around to see what was going on. "What? O-of course not." Spike said, seeing the bit of rage in Scootaloo's eyes. That's a note. Never say anything bad about Scootaloo's Rainbow. Sweetie thought. "C'mon ya two. We gotta keep movin'" Applebloom said. "Yeah guys. The longer we're in this hallway, the more dangerous it gets." Sweetie added. "Come on Sweets. It's just a little chilly here. Nothing dangerous about-" Scootaloo said before Spike collapsed to the ground again. "Gah!" the dragon said, clutching his head. "Spik'!" Applebloom said, rushing once again over to the dragon as he lie on the ground, stopping the entire group. Sweetie and Scootaloo turned to see what was happening. Sweetie didn't react as urgently as Applebloom, and didn't worry about him as much, given she'd already seen a similar headache episode earlier. Scootaloo however didn't react, as she was still somewhat fuming over the Rainbow Dash comment. "What's wrong with him?" Scootaloo asked with a certain disinterest in her voice. "Uh, nothing serious. Spike's just been getting weird headaches all of a sudden... You alright Spike?" Sweetie asked. The dragon got up with a little help from Applebloom. "Yeah." he said with strain in his voice. He still appeared to be in pain. "Just... a little weak and headachy is all." "Hm... hold on a sec." Sweetie said, getting an idea, reaching into her saddlebags. The filly had a theory: she remembered how some ponies at school would get sick from not eating regularly. Namely, she remembered some, such as Snips, or Dinky, always getting some type of headache before lunches... however once they ate, they were fine. Could Spike have just been hungry? Chances were, given the entire thing was a trap, Spike never got to eat at the house-warming. Sweetie also assumed it was something around 3 am... the thought of the time only made the filly the drowsier. Though, if that were true, then that meant no pony or dragon had eaten since lunch the previous day... about 14 or 15 hours. Now, thinking about her own stomach, it started to grumble, and Sweetie felt a little weak herself. It wouldn't be much longer before the pain and weakness her friend's love had numbed would be re-awakened by her own hunger... Sweetie found what she was looking for in a separate pocket in her saddlebags. It was Pinkie's candy apple. "Hey, where'd you get that, and where can I get one?" Scootaloo asked. "I'm starving!" Applebloom looked over at Sweetie. Though she didn't say it, Sweetie could also see hunger in her eyes. Guess I'm gonna have to split it four ways. Sweetie thought. Sweetie took her hat off and put it on the ground before placing the apple inside. The last thing she wanted was the layer of dust on the rug to get attached to the sticky caramel of the apple. The filly then reached into her saddlebags to take out Applebloom's knife. Though the filly looked at it strangely, she didn't say a word, the reminders of the gripping hunger keeping her quiet. Sweetie did her best to wipe off the edge of the knife with her hoof. Bits of dried blood were on its edge... though a very small trace. Sweetie figured it must have been one of the knives Applebloom... rather Candy, used earlier that night... likely the first one she managed to get at Sweetie with when she'd tricked her... the filly must have simply thrown it at her by chance. How many knives did that crazy filly have anyway? Thankfully, Applebloom didn't ask any questions as Sweetie finished her cleaning, whipped the droplets of her own crusty blood onto the carpet, and proceeded to cut the apple four ways. As she cut through the center, she hit something. Unlike the soft gooey centers that usually filled a desert as such, this one was hard. Sweetie had to cut around the apple core area, rather than through it to split it and see what was inside. Sitting snugly in the place where the apple core would be wasn't filling, but two heart candies. "Great." Sweetie said to herself. "What are you mumbling about Sweets?" Scootaloo asked. "N-nothing. Just gotta save these is all." Sweetie said pulling out the heart candies and putting them into her saddlebags. No doubt they'd be useful later... though the filly could only hope they wouldn't be a part of another of Pinkie's "games"... Sweetie finished cutting the apple up so that they were in four even slices. With that, she handed a piece to each of her friends. "Here." Sweetie said, giving one to Scootaloo. "That's all we get?" Scootaloo asked. "Sorry. It's all I've got. Really." Sweetie said. "... do you want me to cut my piece smaller so you can have it?" "Uh, no. This is cool." Scootaloo said, feeling a little guilty. That's what I thought. Sweetie thought. "Here's yours." Sweetie said, giving an apple slice to Applebloom. "Thanks Sweetie. Should keep us fr'm starvin'." Applebloom said. Sweetie smiled at her friend before moving to Spike for his own apple slice. "And here's yours Spike." Sweetie said holding out his apple slice. The dragon looked up. Not at the apple slice, but at Sweetie herself. He stared for a moment, in a somewhat hypnotic state. "Uh... Spike?" "Oh! Sorry." He said looking down, blushing again before taking the apple slice. This time, Applebloom wasn't the only one with suspicions... now Sweetie was beginning to notice Spike's behavior. "Spike?" Sweetie asked, using her hoof to point his head up to look at her. "Are you sure you’re ok? You’re acting kind of funny." "Yea', ever sinc' Sweetie woke up..." Applebloom commented. "I'm fine, alright?" the dragon said, taking a couple steps back, away from Sweetie. "Just... need something in my stomach. That's all." "Ok... Just making sure." Sweetie said. For a moment, she still had her suspicions that Spike was still possessed, causing his behavior... but she'd witnessed Spiffy fly out of Spike herself. There was no chance of that... besides, if he was, the dragon would have probably tried to make an attempt on her life by now. Once that suspicion was gone, Sweetie decided not to dwell on Spike's act being out of the ordinary. Applebloom however, only got more and more suspicious by the second... They all ate their slices of candy apple. "You feeling better?" Sweetie asked. "Uh... y-yeah. I'm good. I'm better. Thanks Sweetie." Spike said. "No problem." Sweetie said happily. "No, really. Thank you." Spike said again, taking a few steps back toward Sweetie, coming nose to nose with her. He nearly knocked the flashlight out of her muzzle. "Uh..." Sweetie said, feeling somewhat nervous around his advance. "Come on y'all." Applebloom said, breaking them up. "We gotta keep moving. Ri' Sweetie?" "Right..." Sweetie said, taking an awkward step back from Spike, who stared at the filly. Sweetie turned to face Applebloom and Scootaloo, who had already begin to keep moving forward. Sweetie followed Applebloom, and behind her followed Spike. They walked barely a few feet before Scootaloo stopped. "Luna, it's gotten cold." Scootaloo cursed, shivering. "Any pony else feel that temperature drop?" "Oh no." Sweetie said, shivering herself. Suddenly, Sweetie's light began to flicker, as though it were ready to go out. "Sweetie. Wha' wrong wit' yer flashlight?" Applebloom asked. "Oh no no no." Followed by at least three flickers, the hallway filled with the laughter of ghosts. "Uh... Sweetie?" Scootaloo asked, with a hint of fear in her voice. "What is-" "Run." "Beg yer-" "RUN!" Sweetie ordered. The four of them broke into a run to Sweetie's command, just as a two butler ghosts phased through the walls, crossing Scootaloo and Applebloom. "What the hay was that?!" Scootaloo asked. "What do you think?!" Sweetie responded. A butler phased through the ceiling, attempting to grab Applebloom. "Get away from her!" Sweetie yelled angrily, swiping her dimming flashlight across the ghost. Ding! Sweetie didn't bother attempting to catch it, as it simply disappeared. Sweetie looked forward to see a little ways ahead of them was a foal ghost. Its head went back, as though it were about to spit at them. "Duck!" Sweetie yelled. The three Cutie Mark Crusaders ducked as instructed. Spike however, hesitated, causing the shot of ectoplasm to go right for him. The force of the goo put his head to the ground and caused him to stick to the floor. Applebloom stopped, causing Scootaloo to as well. "Spik'" Applebloom called. Sweetie saw that behind the group, a skeleton butler ghosts had materialized and were coming after them. They were all pretty trapped. "Go!" Sweetie yelled. "I'll help Spike, just go!" "Applebloom, c'mon." Scootaloo said, pulling at the filly. "I think Sweetie knows what she's doing." "No Scoots! Ah ain't leavin' neither of them! Neither should ya." Applebloom said. She's not gonna leave until Spike and I are safe. I've got to think fast. Sweetie thought. Sweetie's first move was to suck off the ectoplasm off of his head. He still lay there in a daze, his eyes rolling around in his head. Sweetie looked back, behind Scootaloo and Applebloom where the foal was. It was ready to spit again. "Get down!" Sweetie barked. The two did as they were told, barely dodging the flying bit of ectoplasm. Sweetie quickly sucked the substance out of the air, causing the 5th light on the GCD to go on. Sweetie turned back onto the skele-ghost, who was still charging at them. She switched to her Spectral Throwback and fired a shot at the ghost. Its skeletal armor flew right out of it. Once Sweetie had regained her aim from the nozzle recoil, she fired a second shot, defeating the grinning skeleton ghost. "Sweetie! Look out!" Scootaloo yelled. Sweetie turned back around to see that not only had her friends ducked again, but there was another bit of ectoplasm flying at her face. Sweetie was hit with it, and flew to the ground in much the same way as Spike. "Sweetie!" Applebloom called. The filly switched back to the suck function and proceeded to suck off the ectoplasm on her face. She quickly switched back to her GCD throwback and shot the foal ghost out of the air. "Nice shooting Sweetie." Scootaloo commented. Sweetie didn't respond, knowing that they were all far from safe now. The laughter had only gotten louder by this point, and her flashlight was out too. "Sweetie, you alright?" Spike asked getting up. Sweetie wasn't listening, more interested in what was behind the dragon... Two more skele-ghosts, and three lickers were charging at them from down the hallway. "I'm fine, but for Celestia's sake RUN!" Sweetie ordered, running from the group of ghosts that was coming their way. Seeing that her crush and friend were ok, Applebloom listened to Sweetie and continued to run. Sweetie could barely see the stairwell opening at the end of the hallway... Sweetie looked back every few seconds, noticing how the ghosts were going faster than them... at least faster than Spike and Sweetie. It wouldn't be much longer before they caught up with the two of them. Things looked grim for Sweetie and Spike at that point. They weren't going to make it... Just when neither child could think the situation could possibly get worse, Sweetie and Spike heard the crackling of wood under their feet. "You've got to be-" Sweetie said before the floor gave under their feet. "Kiiiding meee!" Sweetie screamed as they fell. "Sweetie!" Scootaloo called. "Spik'!" Applebloom called. The two fillies turned back around to see the hole that they'd fallen through. They could see the two of them lying on their backs. The fall must have been a good 15 or 20 feet... thankfully, they both fell onto a bed together, in the room below. "We... we're fine..." Sweetie said painfully. "Run... go..." Sweetie strained, getting up, followed by Spike. Before any other words could exchange, or actions could be done, the floorboards that had broken around the three of them disappeared as the hole in the ceiling they'd fallen through quickly closed itself... as if they'd never gone through to begin with. "Sweetie. What in the hay was that?!" Spike asked, still getting a bit of panic out of his system. "Those... those were terrible things." Sweetie said, still trying to get her own head together. "No, I mean that" Spike said, pointing to the ceiling. "Uh, yeah... that was another terrible thing. This entire house is a terrible thing." "You mean that kind of stuff just... happens?!" Spike asked. "Something like that." Sweetie said. "C'mon. We've got to get out of here." The filly jumped off of the bed, followed by Spike. "Uh... right." Spike said, still startled from the closing of the ceiling. Sweetie picked up her flashlight that had fallen to the side of the bed. It was working again. She used it to locate the wooden door that was likely the exit to the room. "Sweetie?" Spike asked. The filly put her hoof on the knob before turning to the dragon. "Hm?" He went up alongside Sweetie, as though he was ready to say something important... "Uh... never mind." Spike said, losing whatever nerve he had. "Ok." Sweetie said smiling. "Just let me know if there's anything on your mind. 'Kay?" "Well then uh... what now?" Spike asked, not making direct eye contact with the filly. "Hm... I guess the best way to go is to keep heading down our hallway in the same direction as Scoots and Applebloom. Hopefully, if we didn't get teleported to an entirely different part of the mansion altogether, we should meet up with them soon." "If they got away." Spike blurted. "DON'T... don't say that Spike." Sweetie said, looking down. "I-I'm sorry Sweets. I didn't mean to..." Spike said. "It's fine." Sweetie said, looking back up to the dragon. Sweetie had already gone through hell to bring her friends back. The thought of losing them again was a little unbearable. She took a deep breath and sighed. "We've got to get out of here." Spike nodded as Sweetie opened the door to the hallway. Once they entered, they were relieved to find that it wasn't as cold as the one that was above them... was it? Both Spike and Sweetie looked down each end of the hall. It was moonlit thankfully, but the filly wasn't where they were exactly. From either side of the hallway, they couldn't see anything that looked like a stairway... "Ha. Perfect." Sweetie said bitterly. "Where are we Sweetie? Weren't we just... shouldn't we be-" "I know..." Sweetie sighed. "Well, I guess all we can do is pick a direction and walk. Hope we meet up with them soon." "Ok. You lead the way then." Spike said. Sweetie decided to go right on a whim, only hoping that they might somehow come across their friends again... *** Spike and Sweetie remained silent for a while. Sweetie wasn't entirely sure why Spike was so quiet, but she was apprehensive to conversing with the dragon again after earlier. Still though, every time she looked back at him, she saw something in his eyes... it was the eye of someone with something on their mind. Sweetie wanted to ask what, but always ended up just continuing to look back, forward into the stretching hallway. The only times that Sweetie even made any real contact with Spike was when he got another headache, in which Sweetie stopped to comfort him. He'd blush, say thanks, and they'd keep moving. Sweetie did her best not to give the behavior a second thought... By now, Sweetie was used to silence, but with someone there, especially a friend like Spike, it seemed unnerving to her. She had to say something... so she chose a subject they could both relate on. "I uh... still have to catch my sister you know." "Huh?" Spike asked, looking up at Spike. "Rarity." Sweetie said. "Catch her... you mean, she's turned into one of those ghosts?" Sweetie nodded. "Oh... well, you seem to be pretty good at it. I'm sure you'll catch her in no time." Spike said optimistically. There were a few moments of silence. "I was um... hoping for a little more of a reaction Spike." Sweetie said. "What? Why's that?" Spike asked. "Oh come on, Spike. Every pony knows that you have a crush on Rarity." Sweetie grinned, briefly looking back at Spike. "Oh... I'm not into her anymore." Spike said. Sweetie stopped in her tracks. "What's wrong Sweetie? Why'd you stop?" he asked. "Say that... one more time." Sweetie said, not looking back at Spike. She couldn't have heard him right. "...What's wrong Sweet-" "No, the other thing." Sweetie said. "... I'm not into your sister?" Spike said. Sweetie turned around. Her eyes were crossed. "Who in the hay are you?" "What?" "Don't you what me." Sweetie said, taking a step toward Spike. "How can you be Spike if you’re not hopelessly in love with my big sis?" "Sweetie, hold up-" "No!" Sweetie said, aiming her GCD at Spike. The dragon put his claws up in the air as looked down the nozzle hole. "Now I'm gonna ask you again. Who-the-hay-are-YOU?!" "Sweetie just listen ok?" Spike said. Once a little of the rage left Sweetie's eyes, he saw it safe enough to put his arms down. "Ok, I'll admit it, I had a little tiny teeny little crush on your sister... a bit." A little? Sweetie thought in disbelief. Sweetie had already spoken to Rarity every now and again regarding his little crush. She always talked about how cute it was that he thought she was "most beautiful creature to ever exist" or "the nicest pony to ever live in Equestria"... She even talked about how he tried to "confess love to her" when they were falling from Spike's grown spurt. Sweetie wasn't sure if it counted as "little" if the mare knew it already, and enjoyed playing with his head over her actually being his "mare friend". "But... not anymore." Spike finished. "But I do have a new one." By now, Sweetie had calmed down, letting go of the GCD nozzle. Her brain had processed that if this wasn't Spike, then whoever it was would have killed her by now before trying to pass themselves off as the dragon. "Who?" "It's... some pony around my age." "Applebloom?" Sweetie asked hopefully. "No." Spike said. "Scootaloo?" Sweetie asked curiously. "No!" Spike said. "Dinky?" Sweetie asked. "No." Spike said. "... Twist?" Sweetie guessed. "Hay no!" Spike said. That'd be too good to be true I guess. Poor Twist... Sweetie thought. "Then wh-" Sweetie was interrupted by the sound of some door slamming further down the hallway. Sweetie could only assume it was a ghost... or worse, Gilda and Luna. "Spike. We gotta hide." she whispered. "Uh..." he hesitated. "Come on!" Sweetie said, pulling the dragon into a random room. Once inside, Sweetie closed the door as silently as she could. She put her ear to the door, as she heard hoof steps walking by. It wasn't long before they started to fade away. They weren't gone, but they were far away enough for Sweetie to assume that they were safe for now. "We can lay low here." Sweetie said turning to Spike. The dragon had gone over to a desk in what Sweetie had identified to be another study. Not as grand as the first one she found Specter in, but a study all the same. The biggest items Sweetie saw first were two love seats, a few paintings, and a desk. The only item in the room however that didn't have a white sheet over it... was the desk. In fact, a small candle was lit, illuminating its surface. Spike took off the desk what he identified as a quill. "Hey, Sweetie. Look what I found." he said raising it. "Nice. You mentioned something about that earlier, right?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah. Hey, Sweetie. Let me check out that note Pinkie gave you." Spike said. "Sure." Sweetie said, reaching into her saddlebags. She took out the note and gave it to him. He examined the note and nodded. "I was right. This is enchanted parchment." Spike confirmed. "Oh?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah. Twilight keeps some around her so she can always send a letter to the princess when she needs me to." "So?" Sweetie asked. "So I could use this piece to write a letter to the princess telling her about all of this." Spike explained. Spike started to write something on the blank side of Pinkie's note. Once he was halfway finished, something hit the filly. "Spike, I don't think that's a good idea." Sweetie said. "What? Why?" Spike asked, jumping down off of the table. "Well... Celestia came to the party, and so far, every pony I've known... besides Scootaloo, Applebloom and you of course... has been turned into ghosts. All that note will probably do is tell Specter where we are." Sweetie explained. "Wow. I never thought about it that way Sweets." Spike said, taking a couple steps toward her. "You were always a smart filly." "Uh... thanks?" Sweetie said sheepishly, taking a couple steps back. Spike only got closer as she continued to move backwards. "Sweetie... you were wondering who was the pony who stole my heart?" Spike asked, getting closer to Sweetie. Sweetie wasn't really listening to the dragon anymore. The way that he looked at her was creeping her out. She was even getting a little scared... no, that wasn't the word. It was fear... but it was also nervousness. Sweetie's eye darted at the door, which Spike blocked her path too as he drove her further and further into the corner of the room. "Spike, what-" "I'll give you a hint. It's a little filly I know very well." Spike said. Sweetie's flank was up against the corner by now. Her heart began beating faster as she started to panic. Within just a few moments, she was trapped by the dragon. "S-spike, stop-p it." Sweetie stuttered. A bead of sweat dropped down the back of her neck. "And that filly had a gorgeous sister." Spike said. "Spike, I mean it. S-" Spike's nose touched Sweetie's. "And that filly... she had a beautiful mulberry mane." "W-" Sweetie tried to say... before her lips came in contact with Spike's. The filly's eyes contracted. She wasn't sure what she was feeling anymore. Surprise? Fear? Confusion? Embarrassment? The filly wasn't quite sure what to feel at that point. Any focus the filly had prior to entering the room was shattered into tiny little pieces. What in the hay was- "SWEETIE BELLE!" Applebloom yelled angrily from the entrance to the door. And by that point, the little pieces of focus that were shattered were broken into even smaller pieces as Spike separated his face from Sweetie's, staggering back to clutch his head painfully. Sweetie's eyes went to the door, where she saw Applebloom, with a look of horror, shock, disgust... and possible hatred. Scootaloo on the other hand, couldn't help but hold in a grin, which burst into her laughing and rolling around on the floor. Sweetie felt dizzy as she got her flank off of the wall Spike had driven her to. Applebloom clenched her teeth, obviously furious with Sweetie. She looked like she was going to say something... but ended up just leaving the doorway altogether to wait in the hallway. Once Scootaloo got up, she walked over to Sweetie, who was still somewhat in a daze. "Come on you two. We've gotta go." She said, with a silly grin on her face. Spike groaned before looking at Sweetie, and blushing again, with a face of disbelief. He quickly exited the room. "Uh... yeah..." Sweetie said heading for the door. "Sweetie, what's this?" Scootaloo asked, heading over to the table, and taking the piece of parchment and quill. "Oh... bring that stuff too, I guess." Sweetie said, stumbling out of the room. As she was joined by Scootaloo, the group began silently walking in a direction led by Applebloom and Scootaloo. No matter what though, Sweetie couldn't get the same thought off of her mind that was on everyone's... Sweetie's first kiss had come from a dragon. Spike had just kissed her... *** It wasn't very long that the four children had to walk down the hallway before they'd finally come across the stairwell Applebloom and Scootaloo had taken. Thankfully, the mansion had only transported then further back from the two fillies, rather than taking them to some random part of the mansion. "See guys? Told ya it wasn't far. Can't really figure out how you two didn't see it from your floor." Scootaloo said. No pony nor dragon answered the filly. The filly's smile faded. The humor from the kiss had worn off. She herself was beginning to feel down from the other three's attitude. Scootaloo blankly looked to the side, her head unable to get out of the room, or that corner Spike got her into for that matter. Spike looked to the opposite side of Sweetie, unable to believe what he'd just done. Applebloom looked forward, cross eyed, and unable to look anywhere but forward. She wasn't sure if she should have been angry for what Sweetie did, or upset that she'd likely lost her chance at being with Spike. "Guys, aren't you gonna say anything?" Scootaloo asked, as the three of them began to descend down the stairs. "Ah ain't got nothin' ta say ta any a ya." Applebloom said, not looking at Scootaloo. "Oh come on. I bet it was all just a big misunderstanding, right guys?" Scootaloo asked, looking back at Sweetie and Spike. Spike kept quiet while Sweetie mumbled something neither filly could understand. "...well, I'm sure there's something behind it. It's not like Spike just-" "Scoots, if ya ain't gonna keep yer mouth shut, can we talk 'bout somethin' else?" Applebloom snapped. Scootaloo went silent as they continued to descend down the stairs. They passed several floors... no one bothered counting how many... up to the point they had to stop. "Whoa." Scootaloo said looking in front of them. The group couldn't move forward, given the stairs heading down had been ripped out. Planks were scattered at different parts of the stair well, but not enough to call the area anything more than a pit down to the first floor. "Who the hay did this?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie lifted her and opened head to answer, but then she saw Applebloom, and ended up looking back down at the ground. It depressed the filly that she may have just lost one of her best friends again. "Uh... ok, now what. Any ideas?" Scootaloo asked, looking back at the group. Again, no one answered. "You guys are no help at all. Fine. Let's just head back to the next floor up." she decided. She went past Applebloom, Sweetie and Spike to lead them back up to the last floor they could access. Once out of the stairwell in the new hallway. Scootaloo turned and looked at them. She thought for a moment before saying something. "Look. All of you." she started. She had a bit more of a serious tone now. "I don't know what happened in that room, how it happened, or why it happened, but let me tell you, I don't care, and neither should any of you. Especially you Sweetie." The filly looked up at Scootaloo at the sound of her name. "You guys saw those ghosts chasing us. They barely caught us too." Scootaloo continued. "We can't let a little smooch break us all up when any second those ghosts could attack us." ".... you’re right Scootaloo." Sweetie said. She could put aside her emotions and deal with Spike later. The only one the filly was still worried about was Applebloom and what she'd probably done to her... "At least some pony understands." Scootaloo smiled. "Ok... well, i don't think there's really any point in trying to look for another staircase." Sweetie figured. "What? Why not?" Scootaloo asked. "Well, this is the second stairwell I've found like this... and Pinkie was the one who did it probably. Remember Pinkie's ghost?" Sweetie explained. "Anyway, more than likely, she probably messed with all or most of the staircases in one way or another. So it's probably best to work with the one we've got here." "Ok, then what?" Scootaloo asked. "Well... I think we need to find something to get past the floors that are missing steps. Right now I think it's a floor-" "Two floors actually, I think." Scootaloo corrected. "Right. That means we can't jump it without breaking a leg... or getting hurt by whatever debris lying at the bottom. Heck, even if you hovered down there, you'd be falling too fast to get cut by all of the jagged planks..." Sweetie said. "But... if we could find something... maybe a rope or something-" "We could get as close as possible to the ground to avoid breaking something, or getting cut." "Or at least minimize the possibility." Sweetie said. "That's a great plan Sweetie. Where'd you learn to come up with stuff like that? I never saw you as the planner type." "It's nothing really. I had to keep thinking like this all night to stay alive." Sweetie said, attempting to give a small smile. "Any other ideas then?" Scootaloo asked. "We should also... split up." "What?" Scootaloo asked. This didn't sound like a smart plan and Sweetie knew it. The filly proceeded to elaborate. "We need to cover ground as fast as possible. You saw how many ghosts showed up when we were in a group like this earlier. And that wasn't all of them either. Not only will we find what we're looking for faster, but we'll hopefully keep them from finding us if we travel in smaller numbers." "Ok... then how are we gonna do it then?" "I'll go with Applebloom and you go with Spike." "Uh, Sweetie?" Scootaloo asked, looking at the filly peculiarly. "Why specifically the-" "Because I have my flashlight that ghosts don't seem to like, and Spike has his fire breath. Ghosts don't like fire." "But Spike's flame is so small. How would they-" Scootaloo stopped, looking into Sweetie's eyes. That particular set up wasn't just for strategy reasons... "... alright fine. I'll look around with Spike, and you can look around with Applebloom. We'll met up in the hallway in say... 20 minutes. If not, we can find each other if something goes bad, or we find something." "We'll take the right side of the hallway doors, and you guys take the left side doors." Sweetie said. "Fine. Stay safe." Scootaloo said pulling on Spike. "Come on Romeo. Let's get searching." "Okay..." he mouthed before following Scootaloo into one of the rooms, leaving Applebloom and Sweetie alone in the hallway. "...Apple-" Sweetie started. "Don't say nothin'." She said. "Let's just git ta lookin'." She said heading into some random door. "Fine..." Sweetie said, following Applebloom. Rather than Sweetie leading the way, Applebloom was the one who led them from room to room. Most of the rooms was the same generic bedroom, holding nothing of interest inside. Sweetie however, wasn't exactly looking thoroughly. She was trying to figure out what she could say to her friend... the friend she'd basically betrayed. Did I really betray her? Spike was the one who kissed me. Sweetie thought. No... no, I could have stopped him. Why the hay didn't I stop him? I could have, right? And Applebloom... who knows what's going through her head. Spike's the only one I knew of that she had any real feelings toward beyond the average friendship... Sweetie racked her brain from room to room, trying to figure out. What did she say? What could she say to keep Applebloom from hatting her... she did hate her right? Finally, the two of them came across a door... this door was different however. Its lock... it was broken. Bits and pieces of the contents originally inside of the keyhole were lazily hanging out... was this door locked before Sweetie came to it? Sweetie gave an unsure look to Applebloom, who simply looked in her opposite direction. Sweetie then turned back to the door, and pushed it open. With the lock utterly destroyed, it opened easily with a creak. Inside, much like the other rooms she'd come across so far in the hallway, there were no windows... but it was definitely not a bedroom. Instead, the room was bare, beside a table that sat at the center of the room with a red lamp next to it. It was the first real sign of modern day technology Sweetie had come across in the mansion. Up to this point, Sweetie had yet to come across any magically electrified equipment like her flashlight. The red lamp creepily lit the entire room up, revealing what was along the walls. Rather than paintings, there were photos, taken by a camera. While some seemed to be in mid development, others were finished... it seemed to be some kind of dark room used to process photos. All of the equipment needed for such a project was there... except for an actual camera. Guess that'd be too much to hope for... Sweetie thought. Sweetie looked along the walls and was somewhat shocked. Along those walls were photos of ghosts. There were the ghosts that she'd seen before, such as the butlers, the foals, the lickers, the K-9s... but there were also ones that Sweetie didn't even recognize. There was one light blue one with enormous hands, one that was striped like a zebra, one that had spikes sticking out of its body... she even noticed a brown buffalo ghost, and a griffon ghost. Sweetie was just awed by the variety of ghosts that existed... each of them having a date beside them that had the words "discovery" behind them. Chances were, they were all the years that they'd shown up. They dated back as far and beyond the journal entries Sweetie had found so far. The farthest back was 100 B.C. It was a white ghost, round as a ball with a toothy grin, and its tongue sticking out... it didn't even look like a pony, or any creature Sweetie could name. Maybe it was some kind of prehistoric creature. On an entirely separate wall... there were just pictures of the sun and moon. They were all in the same pattern: Sunrise, Noon, Sunset, Moonrise, Midnight, Moonset, Sunrise... the pattern kept up until one picture came that Sweetie had only saw in her history books. It was a Solar Eclipse. Sweetie wasn't sure what it meant, so she picked it up. On the back of the photo, it simply said: End. Sweetie pocketed the photo and went to the table at the center of the room. Among the various pieces of equipment she saw, she noticed two photos facing down. There was something written there. On one it said: The mare knows the combinations... and the other simply said: Be careful. One more. You'll find the villain. - Madame. Though Sweetie figured out the second one was likely referring to her capture of Marbles and Candy... however she couldn't figure out what mare Madame was referring to. Sweetie overturned the photos to find that they weren't pictures of ghost ponies or sun patterns... but they were items she'd already seen. One was a journal page, and the other was the first music box Sweetie found. The funny thing was that the journal page was still in the book, and that the music box looked much less dusty... "Sweetie?" Applebloom said before she could examine the photos anymore. Sweetie's eyes snapped toward Applebloom. This was the first time since the kiss that the filly had said anything. "What's up Applebloom?" Sweetie asked, sticking the pictures in her saddlebags for later. "Ah... ah was just wonderin'... whe Spik'... when ya... when ya'll kissed... did ya like it? Did 'e like it?" She asked shyly. "No!" Sweetie exclaimed. "I mean, I didn't not like it, but I didn't like it either." "Righ'..." Applebloom said looking away. "Applebloom, look. Sweetie said, going up alongside the filly. "What happened in that room, was a stupid mistake of me. I like Spike, but not like... well, you do." "Then why'd ya kiss him?" "I didn't! He did." "So... he really like's ya then." Applebloom said lowering her head. Ouch, bad move. Sweetie thought. "N-no... I don't think so." "Then how do ya explain that 'e kissed ya w'thout ya needin' ta do nothin'?" I will admit, she's got a point. I don't remember doing anything memorable that would get the dragon to even think about me more than Applebloom... "I... I don't know." Sweetie said. "... but I bet he really likes you." "You tryin' ta lie ta me again Sweetie?" What, you didn't believe my first ones? "No no! I just think... well, this mansion can mess with you when you’re scared. Make you see things that you shouldn't be... make you think you like some pony when you really don't... I bet you, that once we're out of this mansion, Spike will be all over you again." "Implying tha' 'e even knew ah existed ta begin wit'." Applebloom sighed. "I promise." Sweetie said. "Fine..." Applebloom sighed. "So... we talking again?" Sweetie asked. "Fer now... less ya try somethin' lik' that again." Applebloom said. There was still a good amount of bitterness in her voice, indicating the filly hadn't entirely won her friend back. "Yer gonna regret it if ya do." Not sure why Applebloom, but I get the distinct feeling that you’re threatening me... Sweetie thought. Applebloom then gave her friend a forced smile, causing Sweetie to smile as well. At least her friend was trying to forgive her for taking her only crush... still, she could also see a hint of sadness in her eyes. Something told the filly that she'd have to figure out a way to make good on her promise to get Applebloom and Spike together. "Hey guys! Come out where ever you are!" Scootaloo called from the hallway. Sweetie and Applebloom went back outside to see Spike and Scootaloo with several bed sheets. Spike had one over his head. "Uh, guys? I don't think the ghosts will buy that as a disguise." Sweetie said. "It's not a disguise, it's our ticket down to the first floor. "How?" Sweetie asked. "Easy. All we got to do is tie the sheets up to each other and we've got ourselves a rope." Scootaloo explained. "I read it in a book." "Uh, correction Scootaloo. It was my idea, and I read it in a book." Spike said. "That's a little more believable." Sweetie said. "Every pony knows Scootaloo doesn't read." "Whatever. In any case, you guys want to help us out?" "Ah reckon we can do that." Applebloom said stepping forward. Scootaloo smiled, thankful that Sweetie had actually managed to lighten Applebloom's mood. Sweetie smiled likewise, noticing a little more happiness in Spike's attitude. As they tied each bed sheet to each other, for the moment, things seemed to be normal. Just being together doing the simple activity felt like another activity they did to attempt to get their cutie mark. Just another day in the life of a Cutie Mark Crusader... and it was refreshing to the filly. No doubt about it, from an emotional standpoint, no matter what, the simple presence of the CMC and even Spike in this mansion was the healthiest pony interaction she'd had all night. It didn't take very long for the four of them to finish tying each bed sheet to each other. The result was a string of three bed sheets, at about 25 feet length total. They all figured this was more than enough to get down to the bottom without risk of injury. With that, they headed back to the stairwell to attempt to figure out how to climb down. Along the way, Sweetie stumbled to the side, and fell against a wall. Her three friends turned around to see what was wrong with their friend. "You okay Sweets?" Scootaloo asked. "Yeah... just got dizzy for a sec." Sweetie said, getting off of the wall. She shook her head as the dizziness quickly left. "You guys feel dizzy?" "I'm good." Scootaloo said. "Ahm fine." Applebloom said. "I was earlier, but I'm good." Spike said. "Why?" Scootaloo asked. "Just... curious." Sweetie said. Given that her friends weren't experiencing Sweetie's symptoms, it couldn't have been another mental manipulation... maybe Sweetie was sick or something? "Let's just get going before we're stampeded by some more ghosts." Once the group reached the stairwell, they walked down to where the planks were pulled out, previously halting their progress. Sweetie checked the banister that was attached to the stair case. She jiggled it a little bit. "Hm... I don't trust this thing to hold any of our weight." Sweetie figured. "We can't tie the sheets here." "Then what?" Scootaloo asked. "... I guess some pony will have to hold it while everyone else will climb down." Sweetie said. "I'll do it." "Why not Spike?" Scootaloo asked. "He's got those... what were they?" "Opposable claws." Spike said. "Right. That makes him the better candidate to go down first." Sweetie explained. "He can spot you and Applebloom as you shimmy down. With those claws, he'll be able to catch you better if you fall." "Lik' a spotter?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie nodded. "Plus, with those thick scales, he'll keep from getting splintered on the wood if it's really bad down there." Scootaloo looked at Sweetie, amazed, and somewhat jarred by the filly's ability to think things through. She knew that Sweetie said it had become an adapted ability, but the question became, from what... Scootaloo was beginning to wonder seriously what in the hay had Sweetie been through so far... to cause her mind to evolve in such a way... Sweetie put her flashlight down to her side. While holding one end of the bed sheet rope in her teeth, she threw the other end down the pit like staircase. "Alright Spike. Down you go." Sweetie said through the sheet, motioning for Spike to begin his decent. "Right... Sweetie?" Spike asked. Sweetie merely looked at Spike, rather than giving him any worded response. The dragon didn't blush this time, instead rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Uh... never mind. I'll tell you later." "Then let's get going. The longer we're here, the more dangerous it gets." Sweetie said. Spike nodded in agreement before climbing onto the rope and sliding down. There was a small crunch after a few seconds. "You alright Spik'?" Applebloom called out of concern. Even still, her heart for the dragon was still strong... even if it had been fractured a little. "Yeah! There's a bunch of wood down here, just like Sweetie said." Spike called back. "I can feel it scratching my scales." "Good call Sweets." Scootaloo said. "Let me just move this stuff around so you guys don't get nicked by a piece of wood." Spike said. They heard the sound of wood being shifted around. "Ok, you guys are good to go!" "After you Applebloom." Scootaloo said. Applebloom carefully gripped the bed sheet rope and began to shimmy down. Given she hadn't had much practice at it, the climb was slow, and Sweetie, more than once thought the rope would slip out of her teeth... but she made it. "Ahm down! C'mon, yer turn Scoots." Applebloom called. "Hey Sweets, why don't you go instead." Scootaloo suggested. "What? Why?" Sweetie asked. Scootaloo didn't say anything, but simply showed Sweetie by extending her wings. "Can you control your flying enough to hover down lightly?" "Of course I can." Scootaloo said. "Besides, who's gonna let you down when I go?" Sweetie thought for a moment. That made sense... but why did is seem wrong at the same time? Because I'm wrong... I'm always wrong a thought popped into Sweetie's head. "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "What?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie shook her head. She wasn't sure where it had come from, but something had just spoken to her... didn't it? Sweetie couldn't have been losing her mind again, like with Twilight right? From what she understood, any pony caught in the mental manipulation field would experience something... "Nothing. I'll start climbing." Sweetie said, handing the rope to Scootaloo. She then went to pick up her flashlight and stick it into her saddlebags. Making sure she wasn't leaving anything behind, the filly began to climb. Second only to Spike, Sweetie seemed to have climbed the fastest so far. Between the theater and the circus, the filly deemed herself to be one of the best ponies she knew that could do such a difficult climb with hooves. She was good at it... and probably wouldn't have messed up if it wasn't for her second dizziness. For a moment, Sweetie felt faint... and it only took a moment for her for her to lose her grip on the rope. Sweetie fell back off of the rope and began to free fall. Her hat fell off of her head as she fell. The filly screamed in terror, believing she would die once she hit the bottom... however, she was caught by Spike just in time. "What happened?! Sweetie! You alright?!" Scootaloo called. It took a moment for the white filly to get herself together, get out of Spike's arms and pick up Applejack's hat. "I'm fine." "What happen'd ta ya Sweetie? Ya lost yer grip?" Applebloom asked. "S-something like that." Sweetie said. She looked at Spike... he was staring at her again with the same googly eyes as before. Before Applebloom could get a chance to notice Spike's romantic behavior again, Sweetie turned back up to Scootaloo. "Hey Scoots! You want to hurry it up already?" "We ain't got all day!" Applebloom joined, looking up into the darkness. "Alright, alright. Don't get your bow in a knot." Scootaloo called back. Scootaloo dropped the rope down before hovering down. The hover wasn't slow, so the orange filly ended up coming down hard... right on top of Applebloom. "Oof!" Applebloom said as Scootaloo lie on top of her. "Hey, thanks for cushioning my fall Applebloom." Scootaloo grinned. "Git off a me." Applebloom said. Scootaloo did. "Ok Sweetie, what's the next plan?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie thought for a minute before shrugging. "I dunno." "C'mon Sweetie. Y'all know more-" Applebloom started. "I know, I know..." Sweetie sighed. "Well... as long as the mansion doesn't change up on us like it did with Spike and I, our best bet is to find the courtyard... then maybe find our way to the theater... all we can do after that is wing it from there." "Ain't too keen on th' thought a wanderin' this 'ere mansion aimlessly." Applebloom said. "Best plan we've got for now." Sweetie said. "Okay then, let’s go." Scootaloo said. "You lead the way Sweets." Sweetie nodded before heading forward. "Sweetie wait." Spike said. Sweetie turned her head back around to look at the dragon. He still looked nervous, but at the same time, he seemed to build up enough nerve to say something to her. "I... was just wondering..." he started. "Do... were you around Twilight lately?" "... yes. Why?" Sweetie asked. "Well... remember in that study when I suggested writing to Celestia, and you said no, and I..." he paused for a moment, reluctant to get into the details of what happened next. "A-anyway, I got to thinking. If I couldn't write to Celestia... maybe I could write to Twilight. I mean... Celestia enchanted me and my fire breathing to be able to teleport any enchanted parchment to her at any time... but I also learned I could send my fire messages to other ponies as well, if I had some kind of item that came from them. Do you have anything like that?" Sweetie thought for a moment before shaking her head. "No, I don't..." she thought again. "Wait... you said anything that came from them?" Spike nodded. "...like... like magic? Does that count?" Sweetie asked. "As long as it hasn't been enchanted by some other unicorn stronger than Twilight... yeah. Stuff she used her magic on should work." Spike confirmed. Sweetie reached into her saddlebags and pulled out one of the heart candies. "Twilight made these with her magic. It heals injuries... but she was the one who enchanted it with a healing spell. Will this work?" "Worth a shot. Let me see the note and the quill." Spike said, taking the heart candy. Sweetie went into her saddlebags to give Spike the two items he requested. Spike got down to the ground and began to finish his note. The CMC gathered around Spike to see what he was writing. Sweetie took out her flashlight to assist him. "Wait, can't Twilight teleport or something? Can't unicorns do that?" Scootaloo asked. "Exactly." Spike said. "I'm gonna tell her we're going to that courtyard Sweetie talked about, so she could just come and take us someplace safer... as long as she's seen this part of the mansion to teleport to." She must have been in some other part of the mansion when I got there... so one could only hope... Sweetie thought. "Also, tell her that Pinkie's caught. It's the only reason she'll even think about coming out." Sweetie said. "Why's tha'?" Applebloom asked. "Er... I'll tell you once we're there." Sweetie said. "Trust me, you'll understand when we get there." "Ok... Courtyard... Pinkie's captured... anything else?" Spike asked. "Tell her we're gonna wait there for about 10 minutes... and that if she doesn't find us, that means something went wrong, we ran into something on the way or we went to find our own way." Sweetie said. Spike nodded as he wrote. "Ok, now just to send it off." Spike said. He wrapped the candy heart with the note, creating a little ball. Once finished, he put the paper ball on the ground and blew his green flame on it. The paper glowed green as it started to burn. They waited around it for a couple minutes. "Uh... why is it taking so long?" Scootaloo asked. "It's the candy heart. Once it and the note are all burned up, it'll get sent to her." Spike explained. "That might take a couple minutes." "In th' meantime, lets git a move on ta th' courtyard." Applebloom said. Sweetie nodded, moving out of the staircase, past any other wood that Spike hadn't moved yet into the new hallway. Sweetie guided her friends through the hallways with one thought on her mind, she kept to herself: Twilight, if she were to teleport, would need magic... magic running out... Limited magic that was needed to save her friends, and could very well be gone by now... *** It didn't take the four of them long to reach the courtyard. They ended up blindly following Sweetie through hallway that eventually led to the theater. "Ok... this is the theater." Spike sniffed the air. "Hey... anyone else smell smoke?" Sweetie stared at Spike before remembering that he couldn't remember he was the cause of the scent he smelled. She quickly looked away from him when she noticed Applebloom watching her stare. "It's nothing. Let's just keep moving." Sweetie said, continuing forward. "How much farther?" Scootaloo asked. "Not much. Just down this hallway, and we'll be there." Sweetie said, pointing to the hallway in front of them. The three of them continued to follow Sweetie. Finally, they made it to the glass door, which was still as open as the filly had left it. The water had dried up a bit as well, though the hallway was still pretty wet from the rain. "Hey... I've seen this before..." Scootaloo said. I could imagine. Sweetie said. She did remember Madame saying that Scootaloo might have run through here... The filly wouldn't be surprised if this was the route she took. Sweetie didn't respond however. If she somehow led to any conclusions, she'd rather her figure it out herself. "Yeah... I mean, there were some torches out there, but I swear I saw this in my dream." Scootaloo said. "The torches are gone?" Sweetie asked, looking out into the moonlit courtyard. Sure enough, the torches that had guided the filly to the hole into the crypt was gone. The crypt hole itself was also boarded up, with the CMC paper airplane lying on top of it with a bent nose. "You mean there actually were torches there?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie hesitated before seeing no harm in answering honestly. "Yeah." "Was... there also some kind of... I dunno, cave?" "Crypt." Sweetie corrected. "You would know what it was called." Scootaloo commented. "Well, that's what it is. Caves don't go down. Mines and crypts do, but-" "Ok, ok, ok. I didn't ask for a whole history lesson." Scootaloo said, rolling her eyes. "But... that's where they put dead bodies, right?" The three of them went out of the dressing room hallway and into the courtyard. Sweetie nodded to Scootaloo. "Yeah... cause I remember seeing some dead ponies in my dream." "Kind of morbid, don't you think Scootaloo?" Spike said. "Well, it's what I saw... then, something started chasing me." A bead of sweat dropped down Sweetie's neck. It sounded like she was starting to remember something. "What chased ya?" Scootaloo asked. "...ghosts." Scootaloo said, looking at all of her friends. Spike and Applebloom turned around to look at Scootaloo. Sweetie didn't bother looking at them as she went to go examine the paper airplane. It was a little banged up, but not as bad as the first crash. This damage was fixable. "Ghosts?" Applebloom said. "Bit of a coincidence if ya ask me." "Then..." Scootaloo closed her eyes, trying as hard as she could to remember. "Then, they cornered me... in this room with other dead ponies. I hid... but one of them found me. A colt, I think." "A colt?" Spike asked. "Yeah, a ghost colt." Scootaloo said. "And he... he..." "Stuck his hoof in your mouth?" Sweetie finished. The three of them looked at Sweetie. "Yeah. How'd you know?" "One almost got me once." Sweetie said. "Tried to rip my soul out of my body. It would have too, if Twilight didn't save me." "Well... I don't think any pony got to me... and I don't think it took anything out of me. It just kept sticking its hoof further down my throat until... its leg was there... then the second leg... then everything goes dark after that." "Sweetie." Applebloom said, going to the white filly, still looking at the plane. "Sweetie!" Sweetie didn't turn to look at Applebloom, as though ignoring her would make her go away. Applebloom forced Sweetie to turn around and look at her, the fillies' faces barely two inches from each other. "Ah know ya know what happened ta Scoots. Ah reckon ya know what happened to all of us." Applebloom said. "Why don'tcha stop lyin' n tell us th' truth already? We're yer friends remember?" "I... didn't know you still considered me your friend Applebloom." Sweetie said. "Ya ain't answered mah question. What in the hay happened?" Applebloom asked. "Let her go Appleb-" Spike started. "Hold up!" Applebloom said, stopping the dragon from proceeding. Applebloom took a hold of both of Sweetie's fore legs. "Sweetie. Ah don't know what y'all been through, but ya gotta stop lyin. Ya gotta trust us. Tell th' truth already." Sweetie knew she'd only be able to sidestep the issue for so long. She was going to have to tell them now... "I... I didn't want you guys to know until we were safe." Sweetie said softly. "What?" Scootaloo asked, getting closer to Applebloom. "Just let me go and I'll tell you." Sweetie said. Applebloom did, gently. Every pony stared at Sweetie. "What's wrong Sweetie? You've been lying to us?" Scootaloo asked. "Why? Don't you trust us?" Sweetie took a deep breath. "I... did lie, yes." Sweetie said. "Why Sweetie?" Spike said, joining Scootaloo. "Because... I didn't want to hurt you with the truth yet. You guys were... you... do you guys hear bells?" "Sweetie, now ain't the ti-" "Hold up, I hear it too." Spike said. "Huh? Ah don't hear nothin'!" Applebloom said. "Me neither." Scootaloo said. "What are you... guys?" Neither of them answered. Spike went over to stand over next to Sweetie, and stared into space in some kind of trance. "The time has come..." Spike said "It's coming from the church..." Sweetie said. "What 're you two talkin 'bout?" Applebloom asked. Neither of them answered, but rather Spike put his arm around Sweetie's and they both began walking back toward the dressing room hallway. "Hey! Where y'all goin?" Applebloom asked. "C'mon! Let's follow them." Scootaloo said. Applebloom nodded. It didn't take a genius to figure out that something was wrong with her two friends, but it still bothered her to see Sweetie break her promise so quickly. Applebloom shook off the feeling, and focused on keeping up with the two of them as they walked. Sweetie and Spike moved together in unison, leaning on each other as they went through the hallways. Every so often, Spike might nuzzle Sweetie's mane, and the filly would giggle in response. Applebloom flinched every time, while Scootaloo simply watched in dis-satisfaction. The walk didn't last much longer than a couple minutes, as they eventually came across a large metal door. It had an etching of a sun on one side, and a moon on the other... this was the church Sweetie had exited the crypt from. The only difference from then, was that there was a giant splotch of ectoplasm blocking it, and ultimately sealing it. Once they were in front of the large door, Spike kissed Sweetie on the cheek. Sweetie responded with a kiss of her own on Spike's lips. Applebloom turned away from it, as Scootaloo's jaw dropped. "What is wrong with you two?!" Scootaloo exclaimed. Sweetie and Spike separated before collapsing to the ground, holding their heads in pain to another headache. Scootaloo went over to help Sweetie back up on her feet. Applebloom only turned back around to do the same for Spike. Once the two of them were on their feet again, their headaches subsided and was replaced with a bright red blush on each of their faces. why... Why did I do that?! Sweetie exclaimed in her head. She wasn't sure what had just happened. She didn't feel like she was out of control in any way... no, she definitely still had her own will... yet something in her head just told her to kiss Spike. Something she couldn't explain... Whatever it was though, it didn't change the guilt Sweetie immediately felt upon looking at her friend who she'd just about immediately betrayed... again. I'm guessing a word or two won't really help in this case... better keep my mouth shut. "Sweetie?" Scootaloo asked. The filly looked at her friend. "I've got a whole bunch of questions for you but... first, where the hay are we?" Sweetie looked at the door, examining it. "Uh... the church I think." Sweetie confirmed. "Don't remember this wall of ectoplasm blocking the way from before." "Do you still hear bells?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie shook her head. "No... but it do hear... music?" Sweetie's ears perked up to get a better sound. "Yeah, I hear music... wedding music, do you hear it?" Scootaloo perked her ears as well. "Actually, yeah. From the other side of the door." "No doubt some pony's in there." Sweetie commented. "Yeah, but it would take forever to clean this thick gooey stuff off to get in." Scootaloo said. "Actually..." Sweetie said, raising her GCD nozzle. Making sure it was set to suck, Sweetie cleaned the door of the ectoplasm blockage. The fourth light on Sweetie's back lit up. "Huh. Now we can get in?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie shrugged. "I guess." "Then let’s-" Scootaloo said, heading for the door. "Wait!" Sweetie whispered. "What?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie went to the front of the group and by the door. She stuck her ear onto the door. Sure enough, she heard ghost ponies inside, silently giggling. "What? You hear something?" Scootaloo asked. "Yeah, a hay load of ghosts." Sweetie said. "I don't think we should-" "...Sweets?" Scootaloo asked. "Shhh." Sweetie said, pushing her ear as hard as she could into the door without physically opening it. Sweetie heard something above all of the other pony voices. They were all voices Sweetie recognized very well. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the sight of Celestia..." it was Spiffy. He was speaking as the loudest pony in the room. He was saying some kind of speech... which Sweetie almost immediately recognized as a speech done by a priest pony at weddings. Why Spiffy was doing this was beyond the filly... though she continued to listen. "Master Specter," Spiffy said, "Will you have this lovely mare to be your lawfully wedded wife, to live together in Celestia's ordinance in the estate of matrimony? To love her, comfort her, honor and keep her in sickness and health until death... or whatever comes first, do you part?" "Specter?" Sweetie said to herself. By now Applebloom had gotten up with Spike, and gathered around Sweetie to see what she was doing. "Specter? You mean that stallion you mentioned earlier?" Scootaloo asked. "Is he in there?" "I do." Specter said. "Yeah." Sweetie whispered. "Apparently, he's getting married. I think it's to a... a..." "...Sweetie?" Spike whispered. He seemed to, much like Sweetie, get over the kiss. "Get married to a what? Who?" "No..." Sweetie mumbled. "He couldn't be." Sweetie closed her eyes, hoping and wishing it wasn't who she thought it was. "And you. Will you have this stallion to be your handsome wedded husband, to live together in Celestia's ordinance in the estate of matrimony? To love him, comfort him, honor him, and keep him in sickness and health, until whatever comes before death?" "I do." Rarity said. Sweetie completely lost all control over her body. All thought of subtlety left her body as she burst through the door and into the nave of the church. "Sweetie! Wait!" Scootaloo said running after her friend. Only Applebloom and Spike hung in the back of the church, barely entering. The church had remained the same besides the ghosts that were now sitting inside, except for the windows. They had been boarded up and covered with a curtain to keep the moonlight out. Sweetie and Scootaloo ran down the center aisle, past all of the ghosts who stared at her, grinning. Thankfully, their level of laughter didn't increase upon their rude entrance... yet anyway. Both of the fillies skidded to a stop once they reached the front of the nave at the crossing. "Specter!" Sweetie yelled angrily. "Sweetie!?" Rarity said surprised. "Rarity!" Sweetie said. "Sweetie?" Specter asked. "Specter!" Sweetie yelled angrilly. "Specter?" Scootaloo asked. "Scootaloo?" Rarity asked. "Rarity?" Scootaloo asked. "Scootaloo." Specter asked. "Specter!" Sweetie said. "Get on with it!" Spike yelled from the back of the church. The door to the church slammed shut on its own, causing every pony to go silent for a moment. Even the ghosts momentarily stopped their laughter. "... Ms. Belle." Specter said breaking the silence. "How nice of you to join us." "Cut it Specter." Sweetie said angrily. "What in the hay do you think you’re doing?" Specter chuckled. "You know, I always thought little fillies like you looked cute when you were having your little tamptrums." "That's kind of creepy dude!" Spike called from the back. Specter briefly looked at the dragon with a slight hint of annoyance. "For the love of Celestia, some ghost get him." Two ghosts, a licker and a butler from the benches in the nave flew up into the air and back to Applebloom and Spike. The two tried to evade, however the ghosts were two fast, grabbing them by the stomachs and swooping them into the air. The ghosts hugged the two children to their stomachs, trapping them in their grasp. "Uh, Sweetie?" Scootaloo said, looking back at their captive friends. "I know." Sweetie said through gritted teeth. "Now that that minor annoyance is out of the way... what were you asking dear filly?" Specter asked. "What are you doing with her?" Sweetie asked angrily. Specter chuckled. "You mean you can't figure it out yourself? My wife must have been right. You are a stupid filly." "Master Specter. Do you want us to postpone the ceremony until Ms. Belle and her friends are taken care of?" Spiffy asked. Specter waved a hoof. "No need. This won't take long. And besides, there's no need to be rude to these fillies. I plan to honor Ms. Belle and Ms..." "... Scootaloo." Scootaloo said. "Ah, I do remember my loyal pony-servant mentioning the capture of a pony by that name earlier tonight." Specter said. "Sweetie? What is he talking about?" Scootaloo asked. "Not now Scoots." Sweetie said, not taking her eyes off of Specter, or ghost Rarity. "Tell me!" Scootaloo insisted. "Later." Sweetie said flatly. "And now, you stand before me... neither ghostified, nor possessed. I must say Ms. Belle, I'm impressed with your feat of exorcism. Just make sure to keep my children safe in that little box your carrying on your back." "If you wanted to keep your kids safe, you shouldn't have sent them after me in the first place!" Sweetie shot back. Specter flinched, as though he'd actually felt a shot of guilt through his body. Then, he laughed. "You surely are a riot Ms. Belle." "You didn't answer my question. What in the hay do you think you’re doing." "You mean the church bells, the organ, or this hoof ring," Specter said, holding up a large diamond ring, just about Rarity's hoof size, "Didn't tip you off? This is a wedding Ms. Belle." "You’re not serious." Sweetie said. "Oh, I am quite." "B-but you already have a wife! What about Madame?" Sweetie asked. "Thanks to you, dear filly, I've been forced to... quit my wife." he said. "Thanks to me?! Everything's your fault! No pony would be in here if it weren't for you! No pony would have died if it weren't for you! You’re the one who-" "Shut up Sweetie." Rarity said. Sweetie did as she was told. Specter chuckled again. "You can think of me, anyway you'd like Ms. Belle. The facts remain... you are surrounded. Your friends are in danger, you are stupid and my little gem will soon be named Rarity Yield." "Get away from her." Sweetie said through gritted teeth. The ghosts began to get up from their seats and float toward Sweetie. Scootaloo's flank went against Sweetie's body as they closed in. "Sweetie? We've got a problem here." Scootaloo said fearfully. "Good bye Ms. Belle. And I hope to see you in the-" "GET AWAY FROM MY SISTER!" Sweetie yelled, pointing her GCD at Specter, before switching to its spectral throwback and firing it at him. The shot was too fast for Specter to even make an attempt to dodge. Sweetie made a direct shot to his neck area, sticking him to the wall closest to him. "Specter!" Rarity called, flying over to the stallion. Upon getting hit by the ectoplasm, the ghosts controlled by Specter screamed in pain before falling down around Scootaloo and Sweetie. Even Applebloom and Spike were freed from their captors. "Nice shot Sweetie!" Spike said, running with Applebloom to reunite with Sweetie and Scootaloo. "Yeah Sweets." Scootaloo said. "How did you know hitting Specter would stop the ghosts?" "Uh... I didn't." Sweetie said, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "Just lucky guess I suppose." "I'll take that." Scootaloo said smiling. So, if Specter's hurt, so are the other ghosts? That's something to keep in mind. "You..." Rarity said. Uh oh. Sweetie thought. "You stupid, idiotic, selfish filly!" Rarity said turning to Sweetie, her blue eyes filled with rage. "R-rarity?" Sweetie said. "Rarity! It's me! Sweetie!" "I know exactly who you are, do you think I'm dumb?" Rarity asked, looking at her. "You’re the filly who ruins everything in my life. Every pony I try to love, everything I try to create. Going down in flames because of you, and your carelessness. Sweetie Belle, the sister I wish I never had." The words stung Sweetie... but she had to remember. She was being controlled by Specter. He was the one talking to the filly... not her. "Ms. Rarity. He's unconscious." Spiffy said. "Will my dear be alright?" Rarity asked concerned. Spiffy nodded. He did something to the goop around Specter's neck sticking him to the wall, before easily pealing it off like a sticker. He lay him down on the floor. "I'll try and wake him up." "Look what you did Sweetie." Rarity asked. "Now the wedding is ruined..." The ghost mare began to tear up. "Rarity..." Sweetie said, trying to console. "Why can't you let me be happy?!" Rarity asked. Sweetie felt weak, her bones making her sit onto her flank. "I... I'm sorry Rare-" she said quietly, on the verge of tears. "Shut up. Both a ya." Applebloom interrupted. Sweetie looked up to see her friend standing at her side. "Y'all both know it's a lie. Ri' Sweetie?" Sweetie didn't answer. She wasn't entirely sure. "Stay out of this Applebloom." Rarity commanded. "Ah ain't gonna let ya make mah friend feel bad from yer lies." "Yeah!" Scootaloo joined. "That's just a bunch of hay and you know it! Sweetie loves you more than anything in the world! Right Sweets?" Sweetie looked up, wiping a tear out of her eye. She nodded. "Hmph. How would you know? How do you know that little filly won't try to keep me to herself?" Rarity asked. "You have no place here." Rarity's frown turned into a smile. Not a grin, but a sadistic smile. "But if you’re so enthusiastic, then you can join my sister then." "What are ya-" Applebloom started. The filly wasn't given a chance to finish her sentence as the curtains from the boarded windows were ripped off by Rarity's magic. They quickly swooped down and wrapped each filly individually in the pieces of fabric. Only their heads were visible in the upside down cocoon Rarity had fashioned for them. They all struggled to get free, however, it was no use. They were trapped. "Uh Sweetie?" Scootaloo asked. "She's got us a little tied up here." "I know. Shut up." Sweetie said panicked. "Err, Sweetie?" Applebloom said. "Ah think these 'ere wrappin's are gitt'n tighter." "I know! Shut up." Sweetie said, even more panicked as the fabric got tighter and tighter around her entire body. "Sweetie, the blood is rushing to my head!" Spike said. "I KNOW! Shut up!" Sweetie said, at the peak of her panic. "Rarity! You have to fight it! This isn't you! If not I'm going to-" "Die?" Rarity said, smiling. "That's the idea. You see Sweetie, there's something you don't quite get. I'm not under Specter's control." "The hay you aren't!" Sweetie yelled. The filly struggled in her bindings... not to escape however. She had a plan. "You’re not my sister!" "Oh? Then why is it that other ghosts disappeared when you assaulted my lover.... and I remain here?" Rarity grinned. "B-because you’re a Portrait ghost?" Sweetie figured. Rarity shook her head. "Such a sad sad thing to see a child trying to deny the truth." Sweetie managed to get her hoof into her saddlebags. Now all she had to do was get her item of interest. "And what's that 'truth' you’re talking about?" Sweetie asked. Rarity got as close as she could to Sweetie's face, to the point she could feel the mare's icy cold breath. "I... hate... you." She whispered. Sweetie managed to grab Applebloom's knife and used it to cut through the curtain fabric, causing her to fall to the ground. The contents of Sweetie's saddlebags poured out upon impact as she hit her head. Though she was immediately in pain, Sweetie managed to keep her focus high enough to go for her flashlight and point her GCD nozzle at Rarity. The mare laughed. "So... you going to fight me then? You’re going to hurt your one and only sister?" "I'm not going to fight you. I'm going to catch your flank." Sweetie said. "Besides, no matter what you say, I won't believe you’re my sister." Rarity sighed. "I suppose children like you have to learn the hard way." Sweetie then heard the sound of nails being ripped out of wood. She saw the boards fall as whatever held them in place was ripped off by her magic. Moonlight flooded the church. Sweetie saw something glimmer in the moonlight... something shiny and sharp. Dodge! the voice in her head said. Sweetie jumped back, narrowly dodging a nail that was coming straight for her... no, it wasn't a nail, it was a needle. One a dress maker like Rarity might use to sew. Sweetie heard more wizz through the air. Quickly, Sweetie made the decision to hide under one of the benches she saw in the moonlight. She covered her head as the bench sheet shielded the filly from the barrage of needles coming at her. "Mr. Butler. Would you be a dear and help me eradicate this little worm?" Rarity asked. First I'm stupid, now I'm a worm. That's cool. Sweetie thought, figuring out when she should abandon her cover... Sweetie would have used her safe time to attempt to use her ghost book, however it was far away from her, lying among her other items that fell out of her bag. Sweetie'd just have to wing it until she got another chance. "You know that's not my role Ms. Rarity. I can however give you some ghosts to fight by your side." "Fine. Do it now." There was a large knock on the door to the church. "Sweetie! You in there?!" It was Twilight! Even with her lack of magic, she'd managed to make it. "Twi!" Spike called. "Twi, is that you?!" "We're in here!" Scootaloo said. "Rainbow. Help me break down the door!" "On it." Rainbow said from the other side. There was a large impact against the door. It shook, showing immediate signs of weakening. "Oh no you don't!" Rarity said, raising a needle with a metallic looking thread. She shot it at the door faster than a speeding bullet, making a large clank noise. "What the heck was that?!" Rainbow said surprised from the other side of the door. The needle shot back through the door, wrapping around the line in which the door would open from. The metallic thread spiraled down, continuously making the clanking noise until the double door was held together by the thread. There was a second impact. "Twi! The door won't budge!" Rainbow said. "I think it's sewn it shut!" Twilight said. "What?! Well unsew it!" "I have to cut it Rainbow that'll take a bit. We'll be there in a few minutes ok?!" Twilight assured. If we're not all dead by then. Sweetie thought. She had to get out before Rarity tried something new. The filly scrambled out of her cover and ran to her friends. She had a good feeling that the flashlight in her mouth wouldn't work against Rarity... but she had an idea she could try. "Spike!" She said as she got closer to her friends, glancing back at Rarity every few seconds. "I need you to blow as hard of a flame as you can!" "What? Why?" Spike asked. "Now's really not the time to argue Spike. Do it NOW!" Sweetie commanded. Spike took a deep breath and blew a flame at Sweetie. Sweetie switched to her Elemental Capture and sucked up Spike's flame. It wasn't nearly as strong as when Spike was possessed, however, it was just enough to fill the GCD cylinder a quarter of the way. Now Sweetie had something she could possibly fight Rarity with. As Sweetie turned around to face Rarity, she saw the glimmer of some needles coming her way. Quickly, Sweetie dodged to the right into the benches. Sweetie barely dodged them in time, getting nicked by a needle on the way. A droplet of blood slid down the filly's face. It stung, and Sweetie did her best to ignore the pain... though she was used to pain being inflicted on her, this one in particular needle stung even more than the cuts from Applebloom's knife. Did it just create a deeper cut, or was it that Sweetie watched her sister as they flew at her face... She circled around the benches, dodging more needles, back over to Rarity, coming up on her side. Sweetie stopped and aimed her GCD at the mare. "Rarity. Don't make me have to hurt you." Sweetie said. "What are y'all doin'?!" Applebloom yelled at Sweetie. "Yeah! She's a ghost! She won't listen to you." They're right. She's not gonna listen to reason anymore... but then why in the hay am I not pushing the button?! Sweetie thought. She noticed her hooves shook as she pointed the GCD at Rarity in its current setting. The filly remembered how horrified she was when she froze Rarity's head. Freezing the actual Rarity was unthinkable. But she's not Rarity! She's not! Sweetie thought, trying to convince herself to hit the button. "Stupid, clumsy, and now gutless. What can't you do that isn't disappointing?" Rarity said. "Sweetie! Look out!" Scootaloo warned. Sweetie's eye darted to the right as she saw a yellow foal ghost clumsily flying at her. Sweetie jumped back, narrowly dodging it. Sweetie noticed how, unlike before, it didn't seem like it had control over its body. Instead, it seemed like it was being swung around, rather than really flying. Sweetie looked up to see the yellow glow of Spiffy, with a puppeteer’s cross, it's strings attached to the foal as it flew... Sweetie directed her attention back to Rarity, dodging another group of needles she threw at her. "Stay still Sweetie! At least do that right!" Rarity said, throwing individual needles at the filly as she dodged each one. The closest calls Sweetie had was twice, where two needles pierced and went through Applejack's hat... Sweetie was almost sure one stayed inside, creating three holes around the hat. The close calls, along with the running from Rarity was tiring the filly out. Her friends noticed as she was getting clumsier and clumsier as she dodged both the flying foal and the needles. "Twilight?!" Spike called. "How's that door coming?!" "We're working as fast as we can!" Twilight said. "Just give us a minute!" Scootaloo looked at Sweetie as she dodged another needle. She was sure that a second one had grazed the side of her coat, creating a long red line of blood. "We don't have a minute! Hurry up!" Sweetie jumped under one of the benches again to take cover from another barrage of needles. She covered her head fearfully, knowing she'd have to leave soon before the foal came for her. "We're trying! Just a little longer!" Rainbow said. Just then, Rarity stopped firing needles at Sweetie's cover. She grinned, as though she'd just gotten an idea. "Fine... since you’re incapable of staying still... fine." She said calmly. Sweetie stopped covering her head. Something was very wrong, and she knew it. "You may be able to move... but your friends can't." "Uh, Sweetie?" Applebloom said, panicked as she looked at Rarity. The white ghost mare used her magic to lift several needles before aiming them at her friends. "Sweetie? Sweetie!" they all called, desperately struggling to get free of their wrappings. "Say goodbye to your friends Sweetie. I hope you'll understand the loss you've made me endure... through the death of your dear friends." "No!" Sweetie said, running out from under her cover. The ghost foal was waiting for her, as she dodged it. She ran for Rarity, and pointed her GCD at her. Completely on instinct and without hesitation, Sweetie hit the button, causing a great red flame to be thrown from the nozzle of the GCD. There was no ding, however Rarity did scream in pain as the fire engulfed her. She fell to the ground, not too far from Sweetie. With her, the needles fell down around her friends' bindings. Sweetie blinked, coming back to her senses. "Rarity!" Sweetie said, dropping the nozzle and running over to her sister. "Rarity, are you alright? Are you-" The filly didn't get a chance to finish speaking, or realize her mistake of checking on the mare, before she flew up at Sweetie and grabbed her by the neck. Sweetie desperately tried to free herself from the mare's grasp, but it was useless. All she could do was look helplessly at the ghost mare's face. She couldn't release herself, or attempt to grab onto the GCD nozzle as her oxygen slipped away. Sweetie heard her friends calling for her, but she wasn't sure as the world around her became blurry. The filly felt her life slowly slipping away... Sweetie then heard a crash, followed by a thunderbolt. She felt herself fall down to the ground... and she wasn't sure what happened after that, as she fainted. *** "What... do we do now?" Rarity asked in the darkness, her voice muffled and distant. "Now, Ms. Rarity... we wait." Spiffy said in a particularly sinister tone. "In just a little bit... Ms. Belle won't be a problem anymore... and I will have for filled my duty... *** "Sweetie..." said a ghostly voice. "Is she gonna be alright?" the filly felt herself placed down onto the ground. "She'll be fine. It's just the shock of catching portraits. Did she catch any recently?" "Not that I remember... hey, I think she's waking up now." Sweetie moaned painfully. The feel of catching two portrait ghosts was finally beginning to come down on the filly. She felt pain rushing through her body. "I'm going to try and heal her a bit more." the voice said... it was definitely Twilight. "Sweetie, if you can hear me, stay still. This might hurt at first." Sweetie felt magic starting to flow though her body, as pain followed. She opened her mouth to scream, but a pained groan only came. The magic flow only lasted for a few minutes. "That's all I can do for now." Twilight said. "You've got to do more than that! Look at her!" "I'm sorry, I just need to save magic for emergencies. She'll survive for now." Twilight said. Sweetie's eyes fluttered open. Her eyes hurt for a moment before adjusting to the light around her. She was relieved to find herself back in the safe zone... her and her friends still alive. Every pony stood around her, looking at the beaten up filly. Applejack stood, still looking pretty beaten up, though much better than before. Applebloom stood by her. Rainbow and Scootaloo stood together as well. So did Spike and Twilight. Each of them looked at their loved one, before looking back at Sweetie and smiled. The filly herself smiled with pride that she'd managed to reunite them with each other. "Hey guys." Sweetie said weakly. "What's up?" Sweetie groaned as she tried to get up. Fluttershy advanced, lying a hoof on her abdomen to keep her down. "Please Sweetie. Rest." she said, smiling sweetly. "Yeah kid." Rainbow added. "You’re safe now." About time. Sweetie thought, rubbing her neck. She looked at her friends, remembering the danger they'd been in. Thankfully, there wasn't a visible scratch on them... but she could see some pain in their eyes, from watching their friend fight Rarity. "You alri' there Sweetie?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie nodded. "I've been better, but I'll live." she said. "What... what happened?" "Well," Scootaloo started, "When Rarity got you by the neck, we all thought you were gonna... you know, die. Anyway, when all hope was lost, Rainbow busted into the room and Twilight shot a bolt of lightning from her horn." "Almost hit ya too. Good thing Twi ain't a bad shot." Applebloom commented. "Anyway, Rare screamed and flew up to that butler ghost for protection. Then, Rainbow heroically flew up to the both of them." Scootaloo continued enthusiastically. "Then, she punched Spiffy in the muzzle." "She flew through him and hit the ceiling." Spike corrected. "Then they both flew away." "Whatever. Rainbow scared them off!" "She didn' punch 'em though." Applebloom said. "Bah. Details, details." Scootaloo said. The mares smiled at the sound of the children's senseless bickering. After a few more minutes of rest, Sweetie got up again. Without a groan, Fluttershy didn't stop her. "Now wha'?" Applebloom asked. "Now? Um..." Sweetie looked around the room. "You guys didn't print out Pinkie yet?" Applejack shook her head. "Ya'll just got back." "Then that's what's next." Sweetie said, walking over to the spirit printer. "That's the most important thing right now." "...any particular reason why?" Twilight asked. "I mean, besides bringing her back." "Yeah. I had this dream earlier... Rarity was saying something about Pinkie knowing things." Sweetie explained. "Like what?" Rainbow asked. "Hopefully, we're gonna find out." Sweetie said, sticking the GCD into the ghost printer. "Processing..." the spirit printer said as it began to shake and whirl. Sweetie held the nozzle firmly in the hole, as Pinkie went through. "Hey, is that machine laughing?" Spike asked, hearing giggles come through it. "No... no, it's not the machine." Sweetie said, hoping Pinkie's ghost wouldn't try anything at the last minute. After way too much suspense on every pony in the room, the painting of Pinkie popped out of the machine. She wore her pink gala outfit, much like the other mares. Unlike the other mares however, she looked as though she were ready to stuff her face with a white cupcake. "Error. Error." The machine said. "Unable to create portrait. Other ghosts needed. Containing ghosts until captured." "Other ghosts?" Fluttershy asked. "It must be talking about Candy and Marbles." Sweetie figured. "I caught them earlier, after exorcised Scootaloo and Applebloom." "Exorcised?" both of the fillies said. "You mean ya'll don't know? Sweetie, ya didn't tell 'em?" Applejack asked. "Of course not." Sweetie said. "How do you think they'd feel? Besides, we had ghosts flying after us, so it didn't really seem like the most important subject." "Wait, wait, wait." Scootaloo said. "Back up. What are you talking about exorcism?" Sweetie rubbed her neck nervously. There was no use in keeping it back now, and here was a better place than any. "Well, you guys were-" Sweetie started, before she was interrupted by a tapping sound behind her. It was Pinkie's painting, vibrating on the floor. "Uh... is tha' supposed ta happen?" Applebloom asked. Everyone stared at the painting, standing back from it as it began to vibrate more and more violently. It almost sounded like a drum-roll against the floor... before finally, streamers exploded from the painting as Pinkie jumped out. "Surprise!" Twilight's jaw dropped at the sight of Pinkie, escaping the confines of the painting without even the slightest hint of magic. "H-how?!" the mare asked. "Because she's Pinkie." Sweetie said flatly. "But that doesn't-" "Because she's Pinkie." Sweetie repeated. "You’re not going to get a better explanation than that." Twilight twitched for a moment, struggling to accept the reality without any kind of explanation... then again, it wouldn't have been the first time Pinkie had done un-explainable things. She sighed. "Well... more magic for me to use I guess." All attention turned back to Pinkie, who stared at the group with a great big grin on her face. This wasn't the same sadistic grin of the mansion, but rather a friendly one... the one of the Pinkie they all knew and loved. Rainbow was the first to confront the mare. "Hey Pinkie... you alright?" she asked. "I'm pinkie keen Dashie!" She said, as bubbly as ever. "Cupcake?" she asked, pulling the white cupcake from the painting out of thin air. "N-no, I'm good." Rainbow said smiling, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "...what are you guys staring at?" Pinkie asked. "You just popped out of a painting for no reason, and you’re asking us what we're staring at?" Twilight asked. "Well, of course I came out silly." Pinkie said. "It was really cramped in there. That little box too." she added, pointing toward the GCD on the filly's back. Sweetie examined Pinkie. No longer was she transparent, but she was solid and breathing, just like a normal pony. Her flank was bare, just like the other mares as well... did that mean she'd obtained her talent too? Finally, there was her eyes. It was filled with life and excitement just like before her ghostification... yet, they also had a tiredness, and hint of guilt after further examination. Pinkie may have appeared to be the same happy mare, as though nothing had happened, the guilt was vaguely evident in her eyes. "Hey Sweetie!" Pinkie called, louder than necessary. "Hm?" Sweetie asked, bringing her out of thought. "How ya doin?" she asked. "Uh... great." "Hungry?" "I don't want the cupcake. I don't know where it's been." Sweetie said. "Oh, ok. Just checkin." She said. For a moment, she paused, allowing the room to fill with silence... before Sweetie finally spoke. "Are... you ok?" Sweetie asked the mare who'd been forced to hunt her all night. Pinkie enthusiastically nodded. "And... you’re ok with remembering the stuff?" "You mean like the cage thing? or the carnival thing?" Pinkie asked. "Yeah." Pinkie blinked... Sweetie was almost sure she saw a tear get sucked back into her eye. The mare was trying her hardest not to break down in tears in front of the filly. Though Sweetie didn't want to prey on her mind of the events that had transpired that night, there was one thing she still had to ask. "Do you... remember being told anything in particularly important when you were with Specter?" Sweetie asked. Pinkie looked up into the air, putting her hoof on her muzzle, deep in thought. "...anything?" Sweetie asked again. "Mmmmmm.... nope." Pinkie said, looking back at the filly. "Nothing super important. He told me to... do stuff, aaaand I did it. Not much that I can remember besides that." "Oh..." Sweetie said looking down. She looked back up at the mare. "That's ok. If you don't remember it, then I'm sure it isn't that important." Sweetie looked in her saddlebags. "Hey guys? Some of my stuff-" "Oh yea'!" Applebloom exclaimed. "We picked that up for ya. Ah got yer glowin heart thing." she said, showing the filly the rock candy. "I got your flashlight right here." Rainbow said, showing Sweetie. "And I got your two books." Twilight said, showing the filly the ghost book and journal. "And I got those pictures that you found." "Pictures?" Twilight said. "You found them in the mansion?" Sweetie nodded. "I didn't really get a chance to look at all of them, so I brought along three of the interesting ones I found." "Mind if I take a look?" Twilight asked. "Here you go Twi." Scootaloo said, handing the pictures to Twilight. "An eclipse?" Twilight asked. "Eclipse?" Pinkie said, closing her eyes. "Yeeeaahh... Specter did mention something about that. He said he was... going to make one." "Make an eclipse? How and why?" Twilight asked. "Why? I dunno. How? With the princesses I think he said." Pinkie said. "Well, alicorns naturally have pretty strong wills, so I don't think we'll have to worry about that any-" "He got Luna." Sweetie blurted out. Twilight looked at Sweetie. "Y-you’re not serious." "She chased me down a hall. I could see her resisting... she even managed to save me, but she was still under Specter's control... either her's or Gilda's.." "Gilda..." Rainbow said to herself. "That... it can't be. It's impossible... if it is true... then who knows how much longer until he has Celestia too." "Not long." Sweetie said. "At least, that's what I remember from my dream." "Perfect." Applejack sighed. "Not only do we gotta deal with tha' rat, Specter, we gotta worry 'bout the princesses too?" "We'll figure this out." Twilight said. "Only wish we could figure out why he wants an eclipse so badly." Twilight switched to the second picture of the journal page. She squinted. "Hm..." "What's wrong Twi?" Rainbow asked. "Huh... I always did have a hard time reading small text without my glasses." she said. Rainbow laughed. "I guess you’re getting old huh?" "You have no idea how ironic that is." Sweetie said. "And the third one is... a music box?" "Yeah. Apparently they're important around the mansion. Helped me out... more than once." Sweetie said, glancing at Pinkie. "Hm... something's written on it." "What does it say?" Fluttershy asked. "To the lovely couple of Yields..." Twilight read. "Remember to go back to a time of happier days. Those memories will last you a lifetime. Sincerely... sincerely..." Twilight froze as she read the last word on the music box. "...Sincerely who?" Spike asked. Twilight didn't answer, as her eyes contracted and the photo fell out of her hoof. She didn't move. "Twilight?" Fluttershy asked. Every pony closed in on the note that lay in front of her. To the lovely couple of Yields, Remember to go back to a time of happier days. Those memories will last you a lifetime... Sincerely, Discord ... ... ..... Intermission InvestigationThe moonlight shined and bounced of the golden royal chariot as it flew through the skies of Ponyville. Duarte and Paita flew the chariot, scanning the landscape for some place to land. Waite and the two other guards looked forward into the distance, looking as professional as possible. The royal guards had to keep their image up for any pony that was restless enough to be up at this hour. Only the rookie, Busby, looked over the town in awe. It been a while since his last visit to Ponyville, the town of which most earth ponies were born, raised, and lost any sanity they were born with... at least to Canterlot standards. Though he'd been absent from there, it didn't take much longer than a good 5 minutes of examination to realize something wrong. "Um... sir?" Busby said. "Is Ponyville supposed to look so... run down?" The other guards, letting Busby's contagious curiosity get the best of them, glanced over the sides of the chariot. Sure enough, Ponyville was very short of ruins. Trees lay in the streets, carts and booths were overturned, and some buildings seemed ruined by the trees that crashed into them. "It must have been the storm." Duarte said, not stopping his search of the area for a landing zone. "I'm not surprised that a tree got uprooted and thrown at a building or two." "Ok, maybe the storm was that strong, but then why didn't Canterlot get hit with anything?" "Because Canterlot's isn't made out of that natural material earth ponies are too ignorant to use." Paita responded. "Hey, I take offense to that." Waite said. "And even more, you know Canterlot is so much higher than Ponyville. There isn't the Everfree forest completely surrounding it for trees to throw at it." "Or, maybe the storm didn't hit us as hard as Ponyville..." Busby said. "Whatever the reason, it happened." Paita said. "Now will you shut up and let us fly?" "Ok, sorry for being curious." Busby said, looking back over the side of the chariot. Paita glanced back at Busby. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." she said. "Huh?" Busby asked. "Why?" "Well, the slightest jolt-" She said, halting her wings for a moment, causing her side to quickly and briefly fall to its side. Busby, the only one who wasn't sitting forward nearly fell over the side. "Could send you to tumbling to your untimely death." She laughed. The two Moon guards joined in her laughter. "Professional! The three of you!" Duarte said commandingly, stopping their laughter. "This isn't the time for your little faction rivalries. I expect you to set the example for your subordinates Black." Black Sheath straitened his face to match the seriousness of Duarte and the situation itself. His second in command, Talon, did the same, looking at Paita. "Your right Duarte." Black agreed. "Paita. Don't pull something like that again, or you'll have to face a punishment from the princess herself." Paita turned back to face the ground, rolling her eyes, knowing Princess Luna wouldn't even attempt to punish one of her moon guards; especially over a prank, one of the princess' favorite passtimes. It was, after all, why she was paired with them to begin with, according to the compatibility portion of the guard tests. Paita, much like the other Moon guards, though very serious and cold at points, could be very playful and devious, much like Luna; contrast to the Sun guards, who were commonly serious and more professional, given they were the guild that guarded royalty much longer than the Moons. The nightmare armor was only donned a little before Luna's first visit to Ponyville on Nightmare Night... The guards were flying around looking for a landing zone with no such luck. Most of the open spots of Ponyville were covered with fallen trees and debris from the storm. One of them might have tried to fly down to do clear a spot, however the only two who could were keeping the chariot from falling to the ground. All they could hope was some pony would notice them. But what nutjob would be up at this time of- "Hey!" came a voice. Every pony in the chariot's eyes turned to the left as they saw a blue pegasus flying up beside them. From a closer distance, it was easy to tell that it was one of the famed Wonderbolts, Soarin. He flew up alongside the chariot. "What's up you guys?" "Hey, aren't you one of those Wonderbolt stallions?" Busby asked. "What? You don't know who I am?" Soarin asked. "Don't mind him. He's not the smartest tack in the box here." Paita said, trying to overshadow Busby's comment. Much like many other pegasus mares around Equestria, even in Paita's coldness, couldn't resist the allure of having a famous male Wonderbolt flying next to him. "Hey!" Busby said. "I-I knew who he was. I just didn't recognize him in the light is all." "Anyway, what are you guys doing flying over Ponyville?" he asked. "Never seen a mix of Sun and Moon guards flying the same chariot. Plus, where's the princesses?" "You mean you and the other Wonderbolts didn't hear? The princesses are missing!" Waite said. "For real? I thought that was just a false alarm, or some kind of drill. I didn't think that you guys were for real on this." Soarin said. "Wait a sec, how would he know about any of this?" Busby asked. "Wonderbolts are just as important as the guards, idiot." Paita said. "How did you even pass the tests without knowing basic knowledge like that?" With a little studying and lots of glancing at other tests. Busby thought, remembering how close he'd come to nearly failing the test. All he'd managed to retain was a few stories, and extremely general guard information. Luckily, one of the other takers wasn't smart enough to keep his paper covered. Truth be told, he should have failed. "Soarin. We need you wake up some ponies and get some help to clear out the debris down there." Duarte said. "Can you do that?" "Sure. Spits and Echo are already up, and so is pretty much every other pony out here." he explained. "Everyone's still awake?" Duarte asked. "Yeah! That storm was insane!" Soarin asked. So was the pegasus who made it... Busby thought. "No pony could sleep with all that racket all night." Soarin said. "And even after that, who could sleep in chills like this?" "Chills like what?" Busby asked. "Are you kidding? It's freezing here! You probably can't feel it under that heavy armor." Soarin said Before Soarin could hear another of the guard's question, he flew down to the town. Within minutes, he'd gathered the two other Wonderbolts Spitfire and Echo, along with a few stallions to clear the trees. Once the zone in the center of Ponyville was cleared, Paita and Duarte landed the chariot in the clearing beside the Ponyville fountain. Once they were grounded, the guards exited the chariot to confront their helpers. Naturally, the Wonderbolts stepped up to confront the guards. Their leader, Spitfire, was the first to speak. "Soarin tells me that you've got a princess predicament." she started. Black nodded. "They're nowhere in the Canterlot castle, or Canterlot in general. They are officially missing." "Really... about how long ago has it been since her disappearance." Spitfire asked. "That's a good question." Duarte said looking at Busby. "Our rookie didn't check up on her regularly... all we can assume was that it was between 20 minutes ago, and yesterday afternoon." Busby scratched his neck, feeling a little nervous as the Wonderbolt looked him down. "You don't have any useful information for us Mr..." "B-busby. Busby Sword, Ms...." "It's Spitfire, Busby. Spitfire." Paita sighed. "I knew who she was. It's the light, I swear." Busby said, a bead of sweat dropping down the back of his neck from all of the attention directed at him. "A-and no. I didn't even see her at the beginning of my shift." "You should have notified us the moment you noticed she was gone." Duarte said. "The royal guard handbook says that if either of the princesses aren't in a scheduled spot-" "I know, I'm sorry." Busby said, knowing he didn't know a word of the guard handbook "I just figured she was out doing... princess things, I don't know. I didn't think it was that important." Though Duarte seemed ready to scold Busby even further, Spitfire cut in. Rather than joining in the discipline lecture, she smiled. "A rookie mistake for a rookie's first day. Lay off him Knighty." "I hate when you call me that." Duarte said, looking to Spitfire who smiled goofily. "He hates it when I call him that too. So I just call him it behind his back." Waite whispered into Busby's ear. "Oh yeah! I remember. You used to hate that back in flying school too. Kept getting referred to some other colt by the same name." Spitfire reminisced. "Spitfire." "But I hear he got in with this weird thing with the magic-net. Something about fanfic-" "Spitfire!" Duarte. "I believe you've forgotten the graveness of this situation. Do you realize we could be facing a national crisis if we don't find the princesses soon?" Spitfire was brought out of her memory, bringing back her seriousness. "Alright. What do you plan to do here then?" "Two things. First thing's first is to locate the Elements of Harmony and their bearers. If we are facing something like Nightmare or even another Spirit Draconequus like Discord... then they will be needed to stop them." "And two?" Spitfire asked. "We need to investigate the town. See if they know anything in relation to the Princesses' location. Next to Canterlot, this was her favorite town, considering her pupil, Ms. Sparkle chose it as her home." Duarte explained. "If we were to find some kind of lead, it would be here." "Makes sense." Spitfire said. "Then I guess it'd be best if we split up into groups. My wonderbolts and I will assist you in your investigation. After all, it's our job." "I thought your job was to fly around and do tricks?" Busby asked. "We've got many fields to cover Busby." Spitfire explained before Paita could open her mouth again. "Combat and military, science, and entertainment. We're her protection, her investigators, and her... entertainment for all needs. Whatever they may be..." "Oh." Busby said. He kept his mouth shut, noting the glare of Paita, keeping him silent. "In any case, if we're going to get this done fast, we've got to split up into groups." Spitfire said. Duarte nodded. "Divide and conquer. Do you suggest any specific groups." "Yes, actually. A sun guard, a moon guard and a wonderbolt." Spitfire said. "Ponies are used to sun guards from Celestia's visits... however, they aren't as used to moon guards. Trust me, the first thing they think when they see that bat armor is 'Nightmare Moon'. And let's all be honest, the thing's creepy as hay." Black shrugged. "I think it looks kind of cool." Spitfire shook her head. "I doubt the ponies around here will share your opinion. In any case, that's what I think. At least with two positives to counteract that negative will make this as successful as possible." "Fine then. Who will you chose for your group." Spitfire looked at all of the guards. "... Busby aaannnddd Paita." "You’re kidding, right?" Busby asked. "Seriously? With this rookie?" Paita asked. "If I'm not mistaken Paita, but you’re not that far off from a rookie yourself. You were only enlisted a month ago." Paita grumbled something. "Wait, so you’re new here? Then why-" "Can it Buster." Bubble? Buster? What will they think of next? Spitfire smirked. "I figured you two would be an interesting pairing." "They're not for your entertainment Spitfire." Duarte said. "Oh no, of course not. They just seemed like they needed some... team building." she said. "We're not even on the same team. He's a sun guard and I'm a moon guard. He's an idiot and I'm-" "A bitch?" Busby blurted out. Within a second Paita tackled Busby to the ground, pinning him there, trying to punch him while Busby blocked with his hooves. Waite facehooved as the helping stallions, Soarin and Echo chuckled along with Spitfire. Duarte glared at Spitfire who stopped laughing. "What? I'll keep them focused, don't worry." Spitfire said, unable to hold in her grin. "...despite your skills Spitfire, I will never be able to figure out why Celestia chose you as her right hoof mare." "I know right. I'm just terrible." Spitfire said, walking over to Busby and Paita. "C'mon love birds. We've got work to do." "We're not love birds!" They both said, before glaring angrily at each other. *** The groups had been made: Soarin went with Duarte and Black, Echo went with Waite and Talon, and Spitfire went with Busby and Paita. Their plan was as follows: each of them would look for two of the elements of harmony, and meet back at the town square to discuss their findings. Soarin's group was to look for Pinkie and Fluttershy, Echo's group was to look for Twilight and Rarity, and finally Spitfire's group was to look for Applejack and Rainbow. As the three groups split up, Spitfire saw it best to search for Applejack first, as they headed down the path of apple trees. They passed by the sign that said "Sweet Apple Acres" indicating they were getting close to the main farm house. Likely, that was where the Element of Honesty would be residing. Spitfire looked around at her surroundings, noticing there were actually a few apple buckers still out. Spitfire assumed that they were trying to keep warm from the odd chills she and numerous other ponies had been feeling. Spitfire looked back on her little investigation team. They looked in each other's opposite directions at the trees they were passing by. Paita looked out of sourness and annoyance of being paired up with Busby. Busby looked out of apprehension and fear that Paita may attack him again if he so much as glanced in her direction. Spitfire saw it best to make some conversation. "So... you said this was your first day on the job?" Spitfire asked. Busby looked up at the mare. "Yeah. Some first day." "Don't worry. This kind of stuff happens with the princesses every so often. Especially with that crazy group of mares she's gotten herself with." "You mean the Main 6?" "I thought guards were supposed to refer to them as the 'Elements'?" Spitfire asked. "Psh. Like he read a page of that handbook." Paita commented coldly. "It's fine." Spitfire said, looking forward again. "Main 6 is a little catchier anyway." "Do you know them?" Busby asked, kicking a rock that was in the path. Spitfire looked up at the sky, as if she were reaching for a memory. "Uh... somewhat." she finally said. "One of them has actually caught my interest." "Y...you don't mean like-" While Paita gave Busby another glare, Spitfire chuckled. "No, not like that." she said. "Still though, it's not out of the question Rainbow thinks otherwise." "Rainbow Dash? You mean the running winner of the Best Young Flier's competition." Busby asked. "I can't believe you don't know a Wonderbolt, but a little winner of a stupid contest." Paita said. "Hm. Let me think. A generic celebrity, or a savior of Equestria. Which one should be more familiar?" Busby shot back. Paita growled at him, in which Busby flinched back. "Don't hurt me." "Thinking about it." Paita said, giving one last glare before looking back at the trees. "Anyway, the mare's been trying to get in with us for... Celestia, as far as I can remember." she said. "I've been thinking and discussing with the other Wonderbolts on what they think. Apparently Soarin says yes because of her skill, enthusiasm and dedication... but between you and me, I think he just wants to have a third mare in the group. Echo says no because she question's the mare's focus and well... sexuality. Unfortunately that kind of thing can cause issues in the workplace." "Huh." Busby coughed. "Personally, I'm not sure for a couple reasons... but in the end, the vote has to be unanimous for such an important role." Spitfire finished. "Still though, I could see Echo softening her decision up in a few months. Not like she doesn't have her own mare-" Spitfire sneezed. "Anyway, who knows? We might just have a fourth Wonderbolt by this Fall..." "Ok." Busby said. "Spitfire?" "What?" "Just curious... what are you doing in Ponyville? Don't you live in Canterlot or Cloudsdale or something?" Spitfire shook her head. "Wonderbolts don't really have a home. Wither it's a mission or a show, we're always on the move. Just happened to be in Ponyville for a show that was scheduled for this morning into the afternoon." "...but there won't be a morning if we can't find Celestia." "All the more reason to stay focused and work together to get this investigation done as quickly as possible." Spitfire smiled. Paita grumbled something while Busby looked at the mare and nodded positively. "Over there. That looks like the farmhouse." As the three of them came up on the farmhouse, they saw numerous lights lit inside of the house. Just like the applebuckers, it seemed like the main Applefamily seemed to be up. Spitfire knocked on the door. "Applejack!" Spitfire called. "This is Wonderbolt Spitfire! Open up!" "Ah cin here's ya jes fine!" A voice came from inside. It wasn't Applejack's however, rather it was a much more elderly sounding voice. "Now jes hld up here... les se, how does this confounded doohickie work?" "The knob ma’am." Spitfire said. "Ah knows how ta us a door, yeh whipersnapper." "Sorry." Spitfire said. There was a few scratching noises from the inside of the door before the knob finally turned and opened, revealing a lime colored pony with a piece of pie as a cutie mark. "Ye-yesh." Granny Smith asked in her old voice. "Yes, sorry to bother you at such a late hour but, we're looking for-" "N-n-nightmare!" she screamed, pointing at Paita. Paita raised an eyebrow. She then gave a toothy grin showing off her vampire like teeth she'd obtained by putting on the armor. "Paita!" Busby said. "H-head for th' hills!" she said, slowly trying to run past them. "Ma’am." Spitfire said, trying to stop her. Before the pegasus mare could get another word in, Granny gasped before falling to the ground. "Dear Celestia! Is she alright?" Busby asked, fearful the mare had just literally had the life scared out of her. Spitfire put her ear to her mouth. Spitfire sighed. "She's fine. Just fainted is all. I'm going to see If I can't wake her up. In the meantime, you two see if you can't find anyone else to ask about Applejack." Busby nodded as Spitfire began lightly shaking the elderly mare to wake up. The two guards left to venture further into the farm. "That was stupid! What were you thinking." "Hmph." Paita said. "You could have killed that mare!" "Whatever." she said, not giving a second look at Busby. "She's gonna be dead by morning anyway." "Paita!" "What? She's old. Old ponies do that." "Your such a-" "Say it. I dare you." Paita glared at Busby, who decided to keep his mouth shut. They both walked for a while past the trees, their only light being emitted from the moon above them. They saw shadows of generic looking applebuckers neither of them believed would know anything of the Element of Honesty. All they looked like were ponies trying to keep themselves warm through labor. Finally, they came across one that was closer to them. He was red with a large green apple on his flank and a yoke around his neck. He bucked apples more professionally than what the guards had witnessed so far. The stallion looked important. Busby ran up to the red stallion. "Sir?" Busby said, standing in front of the tree the stallion was bucking. He seemed to ignore him. "SIR?" Busby said at a higher volume. The stallion sighed in a manner that seemed somewhat depressed. He stopped bucking the tree and went over to confront the guard. "Uh... sir?" The stallion stared blankly at Busby. Busby stared back, as though caught in a trance. He shook his head. "Sir, I am... looking for some pony." he didn't respond. Busby was getting somewhat nervous from his stone face. "Err... her name is Applejack? The Element of Honesty? Are you two related?" It was a few seconds before the stallion finally responded. "Eeeyup." Well, we're making some progress. Busby thought. "How exactly." "'Err brother." he said flatly. "Listen you." Paita said. "You'd better quit that silent talk when you have two guards talking to you. "Ah reckon ah don't have ta speak ta either of ya." the stallion said, not changing his face. "Ah know mah rights." "Paita, stop or we're not gonna get anything out of this pony." Busby said. Turning back to the stallion. "Ignore her. She's got issues." Paita glanced at Busby. Something told the stallion he was in for another beating for that. "Please. What's your name sir?" "...Big Macintosh." he said finally. "Right. Now we're looking for your sister. Do you-" "Nope." he said. "No? You mean you don't know where she is?" "Ah reckon ah do, but ah don't right care 'bout 'er righ' bout now." "What? What are you talking about? What's wrong?" Busby asked. "Ah..." he turned away. He seemed to be tearing up, though the look quickly faded. His face was left with a softer looking one than before. "its mah other sister." "Your other sister?" Busby asked. "Is it another Element?" Big Mac shook his head. "It's mah... little, little sister. She's jus' a filly. She... ain't come home yet." "You mean she's lost?" Busby asked. "I'm sure that's not a problem. She-" "Was supposed to come back over 14 hours ago." Big Mac cut off. "No pony's seen mane no tail of Applebloom." Applebloom's her sister? Huh, what a coincidence. The sister of an Element releases a demon while her older sister has to put it back... Busby thought. "Not in Ponyville?" Busby said. "Nope." he said, bowing his head. "...well, is there any place beside Ponyville she could be?" Busby asked. Big Mac shook his head. "Checked every inch a th' farm. Nothin." "Anyplace we could look for clues?" "Busby, you’re getting side tracked. We're supposed to be looking for the Elements." "We've got time. Besides, just look at this guy?" Busby said, pointing at Big Mac's saddened face. "Even more, who knows? Maybe the Elements are all somewhere holed up with her sister." "Clues?" Big Mac asked. He thought for a moment. "Well... there's always 'er little Tree house she goes ta wit' 'er little friends. Checked their earlier mahself, but didn't find th'm in there. Didn't bother lookin for no clues though." "Well, it's at least worth a look see." Busby said. "Is it far?" Big Mac shook his head. "Nah. It's over yonder." he said, pointing to a path of trees. Paita groaned at the detour from their investigation as they both followed Big Mac to the tree house. Once they were there, Busby looked in awe. "Did... did your sister and her friends build this by themselves." Busby asked. "Fer th' most part, eeyup." "They must be some talented fillies." "Yet they still ain't got their cutie marks." "Not yet? Ouch." Busby said. "Ah well, I'm sure they'll get it eventually. "That's wha' every pony tells 'me. Still, they're always doin' crazy stunts ta get 'em on their flanks." "Like what?" Busby asked. "Ah... Ah'd rather not get inta it." Big Mac said. "Let's just say they're crazy and dangerous, n' leave it at that." "Fair enough." Busby said as he began walking up the thin ramp to the door. Being made for small fillies, he was almost afraid the ramp would break underneath his hooves. Thankfully, he made it up to the top. When Busby tried the door, he learned that it was locked. He looked back down at Paita. "Hey! Let me see your sword!" "What? NO!" Paita said. "I need it to get inside! I'm sure there's something important in there." Busby said. "In a little filly's playhouse? Doubtful it has anything to do with the fate of Equestria, Buster." "Yer name's Buster?" Big Mac asked. "No! It's... Give me the damn sword Paita." "You know what? Here." Paita said. "If it will get you to shut up, take it." Paita threw the sword at Busby, nearly cutting his head off before the stallion ducked. The sword stuck into the wood of the tree house. "Hey! That could've killed me!" "And nothing of value would have been lost." Paita said. "I want that back when you’re done." "Yeah yeah." Busby grumbled as he used his magic to take the sword out of the wood. He put the sword to the door. Sorry little fillies. he thought before swinging the sword at the door. It only took a few swings before he cut through, breaking down the door. Once the opening was made, he carefully stepped through the door barely able to fit a grown stallion of his size. Once inside he examined the room. Everything was smaller than him naturally. There was a table, a small magic-electric Simple Bake Oven, a window, a bookcase and a few pictures scattered around the tree house. Hmph. Cozy. he thought. Careful not to destroy any more of their hard work, Busby went over to two things hanging on the wall. On one side was a crudely drawn map of Ponyville... at least that's what he thought it was. Several buildings were indented to be important, such as the Sugarcube Corner, Sweet Apple Acres, the Carousel Boutique, the Library... all of which had a name of an element beside each. Busby noted a newer looking one that seemed to be at the edge of Ponyville. It was a cliff... and rather than a name, it just had an arrow that said Launch. On the other side, Busby noted a list of items labeled Cutie Mark Crusader Cutie Mark Attempts. It had a bunch of items listed on it, most of which the guard couldn't identify because they were crossed out. There was one thing that Busby could read at the bottom. Next to the name Scootaloo It said Cutie Mark Crusader Paper Airplane with a little "Yay" written at the side in purple crayon. Next to that was a note saying Ask Pinkie for over-sized pieces of paper. She has weird stuff like that. "Hey! You finished looking at children's toys?!" Paita called. "Give me a sec!" Busby called back, continuing to look around. On the table, he found some plans... much like the other documents in the tree house, it was easy to tell it was made by little kids, likely the CMC themselves. The plans vaguely depicted a paper airplane. From what he could tell, it was quite a large one, indicated by the measurements listed on its design. There was a checklist on the side of items needed to create the beast... and all of them were checked. "Hm..." Busby picked up the piece of paper and stuffed it in between one of his plates of armor. Something told him it was important. Finding nothing else of use in the little tree house, he left. "Here's your stupid sword back." Busby said, tossing it down to the mare, before coming down himself. "Now, about the Element's location..." "I already asked Buster." Paita said. "Supposedly, she left for some housewarming party with her friends." "...gonna have to be a little more specific Paita. Where-" "Ask him yourself." Paita said, motioning her head to the silent stallion. "Macintosh?" "Sorry, wish ah could tell you but... she left in such a hurry. Said she was late for meet'n 'er friends at the Everfree forest. I'd guess it was somewhere out there." "What kind of pony puts a house in the middle of Everfree?" Busby asked. "Ah don't rightly know, but that's all ah can tell ya." Big Mac said. "Now... did ya find anythin' bout mah sister?" "All I found was her cutie mark plan for today..." "And?" "It was uh... flying on a plane off of a cliff." Busby said, not realizing how bad it sounded until the words came out of his mouth. Big Mac's eyes contracted, before he closed them and turned away from them. "Ah... need ta go, alri'?" "I-I'm sure she's fine, Macintosh. Probably somewhere with her little friends, safe and sound. Out of danger of any kind." "Ah sure hope yer right Buster." "It's Busby." Busby said. "Good-bye." Big Mac said, before walking off into the trees. Busby was almost sure he heard a sniffle before he was gone. Poor guy. I hate to see a grown stallion cry. For his sake, I really hope that Applebloom isn't in any danger. "Well, if you’re finished wasting time, let's meet back with Spitfire, so we can look for Rainbow." Paita said. The two of them walked back to the farmhouse, and were met with Spitfire on the way. On her suit were bite marks. "I'm hoping you two had a little more success than me." she sighed. "Luna, what happened to you." Busby asked. "Apparently, the Applefamily has a dog. I guess she's not too fond of a random pony giving her master's CPR." "Huh. Well, we did find something actually." Busby said. "Yes, she went to some kind of housewarming party in Everfree." "House warming..." Spitfire thought out loud. "... in Everfree forest? That does sound familiar. C'mon, we need to see if we can't find Rainbow Dash now. If she's not where I think she is, then I'm sure I'm right." With that, she walked off to the exit of the farm back to Ponyville, followed by Paita and Busby... *** Once they were back in Ponyville, their next goal was to reach Rainbow. The mare usually stayed in her cloud mansion up in Cloudsdale, far out of their way. In order to save time, Spitfire came up with a second place to look. "Are you sure this mare is a good lead for Rainbow's location?" Paita asked. Spitfire nodded. "Of course. Next to her Mane 6, Ditzy Hooves is one of Rainbow's closest... friends, I suppose is a good way to put it." "Really?" Busby asked. "Yes. Every so often, when Rainbow decides to stay in Ponyville for a night, she usually picks Ditzy's home." "A grown mare staying over another grown mare's home with no notice? That sounds kind of-" "Ms. Hooves is married, Busby." "... it still could-" "To a stallion." Spitfire said. "...still. I could see that kind of thing happening." Spitfire chuckled. "I doubt that the Doctor is that kind of stallion, but let your imagination go crazy Busby... just not while we meet her." "Huh? Why? I-I mean, is there a specific reason?" Busby asked. "Yes. Ms. Hooves has an eye condition that I'm not sure how sensitive she is about." "You sure know quite a bit about this mare. You friends with her?" Paita asked. Spitfire shook her head. "No, but when you make as many weather mistakes as that mare, or have eyes like hers, you get known, trust me. I think this is the place." She said, knocking on the door. "Hooves? Are you in there?" "Hold on! Be there in a sec!" came a voice. It was adult and female... the three of them assumed it to be Ditzy. The sound of flapping wings was heard from inside of the house, followed by a crash. "Oh no! I'm so sorr-" "It’s fine Ditzy." said another voice. It was male, so it could only be assumed that it was Ditzy's husband, Doctor Hooves. "That wasn't that important for the machine anyway. Just go answer the door." The sound of more wing flapping was followed by the opening of the door. There revealed a grey coated mare with yellow crossed eyes. She greeted them with a warm smile. Only noticing the eyes, Paita burst into a fit of laughter. Busby shook his head. Spitfire ignored the both of them. "Hello Ms. Hooves. Can we speak to you for a bit?" Ditzy's smile faded as she noticed the two guards. "I-i can't be arrested. I didn't do it!" She said, taking a step back. "What?" Spitfire asked. "I was in my house the whole storm! It couldn't have been my fault! Honest!" "The storm... what are you talking about?" Spitfire asked. "Y-you aren't here to arrest me?" Ditzy asked. "Why would we?" Busby asked. It took a moment for him to remember something. "Oh yeah... you were that mare I read about in the Equestria Daily? The one who made that huge storm a while back?" "I didn't mean to! I just kind of thought that some clouds were supposed to go one place... and they weren't really supposed to go there. It was supposed to be a little rain, but it turned into a big thunderstorm I'm-" "Hold up, hold up. We're not here to arrest you." Busby said. "Unless you want us to." Paita added. "Forget her. We just want to talk is all. That's it." "Oh... ok." Ditzy said calming down. "Are you alright there Ditzy?" Doctor Hooves called. "I'm fine! Just got a little scare is all." she said. "Now... why don't we start by properly introducing ourselves." Busby said. "You probably already know Spitfire." "Every pony knows Spitfire!" Ditzy said happily. "Every pony except him." Paita commented. "Anyway, My name is Busby Sword. My friends call me Busby..." "Or Bubble." Paita added. "Or Buster." Spitfire finished. "Just Busby." Busby said. "And I'm Paita. That's all you need to know cross eyes." Spitfire glanced at Paita before looking back at Ditzy, who merely smiled at the comment. "And I'm Ditzy Hooves. But you can call me what every pony else calls me. Derpy!" she grinned. "Derpy huh?" Spitfire asked. "Sounds offensive." Busby said. "Sounds appropriate." Paita said. "I thought it was kind of a cool name. Took a little while for me to get it though." Derpy said. Paita opened her mouth to insult the mare again, but Spitfire glared at the mare. She kept her mouth shut. "Any who, what can I do for you?" she asked. "We were... looking for a pony. Rainbow Dash? Any idea where she is?" Busby asked. "Rainbow Dash?" Derpy asked. She frowned and shook her head. As she did, her eyes went cross eyed again. "No, I haven't seen her since yesterday when I last spoke to her. She said she was-" "Headed to a housewarming?" Paita finished. "Yeah! At that really big mansion all of Ponyville was talking about." Ditzy said. A light bulb went off in Spitfire's head. "That's what I heard about! A giant mansion built and owned by some pony named Specter Yams, or something." "Do you have any other information about the mare's location? Like where the mansion is?" Paita asked. Ditzy went cross eyed again as she thought. "Mmmmm. No. No, just that it's in Everfree." "Everfree is kind of big. We're not gonna find it that easy, even in the moonlight." Paita commented. "I'm sorry." Ditzy said bowing her head. "Hey, It's not your fault. You did give us some useful information." Busby smiled. "Define useful." Paita commented. "Dear Celestia, shut that hole in your face!" Busby said angrily. "Wanna fight Buster?" Paita said, pushing Busby. The stallion was one who learned it was never good to fight a mare back... but for those moments, he was seriously considering it. Even if it did earn him a whaling on Paita's part. Busby took a deep breath and turned back to Ditzy. "Well, we'd better head off." "Yes. We've got to meet back with our own friends. You have a good night Ms. Hooves." "...wait!" she called as the three of them began to walk away. They all turned back around to face the mare. "I-I just remembered something else!" The three of them looked at each other before walking back over to the mare. "What is it?" Spitfire asked. "I... I'm not sure how useful this is, but... Rainbow had a fan." "A fan?" Busby asked. "Well, she is an Element of Harmony. I'm sure she'd have plenty of those." Spitfire shook her head. "The Elements were a big deal when they were shown again. Nowadays it's just old news. They were only heroes for a month or two, and they went back to being normal mares. Anyway, who is this fan?" "Her name was um... Scootaloo, I think." "Scootaloo?" Busby asked. "Did she also have a friend named Applebloom? Applejack's sister" "Yeah, and a third one named Sweetie, I think she's Rarity's sister. Visits from Canterlot? Has Ponyville like a second home?" That's what the third filly's name was! Another sister of harmony huh? "So, what about this Scootaloo?" Busby asked. "Well... I'm not sure, but if any pony knows where that mare is, it's her. Scootaloo was like a sister to her. She knows everything about the mare... if any pony were to tell the exact location of the mansion, it would be her." "Sorry, Derpy. Call it a hunch, but I think she's missing along with her two other friends." Busby said. "What? A-are you sure?" Ditzy asked. Busby nodded. He explained what had happened back at Sweet Apple Acres. "Oh, that's terrible. I'm sure her brother and grandmom must be worried-" There was an explosion from inside of the house. "No Dinky! You don't play with that! No-" Doctor Hooves said. There was another explosion. "Dinky go to your room now!" "Sorry dad!" the sound of a filly came. She didn't sound that sorry. "Um... Derpy? What's going on in there?" Paita asked suspiciously. "Huh? Oh nothing. Nothing at all." Ditzy said, crossing her eyes again. "Do you mind if we come in?" Busby asked, joining in Paita's suspicion. "Well, it's getting really late." she said. "I got to go deal with something. See you guys later." With that, she closed the door on them in a rush. Whatever was going on in there, had to be something weird... "Oh well. Let's head back to the square." Busby said. "You head forward Busby. We'll catch up." Spitfire said. "We?" Paita asked. "Gotcha." Busby said beginning his started walking to the square. "You." Spitfire asked. "What." Paita asked. "I'm not sure what your deal is. You’re acting as sour as a bad griffon." Spitfire said. "What do you have against the ponies we've met tonight?" "Nothing." Paita said. "Then what?" Spitfire asked. "It's nothing alright? Now we're wasting time. We've got to go. See if any pony else found anything useful." Spitfire squinted at the mare, before finally following Busby on the way to the square. Paita followed. *** Duarte, Echo and Soarin were waiting with the rest of the guards at the chariot. "There you three are. Did you run into any trouble during your investigation?" Duarte asked. "For the most part..." Spitfire looked back at Busby and Paita. "No... it was pretty successful. Then again, we didn't find out much besides they went to some mansion somewhere in Everfree." "Nothing more?" Duarte asked. "Nothing more." Spitfire sighed. Duarte hit his hoof against the chariot. "I guess your investigations didn't yield any results?" Spitfire asked. "Besides the information you gathered, all we have is this." he said, showing the three a purple looking box. He opened it to reveal several necklaces and a big crown thingy. "What's this?" Busby asked. "You’re kidding right?" Paita asked. "These are the Elements of Harmony. They were used to defeat Nightmare and Discord. Don't you remember even that?" "I remember. I just forgot what they looked like is all." Busby said. Duarte shook his head. "Anyway, how did you find them?" Busby asked. "A little birdy told me." Duarte said. "I thought it was an owl?" Soarin asked. "And an annoying one at that. I was almost ready to cut that thing in half." Black said, looking at his own sword, sheathed on his side. "Probably would have if Duarte didn't stop you-" "Anyway, I thought that these would prove useful if we were to come across one of the Terrors of Equestria." "But they can only be used by the bearers of the Elements right? Bearers we don't have." Talon spoke up. "I know. It's simply something to have if we do somehow find the mansion the Elements are hopefully at." There's got to be a way to find the mansion the elements are at. Wait a second.., "...I think I know how to find it." Busby said. Every pony looked at Busby surprised. "Well, this is a first." Paita said. "Busby, did you find something out that you didn't tell us?" Spitfire asked. "Speak up stallion! What do you know?" Duarte asked. "Er... well, it's not something I know per say... more like a theory." "You coming up with some kind of 'theory'? This I've got to hear." Paita said, getting up close to Busby. The stallion took a step back. "Well... from what I understand, the bearers of the Elements are... missing. And from our investigation, we also found out that one of their sisters, Applebloom, and one of their fans, Scootaloo are missing too." "Alright. So there's a bunch of ponies missing. So what?" "Well... let's just pretend that somehow, the reason that the fillies never showed up in Ponyville, was because they went with their sister or idol. What if they were with them now?" "Get to the point Busby." Duarte said. "What if we could find the fillies instead? We'd also find the Elements with them, right?" Busby said. "Bubble, you don't have some kind of way to track them down... do you?" Waite asked. Busby nodded. He took out the piece of paper that he found back at the CMC clubhouse. "According to the findings of my own little side investigation, I found out that some time yesterday, likely around the time that Celestia disappeared, three fillies tried to fly a giant paper airplane off of a cliff." "...why?" Waite asked. "I think to get their cutie mar- Look. That's not important. What is important is... say their plane actually worked. if we took the same flight path they took in the chariot-" "We'll be led right to them." "And the mansion as well." Busby finished. "Hot hay! That's some great detective work Bubble." Waite said smiling. "Yes, if you’re right, this just might redeem yourself for tonight's buck up." Duarte said, heading for the chariot along with the other guards. The wonderbolts went to the sides of the chariot, ready to fly beside it. Busby looked at Paita. "...well?" "What do you want from me? A hug?" "...mayb-" Before Busby could finish, Paita punched him in the muzzle. Not hard enough to knock him down, but just enough to sting like hay. He covered his nose. "Gah! What was that for?!" "What do you think?" Paita asked. "I was just hoping maybe we could start over. That maybe we got off on the wrong foot or some- Geeze that stings!" "I want you to remember something, Buster, and remember it well. I don't like you, and you shouldn't like me." "Why?" Busby said releasing his grip on his nose. Paita raised her hoof as if ready to punch, causing Busby to flinch. "I could think of several. I'm a Moon and you’re a Sun. You’re a rookie and-" "So are you." Busby said. "Look. Paita. I'm not going to hate you alright? If I'm gonna be a guard, Sun or Moon, we're gonna have to learn to work together and dare I say, love each other. Especially when one of our lives are on the line." "Ha! I'll break my own leg off before I even think about liking you Busby." Paita said, heading to the chariot. "My fore legs are wide open if you change up Paita!" Busby said, taking his own seat in the chariot. "Now, if you two are done, Busby, could you please guide us to the cliff? You do know where it is right?" Duarte asked. "I think it's over, up on that big hill. In that direction." Busby said pointing. The chariot flew up into the air, with the Wonderbolts flying right beside it. What would have taken a pony at least an hour to reach the hill and climb up to its cliff, took the chariot about 5 minutes. Once up there, they noticed that there was a large line leading from one part of the cliff to its. No pony could deny it looked like a giant knife had been dragged along it... or more likely, the base of a paper airplane. "Well what do you know. The rookie was right." Duarte said. "Alright all of you listen up! Keep an eye out for the mansion as we fly. We can't afford to miss it alright? Let's go!" he said before launching the chariot in the same direction as the plane. Little did Busby, or any guard for that matter know, that they'd just figured out the mystery that would lead to the horrors... of Yield Manor. Chapter 19- The Possesion PredicamentWithin minutes after Twilight had dropped the photo, the safe room had lost the calmness it had somehow maintained in the hectic mansion. The room's newfound tension had turned the room from a fairly sized safe haven, to a claustrophobic's nightmare. The soft hum that came from each of the walls had gone from tolerable to maddening. Finally, the moods of the mares had gone from optimistic and for the most part, positive, to nervous and stressed. Twilight hit her head against the humming wall, desperately trying to convince herself that she didn't read what she thought she read. Rainbow flapped her wings, pacing in the air to either side of the safe room, unable to stay in one spot in the air. Applejack had the back of her head up against another wall, her head looking up and her eyes shut. Only Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie continued to read over the text written on the picture that Twilight had dropped. They read it over and over, as though if they kept reading, it would somehow change... of course it didn't. It took a while before one of the mares decided to speak on the issue of the mention of the God of Chaos' name. It was Fluttershy. "M-maybe it's a different Discord." She said hopefully. "Or maybe it's a typo." Pinkie said. Twilight stopped banging her head up against the wall to turn to the two mares who held the photo. The bags on her eyes were much more evident now, whether out of lack of sleep or pure stress. She opened her mouth to say something... but shook her head and turned back around to face the wall. What could she say at the mention of his name? That they were wrong? That that theory was just about as good as her getting a stallion friend? Though she wished as hard as she could that the two mares could be right, she knew that would be too good to be true. "Discord..." Applebloom said out loud. It didn't have the exact same stress as the other mares, given she and the other CMC hadn't been touched by the draconequus like the others. After all, during Discord's attack of Ponyville over a year ago, her and her friends had been safe and sound up in Canterlot, while their home was the only place that was really hit hard. Though, it was doubtful that either Sweetie or Spike were listening anyway. They simply stared up into the air in a trance, seemingly engrossed in some train of thought. "Wasn't that that snake-dragon guy who you guys stuffed in a stone?" Scootaloo asked. "Yeah! He's supposed to be a statue in Canterlot!" Rainbow said, dropping out of the air and turning to Twilight. "What the hay is his name doing in this mansion? What? Does Specter have something to do with him?" "...I don't know." Twilight finally said, turning to the mare. "I'll admit, this is... pretty surprising. And you know that's saying something." "Maybe the author just stuck his name in there to get more views?" Pinkie suggested. "Now ain't the time for yer crazy talkin' Pinkie." Applejack said, turning to the mare. Pinkie took a hold of her stomach. For some reason, a light wave of nausea hit her causing her to go silent for the moment. "What... why do you think he-" Fluttershy began to ask, turning to Twilight. "I told you, I don't KNOW!" Twilight snapped. Fluttershy dropped the photo, taking a step away from Twilight. Her ears went down as she bit her lip. Seeing how she'd hurt her friend, Twilight's softness returned to her eyes. "Sorry Fluttershy. You know I didn't mean that, but I really wish I knew..." "Wha' about that there other photo?" Applejack asked, pointing to one of the two other photos accompanied by the music boxed one. "Maybe there's a connection between th' three of 'em? Figure out wha' Specter, o' th's mansion has ta do with 'em." "I can't read it." Twilight said. "Ah think we c'n." Applebloom suggested. "Well? Go ahead! Tell us what it says!" Rainbow said impatiently. Wha'? If yer so impatient, wha' don'tcha read it yerself? Applebloom thought. "You got it Rainbow Dash." Scootaloo said, going over to pick up the photo. The two fillies had to squint to see the incredibly small text on the picture of the journal page. It took a moment before they started to read the different lines on the page. Though no other mare or filly knew it, the page was one that Sweetie had found earlier that night... "Ah wondered if th' god ah spoke wit' had anything ta do wit' it." Applebloom read. "I knew we weren't out of the war, but unlike the rest of Equestria, Stabletown, though it has plenty other problems, hasn't experienced any of those kinds of chaotic phenomena." "Th' god didn't change Stabletown, but of course he wouldn't. We had a deal. He couldn't have broken it... righ'?" "... it ends there." Scootaloo said. "Wha' the hay is he talkin' about?" Applebloom asked. "Not sure... when's the entry dated?" Twilight asked. "...huh. That can't be right. Says it was dated in... 852." Scootaloo said. "Hm. I feel like I've heard that date somewhere before..." Twilight said. "And the deal huh? What kind of deal is he talking about?" Rainbow asked. "... wait a second... I..." Twilight started. "I think I have an idea." The mare walked over to the photo of the eclipse. She picked it up and stared at it. "... how many eclipses have any of you seen in your lifetime?" she asked the group. "... none ah reckon." Applejack said. "When I was a little filly, I remember hearing about them in Cloudsdale's school... but only in my reading classes in old pony tales." Fluttershy added. "Yeah! My papa used to tell bedtime stories of how the princesses used to create some crazy stuff with those things back on the rock farm." Pinkie confirmed. "Well... you guys know better than any pony else that some of those pony tales are true, right?" Twilight said. All of the mares looked at each other, knowing she was right. After all, prior to their friendship, Nightmare Moon was just a pony legend. "Those eclipses... wither solar or lunar, they gave the ponies of Equestria... even the world for that matter, magnificent powers. At least the ponies strong enough to control that power anyway, mainly alicorns when there were a bunch of them. The magic they cast across the world could be used to create incredibly powerful spells. Enough to change the face of the earth... or if concentrated, one particular spot." "So?" Rainbow asked. "So, think for a second. Specter seems to have the power and knowledge of the undead. Maybe a few ghosts spells. He's almost got both princesses under his control. Two alicorns to do his bidding, not only to control the sun and moon to create the eclipse, but to cast whatever spell he wants." Twilight took a breath. "And finally... a deal with Discord, the dead draconequus-" "Dead? We didn't kill him!... did we?" Pinkie asked. The thought they might have murdered the draconequus, despite how evil he was made every pony cringe. Even Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow with a strange look. "Well... yes and no." Twilight said. "By trapping him in stone, we kind of put him in limbo between living and dying. I'm not sure how it works with the princesses, but with immortal beings... or spirit draconquus' like him, they can't die... but they can be put on that border line with the Elements of Harmony. How?... not entirely sure, I'm still researching the Elements, but that's beside the point. Let's just call him dead for now... but what do you do when you have a pony who can make the dead rise into their spirit forms like we've seen tonight?" "You... really think he plans to use an eclipse to revive Discord?" Fluttershy asked. "Well... I guess we can ask him when he finally wakes up." Twilight finished. Suddenly, Sweetie was snapped out of her trance. "Huh?" Sweetie asked, looking at the mare. "What do you mean 'when he wakes up'? Where is he?" "You didn' see 'im?" Applebloom asked. "Over there." Scootaloo said, pointing to a corner of the room. Somehow, avoiding Sweetie's notice, there he was. Specter Yield was lying in the corner of the room on his side, facing the wall. "How did he..." Sweetie asked. "Well, after you fainted," Rainbow explained. "Rarity and that yellow butler looking guy left, leaving Specter there, lying unconscious." "R-really?" Sweetie asked. "Well, he did hit the floor pretty hard." Applebloom replied. Sweetie stared at the stallion. "He... he tried to marry her." "What?" Fluttershy asked. "Oh yeah! I couldn't believe it when I saw it too, but that guy was trying to marry Rarity." Scootaloo explained as Sweetie slowly walked over to Specter. "Probably would have too if Sweetie didn't bust in right on time." "What kind of sad stallion forces some mare to marry him?" Rainbow asked. "Specter, that's who." Twilight said. Sweetie stood over the stallion, and stared at him. Sweetie felt an unbridled rage as she looked at him. She couldn't help but kick the stallion as hard as she could at the center of his back. Once she did however, a few things happened. Initially, she lost her balance, causing her to fall back onto her flank. It wasn't the kick however that caused her to lose balance... but what she felt as she did so. When she kicked, she didn't feel the warmth of a stallion, no quite the opposite. He was cold... freezing actually. It was almost as if... as if... he did hit the floor pretty hard... Sweetie looked at him, recalling back to when she saw the stallion back in the church. He was alive and breathing there... but now, he was still, and breathless. Even more, there seemed to be some incredibly bad bruising, barely being hidden behind his mane. Something hit the filly... almost as hard as Specter hit the floor by the force of the ectoplasm flying at his head. "No... no, no no..." she said as she started crawling back from the stallion. Fluttershy was the first to come to comfort the filly. "Sweetie? What's wrong?" Fluttershy put her hoof at the back of Sweetie's neck and began to stroke it as means to calm her down. "He can't be. He can't..." Sweetie said. "What's up?" Rainbow asked. At first she went to Sweetie... then she went to examine the body. When she touched it, she was just as shocked as Sweetie. "Holy hay... he was warm when I carried him here... but now he's... he's dead." "What?" Pinkie asked. Every mare looked at Rainbow, then Specter, then Sweetie, then back at Rainbow. "Tha... tha' don't make no sense!" Applebloom argued. "He was alive n' everythin' th' last time we saw 'em before Sweetie hit em with that..." it was then, the same realization was struck with the two fillies. Even Spike exited his little daze. "The goo Sweetie shot from her GCD... could it have hit him hard enough to give him a fatal concussion... oh Celestia Sweetie..." Spike said, going over to the other side of Sweetie, to comfort her in much the same way Fluttershy did. "Hold up... are you not saying Sweetie killed him-" Scootaloo said. Those three little words were enough to cause the filly to break into a fit of crying. She covered her face with her hooves as tears began rolling down her face. Great job Scootaloo. Applebloom thought, going over to comfort her friend. Scootaloo immediately followed, guilt evident on her face of causing the filly's most recent mental breakdown. Sweetie hated Specter for what he'd done. Between sending the ghosts after her and hurting her friends the way he did, she had more than enough reasons for said hatred... the relationship he forced between Rarity and himself however, broke it for the filly. She'd never felt so out of control in her entire life... Sweetie was sure that in her mental anguish and anger, she'd at some point thought of actually killing the stallion. Having it actually happen however... the filly wasn't sure what to think anymore. She wasn't even completely sure why she was crying. Was it that she'd just possibly committed a murder on an actual pony? Or was it the sheer fact that the reality that she wasn't in control of herself was coming crashing down on her. Sweetie wasn't sure... all she knew was that she felt just as weak and defenseless as her first hours traveling around the mansion... that she not only wasn't in control of what was around her... but her own self. Time passed, and Sweetie's cries transitioned from loud bawling, to small sobbing hiccups. One by one, each of the mares backed from Sweetie, letting her have some air. Only Spike, Scootaloo and Applebloom remained close as they guided Sweetie to a wall, as she lie there, still covering her face. Scootaloo and Spike stroked Sweetie as she eventually went silent. Spike kissed the top of Sweetie's head as she lie there. Though both Twilight and Applebloom wanted to say something about the sudden act of affection, they knew better than that to ask about it as the filly was still going through what she was. It was a little while before another mare spoke again in the cold light. "So... since he's dead, are we done?" "Dashie!" Pinkie said, surprised that Rainbow had brought up Specter's death again so bluntly. "Seriously! If he's dead, then that means that it's all over right?" Rainbow asked. "I mean, he's the head in all of this, right?" Twilight shook her head. "No... we're far from done Rainbow. Specter might be dead... but I doubt he's gone." "Wha' are ya talkin' abou' Twi?" Applejack asked. "Well, I don't think he was expecting Sweetie to be the one to... you know, but I don't think he was stupid enough to think no pony would try to drop him." Twilight said. "I wouldn't be surprised if when he died, he had some plan to turn into a ghost just like every pony else to escape." "So... you think he's just someplace else in the mansion?" Fluttershy asked. Twilight nodded, and hung her head. "It's gonna be hay trying to figure out where though..." "Great... so nothing was accomplished then." Rainbow said. "Pretty much..." Twilight said. Pinkie looked over at Sweetie sadly. Even with her face covered, she could see all of the strain of the stress she'd played a large role in applying on the filly's body. She couldn't stand seeing her like this... she knew something had to be done. "We've got to find Rare first though." Pinkie said. The four mares looked at Pinkie and nodded, knowing that she was right. Sweetie had already gone through so much, mostly in order to rescue her sister. The only way that any mare could help Sweetie at this point was bringing the little filly the white mare, safe and sound. Twilight walked over to the children who watched Sweetie as she lied there. "Sweetie?" she said as gently as she knew how. The filly didn't respond at first. When Twilight called a second time, the filly peeked her green eyes out from under her hooves. "I... I'm going to need your ghost capturer." she said. Sweetie looked at Twilight strangely, as though the words were foreign to her. As right as it was, the words didn't sound correct to the filly. Twilight asking for the GCD. "Twilight... you... you know I can't do that." Sweetie said. "Why?" Twilight asked softly. "Because Pink-" Sweetie stopped. She looked over at the pink mare that stood at the center of the room, with a concerned look on her face. "Pinkie's here and alive. She's not going to hurt any pony if we leave now... it's safe for us... as far as safe ghosts go." Twilight said. "But..." Sweetie said. She wasn't sure what to say... she wasn't sure why she would say anything really. Here she was, presented with the chance for some pony to relieve her of the burden to capture ghosts... yet she didn't want to take it. Why? "...Sweetie?" Twilight said. "You don't have to do this anymore. Your safe here... you can let us handle the rest of this." "N-no..." Sweetie said. Twilight looked at Sweetie puzzled. "What?" "N...no. I want to go back out." Sweetie said. "I... want to keep going." "Sweetie, just give me the GCD." "Get your own!" Sweetie said angrily. "Sweetie. I told you, you don't have to-" "I KNOW I don't have to go out! I know I can stay here! But I don't want to say here! I want to go back out!" Sweetie screamed. Her voice rang in the room, shocking everyone with her outburst. "Why?" "R...Rarity. I don't..." Sweetie muttered. She wasn't sure why she wanted to go back out. She knew she wanted to catch her sister, but why she was so intent was even a mystery to the filly. "Sweetie, just let us-" Twilight started as she reached for the GCD on Sweetie's back. Sweetie dodged the hoof, slipping past her friends and Twilight. As she did, she Rainbow and Pinkie tried to block Sweetie, though the filly managed to dodge past them as well. Finally, Sweetie made it to the door. Before she could open it, Twilight's horn glowed weakly, as the door briefly glowed the same color for a brief second. Click Sweetie tried to open the door with no luck. It was locked. "It won't open Sweetie. The door-" "Has a magic lock, I know. I read about it." Sweetie said, sourly. "Sweetie. Just listen-" "No! You listen!" She turned back around to the mares. "I have to catch her! Not you! Not you! ME! I have to! Let me out of here!" Sweetie yelled. She turned back around onto the door and banged her hooves against the door. Twilight tried to levitate Sweetie away from the door, however her magic was becoming too weak to lift the 30 to 40 pound filly. "C'mon Sweetie! Quit it!" Rainbow said, confronting the filly. Rainbow grabbed her by the torso to drag her away from the door. "Don't touch me! Get off!" Sweetie yelled, pushing Rainbow away. Sweetie was actually getting to the point of becoming violent... she was becoming out of control, desperate to leave the room to peruse her sister. Rainbow, trying to gain control over the filly, wrestled her to the ground. Still being a filly, and one of the weaker ones at that, she was easy to pin down... though it didn't stop her from trying to squirm out of Rainbow's grasp. "Rainbow! Keep her steady!" Twilight said. "Stay still Sweetie. We're only trying to help!" Rainbow said as the filly continued to squirm. Twilight thought, trying to remember the simplest spell she could think of that could possibly help. Something came to her head as her horn began to glow again. This time, Sweetie's body began to faintly glow purple... but there seemed to be no effect. "I need her just a little calmer..." Twilight said. Fluttershy had an idea of her own in order to assist Twilight. The mare took a deep breath, making sure her throat was clear. Hush now, quiet now, it's time to lay your sleepy head... she sung as soothingly as she could. Though the voice that Fluttershy had now, wasn't nearly as soothing as it should have been, it was still quite a calming voice. Hush now, quiet now, it's time to go to bed... Suddenly, Sweetie started to feel a bit calmer as she slowly stopped squirming. As was the intention of singing the song, and Twilight's sleeping spell, Sweetie was getting drowsy. Drifting off to sleep, the exciting day behind you... The verses of the song, in which Sweetie usually began singing, sealed the deal, as Sweetie's eyes began to flutter shut. She did her best to resist sleeping, but even the weak magic, or Fluttershy's rougher than normal singing was too much for the filly to handle. Drifting off to sleep, let the joy of dream land find you... she continued. By now, Sweetie's eyes were shut, and the only visible motion in her body was the steady rise and fall of her chest. Carefully, Rainbow got off of Sweetie... she didn't try to get back up. So hush now, quiet now, it's time to lay your sleepy head... Fluttershy kept singing, as though to make sure she wasn't waking up. Rainbow put Sweetie on her back and carried her over to her friends, who simply watched as their friend was laid beside them. Hush now, quiet now, it's time to go to bed.... Fluttershy finished. Once she was done, Twilight stopped the flow of magic from her horn and sighed. Even the simple spell was beginning to wind her out... and it was still getting worse. Fluttershy rubbed her throat, noting how much harder it was to keep her singing voice that she'd used to communicate with all of her animal friends. No doubt about it, it wasn't just Twilight's talent that was getting weaker, but Fluttershy's and likely Pinkie's as well... "Poor Sweetie..." Fluttershy whispered. "Yeah... though a little sleep will hopefully relieve some of her stress..." Twilight said back. Once Rainbow, the CMC and Spike set Sweetie up in a comfortable looking sleeping position, Spike assisted Rainbow in taking gently taking the GCD and Sweetie's saddlebags off of her back. "Here you go Twi." Rainbow said, giving the GCD to the mare. Noting how Sweetie had set up the GCD to fit perfectly with her saddlebags, Twilight put the filly's bags on, along with the GCD on her back. It was a tight fit, but enough to allow for Twilight to move without threat of the GCD falling off of her back as she walked. "Sweetie... she's not going to be asleep for long though." Twilight finally said. "Her nerves won't let her." "Then we'd better come up with a plan before she wakes up then." Rainbow said. "What have you got?" "Well, the way I see it, the next course of action is to find out where Rarity might be." Spike lied down by Sweetie, his head lying on top of hers, beating Applebloom or Scootaloo to it as the three of them cuddled into a mound. "Well, th' way ah see it, if Specter was tryin' ta marry Rarity, dont'cha think he'd want her close by?" Applejack suggested. "Yeah! If you find Specter, you'll probably find Rarity!" Pinkie said hopefully. "But we don't know where Specter is?" Rainbow asked. As Scootaloo stroked Sweetie, Spike kissed the top of Sweetie's head again. Applebloom glanced at Spike, thinking about saying something. She shut her mouth, realizing that directly after Sweetie's breakdown wasn't the time to feel jealous. Right now, all she could worry about was the mental health of her friend... "True... but I've got a good guess of where he might be." Twilight said. "I remember back during the party? I think it was when Pinkie was doing her... song." Pinkie started humming the tune she'd sung about earlier that night. "I don't even want to know where you got so many Ping-Pong balls." Rainbow said. "Anyway, I remember somewhere around that time, before the ambush, Specter invited Rarity back to his study." Twilight continued. "I went with her and hung out there for a bit before Specter kicked me out... and didn't see Rarity since." "You think that Specter's in there?" Rainbow asked. Twilight shrugged. "It's the closest likely spot. It wouldn't hurt to check there first." "Yeah, but ya gotta clear th' way in th' dinnin' hall b'fore ya go." Applejack added, reminding the mares of the blocked exits. The two of them nodded. "Agreed. You and Rainbow are the strongest, so you two can help clear the way. How's your body doing Applejack?" "It's better." She said. "Still got plenty a healin' ta do... ain't gonna be doin' any long travelin... but ah reckon ah can still help ya clear th' way." "Alright, once it's clear, you can head back. Rainbow, are you gonna stay with me?" "You bet Twi." Rainbow said. "What about you Fluttershy?" Twilight asked. "I... think I'll stay behind." Fluttershy shyly responded. "I mean, if that's ok." "Perfectly. Your pretty good with injuries, so you could probably find something to help Applejack heal faster anyway." Twilight said. "And you Pinkie?" "I think I'll stay too Twi." Pinkie said, trying to give her friend a smile. It was weak, and by the look on her face, Twilight and Rainbow new exactly why with just one look at the filly she'd been forced to torture mentally and physically that night. Rainbow went over to Pinkie. "Alright Pinkie... just don't beat yourself up over all of this, alright?" Rainbow said. "I'm... I'm not." Pinkie lied. "I just want to have some time with her when she wakes up is all." Pinkie smiled in attempt to re-assure her friend. Rainbow smiled back and gave Pinkie a hug. "Alright guys. Let’s get out of here." Twilight nodded as Applejack got up on all fours. Twilight unlocked the door and the three of them headed out... *** Barely 10 minutes after their departure, the door opened again as Applejack walked inside. She was somewhat dirty, covered in a thin layer of the ashes of the wood she'd helped the mares move out of the way. She sighed as she went back into her corner. "She ain't wake up yet?" Applejack asked. Fluttershy looked at the fillies and dragons huddled up against the wall, then back at Applejack. "Thankfully no. This is the most peaceful I've seen her all night. The longer she's sleeping, the better." Applejack nodded in agreement. She then looked over at Pinkie, who lied on her back, looking up at the ceiling in a daze. It took a moment for the mare to realize Applejack had come back. "AJ?" she said, flipping over on her front. "What happened?" "Well... they're on their way. Headed ta th' study ah reckon..." Applejack looked at the mare. "Uh, Pinkie?" "Yeah?" she asked. "Ya didn't... set up no more traps, did ya?" Pinkie swallowed. She'd been reminded of yet another act she'd committed during her ghost time. "...no. O-only on the ones that led to Sweetie, I think. AJ, you know I-" Applejack waved a hoof. "Ah don't care. Ah know ya weren't in yer ri' mind. B'sides. Ahm fine now, an' tha's wha' matters now, ri'?" Pinkie nodded, shakily. She still wouldn't forgive herself for a while, but it was nice to know that she wasn't hated. Applebloom however, looked up questioningly. "Wha' are y'all talkin' about anyway?" she asked. "Uh... just some stuff I did when I was a ghost." Pinkie explained. "Like what?" Spike asked, finally looking away from Sweetie. "Huh?" Pinkie asked. "Yeah! Sweetie said something about you and the other mares doing something... and you mentioned something about a carnival? What?" Pinkie remained silent. She wasn't sure how to say that she'd basically ordered them to kill their best friend. It was easy to tell that Sweetie hadn't even hinted to what they'd done to her, and likely for good reason. She didn't want them to know... "W-well, it isn't that important, I guess. Let's just say I... I hurt her a lot tonight. That's all." Pinkie said. "Why can't you tell us more?" Scootaloo asked. "Yeah... and Sweetie w's actin' all weird when we tried ta talk ta her 'bout you and... us." Applebloom said. "Pinkie, ya were around th' mansion t'night... where were we? Fainted someplace?" "Y...yes? Yeah, you were out all night. Specter was keeping you-" Pinkie lied. Scootaloo however, shook her head. "Nuh uh!" Scootaloo said. "I remember walking around here in some crypt. Applebloom wasn't there but I don't think Specter was keeping us anywhere... and something happened down there. What happened?" "How would she' know?" Applebloom interrupted, defending Pinkie. "She had 'er own stuff Specter was prob'ly tellin' 'er ta do." "But she lied." Spike said. "Why Pinkie?" "I... I..." Pinkie was beginning to tear up. Everyone's attention was turned from the mare back to Sweetie, who moaned as she was beginning to wake up again. The three children gave the filly some room to get back up on all fours, as she stretched and looked around at everyone. Without a word, she looked at her back and saw that her GCD and saddlebags it was tied to were gone. "What...who..." Sweetie mumbled. "Twilight... she took your ghost capturer and your saddlebags." Fluttershy explained. "What?" Sweetie asked, looking at the mare. "She headed out with Rainbow to-" "No..." Sweetie walked over to the door, and put her hoof to it. Though she wanted to go out to peruse the mare, she knew she wouldn't get far, especially without her flashlight. She then put her head to the door. "I'm sorry Sweetie... but you know it's for the best." Fluttershy said, trying to cheer the filly up. It didn't work as Sweetie gritted her teeth. She wanted to save her sister... but now that chance was taken away from her. Still, the filly couldn't figure out why it made her so angry... "Sweetie?" Applebloom finally asked. Sweetie didn't turn around. "What." She said flatly. The filly's change in mood was a little unnerving to the two CMC, and even Spike. "I... we... ya were gonna tell us wha' happened ta us earlier, ri'?" Sweetie didn't answer. She simply kept her head up against the door, Applejack's hat slightly falling off as she pressed her forehead to its metal. "Well, what was it Sweets? Where were we?" Spike asked. "...the mansion." Sweetie said. "Well, we know that." Scootaloo said. "I mean, where were we? You found us so you must know-" "I do know." Sweetie said, turning around. There was coldness in her eyes. Emotionless and dead… it was frightening to be coming from the small filly. "You were trying to kill me." The words hung in the air for a few minutes as everyone stared at Sweetie. The mares stared at her for how bluntly she'd shared the information, and Applebloom, Scootaloo and Spike looked at her in disbelief. "...I-I'm sorry, but what?" Spike said. "Yeah, ah think we musta' mis-" "No, you didn't Applebloom." Sweetie said coldly. "You tried to cut my throat." she said, pointing at Applebloom. "You tried choking me to death." she said, pointing at Scootaloo, "and you tried to burn me alive!" "Sweetie, we'd never-" "You tried to kill me. Keep me from catching any pony. Kept me from catching her. ALL of you... and even better, you laughed while you did it. Great friends you are." "Sweetie-" Pinkie tried to stop her. "And you, are the worst of them. If you were a Pinkie who cared about trying to save me, to try and help me, you would have done your little thing and helped rather than sitting in her mind, just watching as I break every bone in my body. Just like now, when you could have said something. Let me go to save her... Some friend you are..." Silence filled the room once Sweetie was finished. The explainable anger within the filly subsided after a few moments. It took a moment for the filly to completely regain herself and realize what she'd just said. She looked at the faces of the mares, she'd managed to hurt with her words. Severely reminded of the horror they'd made the filly undergo. Pinkie Pie and the Crusaders especially. Pinkie, unable to hold it in any longer, had tears streaming down her face. The crusaders and Spike looked at Sweetie in disbelief... yet at the same time, from hearing Sweetie, they knew they had no choice to believe the truth they tried to refuse. "I-I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me..." Sweetie said. "Guys?" "Sweetie... tha'... tha' ain't true... is it?" Applebloom finally said. Sweetie wanted to say no... yet at this point, she couldn't lie anymore. It'd probably only hurt them even further. "Sweets... why would we do somethin' like that?" Scootaloo asked. "We... couldn't have..." "It wasn't your fault." Sweetie said calmly. "Those three ghosts I told you about... they were controlling you. You didn't have any choice." With that, Sweetie began slowly explaining to them the details she'd skipped over pertaining to that night. The ones involving her first encounters with the possessed children, and the different ways they each tried to kill her. She told them about the carnival and finally... the hanging game Pinkie had planned. "That's why you were so afraid of us when you woke up..." Spike said, looking down. "I-I wasn't afraid of you!" Sweetie said. "I was afraid of them! Candy, Marbles and Spiffy. Not you." "But... if we still tried ta kill-" Applebloom said. "Shut up, ok?" Sweetie said. The three of them looked down to the ground, seeming to be on the verge of tears, much like Pinkie. She began walking over to Applebloom. She gave the filly a hug. "It wasn't you, alright?" Applebloom didn't answer. She simply gave the filly another hug back, as hard as she could. "But Sweets-" Scootaloo said, not bothering to look up. "Relax. I said, it wasn't you." Sweetie continued. "You didn't have anything to do with it. The way I see it, you weren't even involved." Sweetie hugged Scootaloo. As Scootaloo hugged her back, as Sweetie felt a tear drop down her back. "And because of that..." Sweetie said, moving over to the dragon, giving him a hug. "I don't have any reason to be mad at any of you." Spike didn't give a hug. He simply stood there in a trance as Sweetie hugged him. She gave the dragon one of the longer hugs... Finally, Sweetie went over to Pinkie, who still had tears streaming down her cheeks. "And Pinkie... I know we've been through a lot... and I know it's probably silly to keep saying the same thing over and over again..." Sweetie standing in front of the mare. "But you’re not the one to blame, and I'm not mad... but there is something I want you to do." The teary eyed pink mare looked up at Sweetie... or rather down at her, given her small stature. "I... could I have a smile? Not one of those creepy ghostly ones... but a real smile? The one the real Pinkie would make." The mare did as she was told, giving a friendly smile to the filly. Not waiting for her to approach her any further, Pinkie quickly went forward, lifted the filly in the air and gave her the biggest bear hug she could. "Uh, Pinkie?" Sweetie said strained. "I still gotta... breath." "S-sorry Sweetie." Pinkie said, putting the filly down. "Well..." Sweetie said, checking her chest to make sure it hadn't caved in from Pinkie's hug. "Now that we've got that out of the way, and there's no negativity anymore... I wanted to ask all of you few questions..." "Sure Sweets!" Pinkie said. Every mare, filly and dragon in the room gathered into a group in front of Sweetie, ready to listen to whatever she had to say. "What's on your mind?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie glanced over at the dead Specter, in the corner. She shivered at what she might have done, but pushed the thought out of her head. Now wasn't the time to get emotional again. "I... wanted to ask you a few questions about the mansion... the ghosts... and Specter." *** Rainbow and Twilight entered the mansion foyer, looking around the massive foyer at the doors. Rainbow, out of curiosity went to the front door out of curiosity to see if it would open. She pushed it... it wouldn't budge. "I tried that earlier tonight Rainbow. It won't open... some kind of magical lock." Twilight said through Sweetie's flashlight. "Well, you’re good at magic, right? You could probably open it, right?" Rainbow asked, looking back at the purple mare. Twilight shook her head. "No. Two reasons. One, because my magic right now is barely strong enough to open up simple locks. Hay, I thought I was going to black out after that teleportation spell and that lightning bolt." Twilight explained. "Secondly, the lock, unlike the one down by the safe room, requires a specific frequency and flow of magic to be flowed through it. Kind of like a security code. Providing the mansion itself would even let me, I'd need to know that code in order to open it... and the only one who probably knows it is..." "Specter." Rainbow finished. "You think if we can find him we could get out of here?" "Provided he's willing to give us the code to begin with." Twilight said. "That's easy. I'll just beat it out of him." Rainbow said. "You’re going to beat up a ghost huh?" Twilight said, raising a brow. "Just like you were going to beat up that butler?" Rainbow shrugged "I could still try. You never know... but even if we couldn't we could just catch him, right? Can't you just put him through that printer thing?" Rainbow asked. "Actually... yeah, but I don't know if it'll work." Twilight said. "Sweetie's captured and printed out other ghosts, but when I tried to revive them, nothing happened. No matter how much magic I put into them, the photos just kind of... blew up in my face." "Blew up huh?" Rainbow asked. "Yeah. The magic just blew back onto me, Applejack, and Fluttershy. One was so big it threw the three of us against the wall." Twilight explained. "Ouch." Rainbow said. "But... then why did it work on us then?" "Not sure. I had a theory that the paintings used whatever magic I pumped into turn our cutie marks into new bodies. Something tells me that am not right though." Twilight said. "Then what do you really think makes it so ponies can get revived?" Rainbow asked. "I really don't know... but so far, every pony that's been revived has only died just this night. They haven't been dead for much longer than a few hours." "Then what? You think only ponies that died tonight can get revived?" Rainbow asked. "Yeah... but if that's true, then we haven't got any chance of getting out of here through that door." "Why not." "Because I'm almost sure that tonight... isn't the first time Specter died." Twilight said. "... come on, we're wasting time talking here. We've got to head through that door over there." Twilight pointed over at the door. to the right of the staircase. "If the mansion doesn't mess with us, like it did with me earlier, that should be the way to Specter's study." "Gotcha Twi." "I haven't seen any ghosts yet... but I'm almost positive that we're gonna come across some soon. Watch my flank alright?" "On it." "Not... too closely though." Twilight joked. "We've got to pay attention to what’s around us too." "Ha ha." Rainbow said unenthusiastic, rolling her eyes. "Not in your life Twi." The two of them headed through the door into the next hallway... *** "Ok, first off... the carnival. What-the-hay was that." Sweetie started. "You went to a carnival?" Fluttershy asked. "How... was it?" "A blast." Sweetie said sarcastically. "Everything was burned, ghosts were everywhere, and I was the star of a circus act as I walked across a 60 foot tightrope wearing a lion costume. A hay of a time." "Sorry. I should have figured it wasn't good." Fluttershy said, looking down. "Well Pinkie? You seemed to know what was happening. Do you remember a lot of it?" Pinkie nodded slowly. "Yeah, I remember. I watched you the whole time... or did I read about you, I forget." Pinkie paused, feeling another wave of nausea. "Oh Celestia, what's that author planning..." she said lowly for no pony but herself to hear. "Ok, so then you probably know what the hay happened in there, right?" "...kind of." Pinkie said. "It's... kind of hard to remember places where you weren't there... like I remember everything after you snapped me with that camera... up until the ghost Pinkie started trying to snuff me out." "So... you don't know what happened then?" Sweetie asked. Pinkie got up, and began to pace. She was trying her very best to remember what it was that gave her that kind of power to manipulate reality into the twisted carnival. She was determined to give the filly some kind of answer. "I... think some pony gave me that power to manipulate the mansion." "Specter?" "Maybe. I remember him praising me a lot. His voice was really twisted when he did too." Like it was a whole bunch of ponies instead of just him." "He just... gave you that kind of power?" "Yeah... see, the way I remember him saying it... there are different parts of the mansion that can be... manipulated. Changed around, right?" "It happened to us when we were running from those ghosts." Spike said. "When Sweetie and I fell through that hole in the ceiling and almost got lost in some different part of the hallway." "But... there's different, super special places in the mansion... like the courtyard, where stuff can be added, taken, and even completely manipulated. There’s a couple spots in the mansion like that..." "... and?" "I... just remembered something. It had something to do with Rarity... why can't I remember it clearer..." Pinkie mumbled. "A-anyway, I remember, when Sweetie caught AJ and Fluttershy, that they gathered Rainbow, Rarity, a calidascopy looking Twilight, and me... they said that if you caught too many ghosts, they'd give every pony remaining a piece of the mansion to use... that's why I wanted you to catch Twi and Dashie so much... might have tested it on one pony earlier tonight, but really, I forget." "Was that why you wanted me to catch Twilight and Rainbow so badly?" Sweetie asked. "And why you were so... interested in me?" "No." Pinkie said flatly. "I don't think that's... completely why." "Really? Then what?" Sweetie asked. "I... don't remember. Just that some pony I liked made me think to really like you even more. It's like they liked you, so I wanted to like you more. Makes sense?" "I guess." Sweetie said. Honestly, there were too many 'likes' for Sweetie to really make sense of it. "Another question..." Sweetie asked. She glanced at Spike who was giving her another dreamy stare... Sweetie was almost caught up into it before looking back at Pinkie. "Can... Specter mentally manipulate ponies? You know, that Mind Dive thing?" "Mind Dive... yeah, I do remember Specter mentioning that a little while ago. Getting into a pony's head and making them see and do stuff?" "Yeah. Can he... or maybe Spiffy... or even Rarity do that? Could you do that?" "I know I couldn't." Pinkie said. "Anything you saw that wasn't real... I think that was all Twilight." "T-there's no other way that some ghost pony could make them do stuff?" "Nothing involving magic I don't think. Rare wasn't strong enough... neither was Spiffy or Specter." Pinkie confirmed. "But... Spike... and I, we..." "Yer what?" Applejack asked. It didn't make much sense to the filly. She was sure that she didn't like the dragon... yet since that kiss, he was the only thing besides the safety of Rarity on the filly's mind. She wished there was some other explanation besides the idea that "She was in love with Spike". It didn't make sense any way the filly put it. And even more, she couldn't have a relationship with the dragon... she probably wouldn't even be able to imagine what she'd put Applebloom though with that second kiss at the church. Applebloom replied. Sweetie looked at Applebloom, who didn't bother to look back. After learning she'd been nearly puppeted into driving a knife through her friend, Sweetie was sure she'd still 'act' like her friend. She was positive that Applebloom wouldn't get emotional like before over the kiss... but she was sure that Applebloom was still getting torn up inside. Wounds Sweetie would eventually have to figure out how to heal. "They were... just doin some experiment'n." "Experimenting?" Fluttershy asked. "Yeah. Relationship experiment'n is all." Applebloom said. "Uh..." Fluttershy said, unsure of how to react to that. "Hey Pinkie, I've got another question." Sweetie said, interrupting before they could delve deeper into the subject. "Just one more big one." "Sure Sweetie. Throw it at me." Pinkie said. "I wanted to know... you don't know where Rarity is, do you?" Sweetie asked. Silence took over the room once more. "...Sweetie, ya know we can't-" Applejack started. "I-I know. I just wanted to see if Pinkie knew... just for curiosity's sake." Sweetie assured. "I'm not gonna leave. At least... not without my flashlight anyway." "Well... no, not really Sweetie." Pinkie said. "If I knew, I'd've probably told Dashie and Twi before they left." "But, you were the closest to Specter! That's how you got that carnival, right?" Sweetie asked. "You have to know something! You have to!" "C'mon Sweetie." Scootaloo said, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "If she doesn't know, she doesn't know. Sorry." Sweetie bowed her head. "Ok..." Pinkie felt more guilt stabbing at her as she watched the filly slump down in that depressed manner. She couldn't bear seeing her like this. "... but..." she said. Sweetie looked up. "But?" "But... I do know that Rarity was given the same power as me... yeah, in fact, I know she was." "R-really? Does that mean she'd be somewhere around the courtyard?" Sweetie asked. Pinkie shook her head. "The courtyard was mine... she was given another place." "Where?" Sweetie asked. "I'm not sure... but i do know it was on the other side of the mansion... Opposite of the courtyard you've seen" Sweetie didn't remember seeing any other ways to that other side. Any hallways leading that way were either blocked off or destroyed by Pinkie. "But you blocked all of the ways leading that way, right? Does that mean only ghosts can make it over there?" "I didn't block all of them Sweetie." Pinkie said. "Just like I didn't lock all of the doors. No, they were already there... but there is a way." "Where?" Pinkie shrugged. "Not sure... but I know it exists. Meany old Gilda's not a ghost, but I'm sure she had to go over there at some point... there's probably some secret way over there." "...wait..." Sweetie thought for a second. "Applejack." Sweetie said. "Didn't you say you saw Rarity headed into the kitchen?" Applejack nodded. "Leas' tha's wha' ah thought ah saw." "Right... and Pinkie. When we first met when you were a ghost... did you see Rarity too? Outside of the Sugar Cube corner?" Pinkie thought for a moment. "I didn't see anything that looked like Sugarcube before you went all crazy with Twi's mental mind thingy... but I was looking at you the entire time, so I don't know... wait, you don't think that..." Sweetie nodded. "Maybe the secret entrance is in the kitchen." "Hold up Sweetie." Applejack said. "Ah was in tha' kitchen too. Ah didn't see no door to no new part o' th' mansion." "Maybe there's some special way you need to open it up." Sweetie said. "...somewhere Specter can access easily." "Sweetie? Do you think you have an idea of where this 'special way' is?" Fluttershy asked. "It's a guess, but... why not Specter's study? It's private, and somewhere he'd probably visit regularly." Sweetie figured. "That's genius Sweetie!" Spike said. He went over to hug the filly, who blushed on impact. After a few moments, Sweetie regained herself, and gently pushed Spike off of her. Scootaloo shook her head. "Bu' Twili' and Rainbow are headed there right now." Applejack said. "And if they go there... they won't know what to look for." Fluttershy said. "They might leave and just start aimlessly wandering the mansion..." "...unless we tell them." Sweetie said. Every pony looked at Sweetie. "Sweetie-" "Guys, they won't find Rarity or Specter if we don't." Sweetie argued. "They might get in more danger looking for them than actually finding them. The sooner we find them and tell them, the better. We have to, before it's too late. "...she's right." Pinkie said. "Pinkie?" Sweetie said, some pony, specifically a mare, agreed with her. "Yeah! And I wouldn't want something to happen to Rainbow. She might fall in some kind of trap." Scootaloo said. "Sure, she'd probably get out in time, but still..." "n' th' faster we tell em' th' faster we c'n get Rare, and git outa here." Applebloom said. "And you Spike?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah! Totally! Whatever you say Sweetie." Guess since she's gonna have 'er new 'mate' she might as well take advantage of him... Applebloom thought. Sweetie however, smiled at the fact that most of her friends were siding with her. At this point, every pony except Fluttershy and Applejack had agreed to the plan. "Ah don't lik' this idea one bit." Applejack said. "Don't seem too smart let'n more ponies go out... but if it gets us out'a here faster..." "Exactly." Sweetie said. "But we need a flashlight. We aren't going anywhere without one." Pinkie said. "Well... I remember Twilight putting a yellow flashlight over there, in that dresser." Fluttershy said, pointing over to a dresser with a mirror that had a swirling pattern around its frame. Sweetie went over to check it's drawer. She saw the flashlight Twilight had used earlier that night. Accompanied by it, was a small balled up piece of paper, which the filly could vaguely identify small splotches of pink ectoplasm and a piece of charcoal in the shape of a heart. Sweetie assumed that it was no good, so she just took the flashlight without giving it a second thought. "Ok, we can head out and be back in-" "Hold up, no pony said anything about you goin' anywhere." Applejack argued. "Can't Pinkie just go?" Fluttershy asked. "She's a tough mare to get ahold of... you can take care of yourself, right Pinkie?" Sweetie shook her head, not allowing the mare to answer. "No. Maybe she might if she had her talents, but now they're getting harder and harder to use, right?" Sweetie asked. Fluttershy touched her throat. She nodded in agreement. "That means that she's going to need some help right?" Sweetie convinced. "And who better to help her than me and my friends, who've had the most ghost encounters, right?" Though they both hated to admit it, Sweetie was right. The filly had spent hours in the mansion, somehow dodging and surviving the ghosts that tried to get her. "An' we ain't gonna let our friend go either, ri' Sweets?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie nodded. "They've had their share of ghosts too. The more eyes to watch what's around us, the better." "Alri... so yer all gonna go then?" Applejack asked. Sweetie nodded. "Ah suppose ah'll have ta stay here on mah own, ri'?" Applejack asked. "Lik' ah told ya, ah can't really do no long travelin' till ahm completely healed. "You've got Fluttershy." Scootaloo said. "She's not coming right?" Fluttershy shook her head. "I'm sure I'd just... slow you down. Besides, I still need to see what I can do for Applejack." "But the readers want to see you walk around the mansion..." Pinkie mumbled, gripping her stomach again. The mare had to stop, before she ended up vomiting. No one noticed. "Ok. So, Fluttershy and Applejack will wait here, and we'll be back as soon as we can." Sweetie said. "The door's open?" "Ah guess." Applejack said. "Didn't have ta do nothin' ta open it." "Be back in a jiff, m'kay?" Pinkie chirped. "Just be careful ok?" Fluttershy said. With that, Pinkie, Applebloom, Scootaloo, Spike and Sweetie left the room, closing the door behind him. "...ah got a bad feelin' about all a this." "What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked. "All this separation ain't good... ah just don't seein' it endin' well is all..." *** The two mares entered the door, and entered yet another dark hallway. The moonlight had difficulty reaching that part of the area, making the only visible light come from the Sweetie's flashlight, carried in Twilight's muzzle. Rainbow kept her eyes peeled behind her and Twilight as they walked. As Rainbow kept feeling the chill down her spine, she couldn't help but feel something was wrong. "Hey Twi?" Rainbow asked. "Are you getting the feeling your being... watched?" "I wouldn't be surprised." Twilight said. "Ghosts around here are always looking for a chance to pounce any unsuspecting pony when they're not looking." Twilight looked back at Rainbow, and smirked. "Don't tell me the big, tough, Rainbow Dash is getting scared now." "No, no, of course not." Rainbow said. "I don't get scared... but I am getting a little... paranoid I guess." "Around here, that's not a bad thing." Twilight responded. "Paranoia works with you around here. When I had to move around the mansion, I was always expecting some ghost would pop out to scare me... or the mansion would change around on me. Paranoia can be bad sometimes, but here, it just makes you prepared for the worst." "So you think the worst is gonna happen?" Rainbow asked. "Dear Celestia I hope not." Twilight said, before stopping. "Wait." "What's up Twi?" Twilight had stopped in front of a large metal door. A light residue of orange ectoplasm was vaguely outlined in the shape of an apple. "I remember passing by here a little while back..." she said. "I guess Sweetie must have figured out how to clean it up to get inside." "You mean you couldn't?" Rainbow asked. "I thought you were supposed to be the brains? How'd Sweetie figure it out when you couldn't" "Hey, I was a crotchety old mare earlier with half a soul. My head was barely on strait." Twilight argued. "Still... I'm amazed that she figured out how to clear it with the GCD and even find the key that went to the door..." "What do you think's inside?" Rainbow asked. "When I first passed by, I was almost positive it was Applejack's hiding spot." Twilight said. "Though between the door being locked and the ectoplasm keeping the doors shut, I didn't find out... Now, I'm not really sure, I just want to peek to see what was inside. Maybe some kind of clue." "Careful Twi." Rainbow warned. "If AJ was in there, I wouldn't be surprised if this was some kind of trap." "You’re telling me to be careful?" Twilight asked the mare who spent most of her days doing life threatening air stunts. Twilight kept one hoof on her GCD as she slowly opened the door. Once it was fully open, she shined her light inside... it was just an oversized tea room. Tea tables and china were all over the room, covered with the same generic white sheet. There were only two things the mares found peculiar about the room... One was the patches of dirt scattered all over the room, and the few seedling trees that were growing out of the ground. The other, was that the room was dimly lit by a sole chandelier at the center of the room. "Nothing... just some china and some plants." Twilight sighed. "C'mon, let’s keep going." Rainbow motioned. "This creepy lighting is giving me more chills than the hallway." "Ok, let’s go." Twilight said, closing the door and continuing to guide Rainbow down the dark hallway. They walked down the hallway, until Twilight stopped in front of another grand looking door. "If I'm right, this should be Specter's study." "You really think he's in there?" Rainbow asked, looking behind her. "I mean, If I were Specter, and I knew that some pony was gonna hunt me down, I'd have a little more protection right?" "Hm... your right. Then again, the hallway's pretty cold. There's got to be a good number of ghosts somewhere." Twilight figured. "Maybe they're inside?" Rainbow put her ear to the door. She closed her eyes, to focus on the inside of the room... "...nothing Twi." Rainbow finally said. "Nothing? No laughs? No giggling?" Twilight asked. "No... I thought I heard a crackle, but that's it." Rainbow said. "Ok, I'm going in. Cover me Rainbow." Twilight said, as she swung the door open. She aimed the GCD nozzle in front of her ready to suck up any ghosts she saw... but none came. Besides the lit fire place that sat in front of two chairs, there was nothing. It was just a normal study with a small library of books, and portraits hung on the walls. Twilight sighed. "Nothing. No ghost in sight." "Now what Twi?" Rainbow asked. "Anywhere else you think the guy might be?" "... well, maybe the library. I remember him visiting there once." Twilight thought. "It's a little ways away from here though. Maybe we should just explore this hallway a little more before we go." Rainbow nodded as she headed for the door... when all of a sudden, the door shut on its own. In her surprise, Rainbow's wings erected. "What the hay?!" The portrait over top the fireplace depicting Specter fell over in front of the fireplace blocking the light, dimming the room significantly, just short of pitch black. The room filled with laughter. "It's a trap!" Twilight said. "Keep your eyes peeled, they could come from anywhere!" Twilight backed into Rainbow as their flanks touched. Twilight looked around the room wildly, trying to anticipate where any ghost might try to show up. Seconds of laughing passed before finally- "Twi! 6 o'clock!" Rainbow said, looking to her left. Twilight looked in the same direction to see a K-9 ghost phase through the wall and jump at her. Both Rainbow and Twilight jumped in either direction as Twilight shined the flashlight on the dog. Ding! As Twilight aimed her nozzle at the dog, she began sucking it up. 15, 14, 13, 12... the GCD said. Twilight, unlike Sweetie was unfamiliar with the yank technique. She didn't bother experimenting with it. Even more, the mare didn't have the stress of not knowing wither or not she would hold on long enough. Given she was heavier and likely stronger than Sweetie, the ghost didn't drag her around like the filly. While the numbers counted down on the GCD, a butler ghost phased through the ceiling and went to grab onto Rainbow, who zoomed into the air, out of the path of the ghost as it went through the floor she was previously standing on. Rainbow wasn't however fast enough to dodge the second ghost as it phased through the wall in front of her and tackled her down to the ground. "Gah! Twilight!" Rainbow struggled to get free. Unfortunately, the ghost was stronger than even her. "Hel-" Before Rainbow could say another word, the ghost proceeded to stick its hoof into the mare's mouth. She gagged on it, as it laughed, beginning to rip out her spirit and soul. "Hold on!" Twilight said, wishing there was some way to suck up the ghost faster. 3, 2, 1, 0. Capturing Ghost. the GCD said. The K-9 whimpered as it was sucked into the confines of the GCD. "Get off of her!" Twilight yelled as she shined her light on the ghost. Ding! Twilight sucked the ghost off of Rainbow as she proceeded to suck it up before it could do anymore damage to Rainbow. Once the ghost was sucked up, the laughter in the room only got louder. "Twi, you got a plan?" Rainbow asked, coughing and looking around the study nervously. Twilight thought for a second when she noticed the painting in front of the fireplace. Just as a plethora of ghosts phased through the wall, Twilight aimed the GCD nozzle at the painting, sucking it off of the fireplace it was covering. Light from the fire filled the room. A deafening DING! echoed through the room as any ghost inside disappeared. Both Twilight and Rainbow panted exhaustedly, thankful they'd somehow managed to survive the ambush. "You ok Rainbow?" Twilight asked. "I'll live..." Rainbow responded. "That... that was close." Twilight said. "Yeah... you’re telling me." Rainbow said. The door clicked. "The doors open. Let's get out of here, before anymore decide to show up." Twilight nodded as they both exited the room and headed back into the hallway. They both decided to check out the end of the hallway to see if there was anything of interest at the door it ended with. "...hey Rainbow? Mind if I ask you something?" Twilight asked. "What?" Rainbow asked. "Uh... You know Gilda's here, right?" "...yeah? What about her?" Rainbow asked. "Well, you two were friends, right?" "Were friends..." Rainbow emphasized. "Ever since that thing with Fluttershy and Pinkie... I haven't kept with her that much." "You mean, you haven't seen her since she came and left Ponyville that Fall?" Twilight asked. Rainbow nodded. "I remember getting a letter or two from her... just the normal, sup, what's going on... hay, I almost thought she wanted to be friends with me again, but I kept reminding her that you guys were a part of the deal... then I lost contact with her... funny." "What?" Twilight asked. "I remember... back when I was a ghost and all, she wanted me for some reason. Who knows, maybe she just wanted to be friends with me... the griffon was always a mule's flank hole, but since I was the only pony who ever... y'know, tried to befriend, I guess she got a really jealous when I got a new friend of something." "You think that's why she was so mean to Fluttershy and Pinkie?" Twilight asked. "Partially. To be honest, I think another side of her just gets off on that kind of stuff." Rainbow responded. "So... what? You’re not friends with her? You don't know why she'd be associated with Specter?" Twilight asked. The two of them finally made it to the door. "I don't have a clue of why some griffon like her wants to have anything to do with Specter..." Rainbow and Twilight looked at each other as they walked through the door, not paying attention to what was in front of them. "...but friends? Ha! Since she hit Sweetie like that, she can forget that. The next time I see that griffon, trust me, I'm gonna deck her right in the-" The two of them looked forward. The room was filled with every kind of ghost, playing some kind of game, wither it be pool, darts or anything else in the game room they'd just walked into. There had to be at least 30 of them. Inside was also Gilda, grinning at the two mares just like every other ghost inside. "Aw don't mind us Rainy." Gilda said. "Please. You were saying?" The door shut behind the mares, clicking as it locked. "Oh hay..." Twilight mumbled as both of the mare's ears went down... *** The group of ponies entered the dining hall, lit by the moonlight shining through the windows along its side. "Hey, is that where they went?" Scootaloo asked, pointing to the door with pieces of cleared wood on either side of it. Sweetie nodded. "Yeah. It leads to the foyer I think." "C'mon then." Applebloom said. "We gotta try n' catch 'em before they leave tha' study." Every pony and dragon agreed as they headed started to head through the door. "Sweetie." Pinkie said. "You got a sec?" Sweetie, who hung at the back of the group, looked at Pinkie at the front, Twilight's flashlight firmly in her muzzle. "Y-yeah." Sweetie said. "You guys go on ahead." "You too Spike." Pinkie added. "What? Why?" Scootaloo asked, looking at the mare. "Well, it's just a few things that I think... just they need to know for now. Just wait for us at the fountain for now. Take this." Pinkie said, giving Applebloom the flashlight. Rather than using her muzzle to hold the thing, she fixed it in with the bow on her head, so she wouldn't have to carry it in her muzzle. The flashlight itself was hidden in her mane, however the light shined magnificently through the red hairs. Sweetie smiled. "That's resourceful." Applebloom gave a weak smile back before heading with Scootaloo into the next area. "What's wrong Pinkie?" "Yeah. Did you remember something else?" Spike asked. "Yeah, I think so." Pinkie said. "But first Spike, since your Sweetie's new... dragon friend..." Sweetie twitched at the mention. "...you can keep this a secret from the other mares right? I mean, you don't want them to know, right Sweetie?" "...Your talking about the cutie mark thing?" Sweetie asked. Pinkie nodded. "Anyway, when you went to the carnival, and you showed up with those the mare's cutie marks... you weren't you." "Huh? What do you mean?" "I mean... everything you saw was real... but at the same time, it wasn't." Pinkie said. "Though the mansion did change, it changed into a memory... something Specter... at least I think it was Specter, told me to let you see." "So?" Spike asked. "Where you went, your body didn't just go, but your spirit did as well. It was kind of like, you were in the world I created, but your spirit was in some kind of memory. That's what those special places do... they can separate the spirit from the body without killing either. Really, it inverts it, where your body is inside of your spirit instead of the other way around." "You’re not making sense Pinkie." "When does Pinkie make sense." Spike mumbled. "What I'm trying to say is those cutie marks, are in you. They're latched onto your spirit. And anytime you walk around in your spirit instead of your body." "My body inside of my spirit?" "At least that's the way Specter explained it to us after Applejack was caught." Pinkie thought for a moment. "Actually, I think she was the first to use one of those special areas. After that, they said that we should stop using them... mostly because now that you had those cutie marks, you could use them in the areas..." "So... those special areas, I can use my cutie marks in... or at least any time I'm using my spirit for travel?" "In a walnut shell, yeah." Pinkie chirped. "And what about Spike?" Sweetie asked. "You said something about him?" "I did?" Pinkie asked, turning her head to the side. "Yeah! You said Sweetie and Spike!" Sweetie said annoyed. "Why did you want to talk to him." "I did want to, didn't I... that's weird." Pinkie said. "I forget." "What? How did you forget so fast?" Spike asked. "I don't know, it's like some pony just threw my thoughts out the window." Pinkie said. "But I'd relax. It's fine. If it were that important, I would have remembered right?... Guys?" The two children's eyes contracted as they stared at Pinkie blankly. Pinkie went to touch them and possibly shake them out of their trance, but she wasn't given the chance. The two of them dodged to either side of the mare, running past her into the foyer. "Hey wait! Sweetie! Spike!" Applebloom and Scootaloo, who were waiting by the fountain looked up as they saw Sweetie and Spike running into the area. They then ran up the staircase at the center of the two doors, up to the second floor, Pinkie closely following. The two fillies looked at each other in confusion before following the mare. They all ran through the left door at the top of the staircase. Once they were all through, no pony was focused enough on anything else besides the white filly and purple dragon, to notice that the door had locked on them. Sweetie and Spike ran down the hallway, until finally running into a random door. Any normal pony would have thought it would be a dead end for the children... but Pinkie wasn't naive enough to believe that. "NO! WAIT!" Pinkie called as the door shut behind the two children. Upon reaching the door seconds later, the mare opened the door to find a generic bedroom... no Sweetie Belle or Spike to be found. Pinkie had lost the filly... she hit the door in frustration. Applebloom and Scootaloo rushed up to the guilt struck mare. "Pinkie! What happened?!" Scootaloo asked. Before any other words could be exchanged, the hallway filled with laughter. "Tha' don't sound good." Applebloom said. Pinkie looked up, and just like both fillies looked to either side of the hallway to find waves of ghosts flying at them. The door to the bedroom shut, trapping the ponies in the hallway to be at the mercy of the ghosts flying at them, one group being led by a yellow ghost mare... *** "Ok, does this hurt?" Fluttershy asked, pressing a part of Applejack's stomach. "Nope." Applejack responded. "How about here?" Fluttershy asked, moving her hoof to a different part of the mare's body. Applejack twitched when she pressed the part. "Hey, tha' tickles!" Applejack complained. The mare wasn't into tickles, especially if it was coming from another mare. At least not by Fluttershy in any case. "Sorry." Fluttershy said, moving to a different spot at the socket of one of her hind legs. "How about-" "Ah!" Applejack hissed. "Yeah. Right there." "Ok, just hold still for a second." Fluttershy instructed. "This might hurt a little." The yellow pegasus the applied more pressure on Applejack's stomach. The mare clenched her teeth in pain, though she didn't scream, and kept still as Fluttershy had asked. It was barely moments of pressure later that the pain subsided. "Is it better?" Once Fluttershy got off of Applejack, the mare got up and stretched. "Yeah. What'd ya do?" "I just figured one of your bones might have been out of place." Fluttershy figured. "I think now you'll be able to move easier." "Thanks Fluttershah." Applejack smiled. "No-" Fluttershy said. She stopped, looking horrifically behind Applejack at the other side of the room, at the corner in which Specter lay... or at least he was lying. Now, he was sitting up on his flank, smiling as he looked at the two mares. "Good morning ladies." he said. "What the hay... ya were d-" "Dead? Yes, I find that to be a bit of a problem around here now a days." Specter said. "Did you know that this manor's filled with ghosts? I tell you, what pests." As Fluttershy hid behind Applejack, the apple bucking mare got into a battle ready position. "Ah don't know wha's goin on around 'ere, but you we got some questions for you." "Ah, questions, questions. Those are also quite common around here." he grinned. "Especially from a nosy little white filly-" "Don'tcha dare talk about Sweetie." Applejack said. "Now, you gonna talk, or do I gotta beat th' answers out of ya." "It's funny, really. Death?" Specter said getting up on his flank. "Every pony I've come across seems to see it as... I'm not sure what to call it, unfamiliarity? They pretend it doesn't exist... at least until it just happens to some pony close to them." Specter went over to one of the mirrored dressers and looked inside. Seeing as there was nothing in there, he closed it back. "But the really funny part, is that your friends... are about to realize how real their deaths are." "W-what are you talking about?" Fluttershy asked quietly. "Oh my dear, nothing important." Specter said. "...aside from the fact that while you two are sitting here, touching each other, your friends are either dead, or dying as we speak." he gave the two mares another sickly grin. "And I do believe... you two are next." Applejack had enough. She leaped at the stallion, and attempted to kick him in the face. Specter dodged to the side of the mare as she turned around to throw a punch. Specter caught it out of the air. As they struggled, Specter gave one final smile to the mare. "And this, my dear guest... is where the lights go out." Specter said. Before any pony in the room could do anything, Specter's horn glowed. The humming of the walls stopped, and the lights in the room went out. In the darkness, Applejack let go of Specter, standing back from him. She lost him in the pitch black of the room. "Goodbye, Element." The room filled with laughter. The only other sound that was evident in the room was a small "Eep!" from Fluttershy, as ghosts began swarming the room. *** Gilda leaned up against the wall of one of the many generic bedrooms of the mansion. She had her eyes closed, catching a few moments of sleep as she waited for one ghost in particular. Now that she had fulfilled her orders, she had nothing to do at the moment. As she leaned against the wall, she only thought of the plan Specter had to capture all of the mares. She didn't really pay much attention... all she knew was that once his plan was all said and done, she'd get the chance to re-ghostify, the two mares that had caught her interest. For now, she just waited for Spiffy to come and tell her if the plan was almost finished. Gilda opened her eyes, looking out through the window of the bedroom. She saw the front of the mansion, along with the trees that stretched across the landscape. She could vaguely see Ponyville touching the horizon from her vantage point... but then she also saw something else. It glimmered in the moonlight, unlike any star should have. Using her naturally acquired eagle vision, she saw that it was in fact a chariot... and from the golden designs along the sides, it was easy to tell it was a royal chariot. Flying alongside, the griffon could vaguely make out the three tight wearing Wonderbolts. Gilda grinned. "About time we saw some action." she mumbled getting off of the wall. Gilda was ready to fly out the window to intercept the chariot, before Spiffy phased through the wall. "Griffon." the butler said. Gilda sighed, as she got out of her pre-flight position. "What do you want?" she asked annoyed. Spiffy raised a brow as he floated in front of Gilda, blocking her path to the outside. "I just wanted you to know that we have them. In the tea room." "Pft. Took you long enough." Gilda said. "Might I ask where you were going." Gilda crossed her eagle arms. "I was going to keep those guards from ruining Specter's... whatever." She pointed out the window, in which Spiffy looked. "I wouldn't expect you to see old-" "I see them." Spiffy said, turning back to the griffon. One side effect of being a ghost was heightened senses after all. "So what? You want them to just show up and ruin everything? Or do you want me to get at them now." Gilda asked. Spiffy shook his head. "Two weeks you've been working with us, and you still don't know how Specter runs things." Spiffy sighed. "No. I want you to... down them. Get them out of the air... without them knowing there's anypony trying to kill them." "Why?" Gilda asked. "Seems kind of pointless if they're gonna find out about us anyway." "Two reasons, Ms. Gilda." Spiffy said, floating around her. "Number one, think. If one. JUST one, figures out that there are ghosts, or something seriously wrong with this mansion, we'll have the whole Equestian army on Specter's tail. We wouldn't want that, would we?" "We've got ghosts. You can't beat that." Gilda argued. "You over-estimate the power of such a small number of ghosts. Two hundred at the most." Spiffy explained. "Who's to say if ponies knew what they were dealing with, that they wouldn't try to create another GCD. We don't need more of Ms. Belle running around." Gilda rolled her eyes. "And two... they're Mr. Specter's orders. He doesn't want the threat to be evident until our guests are locked up tight in his little abode." "I'd take them down before they'd even figure out what was happening." Gilda said. "This seems kind of-" "Listen to me griffon." Spiffy said harshly. "I... am above you. I might be a pony servant, and friend but only to Specter. But to you? Until you get your ends of the bargain, don't act like you have any power over us. Know your place. You will do as Specter and I say... or would you like to join the same fate as the Elements and their little fillies?" Gilda squinted angrily. "Get out of my face." "Do we have an understanding?" he asked, floating away from Gilda. "...what do you want me to do, Butler?" Gilda asked. Spiffy floated to the window, and looked out at the incoming guards. "You? Nothing. I do however want you to instruct our Princess Luna to cast some type of spell. One that will keep our guard friends from getting any further by chariot. To make it so they have to walk here." Spiffy floated back over to the door leading to the exit of the room. "And you? Where the hay are you headed off to?" Gilda asked. "I'm... headed off to attend to a little... unfinished business." Spiffy said, giving the griffon a ghostly grin before heading out of the door. *** Sweetie walked with Spike down the long hallway. She wasn't sure how long she'd been walking, but she didn't mind it. She had Spike, who kept his scaly arm around her, guiding her as they walked closely together. The oddest thing... she didn't have her flashlight, or her GCD, or even her saddlebags to protect herself with. Besides Applejack's had on her head, the filly was completely exposed. Still though, she had her new dragon friend, Spike to keep her safe, right? Of course she did. He seemed to care enough. It was easily to tell every time he kissed her on her cheek. The kisses felt numb... as though they weren't there. Like they were in a dream... then again, so did everything else around the filly. So dreamlike... maybe that was why she wasn't scared. That made sense... maybe all of this was a dream? Maybe she'd eventually wake up in her bed, Rarity by the side, and they'd both just laugh off the nightmare like sisters should... sisters did that, right? Sweetie looked over to Spike... he had a blank stare on his face, just like the filly... but even then, he still smiled at the filly. What a good dragon friend he was... if this was a dream, maybe when she woke up, she'd head over to the library again... maybe take out another novel to get a conversation started with the dragon... maybe Applebloom's crush was just a dream, and she could have Spike all to herself without feeling guilty. That sounded right... besides, even if the crush wasn't a dream, Applebloom never tried to make an advance to the dragon anyway. Between the library, and the dragon's constant visit's to Rarity's Boutique, she was sure that she'd have a better chance than her friend... For a brief moment, Sweetie wondered if it wasn't a dream... then what was she doing? She was being with Spike, that's what. The way he held her made her feel safe. He was a dragon, right? She was sure that was right... that meant that he had fire, and could protect them if any ghosts tried to hurt her. He would protect her right? Of course he would. He was her dragon friend, and she was his filly friend. Sweetie barely noticed that there were some dogs walking alongside the two of them. They glowed red and were transparent... Sweetie was sure that they were the horrible K-9 ghosts that had tried to kill her earlier that night. For a moment, Sweetie got scared, but she was reminded not to be as Spike held her closer again, and proceeded to kiss her. He was protecting her... it was the only reason Sweetie could process of why the ghost dogs weren't attacking her. He was such a good and protective dragon. The best dragon friend a mare could ask for... did many mares have dragon friends anyway? It seemed kind of weird when Sweetie first heard about the crush from Scootaloo and saw it in Applebloom... but now, it didn't seem to crazy. Now, Sweetie saw even mares like her sister, Rarity, who'd had Spike eating out of the palm of her hooves, as crazy for not seizing the dragon's heart when they had the chance. Sweetie looked forward to see the glowing figure at the end of the hallway. Was it Spiffy? Yes, she was sure that it was him. Sweetie got scared again, seeing the ghost at the end of the hallway. Spike is protecting you Sweetie. Spiffy whispered. It's fine... relax... "Spike is protecting me... I need to relax..." Sweetie mumbled in a mono-toned whisper. Sweetie, Spike and the two ghost dogs stopped in front of Spiffy. Spike let go of Sweetie as she got scared again, given the dragon who'd been protecting her had just stepped to the side. He's here Sweetie. You don't have to worry, your safe here. Spiffy whispered. It's fine... relax... "Spike's still here... everything's fine..." Sweetie mumbled. Good... good... Spiffy whispered. It's fine... relax... it's fine... relax... the butler continued to whisper as he approached the filly. Sweetie didn't know what was so out of place here. Everything was fine... Spike was there, the ghosts weren't attacking her... the only thing that seemed kind of weird was the ghost that was opening her mouth and reaching down her throat... Chapter 21- The StablevilleSweetie wasn't sure where she was or where she was going... all she knew was that she had to keep moving forward along the path. It wasn't as though she had any other choice in that case. The filly didn't see or hear any immediate towns nearby, and the thicket of trees along the path made it difficult to see far. All she could see was the direct path above the trail she was walking along, and the far distance in front of her. This doesn't make any sense... Sweetie thought. She knew that she was still in the mansion... she had to be. Before setting out on her venture, she took note that her GCD, saddlebags, and even her hat were gone. For a split second, she wondered if all of her experiences had just been a dream... but then she saw that she still had the cutie marks of her friends on her. There was no other explanation for them... right? Maybe there is... Maybe there's an explanation for them that actually makes sense. Maybe it was a- Sweetie shook the voice from her head as she walked. It had been whispering notations that she just refused to believe. She refused to be tricked for the umpteenth time that night. It was night right? The filly was beginning to forget that in the real world, the moon was still up... opposed to the sun, which seemed to be close to setting... What makes you so sure this isn't the real world? "Shut up..." Sweetie mumbled under her breath. The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place who it was. Still, she kept getting that feeling that one gets trying to remember the name of an old friend, but can't quite reach it... or maybe it was an old enemy... You don't have any enemies Sweetie... You’re the most friendly filly around... even if you are a little delusional... "I'm not crazy." Sweetie said flatly. "And quit talking to me. You’re not real, and I'm not going to believe a word you say." The whisper remained silent this time, and it actually scared Sweetie more now that it was gone. As they usually did on the rare occasions the voice stopped talking, her ears felt plugged from the world as everything was deathly silent. She felt alone again... but shouldn't she have been used to that by now, after traversing the many hallways of the mansion? The familiarization with loneliness was suddenly... escaping her. As if all of her experience was starting to slip away from her... What experience? It's just doing what dreams do. Slipping away.... Sweetie suddenly felt dizzy. She stumbled off to the side of the path and leaned up against a tree. The world seemed to drift around her, making her dizzy... until it finally stabilized again. The whisper was gone... Her ears perked up as the whisper sound was replaced with the serine nature sounds of birds happily chirping in the trees around her and the slight wooshing of wind. There was one sound in particular that surprised her. Clop, clop, clop, clop... Followed by the sound of wheels turning and crunching into the dirt path. It was the sound of some kind of cart transportation. She knew that sound better than any filly she had made acquaintance with... Sweetie turned around to see that her suspicions were correct. It was an Equestrian taxi, headed towards her. Sweetie felt a small part of her that wanted to run from the vehicle that seemed to appear out of nowhere... but then again, maybe it was simply that she didn’t hear it coming. After all, just like every other sound, it just came into form once the whispering had stopped. Whether or not it was her ears, or the world itself that was playing tricks on her, she decided to stay. What she saw was, not a ghost, nor any evil pony... but rather a friend. A good friend with a red coat, light gamboge mane, and green eyes. "B-big Mac?" Sweetie said. She didn't say it loud enough for the stallion to hear her, but just enough for herself. She was somewhat awestruck. She couldn't believe it. What was he doing in the mansion? This... was the mansion, right? Sweetie closed her eyes and tried to remember what had happened before she woke up on the trail... but for the life of her, she couldn't. It was just... impossible. As though those last moments were ripped out of her memory... or didn't exist to begin with. The filly did however come up with some explanation for the stallion's sudden appearance. After all, among the other ponies of Ponyville, Pinkie had already created that illusion at the circus that the stallion was there... of course there, he was also a ghost, and laughing or booing at her. She knew that was an illusion, so this must have been another. It had to be! This time was different though. He seemed... normal. Same silent expression she'd come to expect on the stallion’s face as he worked... if he were some kind of ghost in disguise... wouldn't he be laughing, grinning, or at least smiling? The filly remained cemented to her spot until finally, the Big Mac slowed to a stop, the cart with him. The large stallion stood over the filly, looking down at her with that emotionless stare of his. "Li’l filly." He said in his normal southern tone. "Could ya kindly move out of th' rode?" Sweetie continued to stare, hypnotized by his gaze... "Mr. Cabbie... why have we stopped? Is there something wrong?" a voice said through an open window of the taxi. A very familiar voice. Sweetie snapped out of her stupor and looked around. She didn't see another pony in the area. Could the voice have been talking to some pony else in the taxi? "No ma'm. Jus' a little filly in th' road." Big Mac responded. D-did he just get called Mr. Cabbie? Sweetie thought. She could have sworn his name was Big Mac... was this stallion his twin or something? "A filly? This far out of town?" the voice said. Sweetie was positive she knew this voice. It almost sounded like... like... The taxi door opened and a mare stuck her head out. It... was her... it was HER! The white coat, the purple mane, the blue eyes, it was HER! "Rarity!" Sweetie exclaimed, running around the side of the cart over to the mare. About half way, she stopped. What am I doing? Am I crazy?! Sweetie knew this had to be some kind of trap... it had to be. She wasn't going to fall for it... she wasn't... The mare had a look of concern for the filly. "Dear? What are you doing so far away from Stabletown?" Stabletown? Sweetie thought. Hopping out of the taxi, Rarity confronted Big Mac. "Cabbie! You would have just passed this little filly, wouldn't you?" Rarity asked angrily. Big Mac tried to keep his expression strait, and unintimidated by the mare. "Well, th' way ah see it, she musta gott'n out here fine by 'erself. Plus, ah don't see her askin' or payin' no bits for a ride. Side's, ya got enough passengers. Ya don't need ta stuff no more." Though the stallion spoke like the Big Mac she knew, he didn't... act like the Big Mac she knew. The Big Macintosh she knew wouldn't have been requiring bits to give a filly a ride... and what was he doing giving taxi rides anyway? Wasn't he an applebucker? "Oh hush you. She won't make it anywhere far before sun down. And we've got plenty of room." Rarity said. "Ah still don't see no bits." Big Mac pointed out. Rarity grumbled something before heading back into the taxi. Her flank stuck out of the door, as she bent over to get something inside. After a few moments of fishing around, the came back, holding a sack of bits in her teeth. Once she was back over by the stallion, she used her magic to telekinetically float the bag in front of her and float about 6 bits into the satchel around the red stallion's abdomen. "Happy?" she spat. "...Alri', th' little filly c'n ride." Big Mac said. "Come along Deary." Rarity said, walking back to the open door. Sweetie stayed put. Rarity looked back at the filly curiously. "Is there something wrong?" the mare asked with concern. Sweetie didn't want to go in the taxi with the mare. It was probably some kind of trap Spiffy or Specter had set up in the mansion... at least that's what she figured. Briefly, Sweetie looked around her and saw how thin her options were. Just like she said, there didn't appear to be any real civilization anywhere around her, or at least within any conceivable walking distance... only somepony who was used to such travel would get to... wherever in a decent amount of time. Somepony like Big Mac... or in this case, Cabbie. If Sweetie was going anywhere, it was by the taxi. "O-ok..." Sweetie said reluctantly, walking to the door of the taxi. Rarity helped Sweetie up into the seat as she entered herself and closed the door. "Hello little filly how are you?" a zebra Sweetie recognizable to be Zecora. "I see you are headed off to Stabletown too?" "I-I guess..." Sweetie said as the Big Mac began pulling the taxi down the road. Not like I've got much choice now anyway... Sweetie wasn't sure what it was. Something about the presence of both her sister and her zebra friend was odd. Sure, it was random for either of them to show up, but... there was something about the way they acted. Maybe it was the fact that they weren't trying to deceive her with friendship. Rather than acting like her friends they acted like... strangers. Excluding Big Mac, but strangers none the less, as though she didn't really know these ponies. Maybe it was the kindness itself that put Sweetie on edge, expecting to be ambushed by a plethora of ghosts should she let her guard down... or maybe it was the strange disoriented feeling she got every time she looked into either of their eyes... *** Twilight shut her eyes and focused as hard as she could. The stress she was putting in trying to flow magic to her horn was evident as a small vein popped from her head. After a few moments of strain on her body's magical flow, she sighed and opened her eyes. "No luck?" Pinkie asked. Twilight shook her head. "I still need more time to re-charge." Twilight sighed. "C'mon Twi. You never had trouble doing that magic stuff before." Rainbow argued. "That's also when I had my cutie mark..." Twilight sighed. "Now that my talent's fading... I'm losing my ability to automatically generate magic." "Really? I thought unicorns always did that." Fluttershy said. "I mean... whenever we visited Rarity, she never ran out of magic, and it wasn't even her talent! ... I-I'm sorry." Twilight shook her head. "It's fine, but... usually, a unicorn is asleep by now. Without rest, my magic won't recharge... and it's hard to do it any other way." Twilight sighed. "So what... ya too tired to use magic now?" Applejack asked. Twilight nodded. "Pretty much, yes... only way I could use magic now is with rest or my cutie mark... Spike." Twilight turned back to the dragon who stood by the door, clutching the GCD in his claws. "Please, listen. You’re not yourself. You've been hypnotized, o-or something! You've got to snap out of it!" Spike didn't respond. He continued to stare blankly at his friends. "It ain't no use." Applejack sighed. "Whatever Gilda er Specter's done ta 'im, they got 'im good." "Twi, you’re smart though." Rainbow said. "Don't you know anything about hypnotizing, or some mind control magic?" "I... forget." Twilight sighed. "You forget?" Pinkie asked. "How? You’re like, the most elephant brained filly I know! How could you forget?" Twilight shook her head. "Probably has something to do with my cutie mark being gone. Magic and comprehension of all the subjects related to it were all attributes of my talent. I know I learned something about mind control somewhere... but I can't remember any useful details." Twilight explained. "Now... I'm useless." She looked down depressed. "Aw, don't say that Twi." Pinkie said, giving her friend a smile. "You’re totally useful.” Twilight didn't bother looking up. "Doing what? I let Sweetie go out on her own and now she's probably..." Twilight trailed off. "... and now, I can't even help my friends with my useless horn. Because of that, we're all gonna..." "We're gonna be fine." Rainbow reassured. She repositioned herself in her bonds against the tea table. "And you’re not useless. If you weren’t there, I probably would’ve gotten my soul sucked out or something." "But Sweetie..." Twilight started. "And I bet she's fine too." Rainbow assured. "Yeah! You shoulda seen her when we got attacked." Applebloom added. "She's really good at kicking ghost flank! She's almost as cool as Dash!" Scootaloo added. "I bet she's somewhere, coming up with some amazing plan to sa-" Suddenly, the tea room door swung open, revealing a little dirty filly, wearing an oversized rancher's hat over a poofy mulberry mane. She looked at the mares with her big green eyes. "G-guys?" Sweetie said, as she walked into the room. Twilight sighed in relief. "Sweetie. Thank Celestia you’re ok." "W-what's going on?" Sweetie asked as she made her way to Twilight. She ignored Spike, who simply continued to stare at the mares as though the filly hadn't even entered the room. "Why are you tied up like this? Are you all hurt?" "We're fine kid." Rainbow smiled. "But don't worry about us. Where the hay did you go?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie looked at Applebloom and smiled. For a moment, every mare could have sworn it twitched. "Does it matter? I'm not the one tied up, right?" "I guess..." Applebloom said. "But what about Spike? You and him-" Pinkie started. Sweetie waved a hoof to silence her. "We got separated. What can I say?" Sweetie smiled. "But..." Pinkie trailed off. She knew something was wrong about the filly's behavior. "I'm fine..." Sweetie said. "But where'd you go after you got separated?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie stood in front of Twilight and stared at her. She stared at her. "...Sweetie?" Pinkie asked. "Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" Twilight asked. After a few moments, Sweetie blinked. "Where I went... oh, no where important. Just somewhere I could go for a little-" without warning, Sweetie raised her hoof and slapped Twilight across the face. "assimilation!" "Sweetie!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "Wha' th' hay'd you do that for?" Applejack exclaimed. Sweetie began to laugh insanely. "Oh no..." Pinkie said. With Twilight lying back on her side in her bonds, she was the first to see the change in the filly 's eyes. Rather than their normal green color, they had transitioned to the sickly glowing yellow. They turned to Pinkie Pie, who stared back in horror. "You’re not Sweetie." "Oh my Pinkamina." Sweetie shook her head. Her voice changed to a twisted fusion of a grown stallion's voice and the filly's own normal one. It was as though two ponies were talking at once. "I'm saddened you didn't realize that sooner. Between the trances and the utter hopelessness of your current situation, I'd think the fact Ms. Belle is gone would be... quite evident by now." "Who the hay are you then?!" Rainbow asked angrily. She struggled in her bonds, as she watched Twilight lie motionless on the ground. "Hm, let me think." Sweetie took a moment to think before looking back at Rainbow. She chuckled. "I do believe you futilely tried to hit me out of the air. Am I correct?" "You’re... you’re that butler guy, aren't you?" Sweetie gave a loud cackle and bowed. "Spiffy Butler, at your service. And I do believe... it's almost time to start our little game." "G-game?" Pinkie asked. "Of course. After your shenanigans with your... oh, what was it you called it... your ‘Ping-Pong Sing-a-Long’, yesterday evening, I'd imagine you would enjoy such activities I have planned." Pinkie opened her mouth to speak, but Applejack intruded. "She don't want no part in any a yer 'games'." Sweetie chuckled. "Oh, I doubt that... by the way, Ms. Pie. How's that nausea treating you? Make any comments to the author lately?" At the mention of it, Pinkie felt like vomiting again, much like she did back in the safe room at the mention of him. Sweetie gave another chuckle. "Excelent... It shouldn't be long now. Now all we need to do is wait for that lazy good for nothing griffon to show up with the princess, and we can get this little activity underway... I only hope for your sake that the princess cares as much for you as the mare I..." Sweetie went over to make sure that Twilight was still alive. Surprisingly enough, the little filly had managed to knock her out. "... mistakenly rendered unconscious..." "W-what do you mean?" Fluttershy asked hesitantly. Sweetie shook her head. "Don't worry. You'll learn soon enough what's in store for you. We’ll also find out how much pain tollerance you have." Sweetie laughed as she walked over to Spike. “Applejack, what do you think she means by that?” Fluttershy asked feafully. Applejack shrugged unsurely. Sweetie’s voice changed back to the childish filly everypony knew and loved. "And how are you doing, Spiky-wikey?" Sweetie said, using the term the filly had heard Rarity use some time ago. Spike snapped out of his trance at the sound of the nickname. "Oh Sweetie! I didn't see you come in." Spike said, turning to the filly. "Y-you look really pretty today." Sweetie giggled. "Thanks." She gave Spike a quick kiss on the cheek. Spike's tail briefly erected in excitement. "Er... I have something for you." Spike said. "I-I hope you like it." Sweetie raised an eyebrow. "Something for me?" she asked. Her eyes went to the GCD he was clutching. The "Oh!" she gave sounded more like it she'd forgotten that she was supposed to receive the device, rather than one of surprise... Spike held out the GCD to Sweetie. "Can I help you put it on?" he asked politely. "Okay." Sweetie smiled. Spike walked around to Sweetie's back and helped her put on the saddlebags that were attached to the GCD. Though, once the GCD made contact with the filly's back, something strange happened. The GCD's red and green lights had all changed to yellow. "Huh. That's kind of cool" Spike said, staring at the now blinking yellow lights. "Hm? What is?" Sweetie asked, who couldn't see the lights as immediately. Beep...Beep...Beep... The GCD was starting to beep quietly, just loud enough for anypony within a few feet could hear. Finally, the GCD said something that scared the filly. Warning. Possessed Hunter. Warning. Keep caution around- Before the GCD could say anymore, Sweetie quickly threw off the saddlebags and GCD over to the other side of the room. "What the hay..." She said breathlessly, unable to bury Spiffy’s voice under the filly's normal one. The intense fear could be seen in her yellow eyes, keeping her from controlling her voice... "What happened? Are you ok?" Spike asked. "I'm sorry Sweetie. I'm sorry..." He went over to Sweetie and began stroking her, in an effort to comfort her. The filly seemed to be oblivious to Spike's affections. All she could keep thinking was... What the hay was that... That wasn't supposed to happen... *** Despite the massive combination of weight between three ponies and the taxi itself, Big Mac... or Cabbie, as he liked to be called, seemed to pull the transport at a much greater pace than any normal pony's walking speed. Sweetie couldn't bear imagining the stallion's normal walking speed was, let alone his running speed. She sat in between Zecora and Rarity silently as they rode, on every occasion coming over a large bump that might make one of them respond with an "Oof". Otherwise, the ride was awkwardly quiet, as every so often, either Zecora or Rarity would glance at the filly. Finally, Rarity spoke. "Dear?" Sweetie tried to pretend that she didn't hear her, hoping she'd just go back to looking out the window... as if that would do any good. "Dear," she repeated. "You've been awfully quiet. Is something the matter?" The filly didn't want to speak to the mare. She knew that either she wasn't real, or that she was trying to deceive her in some way. Then again, the voice sounded so sincere... so like Rarity, that she couldn't help but offer another response. "Y-yeah, I'm ok." Sweetie said, not daring to look at the mare. "Are you sure that all is well? Your head looks like you must have fell." Zecora said, offering the filly her own attention. "M-my head?" Sweetie asked. Zecora reached a hoof out to touch the top of her head. Sweetie darted her eye over to the mare. Zecora snapped her hoof back, getting the message that the filly didn't want to be touched by the zebra mare. "Dear, we only want to help you." Rarity said. "Please let us..." Her voice was so soothing... Sweetie didn't notice as Zecora reached again into Sweetie' head, moving the hairs around before. "Ow!" Sweetie jumped as she felt a tender spot atop her head. "As I thought you have endured some drama. What has caused this cranial trauma?" Zecora asked. Sweetie didn't answer. She knew they knew what had caused it... but then again, Sweetie wished she knew herself... "I... don't remember." Sweetie said truthfully. No matter how hard she thought, she couldn't remember anything having to do with hitting her head earlier... in fact, she couldn't remember anything past waking up barely a few minutes earlier! At least nothing concrete. She could remember ponies she knew, and a few events from her past that stuck out in her mind... but nothing solid enough for her to claim she remembered... it was as though none of them existed, and she'd just imagined them up out of some delusion. No! I didn't imagine anything! Remember the cutie marks! They're proof!... right? "Aw... poor dear. Amnesia and cutie pox. I wish I could help you more..." "Amnesia... yeah, lets go with that. A-and cutie pox?" Sweetie asked. "Of course dear... that is what you have, right?" Rarity asked. Sweetie knew what cutie pox was of course. It was the very same rare, and thought to be eradicated disease. Her friend, Applebloom had contracted from her own desire to have a cutie mark... that and the help of Zecora's own "Heart's Desire" concoction. It was odd to hear it brought up like it was some common disease... was it? "I-I guess." Sweetie said. Rarity shook her head. "I suppose it was a matter of time before Stabletown was the one to be hit with the plague." "P-plauge?" Sweetie asked. “You mean that’s common around here?” "My, little filly. Have you not heard? There's been many magical diseases that have taken off like birds." Zecora explained. Rarity nodded in agreement. "Just about everywhere in Equestira, and the entire world had been hit so far." she glanced at Zecora. "Even the Zebra Nations. Why, I wasn't even aware ponies could get Cutie Pox, especially with the other diseases they could get, such as chocoestacia, aquaedema, babema disorders... and cutie pox seems to be one of the most common of them. I was hoping I could help my friend, Xina, escape from such horrors in Stabletown..." "Xina? Who's that?" Sweetie asked. Rarity chuckled. "I apologize little filly. I haven't introduced myself or my friend yet, have I?" "Um, I think I might..." Sweetie started, but trailed off. She was going to tell how she already knew the mares... but they didn't appear to know her. She assumed that it would have sounded crazy if she said she knew the ponies that supposedly never met her before. "Well, I am Jewely Axinite, owner of the Rose Valley Showroom, Stabletown's best... and erm... only perfume, jewelry and dress store." "A-axinite?" Sweetie repeated. The name sounded familiar... did she hear it somewhere before? It was around this time she noticed the lovely fragrance she had. "And that is a zebra friend of mine, Xina," she said, pointing over to the zebra at the other side of Sweetie. She smiled and gave a small wave. "She's my supplier for most of the exotic plants I use in my perfumes... you may have noticed one I'm wearing right now? Most of the supplies I used to make it came from her." "Zeena?" Sweetie emphasized, mostly out of disbelief. Rarity... or rather, Ms. Axinite smiled and nodded. "That's right." That... that can't be right! Her name's Rarity! RARITY! And Zecora! What the hay is going on around here?! Sweetie thought in a panicked manner. Just calm down Sweetie. That's probably what Specter wants you to do, right? He want's you to panic. He wants you to get off your guard. Can't do that. Can't panic... "Dear?" Axinite asked, bringing the filly out of thought. "I... don't believe you told us your name... I mean if you wouldn't mind..." Sweetie didn't see the harm in saying her name. If she was ensnared in some kind of trap, it wouldn't have made much difference. "My name... Sweetie... Belle." she said. It was odd. She knew that the name she'd just uttered was her own... but somehow, it felt foreign to her. Like she was talking about another filly, rather than herself... like the name itself was a dream, along with everything attached to it... Silence befell the taxi before finally- "Ah! We're almost here." Axinite said happily. Sweetie's awareness was definitely diminishing, as it seemed as though the entire environment had changed entirely. Rather than the woods of the path, everything was now stone. Stone houses, stone streets... and ponies were all walking around, running their own errands and business affairs. They weren’t in the same woodland area Sweetie had been found in, but instead, a hustling bustling town. It was official, they were definitely in Stabletown. The environment and architecture of the buildings looked very similar to the painting she'd seen before going to fight Rainbow Dash. It all felt like she'd just jumped right into that exact portrait... minus the fact that every pony, buffalo, or griffon she saw resembled someone she'd met at some point in her life... or at least had been told about. All of them wore some kind of dress or suit she'd imagined somepony like Rarity making... or some kind of brown village rag. The filly felt like she could name everyone the taxi passed by... though after coming to terms with the fact she wasn't sitting next to Rarity or Zecora, she doubted it would matter. Of everything that caught her eye however, the biggest sight of interest she noticed was the massive mansion looming over the town. From a glance, it was obvious that this was Yield Manor... but... wasn't she supposed to be inside of the monster of a mansion? What the hay was going on? Where was she? "Here we are..." Axinite said as the taxi came to a stop. Her and Sweetie looked outside of the taxi to see a stone building, vaguely resembling the Carousel Boutique... it was the Carousel, right? Sweetie was having trouble remembering what it looked like... d id the original two windows in front of the building have glass art of a perfume container, surrounded by jewels and roses like the ones in front of her? Were the support beams surrounding the Boutique the same colors of candy canes like the building she sat in front of now? Or were they a different color... she knew it was different... but she couldn't distinguish the differences... why? What was so wrong with her memory that she couldn't remember the second home she'd spent nearly half of her time in...? "Xina, would you be a dear and help me unpack the supplies from the back of the taxi." "Of course I'll assist you Ms. Axinite. I know you working alone isn't a pretty sight..." Xina smiled. "Thank you. It's not like that lazy stallion up there is going to help at all." Axinite rolled her eyes. Cabbie glanced back at the mare, but didn't say a word before waiting for them to exit the vehicle. Both Xina and Axinite moved out of the taxi leaving Sweetie alone in the taxi. "Little filly?" Cabby said shortly. "When ya git to ya stop, ya supposed ta git out." "Oh hush you." Axinite glared at the stallion. "Come along Sweetie dear." Axinite held out a hoof to help her out of the taxi. T his time, Sweetie found herself much more comfortable taking the helping-hoof. The filly was less thinking about the possibility of there being a trap, or getting ambushed. Instead, she was starting to trust the mare without thinking, and it was starting to scare her. Why couldn't she think straight or keep the paranoia alive? Sweetie looked around. She didn't see Xina anywhere. "Um... where did-" "Xina? She went into the showroom to start taking a few items in..." Axinite trailed off. "Sweetie... if you don't mind my asking... you never told us what you were doing so far outside of Stabletown... you aren't running away from home, are you?" "O-of course not. Um..." Sweetie tried to think of some excuse. It would have been impossible for her to explain what had happened to her. The filly also knew that she couldn't go with the lie of running away. She knew if she'd been caught trying to run away, she would likely get taken to the authorities. She already had that experience once and knew she would have a hard time moving around to escape this world if she was in custody of any form of pony police. She thought for a second... "I... I came to see the mansion... f-from a nearby town. Not too far from here," Sweetie said. Axinite looked at Sweetie strangely for a few moments... as though she was sensing that she was lying to an extent. Finally, it looked as though a lightbulb went off in her head. "Oh! You must be talking about the house party this evening." "House party? I mean yeah! House party!" Sweetie grinned. "That's what I came for." "Oh, how splendid then!" Axinite smiled. "I wasn't aware the Yield was inviting anyone outside of Stabletown. You have a ticket?" "Ticket... I mean, yeah! Of course I have ticket." Axinite's face went sideways. "Hm... I don't see anything on your person to carry said ticket..." "Someone in the town is holding it for me." Sweetie explained. "A-a friend from inside the town." "Oh... and I suppose you'd best be off to retrieve it, right?" Axinite asked. "Y-yeah." Sweetie said. "Well... I won't hold you up then." Axinite smiled. "Just... let me know if you need anything. I'd be more than happy to help you in any way..." Sweetie smiled. "Thanks Ms. Axinite." Ms. Axinite smiled and left the filly to retrieve another box from the back of the taxi, and entered the showroom. Sweetie sighed, and began walking toward the mansion. Thankfully, Rose Valley was just down the path from the massive mansion, joining a string of shops and houses that led to its gates. She figured if there was any way she would escape this world she was having a harder and harder time remembering it wasn't real, the mansion would hold the key. It had to... after all, it was her only lead. As Sweetie made her way to the gate she continued to pass by familiar looking ponies. She noted not all of them were ones she met before... but had at least heard about. There was a shop that sold quills, paper, and other writing materials that seemed to be owned by Carrot Top. There was a puppet stand, with a show being performed by the Spa Ponies. There was a baking shop owned by Chief Thunderhooves... There was even a stand that sold nuts that was controlled by Gilda! Of all the shops she passed by on her way to the mansion gate, everypony she saw, she was somewhat familiar with... but besides Axinite, all of them completely contradicted their talents and skills that were implanted in Sweetie's head... but the odd thing was, that none of them had the correct cutie mark, rather one that matched their new profession. For example, Daisy and her two flower girls, Lily and Rose, were... rather than attending to their flower shop and garden, were building a new shop next to another one. To complement their new profession, they each had a construction cutie mark. Sweetie had already assumed that they wouldn't go by the names she had come to know them by after the encounter with Axinite and Xina... but curiosity got the better of her. She broke off her path to the mansion and walked over to the three dirty looking mares. "E-excuse me." Sweetie said nervously. The mares didn't look or respond to her. Sweetie tried again. "EXCUSE ME!" she said much more loudly. Though Lily and Rose didn't respond to the filly, and seemed to be intentionally ignoring her, Daisy turned from a brick she was setting. "What'cho want?" the mare asked. It sounded like the Daisy she knew... somewhat. The mare spoke in Daisy's voice, however it sounded like... she was pretending to be a stallion. She changed her voice for it to sound somewhat deeper. "Can't you see we're in the middle of somethin'?" "S-sorry." Sweetie said. "I was... just curious of what your name was." "The hay do you need my name for?" the mare asked. "E-er... just um... curious?" Sweetie said. "I'm a little new here and I um... wanted to get to know a few ponies is all." The mare glared at the filly, annoyed that she'd interrupted her for something so stupid. Sweetie smiled sheepishly, hoping that the mare wasn't going to knock her block off right then and there. "... the name's Bronze Bricks. Happy?" "Bronze Bricks?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah. Why? You got a problem with it?" "No! Of course not but I was kind of... expecting something a little more... feminine." The stallion crossed his eyes. Did Sweetie say something wrong? "What you tryin' to say filly?" "Er, I mean... y-your a mare right? I just thought-" The grown mare pushed the filly back. She nearly fell onto her flank to the ground. "Little filly, I don't care how new yeh are, but I ain't gonna take no pony calling me a mare." N-not a mare then? What is she... a stallion? Sweetie thought as the mare glared at her. It seemed that some ponies in this world weren't exactly the gender they appeared to be at the eye. Rather than being the real Daisy, or a mare with a different name, she was just an entirely different pony in the shell of some pony Sweetie knew... or at least thought she knew. "S-sorry. My mistake. I didn't mean to offend you." Sweetie said, trying to keep the angry mare stallion from beating her to a pulp. Sweetie began backing away shyly. "I'll just get going. Sorry." The filly then bolted off in the opposite direction of the angry magenta pony. Sweetie ran so fast, fear fueling her speed that she forgot to look in front of her- "Oof!" Sweetie said as her head collided with the head of another pony around her size and age. This time, Sweetie fell onto her flank, along with the other pony in front of her. She shook her head clearing the dizziness the collision has caused. Once her eyes stopped rolling in her head, she found herself faced with the most unlikely of all ponies. "Pipsqueak?" Sweetie blurted out. The other pony seemed to still be getting his... or her bearings. He shook his head in the same manner as Sweetie, regaining control of his swimming world to stare at the filly. The two awkwardly stared at eachother for a few minutes before Sweetie spoke up. "U-um sorry about that. Wasn't looking where I was going." "What?" he asked. He seemed to still be in some kind of daze. "O-oh! No! It's my bad! Really!" the Pipsqueak lookalike scrambled to his feet. Before Sweetie could have the chance to do it herself, he was over by Sweetie's side, helping her back up onto her hooves. "Er... thanks." Sweetie smiled. Well, whoever this is is really nice... "No problem!" He said, looking off to the side. He blushed. "Colts like me always like to help pretty fillies like you." "H-huh?" Sweetie said, caught off guard. She took a step back. Pipsqueak immediately noticed that the filly was awe struck and nervous to the stranger colt's sudden advance. "N-no, I'm sorry. Heh... didn't mean to..." the colt laughed nervously before looking down, as if to think for a moment. After a few seconds, he snapped his head back up. "Let's start over. My name's Little." "Little?" Sweetie said, regaining her bearings. "Yeah. Little Squee, at your service madame." Squee bowed fancily. "Er... My name's Sweetie. Sweetie Belle." Sweetie said, giving a little bow of her own. "I'm new here." "This is your first time in Stabletown?" Squee asked. "Y-yeah." Sweetie said. "Figures." Squee smiled. "I couldn't imagine missing a filly as beautiful and majestic as you." "Uh..." Sweetie said, noticing how Squee was staring at her so dreamily. "Listen, I've got er... places to be." "Why, wouldn't you like a tour of Stabletown?" he asked excitedly. As much as Sweetie hated to admit it, a guide would be nice to have around for the moment. "I... I guess." Sweetie smiled sheepishly. "Great! Maybe I could show you um... some of Stabletown's restaurants. Maybe we could eat together?" Fantastic. First Spike, and now Pipsqueak's falling for me. Who's next? Scootaloo? Sweetie thought. Seriously! Where does he think he's taking this story?... Woah, where'd that come from? "Well... sure. But first, I've got to get to that mansion over there." Sweetie said, pointing to the manor gate. "Yield Manor? But the party doesn't for another few hours." Squee said. I doubt I can wait a few hours... But maybe I can still use him... Sweetie thought. "I know. I just wanted to uh... explore. You don't mind, do you?" Sweetie took advantage of the situation and got up close to the love-struck Squee. "I really want to see what's inside." Squee blushed again, looking off from Sweetie. "Uh, sure. I guess we could." Squee shakily began moving forward in the direction of the mansion. Huh. So that's how Rarity get's stallions to do what she wants. Go figure. Sweetie thought triumphantly at her wooing of Squee. She followed close next to Squee, her eyes wandering as they made their way to the mansion. Eventually Squee started rattling off about Stabletown, likely to get more comfortable around his new crush. "... Anywho, like I told ya, you'll probably find most a' the stores and stuff around here in upper Stabletown. You saw the other part on your way in, right?" Sweetie shook her head. She had been entranced through talking to Axinite to really notice anything else when she first entered the town. Honestly, Sweetie shook her head no. "Well, that's where most ponies live." Squee explained. "It's not as fancy or appealing as Upper Stabletown, but it's home to me and a bunch of others. Really, I think you'd like it... where are you from anyway?" "Uh..." Sweetie thought for a moment. "Ponyville." Squee raised an eyebrow. "Ponyville? Where's that?" "Um... over on the Equestrian west coast I think. Around Manehatten and Canterlot." Sweetie said. "Huh... I've heard of Canterlot... but not Ponyville or Manehatten." Squee said. "Really?" Sweetie said surprised, but then a realization came to her. This world she was in... it didn't take place in her time. After the Nightmare incident and forward from there, Ponyville became a short-term landmark: The Home of the Elements of Harmony. Though as time went by, the hype over Ponyville went down, everypony in Equestria had at least once heard of Ponyville or the famous Mane 6... "Er, no. Forget I said that, Ponyville's just a small town I came from anyway." Squee smiled. He wasn't about to question his love's word. Suddenly, something happened. Sweetie felt something in her tail, causing it to erect unnaturally. "Uh... Sweetie?" Squee asked. "Is your tail supposed to do that?" "Hm?" Sweetie looked back at her tail. It stood stiff, pointing at the ground. It jerked every few moments as though it were... twitching. Twitchy Twitchy Twitcha Twitch Jumpie A familiar voice said in the back of Sweetie's mind. Sweetie's eyes contracted as she looked up above her, seeing a giant crate coming straight for her and Squee. Thinking fast, she pushed Squee out of the way, and jumped out of the way. The crate crashed into the ground, breaking open and letting out a bunch of kittens, many of which ran off in several directions. One of said cats, Sweetie recognized to be Opalescence. Who puts a bunch cats in a crate?! Sweetie thought, the adrenaline pumping through her body. Wait a second... I twitched! Pinkie's twitchy tail means that something's going to fall and something nearly fell on me... does that mean I have Pinkie's sixth sense? Neat!... Oh... Sweetie began to slip back into the dizziness state again. "Oh man. My boss is gonna kill me if I don't get all of those cats back." the mare said, hovering above the mess. "Don't worry." Said a familiar voice. "I've got 'em!" Both Squee and Sweetie got up just to see a grey pegusus fly off in the direction a string of cats had. Sweetie assumed it was Ditzy "Derpy" Hooves... or at least her body anyway. The other pony, Sweetie recognized as Raindrops, a weather pegasus who occasionally worked with Ditzy on larger deliveries were she to... mess up. The one who resembled Raindrops however, rather than a raining cutie mark, she had one that resembled a crate. Sweetie didn't get the chance to see Ditzy's cutie mark before she was off and gone. Huh... I guess Stabletown had somepony like Derpy huh? At least that's something that hasn't changed... Sweetie thought. The mare flew down and started scooping up cats in the immediate area. "Wait, there are plenty still-" "Hey!" Squee called up angrily to the mare. "What the hay's wrong with you?!" "Huh?" the light gold pegasus said, looking down to the two fillies she'd nearly rendered to pancakes. She covered her mouth with her hooves. "Oh hay, sorry. Didn't mean to drop that on you." "You should be! You nearly killed me and my new fillyfriend!" Squee said angrily. Oh brother. Sweetie thought, shaking her head. "Yeah, sorry." the mare said, scratching the back of her mane. "But I gotta go." Before any other words could be exchanged, the mare sped off in the direction of another group of cats. "Hmph." Squee shook his head. "The nerve of some ponies eh? Don't even check to see if we're not hurt or anything. Sometimes I wonder if colts and fillies are more adult than the older ponies. I mean she sped off like we were about to tattle on her or somethin'!" Have to agree on you there... Sweetie thought. There were many a times that she'd experienced the mares acting more childish than even her and the other crusaders... The filly wondered if age really mattered anymore. Especially since for the last few hours she had to be the bigger pony for all of her helpless friends. "C'mon. Hopefully we can get to the mansion without getting crushed to death by clumsy ponies, huh?" Squee smiled. The two continued to make their way to the mansion, getting ever closer to it, and suddenly... Sweetie developed the feeling that they were being watched. The brief feeling of paranoia was surprisingly pleasant to the filly, though it didn't last long as Sweetie felt dizzy again. This time however, it was worse than before, given she'd completely lost her balance and fell to her side. "Sweetie!" Squee said, getting over to the side of the filly. "Sweetie are you alright?" The voice sounded muffled for a moment, but within moments Sweetie recognized the words. She nodded slowly... but she wasn't alright. The dizziness intervals were getting shorter and closer together... and Sweetie was beginning to find that it happened shortly after remembering friends from Ponyville. It was as though her body was trying to keep her from remembering any pony she knew. Why? Sweetie didn't know... but it wasn't too difficult to figure out that the longer she remained in this world, the more violent and difficult it would become to remember her friends. When Sweetie got back up on her hooves, once again with assistance from Squee, the hairs on the back of her mane began to rise. It wasn't the normal "watched" feeling she was experiancing anymore... somepony was actually behind her. Sweetie slowly turned around to be met, face to face, with a pink mare. Boo! She said. To both the mare's and Sweetie's own surprise, she managed to scare the filly back onto her flank again. The mare giggled. "Wow, you sure are jumpy filly." "D-don't scare me like that." Sweetie said. After what she'd been through, the filly couldn't believe she'd been scared so easily... especially in broad daylight. "A-and don't call me that." "Call you what? All I said was that you were a jump-" "That." Sweetie interrupted. "J-ust... just don't." "Sorry little filly. Didn't mean any harm by surprising you like that." the pink mare said, turning her head to the side. Sweetie stared at the mare... something was wrong. Really wrong. As she looked at the mare, she could figure out who it reminded her of! She knew the name of the mare should have simply popped up in her head without so much as a second thought but she couldn't! What was wrong with her memory?! How was she forgetting her friends?! Who was this mare?! "You know I didn't any harm by it. Right Little?" Squee sighed. "Yeah. But don't do it again. She's new and a little lost. I'm showing her around and stuff!" Sweetie shut her eyes tight... who was this mare... She had blue eyes, a pink coat and a darker pink mane and tail... pink... pink... Pinkie! That's what her name was. Her name was Pinkie... her mane and coat should have been a dead give away, she supposed. Though the filly remembered her name, she doubted she'd respond well to it. She was going to ask her new name anyway... "E-er..." Sweetie asked. "I didn't get your name... who are you?" The mare grinned. "My name is Romania L. Bonkers, wife of the greatest fireworks expert who ever lived." she said the last name with a sense of pride. "Honey, are you terrorizing little kids again." came another voice. It was another mare, though she spoke in the same stallion-like fashion as Daisy. Sweetie took her eyes off of Romania to see another familiar mare coming this way... who was it. Sweetie figured the best way would be to identify her main features. Her coat was a cyan color... not too useful. Her purple eyes didn't help either. Her mane and tail however, were stripes that resembled the pattern of a... Rainbow! That's who she was... or at least that what her body was. Sweetie felt somewhat disappointing going through all of the trouble of remembering the mare's names, when she couldn't use them anymore in the first place. Maybe she should just stop for now... "Nah. I'm just saying hi to this new filly dear." Romina said back. Dear? Honey? Oh boy... Sweetie thought. "Uh... and you are?" "You can call me Bottle Bonkers." the mare smiled. "And your her... husband?" Sweetie asked. "Why, yes I am." Bottle smiled. Just when I didn't think this adventure could get any weirder... Sweetie thought. First Spike hits on me, then I get transported to some Stabletown, Ponyville hybrid with no memory of how I got here, then Pipsqueak hits on me. then none of the mares genders matter anymore... and now... now Rainbow is married to Pinkie... "Hey! You’re going to the mansion party, right?" Romania chirped. "Huh? Uh... yeah." Sweetie said. "How'd you-" "I heard you talking to that nice mare, Ms. Axinite. You came into town with her... are you a relative?" No use in lying to her on something like that. If she's anything like Pinkie... she'll eventually snoop out the real answer. Besides, I only know one pony who lied to Pinkie and got away with it... Sweetie figured. Either way, if she was going to answer her, she might as well have stuck with the story she gave Axinite. "Uh... no, I er... I'm looking for somepony. Someone to... uh... get me a ticket to the party over at Mr. Yield’s." "Oooh!" Romania exclaimed. "You’re going to that too? Are you parents taking you to it?" "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "I thought that this was a grown up's party... Specter just invited you?" "Erm... I'm special, I guess." Sweetie said. "Hm... Well, do you at least have something to wear to it?" "Uh..." Sweetie said. "...well, if you do need something, just ask Axinite. She's got the best suits and dresses in this region of Equestria. If you’re a VIP like you say, then you'd probably need the best anyway." Bottle suggested. "Right... I'll keep that in mind." Sweetie smiled. Like I have any intention of going to that party anyway... "What about a date?" Romania asked. "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "Oh right! It is a couple's party isn't it?" Squee chimed in. His eyes sparkled in excitement at the realization. He was likely visualizing him walking into the party as Sweetie's... date. In your dreams, Squee. Sweetie thought, shaking her head on the inside. "Uh... yeah, I've got one. Totally." Sweetie looked over at the mansion. "Well, it was nice meeting you all, but I've really got to go." "Aw... already?" Romania asked. "Well, do you want me to help you find that pony? I know everypony in Stabletown." "Uh... no thanks. I can find them myself." Sweetie said, backing away from the two mares. "I'll... see you later I guess." With that, she began speed trotting to the mansion. "See you later Mr. and Mrs. Bonkers!" Squee said, as he caught up to Sweetie. Romania giggled. "Odd filly. Did you get the feeling that she was lying about something?" Bottle shrugged. "Guess we'll find out if she shows up later." The two children, after a little while exited the market area of upper Stabletown. There was a brief line of trees they passed by as they walked along the path before they finally ended up at the Yield Manor gate. Upon closer examination of the mansion, it was much more apparent that it was newer than the one that was now, vaguely floating in her memory. The outside of the mansion looked shiny and well kept, oppose to the mansion she first approached which was falling apart. Replacing the eerie gravestones and dead trees on the front lawn was lush green grass and oak trees, or decorative rocks. The mansion as a whole was grand and magnificent, and seemed fit for a queen... just by looking at it, Sweetie nearly forgot what kinds of horrible things it held inside. "...Sweetie?" Squee asked, breaking the filly out of the trance she was in as she stared. "Huh?" Sweetie asked, looking at the colt. "So you just wanted to look at it? I mean... is there anything else you wanted to do here?" Sweetie shook her head, bringing herself back. "N-no, I wanted to... I need to get in there." "Get in where?" Sqee asked. "The mansion, where else?" Sweetie said, walking to the gate. "H-huh? I thought you just wanted to explore around the gate!" Squee exclaimed. "You’re not allowed in there! Only Marbles and Candy's friends can go in there for play dates! Specter hates visitors!" "Where's your sense of adventure? Don't be a scardy cat." Sweetie teased. Huh... could have sworn I sounded like one of my friends for a second there... what was her name? Sweetie put her hoof on the gate and pushed. It didn't move. She pushed harder and harder, trying to open the gate... but no luck. "Darn it... it's shut tight." Sweetie said, kicking the gate, causing it to shake slightly. Sweetie thought for a moment. There had to be a way inside.... The filly took a few steps back and judged the height of the gate to be at least 12 feet high, 6 times the filly's own height. A normal filly wouldn't have had a chance to climb or hop the fence with any success... but then again, Sweetie wasn't a normal filly. After all she was bearing the cutie marks of the... something something Harmony. She forgot what they were called, but by now, she was starting not to care. "Hm... I think I can jump it." Sweetie muttered. She turned around to Squee. "You think you could stand there, and I could use your back for an extra boost." "Sweetie, I really don't think this is a good idea. E-even if you could jump that thing, you'll get in really big trouble if somepony catches you inside without permission! What's so important that you need to get in there so badly anyway?" "It's just... I can explain later I guess, but now I need you. Please?" Sweetie asked, giving Squee her best puppy dog look. It worked on just about any pony she tried it on, so Squee didn't have a chance against her. "A-alright." He said, a goofy smile spreading across his face, followed by a blush. "Let's just uh... get this done before we get caught." Sweetie nodded and got behind Squee. After taking a few steps back, Sweetie ran for Squee's flank and jumped on his back. Though Sweetie didn't notice it, Rainbow's and Applejack's cutie marks began glowing on her body. For a few moments, she could feel herself flying through the air to the top of the gate. She was going to do it! She was going to jump the- Out of nowhere, Sweetie felt a shot. A large yellow bolt of lightning struck her body. It's shock started from her face and spreading to the rest of her body the moment it touched the line the gate created, separating the mansion and the outside world. The shock was so great, it was enough to throw Sweetie back onto the ground with a thud. She lie on the ground, moaning in pain, once again, dizzy and confused. The filly wasn't even sure if Squee had come to her side like before... did he even see what had just happened to her? "You know filly..." She heard a muffled voice say. "This gate is locked for a reason." Sweetie stumbled to her feet. She saw Squee was still in the same spot as before. He seemed to be in some kind of strange frozen state. Everything around the filly had suddenly seemed to pause. No more wind was blowing through the trees, no hoofprints could be made by any step Sweetie made... everything was stopped, except for the stallion behind the gate. He stared at her with yellow eyes and a yellow coat... but she wasn't sure if she knew him or not. She felt even dizzier just by looking at him. "Can I... help you filly?" the stallion asked. He smiled sweetly... or was it sinisterly? Sweetie's vision kept getting blurred when she looked at his mouth. "I... need to come in there." Sweetie said dumbly. Her head was throbbing again. "It's really important and-" "Shhhh...." The stallion spoke. She could still hear his voice through his ears, but at the same time, it felt like his voice was speaking inside her head. Like... the stallion was speaking her own thoughts as they came... or was it the other way around? "It's fine little filly. Relax... you can't come in here... there's no reason to come here..." "M...no..." Sweetie mumbled. "I... I need to find a way in there... there's got to be another way..." Sweetie was fighting as hard as she could to keep conscious, but wasn't lost enough to realize she couldn't keep herself together for much longer. Everything in her head... or at least everything that was left, she could feel oozing out of the side of her ears. Her name... her friends... her homes... her adventures... everything was going and it was going to be gone soon. It was crystal clear to her: Stabletown was somehow leaching away her memories. Sweetie fell down to her flank as the hypnotic voice began to coax her into sleeping then and there. "Gotta keep fighting... gotta keep remembering... gotta remember Rarity... gotta save-" She doesn't exist... None of them exist... Ponyville and nothing you know exists... Only Ms. Axinite exists... everything you see is normal... Sleep... Sweetie was starting to believe the whisper this time... almost without question. The cutie marks, the mare-stallion confusion meant nothing as proof. All that was left was the vauge thought that she had to get into the mansion. "There's got to be some way I can get into that mansion... some way..." Sleeeeeep... "The... party... the... invitation... the ticket... I need an invitation..." Sleeeeeeeeeeeeep "Need a ticket... get an invitation... need a ticket... get an invite... need my ticket..." Sweetie slowly repeated to herself over and over again. She fell to her side, and started breathing heavier. The world seemed to start collapsing around her as she fought to keep her eyes open to no avail. Before long... the filly was fast asleep. *** The two guards walked through the lonely hallways of the seemingly abandoned mansion. They noted the dust and sheets that made it look like nopony had stepped inside of the mansion for years, or possibly decades... though neither discussed the inconsistency between what they saw, and what they'd seen in the foyer and dining halls. Paita kept quiet to keep her awareness up for any of the so called "ghosts" Busby had claimed to seeing... if anything she was sure that something was keeping a close eye on them. Busby kept quiet as he contemplated possible subjects to speak to Paita about to break the eerie silence, whilst keeping from losing the minuscule amount of respect he'd managed to salvage from the mare. Every couple moments he tried to sneak a glance at the mare's face without her noticing. He tried to tell from her eyes whether or not the mare shared the same fear he had for the situation. All he saw however, was the same stone, brave face that he'd come to expect from her in the few hours they knew each other. Maybe a hint of paranoia as they seemed to dart around the hallway as they walked, but nothing more. For all he knew, it could have been her simply looking for the exit to the maze of hallways they were walking through... For the past half an hour or so, the two had been looking around for some kind of staircase that would take them to a lower floor. Their plan was to reach the first floor, head through the same portal that the guards had gone through, and hopefully track down their comrades. They both knew how shaky their actual plan was, considering that the doorways weren't always ones to make sense. After all, they'd entered one door to find themselves stories above where they should have been, with no real explanation... but there was something else now. In the time that the two guard ponies were wandering the hallways, they already found what they thought was a stairwell, but the problem was that it was blocked off by bars sticking out of the ground. The gaps between them, too small for even a filly to be able to slip through. Somehow, the mansion seemed to taunt them, saying how close progression was... but not possible. Though, it was only one stairwell... not all of them could be blocked off, right? "No way..." Paita finally mumbled as the two of them stood in front of another barred stairway. "Another one?" Busby said exhaustively. Suddenly, Busby noticed Paita laughing nervously. It was the first hint of fear or real emotion he'd gotten out of her. The mare sat up against one of the walls of the hallway, covering her face with her hooves. "We're never going to get out of here." "Paita... we've only checked two. This mansion's massive, it's-" Busby started before Paita interrupted him with an icy cold glare. "Don't you get it Buster?" she said. "We've only checked one." "W-what?" Busby asked in disbelief. "Look at that portrait besides the door." she said, pointing to a painting besides the stairway. It depicted a village clouded with smoke and ponies walking around in it. "Same portrait, same side. Either this mansion's got worse variation than I thought, or we've been here before." Busby gasped at the realization. "Wait! That doesn't make sense! We barely took two turns! How could we have gone in a circle like-" "We didn't go in a circle moron." Paita said coldly. "Whatever this mansion is... it's toying with us. It's trying to confuse and disorient us... and hay, it's doing a good job too. At this rate, we won't even get the chance to find another staircase. Barred or not. We're trapped here like rats." Busby sat besides Paita in the same hopeless manner. It did seem like they weren't going to escape anytime soon... Maybe they had a better chance at just waiting there for somepony to come to their rescue. The two guards sat there in the dark hallway, with only the dim light of the moon from some other hallway branch to keep them company. Busby sat down and closed his eyes for a few moments, realizing that it was their only hope... if there was any left. It was lonely, dark and quiet... until Busby heard something. Somepony was whistling... a very familiar tune at that. Busby's eyes snapped open, though he didn't move his head. Without moving his head, his eyes scanned the hallway for the source of the whistle and hoofsteps. Was it a ghost? Was it some other pony coming to find them? After his eyes adjusted, he found out who was making the whistle... it was Paita, or at least that's who Busby thought it was. As her eyes came into focus, he saw nervousness and fear. She a few steps into one direction of the hallway, and stopped, before turning around to walk toward the other end, only to repeat the same pattern. It was like she was trying to figure out what she wanted to do, and where she wanted to go... but she couldn't seem to figure it out. This was at the very least, surprising to Busby... "Paita? Y-" Busby started before the mare jumped at the sound of his voice. She glared at him. "What are you trying to do? Give me a heart attack?!" Busby got up. "Sorry. I didn't even know the big bat lady could get scared." As the words slipped out of his mouth, he expected another slap across the face for the insult but... all she did was simply sigh. "I... wasn't scared. You just surprised me is all." Paita said, looking off to one of the hallway ends. "Well..." Busby thought for a moment, hoping to try to keep the conversation going. "They say that someponies like to whistle when they're-" "I'm not scared." Paita snapped, looking back at Busby for a brief moment. Some of the fire had returned to her eyes. "What was that then?" Busby asked. "It was um... just a little... ah forget it." Paita said. "What?" Busby asked. "Hmph. It's stupid. Nothing you'd want to hear Buster." the mare said. "I wouldn't know until I heard it Paita." Busby tried. There was silence for a moment, and just when he was sure he wasn't going to get an answer, she spoke. "It was a box." "What?" Busby asked. "A... music box, alright? One I had when I was a little filly. Played that weird tune... and had a green heart in the middle. Something that got passed down through the family I guess." she explained. "That's the tune that it played." "Really?" "That's what I said." she said. "And this... family heirloom. Was it... important? Valuable?" "Why?" Paita asked, turning back to the stallion. It was obvious she wasn't very keen of the line of questioning. "Just um... curious?" Busby said. "... it was a music box." She said sharply. "An old dusty music box, and that's all I know. I don't know if it was valuable because I lost it when I was a filly. All I remember is that the last thing my dad said before he... he just said it was important." Busby raised an eyebrow. "Before he...? Before he what?" Paita turned away from Busby. Busby thought for a moment... could he fill in the blank? "Before he... left?" he tried. The stallion noticed how Paita's head de-elevated, seemingly depressed at the single word. "Paita I'm-" "Shut up." she snapped. "I wouldn't expect you to understand anything about my life, Busby." She used my real name? Now I really know I've struck a nerve. Busby thought. "He left so early... I never even learned my last name." Paita said. Busby could have sworn the mare was on the verge of tears, however he couldn't tell for sure with the mare turned around like so. Hm... I wonder if that's why she was so short with her name earlier... Busby thought. "Growing up as one of those stupid 'one namers'... wasn't that excepted around the orphanage I grew up in. Kind of made you half the pony you should be." Busby knew about the one named ponies... ponies without last names. The stallion didn't see anything wrong with the name, but then again he'd grown up close to a more suburban town like Ponyville before living in Canterlot. He'd heard rumors of some areas in Equestria... few and far between that were much more urban or high-classed, and relied on last names to mark one's status in their community. Until Paita, he'd yet to meet one who really talked or even mentioned it. "Kind of why I wanted to be the best guard out there. Working under Celestia and everything... hmph. Because I pulled one little prank on one of the officers during my training, I got pushed to the lower job as one of Luna's guards. Apparently I was too 'playful'..." Luna's the lower job? Besides her being a little weaker than the sun princess, I don't really see the difference. Busby thought. "I... actually envy you actually. A guard for Celestia and a last name... but me, I'm the kind of guard every pony's afraid, no respect, and still a stupid one name." Paita's words seemed more down and depressed than before. The change in mood from the mare was shocking to say the least... until then, he wasn't sure the mare was even capable of such emotions toward him. Especially sadness. "Paita, I didn't mean to-" "Hmph." She raised her head and turned it to him. Her voice had returned to normal. "Like I said. I wouldn't expect somepony like you to get it." "Paita. If it means anything... I don't think of you as any less of a pony." Busby said sympathetically. "Heh, like your opinion matters to me." she said. "And I really hope you can still think of me as a friend." Busby tried, smiling. "Don't expect the same back, Buster." Well, I'm guessing that moment passed. Busby thought looking off to the side. Though, the fact that Paita had just opened up to him like that was somewhat refreshing. It renewed a bit of hope in his body... and that hope gave him inspiration as he looked at a door down the hall. "Hey... Paita." Busby said walking past the mare. "I think I have an idea of how we can get out of here." Paita turned her head to the side, looking at the stallion in disbelief. "No way." "It's... it's simple. We leave the same way we came in." Busby said. "Through a door." "Hah. Good luck finding the door we came through Buster." "No Paita. Not the door we came through. A door we came through." Busby said. Paita gave the stallion another puzzled look. "J-just hear me out. None of these doors, or anything about this mansion for that matter makes sense. No doors are certain to take you into the right room, no hallway is going to take you to the right location." "So?" Paita asked. "Well... what if we just started trying different hallway doors?" Busby asked. "If anything, one of them's bound to take us to another random part of the mansion. We can keep trying doors until we reach the first floor! Or, if we're lucky, the foyer." "...I don't like the idea of trying random doors." Paita said. "We might get ambushed by those ghost things you were talking about in one." Oh, so when I have a plan, you believe me? Busby thought. "And if we've got them to deal with, I don't want to be locked in a room with one..." Paita said. "No doubt if a door can throw us around like leaves in the wind, I bet it can even lock itself." "Well, we've got as much of a chance being ambushed out here as we do in a closed room. Two ghosts on either side of a hallway is more than enough to trap us... not like they've got to worry about fighting us anyway." Busby said. "It's a risk worth taking. What do you say?" "...Fine." Paita said. Busby could tell in her voice she wasn't too keen on the plan... but at the same time, he could hear a hint of willingness in her voice. Maybe he was making more progress with befriending the mare than he'd thought. "But we need to stay close together. All I did was go last before the rest of the guards and we got separated." "We'll stick side to side like this." Busby said, getting close enough to Paita so his armor was touching her. She seemed to flinch from being touched like that, but she didn't say anything. "Lets get to searching..." Paita said. *** "S-sweetie? Are you sure your okay?" Spike asked, looking at the possessed filly with concern. "Yes my Spiky-wikey." Sweetie said, without the enthusiasm she'd had before. She actually beginning to sound as though Spike's constant apologies and check-ups were getting annoying. Chances were she was so short was because she wanted to keep focused on the GCD device she had minutes ago dissected and was now examining each piece, looking for something out of the ordinary. She had already taken off the processor and ectotube. Though, those items weren't of her main interest... instead she was looking at the innards of the meaty bits of the GCD. She silently named each thing, seeming to have full knowledge of every bit and bob. So far, she'd yet to find anything particularly peculiar. "No... besides that speaker, there's nothing new..." she mumbled to herself. "You looking for something Butler?" Rainbow asked. Sweetie looked up at the mare, then back at the GCD as she continued to take parts out and lie them on the ground next to her. "Quiet. Unless you’re going to wish you were your unconscious friend over there. And besides... I doubt Ms. Gilda would be too keen of me hurting you before she got her hand on you and the pink mare." "What the hay are you talking about?" Rainbow asked. Sweetie ignored as she examined one round glowing piece in particular. Of all the pieces she took out, this one seemed the most peculiar to her, oppose to every other odd bit and end piece she'd examined. In the meanwhile, Rainbow turned over to Pinkie. She whispered. "Pst. Pinkie. Any idea what that nut job is talking about?" Pinkie looked up and thought for a moment. "Um... Oh yeah! Remember when Gilda came to Ponyville?" "Yeah... pissed me off how she treated you and Fluttershy." Rainbow said, glancing over to the mare who was looking at Twilight, fighting back tears of fear. "Well, maybe she wants to... I dunno. 'Deal with me' herself." Pinkie shrugged. "After she stormed out of my party like that, I started to think she didn't really have that much fun. Heck, I even think she hated me a little... as crazy as that sounds." Rainbow did remember how Pinkie, in her fun, managed to make Gilda snap and just about lose it entirely. "You seem pretty... calm about it Pinkie. I mean, if your right, and Gilda's gone as crazy as I think she has she-" "Oh, I'll be fine." Pinkie smiled. "I didn't survive this long into the story for her to off me yet! I bet Mr. Shooter has... ugh..." Pinkie's head went down in pain. "Pinkie? What wrong?" Rainbow asked. "Just... my tummy again. I guess I'm just really sick when I..." Pinkie said. She shook her head. "But... what about you?" Rainbow looked off to the side in the same unsure manner. "Doubt she's planning on doing anything drastic to me. Whatever she's up to, I bet it's got something to do with our friendship. Hay if you'd call it that now." Rainbow said. "I remember when I was a ghost, when the feather brain wasn't bossing me around, I vaguely remember her talking to me. Talking about memories when we were both in flight school... before I dropped out anyway. I guess even though I was still a ghost, she kind of liked at least talking to me when she knew that I wasn't speaking to her after that incident at the party." "Aw... that's kind of sad..." Pinkie said. "She probably only wanted a friend." "Well working with an insane ghost pony to resurrect their 'friend's' worst enemy isn't the way to make 'em." Rainbow said spitefully. "And if we get out of this, she can forget about making friends with me. She can also probably forget about eating solid foods when I'm done with her." "Forgive and forget Dashie." Pinkie said positively. "Even if she tried to cut my head off, gut it and use it as some sadistic party decoration, I'd still try and forgive her. I won't hold a grudge, Sweetie didn't hold one, and neither should you." "...wait, what was that last part about party decorations?" Rainbow asked before the door creaked open. Sweetie eyes darted to the open door, revealing the old green-coated stallion. The other mares, besides Twilight turned to face him. "Ah. It seems I'm not late. That griffon is late per usual, I presume?" Specter smiled as he entered the room and closed the door. "Specter Yield..." Applejack said with a certain disgust. "Ah, and you lovely mares are conscious, that's even better... at least four of you are anyway." Specter turned his head as he looked at Twilight, who still lie unconscious. "My good friend... you didn't follow my directions... did you?" "Hmph." Sweetie said. "Master Yield. Can I ask you a question?" "What is it?" "If you concider me as your friend then why did you attempt to kill me?" the filly asked. Specter simply laughed. "Oh your a funny stallion you know that? You know it's impossible to kill a ghost. You are one a ha!" "Don't give me that." Sweetie said. Though it wasn't completely disrespectful, it was much more stressed and nervous than before. "This... device of yours. You didn't say that you added anything to it." Specter shook his head. "I've had that device for years. You know it's been added on to keep with the times. Of course the Council has suggested addons. All of which you've overseen... after all, I don't know anything about the inner workings of that thing." "No... no, that's where you’re wrong. I never remembered putting this in there." Sweetie raised the glowing green piece up to show Specter. "What is this?" "Oh, you truly don't remember?" Specter asked. He laughed. "That's the new power source." "New power source?" Sweetie asked. Specter nodded. "I'm actually a little sad you don't remember it. It was the first piece of the device you and I worked on as a team... remember?" The filly closed her eyes. "The new power source we worked on... The Adaptive Capture Capacitor!" "There you go." Specter said smiling. "Right... normally it needs to be constantly generated with power but.. with the jump start of magic from a unicorn it can generate itself some power." Sweetie explained. "It also converts the energy from whatever ghosts it catches to magically upgrade itself... yes, I remember when that new addition to the Counsel came up with that idea." "You seem to know more about this new device than you claim to Spiffy." Specter said. "But... but when I put it on, it clearly stated that I was possess this filly." Sweetie said. "...is... is that how you escaped that first time?" "My my. Your memory is dampening. The technology to even build that power source wasn't even invented yet." Specter said. "So, there isn't any possibility this was how you broke free." Sweetie said. Specter raised an eyebrow. "You aren't suspecting me of helping the filly escape, are you?" Sweetie blinked twice. She laughed nervously. "O-of course not Master Yield. I suppose this... entire ordeal is making me a little paranoid." "Hm. Of course it is." Specter said. "Well, paranoia aside, I believe you should get to putting that little device back together on your back." "What? Is that really necessarily?" "Did I stutter Spiffy?" Specter asked. He was getting a little impatient with the filly. With a slight sense of fear, Sweetie got to using the screwdriver to rapidly putting the GCD back together. "...we can't get careless." He begun, noting the renewed paranoia the filly had in her yellow eyes. "Whenever Gilda returns, and has finished assigning the rest of the guards and prepared those Wonderbolts for the second to... final phase, she'll be back with Celestia. You've seen how strong she is, even in death and I can barely keep her under control. The most advanced Ghost Capture Device in Equestria would likely be the best tool if things were to... get out of hand. At least until I can..." Specter glanced at the mares. "Break her." "T-the Wonderbolts?" Rainbow stuttered. "Oh, you don't know?" Specter asked before chuckling. "I almost forget how clueless you all are of this entire ordeal. Yes, my dear Dash. Your kind guard friends were nice enough to bring the Wonderbolts along for their little search for your princesses. I'm even happy to say they were the first to volunteer to be ghostified." "You’re lying." "No, I assure you. They walked right into it very willingly. Or... against their will. I'm sure it's all relative anyway." Specter smiled. Rainbow growled as she gritted her teeth. "Oh, by the way Spiffy." Specter said, turning back to the stallion. "Hm?" Sweetie said, turning up from his work. "There was... one other thing I've been meaning to ask." Specter said. "Yes master?" "Between the Wonderbolts and the guards, how many guards did you greet at the entrance?" he asked. "I believe nine..." "And how many did you capture and send to ghostification?" Specter asked. Just by looking into his eyes, Sweetie knew he'd already seen the contradiction. "S...seven." Sweetie said. "One's missing..." "One? Try two." "No, no. I know where the other one is. I trapped her high up on the eighth floor." Spiffy/Sweetie explained. "The floor's one of the highest one's blocked off. She won't interfere with out plans, I assure you." "I instructed you to ghostify all of them." Specter said. "I know... but there's something about that mare. I think she saw through my disguise. Subconsciously anyway." Spiffy/Sweetie explained. "She even... she even had the same eye color as me." "You don't have any children." Specter said. "None alive or ghostified like me anyway..." Spiffy/Sweetie said. "But I did what I thought was necessarily. Think about if she was apart of one of the Council's families." "Hm... I doubt it. Every Butler was a hunter right? And all of their lines are dead right?" "...Yes." Spiffy/Sweetie said. She shook her head. "Y-you're right. It was just a coincidence. I suppose there are plenty of ponies with yellow eyes. Hay, we both do and we aren't even related." "And her behavior tonight was simply an act of paranoia my good friend." Specter said. "Heh... but even if she was anyway... which she probably isn't... family, genetics or otherwise, she's still as defenseless and inexperienced as any other pony." Sweetie said. Specter nodded. "Which is why I sent my wife up to search for them. It may not be a cavalry, but it'll be enough to deal with two idiotic guards." "Sounds fine." Sweetie agreed. "But since she's going after them, my dear Rarity is... defenseless." Specter explained. Sweetie raised an eyebrow at the word "defenseless". "You know what I mean. I need somepony to... ensure her safety. Or at least... some dragon." Specter looked over at Spike. "Of course Master Yield." Sweetie said as she walked over to Spike, who was still mumbling if Sweetie was ok, or apologizing to the floor. "Spikey-wikey?" She asked in her most innocent voice. He looked up and gave a sleepy smile to the filly. "Could you do me this tiny teansy wensy favor?" "O-oh! Anything for you Sweetie!" Spike said enthusiastically. Sweetie giggled. "Oh, I know you will. I want you to take that secret entrance in the kitchen to your other crush, Rarity. You remember her." "My... crush... Rarity?" Spike asked. Sweetie nodded. "You love her just as much as you love me." "I love... Rarity... just as much as... Sweetie." Sweetie glanced over at Applebloom and gave a devilish smirk. "And as much as you hate Applebloom over there." "I... hate... Applebloom." Spike said. Applebloom glared at Sweetie before looking away from her, trying not to look like she didn't care. She wasn't doing a very good job however of remaining indifferent from the frequency she blinked her eyes. "Your rifle is in the kitchen as well." Specter added. "Use it to kill anypony you come across." "Especially Applebloom... if you saw her." Sweetie said. "Or even Sweetie Belle." Specter added. Sweetie glanced at Specter from the thought, finding it odd he'd add something like that. "I... I can't hurt... Sweetie..." Spike mumbled. "But I want to die, Spiky-wiky," Sweetie said, somewhat unsure. She supposed Specter was simply making some "insurance" if the other Sweetie managed to escape. He did know that, right? She added, for a little flavor and to entertain Specter that much more, "Not now, but later for sure. I'd be really happy if you shot me right in the body so I could bleed to death. Don't shoot me in the head. I want to feel it. And remember to be even less forgiving with Applebloom or Scoots there... make them die slowly too..." Sweetie hissed. Both Applebloom and Scootaloo shuddered in fear in their bonds. "I'll... do what... you want Sweetie..." Spike mumbled. "Alright... go off now." Sweetie said as she gave Spike one last kiss on the cheek. As he turned, she also gave the dragon a little slap on the butt. With that, Spike stumbled out of the room, rubbing the spot Sweetie hit. He then turned to Specter, perplexed. "Master Yield, what was that all about?" "Hm. I could ask you the very same thing." Specter started. "Because you told me to. Or at least told him, and I imagined..." "I don't remember being so detailed on the subject of the filly," Specter said, before grinning. "Though it was a nice touch. In any case, they're all enemies... including the filly your possessing, might I add..." That wasn't everything. It couldn't be. "...or..." "Or?" Sweetie asked. "...Maybe I'm simply worried." Jackpot. "About?" "Like I've said, I don't think that Sweetie's going to be possessed as easily. Have you checked up on her?" Specter asked. "...no question, you were right. The filly's spirit has become stronger than ever. Between those marks and sheer willpower, she broke free of the initial possession bonds. Though, thanks to my own memory spell, she's subdued and clueless about anything. She's gone." Specter shook his head. "You can't rely on that spell to keep her locked up. You can't keep using it as your easy card." "Well, it's kept this mansion standing this long." "That's not the same. I'm not worried about it collapsing... I'm worried about Sweetie figuring out how to collapse that memory." He grinned. Sweetie wasn't sure how to take that grin. "It's not hard to break." "Between her loss of memory, the charms of Stabletown, and the sheer fact no pony can escape possession without some version of will of the ghost..." Sweetie argued. "... or if she can break the ghost into letting her go..." "That was you. Before I had this little trick. With this, she isn't going nowhere, and she won't even find me." Sweetie laughed. "You can't break what you can't touch." "We'll see about that." Specter said, glancing over at the halfway put together GCD. *** The white filly woke up. Her eyes blurred as orange light hit her face. All she could see was a blurred tan colored room and another yellow blur that vaguely resembled a pony. Her head throbbed painfully as she tried to sit up in whatever bed she was lying in. "Oh no. Please, stay down. You need to rest." the yellow blob said. From the sound of her voice it seemed to be a gentle calming mare. "Mmmm..." the filly moaned. "Here... this should help." the yellow mare said. She put something to the filly's mouth. "Open up..." Without question, Sweetie opened her mouth to receive a warm mucusy liquid that began flowing down her throat. Once the taste started getting to her, she started to cough up whatever didn't make it all down. "Oh... I'm sorry. I know it doesn't taste very good, but I promise it'll make you much better." "Who..." Sweetie asked as her vision began to clear up. The pink mane and big blue eyes of the yellow mare finally came into focus. "...Who are you?" "Me? You can call me Feather Fine... but I'm more interested in who you are." "Me?" The mare chuckled. "Yes you. Your little colt friend and one of Yield's butler's rushed you in here saying you needed immediate attention. They didn't even mention your name." "My... my name..." the filly thought hard. "I... don't know." "You don't?" Feather asked. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. That bump on your head must have given you amnesia badly if you can't remember that." "I'm sorry..." the filly said looking down. "But... where am I?" "Well, you’re in lower Stabletown now..." "Do I... live here?" "I suppose." Feather smiled. "I suppose it's the only thing that makes sense. There aren't many towns close to here after all. This must be your home." The filly smiled. For some reason, she felt she could trust those hypnotic eyes... as though they were incapable of lying or deceit of any kind. She felt like she could take anything the mare said as fact... including the suggestion of her home being this place. It felt good... at least she knew something now. Stabletown... it was her home. "Can I... get up?" the filly asked. "Of course... I mean, if you’re up to it." Feather said. "I mean... you did hit your head pretty hard." "I... I did?" the filly asked. She felt the top of her head for the bump. Feather nodded. "I've heard of hits like that causing decreased motor skills, to intense hallucination." "I don't know what you’re talking about Ms. Feather." the filly said. "Basically, you might get really dizzy a lot and hear voices for no good reason." Feather explained. "Mr. Butler claimed that you were experiencing some of those symptoms... are you... hearing voices?" The filly shook her head. "Well... that's good." Feather said. She held out a hoof for the filly to hold on to. "Come now. If you feel ready, I can take you to your little colt friend." "O-ok..." the filly said. She figured it would be best to get whatever information about herself she could... and chances were, that other colt might know. As she got onto her hooves, she felt dizzy again, just like the mare mentioned. She paid it no mind, however, figuring it was only one of those "symptom" things Feather was talking about. Once the dizziness passed once again, she began following the mare out of the bedroom she was in. As she did, she heard something in her head. It was a voice... the filly knew that it wasn't a good idea to listen to it, but she couldn't help it. The voice said six words and repeated them several times... Need a ticket... get an invite... it said... in her own voice. I wonder what that's all about? the filly wondered as she exited the bedroom... *** Gilda stood in front of one of the doors in the mansion hallway. Over one of her wings was a Spectral Net: yellow glowing sheet that tingled to the touch. Used to ensnare any ghosts whilst rendering them powerless. She kept it close to her body, as a filly might hold their security blanket. She looked off to either direction of the mansion. She recounted the doors from the sheet covered vase next to a turn into another branch in the mansion's network of hallways. She sighed. 8 doors... Second half of the minute. If that senile seed brain wasn't lying, this is the place, and I'll be able to open it in like... 15 seconds. Gilda said. She knew she had to make sure that the correct door. On the other side of the mansion, a mistake like that would have been fine. All she would have found was another one "normal" looking room... depending on what one found anyway. This side of the mansion, however... past the kitchen entrance, was different. The mistake of choosing the incorrect room could have resulted in her getting sucked into one of the traps Pinkie had set while she was free. She remembered that Specter ordered this area to be especially locked up because of some "important rooms" he didn't want anyone, even herself to go snooping around. Gilda only knew the details of one room she was permitted to know about... but then again, it was also the room she was instructed to retrieve her from. Gilda put her eagle-like talons on and around the knob of the door. She held her breath as she watched the clock she built into her head as carefully as she knew how. The clock was nearing the 30-second mark... 23... 24...25... she counted. Her talons shook and sweated from nervousness as she held the icy cold doorknob. She didn't want to make a mistake... especially since watched one of the other ghosts make the mistake of entering a trapped door, and being lit up like a candle by some fire oriented trap. It didn't get destroyed or killed, but the thought that the tortured and pained screams of the ghost could have been the griffon frightened even her. 28...29...30... Gilda thought. She gave the count a few more seconds, just in case her counting had gotten off during the time she made her way up to the area. When she was sure the door had changed, or at least as sure as Specter's instructions on when to open the door, she turned the knob and threw it open. What she saw... she was relieved to find it wasn't any kind of trap... rather, it was progression. The door opened to what seemed to be a narrow staircase leading downwards. The portal down was pitch black and gave off the ghostly chill assuring there was a ghostly presence down in the bowels of the stairway. The only thing that came from the abyss of a stairway was a slight hum, coming from either one of the pale, cracked walls. Alright... let's get this over with. Throw the sheet over her, and drag her back to the tea room. Gilda thought, reviewing her orders. Seems easy enough... Though, at the same time, the griffon felt herself running stiff for a few moments. She couldn't move... it couldn't be fear... could it? C'mon. I ain't afraid of anything. Especially some dead alicorn. With that last thought, she took from under her wing the flashlight she took off of Twilight. As she turned it on, it flickered a few times before illuminating her path a solid beam of light. Gilda then began her descent down the staircase. As she did, she noticed the walls were getting smaller and smaller. Just when she thought it was going to get too narrow for her to progress, the walls opened up, allowing Gilda to enter a new hallway. Great. Gonna be hay trying to squeeze a giant alicorn through that tiny space. she thought as she shined the light around the hallway. Though the griffon never saw the dusty hallways of the mansion to be well kept, she definitely considered them to look better than the one she stood in now. All of the humming walls of the hallway were cracked. The cracks themselves were blackened and had bits of charcoal inside, branching off to create more burn marks and browned walls. It seemed that at some point, this hallway had been on fire... Alright... he said it was going to be the door that was still unlocked. Gilda thought. Great. Couldn't he have just told me which door it was to begin with? I don't feel like wasting my time down here longer than I should. Gilda began checking the doors of the hallway. As she assumed every one of the doors was either locked, or the knobs were too fragile to even try as they disintegrated at her touch. Gilda ventured further and further down the hallway, as it got colder and colder. As she did, she started to feel faint... was it a sign she was getting closer to Celestia's ghost? As she found herself in front of another locked door, she heard something. It was a voice that echoed throughout the hallway. Leave... it said. It was ghostly and unrecognizable, but Gilda was sure she could make an educated guess of who it was. "Heh. I didn't think you actually liked this place lady." Gilda called back to the voice. ...If you haven't come to free me... then leave... the voice said. "Sorry lady. I'm not on the losing team here." Gilda responded. If you don't leave... I might have to hurt you... the voice threatened. Gilda was somewhat intimidated by the threat but laughed it off. "Sure. A corpse is gonna hurt me. I'm soooo scared." You underestimate my power... Gilda knew she was bluffing with her bravery. She had already been briefed on how strong Celestia was... and that even trapped in her own lifeless body, she was still had as much if not more power, her magic (at least) now unbound by her physical body. If it weren't for the devices that hummed inside of the walls of the hallway, she might have already leveled the entire mansion by now... and Gilda was the idiot who was supposed to drag her all the way back the way she came. The danger of the situation was beginning to bear down on the griffon... ...You don't have to do this. the voice considered. "Huh?" Gilda asked. You can help me... free me... and assist me in saving my dear student and her friends. the voice urged. Doesn't it seem like a better option to getting yourself killed by me? Gilda didn't answer. It did seem like an attractive option... but then again, if she decided to switch sides now, she thought about what she'd be losing... the things Specter promised her... and of course what would happen if she didn't come out on top. Even if Specter lost. "Tell me where you are, and I'll think about it." Gilda said after moments of thought. There was silence for a moment before Celestia spoke again. I can sense you... Seven more doors down... Gilda followed the mares instructions, heading past the next seven pairs of doors that were on each end of the hallway. She tried the right door... it was locked. When she tried the left door, however... the knob turned easily. Even better, the knob didn't disintegrate or dislocate itself from the door. This had to be it. Gilda gripped the Spectral Net and pushed the door open. She shined the light around the bare room... the only thing inside, besides dirt and wall, was a dead, oversized pony... a white one with long legs, wings, and horn. Dressed in a royal head-dress and necklace, it was definitely her. Celestia. Listen to me. she started. If you can drag me out of here and get me out into the open mansion, I should be able to free myself. "Free yourself?" Gilda asked. Of course. I'm not sure how Specter plans on doing it, but he likely wants me to... break me into his will. she explained. I'm too strong. He can't control me. "Right, right..." Gilda said as she began to slowly approach the alicorn. "He mentioned something like that." And if I can get to my sister, I might be able to break her out of it too. she continued. She may not have as strong as powers as mine, but all she needs is a little push... a memory to get her to regain control. "Uh huh..." Gilda said. By now, she was barely a yard away from the alicorn. And... you’re not even planning on helping me now, are you? she asked. Gilda stopped cold. Guess apart of me knew she wasn't gonna buy that for long. With that, Gilda rushed toward Celestia with the net. Somehow, by sheer will of her spirit, Celestia raised her head and opened her eyes. What should have been the dilated eyes of a deceased mare were now glowing orbs of light. Celestia's horn rapidly charged and fired a bolt of magic at Gilda in an attempt to defend herself. Gilda instantly extended her wings and flew back to the side, barely dodging the streak of lightning. In mid-air for a few split seconds, the streak of lightning stopped and turned around to try and hit the griffon. It moved through the air like an airborne snake, swiftly and quickly. Somehow, every time the lightning came at her, the griffon managed to get out of its path before it hit her with the thousands of volts it contained. As Gilda played bull with the magical lightning snake, she found herself run with two problems. The first being that every time she tried to get close to the mare, some kind of telekinetic force pushed her away. With the mare's magic still active, there was no way she was getting close enough to trap her. The second problem came with the griffon's own stamina. She had a lot of it, and could move fast from practicing with and racing other ponies... but racing and dodging lightning were two entirely different fields. She was more jerking herself around rather than efficiently dodging the speeding ions. It wouldn't be much longer before she made a mistake and tripped up. She had to end this fight... and fast. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in the griffon's head. She looked at the door and raced for it. It was still open though Celestia used her magic to close it before the griffon had a chance to escape. Fine then princess. Your funeral. she thought with a devilish grin. Stopping for a moment in front of the closed, and likely locked door, Gilda saw the line of lightning rocketing straight toward her. She dodged as quickly as she could and raced for Celestia. When she was as close as she thought the mare would allow her to get, she whirled back around and dodged the lightning. Not seeing it coming, the alicorn didn't see the bolt of lightning coming as it pierced her head. The shock pulsed throughout the mare's body as she let out a deafening shriek... before her head fell to the ground again. Gilda didn't waste any more time to grab the Net and wrap the mare in it. Once she tied her up well, she grinned at the fact that she'd managed to outsmart the great alicorn princess, turning her own power against her. "So, what was that about hurting me huh?" Gilda laughed. Man, I must be a genius. I'd like to see that stupid filly take on an alicorn... She heard the door click, indicating it was time to leave. "Alright... time to get this thing to Specter, get Rainbow, finish Pinkie..." she said as she started to drag the ensnared corpse of Celestia. And turn myself immortal... cool. Chapter 22- The Party Crasher (Segment 1/2: Tour of Her Tomb)The white filly exited the bedroom with Feather, slowly getting back into the swing of using her own four legs and hooves. Though she was almost sure that she had been walking as long as she had lived, the filly felt as though she was doing it for the first time. If it weren't for the nurse hatted mare's support, she might have tumbled down the stairs and hit her head... probably for the second time that day. Guess another bump’s the last thing I need... the white filly thought. She noticed her thoughts were blurred and disoriented, almost to the point she couldn't even understand them. Was it from the impact she couldn't remember happening? It had to be... why else would her thoughts be so distant? Finally, the white filly made it to the bottom of the stairs, and entered a medium sized living room area. The floors were wooden and smoothed out. A couch, along with a few extra love seats that all seemed to be fashioned out of a yellow colored wool sat at the center of the room. The white filly counted there to be about five windows, that provided the majority of the light in the room. From what she could tell, the sun was just about to set. Paintings and shelves filled with various knick-knacks and pottery littered the walls, adding something for ponies to look at, if they were to wait in the room. There didn't seem to be any books anywhere around... "Sweetie!" somepony said from behind one of the love seats. The head of a little colt popped out from behind the chair. The confused little filly scanned the room to find this "Sweetie" pony that the colt seemed to be so excited about. Oddly enough, the only ones in the room were the colt, Feather and- The colt embraced Sweetie, nearly knocking her onto the ground. "I'm so glad you’re all better! When you fainted like that, I thought... what happened to you?" "H-huh?" the addled filly pushed the colt away, mildly confused. "Sweetie?" "You’re... talking to... me?" she asked. Sweetie huh? I guess that's my name. "Sweetie? Something... wrong?" the concerned colt asked. "Um... your friend is having a little trouble remembering things. Amnesia, I believe." Feather explained. "Hopefully it's only temporary..." "But besides that, she's fine?" the colt asked hopefully. Feather nodded. "But... just to be safe Squee, would you mind telling me something? What happened before you and that other stallion brought her here?" "I guess... but nothing really happened. Sweetie wanted to see Mr. Yield's mansion. When one of his butlers caught us jumping the gate, she kind of just... stared at him and fainted." "And... she already had this bump on the head?" Squee shrugged. "I guess. Nothing hit her when Mr. Butler helped me carry her here." "Hm. I suppose what hit her the first time must have caused her brain to shut down... Sweetie, does any of this seem familiar?" She shook her head. "Not... not even your Cutie Pox rings any bells?" "Cutie what?" "The disease that's giving you all of your Cutie Marks." Feather explained. Sweetie looked at the mare strangely. "What's a Cutie Mark?" Feather looked at the filly unsure of her memory's condition. "Maybe this amnesia might last a little longer than I thought. All she seems to remember is basic language... maybe a few other things." "But she can still walk around, right?" Squee asked. "She's still getting used to it again, but yes." Feather smiled. "Why?" "Cool! That means I can still take her around town!" Squee said excitedly. "Town?" Sweetie asked. "Stabletown! I was touring you before you fainted." "You were?" Sweetie asked. "I thought I lived here." "I'm not sure about that. All I know was that I was going to tour you... and we were going to go out to eat afterwards!" "We were?" Sweetie asked. "And you told me that you were looking for a colt friend!" "I did?" Sweetie asked. Even Feather looked at the colt strangely. "What's a 'colt-friend'?" "I'll... tell you later." Squee said, rubbing the back of his head, showing a sudden sense of shyness. Well, I'm not really sure what's going on... Sweetie thought. But this "Squee" sounds like he's a trustworthy pony. I should probably take his tour thing and learn about wherever the hay I am... maybe I'll figure out why the hay I'm here anyway. Maybe I'll figure out what he means by 'colt-friend'. Maybe I'll find one? "C'mon Sweetie!" Squee said, lightly tugging at Sweetie's tail to follow her. Feather stared at Sweetie and smiled. "Yes, go along now... though, don't go too far, ok? J-just in case. Stay inside of Lower Stabletown for now, alright?" Sweetie nodded as she began to follow her tour guide, stumbling for a moment before being able to normally follow him out the door. As she did however, something whispered from behind her. She turned to see Feather heading back upstairs. Sweetie opened her mouth to ask if she'd said something, but the whisper came again. This time, as the filly focused more on it, it was the same six words that she'd heard on her way out of the bedroom. Need a ticket... get an invite. It said it in a sense of urgency, though Sweetie couldn't place why. There was nothing urgent at all about her situation... then again, how would she know? She couldn't remember anything... Just as she did before, she pushed off the vague thought as nothing to worry about as she followed Squee. She had a town to explore. *** "See anything Buster?" Paita asked the stallion she was sticking to in the bedroom. "Shhh!" Busby said, sticking his head out of the doorway. "Are you trying to wake up the dead?" Paita stopped scanning the room herself to look at the stallion. She separated herself. "Well, do you?" Busby continued to scan the room as Paita groaned and left the room. Finally, just before noticing Paita had left him, he shook his head. "Just another bedroom." he sighed, before turning back around and heading back to Paita in the hallway. "You'd think by now the place would have opened up some portal to somewhere else by now? You know... like we got here?" "Or maybe it's just trying to keep us trapped. You know, like a trap?" Paita said in annoyance. "Give up Buster. There's no way that old stallion would want us wandering around freely around here. Especially if he's got something to hide. You'd probably need some kind of special access or some crap to actually move around here normally. Otherwise, we're gonna keep walking around in circles, finding more and more dead ends..." For the last ten minutes, Paita and Busby had been looking through any door they could open to find some hope of exit. Fortunately, they had yet to come face to face with any ghosts or triggered traps of any kind. On the negative side, they didn't find anything useful in any of the rooms. Even Busby, who was the only one who was even trying to drive any optimism to the 'locate an escape route' plan was losing hope. "...maybe there's something we're missing." Busby considered. "Like what?" Paita asked. "Maybe... maybe there's supposed to be a way out of here, but there's some kind of secret we're not looking at. L-like a puzzle." "A puzzle..." Paita sighed with a small laugh before whirlling around to Busby, eyebrows crossed. "You think this is some kind of game?!" Busby took a step back from the fury he saw in her eyes. The mare approached Busby and backed him up against a wall. For those moments, their faces were barely 3 inches away from each other. "You think this is some kind of game, don't you?!" Busby looked off to the side nervously and said with a sheepish grin, "Uh... maybe?" Just as Paita looked as though she was about to knock Busby's block off, the stallion put his hooves up to defend his face. "You said it yourself! The mansion's just messing with us!" After a few moments of glaring, Paita stepped off. "What are you suggesting?" "I don't know, lady..." Busby said, relaxing his hooves. "Maybe... maybe you're right. Maybe there is no real exit because the rooms don't hold one... but maybe they're just a key to getting out. A piece of some kind of really big and unconventional puzzle." Paita looked down either end of the hallway. "Each room on the left side of the hallway are the same... so are all of the ones on the right. Every room on one side is the same." Paita recapped. "That means... under those white sheets is probably the same thing. Same bed type, same seats, same dressers, same mirrors..." "Right. So if there's nothing in one room, there's bound to be nothing in the others." Busby agreed." "There wouldn't be a trap door or some other type of portal in every identical room, I suppose," Paita said. "Then if the exit's not through the door, where is it?" "...how about the paintings?" Busby said. Paita raised an eyebrow. "What about them?" "Unless we go too far, they're the only things that don't change," Busby said. "You have a point there Buster," Paita said looking down each side of the hallway. "There are five different paintings in this hallway. Now that you mention it, this is the only hallway we've found that has paintings at all! At least before we ended up back here after venturing too far... or just plain hitting a dead end over past that staircase." "They've got to hold the key!" Busby exclaimed. "I mean... we've just got to figure out which one." Busby went for the clouded village portrait. Paita stared at him as he went to take the portrait off of the wall. Suddenly, something in the back of her mind... an instinct of some sort said something. If I were hiding something big, I wouldn't make this so easy... "Busby wait!" Paita said, holding out a hoof as Busby stopped in his tracks. He'd yet to get a good grasp on the painting yet, but by hearing his real name, he knew the mare was serious. "What's wrong?" "Don't... take that one down." Paita said. "I don't think it's that one." "Can't hurt to check, right?" Busby said. Paita shook her head. "No. Actually, I don't think we can afford to make any mistakes without triggering some other type of trap." At the idea, Busby backed away from the painting. "You think this place is booby trapped?" Paita shrugged. "Hey. I would anyway. This place... I bet it's some kind of front for some operation involving some evil plan, the princesses, and the Elements themselves." "And?" "And if I were this old stallion, I'd be afraid someponies... or in our case, some guards would try and thwart my plan. If I were as paranoid as he was-" "Which you are." "Shut it." Paita snapped. "If I were as paranoid as him, I'd probably put some kind of death trap behind that painting. Like a spear, or an arrow to go through your head. Heck, even a bomb could be behind any one of these things. If I knew the answer, it wouldn't be a problem. Same case if I put in the effort of making it 'solvable'." "Huh?" "Like... if I were Specter, I'd have henchmen. Like that Sweetie. But if my lackeys got killed because they didn't remember the solution to a puzzle, they could still just solve it and get where they have to get anyway... but like I said, that's if I were Specter." "Why would he care if-" "I said if I were Specter," Paita glared. "I don't know why he'd care if his lakeys could die, but considering Sweetie and him looked the part, it's plasuable... or maybe you're right. Maybe he's just sick in the head and wants ponies to play his game before he kills them. Probably truth in both." Hey, my idea stuck! Busby thought proudly. Then he thought about being impaled through the head, and that pride went away as he shuddered. "Fine. Then how do we figure out which painting we can take down?" "Well... if this hallway's a game or a puzzle like you said, then there's got to be rules, right? Something off about one of the paintings that's not with the other ones?" "That makes sense." Busby nodded. "Let's look at each painting before we figure out which one to take down." With that, the two started looking at each painting, taking out every last detail they could from each one. They started with the one at the dead end of the hallway, with the blocked off stairway that Busby had nearly triggered the mechanism of... if there was one behind it to begin with. As they figured, it depicted a little village that seemed to have just experienced a terrible fire. The origin of the smoke that was covering the village wasn't clear, but it was likely somewhere off in the smoke-cloud blocked background. At the center of the painting, among the other ponies wandering around in the smoke, there was a banner... though what it said was extremely unclear. Further down the hallway, the next painting was one that depicted a cave. Possibly a mine of some sort. Tracks led out of it, likely for any mineral carts to be dragged in or out. A sign was posted in the darkness... it said: "Stabletown Mine - Condemned - Keep Out". Despite this, there seemed to be the shadow of a little pony somewhere deep in the cave... Even farther down, the third painting depicted a factory of some sort. Much like the cave, it seemed to be closed down. The factory looked strange, to say the least. It was mostly composed of metal, aside from a few extra add-ons and watchtowers that were mostly made out of stone and some other unidentifiable purple material. The factory held a certain elegance to its design in the way that each tower curled around the main body of the building and the cone-like shape it created at the top. If it wasn't for the gears and belts popping out of the factory, or the smudged sign in the foreground that one could barely make out the letters "S...l...t...n F.cto.y" one might have assumed it to be some kind of fortress. The fourth picture depicted a Ferris Wheel, towering above some kind of festival below. Balloons floated above the scene up to the peak of the Ferris Wheel before they seemed to pop. In the top passenger cart, there was a pony looking below at the festival. Oddly enough, besides the balloons and the booths, the festival looked... quiet. The background was grey and gloomy. It looked more like a funeral than a parade. Finally, there was one of the mansion itself. It looked old and unlivable like they saw during their first confrontation with the building. Though there weren't any gravestones, there were dead trees that seemed to be decaying, mold and fungus growing along the sides of them. In one of the windows, at the front gate, there was a blue scaled, baby-sized dragon looking up at the mansion. It watched one window in particular that had fire popping out of it, and the silhouette of a pony likely trapped in the mansion. "...well?" Paita asked. "Notice anything about any of them special?" Busby scratched the back of his head, under a piece of plating to his armor. "Uh..." Busby thought, giving every picture one last scan. "Well... I guess those three all have something to do with Stabletown. I mean, I'm guessing that village is apart of the town right there." Busby pointed to the village painting. "Right. The factory and the mine also mention Stabletown." Paita agreed. "So that leaves these two... the mansion and the Ferris wheel." "But... if we're working with which one is from Stabletown, and which one isn't... how do we know?" Paita squinted. "Hm... hey look!" Paita said, pointing to the Ferris wheel. "The Ferris wheel is mobile! This is some kind of carnival!" "Carnival? But there are circus tents too, see?" Busby said. Paita shook her head. "You're missing the point Buster. If that Ferris wheel moves around on wheels, and is apart of a moving carnival, then it's not from anywhere! It couldn't have a home... at least not like the mansion." "But wait... does that mean this mansion is from that Stabletown?" Busby asked. "Then what's it doing here, I wonder. It's looks almost exactly the same... but that's impossible!" "You're asking the wrong mare," Paita said. "But if there's anything useful behind one of these paintings, the Ferris wheel is our best bet." "Alright..." Busby said, moving over to the painting. He hesitated for a moment and looked back at Paita. "M-maybe I should use my magic instead this time eh? Just to be safe." Paita rolled her eyes, indifferent to Busby's decision. The stallion guard focused his magic into his horn and then onto the painting itself. He tried to lift it... but there was a problem. It wouldn't move! Because of some strange magical gravity spell surrounding the painting, his magic wasn't having any effect on the two pounds painting that felt as though it weighed a ton. "Magic isn't working on this thing! I can't lift it." "Then use your hooves." Paita sighed. "It's easy really. You just get up on your hind legs, reach for the painting-" "Alright, alright." Busby said. Nervously, he put his hooves on either side. The thought of being stabbed through the skull by something lurking behind the painting reached his brain again. Before making another move, he looked back at Paita unsure. "Are you sure this-" "Look, If you die, I'll bury you in one of those holes we saw coming up. How's that sound?" she said with slight annoyance in her voice. "You're the most reassuring pony I've ever met, and I appreciate you, you know that?" "Quit being a little foal and be a guard. Take painting down already! Take it down!" Paita snapped. That's not how guarding works though... Busby took a deep breath as slowly lifted the painting off of the wall. As he did, he heard something click behind it, scaring him back onto his flank. Paita rolled her eyes at the downed stallion. "You're the biggest jellyfish I've ever met, Buster." Jellyfish? "You want to do this?" he asked, getting back up. "No, I wouldn't want to steal the chance from you. You're looking for respect right? Pull that thing down and I'll respect you a whole two percent more." Paita said with a small smirk on her face. Woowwe. That's a whole two percent more than never minutes ago. Busby thought. Maybe I'll earn the rest by the time I'm that Yield stallion's age. Busby got up and went for the painting again, lifting the piece of artwork carefully. He shut his eyes, afraid of what might happen next as he heard the click again. Once the painting was completely off, he dropped it on the floor as the wall shook. "Uh... Paita?" Paita, got close to Busby, now afraid for her own life as they both stared at where the painting used to sit. They watched as a yellow box appeared on the wall, just about the same size as the painting itself. Within seconds, it expanded to about half the size of a door. Suddenly, without warning, the spot ignited and blew up at the two ponies. Though the flames were too far to hurt either of them seriously, they came close enough to lick the noses of each of them. Oddly enough, rather than being burnt by intense heat, they felt a brush of coldness along their snouts. As fast as it came, the fire went out, revealing a rectangular hole, just large enough for either Paita or Busby to fit through. "Well... that was frankly terrifying," Busby said, still somewhat frozen by fear as he continued to stare at the portal. "Uh huh..." Paita said, imagining what might have happened if those flames had come even a few feet further. "...but hey. There's a thing behind it after all. Who would've thought it huh?" "Y-yeah..." Paita said. After a minute, she shook her head, snapping her out of her trance, and looked at Busby. "Well Buster? I know you're eager to find out what's on the other side." Of course I am. Of course, Busby thought sarcastically. Without another word in protest, knowing they'd be futile against the mare, he went towards the square hole. He climbed up into it and began crawling through. Paita waited in anticipation on the other side. After a few minutes of waiting, she decided to call him. "Buster?" she called. There was no answer. "Buster!" She was beginning to get worried. Did something happen once he made it to the other side? Was he okay? She thought of the other guards and how quickly they'd disappeared. Leaving her... "...Busby?" "...So you only call me my real name when you're scared then. Good. To. Know!" Busby answered, sticking his head out of the hole. "Don't do that, I thought you were-" "What? Dead? Didn't realize you thought that little of me," Busby lied with a stupid grin. "If I died that fast, I think I might have broken a record somewhere." "What did you find?" Paita asked, in attempt to change the subject. "You won't believe it-" "Coming from your mouth, probably not, but go ahead." Paita said. "There's another hallway! No blocked exits or... well, any exits at all. Just a hallway with a bunch of windows and doors." "That doesn't sound very unbelievable, honestly," Paita said with a sassy lean. "In this place?" Paita straightened. "You have a point ...okay, fine. Move back so I can climb through too." Busby did as he was told, as Paita climbed up. Once she was up, they were face to face. Busby gave Paita a sly smirk. "What the hay are you smiling about." She asked annoyed. "You were worried about me, weren't you?" Paita gritted her teeth. For a moment, she just sat there, face to face with the stallion in the small space. Finally, she answered. She didn't answer with words, but instead, with a hoof to Busby's snout. "Gah!" Busby said, covering his shout. The HAY! This armor sucks! "Want another one?" Paita asked. Busby shook his head still. "Then start backing up." Busby uttered a painful moan and nodded as he began moving backward through the portal as Paita followed him. Finally, Busby made it to the end, and so did Paita. It was a little bit of a drop as they exited the portal, and they managed to land hooves first. "Hm. Looks like we're gonna have to use something to climb back up." Busby said. Paita nodded in agreement. "My wings still aren't working right, so we can't really rely on them yet..." "Then let's get searching then." Busby suggested. And hope that there's something we can actually use here... *** "Where we goin' Squee?" Sweetie asked as she followed the little colt through the dusty little village. The immediate surroundings were mostly dirt and bricked housing. Any shops were built from wooden logs and bits of straw. "Well, I thought I'd show you a few of the attractions little ol' Stabletown has to offer, y'know?" Squee responded. "Like?" "Well..." Squee started. He seemed to be deep in thought for a moment. "...Huh. Only big thing we have I can think of is Yield's place." "Really?" Sweetie asked. "I mean, we've got smaller, less important stuff here in Lower Stabletown, but that's the only thing that's really put us on the map. It's the biggest one in this region." "Why is it so big?" Sweetie asked curiously. Squee shook his head. "Dunno. Remember learning about it in class though." Squee shrugged. "If you're really curious, I guess you could ask Audit about that. She teaches the Stabletown school around here." "Okay. I'll try and remember that." Sweetie said. Then again, without any other memories to hold, what left is there to? "But uh... Oh yeah! I know who we could see." "Hm? Who?" Sweetie asked. "There was this new stallion that arrived here a little while ago. A little after that big carnival fire not too long ago..." Squee said. "An odd ball one... then again, lots of ponies around here aren't really on their rocker. Like... ever." "Who is he?" "Dunno. Came with another really cut- er... j-just a filly and a silly looking mare. Don't remember their names though... anywho, he set up shop and keeps to himself mostly during the day, but loves meeting new ponies when they come around. So does his kid and wife apparently. 'Least that's what they say." "You think he'll let us meet him?" "Like I said, he likes to meet to new ponies." Squee said. "I think they live around here..." Squee scanned the houses for a couple moments before responding with an "Aha!", pointing to one wooden house in particular. It stood in a little square area of Lower Stabletown. From here, Sweetie could also clearly see the mansion... but she didn't give it that much thought as she followed Squee. "That looks like a shop." "It is." Squee explained. "I think it was a flower shop, but I forgot. See, you know that mansion you were so crazy about earlier?" "No." Sweetie said flatly. "Right... no memory... anyway, some mare caught the eye of Mr. Yield and went to live up there. The other mare... old one I think... something happened to her. Disappeared sometime around her leave. I forgot if it was before or after though. Anyway, I think it got sold to some pony, and eventually that stallion rented it out from 'em." "Why a shop? Why not get a nice home to move in." Squee shrugged as they stopped. "Dunno. Only reason he gave anyone was that he was planning to stay for a really short while. But uh... to be honest..." Squee got in close to Sweetie's ear and whispered. "I don't think he's supposed to be here." Sweetie turned her head to the side as she noticed Squee had gone into some weird trance like state. His face looked like he'd come to some kind of realization... "...Squee?" Sweetie's eye was taken off of Squee as she noticed a mare walk out of the shop. A purple maned mare, who for the first time since Sweetie had woken up, looked familiar for a split second. She was carrying some kind of magestic fabric materials that almost seemed to hypnotize Sweetie. She was also accompanied by a second pony... a stallion Sweetie figured. For a second, Sweetie could have sworn he saw him as a silhouette of a pony, rather than an actual- "SWEETIE!" Squee yelled, snapping Sweetie out of her stupor. Upon the breaking of her trance, Sweetie grabbed her head, feeling intensely lightheaded. The light around her seemed more intense than it should have... the filly felt ready to faint again. Squee braced Sweetie's sides to keep her up on her hooves. "You ok?" "Y-yeah... I uh... just was feeling dizzy again for a second." Sweetie shook her head. "I'm fine now." "Okay, you ready to head over to the library now?" Sweetie shook her head in confusion before looking at Squee. "Huh?" She asked as she squinted at the colt. "Yeah. You kept talking about how you wanted to go to the library and check out some books earlier... don't tell me you forgot already." Squee teased. "O-of course not!" Sweetie lied. Had she really forgotten where she wanted to go? Did she really want to go anywhere to begin with? She wasn't sure... but she knew that she could trust Squee for now. Besides, though she wasn't entirely sure what Squee meant by "check-out" or "book", but somehow, the words seemed to interest the little filly. "Well, let's head over there. Not in the square though. Follow me." Squee said smiling. Sweetie smiled back as she began following the little colt out of the square and along the streets of Stabletown. As Sweetie continued down the street, closely following behind Squee, she found herself feeling a little awkward. Though most of the other species didn't seem to pay her as much attention, she noticed that every pony was staring at her. As the little filly passed by a window, transparently showing her reflection, she was reminded of why... it was those marks on her. Feather had called them Cutie Marks... but from what she could tell, everypony around her seemed to posses only one cutie mark. She had five... and only one or two were even on her flank correctly. She questioned where they came from... then she remembered Feather had mentioned something about "Cutie Pox"... was that bad? Was this Cutie Pox something she had to worry about? As the little filly pondered this, Squee once again brought her out of deep thought. "Here we are!" Squee said grandly, gesturing his leg toward the building in front of them. "It's... it's-" "An acorn, I know." "I was going to say big, but... wait, what's an acorn?" Sweetie asked, looking up at the giant building. As Squee had said, it was in fact, an oversized acorn. Though there were windows along the sides of the door on the first floor of the giant brown tree seed, the two biggest ones were on the second one, taking up the space four or five windows might. On both sides of the acorn were two tall trees, extending up twice the size of the acorn itself. "And even better, what's inside?" "What? An actual acorn? I don't actually-" "No, not that thing. The library." "Oh! Uh... books." "Books?" "Books." Squee repeated. "What's a... book?" Sweetie asked. She wasn't sure why, but for some reason, the simple four to five letter word gave the filly a rushing feeling she wasn't expecting. It wasn't another loss of equilibrium, but simply a sense of excitement... did she have something inside of her that made her feel so... intoxicated. She felt some kind of importance of knowing what these books were... or better yet where she could get them. "Can I see them?" Squee chuckled. "Wouldn't be much of a tour if you didn't get to see things, right?" the colt headed forward and opened the door for Sweetie. "Pretty fillies first." Sweetie smiled as she trotted inside, followed by Squee who closed the door behind him. Once inside, the filly looked around the acorn. On every wall, there seemed to be a shelf of books as well as there were shelves along the center of the room. At the front however, right next to the door, there was a small desk with a bell. There also seemed to be a quill as well as a piece of parchment listing off the names of other ponies and books. Sweetie guessed that the long piece of parchment could hold just about every pony living in Stabletown... it was likely to keep a record of what was going in and out of the library. Sweetie didn't know what any of these things were, but she did notice something in particular. Some of the names had been written in a strange green ink, as everything else had been written in black. It seemed to bulge out of the paper unnaturally- "HEY!" Squee yelled, making Sweetie jump. "ANYONE HOME?!" "Shhh!" hissed somepony from the second floor... oddly enough, there didn't seem to be any platform or stairs reaching up to the second level. There were only walls of books... "This is a library! That means you need to... wait... visitors?" "Yeah Ms. Covri. You got a sec?" Squee asked. As Sweetie scanned the shelves above, she noticed on one of the shelves along the center of the room, the purple head and mane of a mare popping out to look at the two ponies. Something was odd about the way she looked at them though... almost as though she weren't looking at them, but instead their general direction... "Of course! I've always got time for fellow scholars and veracious readers such as yourself." "Actually, Ms. Covr-" "Sheep! Be a good dog and fetch me my ladder would you?" Covari called. Her request was followed by the sound of a barking dog. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a brown border collie leaped out of nowhere, surprising the little filly. The dog ran over to a wall where a wheeled ladder lay against. After skidding to a stop, Sheep grabbed the ladder with his teeth and dragged it over to the shelf Ms. Covri sat atop of. Once it was there, Sheep barked again. "Good girl Sheep. Catch!" Covri said as she tossed down a multi-colored dog biscuit to her. Sheep caught the treat and wagged her tail before quietly going back over to the front desk to lie down and rest. Ms. Covri then used the ladder to climb down to the first floor. "Um... what's was she doing up there?" Sweetie whispered. "Inka Covri lives here I think. She has her bed and stuff mostly on top of the shelves." Squee explained. "Never leaves the place unless there's a party, a parade, or a firework show to check out." "Why?" Sweetie asked. "Doesn't she like to be outside? It was but a few seconds before Covri made it down to the first floor. From this angle, Sweetie got a better look at her. The mare wore big goofy looking glasses and a casually colored librarian skirt and blouse... but it wasn't the glasses or clothing that shocked her. It was the mare's eyes. Everypony else she'd come across so far had eyes that somewhat complimented their coat or mane in some way. Covri's eyes however were different. Rather than being the color of her mane, or... any other color, they were white. "What's wrong with her eyes?" Sweetie asked as the mare approached them. "Can... can she see?" Squee nodded. "Yeah, she can see fine... sometimes." "Sometimes?" "Yeah. She can see in rooms that are moderately lit... but she can't really see anything too bright. Like the daytime sun. That's kind of why she she spends most of her time inside... and part of the reason she has that dog. Otherwise, the daylight would blind her." "But... you said she goes outside sometimes. If she can't see anything, then why bother-" "Why don't I be the one to answer you questions about myself, hm?" Covri said, causing Sweetie to jump again. Even she was surprised how high strung she was now. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Sweetie quickly regained her composure. "It's fine. I wasn't scared..." Covri smiled. "Of course not, now what can I do for you fine ponies today? Oh, I actually got a shipment of books from the mansion you might be-" "A-actually Ms. Covri, I'm just here for her," Squee said. "Besides, you and I both know I don't have the attention span for books anyway, right?" Covri frowned. "I suppose one could hope." the mare looked over at Sweetie. "But you... are you a reader?" "What's a reader?" Sweetie asked. "She's er... got amnesia or something." Squee quickly explained. "And new to town too, so I'm giving her a tour. When I mentioned books and the library, she got excited so... I figured she'd at least like to take a look around." "I see... and what your name might be?" Covri asked, pointing her full attention toward the white filly. "S-sweetie." she said. "Sweetie? That's all?" "I don't know." Sweetie shrugged. "I'm kind of learning stuff as I go along." Covri looked at the filly strangely before Squee came between them. "Er... her last name is 'Belle' I think." "Really?" Sweetie asked. "Sweetie Belle." Covri said, allowing the name to fill her mouth. "Alright. I'll need to remember that when I write you down for a library card." "Library card?" Sweetie asked. "What's that?" "It's a little er... piece of stone we use to tell who can take out a book or not." Covri said, taking a stone out of her pocket. It was white, and had an etching of her name, as well as a few other pieces of information. "You don't have one, do you? Possibly from where you're from?" "I... I don't think I have anything, really." Sweetie admitted. "Oh... well, until you can get you one... probably by tomorrow, you can't really take any books out." Sweetie frowned, looking severely disappointed. She looked over at Squee who simply scratched the back of his head. "Sorry Sweetie. If I could, I'd give you one... but I lost mine a while ago." he explained. "Besides, I rarely come here anyway." "Oh..." Sweetie said, bowing her head. Squee hated seeing Sweetie upset, and racked his brain for some kind of compromise. "...wait! Can't she at least look at them?" "O-of course!" Covri said. "This is a public library." Sweetie looked back up at the mare. "Really?" Covri nodded, giving Sweetie back her will to smile. "Well, I suppose I could tour you the different sections of the library... maybe I could even reserve a book you find interesting." the mare said smiling. "Squee, are you coming?" Squee scratched the back of his head. "Actually uh... I think I'm going to keep your dog here company." "Of course you are." Covri sighed. "Come along Sweetie Belle." "I'll be waiting for you here Sweetie." Squee waved as the two female ponies moved deeper into the library. Once he was out of earshot, Covri shook her head. "Colts... can't appreciate the wonders of a good book, eh Sweetie?" "I'm not even sure why I appreciate it myself Ms. Covri... but they've got to be something if they make my spine tingle every time I hear about them." Covri smiled. "That they are Sweetie. That they are." As they walked around, Sweetie spied different metal labels atop every few shelves. They started around the Fiction sections of the library. "So... Ms. Covri. You still go outside? Even with your eyes like... like that?" Sweetie asked. The mare nodded. "Only at night though. My eyes aren't supposed to be exposed to extremely bright light... but I do love to go outside at night for one of the Yield's parties, or one of the Bonker's parades and firework shows." Covri explained. "But I can't look at, or see any bright surfaces on light backgrounds. That's why you see all of the shades drawn in here... and so many lamps." "Oh, ok." Sweetie said, somewhat comprehending what Covri was talking about. The mare then began explaining the genres of fiction there were, as well as what fiction was to begin with. Sweetie took a few minutes to flip though the pages of the book. Though she could understand some of the words, she felt she'd probably understand even more if her memory wasn't so bad on what every word meant. The next area they went to was non-fiction section. "Now, this place during the school year is where most of Ms. Audit's students set up." "Why?" Sweetie asked. "Mostly because much of the history of important ponies is concentrated here. It's the best available place to get information on your favorite historians." "Um... best available place?" "Why yes... didn't Squee mention where the books came from?" Sweetie thought for a moment. She remembered that Squee had mentioned something about the books she got from the mansion. "Yeah, he mentioned it... but I don't think I understand." "Well, as you could imagine, there are many books that I get from other libraries... but a majority of the books I get come from Yield's enormous mansion library." "Bigger than this." "Much bigger Sweetie. Amazingly enough, his library takes up 3 of my little acorn library's space... and it's only one room in the mansion." "And... it's also filled with books?" Covri nodded. "Naturally." The strange purple cutie mark around her horn began to tingle and itch with excitement, as well as the rest of the filly's body. So many books... she wondered if she could even handle such a thing. "Anyway, every so often, Mr. Yield donates his books to us. I'm unsure of where he manages to get them, but the point is, that he's our main supplier of books... because he's got the biggest library in this region of Equestria." "...but?" "But... he doesn't like ponies wandering his mansion, so nopony can access the library, or anywhere in the mansion for that matter, unless he's hosting a party, like tonight." "Party?" "Yes... he's allowing ponies to come in, eat, mingle... at least anyone who's been invited anyway." Suddenly, Sweetie felt another wave of dizziness. She moaned painfully as she felt a sharp pulse in the back of her brain. Then... she heard the whisper again. Need a ticket... get an invite... Sweetie shook her head, trying to make the whisper go away. "Sweetie, you alright?" "Yeah... I'm fine... now, what were you saying?" Sweetie said, thankful the annoying little whisper was gone again. "About the party? Well... not much to tell besides the fact Yield only invites ponies he knows, has business with or are performers for his theater and music... and even they must go in couples." "Oh... guess I won't be going then... I don't have an invite, or somepony to go with huh?" Sweetie said sadly. Covri smiled. "Oh, I don't know. If you did somehow manage to get an invitation, I'm sure that nice colt in the front would really want to go with you." "What?" "Oh, I've seen how he looks at you Sweetie..." "No, I mean, what's a date?" Covri giggled. "I'm sure you'll find out later." "...hey, what's that?" Sweetie asked, pointing over to a shelf in the non-fiction section that stood out to the filly in particular. It held a large array of big and bulky looking books. "That?" Covri asked. "Nothing you'd be interested in. A bunch of books taking simple subjects and dissecting them into extremely complicated subjects you wouldn't really understand. Hay, even I don't understand some of the discussions in there..." "Like?" Covri thought for a moment. "Hm... I'd say books on subjects like the different types of Apple Trees, their life cycles, and their changing bucking spots.... explanations on the different Pegasi related and Non-Pegasi related weather patterns... the different animals and their eating habits... only to name a few." From just hearing the subjects, Sweetie's body, especially the areas around her Cutie Marks, began to itch eagerly as she looked at the books. "You said I could look at them right?" Sweetie asked in confirmation. Covri smiled. "Now Sweetie, I'd probably lose my job if I said you couldn't. Just... remember not to take them anywhere outside the library alright? Not until tomorrow." Sweetie nodded and found herself hopping happily over to the shelf. She wasn't sure why, but the oddly placed joy she felt was now accompanied by an uncontrollable urge to bounce... She'd have to figure out how to control this misplaced urge, lest she looked silly to the townsfolk. Even Covri gave the filly an odd look before going off to pre-occupy herself with some inventorying of the books on the wooden shelves. Having herself a little bit of semi-privacy, Sweetie began taking out books and placing three or four on the nearest table to begin attempting to read what they had to offer. She opened the book and began reading. As Covri had warned, the books were completely convoluted, using large words that no filly Sweetie's age would even be close to learning. It didn't help that Sweetie's grasp on Equestrian language was limited by the amnesia either. Sweetie found herself barely spending one or two minutes on each book before checking out a different one. Though there was nothing remarkable or exciting about each book aside from the strange tickle on her horn every time she turned a page; Sweetie did sense something odd on a few certain books she looked through. When she came across books such as "Apple Farming: An Explanation of How to Maintain an Acre of Apples", "Clouds: What Are They and How do They Work" or "Woodland Creatures: Know Thine Animals", one of her Cutie Marks began to itch slightly. Even a book named "Surprises of the Brain" seemed to make one tickle her, almost to the point of giggling in the library... but all of those types of books, no matter which one... the filly felt as though she could do what the books illustrated. Did she know how to do the tasks listed in the books before her amnesia? Once Sweetie has skimmed through just about every book on the surprisingly small shelf, she noticed that she'd managed to miss one. A brown leather-spine book that... unlike the other books, made the filly's horn itch just by looking at it. How could she miss a book like that? Sweetie looked around by some strange paranoia that surfaced from inside of her, to see if Covri was watching her from afar. She was nowhere to be seen. What's wrong with me? she wondered, finding her new found paranoia strange and silly. She pulled the book from the shelf and sat at another clear table, seeing as the last one was now covered in books. Though... without the wall of books to cover her area, Sweetie felt open for some reason. Once again, she shook off the sudden paranoia. What was the harm in checking out the little book she'd probably never understand anyway? Then why did she feel so scared of opening the book... that she'd somehow be doing something wrong? Sweetie buried the feelings and opened the book. Immediately, she found herself greeted with a very old looking picture of a white bearded pony casting a grand spell on thousands of other evil looking ponies with holes in them. The next page contained the table of contents. Table of Contents Introduction..........................................................................................................3 Spell Safety............................................................................................................10 Magical Measurement Equations Reference Tools......................................................17 Section 1: Teleportation Chapter 1: Teleportation Introduction..........................................................................23 Chapter 2: Teleportation Theory.................................................................................35 Chapter 3: Symbol Sequences and Orders..................................................................49 Chapter 4: Teleportation Exercises.............................................................................55 Chapter 5: Teleportation Conclusion............................................................................77 Section 2: Facial Hair Spells ..... The contents themselves looked extremely dull and boring. Something about the font of the text alone was making Sweetie yawn... but something inside of her told her to keep looking through- "You've got quite a number of interests Ms. Belle." Ms. Covri said from behind the small white Cutie Mark covered filly. Sweetie jumped at the sound of her voice, falling out of her chair. "Yeah, and you've got a knack for sneaking up on ponies," Sweetie said back. "Sorry, but I can't help but walk quietly," Cover explained. "I am a librarian after all." "Right..." Sweetie said, mildly annoyed she'd been scared once again by the purple librarian. "So what's this book? Starswirls the Bearded's Book of Magical Spells and Theories?" "That's what it's called?" Sweetie asked. "It didn't have a title on it..." "Yes... that's the original copy. Written by Starswirl himself before he died... besides the Table of Contents of course. Somehow Mr. Yield obtained it and sent it down here by mistake." "Aren't you going to give it back?" "Just got it today. I haven't gotten the chance... but I'm hoping to return it when I go with my date up to Yield Manor for his party." "Your going too?" Sweetie asked. "With who?" "Maybe you'll find out." Covri smiled. "...so... who's this Starswirl guy?" Sweetie asked, changing the subject to bury the whisper that had returned at the mention of the party. "Him? Only one of the most respected Magicians in Equestria. One of the best too until he died." "Die? What's that?" "Er... think of it like a vacation you don't come back from. Or want to go on in the first place for that matter." Covri explained. "Ok... how'd he die?" "Nopony knows... some speculate that he went on some kind of magical expedition and something went horribly wrong... others say he simply was experimenting with spells and it backfired, killing him. No body was recovered, but only his notes, which were compiled into that book." "These are them?" Covri nodded. "Hasn't been largely copied yet though... only a few others around Equestria exist, but that's the original you're looking at." "Oh..." "It's quite complicated though..." Covri continued. "Complicated?" "Because it was written by the modern Father of Magic, unabridged and unsimplified, right now, that's one of the most advanced magic books in Equestria." "I don't understand." Sweetie admitted. "Or know what abridged means." "Well... think of it this way. Do you know the telekinesis spell?" Sweetie shook her head. "Well, simply put, it's one of the simplest spells a unicorn can learn. Here. Let me demonstrate." She said as she began floating the books Sweetie had taken out back into their appropriate shelf. "Neato!" Sweetie said in awe of the demonstration. "Now, my Cutie Mark doesn't make me a magician," Covri said, exposing her flank under her librarian attire. It was a single page that seemed like it was ripped on the ends. "...but from what I understand, other spells can be cast in by creating variations of that spell by visualizing certain marks... it's complicated, as I've said. Somepony would need years of studying for one to even comprehend the first spell in there unless..." "Unless...?" "Well, unless their talent was for magic." Hm... every time I looked at a certain book, I got a tingling sensation... and felt like I could do what the books were saying easy. Like an instinct... Sweetie thought. Maybe... maybe... Once again, Covri left Sweetie alone to look through the book she doubted she'd ever be able to decipher. Sweetie began scanning the book. At first however, to her disappointment, she couldn't understand a word of the first page... but pushed on. She read through the introduction, explaining who Starswirl was, and touching base on a few adventures he detailed in a separate set of notes. Then the book started lecturing what magic was, and how the book would explain further upon how magic worked. Once the tiny text book was finished, it went on about how dangerous magic could be. How it could be used not only for assistance and experimentation... but defense and even as a killing weapon. Both purposefully and accidentally... The next chapter talked about different measurements that needed to be taken into consideration... Sweetie didn't understand one of them, but her ticklish horn urged her to push forward. As the table of contents foreshadowed, the next section was all about the teleportation spell. The introduction simply gave a brief explanation and history of teleportation... the filly learned teleportation could transport a pony from one point to another with sheer willpower. Though most of the words in the chapter were far beyond her understanding, she did catch a few words an sketch to the side of the page that did shock her a bit. It said that sometimes, ponies can make mistakes... and teleport into other beings. The illustration depicted a crude image of what happened to the victim. The picture wasn't graphic enough to make the filly vomit, but it was enough to make her shiver. Could... could she do that if she made a mistake? Sweetie was apprehensive toward reading further to learn more about the potentially deadly spell... Sweetie skipped ahead to the next chapter, which talked about theories regarding teleportation. Some believe that one can teleport to other dimensions... or even places that didn't even exist in the real world if one could visualize it enough. Places that existed outside of what ponies called "reality". She skipped through most of the convoluted speech. What use would she have for the ability to teleport out of this wonderful world anyway? For the most part, it was perfect. Finally, she came to the chapter that talked about the "Spell Symbols". Sweetie could feel it in her horn... something was on the next page that was important... but what could it- Sweetie turned the page and was met with a barrage of crazy symbols. Sweetie's eyes widened as she scanned the page, the numbers, the symbols and the words that were on it. From which, Sweetie was shocked to tell she could fluently read it... and comprehend it as though it were a child's book! Flipping through the pages as quickly as possible, Sweetie didn't feel in control of herself. Her eyes and arms seemed to, for the moment, have a mind of their own as they ran through the chapter. It felt like forever before finally, she reached the end of the chapter... all of her tensed up muscles released as she turned onto the next page. The filly breathed heavily as she felt as though she'd just finished with some intense workout. Her brain throbbed from the information that was forced into her head by the will of her horn... or possibly the Cutie Mark? It didn't matter though... Sweetie was sure of it. She knew how to teleport. Sweetie blinked, allowing for light to normally enter them, and for her to see her previously blurred surroundings. She looked around... thankfully, Covri wasn't there this time to see her little freak-out. Once she had completely calmed down from the strange information scramble she'd experienced, she turned the page to see what kinds of exercises the book had to offer. The next part was a simple explanation of how to cast the teleportation spell. Apparently, the spell was similar to telekinesis where one simply had to visualize the object. Sweetie had to visualize where she wanted to go as well as the symbols and her flowing magic into them. She didn't want to go far however... just to test herself to see if she could truly complete the task. Sweetie looked over at the table where she sat previously and closed her eyes. She visualized the table and the area around it and then imagined the symbols in the order she was supposed to on the table. Finally, she began flowing magic into them, as she felt magic flowing out of her horn... but not toward the table. Instead, the warm magic seemed to bubble out of her horn and cover her entire body. First her face, then her neck, then her abdomen... until she was completely covered in the magic. As the magic flowed out of her, she felt weaker and weaker... beginning to wonder if she truely had the strength to cast the spell. Then... it happened. For a moment, Sweetie felt as though she didn't exist... and in those moments of non-existence, Sweetie felt sickly weak. She felt almost... dead. The horrifying moment thankfully didn't last more than half a second as she felt herself land on the table with a thud. She opened her eyes to find that she was indeed on the table she intended to teleport to. "I... I did it!" Sweetie said weakly. But... It's so tiring. To hay if I'm gonna ever use that spell again... only when I really need it. Covri, before long, rushed over to the little filly on the table. "Sweetie! Is everything alright? I heard a thud!" "M...Ms. Covri! I did it!" Sweetie exclaimed, fully regaining herself. "Did what?" "I-" Sweetie was about to share her magical milestone when she heard a bark from the front of the library... followed by a loud hiss. "H-hey! Don't get on that! HEY!" Squee yelled before the sound of breaking glass echoed throughout the otherwise silent library. Sweetie and Covri looked at each other briefly before running back to the entrance of the library. There, they witnessed the aftermath of what Squee had just seen. The front desk was in ruins, scratched up paper everywhere and the oil-lamp that was previously on the desk lie at its bottom, shattered. A small orange flame had arisen where the shards of the lamp lay. "FIRE!" Covri exclamed. "LIBRARY FIRE!" "Um... what's fire?" Sweetie asked, momentary oblivious to the flame. Covri didn't waste any time in using her magic to rip off one of the curtains to one of the nearby windows and smother the flame. "Squee! What happened?!" the mare asked angrily. "I-I don't know!" Squee stuttered. "I was just sitting here, minding my own business when your dog went crazy! He jumped up on your desk, knocked over the lamp and ran out of the door!" "Did you leave it open?" "What?" "You didn't close the door. Did you?" Squee scratched the back of his head. "Uh... no?" Covri groaned. "I hate it when this happens. Sheep must have seen something outside to catch his attention... did you see which way he went?" "I'm guessing that way down the road, but I'm not sure." "Alright... look. I need you two to see if you can't get him." "What? Why?" Squee asked. "Because one, you're the one who left the door open and let him out. And two... I can't go out until it's gotten a little darker. It's still too bright out." Squee groaned at the new chore he'd been presented with. "Come on Squee." Sweetie said. "Ms. Covri needs our help. Let's just get her dog for her, okay? Pretty please?" The filly fluttered her eyes for extra effect, almost instinctively. Squee shot up and looked off to the side for a moment. Sweetie noticed a little bit of redness on his cheeks... did she do that? "Well... I guess. Yeah! We've got you covered Ms. Covri." The librarian smiled. "Thank you, you two..." The two little ponies nodded and headed out the door in the direction Squee supposedly saw Sheep run off to. "Hurry back with my little assistant!" *** Sweetie and Squee ran down the road, asking other stranger ponies whether or not they'd seen the little brown dog run past them. Most of them had been too busy to notice anything. When they were sure they had gone the wrong way, they came across a yellow pony with an orange mane. She claimed that she'd seen a little dog run through... and she noticed it because it had ran right through her garden of watermelons. The mare wasn't sure, but she had a feeling that it was chasing something over to the pear farm at the end of the road. With their new lead, the two of them ran off for Prickly Pear Farms. Finally, they came to the wooden sign welcoming anyone to the acre: Welcome to Prickly Pear Acres... We Farm Pears and Pear Products The two looked at each other before pushing open the picket fence gate that led onto the acre of farmland. "You sure that mare was right?" Squee asked, looking around at the hundreds of pear trees. "She sure sounded sure of herself. If anything, the ponies here might have seen Sheep pass by." Sweetie said back. "Maybe-" Sweetie was then interrupted by the sound of barking and the same hiss they'd both heard back at the library. "C'mon now! Shoo!" Sweetie and Squee didn't waste any more time in running to where they heard the complaining pony. It wasn't long before they found the scene they were looking for. There was Sheep, barking up at a tree. He had a small scratch on the side of his coat. In the tree, there was a puffy white cat with yellow eyes wearing a small purple bow. The cat seemed as distressed and angry as Sheep was... Next to the tree was an orange mare with a pear for a cutie mark and a rancher's hat, yelling at the two animals to get lost. "Well, looks like we found our missing mutt eh Sweetie?" Squee said. "Yeah... but between the two of them, I don't think it's going to be easy calming them down. C'mon." Sweetie said, attemting to take charge of the situation as she went to confront the orange mare. "E-excuse me." The mare stopped yelling at the two to put her attention on the filly. "What? Who the hay are you? These yer little mongrels?" "Huh? Uh... no. One of them's a... a friend of mine's that got out." Sweetie noticed a tiny scratch on the mare's face similar to the one on Sheep's body. "Um... are you okay?" "Hmph. Which one is th' one yer lookin for?" the mare asked bitterly, covering her face. She hissed in minor pain. "Um... the dog." Sweetie said, pointing at Sheep. "Best be glad you ain't in charge of that cat." the mare said. "Like it's possessed or somethin'." "It sure looks angry..." Sweetie said, looking at it. "Wonder why it's so mad?" "Dunno little filly... Name's Cal. Cal Olive." she said holding out a hoof. "Yers?" "S-sweetie." Sweetie said. "...Belle. Sweetie Belle." The filly remembered to add her last name, remembering how Covri had looked at her like some kind of alien. "Well little filly... ah can't seem ta get yer little pup's attention. You said it ain't yers but... ya got any idea of how ta git it ta heel?" "...what?" "Can ya calm it down." Cal asked. Sweetie looked back at Squee unsure of herself. The colt simply shrugged. "Sorry Sweetie. I'm terrible with animals." "Um..." Sweetie looked back at the dog. She found herself staring at it... and suddenly, she felt sorry for it. That was the weird part though... the cut wasn't deep, and nothing the common pony would even think about... but something told her that it really stung the little dog. She felt like she had to help. "I guess I could give it a try... but do you have something I can use to clean and cover that cut right there?" Cal nodded. "Eeyeah. I reckon there's probably some in th' farmhouse over there we could use. Hold up." The mare ran over to the pistachio colored farmhouse just through the trees. She returned within five minutes carrying a bucket of hot water, a rag, and a roll of tape. "Yer lucky ah had th' pot o' water over th' kettle when yer little animal friends showed up. But uh... how ya gonna keep em' still long enough ta work on em?" Sweetie wasn't sure of that herself. She tried touching Sheep to make her give the filly her attention... but she just lashed out at the filly, attempting to sink her teeth into the filly's leg. She quickly pulled her leg back to her chest. Sheesh Sheep! You nearly took my arm off! I'm never going to get close to him unless I figure out how to calm him down... but how? Sweetie felt one of her cutie marks begin itching again. This time, it was the one on her left eye. The one with the butterflies... did she have some kind of talent that would help her calm Sheep? And if so, did it have something to do with her eyes? Sweetie supposed it was worth a shot. "Sheep..." Sweetie said as she reached out to touch the dog's fur. As she did, she turned to Sweetie, ready to try and bite at her again... but that was when they're eyes met. At that point, Sweetie put as much focus as she could on the collie's eyes... it didn't bite her as she began petting her. In fact, she barely even breathed as she petted the dog. It was almost as if she'd frozen it with sheer willpower! First I can learn years worth of magic in a matter of minutes... and now I can freeze animals in their tracks just by staring at them. I'm just full of surprises! "Squee? Could you please pass me that rag? Wet it too." Squee nodded and did as the filly requested. "Now Sheep..." Sweetie said softly. "This might sting a little..." Sweetie began lightly stroking Sheep's cut. She flinched, but didn't or couldn't move in protest. Once the cut was clean, Sweetie put the tape over it, and patted it. As she did, Sweetie noted how natural it felt to care for Sheep... despite the fact she had no memory or experience of doing so. After petting Sheep to calm her down even further, Sweetie released the dog from her stare grasp. Sheep looked at Sweetie, then at the patched up wound, then back at Sweetie. After a few moments, Sheep began wagging her tail as she licked Sweetie. Well, at least she's happy. Sweetie smiled as she wiped the doggy drool off of her face. "Well, that takes care of her." "But what about that there cat?" Cal asked. "Hm... I guess I could get her down too..." Sweetie said. "Squee. Do you mind taking Sheep back to Ms. Covri for me?" "Um..." Squee said, unsure if he should leave Sweetie alone. "I'll catch up. Go on ahead ok?" "Uh... a-alright Sweetie. Don't be too long, ok?" Squee said, beckoning Sheep to his side. "C'mon you. Time to get back to your mum." As Squee disappeared through the trees, Sweetie turned her attention back to the cat. "It's ok! You're safe now! You can come down!" The cat merely hissed at the filly. Guess something's wrong with her too. Eye freezing powers to the rescue I guess... Sweetie thought as she got in front of the tree. "Hey you! Down here!" The cat hissed at Sweetie again, but this time, Sweetie managed to catch her eyes, freezing her just like Sheep. Alright... now I've got you... now how do I get you down? The apples Cutie Mark on Sweetie's flank itched this time. A new ability? Sweetie wondered... so far, the Cutie Mark abilities she'd discovered were all related to different parts of her body. Magic for her horn and staring for her eyes... but this one was on her flank. The filly doubted a pony's flank could be useful for anything... maybe it was referring to her back legs like the cloud mark? Now that she thought about it... they did feel particularly strong. Not taking her eyes off of the cat, she got in front of the tree. Quickly, she turned around and kicked it as fast and hard as she could. The tree shook for a moment as pears and leaves fell out of the tree... as did the fluffy white cat. "Ah got 'er!" Cal said as she caught it before it could hit the ground. As she did, she wasn't looking at Sweetie anymore, breaking her stare hold. The cat began hissing again as it started to scratch at Cal's coat. "Gah! Git it off me!" the mare exclaimed. Something in Sweetie made her jump for Cal, just over her back allowing her to grab the feline off of her. The cat squirmed in Sweetie's grasp as she held it. It would have scratched at her too if she hadn't regained her stare again. Once the cat was frozen, she began examining it to see what could be wrong with it. It wasn't long until she found several small pieces of wood sticking out of the cat's body, buried under the poofy white fur. Where the hay did this cat need to be to get so much wood stuck into her? Sweetie began pulling out the pieces of wood, piece by piece, watching as the cat's eyes shook in pain at each splinter removal. Once Sweetie was sure all of it was gone, and she finished cleaning and patching the cat, she let go of her. Like Sheep, the feline no longer held any ill will toward the filly... but seemed to be indifferent to her selfless act. Ungrateful dumb cat... Sweetie thought as the cat walked off from them, it's nose sticking up in the air. "Thanks lil' filly." Cal smiled. "No problem!" Sweetie said happily. "Hey... where'd you learn to buck lik' that anyway?" "What?" "Buck. You know... how ya kicked them pears and that pussy cat down." "Oh, that... I guess it came with my Cutie Pox." The mare examined the filly. "Yeah... ya do have tha' disease, dontcha?" Cal said. "Hm... never heard of no pony haven' any control over it though." "Over what? The marks?" Cal nodded. "Eeyeah. Heard a pony'll just be forced ta randomly use their talents all at the same time til' somepony either cures them, or they jus' tire out and faint... sometimes it makes 'em go crazy." "But... I don't use mine randomly... and I don't think I'm crazy either." "Hm. Alrigh' then, but like ah said. That's how Cutie Pox usually works anyway." Really now? Sweetie thought. She was beginning to question whether or not she had this disease everypony was talking about. "Still though... nice buckin'. Really." Sweetie smiled shyly. "Thanks, I guess." "Wish ah had somethin ta give ya fer helpin' me out too..." Cal thought for a moment, before an idea came to her head. "Ah know. Here. Have mah hat" The mare took of her hat and handed it to the filly. "Huh?" "Ah reckon yer good enough at buckin' ta be an honorary pear farmer. What do ya say?" Well... it is a free hat. Guess you can't have too many hats... right? Sweetie thought as she took the hat. "Um... ok. Thanks." Sweetie fit the hat over her head. Between the size of the hat and her big mane, it fit perfectly. Even more, hid the one cutie mark around her horn, and even shroud the one around her eye. "Lookin' good filly." Sweetie nodded. She then began backing toward the way that would lead back to the Stabletown roads. "...well... I really need to get going Cal. I'm supposed to be meeting Squee back at Ms.Covri's library for a tour of Stabletown." "Tour? Ya new here?" Cal asked. Sweetie shrugged. "Dunno. Don't think so, but my amnesia kind of makes it unclear." "Oh really... well, you be careful then. Don't reckon I'll be seein' you at th' Yield party, hm? Ya'll heard about it by now, righ'?" "Y-you're going to that too?" "Heh. Bein' Stabletown's only pear provider, I just oughta be." Cal said. "Yeah, I got an invitation ta go." Need a ticket... get an invite... Shut up you. Sweetie mentally hissed back at the whisper. "...the one where you need to bring a date, right?" "Little filly's done 'er homework. So... ya goin'?" "Not unless I find an invitation lying around..." Sweetie said. Need a ticket... get an invite... "Shhh!" Sweetie hissed. Cal looked at the filly strangely. Sweetie blushed embarrassed... knowing no one but her could hear the voice. "Um... like I said. I got to go. Hope to see you sometime soon Cal!" "Righ'... you too Sweetie." And with that, Sweetie headed off of the farmland and back into the main area of lower Stabletown... *** Sweetie left the Prickly Pear farm, beginning to head back the way she came... or at least she thought she was. It took a couple minutes to realize the street she was on was completely different from the one she remembered running down with Squee. The filly found it utterly amazing that in the last thirty minutes, she'd learned a new spell, stared down two deranged animals, and kicked down an entire tree of pears... yet somehow she'd managed to either go the wrong way, or completely forget the way she came to begin with. Either way, one thing was for certain: the little filly was lost. Perfect... Sweetie thought. C'mon Sweetie. Think! What way is the library! There's gotta be a way back. Maybe if I ask somepony- Sweetie stopped in her tracks. Suddenly, she felt dizzy again. Something was happening to her, and she didn't like it. Even worse, she wasn't sure what was happening to cause the dizziness... then, she heard it. Need a Ticket... get an invite... What the hay do you want from me?! Sweetie yelled in her head. Who the hay are you?! Sweetie knew she had to calm down. Feather said that something like this would happen because of her brain trauma she'd talked about. That she should ignore any inner voices she heard... besides, they were supposed to go away eventually, right? Right?! The voice didn't leave her this time. In fact, it only got louder and louder, as though it was coming for her. Sweetie got to the point that she shut her eyes and fell to the ground, clutching her ears in futile attempts at blocking it out. Every market pony around her either ignored her completely or glanced at her as simply a filly undergoing the madness that came with the Cutie Pox. Nopony wanted to mess with her, assuming the authorities would eventually come and pick her up. Nopony tried to help her until- "Excuse me, mis?" Suddenly, the voice in her head stopped. Sweetie was once again surrounded by the ambient sounds of the market vendors as they managed their various businesses. Sweetie looked up to find herself staring at the face of a brown coated stallion with a frizzy darker brown mane, tail and blue eyes. Though the whispering had stopped, the dizziness only got stronger as she looked up at him. "U-um..." Sweetie said, somewhat dazed. Once she realized that she was in fact on the ground, in public, clutching her head like a mad mare, she scrambled to her hooves. She nearly fell down a second time, but managed to maintain her balance this time. Blushing and embarrassed, she responded with a shaky "I-I'm fine." "That's good." the stallion smiled. "For a moment there, I thought I was going to have to carry you off to the loony bin." "The what?" "The mental hospital." Sweetie blinked obliviously. "A place where they take crazy ponies?" the stallion sighed. Sweetie blinked a couple more times before responding again. "O-oh! Well... d-don't worry. I haven't gone crazy." Yet anyway... the filly added internally. "Fantastic..." the stallion said. "You wouldn't be, perchance, oppose to telling me your name, would you?" "U-m..." Sweetie thought for a moment, trying to clear her thoughts through her spinning world. "S-sweetie." "Sweetie?" the stallion said. "What an appropriate name. "But... I didn't tell you my last name yet." "Oh. Would you rather I referred to you by it?" the stallion asked. Sweetie looked at the stallion strangely. She hadn't met any pony that didn't care about her last name... until this one. "N-no... I guess you c-can call me Sweetie." she said. "Besides, it's what everypony else calls me... what about you?" "Hm?" "W-what's your name?" "My name..." the stallion thought for a moment. As though he were making some kind of decision, rather than trying to remember his own, likely two part name. "...you may just call me Time." "Time?" The stallion glanced at a watch on his left hoof. "My goodness, it's getting late." he said. "I must be off. You'd best be off to get ready for the party... if you're going, that is." "Party..." Sweetie said, as though to remind herself of it. "Uh...uh huh..." The stallion nodded as he walked off. As the distance between the filly and himself grew greater, Sweetie began to regain her equilibrium fully. It was as though... there was something about him that was supposed to keep her away. That she wasn't supposed to be around him for some reason... The filly shook her head. That was silly. What reason would there be to be away from the kind looking stallion? That couldn't be it, right? But there was definitely something about that stallion that caught the filly's interest alright. Not only did he not care about her name... but he made her subconscious pest disappear. Maybe she knew him before her memory was lost? There was something about that stallion... Maybe... maybe I should follow him? Sweetie thought. Was that her thought? Or the other voice's thought? Which one was fuzzy to the filly, but it didn't change the fact that she agreed with it all the same. As the stallion turned onto another street, Sweetie put down the rim of her new hat to hide her face. As she did the filly developed enough courage to begin tailing the stallion. Sweetie kept her distance from the stallion as she followed him through the streets of Lower Stabletown. Sweetie's heart beat as she used the market vendor's booths and different ponies' homes to keep herself hidden. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't feel as though she could afford to be caught by anypony as she followed the stallion. As though... she wasn't sure why she got the feeling, but as though he'd just disappear up into thin air lest anyone stopped her. She must have followed the stallion for a good ten minutes before finally, she came to a familiar part of the Lower Stabletown. The Stabletown Square... Sweetie thought, remembering Squee had toured her over here. She was sure she could figure out where to go from here, if she needed to find the library again. He used a key to enter one of the shops... it looked like a flower shop. Wait... did Squee say something about a stallion living in that place? Sweetie's memory was still a little vague, but if that was true... that would be quite the coincidence. Was there truly something about this stallion Sweetie needed to know? Once the door was shut, Sweetie began walking towards the house. Dizziness seemed to push her away, but she pushed forward as she finally came to the door. She considered knocking... but instead simply creaked the door open. She'd already went through all the effort to sneak her way to his living quarters, why let him know she'd been following him by knocking on the door? Who knew... he might not want her in there to begin with... Sweetie slipped through the door and looked around the room she was in. From the little knowledge Sweetie could recall, this was, in fact, a flower shop. As she used houses for cover as she made her way here, she noticed the place was filled with hooks, just like the ones ponies used to hang flowers and flower pots in front of their houses. Though... it was apparent there weren't any flowers being sold here for two reasons. First off, there were no flowers hanging on the hooks. Secondly... the entire place was a mess of odds and ends. Bits and pieces of metal, machinery, and tools Sweetie had yet to see anywhere else in town.. the filly figured the pieces looked like parts to something, but Sweetie couldn't tell what. Whatever it was, it was apparent that Time was inventing or working on something here. Sweetie heard hoofsteps above her... Time was likely on the second floor. For now, she could explore the lower level of the little shop, as long as she kept quiet... The filly looked around the building, careful not to step on the metal items scattered around the floor. Eventually, Sweetie made it out of the room by going behind a checkout counter, and into another, much cleaner and organized, one. It seemed to be some kind of dining room. Though it was barren, it had to be, considering there were three plates and silverware set up on the table. Besides the notable fact there was a case of stairs leading up to the next floor, there was nothing in particularly remarkable about the room. Finally, Sweetie made it to the back room... unlike the other rooms, which were either lit by lamps or windows, it was dark. Sweetie would need one of the lamps she saw... Because Sweetie couldn't hold any of the lamps or candles by her hooves, she decided this was a perfect opportunity to test out that telekinesis spell she'd read about back in the library. Up until now she'd been apprehensive to using more magic but seeing as the room was pitch black, she didn't feel like there was much other option... at least not without risk of her dropping the candle or lamp and lighting the whole store on fire.. Hopefully, it wouldn't be as draining as the teleportation... once Sweetie found a candle she thought would be sufficient, she closed her eyes and focused on it. She imagined herself lifting it in the air... and then began flowing magic through her horn. Thankfully, she found herself able to circulate her magic well enough not only to levitate her candle with ease, but also open her eyes as she floated it over to the next room. She set it down in the center of it. It wasn't the best illumination, but Sweetie could at least make out what was inside. Along the walls of the room, there were pieces of paper with blue writing on them. Yellow notes were stuck to them as well... though Sweetie couldn't make out what was written on them. She supposed it didn't matter anyway, as she doubted she'd understand a word. Just outside the center of the room, there was a large rectangular prism covered by a tarp. Sweetie was about to take the piece of cloth off, just as something else caught her attention in the very back corner of the room. A flicker of light. Sweetie went over to where the flicker came from and picked up the object that had drawn her attention. It was a little grey cylinder that opened up at it's end. To Sweetie, it almost looked like some kind of weird glass. The button on the side made it stream a magnificent stream of yellow light... then the word came to her. It's a flashlight... There was a little switch at its end. Curiously, Sweetie looked into the glass end of the flashlight and hit the switch. The filly was immediately blinded with light, nearly dropping the device. She hit the switch again and continued to examine it, once the spots in her eyes had left. Sweetie hadn't seen one of these contraptions anywhere else around town. What was it doing here? And even more, why did Sweetie feel so strange holding it...? It wasn't the same dizziness that she'd felt as she stared at Time, but rather it was a different feeling... as though Sweetie had one of these flashlights before. Whatever the case, Sweetie decided to keep it... but where could she carry it? The filly felt she might stand out more than she already did with the torch... Sweetie spotted a pair of saddlebags in the very same corner. How convenient... Sweetie thought, as she put the saddlebags on her back. She stuck the flashlight into her saddlebags and continued to explore the room. She felt morally odd about taking the items out of the room... though she shook off the feeling as she adjusted the bags further on her back. She figured she might as well explore the other parts of the room if she was going to start taking things from it... Sweetie went to the other corner of the room to find a rectangular box with a cylinder on top of it. A piece of glass was at the end... It's a camera... There it was again. That subconscious voice... not as pestering as the one she'd heard before, but... it seemed as though it were reminding her, rather than repeating what the device was. In the tone it spoke, it was definitely her voice... yet at the same time, it was distant and faded. As though it were somewhere far away, trying to reach the filly... if it was truely her thought, why did it know the names of these devices? And more importantly, why were they important? Sweetie examined the spring loaded switch in the back. She used it to flip open the back of the camera. Once she did, she found two things. One was about six or seven slides, Sweetie assumed they were important to the use of the camera... and there was an etching in the back of the camera. It simply said the word "GREEN" in faded letters, the two 'e's filled with an ooze of the color. Green? Sounds like the title for some really mushy story... Sweetie pondered. No, what am I thinking? Must be talking about the color... but why? Sweetie decided to stick the camera in the saddlebags she'd acquired. She gave the room another quick look around, on the walls. The wall was littered with pictures of Time and other fancy ponies in front of places... only one Sweetie could make out was a mansion and a factory. There was one picture in particular that Sweetie noticed that stuck out from the others... it was a picture from the inside of Covri's library. It was of a shelf... and it had a circle around one area in particular. It was drawing attention to a book. Drawn with a green marker a similar shade to the filly's own eyes. Something in Covri's library...? I wonder what? Sweetie questioned herself as she ripped the photo off the wall and stuffed it into her saddlebags. There wa one other thing in the corner. A rubber ball with the letters "CMC" written in black marker. Sweetie didn't exactly remember weither or not she had ever owned the plaything, though somehow, she felt it held some kind of sentimental value. Something worth holding on to... with that she stuffed it into her bag as well. Sweetie gave the room one quick look around. She didn't find anything else of interest to her and moved on to the mysterious looking tarp at the center of the room. Ok... now what's this? Sweetie asked. She attempted to pull the tarp off, but found it to be too much wrapped around the top to pull off without ripping it. She could however slip. She sighed and figured she could at least take a peak by slipping under it. She lifted the white tarp just enough to get under. Once she did, she moved in further, just enough to get her head past the sheet. The tarp was now laying on her neck, just in front of her saddlebags. Hm... too dark... Sweetie thought, as she squinted at the thing. She put her hoof against the thing the tarp was covering... but couldn't make out what it was from what she felt... or rather, she couldn't remember anyway. Suddenly, just as she did, something strange happened. Whatever Sweetie's hoof was resting against at that moment... it vanished! Either that, or Sweetie's hoof phased through it. And result, Sweetie fell further under the tarp as it fell on top of her. W-what the- Suddenly, Sweetie heard something, that slipped a shiver down her spine. It was a laugh... an amused laugh at that. The part that scared the filly was that, much like the voice that had notified her of the items, it was in her head, completely out of her control. Are you trying to leave so soon? the voice said. "W-what?" Sweetie said. The voice laughed again. Behind you... Sweetie turned around and popped her head from under the tarp to see the exit to the room. Standing in it was Time... no... no, this wasn't Time. This was another pony... wasn't it? He had the same brown coat and brown mane... but he was different. His Cutie Mark... it was of an hourglass now... was it that before? The filly couldn't remember. All Sweetie knew was that it had an unnatural yellow glow to it. But it wasn't just his Cutie Mark that warned her, but it was his yellow, crazed looking eyes. Though he couldn't see it from under the tarp, all four of Sweetie's legs were shaking uncontrollably. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that she'd been caught, or the way that Time was looking at her that made her shake so... or perhaps it was the strange chill that had taken over the room... "M-mr. Time- I-" Time? That’s what he called himself? Ha!... I knew you wouldn't remember... "Mr. Time? Is that you? How are you doing that? What's wrong with your-" Time raised a hoof to cut the filly off. He then shook his head. I suppose it was expected for me to lose sight of you if I didn't continuously watch you. Especially with your Cutie Marks... it was only expected you'd subconsciously try and come up with ways to escape. Pockets where you could drop out and start to remember... "H-huh?" Sweetie asked. "Mr. Time, I don't know what you're talking about... s-sorry for breaking into your house, I was just-" Time laughed. It's amazing though. Amazing you managed to make a place to drop out in some place... a zone that isn't even supposed to exist in this time... let alone this memory. How you subconsciously knew it existed baffles even me... but you didn't, did you? "I... I don't understand." Sweetie shook. "H-how are you talking without moving your mouth? What's going on?" She wanted to get under the tarp, and hide from the increasingly terrifying pony... but something kept her still as a statue. As though moving an inch could mean life and death... You knew this pony in a lifetime... am I correct? Of course you did, he wouldn't exist here if he didn't. I suppose it's only by chance that you came across this memory by accident... did you come across this memory that way? I've got to get out of here... Sweetie thought. But... why can't I MOVE?! Sweetie's body wasn't reacting to what her brain told her to do. It was... it was frozen! Sweetie forced her eyes down to look at herself and noticed something horrible about the parts of her coat she could manage to see... they were graying out. Her body was beginning to sting from the spontaneous frostbite that had overcome it. Sweetie wanted to scream... but her vocal chords seemed to be frozen shut. It's alright Sweetie. Relax... hahaha... those little words won't save you now... it doesn't matter how you made your little safe haven pocket... nor does it matter how you knew this "Time" or whatever however he identified himself in this world... Sweetie soon realized that she wasn't breathing anymore. It was as though she was in some kind of nightmare... and for some reason, she felt a sense of déjà vu... All that matters is that now... this pony doesn't exist... and whatever Time had for you... you're out of it... Sweetie's eyes contracted as she felt a particularly painful bite of frost before she heard herself scream at the top of her lungs as she shut her eyes... "HEY SHUT IT!" Somepony yelled. Sweetie stopped screaming as she opened her eyes to find herself lying in a cart filled with ice. "H-huh?" Sweetie said, as her eyes snapped open. She was cold all over... but she was sure that was because of the fact she was lying in a pool of ice and cucumbers. She lifted her head and lower body off of the ice so she could sit up. She was in Lower Stabletown square... lying in somepony's chilled cucumber cart as a few others stared at her. "W...what the-" "GET THE HAY OFF OF MY CUCUMBERS!" the pony behind her yelled. It was a masculine sounding mare, with a voice so booming it was enough to make Sweetie jump out of the cart of ice, and onto the sun warmed ground. Sweetie moaned, unsure of whether it was because of the rapid transition of temperature, the impact from hitting the ground, or the splitting headache she had developed upon her awakening... she had just woken up, right? The filly looked up to find the annoyed mare who'd only seconds ago yelled at her, glaring down at her. They locked eyes for a moment. Sweetie could have sworn they were some kind of warning for something... she also swore for a second that they'd flashed yellow... Sweetie figured it must have been the light, combined with the mare's yellow coat and orange curly mane. The mare then put up her nose, and walked off, leaving the filly in the square. What... what just happened? Sweetie thought. How the hay did I end up in there? Was... was I doing something? Wasn't I supposed to be going somewhere? Sweetie's eyes went over to the flower shop just across the square from her. Her eyes seemed drawn to it, because it was the only one that was boarded up and closed. A sign on the front door stated the words "condemned". Well, that's certainly not it. Sweetie thought. ...oh wait! I was supposed to be heading back to the library to meet Squee. Sweetie looked up at the sun. She noted how it was so much lower in the sky now. Wow... how long was I out? I'm wasting time! Squee and Covri are probably waiting for me back at the library right now. Better not keep them waiting... especially Squee... Sweetie wasn't sure what had made her think of Squee in particular... or maybe she did. She giggled at the thought of the colt, wondering if she was starting to understand the feelings of her new found friend. Briefly, the filly found it a little odd though... she hadn't had any feelings like that prior to her awakening in the chilled cucumber cart. Why now did the thought of the colt fill her with such feelings? And even more, why did she get a sense of foreboding toward them? As Sweetie began to make her way out of the square, the little bit of paranoia left her, as well as her questions as to how she ended up in the icey cold cart to begin with. All she knew was that after who knew how long, she was finally going to make her way back to the library. Chapter 22: Party Crasher (Segment 2/2: Entering the Mansion)The sun was orange now, as it peeked over the horizon of Stabletown. The evening was approaching, as was the party that Sweetie had been told about repeatedly that evening, constantly being reminded that a "date" was to come as well. She did have someone in mind if she could go... but without an invite, she knew it would be impossible for her to even think about going. The filly almost felt as though the town was trying to tease her at how the absence of a single piece of paper was keeping her from attending such a festivity... then again as the evening was progressing, she was starting to lose all of her desire to attend the party at all. Sure, it sounded interesting enough, but she was beginning to question whether or not it was as important as she'd thought. It was as though since the voice stopped, when or where it stopped, the filly was unsure of, any interests associated with the mansion were almost non-existent aside from ones stemming to Squee. At this point, Sweetie was way out of the square by now, and taking the same route of the streets she remembered Squee guiding her through earlier that morning... she was at least happy she could remember that. The filly noticed how the roads she went down had ponies left and right, going about their everyday business. Sweetie didn't think that there would be that many ponies out at that hour... but she at least thought somepony would be outside. After leaving the square, Sweetie had yet to see another pony, griffon, buffalo, zebra... or any other creature besides a pidgin that might have flown over the town. There were plenty of houses and cabins however... some of which, Sweetie could make out the silhouettes of ponies inside. The filly knew where they were... but why were they all inside now? Was she even supposed to be outside now? Better get back to Covri soon... Sweetie thought. I doubt I'm supposed to be out now... maybe she'll let me stay the night? Yeah. A nice good rest would be perfect after all of this walking. Maybe I can ask her about the party in th- Sweetie stopped in her tracks. Her ears perked at a new sound that filled the otherwise silent area. What... what is that? Sweetie wasn't sure why, but the sounds made her smile. For some reason, she couldn't seem to name what she was hearing. Maybe that it was some type of instrument, but nothing beyond that... though one thing was for sure, she certainly liked it. "Dum... dum dum dum dum...dum dum..." She sang quietly along with it. The filly began walking again. Rather than following the route to the library, she began making her way along a new road in the direction of the sound, humming along the way. She continued along her way, until she came to something. It was another line of the wooden cabins she'd seen all throughout Stabletown... but there was one house in particular that caught her eye. A house that stood out among the others... There wasn't anything completely abnormal about it, but breaking the monotonous trend, this house not only had a white wooden sign sticking out of the ground in front of it, but there was also two ponies sitting there... it was odd though. The filly figured she should have been able to see them clearly... but they were extremely blurry. So was the house itself... almost to the point that she couldn't even tell there were any ponies or homes there to begin with... Sweetie wondered if it had something to do with her head injuries, or perhaps she wore some special kind of glasses prior to her amnesia. Seeing no reason not to, the filly continued for the house to investigate. As she did, the house seemed to clear up, as well as the ponies in front of it. There were two of them. One was an earth pony with a cream coat and dark blue and pink mane. She seemed to be talking to the other pony that accompanied her. It was an aquamarine unicorn mare with light cyan and white mane. She had some kind of long device around her neck she seemed to flow magic into. It was rounded at the end and there were strings attached to it... It took a bit of thinking, but Sweetie eventually determined the instrument to be some kind of guitar. Both of the mares were facing the opposite direction, as they didn't notice the filly was approaching as they continued their conversation as their voices entered Sweetie's range of hearing. "...last time. Just five more minutes. That's it." said the aquamarine pony. Sweetie noted that much like the orange mare that had yelled at her earlier, she had a gruffness to her voice. It sounded like she was trying to pretend to be a stallion or something. I wonder what's with the mares around here... Sweetie thought. Must be some kind of Stabletown thing I haven't learned about yet... maybe I'm supposed to talk like that? "Honey, no one's coming. Everypony, griffon, buffalo, zebra... everyone's inside for Mr. Yield’s curfew. Remember? We could get arrested if we stay out here much longer." A-arrested? That doesn't sound too fun... Sweetie thought. M-maybe I should head back? Sweetie shook her head, her curiosity getting the better of her. She figured she would just figure out what was going on with these ponies, and head back to the library before anyone else could even notice that she was out. She couldn't stay too long though... "...either that, or actually preparing for tonight's festivities. Exactly what we should be doing now." the wobbly mare continued. "We can't afford to be late, or look as poor as where we live. You should know that better than I should." The masculine mare ignored the mare, as she continued to stare down the street, and flow magic into her instrument. "Honey, quit pretending that the pony you're looking for is just gonna walk up the road. Especially now, when nopony's even supposed to be out. The least likely time anyone'll show up." The masculine mare stopped flowing magic into her instrument, and the music stopped. She turned to look at the wobbly mare. "That's exactly when talent shows up. It's always where it shows up. In the least likely place, in the least likely pony, at the least likely time. How do you think so much of it is missed all the time? You just-" the mare stopped short as she looked past the wobbly mare, directly at Sweetie. "Hey... Hey! Hey kid!" "H-huh?" Sweetie said, looking behind her, momentarily forgetting she was the only possible pony the mare could be calling for. "M-me?" "Who else?! C'mere a sec, would ya?!" The filly nodded and ran the rest of the way to the house and stood in front of the sign. The masculine mare and the wobbly mare examined the little filly for a couple moments, managing to create a bit of unease within Sweetie. After a couple moments, the aquamarine masculine mare smiled. "Um..." Sweetie said. She looked at the sign that was posted in front of the house. It was still pretty blurry and incomprehensible. "...what's this?" "What is this, little filly?" the masculine mare asked, with a new grandness in her voice. "Why... it's the chance of a lifetime." "Of the chance for this year." the wobbly mare commented, rolling her eyes at the other's exaggeration. The aquamarine ignored her. "Tell me filly. What's the most luxurious thing you've ever wanted to see? The most fantastic thing that you've ever thought about seeing?" Sweetie shrugged. She hadn't been awake long enough to hear of such a luxury, nor could she remember past her awakening should such a luxury exist. "I dunno." "Hm... well then, little filly. What if I were to tell you that I could take you to a place so lavish that it just might blow your mind?" Sweetie flinched at the prospect of her head blowing into a million pieces. "uh..." "It's a figure of speech Ms..." The cream wobbly mare stared at the filly for a few moments. "...I'm sorry. We didn't ask you your name, now did we?" "S-Sweetie..." Sweetie said. She noticed how the mares stared at her before she realized that she'd yet to give them her last name. "...Belle. Sweetie Belle." "Sweetie Belle... what a sweet name." Sweetie shuddered inside at the pun. "My name is Harmonica Clef. Ms. Clef to you, young lady." the cream wobbly mare said. "A-and you?" Sweetie asked, turning to the aquamarine mare. The aquamarine mare put her hoof to her chest, pumping it out proudly. "I am Treble Clef. A musician of high standards, and your ticket and opportunity to fame, fortune, and luxuries beyond your-" "Treble!" Harmonica snapped. "I think the filly gets it. Just cut to the chase already! We're losing more and more sunlight!" Treble shook her head. "You have no value for presentation..." She turned her head away from her wife. "Times like this I wish I married that Romina chick." she mumbled under her breath. "What was that?" "Nothing my little sugarnote." You talk about another mare out loud... and your best response is 'sugarnote'? Sweetie thought. "Look little filly, because I want to get this done quick and get it out of the way so me and my husband here can actually get something done." "E-r... get what done?" The mare sighed. "Take a look at the sign." Sweetie did as the mare said and looked at the sign. The text was still blurry, but with a little extra effort, and some squinting, she managed to make out the words "Vocalist Wanted; Invitation Up For Grabs; One Time Opportunity" "...Vocalist?" Sweetie read over. "A singer, little filly." Harmonica said flatly. "I-I knew that." Sweetie lied, unsure whether or not she really knew... she was just tired of not knowing. "But for what?" "A first time, first serve opportunity little filly. One you won't come across very often, I promise you." Treble smiled. "The chance to obtain a ticket to Mr. Yield's exclusive party this evening." Sweetie's ears perked in excitement at the sound of getting one of the invitations she'd heard so much about. Treble chuckled. "Seems as though I've caught your attention." "Y-you have an extra? But how?" Sweetie asked. "You'd think somepony would have jumped on getting one of those!" "And you'd be right little filly. Think. A lowerclass pony going to such an event you'd only hear of Uppertownsponies, and ones affiliated with our Stabletown government, hm? Ones you'd never imagine yourself being able to go with..." Odd... I could have sworn that pearbucker was going... I wonder what's she got to do with the government. Better yet, I wonder who else I've met is going...? "Yeah... it's really weird. Why hasn't anyone else tried for it?" "... are you even from around here, Ms. Belle?" Harmonica said. "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "Um... I dunno. Maybe? Maybe not...?" "Well, whatever the case," Treble said. "You should probably know that Stabletown isn't the most... musical of towns." "What do you mean?" "Well... I'm not sure where you come from, but towns with a dominant population of ponies have something within their souls. Something that may cause them, or even entire groups of ponies around them to occasionally break out into song. Instruments and vocalists together." "Woah, really?" Sweetie asked. I wish I lived in a town like that... "And... Stabletown?" "Well, a while back, a few laws were passed over the town. We're talking years, possibly decades ago. Among those laws were ones that... well, restricted our allowance to sing or play music on such levels." "Y-you mean you're not allowed to sing? It's illegal?" Treble shook her head. "Not exactly. I moved here after that law was placed but... from what I understand, years back there was some kind of uprising, or riot caused by some pony's singing... and because of it, Mr. Yield, the Stabletown Church and The Mayor got together to create restrictions on singing. No pony's allowed to sing. I don't mean 'not at all', but rather, not enough to disturb the peace... or as some ponies put it, 'enough to wake the dead'." Treble said. "In turn, over the years and generations that followed, music's kind of died here." "So... no one can sing or play music anymore?" "Well... no, not really." "What about that one in Upper Stabletown, honey?" Mrs. Clef reminded. "Hm? Oh right, I can't believe I nearly forgot about Bassa and her little quartet..." Clef said. "Smalltownspony like me probably wouldn't have even gotten such an opportunity if I didn't meet her... Mr. Yield may have never found out that I played, or you sung." She sings? Sweetie thought. Guess I'll only believe it when I hear it... "The point is that not many ponies really dabble in the musical arts. Either too busy or too lazy look for the ways around that law." Treble finished. Mrs. Clef shook her head. "And still, my stone-headed husband still insists that a born talented singing pony will just strut down the road right now, just as though Celestia sent them out of the sky." "Well... I don't know about Celestia-sent... but I'd like a chance to try." Sweetie said. "You said I could right?" "Of course-" Mrs. Clef chuckled. "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "You're both wasting your time." "What? Why?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah, I don't see-" "Treble. Look at her. She's a ranch pony." Harmonica explained. "When's the last time you've seen one of them singing and dancing." "Ranch pony..." Sweetie asked. "The hat? Only fruitbuckers wear those. Let me guess... you work at Cal's farm?" "Huh? N-no, I was only helping there to get a cat out of a tree... only bucked some pears out while I was doing that..." Harmonica shook her head, dissatisfied. "Bucking isn't an easy task. Something that takes years to master... even with an even if that is a real cutiemark. I don't want to waste my time with one of those southern chants you buckers call 'singing'." Your voice doesn't exactly sound like an angel either, Ms. Clef. "Honey... I think those are real cutie marks." "Couldn't be... could they?" Harmonica asked. She walked up to Sweetie and examined her closely, moving the saddlebags to the side to scan every inch of her body. She then licked her hoof and rubbed the cutiemark around Sweetie's horn. "H-hey!" Sweetie said, jumping back at the sensation. "My... they are real!" Clef said in awe. "I didn't know ponies with the Cutie Pox could even function properly... how long have you had it?" Sweetie shrugged, unsure of how long she'd had the marks attached to her body. "Dunno... but I can use them like anypony else I think..." "Hm... so those aren't your real Cutie Marks then... I suppose it was a bit foolish of me to expect such a small, frail looking filly to be able to buck apples for a living." Frail? Sweetie thought, mildly offended. "Nonetheless. I don't see one music Cutie Mark on that body." "Just give her a chance Harmonica." "Y-yeah! I can do it..." Sweetie thought. ...I think... Harmonica looked up at the sinking sun, her patience visually wearing thin. "Very well, but I'm not tolerating any mistakes. We've wasted enough time as it is." "Fine. Once is all we'll need to see if Ms. Belle can truly live up to my expectations..." Treble said. "If not, I suppose you'll have to sing it on your own..." Oh boy... Sweetie thought, somewhat intimidated. It was then she began questioning whether or not she could really sing. Did she really, or ever know the first thing about music? Could she do this... or would she just end up embarrassing herself and disappointing these ponies... wasting their time, as Harmonica put it. Sweetie almost felt like turning around and just giving up, but something in her decided against that. She might have been wasting another pony’s time... but she didn’t want to give up so easily. She had to give it a go... Sweetie nodded. Treble smiled. “I like that. Still gonna shoot for the moon, even in the face of intimidating odds.” Treble picked a piece of paper from behind the sign and handed it to Sweetie. “What’s this?” the filly asked. “The lyrics to one of the songs I was planning on performing tonight.” Sweetie looked over the sheet. To the right, were different stanzas of words, with names written next to them. Next to some of the stanzas, Harmonica Clef was written... and next to others were written “Vocalist 2”. I guess I’m supposed to be “Vocalist Two”. To the right of the verses of the song were dots, lines, and words such as “piano”, “diminuendo”, “fortissimo”, “crescendo”... among a bunch of other letters Sweetie didn’t completely comprehend. She opened her mouth to ask what in the hay the symbols meant, but considering how little faith they held, or at least how little faith Harmonica held, in the filly, she decided against it. She didn’t need anything else to make her look bad. “Alright Ms. Belle. Let’s get this over with.” Harmonica said, holding out the lyrics in front of her. “This song should really work any range you have. If you can sing this with little to no mistakes, you can sing anything I come up with for you.” Sweetie nodded in comprehension. “Ready?” Treble asked. “Get on with it.” Harmonica said, clearing her throat. This should be interesting... Sweetie thought, as she followed Harmonica’s example. Treble closed her eyes and began flowing magic into her guitar. The strings moved as she used some type of kinetic spell to strum the strings. There was a light, yet solemn guitar fill as the tune began. Harmonica was first to sing. “As the sun... sets on... the lush and green plane, She gazes over it with feelings disdain, She thinks about you, wondering if she should, Feel sadness, sorrow and shame....” Harmonica sang. Sweetie was frankly awestruck at how much control Harmonica held over her voice as she sung. It was as though she’d just dropped her old voice and traded it for a new one... According to the sheet, Sweetie was next to sing. She noted the changes of tone in her voice and compared them to the notes of the song... since she couldn’t read the notes, the best she could do was sing along with the guitar and hope for the best... “I... don’t know... if I can soar and fly, My soul can not knowing my ending is nigh, Would you care, if my time should come now this day, Would you truly care if I die...?” Sweetie sang. Sweetie felt odd as she sung the song. Disoriented in a sense... almost to the point that she wanted to fall over and faint. She shook her head and kept going, reading the next stanza of the song. She was doing perfectly... and she wasn’t going to fail now. The next part was for both of them to sing together. “Sister to sister, you must understand, Intentions of mine to repair love to sand, To never have hate between souls, bodies, eyes, When love’s the one offer I can...” they both sang. Both Sweetie’s and Harmonica’s pitches perfectly contrasted each other. Sweetie was getting the hang of singing in duet with Harmonica. Maybe she could do this... provided she could stay awake long enough to finish the tune. There was a small guitar fill that followed the stanza, but it wasn’t long before it was once again Sweetie’s turn to sing. “Blackness and darkness is now my new way, Your comfort is worth every gasp scream of pain, For you I would give up my soul if I must, I’ll find you and save thou I say...” Sweetie sung. She shook her head, reorienting herself. What the hay was happening to her? Why was she feeling so sick... and strangely sad, all of a sudden. Still, she was glad to at least have a break for a stanza to get herself together. Harmonica was up to sing. “She’ll travel all through these dark halls of dark ink, Hearing the laughter as her sane mind sinks, She will not however stop listening for you, Her pain that somehow make you too laugh to pink...” Harmonica sung. As Harmonica ended her verse, Sweetie took a deep breath, knowing that for some reason, this song was going to make her sicker and feel even worse the more she sung it. Regardless, the little white pony was determined to endure it to the end. “Sister, my sister, I fear for my life, Despite this I won’t stop because of such trife, I do not know if I still see the dawn light, Though you will, I swear this, on my knife...” Sweetie sang. There was a pause for a moment... there was silence... before finally, it was both of their turns to sing. “Sister, dear sister, oh hear my last plea, A song from my heart, just myself unto thee, If you would just listen to my sole one poem, You’ll find that I want to be free...” they both sang. As a long guitar fill followed, Sweetie looked ahead at the next couple stanzas... they were all for her. Was this some kind of typo? Was she really supposed to sing all of that...? She was unsure if she could actually do it this time. She was already getting weaker and weaker. Somehow, she knew it would only worsen if she continued to sing this song. Still, she decided against dropping out. She was almost done. Just a little longer... Sweetie knew it was her time once again, as she heard the guitar slow down. Here we go... “Sister you may not hear my last few words, As much as I wish it is you who had heard, My song that I wish you could hear...” Sweetie sang. Her legs felt a bit wobbly as she was going through the last verse. Everything was seeming to mesh around her unnaturally, her vision distorting. Her head was hurting again, and increasing times 10 every word she sang... She had to stop... she had to stop... She swallowed and resisted the urge. She took another breath and continued further on as the guitar progressed to grow more and more retarded. “My dearest sister... my prettiest sister... My first and most loyal of friends... I’m sorry for all of the sorrow I caused... And I hope you’ll forgive in the end...” Sweetie sang. There was a pause before there was a final long guitar fill. Sweetie wasn’t sure if she was even standing anymore. Her legs and body were beginning to feel cold and numb... as though some kind of external force was trying to keep her from finishing the song she’d up to this point, sang perfectly... at least she thought she and hoped she did. Her vocal chords seemed to ache and sting to the point that simply breathing became a chore to her. She was afraid to utter any more words, not only out of fear of what she’d sound like, but how much it would hurt. The final duet was almost up. She would have to make a choice... “...Sister to sister, I’ll fight to the end, Forever for you I shall fend.... Forever for all I shall fend... But for you I will fend... to the end...” Sweetie heard Harmonica, but she didn’t hear herself. All she knew was that her lips were moving, but she wasn’t completely sure if any sound was coming from. All of her senses were blurred... it even took her a few moments to figure out that she was now lying on her side on the ground, convulsing violently. “Sweetie! SWEETIE!” Treble yelled at her, shaking her in attempt to bring her back to reality. It took a few moments before the twitching filly could regain a hold of her body. Sweetie got back up on her hooves and shook one last time before looking at the two ponies now crouched beside her. Her vision and hearing had returned fully. “Wh....what happened?” Sweetie asked. “You tell us. Once you finished singing, you had some kind of seizure or something...” Treble explained. “Wha... I... I don’t know...” Sweetie shook. “Hm... it might be the Cutie Pox.” Harmonica hypothesized. “I found it strange that you weren’t showing any signs of uncontrollable Cutie Mark usage... part of the reason why I thought yours were fake. They must have something to do with it...” Was it really the Cutie Marks...? Sweetie wondered. Something inside of her gave her doubt that was true. “Well... what about my singing? Did... did I mess up in the end?” The three ponies stared at each other for what felt like forever, before finally Treble smiled again. “You were phenomenal.” “R-really?” “For a filly, definitely!” Harmonica said. Sweetie felt a sense of victory in herself when she saw the smile on the cream mare’s face. She even managed to get rid of the depressed feeling she’d developed as she sang the song. “So... am I in?” “As long as you can keep yourself from fainting on stage, yes.” Treble picked something else that was stuck behind the sign. “Here you are Ms. Belle. You’ve certainly earned it.” Sweetie took the item... it was a card of some sort. The border was lined with a swirling gold lining. Little thin ovals, were inside of them... Sweetie compared them to the shape of her own eyes. The way the gold was around them made them glisten in the orange sunlight, as though they were shining at her. Inside was written in cursive Greetings to whoever possesses this, You have been graciously invited to attend the festivities located at Yield Manor. Dress code is formal, and all those who don’t comply will be turned away at the door. You will also require a second pony. A date, if you will, to attend this type of party. Also, punctuality is important. If you aren’t present at the manor by or before 8pm on the 5th of August, you may not be given permission to enter. Otherwise, my mansion is your mansion. Within reason, you will have liberty to move around to the different plays, musical performances, and meals prepared by our staff. My wife and I do hope you do enjoy your stay at my humble abode... Sincerely, Specter Yield Below the message were two blank lines. Sweetie figured one was for her, and the other was for whoever would be her date. “I expect you are able to attend Sweetie?” Harmonica asked. “Huh?” “I mean... I do hope you have the correct attire to attend, correct?” I sure hope so... there’s got to be somepony I know that’ll be able to get me something to wear... Sweetie thought. “And you have a colt friend that can attend as well...?” Treble asked. “I mean... I’m sure a filly as attractive as yourself must have that special somepony who can come.” Colt-friend... Colt-friend! Sweetie thought, remembering Squee’s words from earlier. “...and you told me that you were looking for a colt-friend?” Squee asked. Sweetie grinned. She may not have known where she was going to get a dress, but she certainly knew who she could take with her to the Manor. Treble chuckled. “I’ll take that as a yes.” Harmonica groaned. “Can we head inside now? We have to rush now as it is.” Treble nodded and gave one last look at the filly. “You’d best hurry along Sweetie Belle. You can’t be late, alright?” Harmonica nodded. “I’d guess you have maybe an hour and a half... maybe two before eight. I’d move quickly if I were you.” Two hours? I’m sure that’s plenty of time... right? Sweetie thought. She wasn’t sure herself, considering the day had passed by so quickly. She nodded in comprehension. With the excitement of possibly having a chance to attend the party, she ran back the way she came, to five news of her new ticket to Yield Manor to her “colt-friend”... *** “C’mon... there has to be something in this hallway.” Busby mumbled to himself as he closed the door from the previous room he’d looked through. He looked to either end of the hallway. To his left was the hole the two of them had crawled through, still far out of his reach as a unicorn. To his left was a seemingly endless hallway of doors. Paita and he had split up to cover more rooms as quickly as possible... he didn’t see her, so he figured that she was still looking through a room. “Paita?” the stallion called. He didn’t get a response. Probably can’t hear me... Or maybe one of those ghosts got her. "Or maybe she's just trying to keep her trap shut so that doesn't happen," Busby muttered in response to the thought. He knew how contradictory the act was respect to his own survival, but he just felt it had to be said out loud. If only to make the idea a little more real and himself a little less alone. The guard shook his head. In any case, he would have heard the grown mare scream, yell... something to at least alert him of the danger. Besides, Busby was sure that if he could escape a few of them, a semi-experienced guard of the night would be able to as well... then again, Busby was only lucky enough to see the ghost before it could even touch him. What would happen if it snuck up on Paita...? She’s fine... Busby comforted to himself. I’ll just wait here for a little bit... if she doesn’t come, I guess I’ll have to go looking for her. Can’t afford to waste any time... Busby looked ahead at the window across from the room he’d just exited. Inside of the glass were indentations of flowers and vines... at the center of which was the indentation of a heart, much like the other windows in the hall. He stared out of it... looking at the moon high up in the sky. He was once again reminded of his mission. The princesses were in danger... though how close the danger was had yet to be determined. Unless they had something to do with the ghosts... and if they did, the question became what? And what role did they play in Yield’s? Biiiilllllyyyyyy.... A cold whispering voice echoed down the endless seeming hallway, sending a chill up Busby’s spine. “P-Paita?” he stuttered fearfully. He saw cold mist coming from his nostrils, noting that the temperature had just dropped even further than it already was. “P...Paita?” Suddenly, Busby felt something on his back. He screamed and jumped forward, turning around to face the black and blue armored mare. She laughed. “Very funny.” Busby said, rolling his eyes. “It wouldn’t be if you didn’t scare so easily.” She said. “How you passed the bravery test is beyond me.” I don’t think I did, Busby considered, shamefully. Pretty sure the Instructor felt so bad for me once it was over he gave me a passing mark anyway. Doubt I was the first either. Besides, who is going to have to ever have to go through a labyrinth of demon snakes and zombie ponies anyway...? “But why did you call me Billy?” Busby asked. “I thought you were calling me Buster.” “Don’t recall ever calling you anything different.” Except when you were worried about me... wait... Busby was starting to panic at the realization. “Y-you didn’t call me?” “Nope.” Busby looked back at the endless seeming hallway. “Then... Paita, please tell me you heard it then.” “Heard what?” “The voice!” Busby exclaimed. Paita raised a brow. “We’ve only been in here for... what? A few hours?” Paita said. “You’re really letting this place get to you that fast?” “Hey Pot, I'm Kettle," Busby shot back. He saw that "hitting" look in Paita's eyes, but he was too nervious not to hold his ground this time. Believe it or not, something out there was scarier than Paita right now. "Look, I’m not just hearing things all of a sudden. Somepony called me 'Billy'.” Paita rolled her eyes. “Sure they did.” You’re gonna diiiiie heeeeerrrrrreeee..... The voice said silently again. Busby shivered again. “At least tell me you’ve noticed how much colder it just got.” Paita shrugged. “I’m a night guard. I’m used to the cold.” Busby shook his head. “Something’s about to happen, and I don’t like it. We’ve got to figure out what we came in here for and get the hay out. Did you find anything?” “I’m the one who’s supposed to be asking you that first, rookie.” So we’re back to rookie now? Busby thought. “Well, I didn’t find hay. Did you?” “...I checked about four rooms...” Paita said. “How many for you?” “I only got to check two.” Busby admitted. “Let me guess... they all looked the same?” “Different from the ones in the previous hallway, but... yeah. Queen sized bed, nightstand... heck there’s a window in there when there really shouldn’t be!” “Damn... it’s the same thing with the other hallway. All of the rooms are the same!” “Maybe it’s another puzzle?” Busby suggested. Paita let out a small groan. She looked around. “Well...if this one’s anything like the last, it probably has something to do with this hallway...” Busby nodded in agreement. “But... there’s nothing in here... except the doors and the windows.” Paita went up to one of the doors. She squinted for a moment and then took her sword out. “Paita? What are you-” “Just shut up for a second Buster...” Paita used the edge of her sword to scratch something in the center of the door. After a couple moments, she nodded. “It is something...” “What?” Busby asked, approaching Paita to see what she what she’d discovered. It was a small glass hole inside of the door, tinted a bright blue. It was about two inches in diameter... about the size of a pony’s eye. “A peephole?” Busby asked. Paita didn’t answer as she opened the door and began working on the other side of the hole. Once she was done, she sheathed her sword and entered the room, closing the door behind her. Busby figured she was trying to see if anything was through the hole. “...see anything Paita?” “Oh... I see something alright. That window behind you? It doesn’t lead outside at all.” “What?” “Leads to some kind of weird room with a few more doors... this peephole lets me see past it, like some kind of X-Ray of some sort.” Paita opened the door. “These windows are fake! They’re entirely new rooms.” “Then should we check it out?” Busby asked. “Don’t see why not.” Paita agreed. “If you say so. Ready?” Busby asked. “The better question is, are you?” But... I asked you first... Busby frowned. Paita didn't notice. Busby backed up as Paita brought back her sword and swung at the glass window. It’s shattering sound echoed throughout the hallway as the large window came crashing down. Only as the glass came showering on her did Busby realize how dumb the idea was. “Paita! You ok?” Immediately after breaking the window, the other windows blackened and any moonlight coming from them was immediately shut out. The hallway would have been pitch black if it weren’t for the candle lights coming through their newly created portal. The mare shook off some of the glass that had fallen on her. She turned to face the stallion, revealing the cut that was on her face. “Just a scratch here and there. I’ll be fine.” Busby circled around Paita, examining the mare. “Are you sure? Nowhere you need to be treated or-” “I said I was fine Buster.” Paita snapped. “What the hay is wrong with you? Why are you so worried about me?” “The same reason you were worried about me Paita.” “I wasn’t worried about you.” Paita stressed. “I was just trying to figure what the hay was taking you so long. Get your mind out of your stupid fantasies already.” Busby blinked. “Who said I was fantasizing? Even more, about what?” “About...” Paita trailed off. She didn't need to finish, apparent by the blush that showed up on his face. "A-are you serious? I'm not..." Busby sighed. The blush went away as fast as it'd shown up. Regardless it was obvious Paita wouldn't forget it. “I’m worried about you because I don’t want to see any pony die. Especially not a friend.” “We’re not friends.” Paita turned away from the stallion. “For the last time. We’re just working together to get out of this Celestia-forsaken maze of hallways. Nothing else.” “Well, I see you as a friend I can trust, and would risk my life over.” Busby said. “That makes one of us.” Wow. I didn't think it could get colder in here. “Now... we’re wasting moonlight. Let’s see what we’re dealing with through here.” Paita walked through the new portal and Busby followed. As Paita said, the room was quite peculiar... it was a large square room with four doors. On each door, there were words written in some kind of pink sludge. Aside from that, the only furnishings or items of interest were the candles themselves providing the two ponies with dim eerie lighting. “What the hay is this...?” Paita asked. “...another puzzle?” Busby smiled. Paita groaned. Louder this time. “I’m sick of this puzzle crap.” “Oh Paita, we just got here.” Busby mocked. “Don’t tell me these puzzles are getting to you already.” Paita raised a hoof to hit the stallion. He covered up, expecting his muzzle to fill with pain and suffering... though the mare ultimately decided against it as she went to examine the door to the far right. “...well... at least this one has instructions, I think. Or at least has some kind of message.” Paita said. “...wanna read it?” “I suppose I have to do everything then...” Paita sighed. Yeah, Paita. You do everything. Good job moving that booby painting, or jumping into that death hole in the wall. I wish I did as much as you Paita... Busby thought sarcastically. “Would you like to play a game with me?” Paita read, moving around to the different doors. “Just by using your brain, you will see... the solution to this puzzle is as clear as glass... the right order is the way to pass... and then there’s a smiley face right next to pass.” “Well, at least the sadistic buck who came up with all of this had a nice attitude about it.” Busby joked. “Does it matter? We still need to figure out how to get out of here.” Paita snapped. “Okay, okay...” Busby said. “No go open that door.” Paita said, pointing to the furthermost left door. “Why am I always the guinea pig?” Busby asked, heading over to the door. “Technically you haven’t said ‘no’ yet.” Paita said. Gee, I wonder why. Busby's snout started to ache again. He put his hoof to the door and bowed his head. He turned his head to the mare. “At least give me a thanks every now and again. Or maybe a little credit?” Paita sighed. “Good job crawling through that hole in the wall Buster. I’m so proud of you.” “I-It was a death hole! It could have had death in it!” Busby exclaimed. “It was a hole Buster.” “One of these days Paita. Something’s gonna happen.” Busby said as he opened the door. “And when it does-” *click* Paita’s eyes widened as the stallion pushed the door open. “BUSBY! Back! Now!” As though Paita’s sheer words and will moved him themselves, the stallion jumped back and was immediately thrown by the force of a fiery explosion. “Busby!” Paita called, rushing to his side. He was unconscious, but still alive. She saw it just as he opened the door. She didn’t realize what it was, but she did see the mechanism of wine glasses and matches built behind the door... it was yet another booby trap. “Damn...” Paita mumbled. She examined the stallion to make sure that he hadn’t suffered any real damage... aside from a few bruises from the impact, and a burn he’d received ironically on his snout, he was fine. “Can’t you take care of yourself for once?” Paita put Busby in a more comfortable position on his stomach and looked back at the door he’d just opened. Apprehensively, she went over to the room and examined it. It was completely destroyed. The floor was obliterated and the walls were charred if they were even up at all. Paita couldn’t see anything past the fire, unfortunately. On the chunks of wall that were still there however... she could make out little markings made in the same pink sludge that she’d seen on the doors. Inside of the door frame, she could tell there was, in fact, a little switch. That switch... Maybe I’m supposed to press it once the door opens. Paita figured. Problem is I need to open the door to hit it. Can’t open the door without triggering some kind of trap though, but that message said I needed some kind of order. It probably has something to do with what was written against that wall. But how the hay am I supposed to figure out what’s against the wall without opening the damned thing? Paita thought long and hard on the issue... there had to be a way of making sure she was opening the right door in the right order. A thought came to her as she looked at another door. She moved over to it and took out her sword once more. She proceeded to scrape off the tough gooey message off of it. Maybe there’d be something like before, a hole maybe, that she could see through the door with. Once she was finished, she was disappointed to find that all that was there was an emblem depicting a design of a flower and a heart. “Wait a second...” Paita mumbled as she stood back to look at the design. She’d seen it before. Recently too, but the question became where? She closed her eyes to think about it. She remembered Busby standing at the window, looking out it as she walked up to him. The window... it... it had an etching just like that one! But what does that mean? I used that hole in the wall to figure out what was behind that fake window. Maybe... just maybe... Paita looked at Busby one last time before heading back through the portal and into the hallway. It was still pretty dark, but she could at least see the door to the bedroom with the peephole. She gave it a look one last time before she took her sword up into her teeth once more and aimed it steadily just to the left of the glass circular object. She then gave the side a few good swings before she finally made her slit in the wall. Once she was sure she’d completely penetrated the wall, she did the same thing for the top and bottom of the peephole. Once it looked loose enough, the mare sheathed her sword and hit the glass piece with her hoof as hard as she could. As she’d hoped, the piece was released from the door and fell to the ground. Perfect... She smiled as she picked up the piece with her teeth. Paita headed back through the portal into it’s light. After making sure Busby was alright again, she decided to stand in front of the door that she scraped the message off of, and test her hypothesis. Carefully in one hoof, she held the peephole over her right eye and closed the left to see through it. As she’d hoped, she could see that, behind the door, was written the number “4”. Paita assumed, of the 4 doors she needed to open, this would have to be the last one. She moved to the next door and looked through the peephole... though this time, it was impossible to read it. The message that was still scribbled on the wall was in the way. Paita groaned, annoyed at the extra work she needed to do, as she used her sword to scrape off the gooey substance. At least she knew that whatever the glass was made of, it was made to find whatever that goo was made of. Though it didn’t explain how it told her that the windows were fake. Maybe it did something more than track weird glowing goo? Once she cleaned off the door, she used her peephole to check the number. It was “1”. This was the first door she needed to open. She held back the urge to open it quite yet, however, desiring to make sure she didn’t make a mistake in this puzzle. She scraped the next door off and checked the number. It was “2”. I guess that means that number in the room on fire is 3... speaking of which. Paita thought. She walked over to the room and closed the door. Hopefully, now that all the doors are closed it’ll restart the puzzle. Suppose I’ll find out in a second. Damn it Busby, why did you have to get knocked out like that. Paita took a deep breath and went to door one. She opened the door, hoping not to meet the same fate as her co-worker. The door creaked open to Paita’s relief allowing her to see inside of the room. It was another bedroom. What kind of pony needs so many beds? I don’t care how rich you are, there's something off about that. the mare thought as she hit the door frame switch and moved to the next door. She was hesitant to open the next door, but not as much as before, feeling just a little braver from the previous one. She opened it... it was a bathroom this time. Two down, two to go... Paita thought as she went to the third door. She opened this one with no fear, knowing the trap behind it was already disarmed. Though, when she opened it and felt the heat of the fire hit her so suddenly, she realized how right Busby was when she felt the shift in temperature. Huh. Guess he was right... wonder what made it so cold...? Ah whatever. Only one more door to go. She hit the switch. Wonder what was in that room anyway...? Paita went to the last door and proceeded to open it. It revealed to be some kind of study. Well... I’m still alive and all of the doors are open. Paita thought. Now... what’s gonna happen when I hit this switch? Paita gave one last look at the still unconscious stallion before she finally built up enough courage to hit the switch. Something on the ceiling slid loudly, allowing something to fall down from it. Paita approached the item and picked it up. “What the hay?” Paita examined the object. No matter what, she couldn’t see it as anything else but one thing. It was a camera. “No... no way...” Busby moaned painfully as he got back up onto his hooves. “Oh boy... what the... what happened?” Though she didn’t realize it, Paita smiled, happy to see the stallion back to his feet. Though quickly, her smile turned into a sly smirk. “You got blown away, that’s what.” “What?” “You fell for another one of those stupid traps. Just like the little idiot you are, Buster.” Busby shook his head before looking at the mare. He wasn't even surprised anymore. The annoyance was still there, though. “You could at least ask if I was alright.” “You’re still alive right?” Paita asked. “And you’re on your hooves?” “Yeah, but-” “Then you’re fine.” “...so what were you doing while I was out?” “Actually getting something done.” “Like?” Paita showed Busby the camera. “This is the crap we went through that puzzle crap for.” “A... camera?” Busby asked. Paita threw the camera over to the stallion. “I can’t believe it.” Busby began examining the camera. “M...maybe it’s another pu-” “Forget it Buster. It’s a dead end from here.” Paita stormed back through the portal. “Paita... c’mon. There’s gotta be something we’re missing.” “No Buster. I’m sick of it.” Paita said from the hallway. “This was a dead end from the beginning. Our entire unit is probably trapped... or dead somewhere. And we’re wondering this maze that probably doesn’t even have an exit. I- what the hay is that I- glk!” “...Paita?” Busby called to the suddenly silent mare. “...Paita, this isn’t funny.” Busby took a few steps to the portal before she saw Paita, being grabbed by a yellow ghost pony. It’s hoof was extending down the mares throat, fear and confusion in her eyes. “PAITA!” Paita was struggling to free herself from the ghost’s grip, of course to no avail. She hit it’s sides, and face, somehow managing to hit it, but nothing to get it to stop grinning, let alone release her. Oh Celestia no! Busby wracked his brain trying to figure out what to do about the ghost killing his friend. Suddenly, a thought came to him. He remembered reading up on a belief that cameras were used to steal ponies souls. Could he do the same with the camera he held now? “Hold on Paita!” Busby yelled as he aimed his camera at the grinning ghost mare and clicked it. Nothing happened... the mare simply glanced at Busby and laughed at his attempts. “NO!” Busby yelled, repeatedly clicking the picture button. Billy. It won't work. “What?! Who’s there?!” Busby panicked. Listen to me Billy. I don’t have time to explain. Listen to me! Light is the key. It’s the only way to save your friend! Use it before I put it out! “Light... light... Light!” Busby said, remembering the candles on the walls. Quickly Busby used his magic to snatch one off the wall and threw it at the ghost. As he did, he ran for Paita. Almost instantly as the candle hit the mare, she lit on fire and screamed, dropping Paita. Busby arrived just in time to catch her on his back and bust through the door into the bedroom. Quickly, he slammed the door behind him, panting with the shivering mare. Busby set Paita down against the wall and sat beside her. “Are... are you alright Paita?” Paita was uncontrollably shaking. The stallion had never seen fear like that in her eyes before. “What... the hay... was that?” “It was uh... a terrible thing. Just remember to avoid those.” "Ghosts... right," Paita shakily nodded. There was an acceptance in that voice and that nod. “Busby I... I... never... want to feel a chill like that... again...” Busby hugged the mare in an effort to warm her. She didn’t fight it; the stallion was sure she was even embracing the contact. She leaned against the stallion, allowing his body heat to mix with what was left of her own. ”I wouldn’t call myself terrible for saving your life Billy.” “My name’s not Billy.” Busby called up to the ceiling. “I didn’t... call you Billy. I said-” “Shh.” Busby said. “There’s a voice in my head speaking to me.” “W...whatever you say...” Paita said, blankly staring at the ground. Wow, she really was out of it. It was almost depressing. “Who are you?” “Simple... I am Daisy Maidem Sunflower. Legally known as Madame Yield and to you, the ghost mare who just attempted to kill you.” “But... what are you doing in my head?” “You know that little device you have in your shaking hooves?” Madame asked. Busby looked at the camera. “Taking pictures of certain ghosts allows their uncontrolled halves to make contact with the living’s minds... useful for ghosts who still have the will to help the living.” “But... you tried to kill my friend! You mean you’ve been being controlled by somepony or something?” “Something like that... but I’m here to help you stay alive... as far as I can anyway.” Madame said. “Ms. Yield... you couldn’t imagine the number of questions I’ve got for you, but right now, I’ve just got one.” Busby said, not realizing how loaded the question was. “What in the hay is happening in this mansion?” “Billy... I could go on for hours... on what’s been happening around here, but I can only tell you what’s important for time’s sake... because we’re running out of it rapidly.” Madame explained. “You need to get to a white-coated filly named ‘Sweetie Belle’.” “Sweetie Belle? You mean that filly that greeted us at the door?” Busby asked. “Why... in the hay are you talking about her?” Paita said sourly. “She’s the one who got us into this mess.” “That wasn’t the real Sweetie Belle... she calls herself such, but believe me, when I say that isn’t her” Madame explained. “The real Sweetie... is gone.” “Gone?” Busby asked. “Yes... overshadowed by the spirit of one Spiffy Butler.” Madame explained. “She’d been hunting for her friends as well as other ghosts before you and your guards arrived... now she’s gone. And I have my doubts as to whether or not she’ll be able to retake control over her body... which means you need to finish this and stop my husband from making the biggest mistake of his life... afterlife... whichever makes more sense to you.” “Hold on, back up... that filly was... hunting those things?” Busby asked. “How?! You can’t fight those things!” “Believe it or not Billy, there are numerous ways to go to battle with ghosts... but what Sweetie has is a specially designed Ghost Capture Device you need to acquire to capture her sister... If this works, you should be able to obtain the mare’s cutie mark, and hopefully, that will stir something to help you stop Specter... if he hasn’t taken control over Celestia anyway.” “Take over Celestia? How and why?!” “As I’ve told you before. We don’t have time for every single question you have.” Madame said. “Besides, we’ve wasted too much time as it is. We need to get you out of that room and back to the first floor before all of the ghosts I’ve alerted start swarming the place.” “YOU’RE BRINGING MORE?!” Busby exclaimed. “Yell any louder Billy, and they may come faster.” Madame warned. “In fact, maybe you should try using your inner monologue. We can communicate telepathically, after all.” “Telepathically...In my head? Why didn’t you say I could talk to you by thinking?!” Busby asked. “Because I’m sure it must look fun when your marefriend sees you talking to yourself.” Madame said. “So now not even my own thoughts are private?” Busby asked. “I’m not sure.” Madame responded. “I suppose we’ll find out?” Oh boy... the stallion though. “But enough of this Billy. We need to get you back over to that bathroom.” “But I don’t have to go.” Busby argued. “I... meant for your escape, Billy. That camera... it has a secondary property to it.” Madame explained. “It has the ability to teleport any ponies wielding it, as well as anyone touching them at the time, to teleport back to the safe zone... truth be told, since my husband shut down the power, it’s not very safe anymore... but it’ll at least get you out of there before you get ghostified by my re-enforcements.” “And... the bathroom?”Busby asked. “The bathroom should hold a mirror... one with which you should be able to teleport with by using it... hopefully there’s a mirror compatible with that particular one down there... It’s one of your only chance at escape...” “Alright. I’ll let Paita know what’s happening.” Busby responded. ”Tell me when it’s alright to leave.” “Paita?” Busby said. She didn’t answer, looking down. Busby shook the mare. “Paita, listen to me. We’re going to get out of this alright? I... I think we can get out of this.” Paita shook her head hopelessly. “No... no there’s no way out. It’s a trap. There isn’t supposed to be a way out.” “Yes. Yes there is.” Busby assured. “Look, I... we’ve got a plan. We just need to get to the bathroom-” “I’m NOT going back out there.” Paita snapped. “Paita. Paita!” Busby said shaking the mare. His voice was forceful... a tone that he didn’t even know he was capable of. “What are you? You’re a night guard right?” “...I don’t know. I guess.” Paita said, looking up to the stallion. “Look, I’m scared too, but going up against the things that scare you most is what it’s all about. You can’t let a few ghosts scare you into a corner, can you?” Busby smiled as the mare looked up at him. “And besides... are you really going to let me be the brave stallion and you be the scared little filly when this is all said and done?” Paita crossed her eyes. Busby saw that fire he knew and loved, renewed in those pretty yellow eyes of hers. She looked down at Busby’s legs, and back up at his face. “Buster.” she said. “Huh?” “Are those... your legs around me?” “Uh... well, you were shivering and-” “Stop.” “What?” “Now. I’m going to say this slowly so a simple brain like yours can comprehend it.” Paita said. “You have... one second to release me, before you end up being called Bumpy.” “Bumpy? Why?” “Let me go or I will rip your legs off.” Busby quickly released the mare as she stood up and stretched out. She was still shivering, but she was just definitely feeling better. Never before had he felt so glad for somepony to threaten to turn him into a vegetable. “Buster... let it be known that we will never, and I mean never, speak of this again.” “Until it happens again...” Busby mumbled. “What was that Buster?” Paita asked. “Nothing, dear heart.” Busby smiled. “...you mentioned an escape route?” Paita asked, ignoring the stallion’s comment. “Yeah, but we’d have to move slow and quietly. Did you see a bathroom somewhere around here?” Busby asked. “In fact I did.” Paita said. “While you were unconscious.” “Did it have a mirror?” Busby asked. “... I didn’t check. Why?” “Because if I can take a picture of it, it will transport us to some kind of ‘safezone’.” Busby explained. “And pray tell where did you hear this?” “The voice in my head told me.” Busby explained. Paita looked Busby as though he was crazy. “I’ll... explain later. But trust me, it’s our only chance for escape. If you've got a better plan, I'm all ears.” “...fine.” Paita agreed. “But if I get killed over this, I amgoing to haunt you.” ”Around here, that should be easy enough.”Madame commented. “You both say that like my life isn’t in danger too.” Busby said. Paita ignored it. “Are you ready?”Madame asked. As we’ll ever be... Busby thought. “That’s all I ask. Now move.” Madame said. “Go. Now.” Busby reiterated to Paita. The two slowly opened the door and peeked their heads out. The candles were now out, and aside from any ghostly glow, the world around them was pitch black. Madame was gone, but she was replaced with grinning ghosts, looking in the direction of the square hole they’d originally come through. Both of the living ponies were cautious to opening the door too wide, knowing the moonlight might have been enough to alert the ghosts to their position. Silently, Paita and Busby snuck past it and through the windowed portal. In the room, there were two more ghosts, both of whom were patrolling the room. Paita and Busby held their breaths, as though the slightest huff would be enough to blow their cover. Paita turned to Busby, who she could barely see from the glow the ghosts emitted. “Follow me.” she mouthed. Once both ghosts weren’t facing what Paita hoped to be the bathroom, she began to lead Busby. They moved slowly to the second room, careful not to make any sudden sounds when- ACHOO! Paita let out a loud sneeze. Both Busby’s and Paita’s eyes dilated with fear as they saw the two ghosts now looking directly at them. “RUN!” Busby commanded as Paita ran into the bathroom, followed by Busby. Paita shut the door. “Damn! I can’t see anything! Where’s the mirror!” “Just start taking pictures! Hurry!” Madame urged. “Hold on to me Paita!” Too scared to question the stallion, Paita hugged Busby around his neck as he began taking pictures in random directions in the room. The laughter outside became louder and the room was getting colder and colder. “There’s a lot of them out there Busby!” Paita panicked. “This had better work!” “You’re telling me! C’mon... C’MON!” Busby yelled. Just as the room filled with ghosts of every shape and form, another glowing form began swirling around the two guards... the world began swirling around them in a green light... *** “...so after I woke up with the saddlebags and left the square, and after walking around for a little while, I started hearing this really pretty guitar.” Sweetie continued to tell Squee of her evening and why she was so late. “And then-” “Sweetie...” Squee stopped her. “That’s all wonderful and stuff, but why didn’t you come right home?” “I told you! I got lost.” “Stabletown’s only so big! You were gone for hours!” Feels more like an hour to me... Sweetie thought. “Sorry Squee... I didn’t mean to make you worry...” Squee sighed and smiled. “I can’t be mad at you... I’m just happy none of those other Stabletown weirdos didn’t get to you. Young ponies sometimes go a little crazy, or disappear completely if they don’t know how to take care of themselves...” “... but I do have some really good news.” “You told me when you ran in here.” Squee grinned. “The anticipation is killing me, what is it?” “Hold on...” Sweetie sifted through her saddlebags, noting there was more than the invitation inside. Huh? What’s all this stuff? Sweetie figured she had to check it out, but not before she gave Squee her little ‘surprise’. “Here it is.” “What’s that?” Squee asked. He took the card from Sweetie and examined it. As he read down the cursive, his eyes grew wider as Sweetie’s grin grew larger. “H-how did you... you... do you have anyone to go with you?” “Weeeeeeellll.... I dunno Squee. Do I have someone to go with?” She cooed to the colt. Squee chuckled. “You know.... it’s the colt who’s supposed to ask the filly out, right?” “Well... I haven’t asked you anything yet. And you’re the one holding that invitation.” Sweetie reminded. “You’re the one who’s got to find a date. Not me...” Squee combed his hair back and got in front of Sweetie. “Well... are you doing anything tonight then?” As the colt stood so close to her, Sweetie felt somewhat intimidated by him. Perhaps it was nervousness of being so close to the opposite sex in that manner. Sweetie looked away from Squee, pretending to remember if she did. “Hm... my night’s looking pretty busy, but I’m sure I can make time.” she joked. “Well then. How would you like to go to this here little party huh?” Squee said, getting close to Sweetie before nuzzling her on her neck. The chill of pleasure tickled her to giggle and step back. She liked the feeling of another against her, yet at the same time, she felt an extreme sense of déjà vu as he did. Like that feeling had as much of a bad omen, as it did a good one. “Sounds like fun.” Sweetie rubbed her neck. “But... but we need clothes, don’t we?” “Hm... yeah. I think I’ve got a suit or two myself back at home... but that leaves you. You need a dress... you don’t have one, do you?” Sweetie shook her head. “...you don’t think that somepony would have a dress for me now, do you? The sun’s down and...” “Well... I remember seeing you talking to that Axinite chick earlier.” Squee remembered. “Er... not that I was spying on you or anything. Just happened to see you and her talking.” “Axinite... why does that actually sound familiar...? And Squee, I didn’t ask if you were spying.” Sweetie raised a brow. “Besides... I doubt I would’ve remembered if you had ...are you sure you weren’t-” “A-anyway,” Squee cut off, “She seemed to be fond of you... you seemed to be fond of her too. Probably why she actually rings a bell or two. I bet she’s got a dress your size somewhere around her shop.” “Really? Well... I guess that’s our next stop huh?” “Better hurry though. Party’s about to start, and we can’t be late.” Squee reminded as he went to the door. “C’mon.” “Actually, mind waiting outside? I just wanted to check something.” Squee shrugged. “Sure. Just don’t be too long...” Squee thought for another moment. “And don’t go any further into the library, Ms. Covri said.” “Ms. Covri... I was wondering where she went.” “Yeah. She’s somewhere in the back.” Squee motioned his head in the general direction he’d seen Covri head off. “She’s getting dressed and meeting her own date. Doesn’t want anyone she’d have to clean up after to go any further into the library. Trust me... Covri’s nice, but she’ll hold a grudge for ponies who intentionally break the rules. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you... just stay near the door, alright?” Sweetie nodded in comprehension. “Anything else?” “...nah. I think I’m good. Anyway, don’t be too long... whatever you’re doing.” Squee headed through the front door of the library, leaving Sweetie alone. Alright... really quick. Let’s see what’s in these random saddlebags... Sweetie looked through the bags, examining each object over. The camera, and it’s ‘green’ writing on the inside, the flashlight, which she tested out and was nearly blinded by, and the photo. The photo of the library illustrated a shelf with a book circled. “That book... it’s in here?” Sweetie looked up. “And that green... I remember seeing it somewhere... where did I-” Sweetie turned to the library front desk. She hopped up on it and checked it. There it was, the list of ponies that owned library cards and were registered in the establishment. As she remembered, some of the ponies had their names written in a green bulging ink. Under closer examination, most of them were the exact ponies that stuck in her mind that she’d met or heard about somewhere around town. Romina, Bottle, Feather, Cal, Axinite, and Covri herself. Oddly enough, there were also 6 of the ponies who were apparently going to the same party she’d only recently been given the ability to attend. Odd. Wonder why these are highlighted like this... probably should remember them... if I can. Sweetie jumped down from the desk and looked down an isle of shelves. She really wanted to know where this book the photo she found emphasized so much upon. At the same time, she didn’t want to get in trouble with Covri, or create any bad blood between herself and the mare. For the next minute, Sweetie found herself walking back and forth, indecisive on what her next course of action should be. Finally, she stopped, staring at the isle once more. Mmmm.... J-just a peek. I’ll be in and out before Covri even knows I’m gone. Sweetie decided as she quietly began her creep deeper into the library. Sweetie didn’t dare make any sudden sounds, lest she be discovered by Covri or her dog Sheep. She turned the corners of the maze-like sections of the library, passing by some she didn’t even recall Covri showing her during her first tour. The ranch-hatted filly was beginning to question if she would be able to make it back to Squee in the timely manner she’d hoped for. Sweetie stopped in her tracks as she heard the sound of a yawn. Somepony was just waking up. No it wasn’t a pony. It was too high pitched to be so, it would have had to have been an animal. The realization that Sheep was just waking up didn’t make Sweetie feel any better about the situation... if he was truly awake, no doubt he would alert Covri to the intruder. Sweetie backed away from the corner, and turned around, ready to head back. But that book... the thought came to Sweetie’s head. She wasn’t quite sure where it was coming from, but she couldn’t help but feel that the book held some kind of importance to her. It had to have been important if it was so boldly circled. Sweetie took a deep breath and pushed forward. Maybe she’d just imagined the yawn. Maybe Sheep was somewhere else entirely in the library. Sweetie poked her head around the next corner. As she feared, Sheep was there... but he was asleep. Although, it looked that rather than waking up, he seemed to have just settled down for a nap. Sweetie held back her sigh of relief as she crept by the dog as quietly as possible. Staying against one bookcase, Sweetie crept by him as every breath he breathed made her stop, fearing he was about to awaken once more. Though the seconds felt more like minutes, Sweetie managed to pass by the collie without fault. Once her heart had finally decided to calm down, she kept on going. Eventually, Sweetie came to a ladder, much like the one that was shown in the picture. She looked up, figuring that, like the photo, the book was at the top of the shelf. After looking to the left and to the right, checking to make sure that Covri and Sheep weren’t coming that way, she began her ascent up the ladder. Once she made it to the top, she looked around until she finally saw the red and gold bound book in the picture. Sweetie didn’t waste time in picking it up, though with her three other hooves keeping her anchored to the ladder, all she could do was stuff the book in her bag for now- “Hey! Who’s that! Cal?! You’re not supposed to be here!” Sweetie froze, not daring to look up. She knew exactly who’d called her, as she heard Covri’s voice from atop the bookshelves. She remembered Squee mentioning how she did most of her private affairs up there, such as sleeping, eating and changing. Wait... I’m not Cal. Sweetie thought. She realized that Covri must have only seen her hat, but under closer inspection she’d realize it was the filly instead. Sweetie had to think. She couldn’t afford to go back down and run out, as she might risk getting cornered by Sheep. If she was going to escape, it would have been to get past Covri, but the question became how? ”My eyes aren't supposed to be exposed to extremely bright light...” Ms Covri said. Sweetie needed a bright light. Something that would at least keep Covri unable to see long enough to conceal her identity until she could leave. ...and I think I’ve got just the thing... Sweetie fumbled around in her saddlebags as she listened to Covri get closer and closer, hopping along a bookcase every second or two. Finally, Sweetie found the flashlight amongst the other items and promptly stuck it in her mouth. “Cal, if you moved one book out of place I-” Sweetie hit the switch and turned toward where Covri’s voice was coming from, shinning the light directly in her face. “AH! Cal! What the hay is that?!” As she thought, from the sound of her master being confronted, Sheep woke up and barked. Gotta go. Gotta go. Sweetie realized. If Sheep managed to spot her, and track her to the exit, she’d be done for. Quickly but carefully, Sweetie ascended to the top of the bookcase, while still keeping the flashlight trained on Covri’s face. She squinted, trying to see past the light, but with her condition, she couldn’t even afford to move toward it, or at all even, risking falling to the floor below due to her temporary blindness. She’d need at least a minute, even after the light was off, to be able to see anything. Carefully, Sweetie kept her light trained on her as long as she could, hopping along the bookshelves. “What did you do?!” Covri yelled. “Who are you?!” Sweetie didn’t answer the mare, feeling somewhat guilty for stealing from her. She almost considered stopping the deception of who she was and what she was doing. Maybe Covri would go easy on her? No... it’s too risky... Sweetie realized. If she planned on going with Squee to the party, she couldn’t risk wasting any more time with Covri. Even if she didn’t desire the filly’s head for her actions, she’d still have some explaining to do. She had to go with the book now, if she ever hoped to get out in time. She wasn’t even sure how she would make it out in time even now, considering everything else she needed to do. Once Sweetie couldn’t turn her head any further without walking backwards, she decided she’d have to book it as fast as possible, hoping Covri would stay blinded long enough for her to escape. Gotta go faster... faster... Sweetie thought as she hopped faster and faster down the line of bookshelves, glancing at the still frozen Covri. Finally, Sweetie found herself at the end of the line. Without thinking, she jumped from the bookcase and down to front of the library. She wasn’t sure why, but some kind of instinct, something that was used to falling such heights and knew how to land activated in her. With barely a thought, parkour rolled onto the ground and right by the desk. She even managed to do it by barely making any noise. “What the... where did she go?” Covri asked out loud. Better get out of here. Won’t be long before she realizes I probably left through the front door... Sweetie said as she crept out of the front door of the acorn building. “Sweetie?” Squee asked when she left the library. Sweetie was annoyed and shocked at how loud he was. “Shhhh...” Sweetie shushed. Squee raised an eyebrow. “Sweetie? Something wrong?” Uh oh. Can’t let him get too suspicious. Last thing I need is him blowing my cover. Sweetie thought. “Uh... no, o-of course nothing’s wrong.” “Are you sure? It sure sounds like something.” Smooth Belle. Now he’s even more suspicious and likely to blow my cover. “N-no. No, I’m sure.” Sweetie stabilized her voice. Gotta get him out of here. “Er... we’re going to Mr. Axinite’s place, right?” “Ms. Axinite.” Around here, that tends to get a little confusing. “Yeah, Ms. Axinite. I’ll... I’ll race you there.” Sweetie wasn’t sure why she’d mentioned a race when she could have just said that they needed to hurry. Either way, her flank tingled at the prospect. Squee seemed to find the idea interesting as well, as an enthusiastic grin stretched across his face. “You’re on! Just try and keep up!” Squee raced off and Sweetie happily followed, giving one last look at the library. She saw Covri bust out just as she ran into the shadows of the night, barely escaping pursuit. Phew... that was way too close. Alright you stupid curiosity. Next time... I make the shots. You’re dangerous... *** “Sweetie Belle!” Axinite exclaimed as Sweetie and Squee stood in front of the door of Axinite’s shop in Upper Stabletown. The outside was pitch black at this point, the sun gone and the moon barely risen. “And... and Little Squee... how nice.” For a moment Sweetie wondered why the mare suddenly sounded so unenthusiastic upon seeing her little colt friend. After comparing the cleanliness, not to mention the dressing of both Squee and Axinite, Sweetie felt she could guess why. Axinite seemed hesitant, but after looking at Sweetie once more, she smiled. “What can I do for you?... both.” “Erm... I know this is kind of last minute but... Squee said we could get something to wear... to the party.” Sweetie explained. “F-for both of us, if you could.” “For both of you?” Axinite looked at the two small ponies, putting her hoof to her lip. “Hm... Sweetie, I specialize in dresses dear. Unless your friend here is a filly in disguise... I don’t have anything for him.” “What?” Squee said, surprised and unconvinced. “But what about that stallion I keep seeing you with around town? You made him a suit! Didn’t you?” Axinite shook her head. “That stallion, Mr. Satin, is my... er, special friend dear. My date for tonight actually.” She paused for a moment. “However, the fact he is so doesn’t change my profession. I solely specialize in perfumes, dresses, make-up... mare things colts such as yourself wouldn’t commonly be concerned with.” she explained. “However... for Mr. Satin, I was more than willing to learn how to make a few suits and even get a zebra to teach me the mixes for common colones. You remember Xina, right?” “Nope.” Axinite raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? You only met her just this-” “Er... she has amnesia. She barely remembers anything past when she got brought back to Feather’s infirmary. She’s getting better though, I think...” “Oh... you poor thing.” Axinite said brushing the back of Sweetie’s mane. “As I said though, Mr. Satin’s the only reason I even considered working with suits.” “Anything my size?” “Well... I do believe there might be a dress in the back you could borrow.” “Really?” Sweetie’s ears perked in excitement. “What about me?” Squee asked. Axinite frowned. “Like I said, I only learned how to make them with Mr. Satin in mind. I have a few...” Axinite shook her head. “...but nothing tailored to a colt your size.” Sweetie’s ears went back down. “But... we both need something to wear.” “I’m sorry Sweetie, but I just don’t have the time, or the materials for that matter to make Squee a whole new suit tailored.” Axinite apologized. “The party is less than an hour away!” Squee immediately noticed Sweetie’s sudden slip into sadness as she bowed her head; Her eyes were covered by the shadow of her hat. The colt saw fit to reassure her. “D-don’t worry Sweetie. We can still go! Remember, I said I’ve got a suit over in Lower Stabletown?” “B-but that’s all the way over there!” Sweetie argued. “Ms. Belle does have a point... that is quite the trip.” “Ah don’t sweat it. I’m fast remember?” And who’s the one who beat your flank here? Sweetie thought. She arrived at Axinite’s doorstep a full 30 seconds before Squee with only a barely knowing where to go to start. “Just head up before me.” Squee backed toward the door. “You know how to get there, right?” “And if you’re not?” Sweetie asked. “I’ll be there, but if I’m not, I’m sure you’ll think of something.” Squee smiled. “Worst case scenario, we’ll meet up inside somehow, alright?” “Think of something? W-wait, what do you mean by-” Sweetie asked as the little colt burst out of the door. She sighed. Always on the move. Axinite giggled. “You sure picked one gem of a colt, hm?” Sweetie rolled her eyes. “Come along now. The festivities officially start 20 minutes after curfew, if I’m not mistaken... you haven’t seen a firework go up in the sky on your way here, have you?” “Firework?” Sweetie asked. “Yes... a white flare that shot up in the sky and blew up... have you seen one of those?” Sweetie shook her head. Axinite sighed in relief. “Excellent. Then that means we’ve at least got a bit of time to get you cleaned up and ready...” Axinite looked at Sweetie. “There’s a tub with warm water... Mr. Satin might have used it, but for the most part, it’s clean. Hm... as for the dress... there should be a light blue dress in the back... Do... you need me to help you or anything?” “What?” “I mean...” Axinite rubbed the back of her head. “It’s not my place, as a stranger, still, to ask to assist you in any of your private affairs, but...” She looked off to the window that was placed in front of the home/dress shop. There was a look of longing... nostalgia perhaps in her eyes. She was likely remembering something. After a couple minutes, she shook from her stupor. “I’m sorry. As I said, it’s not anything I should be concerned with. After all, with so many stories and rumors of disappearing children, I have no reason to trust you, or treat you like a filly who can’t take care of herself.” Sweetie looked at Axinite like a puzzle. One possible reason was simply the matter of how she acted around Sweetie. As though despite the fact that she didn’t have any relations to this mare, Axinite was treating her differently. Treating her like a sister might... or possibly a mother. At the very least, her eyes showed she cared for Sweetie. Or maybe it wasn’t Sweetie that she cared about, but something else that the hatted filly reminded her of. Then there was Sweetie herself. As she stared at the mare, she couldn’t help but feel something bubbling inside her. Dim, but present emotions, again as though she knew this mare from long ago. Did she really know this mare before her memory loss? Evidence proved that to be false but... she couldn’t help but feel like she not only could trust this mare, but she had to. That Sweetie wanted to be treated as such. Even if it was her being a little baby, Sweetie craved contact with the mare. But why? And more importantly, why did the emotion feel so mutual? “Well... I could use some help washing my back. Really hard to reach anywhere past these saddlebags.” Sweetie considered. “And I don’t know the first thing about putting on a fancy dress. You think you can help me with that?” Axinite smiled. “Of course little filly, follow me to the bathroom. Hopefully Satin’s left so we can have our privacy.” Sweetie nodded and followed the mare through the shop, to the back, residential quarters. It had transitioned from its stony interior to a much more wooden and cozy one. Sweetie passed a room... getting a glimpse of the stallion that Axinite was taking for her date. It was just a moment, but for some reason, by the slight glimpse of the grey coat and dark blue eyes, Sweetie for a moment was consumed with an untraceable rage. She didn’t know why she became so distressed, but for some reason, she had great hatred and jealousy for that pony. *** “Mmmm... ugh....” Busby moaned. “Ugh... mmm... what the...” Paita moaned nearly in harmony with her co-guard. “The hay, BUSTER! Get off!” “Ah... but this pillow... it's so soft and comfy.” Busby mumbled. “What?!” Busby rubbed his head into Paita's chest. “Nice and warm too...” It was around that point that she realized that Busby was drooling. "'sides. I feel sick, can't I just stay in today." “Buster," Paita said sweetly. "I'm already going to hurt you, but if you throw up on me, I'm going to rip that airhead straight off your neck and stick it so far up your flank you'll see what you had for breakfast! Now GET OFF OF ME, NOW.” Busby’s eyes widened as he jumped up onto all four of his hooves in the darkness. Paita did the same. “Alright... now where are we?” Paita was desperately wiping the drool off of her -- but it was too late. It already seeped between the cracks into her armor and onto her fur. Unless she decided to strip, she just had to wait for it to dry. “I don’t know... I took that picture and now we’ve awaken to find ourselves in a dark room.” Busby recapped in a spooky manner. “Dark room huh?” Paita repeated. “That voice... that one that told you how to get out of there. You still hear it?” “...nope.” Busby sighed. “Looks like we’re on our own for right now.” “I swear, if I see one more puzzle...” Paita hissed. "And speaking of annoying things," With incredible precision, Paita punched Busby square in the snout. "That's for drooling on me." "How?! It's pitch black!" "You were talking," she said plainly. "It's not hard to figure out where you are." "Remind me never to talk again." “...speaking of seeing, how the hay are we supposed to get out of here if we can’t see anything? You know any light spells Buster?” “No. Don’t think so.” Busby admitted. “...but I do have an idea.” “Shoot.” “Let me see your sword.” There was silence for a couple moments before Paita spoke. “...excuse me?” “Let me see your sword,” he repeated. “Buster, I barely trusted you with my blade back at that treehouse. There’s no way in hay I’m letting you have it when I can barely see you.” “Then just let me touch it. If I can feel it, I can visualize it.” “So?” “If I can visualize it, I can use telekinesis on it.” Buby explained. “Every spell produces magic. Depending on the type of spell... it can give off varying amounts of light. If I can cast the spell on your sword...” “You can give us something to see with.” Paita finished. “Alright Buster, we can try your stupid plan.” Stupid? You’re the one agreeing to it, stupid. Busby thought. “...is this you?” Paita asked. “...that’s my flank, yes.” Busby said with a snarkish tone toe to his voice, risking a grin in the darkness. “Is it just me, or do I see a little bit of-” Busby was cut off by a swift kick to his rump, knocking him down. “Talk to me like that again Buster.” Paita warned. Déjà Vu... something tells me I can talk to her like that as much as I want and that’s the worst that’ll happen. Busby thought, getting back up. “Let’s... try that again then.” Paita touched Busby’s neck, notifying him of where she was. She then held out her sword to the stallion and allowed him to stroke it up and down, from the handle to the tip. Once Busby was sure he could, he visualized raising the item in the air, whilst flowing magic steadily through his horn. As the magic flowed, his horn glowed, filling the immediate area with a dim light. Paita’s eyes reflected against the light, almost making them sparkle. “Heh... you look cute in this light.” Busby commented. Paita raised a hoof to hit him, but after seeing Busby not even flinch at the action, she simply groaned and turned away. “Let’s just find the door out of this stupid room.” The two walked around the pitch black room, quickly locating the supposed exit. Paita yanked on the door. “...nothing?” “Damn! It’s locked from the outside... if there is a lock to begin with. What’s this thing?” Paita pointed to a star symbol. “Wait... I know what that is! It’s a battery.” Busby assumed. “A battery? Sounds familiar…” “Yeah… or at least this looks like the adapter to it. Doesn’t have any magic running through it.” Busby confirmed. “So?” “Hm… it looks like even with power, it still needs a little bit of magic.” Busby continued. “Which means… without any magic powering it, it’s pretty much dead. We’re stuck here until we can power up whatever was generating it.” “Since when did you know about magic tech?” Paita asked. “I read it on the back of a cereal box.” Busby explained. Paita looked at him oddly. “I-it was the magic edition of Beirdos. ‘Can you power the Swirl-o-Matic to get the little ponies their favorite cereal?’.” Paita shook her head. “You’re basing all of this off of what you read off of a cereal box… a child’s cereal box.” “Look, I’m 80 percent sure that it’s legit.” Busby insisted. “Hmph… Then… I suppose you think that there’s any hope the way to start up the flow is in here?” Paita asked. Her voice shook at the thought of being trapped yet again, let alone for good this time. She’d had enough of seeing the next part of her world possibly becoming her new tomb. “Sure hope so.” Busby sighed. “If there’s enough crap that needs power in here, chances are whatever generates it is close. C’mon, let’s look around.” The two of them walked around using the glow of Busby’s horn and Paita’s magically held sword. They explored the safe room, passing by the dressers and mirrors with different frame designs. Eventually, they came to a wall and a large machine with a hole in it. “What the hay is this thing? The generator?” Paita asked. “Mmmm… don’t think so. Nothing to push or anywhere I can activate it…” Busby climbed up onto the machine to look behind it. “…but it’s got some really thick wires running into it. Going into the wall too… must mean something.” “…could… could the thing be in the wall?” Paita asked. Busby climbed back down and shrugged. “Maybe. Try checking them. See if you can’t find a panel, or anything out of the ordinary.” Starting from the machine, the two began following the chilling walls around the room, looking for a way to activate the lock. They didn’t find anything. Not a panel or button in sight. Aside from the dressers and mirrors that were against it, the walls were bare. “C’mon… we’ve got to be missing something.” Paita grumbled. “No pony would be stupid enough to have this room locked without some way to open it from the inside… besides you Buster.” “Now’s not the time for banter on my intelligence Paita.” Busby said flatly. “Besides, we’re dealing with wall phasing ghosts remember? Who needs doors?” Paita lowered her head, Busby realizing his negative statement immediately. He raised his hoof, “B-but you’re probably right. We’re just missing something. That machine’s too big for the generator to it to be too far… Wait… what if it’s not just the generator behind the wall.” “What?” “What if… what if what activates the thing is there too?” Busby considered. “Start feeling the wall. Start with this one.” Paita nodded and began feeling along the walls to the left as Busby went to the right. After a few moments, Paita exclaimed. “Busby!” Busby jumped at the sound of his real name. If there’s one pony I hate calling me the right name, it’s her. It never means anything good… he thought as he approached the mare. “Here… there’s a bulge in the wall.” She explained. “Feel it.” Busby did and was surprised to see that she was right. It was a cylinder shaped bulge sticking just about a millimeter out of the wall. There was an indentation at the center of it… it looked like a burn mark. “Think that’s something?” Paita asked. “Only one way to find out. Can you cut at it?” Paita took her sword at the metal and began carefully cutting around the bulge. Whatever it was supposed to be, she didn’t want to risk the possibility of breaking it, or pushing it further into the wall, causing them to lose it forever. After approximately 5 minutes, the segment of wall was thin enough for the mare to peel it off with her teeth. It exposed a grey cylindrical device, with a hole at the center. “Hm…” Paita said. “What is it?” “Hm... try sticking your horn in it." she suggested. Busby gave her a look. "Just stick it in. It looks about the same size.” Paita said. “I haven’t been there for long, but I have seen the princess keep special boxes around her room. Some of them, she uses magic to seal them… a special magic lock she’d stick her horn into and flow some in there.” “And… you think that it’s the same thing here?” “Well… the generator needs magic right?” Paita asked. “Surely it’d need some kind of kick start to begin the process. A shock to start the flow?” “Mare, that thing burned through a wall. I don’t think sticking my horn in it is a good idea.” “Please?” the night guard mare said quickly. “…what?” Paita closed her eyes and took a breath. She opened them, looking back at the stallion. “I said, please.” Paita said flatly. “…you… said ‘please’… to me?” Busby was having difficulty processing the statement. “That’s a new one.” “Look. I’m sick and tired of being in the dark, alright?” She looked away from the stallion, thinking, before rejoining his gaze. She swallowed. “… t-the faster we get out of here, the better…” Paita looked down, ashamed of her fear. “I don’t want to end up like the others.” Busby was entranced. Was it the sincere words Paita had used? The change in tone that she’d received? That same jarring fear that she’d displayed not too long ago in that room? Or was it simply the way he looked at her? The sheer fact that for the moments that they shared eye contact, the mare who’d talked so lowly herself… was now below him? Though, he knew one thing was for sure… Paita was scared. More scared than Busby in fact, and somehow that was the scariest thing of all. “…alright, alright.” Busby smiled. “Just stop looking at me like that.” Busby faced the cylinder hole. He took a deep breath before shoving his horn in the hole. Closing his eyes, he forced as much magic as he could through it. The bone felt like it was ready to explode, just as the wall device glowed, showing the different wires inside it and how the magic flowed through them. When Busby’s horn started to heat to the point he could feel it burning, he quickly retracted his head and took a step away from the glowing cylinder. Both Paita and Busby watched as it sunk back into the wall and disappeared. The walls of the room began to hum. Activating ghost wall defenses. Activation complete. Activating lights. Processing… A computerized voice said. Both Paita and Busby wildly looked around for the source of the voice, but immediately forgot about it as the lights came on. The lights from above were apparently run by bulbs or something rather than candles, as it magnificently illuminating the room. The two ponies could see themselves in full now. “Let there be light.” Busby smiled. He looked over to Paita, also looking up, smiling as well. She must have felt it too. From the very beginning, the situation seemed pretty grim. Everyone had disappeared, the Elements and their accessories were still missing, and there seemed to be no hope for anypony anymore. Somehow, the light seemed to give them hope Hm… who knows? Maybe we are gonna make it out of this alright. “…er, c’mon Buster.” Paita said. Her voice had stabilized back to normal, though the sarcastic undertone she often spoke to him in was non-existent for the moment. “Could you open the door?” “Oh right!” Busby walked over to the door and flowed a telekinetic spell into it, effectively opening the door with a creek. “There we go...” “C’mon. Lets get out of here.” Paita said as she moved through the door. Busby nodded, following the mare. He closed the door and began following her up. *** “And that should do it!” Axinite smiled as she tightened the bottom piece of Sweetie’s new dress on. The dress mare gave Sweetie’s hair a quick comb before taking a step back. “Now that didn’t take long, now did it? Take a quick look Sweetie. We’ve got a minute.” Sweetie obeyed the mare as she guided her to a mirror. Sweetie took a look at herself in the dress. The light blue outfit went down her backside, covering her saddlebags and her flank. Effectively, it hid a fair amount of her cutie marks, lessening her chance of getting noticed by them. She even managed to keep her saddlebags concealed under it. The dress was tied to a little necklace around her neck that connected to the dress. She touched the heart-shaped button that kept it tied to her neck. “It’s... it’s really pretty.” Sweetie commented. “So is the pony in it.” Axinite added. “Hmph... that Little fellow doesn’t know how lucky he is...” “You don’t like him that much, do you?” Axinite shook her head. “It’s not that I hate the little colt. I just can’t understand how young males such as himself find it so difficult to keep clean. I can’t stand the filth.” The two mares heard the faint voice of a stallion. Sweetie couldn’t make out the words, but Axinite nodded. “Alright! I’ll be there in a second! Sweetie, I need to go now.” “Do you want me to follow you?” Axinite looked at Sweetie, then at the exit to the room, then back at her again. She swallowed and frowned. “...no.” “No?” Sweetie asked. Axinite shook her head. “Me and my stallion prefer to show up at the gate... as a pair.” She thought for a moment. “... and if you were to come along, well... rumors might arise. After all, this isn’t the first stallion or mare I’ve dated... I wouldn’t be surprised if a few more aroused when you came with me with Xina... you understand?” Sweetie shook her head. “Of course you don’t... you're much too young to be even thinking about things.” Axinite smiled. “Besides, you said you could find your way there, right?” Sweetie nodded. “I think I can find my way.” “Excellent.” Axinite smiled. “Just as intelligent as you are beautiful... wait a minute or two before leaving after we do, alright? Don’t worry about the lights. Most of the candles are running out and should go out themselves.” Sweetie gave one last nod of confirmation as Axinite made her way to the exit. “I’ll see you at the manor then!” Sweetie waved as the mare left the room. Sweetie decided she might as well take a look around the room while Sweetie browsed the mannequins of different purposes. There were the full-sized ones, in different positions around the room. Sweetie didn’t know, or for that matter remember, much about dressmaking, but she couldn’t help but find the positions themselves a little odd. There was one that was normal, wearing a similar dress to the one on Axinite, but much more similar. Stitches were all over it... likely something to practice the stitches on the dress she wore out. There was a large needle stuck inside. It’s eye was heartshaped and it intrigued Sweetie. “Hm… I’m sure she wouldn’t miss it.” Sweetie said to herself. Besides, it’s not like this’ll be the first useless thing I’ve taken without permission tonight… Sweetie took out the needle and stuck in in her saddlebags. If it turns out to be important, I’ll give it back. If Axinite knows Squee as well as I think, or known enough to get ‘rumors’ spread about her, she’s got to get around… Another was in a sitting position on the ground, looking up diagonally. Its hooves were extended as though it were pulling at something, and it’s flank angled so it was almost balancing on it. It was bare. Then there was another one, lying on the ground in an uncomfortable looking position. Sweetie compared it to a very exhausted pony, or possibly a very sad one. Finally, there was one on the ground, that wasn’t even together. It’s hoof was covered in mud and dirt. Even stranger, by the looks of the broken ends of the mannequin and the cracks on it, either somepony had violently ripped them out of the sockets, or it had fallen from a very great distance. Sweetie’s head started to hurt as she looked at the lifeless interpretations of pony anatomy. She turned her attention to the lone mannequin heads on the shelf closest to her. There were nine total heads, only seven of them having a mane attached, each with different manestyles. What shocked Sweetie was that they were the exact same ones of the ones listed on the library sheet she’d seen… minus two anyway. The red one and the purple one were totally foreign to the mulberry maned pony. Even stranger, were the faces of the two bald ponies. If their lack of hair didn’t set them apart from the others, both of them, unlike the empty expressions of the other seven, seemed to hold emotion. The larger one, likely the face of a mare seemed to have shame on it, yet at the same time anger. The other one, a head the size of a filly, also held shame and sadness. There was a ball of yarn attached to the horn. As she went to grab it- What did I do wrong? Sweetie clutched her head just as the random thought exploded in it like a firework. She had to leave the room. She had to leave it now. Unable to allow either of her hooves leave her cranium, she blindly and desperately scooted on her stomach as fast as she could out of the room. She scooted until her head came in contact with a wall, replacing her old pain with a new, much more pleasant and tolerable pain to her head and a little aching to her neck. Nonetheless, she moaned in pain. After a few seconds, she forced herself to get over the minor trauma and get back onto her hooves. She shook her head. Knew it was too good to be true for that stupid voice to be gone forever… Sweetie dusted herself off, checking her dress to make sure it hadn’t gotten too mangles in her little freak out. Alright, I’m sure I can leave now… Sweetie then headed for the exit and into the blackness. Most of the houses that had emitted the tiny lights that had guided Sweetie and Squee to Axinite’s home were all out. Likely because they were empty or anyone inside was asleep, or off to the mansion. The only thing that allowed Sweetie to even see her own hooves was the light coming from the massive mansion in the distance. At least, for a few seconds it was. Barely a little after Sweetie shut the door to Axinite’s home, a white firework shot up in the sky. That firework…must mean that curfew’s started… guess I’ve got twenty minutes before- Sweetie’s line of thought was interrupted by a second flare that was shot in the sky. “What the…” Sweetie was fearful. What did the second flare mean? Did Axinite mention it? She couldn’t remember. Was it some kind of warning or reminder flare toward the curfew? Or did it indicate that her twenty minutes were up…? The thought that she was out of time sickened her. She had to confirm… she had to follow that flare. Sweetie began running through the streets as it’s light dimmed out and died in the sky. Sweetie found herself behind a few houses, finding it harder to see, until yet another flare, barely ten seconds after the first one shot up into the sky, illuminated Sweetie’s path once more for her to proceed. The pattern seemed to continue, as Sweetie found herself in more places the mansion didn’t illuminate, another firework would. Whoever was shooting up those things… if they weren’t using magic, they must have been having problems, being exceptionally wasteful, or they were crazy for shooting so many in the air... possibly all three. “Honey! Your device! You need to come out here now!” Sweetie heard somepony yell. It was yet another one of the masculine sounding mares. “I’m coming, just a minute!” another mare. Feminine. Sweetie turned the corner to find some kind of cone shaped machine, with valves imitating steam and fire sparking out of tubs all around it. Sweetie watched as another white firework spat out of the circular hole at its tip. The machine coughed violently. Circling around it nervously was a rainbow-maned mare with a tuxedo. “Bottle, how much powder did you put into the thing?” the voice called from inside the residence the machine sat in front of. “Only a barrel! Just like you told me!” Bottle responded. Sweetie resolved to hide behind the corner, seeing as nopony had noticed her yet. She didn’t want to intervene quite yet, either out of fear of the fiery machine, or curiosity of the two’s conversation. “I told you only to put a bit. The sparkler is meant for three fireworks. Not a whole Celestia-cursed show! Aha!” Bursting from the house, a second mare with a pink coat, darker pink mane and a dress to match the pattern flung a box of some new type of powder over it. The powder entered the several metal tubs over it and let out a thick black smoke. The pink mare then proceeded to kick the cone machine over onto its side, and once again on its base. The machine then coughed up a black piece of coal and silenced. The pink mare sighed. “Oh Bottle… that’s the last time I let you work with this thing.” She shook her head. “You could have blown us both up. That wouldn’t have been fun if no one was around to see it!” Implying that it would be fun at all. Sweetie thought. Then she realized something. Was that mare talking to Bottle? “W…what?” Sweetie said nervously, exposing herself out from the corner. The two mares turned to see the filly emerge from the corner she’d hid behind. The two looked at each other and then back at her. “Who... Wait... oh! I know who you are!” the pink mare exclaimed happily. The mare’s strange enthusiasm discomforted Sweetie, making her take a step back. The fact the blue mare was eyeing her so suspiciously didn’t help. “Y-you do?” “Of course Sweetie! We only met like... a couple hours ago! I never forget a pony’s face.” “Well I’ve forgotten just about all of them.” Sweetie sighed. “Amnesia... or whatever it’s called.” “Amnesia?” the pink mare asked. “Already?” “Apparently I hit my head or something... I really don’t know.” Sweetie admitted. The mare giggled. “You sure know how to get yourself into trouble quickly huh? Well, I don’t mind introducing myself again. I love meeting new ponies... even if it’s only a one sided pleasure!” “O...kay?” “My name is Romina. Romina Bonkers! And this is-” “Bottle?” Sweetie blurted out. Romina giggled again. “Guess not all of your memory’s gone, huh?” Bottle shook her head. “Sweetie didn’t remember me, she heard you call my name. Didn’t you?” Sweetie swallowed, getting the horrible feeling that she was somehow in trouble. “Y-yeah.” Romina’s grin faded at the realization. “H... how much did you hear?” “I-I was here when Mr. Bonkers was walking around that firework thing.” Sweetie explained. “I was going to come out, b-but I wanted to know what was going on. Mr. Bonkers...” Sweetie thought it best to press forward. Something didn’t add up to her. “I thought you were the one who did this stuff? Everyone keeps saying you do it.” Romina leaned over toward Bottle. “Do you think she knows?” Bottle shook her head. “Doubt it, but if she tips anyone else off...” “What?” Sweetie asked, tilting her head to the side. Romina stepped forward and kneeled on all fours to meet Sweetie’s eye level. “Sweetie... you need to keep this a secret, okay? Everything you just saw...” “Huh? Why?” Sweetie asked. “I mean... I know Bottle is the one who everypony says does the fireworks but...” Romina sighed. “There’s a reason for that.” Sweetie raised a brow. “See... mares aren’t really supposed to be working with fireworks... or any really dangerous fire for that matter.” “Really?” Sweetie asked. “Something about a fire... something one of the Yield kid and wife set off in some carnival.” Bottle mentioned. “At least that’s what’s going on about the reason he passed the law.” Romina explained. “Law?” “See, Mr. Yield’s crazy rich... or something. It’s the only reason I can think of that he’d be able to have a say in lawmaking. Or he’s a part of some ” Romina continued. “For example, that silly curfew he passed, waaaaay before we moved here... nopony knows why he did that, but everypony guesses this law about mares and fires has something to do with the burning of some Carnival. Nearly killed some ponies I think... anyway, some law was passed, disallowing any mares or fillies to mess with fire. Only stallions when it was really important... or for shows and stuff. Like fireworks!” “And... and you?” Sweetie asked. Romina giggled. “Well... when we moved here about half a year ago, the law had been passed... problem was I was the explosives firework expert... and Bottle,” Romina glanced over at the disabled firework spitter, now emitting white foam from all of its openings. “er... he was more experienced in a different field.” “Which one?” Sweetie asked. “Bottle crafting? Soda making?” “Butter churning.” Bottle said flatly. “Butter?” “Butter.” Bottle repeated. “My... parents weren’t very good namers.” A misnamed butter churner and a firework fanatic with possible sanity issues. What a pair. I’m almost afraid to find out what brought them together... even more, that my curiosity might make me ask. “Anyway, so I could get supplies and be able to secretly work my passion while here, I had Bottle here pose as the super crazy smexy firework genius so I could keep at work!” B-but Mr. Bonkers IS a mare! And more importantly, did she just say ‘smexy’? What is this story coming to? Sweetie thought. “But... Sweetie, if you said anything-” “Stabletown police would jump down our throats.” Bottle said. “So Sweetie... that’s why it’s really important you don’t say anything.” Romina said softly. “If you do, I’ll have to move and... well, quite frankly I like it here. It’s pretty, it’s quiet, everyone gets along... and anyone around these parts doesn’t really have much entertainment since a lot of things around here got shut down. I’m an entertainer, and that’s what I intend to continue doing.” “...alright.” Sweetie said finally. She didn’t really understand how “Mister” Bonkers could still be given the credit of creating such light shows when Romina couldn’t. The puppy dog eyes the pink mare gave Sweetie turned any of the suspicious thoughts into liquid as they dripped out of her head. She supposed no matter how contradictory, she could keep this one secret. “Thanks!” Romina grinned. “I knew we could count on you.” “Hm... anything we could do to seal the deal?” Bottle asked. “Um... I don’t-” Picture Sweetie clutched her head at the new thought explosion. It was only one word, and faded to the point Sweetie could barely understand it, but it still hurt. “You okay Sweetie?” “Yeah... I’m fine...” Sweetie said. It was then something clicked in Sweetie’s head. The connection between the list and the camera. They both had that green sludge, meaning they held some context within each other, right? Was Sweetie supposed to take pictures of the ponies highlighted on the list? Hm... suppose it couldn’t hurt. “...well, if there isn’t anything-” “Actually, I was er... hoping I could take your picture.” Sweetie said. “You... have a camera?” Bottle asked. “They sell those to the public nowadays?” “Yeah! Those things are like... 100 bacrilian bits!” Is that the real price? Better yet, is that even real a number? Sweetie thought. “I’ve only seen photographers and journalists too good and lazy for paint and brush with that type of equipment. Just hit a button and presto, instant picture. How did a little filly like you get your hooves on one?” Bottle asekd. “Er... I kind of just found it. S-so can I?” Sweetie responded. “Weeeeellll, as long as you didn’t steal it or anything.” “Of course not! I don’t steal things.” Sweetie proclaimed. “You want a shot of both of us?” “Er... individual shots, yeah.” “Any particular reason?” Bottle asked. “Uh... scrapbook?” Sweetie tried. Bottle opened his mouth, but was cut off by Romina. “Fair enough. Me first!” Sweetie reached under her dress and into her saddlebags to take out her camera. After reviewing it over once more, she figured out how to take a picture. She aimed it carefully at Romina as she gave her biggest grin. She hit the button. CLICK! A white blank slide popped out of the camera and floated to the ground. “Huh... that’s weird.” “Oh Sweetie, those things aren’t magic you know. Still amazing how it develops all by itself! Almost like magic.” “Ok... now you Bottle.” Bottle wasn’t looking at the filly, but had turned his attention to the mansion in the distance. Sweetie didn’t wait for him to turn back around to take the picture. CLICK! Another slide popped out and fell on top of the first one. “Romina. We need to get going.” “Huh?” Romina asked. “We’re running late as it is. We need to move.” “Oh right! Alrighty then, let’s go!” Romina said, following her husband as he ran off toward the mansion. “See you later Sweets!” Sweetie raised a hoof to return the goodbye, but the two were gone before she could. They forgot to clean up the area.There were was an overturned barrel, a box and the useless firework spitter. Sweetie investigated the barrel to find it was somewhat filled with gunpowder that poured over onto the road. This stuff... it’s used to work that firework thing, right? It’s... it’s like a giant firework! No wonder Mr. Yield doesn’t want anypony to mess with fire. This barrel’s a bomb and fuse waiting to happen! IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. Sweetie didn’t want to leave the gunpowder so exposed, fearing explosion from the slightest spark from the uncomfortably close sparkler. She took a moment to lift the barrel onto it’s front... thankfully, it wasn’t that heavy. There was however, still a fair amount of gunpowder on the ground. Maybe she could gather up the rest...? Sweetie went over to the box and picked it up. She looked at the label... Baking Soda. She used this to stop that machine huh? Wonder if it can be used for other kinds of fire too... Whether or not it could didn’t matter, considering the thing was empty. Nonetheless, she could still use it to swiftly gather up as much gunpowder as she could, lowering the chance of any real explosion sparking from the irresponsibly placed explosive substance. Sweetie sighed and looked up at the mansion. Sure hope I haven’t wasted too much time... She thought. Without any further thinking, she stuck the box of gunpowder, her camera and newly acquired pictures into her saddlebag and hid them under her dress once again. With that, she sprinted toward the mansion. *** Eventually, Sweetie found herself out of Upper Stabletown, and headed down a tree littered dirt path. She could see a gate in the distance as the mansion created its silhouette. From where she was, she could also tell that the doors were still open. She still had some time. Nonetheless, she kept running, noting that aside from a few mares and another filly or two she might have seenrunning around in the beautiful front lawn of shining grass and slender trees, there weren’t many ponies risking to be outside. Sweetie continued to run until she came to the ajar gate. You’d think that a pony who was having a big party would keep the door wide open for his guests… Sweetie said. It was then she noticed her lack of movement, as though something were anchoring her to the ground. No… it wasn’t like she was being pushed down, but back away from the gate, like the negative of some kind of magnet. Sweetie shook her head. Dumb gate. It’s just a dumb gate. With that, the little hated filly pushed forward toward the gate. As she’d suspected, nothing was throwing her backward, however her limbs became gradually more and more stiff as she progressed. Finally, she made it to the opening. Just as she put her hoof against the metal to push it forward, she received a hefty shock to her hoof. “Ow!” she yelped as she snatched back her hoof and put the tip in her mouth. She took it out to see that it was burned. Not severely enough to break any skin, or rupture any nerved, but enough to warn the filly of its lethality. What kind of gate…? Sweetie looked up at the ponies still in the front. “HEY!” She called. Despite that she was in plain sight and within earshot, the ponies ignored her as though she didn’t even exist. Gah… where the hay is Squee? She looked back the way she came. It was pitch black to the point not even the light of the mansion could illuminate the void. It was as though the path she’d come through didn’t exist to begin with. Even worse, it could have been her nerves playing tricks on her, but she could have sworn the blackness was getting closer. Sweetie turned back around, pacing nervously in front of the somehow electrified gate. She knew it was dangerous, but she knew she couldn’t turn back now. Sweetie thought of using her new telekinesis to push the gate open, but she didn’t want to risk shocking her horn from the magical contact. She didn’t know how electricity worked with magic anyway. She had to find a way to make something else open the gate for her. Maybe there’s something I found… Sweetie thought as she lifted her dress to check them. After a little bit of shuffling, she found something: the rubber ball with those letters. She looked up at the gate, noting the flat metal piece on it. Bingo. Sweetie aimed the ball carefully at the metal slab on the gate and threw it as hard as she could. It hit, causing the gate to move about two inches from its origin. The blue dressed pony smiled. A few more throws like that and she’d have the gate Sweetie-sized in no time. Sweetie looked up at the yard again, now noticing that everypony was leaving to enter the mansion. She probably had only until they were gone before her time was up. Sweetie quickly continued to hit the gate with the rubber ball as the stubborn gate continued to open as slow as a gate could possibly open. Throw, Hit, Push, Catch, Throw, Hit, Push, Catch Gah, there’s got to be an easier way of doing this! Sweetie thought as she continued to play wall ball with the gate. She might have tried to use the rubber ball to push the gate open, but she might have received another shock as a result. She didn’t know how rubber balls worked with electricity. After about 15 hits, Sweetie knew she couldn’t waste any more time. The gate had been inching, decreasing the effect of each impact of the ball every time. Sweetie doubted she could get it any larger… though she was sure it was now wide enough to fit her flank through. Sweetie quickly, yet carefully slipped through the gate, only snagging a bit of her dress on the gate and ripping a little. The loose ribbon of blue cloth dragged as a bit of her flank, as well as one of the cutie marks tattooed to it showed. Oops. Sweetie thought. She used her telekinesis to quickly lie the ripped cloth back in place. I-I’m sure that’s fine. Ms. Axinite could probably fix it fine. Just gotta keep this dress from getting any more damage… Sweetie ran up to the door, bolting past the straggler ponies who casually continued their way. Panting, Sweetie made it to the door as some pony stood to the side of it. “S…sorry I’m late.” Sweetie panted. “But I’m here and-“ She looked up. The stallion… he was blue. Sweetie was completely sure she’d never seen this stallion in particular before, but the yellow eyes made him so familiar. He looked at her with a certain emptiness, an automated being without a soul to call his own. “Invitation.” He said in a bit of a mono toned voice. It gave Sweetie a chill, though she went into her bag and gave him her newly acquired ticket. “Here. Hope it’s worth the work it took to get it to you.” Sweetie sighed. The butler looked over the card and nodded. “A… Master Squee Little and his Madam Belle Sweetie?” Sweetie shrugged. “That’s the backwards version that card told me to write out, but yeah.” The stallion took up a clipboard he kept at his side and wrote down the names. “Now… you seem to be in the correct attire.” The stallion paused to scan the filly’s clothing. “But… is it necessary to wear that ridiculous looking hat.” Hey… I like the hat. Sweetie thought. “Er… I’d rather. If it was okay. The stallion sighed. “Very well. Now, your date?” “Uh… my date?” “Mr. Squee Little, madam.” For Celestia’s sake, pick one. Mister, or Master… or at least say his name right. “The stallion or colt supposedly joining you?” “Well… um…” Sweetie wasn’t sure what to say. “He’s coming.” The butler stallion shook his head. “You must be accompanied by your date or no entrance. Master Yield’s strict instructions.” “Oh come on! I’ve got the thing,” Sweetie pointed to the card. “And the other thing,” Sweetie pointed to her dress. “I can’t go in just because he’s a little late?” “Master Yield’s instructions. Every point on the invitation to a T. Considering you bringing you hat is stretching it a little.” The butler stallion said. “You’d better hope this Squee of yours shows up soon. About a minute is left before we need to close the doors…” Where the hay is that colt! I can’t turn back now! The Clefs are counting on me, and I didn’t go through all of that to just turn back around! Sweetie considered bolting into the foyer, in hopes of escaping the grasp of the stallion butler. Though considering the amount of attention she’d gather, she doubted she’d make it far before being kicked out again. For good, most likely. Need a date Sweetie Belle WHERE?! Sweetie screamed at her semi-sentient inner monologue. Then something dawned on her. This was a couple’s party. The area was swarming with potential dates... or at least ponies she could pass off as such. Sweetie looked at the oncoming pairs of ponies. Three pairs. Two pairs of stallion and mare, and one pair of two fillies. There weren’t any colts around... but Sweetie wondered if she could work with that. Sweetie hatched a plan as the next two pairs of ponies walked past the two. Once they were out of the way, and the two fillies, one grey with glasses and one pink with a little tiara, Sweetie went to work. “Little! There you are!” Sweetie exclaimed smiling. Just about a few steps down from Sweetie the two halted to look up at the strange smiling pony. “Uh, are you talking to us?” Asked one filly. Sweetie giggled fakely. “Of course you!” She lightly hopped down the steps to the two confused mare. Probably going to only have one shot at this... really hope this works. “What are you-” before the pink filly had a chance to utter another word, Sweetie kissed her on the lips, shutting her up. Sweetie then promptly put her right leg around her neck to keep her silent. “Hey! Who the-” the grey, masculine filly started, just as her eyes met Sweetie’s. She was caught in the hypnotic stare she’d learned at the pear ranch. What do you know... it worked! Sweetie thought cheerfully. It felt odd kissing the pink tiara, but she knew her weird little feelings couldn’t get in the way now. She had to run through with her plan. Without taking her eyes off of the frozen grey filly, Sweetie began guiding the confused one up the stairs. She looked in between the butler and the grey pony, so she could at least some part of her could face him. “Here. This is my date. Little Squee.” The butler raised a brow. “This... is your date?” He asked suspiciously. “Yeah! Isn’t that right little?” Hm... I’m not familiar with how I should deal with such an odd couple.” “I’ve seen odder.” Sweetie admitted. “Yes, but I’ve yet to cross couples of... well, fillies or mares.” Oh, so NOW it matters? The butler sighed. “But who am I to judge a pony’s... er... attractions. Especially ones around your age. Besides, I don’t see any rules in particular prohibiting dates of the same gender.” “So can I go in, or what?” Sweetie felt her patience thinning every second she was under the butler’s contradictorily judgmental gaze. The butler looked in at the party. “Yes, yes. Run along you two. The doors should be closed already. I don’t have time for technicalities.” Says the one holding everypony up. Sweetie thought. “C’mon Squee.” Sweetie guided the dazed mare, still attempting to piece back together what just happened. The butler gave a glance at the frozen filly. He found her lack of speech or movement odd, but didn’t have much time to question it. He closed the door on her as she seemed to disappear into the darkness. Phew... made it. Sweetie thought. Despite her relief that she’d made it into the mansion, and the triumphant feeling of a plan gone right, she couldn’t help but feel strange. Maybe it was the fact she’d kissed that filly. Masculine or not, it didn’t feel bad, but rather strange. Maybe it was the empty feeling for giving up on Squee so easily. She was really starting to like the little colt- What the hay...? Sweetie let go of her scapegoat filly as her attention was drawn to the far left wall, under a painting of a white alicorn and blue alicorn. It was Squee, leaning to the wall under it, wearing a black suit. Sweetie rushed over to the colt, careful to make sure the crowds of gabbing ponies didn’t mangle her dress any more than it was. “Squee, what the heck?” Sweetie confronted, surprising him. “H-uh?” He snapped out of whatever daze he’d caught himself in. Upon seeing his friend, he grinned. “Oh, there you are Sweets. I was wondering where you’d ran off to.” “I could ask you the same thing. Where the hay did you go?!” Sweetie asked. Squee got off from the wall and looked at Sweetie. “I’ve been here. Managed to sneak past the guy at the door... been keeping a low profile until you arrived.” “Why didn’t you wait for me?” Sweetie asked. Squee scratched the back of his head, doing his best to avoid Sweetie’s angry stare. “Er... I guess I was thinking you’d end up doing the same thing. Sorry.” Sweetie sighed, but was interrupted mid-sigh by a nuzzle from Squee’s snout. “But hey, we both made it... that’s what matters, right” Sweetie felt the pleasurable chill shoot up her spine again. “Y-yeah.” Sweetie stuttered nervously. “So... how did you get in here anyway? I mean, if you didn’t sneak.” “I er... kissed a filly who was passing by.” “Really... how was it?” “Excuse me?” “Er... forget it. How did that work out anyway?” “Well I obviously made it in but... I kind of stole her date. Managed to convince the butler she was you.” Sweetie looked down in shame. “I was kind of panicking... I mean... I didn’t want to steal her chance at going but... really hope neither of them hate me too much for that.” Squee waved her off. “It’s fine... tons of ponies miss this thing anyway. I’m sure whoever got left ‘ll get over it.” he assured. “Besides, lots of ponies who make it here have already been here 4 or 5 times before. This is our first! We should enjoy it... they can wait until next year.” Sweetie smiled, feeling a little better about herself. “Okay... well, I’d better go look for Mr. and Mrs. Clef. They’re probably looking for me.” “Who?” Squee asked. “Oh, I didn’t tell you? They’re the ones who gave me the invite.” Sweetie said. “I’ll... explain while we move.” “If you say so.” Squee said as she began to follow Sweetie. “By the way Squee... just wondering.” Sweetie decided to ask. “Did you have to touch the gate on your way in?” “Yeah. The thing was almost closed.” “Did it shock you?” “Huh? No.” “Oh... that’s weird.” Sweetie asked. “Why?” “No reason.” Sweetie said. “Doesn’t matter any more anyway.” ... does it? Chapter 22- The Stableville (Escaping the Memory)The red rubber ball hit the casing of a china cabinet against the wall. Sweetie caught it, not taking her eyes off of the glass, faintly showing her reflection. She threw it again, this time harder than before. She managed to crack the glass a little bit this time. Every time the ball impacting the glass cabinet made contact with the cabinet each of the silent mares, or at least all of the conscious ones, flinch or seize slightly. Rainbow and Fluttershy’s wings contracted every time, squeezing their sides. Pinkie and Applejack, in a futile attempt to get sleep, had their eyes closed, and squeezed tight, as though being stung by the echo of the ball entered their ear drums. All of the mares were on edge. Between Twilight still unconsciousness, Sweetie’s possession, and the fact that she now had the only thing they could stand a chance against Specter... they were pretty sure they were screwed. Only Specter remained still as he watched his little associate assault the cabinet with the CMC ball to pass the time as they waited down Gilda’s return. He staring her down with watchful eyes, as though trying to read her mind, or rather expecting something to cross it. Whether or not she would admit it, Specter knew she was worth watching though her repetitive and nervous act of throwing and catching. He knew she was stressed or at least worried about something. Excluding Specter, everypony jumped when they heard the ball finally penetrate the glass, as it shattered to the ground. “Where the hay is that slack off of a griffon.” he said finally. “It’s been over an hour since we sent her out to retrieve the body.” Specter chuckled. “You say that as though you’ve forgotten about the labyrinthine of this mansion. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was still wandering the basement area.” “You gave her the directions, didn’t you?” “I gave her the numbers and seconds to get there with her head attached to her shoulders... I may have neglected to tell her how to get back.” Specter admitted. “Though, if Ms. Belle could navigate the mansion mapless... I’m sure even you could agree, she could make her way back.” Sweetie groaned and bowed her head. She was growing impatient. “What’s wrong?” Specter asked. There was a severe lack of concern in his voice, oozing with sarcasm. “You talk like we ourselves are running low on time.” Sweetie didn’t look at him. “...are we running out of time?” Specter asked, raising a brow. “Let me guess... she’s progressing, isn’t she?” “It’s under control.” Sweetie snapped. “If you call her running around in the memories of Stabletown ‘under-control’...” Specter sighed. “Next thing you know, you’ll be calling Ms. Belle’s capture of you a minor security error.” “...I’ll admit, she’s moving around abnormally fast… she’s lucky... or strong-willed, something among those two. The resonance of six cutie marks certainly isn't helping either -- its like trying to keep five ponies posessed at once on top of something else. Some faint subconscious that’s been hiding from me has been guiding her into blind spots of the memories.” “Her’s?” “What else?” “Pockets of her subconscious mind’s creation... ones to go hoof in hoof with your own?” “I’m surprised she could even pull that off...” “Are you? Her cutie marks already were enough to break the anchors you kept on her. Who’s to say her subconscious can’t start manipulating the memory yourself. Especially if you continue to treat her as though she’s ‘just some filly’. She’s already proven to be more than capable of-” “I said I had it handled.” Sweetie snapped finally. She quickly regained herself and regained a calmer disposition. “...I apologize Master Yield, but I won’t allow her to escape. She’s in the mansion... but there’s nothing in there that will allow her to go anywhere outside of the memory.” “Is there?” Specter asked. Sweetie turned around and stared at Specter. “Are you trying to say something? You’ve been acting as though you know something I don’t.” “I’m only trying to remind you of the mansion’s... memorial value.” Specter explained. “If there were anything that Ms. Belle could use... or anything of interest that could make its way in there, it would be in my manor.” “Make its way inside...” Sweetie trailed off. What did he mean by- There was a knock on the door, causing everypony in the room to draw their attention to the exit. “Hey! Open up, will ya?” It was Gilda. “You’re late.” Sweetie said as she approached the door, and opened it for the griffon. She walked in, carrying something on her shoulder, barely larger than herself wrapped in a blanket. “Kind of wishing you didn’t rip up that map hm?” Specter asked in a humorous tone. Gilda carefully laid the mass of blanket on the ground. “Here. Nearly got killed getting her but...” She looked over at Rainbow, who’d returned to blankly staring at the ground. “Look, I did what you told me. Held up my part of the deal. Now can I leave with them?” “...in a moment.” “What the hay do you want me to do now?” “Nothing.” Specter responded. “Just need you as a little insurance. You know how wrong this part can go... we could use a few extra talons.” Gilda groaned. “Once this is over, you can head back over to the second side basement with Ms. Dash and Ms. Pie.” At the mention of their names, the two of mares looked up at Gilda. Pinkie opened her mouth to say something, but only let out a groan as the pain returned to her stomach. “Pinkie?” Rainbow asked. “You alright?” “...less than 20 minutes I’d say. You should be able to make it over to the area by the memory my dear is taking up before it happens.” Specter explained. “Trust me, we won’t have you around here longer than that.” “What’s going on? What the hay are you two talking about now?!” Rainbow exclaimed. Gilda ignored the mare, crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. “Alright, fine. Let’s get this over with. How does this work exactly?” “...I’m supposing the princess’s spirit is fully conscious right now?” “I already told you. Bucker nearly killed me. She was trying to get out the whole way here, but she’s been quiet for a little while now.” Gilda recalled. “Still... aren’t you supposed to control these things or something?” “Spirits like the princesses’ are quite strong-willed and powerful in nature. True, I am able to manipulate the wills of most spirits I come in contact...” Specter glanced at the sick Pinkie Pie. “... Rather, most of them in either case. However, ones like the princesses require a special procedure, especially for the magnitude of the eclipse spell. Since I don’t have the ability to break her will by force, our only option is for her to willingly give me control.” “You’re kidding right? Why in the hay would she do that?” “Simply by making some kind of... shall I say incentive?” Specter smiled. “Before, when we were working on Luna, we simply raised her hopes that her sister was alive... and would join her own fate if she didn’t comply.” “How stupid she must have felt when she found out she was already dead.” Sweetie chuckled. “So, what are you gonna do with Celestia? The same thing?” “Celestia is a bit more of a challenge than Luna, not only in the will department but the magic department. We could barely manage to contain Luna’s magic... and with the added years and experience of the sister of the sun, with as much planning time as she’s had now, she will kill us. I actually wasn’t expecting you to even survive Ms. Gilda.” Gilda glared at him. “However... we do have something that might make our Princess think before acting... Spiffy? Get into position. Make sure you’re the first thing she sees. The quicker she understands the weight of the situation, the faster we’ll be done.” “Yes, Master Yield.” Sweetie reached into her bag and took out the knife. He then approached Fluttershy who looked up, her eyes dilated with fear. “Oh, you and I are about to have the most fun, Ms. Shy.” Fluttershy’s lower lip quivered in fear. “Hey! Get away from her!” Applejack yelled. Her anger only made Sweetie chuckle. Once Sweetie put the knife handle in her mouth, she got beside Fluttershy and put her leg around her neck. She put her face next to hers, making the knife’s edge barely touch her snout. Fluttershy resisted the urge to shiver, fearing she would cut her nose by the slightest movement. Once he was satisfied with how the scene looked, Specter nodded and took a few steps back. He nodded at Gilda, telling her to pull the sheet off. She kept a tough face but was unable to hide her shaking talons as she went for the dark sheet. In one motion, the griffon grabbed the covering and yanked it off of the princess and flew back. As the sheet disconnected from Celestia, a white lighted explosion surrounding her and threw both the sheet and Gilda herself against the wall. Before Gilda could even get a chance to hit the ground, a beam of magic shot from Celestia’s body and went for Gilda, hitting her with tremendous force. Gilda was then pinned to the wall by the neck, followed by Specter. A white ghostly figure emerged from the body with glowing purple eyes. They looked at Specter furiously, though Specter Yield seemed to be unaffected by their penetrating gaze. There was a good minute of silence before anypony spoke “Good morning Princess.” Specter finally smiled. The uninterested voice of Specter made Celestia’s ghostly form even angrier, as she pushed Specter harder against the wall. The ends of his clothes began to singe and grow black as Celestia increased the temperature of her spell, her anger growing further and further as she held the stallion in place. “I’m getting the impression you’re trying to threaten me, Princess,” Specter said. “... and for a being that’s lived along as you... that seems quite impractical without a full grasp of the situation at hand, no?” The temperature of the spell increased further, as it became apparent Specter’s coat was burning, and close to catching on fire. Specter simply laughed, indifferent to the intense heat around his body. “Besides, Celestia... if I may be so bold to call you such, and put the formalities aside...” Specter continued. “You have bigger problems than me.” Sweetie whistled to Celestia, diverting her gaze from Specter and over to her. “Master Yield has a point. If you value the life of your fellow subjects-” Sweetie yanked Fluttershy’s neck, making her yelp weakly. “- I’d suggest you listened to what he and I have to say... wouldn’t you?” It happened so quick, it might have made any pony jump just by being close to it. Celestia shot a strike of lightning aiming for Sweetie. The bolt suddenly stopped in midair, as if halted by time itself right in front of Sweetie’s snout. “Well, well... it looks as though our princess does have a few brains in that fossil of a head. Or at least some semblence of a moral compass,” Sweetie laughed. “I think she’s beginning to figure a thing or two out... wouldn’t you agree?” “Given you and Ms. Shy aren’t now wriggling on the ground, seizing uncontrollably, I’d imagine so.” It wasn’t a matter of whether or not Celestia could hit and kill Sweetie with the bolt, but rather that she would hit and kill her. Though she didn’t know the filly as personally as the other mares, she did know who it was. She also knew Sweetie didn’t have yellow eyes but rather green emerald ones. Though her malicious actions were completely apparent, it was just as obvious the filly was possessed. As much as Celestia would have liked to light the grinning thing inside of Sweetie like a Hearths-Warming Pine Tree, she couldn’t do anything to him without hurting or possibly killing Sweetie’s body. Celestia considered taking her up like Specter and Gilda with telekinesis. Unfortunately, then she might risk Fluttershy poor throat, sitting along the edge of the blade. Even for the percision of an alicorn, it was too risky. “Power down Princess... so we can discuss matters like civilized adults, hm?” Specter suggested. “And I’d suggest being hasty about it. My friend here tends to get a little... loose-hoofed when it comes to knives.” Fluttershy whimpered in fear as she felt the knife find its way down to her neck. She felt as Sweetie applied pressure to the blade and lightly pressed it into her neck. Not hard enough to draw blood, but just to cut into an initial layer of skin so the mare could feel its icy chill even more. “What’ll it be Princess? Will you cooperate? Or will you be the one who gets this cute little mate’s blood spilled all over this mansion?” After what felt like ages, Celestia finally closed her eyes and the bright light that surrounded her diminished. The figure materialized into the tall, majestic pony all of Equestria identified her by. Gilda and Specter were released from her telekinetic grip and dropped on the ground. While Gilda gripped her neck, thankful to still be alive, Specter simply straightened his suit as though nothing major had even happened. “I’d suggest you kept your power level no higher than that. I’ll know if you try anything...” Specter said. “And so will my dear butler. He maybe in a filly's body, but boy is he a speed demon.” The mares who weren’t sick, unconscious, or held hostage looked at Celestia in awe. She looked as strong, leader-like, and powerful as she’d looked when she was alive. And yet here she was, allowing herself to be ordered around by this old stallion. “C’mon Princess, don’t listen to him!” Rainbow yelled. “You’re the boss not him!” Celestia didn’t look at her, but only glared at Specter, who smiled wisely. “Now... I’m sure you’re aware of your sister’s cooperation in this little... er project of mine, no?” Celestia didn’t respond. “Of course you are. You’re a 'goddess', are you not? 'Deities' like you tend to know this type of thing.” Specter continued. “Either way, I’m unable to proceed with my project because I’m missing two key things... one of which is you. You see, one of the factors that play a role in my endeavor is an eclipse. A solar eclipse, to be precise. Now, what I plan on achieving with this eclipse is not of your concern, but what is of your concern... is where I need you to place the sun. Now... the trick of this is where I need you and Princess Luna to place the sun. As you know, it’s incredibly difficult for you and Luna to coordinate the sun and moon in the exact same position to create such a phenomenon. Sometimes decades, if I’m not mistaken, to create the celestial lunar and solar alignment.” Specter paused for a moment, looking at the transparent alicorn, giving her another smile. “I can tell I’m boring you with my little ramble and get to my er... request as some might put it. I want your body... or rather, your ghost body.” Celestia remained silent. “And as you might already be knowledgeable about, I can’t simply take control over you... I must have your blessings, do you understand?” The princess and Specter shared yet another eternity of eye contact before Specter sighed. “Somehow, I figured you would want to do things the hard way. Your sister was so much easier. She was stubborn yes... I suppose that must run in royal bloodlines, hm?” Specter chuckled. “Though, I’ll admit, breaking her will was pretty entertaining. All she could do was whine and cry saying ‘No! Don’t do that to her! You can’t do that! Don’t!’. Image after image of the torture we pushed through that ghost's mind... ah, the look on her face as we told her you were already dead was priceless.” Celestia gritted her teeth, but continued to play the quiet game. “Oh, but don’t worry Princess... I won’t bore you with lies or empty threats, oh no...” Specter said. “Will we, Spiffy?” Sweetie chuckled. “Of course not. For such a respected and powerful princess... we aim to please.” She slid her hoof down Fluttershy’s body and loosened the rope slightly, just enough to get under it and to her side. Sweetie began tenderly petting Fluttershy’s left wing, giving her another chill of unease. “Now... I’ll ask you one more time Celestia.” Specter said. “And truly, I’d suggest your cold shoulder charade end now... pretending you’re still the one in charge. Pretending you’ve still got the situation control.” “I agree. Because princess I’d hate to break it to you-” Sweetie said as she quickly grabbed at Fluttershy’s wing and yanked it downward. A sharp crack echoed through the room, followed by a high pitched scream of pain from the yellow mare. “-but you’re just about as trapped as your little friends here.” Sweetie put her face in front of Fluttershy’s. “Hey... that looked like it hurt. Oh, did it hurt? I’m so sorry.” “Fluttershy!” Rainbow and Applejack yelled. Rainbow struggled in her bonds. “Get the hay off of her! I’ll-” Rainbow sighed frustrated at her own helplessness. Applejack gritted her teeth in seething rage. Applebloom and Scootaloo simply shut their eyes and looked away. Sweetie laughed. “Hey, hey hey.” she whispered to the sniveling, whimpering mare. “You see that nice little white ghost over there? Why don’t you ask her to make the pain go away, hm? All it takes is a simple blessing. Look at her.” Sweetie forced Fluttershy’s face towards Celestia’s body. “Look-at-her.” Celestia’s eyes widened slightly as she saw the tears running down her face. The utter pain and suffering in her eyes. True, she did want to help the mare... but that would mean giving up ultimate power to a bat-guano insane old stallion and his slightly crazier assistant. She couldn’t. Celestia returned to her stone-faced demeanor. She would not fall to his control... even if it meant hurting another pony she considered her friend. Sweetie shook her head. “Nothing? Oh well... hey, while we wait for your princess to continue considering her little decision...” Sweetie slipped her hoof around to Fluttershy’s other side. “Maybe you could... influence her thinking pace, hm?” Fluttershy shuddered as she spoke one single word. “N...no...” Sweetie was a little surprised, as was Specter himself. As they planned out this little will breaking exercise, they’d picked Fluttershy to be first, mainly because of her own weak and defenseless nature. The one pony anymare or stallion would feel numb over, just by seeing her in the slightest bit of pain. And yet she seemed willing to endure the pain, likely to encourage their own princess to keep strong. If she wouldn’t give in, Celestia certainly wouldn't dare. Nonetheless, Spiffy grinned in glee. “M'Kay.” Sweetie gave another tug on Fluttershy’s other wing. The snapping rip of muscle and bone made everypony flinch. Though this time, no pony called out for her, knowing it would only be serving the torture’s purpose. Even Fluttershy didn’t scream this time... then again she couldn’t she passed out from shock. “That’s one...” Sweetie sighed. “She was boring. Oh well. Four left to work with. Maybe they'll scream louder, you think Master,Yield?” Sweetie looked over at Rainbow, grinning. “Two.” Gilda intervened. “Remember our deal. I get Pinkie and Rainbow.” Rainbow looked up at the mention of her name. Specter nodded and sighed. “It’s true, we did reach an agreement accompanied by the promise.” Specter turned to Sweetie “You're not to harm either of them. That's the griffon's pleasure.” Gilda scoffed. Nopony asked what she meant by thhe sound. “Right, right... I do recall.” Sweetie frowned. “Disappointing… nonetheless. I haven’t heard wing bones crack that cleanly since my time with those... ahem. Anyway, that’s fine. I suppose we don’t exactly have the time to drag this out for too long... if our friend here is so insistent to be so stubborn.” Sweetie, let Fluttershy drop to the ground. She then glided over to Applejack, knife in teeth. If Celestia had tried to attack then, she probably wouldn't have made it before Sweetie got her hooves on the mare. Applejack was already horrified at seeing her friend put through so much pain. She was thankful that she’d blacked out before Sweetie could ruin her body further, or worse, draw blood. On the other hand, now that Fluttershy was out, she was the new target. She swallowed and put on a stern face, attempting to emulate Celestia’s, “show no fear” attitude... though her eyes were doomed to fail hiding the intense fear that grew every step the little filly took towards her. Sweetie laughed. “Oh, what’s wrong Applejack. You aren’t scared of a little filly like me, are you?” “Me? Heh, yer so darn small, I ain’t got no reason to be scared of a little...” Applejack immediately regretted talking, as she noticed how her voice quivered as Sweetie’s snout got inches from hers. As she breathed on her, rather than warm, she was chilled with a cold breeze coming from her nostrils. Sweetie laughed. Nervously, Applejack joined her before Sweetie stopped abruptly. She took her hoof and forced her to look into her eyes. “Listen to me, Ms. Jack. I’ll be honest. As much as I enjoy listening to you mares scream, I like you. You're my favorite." "Y-yer huh?" Applejack's voice betrayed her. It was meant to sound bewildered and came across as hopeful. Sweetie ate that up with how she smiled at the mare. "You sure are. Suppose I've developed a soft spot for particular brand of the southern bell type -- and hey. I bet you're Sweetie's favorite too. At least you were. But with me, that’s an accomplishment. Normally I can… barely usually stand that damned Appaloosa drivel you applebuckers are so famed for… along with your complete disregard of manners. Unlike the lot of you, you’ve got something that… I suppose I could call it class.” Sweetie cocked her head side to side as if in conflict with herself. "Ah. Aaaah. I don't want to hurt you." "Y-ya don't huh?" Again, that betrayed quiver to her voice. Applejack couldn't help herself. "Nope," Sweetie shrugged. "I may sound crazy, but I'm not! I'm a reasonable pony. So can't you make this easy on me? On us?" Applejack paused and nodded. “Sure.” she said as she leaned past the insane filly to get a better look at Celestia. “Princess? Mind hurrin’ it up in helpin’ this guy buck himself?” She could have been mistaken, but the apple bucker could have sworn she saw a tiny smile on Celestia’s face, slightly increasing Applejack’s confidence and hope. The brief high was abruptly interrupted as Applejack received a hoof to the face. “Sis! Sweetie! Stop!” Applebloom yelled. “At least Ms. Shy was decent enough to give a straight answer.” Sweetie spat. “Though I suppose it’s to be expected from a low-class apple bucker such as yourself.” Applejack spat back, a little more literally, right in the center of her face. “Ya’ll right. Us applebuckers ain’t got no manners for yer kind.” Sweetie’s eyes widened with anger as she took the knife out of her mouth and prepared to stab her... then stopped. Her smile returned as she laughed. “What’s so funny?” Applejack asked. Sweetie wiped the red, gooey substance off of her face. “You, Ms. Jack. You and your... somehow thriving will to rebel against us.” “Wha-” “And... it puzzles me, really.” Sweetie lightly put the tip of the knife against the exposed area of her chest. “With all of the odds… you insist on rebellion against Master Specter and myself. Resist. Fight… even in the most futile ways possible.” Sweetie slowly pushed the knife into Applejack, as she began screaming. She resisted struggling from her grip, as she knew too much movement would only help drive the knife deeper. Right now, all she could do was take the knife and hope it didn’t cut into anything important. “Why are you all so... insistent on keeping such seditious attitude?” Sweetie halted the knife just about a few millimeters in and began cutting across. Applejack by now had resolved to gritting her teeth to hold herself from screaming anymore. Not only was it not in her best interest to move too much with the knife only millimeters inside her; she knew she was merely being used as a tool to weaken Celestia’s will. The last thing she needed was for the princess to give up on account of her own pain. “I asked you a question Ms. Jack.” “B-because we ain’t quitters.” Applejack said, keeping her breaths low so it wouldn’t rise further into the knife. “We’re gonna git all of ya’ll dead folk. A… and git the hay out a this hole ya call a home.” Sweetie laughed. “Dead? You’re basically the same…” “We… ain’t dead. We’re… alive. We ain’t… gonna die... again.” “Ah… so that’s it isn’t it. You insist on rebellion because of your… will to survive?” Sweetie began dragging the knife maddeningly slowly across the open area on Applejack’s body. She let out a groan of pain, as well as a quiver as she felt droplets of blood trickle down her coat. She bit her lip in an effort to distract herself from her chest. “Intriguing… pointless, but intriguing.” Applejack was sure Rainbow was screaming something, though she was too blinded by pain to even acknowledge what kind of bloody murder she was hollering. “But… I still find it slightly strange.” Sweetie continued, not breaking her snail paced cutting, creating a elongating red line on the orange mare. “Something I can’t seem to understand… possibly resulting from my own immortality is simply your will to… survive. Much more, in such an environment of hopelessness and despair. Even going as far as to delude yourself to believing you’re going to survive this night with your soul still in your body. “And what brings about this desire of life and delusions of living is what puzzles me so… that said, I’ve noticed a similar trait in a few of your friends... which brings me to another question. A… philosophical query, if you will.” Sweetie stopped cutting, right over her heart, ending the cut at about 6 centimeters in length. “Why is it you want to live?” Every breath she took hurt her as the knife’s tip sat over her thumping vital organ. Applejack was sure if she didn’t answer, Sweetie would drive the knife into her chest, ending her. She had to respond fast. “B… because.” She said. She was almost blubbering and her voice was just above a whisper as she took her shallow breaths. “Because… ah… we gotta stop you… and because…” Applejack’s eyes went over to Applebloom and Scootaloo. Scootaloo stared horrified at the scene. Applebloom simply looked away, tears streaming down her neck as she was unable to watch her sister be tortured by her possessed friend. “And… because ah… a gotta protect who ah care abou- Gah!” Sweetie snatched the knife out of her and quickly stuck it into the side of her one exposed leg. Much more carelessly than the one in her chest. “Mmhm… go on.” “…cause… if ah don’t got them… mah sis… mah friends… then…” “There is no point in living?” Sweetie smiled. “Nothing… a creep like you’d understand…” Applejack glared. “Yer… to dead ta care.” “Oh my, Ms. Jack, but I do.” Sweetie smiled as she pushed the knife a whole two inches into her body. She wailed at the pain, though to her relief, Sweetie had let go of the sharp tool, leaving it to sit inside of her leg. Sweetie let the applebucker fall down to the ground on her back to wallow in her suffering. “I simply needed… confirmation.” “Confirmation for what?” Applejack groaned. “Oh… just the thing I require to break the will of your dear princess.” Sweetie smiled. “You see, the factor keeping Specter and myself from gaining control over the princess is the simple will to resist. To fight. As you said, to survive so that she can live to protect something. When that something, or more specifically, that somepony close to her is threatened, anyone, even a thousand-year-old princess would do anything to ease their suffering, or in our case, more importantly, keep her alive. Even submit to us… and since her sister is already dead, there’s only one thing left that holds that special value to her. Within our immediate reach and in any case.” “…no…” “Our princess’s protégée... possibly the one keeping her hope dangling by a thread.” Sweetie approached Twilight, still lying unconscious on the ground. She stood over her head, and stared for a few minutes before looking up at Celestia. She sighed. “Before I… start this Princess, I should probably note… this is your last chance to amend your decision. Lest you make your dear student endure the same suffering as the mares you coldly ignored.” Sweetie said. “…no… no I can see it in your eyes, even as dead as they are now. She’s more than a student to you. More than a friend… you two share a special connection, now don’t you? A bond that goes beyond friendship, and may even drift into the realm of materialism or beyond… hm? You see Ms. Sparkle as someone you love with all of your old heart… the daughter you never had. How close am I? One for completely off the mark and ten for ding ding ding, winner winner chicken dinner!” Celestia turned away from Sweetie, who laughed. “Well… if you continue this fruitless rebellion of yours… she’ll be the daughter you never strangled, either.” “You wouldn’t dare.” Celestia snapped her head back toward Sweetie. “Oh? And praytell what’s keeping me?” “Because… because there’s nothing holding me back from-“ “Killing me?” Sweetie gasped. “Oh my! I didn’t know you were as low as killing little fillies! You monster!” “I’ll… I’ll kill your Master. And the griffon.” Sweetie laughed. “Implying that my immortal master gives a buck as to what you do to his body, or that we even care about the fate of the griffon.” “Hmph.” Gilda looked away, pretending it didn’t bother her. “Face it Celestia… you’re powerless here. You’re not a princess, you’re not a queen, you’re barely even an alicorn. You’re just like them. Just another mare desperate for survival. And your only way out is submission.” Sweetie said, as she flipped Twilight on her back. “In which… I can see you’re still insistent on rebellion. Therefore, instead… we’re going to play a game of sorts.” “Game?” Pinkie raised her head weakly. It sounded just a pitch higher than usual. Somewhat stressed. “I…like games.” Her head fell back down. Sweetie chuckled. “Pity… you’d probably like this one.” She then turned her attention back to Celestia. “Creative mare she is. Might not have broken Luna so easily without using one or two of her methods. As I was saying… the name of game is Chicken,” She said it grandly as though she were hosting some kind of show. She turned Twilight around so that her hind hooves were pointing at Celestia. She then sat behind Twilight’s head and lifted it to her chest. “Here are the rules in a nutshell. You win… by killing Twilight. You lose by being a chicken. Buck buck. See the beauty of this game is all you have to do is not be the chicken. And to do that, is to just keep on doing what you're doing. Rebell to your hearts content.” She shrugged. “Lucky you too. With her wind pipe blocked off, you won't hear a peep, even. If you close your eyes, you only need to know that Twilight's about to cross that line which, in this mansion, she'll never be able to cross again. And sit there in acceptance that you are killing the one remaining dearest thing in your life. However… you lose by being the chicken, by stopping the game by submitting to Master Yield and myself. Understand?” “Don’t…” “What is it, princess? Do I sense a bit of fear in that powerful voice?” Sweetie laughed. “Are we having second thoughts now?” Sweetie began petting Twilight’s head, moving the hair out of her eyes. “You know… they say that the average pony brain can last 4 minutes without oxygen… more or less if they panic and waste their last breath... what an appropriate time to test that fact, wouldn’t you think?” “This isn’t an experiment Spiffy… focus.” Sweetie took Twilight’s head from the cheeks and shook it, attempting to rouse her. Within a few minutes, Twilight began to stir. “Huh…?” Twilight moaned. Sweetie chuckled. “Excellent. If there are no other objections… I say we begin. Deep breath Twilight!” Before Celestia could say anything to stop her, Sweetie wrapped her forelegs around Twilight’s neck and hugged her esophagus with incredible strength. The shocked mare’s eyes widened as she gagged. She’d just woken up, and was incredibly confused. All she knew was the severe lack of oxygen going into her lungs upon her awakening. For the first minute, all Twilight’s eyes did were shoot around the room, panicked and desperate to find something to help her. She didn’t know what she was looking for as she thrashed in her bonds, trying to free her hooves to release herself from whatever was trying to kill her. She thought about using magic, as in her sleep, she was sure she’d built up enough to cast some kind of spell. However, between the lack of oxygen to her brain, or the inability to think clear enough to process such a spell, it was near impossible. As it turned out, she had not taken a deep breath after all. For the first minute, nopony still conscious was watching a mare, but a dog. The way she squeaked and whimpered under the pressure exuded on her windpipe, the way she clawed at everything and everyone she could to no avail. Blindly. Fearfully. Ferrally. Mindlessly. Even Sweetie, she no longer saw a filly, just a force she had to get off of her. She beat at those forelegs with all her life -- the life that was quickly fading away. As she began calming down, and started getting weak and dizzy from the oxygen deprivation, her eyes rested on Celestia. They were fearful, confused, pleading… and dying. Celestia tried to look away from her student, but found her eyes glued onto her student’s. It wasn’t just torture for Twilight anymore... for all she could see in those purple eyes were the words: Help me… They stung Celestia more than any knife, or any bone fracture she could. Her naked soul was aching at the sight of her sufferer. All she could think about as Twilight’s eyes started to flutter shut was the fact that she wouldn’t be suffering if she’d just gave in. That no pony would have to suffer if she’d just submitted. That this whole affair was no one’s fault except herself’s. After an estimated 2 minutes and thirty seconds, Twilight’s eyes rolled back into her head and she began convulsing before finally… she went still and she was- “Stop. Stop! STOP!” Celestia’s voice boomed in the tea room. Sweetie raised an eyebrow. “I… I submit.” Celestia bowed her head in defeat. “See?” Sweetie let go of Twilight and let her head hit the ground. “…oh my.” “What?” Specter asked. “Well… it appears she’s not breathing.” Sweetie said. “No…” Celestia’s voice quivered. “Hold on.” Sweetie sighed. “She hasn’t passed 4 minutes yet. If I’m not mistaken, her brain should be able to survive at least that long…” Sweetie blew air into her mouth and pumped her chest. She repeated the process several times before simply slamming on her chest once… surprisingly enough, Twilight started breathing again, coughing indicating to Celestia she was in fact alive. “There we go.” Sweetie said. “She’ll… she’ll be alright?” Celestia asked. “Oh Princess, of course she’ll be fine… as long as a certain somepony doesn’t decide to change her mind.” “…what do you want from me?” Celestia asked. “We already told you what I want from you. I want to control you… as I said, it was a special puppeting technique that is unique to you alicorns. As long as you remain cooperative-” “Them.” Celestia said sharply. “Hm?” “Their wounds… I won’t… I won’t do anything until you do something about my friends.” Celestia’s voice quivered, fearing she might speak out of place to anger Specter or the possessed Sweetie Belle. Specter smiled. “Of course. It’d be a shame for such respectable and still useful mares to die. Not much use dead anyway without their marks anyhow. Now… before our friends die of shock or blood loss, I…” Specter went inside of his coat, as though to receive something. “Hmph…” “You forgot it?” Sweetie asked. Specter chuckled. “I suppose I’m not the only one who’s age is catching up with him… If I’m right, it should still be in the study though.” “Wouldn’t imagine why not.” Sweetie considered. “It is the room you’ve most frequently used to get to her. If anywhere…” “Yes. Gilda. Quickly, would you mind heading to my study to retrieve the spirit sphere, as well as the locket? … And Ms. Sparkle’s gems as well. Four would be a good number to bring.” “Four? Ms. Sparkle isn’t in need of any immediate attention and there’s only two ponies who need it.” “I asked for four… and I meant four.” Specter repeated. Sweetie looked at him suspiciously. “Master…” “You say that as though you don’t trust me… do you?” Specter smiled. “Besides, wouldn’t you agree it’s within our best interest to keep at least some of Ms. Sparkle’s healing items to keep on hoof?” Sweetie opened her mouth to rebut, though by one look at Specter’s face, she closed it back. It was apparent he wasn’t inclined to dwell upon such a seemingly trivial subject. All she’d have to do is trust him for now… though lately, she was starting to find that difficult. Especially with the reminder of that GCD add-on she was still questioning its function… even if she was the one to install it. “Well Ms. Gilda?” Specter said. “Hop to it. We haven’t gotten all day.” Gilda groaned as she went toward the door. “And… try not to make a mess.” As Gilda pulled the door open however, without warning, two armored ponies rushed through it. The black one stopped on a dime, though the white one, unable to stop, charged toward Sweetie, who promptly dodged him. The white stallion eventually hit the wall and fell to the ground with a thud. “Damn it Buster!” "Huh," Sweetie said flatly. “Well well… what do we have here?” Specter asked. *** Sweetie wandered around the foyer aimlessly, just a little bit anxious. She’d been walking around for the last 20 minutes… or at least as far as the big clock above the paintings pointed out. She weaved through the ponies who socialized around the foyer with other fancy looking ponies. Occasionally, Sweetie noticed a butler or two handing out appetizers to the guests, but other than that… Sweetie couldn’t seem to find a Clef to name. Squee followed closely behind Sweetie, making sure not to lose her. Despite his affection for the blue dressed filly, he spent more of his time ogling the other ones, who were even more lavishly dressed, than he did at his date. Sweetie might have been vaguely offended in the manner he looked at them if she wasn’t so worried about the location of Harmona or Treble. Finally, Sweetie sighed and stopped. “Where the hay are they…?” “Huh?” Squee asked, noticing her break. “Oh you mean that Clef guy you told me about?” Sweetie had previously informed Squee of how she acquired the invitations. “Uh… have you tried looking for somewhere that ponies would… y’know, watch a show, or preform or something?” Sweetie shook her head. “It’d be nice if I knew where a place like that was.” Sweetie hadn’t been solely wandering since she entered. She’d done as much exploring of the first floor that her boundaries would allow her. Aside from the staircase, there were only two doors that she could access. The one to the right of the staircase, there was a double door. Unfortunately, that door was locked. Though she found the locked door in and an electrified gate to be active during somewhat peculiar during a supposedly ‘open house’ party, though disregarded it as unimportant. To the right of the staircase was only a single short hallway that led to the dining hall. There were very few ponies held up in there. Possibly to sample some of the dishes that had already been laid out for the dinner later. Though Sweetie was reminded of her stomach’s emptiness, she was more worried then about finding Mr. Treble and checking in with him… though she was sure there was no way dinner could come fast enough. The only way that Sweetie could tell she could go was the kitchen, which she had her doubts that there was anything else but food and maybe a few cooks. Definitely not the ideal place to preform one’s works of music. Sweetie was now thinking about checking the next floor, wondering if her destination could possibly be up there. She did notice ponies heading up that way through the center door. It didn’t make sense to her as she’d assumed that the upper floors would be where ponies slept, or engaged in more personal affairs. Then again, her memory was still a bit foggy on basic matters. There was also that fear that the moment she left to investigate the second floor, that the Clefs would appear just as she left. Then again, as the minutes rolled by, she was beginning to get a little antsy. After a fair amount of hesitation, Sweetie came up with a plan. “Er… Squee?” “Yeah Sweetie?” Squee asked, once again, tearing his eyes away from some other pony. “What is it?” “I’m gonna go on ahead to see if I can’t find the Clefs up there.” Sweetie pointed to the staircase. “But I need you to hold either of the Clefs if you see them.” “Sure! But uh… what do they look like again?” “Well… one of them has a poofy mane like mine, and a cream color coat I think… and the other’s like an aquamarine color with a strip of white in her mane.” “You sure that’s right?” “I think so. Why?” Sweetie asked. “Welp… I’ve heard of those new Clefs, but I don’t remember them looking like that. I dunno… still, I’ll keep an eye out for them Sweets.” “Thanks Squee. I’ll pick you up if I find them myself.” “Alright. Don’t be long.” Squee nuzzled Sweetie on the neck making her giggle. “See you.” Sweetie made her way through the different ponies conversing, barely acknowledging her existence as she had to push through a few walls of them to get to the staircase. She began climbing, and about half way up- “Hey! Pear-bucker filly!” “Huh?” Sweetie asked. She’d been referred to as a pear bucker before by the Clefs, grabbing Sweetie’s attention. Though, when she turned her head to the top of the staircase, it was neither Harmona, nor Treble… but a grey coated mare with purple eyes. Sweetie climbed up to the top to confront the mare. Immediately upon being close enough for her to examine her closely, she began walking around her. “So… you’re the pear bucker that apparently has the voice of an angel, hm?” Her voice was feminine to Sweetie’s relief. “Er… I guess. I mean, I don’t sing that well.” Sweetie modestly admitted. “B-but I’m not a pear bucker. One just gave me her hat.” “Hm… odd fashion design, but that’s not important I suppose.” The mare said. “But you can sing, correct?” Sweetie shrugged. “Um… Mr. Clef said I could. Wait, do you know him?” “Who else would tell me about such an obscurely talented filly?” the mare said. “Yes, he did. I’m the one who gave him the-” “-opportunity to perform?” Sweetie finished. “…it’s not polite to interrupt an elder while she’s speaking.” “Sorry. He just used that word a lot.” “…none the less, you are the filly who he recruited as the third. A strange decision to allow a school-aged pony to sing in a professional environment, but he knows how special this is… and how he’ll never get this chance a second time if he royally fails at this.” No pressure… Sweetie thought. “Either way… I suppose you and him have a fair amount of time to prepare for your own act.” The mare said. “I do?” Sweetie asked. The mare nodded. “Yes… for some reason, most of the performances will be taking place after dinner, which should be in a little while… only Mr. and Mrs. Clef, myself and my two assistants will be performing any music before the host’s formal introduction. A little background music… nothing more.” “You mean Mr. Yield?” Sweetie asked. The mare nodded. “Okay… so I’m not performing yet. Or at least I don’t have to… That’s cool.” Sweetie smiled. “But just so I know where they are, where are the Clefs?” The grey mare pointed to the center door. “Take that door right there. Make the second right you can. Then take the first stairwell you can down and you should be able to find your way from there to a theater area. Treble is performing now, and I should be down there eventually after I’ve met up with my second assistant.” “Where’s your first?” Sweetie asked curiously. “Right here, of course.” Sweetie then became aware of the small male purple dragon atop her back. He waved. “Erm… hi.” Sweetie waved. “Hiya!” The dragon said in a feminine voice. You’ve got to be kidding me. Sweetie twitched. Does gender mean anything anymore?! “My name’s Notetooth.” He smiled. “What’s your name?” “Sweetie.” He giggled, slightly disconcerting Sweetie. “Nice to meet you Madame Sweetie.” “Er… likewise Mas- er, I mean, Madame Notetooth.” “Hm… it’s getting late. I need to head off.” The mare turned around with a snap and headed for the center door. Notetooth leaned his head the back of her neck, using it as a lounge and closed his eyes, likely to go to sleep. “Wait! I didn’t get your name.” The mare stopped and turned her head back towards Sweetie. “Violinist Barra Basso. Don’t forget it.” No promises Sweetie thought. “…oh, one last thing.” Barra added. “Huh?” “This might be something that you may not already be aware of but… you aren’t to be snooping where your snout isn’t to be around here.” Barra warned. “Specter will kick you out.” “Really? Why?” “Because some ponies appreciate it when you respect their privacy.” Barra responded. “You should keep that in mind. When I first met him, that was the first thing he told me. Don’t go wandering around the mansion.” “…alright.” Sweetie said. “Yeah. I wasn’t planning on doing that much exploring anyway.” “Good.” Barra turned back around. “Remember to arrive in the dining hall at the appropriate time. Treble will take you to perform from there.” “Okay, okay…” Sweetie said. Barra and Notetooth went through the door, and it shut. Specter really doesn’t want anypony to wander huh? I wonder why… Sweetie shook her head. She didn’t need her curiosity to make her do something stupid. She’d already worked hard enough to get into the manor, she didn’t want to get kicked out… and yet for some reason, she couldn’t help but get the feeling that snooping around was something she had to do. Like it was important for some reason… Sweetie resolved to heading through the front door. She swung it open… and in fact, there was a long hallway that stretched almost endlessly… what was she expecting to be there anyway? She began to make her way down the hallway as the door creepily creaked shut. The only light in the hallway were candles hanging off the walls. As Sweetie navigated the hallway, she felt pressure at the back of her head, as well as a bit of dread, which she felt was a little misplaced. The hallway was very well lit and extremely normal looking. The ‘normal’ part was, for some reason was a part of the reason the hall put her off. Despite its obvious openness, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of oppression and despair brooding inside her… why did this hallway seem so threatening? As Sweetie walked down the strangely lonely hall, she decided to check one of the doors. There were a unreal number of them stretching down the hall. Even more, there was no way there could be a pony in every single one of them… she figured a peek inside one of them couldn’t hurt, if only to satisfy a little of her curiosity as to what could be inside. Sweetie took a hold of the knob and turned. It wouldn’t budge. Locked.Sweetie thought. Who woulda thunk it? She looked down the hall. She still had a few more doors to try before the first turn. There had to be one that was unlocked… maybe she could find one along the path? Besides, it wasn’t like anypony was around to rat her out for her nosy behavior. She proceeded to check the doors… Locked… Locked… Locked! Sweetie wasn’t completely sure why she was getting so upset over these locked doors but everyone she came across made her more and more annoyed. Who in the hay has the time to lock ALL of these doors?! Sweetie wondered. She sighed. She shouldn’t have been even trying to break into the rooms anyway. She still had to check up with the Clefs anyway… right after she checked this one last door just at her turn. Sweetie put her hoof on the knob- “Daddy said guest ponies aren’t supposed to be sneaking around the house.” Sweetie whirled around to find herself met with two fillies, who’d spoken to her in perfect unison. One of them was a yellow pony with a red mane, and the other an orange pony with a purple one. They grinned at her. “Daddy says,” They continued, “that the nosy ponies are supposed to be punished.” Sweetie backed against the door, scared of what they were about to do to her… then they both began to giggle. “You should have seen your face!” the purple filly laughed. There was a hint of masculinity in her voice, though it wasn’t as stressed as the other ones. “I wish my sister was that easy to scare.” “Lucky for me, you are that easy to scare Marbles.” The other one whipped a tear from her eye. “Hey shut up Ms. Firebug. At least I didn’t burn down the only fun thing that comes around here.” Marbles retorted. “That wasn’t my fault! Mommy said so.” “Uh…” Sweetie said nervously. They both looked at her and smiled friendly. “And you…” Marbles said. “What are you doing wandering around? Daddy did say that other ponies weren’t to be trying to get into any locked doors…” “L-look…” Sweetie said, still shaken up. “Please don’t tell your dad I was trying to…” The red mane giggled. “Weeeellll, I dunno.” “Look Ms. Firebug I-” Marbles snickered. “See? Even she knows it was your fault.” “Shutup! My name is Candy. And this is my idiot brother Marbles.” “Sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.” Sweetie said. “It’s fine.” Marbles said. “Listen. I like you. Gave us a little entertainment and proved how big of a dodo my sis is.” This seems incredibly ironic, but I can’t remember why… “Maybe we’ll-” “Hold up…” Candy stopped. “First things first. Who are you?” “Er… my name’s Sweetie. Sweetie Belle.” “Cute name.” Marbles looked at her in a way that made her feel a little uncomfortable. “Hmph… weird name for an-” “I’m not an pear bucker, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Sweetie cut off. “I just… happened to come across it.” “A pear bucker hat? You mean like the ones down in Lower Stabletown?” Sweetie nodded. “Can I… see it?” “Uh… sure? Why not.” Sweetie said, taking off the hat and handing it to the red mane. She examined it with extreme interest as Marbles leaned over to take a look at it herself. “So rough… really warm though. What’s it made of?” Sweetie shrugged. “It feels so weird…”Candy mumbled. “Lemme see.” Marbles snatched the hat from Candy. “Hey!” Candy sighed and looked back at Sweetie who oddly eyed their curiosity. “Er… we don’t really get to see much stuff from Lower Stabletown.” Candy explained. “Daddy said that wasn’t a really good place to be for ponies like me… what’s it like down there.” “I don’t think I’ve seen all of it, but really, it’s nothing special.” “You haven’t?” Candy asked. “Don’t you live there?” Sweetie shook her head. “Wait a sec… you’re not from around here then?” Marbles looked up at Sweetie, who nodded. She gave back Sweetie’s hat. “Nope.” “Where are you from?” Sweetie shrugged. “Amnesia… I’m getting better, but I still can’t remember stuff like that.” “Ah… but wait a second… if you’re not from around here then…” Marbles nudged her sister who nodded. “Sis, this could be the pony we’re looking for…” “Hey yeah! Sweetie. Mind doing us a favor?” “Uh…” Sweetie looked to the side, uncertainly. “Because… well, you didn’t get a library card from Ms. Covri yet, did you?” “No… plan to get one soon though.” “And… she hasn’t written down your name or anything?” “Nope. Not that I know anyway.” “And you haven’t met Mommy or Daddy yet, right?” “Not yet.” Sweetie affirmed. “Why?” “That means… there’s no way Daddy or his butlers know who you are right?” Marbles asked. “Besides that one at the front who I showed my invitation to, I don’t think so.” “It hasn’t been too long since the party started. Which means nopony who matters knows who you are!” “Huh?” Sweetie was lost. “What does Covri listing me down or ponies knowing me have to do with anything?” Marbles and Candy looked at each other. “Think it’s worth telling her?” Candy asked. Marbles shook his head. “Nah. I barely understand it myself really. All she needs to know is that anyone that Specter finds the name of… if they wander on the mansion grounds, they lose their memory.” “What? Why? How?” Sweetie asked. “We’re not really sure ‘why’. The ‘how’ has probably got to do with magic. And I’m not really sure how to answer the ‘what’.” Candy said. Losing memory by wandering… is Mr. Yield somehow related to my memory loss? “Anyway, if one of those uptight butlers got a hold of your name, it’s probably not long before it gets to Daddy. We won’t get a chance like this ever, if he gets your name.” “What do you mean?” “We… we want you to run a mission for us. We want you to go explore a little of the mansion we’ve never gotten to be in.” “…you’re asking me to snoop around?” “That’s a sneaky word for it, but yeah.” Candy said. “Every time we wander around to certain parts of the mansion, one of the butlers comes and picks us up… or we black out and wake up back in our rooms, forgetting just about everything from our exploits.” “Kind of weird that your dad doesn’t even let you walk around your own house.” Sweetie said. Almost like he’s hiding something he doesn’t even want his own kids to see. Wonder what could be that horrible…? “You’re telling us.” Candy sighed. “Anyway, we want you to do that… in fact, we need you to do that. Tonight.” “Huh? Why?” Sweetie asked. “What’s special about tonight… besides this party of course.” “Check this out.” Marbles reached into her tuxedo and took out a small key with a little heart on the end. It was glowing yellow. “Whoa…” Sweetie said, mesmerized by it. “Yeah. We found it in one of Mommy’s powder rooms. It started glowing around the time the sun was almost down. We know it goes into a few doors we found… but we checked those ones. Nothing but bedrooms normally… but every time we try and go in one now, we feel dizzy, and…” “…nearly blackout?” Sweetie guessed. They both nodded. “So you want me to go to the door this opens, and see if anything is different?” “Yeah!” Marbles said. “You’re crazy then.” Sweetie said flatly. “Huh?” “You checked it, right? I don’t think doors change when you put glowing keys into them.” Sweetie said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound rude, but… really, I don’t have time to check doors that I know don’t have anything interesting inside.” “C’mon Sweetie. You’re a unicorn. Ponies like you know this better than anypony else. We live in a world of magic. Stuff like that is normal!” “You think your dad cast a spell on a room for no apparent reason?” “I don’t know. Maybe?” Marbles said. “Besides. It’s a glowing key for Celestia’s sake! That’s weird, isn’t it?” Marbles shook the key in front of Sweetie for extra effect. Sweetie sighed. “Like I said… I don’t have time right now. I’m sorry… maybe a little later?” Candy shook her head. “No, we’ve got to take every second we’ve got. Listen Sweetie. I like you. Marbles likes you. But if you don’t do this thing, we will tell on you.” “What?” “You were wandering around the mansion like a aimless rat-” “Please don’t talk about rats.” Marbles shivered. “And we could get you kicked out of here.” “Y-you wouldn’t.” Sweetie stuttered. “We won’t if you do what we say.” “You don’t have any evidence!” Sweetie argued. “Who is Daddy going to believe? Two of his pure hearted kids? Or some weird low class little pear bucking filly who he’s never met before?” “I told you, I’m not a-...” Sweetie sighed. “So… where am I going again?” “That’s the spirit.” Candy smiled. “You want to take the left door, the one to your right as you go back to the foyer. It’s a little twisty, but all you need to do is try a few doors, explore a few hallways… and the next time you see us, tell us what you find.” “…that’s it?” “And don’t get caught.” Marbles added. Obviously. “Marbles is right… I mean, it’s weird really…” Candy continued. “Daddy threatens to throw ponies out if they snuck, and I’m sure some have tried before… but of every party he’s thrown, it hasn’t happened once.” “What? You think they never leave?” Candy shrugged. “I don’t know what happens to them… but who knows? Maybe it has something to do with his ultra big secret.” “Like I said… if you don’t want to find out the hard way… don’t get caught.” Marbles reiterated. “…thanks.” Sweetie sighed. She was more nervous than ever about this now. “Don’t worry Sweetie. You look smart… I’m sure you won’t do anything too stupid to get yourself caught.” Candy said as she gave Sweetie the key. “We’re counting on you. “Well… We gotta go.” Marbles said. “We’ll see you at dinner.” “Yeah. We can talk more there.” Candy said. “See you.” “Bye.” Sweetie said. The two of them bowed and headed down the hall Sweetie was originally going to go. They took the staircase down… and like that, they were gone. Sweetie looked at the glowing key for a few moments before stuffing under her dress into her saddlebags. She thought about forgetting about the sneaking mission and just going to her destination… but she feared coming across Marbles and Candy again. She didn’t know if ‘snooping’ counted if she hadn’t found anything interesting to name… but then again, she’d worked too hard to get inside of manor. Then again, going along with the mission could have yielded an even worse consequence. Decisions… decisions… Sweetie finally resolved to going along with the Yield kids mission. Between her obnoxiously growling curiosity, the pressure the children had put on her, and the fact she’d been literally handed the key to resolving both issues, how could she resist? Sweetie headed back to the foyer and took the door she’d been instructed to take. She looked behind her, making sure there were no ponies, butler or guest, that was paying her any attention in particular. When she felt confident enough, she cracked the door open, and slipped through, closing it without a peep. As she’d expected, the door led to a new hallway, one perpendicular to the one she’d just exited. This one however, Sweetie wasn’t too keen on exploring. Unlike the previous one, only the first two candles were lit. The hallway down further was pitch black. Sweetie swallowed and reached into her saddlebags. She took out her flashlight and lit up the path ahead. Here we go… Sweetie walked down the hallway as the candlelight at the beginning of the hallway got dimmer and dimmer as she grew further away from it. The walls, paintings, and even the vases in the reduced light seemed more menacing than before. The chronic dizziness she felt as she went deeper and deeper didn’t make her feel any better. Thankfully, she didn’t get anywhere close the black outs Marbles and Candy claimed to experience. Still though, Sweetie knew there was definitely something sinister about this hallway. It was when Sweetie felt the chill down her spin that she stopped. She felt as though she were being watched by something. Or more likely, something was looking for her… This place is giving me the creeps. Alright Sweetie… she thought as she took out her key again. Just test this thing on a few doors and get out… before something I won’t like finds me… Sweetie picked a random door and stuck her key into the hole underneath the knob. Surprisingly enough, it was a perfect fit. A lucky guess perhaps? Before she got the chance to turn it, the glowing end of the key shocked her. “Ow!” She yelped as she snatched her hoof back. Dumb electricity The key became transparent along with the knob of the door, and then began glowing white. Sweetie stood back as the entire door began to glow white, growing to a nearly blinding light. The hallway shuddered for a good minute before the door blew up in a flurry of light, revealing a portal into another room. “…okay…” Sweetie got from against the wall she must have backed herself against out of fear. “What in the hay was that?” “Hunter detected. Please acquire Ghost Capture Device.” came a voice from inside of the room. “H-huh? Who said that?” Sweetie asked. There was no response until- Take it. You don’t have much time… “W-what?” Sweetie asked. “What’s going-” TAKE IT. He’s coming now… Sweetie opened her mouth to ask who, but then she heard a click at the end of the hallway. Somepony had just entered… Sweetie entered the room and gave it a quick look around. It looked like a bedroom, though Sweetie couldn’t be sure as every piece of furniture was covered with a white cloth. Even more, everything was pushed against the walls in an unorganized fashion, as though some magnetic force pushed everything from the center out. It surrounded the one piece of furniture at the very center of the room in particular covered in a green sheet. Giving a quick glance back to the hallway, Sweetie proceeded to the piece of furniture under the green sheet. Sweetie yanked it off, and there sitting on a small table, was a grey device in the shape of a rectangular prism, and a glowing cylinder inside of its top with tubing extending to the side of the prism. Put it on… use your saddlebags to keep it from slipping off… “Who in the hay-” Shhh… we don’t have much time I told you. I can’t keep talking to you forever. I’ll explain later, but right now, you need to put that device on and locate this mansion’s memory ‘pocket’. Quickly now! Sweetie was hasty as she moved her dress to the side, listened the straps on her saddlebags, and used her telekinesis to fit the device snuggly under her dress. Quickly, she hid it under her dress once again. “So did you find what you were looking for?” Sweetie whirled around at the sound of the third voice. She was met with the eyes of a cold looking yellow eyed butler stallion. Was this the same one she’d seen at the door? No, this one had a yellow coat and was much more fearsome. “W-what?” Don’t bother trying to move. It only quickens the process. Just wait. I’m trying to activate the particle from here. “Quickens what process? What particle?” Sweetie asked. “Who are you talking to Sweetie Belle?” the stallion asked. “I-I… d-don’t you hear him?” Sweetie asked. She shivered. “W-why is it so cold all of a sudden?” The stallion chuckled. “Don’t worry Sweetie. I’ll find out eventually. I won’t make the same mistake of not searching you before. Then I’ll get back to your friends.” Five more seconds… “But right now… everything is fine… relax…” Sweetie was scared as she felt her body getting colder and colder. She couldn’t move either, leaving her fettered to her spot under the butler’s gaze. Just as her body began to sting from it- Now. “Spirit Pulse activated. Please refrain from motion.” the device on Sweetie’s back said. “What the hay?” “No. That can’t be... the-” Sweetie was then immediately surrounded by a green explosion that blew everything outside of a foot from her back, including the butler. It will only work once Sweetie. Run! Sweetie sprinted through the door, past the stunned stallion against the wall and down the hall. “SWEETIE BELLE!” The stallion roared. His voice sounded much darker, numerous, and demonic than before. The filly barely recognized it. “What the hay is happening?!” Sweetie screamed fearfully. It was then, Sweetie began hearing the chilling laughter echoing behind her. When she looked back, there was no candlelight, but only a flurry of white figures charging at her. “WHAT THE HAY IS THAT?!” Left! Here! the voice sounded more faded than before. Sweetie snapped a turn in the direction the voice had instructed and continued to bolt down the hallway. It seemed to impossibly stretch on forever. Right! Take a right! Sweetie bolted right. She heard the stampede behind her cutting through the wind. It’s sound barely meeting the volume of their laughter. Right! Sweetie took a right. The ghostly figures were gaining on her. She could feel them getting closer and closer, no matter how fast she ran. One more right! You’re almost there! Sweetie took the next right. She was getting tired. She was sure that if she didn’t find someplace to rest, she’d end up tripping over her own hooves. Take the staircase! Sweetie looked to her right and in fact there was a stairwell there. She bolted down it and sped to the first floor. She busted through the door and slammed it behind her, panting for breath. The laughing figures faded behind her as she sinked to the ground in relief. She covered her face. “This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening…” She mumbled to herself. You should be safe or a few moments now… the voice reassured. Though don’t stick around too long. Mr. Butler will find the memory pocket if you stay too long. Nor can I assist you much longer in this way… I’m really gambling my luck and yours by speaking to you in this manner, which is why we need to move quickly. When you’re ready, take that book out and place it in front of the candle-stand at the center of the room. Once Sweetie had calmed down enough, she looked up and shined her light around the pitch black room. In front of her, there was in fact a candle-stand with a candle made out of green wax on top. “The book…?” Sweetie then remembered the book she’d grabbed from the library. She did as the voice had instructed, taking it out of her saddlebags and placing it in front of the candle-stand. She stood back as the book opened itself and began rapidly flipping through the pages. The book emitted light… and behind it, there was the hologram of a large sillouette figure. Judging by its large snout, and curved spikes along its back, Sweetie assumed it was some kind of dragon. Not a baby, but not quite an adult either. “Hello there, Hunter Sweetie Belle.” The figure greeted. “Who the hay are you?!” Sweetie stuttered. “How do you know my name?! What just happened?!” “Interesting… I suppose by putting so much focus on your memory loss, Mr. Butler assumed you’d fall like the other hunters by your own panic… either that, or to slow down your progress…” “Huh?” Sweetie asked. “Who are you?” The figure shook his head. “Who I am… doesn’t matter right now. My name won’t mean a thing after tonight… even if you manage to survive with yourself and your friends physical and psychological wellbeing intact.” “My friends… you mean Squee.” The figure shook his head. “No… believe it or not, that colt, along with anyone else here is your enemy.” “What?” Sweetie asked. “N-no… you’re lying. Squee wouldn’t ever want to hurt me.” “Oh believe me Sweetie. They are. Even if they’re being protected by the memories of your real friends… they won’t be for long. Once Spiffy takes them by the reins, you won’t even have a prayer for escape.” “I don’t believe you.” Sweetie said. “Very well… I suppose wither or not you believe what I say matters at this point. Only what you do now… that you escape.” “Escape? Escape what?” “Escape the general Stabletown Ponyville memory. Make it to your spiritual hub and retake control of your body.” “Huh? What are you talking about? I’m already in control of my body. You’re crazy.” The form shook his head again. “Says the pony talking to a holographic dragon. As I said. It’s unimportant weither or not you deem my sanity as credible or otherwise. All that matters is how you act for the next 30 minutes… because that’s just about all you have before somepony dies.” “D-dies?” Sweetie asked. “Listen to me, for I don’t have much time to explain. My connection with you is weakening. I could barely supply you with analytical advice on the ghosts through the encyclopedia Specter had erased. The only reason I contacted you now, in this form, is to get your attention.” “So wait… if you’re not here, then where are you?” Sweetie asked. “It’s not important.” Sweetie groaned. “Then tell me. What IS important. What did you come to tell me?” “This room… you need to use it to stop the memory. Crash it, if you will. If you can do that, not only should the rest of your true memories return, but you should be able to have a stab at fighting Spiffy head on. He might have been cocky as to how fast you would progress, though I’m sure he wasn’t expecting to have to deal with the GCD. Why Specter didn’t tell him of its spirit particle de-possession function is peculiar either way.” “GCD?” “The Ghost Capture Device.” “If you say so… and Specter?” “It would take hours to explain his involvement in this and it’s not worth explaining now. Besides, I have doubts you’d even believe it.” “So… okay, this room. How do I ‘use’ it?” “Simple. You must put in the photos in the correct order, play the instruments and light the candle. Simple.” “Photos… oh!” Sweetie went into her saddlebags and took out the two photos of Romina and Bottle. They now had color to them and showed their faces. There was an “S” on the back of Bottle’s picture, as well as a “P” on the back of Romina’s. “I would keep them somewhere safe, if I were you.” The figure suggested. Sweetie nodded and placed them in the book. “And… playing music?” “There should be two instruments in here.” Sweetie shined her light around to find that it was true. There was one large harp, and a bass to either side of the candlestick. “Okay… I’ve got to get somepony to play those two?” “At the same time. Yes. I’m sure you already know of two instrumentalists?” “Hey yeah… the ones that helped me in here.” Sweetie remembered. “A-as well as that one that I met on my way up here!” “You’ll also need to locate the sheet music for them to play. I can’t help you in that department.” “Oh… well, maybe I’ll come across it. I’m bound to find it somewhere I go. I was asked to be a musician here so I’ll get to see all the music.” “One can only hope. Now all you need is a way to light that candle… and if you’re unable to locate a match, you could always use the GCD’s fire spitter feature.” “Huh?” “Just… play with the device before you head out. You’ll figure it out. You’re smart when you want to be.” “Okay… I think I got it. And something’s going to happen once I do all of that?” The figure nodded. “But I have my doubts you’ll locate everything you need in the time you need. Celestia’s lost her will, and soon, one of your friends will try to escape… at least that’s what I predict. When that happens… as I said, they will die.” “Then what do I do?” Sweetie asked. “…the mind is a very interesting thing. Especially yours. It has the ability to dream. Lengthy dreams in as short as minutes… when it could feel like it lasts for hours. Making time pass queerly to the dreamer. Have you noticed any weird changes in time?” “…kind of. Hours have been passing weirdly now that you mention it.” “Yes. A bit of a time dilation in one’s own mind. It can be lengthened or even shortened at times. Your mind… somehow, subconsciously, whilst guiding you throughout Stabletown, it’s also activated that inner time dilation in your brain. Making time progress slightly slower, as well as speeding it up a bit on the inside, giving you a reasonable amount of time to get yourself here just before your friends and Spiffy… anyway there’s a way you can slow down time even further for a little longer.” “Oh really? How?” “There’s a clock in here. Bring the hands further apart and it should make the next 30 minutes… as long as about one minute in the real world.” “I’ll believe it when I see it.” “You won’t notice it... though admittedly, you’ll likely have an easier time getting from place to place, aside from any obstacles associated with the memory itself. All that matters is that you do it. Though… once you do, there will be consequences.” “Like?” “For starters, once the extended time dilation process is up, time will begin matching the one of the real world. Everything you do from then on will be in real time… and you really won’t have any time to waste. Secondly, Spiffy has been neglecting you for the time of your possession… though, once he realizes you’re able to manipulate the memory by the end of the phase, he will do everything he can to stop you for good. He may quit trying to deceive you with this illusion… he may try and crash the memory himself with you still inside.” “What happens if that happens?” “Your spirit cease to exist.” “W-what?” “Inside of a memory… a spirit is just another memory. If the memory is forgotten, or destroyed, the spirit is forgotten… if something abstract is truly forgotten, lost, or somehow dies… it stops existing.” “That’s… a lot to take in.” Sweetie admitted. “And I’m not really sure if I believe any of this mumbo jumbo.” “If I’ve said it once… It doesn’t matter that you believe me, or think I’m crazy. Even I question my own sanity sometimes, but… if you don’t do this, you will regret it. Keep that in mind.” “…I’ll do it.” Sweetie sighed. “If anything, because those things nearly killed me.” “Oh, and that.” The figure added. “Spiffy will try and attack you with more of those things if you stay alone too long. Even more, if you turn on the time dilation, then we won’t be able to communicate. I won’t be able to assist you in escaping again.” “Okay… Stay with other ponies then?” “This memory may be how Spiffy remembers Stabletown, but he won’t set up anyghosts where it would disrupt the memory. As long as you’re around living ponies, and none of those white round things, then you should be okay.” “Gotcha.” Sweetie shined her light to the corner of the room where she saw the clock the figure had mentioned. “There’s the clock. Just move the hands?” The figure nodded. Sweetie climbed up onto some tables against the wall the clock was against. As she put her hooves on the hands, she stopped. “I won’t be able to talk to you again?” “That’s right. As I said… you’ll be fine. Just keep your wits and you’ll live to see your friends again. You’ll see your sister.” “My… sister?” Sweetie asked. She had a sister? Somehow, the prospect of having a sibling seemed familiar to her. More familiar than anything else she’d been presented to her that day. The only thing she could almost vaguely remember from her past… something she was fighting for, and at points questioned why. “Good luck kid.” The figure said. “And food for thought… try not to mess up again once you get out. The pages of this story is already long enough, wouldn’t you say?” “Yeah.” Sweetie said, not completely sure what she was agreeing with. Sweetie moved the hands so that they were in an 180 degree angle. The room jerked, knocking Sweetie back on the ground and the flashlight out of her mouth. She got up and put it back in her mouth. When she looked over at the book, the hologram was gone and she was alone again. Sweetie was definitely not going to go back out to the hallway anytime soon… though, thankfully, there was another door she could take. Though, before trying it, Sweetie went over to the book and looked at it. Inside were the words, written in fancy cursive: She might still be counting on you… *** Busby and Paita made it to the top of the narrow spiral staircase and entered the dining hall. Paita stopped in her tracks as the hairs on the back of her neck stood. Busby took a few steps before noticing his partner had stopped. “Hey Paita, come on.” Busby said he looked around. “This is the... yeah, this is the dining hall. We’re getting close to the foyer, right?” “This… this is where we last were.” “What?” Paita looked over at the kitchen door. “We… they went through that door. The kitchen... somehow, I didn’t go to the same place they did.” “Should we check out the kitchen first.” Paita shook her head. “If it didn’t actually take us to the kitchen, it’d take us anywhere they weren’t. Going in there is probably the best way to get us killed right now.” “Then what’s wrong?” Paita paused and sighed. "It's just earlier... If I’d gone in there with the rest of them... Hay, I’d probably be in the same boat as them and you’d be wandering that labyrinth on your own… Just that Durate and Black and the others, if they didn't call me out and make me stop, I'd be done. I’m just thinking about how close I was to chasing after that filly. I was the one who made her run away I think… and maybe...” "...maybe?" Busby asked. Paita shook her head. "Maybe nothing. Don't worry about it." Busby shrugged. “If you say so... if means anything, I’m almost glad I wasn't around." "You're glad you weren't doing your job?" "No I was investigating... but if I'd been with the rest of you, I'd have probably chased after her because you scared her away.” “Didn’t scare her.” Paita sighed. “I think she was just the bait everypony else fell for… she just used me as a reason. Somehow, I don’t know what she did, but she made me see something in her eyes that just made me so angry.” “What?” “I don’t know. Something familiar… and evil. I can’t really explain.” “Huh…” Busby stared at Paita, who also stared blankly at the door that could have led her to her end. Finally, she snapped out of the trance. “What are you waiting for Buster? We’ve got to find the princesses.” “B-but you’re the one who stopped!” “Hmph.” She walked past Busby toward the doorway that led to the foyer. “I don’t get distracted by white sheets and creepy dining rooms.” Why do I even… Did we even have a conversation a second ago? “Alright. Still… do we have a plan?” Busby said as he followed the mare. “Find the princesses, obviously,” Busby said. “Either them or the elements.” “But where do we start?” The two of them walked into the foyer dimly illuminated by the moonlight outside. The white rock in the sky stood stiller than it’d ever in the black sky. “Good question. I think... the kitchen was o the right track,” Paita nodded, as though in more agreement with herself than Busby -- how only blinked at the action. “No doubt it’s trapped somehow, but I know for a fact the other guards went somewhere before they fell into whatever trap they did.” “So?” “So wherever that door led is probably where they’re keeping the bodies, and even more likely…” “The elements of harmony?” “Exactly.” Paita said. “Or if we’re lucky, the bearers themselves." "Paita, I don't think we want to find the mares surrounded by a bunch of bodies." Paita ignored him. "Though if we want any hope of going there without falling into the same trap, it’d probably be best if we found an alternate route there. It’s the only lead I can think of towards locating the princesses.” “So where do we find an alternate route?” “I don’t know!” Paita snapped around to Busby. “Why don’t you try using that peanut in your head for once?” “Sheesh. Sorry. Just wondering if you plan involved something besides wandering this ghost infested death-trap is all. Which is what we’ve been wasting our time doing for the last hour or so, mind you…” “Well!... well…” Paita sighed. “Look, I’m sorry I don’t have the best plan, but it’s all I can think of right now. Frankly, this mansion does give me the creeps, and even I’m starting to feel a little cold. Stress is getting to me I guess…” “It’s fine.” Busby smiled. “Well… where do you think we should start exploring first?” “You’re asking my opinion now? We’re moving so fast in this relationship.” “I’m taking you seriously. Don’t ruin it.” “Uh…well, I’m guessing taking the kitchen directly is totally out.” “You couldn’t pay me any amount of bits to try that way,” Paita said flatly. “And the doors up there…” Busby looked up to the second floor. “I’m guessing it’s not within our best interest to spend the rest of the morning trying to find something in those windy hallways.” “We both can agree on that.” “…what about that d-“ “Quickly! Hide!” “What?” Busby whirled his head around. “What’s wrong now?” Paita asked. Busby’s eye went to the fountain. “Quick. Duck down!” Without thinking Busby grabbed Paita’s tail by the teeth and yanked her over and down behind the fountain with the cracked mirrors. “What the hay B-” Holding her down, Busby covered Paita’s mouth. Barely a second later, a griffon busted through some doors in the dining hall and walked into the foyer. She carried something over her shoulder in a blanket large wrapping something large. Something pony… or possibly princess sized. At that time, whilst giving Paita the silent look to be quiet, they both peeked their heads over the fountain to get a good look at the bird. The griffon surveyed the foyer. “Almost there. Give him the princess, and I can go off with Rainbow and that dumb friend of hers… do that and not only have Rainbow, but immortality…” She mumbled. She stumbled to the side before shaking her head, as though she’d had a momentary loss of equilibrium. Busby glanced over at Paita, who gritted her teeth. Rage seemed to be in her eyes, as her wings awkwardly extended and she looked ready to pounce on her. Her hoof was slowly preparing to draw her sword… “Restrain your hot-headed friend Billy. She’s about to get the both of you killed.” Busby lightly touched Paita’s hoof. She looked at him silently, and he shook his head. As he did, he slowly pushed her wings back down in an effort to calm her down. “Hey HEY!” the griffon said, both making them snap their attention back toward her. The form inside of the blanket began to shuffle and seize, as though trying to escape its grasp. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning shot from the front end of the blanket. As the griffon crouched, using her free arm to cover her head, the beam of light ricocheted around the foyer faster than either guard’s eyes could keep up with. Finally, the beam of light hit one of the mirrors on the fountain. The mirror, rather than bouncing off the streak, completely absorbed it. A whistle filled the room before the already cracked reflector burst into a million pieces in a flurry of white light. The remains of the mirror disintegrated into ash. “Damn it!” the griffon got back up. “Really hope this featherbucker’s is worth the times she’s already tried killing me…” The griffon then continued on her way through the door to the left of the staircase. Once the coast was clear, both Paita and Busby got up. “Welp… we found one of the princesses.” “You think?!” Paita said angrily. “I could have easily diced that bird into a chicken salad if you didn’t hold me back.” But she’s a griffon… Busby thought. “Plus, griffon meat is incredibly tough… from what I’ve heard. Not the finest dish, I’m sure.” You! “Me.” “What? No remarks?” “Shh… the voice speaks to me…” “I do have a name, you know.” Madame said. I was trying to sound mysterious. “It’s not working.” Madame said. Where are you? Busby asked. “Nearby. That’s all I can tell you for certain. I can see you though.” Y-you can? But- “Don’t worry. Only I can see you… or at least for a split second I did. My power over my magic, as well as my clairvoyance spells are extremely limited in this form… but thankfully, I don’t think my ghostly self has enough information to know your exact location or even the first place to start looking.” Alright… why did you keep us from fighting that griffon and getting the princess? “I’m fairly sure Gilda has her own little group of ghosts she keeps on her. Even if you don’t see them… they’re there. Hiding in the walls… the paintings… And they would have killed you too, without the proper means of fighting them.” “Oh.” “What?” Paita asked. “Apparently if you’d have attacked that that griffon, you would have been bucked by a bunch of ghosts she keeps around.” Right? “…a raw way of stating it, but essentially yes.” “That voice… does she know her name?” “What?” “Does the voice know the griffon’s name?” “Yeah… Gilda. Not sure why it matters much though.” “So I was right!” “Huh? You know her?” “About a week before you arrived, I remember seeing that griffon around the castle.” “A week ago?” Paita nodded. “I knew something was up with her… I couldn’t really figure out what. The way she looked at that Discord statue was the thing that really got to me.” “Did she do anything suspicious when you saw her?” “No… I came across her once, but I knew she was up to no good, I could still see it in her eyes. The same look. Devious… Nervous… Untrustworthy as hay.” “…you really are a paranoid pony, you know that?” “I’m just telling you I knew something was bad the first time I saw her. And the fact I didn’t see her since then messed with me even more. Besides, I was right wasn’t I?” “I guess… but I don’t think either of the princesses disappeared until tonight... so if she wasn’t around Canterlot Castle for kidnap, or to lure them to the place… I wonder what she was doing around there. Moreover what’s she’s doing here.” Paita shook her head. “Doesn’t matter anymore. We know she has the princesses. Can’t we go after her? Maybe smack her around a little?” Well… can we now? “…go the way she went… I’ll inform you when or if you can go for an attack.” “Madame will tell us when it’s not safe, but for now, yes.” Busby reiterated. “Madame?” “The ghost voice in my head. The one that nearly killed you, remember?” Paita blinked. “D-don’t worry. She’s on our side, I think. She got us out of that jam with those other ghosts, right?” Paita shook her head. “Still don’t think it’s a good idea trusting any ghost, if I’ll be honest.” “Not much of a choice. Like you said, we’ve got to follow every possible lead we can to retrieving the elements, rescuing their bearers securing the princesses… and she’s one of them.” “Still… I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” “I say trust Madame for now…” “I’m not talking about her anymore. I’m talking about what’s behind that door…” “Come on then. No use stalling.” Paita shook off a shiver and looked at Busby. “Hey, I’m the one who’s supposed to be rushing you.” “Then please. Ladies firs-” Busby was cut off by a hoof to the snout. “Okay, now what was that for?!” “Don’t bite my tail again Buster. Got it?” “No ‘or else’ this time?” “What, do you need a better threat?” “In a relationship like ours, it feels traditional.” Busby gave her a stupid smile. Paita opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it, closing it back and sharply turning toward the door. “Come on.” They both made their way over to the door and cracked it open. They made sure the griffon was nowhere to be seen before they opened and entered. “Looks like the coast is clear.” Busby sighed quietly. “Gilda probably took one of these god-damned doors.” Paita figured. “…wait… does that mean we lost her? Can we still follow her through these things?” Well? “That hallway… it’s similar to the kitchen. It doesn’t shift as often or as randomly as the rest of the mansion. Only if there’s a specific purpose, trapping and navigating being the common one. Meaning as long as you’re still concealed, wherever those doors go, won’t change.” “Thankfully no. This place doesn’t change.” Busby reassured. “…however, the qualities of certain rooms do and can change.” What? What’s that supposed to mean? Take a look in front of you… Busby and Paita looked forward to see that there was a wall. There was a frame around an area as though there was supposed to be a door there. However, all that was apparent was how blank and empty the wall was. “What the hay is this?” Paita asked. “Don’t tell me… is this where she went?” “I guess” Busby answered. “And let me guess… we’re going to have to go through more puzzle crap to get to the other side.” “Yup.” Busby answered. “And get caught in some more Celestia-damned traps, right?” “Probably. Really Paita… at this point, do you even have to ask?” “I wouldn’t call the activation to that door a puzzle… really, it’s as easy as pushing a button. And given this is the hallway has my husband’s study in it, I doubt he’ll have allowed Pinkamina to set up many deadly traps for you, or himself to fall into.” “Oh. Madame says it’s easy supposedly. And boobytrapless… supposedly.” “Fine. Then where do we go from here?” “To Specter’s study.” “Specter’s study? Where’s that?” “Down the hall. Take the right. 3rd door to the right.” “Just follow me.” Busby told Paita. Without question, they took the directions supplied by Madame. They knew how close they were to the princess, and likely how many ghosts were lurking about, ready to protect their prize. They moved quietly and slowly and quietly, whilst getting the creeping paranoia they were being followed. Finally, they made it to the door… “This is it.” Madame confirmed. Busby put his hoof on the knob and turned. After jiggling it a bit, he sighed defeated. “It’s no use. It’s locked.” “You’re kidding.” “Well, Specter tends to keep a fair number of spare keys around.” Madame considered. “But he keeps his spare keys locked away with special locks… more puzzles?” Busby finished. “Yes… I suppose if you could find one-” “Buck that.” Paita said. “Wha-” Just in time for Busby to get out of dodge, Paita swung her sword at the door. “Luna! Paita! What the hay?” The mare didn’t listen as she repeatedly swung her sword around the knob before she disconnected the doorknob and the door itself. She finished by turning around and bucking the door with her hind hooves. Once she was done, she looked down at Busby who lie on his side, his heart beating loudly in his chest. “…what?” She smiled. “What the hay was that?!” “I just saved us a good 2 hours and you know it Buster.” “You nearly KILLED me!” “So?” “For the second time!” “Well you know what they say. Third time’s the charm, hm?” “What’s that supposed to-?!” “Come on. Let’s get that stupid door open so we can move on.” Paita entered the study. “My, Billy. You really know how to pick a good mare, hm?” Not sure who will get me first. A ghost, or her. “I know where I'm placing my bet.” Busby entered the cozy looking room lit by the fireplace inside. It was refreshing to be exposed to a room, not only warm but lit by something other than the moonlight. “Okay… so where’s the ‘easy’ part of opening the door?” Paita asked. “All I see are a bunch of books and paintings.” “Last we checked, paintings are pretty important to getting around here. Hiding the occasional secret passage way, or overly deadly trap.” “Very well done Billy.” You do know my name isn’t Billy, right Madame? ”You’re right.” Madame continued. “The paintings are the key… and you’ve got the key for the key.” Pardon? “Does your marefriend still have that piece of the door? The glass one?” Madame asked. Piece of the door… what? “Ask her.” “Uh… Paita?” the mare looked up. “Are you.… holding a part of a door or something somewhere in that armor?” “Door? You don’t mean this do you?” Paita took out a small rounded purplish glass piece out of a wedge in her armor. “This peep-hole thing? Didn’t know you knew about it.” “I didn’t. Madame told me.” “Right… she grabbed me right after I put it away.” Paita recalled. “Let me see it.” Paita tossed the peephole glass piece to Busby. “Go nuts.” “Take a look through it. It’s able to expose spectral entities even if they’re hidden by real and/or tangible substances.” Busby put the piece up to his eye. “You should be able to see different symbols around-” “Nothing.” “What?” “I don’t see anything. No symbols… this is just a normal piece of stained glass.” Busby explained. “No… that’s definitely the spectral filter… remind me how you got that camera of yours again?” “Paita tossed it to me.” “Ah… I should have figured. She’s the one with the light eye.” “The what?” “A trait usually passed down through the families associated with the… have you perchance asked your marefriend about her family?” “Er… she doesn’t like to talk about it… why?” Paita glanced at Busby, then resumed scanning the room. “Billy. Do you trust this mare?” Busby returned the glance before turning the opposite way. …Not sure I trust her judgment completely… then again mine isn’t the best either. Still, even with every hiccup we’ve had, she’s… kind of been there to help. Heck, I bet she was even a little worried when I got knocked out. I think she’s trustworthy enough… why? What does that ‘light eye’ have to do with- “Billy… Busby. Listen. Make sure you know she won’t turn on you. That eye means she must have some kind of relation to the family of the ghost hunters.” The what? “It’s difficult to explain… but there are others.” Others? “Other hunters. Much like my husband once was… only his was a special case. You think that that Yield might be related Paita? Paita Yield…? “My husband has been alive for a thousand years… I’ve lost track of his family tree.” A millennium… don’t go on and tell me Paita could be his daugh- “No. I know that for a fact.” Madame cut off. “I may not have been alive or particularly conscious during the whole millennium… but I know one thing. Specter wouldn’t cheat on me so openly. He couldn’t.” What makes you so sure? “When’s the last time you’ve heard of the dead reproducing?” To be honest ma’m, I haven’t heard of the dead coming back to life and ripping ponies souls out until tonight either. I barely know anything about the dead... how would I know how they er… did it? “Fair enough. Regardless, I suggest you maintain some questions for your partner… the sooner you know you know about her past, the better.” I’ll ask her once we’ve made a little more progress. “In the meantime, have her locate a tea cup symbol with the glass-piece.” “Er... Paita? I need you.” Paita looked over. “Hm?” “Here.” Busby gave her the peephole glass piece. “Apparently, you’re the only one who can use this thing.” “What? Why?” She asked. “Can’t we talk about it later?” “…what did that lady say about me?” “Later,” Busby pressed. Paita stared at Busby, as though attempting to read his thoughts. Eventually, she gave up and took the peephole piece and looked through it. “See anything?” “Sure as hay do. Some symbols written in that damned ghost sludge.” “Tell her to look for the teacup. Take it off of the wall and burn it.” “See one that kind of looks like a teacup?” Busby asked. Paita nodded. “Right there.” She pointed to a painting of some ponies drinking tea on some abstract plane. “Take it down and toss it into the fire.” Paita shook her head. “Why don’t you do it?” “Seriousl-” “My wings are still bucked and it’s too high.” Paita cut off. “Quit being lazy and use your fancy magic to take it down. Save us both a little trouble.” Sheesh. Just trying to get you to pull some weight around here… Busby focused his telekinesis spell onto the painting and carefully floated it off the wall. Once it was inside of the fireplace, he dropped it inside. Within seconds, the wooden frame of the fire began to crack and pop hungrily to the newfound kindling. “Stand back.” Suddenly, the fireplace exploded in a flurry of fire and sparks. It was as though the little wall pit was giving them a fireworks show. The marvel of embers went on for a good 2 minutes before it gave one final explosion, so large it blinded them for a moment. Once their vision had returned, they saw the fire had changed a completely different color. The flame was no longer the same fire orange, but a very distinct yellow. It was also lost some of its brightness, making the room just a little darker than before I’m guessing that did it? “I would imagine so.” Madame agreed. She paused for a moment, as though she’d left Busby’s mind. When she returned, her voice had a much more urgent tone to it. “Oh no… You both need to hurry. They need you.” Madame? Is something wrong with the princess… you said them. Are both of them in that room? Madame was silent for a few more moments. Busby felt the hairs raise on the back of his neck. He felt sick to his stomach at her next few words. Barely ten words that sent a chill down his spine. “Whatever you see in there… he’s not an evil stallion.” “What are you talking about?” Busby was too unnerved by the utter coldness that was now apparent in the ghostly voice. “What’s in that room? Answer me!” Madame was gone again. “Busby? What’s going on?” Paita asked. “Something’s wrong. We’ve got to get to the princesses now.” Busby said. “Then come on!” Paita ran over to the study’s exit. “Get the lead out, let’s move!” Busby didn’t argue as he chased her out of the door and ran along behind her back down the hallway. They forgot caution to the hordes of ghosts that could, or could not be stalking them in the hallways. All they knew was that one of the princesses, or possibly both of them were in danger. Specter was doing something to them… “It’s that wall, right?” “I think so. The wall should have a door.” Busby confirmed. “You know where you’re going?” “If this hallway didn’t change up, it should be… there. That turn.” Without breaking pace, Paita turned into the hallway smoothly and kept going down as fast as she could. Her wings erected as her heart rate grew. Out of fear or exhaustion, she wasn’t sure. Busby made the same turn, though less gracefully than his nightly friend. He barely avoided falling over to his side as he turned into the hallway; slowing down, regaining his balance, and continuing to chase after Paita. His hooves were shaking now. The same fear he’d managed to quell from the ghosts was now focused upon the discovery of what could be in the room Madame had felt so important to mention the morality of her spouse. What could he be doing… his legs nearly buckled at the thought, or worse, that they may already be too late. Finally, the two came to a stop in front of what used to be a blank wall. Now, a large wooden double door stood in the space of the wall. They both gave each other a nervous look before they began a more cautious walk toward the door. Busby put his hoof to his mouth, to remind her to remain silent. Paita shot him a look as if to be offended that he thought she didn’t know that. They both put an ear to the cold wood of the door. “I don’t feel any chills…” Busby noted. “That means there aren’t any ghost in there or-” Paita shushed him. They listened. “You say that as though you don’t trust me… do you?” Paita crossed her eyebrows and clenched her jaw at the familiar voice. Specter was in that room, she was sure she’d never forgotten the voice of the pony who probably killed her friends. Busby saw the anger building up in her eyes again… this time, he wasn’t sure he could douse it without making their presence known too soon. “…try not to make a mess.” Mess? Busby thought. What are they doing in there? Paita had had enough eavesdropping and backed up from the door. Busby followed her example. “On three. We bust in there.” Paita whispered. “You focus on the door and I’ll be right behind you. I’ll take care of any hostiles.” Busby nodded. “One… Two…” Busby prepared his head to butt the door and hopefully make their surprise attack a success. Hoping to have enough confusion to take advantage of whoever else could be in the room. “Three!” Busby speed toward the door first, Paita was close behind. Unlike Paita, Busby wasn’t in the slightest prepared to stop for any reason besides hitting the door. There was no way he could have stopped without hitting something… which was exactly why he didn’t have a chance of stopping without the conveniently placed wall at the other side of the room. Upon it making contact with his skull, he fell down to the ground and moaned in daze. Paita, on the other hoof, stopped on a dime in the middle of the room. “Damn it Buster!” "Huh." “Well… what do we have here?” Paita snapped her head in the direction of Specter, who stood with perfect poise toward the side of the room. “You!” Specter smiled a falsely friendly smile. “I’m not familiar with a ‘Mr. You’, ma’m. Please. Call me Specter Yield. Or Mr. Yield, if you prefer. At your service.” “Cut the crap. Where’s my unit? My team? My Friends?! Tell me!” Paita commanded. “My, do you look stressed. Could I interest you in some water? I might offer you coffee if you weren’t already so high strung. Perhaps some tea. This would be the perfect place for-” Paita drew her sword and held it in her mouth in a ready to attack position. This merely made Specter chuckle. “Quit playing bucking games with me!” “Oh put that butter knife away Ms. Paita. Before somepony gets hurt.” Specter said. “There’s no need for any more blood to be spilt in here. Not yet anyway. Just ask Ms. Applejack behind you. I’m sure she’d agree.” Paita didn’t stray her eyes away from Specter, barely giving two stick shakes about the mare. Though, it wasn’t like she’d have received any input to start with, as applebucker had lost consciousness a few moments ago. Wither out of blood loss, pain, seeing Twilight get strangled, or a combination of the three, no one would be able to tell. “I want to know where my friends are.” “I wasn’t aware a work associate could be qualified as a ‘friend’ now a days… oh well, I’m sure it won’t matter soon. You’ll be joining your ‘friends’ as well as my dear Rarity shortly.” “Why… you…” “And perhaps your bodies will serve as some nice, cozy homes for some of the butler ghosts. Sure you might not be very young, but I’m sure they’ll be most-” Paita has stopped listening to the yellow eyed stallion speak. Without a Busby to hold her back, she charged at him with all of her might. It was as though an animal or perhaps one of the insane Yield children were possessing here, as she charged, ready to kill. Just as she was ready to take the knife into his throat, she stopped. Her sword fell out of her mouth and clattered onto the ground. She was unable to move as she found herself surrounded by a transparent glowing bubble. “…appreciative.” Specter finished. “What the?!” Paita said through gritted teeth. She couldn’t turn her head, but managed to shift her eyeballs enough to see to the side of her the glowing horn of a defeated-looking Celestia. “I’m sorry.” She said solemnly. “Please, Princess. Do us a favor and quiet this talkative mare.” “Princess what the hay are-mmmmph.” Paita’s voice was cut off. Celestia’s horn had changed colors, indicating that she’d activated another spell. Likely one shutting the everlasting mouth of the night guard. “As you can see Ms. Paita…” Sweetie said. “The princess works for us now. If she hopes of seeing her student leave this experience with her head on her shoulders…” Paita looked over to Busby, who seemed to have knocked himself out… again. Damn it Buster… Paita thought. Still… he is free. Hopefully, he can use that little walnut brain to get us out of this… “So… can I go now, or what?” Gilda asked, standing in the door way. “I don’t see what could have been keeping you,” Specter said. “Go on now.” Gilda closed the door behind her and left. The slam echoed throughout the otherwise silent tea room. Twilight lie there with Sweetie next to her. She was silent as she stared at the helpless princess who stared back. She was horrified… not only that her teacher had given up and put herself in Specter’s hooves… but the simple fact that is was her fault. Because she couldn’t quell her panic enough to if necessary, give her life… that Celestia was now to take orders from Specter. In a way, she’d just doomed them all. *** To her surprise, the exit to the strange little room led back to the foyer. She slipped through the door and closed it back without drawing much attention to herself. “Alright then…” Sweetie mumbled to herself. Her voice held a tremor to it, still somewhat shaken up from the near death experience with the spectral creature in the hall. She might have remained in the room a little longer, in hopes of digesting what the dragon hologram had said. Possesion, death, and time were somehow a factor in this mansion somehow. All she knew was that she didn’t have that kind of luxury to waste time. She had to solve that room as quickly as possible, supposedly before her 30 minutes were up. “Now… where to start.” She looked around, unsure of what her next move would be. She likely needed somepony to play those two instruments in the room. Admittedly, the guitar Treble played was incredibly different from the harp in the room, though she supposed it was worth finding out if she could play it. As for Barra… she could ask what she played after she knew what Treble was up to. Though, something about Ms. Basso told Sweetie that she’d be more than capable of playing the oversized cello that accompanied the harp. “Might as well head the way Barra told me.” Sweetie then moved her way around to the staircase and up to the hallway. She traveled the hallway without seeing another sign of Candy or Marbles. Wasn’t looking forward to talking to them again anyway… Sweetie finally found the stairwell Barra mentioned and headed down. From there, she could hear the faint sounds of music: A piano, a guitar, and an angelic voice to be specific. Aside from the pianist, she could take a fair guess as to who was performing at this time. Hm… did they start without me? Couldn’t have been that late, right? Once Sweetie met the bottom, she was met with more generic mansion hallways. More doors, Sweetie assumed were locked, were littered throughout them. About 3 halls later, Sweetie found herself at a door that led to a courtyard. Ponies outside here as well, mingling and conversing like the ones back in the foyer. The music seemed to be coming from across there… Sweetie entered the courtyard and went to the front where the music was coming from. As it turned out, she was right. A medium sized stage was set up in the middle of the courtyard. Its rim was lined with silver and the sides had a design of flames coming up from all sides painted in gold. On the stage, facing opposite of each other were two of performers playing to the ponies that may or may not have realized they were playing. To the side, on Sweetie’s left, there was a piano that seemed to have been rolled from somewhere… at least according to the dirty wheels. On the stage, naturally were Harmonica and Treble. Treble stood facing the away from Sweetie, sitting and flowing magic into his guitar to play different chords and notes with Harmonica. At this point, only she could see Sweetie as she sung. They weren’t singing the song that they’d practiced, or in Sweetie’s case, tested on earlier. Even more oddly, Sweetie couldn’t really make out exactly what she was singing, though in all honesty, she wasn’t really trying. She could tell that the music was a little more celebratory than “Sister, Oh Sister”, and she was just fine with that. Though, the only thing she could tell for certain was that Harmonica was annoyed at the filly. She just had that angry look in her eyes that simply said: “You’re late.” Sweetie mouthed the words “Sorry”. She would have also attempted to mouth an explanation but Harmonica turned away to face another side of the audience. She sighed and decided it to try and go talk to Treble, who she couldn’t imagine being in any better of a mood. Then again, they seemed to have gotten off alright with the performance, even if no pony was really paying attention to them in the background. Even more, they had a whole night ahead of them to perform any other duets Treble looked forward to playing. Not according to that dragon thing though… Sweetie thought. She was then reminded she did have another reason for coming here. She needed to get Treble to come back to that room with her. Unfortunately, when she looked at his face, his eyes were closed, likely more focused on playing his music, rather than anything else. Sweetie didn’t feel it was her place to call out to the mare/stallion in the middle of her show either. She supposed she’d have to wait until they were finished the song to get the chance to talk to her. In the meanwhile, Sweetie moved over to the piano to find- “Notetooth?” Sweetie asked, as she saw the purple scales and green spikes. “What are you doing here?” “Oh hey Sweetie!” she said cheerfully without breaking a note. “Fancy seeing you hear.” “Technically, this is my show. Besides, Ms. Basso told you I was headed this way, remember?” “Oh yeah… wondering where you were.” I bet. “Weirdest thing. Big Barra said she had to run an errand somewhere and to head here myself. So I came down here, and saw that they were playing the background music. I thought it was missing something… I dunno, a second instrument or voice.” “Yeah…” Sweetie sighed. …Big Barra? “So I decided to jump in with the piano. They didn’t seem to oppose.” Notetooth finished. “I usually play next to a violin, or one of Sunglasses Symbol’s drums... but I’ve got a good ear, so I played along.” Sunglasses Symbol…? Seriously. Where does he come up with this… oh, I’m sorry. Where does she come up with this? “Ah. Alright… well, thanks, I guess?” Sweetie said. “I was supposed to sing with them but I ran into a few difficulties along the way.” “Oh, do you want to switch off now? I could stop, and you could hop up there and-” Sweetie shook her head. “No, you’re doing fine. I actually have a few things I need to do myself. As well as talking to Treble too… hey, do you have any clue when this song will be over? Any guess at all?” Notetooth shook his head as he did some kind of roll up the piano one of his claws. “This song doesn’t end.” “Huh?” “Or at least, it doesn’t have an official one. It’s er… one of those songs that kind of repeat itself. Something that kind of keeps going so there’s no break in the music, but it sounds just different enough that ponies who don’t have all their focus on it won’t notice how repetitive it is. Just listen to Harmonica. She stopped singing actual lyrics a little bit before you arrived. Now she’s just singing bits and pieces of them behind Treble and me.” What? No nicknames for them? Sweetie tried again to listen to Harmonica’s singing to see Notetooth was correct. She was just spitting out some kind of classical hybrid between scatting and singing actual words. “So… they’re not going to stop?” Sweetie asked. Notetooth shook her head. “Not until it’s time for dinner and we’re called to the dining hall.” “And that is…” “Uh… I’d guess about 30 or 40 minutes from now.” But I’ve already got less than 30 minutes to get that room… I don’t have that long. Sweetie thought. “There’s got to be some way I can get to Treble before then.” “Sorry Sweets. Doubt either of them are going to stop just to talk to you. They look pretty into their show. If there’s even a chance somepony will notice they stopped… they probably won’t.” “But what about Barra. Aren’t they going to let her play something?” Sweetie asked. “Nope. They’re on until dinner starts. I think she’s on for the next hour after dinner…” “That’s dumb…” Sweetie mumbled. “Only way you could get them to stop is if… well, if they couldn’t perform.” Notetooth shrugged. “Sorry Sweetie. I can’t help you.” Sweetie sighed. “It’s fine. Do you at least know where Barra is?” “Nope. Though she couldn’t have gotten far. If you look hard enough, I’m sure you’ll find her. Or maybe you’ll find Ms. Symbol” “Alright… I guess I could go off looking for her then. Thanks.” “What do you need her for anyway?” Notetooth inquired. “Er… just want to ask her a question.” Sweetie said. “I could answer it for you.” Notetooth smiled. “I can multitask, see?” She played a roll back up the keyboard. “It’s about a bass.” “I’ve been around her nearly my whole life. I’ve watched her play lots of strings… I’d know.” “I’d rather ask her.” “But I can answer you for her.” Notetooth urged. “Look. I’m going to be honest with you, Barra hates talking with… y’know. Lower ponies.” “She seemed just fine before.” Sweetie argued. “That’s because she had find you for Treble… heck, even he had a hard time convincing her to get this gig. Anyway, he’d asked to keep an eye out for you. Really Sweetie, he was the only reason she really even thought about talking to you. Kind of a stuck up sometimes if you ask me…” Sweetie remembered that Barra how short she’d been, aside from that final warning she issued to her. The very same she ignored with so very little hesitation. “Anyway, unless you’ve got like a legitimate reason for bothering her, she’s not going to waste her time with you, let alone answer whatever question you’ve got.” Of course. If I could just ask her, this might be simple… something tells me ‘over complications’ is going to become theme. “Well… what would Ms. Basso care about?” Sweetie asked. Notetooth thought for a moment as she played some kind of chromatic chord to contrast Harmoncia’s voice. “I suppose if there was a problem with her instrument… or maybe if someone she cared about got hurt or needed something, like me, or Ms. Symbol.” “Alright…” Sweetie said. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks Notetooth.” “I saw that.” “What?” “In your eye. You’re going to try something… aren’t you?” Notetooth asked, playing an extended rest for a short solo between Harmonica and Treble. “H-huh? Like what?” Sweetie asked. Notetooth shrugged. “I dunno. But I can see it in your eye. That… I dunno, nervousness. Or a deviousness… maybe even fear, it’s hard to tell, but you’re thinking about doing something big in that head.” “N-no… of course not.” “Don’t lie Sweets. And really… I don’t mind. Be kind of fun to see you pull some kind of prank on Big Basso, or Sunny Symbol. Still, if you do… just make sure it’s nothing too drastic, y’know?” Notetooth’s smile shrunk. “Her and Symbol’s really the only real family I’ve got.” “I promise. Nothing’s going to happen to them.” Sweetie smiled. Even if I did think of something, what does he think I’m going to do anyway? Kill them? Notetooth’s turned back to the piano just a beat late as he continued to trail Harmonica and Treble’s sound. Alright… so I’ve got to figure out a way to get Barra and Treble’s attention… likely in two separate ways. Hm… I suppose I should head back and see if I can’t find Barra. Notetooth might be right, but it’s at least worth a try… In the meantime, maybe I can think of something big to get Treble to at least talk to me… With her new objective set, Sweetie exited the courtyard. As she went through the glass door that led to the hallway, she was met with two ponies heading the opposite direction. Both of which were familiar, and the other one she was almost positive she knew. “Ms. Feather?” Sweetie asked, squinting to see if it was really the yellow mare who’d greeted her upon waking up. The mare looked away from her crimson coated date to meet eyes with her. “Sweetie?” she asked. Sweetie walked over to her to confront her. “Hey… I didn’t know you were going to this.” Sweetie smiled. Feather returned with a smaller, shyer one. “Likewise… how did you get an invitation… let alone a date and a dress?” “I sung for my invitation, got a dress from Axinite, and Squee decided to take me.” Sweetie explained. “Oh, that’s wonderful.” Her smile faded. “How is… how is your head?” “My head? It’s hurting less, I guess.” “And your memory’s returning fine?” Sweetie nodded. “For the most part.” “Have you experienced any… visions?” “Huh?” “Visions… hallucinations… anything?” “Um… I…” Sweetie thought for a few moments. For the first time since she’d exited the room, she was actually being questioned on her sanity. Not only by the yellow mare, but by herself. Did she really see what she thought she saw? Or was it simply another after effect of her head injury. “N-no. Of course not.” Sweetie didn’t think it’d be in her best interest to go off and say “Nope. But I did see these really bucking scary ghost things chasing after me in a never ending hallway, followed by an dragon who’d bent his spike bones back to look fancy.”. Even thinking about it made Sweetie feel like a crazy pony. Feather nodded. “Alright… just let me know if you see anything out of the ordinary and I’ll try and help you.” Yeah, with an inch long needle and a cozy straight jacket. Sweetie thought. “Thanks Feather.” Sweetie said. “Hey… do you mind if I snap a picture of you?” “A picture?” Sweetie nodded as she took out her camera. “For a scrapbook.” “Er… I don’t see why not.” Feather said. “Do you want the both of us?” The stallion shook his head. “Don’t like no pony tak’n a photo of me.” “C’mon Cabbie, it’ll be fun. A little for tonight.” Cabbie… I know I’ve heard that name before but… ah well. Can’t be too important. Stallion doesn’t even seem to remember me anyway. “A-actually, Ms. Feather… I just need a picture of you.” Sweetie said. “Just me?” Feather asked. Sweetie nodded. “Alright…” Feather said. Cabbie leaned against one of the walls, waiting for the two to finish their photo-shoot. “Alright… smile.” Sweetie said as she hit the button. CLICK! “Oops...” Feather said. “I blinked.” The photo fell out of the camera and onto the floor. “It’s fine, I just-” Sweetie looked down to the photo… of course, it hadn’t developed completely yet, though there was a big green “X” across the whole thing. Welp… I guess it’s not fine then. “Actually Feather… could I get another picture?” “Of course Sweetie.” “Erm… Please make sure you don’t blink this time… okay?” “Of course. Sorry.” Sweetie snapped another photo. CLICK This time, the photo was just like the others. Sweetie figured she had to see their eyes in order for the picture to come out correctly. She made a mental note of that. “Thanks Feather.” Sweetie said. “Anything else I can help you with?” Sweetie shook her head. “I’m alright, thanks. I’ve actually got to go meet up with somepony right now…” “Okay. I’ll see you later then Sweetie.” Sweetie walked past them. “See you.” “And remember. If you need any help at all… I’ll be happy to.” Right… I’ll give you a call when I need a ride to the loony-bin… If I don’t already. *** Sweetie walked up the stairwell continuing her way back to the foyer. She wasn’t sure how much time she had left. Compared to earlier that day, it seemed to be passing much slower now, though she knew that it couldn’t be infinite. She assumed 10 minutes had passed… and dearly hoped so too. Besides Feather’s photo, she hadn’t accomplished a thing. She still had three photos to acquire, some music to find, and some instrumentalists to herd into the room. Even worse, less than 20 minutes to do so… though what would happen at the end of the clock, Sweetie was still unsure. Just as she made it to the end of the hall, and turned into the second one, she went head to chest with another mare, knocking her to the ground. “Sorry ma’m, I-” Sweetie looked up to see who she’d bumped into. Oh boy. Of all of the ponies… “Sweetie!” Covri said. “Looks like you made it after all, hm?” “Heh… yeah.” Sweetie smiled. “You too?” Covri nodded. “You wouldn’t believe it. I nearly didn’t actually.” “Do tell.” Sweetie said apprehensively. Somehow, she had a feeling she knew what had kept her up. “Well, some pony snuck into the library… and attacked me!” I didn’t know shining a light in somepony’s face constituted an assault charge… “Even more, they stole one of my books. THEY STOLE ONE OF MY BOOKS!” She repeated. For a split second, Sweetie could have sworn she was yelling at her, making her flinch slightly. “W-well… at least somepony knows the good things to steal, h-huh?” Covri calmed down. “I suppose… at least they’re stealing something to expand their minds… I just can’t believe they stole one of the books Yield had asked me to hold onto… I was supposed to bring it too.” Sweetie’s side itched as her saddlebags rubbed against them. Specifically the pocket with the very same book she was talking about. “I’m… sorry to hear that Ms. Covri.” Sweetie said. “I’m sure the thief will show up eventually though. They can’t hide forever… or who knows? Maybe they’ll return it!” Covri smiled. “Such positive thinking… maybe you’re right. Still… if I catch the pony who stole that book from me I’ll…” There was rage in her eyes. Sweetie made a mental note to never steal a book from this crazy bookworm again. “Er… anyway, where are you headed to?” Sweetie asked, changing the subject. “I’m headed to the courtyard… might as well listen to something while I mingle.” “Your date?” “Somewhere in the dining hall, sampling some of Yield’s fine wines.” Covri said. “…probably getting drunk while he’s at it.” “You’re just letting him?” “Can’t stop him really. He calls it ‘constructive inspiration’, sampling different wines and alcohols to make his own… but really, he’s just trying to drink himself into a hole at this point. “Huh…” Sweetie said. “I suppose next time, I’ll actually be a bit more decisive about my date choice.” Covri smiled. “Possibly one that I won’t have to carry on my back all the way back to Stabletown.” “I guess… Erm, Ms. Covri?” Sweetie asked. “Do you mind if I take your picture?” “I don’t see why not.” Covri smiled. “You have a camera?” Sweetie nodded and reached for the pocket. She cautiously did so, realizing that she’d put the book in the same bag as the camera. The last thing she needed was Covri exploding over her book thief again. Finally, Sweetie managed to take it out and aim it at Covri. “Make sure you don’t blink.” Sweetie said. “That’s not one of those ‘flashy’ cameras, now is it?” Sweetie shook her head. “Don’t think so. If it is, I think it’s turned off, so you’re fine.” Covri nodded and smiled. CLICK The picture came out and Sweetie picked it up. “Perfect. Thanks Covri.” “Anytime Sweetie. Is there anything else you need?” Sweetie shook her head. “I’ll see you at dinner.” Covri said, passing by Sweetie. Just as Sweetie continued on her way, from behind her, she heard Covri one last time. “Sweetie. You don’t know if Squee…” “He didn’t take it.” Sweetie said quickly. “How do you know?” “Um… he didn’t have anything on him… not even any bags to carry them in.” “And you don’t know anything, do you?” “N-no.” Sweetie said. “…alright. See you.” And then she left. Sweetie went to the end of the hall and through the door. She found herself back in the foyer, considerably emptier and easier to navigate than before. She went down to the first floor to find Squee flirting with some other pony. “So then I threw it at ‘em. He got pissed, so just as he was coming at me, I upper bucked him right in the snout.” The two fillies listening to him, one lightly purple, and the other one, wearing goofy glasses oohed at Squee’s badarsery. He did a little flex with one of his fore legs. “Yeah… so anyway, what part of Stabletown are you two from?” “Squee?” “Sweetie?” Squee turned around to face her and smiled. “Excuse me ladies...” Squee went up to Sweetie. “I was wondering where you’d run off to. Did you find who you were looking for?” Sweetie nodded. “Yeah. And then some.” “What?” Sweetie opened her mouth, ready to explain what had just happened to her. Then she stopped to reconsider. She wasn’t sure why… but something in her told her that she couldn’t tell Squee what had happened. The reason however, was difficult to place. Maybe it was simply the thought that he’d think whatever came out of her mouth was the drivel of some filly gone mad. Or perhaps… perhaps it was that creeping paranoia that seemed to resurface in the back of her mind. For some reason, despite yet doing anything to earn any distrust, she felt as though she couldn’t trust him with such information. “Er… I’ll tell you a little later.” [Not and actual break] “Well… what are you up to now?” “I’m trying to see if I can get Mr. Treble’s attention. He’s too busy performing back in the courtyard… so that wasn’t happening. I came back here looking for another of the instrumentalists. Speaking of which, did you see a grey mare pass by here?” “Wasn’t really paying attention.” Squee shrugged. “Sorry.” “Dang. Dinners going to be soon too… I need to get a hold of both of them.” “Want me to help you look for her?” Sweetie considered allowing Squee to tag along, but ultimately decided against it. The paranoia told her she’d get more done on her own. At least for now. “Not yet. Just stay around here, in case I do need you.” “You sure?” Sweetie nodded. “I’ll keep an eye out for that grey mare while you do… well, whatever you do.” “Thanks. I’ll see you soon.” Squee turned back to the two fillies he’d been chatting with. Sweetie place exactly how she felt about Squee’s flirting with the two other fillies. Something in her was offended at the colt, just short of forgetting that he’d come to the party with her as a date. Yet at the same time, a part of her was relieved that it was so simple to keep Squee occupied and from looking over her shoulder when she least desired. At this point, Sweetie was almost positive she had more than one mind working in her head. Something trying to work its way to the surface of her brain… something important. Sweetie moved over to the small hall leading directly to the kitchen, hoping to catch a glance of Barra, or possible inspiration for a distraction plan to stop the show. Once inside, she didn’t come across Barra, but another pony she needed to speak to. “Cal?” Sweetie asked the mare who leaned against the wall, boredom reading across her face. She turned her head toward her summoned and gave a small smile. “Well, look at you little filly.” She got up off the wall. “Don’t you clean up nice?” Sweetie returned the smile. “Thanks. Ms. Axinite gave it to me.” “Upper Stabletown girl?” “You know her?” “Know her? Anytime there’s a rush for these here dresses, she’s the only one to know. Though, didn’t know she was willin’ to sell to a Lower Stabletown filly at the last Celestia cursed minute. What’d ja do to get her to sell to you?” “Apparently she knew me from earlier today.” Sweetie explained. “Must’ve made some impression to make her hassle like that.” Sweetie shrugged. “I guess.” “So where are you headed off to now?” “Er… actually, I’m looking for some pony. Did you see a grey mare pass by?” “Mmmhmm.” Cal nodded. “Couple times actually.” “Where did she go?” “Can’t say for sure. She passed back and forth a few times… though I’m betting I wasn’t paying attention enough to really know which way she was going. I’d check the dining hall if I were you.” “Thanks for the tip.” Sweetie smiled. “Anythin’ for another pearbucker.” She winked back. “By the way, I was also hoping if I couldn’t take a quick picture of you.” “Huh?” “It won’t be more than a second. I just need a-” “Hay no!” Sweetie stopped in mid-reach for her hidden saddlebags. “What? What do you mean?” “I ain’t lett’n you put my soul in no little box.” “…you’re kidding right?” Sweetie let out a few laughs before realizing Cal’s smile had transitioned into an appalled expression. “No I ain’t.” Cal said firmly. “Ms. Cal, it doesn’t-” “Ah don’t believe it. Listen to me Sweetie. If you got one of them demon boxes, then I’d throw it away if ah were you too. Ah’ve seen it. Some pony takes a picture of some pony, and all of a sudden, it bites a chunk of yer soul right out of yer eye sockets.” “That’s silly. You’re being silly.” “Then the demons in that damned box can read yer thoughts. They take control of yer mind. Some kind of government conspiracy I tell you. A crime against the princess!” But I thought the princess kind of was the government… “But Cal-” Cal shook her head. “Nope. No magic demon boxes gon’ get my soul. End of story.” So much for ‘Anythin’ for another pear bucker’. “Right… right. I was just kidding anyway.” Sweetie attempted. “Heck, I don’t have anything to take a picture of anything anyway.” Cal raised a brow. “Really! I was just er… testing to see if some other pony knew about the evil camera conspiracy. I was joking.” Sweetie lied. The last thing Sweetie wanted was for Cal to know about the ‘demon box’ in her bag, and possibly consider smashing it into tiny little pieces. Thankfully, Cal didn’t push it further. She merely leaned back up against the wall. “Alright then. Had me worried for a second.” “Sorry.” “Nah, it’s fine.” Her smile returned. “No harm done righ’?” Sweetie forced one back. “I guess. Well… I’ve got to go.” “Alright. See you. Ya look good in that there hat, by the way.” Sweetie nodded and left Cal to enter the dining hall. Once she was sure she was out of earshot, she mumbled a groan. It looked like every time she made progress, or the less time she had, another problem came up. As far as she knew, she needed Cal’s photo to add to the other names on the library sheet. Without it, she was just as stuck as she was without Treble or Barra. C’mon Sweetie think. You’re somewhat smart enough to work your way through this predicament… just wish there was some kind of hint to point me in the right direct- “Hey there!” Sweetie snapped her head to the booming sound of some masculine mare in the hall. It was then Sweetie realized how empty the place was, aside from a few butlers setting up the elegant delicacies along the table. The only non-butler currently in there was a purple mare, who without a doubt was intoxicated. It was quite apparent between the empty wine bottle and the slur in her voice. “C’mere little filly.” Oh boy. And now this. Against her better judgment, Sweetie approached the mare who squinted at her, as if she were examining her. She didn’t like talking to this mare, though at this point, she was lost. Even if she left now, all she’d do is wander the mansion more until she found Barra, inevitably running into another problem. Just as Sweetie entered the vicinity of her foul alcohol layered breath, she let out a laugh. Sweetie stopped. “C’mon filly, just a little closer. I’m not gonna bite you.” You could do a whole lot worse. “What do you want me for?” Sweetie asked. “C’mon. I wanna ask you something.” “You can ask me from right there.” Sweetie said. She laughed again. “You crack me up little filly.” “Please call me Sweetie.” “What are you up to little filly?” What made me think she was actually listening? Sweetie thought. “Um… stuff. Listen, I’m really busy and I need to go-” “Where?” the mare asked, surprising Sweetie. Her voice was still slurred and barely comprehensible, though her tone had more structure to it. “You don’t even know… huh?” “…that’s… not a bad guess I guess.” Sweetie said. Now she was interested. Could this slurred mare have some insight to achieving her goal? “Yeah… I guess we all find us there some time or another, eh? Something stuff in life just… happens and BAM!” She slammed the table, making Sweetie jump. Even a few of the butlers turned a head to make sure the mare wasn’t preparing to get out of hand. Within the second, they turned back to their tasks. “You find yourself at the bottom of some pit dyin’ or wishing you already were dead.” She snickered. “In my case, at the bottom of some bottle.” “…you’re drunk.” Sweetie sighed, feeling the glimmer of hope fading. “Listen, I don’t have time for any philosophical-” “Dah, shut up and let me yap already.” The mare slurred. “Might learn something.” Sweetie shook her head, annoyed, but didn’t move from her spot, deciding to let her continue to run her mouth some more. “But when you find your there… and you’re not dead yet, time passes. You start thinking. Start… observing why you went there. Why you fell, you know?” “I don’t, but go on.” The mare leaned her head back in her seat and opened her mouth. It was hard to tell, but Sweetie assumed she was thinking. After a moment of silence, she continued. “Ever hear of Dragonshine?” Sweetie shook her head. “One shot and you’re out, I’ll tell you. Had to learn that the hard way. Made the mix myself actually. Not a smart idea I’ll tell you though.” “No offense, but where’s the point to this story?” “I went for a bottle.” “…is that bad?” “A kid got put into the hospital because of me.” She ignored. “Wife left me. Lots of hate on me, I’ll tell you. Funny now that I’ve got myself a pretty library mare to take up and…” he snickered, looked at Sweetie and shook his head. “Suppose that’s something you’ll learn sometime later but… but damn me if I couldn’t hold my own for a while. That’s the ‘stuff’ I was telling you about, you follow?” “Surprisingly.” Sweetie admitted, amazed that the drunkard’s story did hold some consistency. “… so then before I had her… my best friend was the bottle, y’know?” the mare continued. “Eventually, not knowing nothing about drinks, I go ahead and start mixing them. Disgusting stuff I’ll tell you, but it did the job. Kind of…” “What’s the ‘kind of’ part?” “All it did was numb the brain. Tasted like jack, I’ll tell you.” “I’ve never tasted ‘jack’ before, so I can’t relate.” “But eventually, I came across a special mix I named ‘Dragonshine’. Never tasted anything like it. Had the perfect blend of bitterness of Lunashine, and Berdragon wine… with a hint of Kidder’s Hue. It’s fine if you know how to control yourself, which I didn’t.” “How much?” “The stuff takes a good 4 or 5 minutes to kick in. Take one shot, you’ll get a nice buzz. Two, you’re out. A whole bottle… well, you might as well have signed your death warrant right there. Bein’ well… me, I took a whole half a bottle. Hay, even that was enough to melt my brain and throw me out. If it wasn’t for some mare finding me on the ground on my back, barely breathing and out cold, I probably wouldn’t be telling you this story right now.” “Sorry to hear that… but even after that, you kept drinking?” The mare nodded. “Lying in that hospital that night got me thinking about quitting. And you know what? I couldn’t. Found myself lying at the bottom of some hole because of that stuff, y’know? Anyway, then I got to thinking… if I couldn’t stop, or rather, if I didn’t want to stop, how in the hay could I turn this thing around? Then I realized something. Because of all of that drinking, I got a taste for good and bad wine. Once I was out, I started a business for mixing different wines. Got good enough when I started getting associated with the high class stuff… especially that Dragonshine.” “Is that the end of the story?” Sweetie asked. The mare shrugged. “Pretty much.” “And… the moral was?” “Weren’t you listening? Because of that hole, I’m the bucking king of wine around here!” she exclaimed. Sweetie flinched at her outburst, and even the butlers gave her a second glance. “Don’t you even know who I am?” “Not a clue. Even if I did, I’m still sorting out my memories… so if I heard your name-” The mare lazily pointed over at the empty bottle of wine set on the table. The same mare was on it, leaning against a barrel of wine with her forelegs crossed. It said: Clasee Crosser’s Rolling Red Wine “Huh.” “How else in the hay do you think I’m as drunk as a spunk and haven’t been kicked out yet? Willing to bet half of the ponies here come for my stuff so they don’t got to buy it themselves.” “I guess.” Sweetie said. Sweetie looked around the room at a few ponies that had entered the room, likely preparing for the dinner. How much time had she wasted talking to Clasee? She had to get moving. “Besides, it’s not like I cause a racket when I’m drunk eh? Can’t imagine some of these ponies when they’re drunk and angry.” Drunk and angry? Sweetie thought. She wondered… “Thanks for the story Miss… ter Crosser?” Sweetie added. “I really need to get going.” Sweetie turned around and stopped. A brainstorm came. “Er… Mr. Crosser?” “Hm?” She asked. She seemed to be slipping further into her drink. “Actually… an er… mare wanted me to offer them some drink. If I were to, oh, I dunno, get them one, where would I find it?” “Which one are you looking for?” “Berdragon.” Sweetie regurgitated. “Hm… didn’t know you knew about no wine names.” His memory’s worse than mine! Sky let out another drunk laugh. “I guess you’d find it in the kitchen, I dunno where the uptight classy Yield keeps his happy juice.” “Thanks for the tip.” Sweetie walked off, hoping she wouldn’t have to talk to her again. Admittedly though, she did inspire a plan of some sort. A horrible idea, though one that could work… Sweetie entered the kitchen, thankfully currently empty of any living pony. Even the chef or whoever was cooking originally seemed to be absent. He couldn’t be gone long however, as Sweetie still smelled something cooking, as well as the black burning of the coal in the oven. Next to the oven, she noted a pack of kitchen matches. Sweetie knew they might come in handy as she took them and put them away under her dress. Sweetie continued to look over the kitchen. Since it was fairly lit, and fairly narrow, Sweetie didn’t take long to find the rows of wine set on their racks. “Alright… what was that mix again…?” Sweetie mumbled. Lunashine, Berdragon, and just a hint of Kidder’s Hue… Sweetie checked the door again, sure that she’d get in trouble if she were caught doing this. Once she was sure she was still undetected, she began scanning the brands. Eventually, she came across each, and set them down to the side. She then took down another random wine bottle that looked just about emptied. Conveniently, each of the corks were pulled out just enough for her to grab onto them with her teeth. Sweetie then proceeded to pour even amounts of each drink into the bottle. It might have a little bit extra… but that should work. Sweetie thought as she put the cork back onto the previously empty bottle, now holding the Dragonshine mix. She stuffed the bottle in her saddlebag, as well as a separate wine glass, cleaned her mess, and left the kitchen. She moved past Cal, hoping she wouldn’t notice the bottle bulging through her dress. At least not yet. Once Sweetie was back out in the foyer, she found Squee alone. It looked as though the two he’d been talking with had finally lost interest in him. “Hey Squee? Mind doing me a really weird favor?” “Hm? What’s up?” “In about a minute, I need you to get Cal to follow you.” “Cal? You mean the pearbucker we met earlier?” “The same.” “Why?” “Later. Right now we’re kind of on crunch time.” “For-” “Squee. Later. Just… in a minute, go into that hallway, and lead her, or even better, get her to chase you over to the courtyard where the performance is happening. Make her mad at you if it’ll make her move faster.” Squee looked at Sweetie unsurely. “Sweetie, what in the hay are you planning to do once she’s over there?” “C’mon. Please?” Sweetie looked at Squee with puppy dog eyes. He broke instantly. “Alright, alright, I’ll do it.” Squee said. “Remember. One minute.” Sweetie ran back to the hall splitting the dining area and the foyer. She didn’t need another tingling nuzzle from Squee to cloud her already thinly laid out plan. Once she was there, she again confronted Cal again. “Hey Cal.” Sweetie greeted. “Hey. Ya need something else?” Sweetie shook her head as she took out the bottle. Cal raised a brow. “Ya know little fillies ain’t supposed to be carryin’ booze around like that.” “I just thought you looked like you… er… were thirsty is all.” Sweetie smiled. Sweetie took out her glass next. “Ah don’t usually drink filly.” “C’mon…” Sweetie pleaded. “Everypony comes here for the wine.” “Who told you that?” “The rambling drunk pony in there.” Sweetie said. “Just give it a try. What harm could one or two glasses do?” Without the same knowledge as her, Cal nodded. “Ah suppose no pony’s really been hurt by no glass… alright, I’ll take a glass. But you put that back once yer done with it.” “Definitely.” Sweetie said as she put the glass on the ground and proceeded to pour the Dragonshine. Cal carefully took up the glass and drank it in one gulp. She shook her head as drink hit her stomach. “Alright I’ll er… just take this back where I found it.” “Yuh huh…” Cal mumbled. Had the drink already started taking effect? Maybe Cal didn’t have as strong of a tolerance for wine as she’d guessed. “See ya.” Sweetie put the bottle back away, left the hall and made her way back to the hallway at the top of the stairs. She didn’t see Squee, and was slightly worried for a moment that he wasn’t executing his part of Sweetie’s plan. Sweetie walked through the hall that lead to the courtyard, occasionally glancing back, hoping to hear the patter of a mare chasing a colt… Finally, Sweetie was back in the courtyard. Not much had changed besides the added guests of Cabbie, Feather and Covri. Treble and Harmonica were still performing and oblivious to Sweetie, and Notetooth was still playing the piano. It was then Sweetie realized her plan was still in jeopardy if she couldn’t get Notetooth to leave her piano for a good minute or so. Sweetie went over to the of the piano opposite of the dragon and stared at the courtyard entrance. She rapidly brainstormed ideas to get her away if the first distraction didn’t. Just as Sweetie was ready to give up, Squee came running through as fast as he could. He ran over to the filly. “Where were you?! It’s been like… 5 minutes!” Sweetie asked. “Oh, it’s only been more like ten.” Squee panted. “Besides, you told me to make her mad, and that’s what I did. Amazing how short somepony’s temper gets when they’re drunk off their flank.” “Where is she?” “Last I checked, right behind me.” Squee recalled, also watching the entrance. “Screaming how she was going to beat me into the ground with a pear tree.” “Fun.” “If you were trying to get her some attention Sweetie, I bet-” “Where the hay are ya you little runt?” Came the slurred speech of the pear bucker. At first, only a few heads turned. It was only when the mare came barreling and tripping through everypony did she really start gaining attention. Her and Squee locked eyes. “There ya are. I-” As just about all eyes on Sweetie’s and Squee’s side of the courtyard were turned at the drunk ranch pony, two butlers went to confront her. Though apart of Sweetie expected it, she was somewhat surprised to see how right Notetooth was. Harmonica and Treble didn’t miss a beat even with Cal’s arrival. Notetooth however, in his short attention spanned girl mind, had stopped playing to watch attentively. “Ma’am. We’re going to have to ask you to calm down.” One of the butlers suggested. “I need you to do something else.” Sweetie turned to him. “Don’t tell me I’ve got to get some other nutcase to chase me now.” Squee said, facing her. “No, not that. Remember when you were flirting to those other ponies earlier?” “Look Sweetie, I wasn’t flirting with-” “I don’t care what you call it. I need to do the same thing with him- er, her.” “Who? That cute looking dragon?” Squee asked. “Y-yeah. Keep her distracted… at least long enough for Cal to get dragged out.” Sweetie said. “Use your… charm or whatever.” “Git out of my way! I’m gonna kill ‘em!” “Ma’m. If you can’t calm down, we’re going to have to restrain you and ask you to leave.” The other butler warned. “You ain’t the boss of me!” Cal attempted to charge through the butlers who caught her before she could get through. Squee meanwhile moved over to the other side of the piano. Sweetie couldn’t hear the dialogue between them, though a loud enough giggle told her that Squee had distracted Notetooth for the moment. Sweetie lifted the piano lid and gave a quick look around to make sure everyone’s eyes were still locked on the rowdy pearbucker, now wrestling the two butlers attempting to restrain her. When she was sure she’d be alright, she gave a look at a corner of the courtyard and studied it for a few moments. Then she looked back at the piano and lifted the lid. She studied the inside of it, so she could see the sound board and hammers with her mind’s eye as well. She closed the lid and crawled under the piano so she’d be out of sight. Once she was sure she wouldn’t bring any attention to herself in the spot, she closed her eyes and cast a teleportation spell into the piano. The next thing she knew, she was lying on the strings of the instrument in claustrophobia inducing darkness. So far so good. she thought. She then reached into her saddlebags and fished out the gunpowder box. She remembered the racket and sparks it caused on the road… she also remembered the damage it caused to the firework machine because of the amount stuffed inside. That thing was made of metal… the piano was of wood. She wondered what would happen if she planted lit gunpowder in the piano. Maybe it’d do enough to convince Treble and Covri to get off of the stage? Sweetie set the box as flat as she could on a set of string hammers beside her. She heard Squee outside attempting to convince Notetooth to leave to party with her. Notetooth seemed to sickeningly giggle that masculine giggle that made Sweetie want to gag, every time Squee spoke to him… er, her, in that flirtatious manner. Though it was obvious Squee’s charm was beginning to wear on her. It also sounded like Cal had finally been restrained outside as her thrashing became dimmer and dimmer. She didn’t have much time… but she was almost done in either case. Sweetie took out one of the matches she found in the kitchen and lit it on the matchbox. She held it in front of her, hesitant to light the box… realizing how close Notetooth was to the box. It’d definitely catch her by surprise, but… could it hurt her? “Listen…” Notetooth giggled. “You’re really fun, but I’ve really got to get back to playing.” “Aw c’mon. Don’t be like that. Want to see my muscles?” “You already showed me.” She giggled again. “Want to see them again?” Squee insisted. Sweetie had to do it. Now or never, she supposed. She lit the box on fire and watched as the small flame began to glow. She had to get out now… wouldn’t be long before the sparks started to fly. She closed her eyes and focused whatever magic she had left on a second teleportation spell and appeared behind several ponies in the corner of the courtyard. She saw Squee and caught his eye. She beckoned for him to approach her. He nodded, said a few words to Notetooth, and began walking toward Sweetie. The colt barely made it halfway to Sweetie, nor did Notetooth play more than two chords before- BOOM! The whole courtyard jumped as the piano burst into flames. The explosion was way larger than Sweetie had anticipated. Anyone within a few yards of the piano was blown back from it… including Notetooth, Harmonica and Treble. “Uh oh.” Sweetie mumbled. Squee gave a few moments of staring at the piano before staring back at Sweetie with a look to say What in the hay did you just do?! Sweetie ran forward to Squee. “Sweetie-” “Shut up and check if Notetooth is alright.” She rushed past him to the scene, as every other pony began chatting panicky, evacuating the courtyard, or frozen over shock the explosion. Sweetie dodged the dropped broken wine glasses and appetizers as she made her way over to Treble and Harmonica. She first checked Harmonica. She was unconscious… and thankfully so. She was alive, but Sweetie wouldn’t have to hear her start complaining over being blown off of the stage. Aside from a few burn marks, she looked like she would live. Sweetie moved around to the other side of the stage where Treble had fallen. He moaned as he laid on his now shattered guitar. “Treble. Are you okay?” Sweetie asked. She shook her head and looked down at his broken instrument with a heavy heart. She almost looked like she was ready to cry, striking Sweetie with a sudden arrow of guilt. “Treble…” Sweetie tried again. “I’m sorry about your-” “This… this was the first guitar I’d ever played.” She mumbled, barely audible to Sweetie’s ears. She closed them for a minute and looked sharply at Sweetie. “What the hay just happened?!” “Er… the piano exploded.” Sweetie recapped. “HOW?!” She said angrily. “I-I don’t know!” Sweetie lied. “It j-just happened. I’m sorry…” Treble took a deep breath, shivering over the entire inhale. Finally, the anger left her eyes. “It’s… not your fault Sweetie I…” She whipped the little water droplets that had accumulated in the sides of her eyes. “Just… really liked this guitar is all.” Sweetie allowed a minute of silence, for Treble to pay her respects to her special guitar. As she did, a thought came to Sweetie. Something that didn’t just sting her conscience, but weigh on her soul, as she watched Treble cuddle the remnants of her guitar: she did it for her own selfish reason. It stuck in her mind in a certain way for reasons she couldn’t quite allocate. She heard something in her head, whisper to her… You did it again you spoiled filly… Sweetie shook her head, and turned her attention back on Treble. “M… Mr. Treble?” It took a moment for the mare to respond before she over at her again. “What is it?” Hm… maybe I should have a good reason to lure Treble where I need her to. Doesn’t look like she’ll be in the mood to just follow me without one. Sweetie figured. “I… that is, Mr. Yield… he sent me for you actually.” “Heh… weren’t you supposed to be here?” Treble commented. “I got a little side tracked and came across him first. He knew who I was apparently.” Sweetie explained. “I… suppose I did mention you when we arrived... then again, I don’t remember really going into detail about you with anypony else aside from Barra.” “Maybe he just has a good eye for naming ponies?” Sweetie suggested. “…what did he want?” “He er… wanted you to play an instrument for him.” Sweetie said. Treble didn’t look very thrilled at the thought of playing another instrument after the loss of his previous one. “Hmph… I’d rather decline that opportunity.” Treble said. “I might break it.” “H-he said it was important. Urgent actually.” Sweetie pressed. “Why would it be ‘urgent’ to play something?” Treble asked. “Er, because… his daughter’s been feeling really bad. Hiding it really well but, she’s been sick for a long time.” Sweetie weaved. “But she really likes er… listening to harp music when she’s feeling down. That’s what Mr. Yield told me anyway.” “Really now… well… I don’t exactly have an instrument to play.” “That’s fine. He has a harp.” Sweetie said. “You… can play that, can you?” Treble sighed. “It certainly isn’t my favorite instrument. Hay, in all honesty, I’m better at the lyre, but… I could play the harp for the kid.” “Great!” Sweetie exclaimed. She calmed down after she noticed the suspicious look Treble darted at her. “Er… let me go check on my friend real quick and I’ll meet you back in the foyer.” “Hm… yeah, I’ll take the opportunity to check on my wife as well.” Treble said, getting up and leaving her broken guitar on the ground. “See you in a few.” Sweetie nodded and the two went their separate ways. Sweetie went to go check on Notetooth and Squee. “How is she?” Sweetie asked out of concern. “Hm… she’s breathing, but out cold.” Squee diagnosed. “But damn Sweetie! What the heck did you do?” “…stuff.” Sweetie responded shortly, not eager to get into the specifics of her bomb. “But Notetooth’ll be alright?” “She’s not bleeding as far as I can tell. Dragons are tough like that but… if you call a bruise or two ‘okay’ then she’s just peachy.” “I’ll accept that.” Sweetie sighed, happy she at least wouldn’t need to add murder to her list of guilt tonight. “Anyway, could you carry her over to Feather? She should still be around here and-” “NOTETOOTH!” yelled two voices. The both of them turned around to find Barra, and another white pony with unkempt blue mane and glasses, running for them. Though Sweetie couldn’t read the expression behind the white pony’s sunglasses, she could see the bright worry and fear of Barra present on her face. Certainly the most emotion she’d seen her display that night. “What happened!?” Barra asked. “Is she-” “Calm down, she’s fine.” Squee assured. “Sweetie and I just checked. She just got a little-” “Move it kid!” The white one pushed Squee to the side, as they both knelt beside their unconscious dragon friend. This must be that other mare Barra mentioned… Did Notetooth say her name was Symbol or something? Sweetie thought. “Um… Barra?” “She’s still breathing.” The grey mare sighed in relief. “Told you.” Squee said. “Just a few bruises is all.” “Is there a nurse somewhere around here?” Symbol asked. “Feather is around here somewhere.” Squee noted. “What’s she look like?” “Er… yellow mare, pink mane… really quiet looking.” Sweetie said. “Sym, go look for the mare.” Barra instructed, proceeding to pet Notetooth on his head. “Poor dear…” “On it Barry.” Symbol gave a quick salute and left the scene, leaving Squee, Sweetie, Barra, and unconscious Notetooth. “Barra.” Sweetie tried again. She looked up. “What? Oh, you… what happened?” Squee gave Sweetie a quick glance. “Er… her piano exploded.” She said. “What? You mean it just-” “Blew up out of nowhere, yeah.” “My… I’ve heard rumors that this mansion wasn’t safe, but this is ridiculous!” Barra said. Heh, you’d be surprised how unsafe this place really is Sweetie thought, recalling the ghosts that had tailed and attempted to kill her a little over 20 minutes ago. “Well, I’m sure she’ll be fine.” Sweetie said. “Er… Barra, would you mind doing me a favor?” Barra shook her head. “Not now Sweetie. I need to wait to make sure my Notetooth will be alright. Ask me a little bit later.” But I don’t know if I have a little bit later! Sweetie thought, though she resisted the urge to press the issue. It was fairly clear that Barra cared, and was downright scared for Notetooth’s life. Even if she wasn’t in any immediate danger, she’d need a little while, and possibly a diagnosis from Feather to his health, before she could think about doing something else. “Okay, sorry.” Sweetie said. “I’ve got to run somewhere else anyway, but I still need to talk to you. Don’t go too far, okay?” “I’m not going anywhere until I’m one hundred percent sure she’s okay.” Sweetie nodded, and beckoned for Squee to follow her, which he did without question. Once they were out of earshot, Squee whispered to Sweetie, “Alright, now what are you planning tootse?” “First off, don’t call me tootse.” Sweetie started. “And second off, I’m not planning anything.” “Feels like déjà vu already.” “Really.” Sweetie assured. “But I do need you to do something else. Nothing major.” Reluctantly, Squee sighed. “What?” “C’mon.” The two of them made their way to the two butlers who were watching the unconscious mare who they lied in a corner. Sweetie looked up at the butlers. “Um… is she alright?” she checked. “Yes. Ms. Cal here just blacked out.” One of the butlers said. “You’re just going to leave her here?” Sweetie asked. “We’re sure she’ll move herself once she wakes up.” The other butler assured. “Wither or not she wakes up before dinner is over… well, that will be her own fault. It’s quite improper to show up drunk to a gathering such as this.” “Unless you’re a fellow who maintains some of his class like the Crosser fellow.” The first butler sighed. “But what can you expect from a pear bucker, hm? No offense.” “None taken, but could I check her for a second?” “If you insist.” The second butler allowed, stepping aside for Sweetie and Squee. “So… what do you want me to do?” Squee asked. “Hold her eyes open.” Sweetie instructed as she went into her bag to fish out her camera. “I’ve got to see her eyes.” Squee opened his mouth to ask why, and shut it, quickly realizing Sweetie was bound to side step his in inquiry regardless. He went behind the mare, propped her head up, and pulled on the eye lids to display her green eyes. Sweetie took out her camera and aimed it at Cal. “Smile for the camera.” Sweetie mumbled as she snapped the shot. CLICK! Got it! Sweetie cheered in her mind. That was the fifth picture. Now, all she needed was Axinite’s photo… the only problem was that she’d yet to see the mare anywhere around the mansion. Where in the hay could she be? Hopefully she’d come across her somewhere… “Alright, let her be.” Sweetie said as Squee let go of the pear bucker’s head. “Now what?” Squee asked. “I just need you to keep an eye on Barra and Symbol while I’m gone.” Sweetie said. “I’ve er… got to check something else.” “If you say so Sweets.” Squee said. “Don’t be long though. I want to walk with you into the dining hall at dinner.” “Sure.” Sweetie nodded as she ran off. She gave a quick glance over at the flaming piano and stage a few butlers had gone over to douse the fires of, noting Treble was now gone. Sweetie figured she’d gone ahead already. Sweetie quickly made her way down to the foyer, afraid to find a clock to tell her how much time she had left. After a fair amount of sprinting, Sweetie made it to the foyer in what felt like less than a minute. There, she saw Treble, conveniently waiting by the same door that led into the instrument room. “Mr. Clef!” Sweetie called, gaining his otherwise aloof attention. “In there!” Treble looked at the door he was next to and pointed to it. After Sweetie gave a nod of confirmation, she headed inside ahead of her. Suddenly, without Treble’s consent, the door swung shut all by itself. Uh… Sweetie thought, unsure of what just happened. Thankfully, no pony who was still in the foyer commented on the sentient door. Curious on the fate of Treble, Sweetie walked inside herself. It was just as dark as before… but when Sweetie shined her flashlight around, she nearly dropped it when she found Treble. She was frozen! Completely and fully frozen throughout her body. She was so chilled, that clouds of mist surfaced on her rock solid coat. Oh Celestia… is she dead? Sweetie wondered. Then, a thought of hope came to her. That… maybe she wasn’t. Perhaps her freezing was somehow apart of the puzzle/scavenger hunt she’d been tasked with. Maybe there was a way of unfreezing her. However, until the time came to figure that out, she still had plenty of other stuff to complete. “Sorry about this Mr. Clef.” Sweetie said, unsure if she could hear her. “B-but I’ll be back to fix you. Hold on, okay?” Sweetie left the room, constantly hoping that she didn’t just kill one of the nicest ponies she’d come across… next to Ms. Axinite of course. *** Sweetie sped back to the courtyard to find Feather bandaging Notetooth. Barra stood by him, watching the dragon intensely. Sweetie was a bit angry to find Squee nowhere to be found, as she assumed he was, once again, flirting with some other filly. The trend was beginning to get annoying to her. She approached the triplet of mares. “Is she still doing okay?” Sweetie, of course knew the answer, but figured she wasn’t getting far with Barra if she didn’t show some concern for the dragon she cared so much for. “Dragons are remarkably fast healers.” Feather commented. “She’s healing up fast, but right now, I’m just monitoring her vitals to make sure she doesn’t decline. Other than that, if she keeps up at this rate, she’ll be up and about a little after dinner time.” “That’s good.” Sweetie said. “Barra-” “Not now Sweetie.” Barra snapped. Sweetie resisted a groan. “Barra, listen, I really need you to come with me. Notetooth’s fine. Right Feather?” “Only concern I can name is the exposed bruising.” She said. Barra shook her head. “I’m not leaving until my friend is up.” “But-” “No, Belle.” Sweetie was feeling panicked again. She had to be just upon the 30 minute mark then, and she’d be running over time in just a second. Her plan had backfired on her, creating a new problem: how in the heck could she convince Barra to leave sooner?! Sweetie closed her eyes to think, and come up with another plan… then one did. “Ms. Feather?” Sweetie asked. “You don’t… have any more bandages on you, do you?” “What? Why?” “Well… you just didn’t look like you had any.” Sweetie said. “And even more, there’s other ponies in here that need medical bandage stuff too, right? Like Ms. Clef over there.” Feather covered her mouth at the mention of a pony she’d neglected to provide medical attention to. “You’re right. I didn’t mean to, I just-” “It’s fine.” Sweetie said. “I was… just going to offer to go get some more supplies for you. One of the Yield kids showed me where some medical supplies were. A whole infirmary full of stuff.” “Oh, that would be wonderful!” Feather smiled. “But… I could use some help in getting those supplies.” Sweetie said. “Maybe… Ms. Symbol could help me?” Symbol opened her mouth, but was cut off by Barra. “You should help her.” She said. Feather nodded in agreement. “Some pain killers, some more bandages, perhaps a splint in case she has something broken that requires more healing… enough for the two of them.” Symbol shrugged. “Sure, I guess.” “Great! C’mon. Let’s hurry.” Sweetie insisted as she ran out, inviting Symbol to do the same. Matching her speed, the two made it back out into the foyer second floor. “Through here!” Sweetie said, heading through the right door. “Slow down, will ya?” Symbol suggested. Sweetie ignored her, continuing through at the same speed. Sweetie raced down the empty hallway, doing her absolute best not to think about the horror that had chased her through it earlier. Finally Sweetie found the door she was looking for, still as wide open as she left it. Sweetie waited for Symbol inside the room she’d found the GCD in. Her mind continuously thought about how she was going to execute this little point of deception. “Here? You sure this is it?” Symbol asked, looking at the strange room. “All I see is a bunch of furnature and crap.” “Er… I’m sure this is it.” Sweetie lied. “Let’s look around, maybe it’s under these sheets or something. Here. Take off those sunglasses so you can see better.” “But I like my sunglasses. It’s like, my thing.” “We’ll get back faster alright? Do you really want to stick around here that long?” “…I got to admit, this room is giving me the creeps… sunglasses aren’t helping much either.” Symbol said. “Give them to me, I’ll hold on to them.” Sweetie offered. “…alright kid, sure.” Symbol smiled as she took the glasses off, exposing her red eyes. “Don’t break them.” “Wouldn’t dream of it.” Symbol turned around to investigate the far wall. “I’ll check this wall. You check the other one.” “Sounds like a plan.” Sweetie said, as she quietly crept out of the room. She closed the door, thankful that it didn’t creek as obnoxiously as she’d expected it to. Once she clicked it shut, she quickly moved a vase stand conveniently beside the door and propped it up against the knob. “Filly?” Sweetie heard from the other side of the door. “What the-” There was banging on the door as she tried desperately to force the door open. “Hey! What happened?! Open up!” “Sorry Ms. Symbol…” Sweetie said, giving a look at the sunglasses before throwing it against the wall. She picked it up, examining it to find it had a nice crack across the lenses. “I’ll come back to let you out if I can.” Sweetie placed the broken sunglasses in her bag. “FILLY! SWEETIE BELLE!” The banging became progressively more furious as Sweetie ran back the way she came. The same hit of selfish guilt came to her again. She ran her way back to the courtyard, breathlessly. She was getting sick of all the running around bull already. “Sweetie? Where’s the supplies.” Barra asked when she rushed up to her. “…Symbol…” Sweetie panted. “Something happened to her. She needs Barra.” “Me?” Barra asked, looking up from Notetooth. With that, Sweetie presented the broken pair of glasses to them. Both Barra and Feather gasped. “First Notetooth… now Symbol…” “She called for you specifically…” Sweetie said. “She’s with the medical supplies to. I need you to follow me.” “I’ll come too-” “No!” Sweetie snapped before Feather could complete her sentence. “Er, I mean… you need to keep an eye on Notetooth. So you can make sure she doesn’t decline, or whatever you call it. Symbol’s not seriously hurt… she just needs you.” Barra glanced unsurely at Feather. “…go. See what’s wrong with your friend… I’ll keep an eye on Notetooth for now, unless you really want me to-” Barra cut her off, nervousness in her voice. “N-o, no, that’s fine. Sweetie won’t mind coming back for you if… if there’s something to worry about, I’m sure Sweetie will be willing to run back to get you… right?” “Sure!” Sweetie said, jumping impatiently. “C’mon! Let’s go!” Barra followed Sweetie the same way she came half way before slowing down, breathing heavily. “Hold… hold on Belle. I need to catch my breath.” She panted. Sweetie turned around to see Barra’s head ducked down to the ground as the breathed heavily. As much as Sweetie hated slowing down, she didn’t say anything to urge the mare forward. “Sure.” “Thank you.” She sniffed. “Could we… possibly slow down? I-I mean, is she really in need of such immediate attention? Is she really that…” “Er… I suppose we could just speed walk the rest of the way. It’s not much farther.” Sweetie said. “And… she’s not as bad as you think. She just had me worried when she er… fell down that flight of stairs.” Barra looked up with worry in her eyes. “L-like I said. She just wanted you to be with her is all.” Sweetie said. “I’m sure she’ll live.” “I hope… she’s one of the two things that give me purpose these days…” She sighed. “What?” “…it’s nothing. Just an old fooler’s self-pity. Nothing more.” “You’re not that old.” Sweetie commented. Barra chuckled. “You’re either sarcastic or blind if you’re letting that slip through your teeth. 30 years? Hmph… I’m just about at the end of my life.” “R…really?” “They say cardiac problems.” She said. “What’s that?” “I supposedly have a weak heart. One that could go out at any second.” “I’m… I’m sorry to hear that.” “Hmph. Don’t be. I’ve got Sym to pity me when I need it. Notetooth to… to almost make me forget.” “What do you mean?” Sweetie asked as they both turned the corner. Sweetie could see the door was open from where she was standing. “Sym I met a while back. Going on about some ‘musical revolution’ that would change the course of history… something like that. She was just a big fat dreamer, but the way she just talked about music with such interest and… I just fell in love with it. She reminded me of my own love for music during a little slump in my life.” “A pit.” “What?” “Er… just a word somepony used for the same thing. Forget it.” “The point is… she gave me a bit of meaning to it when my career simply wasn’t doing it. And Notetooth…” She trailed off, and slowed down a bit. For a split second, Sweetie could have sworn it wasn’t her that was moving in slow motion, sped an inch, and returned to normal speed. She shook her head. It had to have been the following loss of equilibrium that nearly made her fall to her side. “What about Notetooth?” “What’s that?” “You were about to tell me about Notetooth.” “Was I now?” She asked. Sweetie nodded. “Oh… there’s not much to tell. She’s just a dragon I adopted a few decades ago.” “D-decades?” Sweetie asked. “Mhm. Late bloomer though. Only recently started looking at other ponies… you included, from the way she talked to you.” There’s a joke or some irony here… wish I could remember what it was… Sweetie thought. “I dunno, I didn’t really get that vibe when I talked to her again.” “If you say so…” Barra smiled. “Though I suppose she could forget it. You like that colt you brought with you?” “Dunno.” Sweetie shrugged. “I’ve thought about him… but I don’t think he’d work out for me. Nice… for the most part, but too flirty. Then again, I don’t remember everything a good gentlestallion’s supposed to act…” “Well, I’m sure as long as whatever pony or creature that catches your heart treats you right-” Just as the two of them came to the door, it slammed shut, making Sweetie jump back onto her flank. Barra, on the other hand, continued moving as though nothing had even happened. “and they’re your type, you’ll do fine.” “D-did you see that?!” Sweetie exclaimed. The reaction actually made Barra jump. “What?” She asked. “The door! It just-” Sweetie stopped. “…it just what?” The gears in Sweetie’s brain began turning. Forgetting that she was talking about Notetooth was one thing. But not noticing the shutting door? Something foreboding made Sweetie sick to her stomach. Something was really wrong about this… and she got the feeling it was only about to get worse. “F-forget it.” Sweetie said. “C’mon. We’ve got to get to Ms. Symbol. Fast.” Sweetie quickened her pace, as Barra followed the example. Sweetie pushed the door open, noting how much more difficult it had been than the first time. She guided Barra down the stairs and to the door. I swear if this is locked… To Sweetie’s partial surprise, the door wasn’t locked. It even opened with ease. “Are you sure this is-” “Yeah, yeah. Quick. Inside.” Sweetie urged. “She’s hurt! Move!” Barra nodded as Sweetie ushered her inside. She gave a quick glance behind her and noticed something even odder: everypony was gone. The foyer was bare of any life whatsoever, and it was quiet as a graveyard at midnight. If they’d been herded somewhere else, Sweetie swore she would have at least heard them. Instead, all she received was a wind that sneaked through her dress and chilled her spine. To escape the cold, Sweetie snuck into the room she’d put Barra in. Once she was inside, she attempted to turn the flashlight on only to find it very difficult to turn on. After a few attempts, she managed to make a faint beam emit from it. Out of curiosity, Sweetie went into the bag and began sifting through for her book. Before opening it, she pointed her flashlight at the clock. As she’d guessed, it now read “10:21”… the hands were farther than 30 minute apart now. Her time was most definitely up, and whatever dangers the dragon had mentioned would be upon her soon. In hopes of reaching him, she opened the book. Now that the ‘time dilation’ or whatever he called it, was done, she should have been able to speak to him. Perhaps get some extra information, or support as to exactly what would happen if she failed to complete her task in the allotted time, as she had now. She still had Axinite’s picture to obtain and sheet music to play… Sweetie’s heart sunk when she found that every one of the white pages were now covered in a thick black ink. Sweetie flipped through the pages, hoping to find something of usefulness, something that hadn’t been swallowed up in the void of ink. All she found were a few white words that were almost immediately swallowed up in ink: Leave it. “What’s that mean?” Sweetie mumbled. Was the book telling her to leave the room? Sweetie went back to the door she’d just come through, only to find that it was locked. No… no, he wouldn’t have locked me in here, would he have…? The dragon said I HAD to be in this room! It was the only place I was safe from those things… right? Sweetie shook her head. She couldn’t panic. Especially now, if she was in danger. Perhaps she could try the other hallway, as much as she hated to, to get back to the foyer and continue her search. In the meantime, Sweetie got a hunch that the book meant something else by ‘Leave it.’. “M…maybe it’s talking about my stuff then. That’s got to be it.” Sweetie said. She couldn’t imagine why, but she figured the book-dragon had yet to lead her astray yet. Then again, how long did she know it to begin with? She took everything off and laid the GCD, her ball, the pictures she took, and the book by the candle stand. She only took the camera, her flashlight and her saddlebags; the few things she needed in order to get Axinite’s photo as well as navigate her way back. Before leaving, she shined her light on Barra, who held a distinct look of fear on her eyes as she was frozen. Maybe it was misinterpreted worry for Symbol, who was likely, or rather hopefully, still trapped in that room she’d left her in. Or maybe… she was just as scared as Sweetie might have been, to be left in the pitch black room. “I’ll be back.” She whispered. “I promise, I’ll unfreeze you once I’m done... somehow.” The statues of ice didn’t respond. Sweetie then left through the door and headed up the stairs to the hallway. She walked around, feeling the hairs on her mane stand on ends. Something was about to happen. She kept repeating the fact to herself. Something was going to happen in a second. Something bad. And she had to be absolutely, positively, one-hundred percent- “Sup Sweetie Belle.” Squee said from behind her, making Sweetie yelp. “SQUEE!” Sweetie exclaimed. “Don’t sneak up on me like that. I thought you were some kind of…” Sweetie trailed off, or at least her voice did, lowering its volume to absolutely nothing. She felt her mouth move, but nothing came out. Oddly enough, it didn’t alarm Sweetie very much, as she stared deeply into Squee’s glowing yellow eyes. Her ears had stopped working. All she could see was Squee’s mouth move, laughing and saying “Sorry about that. Creepy hallway huh?” Sweetie nodded, unable to take her eyes off of Squee’s. He got closer. His mouth moved again, though this time, Sweetie could faintly hear him speak. “What’s a pretty filly like you doing wandering creepy mansions?” Sweetie wasn’t even sure what she said this time. She must have said something though, as Squee laughed and said, “You must have been seeing things. It’s pretty dark in here, even with that little light box of yours. Maybe the darkness was making your hallucinations more vivid, huh? That’s what Feather said, right?” His voice sounded so convincing. He had to have been right, so she nodded numbly. “Speaking of which, what’s that little thing you’ve got there. Can I see it?” Squee asked. No, not asked, it sounded more like a command. None the less, Sweetie obeyed and spat out the flashlight. He didn’t look at it as it rolled into his forehoof. “Good girl. See, I know I picked the diamond out of the dirt when I saw you. So obedient. So submissive. So…” “What’s happening Squee?” Sweetie asked. Squee frowned upon the brief glimpse of his date’s free will, then smiled again. “Did you find anything else besides this while you were snooping around town?” Squee asked. Once again, Sweetie didn’t have the option to speak. She just did in that silent, mouth moving way. Squee laughed. “It’s okay. I forgive you. I’m sure that Time will as well. Give it to me.” Sweetie wanted to resist, feeling her will attempting to break through Squee’s stare… or whoever this douche was with Squee’s coat. Ultimately, she failed as she removed the lower part of her dress and removed her saddlebags. She gave them to Squee, still trapped in his eye. “Is that all Sweetie? I know you found something else. C’mon…” He took the camera out of the saddlebags. “I know you’ve been busy. I’ve been around you all night, remember?” “N-no.” Sweetie forced. “I-I didn’t-” Squee slapped Sweetie across the snout, rage coming from his eyes. “DON’T LIE TO ME YOU-” His voice boomed, seeming to make the entire mansion tremor. His voice turned into a laugh. “YOU… you… you can’t escape here. Stop trying, alright? There’s no escape… no matter what anypony told you.” His voice wasn’t Squee’s anymore, but rather, some hybrid between Squee’s and some other pony’s. “I am a god in here. You couldn’t kill me before… and you certainly won’t catch me now.” Sweetie tasted blood in her mouth as she lie on her side. She got up, barely able to stand on her own four hooves. She stared At Squee who came over to her, and stopped just as his snout was an inch from her own. “Don’t try to challenge me. Because if you do… you’re going to wish you’d died sooner.” Suddenly, his eyes softened. Still as yellow as before, but now they had a bit of compassion in them. “Sweetie, are you okay?” “Wh…at?” Sweetie asked. The hit had left her in a daze, making her attempt desperately to remember why she needed to run as fast as physically possible from this mad-colt. “You were running through the hall and hit your head… remember?” Squee asked. His eyes flashed, and in response, so did Sweetie’s. “Y…yeah… I did. Somepony was chasing me and- mmph.” Sweetie was cut off by a kiss. Her body tingled again, both pleasurably as well as the opposite feeling. She didn’t know wither to love the kiss, or hate it… or rather, she couldn’t quite remember anymore why she should hate it to begin with. They separated their faces and starred at each other. The yellowness of Squee’s eye had vanished and was replaced with the normal brown she’d come to love from him. “C’mon! Dinner’s starting! Don’t want to be late, huh?” Squee asked, running ahead of her. Sweetie starred at him, still in a daze as the saddlebags dangled loosely from his neck. She knew she was supposed to remember something about the situation. Something about those saddlebags, about a pony dying, something… She touched her snout, as though to wipe something off, but felt nothing but a little snot. Still, it stung when she touched it, as though it were a reminder of something else important. So many important things to remember… I wonder what they could be…? *** Gilda entered the tea room carrying a brown bag over her shoulder. Annoyance read across her face at the additional task she had been given thanks to Specter’s forgetfulness. She surveyed the room to see if anything had changed since she’d left. As she’d suspected, the night guard was still trapped in Celesita’s force field bubble; the day guard was still out cold, and the mares, aside from Rainbow, who’d breathlessly given up on squirming to escape and Twilight who kept her head down in shame, and the two fillies who were still looking upon their friends in hopelessness, were unconscious. Only possessed Sweetie and Specter could move freely around the room at this point. “Gilda. You’re back. You didn’t perchance catch the clock in my study, now did you?” “Eh… something like 7:00, but I dunno. All these clocks say different crap. 4:00, 2:00, hay I came across one that said twelve for buck’s sake.” She said. “Here’s your toys.” She tossed the bag to Specter who caught it with his own dark yellow telekinesis spell. “Very good. We should be well past sun-up by now…” “Now can I go?” She asked impatiently. “Not yet. First, I need to connect to Celestia’s will… and you need to escort her to the observatory… before you go off and have your fun with your friends.” “Fine.” Gilda took her leaning place against the wall and folded her arms. “Just make it quick.” “Now now Gilda. One can’t rush these things. This is a very meticulous process. A mistake could cause spiritual damage to a pony. Even a powerful alicorn like the princess here. Don’t you remember how Luna wailed when we fractured her?” He chuckled, earning a brief, hateful glare from Celestia. Gilda rolled her eyes and looked over at Sweetie, who was as still as a statue at the center of the room. “Huh. What’s her deal?” “Who, my assistant?” Specter shook his head. “I warned him something like this would happen. Especially if the filly managed to make it into the memory of the mansion… not to long before you returned, Sweetie had apparently activated an advanced spiritual time dilation to advance in better time. According to him, she’s unnaturally close to crashing the memory.” Gilda gave a puzzled look. “Ugh. In short, terms you seem to be more acquainted with understanding, he bucked up.” “So what’s he doing now?” “Becoming what he should have been the entire time he possessed her. Paranoid.” “What?” “He doesn’t know something. A piece of knowledge I’m surprised he hasn’t taken into consideration.” Specter smiled. “He should have been paying attention to the properties of the particle. He should know that the GCD is designed for these types of situations.” “What the hay are you-” Gilda asked. Specter gave another chuckle. “But I digress. I am wasting your time aren’t I?” “…yeah.” “Then let’s get down to business.” Specter said as he reached into the bag and pulled out three heart candies. “First things first. Feed these to the bleeding and broken mares over there.” He tossed the candies over to Gilda. “What?” She barely managed to catch the candy gems out of surprise of her new task. “But don’t these things like… heal them or something? You want them to get better?” “Sure.” Specter shrugged as he continued to shuffle through the bag. “Why?” Gilda asked. “A few reasons actually. For one, at this point, if I leave them now, they’ll bleed out and die. I can’t let them die in this manner or, well… the painting spell will destroy their bodies, and they’ll automatically turn into ghosts… wither I want them to or not. I can’t use, or rather control ghosts that have died, been reanimated by paint, and died again outside of a controlled state. Even more, they don’t have cutie marks, which already makes them pretty useless… it’s also the element I need in order to turn them back at all.” “What?” Rainbow looked up. “What the heck are you talking about now?” “Oh, didn’t I tell you already?” Specter chuckled. “That little ‘extra life’ Ms. Belle gave you only works once. Without a cutie mark… let’s just say it’ll really be game over for you. Only you won’t just die… you’ll be stuck on earth for the rest of time until some kind little ghost hunter decides to eradicate your soul. To destroy your existence, or trap you in a painting for centuries to come.” He grinned. “Kind of like me.” “And the other reason?” Gilda asked. “C’mon. Torture in a tiny tea room, left to bleed out. Where’s the sport in that? Does that sound like fun?” Specter looked over at Pinkie who’s ears perked and mouth let out a faint, wheezy giggle. “Fun.” She mumbled. She sounded sick. Specter took out a little golden locket in the shape of a heart. He opened it and looked inside at the picture of Madame, and a caption that said ‘Love in Savior’s Death’. In the other door of the locket was another heart candy, only it was yellow. He closed it and put the locket around his neck. “Either way, we can’t afford to lose them again. They’re still just as important as Sweetie is right now. Dead or alive. Especially if she manages to catch Rarity.” “…you’re talking like you’re expecting-” “Go on, post haste.” Specter interrupted. “Make sure their tongues are wet. They need to dissolve the candies for them to take effect as it goes down their throat.” Gilda went over to the two mares and opened their mouths. She stuck the candies inside, laying them on their tongues. “Isn’t that right Ms. Sparkle? That’s how you designed them, correct?” Twilight didn’t answer. “An incredible feat you managed to create such powerful healing supplements.” He took a third out and held it in her direction. “Sure, I had the supplies on hand, but the fact you managed to put them together, and enchant them, even in your elderly state… ” “…so you’re not going to kill us…?” Twilight finally said. “At least somepony appreciates it.” “I think Twi’s still trying to get the ‘why’ part. What the hay do you still need us for?” “Oh, you’ll see my dears. And besides, we're not done with the princesses, are we? In any event, it would be rude of me to give it away now, hm?” Specter said as he took out an orb with holes in front of it. If it wasn’t for its bronze color, one might have suspected it to be a Changeling egg, considering its holey texture. About half of the holes glowed dark blue, whilst the others were completely dark. “Here it is.” Just as Specter spoke, Sweetie jerked up, as though being awoken suddenly from deep sleep. She gave a shake of her head and looked at Specter. “So, has she escaped yet.” “I told you, she can’t.” Specter shook her head. “So what is the status of our memory wandering guest?” “She was doing something… rather, she found something.” “Did you find out what it was?” “I’m sure she’s hidden something. I’ve yet to locate the memory pocket… but once I’m done here, I’ll head back and check it out. I did, however, find a camera, as well as a flashlight her mind must have conjured up using the memories. What she’s been using them for… or if she’s even used them at all has yet to be determined.” “Did you destroy them?” Sweetie shook her head. “I didn’t see any reason to. Could belong to one of the memories and I didn’t want to risk fracturing or crashing the memory before I have to… or worse, risking the loss of Sweetie’s spirit along with her cutie marks… again, not without good reason.” Specter shook his head. “You said it yourself. Sweetie may have conjured them up with her own memories. They won’t crash the memories by making them cease to exist.” “I don’t know that. I have to investigate to make sure.” Sweetie said. “I’m still working on trapping her in order to keep her safe if I do decide to crash the memory…” “I suppose I was wrong.” He mumbled, just audible enough for Gilda to hear. “You’re paranoid and apprehensive in all of the wrong areas… memory isn’t serving well either.” “What?” “Nothing.” Specter turned toward Celestia. “No, Princess. In order for this to work, I need for you to release all thought from that ghost brain of yours.” He twisted the orb and it expanded width wise, exposing a yellow core at the center that occasionally flashed dark blue. “Otherwise, this could prove more painful than it already will be.” Celestia closed her eyes and took a breath of cold air, as though to calm herself as Specter approached. “Open.” He said, holding the orb up to her mouth. She followed his instruction silently as he slipped the orb inside and it fell down along the track her throat would have been. It settled down in the middle of her chest, and began to spin. After a minute, the orb was then surrounded by a large red heart, similar to the candies, only with a much smoother surface. Specter stood back, and closed his eyes. He began mumbling incomprehensible gibberish to Celestia and the orb. As he did, the orb itself jittered, only slightly at first, but eventually it became more violent in its movements. It apparent from her face that she was experiencing from her pain as the orb began sparking out of her ghostly form. This went on for about 5 minutes until the orb was jumping to all parts of Celestia. “Now… stay still Tia. It’ll be over in just a second.” Specter’s voice sounded… different now. It was mixed in with another voice. When he opened his eyes, just before they became engulfed in light, she noticed they were a different color. A familiar color- Before she could re-clear her mind of the new eye color, white lightning shot from Specter’s horn, and directly at the crazed orb. Celestia howled and wailed as arch of lightning danced around her body. Her real body disintegrated into ash as her howl became louder and louder. Sweetie gritted her teeth and pulled her hat over her head to attempt to block out the blaring scream. Even the mares and fillies… the conscious ones in any case, gritted their teeth as their eardrums desperately pleaded for the maddening wail to cease. After what went on for what felt like ages, the scream stopped abruptly as the electric flow stopped. The orb popped out of her ghost formed and rolled over to Specter’s hooves. Celestia collapsed moments later. “That went better than expected.” Specter said. His old voice had returned. He picked up the orb and inspected it, pleased to see the white light emitting from the holes that were previously dark and void. “Princess?” Twilight asked the still transparent form of her teacher. “Princess, are you alright?” “Yes Princess.” Specter said. “Why don’t you rise for us. You’ve got us all very, very worried.” “Heh… heh…” “Rise. Celestia.” Specter repeated. “Heh… heha…” “…princess?” Twilight said again. “Princess, what did he-” “Shut up… haha… hahaha….” Celestia’s head snapped up. She now wore the same sadistic grin as the rest of the ghosts in the mansion. She was one of them now. “Can’t you just… haha… heh ha… shut… hahahahaha…” Princess Celestia rose to a crooked crouching stance. “For once… hahahahahahaha… do you really… hahaha… need to answer so many of th- HAHAHAHA… those STUPID questions?” She cocked her head back for a laughing fit before finally stretching to her full height. “Just shut up already you wide mouthed snobby bitch!” “Celestia…” Specter laughed in approval. “A faster transformation than I ever hoped possible. Now Celestia. I have a job for you.” “Anything for you… Master Yield.” Celestia said, still maintaining a wide eager grin. “I need you to raise the sun. A task I’m sure you’re quite acquainted with, of course. In the course of the next two hours.” Celestia’s grin faded, but only slightly. “Raise… the sun? Why? Why can’t I just do something more entertaining? Like killing her?” Celestia motioned her head over to Twilight, who flinched in response. “Not yet.” Specter said. “Hmph. I’m surprised you’re desire to kill Twilight is so strong so early on. Usually, that’d be a difficult feat unless… my, you really did give up hope, didn’t you?” Celestia merely laughed in response. “Either way, you’ll eventually become accustomed to the murderous instinct as time passes. You can wait. She’ll die in due time.” Specter assured. “In either case, I need you to do this for me.” “Of course, master.” Celestia said. “Now… Gilda, would you mind escorting Celestia to the-” “I can see the way.” Celestia laughed. “I know the way to the roof.” “Oh you can now?” Specter asked. “You do realize you can’t just fly through the ceilings, there’s a particular route through to the observatory that-” “I know the way.” Celestia said. Her voice almost sounded annoyed. She covered the slight annoyance with a brief spell of laughter. “I’m a goddess, remember?” “Ex-goddess... and even so only in relative terms.” Specter sighed. “Go on then. Don’t get lost… I don’t want to have to look for you.” Celestia gave a bow, but only ended up falling over from another brief string of laughs. She got up, and stumbled her way through the door, cackling madly. The ball surrounding Paita flickered for a moment, though no pony besides her seemed to notice. The laughter faded to eventual silence. “Well… that went much better than Luna.” Sweetie commented. “Yes… much better indeed.” Specter said. “Perhaps I’m getting quite skilled in this ‘god taming’ business. Or…” “Or?” Specter shook his head. “Nothing.” “I can’t believe…” Twilgiht mumbled. Tears began running down her cheeks. For a moment, as Rainbow looked at him, preparing to enter another wriggling attempt to escape, she could have sworn she saw sympathy in his eyes… but only for an instant. “Oh, don’t cry Ms. Sparkle. You’ll be seeing her soon enough.” Specter said. “And when you do… well, I’m sure you’ll be crying for a whole different reason.” Specter turned to Gilda. “Now… I’m sure you’re eager to leave, correct?” “Yeah.” Gilda said. “Now, you’re sure this’ll work?” “The ghostification? Yes.” Specter said. “As long as you follow my instructions, you can ghostify them so they won’t run off once they die. You do remember them… right?” “Yeah. Tie them to the thing in the basement and let the ghosts do their thing. I got it.” “If they escape Ms. Gilda…” “They won’t escape.” Gilda said, moving over to Pinkie and Rainbow. While Pinkie kept being unconscious, Rainbow looked upon her ex-friend with disgust. Gilda remained unphased. “C’mon you.” Rainbow opened her mouth to ask ‘where’, and closed it back, realizing she wasn’t going to find out until she got there. But if she could help it, she wasn’t prepared to find out. To Gilda’s surprise, Rainbow didn’t fight her, or struggle as she untied the bonds that kept her anchored to the tea tables, and picked her up by the ends of the rope she’d been tied up in. She took Rainbow and Pinkie, and swung them over her shoulder like luggage. Gilda then proceded to carry them out of the room. As she did, Rainbow kept an eye on the bubble Paita was still trapped in, as well as the sword Gilda was about to pass by. Rainbow brainstormed the most practical uses of the sword, considering she might only have one chance at using the thing. As she contemplated a place to hit Gilda on her body, she saw Paita move her lips, likely resulting from Celestia’s increased distance. Rainbow wasn’t a trained lip reader, though she could plainly see her message: Pop it It was worth a shot. Besides, though Rainbow knew it probably had to be done, she wasn’t looking forward to cutting the griffon. She may have wanted to beat her within an inch of her life at this point, but she certainly didn’t want to kill her. For all she knew, she could have been another one of Specter’s puppets. Paita watched in anticipation as Gilda passed by, hoping one of the mares she was carrying so close to the floor would somehow free her… Just as Gilda passed by the sword, Rainbow made her move. She swung herself in one motion over by the sword and picked it up with her teeth. Then, with every bit of momentum and neck muscle she had, she swung back, and released, aiming to hit the bubble Paita was inside. Before Gilda had the chance to say “What the hay?” The sword darted and pierced the bubble, popping it, and sending Paita groundward. The night guard reacted instantly, rolling down to grab her sword by the teeth and run for her target. Though, instead of running for Gilda, she went for Specter, ready to follow through with her initial intent, ready to kill the stallion who’d likely killed her friends. Just as she was about to make the cut at Specter’s throat, Sweetie intervened, snatching the knife out of Applejack and meeting Paita in front of him with impossible speed. She parried the sword with surprising accuracy and strength with her own knife. The movement was so quick and unexpected, Paita was knocked to the side, and away from Specter. Sweetie stood in the path between Specter and Paita in a similar battle stance to Paita’s. They both shared glared at each other for a few moments, locked in each other’s eyes. While Paita’s eyes held hatred for Sweetie, or rather the ghost possessing her, Sweetie’s eyes held a sick enjoyment of the new challenge presented to her. “Uh…” Gilda was unsure if she needed defend Specter or if she was still clear to go. Sweetie grinned, waiting for Paita’s next move. “Go on. Don’t worry. I’ve got this little lady you let loose under control.” "What'd you just call me?" Paita asked. “You sure?” Gilda asked, hoping the answer would remain unchanged. “Yes. Just go.” Specter assured. “Just keep your friends on a tighter leash next time. It’d be quite the blunder for them to escape while they’re still tied up.” “Hey! Cut us loose already!” Rainbow was struggling to get free again. Still to as much futile avail. Paita took her eyes off of Specter and glanced at Rainbow, Pinkie and Gilda. She could use a little help, as her own teammate still appeared to be out cold. The only problem was that when Paita tried to move forward, Sweetie was there, ready to lunge at her legs, or worse her throat, with the sharp knife. She couldn’t get to them. “A little busy mare.” Paita said through the sword. “C’mon.” Gilda said as she readjusted her two ponies over her shoulder. Rainbow screamed and kicked to get free, all the way out of the door. Her voice became more and more faded as they went down the hall, before they were gone. Meanwhile, Paita and Sweetie continued to stare at each other. Paita could have attacked her at any time, as she was confident of her swordsmare skills. The only problem was the fact Sweetie was still a filly was beginning to sink in to her skull. Could she really attack her? She’s not a kid. Paita coached. She’s not a kid. I’ve got to kill her. I don’t care how old she is. If I don’t kill her… she’s going to kill me. Just as Paita was beginning to get used to the idea, Sweetie’s patience wore out. She gave the first move with her knife, which Paita parlayed quickly. Just look at that Celestia damned speed and strength. She’s not normal. She’s not a kid. I’ve got to. I’ve got to! I can’t let her kill me! Stop being just a bucking wimp Paita! Sweetie jumped and swung her knife for Paita’s snout, grazing it as she stepped back. Kill her… KILL HER… And finally, Paita made the first swing to a series of clanks and dings. CLANK DING! TING! Sparks flew as they clashed swords, or in Sweetie’s case, knives, as they fought around the tea room. Surprisingly, Sweetie force was so great that Paita was still being pushed back, despite her offensive sword swings at her body. If Paita had eyes behind her head, she would have realized she was being led towards one of the tea tables. Specifically the one Applebloom and Scootaloo had been tied up at. Just as the clashing became uncomfortably close to the two bonded girls, Scootaloo spoke up. “Hey! Watch out!” she warned on impulse. The warning was just enough of a distraction for Sweetie to spot a weakness in Paita’s already flimsy defense, the crazed little girl made for a stab at her exposed neck. Only barely able to dodge her unreal speed, and strength, the knife hit the sword instead, knocking it out of her mouth and nearly hitting Applebloom and Scootaloo. The force of the sword came with so much force, it impaled the floor and stuck out at a 45 degree angle. With the sharp object in such close vicinity to their bonds, they both saw this as their chance as the squirmed forward, nudging the heavy table they were bonded to along. Sweetie in the meantime was progressively tiring Paita out as she continued to dodge the knife, now defenseless without a weapon. Paita had even slowed down to the point of occasionally allowing Sweetie to strike her armor, in hopes of reserving energy for the next swing that may, or may not have been the fatal one. Paita couldn’t risk taking her eyes off of Sweetie, knowing another loss of guard would definitely lead her to either a second loss of balance, or an opening for Sweetie to sink the blurred knife into. Paita noticed how sloppy her form was becoming as the strife progressed. It was apparent that Sweetie wasn’t fighting her anymore, rather playing with her; Tossing the somehow standing form around the room like a puppet. She had to figure out how to get over to her sword, though with her vision restricted to Sweetie’s muzzle, and occasional hoof, holding the small blade, she wasn’t sure how she’d- Paita saw the change in Sweetie’s eye. The loss of crazed amusement that was now replaced with slight indifference and boredom. She knew it was coming before Sweetie had made the lunge for the metal plating around her chest. The force, just like the sword, was impossible in force, especially suggesting Sweetie’s own muscle mass. Though, thanks to the ghostly power-up she now had, it was enough to knock Paita halfway across the room. Particularly onto her awakening and ultimately useless partner, Busby. The impact, thankfully, rather than knocking him out again animated him into at least groaning in annoyance. “Ugh… what?” he asked, looking over at Paita who fell off to the side of him. He noticed her panting heavily. His head was still raising out of the fogginess of sleep, as well as beginning to comprehend the headache he’d been presented with upon his awakening. Sweetie laughed. “You two make such a cute couple.” He paused for a moment. Busby rolled over on his back and looked up at Sweetie who approached. She noticed immediately and leaped over whatever distance she was, right onto his stomach. He could have sworn he heard something crack, only making Sweetie giggle even more. She kicked his hooves away as they tried to grab at whatever bones he’d broken. She proceeded to hop on said broken bones and giggle a little more at his anguish. She thought about giving him a kick to his head to possibly knock him out again, or even better and more likely with her strength, kill him. She motioned her hoof toward his lower jaw, and looked over to Specter for the “okay”. To her disappointment and slight confusion, he shook his head no. He didn’t even look too amused at her sadistic nature towards the two guards, considering the fruitlessness of it. The point of the torture, and the fight was to keep everypony as down and hopeless as possible. Then again, there was one pony Specter did mention earlier. One that he actually wanted killed. The other sister. Even more, the conditions only proved valid if she miraculously freed herself. The sister of an applebuck- Sweetie was off guard as she was rammed in her side by the skull of the orange filly, off and over a few feet to the side of the sun-guard. Sweetie got to her hooves and looked to see Scootaloo standing, battle ready to fight. It took her a few minutes of daze to realize what had just happened. She looked over to the ropes lazily lying next to the tea table, severed and sawed through by Paita’s erect knife. She looked over to the mares, who Applebloom, free, was now attempting to wake. Sweetie looked back over at Scootaloo, deeply into her eyes. Her fearful eyes, from watching her mentor be dragged away to a fate unknown. Her doubtful eyes, unsure of what to do with the possessed form that was previously her friend. All of these emotions that Sweetie could only grasp were hidden behind one strong stance of desperation. She was ready to fight her friend, likely getting used to the fact she wasn’t her friend, but hay if she knew what to do. And to hell itself, if she could deal with the crazed filly. But that wasn’t the important part, which was making Sweetie chuckle. “What’s… what’s so funny?” Scootaloo asked. “You… you just killed your friend. You know that?” “Huh? What the hay are you talking about Sw… whoever the heck you are.” Sweetie began approaching Busby and Scootaloo, who’d leapt over him to headbutt her. Scootaloo, tried to resist showing any signs of fear. However, Sweetie’s searing yellow eyes still proved enough to push Scootaloo back across the living hurdle who clutched at his pained body. “It’s funny really. Funniest thing all night in my opinion.” Sweetie’s laugh grew louder. Specter turned and left the room for the moment. Applebloom was too occupied shaking Applejack awake. “Simply put Scootaloo… that is your name, right?” Scootaloo didn’t respond. She simply stood at the one side of Busby, as Sweetie stopped at the other. “Simply put… I wasn’t going to hurt either of you. Not even touch you, as long as you both stayed put and quiet… well… maybe smack you around a little bit. Might serve Ms. Belle here some justice hm? Even if she were possessed, I’d like a little revenge for whipping at me, or trying to beat my skull in. Wouldn’t you?” “It… I wasn’t… Shut-up and give me back my friend, alright?!” Scootaloo’s voice cracked a little bit. “Perhaps later. Perhaps when you’re broken next to these two lovely ponyfolk, and I’m standing over Applebloom’s bled out body and you looking on in horror. Is that a bad time?” Scootaloo made her move, pushing forward on her hooves and extending her wings to glide, and collide again with Sweetie. On guard this time, she strafed to the right as Scootaloo flipped over and turned back to face Sweetie. “I’ll… I’ll… I’ll stop you before you even get the chance you butler buck.” “My, my. I’d watch the language if I were you Scootaloo. Besides, if this were the last time I was going to hear my friend, the last thing I’d want her to remember me saying is something as silly and offensive as “butler buck”. Besides. I’m not a butler, I’m Sweetie Belle!” Sweetie turned to Applebloom who was only recently rousing Applejack, and beginning to remove her bonds. With the brief distraction, Scootaloo took the point to give Sweetie a swift swing to her face. A direct hit that would have knocked any pony out cold, and admittedly did knock Sweetie to the ground. The hit was so loud, even Applebloom looked up from Applejack before shaking her head, and continuing to figure out how to undo the complex, tightly tied knot. A good minute passed and Sweetie remained still. Scootaloo cautiously approached Sweetie, hoping that she did in fact knock her out, and could possibly restrain her so when she woke back up- Just as Scootaloo stood above Sweetie, she hoped up with a movement so quick, and took ahold of her neck. Sweetie raised to her hind hooves, and stood up, managing to pick Scootaloo off the ground. She grinned. “Now that the gloves are off then… why don’t we have some real fun, hm?” Sweetie then proceded to throw Scootaloo across the room directly at Applebloom, who she collided with. Scootaloo went so fast, they both hit the wall with incredible force. If Applebloom hadn’t shared any force with Scootaloo, the pegasus filly might have broken a bone or two on impact. Knowing they couldn’t risk wasting a second to let Sweetie get the upper hoof, they both stood up and got into battle stances. Sweetie stood before them, laughing. “So… you two little girls are going to fight one me?” “No.” “Hm?” Sweetie turned around just to see Paita yank her sword out of the floor. “Three ‘little girls’.” Paita said, getting into her own battle stance. It looked just as unprofessional as Applebloom’s and Scootaloo’s considering how much pain she was in. Sweetie laughed. “Fun. I’ll enjoy the challenge…” Sweetie turned back to the two crusaders. “Before killing you as violently as I know how dear applebucking filly…” *** Sweetie's face sting didn't stop after she followed Squee down into the foyer. If anything, the sting only increased as she attempted to conceive where the pain came from. The more she thought, not just remember but simply think at all, the more the invisible sickle seemed to be impaling the side of her cheek. "C'mon Sweets!" Squee excitedly urged Sweetie to move faster. Sweetie couldn't help but stare at Squee's saddlebags with some kind of subconscious interest she couldn't quite understand. All she knew was that dwelling upon it, and its significance only made her pain. "I'm... I'm coming." Sweetie assured, stopping at the bottom of the foyer steps to hold her face. Even talking seemed to be connected with her face's new 'no thinking' rule. She expected there to be blood. No, she wished there was blood, though, like the other times before there was none. The fact her nerves were emulating the liquid streaming down her cheek didn't make the fact less maddening. "You should see the food the Yields put out! Applecreips, Pearsoufle-" "I-I believe you." Sweetie resumed trailing her new coltfriend. Coltfriend. Then, there was Squee who was leading her to the dining hall she didn't quite recall the location of, or for that matter, attempt to remember. The colt who carried the same saddlebags she could keep from being so interested in. The same colt who had kissed her no more than 3 minutes ago. He kissed her, and for the first minute or so, she'd been very taken by most intent act of affection Sweetie could dare recall. The kiss made her light on her feet, and almost happy... but as the second and third minutes rolled, an unexplainable fear for him began surfacing, accompanied with an equally vague hatred. Once the 61st second passed, somehow she didn't think she could trust him. No... she knew she couldn't trust him anymore because- "Ah!" Sweetie's cheek shot a particularly sharp wave of pain through her cheek, reverberated throughout her entire skull. There was almost a bit of a delay before Squee turned around to check on his 'fillyfriend'. "Huh? You okay Sweetie?" Wouldn't you like to know... Sweetie's internal monologue spat. "Yeah... just um... just one of my legs aching is all." "Aw Sweets, why didn't you say something?" Squee asked out of almost genuine sounding concern. "Do you want to sit here for a few-" "No." she cut Squee off, before grabbing onto her transparent facial wound and hissing in anguish. She didn't want to stop moving. Simply keeping moving, despite her inability to recall where to move next, felt important. That standing still would kill a pony The invisible face scar gave her the greatest jolt yet, though Sweetie bit her lip, refusing to publicly expose any more of her pain. She knew it would only encourage slowing down. Losing time she wasn’t sure she could afford to waste. "I'm... I'm fine Squee. Really." Sweetie looked at him, tears of pain welling in her eyes. To her relief, Squee was too ignorant to notice the little droplets of water. "If you say so." He shrugged. The two of them entered the foyer, which was filled with just about evey pony from the party. Those who weren't sitting down and helping themselves to the appetizers, were walking around, still conversing and likely waiting for their host. Out of the crowd, Sweetie picked out Ms. Axinite. "Squee?" Sweetie asked. "Would you ex-" She hissed painfully before continuing. "Would you excuse me for a few minutes?" "Hm? For what?" Squee asked in a tone she couldn't help but classify as untrusting. The voice of a colt who'd expected to be backstabbed. Or maybe it was the voice of a colt who she expected to backstab her. She couldn't tell the line between the two. Perhaps it wasn’t a voice to fear, none the less, one she had to get away from. "I... just want to ask her something. I promise-" Hiss. "I promise to find you when I'm done." Squee stared at her for a few moments, attempting to read Sweetie. When he either finished, or gave up on doing so, she smiled. "Alright. Don't go too far okay?" Squee kissed Sweetie again, this time, longer than before. She felt her chest flutter, and her horn tingle in ecstasy. As they disconnected, Sweetie was almost reluctant to turn around and leave her handsome loving colt- Focus Sweetie, FOCUS! The cheek pain was gone for the moment, though it was traded with the jelly like legs she'd experienced during the first few moments of affection. The drunken feeling that nearly removed her ability to think at all, rather than threatening thought with unbelievable pain. She wasn't sure which she loathed more. "Love you Sweets." "L... love you too." Sweetie turned and walked away from Squee and to Axinite. Admittedly, she wasn't completely sure why she needed to talk to Axinite. In fact, she had a good feeling she couldn't do anything useful without something. And even more she couldn't get across the fact that approaching her was both a good idea, and the worst one she'd come across all night. The only one thing she knew for certain. Her horn was still tingling. Upon closer examination, Sweetie realized that she wasn't just standing by herself, but conversation with another pony. A stallion who filled her up with rage even Squee couldn't have influenced. Axinite was the first to notice her. She motioned for Sweetie to talk to her, though now, she was reluctant to do so. At last with that stallion so close. With a few seconds of hesitation, Sweetie pushed to her. "Sweetie!" Axinite said happily. "I was beginning to think you hadn't make it." "Heh... I was close though." Sweetie said. "I actually had to steal a date to get over here." "Steal a date? Wasn't Squee your..." "He er... found a way to go ahead of me. He was waiting inside." "Hmph. Typical of impatient little colts like him. Not even the decency to wait for their own date." "Well, we were kind of running against the wire. Heck, at the time, I thought I was the one leaving him behind." "He should have been there none the less. You were not in the wrong Sweetie." Sweetie smiled at the remark. "I’m wondering if I can lose when it comes to you Ms. Axinite." "...Oh! I never introduced you to my stallion friend. How impolite of me. Quill?" As Sweetie turned her gaze from Axinite, and to her date, the smile evaporated into thin air. Sweetie almost had to fight to keep from her lips frowning, and her eyebrows crossing when his eyes locked hers. They stared at each other; he looked at her with indifference as she looked on him with anger and hatred covered up to only show apparent passive aggressiveness. Axinite seemed oblivious to the apparent bitterness between the two strangers. "Well? Aren't you two going to greet eachother?" "...Good evening." he said, forcing a smile and offering a hoof. "...hi." Sweetie said, meeting his hoof with her own. However, she couldn't find the strength to smile. To her disapproval, rather than a hoof shake, Quill bent down to kiss her hoof, which Sweetie snatched away before he could let his saliva touch her white coat. If Quill was offended by the rejection of his chivalrous the movement, he didn't give off any other responses besides the vanishing of his smile. "I'm sorry Quill honey. She's just shy." Axinite said quickly, noticing Quill's dampened mood. She turned to Sweetie. "Isn't that right Sweetie Belle?" her voice was harsher than anyway Sweetie had been addressed before. "Y-yeah. Of course. I didn't mean anything by it." Sweetie lied. "See? Sweetie's a good filly." Axinite smiled. "Polite, kind-" "Where are you from Ms. Belle?" Quill asked. His voice only stimulated Sweetie's badly burried anger. It wasn't that the voice was annoying, or sinister in any way, but it was the familiar tone that made her want to kick his teeth into his nostrils. To do violent things she didn't even know she was capable of coming up with. Rather than cursing his curiosity, she answered as honestly as she knew how. "I'm not sure." "She's recovering from some type of amnesia." Axinite added. "Amnesia hm...?" Quill asked. "What's a little filly like you doing running aroun with that?" "Wouldn't be amnesia if I knew that, now would it?" Sweetie spat back. "Sweetie!" Quill waved Axinite off. "She's right. Poor filly doesn't, and rightly wouldn't remember anything. Am I right?" "...sure." Sweetie agreed. "...what about you? Where did you come from?" "Oh, no where you'd have heard from. A town a few hundred miles north of here. I doubt you'd remember it if you had, conceivably." Quill looked around the dining hall. "Now where this mediocre date my Axinite mentioned you having?" "He's not mediocre. His name is Squee... he's over on the other side of the room." Sweetie said. "Ah... is he the one flirting away with those girls over there?" Sweetie didn't need to turn to know he was probably right. "He's just really sociable." she responded flatly. "...and sweet." She couldn't quite place why she added the last part. Was it to defend her questionable colt friend, or was it to avoid justifying whatever this stallion was insinuating. “Oh if you say so Ms. Belle. I didn’t expect a young little pony like you to know anything about relationships anyhow.” Quill said. “Girls like you have to learn the hard way. Through bone breaks, and heart aches.” “Why don’t we change the subject now, hm?” Axinite said quickly, finally realizing the developing hostility between the two ponies. “What? Do you mean like our marital plans-” “NO!” Sweetie yelled. “YOU DON’T DESERVE HER! SHE’S MINE!”She wasn’t sure if say anything, or if so, she was sure she didn’t mean for it to be so loud and sharp. Every pony’s attention was turned towards her. Without thinking, she went for the kitchen, in desperate hopes to escape the situation at hand. Once inside, she found herself panting deeply and clutching her head. Why had she yelled so loud, and even more at the mention of a mare she’d only met earlier that day. And why did her head feel like exploding for some reason. Then again, as the memories rolled into her head, she was beginning to think “an exploding head” wasn’t the most outlandish possibility. With her newly free mind, Sweetie was remembering. Remembering something horrible about the whole mansion. This room was protecting her memories… or hiding them from Squee- No, not Squee, but that had hit her, and made it so hard for her to resist forgetting them forever. He wanted her to forget so she couldn’t, as that dragon silhouette had put it “crash the memory”. She had to get her camera back. She to snap Axinite’s photo…she still had to find that sheet music she had NO IDEA WHERE IT- Food for thought… the pages… The dragon’s words echoed once in her head again. Perhaps… perhaps the sheet music was in here? In a kitchen? Not like I have any other choice but to look here… before the others come looking for me Sweetie thought, realizing that someone had to be coming in soon to subdue the loud little filly. Sweetie looked around and eventually, her eyes began scanning across the mass array of cook books that were on the shelf. Among them, there was one that was a particularly vibrant yellow. It almost seemed to glow in the darkness. Sweetie used her telekinesis to take it off of the shelf without needing to go on a climbing mission for it. She dropped it in front of her and rapidly began flipping through it, glancing nervously at the door to the dining hall. Her glancing was so erratic, she almost passed by one page of the cook book in particular. One recipe on one side was for something called “Sweetie Apple Surprise” which sounded vaguely familiar, and a second one that didn’t sound familiar at all, but still sent chills down her spine: “Sour Apple Pie”. On the page, there was a crudely drawn staff in green goop, as well as notes for two instruments: Bass and Harp. At the bottom of the 4 staffed, 12 measured song, at the bottom of each page were two separate, equally crude drawn pictures. They were both of Sweetie. In one, she could be seen looking up at some taller pony in anger and disgust, and in the other she could be seen looking down at a shadow of her in even more disgust. “What in the hay…” Sweetie felt sick to her stomach. She might have threw up then and there if- “Sweets?” You okay?” Squee asked, coming through the door. Sweetie didn’t waste a moment in ripping out the two pieces of paper and stuffing them into her hat. “Yeah,” She lied, “I’m fine. How are you doing?” “…Sweets? Are you sure you’re okay? We’re all worried about you outside.” He has my camera. I’ve got to get it back… and something tells me he isn’t just going to give it. I don’t think I can even let him know I know he has it! Sweetie turned around and saw him at the half way point between her and the door. “N-no, I’m fine. Axinite and I just had a disagreement is all.” Sweetie smiled. “It’s nothing, really.” “Are you sure?” His voice sounded eerie. Sweetie moved as slowly as Squee over to the wine racks. “Here Sweetie…” Only got one shot at this “Let me-” Squee didn’t get a second to finish his sentence as Sweetie used a quick sweep of telekinesis over one of the wine bottles in the rack. It shot out of its holding like a cannon, and right into Squee’s head. He was down for the count before Sweetie could comprehend it herself. Sweetie then rushed over to the unconscious Squee, unable to resist whispering “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Over and over again. Her feelings had only lessened for him as the night and events of the night unfolded. However, she couldn’t resist feeling bad for him. After all, it wasn’t his fault, was it? No… she was sure it wasn’t. There was only one that was responsible for what had happened in the hall. She was just still getting used to figuring out who it was. She picked up the saddlebags and did a quick inventory to make sure everything was where it was. Thankfully, Squee didn’t do anything with them. She put them under her dress and started to head out- Suddenly, Squee woke up and grabbed Sweetie’s dress with his teeth. Sweetie yelped in surprise. She looked back. His yellow eyes were back. They were different than the yellow she’d seen before. Less bright, but much more dead than before. They didn’t look evil and insane like before, but they looked solely insane. “Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah.” Squee couldn’t stop laughing, as Sweetie struggled to get herself free from Squee’s grasp. Could the ponies outside not hear this crazy colt’s laugh? Finally, Sweetie escaped, but not without a tiny price. RRRIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPP For some reason, the sheer sound of Axinite’s hard work and trouble ripping seemed like the scariest thing in the world, making her freeze up and almost forget the colt who’d assisted her in it’s distruction. Sweetie looked back at Squee, who’s laughter had died down slightly. “Hehehehe… you’re going to die here…. Sweetie Belle…. Hehehehehe….” Squee said. His body melted into green goop. Sweetie bolted from the room, not daring to look back at the now, indefinable form that was her “coltfriend”. All she heard was a woosh before she found herself back in the dining hall. The next sound she heard was a scream of terror, right next to her ear. “SWEETIE! What did you do?!” Sweetie looked to see Axinite, her face a display of shock and anger. Her eyes contracted with rage and her teeth clenched, she looked at Sweetie with almost absolute hatred. “A-axinite?” Sweetie asked. “How could you do something like this to my beautiful dress?!” she asked. “Huh?” Sweetie, for the first time looked to see her exposed a few cutie marks, her flank and her back holding her saddlebags. The dress was ripped, threads hanging lazily in the air, the colt goop that somehow managed to get on her was starting staining the remaining portion of the dress. In other words, the half-a-dress looked beyond repair. “Axinite I didn’t mean to… It was Squee! He-” Sweetie cut off as she noticed every pony looking at her; particularly the butlers, who now had that yellow glow to their eyes. Sweetie knew she had to get her picture and get out of there. Now. “I can’t believe you Sweetie. I entrust you with one of my finest dresses and you go off and ruin it!” Sweetie got a strong sense of dejavu. Not word for word, but it was too close to be anything but. She swore she’d held a similar conversation with the mare. Even Sweetie’s sudden sadness felt familiar. “Rarity I’m…” Sweetie trailed off. Rarity? Her name’s Axinite… right? Who the hay is- “Fire!” yelled a pony. Sweetie looked to see the pony who’d called was in fact Mrs. Bottle. Sweetie looked above her to see a trail of smoke flowing into the dining hall from the kitchen. Did Squee light the kitchen on fire? Was that the sound she heard? One thing was for sure though. No pony seemed particularly panicked about it, as their attention remained locked to her. “Sweetie… did you light the kitchen on fire?” Mrs. Bottle asked, approaching her with Mr. Bottle. “N-no!” Sweetie defended. “It was Squee! It had to be!” “Squee Sweetie… who the hay is Squee?” Covri came up to Sweetie now. “Is he a pony from around here?” It was then Sweetie realized two things: first, that no one seemed to know Squee, despite the impressions he’d supposedly developed on ponies over the years. And secondly every pony she’d snapped a picture of: Covri, The Bottles, Cal, Feather, all gave her looks of either annoyance, or pity. Axinite though, all she could see in those eyes were hatred. Sweetie wasn’t sure if she even knew the mare anymore. The same mare she’d shared those brief, but warming moments in her shop was now glaring at her, almost as if she were prepared to kill her. The mares began closing in. The six mares she’d supposedly befriended earlier that day were now cornering her against the burning kitchen like some kind of animal. “She needs help.” Feather said. “She must be hallucinating. Perhaps it has something to do with that injury… let us help Sweetie.” “…n-no.” Sweetie stuttered. “You’re not here to help me… you’re not here to help me at all. You never were… were you?” “Of course we were Sweetie. That’s all we want for you…” Feather’s voice began to decline into some kind of demonic baritone. “We just want to help you…” “That all we want… to help you Sweetie…” the other five’s voices all began to decline in the same manner. Behind them, she could hear laugher. High pitched laughter that Sweetie was sure she would eventually go deaf from hearing, or possibly mad from the way it mixed with the deep voices. She had to get out of here. She knew without a doubt. She was going to die if she didn’t escape. Memories, Sweetie could feel in the back of her head were banging against its shackles, getting all the more free. Though one memory did come to mind. One in the voice of Covri’s. No one’s coming to save us. “They can’t help me anymore… I’m on my own aren’t I…?” Sweetie mumbled. …you know it kid. *** At this point, Sweetie wasn’t even fighting the three of them anymore. She danced around them in an airy fashion, dodging whatever attacks they threw at her. “Come on Paita! I expect more from a Canterlot Guard! You’re the one with a blade for crying out loud” She laughed. “At least try to hit me.” Paita swung her sword madly, unable to put her training to work as her muscles spazzed at every bit of pain. Precision was impossible wither she used her hooves, or her muzzle to attempt murdering the possessed little ghost hunter. “Scootaloo! Could you move any slower?!” Sweetie mocked. “Ms. Dash sure expects a lot of a snail-paced foal such as yourself.” “Shut up!” Scootaloo screamed as she took another swing at Sweetie. Applebloom and Scootaloo, were a bit more coordinated in their attacks on her than Paita. They’d even gotten to the point where they quit fearing the mare might deliver a fatal blow to their white coated crusader. They’d also gotten used to the fact that neither of them would likely land a hoof on her. She was just too fast. Right now, all either of them could do was hope that they could somehow subdue their friend before they became as tired as Paita and they endured whatever consequences that came with their escape. Sweetie dodged Scootaloo and gave a light jab on her side, knocking her to the side and throwing her to the course of Paita’s latest missed attack. She moved with Sweeie’s force in order to gain enough speed to pass and dodge Paita’s sword, as well as fall over in the process. “Watch where you’re swinging that thing!” Sweetie giggled as her eye darted to the left, just to catch Applebloom preparing to buck her in the face. Out of either pity or some twisted desire for pain, she let her get a clean shot in. The applebucker-in-training’s buck possessed 10 times the force of any of Scootaloo’s hoof swings, even if it did trade if off for a 10th of the speed. It wasn’t a room knocker, but it was enough to throw her off of the ground. She fell down with a thud. She tried to remain still, hoping Applebloom would fall for the same trap Scootaloo had minutes ago. To her disappointment, Applebloom was just a little bit smarter, so she just settled for a laugh that at least managed to visually chill the red mane’s spine. She looked up at her, grinning with her bloody nose, the droplets dripping down and staining her teeth. “Why… why are you doing this to us?” Applebloom asked. “What the hay did we ever do to you? What did Sweetie ever do to you?” Sweetie simply chuckled. “Believe me Appleboom, I could care less about what you could do, or ever would do to me, or even Specter for that matter.” “Then why huh?! Why can’tcha just let any of us go?” Applebloom asked. “Perhaps it’s because of how far in we are to this little scenario…” Sweetie took a few steps toward Applebloom who backed away from the bloody nosed Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo charged at Sweetie, who simply ducked just enough to toss her over her back and against the closest wall. “Perhaps it’s the orders I’ve got to complete this little session and murder each one of you that doesn’t pertain to the plan anymore.” Paita swung her sword at Sweetie who stopped for a moment to catch it at the edge, and snatch it out of her hoof. She then proceeded to swing it at her and knock her down with the handle. Sweetie then proceded to approach Applebloom, now backed against a wall. “Applebloom…” Applejack mumbled, looking at her through hazy, wakening eyes. In an instant, Sweetie lept for using her leg to pin her up against the wall, so she could get her face as close to Applebloom’s as possible. “Or perhaps it’s sanity, hm?” she said through gritting grinning teeth, even wider than before. “I don’t know why Specter wants you dead specifically. And to be perfectly honest, I don’t care. I’ve been waiting to kill something all night. Playing with your friend… the only reason I didn’t kill her the dozens of opportunities I had… the dozens of times I watched her, with my fellow ghosts, stalking her, when she…” Her voice was shuddering, as if she were all of a sudden cold now. Her body definitely felt chilled beyond a normal, healthy filly, however, it was odd that it seemed to just start bothering her. She wiped her face with her free hoof, as if she were sweating. She gave it a shake, before regaining eye contact with the struggling Applebloom. “My patience was wearing thin, you see.” She continued. “It’s funny really.” She gave a low few second laugh before reaching for the blade sticking out of her mouth, sticking horizontally in her mouth. “How painful it was to wait. To let them… get the fun with her, while I had to wait. Even that pink devil seemed to posses more patience than me. Even managing to restrain herself to put Sweetie through those trials… enjoying her struggle. Suffer, to survive. But me?” Sweetie picked up Applebloom and slammed her against the wall once more, forcing her leg tighter along her neck. Applebloom’s air was cut off completely now. “I loathe that survival. I loathe a pony that doesn’t know when it’s her turn to die. As sweet as you’re little, innocent friend might be… she’s probably the most bucking annoying of all of you.” Applebloom was beginning to feel the effects of her strangulation as the world began spinning around her. Scootaloo and Paita attempted to rush to her aid, but were stopped in their tracks by chains of Sweetie’s own telekinesis spell, now supercharged with ghostliness. The magic may have still been draining to Sweetie, despite her ghostly help, but they were enough to keep the both of them anchored to the ground. From that point on, they were stuck there, all but able to watch Applebloom in her last seconds of life. Sweetie laughed. “Perhaps however… killing you might make up for all of the… missed opportunities to end her life. Those, long, dragging moments of self control I had to execute against my ghostly instincts. Perhaps to see you, her best friend, her hooves on your freezing throat, your sister, and other best friend, watching… staring in disbelief… Why Sweetie… why…” She mocked in Sweetie’s regular voice, rather than the twisted mix of filly and adult stallion she was using moments ago. “Perhaps… you’ll do…” “Applebloom!” Applejack screamed for her sister. The one dying by her own friend, her own crusader’s hoof. Applebloom was beginning to struggle less and less. Her consciousness slipping away along with her life. It wouldn’t be more than a few minutes now before- *** Sweetie acted fast. She had to, knowing instinctively that her time was just about up. That somepony was going to die if she didn’t kick it into high gear stat. As the six mares closed in, looking angrier, and even more pitying with decreased distance, Sweetie reached back. Thankfully, with that cumbersome dress out of the way, Sweetie didn’t have to fumble as much to grab ahold of her camera. She whipped it out and snatched a photo of Axinite. “What the-” Sweetie didn’t wait for the mares to charge her with her newly acquired photo. She closed her eyes and focused on the portion of the table closest to the exit. She might have tried another place, but considering how distant the table already was, she dared not teleport any farther, in fear of fainting from magic deprivation. Behind her eyelids, she saw a flash, before she felt herself land onto the tablecloth, and uncomfortably, several pieces of silver ware. Her brain immediately went into a state of dizziness, removing her basic motor skills for the time being. All she could do was hope the loss of equilibrium didn’t last long enough for anypony to scoop her up and catch her. “Where’d she go?” Sweetie heard. It sounded like Feather. “She’s over here” came the voice of one of the mares, followed by an insane little giggle. Sweetie saw the blurred figures of several ponies on the opposite side of her, staring at her. Just as they charged, Sweetie put all of her focus on these ponies, and where their eyes might have been. As she hopped, their charge halted just as they were preparing to get on the table. I can’t see them the best… Sweetie thought. But they can see my stare just fine. “Somepony! Gra-” It was the voice of Cal this time, though she wasn’t able to finish her sentence, as just as she was preparing to make the “b” sound, a different kind of “b” sound beat her to it. BOOM An explosion erupted from the kitchen, blowing anypony within its radius away like burning leaves. Sweetie snapped her head in the direction of the explosion and covered her mouth in shock. As her vision cleared, she was even more horrified to see the burning folk that had assisted her throughout the day. Is this… my fault? It was an accident! I swear! screamed a second inner voice, the same as Sweetie’s, though much more distant. A…memory of some kind? Once Sweetie realized what she’d done by refocusing her attention, she turned back to see the stallions and mares previously frozen now directly on her tail. Just before they could grab her, with incredible speed she rolled back off the table as they flew over her and onto the ground behind her. She got up quickly, jumped over them, and ran out of the dining hall. SWEEETIIIIIIIIE The six moaned from the dining hall. They sounded in pain and agony, but at the same time mildly amused at Sweetie’s attempt at escape. Sweetie didn’t dare look back, just about acquainted with the realization they probably wanted to do more than “catch” her. Something much worse. Once Sweetie entered the foyer once more entered the foyer and gasped. It wasn’t just the side of the dining hall that was on fire now, but the whole mansion! The heat hit her like a bull, nearly throwing her onto her hooves. “This is insane!” Sweetie yelled. Sweetie covered her mouth with the remaining part of the dress, and lowered her hat to keep as much smoke out of her eyes. She made her way to the other side of the staircase, in hopes of regaining access to that room. “You’ve GOT to be kidding!” There was a large piece of bright burning wood. It crackled in Sweetie’s face, making her flinch and turn away from the blockade. “Okay Sweetie. Don’t panic. Don’t panic.” She wasn’t doing a very good job, as her mind couldn’t think straight, making her have to scream over the blaze to process the simplest thoughts. Her breaths were becoming shorter and shorter, though perhaps the smoke was to blame for that. “There’s… there’s another way! Down the other hall!” Sweetie abandoned the door and raced up the staircase to the door. She tried to push it. “No way. NO WAY.” The door was locked. She looked around her. Parts of the ceiling looked just about to cave in on her. “No! I’m not dying here!” Sweetie turned around, and with more force than she knew she had, she kicked at the door. It didn’t come down, but rather it created a hole, just large enough for Sweetie to get through… also jagged enough for Sweetie to gut herself on. She didn’t have enough time to consider it as she heard wood bend above her. She leapt through the jagged wood, managing to only scratch her tummy as she rolled into the hallway. Sweetie looked back just in time to see the masses of ceiling wood fall and block off her hole. She sighed. “That couldn’t have been closer.” Though the hot little filly wasn’t out of the woods yet. She still had to traverse the hallway without burning to death. Sweetie’s eyes contracted as she began hearing the screams of the ponies that were still trapped in the holocaust of flames on the first floor. Their screams of pain and suffering echoed in her head, as she attempted covering her head with her hat to block them out. “Ignore them Sweetie… ignore them they’re… not… real…” The situation was beginning to clear up as the smoke fogged her vision further. This whole mansion, the town, and everypony inside of it wasn’t real! Or at least not in the way she’d come to think of it as “real”. It was an illusion made to distract her so something could have the chance to kill a pony… Sweetie had to move. She had to crash this party as soon as possible… or at least make it to the room so she could escape without it crashing with her inside of it. It took a minute for Sweetie to acknowledge the fact, and cause her to get up and run as fast as she could. “What did that voice say…?” Sweetie asked herself, trying to remember how to get to the crashing room as efficiently as possible. Left, right, right, right, staircase she recalled. The floor creaked under her. It was ready to give in to the heat. Sweetie gave an annoyed groan and bolted from the spot before the floor gave way to a pool of flames. Between the confusion, fire, and screams that surrounded her, Sweetie wasn’t sure which dominated her lungs. Her screams, the smoke seeping through her ripped dress, or the coughs that resulted from a combination of the two. On multiple occasions her coughing caused her to ram into burning tables or walls. Even worse, the giving floor was becoming more and more frequently by her. It was only the fact that the mansion was crumbling around her that she was able to resist slowing down from the lessening oxygen of the air hungry inferno. Just as Sweetie was preparing to make her first left, she passed by the door that she’d originally trapped Symbol in, the very same mare burst through it. The door hit and crumbled beneath Sweetie in a flurry of embers. Sweetie was dazed for a moment, though before she could get back up to continue her run, and ignore the violent door, the subject mare tacked her and pinned her against the wall. As Sweetie’s vision cleared, she was horrified to see what the fire had done to her. Much of her body was burned, and the part of her previously white coat that wasn’t blackened with soot, exposed patches of bare skin, muscle, and sometimes bone. Sweetie felt an urge to vomit on the zombie mare, though Symbol’s hoof against blocked the bile and sent it straight back down to her stomach. Symbol laughed as she picked Sweetie up, getting on her hind hooves and preparing to throw her into one of the fire pools Sweetie was running against. With her own unpinned hindlegs, she swung at frizzy light and dark blue, or rather black and dark blue, mane mare’s stomach. She still threw Sweetie, though the kick turned it into more of a sloppy toss. Sweetie hit the ground and rolled into the hole of fire, barely managing to catch the splintery ledge and avoiding falling to her doom. Symbol was still laughing, telling Sweetie she didn’t have any time to hang around. She pushed through the pain of the jagged wood, feeling bits of blood droplets slip down her leg as the splinters cut into her. Since they weren’t any deeper than the ones she’d acquired from the door, she ignored them. She pulled herself half way up before she saw Symbol walking towards her, prepared to kick her down into the devil’s pit and finish her off. Sweetie wasn’t going to let her. Just as the corpse Symbol was within reach, when she kicked, Sweetie let go of the ledge and grabbed onto Symbol’s leg. Yank! Sweetie pulled on Symbol and pulled her down into the fire. Unfortunately, Symbol wasn’t as coordinated as Sweetie, and didn’t manage to catch the ledge in time. She fell into the fire and burst into flames. Sweetie climbed back up, and then lost the ability to contain her bile at the act she’d committed. She… she’d just- She’s not real. None of this is real. It’s Spiffy. It’s Specter. It’s a lie. Sweetie remembered. Her memory was coming back more and more. Specter and Spiffy were her enemies, and they’d taken something from her. Sweetie knew for certain if she pushed to the room that every memory that had somehow been buried would resurface. She just had to stay alive long enough to see them. “Easier said than done.” Sweetie commented as she shook her head and continued running. Left! Sweetie remembered. Right Right Ri- Sweetie skidded to a stop as she came to a large gap, which had to have been a good 40 yards across. One she was almost sure she could neither cross without falling into the inferno, nor teleport across without fainting and being burned alive in her sleep. The worst part was that through the smoke, she could still vaguely make out the passage to the stairwell. “No…” Sweetie looked back at the falling apart hallway. There was no was she could go back the way she came. “No! C’mon Sweetie! Think! You’ve got 6 cutie marks on you ONE of them has to help here.” A memory came back to her. One of a carnival where she’d made an impossible jump. Not exactly one as long as this one, but about half as long. Onto… a paper airplane? Sweetie didn’t take the time to dwell on the peculiar memory, but rather hatched an idea. She might not have been able to jump across with the cutie mark alone… but what if she could consecutively use a combination two of her talents? Would it exhaust her to nearly fainting again? Considering her lessening options along with the thinning wood below her, she figured she didn’t have anything left to lose. As the hallway behind her continued to crumble, Sweetie used as much runway room as she could and made a run for the ledge. She jumped and could feel herself soar for a few moments, as well as the cloud cutie mark tingle. As she felt gravity kick in, she imagined the passage in her mind and used a teleportation spell in mid air. She reappeared inside the stairwell, only upside down. Once gravity decided to set back in for her, Sweetie found herself tumbling down the stairs, and hitting her head on the floor. She got up to look around the room. Surprisingly, it was the only part of the mansion that hadn’t drastically changed. The only difference was that smoke had settled at the ceiling and the room was filled with even more unsettling muted screams from outside. “Ignore them Sweetie, ignore them.” Sweetie said aloud, feeling inexplicable guilt attempt to keep her from moving forward. “I don’t have much more time.” Sweetie spread out the pictures in front of her and shined her light on them. She looked back around the room at the frames set up, and facing the candle at the center. “Let’s try lighting that candle first.” Sweetie used one of her new matches and lit the center candle. Despite its small size, it lit the room quite well. Even more, though the room was already hot enough, only after its light flooded it did Treble or Barra start thawing out. Boy am I going to have some explaining to do when their done. In the mean time, Sweetie took set up the sheet music in accordance to the corresponding instrument. “Okay… and now the pictures.” Sweetie looked back at them. Considering there was something written on the back of each of them, she figured there had to be a specific order they had to go in. She turned them over and tried different arrangements. SECAPE CAPESE PEASCE …ESCAPE! It was the most valid word, and for that matter, most appropriate word she’d come across yet. It had to be it. She looked back up at surrounding picture frames. “…now if only I knew where I had to start!” Sweetie examined each of the picture frames. One wrote: “This little pony fed their bellies…” Another one: “This little pony sped to the hospital…” Another one: “This little pony went to get bandages…” Another one: “This little pony nearly was broken…” Another one: “This little pony danced to town…” Finally: “This little pony cried hate, hate, hate, all the way home.” … The little sequence made sense, yet at the same time, none to Sweetie. She knew if she just had a little more memory… but something told her it didn’t matter. As long as she knew where to place one of the “E”s… “The little pony who cried hate…” Sweetie mumbled. She remembered the specific hate that Axinite held in her eyes. That familiar hate and embarrassment… Sweetie placed Axinite’s picture in the frame of hate. From there, Sweetie decided to work backwards, getting the feeling the frame of feeding wasn’t the next part in whatever story they were insinuating. Axinite’s was “E”. Romina’s was “P”. Covri’s was “A” Feather’s was “C” Bottle’s was “S” And Cal was “E”. “That should do it… I hope…” The room moaned. Sweetie wasn’t sure if that was a direct response to the puzzle, or if it was the sound of the fire working its way into the ceiling’s roof. One thing was for sure however, it was certainly getting hotter- “Sweetie?” Sweetie turned to see both Treble and Barra thawed out. They were wet, but it looked like the brief cryo-freeze didn’t harm them. They weren’t even shivering, but considering the room was progressively turning into a black sauna, who would? “What’s going on? What’s with all of the-” “Less talky. More play-y.” Sweetie cut Treble off. Sweetie saw panic fill their faces as they realzed the current situation. “What’s with this smoke! Are we on fire?!” Treble got up and moved around to Sweetie. “That screaming… oh my Celestia…” Barra was too paralyzed by fear to move. “We need to find a way-” “There is no way out.” Sweetie said sharply. “Look, if you want to… if you want to survive, you’ve got to listen to me.” “Listen to you?” Barra asked. “Ms. Belle, I have my doubts we’d even be in here if you hadn’t lured us in here. Where’s Symbol?” “Dead.” Sweetie said flatly. She was almost surprised how easily the morbid word passed her lips. Even more how carelessly, as if it weren’t anything to really consider. As if she didn’t care. They’re not real. Remember they’re not real. Barra gasped. “You’re… you’re ly-” she entered a coughing fit as the smoke started to thicken. “We don’t have time to argue about who lured who.” Sweetie urged. “You need to do exactly as I say or we’re all going to die here.” “Why should we listen to you?” Treble asked. “Even ignoring the fact that you tricked us into coming here, you’re still just a little kid!” “Because I said so alright?!” Sweetie exclaimed. “Now play those instruments. Now.” The two mares looked at each other momentarily before going to their instruments. Treble went over to the harp and took position, while Barra took hers by the bass. In the meantime, Sweetie took a moment to put on her GCD. The name of the device come to her effortlessly, like like the name of a forgotten best friend… “Play these. Hurry!” Sweetie urged, throwing the pieces of sheet music onto the stands, and hoping she applied each musical piece to the correct musician. There was a moment of hesitation between the two before they finally followed Sweetie’s order. They began playing. As music filled the room, Sweetie began feeling the same strange guilt feel as she had back when she first sung Treble’s first song. Thankfully, or perhaps not, the guilt didn’t last for more than a minute of the song, as it looped back to the beginning. A loud buzzing sound reverberated in Sweetie’s eardrums, giving her the sharpest headache yet. But it wasn’t just the head this time. As the music declined in tempo, she could feel the shockwaves of the instruments increase in volume and force. She could feel them stinging like bees all over her body, as the tone of their playing became more and more twisted with each loop. Sweetie’s hearing left just as the tones began to twist out of seeming possibility. Finally, the candle at the center of the room began glowing green. Any smoke in the room vanished as the candle’s light grew in magnitude. Neither Treble, nor Barra seemed to notice the spectral phenomenon happening before their very eyes. Then again, they didn’t have much time to react as the candle fire branched out and pierced them. They continued playing as the tentacle-like ropes of the candle fire pierced their bodies and went through them, turning their mouths and eyes into fire. Silent wind whirled around the room as the pictures themselves began rounding the room. Faster and faster they went before they were just a blur. Both Treble and Barra had stopped… no, their names weren’t Treble and Barra, but… but Lyra and Octavia, were the names coming to Sweetie. They both stopped playing their instruments, though echoes of them continued to play the tune, or at least continue strumming the instruments. They both looked at her, giving Sweetie another chill before exploding in a flurry of blinding light, consuming Sweetie in its magnificence. *** “Applebloom!” Applejack yelled for her sister, who seemed just about ready to give in to Sweetie’s grip. Just as every ounce of hope seemed to be gone, one sparked with Sweetie’s horn. She felt the tingle that turned into searing pain. Normally, the possessed filly could easily forget about any kind of pain, and turn off any nerves that tried to apply any. However, this pain, she couldn’t turn off. This pain wasn’t to her body, but to his spirit! Sweetie wasn’t the one getting hurt anymore but the spirit inside of her. Sweetie was doing something to Spiffy! Before she could do anything, the pain transitioned into a magical discharge that exploded her horn and threw her across the room away from Applebloom to give her a little breathing room. In that same instance, Applebloom was dropped to the ground to have a little breathing space while Scootaloo and Paita were freed from Sweetie’s telekinetic grasp. While Paita was left a bit dumbfounded, Scootaloo wasted no time rushing to make sure Applebloom was alright. Sweetie on the otherhand… or rather, Spiffy, the ghost possessing her at the moment, was momentarily trapped within the little filly’s body. *** … … ………. “Sweetie…” “Sweetie… you need to get up. Now’s not the time to lollygag. They’re still in grave dan…” Sweetie moaned as she attempted to force herself up. She looked up and saw a familiar sky. Similar to the one she’d seen in Pinkie’s carnival, but with a green tint to it. It still had those peculiar, menacing, white lined clouds running through them. “Out of one mess… and into another…” She mumbled. Then she remembered. Something. No, she remembered everything! How she’d gotten here, the possession, the mansion, the ghosts, Specter, her… her sister. “That… he took my memory and tried to trap me there…” Sweetie continued. Her eyes widened when she realized the two ponies she’d kissed to escape were Diamond Tiara and Pipsqueak. She took a moment to spit out any Tiara parasites or Pipsqueak cooties she might have picked up in her momentary memory absence. “I’m gonna have to visit Colgate for a month straight to get that out of my mouth…” She might have vomited to the fact that she also, for the moment, liked each kiss due to her lack of memory. It was a good thing her stomach was already empty. She didn’t need the extra taste in her mouth anyway. “Well… at least I’m out. Feels like I’ve been there for over half a year…” Sweetie thought. “I hope my friends are still alright.” “…more or less.” Sweetie jumped at the voice. “W-who are you?” “If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you one hundred times. That’s not important. The important part is that you’ve got about 5 minutes before Spiffy’s spirit wakes up from the memory crash trauma and attempts to take another stab at your friend Applebloom… literally, most likely.” Sweetie shook her head and looked around to get her bearings. She seemed to be on the same surface as the memory crashing room, however all of the walls were gone, exposing a green void, similar to the one she’d seen along the tracks of Pinkie’s rollercoaster ride. Though, instead of miscellaneous items, she saw frozen ponies floating around like statues. Flying around them, there were other ghosts. They seemed to be the same white round ghosts that had chased her in the hallway, as well as seen around the time she kissed Spike. “Really gotta stop reminding me I did that.” Sweetie commented, unsure who the comment was directed to. Lyra and Octavia lie dead next to disintegrated instruments, and blackened like coal. The candlestick was now much taller than before, stretching above to another segment of the mansion, floating above her. “I’m guessing that’s my destination?” “That’s right. That’s likely where Spiffy will be, manipulating your body’s core. Where your spirit would normally send signals to your brain for the body to perform any tasks… like killing little kids, for example.” “I get it. She’s in trouble.” Sweetie said, slightly annoyed. “How about telling me how to get up there!” “You already know.” Sweetie looked over past the candle and noticed a lever. Her heart sunk. “I have to solve some stupid puzzle, don’t I?” “You know it kid.” Sweetie groaned. “I don’t have time for more puzzles though!” You’re in a haunted mansion. What more do you expect?” The voice commented. “And besides, arguably you didn’t have time about two hours ago real time. What’s another 5 more minutes with your applebucking friend is brutally murdered as incentive, hm? Now get moving!” Sweetie ran over to the lever in the ground and pulled it toward her. The world moaned as another floating platform came down just beside the memory crash room platform. Dangling from the platform were what looked like millions of dangling threads hanging loosely around the perimeter of the platform. Through the threads, Sweetie could see a large yellow combustion emitting from the center of the platform, likely allowing it to move. From Sweetie’s perspective, and the way they swayed in the intense wind, the platform looked comparable to a purple jellyfish. The platform Sweetie was currently standing on gave a loud, long creak. With little hesitation, Sweetie jumped and took ahold of a bunch of threads, just as the first platform fell down into the green oblivion. Sweetie then used her applebucking strength, and weather mare speed to ascend up the jelly like platform. Once she got to the top, she noted that this portion of the platform seemed to be a segment of the dining hall. A burnt, broken portion of the table lie in the center, and around it lie the six mares she now remembered then names of: Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie, Applejack and Rarity lie on top of each other atop the table remnants. From the looks of it, someone seemed to be preparing to burn the bodies. Sweetie shuddered at the thought… or perhaps it was the chill of the wind blowing through her mane. It must have been, after all, she’d seen worse, right? “Doesn’t mean I can get used to it though…” Sweetie mumbled. Sweetie took a moment to look around at her surroundings. From where she was standing, she could see four platforms in the distance. The only problem was that unlike the one she was standing on now, though they had flames to move them around the area, they didn’t have threads… which meant unless there was a way to make them ascend from the platforms themselves, she couldn’t use them! They’d either be uselessly on the same level as her, or too high for her to reach. “Okay… so how do I do this?” Sweetie took a look on her own platform to see there were in fact, four levers. Strangely enough, unlike the first one these had symbols on their bases. Lever 1: “ O ” Tangent Lever 2: “ | | ” Radius Lever 3: “ = ” Radius Lever 4: “ X ” Tangent They also possessed buttons on the side, going from 1 to 3. For a moment, Sweetie’s mind went back to Ms. Cheerilee’s class. She remembered a particularly boring geometry lesson discussing different lines of a circle… that must have been what the puzzle was referring to. Perhaps the different levers referred to how each platform moved in accordance with the one she was currently on. Sweetie couldn’t match up the correlation between the signs and the functions of the levers. She supposed she could just test each one out and see what happened. Just as she prepared to give a good yank on the lever, she heard a ghostly giggle behind her. “Noooo…” Sweetie said in disbelief. She turned around, only to see the same dead bodies lying on the wood. “Nooo…” Sweetie repeated as she went over to the piled bodies. She poked them with the nozzle of her GCD. Upon touching it, she stared to hear a hissing sound. “No!” She jumped back before a bursting white flame could blow her face off. The flame didn’t last long, for out of them flew what seemed like hundreds of the white ghosts Sweetie had seen. Only five however, stuck around on the platform to terrorize the little ghost hunter. They didn’t attack her initially however, but instead just flew around her. Sweetie looked around in every direction at the surrounding ball shaped ghosts. They were much smaller than the other ones she’s seen, but their sharp toothed mouths and black beady eyes made up for it. “Poor poor little Sweetie Belle.” “Thrown into a nightmarish mansion hell.” “The little ghosties fly around.” “Little Sweetie Belle has been found.” Sweetie swallowed. And prepared to give the ghosts a sweep of her flashlight, and hope light affected them. “Dancing Sweetie, looking for a friend.” “A sister who’s hate and loathe she sends. “Shut up! I’m getting sick of being told the same lie OVER and OVER again.” Sweetie yelled at the ghosts. “Lies?” One of them giggled. They flew out of the group and confronted Sweetie face to face. Fearfully Sweetie fell back onto her flank from the closeness of its. “We don’t lie Sweetie. It’s stupid to lie. Lies are just another way of cushioning life. To shroud it’s truth and make it look better to everyone else…” “But we’re dead.” Another one laughed. “What do we have to lie about.” “T…then you don’t know what you’re talking about.” “Oh! But we do Sweetie! You’re the liar here. You know just as well as everyone else that your sister. Your… Rarity couldn’t forgive you for ruining that once in a lifetime opportunity.” “Please don’t use that word, it gives me a headache.” Sweetie said, attempting to lower her current panic levels. “Think about it. You’re smart enough to know that your sister, a nosed up, Canterlot wanna be. A pony who over eats up drama and exploits gossip as a hobby. A pony who could hate… even her own sister if she ruined something, or somethings worth thousands of hard-earned bits.” “Get out of my face.” Sweetie was doing well in controlling her fear now, but terribly in controlling her anger. “A sister who put two other ponies in the hospital… and a sister whose fault it is, for ruining their chance at marrage… twice.” “I said get out of my FACE.” Sweetie swept her flashlight up in the ghost’s face white face. DING Sweetie didn’t take the time to suck up the first ghost, but rather rolled past it and gave another sweep to three of the remaining surrounding nine. DING! DING! DING! Once behind the circle of ghosts, Sweetie aimed her GCD at the bunch and began sucking them up. Once the two of them were caught, and the other one disappeared to who knew where, in in the current of the device’s suction, they began flailing, making a strange groaning/yelling sound. Sweetie was also reintroduced to being dragged nearly aimlessly by the panicking ghosts. 60,59,58,57 Sweetie gave a good yank!. 56, 55545352515049,48,47 “There we go…” Sweetie smiled as she continued yanking, and attempting to control the two ghosts as they dragged her around, attempting to throw her off the platform. …14,13,12yank!11,10,9,8- One of them somehow managed to shake free of Sweetie’s grasp and escape the GCD suction. It disappeared into thin air. Sweetie noted how apt these types seemed to be towards escaping her grasp. 5,4,3,2,1,0 The ghost gave the familiar, satisfying yell as it was dragged into the confines of the GCD. Sweetie spotted another one flying at her. She dodged swiftly, nearly falling over the edge of the platform before. She then shined her light on the ghost- DING -and proceded to capture it. It wasn’t the same ghost, but Sweetie wasn’t complaining. As long as she could get them. 4,3,2,1,0 Sweetie managed to suck up yet another ghoul into her GCD before she saw another one charging at her. Third verse, same as the first… Sweetie thought, and she caught the ghost again, with incredible ease. She wasn’t sure if it was the anger of the ghost’s words that were powering her, or the skill she’d aquited earlier, because despite as much time she felt away from the device she was catching them like a pro! “C’mon! You’ve gotta do better than that!” Sweetie taunted as she felt was almost done catching the fourth ghost. “IF YOU INSIST!” Screamed an invisible one. Sweetie looked to her left to see another angry, wide smiled ghost charging at her. This time, Sweetie didn’t have the means to doge this time. Just as the ghost entered her GCD, the white entity knocked her off the platform. It hit her so hard, she wasn’t able to take ahold of the threads of the platform before they became out of her reach. “Not getting rid of me that easily!” Sweetie quickly switched to her Spectral Throwback and hoped her plan would work. She put the nozzle end of the GCD to her chest and pointed it away from her. She then shot a white ball of ectoplasm. She felt the force of the shot in her chest, as well as felt it push her back toward the threads. She gave another shot and turned around mid air to just barely grab the ends of another bunch of threads. She heard the white ghost from above laugh as it charged down at her. Sweetie, on the other hoof, was ready for it. She smiled, and risked using telekinesis to aim the nozzle at the ghost. The ghost’s grin turned to a frown, anticipating her next move. “Not good enough.” Sweetie mumbled as she put more telekinetic pressure around the nozzle. The GCD fired and made direct contact with it, throwing it out of sight. Sweetie sighed in relief as the adrenaline left her body. “Heh. That wasn’t so hard…” “Just so you know Sweetie, you’re four minutes in.” “Thanks, Mr. No-Pressure.” “I suppose I’ve come under the assumption you work well under it.” Sweetie climbed back to the top. “Alright… now the puzzle. Hey!” Sweetie looked up at the platforms now. They had ghosts flying around them in circles. Sweetie gave a few seconds of examination before she realized that from her own perspective, they were flying patterns were similar to that of the symbols! Two rings of ghosts flew around each other to create an “X”, another two flew above and below a platform to create a “| |”, another two rings flew horizontal to each other, creating an “ = ” and finally, one group flew around the platform to create an “O”. “Well… this certainly takes away the experimenting time…” Sweetie squinted at the platforms. There weren’t any bulges on them, so Sweetie figured they likely didn’t possess any levers, as she’d expected. However, she did come up with an idea. Sweetie first made sure both “tangent” levers were on the same level as her. From the looks of it, they looked as though if she pulled either lever, they’d just skim her platform and keep on going. The “ O ” platform would travel east and pass by the north, and the “ X ” platform would travel south, by the east. The platforms now below her faced the north, the “ | | ” and the south, the “ = ” and would eventually collide into each other if Sweetie were to pull one of the levers. Sweetie judged the distance of the two platforms and nodded when she decided to pull the fourth lever first. She then ran over to the first lever, waited a few seconds while watching the “ X ” before pulling it. She then watched, and bit her lower lip hoping her logic or timing wasn’t too off. As she’d hoped, the two platforms intersected perfectly. While the “ O ” stopped in its tracks, the “ X ” was knocked off course and flew into the void. The ghosts floating around on it went into a frenzy and scrambled off of it, and headed to the upper platform. A few of the ghosts were startled as well on the “ O ” platform, though many of them seemed indifferent to the impact, or simply didn’t notice, and continued along their course. Sweetie looked over at the other platform and considered just hitting the third level button for the “ X ” and making a jump to the other platform, but between the ghosts still swarming around it and the fact that the chances of her making the jump were almost nothing, Sweetie didn’t think it was worth the risk. Besides, she wouldn’t be completely solving the platform puzzle anyway. She still had the platforms below her. She looked over the edge and did the same mental calculations determining the distances between the platforms. Once she was sure of herself, she went back and pulled on the “ | | ”, waited a few seconds, and then pulled he “ = ”. Both of the platforms eventually collided below the “ O ”. The “ = ” was more vertical to the “ O ”. Now all she had to do is hit the third level button to the “ = ” and the “ O ” would be knocked up and take her straight to Spiffy! Ha! Who says Geometry doesn’t help anypony? How else could Sweetie have figured that puzzle out in the 55 seconds she did? “Yeah, because you’ve got to be ready when life throws a demonic ghost puzzle at you. Gotta know those tangent and radii.” Sweetie commented, again clueless to the one she was commenting too. She shrugged it off, and hit the “ = ” third level equal sign. She made the jump over to the “ O ” platform, thankful the ghosts didn’t seem to care about her arrival… or at least remained indifferent as they didn’t alter their previous flight pattern. “Alrighty, now all I’ve gotta do is wait for the-” Sweetie was interrupted mid sentence by the very platform she was just talking to herself about. “Woah!” The force nearly knocked her off of the platform again. The ghosts around her scattered and retreated to the upper level, just as Sweetie’s platform was thrown up along with them. “I’m coming for you Spiffy!” Sweetie yelled. *** “Applebloom, You sure you’re alright?” Scootaloo asked. “Yeah, ahm alright, but what ‘bout Sweetie?” Applebloom got up to look at her friend. Scootaloo shrugged. “Dunno. Her horn flashed and threw her over there. She’s out cold, I think. Least she didn’t get up and grab me like before.” Applebloom finally got up and looked over at her friend. Paita, for the last few minutes, had only been poking the little filly, attempting to rouse her, getting braver and braver towards touching the homicidal little pony with each poke. “Ya think… you think Sweetie… ah mean the real Sweetie might’ve stopped ‘em?” “That Yield guy didn’t look too confident in him… maybe he was a pushover and Sweetie’s giving him and old fashioned flan-” The Sweetie Spiffy thing’s eyes snapped open. Her sockets glowed with fury, anger, and magic, becoming pure balls of energy, rather than eye jelly. Before Paita even had the chance to step back, Sweetie hit her in the chest and threw her against the wall. She pinned her down against it with telekinesis and applied immense pressure. For the moment, only screams, supplied with a crack or two were heard. The guard mare fell silent as she entered unconsciousness. “O-or not.” Scootaloo shuddered. She replaced her newfound fear with fake determination as she entered a battle stance. “She shouldn’t have been able to do that. She shouldn’t have been able to crash the memory like that! That WASN’T supposed to happen EITHER.” “Heh, what’s wrong? Sweetie too much for you?” Scootaloo mocked. “Silence!” Sweetie wasn’t in the mood for play anymore as she used another telekinetic spell to pick up Scootaloo by the tail and slam her face against the wall. Sweetie did it a second time, satisfied to see a tooth fall to the ground. “It’s improbable, neigh, impossible for her to be able to get as far as her spiritual nexus! She shouldn’t be able to reach her core. She’s not even registered… she’s not special. There’s something else. Something else.” “Scoots, are you alright?” Scootaloo only moaned in response. Sweetie then proceeded to tie Scootaloo up by the tail on one of the chandeliers above her, her mouth agape and now with one tooth unaccounted for. Sweetie then proceded to pin Applebloom against the wall. She got up close to her. “Do YOU have anything to do with this?” “Eh… I ain’t got any clue what ye’re talking about.” Applebloom shuddered fearfully. “Specter wanted you dead for some reason… maybe killing you is supposed to stop it eh?” Sweetie called her knife to her hoof, and raised it at the red mane’s stomach. “Why don’t we just test that out?!” Sweetie cackled as she went for the lunge. *** “One… two…” Sweetie was rapidly approaching the final platform. She had to time it just right or she’d miss her stop. “….three!” Sweetie leapt from her platform as the one she was riding flew up out of sight. She now found herself on the platform the candle was on. Scattered along the large plane were tables and loose ropes tied to the bases and ends of certain ones. Do YOU have anything to do with this? “What the…?” Sweetie looked up. There was some kind of portal displaying Applebloom pinned against a wall by an outline of… white magic. The same aura that her own horn emitted. Somepony was using her telekinesis. “Applebloom!” Sweetie looked over above the green candle. Above it was Spiffy, floating inside of some kind of transparent bubble. That had to be where he was controlling her from! She looked back at the window, and saw her own hoof holding a knife, aiming at her friend’s stomach. Why don’t we just test that out?! “Oh no you don’t!” Sweetie aimed her GCD at Spiffy and fired her last shot of ghost goo at the bubble. It pierced the bubble and hit Spiffy square in the chest. “Gah!” He yelled in surprise. Rather than disappearing, he simply went a few feet out of the bubble before falling onto the platform, the ectoplasm stuck to his chest. Sweetie glanced at the window, which had now gone black. She sighed in relief that this was the real Spiffy. He looked up at Sweetie. “You… but that’s impossible. You’re too fresh to make it here.” “I guess your dumb memory erasing trick failed miserably and backfired.” Sweetie aimed her GCD at the downed butler. “I’m gonna get you for making me kiss…” she shuddered. “Tiara…” Spiffy laughed. “Don’t get so full of yourself yet Ms. Belle.” He got up on all fours. “I’m still quite in control of what happens here. The only reason I haven’t erased your spirit in my own memory crash is because we still need you somewhat alive. After all, I’d be a shame for the cutie marks of the Elements to be lost by a goof like you.” “Guess it doesn’t even take a goof to beat a poor flank like yours.” Sweetie retorted. “Enough talk.” He floated up in the air. Just as he did, spikes spat out of the rims of the surrounding tables. They then began spinning like saws, making Sweetie feel uneasy about their closeness to each other. “If you really want to die then… I’d be happy to oblige. I’m sure Specter will understand next we meet. Good bye Sweetie Belle.” Black smog then started to surround the platform. Sweetie heard thousands of giggles and laughs from the surrounding ghosts. “I’ve come way too far to have my body stolen by a psychopath like you!” Sweetie said, entering her battle stance. With Twilight’s cutie mark, she could now use her telekinesis to hold the nozzle trained on Spiffy, and she could focus on her leg movement to dodge any of the spinning blades. Sweetie looked around before she started to see shadowy sludge like creatures begin falling out of the smog. “Sweeeeeetttttiiiieee…” They held a long, groaned version of Rarity’s voice. “Oh, shut up already.” Sweetie moved around the tables to meet the first smog creature. Instinct told her that Spiffy was going to be fairly tolerable to her own flashlight. She’d need to weaken him before she could take a stab at his magic shield. Sweetie kept a fair distance between herself and the smog creature before shining her light on it. DING! Sweetie began sucking up the monster, though the strange thing was that the GCD didn’t register any type of magical count this time. It wasn’t capturing it! Even worse, after about 3 seconds of sucking, the GCD stopped functioning. “Miscellaneous Waste Storage Full. Please Empty In Order To Proceed with Self-Exorcism and Continue to Engage in Spectral Anomalies.” the GCD said in its monotone voice. “Are you KIDDING?!” Sweetie couldn’t catch this ghost thanks to either what it was made of, or what it was wrapped in. If Sweetie didn’t work fast enough, these things could really swamp her, and she’d really be in trouble. There was only one now, but what would happen when there were ten? Or 100? Just as the ghost cackled at her futile attempts, it threw a black, slobbery tentacle of darkness at her. Sweetie dodged to the side, and nearly fell into one of the whirling table blades. Okay, so I can’t catch these things… then please tell me I can at least shoot out what I suck up… Sweetie thought as she aimed her GCD at Spiffy, who was still floating higher in the air. WHAM! She got a direct hit just below his muzzle, knocking his head back and down back onto the platform. “I didn’t hear a ding…” Sweetie mumbled. There had to be something else. Perhaps… perhaps fire? There was the green candle in the center of the room. Hopefully it had a limitless supply. Sweetie switched back to her capture and sucked up some of the fire. Surprisingly, rather than sucking up fire, it sucked up a pure rope of light that connected to the GCD nozzle. As she looked at the string of light, another hypothesis popped into her head. Rather than wait for the device to fill up, she ran behind Spiffy, sweeping him with the rope of green fire. He began floating again, this time not on his own accord. He was also screaming in pain as was now wrapped in the rope of green flames. There were loud whooshing sounds as the fire constricted him, but no ding. She knew she was close though… she just needed a little extra light. Sweetie swept her flashlight up at Spiffy. DING “Gotcha now!” Sweetie took a hold of the nozzle by the hooves, sure she wouldn’t be able to have Spiffy drag her around with only her own easy to break telekinesis spell. She let go of the button and hit the capture button a second time. She saw the funnel of air connect with Spiffy… but nothing happened. Literally, it seemed as though all time had simply paused for a moment. Oh no, no no, now what?! “Relax Sweetie. You’re fine. Just wait a moment. This catch is a little different than normal. Just remember to remain aware of your surroundings before I go…” “Ghost Capture Device Feature, Spirit Kick Function Activated. Please wait while GCD synchs with real time” Wait! You need to tell me who the hay you are?! The voice sighed. “You’re a terrible listener kid. I told you, it doesn’t matter now. You won’t even remember my involvement in this little exercise if you win.” “But-” “Real Time Synch Complete. Prepare For Foreign Spirit Exorcism” *** Sweetie had remained as still as a statue, still in that attacking pose aimed at Applebloom’s stomach. Applejack had quit screaming, as did Scootaloo, now curious as to what had stopped the maniac. Was it some kind of new mind game she was playing? Was she having second thoughts? Did Specter have something to do with it? Or was Sweetie… the real Sweetie actually- “Ghost Capture Device Feature, Spirit Kick Function Activated. Please wait while GCD synchs with real time” Sweetie dropped the knife as she fell back. She looked at her hooves that were now shaking. “No… no this isn’t supposed to happen. It’s not supposed to happen, it’s impossible. This shouldn’t be in this model device it’s impossible!” “Is it now, Spiffy?” Sweetie whirled around to see that Specter was in fact standing there, looking upon him with deadly calming eyes. “You… knew this would happen.” “Of course I did. After all… I’ve been counting.” “Counting?” Sweetie got up. “What the BUCK do numbers have to do with-” “The… the add-on.” Sweetie looked at the GCD on her back. She tried to take it off, but it was now latched to it. “It won’t work, you know how Spiritual Kicks work. The pack will be stuck on there until either one spirit remains in the body, or both spirits are calm… and I’m willing to bet Sweetie is anything but ‘calm’ about an old stallion walking around in her skin.” “But… this is a model 2032, isn’t it? Isn’t it?” “An adaptable elemental processer, yes. That is the model.” “This thing shouldn’t have been made for self-exorcism.” “Your right Spiffy. Very right.” Specter smiled. “But… the add on. No… it’s still impossible. I know what it was. It was a spirit core! All it should have done is enhance her abilities in times of extreme stress or emotion. That all!” Specter shook his head. “No Spiffy. Not Spirit Core. Spirit Particle.” Sweetie’s eyes dilated. “…you’re not serio-” “Real Time Synch Complete. Prepare For Foreign Spirit Exorcism” “Oh… oooohhhhhhhaaaaAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!” Sweetie let out a maddening scream, opening her mouth as wide as possible, her eyes glowing the brightness of the sun. And but a moment later, a yellow ghost resembling Spiffy Butler, with his tail still stuck in Sweetie’s throat, popped out. Sweetie, the real Sweetie, now with momentary control over her own muscles, wasted no time in reaching back, grabbing the real world GCD nozzle and pointing it at Spiffy. “GET THE HAY OUT OF MY BODY!” Sweetie yelled as she squeezed the capture button. No ding was required as the funnel latched right on the butler ghost. And like that, as Spiffy attempted to retreat away from the suction of the funnel, Sweetie started to be dragged nearly uncontrollably around the room. This time, the countdown started. “75,74,73,72yank!71706968686766… “C’mon Sweetie!” Scootaloo cheered, spitting out a little blood so it wouldn’t sound too garbled. Anypony aware of Sweetie’s capture began cheering for her success. Sweetie didn’t notice them however. All she saw, and held attention for, was Mr. Butler at the end of her GCD’s wind funnel. “GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT! IT WAS MY BODY FIRST!” Sweetie yelled. Then, as she found herself coming up to a table, something came to her. Remain aware of your surroundings… Sweetie took her eyes off of Specter for a second to realize that the room was filled with tables, just like the ones on the platform, only these didn’t have any… spinning blades. As Sweetie found herself preparing for her face to cross the side of a table, she questioned if she was also being dragged around in the spirit world, as well as the real world. At this realization, Sweetie dodged to the side. She didn’t bleed physically, though she did feel her spiritual self only barely graze the edge of one of the blades. Talk about a close shave. Sweetie thought. Spiffy groaned in anger at the fact his plan of cutting Sweetie’s unaware head off had failed. “57,56,55,YANK!5453525150494847464544-” “Got you on the ropes now Butler!” “Not quite Ms. Belle!” Spiffy said, yanking her over to the side through two tables that were way to close together. There was no way she could dodge the blades on this one being dragged. She had to let go before her head was chopped off! *** Sweetie let go of the GCD capture button as the world immediately flashed back to the spirit realm. “C’mon! I just need another good run like that and I’m home free!” Sweetie said. “You’re not going anywhere Sweetie Belle…” Spiffy moaned from above. He was incredibly high this time, and a much harder target for Sweetie to hit. Sweetie looked over at the candle and was horrified to see that it was now covered in a crystal like substance. She couldn’t get to the flame now! “No fair!” Sweetie yelled. “No fair!” Spiffy mocked. Sweetie looked around and saw there was not one, but four of the shadow creatures now. They flowed like water around the blade spinning tables, much more aggressive than before. Their speed proved Sweetie would need to figure out some way to take care of them before she could gain a good aim on Spiffy. “I don’t care what kind of ‘add-on’ or trick Specter’s trying to pull. No hunter has caught me for an entire millennia! I WON’T let some filly be the hunter to best ME. Forget preserving your spirit. DiE aLrEaDy!!!” Sweetie could hear it in his disorienting voice. He was legitimately scared now. Not particularly of being captured, but her breaking his freedom streak. The thought Sweetie could not only catch him, but get revenge by damaging his pride pleased her, and only increased her determination, rather than oppressing her from the added hostiles and inaccessible candle. Sweetie eased a smile as she charged around the blade tables and toward one of the shadows. Her Pinkie Sense tingled as her tail twitched. Sweetie rolled to the side, just as one of the shadows pounced on her. She rolled to the side and rather than attempt to capture the monster’s essence, Sweetie run. She looked back to see that both of the monsters were in fact chasing her. Her plan was working. Sweetie ran for the third form and dodged past it. Spiffy looked down on her, questioning what she was trying to do. Sweetie finally attracted the fourth one and now each one was directly on Sweetie. Amazingly, Sweetie was able to use every minute twitch and muscle convulsion to successfully dodge every time the shadows attempted to whip her with their tentacles without breaking her pace. With half of her plan in action, she used a boost of Rainbow’s speed cutie mark to gain some distance between her and the shadow monsters. She touched the crystal for a moment and yanked her hoof back. It was just as freezing as it looked. She couldn’t buck it, lest she risk her hind hoof sticking to the icy surface of the crystal. She also couldn’t be sure that she could break the crystal with one buck. She needed some heat, and time to give the crystal some good bucks. “Hope I’m right about this…” Sweetie thought as she looked back at the charging shadows. “One… two… three!” She dodged to the side. The four monsters ran into the giant crystal, and ultimately into each other. As they did, their liquid smoky forms forms seemed to morph together, and grow much larger than before, now to the size they were towering over Sweetie. They whirled around indifferent by the impact. “Take this!” Sweetie switched to her Elemental Capture and squeezed hard. The GCD nozzle let loose a large, yet admittedly short burst of flames. Surprisingly, rather than a green burst, it was the regular fire orange.The monster was then consumed in the fire causing it to scream maddeningly. Sweetie got up. Before it could have the chance to move backwards, Sweetie moved around to make herself directly in front of the monster and noted a small patch of darkness that hadn’t been completely consumed in fire. She yelled as she charged toward it, and pushed the monster into the crystal. She pushed it into the crystal and held it there, hating the disgusting, slushy, furry texture it held. As she’d feared, the smog began consuming her head from its contact. It didn’t help that she was pushing on the thing either. Feeling that it was enough, Sweetie took hold of her nozzle again and sucked up some of the shadow’s form. “Miscellaneous Waste Storage Full. Please Empty In Order To Proceed with Self-Exorcism and Continue to Engage in Spectral Anomalies.” Sweetie then hit the capture button to expel the goop again, using its force to pull her out of the monster. Sweetie then used her nozzle to knock the now orange and black monster into one of the table blades. It ripped up the darkness into bits and pieces, and spit it back into the four segments that lie idle next to it. Not for long though… Sweetie thought. Sweetie looked back at the crystal. A patch was now desaturated from the rest of the light blue crystal. Sweetie approached it, and proceeded to buck on it. The first buck didn’t do anything, and quite frankly hurt both of Sweetie’s hind hooves. The second buck, she heard a crack, pleasing her to know her sore hooves were doing something in this case. It was the third buck that shattered the crystal shards to create a small portal to access the candle. “Do I have to do EVERYTHING?” Spiffy floated down closer to Sweetie. “Well, you are a butler, so-” “If they can’t kill you, then I will!” “Uh-oh.” Sweetie said. She felt her entire body chill, and shiver. She couldn’t tell what was the Pinkie Sense or not anymore as Spiffy charged down on her. Sweetie dodged as he swooped down on her. Sweetie wouldn’t be able to get a clear shot of him with the erratic movements he was making around the area, she’d have to have a good second or two to even hope to hit him. Just as Sweetie was thinking of ways she could possibly hit Spiffy with another shot of the black sludge, she heard multiple rattling sounds. She looked around to see that it was the spinning blade loosening hold of whatever mechanisms held them centered at their origins. “Give me a break already!” Spiffy laughed. “How about a roll?” Several of the tables popped out and began spinning along the platform like free wheels flying off of a crashed cart. Every time they got to the edge of the platform, a smog tentacle would slap them back the way they came, into another direction. They didn’t go directly after Sweetie, though the fact that the wheels refused to telegraph their paths didn’t make them any easier for Sweetie to dodge them, even with most of her attention on them. How the hay am I supposed to dodge those when I start catching Spiffy again?! Sweetie kept her eyes between the renegade death wheels and the maniacal ghost butler circling the lower sky above her as she moved over to the black shadow monsters that were just beginning to stir again. Sweetie knew she’d have to take care of them again, but now that she had the candle on her side, she figured it wouldn’t be as much of a problem until more of the things showed up. For now, she needed to figure out how she’d deal with Spiffy, and the death wheels once she made the jump back to reality. She didn’t want to break the flow again, if she could help it. She sucked up a little of the black forms and pointed it at Spiffy. As she’d expected, he moved way too fast for her to get a clear shot, though aiming at him seemed to spark an idea. If she could get him to fly at her like before, perhaps she could get a shot in from him being in the same vertical space as her. It was at least worth a try, though the problem aroused in getting him to do just that. “What kind of nansy pamsy ghost are you anyway?” Sweetie yelled. “C’mon! Face me like a stallion! What are you, scared of a little girl?” Spiffy continued flying around. The forms were getting up now, and Sweetie looked back at them. With only a whim of thought, Sweetie aimed the GCD nozzle at them and hit fire. One of them flew into the black smog and didn’t come back. Rather, the three instead looked at her, and gave evidence that they did in fact possess mouths. More specifically, the same mouths those white ghosts she previously fought had, only proving that the smog was really nothing more than another protective armor for the ghosts. Never the less, they smiled at her, and only hoped back into the smog with their comrade. Sweetie heard the giggles, and immediately knew they had come up with some new idea. Sweetie had to act fast now if she didn’t want to see what the spirits had in store for her now. Sweetie racked her brain as she felt it necessary to suck up more of the candle flames for whatever may decide to attack her. This time, she waited until the GCD was completely filled with fire and would accept no more. Was there something that she knew about Spiffy that she could use against him? Then she recalled what she’d found and seen. The journal entries… the wedding… everything she knew about Specter, Spiffy had been involved. Sweetie was sure the two were something of close friends. Yet, at the same time, Spiffy seemed, at the very least, vaguely shocked she’d managed to gain so much footing on the possession situation. What if… what if Specter knew something like this would happen. Or at least how possible it was. Maybe… “Hey! Butler!” Sweetie yelled. “I gotta ask. How did I get out of your stupid trap so easily huh?” It could have been her eyes playing tricks on her, but she could have sworn Spiffy glanced at her. “Specter… Specter’s the guy who made this thing, right? Right?! I felt it you know! The thing!” “What kind of thing are you going on about Belle?” Spiffy stopped in the air. He floated way above her and definitely outside of her reach. Then again, she couldn’t have tried to aim at him if she wanted to without any of the smog monster’s goop to vacuum up. Sweetie remembered when she was in that black void. All of her cutie marks blowing up and releasing her from those shackles. “That explosion thing! The cutie marks that freed me!” Sweetie continued. “I didn’t do that though… not alone anyway!” Spiffy seemed genuinely interested. She was feeding on something that was inside of Spiffy… paranoia? “Yeah, I didn’t do it. Something ELSE did! Something that wasn’t me! It was HIM.” Sweetie couldn’t read his expression from where she was, but she knew he was paying attention. She paused for a moment before continuing. “…I had help too! And I know it wasn’t you. It was HIM.” Sweetie was half lying at that point. The voice she’d heard wasn’t Specter of course, though she felt she might as well try to use it to her advantage. “You felt it too, didn’t you?! You felt that influence outside of your control! He helped me escape the void thing! HE guided me through the stupid Stabletown-Ponyville limbo you kept me in. HE Betrayed-” “You know NOTHING.” Spiffy’s voice boomed, shocking Sweetie from the transition of his own silence. “Specter’s always planning. Always planning. Always got some… deal, with a plan of some sort that he keeps secrets about, but I know about ALL of them. I know about the infamous Plan B he developed with Discord. I know EVERYTHING about how he plans on bringing down the Equestrian kingdom. I KNOW what his sins are and I ALONE am the only one who he can communicate them to.” He was laughing nervously now. Sweetie knew he wasn’t sure wither or not to believe the words spilling from his mouth now. “I’m his only friend… he wouldn’t dare think of any mischief to harm me.” Implying capturing you will ‘harm’ you… Sweetie thought. “You can’t believe it yourself. You’re in denial! You’re just another ghost to him, you know that? Just another… just another Gilda-” The comparison to the griffon seemed to do it. He charged at her, this time determined to run her into the ground, or at least through whatever the platform was made of. Just as he did, Sweetie heard the giggles reach their climax. Whatever the smog ghosts were planning, they were just about to make their move. Sweetie had to time her own attack just right to avoid being overtaken by either Spiffy or the monsters. Just as Spiffy was only a few feet away, a large black bulge of the black smog lunged at Sweetie. In response to the both of them, Sweetie flipped flat on her back and pointed the GCD nozzle upward. Just as the two were above her, Sweetie fired a long blast of fire at both the smog bulge and Spiffy as they met each other in the air. Spiffy screamed in agony as the smog bulge did the same. The smog retreated back into its home surrounding the platform as Spiffy wriggled in pain. Sweetie sighed in relief before she heard the sound of something tumbling forward. Sweetie rolled to the side, barely dodging one of the death table wheels. She looked over at Spiffy. Now’s my chance! Sweetie moved into the vertical space between herself, Spiffy, and the candle, and sucked up the green flame, making sure Spiffy was in the middle of the path between them. DING “Gotcha now!” Sweetie said as she switched back to normal capture and hit Spiffy with the wind funnel. Just like before, all of time stopped for a moment. Sweetie saw the tables, still randomly rolling around the platform while the other tables that hadn’t left their places remained still. She hoped that while she was stuck in the middle of time that none of the tables would hit her and questioned how she would possibly dodge them while catching Spiffy… “Ghost Capture Device Feature, Spirit Kick Function Activated. Please wait while GCD synchs with real time” *** Sweetie lay on her side in between the two tables. Everypony, even Specter, watched with anticipation, waiting for her next move. After what felt like an eternity and a half, Sweetie let off a few twitches, before rolling onto her hooves and looking over at Specter. As she walked toward him, or rather stumbled clumsily in her case, it took a few moments for her to clear out the cobwebs in her head. “If she’s as talented as she’s proven to be, my dear friend… this might be the last time we talk for quite a bit.” “You… how…” “Hm?” “You… shouldn’t have… she shouldn’t have the…” “The… oh! The spirit particle! Yes, she really shouldn’t. Such a powerful spectral entity could be dangerous in opposing hands, wouldn’t you agree?” “What… are you planning…” Her head twitched awkwardly now. “Planning? What are you talking about?” Specter got close to Sweetie’s face. “You know I’m not the mastermind behind this little exercise. Of all ponies.” “This has changed… hasn’t it?” Specter moved his face away from Sweetie’s and backed off. “Yes… yes it has.” “Oohhh… aaaahhh…. aaaaaAAAAAHHHHHHH!” Sweetie’s eyes started glowing with power again as Spiffy’s spirit flew out of Sweetie’s body in the same manner as before. And again, Sweetie immediately took ahold of her GCD nozzle and pointed it at Spiffy, proceeding to suck him up. 43,42,41,40,39,38,37,36… The GCD counted down. Sweetie knew she wouldn’t last long blind like this. Though some of the tables did remain hazardous, she knew that the other blade tables were still rolling around in the spirit world, ready to run through her like an out of control steamroller. She focused as hard as she could, trying to see the spirit world again so she could at least remain aware. After a second of focus, Sweetie developed another maddening headache, though this one actually yielded a positive result. As Sweetie was dragged around the tea room, she kept getting flashes of the real world and the spirit world. She could see the tables running around the platform, and even managed to dodge two of them just in time. She was going to do it now. She was going to catch Spiffy for sure! 15,14,13yank!111098… Spiffy was yelling and bawling almost pathetically now. After the heck he’d put her through, Sweetie held no sympathy for the stallion and simply laughed at him as he desperately made his last desperate attempts in throwing Sweetie into a blade table or a rolling one, which ultimately failed, and became easier and easier to dodge with each attempt. “YOU WON’T GET HIM SPECTER YIELD!” Spiffy cried his final words. “WHATEVER YOU’RE TRYING, IT WON’T WORK! YOU WON’T CONTROL HIM! NOT WITHOUT ME!” Specter laughed. “…oh, don’t you worry dear friend. I already know that’s beyond my grasp…” “YOU CAN’T USE HER EITHER! I KNOW YOU NEED HER! IT WILL-” “3,2,1,0” As Spiffy heard that ‘zero’ from the GCD, he started to cackle madly. “It WILL KILL HER!” “Wait what?” Sweetie said, though the damage had already been started. “Self-Exorcism complete. Please insert Primary-Up to avoid certain death in 3…2…1…” “Wait!” Sweetie said before the second ‘zero’ sounded. The GCD let out the yellow bolt of capturing lightning and grabbed ahold of Spiffy. The electricity wend down Sweetie’s body, and sent waves of electricity throughout her, then up to the GCD, then through the nozzle back into Spiffy, and so on. The GCD had created some kind of loop of electricity that Sweetie couldn’t stop. It was frying her, cooking her throughout, and she couldn’t stop the pain before Spiffy let out one last cackle and was dragged into the GCD. Sweetie skidded to a stop, stood for a moment, smoke coming out of her mouth, before collapsing onto the ground. “Capture Complete. Self-Exorcism Complete. Hunter Terminated.” The GCD said before room was silent once more. Author's Note *belches, throws down microphone to go and goes into fetal position in a corner to pretend to be a potato* I'll edit the rest of the Sweetie's tomorrow. This is way to smucking overdo. Also, let me know if you want the multicolored ***s for bookmarking fun. [10/19/2018] “Well… at least I’m out. Feels like I’ve been there for over half a year…” Sweetie thought. the absolute worst part about this joke is that im going to have to make it a second time for a significantly longer period of time if i ever get around to finishing this fucking story. Chapter 23: The Bloom Breaking"C'mon, Sweetie! Wake up! Wake up!" Applebloom had been shaking her friend on the ground for the past few minutes. By now, she was desperate for a reaction. She did everything she could to make Sweetie open her eyes, flinch, moan, something. Every couple of seconds, Applebloom would put her ear down to Sweetie, trying to hear a heartbeat or feel something warm. Neither were present. Applebloom soaked Sweetie's coat in her tears as she futilely tried to elicit even the slightest response from the lifeless form on the floor of the tea room: to the point Applebloom fooled herself twice believing her shaking was waking up Sweetie or her own voice was overshadowing Sweetie voice. But no, Applebloom's pathetic cries and whimpers were the only sounds echoing in the tearoom. "Don't do this to me. C'mon! C'mon!" Six minutes in, Applebloom had unknowingly given up on simply shaking Sweetie. Now, she was beating Sweetie's back, trying to make the dead filly do something rather than just lay there. At this point, Scootaloo, the beat-up piñata hanging from the ceiling, had given up on untying her tail. Both her freedom and the blood rush seemed trivial. Sweetie Belle was no more. Instead, Scootaloo used her remaining will to resist bawling like Applebloom. Scootaloo was already starting to fail as she felt the tears seep down her forehead into her mane. Five ponies, two of whom were unconscious, had also quit trying to escape. With the reality that escape was more impossible than ever and that her mentor would eventually kill her, Twilight was already hopeless enough. Though, now faced with Sweetie's death, Twilight felt her mind dissolve into nothing. There was no telling what the future held. Sooner or later, Sweetie Belle would "Get up. Dang it. Get up! Get up! Please!" Applebloom would get her wish, for Sweetie would get up soon. Transparent. Smiling. More murderous than ever. And that would be it for the group, now that their overall usefulness had been used up. They would die at the hands of the one who saved them. At least now with the princess, no, both princesses in his control, he would be unstoppable. "Ha." Applejack gritted her teeth, occasionally shaking her head at the scene before her. She was the only one who resisted crying, but she was anything but mentally healthy. Anyone could tell by how tight her jaw was clenched. Her pupils changed ever so slightly in size frequently, as she struggled to choose an emotion to let out. Slightly bigger out of sadness. Slightly smaller out of anger. But what to direct her feelings at was an even bigger mystery to her. When she looked at the situation, she didn’t know whether to be sad that she was still tied up, or angry that she got herself there in the first place. When she thought about the past, she didn’t know whether or not to be sad that Sweetie had met fatality, or that she hadn't taken Sweetie's place sooner. When she listened, she didn’t know whether to be sad for her sobbing younger sister, or angry that she lacked the vocabulary to console her sister. Oh, how Applejack wished she knew the words to say to make Applebloom feel better. She dreamed of looking at her, even with a forced smile to somehow find a way to tell her that everything would be alright. Even if that wasn’t necessarily true. "Ha, ha, ha." And then there was Fluttershy. She should have been crying herself, but her tear ducts had been drained and dried after being used, tortured, and forced to essentially watch Sweetie's body burn in a desperate attempt to save herself. But still, she strained her face, trying to cry. Instead of tears however, she simply she made little gasps at each breath as though she were having miniature seizure for every tear she couldn’t shed. Her body was fiercely trying to find something in her body to release to project the extreme sadness that was tearing her heart into pieces. "Ha ha ha ha ha!" They all deserved to though. To mourn. To cry. To hate. After all, everything that could have gone wrong finally did. Spike was patrolling around the mansion, probably armed and definitely hypnotize. Gilda was surely somewhere in the mansion doing something horrible to Rainbow and Pinkie. Celestia, and in turn both of the princesses, were now under Specter's control. But worst of all here, lying in the middle of the tea room, Sweetie Bell lie de- "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! HA HA HA HA HA HA!" After minutes of silent chuckling, Specter revealed his presence at the doorway with a loud obnoxious laugh. With the exclusion of Twilight and the two unconscious ones, everyone directed their attention toward him. "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" He was laughing so hard that he had to lean against the doorway to clutch his stomach. Fluttershy looked at him airily, not sure what kind of expression to make. Applejack and Applebloom however, looked at him with eyes filled such searing hate to the point they looked murderous. Even Scootaloo managed to swing around to glare at the stallion. "You…" Applebloom’s voice shuddered with rage. Unlike her sister, with Applejack’s anger, a certain awareness of Applebloom's anger became clear. She knew something was wrong. She put herself in the filly’s horseshoes for a moment and thought about her position. Unlike her, Applebloom was free. Unlike her, Applebloom was angry. Unlike her, Applebloom was reckless. If their roles were reversed, she wouldn’t hesitate to tear that smile off of Specter's face. Even if she didn’t have a plan on how to approach him, she would do exactly that. She would beat the remains of his head with every ounce of applebucking energy she could find. Even though it probably wouldn’t change a thing. "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" "Apple…" And Applebloom was probably even angrier than Applejack could perceive. Just by the fact that he was laughing them. He was laughing at Sweetie's corpse. Her friend. Something like that would have been enough to drive anyone truly mad. Crazy. All she had to see was that terrible fantasy of Specter suffering, and nothing else. She didn’t see her sister. She might not have even seen Sweetie anymore. Applejack was sure all her sister saw was an opportunity for revenge. The knife that had been used for the torture session was even perfectly placed between the two of them. Applebloom had the perfect opportunity to get at Specter. Which meant- "Applebloom." Then she put herself in Specter’s mind, as much as she hated to. This stallion. This thing had killed Sweetie. And Applebloom was, like Sweetie, now nothing more than a liability. A risk, now that she wasn’t possessed. Now that Celestia was his. Applebloom something that needed to be exterminated as soon as possible. The reality dawned on her what would happen next. "Applebloom!" She would attack Specter and- "APPLEBLOOM DON'T!" "SHUT UP!" It was too late. Applebloom had already began charging at Specter. She would be next. Specter was still laughing, clutching his stomach. It was as though he had yet to notice he was being charged at. Applebloom would die. Applebloom scooped up the knife in her mouth, and held it with her teeth. She wasn't sure where she would do it, but she just wanted to do it. She wanted to cut Specter somewhere for hurting her so much. There was no reasoning in her eyes. Only pure murderous intent. "APPLE-" SHINK! *** "♫ 9000 Rainbow Cupcakes on the wall, 9000 Rainbow Cupcakes! ♫," Pinkie sung. "♫ You take one down, pass it around... uh... a really big number of cupcakes on the wall! Woo! ♫" Gilda was at the edge of hitting the mare upside the head for a fourth time on their seemingly endless walk. The only thing that kept her from doing so was the promise that the unrelentingly fast healer known as Pinkie Pie would only sing her song louder if she did. It wasn’t like she could kill her if she wanted to. Specter’s instructions included for her specifically not to kill either of them in any other way besides how she was instructed. So, all she could do was to tell her to “Shut the buck up” every now and again, and quicken her pace as she continued to her destination as she shined her flashlight forward and made her way through the tunnels. Gilda was sure that her head would explode from the mare’s annoying song- "♫Another really super dooperly big number of-♫" "Uh... Pinkie?" Pinkie stopped singing and giggled. "Yeah Dashie?" "You mind uh...?" Rainbow asked tilting her head. "I've kind of got a headache right now, and you're not really..." She giggled again. "Sure thing! I'll just hum it really quietly!" Rainbow sighed. "Yeah, sure." The sound of Pinkie's singing was replaced by an ominous hum of the same song. Still, it was quieter, and it relieved both Gilda and Rainbow. Gilda looked back on Rainbow. "Thanks. Owe you one." Gilda tried. The way she phrased what she said was quite awkward. Though that wasn’t why Rainbow didn't respond, intent on giving Gilda the cold shoulder. "C'mon Rain. You've got to talk to me sometime." Gilda shrugged, readjusting the two bound ponies on her back. "You will anyway." "Why the buck's that?" Rainbow spat. "Well… hay, I dunno. I guess because you'll be dead soon anyway." Gilda shrugged. "Kind of won't have a choice when Specter gives me control of you." Gilda could feel Rainbow tense up at the words spoken so plainly. “What?” “You’re about bucking killing me, I’m not supposed to react?” Rainbow shuddered. “…you said that as if it was nothing.” "Psh, well is it? I mean, it’s not as if it’d be your first time.” Gilda said as a matter of fact. "Besides you don’t have to worry about anything. It’s not going to hurt." she thought for a moment. "At least that's what he told me. I don't bucking know, but it better not. At least he sounded sure it would be fast." There was a silence for another few moments. The tension in Rainbow didn’t fade, so Gilda spoke up. "...what?" Gilda asked eventually. "...what...the hay happened to you?" Rainbow asked in genuine confusion. "What do you mean?" "Don’t play dumb, you know exactly what I mean. You’re different. As in... really different. Last time I saw you, you stormed out of Ponyville in a temper tantrum." Rainbow said. "Next thing I know, I see you here of all places as Specter's left hoof bitch." Gilda chuckled and shook her head. "Well what does an old fart like Specter have that you want anyway, huh?” Rainbow continued. “Money? Power? Guys...Girls?" Gilda shrugged. "Something like that." "What?" "You wouldn't get it. But it’s pretty important. All of it." "Yeah I bet it is." Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Better be if you’re killing with your old best friends for it.” “I told you, it’s not a big deal,” Gilda stressed. "I owe him something and he owes me. And the reason’s none of your business alright? Now quit squirming." "Gilda. This isn't like you." Gilda chuckled. "Oh really? Then what is?" "The Gilda I know... yeah she's an ass, but she wouldn't join up with a lame old fart like Specter!" “Really?" Gilda stopped before shaking her head. "Times change I guess." She shrugged. "Guess I'm not the bird you knew eh?" What? Something was wrong with what Gilda just said. Gilda would never call herself a bird. Sure she was different from the Gilda she knew, and sure she held some birdlike characteristics in her species, but Gilda had too much pride to just call herself "bird". It seemed- *** "-BLOOM!" "Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Before Applejack instinctively shut her eyes, she saw stakes shoot out of the ground. She was sure that final image of her little sister would tell the tale. She was dead. “Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!” She was sure she was dead as the metal stakes seemed to shoot up out of the ground around Applebloom. She had to be dead. All it would take was one, just one, of those stakes to impale her and she would meet her untimely end. "Ha ha ha ha ha!" "Oof!" Though rather than the sound of filly flesh being impaled or horrifying screams of her sister in agony, there was just one sound. A cute metal thunk as Applebloom's head hit came in contact with the body of something metal. The metal stakes themselves only surrounded her to create an impromptu cage. So like that, her charge was suddenly halted as she fell down. Her knife followed with another light metallic sound when it hit the ground. "Ah..." Once Applejack had opened her eyes to see what had happened she was genuinely surprised. She called to check if she was really still alive. "Applebloom! Y'all alright?" "Y...eah," Applebloom rubbed her head and momentarily forgetting what was going on. "Ahm alright." It was true. Aside from the lump on her head, she didn't have a scratch on her. Applebloom was, arguably fine. "Ha ha ha... ha ha... ah ha..." Specter was finally calming down. But then the question became: Why? Why keep her alive? The tips of the stakes were sharp enough to make Applebloom bleed if she so much as pricked her hoof in it. If they were used to kill her, they would have been the perfect tool with the perfect timing in the most perfect way possible. Yet, she lived. There was no reason to keep her alive with probably plenty of reason to put her down. Right? "Phew." Specter wiped a non-existent tear from his eye as he straightened out his suit. "I haven't laughed like that in years. The drama. The desperation. The fear. It’s just… It’s hysterical! Oh, I knew I’d enjoy your company here in my mansion. From the moment I laid eyes on you, I just had that feeling from my own masterful intuition. You are a very entertaining group of individuals. Has anyone ever told you that?" "Buck you." Applejack spat. Specter shook his head at Applejack and approached the trapped filly, ignoring the other death threats Applejack called at him to “get the hay away” from her sister. He got down lower to Applebloom’s level, who was still somewhat stunned. "Now Applebloom. With every fiber of honesty and intelligence you may or may not have, tell me.” He looked up at the top of the cage, then back at her with a tilted head and a puzzled look. “Was that really smart?" Applebloom was still in a daze from the impact and Specter thought it was cute. He chuckled. "For every choice you make, you make it all the more difficult for me to hold to just ridiculing your friend when if you make such fantastically idiotic decisions like that. Even Sweetie wasn't stupid enough to charge at me head on." Finally, Applebloom regained her bearings. She hopped to her hooves and bucked at her makeshift cage. She managed to bend it out by a few centimeters, but impossibly the stakes formed back into their original straight position. Specter shook his head. "Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. I suppose it's true what they say. Brains don't run in buckers." Specter didn’t laugh this time, this time giving his most intense look. It chilled Applebloom. "Decisions like that will get you killed in the future. Especially in a place like this.” He grinned the same impossible grin that only a ghost could. In a childlike tone, he went on, “Mean scary ponies might tear you limb from limb and do terrible things to the remains if you don't learn your place." He then whispered. "Try and remember that." Defeated, Applebloom didn't go for a second buck, realizing she would just ruin her hooves. Instead, she resolved to just glaring at Specter from behind the stakes. "You've got some nerve to come back here!" Scootaloo spat. "Nerve?” Specter got up and looked at her. “Ma'm, I live here," Specter retorted with an artificial offense. "What about you? Getting blood all over the floor. Impolite and unladylike.” He gave an exasperated sigh, while straightening his suit. “But what should I expect from such misbehaved children? Regardless, I go where I want, or in some cases, where I am needed." "Need? You killed Sweetie you jack!" Scootaloo cursed. "Why don't you just leave us the-" "Language, language. My, you're becoming more of a delinquent than Rainbow. I suppose you would be proud of that. Who knows? You might even end up like her." Specter said, eyebrows raised. "And besides. I didn't do anything to Ms. Belle here. She did this to herself." Scootaloo just glared at him along with Applebloom and the others. “Oh, don’t you all look at me like that. I’ll be out of your manes shortly.” Specter chuckled again. "Truly. I promise I won't be long." And with that, he began approaching Sweetie. "Hey! Leave her alone!" "Unfortunately, I can't do that," Specter said without breaking his stride. "After all, if I leave her like this, she'll die." (She'll die.) These two words were the ones that everyone heard. Even Twilight raised her head at the strange words. (She'll die.) Not "She's dead". She'll die. "W...what do you mean?" Fluttershy timidly asked. "Hm?" Specter stopped and turned his attention to Fluttershy. "You..." Fluttershy did her best to regain control of her words so she wouldn't babble as terribly. "You... said 'she'll die' when she's..." "Pfft, heh heh heh." Specter nearly broke out into another fit of laughter before clearing his throat to regain his composition. "So that’s what caught your attention, is it? Yes. Yes, I did say that, didn't I?" Specter approached Fluttershy, who shrunk back at every step he took back against her bonds. "How such a small change in words can mean so much here. In this mansion. Of this little filly’s fate. Such a small change in words, which can lead to a comic interpretation for an even more humorous, and even ludicrous idea. Of course with the correct context, such an idea could provide a small spark in a place it’s arguably doesn’t have such a thing. So funny such a little shift in tense can mean all the difference. A difference in time. A difference in fate." He stopped halfway between Sweetie and the others. He paused for a moment before continuing. "There's... a rule when it comes to portification and spirits in general." He went on, pacing in front of them. "The rule states that any pony with the class of Portrait or higher must have originally obtained a cutie mark over the course in their life. To tap into their… spiritual potential. Often manifesting itself in a special ability created from a combination of the particular cutie mark, and the pony themselves while overflowing them with the appropriate units of magic. Without said cutie mark, magic will have nothing to reference off of, often turning them into almost feral minded beings, occasionally capable of coherent thought by the reference of some puppeteer.” He stopped short and turned to the group. “Are you following so far?” Fluttershy did her best to straighten herself up, less threatened than before. She looked to either side of her at Applejack and Twilight. Neither of whom looked as if they were listening entirely to the sudden ghostly lesson. So, Fluttershy silently nodded for them. Specter then turned around to continue pacing. “The same applies to the portification process. The cutie must be present somewhere in the area for a portification to be completed. Of course with the provision of the spells, equipment and the structure of the machine, which I’ll spare you with the details of.” He stopped again and looked at the three of them. Though the others seemed to be paying attention somewhat now, Fluttershy seemed to still be the most attentive. Then, he said quite plainly, “My point is, that without a cutie mark, if you die, then you stay dead here." He tilted his head in the direction of Sweetie. "And ergo, mares with cutie marks have two lives, but fillies such as Applebloom and Scootaloo without a cutie mark have but one." "Git on with it!" Applejack yelled. "A-applejack..." Fluttershy tried to calm her friend down, that seemed to be getting over what Specter had said and reciting back to her anger. The last thing she wanted was to stop Specter from talking. She wanted to know more. At least he wasn’t trying to them at the moment. Specter sighed. "I suppose the other point I was making here is, yes. You would all be very correct in assuming that Sweetie was indeed dead and non-revivable. Or maybe you were worried about her coming back to life for-” he chuckled. “-seconds.” “However, in whatever scenario of death, two to five minutes is often the average time it takes for the dead to turn a spirit into a magically drenched ghost in a spirit raising hotspot such as this manor. Some take longer, most take shorter, but that is the average. Under any other circumstance Sweetie would be dead and probably be one of my minions about..." he pulled out a pocket watch from his suit and looked at it. "Three minutes ago." He closed it with a snap. "C...circumstance?" "That's right. Under the circumstance she hadn't died from self-exorcism, and under the circumstance she didn't catch as many of you as she did, we wouldn't even be having this conversation now." he paused again and smiled. "But before that, do you know why I said Sweetie had done this to herself?" Once again, Fluttershy shook her head on behalf of the rest of the group. Applejack opened her mouth, to curse at Specter for saying that again. Though, this time, she decided against it. As if it would do any good anyway. "Very good Applejack, you're learning. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Applejack bit her lip. "Sweetie did indeed kill herself. Often, hunters aren't insane, suicidal or ignorant enough -- whichever Sweetie was you can decide for yourselves-- to attempt a 'self-exorcism'. To start, the capture tether is a very dangerous element of the device, and Sweetie should have been able to figure that out. For stronger spirits, it works with the magical suction technology to emits a certain electro-magical attraction to pull the remaining magic on the spirit, and in turn the spirit themselves. However, electric magic is difficult to contain, so in a capture, the magic will cast what is necessary to capture a ghost, and the remaining energy will kick back at the hunter. While also affecting the body, it mostly affects the spirit of the hunter. And in turn, while each capture can strengthen the hunter’s tolerance to the arch, there is always the chance the discharge of energy will be great enough to decimate the spirit’s very ability to exist. “But like any exercise of a muscle, you can only go so far. Rarely can an adult hunter even exceed 3 or 4 portrait captures in succession before risking the connection between spirit and body, or destroying both completely. At least without some type of magical supplement, a healer or a healing item to restore or replace what was already there." Specter sighed. It looked as if even he was getting tired of his own long-winded lesson. And yet he went on. "But the magical kickback is deadly. It’s a miracle that the capture of Applejack didn’t kill her then. Or more over… Applebloom,” He turned to her, still in the makeshift cage. “Do you recall when Sweetie snatched my child out of your body?" Applebloom didn't respond. "And what about you Scootaloo? Do you remember how much that must have hurt?" No response from Scootaloo either. He shrugged. "I'll take your silence as confirmation. I’ll also assume it hurt. Now imagine that pain, but twice on Sweetie's end from the kick back, as there likely wasn’t a ton of energy required to capture Marbles and Candy. Then, multiply that times two again from the dual capture. Think about how strong her spirit would have to be. If her spirit wasn't hardened enough even that would have killed her on the spot. “With that in mind, self-exorcism isn't like a regular capture. Because the magical energy kicking back changes. Or rather, the amount of energy that a hunter must endure changes. Because unlike a regular capture, the spirit is inside of you. And because of that, Applebloom and Scootaloo for example, felt the same amount of energy my two children felt when Sweetie captured them. It wasn’t enough to affect them deeply, but because of that connection, they shared that experience. A regular capture lasts around 3 seconds minimum, depending on the ghost’s resistance. Often applying 10 units of magical energy per second, often with about 40 milliamps being kicked back. But Sweetie. It took her around… fifteen seconds to capture my butler. Now how many units of energy would have been cycled through her body?" "S…sixty." Fluttershy stuttered. "Indeed. Sixty times.” “…enough to stop her heart.” Twilight mumbled. Specter didn’t hear her. “That's why self-exorcism is essentially suicide." He finished. "But..." "The circumstances I mentioned?" he chuckled. "It's actually incredibly funny luck actually. Because if she had failed in her capture of Pinkie Pie, or allowed her to get away, indeed she would be gone, and you’d all be in deep trouble if the magic didn’t burn her spirit away.” He sniffed the air. “For all we know however, you might have lucked out if that were true.” “But worry not, Elements of Harmony, for the last portrait she captured not only gave her the ability to escape Spiffy's memory spell, but it also gave her the 'Spiritual Instance' feature. A bit of a hunter’s suite designed to make self-exorcism a little less idiotic." "Spiritual... instance?" Specter nodded. "An interesting feature designed for if a hunter found themselves abandoned by their team to achieve a traditional exorcism, showed the skill and importance to catch enough portraits, and themselves were forced to use the self-exorcism technique, lest they have their fellow hunters deceived by the possession. Much as you were earlier." He smiled and looked over at Applebloom and Scootaloo. "Or in contrast, how she was deceived by you two." After a nod to himself, he continued. "But Spiritual Instance usually consists of two parts. The first being the ability to create mental light to bring about some consciousness to the spirit who's been possessed. At least beyond the consciousness, one had during any dream. Often through memories, reminders, and a voice in one’s head screaming for them to wake up before something awful happened. But it only serves to act temporary. Allowing anywhere between minutes to even a few hours of manipulation of one’s mind in an attempt to cast out the possessing spirit. And the second being once the hunter completes the capture, once the body dies, and an instance of the spirit interacting with the body is saved." He went over and stood above Sweetie's corpse. "And from there, all that's needed is a special jolt of magic, provided from the device here to revive the spirit." He took something out of an inner pocket in his suit’s jacket. Instead of his watch, it was another candy heart. This one however, was nothing like the ones Twilight had constructed at the beginning of the night. This one was green and had white splotches all over it. It glowed brighter than the ones Twilights too. It must have been charged with even more magic than them. This heart however, even with its radiance, still felt soft, and pleasant, even just to watch it fade in and out in Specter’s hoof. And yet there was something about it no one could particularly place. "And a magnet to track such a 'special jolt'." "W..." "Hm?" "W...why is it special?" Fluttershy asked. Specter's smile faded. "That's more or less a surprise for a later time." "Liar." Specter turned to the new voice. It was Twilight who glared at him. "You're lying. It doesn't make any sense." Specter didn’t have a response to that. “Yeah.” Applejack chimed in. Though her anger was less intense, and rather more concerned. “What’s yer game Specter?” "If you were telling the truth and all of a sudden you’re trying to save Sweetie,” Twilight went on. “Then trying to kill her all night would have been pointless." "Twilight... heh... heh hah ha ha ha!" Specter entered another laughing spell. "Ha... heh heh... he… is that really what it looks like? That... that killing Sweetie Belle is my top priority?" he looked down at the green heart. "I'm not the one who wants to kill her exactly.” He patted her head and rubbed her hat. He seemed to be talking to himself. “Oh no, don't want to kill Sweetie. Not yet. She's too important now. Especially now. She has too much potential." "Potential for what?" "Entertainment value!" He said grandly. "To..." Specter's smile disappeared completely this time. He looked at Twilight with an unreadable expression. Then it returned. "Twilight. Do me one favor for me, will you?" "She ain't gotta do jack for you!" Applejack spat, some of her anger renewed. Specter ignored her as he bent down to put the heart in Sweetie’s mouth. "Twilight... if you ever come across Celestia or Luna in a scenario that they're not trying to tear you limb from limb..." Specter moved over to the door without looking back at the group. "Ask her if during the couple millennia she's lived, if she's ever had a regret for something selfish. Ask her… what being a princess made her." "Wha-" SHINK! CRACK! "Woah!" The rafter that Scootaloo's tail was tied broke and she fell to the ground. At the same time, the stakes trapping Applebloom recited into the ground. Surprised, neither of them attacked Specter right away. Whether it was out of curiosity or caution, neither of them could figure out. Specter still had his flank to the five of them (seven if you counted Paita and Busby, still out cold) and seemed to have his mind on something else. The both of them could have attacked if they wanted to. But even excluding what Specter said about attacking him, after the speech he gave on Sweetie's condition, she was their primary focus. Especially as- "Magical Magnetic Force Detected. Please apply magical jol-" BEEP BEEP BEEP "Jolt Target Detected. Reviving Hunter." Small slides opened up along the side of Sweetie as something white and glowing began to pour into her sides, biting into her body like leeches. But instead of taking something out, they seemed to be flowing something foreign into Sweetie's body. And for some reason, no one in the room believed that it was just Sweetie's "Spiritual Instance" before she died. After thirty seconds of flow, Sweetie's body began to seize and shake wildly before going still once again, as the streams of light disappeared into Sweetie's body. It was silent and just as it had been before. Even Specter still was facing out the door rather than at the scene. "S...weetie?" Applebloom was the first to take a step toward her motionless friend. Though something seemed different about this motionless. Rather, it was a step above motionless. For there was the sign of Sweetie's body moving up and down, her lungs working correctly. It was another minute before she really began to move and moan. She tried getting up off her stomach and on all fours but ended up collapsing again. But this was more than enough for Applebloom and Scootaloo to rush over to her and tackle her back to the ground on her second attempt. "Sweetie!" "Ah!" Applebloom and Scootaloo hugged Sweetie, who was fully awake now. She couldn't speak for some reason yet besides groans. Whether or not that was from dying or being smooshed by her friends no one could tell. Then again, who cared cared? Sweetie was alive again. "Sweetie! Yer' alright! Yer' alive!" "Ah man Sweetie! I thought... we thought you were a gonner for sure!" Sweetie was at a loss. "H...ey..." Sweetie forced out. "Could you... guys you're kind o... get off!" Sweetie found some kind of energy to push the two fillies off of her, who fell to the side of her. They both got up and helped Sweetie to her hooves. "Sorry Sweetie." Applebloom smiled. "Yeah, but c'mon. How many fillies got to go through their friends dying and get to come back to life?" Scootalloo noted. "Three." "D...ie?" Sweetie looked at Scootaloo with glassy eyes before nearly going faint again. She drifted to the side just in time for Applebloom to stop her from collapsing again. "Woah! Sweetie, y'all alright?" Applebloom asked. "Ah mean y'all want to just sit down fer a sec? After what jes happened ta ya, ah wouldn't blame ya if ya did." "I...m fine. I'm... what...?" Sweetie looked at Applebloom. Her vision was so uneasy, she felt as though the world were spinning around. Every word they spoke seemed to tilt her world in a slightly in a different direction than the last. "What... happened?" "Two." Sweetie's body felt so strange as her friends asked her about her condition. Her mind felt so foggy, it took real effort to recognize them as friends and not complete strangers that she had just met. --They would have been a few hours ago. Yes. Something happened not too long ago that made everything that was in (this?) life seem foreign. Everything that was (hers?) she would forget. That was a butler's fault. --The Butler's fault. "One" Spiffy Butler and- "Zero." "SPECTER!" Sweetie screamed, startling everypony within earshot. Everyone except the pony in question (and poor unconscious Paita and Busby). "Hm hm hm... Ha ha ha ha!" Specter turned back around to face the lot of them with the biggest grin he could muster. "Finally awake now are we Sweetie." Sweetie’s focus fell on him as she gritted her teeth as she took a few steps forward. She was Applebloom-levels of ready to kick that insane grin off of his face. Applebloom foresaw this and took the liberty of stepping on Sweetie's tail to keep her in that one spot. Sweetie felt her and didn't look back to her. "Let go, Applebloom." "Sweetie, don't try anythin'. He ain't defenseless as he looks." "Well said Applebloom." Specter agreed. "SHUT UP!" Sweetie yelled again. Applebloom felt Sweetie tug at her tail as she leaned forward. It was like holding back an attack dog from mauling a victim. "My. So much loathing. You act as if I've taken your sister or something..." he thought for a moment and broke out into another fit of laughter. "Oh that's right!" he stopped laughing. "I did! And what a delectable marshmallow of a sister she is." "I swear if you did anything to my sister I'll-" "Me? Do anything to my dear, sweet bride to be?" the smile didn't fade, but he scoffed, almost humorously. "The bride to be you crashed the wedding of? Perish the thought. I wouldn't lay a hoof on her. If anything, she needs protection from an abysmal sister such as yourself for ruining her perfect night. Though, perhaps I should thank you for giving me the opportunity Sweetie Belle. Because with your actions, and her desperation to keep away from you, she’s I have to say she's been all over me. In more ways than one." --Snap Sweetie's rage was boiling to the point it took both Applebloom and Scootaloo to keep her from charging at Specter now. "Heh heh... you hate me, don't you Sweetie? That's good. That's good." he laughed. "Hate makes things so much easier. It drives things, Sweetie. And it makes things so much more interesting to ruin the things you hold dear. Or in Rarity's case, violate the things you hold dear in ways I’m unsure you’re even old enough to understand. Perhaps I'll you’ll watch when there's nothing left for me to do." At this point, Sweetie had found enough strength to start dragging Applebloom forward. Scootaloo held on to Applebloom to keep the virtually snarling Sweetie anchored. He paused. "Oh right. And to top it all off, you might want to do a head count of your group there. Because I do believe two ponies are missing." Sweetie stopped struggling for a moment, causing Appleboom and Scootaloo to let their guard down. She turned around back at her friends. She gasped when she saw the patches of dried blood on Applejack's coat, the tears on Fluttershy's face, and the red mark along Twilight's neck. "Oh and of course you going a little insane and nearly kill your friends. That was entertaining to watch. But that's the past. Right now Rainbow and Pinkie could be having their spirits ripped out as we speak. Violently considering the bird we're talking about here. Not to mention our little trigger happy dragon who's probably watching the spectacle." Sweetie looked back at Specter who had taken a few more steps back into the hallway the exit led into. "You should have seen the look on Rainbow's face as her childhood friend took her to her killing ground. Mmm...~ Priceless." Specter could see that Sweetie was beyond hating Specter now. If she could, she would probably kill him. And if he was already dead, she would catch him and figure out how to do it again. "That's good Sweetie, that's good. That hate will be perfect when you take your revenge on Gilda and slice her into pieces for killing your friends." he paused. "Permanently killing your friends, without their cutie marks." "No… I’ll get her. But right after I get at you!" With that momentary distraction, Applebloom and Scootaloo lost hold of Sweetie as she charged for Specter in the door. She honestly didn't know what she was charging at him to do, but she was sick of hearing him talk. "Sweetie no!" CLANG! THUD! Rather than summoning stakes from the ground like before, two metal slabs from the inner frame of the door closed on Sweetie just as she rammed her head into them. Separating the hallway Specter was in, and the tea room Sweetie and the others were still in. "SPECTER!" Sweetie seemed fairly unaware of the lump on her head from running into the wall. "I suppose this is about the time I am to take my leave!" Specter called through the door. "Happy hunting! ...oh and I do hope you figure out a way out of there! I'm sure your pink and rainbow friend would greatly appreciate you getting to them before they started pushing up daisies. And try not to die again along the way. I might not be able to shower you with my generosity again!" With a laugh, he walked off, leaving the group in the room with no way out. "I'll get you if something happened to my friends!" Sweetie slammed a hoof on the metal slab. "I'll... I'll..." she collapsed. "Sweetie!" Applebloom and Scootaloo rushed over to her to help her back to her hooves. Once Sweetie could stand on her own again, this time, seeming a little more stable than before, she finally took a look at the scene of the tea room. After a moment of examination, she bit her lip and bowed her head. "What... happened to me." she knew what had happened to a degree, especially based on what had just happened. Seeing Applebloom nearly get stabbed by her own hooves probably being only a sample after being possessed for nearly two hours. "Did... I didn't mean to..." "Sweetie, it's alright. It don't matter." "It DOES matter!" Sweetie snapped. "I... I was supposed to be helping you... guys I'm-" "Don'tcha start Sweetie." Applejack spoke up. "What happened wasn't yer fault. Ya said it yerself, couldn'tve been helped, could it?" "Yeah but-" "A...and we're okay." Fluttershy added. "Mhm." Applejack nodded. "See? No cuts no place. We're fine. No harm done that's worth mentioning." Sweetie looked over at them. She could tell it was a lie, and a big one at that. At the same time, she knew there was no ill will from whatever she had done. But the blood. There was so much blood. "...hurting you isn't the only thing I did though... is it?" Sweetie asked, looking at Twilight. Twilight kept silent. "It ain't nothin worth-" "Twilight. What else did I do? You haven't said anything." There was a stale silence for five minutes as Sweetie stared at Twilight. "...Celestia's his." Sweetie’s stomach turned. "...what?" "Celestia... is... his. Sweetie." Twilight said. "And to top it all off, if we die again, we're dead for good. Without our cutie marks, is what he said. I was a... the perfect device to force Celestia to give up her power to him. You were t... Spiffy used you to threaten to kill me. I probably looked so pathetic and..." Sweetie sat on her flank and leaned against the door and looked up. She was silent for the next few minutes as everyone looked at her. Letting what happened sink in. Possessed for a few hours, she managed to torture her friends, break Celestia's will, and essentially do everything Specter wanted her to do. The question now, was what next? The minutes passed before finally Sweetie looked back on everyone. "S...weetie?" Fluttershy said timidly. Sweetie didn't speak. She surveyed the area before getting back up. She looked at the two metal slabs pressed together. She touched the slit where they both met and attempted to wedge the tip of her hoof in between them. "Sweetie." Applejack tried. She nodded to herself and then went around back to the unconscious Night Guard. The first thing she noticed around her was the camera. Where had she found it? Whatever the case, it was important, so she took it. Then there was the knife. Numbly, she stuck that in her saddlebags as well. Sweetie then noticed a peculiar glass piece by her and picked it up. After examining it, she wondered if it was somehow important as well. It looked nothing like anything a guard would normally have. Then again, she didn't know anything about guards to begin with. Let alone why one was in front of her to begin with. However, on an impulse that it could be important, she took it. "Sweets?" Scootaloo tried. Sweetie then tried to pick up the sword by her. She managed to lift it by the hilt onto her back, though it apparently was heavier than it looked. "Guys. Help me pick this up." "S-sure thing Sweets." Both Applebloom and Scootaloo accompanied her to pick up the blade. "Good idea Sweetie.” Applejack agreed. “Best to cut us free first. Then we can-" "What?" Sweetie gave her a distant confused look. "I'm not cutting you free." The little movement in the room paused as all eyes gave Sweetie a briefly puzzled look before Applebloom asked "What?". "I said we’re not cutting her free." Applejack blinked. "Sweetie, ah know things haven't been great but, that's just-" "Crazy talk?" Sweetie asked. There was a hint of nervous laughter behind the words. "Crazy talk. You're thinking about cutting yourselves free, and roaming around the mansion after what just happened, and I'm the crazy one?" she shook her head. "Heh... who knows? Maybe I am crazy." "C'mon Sweetie, that was just a-" "NO." Sweetie yelled, pointing at the three mares as the sword fell to the ground. The stress she had been holding in exploded in front of everyone. "I'm not letting this happen again! You're all staying here.” She turned to them. “You're going to help me get out of this room” And to no pony in particular she yelled out “ And you're ALL going to go let me find my sister! That was what was supposed to happen." There was another silence. No mare or filly in the room agreed with her decision. "S-sweetie. Calm down." Scootaloo hesitated. "I can't calm down!" she shuddered again. "Just-" she paced from the sword and back again. "Just..." "S-sweetie. What about mah sis?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie's eyes darted at her. "Ah mean... can't be all that safe in here." Sweetie took a deep breath and sighed and looked around. "This is… the safest part of the mansion right now. If... Fluttershy and Applejack are here, then the safe room's not safe anymore. Otherwise, no one would have gotten to them." he turned to them. "...right?" "Specter... came back t' life and did somethin' to the room." Applejack said. "But-" "Still. Am I right when I say it was shut down or something?" Applejack didn't say anything. "And this room has light. That's the other important thing. This room has some kind of... something to show there's no ghosts too close by." "Well couldn't we just untie them?" "...I don't trust them to stay put." Sweetie shook her head. "Especially in the final stretch. It's just my sister left before-" "And the Princesses." Twilight chimed in quietly. "Twilight!" "She's right... I have to consider them. He's already attacked me with Luna. And if he has Celestia, who's to say he won't try to kill me with both?" Sweetie noted out loud. "It's not a good idea for you to go out there Sweetie." Twilight spoke again before looking up. "He brought you back to life for a reason. If you go out there, you'll be walking into a trap." "I've been walking into traps all night Twilight, I can-" "No Sweetie, you don't get it." Twilight's voice was much more bitter. "Specter wants you to go out. Just you. That's apart of his plan. I don't get how but Sweetie, this entire night must have been following his plan. It's all surrounded around you, if you go out there-" "I'll deal with it." Sweetie said. Twilight looked up at her. There was clear anger in her eyes. Something that might have petrified Sweetie if she hadn't seen so much worse that night. "Sweetie, Specter's going to do something worse than kill you. Something worse than marrying Rarity. Get that through your thick skull. You have no reason to go out there. What, you think you've got some guardian angel that makes you the only one who can save everyone? You're not lucky Sweetie. You're not even skilled. You're only alive right now because Specter wants you alive." "I can-" "You're his tool. Get it. A damned device, just like that thing on your back. Just as… just as I was. To... I don't know what, but it has something to do with Discord, and an Eclipse spell of all things, and you've got to be apart of it. I don't know how, but you are now." "But-" "He knows Sweetie. He knows your mind well enough to get you to do whatever he wants. Because he knows that you're going to blindly charge after your sister and-" "Shut up Twilight. Just..." Sweetie trailed off. Trap after trap after trap she had fallen in and miraculously made it out. But was it really a miracle? Or was it just as Twilight said? An illusion to make her think that she was making some kind of difference? Was she really going to be chasing her sister until Specter had finished with her, and decided it was time to throw her away? Was there really no difference? --Won't save Rarity. Her head throbbed. So many headaches that night. Everyone seeming to be worse than the last. --Ow. Suddenly some words came to mind. Words of Specter's wife, Madame. Specter's not evil honey Before, sounding like the excuse for her own husband's horrible activity. And yet now, Sweetie couldn't help but find the phrase strangely convenient. "...so what?" Sweetie looked at her after a long pause. "No one knows what Specter's planning. If he's using me as you're saying, then I have no other choice than to be used... and hope for the best in the end. But... it's just as Pinkie said the first time. Only I can go out there, and expect to come back alive. Even though she's captured, that hasn't changed. Whether I'm being used, whether I can really catch ghosts, or whether I'm just the luckiest kid in the world. I'm the only one who can do this now. And right now, I have to go with the flow and just... hope.” "But I know you'll come after me anyway.” She continued. “You'll try to do it yourself... and get killed again. Or worse, I might do something and get you hurt again..." She shuddered but resisted the urge to cry. "You have to stay here. And those ropes will make sure you do." Twilight didn't say another word. She just glared at Sweetie. "Now." she turned back to Applebloom and Scootaloo. "Are you going to help me bring this over to the door or what?" The two looked at each other. Applebloom had to try one more time. "Sweetie... ya sure it's best to leave 'em here like that?" “Let her.” The three of them turned to Twilight, who had gone back to bowing her head. Neither Applejack, nor Fluttershy objected. Sweetie nodded. “There’s your answer.” The two fillies didn’t like Sweetie’s decision, but neither of them objected either, with the three mare’s silent consent. There was another moment of nothing before Scootaloo forced a laugh. "Yeah alright. We’ll follow your lead. You know this place best." "Thanks. C'mon. I'll take this end, Applebloom, take that one, and Scootaloo keep it up at the middle." The two compiled and helped her pick up the sword and bring it over to the door. The group of mares simply stared at them, still bound to the tea tables mounted in the ground. "Alright" Sweetie said once they got to the door. "Stick it in between there." "We gonna pry it open?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie nodded. Together, they turned the sword to it's side and stuck it into the thin slit. Only the tip went through before halting. "Applebloom, could you-" "On it." Applebloom went around to the handle of the sword and bucked it further into the slit. She bucked a good 5 times before the sword was halfway through. "Okay." The three of them went to one side of the sword. "On three, push. Scoots, use your wings to give a little extra boost." "Right." Scootaloo nodded. The two of them put their hooves on the broad side of the sword. "One... two... three!" The three of them gave a hard push, Scootaloo flapped her wings rapidly forward. She may not have been able to fly well, but her wings did give the extra oomph as a fourth force. Surprisingly however, the slabs of metal gave easier than they'd expected. There was certainly the loud scraping of metal between the doors, but all in all, it was fairly easy to pry the door open between the three of them. Within seconds, they had created a gap wide enough to fit each of them through if they squeezed. After that however, it would not budge. It looked as if Specter made it only just wide enough for Sweetie to get through. "Good. Just enough room for me to fit through." "Us. Sweets." Sweetie looked back at them, opening her mouth preparing to deny them. "Stop Sweetie... if ya really think ya gotta go out there yerself, fine. If ya think mah sis and her friends gotta stay here, fine. But ya ain't goin' out there without us." "Guys-" "It wouldn't be fair." Applebloom snapped. "Yer goin' out there fer your sister. Don't lie. Well ahm going out there fer... fer Spike." "Spike?" It was then Sweetie noted that Spike was indeed absent. It was then that what Specter had said fully registered in her brain. "Was he taken away too?" Applebloom shook her head. "Specter 'n Spiffy did somethin' to him. Ah dunno, maybe possesn' him again. Or somethin’. Still, we gotta save 'em too! I have to." "Would make ya a pretty big... whatcha call 'em. Hypocrate if ya didn't let mah sis tag along witcha." Applejack chimed in. "Applejack?" Fluttershy timidly asked. Even Twilight gave the mare a curious glance. "How she gonna just supposed ta sit by 'n lecha go off in that mansion when she wants ta fer the same reasons as ya?" Applejack reasoned. "When she just want's ta save 'er malefriend?" Applebloom blinked at the word “malefriend”, but she none the less nodded in agreement. Because I said so! Sweetie thought about saying, but held her tongue, understanding how much worse it would sound. "Yeah!" Scootaloo agreed. "And Rainbow's just like a sister to me! I want to save her and kick that buck in the teeth, just as much as you want to get at that jack Specter for touching your sister." "Plus, can't hurt to have some extra eyes on and around you, right?" Applebloom went on. "'N what about happened ta Spike? Happened ta ya too before ya got all possessed! What if it happens again, yer gonna need some help!" "Yeah well-" "Sweets, after all the crap you've put us through, we deserve to go with you, alright?" Scootaloo said, earning her a shame-filled glance from Sweetie."Sweets, I didn't mean it like that I..." She turned away from them, considering everything. First, what she said about how she got possessed. Her memory was fuzzy and pretty dreamlike. She barely had control, and if it had something to do with Spiffy, and Spike was still somehow under that hypnotic influence, there was no reason Specter couldn't take advantage of it as well. She felt fine now, but there was always the chance. The idea of having extra eyes on her seemed to be a good idea as well. The ghost sense she'd been building up over the course of the night was anything but flawless at this point. Finally, there was the personal feelings. She started catching ghosts with the hope in the back of her mind she'd eventually come across her sister. That was the prime reason she went out. For similar personal reasons as Applebloom and Scootaloo. Besides wanting to help keep her alive, they wanted to save someone close to them as well. And after whatever horror she had likely put them through, and forcing the others to stay tied up in this only supposedly safe room, letting them come along was the least she could do. "...If you really want to come, you have to stay close to me." Sweetie said after a while. "No more than a yard from my flank and you've gotta be either at my side, or in front of me at all times. I don't want anything to happen to you." They both nodded in understanding. Finally Sweetie turned back to the three tied up mares, and the two unconscious guards. "We'll... be back. We promise. After we save Pinkie, Rainbow and Spike, and catch my sister, I'll cut you all loose and we'll figure out what's wrong with the safe room so we can bring them back to life." There was another pause before Applejack gave a bitter smile. It was forced, and it looked as though she had to swallow her disapproval of this plan. Still, if they would be stuck here, at the very least she could know the two of them would be safe around Sweetie. Hopefully. At this point, she and Fluttershy knew that all they could do was trust Sweetie was telling the truth. That she'd come back with her sister, as well as her sister. "G-good luck Sweetie..." Fluttershy said quietly. Sweetie nodded. "Stay safe and quiet." "And if the lights go out again?" Twilight asked somewhat sarcastically. Sweetie gave Twilight a shrug. "...then play dead." With that, Sweetie beckoned her friends to follow her through the portal. As they did, it suddenly shut behind them, throwing them back into the darkness. Both Applebloom and Scootaloo looked back, frightened by the clash of the two metal slabs. Sweetie on the other hand, kept her eyes forward. Trap or no trap, there was one thing she was almost sure of. She was in the home stretch. *** The door leading back to the foyer was locked. "Celestia damn it." "Don't say things like that Sweets." Scootaloo looked around. The chill seemed to already begin biting at the two crusaders. Sweetie supposed that after wandering the mansion for so long, she must have grown accustomed to it. "Well, what now Sweetie?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie shined her flashlight back on her friends. "...a key. We need a key. Or something to trigger the door to open." she concluded. "If this area stayed the same, it shouldn't be too big. So we should start looking around." "Well ya know this place better than either of us. Where do ya want to start looking?" "Uh..." Sweetie thought for a few moments, trying to determine where to go next. "...study. Let’s check out Specter's study. If not we're gonna just have to do a little wandering. That's how I found most of the things I needed. Usually important doors are unlocked, or have a way to be unlocked." "If you say so. Lead the way." Scootaloo said. "No. You lead the way. Front and center at all times. I don’t want you all to disappear on me." "Yeah, yeah." Scootaloo and Applebloom started off before Sweetie, who followed them down the hall. "...how bad was I?" Sweetie asked. "Huh?" they both asked. "Heh... no offense, but you both were uh... pretty psychotic when you all were pos-" "Stop Sweetie. Ah don't wanna hear about no more possession talk." Applebloom cut off. "But I have to know." Sweetie said. "Did you see all of that blood, I can't..." "Sweetie." they both looked back at her to see that she had halted. She was sobbing again. She shook her head and sniffed. "Sorry. Sorry. Keep going, I'm right behind you." Instead, however, they both wrapped their forelegs around her again. This time, less out of excitement, and more out of comfort. "C'mon Sweetie... don't cry." Applebloom cooed. They stood there for a while, doing nothing but holding each other. Sweetie was annoyed at her weakness, as well as how good it felt to be comforted like this. But even Applebloom and Scootaloo got teary-eyed as they held her. Perhaps it just wasn’t the happiness of having a friend brought back from the dead still lingering among the group. But there was something else. That strange authoritative she had in that room. Among her friends now, when her very frame wasn’t shuddering and tearing as it was. Perhaps it was the initiative of finally seeing Rairty as her truly primary goal now, where she could make such decisions for the good of the collective without any sort of hesitation. Not to mention how the mansion had hardened her. But at the same time, she was trapped in a perpetual limbo of fear, knowing the next corner she turned might very well be her head. This place had beaten her and made her mind so fragile. No, that was wrong. It wasn’t just fragile. It wasn’t whole. Rather, it was preparing to break for the umpteenth time that night. She was already a broken horse hours ago. Now, she was just shatters of her former self that had been breaking into tinier and tinier pieces she'd only managed to glue together quickly enough to keep her alive. Now, all she could do was wonder, as her friends tried to comfort her, how long it would take before the pieces were too small to make whole again. Or if she could at least function with the pieces long enough to feel her sister’s love one last time. "They will find you if you stay still..." --Lub dub The three of their tears as a chill worked their way up their spines. The same chill that had seasoned Sweetie to tell the difference between normal mansion and ghostly presences. --Lub dub This chill that foreshadowed unavoidable death in large quantities. But this chill, this great chill was in one place. It was a chill of a thousand ghosts concentrated into one spot. The same spot where that dreadful echoed voice bounced from. Right behind the three fillies. --LUB DUB. LUB DUB. LUB DUB. And the worst part was, they knew this voice well. Especially Applebloom and Scootaloo, who listened to this voice plead for Twilight's life. Without a doubt, the ghost of Princess Celestia was behind them, staring at them, waiting for them to acknowledge her existence. The option to run seemed pointless. She was too close for them to even dream of making it more than two feet before being caught. The option to fight seemed even more-so with the immense power they felt just by being around her. No. This was the end, and the three of them knew so. --No. They wouldn’t accept that. More specifically, Sweetie wouldn't accept it. Dying so stupidly, so uselessly as not looking over one’s shoulder every now and again, or acknowledging the paranoid instinct she kept. So, she thought, scanning through the rest of her options as fast as possible. She was sure there had to be something else in her GCD. Spiffy was in there. But the GCD wouldn't let her shoot him out even if she wanted to. So once again, the offensive was not an option. Then there was the teleportation. Could she pull it off? Teleport far away enough to hide from Celestia. The spell was fuzzy in her head, but it was still there. Still, Sweetie doubted that without Twilight's cutie mark present that she'd be able to without killing herself, or rendering herself unconscious. "Sweetie..." Applebloom whispered, on the verge of panic. One other idea popped into her head. She recalled how Luna managed to resist Specter, and how Rainbow managed to bring herself back when she saw Scootaloo. Maybe she could help Celestia resist long enough for them to get away. Maybe. "Twilight." Sweetie said as loudly and as firmly as she could. "Sw-" "Remember Twilight." Sweetie said again. Perhaps even louder than before. "Do you remember her Princess? Do you remember that you gave yourself up for-" Sweetie didn't have a moment to finish her sentence as she felt a rush of wind at her back. A wind that was a discomforting mixture of extreme heat and chill at the back of her neck as she felt Celestia's telekinetic attack hit her up in the air before she swoop over to her and scoop her up out from over Applebloom and Scootaloo. If they called her name, it was blocked out by the torrent of wind engulfing her. --Bad Move Sweetie Belle Though, Sweetie's flight didn't last long as she quickly found herself already at the end of the long hallway, far from her friends, pinned against a wall. Celestia's hoof was in her mouth, blocking Sweetie's air. "Shut. Up." she said with a certain vibration to her voice. Whispered, but strong. Her face was sprawled into that familiar wide grin. "Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up! SHUT UP!" Sweetie could hear hoofsteps rushing toward her. Likely her friends running after her. She wanted to tell them to run away, but with Celestia's hoof in the way, she couldn't do anything but make small muffled sounds. "Don't... say a word," she said, giggling between words. “Just… listen.” And then, to Sweetie's surprise, instead of going deeper, the hoof was taken out of her mouth. Sweetie coughed as she was dropped to the ground on her flank. She heard the hoofsteps slow down, her friends either noticing she was let go, or realizing how stupid it was to blindly rush the princess in the first place. Probably both. "If a ghost heard you, you would be dead right now," Celestia said, once again laughing as if the idea of being dead was the greatest joke ever told. "Never. Under any circumstances, do that again." There was nothing but the sound of Celestia's untouchable mane flowing in the non-existent wind for a few minutes. As Sweetie examined her, she noticed that her eyes weren't as crazy as her grin. Rather, they were calm as they stared down on her. The toothy grin made her look as though she were wearing a surgeon’s mask preparing for a complex operation rather than a grin dreaming of the ways Sweetie's body could be violated. "P...rincess." Sweetie forced out. "Sweetie Belle." She returned. The giggles sounded much more controlled this time. "...did you have to ram me against the wall like that?" She stammered out without realizing. She covered her mouth, afraid she had offended such regal power that could crush her at any second. Even if she wasn’t trying to kill her at the moment, she was still the princess of Equestria, not to mention the goddess of the bucking sun. The grin didn't fade or grow. It remained constant as she continued to giggle. "A precaution... and an instinct." she eventually explained. "If I didn't attack you some way, I might have drawn more suspicion than I already was by approaching you." She started to giggle between her teeth. She took a step back toward Scootaloo and Applebloom, who stepped out of the way themselves to walk around to Sweetie and ask if she was okay. Celestia covered her mouth. "Hee hee hee... I- hee. Don't know why that was so funny- ha ha ha..." She took a deep breath, and gritted her teeth. "I'm sorry... I'm okay. You don't have to worry. We're alone now. He's not watching. And I'm not going to hurt you- bahahahahaha!" It didn’t sound as if she could resist laughing, but at the same time, the three of them wanted to believe her. After all, they weren’t dead yet, which was always a good sign. The three looked at each other before looking back at Celestia. "You're not?" They all repeated. Celestia replied with an exaggerated nod, bobbing up and down with every other “Ha”. "...I don't believe you." Sweetie blurted out. "Sweetie!" Both Applebloom and Scootaloo looked at her in horror at how blatantly she had said what she did. "Hm. I have to agree with your friends. Sweetie, shouldn't you know after your encounters with Pinkie that calling tricksters out on their own tricks is bad form?" she sighed a small laugh. "But I can't help understanding how you feel. I only wish I could convince you by wiping this sadist’s grin off my face. Or quitting this laughter. But I'm not killing you. Take it for what it's worth and listen to what I have to say. I don't know how long I can resist, nor do I know how long until Specter realizes I still have something resembling free will." Sweetie didn't look entirely convinced, but like Pinkie, what could she do? So instead, Applebloom spoke up. "What is it, Princess?" "I want you all to go back to the tearoom." she said. "Go back and stay safe in there." "...no." Sweetie spoke up. "I'm not going back Princess. I have to-" Celestia laughed. This time though, it seemed more intentional. "Stop Specter and save your sister?" she predicted. "Or is it save your sister and stop Specter?" Now, Celestia's tone was beginning to annoy her. Even with those chilling laughs, Celestia seemed sane. The last person she felt wanted to be ridiculed by was someone who made sense. "I don't see the difference, I have to do both." Celestia shook her head. "No Sweetie, you must do one before the other. Saving your sister and your friends was your top priority tonight, wasn't it? Finding out Specter's plan and stopping that should have been the first. He is the factor keeping you and your friends in the mansion as his hostages." Sweetie opened her mouth, but no words came. Going after Specter first? Or whenever they could get their hooves on him? It made so much sense it hurt. They had him in that room, didn't they? Maybe if Sweetie didn’t press to go out to save her sister, maybe they wouldn’t have split up? Who knows, maybe they could have held him down and kicked him in the plot until he let them out to go for help. It wasn’t as if Rarity was going to get any deader. Then again what would they get out of beating a dead horse? Better yet, what had they gotten out of him. Sweetie racked her brain for an excuse. "W-ell... because we could never get to him." Celestia knew that she was lying. "...oh! And we were sure he was powerful. After all, he controls this entire mansion!" "Yeah! He made them spikes appear right in front of me 'round the time Sweetie woke up!" Applebloom chimed in. "And I think he made that beam break to let me go!" Scootaloo chimed in. "He probably controls every inch of the mansion!" "I doubt it." The words hung stale in the air for a few moments. "...what? What does that mean?" "It means he doesn't. Not as much as you think. It's impossible for him to be able to maintain this mansion himself, I can tell you that much. Because it's not a mansion at all." Celestia said softly. "It's an illusionist’s spell known as a phantasm." "A what?" "A phantasmic spell. A type of spell that only can be reproduced by the mind." Celestia explained. "...do you remember Discord?" There was that name again. Discord. Yet another enemy in the back of Sweetie's mind that she loathed to think about facing. An enemy she subconsciously prayed that he wouldn't end up being a threat to begin with. For now, she kept silent and nodded. Applebloom and Scootaloo followed her example. "Allicorns, Draconequis' , Windigos and other mythic beasts of legend are the only type who have the magic capacity to cast these phantasms to alter the fabric of space-time at varying levels by bringing spells that can only exist in their minds to reality. Hmph. Even then in some cases, we have our limits, making some phantasms existing in their concept and theory. Never to become physical. For example, as mad and powerful as Discord was who can bring his own twisted brain’s creations and alterations to life on the size of nearly two small Equestrian states, doing something like reacting into a different multiverse would kill even him. Even his power isn’t infinite. However a phantasms such as altering laws of physics, altering time and space are very possible." "...like creating a mansion in the middle of nowhere?" Sweetie suggested. "Hm. You would think that at first wouldn't you? Especially now... I'm supposing I'm not the only one who's heard Discord's name a few times around the mansion." she shook her head. "But this phantasm isn't his work either. Not completely." "Why not?" "I've sensed his phantasm more than once. Fought it even. And the feeling I get off of this one... it's not his. It does mimic the properties of his phantasms that are designed to spread chaos, but it doesn't feel solid enough. This phantasm feels less chaotic, but more as many orderly things broken and stitched back together.” She paused for a second. “It's power feels somewhat distant. Any lack of consistency in this place does not feel intentional... it's because it just can't." "I don't get it." "Neither do I Sweetie. Which just adds to the mystery." Celestia sighed. "Regardless, the point is that Specter's not the one in control of this place. I don't care how old he is, he doesn't have the mental, nor does he have the magical capacity to pull off such a feat. It's rare mortal ponies who do not ascend to greatness even achieve the ability to process such spells. Maybe a stallion like Star Swirl the Bearded, but not Specter." "Who knows? Maybe they're both the same person?" Scootaloo suggested. "Don't be silly Scootaloo. That'd be the stupidest plot twist ever." Sweetie sung. "What?" "What?" Sweetie retorted louder than necessary. She cleared her throat. "I honestly don't know where that came from." Celestia gave Sweetie a strange look. "...ergo Specter couldn't do this, Spiffy is captured at this moment, and even then I have my doubts even he could create a phantasm but... and this is not the work of Discord. Tee hee hee... Specter's nothing but an old puppeteer, I can only assume. At minimum. Assuming he is the mastermind behind this entire act of terrorism." "...but we don't know what at th' bottom of them strings?" Applebloom said. "Metaphorically speaking yes," Celestia agreed. "Which is why you can't do this. Specter may be weak, old, and probably dead stallion, but no one knows what the extent of the power he has behind him is. He’s a definite unknown. The phantasm this mansion was created from may hold some similar properties to others, it's still a phantasm that no one knows about. It's unpredictable." "...so what?" Sweetie let out a laugh. "You're going to go after Specter?" "Yes." She said flatly. "So long as I resist long enough to cast a spell on him, I could potentially cut off any connections he has and hopefully release the spirits of this mansion, and bring Specter under custody." "Sounds too good to be true. Do you really think that you'll be able to sneak up close enough behind Specter to do something like that?" "I can sense when he's watching better than you can Sweetie." she said. "If I was smart about it-" "You would still kill your chance. What if he's watching his back at all times? Or what if someone else we don’t know about is doing it for him? Didn't you say that?" Sweetie said. "It's only a matter of time before you lose it as Princess Luna did." "Hm. It's better than doing as Specter wants and rushing after your sister, isn't it?" Celestia responded coldly. "The safety of the largest number of elements should be your top priority. Even if it means leaving your friends to their fate." Sweetie stared at Celestia, hating what she was saying. She wasn’t wrong. Going after Specter was a bad idea, but going for her sister could be worse. Still, she couldn’t just turn around and head back. An idea. An idea came to Sweetie and she started to smile. This surprised the princess, and even the other two crusaders. "Sweetie?" "No... no, that's perfect! That's a plan!" Sweetie said. “Going after my sister is the best plan.” "What do you mean?" "Well... Twilight said if I go after Rarity, I'd be just doing something else for Specter's plan, right? Whatever it is, who cares? Wouldn't he want to watch me when I did?" Sweetie explained. "And while he's watching me go after Rarity, you can have a better chance at sneaking up at him and whacking him with your ghost magic!" Celestia gave Sweetie another negative look. "What?" "Why do I get the impression you're just looking for excuse to go after your sister?" "Tell me it's not a good idea." "It's not a good idea." Celestia mocked. "You would be putting yourself in more needless danger at the expense of not only possibly getting yourself killed, but putting whatever finishing touches are left on Specter's plan." "And you're asking to be caught by Specter turning around to see you at the wrong moment so he can zap you with more ghost control. Or whatever he does. And then I have to deal with you and Luna. And Specter and his cronies to boot! Plan or no plan!" Sweetie shot back. "Celestia, Specter will watch me. If I'm so central to his plans that he brought me back to life, he will watch. Because if I die, or find a hole to his plan, then they might fall apart!" Sweetie took a step toward Celestia. "Princess, I'm right. If we're going to stop Specter, we need to work together." There was a long pause. Applebloom and Scootaloo only stared as the little unicorn and the great allicorn glared at each other. Eventually, Celestia spoke. "What about your friends in the tea room?" "If I move quickly, then there's nothing they have to worry about." "And your friends under the custody of the griffon?" "Just a few more minutes for you to figure out how you'll approach Specter." Sweetie said. "I'll… we’ll save Pinkie, Rainbow and Spike if he's with them, and my sister. And you'll have enough time to get to Specter while he watches me do that dance for him. Even if I mess up, as long as I survive long enough to do what you have to do, then we can beat him." Celestia closed her eyes for a few moments before opening them again. "Fine. We'll go along with your plan. You save the captured Elements and your sister. I'll hunt down and detain Specter." Sweetie nodded. "Good. If all of us pull this off, we can finally figure out how to get out of here. Right girls?" "Y-eah." both Applebloom and Scootaloo agreed, brought out of watching the argument unfold. "Yeah!" "Awesome." Sweetie grinned happily. It felt good to have a plan that could actually work. As sketchy as it seemed, it seemed possible for a change. At least compared to how she'd been for the last couple of hours. "...I can tell you where your sister is as well as Pinkie, Rainbow and the griffon. You shouldn't waste too much time." Celestia went on. "I'm sure there are hints that you'd find around these halls for you to have eventually found it yourselves. You can thank me later for saving you another hour or two of mindless wandering and ghost encounters." Celestia couldn't begin to fathom how thankful Sweetie actually was (nor could she, the readers for that matter) but she kept quiet to keep listening. "The key is in Specter's study." "Great! We were just heading there." Scootaloo said. "But I'm not sure if you would have found it so easily. Because it's not a physical key this time. Rather, the key lies in the destruction of paintings." she explained. "Special doors have been added that are directly connected to them. Destroy these paintings, and you destroy the lock on the door... or in some cases, the door itself." "Huh... somethin's tellin' us ya don't suggest detroyin' all of 'em and seein' what happens?" Applebloom assumed. Celestia shook her head. "You could unlock the door to something you'd wish stay closed. I can't say for sure, but I wouldn't want to find out." "Then how do we know which painting does what?" Sweetie asked. "Try looking at them in a different light." "What?" Celestia shook her head. "That's the extent of my knowledge, I’m sorry. You'll have to figure out that meaning yourself." Sweetie sighed. "Well... beats having to find the cryptic message myself. Okay. Paintings." "As for locations... the two places you'll want to open up are the doors to the foyer and the door to a hidden door in the kitchen area. That's the one that will take you to the hidden side of the mansion that holds your sister and the captured Elements." she said. "That's the most specific instructions I can give you. From there, you're on your own." "Alright... yeah that'll save tons of time." Sweetie agreed. Celestia turned around. "I will begin looking for an opening around a half hour from now. Plan to make significant progress by then... and if all else fails, you yourself keep an eye out for the hole you're so sure Specter will watch to make sure you don't take advantage of." "Alright. Good luck Princess!" Sweetie said. Celestia started to walk off then stopped. "R-right. Sorry. Too loud." "No... no that's not it." she said. "There's something else that's been bothering me... the whole time I was talking to you." "Huh?" Sweetie looked at either of her friends, who shrugged in return. "What's wrong?" Then, Celestia asked something strange. "Sweetie Belle...out of curiosity, did you eat Twilight Sparkle?" Sweetie blinked. "Say what now?" She turned her head back towards them. "Did you eat Twilight Sparkle? Or Fluttershy, for that matter?" Sweetie once again looked back at her friends, who both returned a "how the hay should I know what she's talking about?" look. "Or Applejack? Did you eat her?" she paused and turned around. "No... no that would mean you've eaten Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash as well." "P...rincess, what are you talking about eating other ponies for?" "Because according to the aura you've been giving off this entire conversation... that strange comment, that ability to debate a point and plan with such celerity, and that sheer bravado to look me in the eye and tell me I'm wrong... Sweetie Belle, I mean to ask you why do I sense each of the elements you've captured thus far?" Sweetie swallowed when Celestia turned back around. She did not like that distrusting look that she gave her. "Why?" she asked again. "I-I have no idea." Sweetie stammered out as her head throbbed. "Liar." Celestia’s horn glowed slightly brighter than the rest of her body. Sweetie was lifted into the air by a strong telekinesis spell. Or maybe it was Celestia altering her own personal field of gravity, because whatever this spell was, it certainly felt more earth shattering than a regular old telekinesis spell. As she found herself lifted into the air, she really began to feel the regal amounts of magical energy at Celestia's disposal. Further reminding her how little she was looking forward to even thinking about fighting her if it ever came to it. Oh pray to Celestia she hoped it wouldn't. "Sweetie!" Applebloom and Scootaloo called. "Stay back," Celestia commanded. The two fillies watched in horror, but they didn't move any closer. Sweetie's body began to glow nearly as bright as the alicorn's horn. She felt funny. Sick. It wasn't pain, but nausea this spell she appeared to be casting on her was. She felt it inside of her body, shooting waves of non-lethal magic throughout. Suddenly, a large jolt shot through Sweetie's body, influencing her to seize for a split second, just as the five cutie marks she'd acquired over the course of the last couple hours began to appear on her body like strobe lights. Applebloom stared in surprise as she saw her sister's cutie mark on Sweetie's body. Even Scootaloo mouthed a "what the buck..." at seeing Rainbow's cutie mark on her as well. "Ah!" the feeling inside of her was reaching uncomfortable levels for Sweetie at this point. "Stop!" Celestia complied, releasing both spells on her as she fell on the flank with a thud. "So I wasn't crazy. Their cutie marks are indeed gone..." Celestia said in slight awe. "Yet, somehow, you have them." "Y-yeah..." Sweetie admitted. "How?" "I don't know, okay? I just... caught my friends and after I did, there they'd be. At least when I went into Pinkie's carnival." Sweetie explained. "...do they know?" Sweetie looked back at the crusaders who were still shocked. "No. Now, just you, me, and my friends here know." "This... this is not normal." Celestia voice was concerned. “You think?” Sweetie said, dusting herself off. Celestia ignored her. "I need to think on this further. Moving a cutie mark from one pony to the other should be impossible." "Why?" "Because it's an element of the soul. Even if two cutie marks may look similar, each one is unique to the person it belongs to. A cutie mark isn't just a mark of one's talent. It's a visual representation of one's self. And these aren't replicas of similar marks Sweetie. These are the actual marks of the Elements." Celestia looked down the hall. "...at this point, I couldn't tell you what Specter's entire plan is. I couldn't even tell you why you were chosen to be involved. But from what I know now, I can only assume one thing." "...what's that?" "That Specter wins when you catch your sister and obtain the sixth cutie mark." The final reminder stung. The reminder that she would be going along with Specter's plan. And the reminder that this was likely the last leg of the plan. Of course that was the catch to this seemingly perfect counter-plan they had come up with to stop Specter. "...this doesn't change anything. I'm still going after her." Sweetie said. "I understand that. It's to be expected, so the plan cannot change." Celestia nodded. "Still, if either of us fails our tasks, then..." "This is our chance. My chance to save Rarity and your chance to save Twilight. A-and if everything's been to his plan, a sneak attack our chance to strike back and stop Specter... plus whatever power behind him." Sweetie said. "It's worth the risk. Trust me, I've been taking them all night." "Hm..." Celestia chuckled. Next to the smaller laughs, this one looked real. Still, it seemed to take a visible amount of effort not to enter another ghostly laughing spell. "Sorry. With the marks you're playing off aside, it just seems so surreal humorous to become lucid and realize I'm getting a motivational speech from a filly that makes sense." Sweetie shrugged. "I'm going now. Remember. Thirty minutes. Aim to make major headway by then." Celestia said, before turning around and walking off again. "Good luck. To all of you." The three cutie mark crusaders nodded as Celestia disappeared. And then they were alone again as silence filled the hall. Sweetie bowed her head, and took Celestia's place in front of Applebloom and Scootaloo. She looked at them and shrugged. "Well?" "...well what?" Scootaloo asked. "You've been pretty quiet. Do you have anything to say? Any questions?" "Th' better question is if ya could answer 'em." Applebloom said honestly. "...when were you gonna tell us anyway?" "When I had to." "You were gonna keep something like that from us? I mean... damn Sweetie, you've got cutie marks. A bunch of them!" "Just like cutie pox... or worse, considering I virtually stole these marks." Sweetie sighed. "Ya didn't steal 'em." Applebloom assured. "They just found yer way on yer body is all." "Yeah... still not something I'm exactly excited to tell Twilight and the rest of them. Especially after Celestia said 'moving them is impossible'," Sweetie said before mocking, "Hey guys! I found your cutie marks and can use them way better than you too! Don't think I can give them back though, sorry about that." "Ya wouldn't say it like that either." Applebloom said. “Yeah. And did you see the look on her face? You know… behind the crazy smile and all.” Scootaloo added. “She doesn’t even know anything about this thing. For all we know, it’s an easy fix.” "Yeah well, that's what they'd hear when the thing that marks who they are is on the back their friend's klutz of a sister." Sweetie sighed. "We have to tell them Sweetie. We can't keep it from them forever." Scootaloo noted. "That's like... even worse." "I know, I know." "C'mon. Rainbow's chill and so are the rest of them. We'll vouch for you, so there's no way they could be too mad, if they were at all. Hay, they'd probably get over it right away. Maybe they could put their heads together to figure out how to fix it too. It'll be fine. Relax." -- It won't be fine -- Can't relax -- Hate. Hate. Hate. Sweetie blinked a few times. "Sweetie?" "Y-yeah. Yeah, alright. I'll think about it." Sweetie seemed to have entered a trance for a split second. "Speaking of her, we need to head to the study and get moving. Every minute we're just standing around here is another minute Pinkie and Rainbow are in danger. Spike too, right?" "Right!" "Damn, it must have been a while since Gilda took them away." Scootaloo said. "Hope they're still alright." *** "Hey Sweetie? Not for nothin' but why ya still hold th' flashlight in yer mouth?" Applebloom asked. "Ah mean... ya saw where ah kept the flashlight hidden. Ya can use it from there, why dontcha-" Sweetie cut her off. "AJ's hat is in the way." "Uh... alright then, why not just take 'er hat off?" Sweetie shrugged. "Superstition? I feel like... naked when I'm not wearing it." "You're already naked Sweets," Scootaloo commented. "That joke is so old..." Sweetie mumbled. "What?" "No, I meant naked... defenseless. That's the word." She explained, "As in things just get even worse than worse when I don't have it on. AJ said it could be my lucky charm." "Huh." "Now... we've gotta think. What did the Princess mean by 'look at this in a different light'?" At this point, the group had entered the study. It was fairly lit in contrast to the hallways which only had hints of moonlight at best. The room was also warm, a the fire crackled in the fireplace, seeming almost inviting to the three of them. This was especially true for Applebloom and Scootaloo, considering they were sure they'd freeze if they stayed a second longer in those halls. They took the moment to stretch their muscles in presence of the flames. "Hm... well there's plenty a light already. Ya got another one right there in yer mouth too," Applebloom suggested. "Yeah, give that a go," Scootaloo agreed. Sweetie tried shining her flashlight on the painting. Unsurprisingly however, the flashlight made no difference. She shook her head. "Nothing." "Hm... different light. Different light... how 'bout a different color?" Applebloom suggested. "Maybe we can make it some different color?" "Different color huh?" She turned her flashlight off and looked at the front. She wondered. What about that piece of glass I picked up from that guard? She shuffled around in her bag. She had trouble finding the piece of glass, so she took out the ghost book first. Upon seeing it out in the open, she sighed at a slight realization. "What's wrong Sweets?" "I... ah, I should have checked this book way sooner. When I got out of Pinkie or saved you all, sooner." She looked at her friends who still seemed vaguely puzzled. "This uh... updates me on all different going ons with my ghost capture thing and ghosts. You understand?" They both nodded, though she could tell they were still somewhat skeptical. Dead ponies and shifty mansions were one thing, but a book telling her what to do and how to do it was really stretching it. "Alright. What do you have this time?" She began flipping through the pages of the book, going through pages she had already looked through. The first new page she came across turned out to be a picture of Princess Luna's ghost. Portrait of the Moon Bio: Luna above, no pun intended, I thought you'd never crack this thing again. Seriously kid, what kind of hunter waits hours to read the book that's been supplying information vital for your survival? Hopefully after whatever ignorant endeavors you've endured, you've learned your lesson. Doubtful, but we can hope. Regardless, you lucked out. Because honestly, after facing something close to an Elder's power, you should be dead. I cannot give you any useful information on how to capture the Portrait of the Moon. Not at your current level, and probably not by the time you read this. It would be impossible. Your spiritual magnetic potential is not nearly great enough and your skills- let’s just say luck alone will not cut it if she's applying every unit of magical energy she has to murder you. She's faster than even the Portrait of Loyalty. Has more magic than the Portrait of Magic. More strength than the Portrait of Honesty. Even more status altering abilities similar to the Portrait of Kindness. It's suicide to even think about going after her without at least a team of eleven hunters all highly experienced at catching Elder type spirits. At least. Never engage this ghost if you expect to walk out of this hunt alive. The only thing that can be used is working with something relating to the Portrait of the Sun. But who am I kidding, we're talking about a pony who didn't even have the common sense to check to read her instruction book. "Give me a break. I was busy, okay?" "Whatcha say Sweetie?" Applebloom asked. "Nothing, just talking to my book," Sweetie said absentmindedly. "What?" "What?" Sweetie returned, waving them off. "J-ust... don't worry about me. Go back to looking for clues or something." Both Applebloom and Scootaloo looked at each other and shrugged and continued scanning the room. Better try to keep thoughts like that to myself. Sweetie thought. Hm... wonder what the book meant by Elder? ...oh. Sure enough, the next page started on the very topic. Info: Elder Spirits Though the aforementioned spirit is in technicality not Elder level, she is close enough while her sister actually is. So it concerns you enough. Essentially, Elder ghosts are top dog in the spirit world. The strongest of the strongest by the knowledge obtained by any living hunters that have survived ghost hunts. Having the most abilities and attributes that they've gained over the course of many years of being spirits. Though, often, this is the case for spirits, the qualification for Elders is usually power and knowledge. Not age. Though power and knowledge does often does factor into age in this respect. Either way, these are not the type of portraits you even want to dream of capturing on your own. Essentially, they are just short of gods. Elders are one of two things. Completely harmless and sane, or deadly and driven mad by the thousands of years of being undead. Often they have the mental capacity to not be influenced, so there's the occasional chance that even in a situation as the one you're in that maybe they might not kill you. However, there are ways to get to even an Elder, and I wouldn't be surprised if your antagonist so happens to have the resources. ...just short of gods. Sweetie thought. Of course, after facing Luna and Celestia, to some degree she knew that they had a lot of power. Still, just seeing the words written there seemed even more unsettling. Once again, reminding her how badly their plan had to work. She flipped to the next page. Info: Spiritual Kick/Instance Well, considering you wouldn't be walking, talking, or reading for that matter, I'm assuming you already know how this feature works. Either that or you're the second biggest bookworm of a ghost I've ever seen in my life. Regardless, Spiritual Instance is a very special feature of any ghost capturing device. Rarely do hunters ever obtain such an ability, or upgrade their personal pack with enough magical energy to obtain it. In short, this is the only feature one can use in order to accomplish a self-exorcism or exorcize one's self without the external help of an external force. It allows a possessed hunter to awaken from the possessive dream state in order to shortly attempt to lucidly regain control of the hunter's muscles as well as kick out the ghost possessing in order to attempt a capture to ultimately rip the ghost out of the body. Under normal circumstances, this would be suicide, as the units of magical energy constantly flowing throughout your body would lay over and be multiplied to deadly amounts. Which is why in turn, by the end of this self-exorcism, the body will cease to function and be killed anyway. Again, under normal circumstances that you even managed to do a self-exorcism without this feature. However, with Spiritual Instance, an instance of not only the spirit, but the body before it died is saved by the GCD as a projection within the pack. At the same time, the GCD will keep the hunter's spirit within the body until it eventually runs out of power. The hunter will medically be dead, and the GCD will note this, but with the jolt of some type of magical target, the hunter can be revived in their normal body. Usually applied orally, or around the stomach area topically. Cutie mark or no cutie mark. However, there is one extra catch that might interest you. The jolt from the GCD imprints nothing but the hunter's spiritual instance on the body. Though, if the target in question has been tampered with, whatever is inside of it will be imprinted onto some aspect of the hunter as well. So was your target tampered kid? Sweetie swallowed before talking. "Guys... Specter... did he…” It didn’t take a genius. Based on how he acted, what he said and how her friends reacted to him, she already believed very well that Specter had brought her back to life. And yet there was something worrying her. “…how did he bring me back exactly?" Both Scootaloo and Applebloom looked at each other before they looked back and Applebloom spoke. "He put somethin' in your mouth an'… ah dunno, it did somethin’ with yer backpack." “Yeah, there were all these leach things crawling over you, and they put something in you and-” "And you just stood there and let him?" Sweetie said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "W-well we didn’t have no way to stop him! Ya didn’t see what he could really do yerself!" “And, c'mon Sweets. You were... you were dead,” Scootaloo argued. “Besides, it’s not as if we had something to lose-" "No. You did guys." Sweetie scolded. "You saw how I was possessed. Spike's hypnotized. All of our friends were brainwashed as ghosts to believe that they hate us... I could have easily taken you out of here and..." she bowed her head and went silent. "...Sweetie?" Sweetie sighed. "Nothing. Nothing right now." She couldn't help but worry about how Specter might have altered her body with whatever he put into her mouth. Though she shook her head, there was too much to worry about now. All she could do was hope for the best. Hope that whatever Specter did to her wouldn't ruin the plan her, the other crusaders and Celestia had hashed together. Hope. At this point, that was all she had left. Hope, and the dim possibility she would hug her sister. At this point, these were the only things keeping her sane. Keeping her together. Probably. Sweetie flipped to the next page. Instead of more info, the page was covered in blotches of ink. There seemed to be words under them, but there was no way Sweetie could decode the message. This was definitely wrong. Had Specter or Spiffy messed with the book while she was possessed? And if so, what was so important on this page that it was worth blotching out? Worrying about this before I know what it means is pointless. Sweetie reminded herself. Best to hope it doesn't change anything. She flipped the page. Info: Elemental Throwback Info: Yet another power that you will completely be ignorant to until you decide to open this thing up. Since you’ll likely be rushing through this anyway, I’ll make this brief as there’s not all too much special about this ability. It’s simply a secondary fire to your Elemental Capture, allowing you to concentrate all of the element of your choice into one shot. Similar to the Spectral Throwback function. A new function? Sweetie figured it would be best to make use of it as soon as she could. For all she knew, it was another power that might save her life. Or at least make her life in the mansion just a bit easier. She flipped to the next page. Info: Black Light Lens Not much on this kid. It's just a lens that emulates the properties of a black light with normal light around it. I'm sure you already know what one of those are, so I won't get into details. You could use it as an eyepiece if you have the trait of light eye as well as on your flashlight to reveal items of interest. More interestingly, however, it can be used in combat with your flashlight. Admittedly, against regular ghosts, it will not be as effective, taking a second or two to break the ghost's shield, contrasting to the instantaneous effect of the normal light. That said, it does destroy magical energy for special ghosts who can regenerate it. Not as effective as fire, but still effective enough. In theory, you could destroy a ghost with a black light or black light lens. Plus, it is much more effective for the rare, types of ghosts or elders that can manipulate, and even thrive in light. If you're lucky, you'll never have to face either. But we both know how arguable that is, don't we? "Black light lens." Sweetie mumbled, before going into her saddlebags, and shuffling through to find the eyepiece she had picked up off the night guard. She stared at it, feeling it probably represented another few hours of fumbling around in the dark to look for the damned thing. It might have been as Applebloom said. A different color. If this is what Sweetie needed to solve this new puzzle, she was glad she already had it. But at the same time it worried her. If she really did need it, she couldn't help but worry why the guard had possessed the piece in the first place. And where she and the other came from in the first place. And if they were indeed just another part of Specter's plan. She thought about her friends, still tied up, with those two in the room, probably waking up as she thought. And that sword. Was it all planned? She shook her head. Now wasn't the time to get hysterical. She had to focus on one thing. Reviving her sister and following the plan. Or else it wouldn't even matter. "One of you." Sweetie called. "Catch." She tossed the piece to the both of them, and Scootaloo caught it. She played around with it in her hoof. "What's this?" "Puzzle piece. Don't drop it." "Good idea throwing it then." "Quiet you." Sweetie said. "I need you to look through it and... look around the room. I think that thing's what Celestia meant by 'looking at this in a different light'. Maybe." "Gotcha Sweets." Sweetie nodded before flipping to the last filled page. As per the chronological order, finally, she saw the picture of Princess Celestia's ghost. Portrait of the Sun Bio: You know how they say never to look directly into the sun or you'll go blind? At this point, I'm surprised you're not blind, deaf and dead to boot. I don't need to say how stupid it was to confront this ghost. You've probably felt it. Her power is incredible. But in a sense, that might be a good thing, considering why you're probably alive. Because the power contained in the Portrait of the Sun is so great, as peer the power of an elder, she can much better resist the influence of any spiritual alteration spells or enchanted items to manipulate and control her. She's not invincible but her ability to resist is massive. She's likely one of the few ghosts in this mansion you can trust at this point. At least until her free will is caught and snuffed out for good. And should that time come, much like the Portrait of the Moon, forget about it. Though besides her sister, if you even want to hold a chance against her, your normal flashlight won't work. Period. "Hm..." Sweetie flipped the page to make sure there was no new information before closing it again. "See anything through there?" Scootaloo turned to her and nodded. "Nope. Just a whole lot of purple." "Toss the piece over to me. I want to check something." Sweetie said. As Scootaloo was about to toss it back, Applebloom snatched it from her and walked it over to Sweetie. "Don' drop it, remember?" "Yeah, yeah." Sweetie said, taking the piece and proceeding to examine it. She then took her flashlight in her free hoof and placed the lens over the top. "Hey, could one of you check to see if there's some tape or something on the table over there?" Sweetie twitched her head in the direction of the sole desk in the study, as she continued to mess around with the lens and the flashlight. The two of them went, and a few seconds later came back with a desktop roll of tape. "Here you go Sweets." She took the tape and placed a few pieces to attach an edge of the lens to an edge of the top of the flashlight. Once she was satisfied, she turned the flashlight so the tape was on the top part of the rim in her mouth, and jerked her head up. The lens flipped back onto the handle of the flashlight. She jerked again, and had the lens fall back in place over the flashlight. "Yeah... that'll work. But will this?" Sweetie mumbled as she turned on her flashlight, now outfitted with the new lens. Rather than the regular white light, the flashlight emitted a purple hue. As she shined it against one of the paintings, she saw what Scootaloo had not seen through the lens. There was a white streak across it. And a circle on another. The shapes got more and more complex the more she looked at the paintings. "’Secret symbols." Applebloom said in awe. “Cool. Now you can probably find all sorts of stuff with that light!” Scootaloo added. "Not only that, but if I meet any ghosts I can't fight with my normal light." Sweetie flipped the flashlight to display the normal white light. "I can use it for combat as a quick switch to the black light." She switched back. "Smart." Scootaloo smiled. "Not smart. Common sense I’ve been apparently lacking by leading you around like a potential bomb and not checking this book that could tell me what to do and when to do it.” Sweetie shook her head. This mansion was getting to her, she was already starting to insult herself. “According to this book, I need to be fast and efficient. If I’m not, I could be in real trouble if ghosts of light like Luna became a problem." "Or Celestia-" Scootaloo hit Applebloom in the back of the head. "Ow! What was that fer?" "Don't jinx it. You don't say stuff like that and expect it not to happen." "I'mma jinx you if ya hit me again." "Guys, guys. Focus." Sweetie said. "Now... we're supposed to burn one of these, right?" "Right. Celestia said we gotta burn the door to the foyer... and one to the kitchen." Scootaloo reminded. "Them symbols probably are related to th' door they open." Applebloom assumed. "Right, so which symbol goes with which door?" Sweetie asked. She started scanning the paintings with her black light. As she slowly swept across, she saw an E-shape, a triangle, a V-shape, a "4" and a shape with two halves of an arch going away from each other. "Huh. They really just look like random symbols Sweets." Scootaloo said after staring at them for a while. "Maybe we're supposed ta find somethin' else ta relate them to." Applebloom suggested. "Maybe." Sweetie mumbled, still looking over the paintings. "...or maybe we already have what we need. Like, you know what those curves remind me of? They remind me of a spout." "A spout?" They both asked. "Yeah. Like water coming out of some spouts. And a fountain has spouts, right?" Sweetie suggested. "And there was a fountain past the door in the foyer. So maybe that's one." Sure of herself, Sweetie used her GCD to suck the painting off the wall and onto the nozzle. Once it was stuck, she released it so it would fall to the ground. "What else... what else..." Sweetie brainstormed while Applebloom and Scootaloo just watched her think. Eventually, her light went on the painting with a "4". "Yeah, that one reminds me of a knife. See the handle and the blade?" "So?" Scootaloo asked. "And you find knives in kitchens, right? So maybe it's that one." With that Sweetie sucked that painting off the wall as well. She placed the paintings between the two of them. "Well? What do you think?" "Huh... seems like a long shot Sweetie." Applebloom noted. "Ya sure them symbols mean what you think they mean?" "Yeah, and you heard Celestia. Might not be a good idea to burn the wrong one, you know." "I'm sure these are them." Sweetie said. There was a hint of annoyance in her voice. "You have any other ideas? Or do you want to wander the mansion a little more? Maybe get some hints while we have ghosts breathing down our flanks." Neither Applebloom, nor Scootaloo objected. They seemed more willing to try Sweetie's method if it meant getting done to save Pinkie, Rainbow and Spike faster. Just while it was still there, Sweetie used her GCD to suck up some of the fire in the fireplace until it was filled. Just in case she so happened to need it. "Alright guys. Toss the paintings into the fire." They both complied, stacking the paintings on top of each other and using their combined strength to toss the paintings in. There were a few short initial cracks in the fireplace before the fireplace became blindingly bright and it started crackling like fireworks at the Grand Galloping Gala. Naturally the three of them stood back, squinting as they stared in the general direction of the fireplace. A loud ear piercing whistle came behind it, as the pops reached their maximum volume. They all had to cover their ears, for fear of going deaf from the impossibly loud whistling before finally- A large gust of wind went through the study as the fire suddenly went out. The whistle stopped as quickly as the flame went out, leaving the only sound in the room to be the leftover snaps, crackles and pops of the paintings as they seemed to continue to burn without the fire. Still, at that point, the worry that the only light now present was the moonlight from outside. It was still light, but much darker than any of the three of them would have wanted. "S...weetie-" "Shh!" Sweetie said. She lent an ear to the hallway to listen, staying still as possible. Trying to feel if there was any change in temperature. Attempting to tap into the sixth sense she'd acquired over the course of the night. There was no laughter. There was no change in chill, besides what was probably because of the absence of the fire. She didn't sense any ghosts anywhere. Though her instinct also told her not to take that for granted. That could change at any moment. And she wouldn't wait around to find out what corner they would pop out and try to nibble her giblets from. Or whose giblets would be nibbled first for that matter. "C'mon. We have to move." Sweetie said. "Stay close behind me." she quickly made her way to the door. "...not too close though." Sweetie probably didn't see it, but both of her friends once again nodded in compliance. After flipping back to her normal flashlight, she quickly moved out of the room, constantly looking behind her to make sure her friends were still behind her. It seemed to take a shorter amount of time, but they all soon found themselves at the door. The door itself wouldn't opened. For curiosity's sake, Sweetie tried. No, strangely enough, instead, it was burned open. "Huh," Sweetie said. "...can't say I thought that would happen, but I guess it gets the job done huh?" "Whadya know. Good job Sweetie," Applebloom praised. The three climbed through the hole and found themselves back in the foyer, staring at the fountain. "Alright, so next stop is the kitchen, right Sweetie?" Sweetie stared off into the distance for a few moments. "Sweetie, don't we gotta go?" Applebloom asked. "Yeah... well, there's just one thing I want to check out before we head off," Sweetie said. "Let me clear my GCD first." *** "Damn it!" Gilda punched one of the walls of the hallway with her free fist. "Buck these halls and damn this mansion." "Lost Gildy?" Pinkie asked. "Shut the buck up," Gilda snapped. "Well are you?" Rainbow asked. Gilda ignored her. "...must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. Was I supposed to turn left... or right back at... can't believe I forgot those damned instructions back at the..." She paced back and forth, seeming unsure of where to go next, mumbling under her breath. It was actually making Rainbow a little dizzy. Pinkie couldn't help but giggle at how turned around the griffon was. "Maybe Dashie could help!" Pinkie suggested. "Riiight Dashie?" Rainbow gave Pinkie a questionable look, while Pinkie winked back at her. "Uh... yeah. Yeah I probably could." Rainbow lied. "Buck both of you." Gilda spat. More towards Pinkie than Rainbow of course. And of course, Pinkie giggled in response. "Oh c'mon you silly bird! Listen to your good friend Dashie." "Yes..." Gilda then mumbled something she couldn’t hear. "What?" Rainbow asked, turning her head up. "Yeah alright Dash." she stopped in the middle of the hallway. "Where to?" "Uh… where we going again?" "The boiler room featherbrain." Gilda said. "Only place worth a damn on this side, besides the observatory." "Right..." Rainbow couldn't help but think. What was with the sudden change of heart? Still, she wasn't about to look this gift horse in the mouth if she would actually listen to her opinion. "Down that hallway." "How many doors?" she continued. "Gotta be a number, right? Some second set way besides those damned tunnels. This bucking hallway goes forever you know." "I know I know." Rainbow lied again. Of course she didn't. She had no clue where to go next, for Gilda's benefit or her own. She could barely follow how they got in that hallway to begin with. A blur, then suddenly she was in this new hallway. Odd. She looked to Pinkie for guidance, who just shrugged innocently. Don't look at me! I didn't think this far ahead. You put this on me! Rainbow imagined her saying from that look. All she could do was roll with this chance that had opened up. She tilted her head, pretending to examine the hallway. Partially to legitimately find any clues or items they could use to escape, and partially to pretend she knew what she was doing. "Well from where we are uh... how about 9 doors down. Yeah, that sounds about right." Gilda shrugged. "Whatever you say Dash." Rainbow blinked as she and Pinkie were further carried down the hallway. They passed the first door. Pinkie gave Rainbow another look. She was still smiling that strange smile, but this time, there was at least the effort to be serious in her eyes. The look was enough, even with the flashes of humor she saw in them. Right now, this was their chance, but the question at this point became to do what? Furthermore it wasn't as though either of them could discuss how to escape. And once again it was not as though they could bank on anyone saving them. Stalling was probably not the best option at this point. Pinkie mouthed the word "rope" before snapping her teeth once. Rope. Rainbow repeated in her head. Rainbow shook her head. I know we've gotta cut the rope, but how? As though reading her thoughts, Pinkie shrugged. Maybe if we could... hey I don't know, grab something to cut it? Or burn the thing. Rainbow thought. Pinkie tilted her head and stared at Rainbow before mouthing the word "How"? To this, Rainbow gave Pinkie an odd look. She couldn’t be but- Wait are you actually looking in my head? Rainbow thought curiously. Pinkie shrugged again, as if to say "Maybe". Huh, Rainbow thought. She knew Pinkie was weird, and could to even weirder things, but she never colored her a psychic. Then again, this was a pony that could potentially tell the future just by twitching. Heh. Didn't know you could do stuff like that without your cutie mark. Guess even without it can't take away what makes Pinkie Pie Pinkie Pie, right? Pinkie giggled. "Shut up back there." Gilda said. They passed the second door. Fine. What have we got? Ropes are too tough to get at with our teeth, right? Pinkie nodded in agreement. It’ll probably be hard to get something to cut it with our damned hooves tied like this. Rainbow continued. Still. Maybe if we can get something in our mouths that’s sharp enough, we can cut through ‘em that way. Or maybe there's some candles or something to just burn through enough to break free. Pinkie tilted her head up to Gilda. Rainbow nodded in comprehension. Chances were, Gilda wasn’t going to take them to a place to cut themselves free. So, she did her best to craft an excuse. "Uh... probably should tell you that we're not looking for the boiler room." Rainbow mentioned. “Not right now anyway.” Gilda didn't stop. "Oh yeah? Where then? Trying to stall me?" "Nah, just... looking for a landmark is all. Just think it's down this hallway... I think." "You think?" "By think, she means know you silly bird!" Pinkie said. She mumbled again. It was even harder to hear than the last time. Maybe Rainbow was just imagining it. "...yeah alright." Gilda nodded. "Well what's this landmark." "Er... a candle." Rainbow said awkwardly. "As in if I can get a good look at it, I can know where to go next. Trust me on this." "...yeah alright." Gilda repeated. They passed the third door. "There's a catch for her telling you where to go though, Gildy!" Pinkie went on. Rainbow gave another look, wondering what she was planning. "She has questions, don't you Dashie?" "Uh... yeah?" Rainbow said. At this point, she wasn't sure if this was a part of her plan or not. "Huh. Maybe I'll answer them." Gilda shrugged. "Nooooo. You silly birdy Gildy, you have to answer them all full and honest." Pinkie chimed. "It's the least you can do for helping her kill herself." Rainbow blinked. Was she saying that to keep suspicion down for suddenly wanting to help like this? She wasn't sure at this point. She mumbled again. The same "lucky colt" again. "...yeah alright." she paused. "What do you want to know?" They passed the fourth door. "...well? Ask the buck away." Gilda said. "Alright uh..." It was true, she had a lot of questions for the griffon. She supposed she could start from the beginning. "What happened to you?" "Gotta be more specific." Gilda said. "When? What?" "...last time I saw you. What happened then? Before you stormed out." "Thought you turned into another dweeb back then. Thought that was crystal." Gilda said. "And buck being around another dweeb. Even if she was my best friend." "You were mad because I was on my friends’ side?" "I was mad because you weren't on mine." Gilda said. "Spent all of flight school with you. Then suddenly you're on the side of these bitches you just bucking met-" "You were being a jack to my friends for no good reason. If it was the other way around I would have done the same with them." Rainbow snapped. "You're the one who threw a hissy fit because I wasn't 'cool' enough to drop my crap and ride off into the sunset with you." Rainbow expected her to snap back. Instead she stopped just before the fifth door. “Yeah well…” Gilda paused. "I'm sorry." A chill ran up Rainbow's spine. Something about that apology seemed even less like Gilda. It sounded so guilty. "...still think you're friends are a bunch of..." Rainbow could hear the edges of her beak grinding together. "Buck." "Gilda?" She continued forward. "What else?" They passed the fifth door. "What... happened after Ponyville?" Rainbow asked. “Where did you go?” "I flew." Gilda said. "Cussing out my abandoning bitch of a friend while I did. Settled for a month in a little city called Whinisburg." She laughed. "Wanted to get as far away from you as possible at the time, so I picked that place. Maybe 20 miles off of Appaloosa. Just on the other side of Everfree?" "Never been there." Rainbow said. "Whatever." Gilda shrugged. "After that, what. You met Specter there?" "No." she said. Her throat sounded dry. Rainbow couldn't see it, but by now, Gilda's eyes had contracted very abnormally. As if she was having some sort of flashback. "I met him later?" "When?" "At-" she forced out the next words. They felt so rehearsed as if she’d had to say them more than her share of times. “Bonza Brook Correctional Facility” They passed the sixth door. "A prison?" Rainbow asked out of some disbelief. “Yeah.” Both of them had been to jail more than a few times in their youth. For little charges like vandalism or even a fight they shouldn’t have gotten into. There was even a night or two they had to stay there before their parents were allowed to pick them up. But prison was a different story. Especially coming out of someone raised in the generally free-spirited towns of Cloudsdale and Ponyville. An unspoken of type of place where Equestria’s worst went. The thieves. The worst conponies. The illegal goods producers. The murderers. The ones who didn’t have the moral line Equestria set went there spend nice chunks of their lives behind iron bars. The idea of Gilda, Rainbow’s best friend throughout flight school, ever heading on a path there never would have crossed her mind. “Celestia…” She said quietly. "I knew you could get bad but... damn." "Yeah.” "What did you do?" Rainbow asked. "I bucked up, that's what." Gilda said. “Just… really hurt some pony.” "You... what?" Rainbow asked in awe. Despite everything that had happened so far in the mansion, the idea of her "hurting" anyone enough to get her put in prison of all places really bothered her. She didn't want to ask how badly. "And... he bailed you out of prison?" Rainbow finished the story. "Specter had the money to bail you out and hire you as his henchman or something?" "No." Gilda said. She was silent, obviously not wanting to go on with the story. They passed the seventh door. "How did he get you out then? Just waited?" "I had twenty years left when I met him." Gilda said. "So no." Thirty years? Rainbow thought. "Then how?" "He broke me out." Gilda said, again with that dry, dry throat. She swallowed and said it again. "He broke me out." --This hurts, this really hurts, and she wants to stop. "...how." --No more questions. Ignorance is bliss. Bliss for all. "How did he break you out?" Rainbow asked. Just before the eighth door, Gilda dropped the two of them to the ground on their heads. They both moaned in pain as Gilda leaned over and vomited on the ground in front of her. "Ew..." Pinkie moaned. Gilda gagged a few times before wiping her mouth and looking back on them blankly. She got up, and took them up on her back again. She didn't move forward yet. Just stared blankly into the endless hallway. "Ever hear of the place Rainbow? Bonza Brook?" "No." Rainbow admitted. "A hundred miles from Whinisburg. In the middle of now where, but you really might have heard of it sometime. It and Whinisburg since you’ve worked weather over there before. At least that’s what I was told. It was just once but…” Gilda said. “If you don’t know about it now, you never will. And because you’re not there, you probably won't remember that I mentioned it an hour from now." Gilda said. "What?" "He broke me out by... they're all dead. Every single one of them is dead." Gilda said, laughing slightly. "And I'm the one to blame. I didn't want to be a murderer. I didn't bucking want this, I never bucking asked for this-" "Gilda! Calm down." "Please Birdy Gildy! You're scaring Rainy!" Pinkie chimed. Gilda whimpered. Rainbow opened her mouth to comfort Gilda. She had caught Gilda breaking down before, everyone broke down every now and again. But not Gilda as she was now. Never so openly. But before the word could get out, the griffon gave a mad scream and threw a fist into the eight door, echoing a defining THUD! throughout the hallway. She left a dent in the door, reminding Rainbow of her frightening strength. She breathed deeply in and out. "...Gilda?" "What's... the next question?" Gilda asked. There was no tension in her voice anymore. It was as though she completely forgot how difficult the last few minutes were for her. Rainbow couldn't see it, but she somehow knew there was something wrong with the way she spoke now. Smooth. Happy. Wrong. She took her fist away from the door and continued down the hallway, walking over the pool of her own stomach fluids. They passed the eighth door. At this point, there was only one other question Rainbow desired to ask. The last one she was bold enough to ask. "What is Specter giving you really?" She laughed again. "I don’t know what will happen after tonight. Specter and Spiffy barely tell me anything. But I know one other thing he told me. He promised me this. I’m never going to die. Not really. Especially once the sun goes up and the eclipse is over with. As long as he exists, dead or alive on Earth, I’m going to be stuck here. I’ll be immortal. I’ll really be immortal. I’ll live with him, but I’ll live forever." "So you don't have a choice?" Rainbow asked. "I don't know." Gilda responded, chuckling slightly less this time. "I really don't. I hated it at first, but… hey. Now I’m excited. I get to live forever once I’m finished here.” The laugh sounded so fake. But it didn’t sound as if she was laughing at Rainbow, but rather for herself. As if she was still trying to convince herself to be excited. As if half of her was excited, and half of her, a half buried by something sinister, was not. “What do you mean?” Rainbow asked. “You said you don’t know. Why not?” “I did have a choice at the prison... once anyway. It went fast. Only slowed down once so I could see where the buck I was.” She went on. She didn’t seem to be making any sense, but Rainbow let her go on. “But I don't know about after that. I'm not a bucking slave or his bitch. I'm doing this for a reason. My own damned reason too." "…well what’s the reason?" "Heh. I don’t totally know that either." Gilda said. "Revenge? A chance? I know there was a reason, but since I started seeing… I…” She trailed off. Stopping. “Gilda?” “Yeah… I guess I know one.” Gilda said blankly. “The power to change something. Get something back. And If I do my job, I’ll get a touch of the power that I need to get it back. And then some." "You don't think he’s just messing with you though-" "It's the only chance." Gilda cut her off. Then, she started to laugh again. "And besides. There's one other thing he promised me. It’s pretty obvious." "...us." Rainbow guessed. "BFFBL. Best friends for bucking life." Gilda said. "Just think. We'll be together. And you won't abandon me like a dweeb and put shit like this on me again. No, even better, you’ll do what I want, when I want. You’ll both be mine." That annoyed her. Any sympathies she felt for the griffon vanished at that moment. "...pathetic." Rainbow gritted her teeth. “You won’t be saying that in a little bit.” They stopped in front of the ninth door. "You're willing to hurt more ponies, probably a lot of them, just to get me." Rainbow said. "Who's the dweeb here again?" "The one who's tied up and yapping at me about morals?" "It's your fault." Rainbow went on. "Do you even know how many ponies Specter's going to hurt? A town? A few cities? The whole bucking country? What is he going to do?! Do you even know?" "Well, do you?" "Gilda-" "He might not be so bad. Who bucking knows?" Gilda shrugged. “I’m in it for me right now. So right now, I don’t care. I can’t.” "Gilda..." "I have to trust him. It's all I got left. That’s what he said. That’s what he said." Gilda said softly. Almost in monotone. "...now you know. Any more questions before we head in?" "...no. I’m done." Rainbow mumbled. "Then let’s get this over with, Lucky." Gilda mumbled back as she opened the door and walked through. *** Sweetie opened the door to the spiraling staircase that should have led down to the safe room. Of course, none of the three fillies were completely sure was safe anymore. "Ya sure this is a good idea Sweetie?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie nodded. "If I get rid of Spiffy, that's one more slot for the GCD. And every slot counts," she explained. "The thing won't let me just get rid of him, so I need to at least try to use the portificationer." "But what if that room's like... infested with those ghosts?" Scootaloo considered. "Which is why you're only going halfway down while I scout ahead." "And leave us in the middle of a dark narrow stairway. Right." Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "I promise, it's worth the risk." Sweetie assured. "Besides, the farther away Spiffy is, the less violated I feel and the more I can focus on fighting other ghosts. And who knows if he can do something from inside the pack. Ever think of that?" "Ya sure that ain't just paranoid talk?" Applebloom suggested. "Hey. Paranoid talk's what got me this far... probably." Sweetie shrugged. "I'm going down there. And if you want to be safe, you've got to be close if something happens. Now c'mon." Without giving them the chance to argue, Sweetie started her way down the stairway. With no other choice, both Applebloom and Scootaloo followed her. As per her plan, Sweetie stopped halfway down the stairs. "Alright, I'll let you know what I find okay?" Sweetie whispered. "Wait here. Scream for me if you see anything out of the ordinary, and I mean anything." They nodded as Sweetie proceeded forward. Keeping her hoof steps light, she made her way down the rest of the stairway. It might have just been her imagination, but the darkness was suffocating. And that was with her flashlight on, she couldn't begin to guess how petrified her friends might have been, and how much effort it probably took for them to remain so quiet. --Maybe they're not quiet. Sweetie halted as she came face to face with the door. --Maybe they're not even there anymore She suddenly turned and looked back up the steps. The sudden urge to call through her flashlight "You guys okay?!" to make sure her friends hadn't become ghost prey again. It was then what Celestia said earlier echoed in her head. --Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. SHUT. UP! An image of her making that grave mistake the Princess warned her of popped in her head. One of her yelling for her friends, only to attract a swarm of butler ghosts to kill not only her friends, but her as well. To this, she bit her lip. She wasn't going to mess up again. She had to trust that they were fine, and would play it smart if they did find themselves in danger. With this in mind, Sweetie took the last few steps before coming face to face with the door to the safe room. She put one ear to the cold metal door. She was surprised when she heard something. The faint humming of the walls inside. Was it an illusion? Was the room really working to keep ghosts out again? Sweetie pushed the door open. Thankfully, it was unlocked. Whoever last closed it probably didn't put the most effort into closing the thing. The lazy pony. But still, that was a good thing, since Sweetie would have had a difficult time opening it on her own. So thank Celestia for lazy pony. Whoever it was. Either that, or Specter messing up. --Or planning this. The door squeaked as Sweetie put up her GCD nozzle, prepared for anything that might be waiting on the other side. She poked the nozzle through the door so she wouldn't receive any unwanted surprises. She sighed in relief to find the safe room was not only ghostless and indeed humming, but also exactly the way they had left it but a few hours ago. Lit. Thank Celestia. Now, gotta move fast, Sweetie thought. She wanted to wonder what had happened to the room in the first place, as well as what got it running again, but she had a timetable to keep. She had to get what she came to do done and leave. She rushed over to the portificationer machine and stuck her nozzle in. Nothing. "No, no no no no..." she mumbled. She could feel her hooves trembling as she took out and re-inserted the nozzle into the portificatoner again and again and again. All yielding the same result. Once again, Sweetie found herself on the verge of tears. Or screaming. Or maybe even both. Stressed. So very stressed. "Calm down Sweetie... calm down, the room is working. So this has got to work too. There's nothing wrong with it," she said to herself. "G-gotta be a loose bolt or something." Sweetie nodded to assure herself as she took the nozzle out of the machine. She then started to walk around the machine, looking for something, anything to be different than what she remembered. On the surface, there appeared to be nothing. The box part seemed to be unharmed, everything around the dryer part appeared to be in order, and even the printing spot seemed to be in perfect condition. Sweetie put an ear to the different parts of the machine, and knocked on it. No rattling. The innards of the portification machine seemed to be as stable as the outside as well. "C'mon. C'mon, what's wrong with you?" Sweetie mumbled, pacing back and forth in front of it. A thought came to Sweetie. So far she had only looked around the front of the machine. She had yet to look around at the back. Maybe there was something wrong back there? With a strong leap, Sweetie leapt on top of the dryer part of the machine, that she couldn't help but think would be more appropriate in a Laundromat. As she thought, even here, the machine was flat against the wall. She sighed when she realized that even if there was something wrong with the back of the machine, she wouldn't be able to get to it. Not without some he- Squeeeeak. Sweetie whirled around and aimed her GCD at the door. "Woah Sweetie!" Scootaloo said, putting her hooves up. "Calm down. It's just us." "What are you..." Sweetie trailed off. Likely from this being a normal ordeal only a few hours earlier, she was reluctant for a split second to relax before putting her GCD down. "C-close the door. You're letting all the light out." "Can ya even do that?" Applebloom questioned. "Just close it, please." The two of them did, closing the door with another obnoxious squeak. "N-not all the way, I don't want to risk it locking on us." Sweetie warned. The two of them left the door open just a sliver from there. "Now what are you two doing?" Sweetie asked. "We wanna ask ya the same thing fer leavin' us literally in the dark while ya played jungle gym." Applebloom said. "Yeah Sweets. You said you'd be fast." "Was I really that long?" Sweetie asked. "Sorry." "It's cool." Scootaloo waved off. "You got the room working? Good job." "It was already working when I got here." Sweetie admitted. "Weird." Sweetie nodded. "Well whacha doin' now?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie hopped down from the top of the dryer-looking part of the portification machine. "The things busted and I'm trying to fix it." "How do ya know?" "My GCD won't make it do anything. I need to uh... restart it, or something. If I don't, we won't be able to bring anyone else back to life." Sweetie explained. "I think the problem's in the back but..." "...to close to the wall?" Scootaloo finished after leaning around the machine a little bit herself. "Hm... Got some rope? Maybe we can use it to lean it up a little to th' side so ya can get a peek at the back." Applebloom suggested. "Rope... rope... rope..."Sweetie looked around the room. Eventually, her CMC cape, an artifact that seemed ages older than it actually was at this point, caught her eye. She picked it up and rolled it up diagonally. "Will this work?" Applebloom and Scootaloo nodded. With that, Sweetie took the cape up to the top again and tied it to the edge before coming back down again. The fillies agreed the best way would be to get in a sort of conga line as Applebloom was at the head, holding on to the cape with her teeth, while Scootaloo held on to her tail, while Sweetie held on to her tail. "We've gotta be careful guys." Sweetie warned. "We don't want to ruin this thing more than it already is." “Sweetie, I dunno about you, but that’s not what I’m worried about. I mean, this thing looks heavy, and if it goes the wrong way-” “I can’t think of much else to try besides hitting the thing and making whatever’s wrong worse.” Sweetie said. “I don’t think it’ll slide on the floor, but it might tilt. It’ll be fine. You all will keep that from going too far.” "Alright but..." Scootaloo said, still not entirely sure of Sweetie’s plan. "Fine. Just hurry up, whatever you're going to do, and we'll do the rest. Don't want this thing to fall back into place with you back there. Stallion lost his leg with something that heavy." "Y'all ready?" Applebloom asked. The others gave a simultaneous "Mhm" before they began. "One... two... three... PULL!" Applebloom said as everyone started to move backwards. The strain was felt on everyone's teeth and tails as they pulled at the dryer part of the machine up. At first they weren't sure what progress they were making, but eventually, they saw the machine balancing itself on its tip. "That's enough!" Sweetie spit Scootaloo's tail out. "Hold it steady." Sweetie climbed on top of the dryer part once more. Now that it was on that edge with only two little fillies as the counterbalance, there was a little wobble, but after a second or two it felt stable enough. Sweetie leaned over and took a look at the wall behind. From what she saw, there were three thick cables running from the three different parts of the machine behind this part. They each ran into each other before running into the wall. One cable stuck out from the rest of them. It was safe to assume this wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Was that the problem? If so, it would surely be an easy fix. “I think I see something. Just gotta reach it!” she called to her friends. She didn’t hear a response over the hum of the wall. Sweetie reached her leg down as far as she could. For a brief moment, she hesitated, recalling Scootaloo’s words. She reached down as far as she could, but her legs were too short. She was just out of reach. "C'mon... C'mon Sweetie." Sweetie mumbled, leaning further and further into the gap. She could feel her stomach being indented by the sharp edge of the boxy machine. She felt her skin scratching as she leaned further. Further. Further. Fu- "Woah!" Sweetie fell headfirst into the gap. Sweetie heard Scootaloo say out of Applebloom's tail, yelling this time, "You alright Sweetie?!" "Y-yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," Sweetie called back loud enough for them to hear them, before mumbling a sarcastic "Just perfect." Well, at least she was closer to the cable now. She couldn't help but be glad she wasn't a claustrophobic --Yet. because of just how little maneuverability she had in the gap. She could only move one leg in her position. She knew she'd have to flip herself around in order to get out before the fillys' jaws got exhausted, or the (now that she thought about it) holey cape would rip and she would be in a heck of a lot of trouble, but she had a priority first. She had to fix the machine. Sweetie took her free leg and moved her hoof around to the cable in the wall. Then, she started to jiggle the cable in the wall, trying to get it to connect better. "C'mon. Give me something. Give me something." Sweetie mumbled, hoping the machine would do something to tell her that it was working again. Something. Anything- BANG! "What the-" --Bug. Those were the last words Sweetie heard before it happened. It was amazing how quickly her brain understood that it was going to die when she heard Applebloom's yelp to the gunshot like "bang". Likely from the door they had so foolishly left open. Even if it was slight. --Bug. Her first and only coherent thought, as the pressure fell on her skull was something along the lines of “It's not your fault Applebloom. Anyone would have made the same mistake ”. But she couldn’t say it. Not with the machine keeping her jaw shut and her brain from functioning at all the way it was meant to. --Bug. HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM She couldn't hear anything as the portificationer pressed her head against the wall, and in result, her machinery behind it. The humming. Tolerable at best before, was now defining loud as it was forced to echo in her skull. The same skull that was being crushed as she was (crack!) trapped in that little gap. She was trying to remember. How did they manage to move that thing to begin with? --Bug. HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM She felt so insignificant. Not exactly alone, she knew, or at least thought that her friends were (crack!) there. She just felt insignificant as if she might as well be alone. Or rather, as if she might as well left them alone. As her (crack!) skull was being more fragmented second by second, her frail little filly bones being fractured by the immense weight of the portification machine she felt not as a pony, but rather as an insect. An insect under the hoof of a pony, perhaps a colt, perhaps a filly, holding her down. Holding her in place. Not meaning to kill the insect, but doing so anyway. Slowly. Painfully. To the point that the insect wished that the skull would finally pop and spill the contents of its brain. But of course this wouldn't happen. Because the insect is a pest. Insignificant. It would die, in an accident the pony never meant to happen. Sweetie knew this as she felt something trickle on the top of her head. --Crushed like a bug. Suddenly, the pressure was released. She could see out of the corner of her eye something red dangling above her. Her ears weren't working correctly still. Still ringing from the insane hum. Strangely enough, it reminded her of a piece of taffy. Thoughtlessly, she moved her free head up to bite at the piece of hanging taffy. Gripping it hard with her teeth, trying to bite it off and taste its sweetness. Maybe it was cherry. Maybe it was strawberry. It tasted like neither of these things, but Sweetie kept her grip anyway. She felt her body being lifted. Blood must have stopped running from her body because the rest of her body felt as if it was getting a whole new supply. Her body felt as if it was asleep. Because of this she was limp as she was dragged out of the gap, as she was bought up by her two friends. Slowly and steadily, her ears started to come back into focus as they heard her friends screaming her name. "SWEETIE!" "SWEETIE!" She stared blankly at them. It came to her mind that she must have looked dead. She was limp. She was still. She wasn't even sure if she was still breathing. Who knew? Maybe she was? She felt way too calm to be alive. Or maybe it was shock. She had to try to blink. Not only for her sake, but for her friends. Could she blink? Was she alive? Sweetie blinked. "...what?" Sweetie said softly. As though nothing had happened, Sweetie found herself on her hooves again, out of Applebloom and Scootaloo's arms. She stared at them cloudily as though she’d just woken up. "Ya... ya… ahm..." Applebloom said. It looked as if she had been crying. "Yeah... I'm fine. Don't worry about it," Sweetie assured. Just as she did, she felt something trickle down her face and into her mouth. It tasted of iron. It was warm. Sweetie friends' mouths moved, but she didn't hear a word as she wandered over to one of the mirrors to get a good look at herself. The hat she was wearing was wrinkled beyond belief. Three stripes of red were rolling down her face, among a few others. At that moment, it didn't occur to her how strange it was that it didn't hurt as much. At that moment, she only had a mind of vanity, as she mouthed the word "ugly" as she stared at her own reflection. At the moment. Suddenly, all of Sweetie's dulled senses seemed to rush back into her body. "Gah!" Sweetie said in pain as she instinctively went to touch her head "Ah!" She threw her hat off to keep any blood from seeping onto the material. "Sweetie! Yer hurt!" "Yeah, thanks," Sweetie hissed. "Wouldn't have been able to tell on my own." "We've got to wrap that up. Something." Scootaloo suggested as she herself leapt on top of the portification machine, now back in place, to grab the cape. Sweetie held up a hoof. "No need. I..." she went into her saddlebags to take out her last candy heart. Wordlessly she stuck it in her mouth and began to suck and swallow its medicine. "This should fix it up good as new. No need to bloody up my cape, it's already dirty enough." She then looked over at Applebloom who had her head bowed. It took a second for Sweetie to register why. Her change in tone must have hit her harder than she’d realized. "Applebloom. Don't beat yourself up over this. I didn’t mean it like that." "But Sweetie-" Sweetie put a hoof to her mouth. "Listen to me. It's not your fault. If you didn't let go, the cape would have ripped anyway. And it was surprising. Shock makes you jump, and do things you wouldn't do, so don't beat yourself up over this." she smiled as she looked over at her drool covered tail. "Besides. You saved me with that tasty looking tail of yours." After a moment Applebloom smiled. "What?" Sweetie laughed, clutching her head. "Nothing." she looked at it still. "Really, if you weren't here, I probably would have gotten crushed like that anyway. I would have figured out a way to squeeze back there and get stuck just like that, if not worse. And after everything I've gone through, the last thing I want to do is look my big sis in the face as a ghost and say I got killed by a washing machine. I'm really happy you both were here." "...alright. Thanks." "Sweets?" Scootaloo asked. "Did... you do it though? As in, get the thing to work?" "I better have. Else I just gave myself a headache for nothing." Sweetie said as she went over to the machine and stuck her nozzle into the machine. It beeped a few times before beginning to whirl. Scootaloo and Applebloom cheered for Sweetie. Spiffy's ghost went up through the hose and into the machine before being processed. Apart of Sweetie expected the same error as earlier to appear. Instead however, the painting of Spiffy printed out. He looked smug in this one. "Portrait of Spiffy huh?" Applebloom said. "That's the one who possessed ya to do all that horrible stuff?" Sweetie nodded. The three of them stared at the painting for a long time, reflecting on all the trouble this ghost in particular put them through. Eventually, Scootaloo spoke up. "...well what do you think?" Scootaloo asked. "What do you mean?" "Well... the others were talking about how they hurt you and all." Applebloom chimed in. "You think that Spiffy's just... you know. Another victim? Just as our friends were?" "Of Specter?" Sweetie asked. "Ah mean. Ah know he was close to 'em and all... but so's yer sis. I'm just-" "I know, I know." Sweetie nodded. "Maybe. But we can't do anything about it one way or the other. Not without Twilight. And besides, my sister comes first and he's not going anywhere. We need to go." The three of them agreed. They went back to the door, hoping it hadn't locked them in. Thankfully it opened up just as easily as before. It looked as if the locking mechanism was just as broken as the portification machine previously was. With a brief spell of mental preparation, the group finally decided to go up the stairs and head to the kitchen. Hoping that along the way they wouldn't find their friends something besides alive. *** Gilda walked into the room with Pinkie and Rainbow, still bound over her shoulder. "What the hay are we looking for?" Gilda asked. "Give me a minute." Rainbow said, looking around the room for something, anything she could exploit for an escape. Based on her sketchy memory of being a ghost, she did know things weren't always as they seemed. Random things, near anything could end up being a key to opening up a new area. She just had to find something she could instead use to knock out Gilda, or cut the two of them free. The room was sickeningly plain for the mansion. A fancy bed, dresser, window (that of course didn't make sense to the geometry of the mansion). After looking around somewhat hopeless to finding anything worth noting, Pinkie nudged her. When Rainbow looked, she motioned her snout in the direction of the upper left corner of one of the walls. She saw a shelf nailed to the wall, and on it was a sizable vase. It was so large that half of it wasn't even on the shelf, but sticking itself precariously off the edge of the shelf. Rainbow nodded. That might work. "Oh yeah. Over there. That table by the wall." Rainbow said, referring to the night stand below the vase. "Alright." Gilda said, walking over to the table. Once they were there, Pinkie spoke up. "Hey Gildy? Don't be a silly birdy, you have to turn around so Dashie can get a good look at the table." She mumbled again. "Yeah, alright." Almost obediently Gilda turned around and allowed the two mares a perfect angle at the table and the wall. Rainbow looked at Pinkie, who nodded with a great giddy grin, motioning her head in a "Go ahead" like fashion. On three, we throw our heads against the wall to knock that vase on her head. Got it? Pinkie nodded, giving another "Go ahead" motion. One. Two. Three! Rainbow threw her head against the wall as hard as her position would let her. A light thud resounded. Rainbow gritted her teeth in pain, cursing in her mind from the headache she'd given herself. Pinkie tilted her head to the side, giving an expression Rainbow read as "You can do better than that." followed by a soundless giggle. Pinkie, you were supposed to help me! Damn, that wall is hard as a mother- "What the heck are you doing?" "Oh, don't worry you silly birdy. Dashie's just doing the thing to make the other thing work!" Pinkie assured before mouthing "One more time". Like before, she gave the same "go ahead" look and the excited smile. Rainbow had to resist the urge to groan the mare's name in annoyance. With another throw of her head, Rainbow hit the wall with another thud, and started to hear the vase above teetering. She felt Gilda's body shift, as though she were looking up. Without another moment of hesitation, Rainbow threw her head against the wall a third time. "What the-" Gilda didn't have time to react as the vase hopped from it's place and onto the griffon's head. Rainbow couldn't help but compare the sound to that of a cartoon. The entire plan was a bit cartoonish, and just as implausibly possible. Especially considering the griffon's reaction time. And somehow, it worked. There was a crash as the vase broke over the griffon's cranium as she stood around for a split second before falling to the ground with the two. Shards of vase broke along with it. Pinkie giggled. "Nice work Dashie!" "Shut up Pinkie. Just..." Rainbow groaned, her head still throbbing. "Can you do something and... you know. Get one of those shards to cut us free?" "Rodger dodger!" Pinkie chimed. She wiggled with Rainbow over to one of the shards to pick up one end with her mouth. She began sawing her bonds as Rainbow kept watch of Gilda. Her head was bleeding, but she was thankfully still breathing. Rainbow definitely wanted to knock her upside the head for a few hours, but she didn't want to kill her. It was a few minutes before Pinkie sounded again. "Got it!" "Cut us free then. Before she gets up." Rainbow ordered. With a shard of the vase in her mouth, she began sawing away at the rope. As she did, Rainbow kept an eye on the unconscious Gilda. With the lump on her head growing, Rainbow did not want to be around when she woke up. It took another long few minutes before Pinkie could finally sever one of the ropes. And with that, the rest of their bonds came a loose. It was then Rainbow realized how tightly the bonds actually were, as she felt the indents they left in her sides, and more importantly her wings. "Ouch." Pinkie giggled. "Those ropes sure were-" "Yeah, I know." Rainbow nodded looking to her sides. "But if I just stretch them just for a few minutes, they'll be fine. Let’s get out of here." The two of them quickly crept out of the room as though a loud noise would wake the sleeping Gilda. Once back in the hallway, they closed the door. "Okay, now what?" Rainbow asked. Pinkie shrugged. "Walk until we hit something good?" Rainbow nodded. "We walk and take any stairs or tunnels or whatever and try to make it back to the others and free them." "What about Sweetie?" Pinkie considered as the two of them started walking. "If it came to it, we could take her. Tie her up if we've gotta. What's the worst she could do anyway?" Rainbow joked. The two of them walked for a little while. Neither of them knew how long they'd walked, and they had given up on counting the number of doors they had passed after about 20. Not to mention telling the difference between door and wall in the moonlight coming from nowhere seemed brain numbing the more they did. Not to mention how pointless it seemed as they found that the hallway and as Gilda had said, was indeed endless. Or maybe it was repeating as they found themselves crossing over the same puddle of vomit Gilda had left every so often. Fear turned into boredom quicker than either of them, at least Rainbow, could have ever imagined. Time slowed to a crawl, it seemed in a place where measuring it was impossible. Rainbow, a mare of action was wishing something would happen. Preferably something to "advance the plot" as Pinkie occasionally put it. And so her prayers were answered as only 5 doors behind the two mares did they hear a door get kicked out against the opposite wall. They both turned in horror as they realized two things at the same time as the angry griffon stepped out into the hallway. It dawned on them. How close she, and those razor sharp claws of hers were to them. Not only that, but the sheer fact that they wouldn't escape the hallway. Not so long as it repeated the same 10 doors over and over again before fading into the pitch black ends of the hall. She gave a mad caw as both Rainbow and Pinkie bolted in the opposite direction. Rainbow's wings still hurt from the ropes cutting into them, so flying at the moment wasn't an option. So like Pinkie, she had to rely on her legs getting them away from the mad griffon chasing after them in the apparently endless hallway. The two were fast, but whatever speed they were going Gilda easily doubled as the distance between them quickly closed. "Dashie! Against the wall now!" Pinkie commanded. Without thinking, Rainbow stopped and got against the wall along with Pinkie as Gilda zoomed past them. When she tried to stop herself on the floor, she instead found herself slipping in the puddle of her own stomach acid she had left. She fell onto her side with a splash that made Rainbow's stomach turn. "Get her before she gets up Dashie!" Pinkie giggled, as Rainbow gave her a look. "Hit her before she gets up!" Rainbow looked back at Gilda who seemed to have been a mix between stunned from the force of her speedy fall, and disgusted at what was covering her left wing. Rainbow hesitated for a moment before running for her and tackling her as she was half way up, getting on her back. "Get off of me!" Gilda screeched. Rainbow had tried to hold her down, but she was too small for Gilda to be truly weighed down. It looked as if she had really gotten stronger since the last time they'd met, and therefore longer than she'd expected. "Hit her! Hit her!" Pinkie cheered as the two of them struggled. Gilda got up with Rainbow on her back. Thinking fast, Rainbow switched her forelegs around so they would be wrapping around her neck, in an attempt to put her in a choke hold. Gilda gave a mad caw as she tried to pry Rainbow free. It was a fight of endurance vs. strength and lung capacity. Could Rainbow hold on for dear life until she choked Gilda out? At this point, neither of them were thinking. It was a fight for survival. Minutes passed as Gilda thrashed and clawed at Rainbow, smashing her against walls in an attempt to throw her off. Rainbow held tight. Tighter. Tighter. Constricting Gilda as she slowly began to become weaker with every action. Rainbow gritted her teeth as the realization she might be killing her old friend tried to break through her instinct. Gilda fell down, as she seemed to be starting to lose consciousness. Could Rainbow let go after that? Or would she have to make sure, holding as tight as possible until- CLICK! Rainbow felt something against her head as she held on to Gilda. Something hard and metal. She didn't let go of Gilda completely, but the chill of the barrel of the rifle pointed to her head was enough to make her loosen her grip. "Spikey? What are you doing?" Rainbow's eyes darted to the side to see indeed Spike was holding her at gunpoint. Staring at her. Buck... so where have you been? Rainbow thought. She wasn't sure if she was glad or not he had come to break up the struggle. Even considering what it meant now for her and Pinkie. "You better get off of me if you know what's good for you." Gilda said. Rainbow might have went on if it were just her. Just to go in defiance of Gilda’s command. But her fate would be Pinkie’s, and at this point, it wasn’t worth it. She blinked before letting go of Gilda and falling down to the side. Pinkie giggled. "Oh well. I guess that would have been too easy if that was it, huh?" "...yeah." Rainbow said absently. The gun was still pointed at her head. Gilda got up, looking at her wing. She swore under her breath before looking at Rainbow. The two stared at each other, and wordlessly communicated. --Don't do that again. Gilda then looked at Spike. "You. Specter told you where the place is?" Spike nodded. "I need... to save her." "Yeah, yeah, you will. Just take her there. And keep an eye on both of them. If either of 'em try anything, shoot them in the leg or something." Spike wordlessly nodded, and motioned for Rainbow to move forward. She got up from her side, and stepped away from the rifle trained on her and moved down the hall with Pinkie. Pinkie giggled "Don't worry Dashie. Everything's going to work out, I promise!" At this point, Rainbow wasn't so sure, as the four of them moved down the hallway. *** Once they were finished in the safe room, three crusaders finally made their way to the kitchen. They all stood at the entrance, staring into its darkness. “Ya alright Sweetie?” Applebloom asked. “Yeah… just don’t really have the best memories of this place. This is where everything really started to go wrong,” Sweetie whispered before looking at the two of them. "I don't remember there being traps here but be careful. This was the first place I saw Pinkie. And she's been responsible for most of the traps I came across yet. I wouldn’t put it past her to have some left over here especially." Scootaloo and Applebloom nodded as they followed her inside. "Any clue what we're looking for?" Scootaloo asked, once they were a fair ways into the kitchen. "Something changed or something added," Sweetie said. "Preferably something that doesn't look as if it'll kill us if we touch it. Maybe a door. Just… anything that looks out of place." The two of them nodded. Sweetie looked around, finding nothing until Applebloom called her. “Hey, Sweetie?” She shined the light over in her direction to see that she was holding the edge of a piece of paper in her mouth. “Ah just found this lyin’ about,” she said through the paper. "Can ya shine yer light over here ta see it better?" “Sure.” Sweetie approached her to investigate the document with her. "Ah don't know about you Sweetie, but that don't look like no recipe that belongs in here," Applebloom concluded after scanning the paper for a few seconds. Sweetie couldn’t help but agree. On the page were a series of arrows and shapes, accompanied with numbers. "Hm... knowing this place, they look like directions. How far to go north... west... See, there's a compass at the top right. It's like a map." "Well if that there mattered, how would we know which way's north?" "I think we entered Everfree from... that direction." Sweetie pointed toward where she figured the foyer and front door was. "So if the mansion didn't and doesn't shift around, north should be that way if we entered where I think we did." "Ya don't sound so sure." "I'm not. Right now I'm just making my best guess and hoping I'm right." "Uh... hey guys? Sweetie?" Both Sweetie and Applebloom looked in Scootaloo's direction. "Shine your light over there." She pointed in a direction of one of the kitchen walls. As Sweetie did, she nearly dropped the flashlight, as she saw the giant gaping hole in the side of the kitchen. "Ahm guessin' that wasn't there before?" Applebloom asked. "Nope." Sweetie said. Taking a step forward to shine her flashlight deeper into the hole. The light didn't hit an opposite wall. Wherever this tunnel led, it was it was so dark and it was deep. The foreboding depth gave Sweetie a chill that managed to even frighten her. Something bad was waiting at the end of that tunnel, and she knew it. They all did. The tunnel looked deep to be in the mansion without leading outside. Though as much as they hoped it was the case, with the mansion the impossible geometry and tendency to deceive, the idea of it leading to yet another part of the mansion did not surprise them. A hidden part that should not have existed. But if this was true, and this tunnel led to a secret part of the mansion the likelihood of something being there they weren’t supposed to find was all the more high. The perfect place to take Rainbow, Pinkie and Spike. The perfect hiding spot to keep her sister. "Well... we've got to go in there it looks like." Sweetie said. "Ya sure that's a good idea?" Applebloom asked. She knew the answer, but something inside of her hoped that Sweetie would think of something different. There was something particularly wrong about that tunnel she couldn't quite place. "You've got a better one?" Sweetie asked. "I remember your sister told me Rarity was in here. Last time, it was a trap Pinkie set up, but this matches her story! Rarity is through there." "But what about Spike 'n Rainbow 'n Pinkie? They're still in-" "They're probably along with her." "Well what if they're not? What if they changed places since we talked to Celestia?" "Then fine. They're not." Sweetie said flatly. "I know you want Spike, and I know Scoots wants Rainbow. So do I. But we can't save either of them unless the plan works. We have to go this way. Who knows if we're past the thirty minute mark? If she fails, no one gets saved." Sweetie paused for a second. "You just don't want to go into that tunnel, do you?" Applebloom didn't deny it. "...it just don't look safe in there is all." "Nothing in this mansion is any safer than whatever is in that tunnel." Sweetie said harshly. "If you're too scared, you can head back and huddle up with the others." "We’re with ya Sweetie, we’re the crusaders but… ahm just sayin' ah got a bad feeling about what'll be at th’ end of that tunnel. Or even what’s already in there." Applebloom said. "We'll stick close." Scootaloo assured. She was hesitant herself, but she did a much better job hiding it than Applebloom. "Sweets knows what she's doing. It'll be fine. Right?" Sweetie didn't answer. She was staring into the tunnel. "Hey Applebloom. If you're still with us, could you pass me that paper you found?" she said without taking her eyes off it. The two others looked at each other before looking back. "Sweetie?" She turned her head to them lazily and blinked. "What? What's wrong?" "Nothing, just... ya were lookin' pretty deep into that hole there, you alright?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie blinked again, this time, half a second or two slower before looking with more alive eyes. "Yeah, I'm alright. Just a little tired is all. And I was just thinking about something." "About what?" "Just uh… the tunnels.” She nodded. “Just how this map works. I’m guessing since the paper’s the closest thing, this is a map to how to get through that tunnel in one piece. And I’m thinking it’s like uh… like a treasure map. Take x paces this way, then take x paces that way." "Well," Applebloom brought the page to her. "If yer right, then there's only five ways ta go. If that way's north, then we gotta go in the tunnel, turnin’ every 20 steps fer four directions in a square 'n go backwards forty steps." “You sure? That sounds kind of stupid,” Scootaloo commented. “This whole mansion is stupid,” Sweetie replied. "Alright, fine. Then what? That it?" "Ah dunno. Sweetie? Ya think that’s all we gotta do?" "Hold on, what about the other side?" she flipped over the page to find there was a circle accompanied by another number '26'. "Hm... well, maybe we wait 26 something. Seconds?" "Ah dunno Sweetie, ahm the one who said it, and I ain’t even convinced this is right." "Just stay close and we'll find out. And deal if we’re wrong." Sweetie said. "I feel as if these instructions were for someone. Look how wrinkled it is, someone was holding this earlier.” “The griffon, you think?” Scootaloo asked. “Maybe.” Sweetie went on. “And if it is, and she went this way, then maybe they're not supposed to be as cryptic as everywhere else. If we think too deep on it, we might get lost." "Well... if it's exact, we'd best stand side by side. Just 'n case." Applebloom suggested. “If this was made just fer Gilda, ah’d think it’d only be made for one at a time.” "Good idea." Scootaloo agreed. "Let’s say how many steps we've taken out loud. So, we don't take the wrong number of steps or something." Sweetie nodded in agreement. Once they were standing next to each other, touching sides, they began to walk into the tunnel. They counted each step. One... two... three... four... The three of them whispered, counting their steps in unison to make sure they were all taking the same number of steps. For all they knew, turning on the wrong step could end in them being separated. They stayed close, noting that for each step they took, they swore the temperature was dropping a degree every step they took. It was getting so cold. By the time they reached the 17th step, they were already more focused on huddling for warmth instead of huddling to keep together. The tunnel was made mostly of rock, as though they had walked right into a mine. In fact, the walls seemed to becoming so jagged, that it was more comparable to a cave. It was pointless to comment how impossibly deep it was. Let alone the fact that it existed to begin with. Thankfully, the ground was flat, covered in a long carpet, as though to remind them that they were still in the mansion. To keep at least something resembling consistency in this surreal place. Nine-teen... twenty. "Stop." Sweetie whispered. She shined her light to the right, in accordance to the makeshift map. Surely enough, to their right was another tunnel-cave. She noted that the opening was significantly less wide than the one they were already inside. "A-alright." Scootaloo shuddered. "You alright?" Sweetie asked. "J-just cold is all. Don't worry about it." Scootaloo said. "Applebloom?" "Ahm f-fine." Applebloom assured. "Ahve been in colder in rushes ta pick apples before winter started. J-ust didn't know this place'd get this cold." "N-no kidding. I-I thought that last hallway would be the w-worst." Scootaloo agreed. "Well keep it together. It might not get much better." Sweetie warned. "Focus on counting. Now face the tunnel-cave and we'll start again." "Tunnel-cave?" the other two asked. "Well... it's shaped like a tunnel, but made up like a cave so... tunnel-cave." "If you say so." Scootaloo shrugged. "I'm calling it a tunnel." "Girls, we got other things to worry about.” Applebloom said. “As in, do we go in there first 'n start counting steps, or do we start from here?" "I don't know." Sweetie admitted. "Let’s... just start from here, and we'll turn into the next opening we see. Okay?" The two of them nodded, and turn to face the next branch of the tunnel along with Sweetie. "Alright. Second verse, same as the first." Sweetie said. They then began walking in the direction of the tunnel. Six... Seven... Eight... Nine... Sweetie noticed it less, but she began to feel the same familiar bite of cold. She couldn't imagine how the other two, who weren't as accustomed to the chill of the mansion were holding up. She might have considered stopping to make sure they didn't need a break or anything if she wasn't running the risk of throwing off any of their count. But the chill wasn't the worst part. Because around the time they reached the 14th step of the second tunnel-cave, Sweetie's flashlight began to flicker. She didn’t shake it to get it to stop flickering, for the same reason she didn't ask if her friends were okay. Besides, it's not as if they were blind yet. Though it imposed the already present uneasiness inside of the three little fillies Sweetie resolved to fix it once they reached the end of the second stretch. So long as it didn't mean what she thought it meant. Nineteen... twenty. The three of them stopped, and Sweetie started to shake her flashlight. "W-hat's wrong?" Scootaloo shuddered. She rubbed the sides of her legs in an attempt to keep warm. "The flashlights do this sometimes." she groaned. "Either it's just messed up from taking some abuse or..." "...we're not alone?" Applebloom finished. "Yeah..." Sweetie said. "But since we're not dead yet, and if there are ghosts around, either they haven't noticed us yet, or we're walking into another trap." "L-let’s just keep moving. I'm freezing my flank off here." Scootaloo shivered. "Crap, did it just get even colder" "But what about the-" "F-forget the flashlight. As long as w-we can kind of see, right?" Scootaloo cut off. Sweetie shrugged. "You're probably right. And even if it goes out, as long as we stay together and keep moving. In case it does go out, just stay together, okay?" The other two nodded in the flickering light before turning in the direction of the next opening. It was certain that the tunnel-caves were indeed getting smaller. In the same formation, they pressed onward. Eleven... Twelve... Teeheehee- There was a laugh. Suddenly, something broke loudly in the middle of the three crusaders just as Sweetie's light went out. "Crap, what w-as that?!" Scootaloo whispered. As she did, the three of them stopped. "...my flashlight." Sweetie said. Neither Applebloom nor Scootaloo could see in the complete black, but it felt and sounded as if she was shaking the light. Their hearts sunk as deep as Sweetie's as they heard the light rattle of broken glass inside. "That's don't sound good..." Applebloom said. "It's busted." Sweetie sighed. "It's busted and I have no throwback." "W-what's that mean? We can still keep going, right?" Scootaloo asked thoughtlessly. "It means we're defenseless now. I can't fight anything that comes our way." Sweetie said hopelessly. “And if there’s too many ghosts, I don’t even think my elemental will keep us safe for long.” "So what now? We can't go back, now can we?" Applebloom asked. "We can't. Not without getting worse off than we already are." Sweetie said. "Just gotta move forward and hope we can make it to the others without having to fight anything or anyone." "...'n Rarity?" Applebloom asked, almost shyly. "Portraits don't always need light. I can only hope she's an exception." Sweetie said. "Uh... alright." Applebloom said. "'nother question. How many steps have we taken?" "Uh..." Sweetie thought for a moment. Applebloom looked at Scootaloo. "You?" "Crap. I don't remember, uh... I think thirteen." "No." Sweetie corrected before nodding to herself. "Twelve." "Right, sorry." Scootaloo said. "Just this damned cold and dark getting to me. Lets keep going so we can get out of here." And with that, the three of them continued forward. Seventeen... E-e-eighteen... ninet-t-een... twenty... The three of them stopped at the indicated spot. It was silent for a moment. "Y'all okay over there? Scootaloo?" Applebloom asked. "I-I'm here." Scootaloo whispered. "Sweet's still here too." "Ah know, ahm next to her too." Applebloom reminded. "Sweetie, talk to me." "Sweetie?" Finally, a loud "shush" came from her. The two went quiet. "...don't you hear it?" Sweetie asked. "Hear what?" "Laughing. Her... Rarity laughing." Sweetie whispered. The two perked their ears up, and were surprised to hear there was some faint laughing in the darkness. If they weren't so cold already, the chills might have been more intense. The two of them were surprised Sweetie's ears managed to pick that up. Though, they didn't recognize the laughing as Rarity's, but someone else's. "That ain't Rarity, that's Pinkie!" Applebloom whispered with a bit of excitement as well as worry. Worry of what exactly a "normal" Pinkie would have to laugh at. Especially with a murderous griffon in a mansion of equally murderous ghosts where just giggling wouldn't make them go away. "W-we must be getting close to them." Scootaloo assured. "What are you both talking about, listen! That's Rarity!" Sweetie assured. "Sweetie-" "We ain't got time for arguin' over somethin’ silly." Applebloom said. "One of our friends are close. We just gotta keep goin'. One more, then back forty, right?" "You read the map." Scootaloo commented. Sweetie kept silent. "...Sweets, you sure you okay?" "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just fine. Let’s get out of here fast, alright?" "...ya ain't feeling weird, are-" "We can't turn back! And I'm not turning back with Rarity this close!" Sweetie exclaimed. Applebloom and Scootaloo could have sworn they felt the tunnel-cave shook slightly at the outburst. "We weren't saying anything like that. Just... you know. Being careful as you told us to be back there." Despite not being able to see her face, the two of them felt Sweetie calm down. "Sorry. Just... I don't know why this dark is getting to me too. I’m starting to see what you mean Applebloom. Something's wrong with this place. Something different." "You think?" Scootaloo commented sarcastically. Sweetie ignored her. "Let’s keep moving. Turn carefully on me." The two of them did so, turning until they felt they were in the direction of the next tunnel. Four... f-f-five... six... sev- "ow!" Both Applebloom and Scootaloo said as the group was dragged to a stop. "What's wrong?" Sweetie asked. The daze she was in before seemed to be gone, as though it never even happened. "Wall!" Scootaloo said. "I ran into a wall!" "Me too!" Applebloom groaned. "We at a dead end?" Sweetie waved her hoof blindly in front of her, only catching air. "...it got smaller." Sweetie said. "Does it turn in, or does is it a complete dead end where you are?" "...uh, the walls a bit slanted. That what you mean?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie nodded, even though the other two couldn't see. "Just walk along it. We'll walk in a single file." "Uh... Sweetie, wasn't the reason we were walking all bunched like this to make sure we didn't add steps or something?" "We'll just have to be careful. Count your own steps. I'll take a few steps to make room for Applebloom. Then Applebloom, we'll take a few steps forward to make room for Scootaloo. Once we're in, grab each other's tail and don't let go. And count to yourself. Got it?" "But what if one of us gotta go past the other?" Applebloom asked. "Then go over each other." Sweetie shrugged. "We'll work it out. We just needed to make sure we all stick together. Alright? I'm moving up... six steps." Six light clops were heard. There was silence for a moment. "Alright, now Applebloom. Move behind me with three. Try to grab my tail when you're there." Two more clops were heard. Sweetie felt a slight tug at her tail. "Got it." Applebloom said through her teeth. "Now Scoots, go up one," Sweetie said. "And get Applebloom's tasty tail." "What?" "Mmph?" Applebloom raised a brow. "I said, get Applebloom's tail." "No, you said... nevermind. On it." One clop was heard this time. Applebloom felt the tug. "Everyone good?" Applebloom's and Scootaloo's responses were muffled, but were enough for Sweetie. She led the group onwards. Though the numbers were different for the others Sweetie counted in her head. "Fourteen... Fifteen... Sixteen...". It's around the seventeen step of the fourth stretch that she noticed something. The grip of Applebloom's teeth on her tail was fading. Not that it was slipping off, but rather, as though it were growing ghostly. Sweetie's first impulse was to call to them to stop. To make sure that everyone was okay. Then her mind went back to the laughing. The laughing she still heard now, even louder for every step she took. Maybe it was another illusion. Another of the mansion's tricks. Her friends were still behind her, she was sure of it. They wouldn't let go because their lives depended on it. --If they were even there to begin with. What? No, that's crazy. Of course they're there. --As Scootaloo was in that piano. "Shut up," Sweetie mumbled to no one. She blinked in the darkness. "Nineteen." She didn't feel her friends on her tail anymore. She didn't even feel her tail up anymore. It was as if they weren't even there to begin with. Now Sweetie, the one used to the chill, was starting to feel cold. --They weren't there to- --Ah... Twenty. Sweetie stopped. ... She waited for something. A tug to notify that she wasn't alone right now. Nothing. Her friends appeared to be gone. "Guys," Sweetie whispered. She looked behind her, hoping even in the pitch black tunnel-cave she might be able to see them. That by looking in the direction they were, she'd suddenly feel something. Hear something. When suddenly she realized that even Rarity's (or was it Pinkie's?) laughing had stopped. "Guys," she tried again. No response. Sweetie was about to try a third time when she heard a "No!" from in front of her. She flinched, but managed to keep from jumping from her current position. She recognized the voice immediately. Specter... she said quietly in her head. In the distance, she saw the end of the narrow tunnel-cave. And because her light was out, she could only conclude there was a light coming from that direction of some other opening. Something was glowing in the distance. "What is wrong with you?!" There was a familiar voice. Another that made Sweetie's heart skip a beat. It was Rarity, of course. Though she didn't sound ghostly, nor did it echo as a ghost might. The voice, like Specter's sounded present and alive. "Now Rarity, I won't-" There was the sound of something being thrown against a wall. Silence, before Sweetie heard Rarity laughing again. The laugh, strangely enough, sounded somewhat angry. Almost an "I can't believe you just did that" kind of laugh, accompanied with a hint of alternating irony. "You've... been controlling me... I can't let you." There was no extra response before another smash. This one sounded wet. "I won't let you." she said. She laughed again. Now, the laugh seemed to hold bits of sobbing with it as something hit the ground. Sweetie let out a dry "Rarity", before her brain could catch up with what was happening. The voice in the distance responded with a concerned "Sweetie?". Sweetie let out a breathless gasp. "Where are you? Tell me where you are." She didn't give another response. She bit down on her tongue to keep from making any more outbursts. --It's another trick, it's another trick, and it’s another trick The light at the end of the tunnel-cave grew bigger. Eventually, its source turned the corner and blinded Sweetie with light. She wanted to run. To turn around and run the forty paces back as fast as she could. But she was frozen. Though not with fear, though that might have still been there. Was it curiosity? Ignorant hope she thought she got rid of hours before? She wasn't sure as the light on Rarity's horn dimmed slightly. At first, she did look ghostly. Though as the light on her horn faded, Sweetie could see she was very solid. Rarity was alive. "Sweetie..." she sighed. As her features became clearer, Sweetie noticed something red at the base of her fore-hooves. Tears were streaming down her eyes. It was difficult to tell whether or not they were tears of relief, or tears of guilt. "Rarity, I-" holding her tongue didn't work, as her teeth once again found themselves spouting out words she shouldn't have. Words to show remind both her, and anyone else how weak she was to the sight of her sister. Illusion or otherwise. "Sweetie, you're okay..." At first, Sweetie didn't notice the walls spread, as though to accommodate for the larger pony she was so fixated on. She walked slowly- no, more in slow motion. If anyone were looking only at her upper body, they would have sworn she were gliding, her strides toward her were so perfect. So beautiful. It felt like an eternity before Rarity finally made it to her. She stopped when there was about a ruler's length between them. "You're okay. He said... they said they did... I watched them Sweetie. Then I couldn't watch them and..." Rarity sniffled. "I'm... fine." Sweetie started to relax. Real or not, if there was one thing Sweetie had learned to sense, was when something or someone wanted to kill her. And Rarity (or this apparition of Rarity) didn't have anything like that. There was no ill will in those eyes, no murderous intent she cast in her radiant, if not somewhat dirty aura. It was worry that reminded her almost a little of Madame. Or her friends. Perhaps even double that amount of care and love. Rarity would not kill her. She was just here to comfort her. Rarity tried to make a smile over her tears, but it looked hard. It was around now she saw the fear in her eyes. She was scared. "He's... he's going to come back Sweetie... He's going to make me... Then he'll control me more and..." she was speaking in broken sentences. Always having her train of thought interrupted by a sniffle, or lost when she trailed off. But Sweetie understood what she meant. What she was trying to say, anyway. Still, Sweetie wasn't sure how to respond. Then, Rarity whispered, "I'm scared." "...I'm scared too," Sweetie said quietly. Pieces of her mind felt distant when she responded. "I don't want to leave you..." she said. "...I don't either," Sweetie said. She was so close. --So close. But Sweetie wanted more. She felt so cold. --So cold. She wanted to feel her embrace, even if it wasn't real. Even for a moment she could pretend she was hugging Rarity, her real sister, then maybe she wouldn't feel as cold anymore. Just a little warmth. Just a little fire. Sweetie felt so weak. So very... very... --Stop. Sweetie's eyes widened. In the last two minutes, Rarity hadn't said anything. She hadn't even moved, she was just sobbing. Sweetie on the other hand looked down to see her right hoof half way moving forward. So that's what you want... Sweetie wondered. Rarity was only a step away. Just a step. One good step and she could embrace her, but what would happen next? Would she be lost in this tunnel? To do nothing but hug this pretend version of her sister? --But would it really be that bad? Sweetie shook her head. It was a trap. She knew it was a trap, as much as she wished it wasn't. As much as she wished it was something else. Anything else. But it was a trap. If she took one step forward, then she would never save her sister. So why would she trade her real sister for some imposter? --You know. Sweetie felt the walls again. Had they really opened up? Or was that another illusion? She couldn't see them, but she could feel the uneven walls, sticking into her sides. They were rock, but felt like icicles sticking into her. --It hurts... it hurts... --And it's only going to hurt more. Her resolve was set. She couldn't let this thing keep her from moving toward her goal. The real Rarity. Sweetie moved her raised hoof back, to begin her first step in the reverse direction. She couldn't turn in the narrow space, so she'd have to settle for moving in reverse. One... two... When she made her first push back, she could feel the edges of the walls scratching along her sides. She knew the walls would only get smaller. She would just have to push through and hope that the walls didn't start to cut and gut her. Three... four... five... six... So far so good. Seven... eight... nine... ten... At the tenth step, Sweetie noticed the walls start to open up again. Not a large amount for Sweetie to turn around, but just enough where she didn't feel the walls sticking her. She then noted that she didn't hear Rarity sobbing anymore. She must have stopped focusing on her when the pain of the walls came. She looked at her. She could see her staring at her. Just staring. Even though she was maybe five yards away, Sweetie could tell that she had stopped crying. The streaks of tears and eye shadow were still there though. "Why," She whispered loudly. Not as a straight question, but more as a command to answer "why". "You know why. You jealous little filly." Sweetie did her best to pay her no mind. She kept counting, taking advantage of her new wiggle room to move faster in the opposite direction. "Are you proud? You know." Rarity mumbled this, as she stood taller, and began walking toward Sweetie. This time at normal speed. Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty. Twenty-one. Sweetie moved faster and faster, learning under desperation to get away from Rarity how to run backwards. Making sure to keep her count as she did. Like before, she didn't feel as if she would die if Rarity were to get to close. Yet at the same time, she didn't want Rarity to get any closer. She didn't want to hear anything else she'd have to say. “You jealous, ugly little filly.” she said. “You don’t want me to be happy. You wouldn’t hug me. You wouldn’t love me. You wouldn’t even let me have love.” Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one- "AH!" Sweetie felt her left side come across one part of the wall sticking out. It cut along her slightly. It wasn't deep, thankfully, but Sweetie still felt a bit of something warm dribble down her side. She did her best to ignore it, but it did make her slowdown to be more careful. She was glad she did when she felt something scrape along the top of her body before hitting the top of her head. Give me a break! Sweetie thought on the thirty fifth step. It took a moment for Sweetie to figure that the wall had lowered now. She'd have to crouch into the tunnel-cave like a mole now, if she planned on getting through. She did so, moving backwards as the walls, both above her and to the side of her felt tighter than ever before. Thirty-six. Sweetie pushed hard backwards. The walls thankfully weren't as jagged here, but they still hurt. When she didn't feel the walls scratching against her, she felt bits of the walls coming off on her body. Likely messing up her mane and tail more than it already was. Thirty-seven. Still, if it was such a tight fit for her, surely it would be a tight fit for her fake sister. Then again, the path got wider before, what was stopping it now? All Sweetie could do was hope, as she saw Rarity's legs in the opening that she had pushed herself through. The opening didn't get bigger, and she just stood there. For the moments she did, Sweetie finally felt that familiar murderous intent. Yet still, she did not move where Sweetie was supposedly safe. Had she crawled into another trap? Thirty-eight. Almost there, Sweetie gritted her teeth. Even under her, against her chest. The walls were constricting now, she could barely breath. Truly a claustrophobic's nightmare, even in comparison to the vents she traveled through earlier. "You won't believe me." Rarity said. "But you're going to be disappointed." Thirty-nine. "Because she'll never forgive you fully." Rarity got low so Sweetie could see her face. Just as Sweetie saw her face, the light on her horn went out. And in the quickly receting light, Sweetie could have sworn she saw the frozen neck of the Rarity she had decapitated in Pinkie's park. And as the light went out, Sweetie could have sworn she heard three last words. "And you know it." Sweetie sat there, motionless for a few moments. Something chilled her. Apart of her knew what she was talking about. Apart of her didn't want to acknowledge it. And a part of her knew she was right. ... Sweetie shook her head. One more push and- Forty. A gust of wind hit Sweetie as she felt the walls rush away from her in one fell swoop. She was free now, but also noted something else. The ground under her was shifting slightly to the left. On an instinct, Sweetie took a step in the opposite direction, to the right. Just as she did, the floor re-adjusted for a moment before shifting to the right. Sweetie leaned in again to level the plane again. Just as she did, a spotlight went on a few feet in front of her. The ambient light around the main cone of the spotlight showed that she was standing on a 2 by 2 meter square of carpet covered by stone. The rest of the tunnel-cave seemed to be gone. Or perhaps it was just that it had expanded on a much larger scale this time. Either way, it was obvious that all that was left was this square, and something under it that Sweetie had to balance on. Under the light was a platform with a door she assumed she'd have to jump for. Twenty six. Sweetie remembered the idea of waiting the twenty six seconds. Would she then make her move? How many seconds has it been... six? Seven? Eight? Sweetie wasn't sure. So, she picked a number, seven, and hoped she was right. As she did her best to keep still, balancing on the square so she wouldn't fall to her likely death. ... Twenty-four maplesipping... twenty-five maplesipping... twenty-six maplesipping! Sweetie leaped for the door, barely making it as she heard the square fall down. After waiting for maybe a minute, she heard it crash at the bottom of the tunnel-cave. After that, she went back to the door, and opened it. Once inside, she found herself in a small mid room with candles illuminating it. The door behind her had disappeared and there was another double door in front of- "Sweetie?" Sweetie jumped at the sudden call of her name. She looked directly to the right of her and there was Applebloom. Maybe an inch from her side. "How did you-" "Ah could ask ya the same thing." Applebloom cut off. "Where'd y'all go?!" "What do you mean, where did we go?" "Ah was walking and... and y'all disappeared! Ah tried calling for you, but ya didn't answer. Then... then ah saw Applejack. And the rest of them." "So did I. Well... I didn't see your sister, or any of the others, but I did see someone." Sweetie shook her head. "I think it was another trick of the mansion. But... last time something like that happened, it was with something called 'Mind Dive'." "Mind who?" "Just... something that happened when Twilight was attacking me." Sweetie said. "Well, ah figured it was a trick. No way the others would've gotten this far, right? So ah went back. N' the tunnel was gettin' all weird an-" "When you got to the end, you had to do a balance act for a good twenty six seconds?" "Yeah! Ya did too?" Sweetie nodded. She wasn't sure why, but it made her feel better to know that Applebloom had a similar experience to her. Still though, in all honesty that wasn't the most disturbing thing about it. Just the way she looked at her. Just the things she said, as few as they were. She had to ask. "Did Applejack... or any of the ones you saw say anything?" She shrugged. "Just kept sayin' ah was goin' the wrong way and to come that way." "They didn't... insult you? Or make you feel as if you did something wrong, or-" "Nah. That's how ah knew they weren't real." Applebloom said. She seemed somewhat proud of her little deduction. "Why?" Sweetie shook her head. "No reason." It was then when Applebloom's smile faded. "Sweetie, where's Scootaloo?" Sweetie looked to the other side of her, then back at Applebloom. "I don't know. I was here for about a minute before I saw you so-" "No Sweetie." Applebloom corrected. "Ah was here first." Sweetie blinked. "That's not right..." Sweetie looked to the other side of her and back at Applebloom. "It's... one way or the other she should be here right now." There was silence for a few moments. Neither of them wanted to acknowledge what Scootaloo's absence meant. But they both thought it. They both knew that in some way the mansion had split them up, midway into those twenty steps. From then on, if one of them made a mistake, none of the others would have known until now. Scootaloo was already having trouble keeping the numbers steady when they were counting. Now, with the confusion of the different steps to account for, what if Scootaloo had lost count? --It was your idea. What if she were now, wandering the tunnel-caves, or the mansion, or somewhere else entirely without any way to protect herself? --She could be dead. Or was cut deep along one of the jagged walls? --And this time, it's all your fault. Or worse, what if she made it to the balancing square and leaned a wrong way to fall to her death? --Isn't it? Sweetie gritted her teeth for who knows how long. She was angry at herself. This was real. This was real. Flashbacks of Scootaloo in that piano, that terrible trick (it might not be a trick anymore) came to her. Scootaloo messed up and it was her fault probably. "We..." Sweetie forced herself to speak. Trying not to think about what a dead, Cutie Mark-less Scootaloo meant. "...need to keep moving." "Sweetie, we can't-" "She's not coming." Applebloom went quiet then. Sweetie closed her eyes, trying to think of something to say that even she might be willing to believe. "...If Scootaloo didn't... in those caves, she'll be fine. She's fast, and she can outrun ghosts if she has to. A-and ghosts like kids, I think. Maybe the worst that could happen is-" "Her gettin' possessed again." Applebloom finished. It was a dark hope, but it was better than the alternatives. "...yeah." Sweetie nodded. Sure. That could help. At least until she found Scootaloo's body, at least the both of them could believe that and keep moving. "We just need to hope for the best. She'll be fine, I'm sure." "Okay." Applebloom sniffed. Sweetie wasn't sure how much her words helped, but it looked as if they had at least kept Applebloom from going into a full-on mourn for her friend. "...so yer sister's behind that door?" "I hope." Sweetie said. "Something important better be." The two advanced, and pushed the double doors open. "Hey! Dashie look!" Pinkie exclaimed as they saw Sweetie and Applebloom enter the large dome-shaped room. "What the..." Rainbow said when she twisted around in the chains they were hanging from. "Oh no, not you too." "Rainbow! Pinkie!" Sweetie exclaimed. "Don't worry!" Applebloom called. "She ain't possessed no more! We're gonna get y'all down!" The two fillies entered the large dome room with a sprint, knowing they were just in time to stop whatever was getting ready to happen to the two mares tied up together and hanging upside down by chains. They had no idea what they were going to stop, but they knew they had to before something happened to them. Lanterns hung against the walls to illuminate the room more than either Applebloom or Sweetie thought the mansion was capable of. It showed the dark silver metal floor, as well as the machinery and large tanks of oily substances, as well as metal tubs of rocks that sat on them. Some of which glowed. In between each piece of machinery was a large crater in the wall, as if something had crashed through, or burned into it, and been sealed after some time. There were three of these inside of the large, arena-like room. "C'mon! Get us down!" Pinkie cheered. "You hear that Dashie? We're saved!" "No, no, they've got to get out of here," Rainbow said. "You two have to go back where you came! She'll kill you if you come back." "Gilda?" Sweetie asked. "Go on, get out of here!" "Sorry Rainbow, but we couldn't if we wanted ta. There ain't no way back!" Applebloom explained. Rainbow cursed to herself. "...fine. Then get us down so we can help you when she gets back." "Well duh Dashie. That's what they're trying to do!" Pinkie giggled. "Girls, the chain's controlly bits are somewhere else. I don't think you could get us down like that, buuuuuut..." She paused for dramatic effect. "You see those thingies up a level? Those little spear things?" With further examination, both Applebloom and Sweetie noticed that there were indeed a flat plain above the initial wall where the machinery was. On that level, actually blending into the walls behind it, there appeared to be guns of some sort, trained on Pinkie and Rainbow. They looked to be large spear guns, four of them in total, where the ends of the spears seemed to have glowing tips. They glowed the same color as the few rocks in the tubs below them. "Oh no..." "Yuh huh! Apparently it's a part of some big plan Gilda was promised!" Pinkie explained. "She said they wouldn't hurt, but I don't think she was telling the truth." "I don't want to know what happens if those things fire at them." Sweetie said. "It would probably be messy!" "You're not helping." Rainbow mumbled. "We need to climb on top of those tanks and up to the second level." Sweetie figured. "Applebloom. If I got you up there, you think you could buck all of them but one completely out of place so they're not aiming at them?" "Ah'll try, but why keep one?" "I'm hoping that they're aimed with that chain as a center point. If that's the case, maybe we could use one to cut them loose." "Ya sure that'll work? It's a pretty itty bitty target that chain." "Better than nothing." With their plan set, the two headed to one of the larger tanks. "Alright, looks as if I'm going to have to boost you up." For a moment, Sweetie took off her GCD and put it to the side so Applebloom could jump off her back. With a running start, Applebloom jumped on Sweetie's back, and then on top of the edge of the first tank. She scrambled up on top before eventually making the second jump to the second level. "You okay Applebloom?" "Yeah!" Applebloom said as she went by one of the spear guns. She looked to be examining it. "What's wrong?" "Just somethin' weird about these things. They're attached to ropes." she said. "So?" "So, ah know a thing or two bout rope length, and fer some reason, I don't think this would reach Pinkie and Rainbow! Let alone their chains." "What the..." "Sorry Sweetie. I'll mess 'em up, but ah don't think any of 'em could cut 'em free, just cause they wouldn’t reach th’ chain." Applebloom said. "Either whoever set 'em up didn't do no measurin' or they weren't meant to hit 'em to begin with." "...fine. We'll think of something else. Just get rid of them." "On it." Applebloom kicked at the spear gun three times. It squeaked as it was taken out of its hinges before finally clattering to the ground. "Okay... well that ideas out." Sweetie mumbled before looking back up at the two hanging mares. "Hey Pinkie! You got any other ideas?" "Mmm... not off the top of my head!" she giggled. "Or the bottom! It's kind of hard to tell from here!" "Dang... Rainbow?" Rainbow shook her head. She didn't feel like speaking because of her headache. Though, whether it was from the blood rushing to her head, or Pinkie Pie, it was hard to tell. Sweetie then started looking around for something, anything to help get the two of them down from their chains. "Hey Sweetie!" Pinkie called. "I've got an idea!" She looked up as Applebloom made her way to, and started bucking the next spear gun. "Let’s hear it." "Why don't you ask Gilda?" Sweetie rolled her eyes. "Sure. That'll work. Even if she'd tell me, she isn't even here, Pinkie." "Yes she is!" "Why's that?" "Because Spike's here. See?" Pinkie motioned her head behind Sweetie. Her eyes widened as she saw Spike, on the same level as Applebloom, aiming at her. When did he get here?! Sweetie said before looking back at Applebloom. "APPLEBLOOM. DODGE." Maybe it was because she heard Pinkie. Maybe it was because of the panic in Sweetie's voice. Maybe it was a mix of the two. But just as Applebloom kicked over the second gun, she dodged to the side, over the edge of the level just as a BANG! echoed in the room and a bullet whizzed by Applebloom's flank. She fell about 10 feet, before rolling down onto the first level. Sweetie rushed over to her. She was lying on her back "Applebloom. You okay?" "Yeah, Ah'm fine, it just nicked m- SWEETIE DODGE!" Sweetie felt the incoming death swooping at her. She pushed Applebloom out of the way, and dodged back herself, just in time to dodge the claws passing by her. The sound of claws scraping against the ground filled the air. Metal sparks flew in the air around the angry griffon as she came to a complete halt. It was then Sweetie noticed something. Two things actually. The first thing she noticed was that the craters that were in the walls between the machines had opened up to become black circular portals leading somewhere else. Inside of them, she could hear the whirl of active machinery, opposed to the dead machines that were in the area she was in now. The second thing she noticed was that her cutie marks were showing. She didn't examine her entire body, but she assumed that they were all there, happily showing everyone who could see her. Applebloom stood in her battle stance, less concerned about the cutie marks she already knew existed. Gilda stared at her with nothing but the intent to kill. Spike stared at the scene blankly, keeping his gun trained where Applebloom was before. The bag by his side hanging limply and uselessly. Even Pinkie just giggled when she saw her balloons sitting on Sweetie's coat. Only Rainbow looked remotely surprised, though at the moment she was a little more concerned about Gilda's talons. "...Gilda." Sweetie tried. Gilda stood tall and silent. Still there was intense rage in her eyes for mucking up what was already set up. Sweeite swallowed, as she knew that she was beyond mad. "...what are you doing?" Gilda didn't answer. "You're... are you trying to kill your friend? I mean, I don't know how you feel about Pinkie-" "Way to through me under the cart!" Pinkie giggled. "-but Rainbow? Why are you doing this-" Sweetie stopped speaking when she heard the clopping coming from one of the tunnels. Growing steadily louder than the machinery behind them. It wasn't long before Sweetie's eyes were filled with rage when she saw Specter coming out of one of them. Was this the real one? Or just a part of another illusion to trick Sweetie? And if it was the real Specter, had Celestia attacked him yet? She could only hope not. He stopped at the edge of the crater. "Congratulations Sweetie Belle," Specter called. "You nearly at your final destination, I hope you realize. You so very close... you can almost taste her, can't you?" He laughed. "Well, I certainly have." "If you hurt her at all-" "How many times have I told you? I wouldn't dare," Specter said. "All I've been doing is giving her the pleasure a stallion should." "Sweetie...?" Applebloom called. Sweetie didn't hear her as she glared at Specter. "But if you're so desperate to yank her from such loving arms, I suppose I am but a feeble old stallion to stopping you. However," Specter smiled. "Our little jail bird was promised something. And I'm very good on my promises." Sweetie saw something glowing around Gilda's neck. Some kind of stone that looked similar to that of the glowing tips and the rocks in the tubs around the arena. "Her own personal ghostly servants, as well as immortality to make up for the difficult time she's had in the last few months." Specter nodded. "Isn't that right, bird?" "...yes." Gilda mumbled. She blinked a few times. She then spoke with a little more confidence. "I'm getting my immortality, Rainbow and Pinkie. Buck what's happened to me already, now I've got two little dweebs trying to buck everything up." "That's right, bird. You do. And you've got to do something about this before they make things worse." Gilda mumbled lowly again before barking at Specter, "Don't tell me what to do. I know that, old stallion." Specter turned his head back to Sweetie. He didn't even seem to be acknowledging Applebloom, who just stood there looking back between Spike, Gilda and Specter. "You see Sweetie, everything comes with a price. A sacrifice. And Gilda here isn't dead, nor is she a pushover, as you've witnessed. But now, you're stronger than her, aren't you? What sins are you willing to commit in order to find out if your sister will forgive you for being... well, you?" --Kill her. "Shut up." Sweetie mumbled. "Are you willing to murder someone in cold blood Sweetie Belle? I'm truly curious now." Specter said. "You'll face your own death for her, but what about someone else's? Will you justify it?" --Kill her. "Sweetie, careful, ah think it's a trick." Applebloom whispered. "Don't try runnin' for him, he'll do somethin' to stop you." "No." Specter said. "You won't, will you? You aren't willing to do something so heinous for someone you love. You'll wander around, begging for forgiveness forever before you do something so horrible. You can't do it. You lack the initiative. Which is why I'm better for her." --Kill her. "Sweetie-" "Because Sweetie Belle, I'm starting to believe I love her more than you ever could." "Shut UP!" Sweetie ran "Sweetie, don't!" Applebloom called. At first, she was sure that she was going to run for Specter. But instead, she did something else that chilled her slightly more. Sweetie ran with near impossible speed, Rainbow's cutie mark glowing brightly, as she ran for Gilda. Impossibly fast, Sweetie reached into her saddlebags, pulled out the knife to toss the handle in her mouth, before switching to Applejack's cutie mark to have more strength with a clean swipe. Still, Gilda was faster as she dodged to the left a few meters before Sweetie could get to her. The impulse was over. Sweetie was shocked at what she had done, or rather nearly done. What had gotten into her for those few moments? Her mind was so clear, so intent on killing Gilda. So horribly clear she already visualized her slicing at her torso before she even pulled the knife out. What was wrong with her? "Don't be so shocked Sweetie. That's nothing but anger at the girl. I'd be mad too if someone tried to kill me more than once in one night. Especially if I didn't know them personally." he laughed. "Ironic, isn't it? Regardless, I think you've made your match now. One of you will die in the next fifteen minutes. Hopefully. All of the craters will close by then, and you'll be stuck here for good. And since this is nearly the end of our arrangement, bird, I won't be coming for you. Once you're done, you're free to go, but you might want to kill her and reset the Spirit Binders before you're stuck in here forever. Good luck you two. I'll be watching." Something about that last sentence felt wrong. Very wrong. With that, Specter left for the room, heading back into the hole he came out of. "...you should just lie down and give up, you know." Gilda said. "I'm faster than her already, and you're not even as fast as she was. Even with that cutie mark you stole. Isn't that right Rainbow?" Rainbow didn't answer. She was stuck between being shocked from the cutie marks on Sweetie's body, and the fact she'd tried to killed Gilda. "Fine. I'll make this quick. I've been meaning to kill you all night anyway." she laughed. "And I'm not going to stop until you're dead." --Kill her. In what felt like a split second, Gilda covered the distance between herself and Sweetie, before smacking the knife out of Sweetie's mouth. It fell to the ground with a clatter, though she didn't hear that until Gilda grabbed her by the throat. She held her up, and wound her free foreleg back to launch her claws into Sweetie's body. Before she could, Applebloom bucked at her hind legs as hard as she could, knocking her down and Sweetie out of her grasp. Applebloom grabbed up the knife before Sweetie could. "What are you doing?" Sweetie asked. "Ah got an idea." Applebloom said quickly. "You just need ta keep Spike and Gilda busy for a few minutes." "What? Wh-" "Jus' do it! Ah don't care how, but jus' do it. We ain't gotta kill her!" Sweetie blinked. Maybe she was right. Maybe there was a way to get past this without killing Gilda. Or Spike for that matter, who still had his sights trained on where Applebloom originally was on the second level. "Ya gotta boost me up. Ahm gonna see if I can't free 'em from up there." Sweetie didn't ask how. She just ran over to the spot of one of the tanks to boost her up. Applebloom did the same behind her, preparing to jump on her back and onto the top of the tank. "What the hell are you waiting for? Get them!" Spike finally looked down at Sweetie and Applebloom. He then reached into the back by his side and pulled out a black black ball the size of his hand with a fuse sticking out. He blew a small flame on it and threw it in the general direction of the tank. Sweetie saw it just as Applebloom scrambled to the top. "Oh you've got to be kidding me. Applebloom get off of there now! It's a bomb!" She screamed, before retreating from the now fuming ball herself. Applebloom jumped onto the second level and got as close to the wall as possible before the bomb Spike threw blew up, along with the tank Applebloom had climbed over. "APPLEBLOOM!" Sweetie yelled. Smoke filled the entire left side of the arena. At first, it was hard to tell whether or not she had survived. She was relieved to immediately hear coughing and to at least tell that she was still breathing. She was breathing smoke, but she wasn't dead yet. That was all that mattered. And with all the smoke, Spike wouldn't be able to shoot her. All Sweetie could do was hope Applebloom was alright enough to get up, out of the smoke, and do what she planned on doing. Sweetie's mind was taken off of Applebloom as she heard a mad caw. After she felt Gilda coming with Pinkie's mark, almost without thinking, she tapped into Rainbow's cutie mark and dodged to the right, just in time to miss Gilda's talons. Sweetie ran around so she could face her. Gilda was back to being pissed. She didn't take her piercing eyes off of Sweetie. "You stupid dragon!" She called to Spike. "You could have ruined the damned guns! I said to shoot them!" Spike didn't say a word. He just kept his gun trained on the smoke cloud, waiting for Applebloom to either run out, or choke to death. Sweetie had to think. She had to figure out what to do so Applebloom could safely get out of the smoke cloud and figure out how to free Rainbow and Pinkie. She looked over at the rocks. That was it. She didn't have a gun or even bombs like Spike, but those rocks could make good projectiles. She would just have to make sure she didn't miss and hit him somewhere fatal, if she were to use the things. After all, she wasn't thinking about shooting slime at the dragon. She was thinking about shooting stones. Sweetie ran over to them as Gilda prepared to speed toward her again. Just as Sweetie nearly made it to one of the tub of glowing rocks, she felt it again. She dodged Gilda, who skidded to a stop before, sparks flying, before she hit a wall. She didn't hit her head, but she hit it hard enough to stun her for just a moment. Sweetie pointed her GCD at the pile of stones and sucked one of the glowing ones up by chance. It hit the nozzle harder than she had expected. Apparently these appeared to be gems of some sort. Aproximately five seconds after it stuck itself onto the nozzle, Sweetie saw a bit of smoke rising from the end of the nozzle. It was then Sweetie noticed that the rock was burning it! Quickly, Sweetie switched the flow of the GCD and shot it in Gilda's direction. Though it wasn't her conscious intention, the rock went straight for one of her wings. Gilda dodged herself before the rock hit her. This pissed her off even further. "Gah, forget that bitch, shoot her. Shoot her!" Gilda growled at Spike. "But... I love Swe-" Gilda cawed. "Why do I have to go through this with a god damned kid!" By this point, Sweetie got a new rock, this one non-glowing, and went back to paying attention to Gilda. She looked up at the cloud of smoke emanating from the tank Spike blew up. Just as she did, she saw Applebloom, limping out of the smoke, with the knife in her mouth. She was coughing, but quieter this time. Spike didn't notice her yet, and Sweetie wasn't going to let him. She aimed her GCD at Spike's gun. She didn't use any of her talents this time, and it didn't seem as if luck was on her side for a good shot. So when she hit Spike this time, instead of hitting his gun as she was hoping, she instead managed to hit him right along the side of his head. He fell over onto his side. Just from his facial expression, it looked as if he actually wasn't expecting that. Maybe because he was hypnotized to still believe that Sweetie was still Spiffy? That would explain why he wouldn't shoot her when Gilda told him to. This time Gilda looked up at him this time. "You alright there?" She didn't sound particularly concerned about Spike's wellbeing. If anything, it sounded as if she was about to use it for another reason to kill Sweetie. To both Sweetie's and Gilda's surprise however, Spike not only got up right away, but he smiled. The two of them could tell something just clicked in Spike's head. And something told Sweetie, she wasn't going to like what had clicked. "Oh..." he said. "Specter said you would start playing hard to get... and he told me that you like to play back so..." he pointed his gun at Sweetie now. "...I'll do what my Sweetie wants. I'll play too." Welp. You wanted them both off you Applebloom. There you go. Sweetie thought, before jumping back to the side to dodge a bullet. She tapped into Pinkie's talent now, knowing that she wouldn't be able to dodge all of the bullets without it. At least as long as she still had to keep an eye on Gilda. She would have to rely on her mark to predict and dodge everyone's attacks. "Alright then. Let’s go." Sweetie said, as she charged for Gilda. While Sweetie was dipping and dodging Spike and Gilda on the first level, Applebloom limped around quietly around to one of the two remaining spear guns. Sweetie was doing well in keeping the others' attention, making it easy to examine the gun without worrying a bullet would go through her forehead. She looked around and eventually found what she figured would be the firing mechanism to launch the spear. She then got as much behind the spear as possible to gauge where it would fire. As Sweetie had predicted, the gun was aimed toward the general center of the chain- "Hey Applebloom!" Pinkie called. "Shhhh!" Applebloom hissed back. Pinkie giggled, and whispered as loudly as she could. "Whatcha doin'?" "Ahm tryin' ta get y'all down from there!" Applebloom said. "Now keep it down b'fore they hear you and start shootin' at me again!" "What are you doing again?" Pinkie asked, as if Applebloom never said anything. "You'll see. Now hush up!" Applebloom said, as she used the knife to saw away at the rope attached to the spear. It was but a few seconds before it was cut. Now, she had to put it in a position where it wouldn't impale Rainbow or Pinkie. She got into bucking position underneath it. But when she tried to buck as high as she could- "Ah!" Before she could even tap the spear she was reminded how she had to limp all the way there. A sharp pain shot from her hind legs and to her spine. She was sure something was broken. Though she counted herself lucky for escaping that explosion as she did, this wasn't good. Everything on the spear gun, save for the ropes, seemed to be bolted in place. And she didn't have a tool to remove the bolts, she had to rely on brute force to even hope to move the gun at any angle. With her bucking legs the way they were, that spear wasn't budging. Applebloom had to think. She looked down at Sweetie moving around against Gilda as well as dodging Spike's bullets. The cutie mark with three balloons, Pinkie's, was glowing brighter than the rest. It didn't take long for her to note that she was using those cutie marks somehow, elements of her friends to augment her abilities. Chances were, with Applejack's cutie mark, she could probably buck the spear gun where she wanted easily. Faster too, if she used Rainbow's mark. The problem was that Sweetie was busy. In order for her to even try to get up there, would mean to leave Gilda alone for a split second. And it wasn't as if Gilda would take a break from trying to kill either of them. Much less, Applebloom was in no physical condition to even attempt to tag out with Sweetie. Applebloom wracked her brain. There had to be some way to- Spike's bombs! The bag by his waist was filled with bombs. It was only for a second or two, but she was sure the bombs had knocked her out for a little bit. At least it stunned her enough. If she could catch Gilda by surprise with one of those bombs, maybe she could stun her long enough to have Sweetie buck the spear higher. The only problem was getting a bomb away from Spike. Applebloom looked over at him. He stood by one of the remaining spears. He seemed so focused on the scene below. Firing at Sweetie as she ran around below. Reloading. Firing again. Maybe Applebloom could sneak one out of him? After all, if he was hypnotized, she was sure he wouldn't be able to focus on somepony pickpocketing him. It was worth a try. Worst case scenario, she got shot in the face, right? Mustering all of the courage she had left, she began sliding against the wall, limping quietly as she made her way around the level to Spike. BANG! Tink! Tink! Every step, felt nerve wracking as though she were stomping as she approached him. BANG! Tink! Tink! Every second that passed, felt like an hour she was wasting while Sweetie risked her life against Gilda. BANG! Tink! Tink! Every shot sounded louder, making Applebloom's ears ring more and more, the closer she got. Truly she had no idea how he could take such loud shots fired at her. BANG! Tink! Tink! Right next to him. She was right next to him, and Spike didn't seem to even notice. He was so entranced on aiming and firing at Sweetie that he didn't notice her. Applebloom slowly reached into the bag, which was thankfully open from the first bomb he used. She felt around three more left. But at the moment, she only needed one. Flawlessly, she pick pocketed the bag and retreated back to where she came from as quietly as she could. Once back at the first spear gun, she tried raising the bomb to Sweetie while Gilda seemed to have her back turned. She couldn't tell if she understood why she had the bomb, nor could she tell if she understood the plan. Really, it was hard to tell if she could even see it. All she could do was try to use the bomb to hit Gilda close enough, and hope that Pinkie's talent would let her get out of the way. Applebloom climbed on top of the spear gun as high as she could to reach the lantern sitting above it. She opened it, and looked back. She waited for the right moment... there! Gilda was standing next to a tank. Her back was turned again too. With that, Applebloom lit the bomb, and threw it in the direction of both Gilda, Sweetie and the tank of flammable liquid. Sweetie couldn't help but be amazed at how much energy the griffon still had compared to her. Even with five (six when counting Spiffy's mark that she assumed to be there) she was already starting to get winded. She hoped Applebloom would release Pinkie and Rainbow so they could help her take Gilda down. Mercifully, as she wanted to. But what was taking so long? Surely her plan couldn't be taking- What was she doing? She seemed to be on her way from Spike. She was holding something, but she couldn't tell what it was. Now she's holding it up. What was it, a bomb? Sweetie couldn't get a good look, as Pinkie's sense told her to dodge the coming claw to the right, before jumping diagonally back to dodge a bullet headed straight for her side. Is she going to blow something up? What's she going to do? Blow up the chains? She's going to knock out Gilda. The realization struck her. Something went wrong and Applebloom needed to talk with her. She was going to blow up Gilda, probably to stun her. --Or kill her Shut up. To test if she was going to do it, Sweetie did her best to guide Gilda's attacks where she could be a non-lethal distance from another one of the explosive tanks. Just as she expected, once she was close enough, her- (Twicha Twitch) Pinkie sense told her of the incoming explosion from the bomb Applebloom threw. Gilda didn't hear it over the most recent BANG! from Spike's rifle. So of course, unlike Sweetie she didn't see it coming when she found herself flat on her front after a massive BOOM! came from behind her. Pinkie giggled while Rainbow stared, still stunned at the show stopper. Spike kept firing at her as though nothing happened. Sweetie had gotten so good at dodging with Pinkie's talent, she didn't even need to think about it as she dodged them. "Applebloom! What happened?" BANG! Sweetie dodged to the left. "Mah leg won't buck! Ah need you ta do it! High enough ta cut the chain as you said!" "Alright, I'm headed up!" BANG!, Sweetie dodged to the right, before tapping into Rainbow's talent to get a running start, and jump higher in order to get on top of the one remaining tank. "Buck it before she wakes up." Applebloom warned. "Then get back down there. Ah'll do the rest." "I know, I know." Sweetie said. She got under the spear gun and bucked upwards as hard as she could. Like an expert bucker, she did it with such force that it easily nudged up half a foot. When she did, Applebloom glanced back at Gilda. She was still on the floor. It looked as if she was still knocked out. She looked back at Sweetie. This time her exhaustion looked apparent, now that her adrenaline rush was gone. "Sweetie, y'all alright?" Applebloom asked. "Yeah just... just because I have these cutie marks, I guess it doesn't make me as strong as the others. Just..." she shook her head. "One more. One more. Let’s get them down before she wakes up." It was then Applebloom noticed something. The bangs had stopped. Applebloom looked over at Spike. He aimed at the both of them, but no bullets came flying at them. She heard tiny click!s as he made a motion to load another bullet. Though, his hands were empty. It looked as if he was finally out. Was he that entranced? Sweetie bucked the spear gun into position with a particularly loud squeak of metal. Well, as long as Gilda didn't bark at him to use another bomb- She was gone. Gilda was no longer where she was. Applebloom looked up as high as she could, but the ceilings were covered in smoke. "Sweetie! Gilda's-" And that was the last thing she said. It happened so fast, neither Applebloom, nor Sweetie knew what was happening until it was over. Out of the smoke clouds above, Gilda came speeding at Sweetie. She launched her talons at her face, and this time, she didn't miss completely. By sheer luck, Gilda missed Sweetie's eyes, but instead cut deep into her cheeks, also knocking her off of the level where she was. The next thing, Applebloom knew, she was being held up by the neck by Gilda. She could see the blind rage in her eyes. She was just another --Bug pest. Another dweeb trying to mess everything up. But this one. This one was weak. Not worth her time or effort. --Not like you. And yet this one was the reason why her back felt as if it were on fire. Gilda didn't hesitate. She felt rehearsed. She did it as if she knew what she was doing. She did it as if there was a muscle designed for this moment in time. She didn't bat an eye when she threw Applebloom as far as she could across the room onto the first level, as everyone in the area heard a sickening CRACK! When she hit the ground. Sweetie hadn't been knocked out. But she did feel the something oozing out of of her injury. How much? She didn't know, but it was enough to make her feel light headed. Enough to make her vision go blurry every couple of seconds. Maybe most of it was shock. Or maybe she was bleeding out. Without a mirror, or a doctor, she couldn't tell for sure. Regardless, with her life in danger once again, she looked at Gilda. She didn't see Applebloom anywhere at first, but when she looked to the side, she saw Applebloom's body, lying in a crooked manner. What happened? --CRACK! Sweetie blinked. Applebloom was knocked out. --CRACK! Gilda must have thrown her hard enough to knock her out. --CRACK! But why was she so angry? Much angrier than before. Perhaps as angry, if not angrier than Gilda was now. She couldn't explain it. But it was a strong anger. A strong hate. She stood up and glared at the griffon. The griffon who just stood there. Staring at her hand. She didn't see her expression. She didn't hear a word she said, if she said anything. Her mouth moved but Sweetie didn’t hear any words. She forgot about being merciful. She forgot about everything. All she remembered, all she saw was the griffon. All she remembered was Specter's order. --You have to kill her. Once Gilda glided down to the first level, she didn't let her say anything more. Sweetie's body was back on that hostile autopilot as she used Rainbow's talent to quickly run around to where the knife had fallen out of Applebloom's mouth, and launched herself at Gilda. She jumped once she had enough momentum and once again switched back to Applejack's talent for strength. Like before, Gilda dodged, but Sweetie anticipated this with sheer instinct. As she moved to the side, Sweetie shifted in Gilda's direction just enough to get a clean cut along her front. She cawed in pain as she retreated. At this point, Gilda was on one side of the arena while Sweetie was on another. She growled something to herself, before calling out to Spike. "You! Turn on the damned machine!" Sweetie didn't hear her. She just launched herself again, this time seeming ready to land a fatal cut. She couldn't even hear Rainbow begging her to stop. And for that matter, no one heard Pinkie's giggles had turned into laughs of utter joy and amusement. Wordlessly, Spike put his weapon over his shoulder as he took a few steps from his spot to a wall around him. He pressed it in and something inside the two remaining spear guns began to hiss. "Alright dweeb. You want to die that badly too... f-fine." She stuttered the last word as though she were having second thoughts. Then she clenched a fist and gritted her teeth with a "Lets finish this then." Sweetie didn't say anything as she launched herself again. Gilda did the same, heading straight on for her. Sweetie didn’t expect that. Nor was she expecting Gilda to, at the last minute, dodge to the side of Sweetie and grab her by the sides as she did. And like that, the two of them were airborne. Gilda flew higher and higher into the air, likely preparing to throw Sweetie down. Sweetie may have had Rainbow's talent, but she wasn't Rainbow. The air belonged to Gilda. And it was there where she would finish off the bleeding filly. The air was hers. Gilda could fly, but Sweetie could not. Even with Rainbow's talent, she could barely float more than a few seconds. If Gilda dropped her, or more likely spiked her at the ground at that point, she would not survive the fall. No matter how she fell. --Kill her She had a few seconds to figure out how to get down. Frantically, she began swinging her head, and the knife at Gilda, who held her out just enough where she wouldn't be able to reach her. She had to get closer before they reached the top where all the smoke was. Just close enough to get a good cut at her stomach and- Sweetie let out an incomprehensible, painful cry as she spat out the knife and tossed it against her hoof. In her current position, she couldn't get a good grasp on the knife, but that was fine. Her body was acting on it's own again, as she guided it through the air with one hoof, before using her other to jab it into one of Gilda's massive wings in mid flap. Gilda screamed herself, not expecting that kind of pain. But Sweetie wasn't done. Rather, her body wasn't. Again. Stab. Again. Stab. Again! Stab. Again! Stab. AGAIN! Stab. Five more times Sweetie did this before she missed the knife when pulling it out and dropped it to the ground below. The wounds, both the entrance and exit wounds pooled with blood, but the following effect was immediate. Rather than plummeting to the ground, Gilda found herself desperately trying to regain control in the air, almost gliding back down instead as air rushed through the holes Sweetie had made. In fact, she wasn't even thinking about the filly anymore, as she unconsciously gripped her. She couldn't imagine the pain Gilda was in right now. Just as they were halfway down, after the few seconds that must have passed, the spear guns finally fired. Though the first one, closer to Pinkie's side was going to hit the chain to potentially cut them free, the one by Spike was still pointed directly at Rainbow Dash. Though, before even Rainbow could realize it, Pinkie swung herself in the chains so now the spear would fire at her. "Pin-!" Before Rainbow could get a word out, or try to swing back to get them both out of the way, or even keep Pinkie from risking her life so suddenly, it was too late. The spear, now pointed at Pinkie fired, but as expected was stopped short by the rope tied to it's end. But something else did reach her. A beam of light fired into Pinkie's neck, and for a split second, Rainbow, when she turned as far as she could to see her, swore she saw an echo- no, Pinkie's ghost herself stretch slightly through her body. Something was wrong with it though. But before she could consider it, the other spear hit the chain with a surprisingly clean cut, resulting in them falling to the ground. They both were knocked out as a result. Once Sweetie found herself as close enough to the first level as possible, she found an opportunity to bite at one of Gilda's claws. Just as a reflex, Gilda let go of Sweetie, letting her fall and roll onto the first level. Gilda did the same, less menacingly than before as she stopped herself against one of the walls of the first floor. She gripped at her bleeding wing, gritting her teeth as she stared at Sweetie. Something clattered somewhere, but neither of them looked to see what it was. Without the ability to fly, she was defenseless. Even with her claws, without her wings Sweetie was now officially faster than her with Rainbow's cutie mark, as well as the others she had on her. Gilda was at a very bad disadvantage. And the filly standing before her, blood dripping onto the ground, with only adrenaline keeping her from fainting from the wound on her face, did not look merciful. She looked truly angry. It was almost ironic. At this point, Gilda was somewhat scared of her now. Gilda didn't see the knife, but she knew it was somewhere in the area. For all she knew, Sweetie had already found it, and was just waiting for her to make her next attack. She looked at one of the holes that Specter had retreated back into. As fast as her actual legs would take her, she rushed forward to Sweetie, who let out another insane cry as she charged again. Though, Gilda moved around so she wasn't going for Sweetie anymore, but the unconscious mares still wrapped in chains. She picked them up and rushed for the hole. She heard Sweetie pick something up behind her. Gilda ran into the hole, desperate to get away from the senseless girl chasing her with a knife. Sweetie stopped dead at the edge of where Gilda had retreated to. She didn't know why she had stopped, but she couldn't go any further. There was something inside of her telling her not to go that way. Not as if there was a trap but... --Sweetie... Yes. Yes, there it was. Rarity. She heard Rarity's laughter again. Her ghost was close. If she went this way right now, she wouldn't find her again, just as in the cave. It was the same damned trap. And if she didn't fall for it the first time, she wouldn't fall for it the second. They'll be fine... Sweetie thought. Did she think that? She wasn't sure. Her mind voice sounded so strange. Probably the blood loss... probably the blood loss. Sweetie touched the gash on her cheek. It hurt, but she still couldn't help but touch them. Feel them, as she stared into the abyss Gilda had escaped into with Rainbow and Pinkie. There were three gashes with one that was frighteningly deep. One... Sweetie turned around to look at Applebloom. She started to reach into her bag, and grab a candy heart. Though, her body suddenly forgot about the healing item, dropping it to the side as she stumbled over to her, not exactly thinking about anything in particular. She knew where the laughter was coming from. She would head there right after she checked up on her friend. When she looked up lazily onto the second level, she noticed that Spike was gone. Though she didn't worry about that. So long as he wasn't here. Once she was by Applebloom, now in a room where only the faint sounds of machinery were heard, she could hear her perfectly. She called her name, sobbing. "Ah can't feel 'em... ah can't feel 'em. Sweetie where..." "I'm here," Sweetie said, absent minded. "Get up. We need to go find my sister." "Ah can't move Sweetie. My legs ain't moving." "Oh," Sweetie said. Two... "Oh," She said again. This time, her senses returned to her. The world returned to her. The laughter became more vivid as she came to the realization. Applebloom couldn't move. Of course she couldn't. The way she must have fell, it's not surprising that she would have fallen and broken her bones. Or maybe she broke her neck. --It's all your fault Either way, it was a miracle that she was still alive. Still breathing and sucking up air to let out scared little sobs. But... --She's here because of you There was nothing she could do. If she was really paralyzed, what could she do? Carry her back to the safe room? Carry her straight to where Rarity was being kept? Sweetie paced back as tears felt well up in her eyes. Though they hadn't started to flow yet as she stared back into one of the open holes. Then she heard it. Three. The opening of the crater in the wall was groaning. Something deep inside of it was groaning like metal bending in on itself. From her position, she saw that it was closing ever so slowly. --Before. Sweetie bowed her head. The tears didn't fall however. --Just like. She turned around to Applebloom and smiled before shaking her head. --Just like before. "You think I'm that stupid huh?" Sweetie said. "Sweetie...?" Sweetie walked over to Applebloom and without warning kicked her in the stomach. Applebloom gasped as air rushed out of her lungs. "I'm not going to fall for the same thing twice." she whispered. "Not anymore." "Sweetie- guh!" She kicked her in the gut again. "You tried this before Specter!" she yelled at Applebloom. "Scootaloo in the piano, now this? I won't! I'm not going to let you close me out and burn me alive or whatever kind of trap you've got! I'm not!" Sweetie stared at her. There was a mix of anger and cleverness in her eyes. As if she had figured something out, and hated what she knew. "So where is she?" Sweetie asked. Tears were falling from Applebloom's eyes. She looked so confused, so afraid. She would have called Sweetie again if she wasn't afraid of having the air kicked out of her again. Even if she couldn't feel it, she still felt that terrible force of an applebucker ring all the way up to her skull. "Where IS she?!" Sweetie screamed. She kicked her another three times. "Where is she?! Where is she?! WHERE IS SHE?!" It made sense to her. Scootaloo was gone, probably lost in the mansion. It made so much sense, how was Applebloom the only one? They had already used Scootaloo, why not Applebloom? It made perfect sense. This wasn't her friend. This was another imposter. Just as in the piano. Just as in the tunnels. Just like nearly everywhere else. Her friends couldn't- no, wouldn't survive without her. It made sense. For all she knew, she had been alone since she left the room. No one survived as she did. Whether she was meant to, or she was better at it, no one else could survive as she did. It was impossible. It made sense. She stared at Applebloom. This. This. This thing. This thing that was pretending to be her friend. It represented something, something that Sweetie absolutely hated. The deception that Specter thought he could get away with every damn time. The sheer gullible mentality that Specter had put into his old mind. That he kept lying. Lying about Rarity. Lying. This Applebloom was a lie. She didn't kill Gilda. She wondered why she didn't. Did she regret it? Maybe just because she was alive. She didn't know. But this lie in front of her. This thing that was dead, pretending to die. She could destroy it. Just to spite him. Just to spite Specter who she felt was watching her from somewhere. She could do it. She was still lying there. Lying to her. Lying about being paralyzed, lying about being her friend. She would keep it up. She could spite him. She could destroy that lie. He was watching. He was watching somewhere. Somewhere with Rairty. He said he would. He said he would watch. He was watching with her. With Rarity. Applebloom saw it in Sweetie's eyes. She didn't know what to do. Plead for her life? Call for help? Sweetie looked at her as if she wasn't real. As if she hated her. She shut her eyes, for what might have come next. Two seconds passed. Four seconds passed. Six seconds passed. Seven- Applebloom heard the sound of hoofsteps walking away. "Sweetie..." she called thoughtlessly. She opened her eyes to see Sweetie walking off toward one of the craters. "Sweetie!" she called louder. "Come back" The lights were going out in the arena as the groaning sound became more intense. One by one, as though following Sweetie as she left. "SWEETIE! COME BACK!" Applebloom yelled as loud as she could. "DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!" And then, the last light went out, Applebloom was swallowed up by the darkness and Sweetie disappeared into the crater. The loud groaning noise had finally stopped. Author's Note [10/19/18] Fixed some shitty science. May not be entirely accurate but did that among a few other small edits and word changes. Won't fix the whole story since I glossed over a few bits, but I did fix some. also this plot dump exposition is terrible Chapter 24: The Faker in the Fabric Factory (Part 1)Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 24: The Faker in the Fabric Factory (Part 2)"Where is it..." Gilda said weakly as she struggled to move forward. She meant to say it angrily with some degree of intimidation in some desperate attempt to convince her captives she was in control. Instead, it came out as more of a dribble than actual words. To top it all off, the captives she still thought she had a hold of were now 10 feet behind her and out of their bonds. Free to run away from the griffon that would eventually bleed out. "Where is it..." She patted along the inners of her wings, groaning in agony as she looked desperately for something. The heart she had kept on her in case she ended up in a situation like this. Had it fallen out when she got stabbed? No, no it couldn't. It couldn't have. Because she knew that if it had, in short she was screwed. "Where is it..." Rainbow and Pinkie didn't run, however. Once they were out of their bonds, they found themselves for the moment transfixed on the struggling mass virtually crawling down the hallway. Rainbow personally didn't know what to think, nor how to react. She didn't know what to say after everything that had happened. It was somewhat surreal to see her friend like this, at the verge of dying. Struggling to hang on by nothing more than a thread, with all of the blood she had lost. After everything that had gone on that night, after as many horrible things she had done, she didn't know whether she should feel good, or feel bad about this sudden change in pace. Less than a half an hour ago, she was facing her own death. And now- "Where is it..." "Where's what?" Pinkie giggled. This is what brought Rainbow back to reality as she looked over at Pinkie, eyes wide at that annoying, out of place smile. It was when Rainbow lost control and pinned Pinkie up against a wall that she was sure of what she thought. "What the hay, Pinkie?!" Rainbow said, louder than she intended. "Why are you laughing?! She's-" Pinkie giggled again. This time this sent a wave of anger through her body. She was sure that if it was anyone besides Pinkie, she would have hit her as hard as she knew how. Instead she held her against the wall harder. "Stop laughing, damn it!" Rainbow said. "S-" Pinkie leaned forward and kissed Rainbow square on the lips. The move was so surprising (and euphoric as Rainbow would never admit there) that it was enough for Pinkie to push her away with as little force as possible. Once Pinkie was back on her four hooves, she licked her lips and giggled again. What the hay is wrong with- Rainbow thought before Pinkie took a step forward. "Nothing~." Pinkie hummed. It sounded so off next to Gilda's groans, enough to quickly drain whatever good feeling she had left. Rainbow gave her a look, but she didn't think anything. She was quite frankly afraid to. "You don't have to be scared Rainbow! I just know things that you don't~" She went on. "Like what?" "Like how Applebloom broke her neck." She thought for a moment. "Didn't you hear that gross crack?" Rainbow remembered that crack. She didn't remember what she thought at the time, or if she wanted to think at all, but she definitely heard it. "And Gilda's looking for her own heart. You think maybe Sweetie got lucky and knocked it out?" "...so?" "So, if she's bleeding out right now, that means that whatever candy heart she had must still be in there!" she giggled again. "Probably. And if Applebloom's still alive and can move something, then it's a good thing Gilda's like she is now." Pinkie leaned forward and kissed Rainbow again. She took a step back, though less surprised and a little more relieved. "That's..." Rainbow wanted to say that it was a bad way to look at it, but it was a trade off. Gilda's current status for Applebloom staying alive. Rainbow didn't like that look in Sweetie's eye. That deranged look that showed that she was sick of messing around and being deterred from her sister. That look in her eyes said it all: If Applebloom couldn't move forward, even if she was only knocked out and refused to wake up, Sweetie would leave her behind. "So be happy!" Pinkie said, nuzzling at the side of her neck. The affectionate gesture seemed to calm Rainbow just enough. Though it was hard for the stress to completely disappear with Gilda moaning, now completely sprawled on the floor, given up. "Oh, right. We should still probably help Gilda before she... you know. Dies. I think she's learned her lesson!" Rainbow blinked. She was right, they needed to help her. "What can we do?" "Well, I'm no nurse, but I don't think her bleeding all over the place is helping." Pinkie analyzed. "We need a bandage." "Bandage, huh?" Rainbow looked around. This hallway resembled the same one they had been in earlier. Did that mean it shared the same properties? "You think-" "I do!" Pinkie interrupted. "And that could work! Wrap up her wing with some bed sheets and she'll be right as rain! Well... she won't fly anytime soon, and she's probably still in danger of infection or something, but right as rain!" Rainbow blinked. Pinkie went and opened up one of the doors "You go talk to her and make sure she doesn't faint. I'm gonna get some sheets and whatever else that can help. Don't have too much fun while I'm gone~!" And with that, she disappeared into one of the rooms. Rainbow walked over to the griffon lying on the ground. Weakly she looked up at Rainbow and frowned. "Ah... shit." "Shut up." Rainbow said, using all of her power to flip her onto her back, before pulling her against one of the walls. "Sit up." As she did, Rainbow must have bent her stabbed wing a wrong way as she let out the loudest "BUCK!" she had so far. "You're fine." Rainbow mumbled. "You'll live." Gilda hissed a laugh as Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't supposed to Rainy. I wasn't supposed to." "What?" Gilda looked at her, wild eyed as much as hurt emotionally and physically. "I wasn't supposed to be here, Rainy. I was supposed to die with the rest of them. One way, or another, I was supposed to die." "What do you mean?" "I lied to you. I lied so bucking hard." Gilda had to have been delirious. Still, Rainbow kept quiet and let her speak, as much as she didn't want to hear. "I was supposed to die. By the law, or by him. And somehow, I got lucky. And I survived. So I get the reward that I never wanted. I'm getting what's been coming to me. I was supposed to-" "No." Gilda's smile went away, somewhat puzzled. Rainbow was too, not sure why she said that. She spoke the first thing on her mind. "No." Rainbow said. "I don't care what you did." "Why?" "Because I... only care about what's happening right now." Rainbow said. "And right now, I know that I don't want to see any of my friends die." She forced a grin. "Especially you." Gilda gritted again. She wanted to say something. She wanted to say that she hated that, that she hated what she said, that she hated her. All that came out were more sobs. Rainbow wasn't sure what that meant, whether it was from the pain, from what she said, or from guilt for whatever brought her here. Whatever brought them together. But they were together. Not as enemies, yet not quite as friends. They were just together, and somehow Rainbow was fine with this. She just wanted Gilda, who was once upon a time a friend, to stay alive. *** Stupid, stupid, stupid. Scootaloo had been beating herself up over her terrible mistake for following what had clearly been a lie. It was a lie which she had been desperate enough to believe, but at the same time, it was a lie that wouldn't have made sense. Yes, Rainbow Dash was awesome. No, it didn't mean she'd gotten away. She played back the memory in her mind, remembering how she had been so carefully measuring her steps, just as she'd been told. Then suddenly, at the end of the hall, Rainbow had appeared. "Hey kid, was wondering where you all went." "Rainbow?" She'd been so focused on counting that the idea that it had been a trap hadn't crossed her mind. Damn, she wished that Sweetie had made at least a little bit more of an effort to explain how tricky the mansion could be. Had Sweetie been dealing with this same thing all night? If so, it was a wonder why she hadn't gone crazy from being constantly tricked. Or at the very least, she should've been more mildly irritated by them. Either way, she'd fallen victim to the trap. There was a decent chance that Sweetie had made it through -- simply due to how she had been acting, how mature and focused she'd become by being inside of the mansion in order to survive. The same couldn't be said for Applebloom, so she might have been in the same predicament as her. As much as she hated herself for acting like such a wimp -- someone she imagined Rainbow would probably shake her head at and give a pat on the back to get her to grow up a little more -- she darkly hoped that Applebloom had fallen victim to the trap. If she did, then maybe they would find each other soon and be able to give each other company. Scootaloo was confident that Sweetie could take care of herself if she'd made it this far, but both her and Applebloom were inexperienced with the whole ordeal. Perhaps they would be able to double their chances of survival if they could've been able to watch each other's backs. For the time being however, Scootaloo was now in a hallway and absolutely alone. No ghosts, no ponies, no nothing. She couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Would she be forced to wander this place until something happened and either Sweetie or Celestia finally stopped Specter in whatever the hay he was up to? With that in mind, she considered quitting her wandering and taking a rest. She did so several times during her walk, though she never completely stopped. True, if she were doomed to starvation in that hallway, she might only starve herself faster by using up her energy -- but besides that already taking a long time, the last thing she wanted to do was look at that as a possibility. Honestly scared her that she even considered it for the few moments that she did -- was she starting to panic herself? Either way, she resolved to keep moving forward no matter what eventually. After all, if Rainbow Dash were here, that's what she would've done, right? So Scootaloo kept walking. And walking. And walking. Until she felt a chill move up her spine forcing her to stop. She looked around, perked her ears to see if there was any laughter coming her way, or anything indicating that she was in danger. There was nothing, thankfully, allowing Scootaloo to sigh in relief. She had been expecting to something to eventually come up from behind her and take her by surprise. So far, that hadn't happened yet. She then took a moment to examine her surroundings. She wasn't in front of any of the doors that seemed to be littered all along the hall. Though, she knew that they didn't hold anything special. They all had the same design, same windows, same everything as though they were all the same room. Maddeningly enough, every time she'd done something in the room, the mess would remain constant among all of the rooms. She'd even tried skipping arbitrary numbers of doors to try and checking them then with the same result. She was still doing that. By the time she had gotten that chill, she was skipping twelve doors on either side. But now, she found herself in front of a painting rather than a door. From what she could tell, it was a painting of the moon shining over a grass maze and a castle in the background. She couldn't help but wonder if the likeness was reminiscent of the Canterlot castle's maze or if it was something entirely different, reflecting something only Specter could know. Either way, she remembered what Celestia had said about paintings -- that they could open up new passage ways that weren't there before. Perhaps that could've been the way out, she figured. Anyone who didn't know that would've likely been stuck like her. "Thanks, Princess," Scootaloo mumbled beneath her breath. She hopped up as high as she could, pushing the base of the painting off whatever hook it was connected to and causing it to fall to the ground. Once it was there, she did everything she could to break it into pieces. She took the canvas out of the frame and proceeded to rip it into as many pieces as possible. Once that was done, she went and started breaking the glass and the frame that it had previously been inside. Once it was done, Scootaloo took a few steps back to look at her handiwork. It hadn't been burned, but hopefully that would've been good enough. Worst case scenario, perhaps there was something inside of one of the rooms which she could use to burn the remains. She looked left and right and found that nothing had really changed. The only thing left that could've changed would have been either inside of the rooms or the rooms themselves. She checked the closest one and opened it. At first, nothing seemed to have changed. Scootaloo examined the room more closely and found something interesting. Before, in the corner of the room, there was some sort of closet which was locked. She didn't think much of it at first, but when she checked it this time, somehow, someway, it appeared to have been unlocked. Perhaps the way out of there was through what she'd only thought was a closet? Excitedly, she swung the door open without thinking. Thankfully, nothing popped out at her, taking advantage of her lack of forethought, but what she saw left her slightly dejected. Inside of the closet was- "Nothing," Scootaloo sighed. Indeed there was nothing inside of the closet, not even clothes. Or perhaps she couldn't see from where she was. Perhaps if she gave it a closer look- The moment that she took a step into the closet, all Scootaloo felt was air. The movement was so quick, so confident, that she couldn't stop herself from tumbling forward. With that, she felt herself hit something hard and metal head first as she fell through what she could've only described as some sort of ghost floor. After she hit the metal surface, Scootaloo felt herself tumbling down some kind of series of tubes designed probably to hold a pony three times her size. She fell for a while, eventually pushing herself so that she could gain some sense of control and orientation inside of the darkness she found herself in. By that point, she felt less like she was falling or tumbling, and more like she was going down some kind of super slide in an amusement park. If her life wasn't in danger, she might have even said "Wooooo." But she didn't say "Woooooooo." Instead, she just kept tumbling down, staying as focused as possible and trying to anticipate every turn she could so that she wouldn't end up falling like before. All the while trying to figure out where this terrible slide was trying to take her. Eventually, she felt herself hit dirt, and tumbled out of the slide into an that appeared to have a torch stuck to the wall right where the slide ended. Now stopped, Scootaloo could feel the pain aching in her body. More importantly though, where had she ended up? She didn't reckognize this part of the mansion and it certainly didn't look like the narrow passage way she'd gotten lost in before. This place was entirely different. From where Scootaloo stood, she could see that the dirt area transition to metal right where she was. It was yet another passage to go down. Scootaloo considered attempting to take the torch with her, but besides the fact that she knew there was no way she could safely carry the thing (perhaps if she had been a unicorn she could levitate the thing) but she also realized that it was a bad idea. Because from what she could tell, somewhere beyond that passage way, she swore she could make out another light. And the faint sickly chuckle from somepony that she wanted to knock the teeth out of. Somewhere, dangerously close to her, Specter Yield was there. *** "A... factory?" Applebloom couldn't help but give off a wry smile out of sheer disbelief. From her perspective, while the factory had a definite ceiling, there didn't appear to be a bottom as various gears and pistons that seemed to have no real purpose extended to an infinite bottom, past any distance the sun's rays could travel. When she saw the sun, she briefly wondered if it was a sign that Celestia had somehow managed to defeat Specter -- but that was wishful thinking. This place was just another apparition created by the mansion, she was sure of that. Even though she could feel it, even though she could smell it, even though she could walk through the place, there was no chance it was real. Which meant that Specter was still alive and that Sweetie was still in a lot of trouble. Applebloom steeled herself. She had to be careful still. There would no doubt be hazards, ghostly or not, wandering this place -- especially if it turned out that sweetie was right. "What are you both talking about, listen! That's Rarity!" If she had heard her, if that had been Rarity, then she was close. And if she was anything like how the others, and managed to ruin her so terribly, then this place was the most dangerous place to be -- especially without a GCD. All it would take was one mistake. Just one. And she wouldn't be coming back. Not alive, anyway. "Please be okay, Sweetie," Applebloom said as she walked forward into the- "WOAH!" She hadn't been looking where she was walking, and certainly didn't expect to step on anything. So when she felt something beneath her hoof, she panicked and tripped, nearly falling over the edge of the catwalk before stopping herself at the last minute. Hah... that was too close. What the heck was that? Applebloom looked over to where she'd been just to see a small rectangular device finish it's own skid to a halt. She looked over at it for a moment, cautious of the thing which had nearly sent her plummeting into oblivion. Had it been a trap specifically for that purpose? She couldn't rule that out -- but at the same time she couldn't rule out the fact that she had been meant to find it. Or perhaps it had been an item of Sweetie's that she hadn't known about prior? Couldn't hurt to investigate, she supposed. Applebloom went over to it and picked it up. It was... A... tape recorder? Yes, it was in fact a small hoof held tape recorder. Under closer inspection, it had a strap to the back, designed for a pony to be able to strap it to their leg to be able to record on the go. Notably, the record and fast forward buttons had been taken out. The only ones left were play, pause and rewind. Also notably, there wasn't a tape inside. Still, Applebloom couldn't deny that it was important. Another puzzle, huh? That possibility also stuck out to her. If she were thinking like Sweetie, or thinking as though this were some kind of game, there was no doubt that this thing was important. It was too out of place -- too strange. She couldn't only imagine that she would come into tapes later on. Wonder if there's a reason the other button's are gone. Applebloom strapped the tape recorder to her leg and picked up the flashlight she'd put down to do so. With that, she continued to walk deeper into the foreboding coal factory that her friend had to also be wandering as well. The fact that she hadn't picked up the tape recorder worried her that much more. Why? As Applebloom worked her way through the factory, walking deeper and deeper along what seemed to be an endless set of catwalks, passing by machines that seemed to be stuck in the wall or hanging from the ceiling with no particular purpose aside for simply "being there," she felt uneasy. She swore she was walking in circles despite moving generally in one direction. Could she have been looping somehow? Applebloom decided she would try something. She grasped a strand of her own hair handing off to the side by her teeth and separated it from the scalp with her hoof, flinching from the brief moment of pain. She then tied it to a railing and continued on her way. Sure enough, she passed by it again. "Alright now, so what am I doing wrong?" Even in her state, Sweetie had managed to get past this point as she was nowhere to be seen or heard -- at least not above the monotonous machines around her. She thought for a while before sighing. What had Sweetie figured out that she wasn't figuring out right- Wait. She sighed again. This time, breathing more through her nose. Before she could only smell the smell of burning oils and smoke that seemed to be coming out of a few of the machines. However, when she thought about the smell just a little more thoughtfully, she noticed something else inside of that smell. It smelled like-- "Perfume?" And then it made complete sense why Sweetie had continued on so easily. Because the puzzle here had nothing to do with the environment -- not necessarily -- but instead had everything to do with Rarity, the ghost who had to have been calling this factory her domain. She would've been looking for that kind of thing, most definitely. And a specific perfume would have been a dead give away. Did that just mean if she would follow the smell, she could possibly pick up after Sweetie's trail? On top of that, if Sweetie smelled that immediately, perhaps that would have distracted her from finding the tape recorder. If that were the case, perhaps that just meant that she was more aware of her environment than she'd previously thought. Perhaps that still meant that she was still safe, albeit at yet another height of her paranoia. Regardless that didn't mean Applebloom could turn back. There was no doubting that she was still very mentally unstable. Her going after her sister probably wouldn't help. Especially with those awful suggestions that Specter had mentioned before leaving Sweetie and Gilda to fight to the death. Applebloom put her nose in the air and started to sniff. Once again, burred beneath the other smells of machinery, she could also smell that perfume. She followed it, moving in the direction where she thought it was the strongest. She did this for a few minutes, only focusing on the smell before taking a moment to examine her surroundings. This became a cycle of smelling for a little while, then once again taking a survey of where she was. Each time, she'd notice that the machines were different. The gears themselves seemed to become less angular and more soft edged as they appeared to be more rounded out. Had they been melting somehow? Also notably, the pistons which seemed to have not purpose began shaping into sharper, thinner pieces of metal going up and down, up and down against the walls. And against many of the walls, covering a progressively more frequent amount of machinery, it appeared that they were being covered by a purple fabric -- something Applebloom couldn't help but compare to the color of Rarity's hair. Yes, this had to be it- "WOAH!" Applebloom jumped back as she felt something graze the side of her ear. Was it an enemy? A ghost? Something else possibly following her? When she whirled around to see what it was, she was both puzzled and fearful at what she saw. Dangling from what she could only make out to be a thin piece of thread appeared to be a tape which had in big, bold, pink letters, which said: PLAY ME Applebloom couldn't help but swallow in nervousness as she snatched down the tape. There was no doubt that she had to play it for some reason -- perhaps pertaining to another puzzle ahead. She put it into the tape recorder and pressed the only button that she could. She pressed the play button and listened for something to happen. Ssssssssssssssssssssszzsssssssssssssssssssssssss There appeared to be nothing but a tiny buzz of static coming out of the other end. There wasn't anything -- not even the sound of someone breathing. Something was wrong -- the tape was definitely important, but how remained a mystery even as she played it. She briefly considered ejecting it before something flashed out of the corner of her eye. Applebloom didn't have time to dodge, but was lucky as she caught it's glint against the sunlight coming out of the ceiling. Something silently grazed the bare fur and hit an unseen part of the catwalk with a metallic CLINK! Applebloom looked in the direction in a panic and saw something move out of her field of view, behind something way above in the darkness. It didn't glow, but it absolutely looked like a pony. Had that been Specter? If so, what was he doing here? Did that mean she would cross paths with Celestia as well if he happened to be here too? She wasn't safe. Applebloom needed to keep moving, so she started to walk at a brisker pace, now focusing on her sense of smell for a longer period of time. Finally, something did happen -- or rather, something happened and Applebloom had either been too focused on the smell or the catwalk so she hadn't noticed it. The smell suddenly became incredibly vivid, no longer burred underneath the dirty smell of coal and soot. In fact, the whole factory smelled purely of that intoxicating, calming perfume. But more importantly, the color of the sun through the cracks of the roof had changed from their normal rays of yellow and orange to a cooler blue and purple. Applebloom looked around and realized she was at neither end of the factory, but towards the center. It looked entirely different now. The catwalk had changed, asside from where she stood, to some kind of pincushion surface, crackling benieth her feet with every gesture she made. In the distance, she could make out the factory much more clearly as she could see various platforms all around the factory. Not only that, but there were conveyer belts in nonsensical places that seemed to go absolutely nowhere. Along them the sillouettes of ponies worked tirelessly hamering them, sewing them, threading needles, and various other things that seemed to remind Applebloom of one thing. Rarity. Needless to say, this was where she was, there was no doubt about it. If she had to have a world of her own -- like most of the others had supposedly had -- it would be all about dress mak- "BOOOO!!!" Out of nowhere, Applebloom heard the sound of something below her. It made her jump and she felt herself fall over the end of the catwalk which had somehow turned into some sort of pincushion surface. Author's Note Just a note: not worrying about editing at the moment. Just worried about getting it done. Also, both for my sake and any other readers, I'm going to at the very least go back to previous chapters sometime, and break them up into more manageable parts, similarly to what I'm doing here. Chapter 24: The Faker in the Fabric Factory (Part 3)Scootaloo was someplace she wasn't supposed -- and that was about all she knew. She might have had an inkling that where she walked was important, but she couldn't quite be sure of that either. The only thing she was certain of was this: Specter Yield was nearby. She didn't know how she knew, but she just did in her gut, and that was enough to make her feel queasy, despite how much she tried to ignore the sensation. She was brave after all. If Sweetie could handle that queasiness, she sure as hay could too. Beforehand, moonlight that bounced and dissipated throughout the mansion allowed her to see in one hoof in front of the other as she moved. If not that, then at least torches or candles. Now, from some unseen place there was a new light, neither that of a torch, nor of the moonlight, but something else which held an ominous glow. And along with that glow, she would've sworn she could hear Specter Yield chuckling to himself. She knew the laughter could be anypony -- any ghost -- but despite being unable to remember hearing that stallion's real laugh, she knew it could only belong to him. As Scootaloo approached a corner, she slowed herself, making sure not to step on anything that would give her position away. If Specter was nearby, she hoped she might be able to get the drop on him. Though what she would do was still a big problem that she couldn't get around. She knew how strong Specter was. Hay, he could make spikes come out of the floor and impale her where she stood, just like what could've happened to Applebloom, Celestia's promise that he "wasn't" be damned. So if she were going to anything, she would have to make it count. Then again, would she have to do anything at all? Wasn't Celestia on her way down there just like her? Surely more than thirty minutes had passed, she imagined. So wasn't there a strong possibility she had she already gotten down there? Wasn't there a strong(er) possibility she she already lost? No, of course not. Scootaloo didn't want to think about that possibility because it was pointless. Because it was impossible. Yet still. If they lost the last princess this time, there was no way that she could do anything. The idea of losing what could've very well been their last card to play was too depressing. Sure, Sweetie was strong now, but nowhere near as strong as either of the princesses -- even with those cutie marks of hers (for whatever reason they were there to begin with). It didn't help that none of her friends had their cutie marks, which could've implied that none of their talents were there to begin with. For all she knew, none of them were elements anymore but were instead just regular old ponies. So she couldn't think about that either. Just spy on that old stallion and see what I can do, Scootaloo reasoned. That's all she could think about now. That was the most productive thing, anyway. If she were lucky, something might open up in front of her. Even if it did rely on chance, thinking that way seemed at the very least a little more hopeful. When Scootaloo turned the corner, she silently bit her lip. Where she was appeared to be some kind of secret study, with books on all walls that weren't some sort of passageway. From what she could tell, there were two entrances to the area -- where she was and across from her which seemed to hold a similarly formed passageway. At the center of it all was none other than Specter Yield. In front of him, there appeared to be some sort of crystal made hologram. They seemed smoothly formed, seemingly created out of wisps of glowing steam, images of rooms that she both recognized and did not. "Interesting..." Specter seemed to say to himself as he crossed around to examine what seemed to be a particularly long hologram. "I suppose I misjudged the elements. They were brave enough to leave the tea room so..." He crossed over to yet another hologram. "And the safe room... it appears they're trying to go there. Perhaps I'll pay them a visit once the Element of Generosity has finished dispatching that filly..." and again he crossed over to another hologram, chuckling to himself. "But these three think they're on the run now... perhaps I should send them a surprise in the meanwhile." And then he paused. And looked straight back at Scootaloo. "What do you think I should do, hm?" Buck. Had she exposed herself? Or had the stallion known all along she was on her way? In either case, there was no doubt that she had been found out. Scootaloo tried to run away, crossing the glow that came out of the hologram before she tripped over something. From how it felt, it was a rock -- an oddly formed rock she would've sworn hadn't been there before. Though before she even had the chance to hit the ground, two foal ghosts came out of the bookcases and fired two shots of ectoplasmic goop at her. The next thing she knew, she was pinned against the wall just at the back wall of the entrance where the passage turned into the room. The first shot had gotten most of her lower body, in addition to flipping her upside down. The second managed to get the top part of her head, forcing her head to also stick to the wall as Specter approached. Once he was in front of her, he crouched down and looked her straight in the eye. "Your stealth is much to be desired, little filly." Scootaloo simply scowled at him. At the same time, she could feel the blood rushing to her head as she felt herself getting a headache and her vision blurring only slightly. Or maybe that was just the daze from the impact, she couldn't be sure. She found herself looking at the passageway opposite of the area for no particular reason. Specter must have noticed this as he seemed to show a very brief face of paranoia as he looked behind him only to see the two foal ghosts, floating there and giggling mindlessly at the scene. To this, he laughed and spoke again. "Don't worry. If you're looking for anyone, I can tell you first hand that they are likely not coming. Applebloom and Sweetie are safely in the hooves of my new beloved. Hence they weren't foolish enough to fall for my trap. No one is coming to save you." What? Scootaloo would've sworn that for a split second that he worried that she had gotten the drop on him. Did that mean that up until she exposed herself he didn't know that she was present? Perhaps that meant... "What to do, oh what to do?" Specter mused. "I'm honestly drawing a blank on any reasons to keep you alive. Do you have any perchance?" Scootaloo didn't say anything, only glaring at Specter. "Hm. Well, while killing you would be fun, the matter would be how to kill you, wouldn't you say?" As Specter spoke, Scootaloo could swear she saw a glow -- a new glow of yellow and orange appear in the passageway. She dared not look in the direction, worrying that Specter might see. Because if it was who she thought it was, she could've had a chance not only to escape, but to end this all once and for all. "Bleeding? Asphyxiation? Oh!" He said excitedly, searching through his coat. "I think I even have some poison in my-" "Hey," Scootaloo interrupted before Specter had the chance to turn around. "Oh, so you do speak, hm?" Specter asked. "L-listen. Probably wouldn't do me much good to beg for my life, yeah?" Scootaloo asked, stalling for time. Specter stared at her, deciphering, then smiled and shrugged. "I don't know. I'm a fairly open-minded stallion." As Scootaloo held Specter's attention, she could see the yellow-orange form as two golden lines appeared from its head to connect to both of the foals. As this happened, the laughter continued on, seeming to grow fainter and fainter as though they were going away. Yet still, they floated there as though nothing were going on. Scootaloo stared deep into Specter's eyes, trying to make her perceived change as convincing as possible. "Actually... on second thought, I don't feel like giving you the bucking satisfaction." Specter bowed his head. It wasn't as disappointed as it was expecting. "Again with the degenerative language. Fine, I'll be sure to kill you." "But," Scootaloo interrupted. "...but?" "But I uh... I gotta ask. Before I die and all. What are you trying to do? You know, with all of this eclipse stuff." Specter chuckled. It was an ironic chuckle, Scootaloo thought. Or at least how she imagined one would sound -- dry and humorless. "So somehow you've figured that out, hm? That I'm using the princesses' powers to create a phantasm? Well... if you're able to figure that much out, you should be able to deduce my goal." "I-I'm still working on that. But seeing as I don't have that much time left..." To this Specter grinned. "Well, it should be obvious by now. To dethrone those ponies in replacement for a real royal figure. Not a princess but a king. Not a fake goddess, but a real god. I'm going to use their power to resurrect Discord and give him the power to take over Equestria!" "Oh huh? Well..." Scootaloo thought. Besides the plan just sounding like a letdown and overly complicated, she wondered if there was anything else she could do to stall for time. Maybe she didn't have to. The form behind Specter didn't move, probably listening to everything he had to say. Hopefully, that meant that everything was ready, and it up to Scootaloo as to when the trigger was finally pulled. "What kind of power, huh?" Specter opened his mouth and sighed. His eyes lit up for all of a moment before that glint disappeared. Suddenly that wild grin seemed to look a lot more tired -- though just for a moment before it went back to his regular distinguished look, as though he were making a face for one of the portraits. "It doesn't matter. It's power he needs, and it's my duty to give it to him. Though I'm impressed with you. Even before Sweetie Belle it seems you've discovered the correlation between my plan and the celestial bodies. Given your knowledge now, you might have discovered the larger part of my plan. Unless-" Just then, Specter's eyes widened as he looked behind him. In that same instance, a blinding light seemed to surround everything as Specter let off a loud scream. And to Scootaloo's satisfaction, it was a definite scream of pain. *** Applebloom couldn't think as she fell. She knew that if something didn't happen, then she would die. Which was why she wasn't sure if she was thankful or not that something did happen before she had the chance to die with how the world jerked around her. Just when Applebloom felt the weight of gravity trying to pull her into the depths of the unknown factory, she felt the softness of fabric beneath her as it took in her weight only to be stretched out again by unseen forces launching her further into the factory. Surprisingly, that was when she started to scream. The scream stopped when her fly through the air was abruptly stopped as she fell onto another catwalk. Not quite vertically to cause any lasting damage, but certainly not horizontal enough to have been painless. She rolled on impact and almost fell off the other side -- likely a fall that would've spelled certain doom if she hadn't stopped herself in time. "Uuggghhh," she moaned. "Why..." Somehow, she was still gripping the tape recorder in her hooves as she did. Carefully she got up, eying all around her and half expecting something to push her over the edge, considering how close she was. "You had your neck broken, and you're scared of a little old drop? If that isn't the funniest-" "Bah!" Applebloom didn't hear the last few words as the tape recorder clattered to the ground against the metal catwalk. She'd forgotten to pause the thing, and... was that Pinkie she'd just heard? Better yet, was that Pinkie she'd heard before the drop? Surely- "Theeee ooooone and only! I'm back, baby!" the voice on the other end of the tape recorder sung. It talked back. The tape recorder talked back. "Naw... no way... Pinkie?" "Well that is what one and only is supposed to mean, silly!" Applebloom moaned. "You're not-" "Dead? Me? Naaaaah. This is just a recording! Honest! Pick me up and see for yourself!" Applebloom hesitated before approaching the tape recorder. She picked it up and hit the stop button. She rewound the tape a few seconds. "-one and only! I'm back, baby! " A pause. "Well that is what one and only is supposed to mean, silly!" Another pause. "Dead? Me? Naaaaah. This is just a recording! Honest! Pick me up and see for yourself!" And then nothing but static. Pinkie, or at least this recording of Pinkie, was telling the truth. Applebloom paused before saying to the tape recorder, "...Pinkie?" "Toldja!" "Da... buh... how? HOW?!" "Uh... I recorded this when I was dead! Duh!" Yeah... that makes sense... wait, no it doesn't! "Doesn't it, though?" If Sweetie had to deal with this kind of... Celestia, no wonder she's losin' it. "She sure did! Starting to, anyway! Kicking you up like that, what a mean filly!" "Ya can hear my thoughts," Applebloom tried to say normally, but it came out closer to an exhausted whimper. "More like I can read 'em, buuuttt... I already made that joke. Besides, we've been waiting forever for this chapter! Like... 4 years forever! We should probably speed things along." "Four y-" "We made that joke too! Ah! What a hack of a writer we've got, am I right? Anyway, you should move on. Not too far ahead are Sweetie's things! And well... you'll see in a bit, but Sweetie herself isn't really in a good spot right now." Applebloom ignored the nonsense and focused on the last thing Pinkie's recording said, "...can I help her?" "Maybe! But to tell you for sure would be spoilers! Pause me 'till you find her things! Should be hanging around here somewhere! Then I'll tell you what to do next! Just tap the play button again. 'kay?" Applebloom waited, but was unsurprised when the tape went on and added "You know there's only so much tape heeeeere! Better do what I say and get moving! Else you won't have my sweet voice to accompany you while you get murdered! Hehehehehehe-" Applebloom shivered and stopped the tape recorder as instructed. She steeled herself and then began following the catwalk, hoping to find Sweetie as soon as possible. As she walked, things got notably brighter. Not so bright that it made the environment any less disconcerting -- if anything it made things only more so. It appeared to be day-time, though the filly's gut told her that anything past those windows draped in the purple fabric was anything representing the sun. It was a nice thought, but an easy one to doubt. As Applebloom went on, she noticed a set of stairs that appeared to go down. "Aw no... Sweetie..." She hadn't expected the Pinkie recording to be lying to her, but just seeing her sister's hat -- now (hopefully) temporarily Sweetie's hat -- and GCD laying lazily beneath it at the foot of those steps had her feeling nauseous. They didn't look tossed aside, but more like they'd been laid there. There was a word that surfaced in the filly applebucker's mind. She was no wordsmith, but the word came bubbling to the surface as she approached the artifacts. Resignation. Applebloom pressed play on the tape recorder. The tail end of a "-he!" squeaked out before some static. Looked like even Pinkie in her omnipotent knowledge was bound for some mistakes, even as a ghost. Perhaps it would've been hopeful if it didn't also mean her only lead on Sweetie's whereabouts has a small possibility of being unreliable. Eventually, Applebloom spoke. "What am ah lookin' at?" "Sad, isn't it? It's like she just gave up!" "Yeah," Applebloom agreed. She hated the chipper nature to Pinkie's voice, but (like Sweetie) she had accepted that cheer to just be a part of the awful package unraveling before her. Not like she could do anything about it. Clairvoyance or whatever-the-buck-she-had or not, this was still a recording. Arguing with it was as pointless as arguing with a laughing teddy bear that never shut up. At the end of the day-night, it was just an inanimate object placed to taunt her and her friends. "Well you gonna aaaaasssskkk?" Applebloom sighed. "...she down those steps or somethin'?" "Nnnnope! In fact, if you go down there, you'll die immediately!" "I-immediately, huh?" "Immmeeedddiiiaattteeelllyyy!" Pinkie said spookily. She didn't elaborate, and Applebloom wasn't sure she wanted her to. "Then where the hay 'd she go?" The filly paused before she added in attempt to please the mare, "...be mighty boring if that happened, don't you think?" "Now you're talking my language!" the tape recorder cheered. "But before I tell you... you ready to do some hardcore parkour?!" "U-uh... I guess?" "Aw. That doesn't sound like someone who wants to save their friend. Now. ARE. YOU. READY. FOR. SOME. HARD. CORE. PAR-" "YES! Yes!" Applebloom cried, frustrated with the ghost-mare. "Great! So here's what happened! Ahem!" Pages could be heard being turned over the tape recorder. Applebloom resisted the urge to tell Pinkie to "get on with it," like Spike had earlier that night. "This is the sad, sad tale of Sweetie Belle! Once upon a time, there was a little filly. She was such a baaaaad sister, her own sister decided to sleep with this stallion that could do a bunch a really cool stuff! Then the little filly got jealous and tried to kill her sister's first real love in a long time! Then blah, blah, blah, stuff happened, then she went to a mansion and did the same thing again! With a stallion that could do even cooler stuff! What a baaaaaad filly! Glad my sisters aren't like that, I'd love a necromancer pony step-brother! Or whatever he does! Anyway, blah, blah, mental trauma this, bad writing that, a flank load of a hiatus and then she heads to this factory. Eerily similar to the one you're standing in right now! Wooooooo wooooooo! She arrives! You know. After beating her friend within an inch of her life, but what are details, really? She hears her sister calling. She's sorry, oh Celestia she's sorry! She'll do anything. A-ny-thing to get her sister to forgive her! She'd even..." "...even what?" "Well... it gets a little 'red' after that. Not sure a filly should hear such gruesome details like what would happen if a filly threw herself into a pit of whirling, grinding gears! It's a little dark, honestly! Kind of a boring ending too if you ask me." "W-where is she?!" "B-but Applebloom! What if you fail to save her! You'd never get that image out of your head, you know. It's like a cider stain, it just won't wash out. At least not with the cleaning power of Oxy-" "Pinkie I know ya don't give two shakes about me or my friends, but please tell me what I gotta do!" Applebloom cried. "Please!" There was a pause of static. An irrational part of Applebloom feared she might've scared the ghost mare off. Or worse, she'd just start hearing cackling on the other side. Finally, the recording spoke. "...if you jump off the railing and onto those machines on the side, you should be okay. It's a little tough, but you should be strong enough to make the climb. Take the GCD and the hat with you, and follow where those machines take you. You might not need them, but you might not make it back this way either. When you see a hole in the wall, climb in. You should be able to find her from there." The instructions were so matter-of-fact, they caught Applebloom off guard. It was almost worse than what Pinkie normally sounded like -- as a ghost, anyway. "Applebloom?" "Ah'm here," she said into the recorder, half forgetting it was in fact, a recording. "T...thanks." "Nooooo," came the sing-songy voice of Pinkie pie that reminded Applebloom's stomach to turn. "Thank you! And if you still have the will to live after what you see, then feel free to play me again! Wheneeeeever you like! Looking forward to it! And don't die too fast! Hahahahahahahaha-" Applebloom shut the recording off. She didn't like what Pinkie was implying. Not one bit. *** "Sucks to be on the other side of the pain, huh flankhead?!" Scootaloo cried at Specter. He was only just getting up, and only just realizing that he was trapped. Around him, was a white-light bubble with runes and shapes Scootaloo would never have been able to even begin to understand. "Why... why you..." Specter weakly punched at the edge of the bubble, only to receive a massive shock. "Gah!" He was thrown back and bounced all over the bubble, receiving more shocks as he did, before finally coming to a rest. From a glance, it looked like he was completely knocked out. "Princess! You did it!" Celestia smiled. Not a hint of laughter or insanity in her eyes. Was she free? "Yes, I suppose we did." We, Scootaloo thought. We did it... she said we... does that mean that I just helped the princess save Equestria? Oh man oh man oh man... wait! Scootaloo looked at her flank and was stunned. "Blank..." she whimpered. "After all that..." Celestia couldn't help but giggle. It was a sane giggle -- even with the ghostly nature of it all, it felt good to listen to. "Filly... it may take a moment for it all to sink all in, now. For all we know, you'll receive your cutie mark after we walk out of this mansion. It's not always so immediate." "Yeah, I guess you're right," Scootaloo said, her head still hung low. She still sounded pretty dejected, and sure that she'd never get her cutie mark. Ever. She wasn't quite sure what she'd see there, anyway. A net? For catching? Who the hay wanted a net for a mark? What did a distraction cutie mark look like, she wondered. Or a "savior of Equestria" mark? "Now, Scootaloo," Celestia said. "If you wouldn't mind standing aside, I'd like to give this stallion his rights. Something that's been a long time coming." "H-his rights?" "Of course," she paused because she realized that Scootaloo had no clue what she was talking about. "That thing cop ponies give criminals before they arrest him." "Oooh... guess we do gotta arrest him, huh?" "Naturally," Celestia nodded before locking her gaze on Specter. "This stallion's going away for a long time." Specter moaned at this. "...what...?" "Right, just that... I figured you'd ask him other stuff. Like where the Moon Princess was. Luna? Or Rarity. Or Rainbow! Or our friends! Are they okay?" Celestia shook her head. "All in due time. Sweetie and Applebloom... and of course Pinkie and Rainbow, who I'm assuming you're most concerned about, they're intelligent enough not to get into too much trouble. Right now our main goal should be to remove Specter from the premises and whatever control, small or great, he may hold on the mansion." "Thought you said earlier you didn't think he had that much control?" "I meant it in a direct sort of fashion. As we've just proven, he's no omnipotent force within the walls of this mansion. However, I do believe we can safely conclude that with the loss of his butler and himself, this mansion could be considered relatively safe. In my own experience, the ghosts appear more docile without anypony instructing them." "So you're saying I could go out and look for my friends?" "Perhaps, though I wouldn't suggest doing so alone. The ghosts may be neutered, but that doesn't make them any less unpredictable. And there's also the matter of any remaining traps." "Ah. So what's the plan now?" "You stand aside, I read Yield his rights, we gather everyone from the safe room, which I imagine they are now, and exit the premises." "Not without the others, right?" "Once we're out of the mansion, we can contact Canterlot to take Specter into custody. We won't go far. You will go with the guards and myself and the other mares will find your friends -- and if Sweetie hasn't caught her by then, Rarity, and discover what exactly Specter was planning to do with Discord... if that in itself was anything more than a sort of misdirection on his part. And if there's any way to get myself, Luna and anypony else lacking a body, one, temporary or otherwise, it should probably be considered." Scootaloo was about to object to the whole part about her going with the rest of the guards, but the look in Celestia's eyes made it obvious she wouldn't be persuaded. "Ah... okay," Scootaloo nodded, eventually. "That's fine, I guess. Hate to keep everypony still wandering waiting but-" "Ahem." It was the "ahem" of some growing impatient pony that would have to keep her friends waiting even longer if she didn't get this done. "Right, sorry, sorry." Scootaloo did as the alicorn so she could be the one to stand in front of Specter. She walked toward the door that led out of the room, but didn't leave. She really had to see this part, since she'd never seen somepony read their rights in real life. And considering how little crime there ever was where she lived, she doubted she'd ever see it again -- especially given by the Princess herself. "Specter Yield. Owner of Yield Manor," Celestia started. "You are under arrest for-" "No..." "-suspicion of murder in all three degrees, corpse defilement, conspiracy to commit said murder and high treason against the Canterlot court and all of Equestria... among other things...-" "No... no... No... no..." Specter was gritting his teeth. This was all too good. "-...anything you say from this point on can and will be used against you in a court of law-" Specter then put his hooves again at the edge of the bubble. There was arches of electricity everywhere and... was he? Oh shit, he was, wasn't he? He was trying to open the bubble with his bare hooves! Ha! Scootaloo could even make out his horn glowing as he tried to make a dent in the bubble with raw magic. And the best part about it was that he was failing miserably. He was frying and too stubborn to realize it. He was desperate. Scootaloo could see the in those eyes. That face. He was livid. And almost pitiable. They were the eyes of someone who knew it was over. "No. NO. NO NO NO NO NO!" He cried, obviously not considering the whole 'anything you say can and will be used against you' spiel Celestia had explained in her monotone. "It WASN'T SUPPOSED TO END LIKE THIS! AND IT WON'T. RARITY'S STILL OUT THERE. SHE'LL TAKE MY PLACE! HA! And THEN You'll all be SORRY!" Celestia ignored him. What he was saying was slightly concerning, but it might as well have been jibberish in the end. The alicorn reveling too much in this karma-justice happening right here. "-if you do not have an attorney by your trial date, you will be appointed one by the Canterlot Court." "AND... AND... NO! JUST BUCKING NO!" He went on. "NO! NO! NO!" They'd done it, Scootaloo thought. They'd won. If only Sweetie were there to see what Specter's hissy fit. Sweetie, she thought. Celestia, she hoped that they were all alright. *** Pinkie looked up. "Something up, Pinks?" "Yeah... I think the story just ended. Or is about to, anyway." "Huh?" "It's over. It just started all of a sudden and now it's over," Pinkie sighed. It was depressing, Rainbow thought. "Kind of weakly too. Like a wet fart." "What..." Gilda muttered. "What's that crazy bitch droning on now?" "I think she's saying that she thinks your Master just lost," Rainbow shrugged. "...in her own way." The mare half thought the Gilda would just call her a 'crazy bitch' again, or react to calling Yield her 'Master' but instead, she laughed. Even with her treated wounds, it was still damned hard to laugh but did it she did it. "Really?" "Guess so. Hard to tell with her." "Figures. Guess he was crazy after all. Crazy strong, but just crazy as the rest in the end. Shoulda figured y'all'd win eventually," Gilda groaned and spat a bit of blood to the ground. Rainbow couldn't help feeling hopeful considering how bad off she was looking before. Even more surprising was how quickly she'd resigned to her loss with little to no evidence of it. "To be fair," Rainbow tried. "It was kind of touch and go." "You trying to make me feel better about trying to kill your friends and turn you into my ghostly little buck toy?" Rainbow flinched. "I didn't need to hear that." "Good thing you didn't." The two stared at each other and then broke out in laughter. Pinkie was saying something, but noone was listening to her. Where had this Gilda been all night, Rainbow wondered. Despite the joke and its context, at that moment none of it seemed to matter. Like Gilda hadn't tried to kill her friends or attempted to force Rainbow into being her friend as a ghost... and hopefully not that last thing that never got said. Rainbow was laughing so hard that it took a moment to realize that Gilda's laughs had suddenly turned to sobs. The good feeling was gone and the chill down her spine was back. "Hey, hey. C'mon, don't do that. You know I don't know what to do about you crying on me." "I think the birdy realizes she's going back to jail," Pinkie commented, still sulking about whatever she was sulking about. "Probably forever." "Pinks, come on," Rainbow said. "Nah, she's right." Gilda wasn't sobbing anymore. Sudden change, Rainbow thought. "Probably like it should be, really." "Gil... what happened? Why the hay were you in prison to begin with? Did you really...?" Gilda stared at the ground for a long time. Just as Rainbow was about to ask the question again, the grifon began to spill her heart out. "It... was an accident, I think, but yeah. But I wanted it to happen, and it happened, so it doesn't really matter what I think. Even if it was all for a second. You know what I mean, Rain?" Rainbow nodded. She did, at least somewhat. Nothing drastic had ever happened, but certainly things she'd done "in the moment" had ended in ways she'd never meant for them to. Who hadn't? "Well..." she sighed. "There was this girl I was seeing at the time. Clover. Not to be creepy... like it matters anymore... she kind of reminded me of you, so I'm thinking... yeah. I'm game. She had an attitude to her but could be the sweetest bucking thing. Unicorn, believe it or not. Always thought they had to be all high and mighty, like that Twilight chick. Or that other one you were hanging around... And... well, anyway. One thing led to another, and we started dating." "R-really," Rainbow said. She had no idea if she was blushing or not, but she turned up toward the ceiling in case she was. Gilda didn't take notice, staring down at the ground like she was in a trance. "She helped me out a bunch. Got me this job, and out of a kinda shit part of my life." Then something hit Rainbow. A thought. Gil, you didn't... was she the one you hurt? "Thing I didn't get about her was that she... she uh... well she may have been filly-foolin' but her barn doors swung both ways, if you catch my drift. I think... I think I was just a fling for her, really. A throwaway, because when I found out she was with him and that he wasn't 'just some stallion from the office' I asked her if she loved the guy and she said 'yeah'. I moved out not too long after and got a train headed to nowhere. And wouldn't you bucking know who's standing at that platform. Mr. 'stallion from the office'. Hah. And you want to know what else? The train was coming. And me? I'd only just realized I was standing right behind him. Just close enough to do some permanent... something while I wasn't thinking." "Celestia..." "The trial was quick. I plead guilty. I didn't even care what happened to me. That was supposed to be the end of it. At least until I heard the mare jumped off her apartment building a month after I was shipped off to Bonza. Crazy thing is... I told myself I didn't care about that either," Gilda laughed. "Just like I told myself I didn't care you were gone. That you had other friends." She leaned her head against the wall and looked up toward the ceiling. "Buck I need help..." "...and Specter?" "Him... right." Gilda's throat clicked. She shrugged and winced. "Sure, what the hay. It's over, right?" "Yeah." Gilda stared for a long time at nothing at all. Rainbow wasn't sure if she'd have to snap her out of it again. Then, like before, everything came out all at once. "Think... I was going a little nutzo already when he and that butler came. It'd only been a few weeks since I heard of Clover. I wasn't talking to anyone. Lashing out. Called me a violent inmate... said they'd extend my sentence. Put me in the hole. I didn't care. I was telling myself it was fine. Buck her. Who needed that two-timing bitch anyway... that kind of thing. Telling myself I was glad she was dead when I really... well, all of a sudden, I start hearing this screaming and laughing outside my cell. At first you couldn't tell under the rest of the noise of mares and griffons in the same block as me just talking, making deals, talking about who was gonna cut who. Then those sounds started to get quieter and the laughing and screaming getting louder. And then my whole cell block opens and anybody who's anybody and their mother bolts from them. Ponies, mules, griffons, all of 'em. Everyone but me who's just thinking her own thoughts. Saw a lot of them run by too. Didn't know what was happening, didn't care. Might've figured a riot started. Maybe some kind of emergency. Who knew? Then, all at once, all the laughing and screaming stopped." "...just like that?" Gilda nodded. "Yeah. All I hear are hoofsteps. A pair of them. Must not have been the only one to stay in her cell when they all opened up, because the first time I heard those hoofsteps stop, I just heard somepony screaming again. Then I heard something snap and then... there was just this sick crunch and... it kept going again and again... that crunch... that grunt... that crunch and uh..." Gilda's throat clicked again. "Then I heard the hoofsteps again. I remember the things that went through my head. That someone was crushing something. That was making the crunch. Then this image in my head that really stuck... and it was so damn clear in my head of... it was of that pony... or maybe it was a griffon, or a mule or... well, I never looked but I thought they were being... eaten. And... and I remember thinking... I didn't wanna be eaten Dash... I don't want to be eaten... but I was too... scared to run. Doubted I'd make it far with my wings clipped. It was all my speed. And somehow, I was... damned... damned sure that whatever was out there would catch me before I made it down the stairs. ...then he walked by my cell and stopped. That stallion... Specter... He had a stack of papers. Levitated in front of him all proper and shit. Records it looked like. And mine was on the top, followed by a bunch of others that trailed behind him. All of those ones had red X's on them. He stared at me for the longest time. He glanced back in the direction of those crunches and... then he smiled, looking back at me. And all he said to me was 'You. Walk with me.' And I did." Rainbow was stunned. She didn't want to ask what was next, because by the look of things, Gilda's story wasn't going to get much easier. Then her eyes eased up, only slightly. She still didn't look Rainbow in the face. "It wasn't all bad at first. Well... it was bad, but I got used to it before it got worse. He started by making it easy on me. Making me want to do it... I didn't believe him at the time, but he told me that he'd read up on me. He knew who I was and where I'd come from. Humble beginnings in Cloudsdale, the storming from Ponyville and on and on... buck, he knew so much, Dash. He told how I could get revenge on everyone who'd wronged me. Pony and griffons all the same. That the world was wrong and that I needed justice. Prison wasn't a place for that... That it needed to suffer. The world. And that all I needed was you. That would be what would make things right. And numb the guilt. Not that I had much choice besides to listen to him. I was going to die if I didn't. Or worse... Rain... I know you think what happened tonight was bad, but tonight was nothing compared to the shit he put me through for the next couple of months preparing for this night. I never killed, but I dug graves. I helped do rituals I didn't even understand. I got so used to the smell of rotting corpses. My eyes had become so used to crypts and... and the dark. I never stopped being scared, but I tried to... be myself I guess. In little ways. Keep myself alive, you know? Talkback here. Give 'em shit there. Mostly the Butler, but I was slowly starting to get my sass back with Specter too. It felt good. Gave me a little power. Then... this one night, I guess I'd let my mouth go a little far... I'd said something about his wife. Specter's. Hadn't met the bitch yet or her two squirts, but I figured if I said something I could make him sting, and maybe that'd give me the courage to really fight back. To maybe escape. He didn't like that, and the butler was already looking for a reason to punish me. They made me... appreciate how much freedom they'd given me after they stuffed me in that coffin and only took me out when they needed me for grunt work. I'd hear them talking outside with other ponies, and I'd kick and scream trying to get someone on the outside to hear me, but nothing. Eventually, I'd just stop. Just lay there in the dark. And listen to Spiffy's whispering. Night after night after night. The same preaching they gave me in the beginning. I need you to be 'okay'. I needed to hurt Pinkie to be 'justified'. I need to just let the world burn. All until tonight. I... ha... I didn't get it until now, but I guess that's really how it went, isn't it? Why do you think that is?" Rainbow only stared at Gilda. "I never died... my personality... the stuff that made me, me. But it was buried deep. And it was losing air. Forgetting bits by bits and... something just let me tell all this to you now. I... I think you must be right, Dash. I think it's all over. Because all this time, Spiffy, that butler... he was in my head. Always in my bucking head, I hated it. Hated them. Both of them. Lashed out at everything all the time, because he was always there. Wasn't even about Clover anymore. Or you. It was them. Always making me think I knew what I wanted... that butler was in my head. I... think he's still even there, now. But he's quiet now. And something just shut him up." Then, for the first time, Gilda looked in Rainbow's eyes. "What... do you think did that, Dash?" Rainbow looked long in those eyes. She looked in the reflection and of those eyes and saw something that made a chill run down her spine. She looked behind her to confirm what she'd feared. Pinkie was no longer behind them. "P-pinkie?" "Yeah?" Rainbow looked in the opposite direction. Pinkie was standing right there. Everything was fine. Rainbow sighed. It was true. It was over. She could relax. Everything was over. Then the floor started to rumble. *** "NO NO NO NO NO!" Specter went on. Scootaloo couldn't help wondering how long until he passed out or Celestia shut him up. By the smug look on her face, she was reveling in it. The filly considered telling the princess to get the lead out her ghost-flank, then remembered that she'd been forced to watch her friends get tortured by the stallion's lackey. She supposed the alicorn deserved this little bit of catharsis. Especially since she didn't have to do anything. Specter was frying himself by fruitlessly fighting the mare's force-field. Scootaloo was thankful that whatever spell Celestia cast, it didn't let the stench out. She could only imagine how awful 'cooked old stallion' smelled. It was around when Scootaloo was actually getting sick of watching this -- the novelty of the stallion suffering slowly dissipating -- was around the moment she realized the stallion was finally growing tired. "NO! NO! NO. No... no... no... ... ... no..." "Are you quite done, Mr. Yield?" Celestia asked. Then it happened. He smirked. "Nah." In the split second everything started, Scootaloo noticed the change in the air. It'd become lighter. "Misty" was the word that came to Scootaloo's mind. The change was slight but clear that she could see Specter and Celestia, only slightly less. Like a fog where the further you looked out, the less you could see. And it was from the very edge of that fog, past Specter, Celestia and the hologram he was looking at before, that the gunfire started. They hit Celestia. They all hit Celestia. Again and again, glowing green bullets flew through the mare and they hit her as though she were made of physical matter and not the ethereal magic she was. Every single one of them flew through the alicorn, creating holes and turning her to swiss cheese. There was no blood, but there didn't need to be. The intense pain and surprise were evident on the alicorn's face. Scootaloo didn't realize that she was on the floor until Celestia had fallen herself, and Specter was free again. When she looked in the direction the firing had come from, nothing was there. Nothing. No guns. No Spike. Nothing. "That's..." Scootaloo crawled but was too paralyzed by fear. This was impossible. This was im-bucking-possible! "That's... not fair, Scoots? Is that what you were going to say? Not fair?" Specter was no longer burned and fried from the princess' magic like he'd never been touched. Scootaloo realized this in utter horror. "Oh Scooty scoots, haven't you heard the good news?" "No... no...." He grinned devilishly. "Life isn't fucking fair." Chapter 24: The Faker in the Fabric Factory (Part 4)And... here we go! Applebloom gave the railing a running start, stuck the landing on the bar of metal and made the leap over to the machine attached to the wall beyond. It was only a distance of two or three feet -- likely so that any ponies working in this place (if there'd ever been such a time where this factory was used for more than disturbing fillies, that is) could reach and do maintenance on the machines for whatever their purpose once was. Still, to a filly like Applebloom, even considering her superior applebucker strength, it was still terrifying. Especially with the ominous warning from Pinkie earlier. "If you go down, you'll die immediately." "Immmmmeeeeddddiiiaaa-" She didn't land directly onto the machine like she would've liked, but hooked enough of her upper body onto it such that she could be sure she wouldn't fall. The tape recorder she held clasped in her hoof certainly didn't make things any easier from jump to climb, but she managed. She considered putting it under her hat, but couldn't help fearing it would slip from under and clatter into the unknown below. As Applebloom climbed onto the machine sticking out of the wall and prepared to make another leap to the next machine, she wondered what the ghost-mare meant by that. She seemed to imply that she and Sweetie would go down there soon after the two met. Perhaps Sweetie was a key of some sort that would activate some new part of the factory. Or maybe Pinkie was just doubtful Applebloom would manage to survive, having next to zero experience with the GCD. That was the hopeful answer. Or maybe she just wants to let me see Sweetie die first. And that was the unhopeful answer. Applebloom pushed the thought from her mind as quickly as it came. She made the second jump. Then the third. Applebloom had been thinking about death a lot lately. She hadn't grown so macrabe as to think about her own death specifically, but she couldn't help broaching the subject in general. It made sense of course -- it seemed to be among the only theme this mansion even knew. Or at least it was it's favorite, now that she thought about it. There was more than death, of course. There was suffering. There was hate. There was loss. Hopelessness. Fear. But in the end, didn't all those things lead back to death? Wasn't that the overall connection? Did all things, all the fears of the world not all lead in some way, shape or form back to the subject of death? Well, perhaps it wasn't the whole connection as much as it was a connection. She sighed with another jump. Her mind was growing more morbid by every minute she was stuck in this place, but she hadn't been that far gone. The sooner she could get out of here, the better. Applebloom made three more jumps, all in proper succession while maintaining some forward momentum. Something else she thought about was Sweetie herself. Not current Sweetie -- the Sweetie that Applebloom was chasing and the one that thought she was another trick of the mansion (the poor thing). But she didn't think about the Sweetie before the mansion either. At least not yet. She thought about the Sweetie she decided in her head to call the "Pre Pinkie Capture Sweetie." The one that had allegedly been out capturing the likes of her sister, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Twilight and so on. For no reason in particular, she wondered if she could've just left at any time. After a few moments, she figured it to be doubtful. If Twilight and the others couldn't have left, then it was doubtful she would've been able to leave either. Between the ghosts and the nonsensical layout of the mansion, even the idea of breaking a window intentionally seemed like a poor idea. Especially now she had all those cutie marks on her. What was up with that, anyway? Why hadn't all this gotten them cutie marks? No, not Sweetie of course, but at the same time, maybe. Sweetie had all her friends' cutie marks, but like Applebloom and Scootaloo, Gosh, I hope you're alright, Scoots. she was still technically a blank flank, wasn't she? As Applebloom made another jump, she ventured to wonder if the mansion had some sort of "cutie mark keep away field" or something with a better name that did the same thing. Just their luck -- the night they would've been for sure to get them, some magic hoo-hah had foiled them. If that wasn't just super. Or maybe she had an invisible cutie mark. Because of all the ghosts. What a useless cutie mark that'd be. Then again, what a useless cutie mark a giant paper airplane would've been too. Scootaloo really hadn't thought that whole thing through. When they saved Rarity, beat Specter and got out of here, Scootaloo would never live down how her "last" cutie mark scheme almost ended the world. Because we are gonna make it outta here. We are- Applebloom stopped. In front of her was another machine sticking out of the wall, and above it was a hole -- just as Pinkie had promised. "If ah were a bad pony... that had her run a th' mansion..." Applebloom said aloud through the flashlight clamped firmly between her teeth. "Ah'dve put somethin' right there that'd make me slip and kill myself." She didn't see anything where she pointed the light, but the paranoia didn't go away. Her voice was drowned out by the sounds of the machine. She noticed all to suddenly how unsteady she felt standing still on one of these things. It was a strange thing to say, she knew that, but she felt it important to do so regardless, just to ensure herself that she wouldn't in fact, make the jump and would instead find the piping along the wall, and use that to cautiously shimmy over to the machine with the hole. She did just that, sticking the recorder in a tuft of her mane whilst constantly expecting it to fall and clatter into the "immediate death" zone below -- only to find that there was in fact, no oil slick or comedy gag waiting for her on the other side. "Huh." That didn't seem good. Rather, it was good, but not in the good way the filly was hoping. Applebloom was hoping she'd dodged a bullet, but instead, she just got a chill down her spine. Jumping and slipping wasn't the main attraction here. In fact, besides the fall and the aesthetics of the factory, the factory on a whole was sort of underwhelming and that was perhaps the most disturbing thing of all. Like it was all building up to something that was about to explode. Something Sweetie related, Applebloom had no doubt. "...if you have the will to live..." Don't die Sweetie, Applebloom begged. Don't die. Applebloom climbed in the hole. Sounds became more echo-y in what she found to be some sort of cave. The hole wasn't made of plaster but instead, it looked to be naturally (as natural as a factory in the middle of a mansion can get) set and made no sense in contrast to the industrial feel of the factory she'd just left. If Sweetie had ever been through here, Applebloom couldn't imagine how. Even with the flashlight, it was so dark. The black spots in the walls -- she could only imagine they were coal -- seemed to be sucking the light away from the world around her, making it still next to impossible to see more than a few feet in front of her. Some vague notion of how this was the way light behaved around substances as black as coal, but Applebloom knew there was nothing "normal" about those things. If the light was the enemy of ghosts, then that coal was the enemy of the light. Applebloom did not and probably would never understand what kind of horror Sweetie Belle had survived that night, but somehow, just that quality of this place gave her a bad feeling that Rarity would be particularly hard to catch. The tunnel was so long. Applebloom was getting flashbacks of the tunnel before the fight with Gilda and expecting to see apparitions in front of her. Applejack, or perhaps more likely, Sweetie Belle, calling her into a trap. But like the non-existent oil slick, there appeared to be no traps left for the filly. 'Cause they already got Sweetie. 'Cause they already got what they wanted. Ahm just a... (a side character?) Ah ain't important to Specter's plan... Sweetie... Then something hit her all of a sudden. A queasy feeling. Specter's plan didn't make sense if Sweetie died, if she was particularly important. If he had control any over the ghosts, he wouldn't! At first, Applebloom wanted to think that "of course Sweetie was going to be alright! Specter's model is too far in for his centerpiece to be taken out all of a sudden." But then she thought about in the relatively brief span she and Sweetie had been traveling together, how many times all it would've taken was a moment's hesitation for Sweetie to meet an untimely end. It was almost like it didn't matter if Sweetie lived or died anymore. Applebloom felt sick because she wondered if Celestia might've been wrong. Maybe it was really just a coin flip. And Sweetie had really only just turned up heads every time. And in this game, all she had to do was turn up tails once before it would be- (Game over, man. Game over.) No... no, it couldn't be that simple, Applebloom thought. There'd been too many factors in Sweetie's favor that shouldn't have even existed. Pinkie's involvement. Specter saving her from Spiffy. For it to just "not matter" was contradictory. All of it was contradictory. And in the end, it didn't seem to raise Sweetie's chances of survival because the facts of the matter could no longer be trusted. That thought only seemed to grow louder in her head as the monotonous machinery behind her seemed to grow quieter, and the sound of clockwork gears seemed to grow steadily louder in front of her. And in her gut, Applebloom knew Pinkie was telling the truth. Sweetie was here. And she was about to die. *** "I don't think we finished that talk we had earlier. How I'd planned to kill you." Scootaloo knew very well that her time was up as the cold encroached upon her. "At first I was thinking... ah, posh, look at this pitiful little thing," Specter explained. This was the old Specter. The one that she imagined saying "bucking" instead of "fucking". The perfectly emulated Canterlot-ian accent that was familiar to her and not the far, far away voice that seemed to rise out of the stallion from hell itself. The one that was, with its familiarity if nothing else, comforting. "I wasn't going to get any pleasure out of killing you slowly. Not really." He said the word "really" with a grin that seemed to grow even wider. His teeth were so white. So perfect. Scootaloo hated it. It was like he hadn't even been touched -- if anything he looked better. "Life's already handed this poor filly a downer. She's an orphan! She can barely fly and is... what. 11? 12? Ah, what does it matter? And to top it all off she's a blank flank! Constantly checking to see 'duuh, i just took a poo, did I get er cutie murk? Dawww...'" The mocking tone was followed by a gale of cackling laughter. "But after that little stunt? Right there? You know... I don't think I am going to go easy on you. You think you've made mistakes before?" Then he stopped smiling. As though he knew that would scare Scootaloo more than anything else. He changed again. "You done fucked up now, filly. I'm going to make Sweetie's night look like heaven when I'm done with you." A feral, animalistic scream came from the side, and Specter was no longer standing over Scootaloo and now half buried into a wall off to the side. Celestia was standing there, panting as though she had lungs to pant with. She locked eyes with Scootaloo. "Get out of here," she ordered. "But-" She turned her attention back to Specter. "I'm going to end this." "Because that worked out so well before, now didn't it?" Specter said, climbing out of the hole Celestia had sent him into. "You and the others need to get out of here," Celestia said quickly. Then, for the last time, she locked eyes with Scootaloo with a deadly serious look. "I'm bringing this mansion down. Now." The words were sudden. Immediate. Those eyes said everything else. They said to Scootaloo, "this mansion is his power," and "He's stronger than I thought," and "So long as it's standing, he'll never be defeated. It's the only way to stop him from fulfilling his plan," all at the same time. Scootaloo had plenty of objections to this, but she wouldn't have had time to say anything. Because as the mist returned to that basement, Celestia exploded in a flurry of magic that sent Scootaloo flying backward. How far she'd gone, she couldn't say for sure, but eventually, she did hit a wall. After that, things went dark for a few moments before she finally came too. There was silence. Was she alone, she wondered. Then the mansion moaned. Then she started to hear things falling. Scootaloo dodged to the side before a bit of the falling ceiling could hit her. "Crap! Crap!" She scrambled to her hooves and sped down the hallway -- all of which appeared to be made out of wood, she noticed -- looking for something, anything that looked like it might lead somewhere anywhere but there. She could only assume at that point she was in the basement between the lack of windows and the fact Specter might've mentioned something along those lines. As such she had to assume the direction she had to go was up. If she was right, she was right. If she was wrong, she'd just glide to the ground wherever she saw the window. Provided some ghosts didn't snatch her out the air or something stupid like that. Speaking of ghosts, Scootaloo had to skid to a halt as she saw something yellow dash past the far down hallway of the basement area. Scootaloo was drawing a blank on what that color meant. Butlers? Babies? Dogs? Celestia, she wished Sweetie was here. Celestia, she wished Celestia were here. Was she still fighting Specter? She imagined a hole, sending them both somewhere deeper into the mansion -- some cavernous area where they would have their final battle. And as awesome as it would've been, Scootaloo thought she might for once not miss witness something so "awesome" anyway. She'd just tell the others that she did see it when she and the other crusaders all got together. Rainbow too. Definitely Rainbow too. Yeah. That's what I'm gonna do. A white ghost zoomed to the right. Had Sweetie mentioned anything about white ghosts? Wait. Rarity? Could that be Rarity down here? It'd make sense, for sure, considering that pervert Specter was creeping up on the mare and trying to marry her. It'd also mean one of two things: that either Sweetie (and hopefully Applebloom) were close by, or they were way off the mark- A black ghost zoomed past. Now Scootaloo was sure she'd definitely not heard of any generic 'black' ghosts. Well, they weren't as black as they were 'off black' or 'of a darker color' if she wanted to be politically correct as Cheerilee might put it. It was after the black ghost crossed by that all three of the ones she'd seen started to- They're floating backward...? Scootaloo squinted at them. Was she seeing that right? They sure were. In an odd looking conga-line, no less, with their hooves on the shoulders of the one in front of them. There was the black ghost first, then the white ghost, then the yellow-orange ghost that- That's... that's Spitfire, ain't it? There was no "ain't it" about it. Even from that distance, even as a ghost glowing in the dark Scootaloo recognized the mare immediately. She was here. And with what looked like a guard from the Sun and Moon guard respectively. And they were all dead as fried chicken. They flourished their shoulders at the filly in a manner she might have almost thought was seductive. "Bump da bump bump," their gesture seemed to say. "We are comin' for that rump." Then they started to laugh and fly at her, Spitfire leading the charge. "Oh boy." *** As Applebloom exited the coal tunnel and entered what she could only describe as a tower, the sound of gears became near deafening -- as though she'd opened a door to the cacophony of sounds of metal grinding hard against metal. The entire room was like nails on a chalkboard and she desperately wanted to cover her ears and return to the relatively less-awful comfort of the tunnel again. She was so distracted by the blindingly loud gears that she almost walked off the edge where the tunnel ended, and into a sea of rapidly spinning gears that looked closer to buzzsaws than anything else. The only thing that suggested they were gears were the significantly slower moving ones all along the walls going up infinitely toward the top of the tower. The top, notably, could not be seen, but Applebloom did see something that was equally terrifying. Sweetie Belle. She could see her shadow hanging from a rope somewhere far above. Applebloom took a few steps back, shaking her head. "Naw... naw... naw..." She stepped back once. Twice. Once she was past the veil that separated the sound of the tower and the sound of the cave, she realized at some point that stepped on the recorder which she'd kept in her hoof in such a way that she made a mistake and hit the play button. And the first thing she heard was the sound of Pinkie's cackling. "Naw... naw..." She kept saying. "What's wrong 'bloom? See something scaaarrryyy?" "Please," she said in a voice so soft she might as well have just thought it. "Just tell me that wasn't real. Tell me she's not dead." "Okay! It's not reeeaaal. She's not deeeaaaaddd." Just as Applebloom was about to bawl, Pinkie added in a sort of eye-rolling tone of voice. "Sheesh, quit being a baby 'bloom. It's not like this would be the first fake out! Hey! Baby Bloom! Oh oh! Even better! Baby Bloomer! Ha ha! I gotta write that one down!" As the sound of pencil against paper filled the speaker of the tape recorder, the words did coalesce to Applebloom's psyche, resetting the cracks that had started to form at the idea. She supposed it was possible: the distinct Sweetie shaped shadow could be anything -- or anypony that wasn't the filly. Then came the other, very real possibility in Pinkie's next words. "Who knows if she's dead or alive, my little Baby Bloomer! But there's one sure-fire way to find out for sure!" "Y...yeah," she said weakly. Pinkie was right. There was one way. But if Applebloom did see Sweetie hanging there, really, then dead or alive, illusion or disillusion, she would break. Perhaps not permanently, but certainly enough to fall to the bottom of the hazard that was the tower. ("You'll die immediately!") "Yup! I sure did say that thing that got written!" Applebloom took a deep breath. "...I'mma turn ya off now." "Okaaaaaay! Careful! She's a hardboiled filly that doesn't play by the-" Applebloom shut off the recording, put the tape recorder down and walked forward into the tower. The last thing she needed was to press play by accident here. She needed all four hooves and all of her focus if she planned to scale the tower in one piece. She scanned the surroundings. She couldn't see what was actually making the shadow from where she stood. That was a good thing, she hoped. She also didn't bother trying to call Sweetie's name for two main reasons. For one, it was too loud. And for two, if Sweetie did hear her, there was a solid chance that if Pinkie was telling the truth, she may react in a bad way to her presence. She at least wanted some distance to be closed before that. To her left, gears appeared to be functioning some sort of platform that could take Applebloom higher up the tower. From what she could tell, that was her best bet. First, she had to make her way along a narrow indentation that went along the circumference of the tower -- wide enough for her not to have to press her belly against the wall and risk pressing herself into the grinding gears that made them up, but certainly small enough to give her a fright or two if she looked too far down. She moved slowly, but thankfully she didn't come across any problems along the way to the platform as she hopped on. The platform took her up a distance, allowing her to see past the apparatuses sticking out of the walls and previously blocking her view. She saw what was making the shadow. When she first glanced, all she could see was the white coat. Applebloom's heart skipped a beat. Then she realized that it wasn't just the coat that was white. Everything on the pony hanging there was white. It was a maneiquin meant to look like Sweetie. And it looked off. As though something sharp had been stuck into various places of the blank pony replica, and that it had been cut in certain places. Notably part of one of the ears were missing, as though, unlike other parts of the body that had been gone at with some sort of sharp object, it was ripped and frayed at the edges. Applebloom would've felt relieved if she hadn't felt more disturbed. There was the first thought that came as a relief: "That ain't Sweetie." Then the second thought made it's way to the surface: "... but Sweetie saw that thing hangin' there if she came through." Applebloom didn't doubt the filly had seen her share of horrific things in the last however-long they've been trapped in here. She had to ask: had she seen anything as personal as this? No, that was wrong. The better question was how Sweetie might contextualize an image like that so close to the pony she'd become so emotionally invested in. As in, how would she feel knowing Rarity, or some ghost that pretended to be her, did or wanted to do something like this to her? Before Applebloom could examine the new height further, as the platform approached it's top and was preparing to go down again, saw how pistons were slowly coming in and out of the walls going further up and around the tower until it reached a metal beam. They seemed to be all moving at once, if not so close that it looked like they would all go into the wall at once, and leave at the same time. The filly couldn't calculate whether or not once the platform reached its climax if it would be the best time to maximize the length of time she had to reach the top of the spiral before she no longer had pistons to stand on. What she could calculate, however, was that the platform she was standing on was never meant for her weight. The mechanics of the platform reached a snag that seemed to groan in place before she heard the distinct sound of something snapping. "Gah!" Without thinking, she jumped toward the piston just as the platform fell down. As it hit the bottom, the winding grinding gears below ate the platform. The shreds of wood and metal made up the platform was eaten by those gears and disappeared to somewhere below. She didn't see it, too focused on the pistons and the fact they were already on their way into the walls, but the disconnected thought did cross her mind, is that what bones sound like in those things? Go go go go! She thought to herself. Applebloom sped her way up the pistons, running as fast as she could. She worried the GCD was slipping off her back as she did and thought of how the gears if given the machine, would leave nothing left if it were it to fall. She didn't have time to really check or straighten the thing on her back -- she could only pray that it just didn't fall. With barely a hoof to spare, Applebloom made it onto the weak wooden board that served as a makeshift bridge over to what appeared to be a ladder on the other side. Almost out of breath, she made sure the little vacuum was still secure and indeed it was. Still no sign of Sweetie. Applebloom remembered what Pinkie had said -- she'd definitely suggested Sweetie was somewhere she could be killed by grinding gears. Wasn't that here? Or could she have moved on? If Ghost-Pinkie was as omnipotent as she pretended to be, surely she'd know that much. It should've crossed her mind that there was a possibility that the mare had lied and just wanted to bring her here for shits and giggles, but right now the tension was too high for her to have the energy to account for it. And then she heard the sound to end all sounds. A sound that, in Applebloom's ears, was all too clear, even with the gears all around her grinding away. It was a hiccup. Sweetie's hiccup, she was sure of it. She was only one level up. Applebloom wasn't too late after all. (Or maybe she was, and didn't realize it.) When she looked up, the light seemed to be too bright, obscuring anything past several meters up beyond the ladder. Applebloom carefully walked across the wooden beam and over to the ladder. She ran through her head what she'd say to her, only stopping at the beginning. Sweetie, I'm... no, that ain't right. It's alright Sweetie, it's... nah, nah... Ya don't gotta feel... There was no telling what she'd say to Sweetie once she saw her. She'd just have to find out when she did. Every rung of the ladder she grabbed with her hooves felt like a lurch in her chest, like it was about to explode in any minute. She was going to see something terrible up there, past what she realized to be dust particles, reflecting light off light making it impossible to see anything inside of the cloud. Then, Applebloom made it to the top of the ladder and nearly fainted. She was close to screaming, but even that she only barely managed to stifle. There were more hanging maneiquins. That didn't surprise Applebloom, really. She'd seen the vague silhouettes hanging above and expected to see more, but that wasn't quite what the filly got to see. In reality, there were only two more manequins: one of Scootaloo, one of Applebloom herself, and one of Spike. All hanging in a way meant to look like they really were dead bodies. But those replicants of herself and the friends she knew didn't hold a candle to the actual dead bodies hanging around them. The bodies of all her friends, Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie and A...pple...jack... All with wounds that Applebloom could only hope were inflicted postmortem. They were dressed in their gala outfits, so the extent of their injuries was impossible to see, but by the blood covering the gowns, it certainly looked gruesome. Flies were already festering their snouts, their eyes, and whatever other open wounds they had because all throughout them appeared to be needles with aimless threads through the eyes -- like their bodies were some sort of sick excuse of a pin cushion. The only thing that kept Applebloom from screaming her head off was the quick conclusion that these were in fact, the old bodies -- as could be told by the faded white spots where their cutie marks used to be. At least on the mares who's dresses were ripped enough where one could see their flank. As much as it may have been easier to excuse this as a trick of Pinkie's, besides the tape recorders, it was quite easy to see that as far as this display was concerned, the mare hadn't touched them. This was all one ghost's doing only. And Sweetie knew it. Sweetie, the one curled up in a fetal position at the other end of the tower. The filly was sobbing and somehow Applebloom could hear that too. Between the two fillies was another bridge, this one made out of metal. However, it didn't go all the way across. Between them appeared to be a 10-foot gap. The area that could be walked was barely two feet in width and about four feet in length, she supposed. The first things that came to Applebloom's mind were pirates and the planks that mutineers would be forced to cross by the captain in those stories. Only here, they weren't attached to a boat but a nonsensical tower. And there were two of them. Sweetie was on one and Applebloom on the other. "Sweetie," Applebloom said impulsively forcing a smile. All too suddenly, Sweetie stopped crying. She slowly looked up from between her legs and over to look at Applebloom. There were a number of things that made Applebloom's smile fade into more of a twitch of the face that did everything in its power to keep from going down in complete horror. The first thing was the look Sweetie gave Applebloom. Even with the distance separating them she could feel the vacancy in those eyes. (Gone, gone, gone, baby oh baby my Sweetie has gone.) There were tears to be sure that were rolling down the filly's face, but that face betrayed that of simple sadness or fear. It was the same sense of resignation Applebloom had felt when she picked up Sweetie's things. Sure, she'd kept the saddlebags, Applebloom could still see the things slung over Sweetie's back, but it felt more like she'd forgotten they were there more than anything. Besides, they didn't have anything to do with the hunt. In a way, the fact she'd kept that, but left everything else was so intentional, so (gone, gone, gone) specific, it made Applebloom feel even worse. Surely this was the first thing she noticed -- or at least it was the first thing she wanted to notice and not the second thing she only got a glimpse of as Sweetie raised her head. "Applebloom... hey..." Sweetie slurred with no expression at all. "Swe..." the words caught in Applebloom's throat. She doubted Sweetie had heard her at all. Sweetie stood up, and Applebloom could see it indeed hadn't been a trick of the light at all. For behind her, stuck into the wall and pinned many times to a dead gear that sat in the wall was a rope. And that rope was attached to the filly -- wrapped around her neck. She... put that there herself, the filly thought absently. For once, it looked like Pinkie had been wrong and her first assumption, her first fear had been right all along. Applebloom was going to watch Sweetie hang herself after all. *** It should have been a dream come true: A fantasy comes to life. Scootaloo was being chased not by her idol, but her idol's idol. The one and only Spitfire. It didn't need to make sense why she was being chased by Spitfire, but the fact that she was, was a-bucking-mazing! "Awesome," one might say. That alone would've been great. But then she finds out Soarin is here too? Echo? What the hay, what did a filly like Scootaloo do to deserve this? Was it her birthday or something? When she'd entered the mansion, she was sure it was still at least a few months away, but now, she wasn't entirely sure. So maybe! "You know!" Scootaloo cried. "I've had dreams of stuff like this! Wouldn't tell you- woah!" As Scootaloo rounded a corner and saw yet another ghost moon guard charge at her. She (completely and intentionally) ducked and slid under them just in time, but not soon enough for the ghost to run a nice chill down her mane. She felt slightly heavier as though the ice crystals on there was really enough to weigh her down -- but thankfully they weren't enough to slow her down. "Yeah!" the filly continued. "Nothing quite as freaky as this, but... ya know! What are you gonna do? Supposed to be hitting puber-shit! Shit!" Spitfire had already flown circles around the filly, so beating her or any of the Wonderbolts in a contest of speed -- especially in their superpowered ghostly forms was going to be beyond impossible. Thankfully as ghosts, they still appeared still follow the something resembling the laws of physics as any living pegasus had to live by -- meaning even with what appeared to be much more impeccable reaction time, speed and momentum needed to be equally acted upon over a distance proportional to the object the force of acceleration was acting upon. A thing Scootaloo was proud to admit she had learned out of Cheerilee's class -- even if it was only a vague understanding and served to only to better understand Rainbow's flying statistics. In more immediate terms, it meant that even with the bullet-like speed of the mares and stallions around her, particularly regarding the three Wonderbolts she counted so far -- Celestia I hope there's no more -- if she kept dodging just right, they would keep having to stop and/or turn around, allowing Scootaloo the chance to make more distance before another fly-by. Sure there were, from what she could tell, seven different ponies making flybys now and three of them were the Celestia-damned Wonderbolts, and some of them were coming from the Luna-forsaken-bucking walls like the five that did just that a second ago- But all in all, Scootaloo was pretty sure she had a good chance of not dying. Talking shit to the Wonderbolts was the only thing keeping her somewhat sane right now. In regard to the sea of ghost ponies that came through the wall left of Scootaloo, she barely had time to think before she spied and jumped on an end-table that was mercifully just sitting against the opposite wall the five ponies had just phased through. They were headed straight and hadn't accounted for her being higher than her own height, so between the end table and her wings she used to glide the rest of the way, she cleared them with relative ease. Also something, something, the mansion was still kind of crumbling around her. "Haha! Suck it, nerds- gaha!" A piece of debris fell on Scootaloo's head before her hooves could touch the ground and she herself could start running again. She saw stars as she was flipped front-ward onto her head and rolled the next couple of feet until she skidded to a stop. She felt blood trickle down her head and wondered for all of a split second if she'd gotten a concussion. Then the spirits of the guards and the Wonderbolts were upon her. They surrounded her and Scootaloo saw there was absolutely no escape. They were all laughing at her with those insane grins she'd gotten used to that night. "A heh..." Scootaloo laughed nervously. The words that came next were more automatic. She supposed if she was about to die, she wasn't going to waste such fire material for her last words. "D-d-d-don't suppose you'd just settle to give me your autographs and you just let me go, huh?" The Guards' stares didn't waver, but the Wonderbolts looked at each other. Then Spitfire just said, "Like we'd give our autographs to a chicken like you!" Welp, I got called a chicken by the captain of the Wonderbolts. I think I've lived a full life... The ghosts' laughter got louder as she felt herself being picked up by the mane while the ghost Sorin reached down her throat. And just as Scootaloo really was done for, farther down the hall, Specter crashed through two walls with Celestia following close behind. She stopped in the middle of the hallway. "Scootaloo!" "Lihhle helph!" she choked. The ghost alicorn's horn flashed and all of the spirits were suddenly blown backward and were gone with a loud, DING! -- either phased through the floor or the walls around them. As Scootaloo coughed and got to her hooves, she was about to say "Thanks," when she caught the princess glaring daggers at her. "What are you still doing here?!" Celestia screamed. "Do I look like I know where I'm going?!" Scootaloo shouted back. "Oh ladies~" The voice called through the hole. The mist was back. That terrible misty air. "GO! THERE'S-" Scootaloo was telekinetically pushed off to the side and down to the ground as Celestia dodged in the same direction. Bullets flew through the walls, throwing splinters of wood everywhere. Most of the bullets didn't make it through the wall but the ones that did Celestia managed to deflect with some magic she shot out of her horn. At least mostly -- as a few bullets made it through, adding to her collection of holes and increasing the anguish displayed on her face. Scootaloo stayed glued to the ground, frozen with the knowledge just an inch raised would put her in the path of that hail of gunfire. Eventually, it stopped, but something told Scootaloo that wouldn't last for long. "Go!" Celestia repeated. And go, the little filly did, speeding forward with no real sense of purpose where. Thankfully this time, Celestia was following close behind with hopefully a better idea of where to go than her. "Where?!" "The stairs going up are ahead!" She went on. "The basement's about to collapse! You need to hurry and get everpony out! Before the rest of the mansion follows!" Her expression really did betray her. This time, Scootaloo could most certainly read that same last sentence with the word "Twilight" traded out with "everypony" in the form of a brief twinge of shame betwixt the panicked expressions. Or maybe it was the concussion that was making her delirious into thinking she'd just looked that. In either case, just as she said that and turned around to face the hole she created behind them, Specter walked out of his new hole. He dusted some debris out of his mane and smiled. "You think knocking me around will do anything princess? Don't you get it? I can't die!" The mist was back. Scootaloo wondered if she'd make it all the way to that last stretch of hall in time while dodging the collapsing ceiling. "I'm already immortal, my dear Princess. That is my gift." Definitely a concussion. The words sounded odd in Scootaloo's ears. Strange. ...fake? Time to go! Scootaloo forced herself from a shakey trot into a full on sprint. One second. Two seconds. Three. Four. "Even if you and your friends escape," he promised. "I will not die. I will never die. Never. NEVER!" Then the roaring laughter came from the stallion's throat. Five seconds. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine- Then Scootaloo heard the gunfire start up again followed by the electric sound of Celestia trying to keep any from hitting the filly. She ran and ran and ran. Just as she made half the distance, more rubble appeared to be falling from above. All it would take was for one thing to hit her one more time and she would be buried with the rest of the mansion. She dodged left. She dived right. Just a little further, and she would be home fr- Two bullets whizzed by her. One of them grazed harmlessly through the top of her mane. The other one buried itself into Scootaloo's left hind leg. She screamed as she tripped and rolled to a stop. The mansion was still crumbling around her -- the ceiling just around the doorframe looked ready to collapse. She couldn't think about the pain if she ever wanted to know it past the next few seconds. So despite the blood which she quite nearly slipped in, she got to her hooves and kept on running in a fashion that was more of a limping trot than anything else. The sounds of fighting were distant behind her now. Celestia and Specter had moved on to fight somewhere else. Win, Princess... win. She might have thought "win before he takes you over for real this time," but was too busy diving through the doorway just as the ceiling collapsed, blocking the way to that level of the basement. Now all she could hear was distant rumbling as she lay there, catching her breath and in incredible pain. "Guh... guh..." she gasped. So far so good, she wasn't going to get crushed to death by the mansion. Still, there was the smallest, newest problem the filly had to deal with now: it looked like she was that it looked like she was going to bleed out right there. Great. Against her better judgement, Scootaloo looked down at her hind leg and moaned even more, seeing the blood gush out the way that it did. Through the red, she spied a glimmer of something green and deduced that it had to be the bullet that hit her. "G...reen bullets?" Scootaloo knew absolutely nothing about guns besides what she saw in movies. Strange, she thought. Bullets were supposed to be orange, or silver, or copper, or gold, but green? She'd never seen a green bullet before. Not that it mattered. It hurt deep. And it was going to kill her. "Get up," she ordered herself through gritted teeth. She didn't dare look up. There was light somewhere around, allowing her to see, but she didn't want to look up and realize how far she had to go. She didn't want to think about the odds. She just kept Rainbow in the center of her mind, and the intense desire to see her and everyone else again. Rainbow... Twilight... Fluttershy... Scootaloo climbed the first step. Rainbow... Pinkie... Applejack... Another step. Rainbow... Spike... Applebloom... Sweetie... Rain- "Ack!" Another jolt of pain shot through her entire leg causing her to collapse. She didn't realize that she was sobbing until the pain dulled into a numbness she couldn't quite call "healthy," now could she? She was going to die here. In this dark. Dank. Miserable place. She was going to- "AAAAAAHHHHHH!" Scootaloo screamed. "HEEELLLP!" She doubted it would do her any good. If anything, it would only serve to call ghosts to her and kill her that way. It wasn't ideal but, as much as she hated to admit it, it beat bleeding out. "HEEEEEELLLLPPP! HE-he-he-EEEELLP!" She scream-whimpered again, becoming less and less hopeful with every letter in the scream. She was full on crying now. If Rainbow could see her, ha, she would laugh. She could see it now. She would laugh and laugh and- "HEEEEELLLLLPPPP MEEEEE!" Scootaloo's voice grew hoarse. She had about one more scream in her, she estimated. She was getting dizzy. The world was spinning. The dark itself was spinning in the opposite direction. So disorientating. She wished she could just sleep. Just sleep. The pain was gone now. Was it supposed to go that quickly? Was it already supposed to feel that cold? Or were those the ghosts encroaching on her? She could feel some presence getting closer. She could. "Heellp..." Scootaloo said weakly. And then she was staring upward. Just staring. Staring. "...heard... there..." She could hear a voice now. Calling to her? Or just calling? "...an... her... P..." It was a nice voice. A nice voice indeed. Soothing to the filly. So soothing. And as Scootaloo shut her eyes for what she only supposed would be the very last time, she hoped that it was all over, that Celestia would win, and that at least everyone else would make it out alright. Then she heard hoofsteps. And then there was darkness. *** Applebloom stared at Sweetie and Sweetie stared back. "Are you... real?" Sweetie finally asked. "Y-yeah!" Applebloom said immediately. She said it at the end of a breath, so the sound came out as more of a gasp. "And... you've got the GCD I dropped." "Yeah!" Again, more of a gasp than a real word. Her heart was beating so fast and large she wondered how her lungs were even able to find any air at all. Sweetie then took a look at the bodies and manequins surrounding her. She sighed a depressed sigh. "No... no you're not real. Are you?" "Ye-" the word came halfway out her mouth before she realized Sweetie's question. "Ah mean, no! Ah mean... Ah mean..." "Who cares," she interrupted. "If you're the real Applebloom or not... who cares? ...that's funny, right? Aren't you going to laugh? Like the rest of them?" "Ah ain't gonna laugh!" Applebloom called out. Tears were coming down her face. Sweetie was so far away. She was so far away and there wasn't a thing she could do about it. The jump was too far and the rope was too long. Long enough to snap a neck, Applebloom was sure. Maybe even worse than that. "Why not?" Hundreds of thousands of reasons ran through Applebloom at lightning speeds. ("Because we're friends!" "Because I'm here to help you!" "Because I'm real!" "Because you're about to... about to...!") "You wouldn't remember," Sweetie went on. "But... earlier tonight something like this happened. Spiffy was trying to get Spike to do something like this... as an accident. To make it my fault. Maybe it would've been if I messed up. Or if you... the real you weren't there. You know?" "Why are ya doing this?!" Applebloom cried out. She didn't know what else to say. "Why?! It don't make no sense!" "Maybe not to you... if you're really you..." Sweetie stared at Applebloom. The applebucker's heart lurched when all she did was take a step toward the edge of the metal plank. Applebloom put a hoof up in the universal gesture of "No!" but the word just wouldn't come out. Her throat was too dry. "Why... you asked why, right?" "Yeah Sweets! Why?" Then she smiled a fake looking smile. It sent a chill down Applebloom's face -- that smile combined with those empty eyes. "Because I'm worthless." The phrase was so bizarre, so out there that Applebloom had to blink a few times to let the words register in her mind. What...? Worthless...? Sweetie...? Again, a thousand thoughts flashed by. Ways to contradict such an insane combination of words. "W-who in hay put that idea in yer head?!" A list of names pushed through Applebloom's mind. Specter? Spiffy? Rarity? Any of the other ghosts that had taunted her that night? The smile faded and Sweetie shrugged. "Nopony... not really," she sighed again. "They said it, last, yeah but, really... nopony but me. I just... tried not to think about it for a while. Tried to pretend the thought wasn't there, but it was. You can't catch a thought. You can't kill it either... not..." She trailed off again, off into a deep part of her mind Applebloom feared she may never fish her back from. Applebloom shook her head. "Rarity got ya thinkin' like that, didn't she?" Then she was back. "And what if she did?!" Sweetie snapped. The suddenness took Applebloom by surprise and nearly making her jump. She took another two steps towards the edge. "She didn't put the thought there though. She woke it up! She reminded me. I thought it and ignored it for months until tonight. But now..." What in hay was she talking about? Applebloom racked her head, her thoughts interrupted by Sweetie taking another step towards the edge of the plank. She was so close. So close and yet so far. "And now... I gotta make it right," she said after a while. "I talked to her tonight. Finally, I got to talk to her. For real. If I... I wasn't supposed to save her, you know." "W...hat?" "She was right. She didn't need saving. She never needed it. Crazy as it sounds, Specter was going to make her happy! And I screwed it up..." Sweetie took another step. One more and she'd be over the edge. She'd be falling and then- "But now I can make it right, you know? I can leave her be. I can let her be happy..." She stared into Applebloom's eyes for a long time. (Gone, gone, gone, baby oh baby my Sweetie is gone) "Are... you really... the real, Applebloom?" "Ah... ah..." The words wouldn't come to the filly. If she did, she risked Sweetie calling her a liar and jumping. If she said she wasn't, she'd lose hope and end up jumping. If Applebloom said nothing, and kept on stuttering "Ah... Ah... AAAAAAAHHHH-" then Sweetie would go ahead and still end up jumping. Applebloom fell to her knees. Her brain wouldn't work. It was short-circuiting as she saw Sweetie jump over and over. She heard that snap of her neck and again like a broken record that span so fast, if she touched and tried to stop the mad sound coming from (the gramaphone) (Sweetie's mouth) (her inner voice saying she was going to kill herself. she was going to kill herself and it'll be all your fault) she would catch on fire. As the days passed, the years passed, and Sweetie's corpse just hung there. Rotting with the rest of her friends as insects and maggots festered all throughout her making her plump and purple and bloated until the flesh rotted off to be ground in the ever-turning gears below. All while the applebucker's sister just kept going "Ah... ah... ah..." like the broken bucking record playing in her head. "You... have the GCD. If you... really have to go after my sis... if you're really real... you can do it. You deserve to get out of here," Sweetie finished, her hoof over nothing but air. "You have the right to make your sister happy..." And then Sweetie "It ain't yer fault..." Sweetie stared at the applebucker. She didn't say anything. "Rarity... what happened with Rarity ain't yer fault." "What... do you know...?" "Ah know ya tried to kill somepony. Like ya wanted ta kill Specter," Applebloom went on. Shakily she got to her hooves again. The story Pinkie told her earlier reverberated in her head now. That was all the gramaphone played. That story. Her only chance. Yes, before it just seemed like more Pinkie nonsense, but now it was Applebloom's only hope. No more thoughts on how she could convince Sweetie -- just her honest thoughts on the matter. "What... do you know...?" Sweetie repeated. She was more stunned than anything. It was the first real expression she'd shown since seeing Applebloom, though the filly didn't look up to face it. "Ah know... ya were mad... and scared. Cause nopony saw it... not me... not Scoots... nopony and ya were alone..." Applebloom chose her words carefully. Treading ground from what Pinkie told her and what she knew about Sweetie into unknown territory. She swallowed. "...and... ya were scared ya'd lose Rare, cause she was all ya thought ya had. And... ya made a mistake... and did somethin' Rare turned sour over... and now tonight ya wanted ta save her. Tonight was yer big chance..." Applebloom put up a smile that would've done the Element of Honesty proud. "...am ah close?" "...so what...?" Sweetie asked. "What? You're trying to remind me too?" She sounded as though a part of her was trying to be accusatory. Then there was the other part Applebloom vaguely recognized as somepony she actually knew. The filly's mind grasped onto that "somepony she knew" with all her might. "Ah'm tryin' ta get ya ta think, dang it!" she screamed. "Ah don't know nothin' about that whoever Rare was seein' but are ya really gonna look me straight in the face and say Specter wants ta make yer sis happy? Are ya out of yer freakin' mind?! Have ya had yer eyes shut all night? I ain't even been awake half the time you been, and I see that all Specter cares about is hurtin' you! You! You! You!" Applebloom's fear had turned to anger, and she couldn't keep it in. "Yeah, ah think Rare got in yer head! And yeah! Ah think tonight's been hay on you in every way possible right now! But ya wanna know somethin' real? Ah think right now yer acting mighty worthless! Ya wanna run from what Rare's gotta say? Ya wanna run from whatever truth or lies she and Specter's got that ya think has truth in 'em? Because that's whatcha doing here! Ya ain't gettin' Rarity to forgive ya! Ya ain't bein' sorry! Yer just running away from her! Yer just running! 'Cause yer scared! Just like the rest of us! And that's all yer gonna ever do if ya... if ya..." Applebloom hoped she could yell and scream forever as the words poured from her mouth. If only just to keep Sweetie there, frozen in place on that plank. She felt her knees wobble as the energy just went out of her all at once. Keep going... she ordered herself. ...or she'll die. "...do... ya still love her?" Applebloom asked. "What?" "Do ya still love her?" "...Applebloom of... of course I do!" It was the most genuine thing she'd said since finding her. Applebloom resisted the urge to smile, lest it be interpreted as a laugh. "Then why ya just standin' there when yer supposed to be savin' her?" "Because..." Sweetie paused. "Because I really think... that's really her. Deep down... I really think she hates me." There was a silence between the two. Sweetie didn't move forward, nor did she move back. Applebloom didn't avert her gaze. There was only one real answer that came to the filly's mind. One that came as sudden as the speech that spewed from her mouth only moments ago. "...who cares?" "...what?" "Who cares if she hates ya. You love her, right?" "Yes!" Sweetie said immediately. "Yes I do! I was doing this because I...! Because..." "...then act like it. It ain't yer job to go dying for her. And it ain't my job to catch her! It's yours! As her sister, it's yer job to protect her. Whether you think she's happy or not, do ya think she's safe with Specter? Do ya really believe that?" Sweetie didn't respond. "Course ya don't. Ya wanna know why?" Applebloom went on. "Because that stallion's insane. His butler's insane. His kids are insane. Everything about him is insane and everypony around him follows. And he ain't safe to be around. Not alive. And not dead." "Madame's not insane..." She muttered. "Who?" "...his wife..." "Right... his wife..." Applebloom did remember mention of the mare. "He's married then. So ya ain't gonna tell me that makes sense he gonna have two wives now." Sweetie wasn't looking at Applebloom anymore, but down at the whirling gears. Her mind was a million miles away for what seemed like a long time to both of them. Then she shrugged. "...I don't know. Some ponies are into that, I hear." Was that a joke? A real joke? Or at least an attempt at one? "Ah dunno Sweetie. Rare always crossed me as the uh... mono... mona... crap, how d' ya say it?" "Monogamist," she said lowly and slowly. "Yeah, that!" She sighed. It was a healthy sigh. Not quite devoid of the depression of before, but Applebloom would take it nonetheless. "Yeah, I guess you're right." There was another long pause before Applebloom dared speak again. "Are ya... feeling better?" "...no... no, not really," she paused. "...but like you said. Who cares?" As she said those words, Sweetie took the noose from around her neck and held it in front of her. "How I feel doesn't really matter while Rarity's in Specter's hooves." "Yer damn right." Applebloom nodded. Sweetie tossed the noose to the side. However, instead of falling to the side like a rope attached to a wall is supposed to, it snapped from where it was attached to in the dead gear. Then the gear started to spin and it started to spin fast. "Aw hay," Applebloom's ears went down. Sweetie did the same as she looked at the gear. *** "It's a tra-" Before Sweetie could get the words out of her mouth, the two metal planks gave beneath the two fillies. They screamed, but both managed to grab at the planks as they flew down and against the wall. Applebloom managed to hold on but Sweetie, upon the plank's impact with the wall was thrown off with force. Out of sheer luck however, she fell in the direction of her own hanging manequin and grabbed at it with all her might. This time, she managed to hang on. "Sweetie! Help! Ah'm slipping!" Applebloom had both hooves hooked into the sides of the plank now hanging vertically. As she cried, she was indeed sliding down the plank toward the end. Below her was the wooden bridge, but between the narrowness of it and the bridge and the shoddiness of it's integrity, Applebloom would doubtlessly crash through it and fall down to the sea of death-gears -- and that was if she even touched the bridge at all. "Hold on!" Sweetie wracked her brain for what she could do now. She looked over by the entrance to the tower. There was the platform above the tunnel that blocked anypony from seeing into the room besides the silhouettes. She remembered thinking she'd see her own corpse when first walking in the room because of that blinder and was willing to bet bits that Applebloom thought the same. There was no way Sweetie would be able to catch Applebloom. The mock corpse was too high up and wouldn't have reached Applebloom. She considered using her talents, but was sure that even with Twilight's mark, she'd get too weak before getting either of them to safety, effectively killing them both. Fluttershy's and Rainbow's were pretty useless in this situation too. And all Pinkie's mark would do was just remind her how screwed the both of them were anyway. Almost like the real deal. How about Applejack's then? An idea formulated in Sweetie's mind. Using Twilight's mark for thinking alone, she calculated if what she was trying would even be possible, and as it turned out it was. Risky as hay, but possible all the same. Sweetie began to pump on her mock corpse, as though she were on a swing -- because effectively, that's what she was doing. She was swinging along the circumference of the tower toward Applebloom as far as the rope would allow. As she listened to it creak, she hoped it would hold long enough. "Don't complain, okay?!" Sweetie called. "What are ya-" Then Sweetie executed the plan. At the end of her forward swing, she jumped off, and as hard as she could, bucked Applebloom off the plank she was holding on to. The filly cried out in pain, but the desired effect came to pass. Applebloom flew along the circumference of the tower -- thankfully not getting caught in any of the gears along the way -- before landing on the platform over the cave opening. She moaned in pain, but was still alive. Now that left Sweetie Belle, who herself was still flying through the air and now after passing her own momentum onto Applebloom, was falling straight down toward the pistons, on their way out of their wall. She switched her focus from Applejack's talent onto Twilight's again, calling upon her levitation magic to slow her ascent ever so slightly. She still hit the piston hard, but not nearly hard enough to break the bones in her legs, and just enough not to miss it as it went into the wall. She winced but knew she wasn't out of the woods yet. She went back as far as the piston would allow, and once it was at full length, she called upon Rainbow's talent and ran toward the end of the piston, jumping far and wide until she came to a rolling stop inside the mouth of the tunnel. She was in pain. She imagined Applebloom was in pain. But the both of them were alive. They were alive. "Sweetie!" She could see Applebloom's legs wiggle as she climbed over the lip of the platform. Then she swung inside of the mouth of the cave and joined Sweetie Belle. She stood over her for all of a second before joining her on the floor, the both of them out of breath -- albeit for different reasons. "Hah... hah... You alright, Applebloom?" "Hah... hah... Yeah... yeah, ahm alright... you alright Sweetie?" "Hah... Yeah... yeah I'm okay... hah... hah..." Sweetie swallowed. "Hey... Applebloom?" "...yeah...?" "Thanks for yelling at me back there... I think I'm this close to... losing my mind..." She raised a hoof and pinched the air to emphasize her point. Applebloom considered the present-tense nature of the statement, but decided it didn't matter with the filly breathing next to her. "Yeah... Ya... and every pony else..." "Yeah... yeah... well they do say... crazy loves company... I guess... I don't know..." The two of them laid there, breathing hard, saying nothing. Then Applebloom spoke up. "...ya got... a kick like a mule though... ah'll tell ya what," she commented. "Blame... your sister..." They both breathed hard for another few seconds. Then both of them laughed. Prologue- The Letter [REBOOT]To Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Element of Harmony or Whomever Else It May Concern My name is Specter Yield. We met a few days after I innitially arrived in this region of Equestria when I came through Ponyville. I want to begin by thanking you for the incredibly warm welcome you and the local townsponies gave upon my arrival. It was more than a pleasant surprise after the long journey up to your capital. Which is in part why I write this invitation to each of you. If it may be my honor, I would like to return the favor by inviting each of you to join me at my manor just outside of town for a private gala hosted by me and my staff of servants who should be also arriving shortly as well. I insist you join as I do not plan to keep you for more than an few hours, as I'm sure you are busy what with the immesurable duties of the Princesses and Elements. If you are indeed able to find the time to attend, the festivities will of course take place at my private estate at six o'clock in the evening this Saturday. I will not attempt to give directions, as not only am I still unfamiliar with the Everfree Forest area, but I'm sure you already are aware of the location of my estate. I believe you mentioned that you innitially noticed it's location not too long after it's erection. So I'm sure you will "know it when you see it", as they say. I will conclude this invitation by once again hoping that you will accept, because while there is food and drink, I’m sure each of you would be looking for an explanation of my home and my reason for coming from almost the other side of the country. With your town's supposed notoriety for attracting malicious entities, the last thing I'd desire is for you to think of me as another one of your "Nightmares" or "Discords" I've heard muttered amongst you all. If there's one thing this old stalion would not like to appear as, is a threat. Once again, I hope to see you very soon. Sincerely, Specter Yield [Continue] Author's Note To those reading this currently, it's worth noting to all that this story has been written with the mindset that events from Season 3 onwards along with the movies and Equestria Girls has not happened. Also I have no intention of changing or removing the choice chapters. Not because they were ever a good idea, but purely because I'm lazy. If you want to look at the bad endings, more power to you, but for those who see how stupid they are, I apologize. Just go green as I must've written somewhere else. With that out of the way, please enjoy this trainwreck of a story. Chapter 1- The Flight of the Cutie Mark Crusaders [REBOOT]“Hey Applebloom. Think you could help me fold this end over this way?” Scootaloo asked. "Sure," Applebloom replied, moving over to Scootaloo's side of the oversized sheet of paper. Scootaloo and Applebloom bit the end of the page, clamping down with their jaw and pulled it over towards the center. Once there, they both stopped and looking at Sweetie Belle. Of course, she wasn't paying attention to what the two other fillies were up to. Instead, she was off to the side staring off into space, clearly somewhere else mentally. "Sweetie?" Applebloom tried to call her through the paper. It was muffled and didn't even phase the one entranced by absolutely nothing. "HEY SWEETS! WAKE UP," Scootaloo boomed, taking her mouth off of the paper. Without Scootaloo, the rigidness of the paper pulled Applebloom slightly back to the to-be fold's origin. Sweetie snapped in her direction. "Huh?" "Run your hoof along that part there, would you? We've gotta make a clean crease and can't hold the thing steady with just one of us." Scootaloo said before helping pull the piece back in to place. "Right, sorry." Sweetie went around to the other side of the sheet to crease the paper so Applebloom and Scootaloo could lie the now folded piece flat. Both of them spat out their edge of paper with a "blech". Who would have thought that something Pinkie owned could taste so bad? Then again they should have been thankful somepony had such an unpractically large piece of paper on hoof. Then again, considering the array of miscellaneous items the mare had on hand, was there any doubt? Though Scootaloo was already moving to the other side of the sheet before Applebloom could pick her head up. "Alright girls, other side now." she said. “Eh Scoots? Hold on." Applebloom looked across to her friend. "Ah know ya wanna fly an’ all but do ya really think this ‘ere gian’ paper airplane ‘ll help git our cutie marks?” Scootaloo nodded in assurance. “Totally! I've been thinking about it all week! A building cutie mark probably... or crafting, whatever the heck you call it. Or when we fly this thing, maybe a flight cutie mark! Maybe not for me, since... you know." she erected her wings and looked at them, showing how redundant it'd be for her of the group to have a "flight" mark. "...but just think how cool it'd be if you could say you flew, turn around and-" she flipped around to where her cutie mark would be (if she had one). "-BAM. They see a plane... or a wing... or a piece of paper or something. I don't know. But it's foal proof!” “Scootaloo, we done tried some crazy stuff before, but don'tcha think this is kinda... pushin' it?” Applebloom said. “Yeah. Don’t you think this is kind of... dangerous maybe?” Sweetie said slightly lower than Applebloom. “No way! Look." Scootaloo jumped across the page over to her saddlebags. Her energy hadn't wavered since they'd made their way to the top of this hill. She was no doubt excited about their latest plan. After a moment of shuffling inside, she took out a little paper plane with three small generic pony dolls glued to the top. Written on the side of each were three names. Scootaloo in the front, Applebloom in the middle and Sweetie in the back. "See, I've got the design just right to hold our weight." "Just like that paper boat ya thought we could float in?" Applebloom commented. "This one's different. I spent all week in Cheerilee's class perfecting it this time." "Right... you kept asking me for paper." Sweetie sulked, recalling her mental note to buy a new notebook before the week started again. Another 5 bits she could have spent stuffing herself at the Sugarcube Corner, or perhaps paying more of her library fines off she owed to Twilight. "Anyway check it." Scootaloo threw the paper plane at Sweetie. Before she could catch it, it struck her head, sticking it's nose into her poofy mane. "Ow?" Sweetie automatically said, feeling the sharp tip of the plane strike her head through her mane. It didn't hurt, but for some reason she found it mildly annoying. "It flies great. And this version'll fly just as good. It'll be the same thing. Just a little bigger." A little? Sweetie thought as she took the plane out of her mane and threw it back at Scootaloo. The plane was enormous! Or at least it looked like it would be judging by the size of the paper. She was sure once it was done it would be able to fit a maximum of six fillies rather than three. This should have been slightly encouraging but... "Besides, even if it was a little dangerous, that hasn't stopped us before right? We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders! Nothing scares us, especially if it gets in the way of our cutie marks!” Scootaloo said. She paused before looking at her two companions and laughing. “...don’t tell me you are scared.” “I ain’t scared of nothin’.” Applebloom defended proudly. “Y-yeah. Me neither.” Sweetie looked out off of the hill they were building their airplane on high over Ponyville. "But... we just ain't tryin' to do nothin' that will get us killed." Applebloom added, glancing at her friend's hesitation. She wouldn't look fearful, but she'd be lying if she said Sweetie's obvious fear wasn't justified. Sweetie agreed with another "Yeah". She waved them off "Psh... have a little more faith in me. Like I said. It's foal proof. We'll be fine." Scootaloo promised. "If you say so." Sweetie and Applebloom sighed. *** The three of them had been up there for just about the entire Saturday. In their sisters (or in Scootaloo's lack there of, "role model's") absence to go to some party they weren't allowed to attend, the three had been able to work nonstop on their airplane project, now nearing completion. Sweetie, of the three of them knew their latest cutie marking scheme was among their most dangerous yet. She was never one who enjoyed blindly diving into danger, though the problem there was she rarely could articulate or project herself well enough to protest. Plus, with few exceptions, it would usually be the two of them versus her own opinion wimpy opinion. Though at the same time, she didn't mind being put into situations that, hurt her (and in some cases threatened her life) as long as she had her friends at her side. It was always nice to know that even if she came out of a try for a cutie mark with a few nicks and bruises she could still share a few laughs with her friends. Still, even with Applebloom's stubborn nature to appear brave, it was refreshing to Sweetie to actually consider how insanely bad an idea this was. She had probably been so nerve wracked over the project since the first time they came to the top of this hill that some of it must have rubbed off on her. It wasn't much longer before they put the finishing touches on the crude, yet recognizable paper airplane. It didn't turn out exactly like Scootaloo's model, but it looked stable enough to look flyable. Good enough for Scootaloo to say: "Yup, that's perfect! Applebloom, you brought the rope right?" "Yeah. Sis wasn't workin' today, 'n no one else was either, so there was a ton a rope just lyin' around." "Nice. And Sweets, you brought the fabric too right?" "Right here. I got corduroy. You said you wanted it to be rough, right?" "Right, so we don't slip off when we take off. Alright, lets get it on the plane. I want to get off the ground before the sun starts going down." Ropes sewed on by Sweetie to be attached to different parts of the plane for steering and something to pull on in order to take off, and seats, or rather patches of fabric to be super glued on by Scootaloo to help them keep from slipping off the plane to meet a most unfortunate end. These were Scootaloo's "safety precautions". Both Applebloom and Sweetie, at this point knew that these were poor when they couldn't find any type of parachute or contingency item. However by this time, they couldn't back down now, or convince their "Scoots" how bad this idea was. Instead, they both occupied their minds by how much this plan supposedly meant to Scootaloo. Though it was likely a legitimate cutie mark plan, Sweetie and Applebloom both agreed Scootaloo's purpose was to have the ability to say she legitimately flew without help from Rainbow Dash. After all, she was one of the few in her class that had hadn't learned how to fly beyond gliding short distances yet. In their eyes, Scootaloo's desire and pride outweighed the danger. "Alright, cool!" Scootaloo grinned at their creation. "Now we gotta make it look cool. C'mon, there should be some paint in my saddlebags." The three of them spent the least time however painting the plane, whilst being careful to not put too much paint in one area to weigh it down anywhere. It was painted the colors of each of the filly’s coats with the purple letters CMC at the nose and flank of the plane creating a tri-colored rainbow effect. Sweetie tilted her head, the Rarity in her unsatisfied. "I dunno girls... looks a little tacky." "What are you talking about, it looks great!" "Just look at the way the colors are blending. It looks like someone started a lazy rainbow and gave up." Sweetie criticized. "Bah, what do you know about design?" The sister of the town-wide designer gave Scootaloo a look that, as if to say "Seriously?". However she held her tongue as Applebloom snickered silently. Scootaloo didn't notice either of them. “Alright guys, you ready?” Scootaloo said. She picked up her saddlebag, and went inside to take out some goggles that were only a shade darker than her own orange coat. Sweetie sighed. "As we'll ever be.” Both her and Applebloom then put on their own saddlebags along with Scootaloo. “Sure hope ya know whatcha doin' Scoots.” "You worry too much." Scootaloo reassured her. "I'd expect this much complaining from Sweets." "Hey!" "Now, help me turn it that way. We need the longest strip of runway we can get. And we gotta start off fast too. You know, like we're throwing it." The three of them picked up the plane, surprisingly sturdier than it looked. Perhaps the hardened paint was keeping the wings still? Thankfully however, even with the added paint, rope, it was surprisingly light. Then again, that was only when the weight was distributed evenly between them. Scootaloo took her position at the front left of the plane, by her own patch of fabric. Applebloom went to the right of the plane, near the middle, by her patch of fabric. Finally, Sweetie moved around the back of the plane, behind her own piece of fabric. They each took an end of rope by their teeth. "Alright, on three, run for the edge. When we get there, jump on." Scootaloo said through her gritted teeth. "One..." Sweetie and Applebloom prepared to make their sprint. However, unlike Applebloom who had finally put her mind in the danger, Sweetie's legs shook as if they were preparing to buckle. The reality was dawning on her how high they were, and how high they were preparing to take off from. "Two..." She was scared. No, "scared" was too light of a word to describe her fear. She was terrified at the realization she would be a good hundred, maybe two hundred feet above Ponyville with barely a harness to identify or a prayer should their "precaution" fall through. If she took off on this plane, she was sure she wasn't just going to get a scraped leg, or a bruised flank. She felt it in her stomach, the sickening foreshadowing something horrible was going to happen if they took off from here. She felt they were missing something. She had to say something. She had to assert herself before- "Three!" Scootaloo and Applebloom raced along the sides, dragging the plane and for a brief moment, an unprepared Sweetie. Sweetie's brain went into automatic as her legs began moving as well, despite her worries. She barely even realized she was moving at all. Once Sweetie regained her footing, she also began pulling the plane along with her friends. They dragged the plane, gaining speed to the point they could barely keep up with the plane itself, until they reached the end of the their strip of land, and beyond which was nothing but a big fall. "Now!" Scootaloo yelled. The three jumped on, taking their spots on the plane, now grabbing onto the ropes with their hooves. As she thought she felt them dive, Sweetie shut her eyes in fear. She felt like screaming, but resisted the urge. If her friends weren't screaming, there wasn't any point to screaming, right? Right? Even with her self control, Sweetie expected the worst and for the plane to crash and that to be that. However, it didn't. She did feel wind rushing all around her, but it didn't feel as if gravity was pulling them down to the ground anymore. After a few seconds of not dying, Sweetie opened her eyes. "Ah can't believe this ol' thing is flyin'!" Applebloom said in awe. Looks like Sweetie wasn't the only one who had shut her eyes since she was also just noticing the relieving lack of crashing and/or spontaneous combustion. She could feel the tension in her rope, she could feel her flank just begging to disconnect from her corduroy patch, and she couldn't have her eyes completely open, but she was on the plane, and it wasn't pointing down. That's what mattered. "Ha! I told you!" Scootaloo said. To confirm they were indeed flying, and they weren't just still on the hill with a big invisible fan pointing at them, Sweetie peered over the edge of the plane. By now, they were soaring over Ponyville, and all of its inhabitants. Sweetie could make out some looking up in awe to see the sight of the over-sized "tacky" paper airplane. Others didn't notice or shook their heads, disregarding it as "another day in Ponyville". The day before yesterday, chocolate rain, yesterday, a pink hot air balloon, today a giant paper airplane, tomorrow a time and space machine. From the crusader's point of view, the sight of all of Ponyville was breathtaking. Rarely did ponies so young, especially earth and unicorns, see the world from such a vantage point. They could see the library, the boutique, the school house, the bakery, the library and even the farm, and the forest they were getting ready to fly over. This was truly a day to be a crusader. Though for her life, Sweetie couldn't help but still feel a sick, uneasy feeling in her stomach. *** They flew. *** They flew. *** They flew. They kept flying, and soon, they were beginning to head out of Ponyville. Out into the wilderness that was the Everfree forest. Then, something occurred to Sweetie. She suddenly had an idea why she felt so sick, even after they took off and were supposedly "safe", for now. A surprising ten minutes of flying, and now, only being able to see Ponyville at the tip of the horizon, Sweetie looked up at her friends who had quit discussing the amazement of soaring through the air. "Uh... Scootaloo?" Sweetie asked. Scootaloo tilted her head back to her. "What's up Sweets?" "You... do know how we're supposed to get down from here." Sweetie hoping if she stated it, it'd somehow end up being a fact. Instead the filly at the front turned fully back to her. There was a moment of silence as Applebloom and Sweetie stared at her, waiting for an answer. A bead of nervous sweat went down her neck. "Err... yeah, about that." "C'mon now, ya went through all this plannin' and ya didn't figure out how ta land?" "No, I did!" Scootaloo defended. "That was kind of what these ropes were for... Sweetie would yank that part and it would start going down. But uh-" "Ya thought we'da been able ta find some place ta land?" Applebloom asked, hints of annoyance in her tone. Scootaloo shrugged it off. "Hey. I forgot. What are you gonna do?" "C'mon Scootaloo!" "Alright, I'm thinking! I'm thinking!" Scootaloo said. Now she was beginning to panic. "Um... what if we got it going down just slightly? Just enough to skim the trees and slow down?" "Yeah, or get stopped suddenly and flung off the plane you dodo." Sweetie said. "We're going too fast! We have to keep this level or we'll just crash!" "I told you not to call me things I don't know!" Scootaloo said. "Dodo dodo dodo!" Sweetie taunted. The two of them argued and talked over each other pointlessly as Applebloom looked past Scootaloo into the distance. She saw something in the middle of a large clearing of the forest. Something she'd never seen before, and only heard of. After peering for a few moments, squinting to try and make out and assuring herself it was what she thought, she called her friends. "Uh girls?...HEY!" Applebloom said gaining both of their attention . "Look!" The fillies looked forward on their flight path. What they saw far off in the distance... was a large old looking estate. "Wait... isn't that the manor Rarity said she was invited to?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah, Dash said she was going to some mansion too." "Sis too... yeah, her 'n 'er friends." Applebloom recalled. "Sheesh... sure looks big. I bet you could see it all the way from Ponyville! Why hasn't anyone noticed it before?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie gave Scootaloo a puzzled look. Surprised that she was the one to remember something Scootaloo didn't. Especially since it was related to her own role model. "Don't you remember?" "Yeah, remember when they found that ol' pony Wanderin' round Everfree? Said he owned that mansion." Applebloom asked. A little less than two weeks ago, Rainbow, who had been assigned to start a light drizzle over the forest, noticed the mansion far off in the outskirts of Ponyville. No one had seen it before, and no one had heard of any recent construction out in Everfree of all places. The mansion's seemingly instantaneous appearance, despite the existence of magics that were designed to construct homes, was odd enough to eventually catch even the princesses’ ear within the first few days it was noticed. It was utterly unheard of for a house of that magnitude to spring up out of nowhere. About a day after the appearance of the mansion, Princesses Celestia and Luna had journeyed down from Canterlot to investigate the strange mansion. Naturally the Elements of Harmony: Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash (especially since she was the first one to spot the thing), were obligated to join them, in case this mansion turned out to be more than outrageous construction magic. Perhaps the work of another "Nightmare" or "Discord". However, before they could get halfway through the Everfree forest, the mares were met by the next best thing to the mansion: the owner, seeming to also be making his way to Ponyville. The owner called himself by the name "Specter Yield". He was an old, gaunt looking unicorn with a dark green coat and yellow eyes. His mane was well kept, and a solid shade of red. His cutie mark was just a strange brown splotch, as if someone has smeared chocolate over that part of his flank. Specter claimed to have his mansion "specially made", dodging adding any other details to an incredibly stumped Twilight who couldn't even fathom the amount of magical output to even put together the frame. Even if he, as he claimed, had ponies from a town far off known as Stabletown, to build his house in a hurry, she couldn't understand why the construction itself didn't cause an uproar. This however was the only explanation to which why no one knew of its construction and its sudden appearance. Speed and a questionable source of magic. Naturally, Twilight's suspicion was taken on by the others and there developed a fair amount of distrust of the stallion as they guided him back to Ponyville. Even Pinkie swore something was off, despite her sense reacting to everyone but the stallion. However, eventually, they put it to the side after noticing the earth stallion's old, and kind hearted personality and values. The kind of old guy that wouldn't hurt a fly, and couldn't even if he wanted to. Even the princesses decided to buy his story. Inevitably, Pinkie wasted no time in setting up a party for him, who was warmly welcomed into the Ponyville community. This is what happened according to both Applebloom's and Sweetie's stories, that seemed to agree with each other. "Oh yeah, now I remember." Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, our sis'... Rainbow... Pinkie, Fluttershy and Twilight went too ah think." Applebloom thought for a moment. "Ah yeah. Twi let Spike come ah think." "You would know that." Scootaloo teased. "What's that supposed ta mean?" Applebloom asked. "Um, I think we're getting off topic." Sweetie asked. "Sweetie's right. We gotta figure out a way ta get down without breakin' our necks." The three of them thought for a moment before Scootaloo spoke. "Well... you're right. If we're going to land, we either need something flat to glide down on, or we need to slow down and maybe get caught on one of those trees." Scootaloo concluded. "Alright, now how do we slow down?" "Uh... I don't know." she gave up. "Can't really think of anything besides waiting for the plane to glide down normally and hope for the best. Never seen a paper plane that flew forever. Heck, I can't believe this thing's flown as long as it has." Applebloom shook her head. "No good. We already been flyin' fer a while, and we still got a way down before we hit th' trees. Ah don't wanna be out 'ere when the sun goes down now. If we're gonna land, we better land soon" "I know, I know... hey, what about the mansion? We're headed the same way, maybe we could land on the roof?" Scootaloo tried. "And what happens if we miss? B'sides, ah think we'll be to low to hit the roof and just crash into the mansion!" "Damn..." Scootaloo cursed. "Well... I'm out of ideas." she sighed. "Probably should have looked harder for those parachutes..." "No kiddn'." Applebloom agreed. The situation looked completely hopeless on the tacky giant airplane. At least until a light bulb went off in Sweetie's head. "Wait girls... we do have a parachute! We have three!" The two of them looked back at Sweetie. "We do?" "Well... kinda." Sweetie explained. "I thought about it because of that paper boat actually. It made me think of a sail." "A sail?" Scootaloo asked. "Right. Um... a sail traps air to turn. Just like a parachute traps air to fall slower. Or slow down!" "And we... oh!" Applebloom began to see where Sweetie was going with her explanation. "Our capes!" "Oh yeah!" Sweetie grinned and nodded. The cutie mark crusader capes Sweetie had sewn herself with the CMC emblem on the side. This was one of the items they always carried on them. Both as a lucky charm, and a reminder that they are crusaders. It wasn't made to be a sail like Sweetie had thought of, but it should have been enough to slow the plane down to the point they could do something else. "Alri' then here's what we'll do. Ah think we can do with one. Ah'll get mine." "Careful." Sweetie warned. "I don't want you to fall." Applebloom nodded and put the rope in her mouth before letting the rope slip out her hooves. She then used her free hooves to move around in her bag past the other things she'd stuffed in there. Both Scootaloo and Sweetie looked at her intently. Seconds felt like minutes as they watched her. Eventually, Scootaloo asked "You found it ye-" However, before Scootaloo could finish her sentence, something smacked into her face. It was wet and shiny and went too fast to be fully examined. If anyone were able enough to examine it, they might compare it to snot. "a-" At the speed they were going, it was enough to knock her back, and force her to let go of the rope. She fell into Applebloom, who's items and self fell into Sweetie. Only Sweetie, who had been subconsciously and nervously had been playing with the rope in her hoof long enough for it to tie around it and help her keep her grip. Scootaloo held on to one of Applebloom's hind legs and Applebloom held on to one of Sweetie's hind legs, forming a chain between the fillies. They held on to each other for dear life, screaming in terror. The new weight on the back of the plane caused the plane nose to loop up, and send the nose higher. Eventually, the plane was pointing up vertically towards the sky. The paper plane started to slow, causing the fillies to cease screaming for a few moments as they were seemingly stuck in mid air when the plane came to a stop. "Uh oh." Scootaloo said as the plane turned downwards and began to fall to the ground and the fillies resumed screaming. Applebloom tried to keep herself together as she fell and screamed, trying to think of a way out of this grim situation. Now it was her turn for an idea to come to her. "Sweetie!" She called. "Ya need ta climb back up on the plane, ya hear?! Ya need ta pull the nose up so we don' crash!" Sweetie nodded, understanding Applebloom's plan. However, this plan wasn't exactly simple to execute. After all, she still had two fillies hanging on to her hind legs as they fell. Still, Sweetie had gravity and the light weight of the plane on her side. She had to try... it wasn't if things were going to be any better if she didn't. Sweetie attempted to reach out for the rope Applebloom used. She managed to grasp it and pull herself down closer to the nose. Despite all of the factors of physics on her side, the pull was difficult, being a filly, and an unfit one at that; she barely had the proper upper body strength to pull herself up. Thankfully, she managed to find the strength reach Applebloom's spot. Next, was Scootaloo's. "Ya can do it Sweetie!" Applebloom rooted from behind. "Go! Go!" Scootaloo cheered, feeling her grip loosen on Applebloom's leg. Sweetie was close. She was so close now. She just needed reach Scootaloo's spot at the front and they'd be saved. This was it. In the next few seconds, they was either going to live, or she would be making very close friends with the ground, followed by her maker. Now was make it or break it time. Now was the time to do or die. Sweetie reached as far as she could to the rope... but it was too far away. Her heart dropped as she tried reaching out as far as she could with her leg. But it wasn't long enough. The one rope that would save them was the one rope that was cut too short. "C'mon, C'MON." The ground was getting closer and closer by the second. There had to be something she could do to reach the rope. Sweetie tried again, this time, using telekinesis, the only magic she'd ever learned to stretch out the rope even further. She could hear some of it ripping out of the seams at the front as she tore it from the paper. Since she was still learning how to cast the simplest unicorn abilities, such a simple spell was draining to her. She could feel herself grow weaker, her grip loosening on Applebloom's rope. She remained strong, knowing her failure would result in her friends losing their lives. Sweetie shook her head, trying to remain conscious as she pushed out all of her magical energy, her very life force, to stretch the rope as far as she could to her hoof. Barely, she managed to get a hold of Scootaloo's rope. She began pulling herself in along with the rest of her friends, and makes it to the nose of the plane. "Pull up! Now!" Applebloom yelled. Sweetie yanked on the rope, jerking the plane into a 45 degree angle, still pointing down. Sweetie gives another good yank, leveling the plane out a little more. At this point, they were just above the trees of the forest thicket. "It's not enough! We're gonna crash!" Scootaloo said. She was right. Though they weren't going as directly down as vertical as before, they were still headed for the trees. If I can just get another good yank I can- Sweetie thought before the three fillies' faces were smothered with leaves and branches. The momentum of their sudden stop sent Sweetie and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders flying off the paper airplane, and into the forest. Sweetie let out one last yell before her world was consumed in darkness. [Continue] Author's Note There's a Fairly Odd Parents Reference in here that's also a famous pony meme. Can you find it? Chapter 9- The Portrait of Yields [REBOOT]"I wonder if that dumb cat figured out he isn't getting fed tonight...?" Sweetie quietly sighed this to herself as she continued to head up the stairs. Sweetie kept her steps as silent as possible, knowing if Applebloom was anywhere near her, she would hear her hoof steps. At least that's what she resolved to do ten minutes ago. Eventually, she assumed since was surrounded by silence, and the fact that the stairwell was relatively warmer compared to other parts of the mansion, she could safely assume she was alone in the staircase. Sweetie's paranoia told her to keep her guard up in either case. After all, Applebloom could be at the top of the steps, just waiting to stick that rusty knife between her eyes. Sweetie shuddered at the thought. And these worries had been plaguing Sweetie every step she took up the steps. The worry that all Applebloom had to be doing was lurking in a shadow that Sweetie's flashlight wasn't pointing for her to pounce. And that would be that. --"Hahahahaha!" --Shink! Splorch! --"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Dreadful. Time and time again, Sweetie had been thinking about this, thanks to the absolute nothingness she had to keep her mind occupied. So eventually she resolved to soothe her worries with her own voice, thinking of things that wouldn't be immediately trying to kill her. "A-and what about everyone else?" She mumbled through her flashlight, clasped firmly in her teeth. Sweetie, for some reason felt better at the idea of whispering her thoughts to herself to at least break the silence. It contradicted her paranoia's logic to staying silent for the possible miniature assailants nearby. Still, she just couldn't stand it. In a way, the lack of sound was driving her mad. Just the sound of her voice, and the illusion that she wasn't alone was sufficient to keep her hooves under control and doing anything they might regret. Like speeding up the steps as fast as she could, eliminating all other caution she had. "I... I wonder if anyone noticed that we were all gone. A-and that the moon's gone too." Sweetie said. The moon. The disappearance of the moon was certainly something to worry about. Not only was there probably some celestial imbalance happening as she trudged through the mansion, but there was another implication that Sweetie didn't want to dwell on for too long. "I-I wonder-" Sweetie was interrupted by a roll of thunder from the top of the stairwell. It roared so loud and thunderous, that it made her jump to the point of almost falling back down the stairs. Thankfully, she caught herself at the third step. "Thunder... an opening?" Sweetie said. Sweetie was relieved that she wasn't in too low of a basement level. Sure, the time it took felt like she was climbing up the stairway to Heck, but at least she was almost to the top. She would hopefully be back on the main floor of the mansion. Sweetie looked up, and turned her flashlight off for a moment. To her surprise, there was a faint light emitting from the peak of the stairwell. "Light too?" After being in the dark for so long, the idea of somewhere with light almost seemed too good to be true. Sweetie walked faster at the idea of a light at the end of that tunnel. She couldn't be far now. Though, as she got closer to the top of the stairwell, Sweetie slowed down, remembering her previous paranoia and fear that Applebloom was just waiting for her just at the top. Once the hesitation was back in full swing, Sweetie slowed to a complete stop. She froze for a few fearful moments, straining to listening for even the slightest sound that wasn't something resembling that of rain beating against something. After hearing nothing but this she shook her head. Get it together Sweetie. You're not going to save anyone standing still. So, with a shake of the head, she pushed herself forward. Sweetie had concluded that even if she was, to Sweetie's misfortune at the top of the stairs, Sweetie couldn't run away from her forever. After all, she still needed to figure out how to save Applebloom to begin with. --Without killing her? Without killing her. --Good luck with that! Sweetie hadn't stopped brainstorming ways she could save her friend. Even though she didn't know a thing about what she concluded to be some ghost possessing her, if there was one thing Sweetie had learned in the last couple hours, was there was always a way to save her friends. Even if it seemed impossible. Sweetie thought back to the battle with Fluttershy. Applebloom could have just let her die in that mirrored hallway. There was the hope that it was the real Applebloom. However something told Sweetie that she'd become possessed way before Sweetie arrived. After all, if that were true, the only way Applebloom could have been possessed was by leaving the safe room. Something neither Twilight, Applejack nor Fluttershy would have allowed. --But then again could she have left with posession? Sweetie found herself worrying now of the fate of her friends to be around such a violent ghost possessing her friend. Could that couple of seconds have been the real Applebloom? No. If Applebloom could resist the ghost inside of her then, she would have seen some of that when she fought her in the animal cage. It didn't make sense, and it made Sweetie's head throb slightly. Regardless, if there was one thing she was sure of, was that Applebloom wasn't dead. She was alive, and somewhere inside of that body. That's what kept her from breaking again. The hope that there was a way to save Applebloom. Somehow. "And... and what about Scootaloo?" Another thought that seemed bent on preying on her anxiety was the safety of her other friend. She was just as close to Sweetie as Applebloom and the idea of her having the same fate as the little applebucker made her just as queezy. Even more, she felt horrible about how little she'd thought of her compared to Applebloom. Sweetie remembered what the ghost in Applebloom had said. "...'course not. Yah always were concerned 'bout yerself. No wonder Rarity didn' love ya." Sweetie had only thought of her friends when they came up. Twilight when she happened to show up, Applejack when she saw her element on the door, Pinkie when she tasted the candy and really considered Applebloom when she was at her throat. --Ponies remember the funniest things at the funniest times! She wasn't sure for that moment if she really cared about her friends and whether or not Rarity really didn't- Sweetie shook her head at the idea. "Dumb brain, stop being dumb" She mumbled. Of course she cared about her friends and of course Rarity loved her. She was sure of that. It was just a ghost trying to mess with her head right? And besides, even so, her main focus had to be survival. If she died, she might have more time to think, but she wouldn't have any to save them. Still though, Scootaloo was just as much in danger as any other pony in the mansion. Sweetie wondered where she could have been. Was she a ghost now? Or was she possessed like Applebloom? Based on what Twilight said, it could be anything. Sweetie sighed. "Something tells me I'm gonna find out sooner or later..." And finally, there was Spike, another friend Sweetie neglected to think about. She never thought of Spike much on her spare time, and almost certainly not more than a friend, but she did however worry about him. Twilight said that he'd come to the mansion too, right? Twilight wasn't specific so she hated to assume something bad had happened to him. That said, she knew him being defenseless, lost and somewhere safe in the mansion was a little too optimistic. Sweetie couldn't help but wonder what his fate in the mansion came too as well. And worse, would he have powers like Applebloom had? Sweetie knew Applebloom was strong, but there was no way the normal Applebloom could have jumped that cage like that. Sweetie couldn't bear the thought of fighting a fire breathing dragon with super powers like that, but who knew. Maybe she'd get lucky and he'd just be a cold ghost she had to capture. --Already hoping your friends are dead? Dark! He he! Sweetie bit her lip. That was a terrible thing to hope and she knew it. Better than some alternatives, but still. Whatever the case, it looked as though this "ghostification" wasn't limited to ponies, as Sweetie saw with the dogs in the kennel below, and the mouse. So it was still a possibility. "Though, I dunno which would be worse. A ghost Spike or a posessed one..." Sweetie noted. She couldn't express how much she didn't want either. A memory came to Sweetie. It was a few months ago, back during the winter term of the school year. Sweetie had been assigned a book called "The Exorpony", which seemed to be about a little filly getting possessed by an evil spirit of an evil sorcerer unicorn. Despite being earth pony, she had telekinesis on themselves and those around them, the ability to take unreal amounts of damage, immeasurable strength, and hypnotize ponies into doing her will. Often making ponies do terrible things to each other. Especially their friends. The irony. The book ended on a creepy note as the filly's mother ended up having to use a priest to transport the spirit into the mother's body, and seal it within the confines of the which had more will power. Having the spirit within her mind to slowly drive her insane. It was one of the books she was unlucky enough to be assigned in Ms. Cherilee's class as they were studying the different genres of literature. How she had been among the ponies to get assigned the genre of "Horror" was beyond her. Despite the often dangerous and frightening scenarios she would storm through with her friends, she hated getting scared. Sweetie remembered many sleepless nights after reading that book. She recalled being fairly irritable and making pretty ill judgments from sheer exhaustion from being unable to sleep. Still, but it wasn't those nights that stood out to Sweetie. Rather the day she was getting the book. *** Sweetie entered the library, her head down. She seemed depressed, as if something had just recently gotten her down. Spike was the first to greet the filly. She also appeared incredibly aloof, seeming to be thinking about something on a far off planet. "Hey Sweetie!" Spike said happily. "What brings you here?" "Huh?" She looked up a him. "Oh, hey Spike. I'm uh..." Sweetie stopped for a moment, as if her loss in thought has caused her to forget her original reason for entering the establishment to begin with. Spike raised a brow. "Here to look for a book?" "Oh, right. Yeah." Sweetie said. "How did you know?" Spike gave Sweetie another look. Rather than answering her, he just looked around the room followed by a motion with his arm to highlight the thousands of books behind him. "Call it a lucky guess." "Heh... right. Library." Sweetie said. "Um... I'm actually looking for a book for class, called 'the Exorpony'. Have you heard of it?" Spike tilted his head. "Yeah. I know what you’re talking about but..." "But what?" "Heh. Never thought you of all ponies would be into horror." "I'm not. I said, it was for class." Sweetie sighed. "It's not like I'm looking forward to it." "Huh. I thought Chereliee made you all read less... I dunno, scary stuff." "Huh? Have you read it?" Spike shook his head. "Nah, sounds too creepy for me. Probably would give me nightmares for weeks." Sweetie blinked. "Eh heh... but if Cheerilee's making you read it, how bad could it be? Anyway, I'll go grab it for you. Wait here." Spike headed off, leaving her there in the doorway for a moment. She looked down at the ground as she waited, sinking back into her train of thought. "Sweetie?" Sweetie looked up to see Twilight in front of her. "Huh? Oh, hi Twilight..." Sweetie said, looking back down at the ground. "What are you doing just standing there like that?" Twilight asked. "I'm just err... getting a book for class. Spike is getting it I think. That's all." Twilight shook her head. "No I mean, like that... Sweetie, is everything okay?" Twilight asked. "Um... yeah. I guess." Sweetie said. She didn't see Twilight again, until she came over to the filly, gently nudging her head up to face her. "Sweetie. I can't read minds, but I do know when you're not acting yourself. Come on, tell me what's wrong." Twilight said. "I'm may not be your age, but I'm still your friend. You'll feel better if you talk about it." "It's just... well, I just had another argument with Rarity is all about..." Sweetie admitted. "All because I just messed up her newest dress and that suit. Ever since she got those jobs with those ponies and met... a-any way, Sapphire Shores, I think was one she's been working for, she's been really mean to me if I interrupted her while she worked." "Well Sweetie, Rarity does have a big responsibility with that pony and I'm sure-" "I know, but I still don't think it's fair! I had her first!" Sweetie exclaimed, taking Twilight aback. "S-sorry. I didn't mean to..." "...Sweetie?" Twilight asked seeing the filly go quiet. "Twilight... who do you think my sis loves more? Her job? Her own stuff? Him? Or me?" Sweetie asked. "You of course Sweetie!" Twilight said without hesitation. "You mean the world to her!" "You talk with Rarity a lot right? How many good things has she said about me?" Sweetie asked. "And how much has she talked about him?" "I-" Twilight paused. "I knew it." Sweetie said. "I'm just a bother and a pest to her." "No Sweetie. Rarity doesn't think that, or say anything bad about you." Twilight said. "Anytime she does talk about you, she always says how you're such a sweet filly... no pun intended... who always means well. Even if she does get herself in trouble frequently but still. And plus, you know how excited she's been recently. She hasn't gotten work like this in forever. And plus with him around..." "What?" "...nevermind." "...you really mean that? Your sure she isn't just sick of me?" Sweetie asked. "Of course. Would I lie to you?" Twilight asked smiling. "I guess not." Sweetie said. She gave a small smile back to the mare. Suddenly, Spike came back out from the back of the library. Something told Sweetie that he'd been listening in, but he made no indication of it. "Here ya go Sweetie. One Exerpony. No charge." Spike said. Sweetie smiled. "It's a library. Would I be paying for?" "Uh... those sewing book late fines?" Spike scratched his head. "Oh yeah, uh-" "He's joking. Don't worry about those... wait, what did you just check out?" Twilight asked. *** Sweetie couldn't remember what was in that book in detail, or at least nothing that she could use. Then again it was doubtful that she could get much useful information from a piece of fiction. After all, this was real as much as she hoped it wasn't. The only thing that she really attached that book to was a host of nightmares she complained about after the project was turned in, and that memory. She couldn't place why it stuck out now. Maybe it was just the fact that the normal mundane interactions of her life already seemed to be so distant and nostalgic. Still, of all the memories, even if it was nice, why did it come to her so suddenly? Was it just the book, and the hope to possibly exercise her friend? Or something else entirely? Sweetie found herself finally at the top of the stairway, to find the room had opened up considerably. Thankfully, it wasn't Applebloom who was waiting for her at the top of the steps. It had gone from a narrow stairwell, to a massive theater. Unlike the rest of the mansion, it was newer looking and well kept. The auditorium was filled with seats and was decorated with lit candles, magnified in light by lanterns. There was a stage at the very front of the theater with a grand piano sitting at its center. Everything looked as new and fancy in the room as the foyer did when Sweetie first entered the mansion. Someone should be here... An instinct in Sweetie's head told Sweetie that something was wrong with the room. Applebloom is supposed to be here, but she's not... Sweetie couldn't be there. At least she couldn't stay so out in the open where Applebloom could spot her easily. Sweetie knew by now to put faith in that feeling, as it had kept her alive so far. Sweetie moved to the back of the theater passing by the lit lanterns. They were just like the foyer, only the lanterns had made it much brighter, to accommodate for the larger space. Sweetie wondered again, why these were lit if ghosts preferred darkness? Them lighting them contradicted their existence. The same thing went for the foyer as Sweetie remembered back at the foyer when she fought the lickers. The lights went back on after she managed to catch all of the ghosts in the area, or at least there were no ghosts to begin with. It was peculiar. It was obvious that the ghosts were the ones to turn them out, so who could have turned them on? Sweetie assumed that candle light meant that there were no ghosts around. It made sense to stay in the room and investigate it a little longer, but with a possessed Applebloom on the prowl, someone who could probably walk out into the sun and not even be bothered, even this probably meant nothing. That room was one of the safest places at the moment from ghosts, but not from Applebloom. Sweetie exited into a dark lobby area. As Sweetie turned on her flashlight, she saw it was back to the same abandoned look of the mansion. Sweetie saw a ticket booth, with more sheets covering it. The floor was dusty and dirty, as Sweetie felt it like a thin layer of dry snow with every hoof step. The lobby was definitely a change from the auditorium. It was almost like the mansion couldn't make up its mind on whether it wanted to be new or old. The silence of the lobby was interrupted by another crash of thunder. This time, it was much louder and vivid than what Sweetie heard in the stairwell. Now, she could hear the sound of rain pounding against the mansion, and wind whirling in the air. She knew that she was getting close to some opening to the outside. Since Sweetie didn't have any idea where to go at this point, she decided to see where that opening was. Sweetie walked through a door in the lobby area that led to another hallway. On the right side of the hallway was a group of doors with stars on it. They made Sweetie think of dressing rooms, which made sense, considering she was right around a theater. Did that mean that Yield at one point had actual shows played in his mansion? Though that seemed incredibly impractical and impossible to Sweetie as she knew that the mansion had only been around a week, and even more she could have sworn that Specter said this mansion was only short term. Why would he need dresser rooms for plays if he wasn't going to stay long? Then again, the same could be said for other parts of the mansion Sweetie had seen. As well as the apparent shifts in age. The mansion was already strange to start with, but it seemed as Sweetie progressed, it kept getting stranger and stranger. On the left side of the hallway, rather than another set of doorways was a viewing window that stretched all the way down the hallway. Outside, Sweetie assumed was some kind of courtyard, though it was too dark out there to make out any real details. Except one. "What... what's that?" Outside, there was a circle of flaming torches, in the center of the area. The odd thing about it, was that through the buckets of rain that was coming down, and the whirling wind that made their flames whip around, it didn't show any signs of going out. It was almost as if the circle of torches was beckoning to the filly, calling her to meet them. "It might be a trap..." Sweetie admitted out loud. "But it might lead me to one of my friends..." With that conclusion, Sweetie pressed forward. Sweetie located a glass door that led out into the courtyard. At first, the door seemed locked, but Sweetie didn't see a key. She also didn't feel that chill of ghostly presence, so it wasn't like that any ghosts were keeping it closed. Sweetie rammed her small frame against the door, trying to open it. THUD! "Ow!" Sweetie fell down in pain as was knocked back by her own force. She must have hit a sensitive muscle as she went against the door. She might have given up after this if the door hasn't shook. It was less as though it were locked, but more as though it were being pushed shut. By the wind perhaps? "Can't let some stupid wind get the better of me." Sweetie got up and rammed the door a second time. Then finally a third before- WOOSH! She somehow managed to swing the door open, but only to be immediately pushed back by a torrent of rain and wind. It was strong enough to throw the unstable hoofed filly back against the other side of the hallway. She got up, covering her face against the water and wind that was hitting her face and eyes. Sweetie had seen the pegagus make some bad storms in her filly-hood, but never any this deadly and menacing. Not only was the mansion weird, but this storm was wrong as well. It was anything but normal. Were the pegasi really involved in the making of this storm? Who would do that, how, and most importantly, why? Through the rain, if she squinted Sweetie could still see the torches emitting their light. Sweetie knew it was a bad idea. Maybe even a terrible idea to go out there, but it was something about those torches seemed to call to her more than ever now. She couldn't just leave them be. Sweetie wouldn't want to remain out there for long though. She had to head back as soon as she found out those torche's purpose. With that, Sweetie firmly got on all fours, gripping the flashlight as tightly as she could with her teeth and mouth. She started to push through into the storm. It was a battle of forces. An anti-tug of war as Sweetie kept moving against the wind and the storm beat the filly back. It seemed to be growing more and more intense as she made her way forward. She fought the storm with every amount of energy she had, determined to see what was so peculiar about those torches. Though, in retrospect, all that could have been keeping them up was some decent oil. Who knew, maybe someone like Pinkie had set it up in order to lure the filly out here, and trap her in this storm that was near suicidal to be in the midst of. The thought that her newest goal was another trap almost made the filly turn back, but she kept going. She came out knowing it could be a trap so it wasn't as though she was unprepared for that. And besides, even if it was a trap, Sweetie was almost there. Water filled her mane and her vision was blurred by the wind and rain. By now, her perception of the torches was just a yellow blob that she could barely see through her squinted eyes. She couldn't see anything. So how could she have expected the ground to give way under her? "Wha-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" A hole. Sweetie had fallen into a hole, which was surrounded by the torches. The hole dropped the filly about 30 to 40 feet. As she fell, she didn't think anything more. Then again, how could she think? What could she think? There was nothing she could do. After all, once she hit the ground, she'd be dead, and she was pretty sure it wasn't a dream this time. So it was a trap then? Sweetie had fallen in to a hole for a trap? Probably the most primitive one in the book, and this would be the thing to kill her. Of all the things that she was threatened with that night, that she had survived, she was going to be bested by a hole in the ground. Sweetie felt anger for herself well up inside of her in those seconds. Frustration that she could have been so stupid and careless. Sweetie opened her mouth, letting the flashlight fall out of it. She shut her eyes and let out a scream, not out of fear exactly, but partially out of frustration as she came closer to the end of the hole. But something caught her. Rather, some pony caught her. Two hooves had caught the filly and were now cradling her in them. "...a filly?" a voice said. It was the same ghost like misty echo Sweetie had heard before. The same sound that horrified her so much. Sweetie opened her eyes to find herself staring into the eyes of a ghost. Sweetie assumed it was a mare, from her voice, and the vivid eye lashes on her face. Her coat was yellow, but not as pale a yellow as the foal ghost. She was transparent, but she didn't have the dead feeling about her, aside from her transparency and chill. Her eyes had pupils, and almost looked alive. The mare wore an old, yet incredibly beautiful purple dress. Sweetie didn't have the energy scream at first, but the mare knew saw the fear well up in the filly's eyes. "Don't be afraid." she said softly. "I'm not here to hurt you..." Sweetie processed the words through her brain for a moment. Yeah, not here to hurt me my flank. She thought. For obvious reasons though Sweetie wouldn't say that, with the mare literally having her live in her hooves. The last time she'd come in contact with a "sincere" looking ghost, she was paralyzed, freezing to death in a mirrored hallway. "Please... say something. I... know my appearance is menacing but-" the mare said. "L-..." Sweetie started. "What was that?" She knew it was probably futile to try, but since her options were already limited, she had to try. "L... let me go!" Sweetie yelled at the mare. The mare blinked. Sweetie didn't wait for another response before attempting to escape the mare's forelegs to no avail. The mare frowned. She floated down to the very bottom of the crypt that had opened up from the hole. She gently let the filly down. Sweetie looked at the mare, puzzled. They both stared at each other curiously, as if each had their own slew of questions to ask for the other. Finally, Sweetie spoke. "W...where's my flashlight?" The mare waved her hand, and a torch lit the darkness, revealing the her flashlight. It must have hit the ground hard enough to turn it off. Keeping her eyes on the mare, Sweetie cautiously made her way over and picked up her flashlight, putting it back in her mouth. It tasted of dirt and metal now, in her mouth, so she took it out, and attempted to wipe it off with her own dirty coat. And with a good shake, it turned back on. She shined it on the mare. As she had come to assume with these special, non-generic looking ghosts, handled light differently than regular ghosts as she didn't hear a "ding!". After a moment of letting the realization sink in, of both her inaffect to light and the fact she wasn't being attacked, the mare spoke. "Filly?" "W-what? What do you want from me?" Sweetie asked, looking up at the mare. She shook her head. "No need to be so rude. I understand your fear but... I... I just want to know your name." she said. Sweetie was skeptical on wither or not to trust this mare. Her paranoia said no. Her brain said no. Though, her heart said on the other hand said to give her a chance. Still though, she'd already listened to her heart that night, and it almost got her killed. Twice. "You first." Sweetie said suspiciously. The mare smiled at Sweetie's paranoia, as though she went from seeing it as disappointing, to cute. "You may call me Madame. Madame Yield." she smiled. Sweetie stepped back at the sound of that last name, but Madame held her hoof up. "Wait! I'm not like the others. I'm not here to kill you or steal your spirit." she said. "Liar!" Sweetie said. "Your... your that evil pony's wife! A-aren't you." She smiled. As though someone were telling some kind of joke. "Specter isn't evil honey." "Shut up!" Sweetie yelled. "He turned my friends into ghosts, and turned my other friend against me to kill me!" "I'm.... I'm quite aware of that. I suppose that would be problematic towards proving my case." Madame said. "I've been watching you. Or rather, hearing about you. The one. I just... never expected you to be a filly." "What are you talking about?" Sweetie asked. "I've been observing your progress. You've caused quite a stir within the mansion Miss..." Madame trailed off. "... B-elle. Sweetie Belle." Sweetie said. "Sweetie Belle. What a beautiful name." Madame smiled. "W... what do you mean I've..." Sweetie asked. "The ghosts have been talking about a hunter moving around the mansion. Someone running around the mansion catching ghosts and taking them to Celestia knows where. Well..." She smiled and shook her head, as though she thought of something, but decided against saying it. "In a way, your kind of the boogieman to some of them." A hunter huh? Never thought they were scared of little old me... Sweetie thought. "A-and you've been watching me?" Sweetie asked. "In a way, yes." Madame said. "I've been listening through my... er, sources. My ability to move around the mansion is limited for a few reasons." "Huh? Like what?" Again, she shook her head. "That's not important. You caught two of the most powerful ghosts in the mansion in less than two hours. I was impressed after you managed to catch the first one and I supposed it was determined. From then on, I've devoted any power I had to assisting you." Sweetie remembered the candles. "Was that you? Were you the one who lit the candles in the foyer and the auditorium?" Madame nodded. "It was the only thing I could manage to help you with from where I was. I apologize that I couldn't do more, but my power is becoming more and more limited. Still however, I thought that being able to be sure wither or not a ghost was in a room was somewhat useful." "So... you've been helping me then?" Sweetie asked for confirmation. "Yes." she said back. "Why?" Sweetie asked. "Why help me? Why not try and kill me like every pony else?" "Because-" She paused again. It was obvious she was choosing her words carefully. "...I have no quarrel with you... and young filly, as much as it pains me to admit, you’re the only hope anyone this mansion has now." "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "What do you mean?" "I mean that we're running out of time. I'm not sure what will happen once everything is finally complete." Madame said. "And... and I'm not sure there's anyone still in this mansion that’s alive or not possessed by a spirit. I remember having an orange filly run through here a while ago... but I'm not quite sure what her fate was." "Y-you saw Scootaloo?" Sweetie stuttered. "Yes, I believe that's what she called herself." Madame said. "She came through here, and I only asked her to locate the hunter that managed to catch all of those spirits. I doubted she could find the pieces to return to you, so I didn't mention them. The hunter, you, was who she was to be looking for. Then again, I suppose I heavily implied that it was some mare, rather than somepony such as yourself." "Where did she go?" Sweetie asked. "She went to the end of this crypt... and if she managed to get through safely, she should have found herself in the church area of the mansion." A church? Seriously? What doesn't this mansion have? Sweetie thought. "H-how long ago was that?" Sweetie asked. "I'm sorry... but it was around the time you were being mentally manipulated." Madame said. "Mentally what now?" Sweetie asked. "You were being manipulated by the Portrait of Magic when you entered the kitchen to confront the Portrait of Laughter." Madame explained. "That magical ghost mare's power increased to the point of you going completely insane for a moment, after her other part was rejoined with her." Insane? Did that mean that she was only imagining Sugarcube Corner? And what did Madame mean by 'other part'? "H-her other part?" Sweetie asked. Sweetie remembered Twilight telling the filly that the ghost got most of her spirit, but not the whole. "Y-you mean... that Twilight's been-" "Transformed into another ghost." Madame said sadly. Sweetie stepped back. That couldn't be true. If Twilight was a ghost now then how the hay was she going to save her friends without her magic? Without Twilight, she only would have two halves of friends, and the rest would be ghosts. "No... how am I supposed to save them now?" Sweetie said to herself. "Hm?" "I...can't bring them back to life without Twilight. How am I supposed to save them without her?" "Oh... the portraits..." Madame closed her eyes and nodded. "Yes, you still can. You just have to do it." "M-me?" Sweetie said. "Yes, you. You’re a unicorn, right?" Madame said. "You can use magic." "N...no. I can't." Sweetie said. "I can do some simple stuff... but I'm no Twilight. I can barely stay awake using the easiest levitation." "I figured you were inexperienced. It shows in your methods of capture. Otherwise, I'd expect you to use more complex light spells in your hunt. My abilities would be fairly useless. That's just as well. As long as you can use some. As a unicorn, you simply need to be able to except and output magic through your horn." Madame explained. "Especially in this case. The only issue is that for someone like you, a large amount is needed." "B... but-" Sweetie started. "Hold on a moment. I'll be right back." the mare said, floating off into the darkness. After a few minutes of waiting in the torchlight, Sweetie was once again greeted by her ghostlyness. "Here we are." In here hooves, was a small yellow box in the shape of a star. It shone in the torchlight and against Sweetie's flashlight magnificently. Madame gave it to her. "What's this?" Sweetie asked. "Inside of that box is an unstable charm. It allows whoever it is cast on to have their magic abilities considerably magnified. Almost to the strength of an alicorn." Madame said. "A-an alicorn?" Sweetie asked. "Y-you mean like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?" "Yes, but only for a short period of time. Less than a minute I'd guess." the ghost mare said. "I'm not sure, it could even be as low as a couple seconds... still, that would be plenty of time for your purposes. All you'd have to do was charge the painting of your choice with enough magic, and you can materialize your friend through the paint. That's what you've been doing right?" "You mean the spirit printer?" Sweetie asked. "Whatever you want to call it." Madame said. "So... all I'd have to do is catch Twilight, and turn her back into a normal mare?" This seemed like an incredibly attractive plan when she started to think about it. If this were true, then maybe she could save her age as well! After all, Applejack looked like her old self, so maybe Twilight would be young again too! Then a realization dawned on her as Sweetie looked down. "But... I don't have my ghost catcher. It was taken-" "By the Portrait of Laughter, I know." Madame finished. "But she doesn't have it anymore does she?" "I didn't see it on her the last time I saw her down in the kennel." Sweetie said. "Just like I heard then... most of your supplies have been split up." Madame said. "Taken apart to different parts of the mansion." "W-what?" Sweetie asked. "Don't worry. I don't think it's as far as you'd think. In fact, you could probably pick up each piece on your hunt for the Portrait of Magic...who should be around the library area. In fact, I know where some of your items are already." Madame said. "And even better, you won't have to wander around the mansion to find these places." Madame revealed Sweetie's saddlebags and Applejack's hat. "M-my saddlebags! Applejack's hat! You found them!" Sweetie said happily. "They were tossed down here. I believe some ghosts were trying to dispatch of it quickly, too lazy to see if anyone was even down here. Even if they suspected I was at the moment, I doubt they would have even figured I would be down here to catch them." Sweetie was handed the saddlebags. "Not everything is in here... but your map appears to be in here at least." Madame said. "You won't be wandering the mansion halls blindly at least." "Thank you!" Sweetie said smiling. "I love to see children smiling. Even in times like these." There was still hope. Sweetie was happier than she'd been all night. There was real hope left. All she had to do now, was go after it. "Miss Belle..." Madame said. "Could... could I ask you for a favor?" "Y-yeah?" Sweetie asked. "If you manage to retrieve all of the parts to your ghost capture device... could you catch three ponies for me?" Sweetie gave her a strange look. It seemed like a strange request to ask something that Sweetie would likely have to do anyway. "...who?" "My two children and our butler. All of them are the same color as I. Perhaps wearing different clothing, but..." She said. "It's extremely important that if you happen to find them all." Sweetie hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "If I come across them... I'll catch them... are they... are they your family?" "Yes, my two children are and... yes I suppose he is too..." Nothing but the sound of rain above filled the crypt for a few more minutes. "...right. I've marked the places on your map." she said breaking the silence. Sweetie put her saddlebags on, and placed the starred box inside with the map. "Now the first place you need to go is deeper in the crypt. You need to go down that way in order to exit into the church anyway. Inside of that crypt should be the... I believe they called it a cylindrical ghost processor... just look for a cylinder. Second, somewhere in the dressing hall should be the ectotube and nozzle. You know, the hose. And finally... and I'm not sure if it's still there anymore but... in the theater should be the spectral containment pack, the main body of it all." Sweetie nodded. "...well... that's everything I can do for you Sweetie." she said. "It's up to you now." "I know..." Sweetie said. "The crypt exit is down that way. Careful though. It's a bit of a maze in there. The map doesn't seem to work in there either, so you're going to have to do without it just a little longer... though if you keep your wits about you, and keep your eyes open, you should be able to get through there with the processor. Ok?" Sweetie nodded and headed in the direction the mare had pointed her in, then stopped. She realized she had so many questions unanswered. Like she'd said Specter wasn't evil... then what was he? And who was that ghost mare really? Why wasn't she under Specter's... or whoever's control like everyone else? And what did she mean by 'we're running out of time?'. Sweetie turned back around to see that the mare was gone. Sweetie was alone again, with only the faint glow of the torch she'd lit to keep her company. Sweetie activated her flashlight, and turned back around to face the crypt exit. She took a deep breath. Time to go. [Continue] Chapter 20- The Intermission InterceptionA-Am I dead? Busby thought as he lie face down on a surprisingly soft surface. His mind was a blur of what had just occurred in the last 10 minutes. Finally, the memories of the chariot came back to him. Riding next to Waite, they were overlooking the Everfree forest, scanning for the mansion they hoped the princess might be holed up in. He then remembered Paita saying something about her wings, before the chariot nose-dived into the trees. At least that was the general memory. Busby didn't have the best one, especially upon waking up with a headache like his. Busby's head wasn't the only thing that ached. Pain shot through his entire body, reminding him of the crash. He remembered thinking he was dead on impact... thankfully the pain reminded him this was not the case. As the stallion felt himself more and more coming to, he moaned in his anguish, hoping that nothing was broken. There was also the matter of the soft surface he was laying on. Rather than being cold and hard as the ground tended to be, it was warm and moved steadily. Busby opened his eyes to see what he was lying on. He found himself staring into the face of a female moon guard. Paita had yet to regain consciousness herself. If it weren't for the steady rise and fall of her chest Busby felt against his own body, or the breaths of warm air on his face, he might have assumed she was gone. After a few seconds of staring at the mare's face, she started regaining her own consciousness. Before either of them had fully regained their heads, they found themselves staring into each others eyes. However the moment lasted but a few seconds, as Paita's soft eyes turned back into their normal hard glare. "You've got 3 seconds to get off me rookie." She spat. Busby simply smiled. "I was beginning to think you were enjoying this P-" he started before she brought her hoof around, hitting him along the side of the head. "Gah!" He yelled, falling onto his back to the side of the mare. "What was that for?!" "Try that again Buster. Next time, I'm not going to be so merciful." She said scornfully, squinting her eyes in annoyance. That was merciful? She hits like a damned buffalo! Busby thought, holding the side of his head. Paita rolled over onto her front and got up. She groaned in pain, much like Busby did upon his awakening. As Busby took his eyes off of the mare, he began to examine the rest of his surroundings. In front of him, the first thing that caught his eye was the chariot. The main body of the chariot had dug into the ground from the crash while other decorative pieces had been ripped off. Busby noticed some pieces of gold glimmering in the moonlight in the trees. The reins the pegasi used to pull the chart where either ripped off or completely bent out of shape. In short, the chariot was a complete wreck, with not a single part completely intact. At one of the two reins, there was Duarte, who was still attached to it. He looked to be alive, and regaining consciousness as well as he seemed to be trying to open his own eyes. On the inside, Black lay on top of Waite as Talon slinked over the edge of the chariot. Each of them made subtle movements indicating they were also still kicking. Busby sighed in relief, as dealing with dead ponies wasn't on his agenda for today. Busby flipped over onto his own legs. He nearly collapsed as pain shot through his right foreleg. He hissed painfully, as he forced his leg straight. It didn't feel broken, but it still hurt like hay. The stallion figured he must have twisted a muscle or something. Lucky he had his armor or else the damage to his leg, along with the rest of his body, might have been far worse. Busby limped over to Duarte as the stallion's eyes snapped open. Wide awake and alert, his eyes quickly scanned the area before stopping on Busby. "And here, I thought I'd be the last one to wake up." Busby said. "There's a first time for everything, I suppose, rookie." Duarte said. Even though I figured out all of that back there, he still calls me a rookie, huh? Busby thought. "Unhook me from this thing." Duarte asked. "It's too broken for me to do it myself." Busby followed his superior's order by releasing the braces that bound Duarte to the chariot reins. The stallion leader gave another good look around the area. He looked up at the trees through where they'd crashed. Finally, he looked back at Busby. "Go wake them up. I'll be right back." he said before running off into the woods. "Wait! I don't-" But before Busby could get the stallion to stop, he had disappeared into the woods. Never listen to the rookie. I really don't think it's a good idea for us to be separated now... There was something else that bugged Busby at this point. Though Duarte was a pegasus, he didn't fly off into the woods, or even over it, which would have probably have been quicker to do whatever he was up to. Busby considered asking Paita what was up with flying, but decided against it. He figured she wouldn't want to speak to him after that awkward awakening. Busby supposed he could wait until he got back... Out of nowhere, a paranoid thought came to him... If he came back... Busby shook his head and went over to Black, Talon and Waite. "Rise and Shine." Busby said. "I hate shining." Black mumbled. "Five more minutes mom..." Waite mumbled as well. At least they were sleeping soundly. Wish I could say the same. Busby thought, being reminded of his aches. "C'mon, get up, or I'm going to have Duarte on my flank again." "And why would we care exactly?" Black asked, finally waking up. "Hey, get off of me!" Waite said to Black. The two separated as they got out of the chariot. Black proceeded to wake Talon, who awoke with the same laziness as the others. "Hey, where's Knighty?" Waite asked. "Duarte? He went off into the woods to do... something, I don't know. He just ran off." "Where?" "Like he'd tell a rookie like me." Busby sighed looking off into the direction he’d run. "So what do we do now? You’re second in command of the platoon, right?" Busby figured from the freer spirit the stallion seemed to have around Duarte. "I'm not the one to call the shots on that one. Even though I am, Black here's the highest ranking one here." Waite explained. "So, what's your shot Black?" Black shrugged. "Duarte wouldn't run off for no reason and not come back to the same spot without saying something. Even to a rookie. It's best to just wait here until he comes back." And so they did. Without some means of keeping time, and an unclear look at the movement of the moon, no pony was quite tell how much time had passed. It was as though time was standing still, even though it felt like an eternity as they waited for Duarte. While they waited, Busby did his best to keep out of the direct line of sight of Paita, who glared at him. What? Is she angry at me all over a little embrace? Guess she doesn't like getting touched that much. Busby thought. He considered apologizing to the mare, but figured... or rather knew that would only make things worse. Though he couldn't see himself being best friends with the mare by the end of the night, he didn't want there to be bad blood between him and another fellow guard either on his first day. Sure, Moon guards weren't always completely friendly with each other, though Busby was getting an impression of hatred from the mare. Was it something he did? Or was it simply something in the mare that Busby would never understand... After a while, Waite had enough waiting. "Where the hay is he? He's never gone this long." "Maybe he got lost?" Busby considered. Black shook his head. "Duarte’s been running guard missions all around. Especially in Everfree, I doubt he'd get lost so easily." "Especially since he seemed to know where he was going." Paita mentioned. "So what? Do you think something happened to him?" Busby asked. "It's possible. And if Duarte had his sword on him-" "Which he did." Paita added. "-then he could have protected himself from anything that tried to attack him." Talon said, "... but he's a pegasus. How good can he be with a blade?" "Duarte’s one of the best muzzle weapon fighters in his rank. Second to Shining who prefers it to using his own horn." "Who?" Busby asked. "That's not important. What is important is that Duarte can handle himself in a fight. If he were attacked, he'd be fine." "Then what then? If he isn't lost, and he wasn't attacked then?" Waite asked. "It's not like he could have fallen anywhere. He can fly!" "...no." Paita said. "Our wings aren't working right. That's why we fell into this mess. See?" Paita extended her wings, as they turned backwards in an awkward direction. "What happened?" Busby asked. "If I knew I would say so Buster. You’re not a smart stallion to not figure that out." Paita said coldly. "So he could have fallen somewhere then?" Talon considered. Waite shook his head. "I didn't see any cliffs or valleys for miles from where we were flying... maybe he's still busy." "May-" Talon started to say, before a laugh cut through the air. It was a creepy laugh, lasting for only a moment, but enough to drive every pony silent. Even Paita's cold look was replaced with of minor fear. "What the hay was that?!" Paita exclaimed. Every pony remained silent for a few more moments, listening for any more laughter. There was none. "Must have been one of the Everfree creatures." Waite said. "I heard that some of them were dangerous." Talon said. "They are." Black said. "Look, we can't wait around here any longer. We've got to move. Duarte or not. There's only one path, so if he does come back, he can just follow the trail." "Do we even know where we're going?" Busby asked. Every pony looked at each other. They knew their destination was the mansion that hopefully held the princesses... but no pony had seen it. Waite tried reassuring the group. "Look. Maybe it's not that far. Maybe it was just too dark for us to see it... at least we know we're going in the right direction of the thing." "...maybe." Paita said coldly. "What?" "Think about it. The only reason we're out here is because Buster here assumed some unrelated fillies-" "Hold up! They're the sisters of the elements!" "And even if they were? Who's to say that they are with the elements? Or even the princesses?" Busby had to admit, his hypothesis was a bit sketchy, if not disjointed. "Well... I did say 'what if'. But I'm sure that the mansion must be in this direction, along with the fillies." "Or, maybe they crashed somewhere like us, and didn't find the mansion along their path." Paita argued. "Look! Both of you. We aren't going to get anything done bickering like school ponies." Waite said. "Maybe Paita's right and Bubbled bucked up. Maybe Bubble lucked up and is right. We won't find out if we don’t move." Paita glared at Waite, then at Busby, then stormed off into the direction the path was stretching into. Talon and Black looked at each other before following the mare. "I thought Black was supposed to keep her under control. She's really got some anger management issues. Especially towards me." Busby said. "I'm sure she'll come around to you. Hey." Waite said. "Who knows, she might have a little crush on you." "For my sake, I hope not." Busby sighed. "There's only so much pain my face can take." "C'mon. They're leaving us." Waite said heading forward. "Wait." Busby said. "I feel like we're forgetting something... oh yeah." Busby went back over to the chariot and took a box out of it. "If we're dealing with something crazy, we'd better remember to bring the Elements, right?" Waite nodded in agreement. With that, Busby started limping forward as Waite noticed immediately. "You alright Bubble?" "Yeah... think I twisted my leg." "Can you move any faster?" "I'll keep up. I won't run anywhere, but I'll walk fast enough. Don't worry about me." "Alright. Do you want me to carry the Elements then? If your leg isn't right, you'd better have less weight on you." Waite said as he continued to head forward. "Here." Busby said walking up beside Waite and using his weak magic to levitate the box onto Waite's back. "Let's get going." Waite said. "Threat or not, Black isn't afraid to leave us behind.” With a nod, the two sun guards did their best to catch up to the Moon guards. They walked for a while, along the seemingly endless path that ran through the Everfree forest. "Ground sure is dry for a storm like that huh?" Busby said, trying to create conversation in the silence. "Yeah. Back in grade school, I remember being taught about how Everfree trees tend to suck up a lot of water when they’re dying." "You think the trees are dying?" Busby asked. "They look fine to me." "I didn't say they were. Just what I was told." Waite said. He thought for a moment. "Though, if a bunch of trees did die, I guess it'd be hard to tell right away. Give it a day or two and they'd start turning colors and eventually withering away... at least once they were out of water." "Huh. that's kinda..." It wasn't long before Busby stopped again. "Bubble?" Waite asked. "Oh, what is it now? The rookie's scared again?" I don't ever recall being any more scared than you were. Busby thought. "No... something's wrong here." "What?" Talon asked. "I... I'm not sure." "We don't have time for this." Black argued. "No, no. I think Bubble's on to something." Waite said, drawing his sword into his muzzle. It stuck out to the side as the handle was clenched in between his teeth. "We're being watched. I can feel it." he said through the handle. "Watched? By what?" Talon asked, drawing his own sword. "By one of the Everfree creatures?" "Never heard of any that were smart enough to hunt in this part of Everfree." Black argued, drawing his own sword. "We can't be watched." "But there also aren't any creatures in Everfree that have an instinct to laugh at you." Paita said, drawing her sword. "Maybe it's another pony... or that thing that was laughing at us." Why am I the only one without a weapon? Busby thought. Every guard pushed their flanks together, creating a perimeter around them, for anything that tried to attack them from any direction. It was an awkward circle, considering the Moon guards weren't used to creating perimeters, or any kind of formations with the Suns. None the less, they all kept vigilant to attack anything that tried to jump out at them. The only one who was different was Busby, standing in a much fearful manner, praying to Celestia nothing would try and attack his defenseless plot. Out of nowhere, a pony jumped from the trees, and to his luck, at Busby. "BOO!" the blue spandexed pony yelled. Busby screamed and jumped back, breaking the loose perimeter the five of them had created, knocking them all over like domino. "For guards, you sure scare easily." Spitfire laughed, holding out a hoof to Busby. Still in somewhat of a daze, Busby took the hoof as Spitfire helped him up. "That was awesome Spits." Soarin said, coming from behind, followed by Echo. Finally, Duarte came into sight. "Spitfire, what was that?!" he said angrily. She shrugged. "Just a little fun to lighten the mood." Nearly scaring me to death is your idea of 'lightening the mood'? Busby thought. "Now's not the time or the place." Duarte argued. "Actually, considering how creepy this place is, it seems like the perfect place and time." Spitfire said. "So that's where you went Knighty!" Waite smiled. Duarte glared at Waite, eliminating his grin. "I-I mean Duarte. I knew we were forgetting about something" "You forgot about the Wonderbolts? You’re starting to sound like Buster over there." Paita said. "I figured out where the Wonderbolts might have crashed." Duarte explained. "If I was right, they would have landed somewhere pretty far off... so, I went off to see if I could find them and guide them back to the chariot." "So, what are you doing here now?" Black asked. "I should ask you the same thing. I suppose that it was for the best, now that we're back together." Duarte sighed. "Once I found them, and got them back on their feet-" "Actually, we were already up when you arrived." Soarin corrected. "Right, right. Anyway, once we started heading back, Soarin here got a chill. Then Spitfire and Echo too. Finally, I started feeling cold, as we all started to hear laughter." "Hey, we heard some laughing back at the chariot." Busby mentioned. Duarte ignored Busby. "We tried to escape it... but every time we moved, and heard the laughter get louder, it got colder... near freezing actually." "We even got some frost on our suits to prove it." Soarin said, showing the blue frost on his back. "It was real creepy. Even Echo said so, and she rarely talks." Echo nodded in confirmation. "The only way we were able to escape was in the moonlight... and even there it was cold as hay." Spitfire said. "Eventually, we got away from it... and happened to come across you. I took point to... let you know we were here." "Stalking and scaring us?" Busby said. "You've got a funny method of taking point Spitfire." "So what are you five up to?" Spitfire asked. "Before you broke us up, we were headed in a blind direction to nowhere, thanks to Buster over there." Paita said. "C'mon, give the guy a chance." Spitfire defended. "I'll bet you he's right." Oh no, Spitfire. What are you getting me into? Busby thought. "You're seriously betting he of all ponies is right? You’re talking about the pony that ignorantly let the princesses walk off to a mansion who-knows-where, and you’re going to pretend he could be right?" Spitfire shrugged. "Sure. For every one wrong, there's another right. 100 bits if I'm right." She gave "Ladies, we don't have the time to come up with bets in a time of-" "Deal. If there's no mansion at the end of this trail, you owe me." Paita said. "It'd also be fun to see Buster's face when he's wrong." She forgot to mention what Duarte would do to me too. "And if he's right?" Spitfire asked. "Then what." "...what do you think Busby?" Spitfire asked. "Huh?" Busby asked. "Uh... a hug-" "Never." Paita said flatly. "How about friendship then?" Busby asked. "Or at least some respect." "Deal." Paita said. "Maybe I'll go out somewhere with that hundred bit's Ms. Spitfire." "We'll see about that." Spitfire smirked. "We're losing moonlight ponies! Let’s go." Duarte said, heading forward, along with every pony else except Spitfire and Busby who hung back. "What the hay was that all about? She's probably going to hate me more." Busby said. "I'm sorry, but if you haven't noticed, I'm trying to stay off that crazy mare's enemy list." "Don't worry. By the end of all of this, something tells me she'll be all over you." Spitfire said, heading forward. "Wait, do you mean the Fancy Pants good kind of way or the Blueblood bad kind of way?" Busby called, limping as fast as he could to catch up to the group. As he did, he couldn't shake that same feeling that somewhere... some pony or something was still watching them... *** Specter looked out of one of the mansion windows at the front of the mansion and the Everfree forest. He was alone for the moment... no ghost, griffon, or pony to see him now. He didn't grin, smile, or even smirk. Instead he looked out the window introspectively. It had been years... and now he was finally going to finish this little errand he'd been forced into... all he could think of was irony. That he was trading and fixing one sin by with another. "Yo, Specter." Gilda said from behind. Specter didn't bother to look at the griffon. "What is it Ms. Gilda?" Specter asked. "I did what you asked with the mares. They're in the tea room. Tied up and all." "Good, good." Specter said. "The fillies too?" "Every pony except the dragon. Just like you said." Gilda said. "Look, is this gonna be much longer? I mean, I'm getting tired of waiting around here." "Patience Ms. Gilda, we have all night." Specter said. "Or, morning, if you want to get technical." "How much longer?" Gilda hissed. "I'd watch my tone if I were you Ms. Gilda. I could always retract our little deal. We could always use another ghostly hand around here." Gilda stood there, silently waiting for the stallion to say something. Finally he sighed. "Do you remember that little plan I told you about? The four part plan?" "What of it?" Gilda asked. "What of it?" Specter laughed. "This is the whole thing, griffon. This is part three. We're almost done. Once it's finished, you'll get your payment, along with your little bonus of the Rainbow mare." "Fine. Just don't take long. When can we get this third part done?" "Slow down, griffon." Specter said, finally looking back at Gilda. "We've still got the matter of our newest guests. Did you oversee our Princess Luna casting the spell?" "...yeah. I watched her as she took that flying chariot out of the sky. The ponies flying alongside with it." "Good. They shouldn't be able to fly for the rest of the night then." Specter said. "If that's true, then they should be in trapped along the path, until we're ready for them." "Then what now?" "Then they're coming of course. I'm going to head down to the dining hall to make the preparations. You wait with the mares for about 15 minutes before securing Luna and bringing Celestia in. To be sure, check for the signal. Before we can continue with our little plan..." Specter grinned. "It's time our newest member of our little team 'welcomed' our guarding guests. Wouldn't you agree?" *** The guards walked for a while. They walked until finally, they came to a dead end. It was a rock faced edge, keeping the group from progressing any further. "Well... what do you make of that." Waite said, scratching the back of his head. Spitfire remained silent, as Paita laughed. "I told you the he was wrong. I guess that's what you get for trusting a rookie." "...this isn't right." Soarin said. "What?" Busby asked, turning to the stallion. "What are you talking about?" "Well, think about it... I don't think any filly would be crazy enough to head off of the path of the Everfree forest, right?" Soarin asked. "We're talking about three fillies, who supposedly flew an oversized paper airplane over a forest." Black said. "I think their sanity is a little out of the question." "C'mon. No pony's gonna head blindly off of the path of the Everfree." Soarin argued. "Then they headed back." "That's where you’re wrong." Spitfire chimed in. "If they were headed back, either we would have seen them already, or they'd be back in Ponyville." "So what? You think some pony just dropped this stone face on the path?" "I don't know. All I know is that this doesn't make sense." Soarin said. "Maybe one of the Everfree creatures got them then." Paita shrugged. "Or maybe that laughing thing, I don't know. All I know is that you," Paita said, pointing at Busby. "Are an idiot, and you," Paita said, pointing to Spitfire, "Owe me some bits." "Look. All of you." Duarte said. "We need to head back. At least try and find our way back to Ponyville. Hopefully we can make up for lost time by the Rookie's second mistake tonight." Back to square one I suppose. Busby thought sadly. "Now let’s..." Duarte trailed off as he turned away from the rock face in its opposite direction. Every pony turned to see what had stopped him... the path had changed. For behind them was no longer the path of which they came... no, that had disappeared. It was replaced with a new path, which led to a gate. Behind that gate was a graveyard, dead trees and a great big manor, looming over all of them. "...you were saying about that bet Paita?" Spitfire said, snapping out of her stupor at the mansion. "What the hay is going on here?!" Paita exclaimed. "This is... strange." Waite said. "One second, we're walking in a dark creepy looking wood... and a whole mansion manages to sneak up behind us." Black said. "Hey! That rock face is gone!" Talon said, looking back. As he'd said, the rock face had disappeared, showing a new path, likely leading way they supposedly came. "Ok seriously, what the hay is this. This isn't natural." Talon said. "...it's just as I feared." Duarte said. "What? What is it?" Black asked. "We're dealing with a real threat here. I'm no magician or magical expert, but some kind of spell just took us to this mansion, I'm sure of it." Spitfire concluded. "A strong one too. One that's almost... god like." Duarte said. Oh no. A god? Someone like Nightmare or Discord? Is that what we're really dealing with?! Is this for real?! Busby exclaimed in his own mind. Fear and panic filled his eyes, at the realization of the danger they could all be in. Apart of him wanted to run off in the opposite direction of the mansion... As every pony's tension rose, Echo was the only one to proceed forward. She opened the gate and motioned for everyone to join her. "She's right. There's no time to waste panicking here in front of this mansion. The princesses could be in grave danger." Duarte said. "Come on." Duarte charged forward, taking point, closely followed by Echo and the rest of the ponies. "This is insanity. Do we even have any idea how to fight a god? Let alone anything that can manipulate reality like that." Busby said. Waite shook his head. "You know guards are mostly trained to defend against stuff like raids or attempts at overthrowing. We haven't got a clue... but you know what we do have?" Waite motioned his head to the box on his back. "If at least the mares are in there, we can use the Elements to fight whatever. They've already used it... what, twice to defeat an alicorn and a draconquus. All we need to do is give it to them." "But who knows what's between us and them! Who knows if they're even..." Busby trailed off. He knew the worst thing to do at this point was think negatively. He was sure it was even making his leg hurt worse with the extra stress. "We've got three of the best fliers and 6 highly trained guards on our side. We'll be fine getting to them." Waite reassured. I'm not entirely sure about that 'highly trained' part though. I barely remember half of my training. "Sheesh. Creepy forest, and now a creepy mansion. Who the hay puts grave stones in front of a house." Spitfire asked. "It's not that bad. It kind of reminds me of Nightmare Night actually." Talon mentioned. "Hey, maybe whoever owns this place is trying to set up for Nightmare Night." Busby tried to say positively. "Yeah, and that reality shift back there was a big scare for some rigged haunted mansion." Paita said sarcastically. "Please. No pony's going to try and set up for Nightmare Night so many months in advance. It's just stupid." "She's right dude." Soarin said. "Really, we're just dealing with some messed up Goth pony who likes to live in creepy mansions and dig corpses out of the ground." Soarin pointed over to the holes in front of the grave stones. "I'd hate to see what's in this place." "Hope any pony's in there. All the windows are black. In a mansion so big, you'd expect them to forget to turn off a light somewhere." Black said. It wasn't long before the group reached the door. "...Every pony prepare yourselves for anything. We don't know what we're dealing with so stay as alert as possible." "I really don't want to know what's behind that door." Busby mumbled. In the silence, Duarte heard. "Well, you’re about to find out rookie." he said as he proceeded to knock on the door. "Look at it this way Bubble." Waite said. "If there is something godlike behind there, you'll have one hay of a story to tell about your first day on the job." "If I can tell it. I don't even have a weapon." "You'll be fine. Who knows? Maybe you will luck out and won't need it." Waite said, preparing to unsheathe his sword to whatever came from the door. Though he tried to keep a relaxed demeanor, it was easy to tell he was as nervous and scared as every pony else. Even Paita's knees shook a little. Knock knock knock There was no answer. Duarte looked back at the prepared guards, nervous to attempt another knock. Bang! bang! bang! Duarte hit the door as hard as he could, making sure that whoever was inside heard him. "Duarte?" Waite asked. "You know there's a door bell over there, right?" The stallion looked over at the door bell. As he went to reach it, he stopped. He then put his ear to the door... he heard hoof steps coming toward it. "Some pony’s coming." Duarte said. "Get ready." Duarte unsheathed his own sword, preparing to attack, or defend from whatever opened the door. The hoof steps stopped. The door creaked open, allowing a small bit of light outside. Where the hay is that light coming from? Busby thought. Finally, after seconds that felt like minutes to the anxious guards, a pony popped her head out from the crack in the door, peaking at the guards. Seeing their sharp objects, ready to swing at her, she yelped in fear and retreated back into the mansion before any pony could get a good look at her. "Wait!" Busby called to the pony. "Put your weapons down! It's just a little filly." Duarte ordered. The guards did as they were ordered. The guards waited outside of the door. Just when they thought they'd scared the filly off for good, she poked her head back out, only half way this time. "A-are you g-going to hurt me?" she asked apprehensively. "What? What makes you think we'd want to do that little filly?" Duarte asked kindly. Gee, I don't know. Maybe because of the sword you were about to decapitate her with a few seconds ago? Busby examined the little filly. She had a puffy mulberry mane, and a white coat. Her eyes were green, sweet, yet fearful at the same time. On top of her head was a beaten up rancher's hat... What was a filly doing with such a dirty looking piece of head wear on her head? "Don't worry." Busby assured. "We're not here to hurt you. We're the good guys." "A-are they good ponies too?" the filly asked. Busby looked back at the Moon guards. "Yeah. Well... most of them are." Paita glared at Busby. "...I'm not supposed to let strangers in." the filly said. "You can trust us." Waite said. The filly was still hesitant. "Hey, would you mind telling us your name?" Spitfire asked. "M-me?" Spitfire chuckled kindly. "Yes you." "My... my name's Sweetie Belle." she said shyly. "What a... wait a second." Busby said. "W-what? Is there something wrong?" "Your that filly who released Discord, right?" Busby said. The filly's head sunk further back into the mansion, fear in her eyes. "W-what are you talking about that mean dragon snake thing for?" "Actually, it was a draconquus." Busby corrected. "Dracumkuis?" Sweetie tried. Isn't that cute. She can't even pronounce it. Busby thought. "You’re not helping Bubble." Waite said. Sweetie giggled. "That's a funny name." Oh yeah? And your name sounds like something my grand mare would call me. "Actually, my name's Busby." Busby corrected. "Ignore Waite here, or whatever the mean bat lady in the back says." Paita rushed up to hit Busby. "H-hold up Paita! You don't want to hit me in front of her, it'll be a bad- GAH!" the stallion said as the face, square in the muzzle. "In the same spot too why?!" "You ponies are weird..." Sweetie said. She opened the door a little wider, seeming to feel a bit more comfortable with the visitors. "Anyway, call me Paita, filly." Paita said. Sweetie stared at the mare for a few seconds. "What?" "Huh? Nothing, nothing." Sweetie said, snapping out of her trance. "Then quit staring at me for Celestia's sake." Paita said crossing her eyes. Sweetie stood back from the mare, fearfully. As one of the guards was about to speak for the mare, she regained herself. "Sorry little filly. I get like that when I'm around idiotic stallions like him." Paita said, motioning her head over to Busby. "Are my ears playing tricks, or did Paita just say sorry- DAH!" Busby said as Paita gave him another swing at the muzzle, knocking him down to the ground, causing him to clutch his muzzle, groan and roll in pain. "I-is he gonna be alright?" Sweetie asked concerned. "He'll be fine. Dumb ponies don't feel pain." "Anyway, I'm Black." Black said, stepping forward. "And this is-" "Talon." Talon said, giving a short wave. "And I'm-" Spitfire started. She was interrupted by Sweetie. "You’re Ms. Spitfire! Rainbow talks about you all the time!" Sweetie exclaimed. "S-sorry. I didn't mean to-" "It's fine." Spitfire smiled. "It's always nice to see non-pegasi taking interest in the Wonderbolts." "Does she talk about me?" Soarin asked. Sweetie thought. "Sometimes... but she really likes to talk about Ms. Spitfire or Ms. Echo." "Figures." Echo said, as Spitfire rolled her eyes smiling. Soarin looked somewhat disappointed though. "What's wrong?" Sweetie asked. "Nothing." Spitfire chuckled. "Guess some pony figured he isn't going to get any mares tonight." "...I don't get it." Sweetie said. "And finally," Duarte interrupted. "My name is Duarte. Leader of my platoon of Sun guards... and more recently the Moons too, since he's not doing his job." "You’re doing fine. You've got this all covered." Black waved off. "In any case, We're looking for some pony." "The princesses?" Sweetie guessed. Duarte raised an eye brow. "Actually, yes. How did you figure." "I-I just guessed. You’re the royal guard, right? Aren't you supposed to be protecting them?" "...sounds as logical as anything else, I suppose." Duarte said. "What are you doing here Sweetie?" Waite asked. "Shouldn't you be home or something?" Sweetie shook her head. "Me and my friends decided to stay with my sister and her friends and the princesses here tonight, with the princesses, since we couldn't really leave during the storm." "Why did you come here, I mean." Waite asked. Busby finally got up onto his for hooves. "O-oh. I came here with my sis." A light bulb went off in Busby's head. "...wait a second. You’re lying." "O-oh, I am?" Sweetie said. Busby thought he imagined it, but he could have sworn he saw the filly twitch once. "Yeah, you didn't follow your sister. You took a paper plane here." "I did? Oh yeah! I did! Me and my friends crashed..." she thought for a moment, reaching back into her memory. She seemed to be straining for a second... as though she were trying to force her way to the memory. "And... I woke up, ran away from a scary laughing monster, and made it to the mansion here to meet my sister and friends. Been here all night." "Why'd you lie like that?" Busby asked. "I'm sorry. I guess I made a mistake. I-It won't happen again. Both Paita and Busby saw this as somewhat suspicious... of course neither consulted each other on the issue of Sweetie's mistake. "As I was saying Sweetie, we've come for the Princesses. May we come in." Sweetie thought for a moment. "Mr. Specter... he doesn't really like surprise visitors." "This is important. We must know that the Princesses are safe." Duarte said. "You can trust us. I'm sure you host... what was it, Specter? I'm sure he wouldn't mind us coming in on such important business. We won't be long, if he truly can't keep us." "Really hoping he can. It's a long walk back to Ponyville." Waite said. "We'd be lucky to make it there by late morning." "Ok... I guess you can come in." Sweetie said, widening the door enough to let the guards inside. A few guards walked in. After a moment, even Paita walked in, keeping an eye on the shy little filly. Only Busby remained outside for the moment. "Is there something wrong, Mr. Busby?" "...nothing. Do you mind if I ask you something?" Busby asked. The stallion was somewhat surprised that Duarte didn't ask about this. "Have you experienced any weird... reality shifts lately?" Sweetie stared down the stallion, as though she were trying to read his mind. Finally, she shook her head. "Nope. It's been really peaceful in the mansion. Nothing bad happens in here." "...ok." Busby smiled. He knew it was strange, but something inside of him screamed 'bad' about the mansion he was walking into, as Sweetie closed the doors of the mansion with a slam... *** The inside of the mansion was much more welcoming than the front. As they moved through the foyer, and examined the art and decor, it seemed like the guards had taken a step back in time. It was a drastic change from the old broken looking mansion they'd seen from outside. It almost seemed unnatural... Though no guard really paid it any mind, but mainly focused on following the filly. "Mr. Specter said to bring any pony that came to the dining hall." Sweetie explained as they walked. "Did he now? What is he doing down there at such a late hour. Better yet, what are you doing here at such a late hour young filly?" Duarte asked. "Me?" Sweetie thought for a moment. "I was... asleep before you guys showed up. I had the room closest to the door... I think I was the only one to hear it. Up there." Sweetie pointed up the staircase to the left door. "And this 'Specter'?" Black asked. Sweetie giggled. "The mares really got him tired after our party. He's probably still asleep." "Ah. So you’re the only one awake then?" Waite asked. Sweetie nodded. "I can get him for you when your all sat down and relaxed." Sweetie offered. "That'll be fine." Duarte smiled. Busby stared up at the staircase. He wasn't sure why, but something was screaming at him that what the filly was saying was wrong. That she was lying... he wasn't sure however where the idea came from. It was a paranoid gut feeling and nothing more. At least that's what he kept trying to convince himself ever since the moment the reality shift happened. Something was- Suddenly, pain shot through Busby's leg, harder than before, as he took his next step. He collapsed by the fountain at the center of the foyer. Every pony looked back at the stallions, who lie on the ground at the back of the pack. Concerned, Sweetie rushed over to Busby. "Mr. Bubble!" she asked. "I told you, it's Busby." he groaned through the pain. His face was level with the ground... but as it was, he noticed something. The ground wasn't quite level. No, there were bumps in the ground. Mounds of something Busby couldn't quite identify... "C'mon you." Waite said, helping Busby up. He leaned against the fountain to keep the weight off of his leg. "What happened? A-are you ok?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah... I'm fine. We just had a bad crash in the woods and I kind of twisted something." Busby explained. "That’s putting it a little lightly, don't you think Bubble?" Waite asked. "Are you sure you’re going to be able to walk on that thing by yourself?" "I think so." Busby said. "You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up with you all." He said, waving his free hoof for them to move to wherever. "Ok, Mr. Bub... Busby." Sweetie said. "We're going to be in that dining hall through that door. Okay?" "Thanks." Busby smiled. At least some pony got my name right… The filly smiled back before turning back around to lead the other guards and Wonderbolts through the door. Busby's smile faded as his eyes drifted to the left door, and then the three other doors at the top of the stairs. There was something foreboding about the doors... Busby wondered What could be behind those doors that make my stomach turn so badly...? *** Applebloom's head hurt. It was dark where she was... dark and frightening. She moaned in pain, trying to force herself to open her eyes, even though she knew she'd likely not be able to see anything once she did. All she knew was that she was in a dark room... and she was tied to another pony about her size... why in the hay was she tied up like an Appoloosa Aero Hog... It wasn't long however before she remembered what had just happened, where she was, and who was with her... they were ambushed. All of them, ambushed by waves of inescapable ghosts. Did... did that mean she was dead? No, that wouldn't explain why she was tied up. She was trapped though, that was all that was certain. "Hey..." Applebloom called weakly into the darkness. "Any pony in 'ere?" Applebloom heard the pony she was tied to groan as well. "Wha... what the hay... where am I? What going on?" Scootaloo said. Applebloom felt it around the rope tied to her torso and hooves, as Scootaloo thrashed around to release herself from bondage. "It ain't no use Scoots. We're trapped." "Applebloom? What happened?" Scootaloo asked. "Them ghosts happened. Remember? After Pinkie lost Sweets?" Applebloom reminded. "Sweetie..." Scootaloo said. "Sweetie! You in here?!" Rather than a reply from their friend, there was more groaning from some ponies in the darkness. "Ugh... my head." Rainbow said. "Rainbow?" Scootaloo called. "Scootaloo? Where are ya?" "Over here!" Scootaloo yelled. "Where here!" Rainbow asked. "Here!" Scootaloo called. "Ah don't think tha's gonna help much. Are ya'll tied up lik' us?" Applejack called. "Yeah sis! Can ya git out?" Applebloom asked. "Ahm tied down good!" Applejack responded. "Same here!" Twilight called. "Me too!" Pinkie called. "Wait a sec, where's Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked. "I-I'm here..." she said shyly. "Now, is tha' everyone?" Applejack asked. "Wait, where's Spike?" Twilight asked. "Spike, ya in here?" Applebloom asked. There was no response. "He must still be with Sweetie after they ran off." Scootaloo said. "Ran off? What are you talking about?" Rainbow asked. "You left the safe room? What were you thinking?!" "Sorry Dash." Scootaloo said. "Now don't be hard on th' filly. Wouldn'ta done 'erself much good stayin' anyway." Applejack explained. "Why, after Pinkie left with 'em, Specter pulled a fast one on us n' shut down th' entire safe room!" "Shut it down?" Twilight asked. "Yeah. That humming nose stopped and the room went dark before..." Fluttershy trailed off, reluctant to remember the horror and fear she felt in those couple of seconds. "Hay, if it wasn't fo' mah injuries, we'dah done better stickin' tagether." Applejack said. "Not like it would have done much good anyway. We were ambushed by-" "Gilda!" Rainbow said angrily. "That rotten feather brain trapped us and threw a bunch of ghosts at us! I can't believe we fell for it too!" "We got trapped by a bunch of ghosts too Dashie." Pinkie explained. "Right after Sweetie ran off." "Why? Why would they... especially Spike, run off like that?" Twilight asked. Pinkie shook her head in the darkness. "I was just telling her about something I remembered and she just... ran off. I tried to stop her but..." the sadness and guilt was evident in her voice. Even in the darkness, they could feel her face tearing up again. "...I'm sure she's fine." Rainbow consoled. "She's turned into a real tough filly. Her and Spike's probably planning some daring rescue somewhere in the mansion." "I sure hope so..." Twilight said. "Me too." Applebloom agreed. "Don't you worry. They're not." came a third voice. It wasn't the voice of a pony, however, it was one of a pony. It was- "Gilda! Where are you?!" Rainbow exclaimed. The candles in the room lit up to reveal the details of their entrapment. Though the two fillies were tied to each other, each of the mares themselves were tied down firmly to one of the tea tables of. There was nothing really worth mentioning about the room besides the small shrived vegetation that grew though the floor, the generic portraits along the wall, and the large grandfather clock which said 4:13 on it. Against the wall was Gilda, who tossed Sweetie's flashlight up in the air, and caught it again. By the exit to the right of her lay Spike, fast asleep and hugging the GCD and Sweetie's saddlebags to his chest. "Nice to see you too Rainbow." she grinned. "It's been too long." "What the hay are you doing?!" "Right now? Just chilling until the old stallion finishes what he's doing." she said lazily. "You don't have any idea how boring it's gotten around here." "No, I mean what is all of this?!" Rainbow said angrily. Unable to keep still at the sight of the griffon, she struggled to free herself from her bonds as she talked. No progress to do so was made. "Why the hay are you trying to kill us? What the hay are you working with Specter for?" Gilda shrugged. "What's it to you?" "Everything!" Rainbow argued. "Look, I know your aren't Ms. Delightful, but last I checked, I would have never seen you trying to murder little fillies!" "Oh, c'mon Dash." Gilda rolled her eyes. "Murder's such a stupid way to put it. I prefer the term... transformation into ghostlyhood... or whatever Specter called it, I dunno." "I don't care what you, or that insane stallion call it." Rainbow said. "When I get out of here, I'm gonna-" "What? Beat me up? Pfft, please. Even with your cutie mark, I'd probably kick your flank. And since you don't and you’re a little... tied up at the moment, we both know that's not gonna happen." Rainbow sighed. Though she couldn't be sure if her fighting ability, toughness and speed had been lost with her cutie mark, she wasn't going to do anything to her tied up like this. Rainbow looked over at Pinkie, who gave her a look. Though Pinkie could fight, it was also a last resort. The face Pinkie gave Rainbow was one that told her to calm down, and try to reason with the griffon. After all, at one point, the two were friends... right? "Look, Gilda." Rainbow sighed. "I don't know how your tied up into all of this, but you've got to listen. Specter's trying to do something bad." "Oh really? Like what?" Gilda said. It was one of those tones of voice that said she'd play along, but she couldn't give one. "He... might be trying to resurrect Discord." Twilight blurted out. "Who the hay's Discord." she asked. "You’re not serious are you?" Rainbow asked. "Discord? God of Chaos? Bringer of Despair? The guy who nearly turned all of Ponyville into a giant mushroom trip?" "I don't know anything about your dumb old town. I don’t live anywhere near it anyway." Gilda responded. "Of course you wouldn't know." Twilight mumbled. "You could read the newspaper for that… emphasis on read." "Well, he's bad news. And if you keep helping Specter-" "He'll be on our side." Gilda said, cutting Rainbow off. "Huh?" "Damn. IF you're right, Specter's gonna have a god on his side. Three gods on his side. On my side. And if he's as bad a dude as you're talking about... Hay, we could probably take over the whole country with them all. And for a whole eternity too..." "What was that last part?" Pinkie asked. "None of your business you pink pain." Gilda said. "Ya don't know nothin 'bout 'im griffon." Applejack said. "Oh really?" "Yeah..." Fluttershy tried to help. She didn't dare speak to the griffon at the same volume as her friends, afraid of what she might say to her. "Y-you can't control him. He does things to you s-so... so he con-t-trol's y-" "Oh shut up Fluttercry." Gilda ordered. Fluttershy looked down at the ground, away from the griffon. "Hey!" Rainbow said angrily. "Specter's had it all planned out so far. I bet he's got some crazy plan to take control of him. Besides, we managed to take control of that Princess whatserface." "...Luna?" Pinkie confirmed. Gilda nodded. "Not only have we got her spirit under wraps, we've turned her into my own little temporary lap dog." "Temporary?" Rainbow asked. Gilda grinned. "You'll figure it out soon enough." "A-and lap dog? What do you mean by that?" Twilight asked. "Simple. Not only have we got her to attack Sweetie, but we've also got control of her magic." "How? You can't just... control an alicorn like that." Gilda shrugged. "Some voodoo Specter's got, I dunno. But what I do know is magic is ours. We even got her to take down a guard's chariot that was flying here half an hour ago." "A guard's chariot?" Pinkie asked. "That means someone's coming to rescue us!" "I wouldn't count on it." both Rainbow and Gilda said at the same time. "Rainbow?" Applejack asked. "Go on Dash, tell 'em." Gilda said. Rainbow sighed. "Well... I'ma be honest. Royal guards aren't worth the armor they're dressed with." "Aw come on Dashie. You don't know that. How do you know they won't find us and save us?" "C'mon, when is the last time you've seen a royal guard fight?" Rainbow asked. "They just try to scare you with that stone faced thing. I bet they can't fight for nothing." "I wouldn't call them un-combat worthy Rainbow... but against the ghosts, they won't last very long." Twilight said sadly. "But they're probably smart enough to run from them. They might have a chance." "They're not that smart. They aren't gonna last 10 seconds against a ghost, let alone, a mansion of them." "Took the words right out of my mouth Rainbow." Gilda said. "As we speak, your guards are getting let right into a trap by Sweetie and Specter." "S-sweetie?" Scootaloo shuddered. Gilda gave one last grin. "Oh yeah, she's playing on a whole different team now, filly." *** Sweetie had finally finished seating the guards. They all sat at the end of the grand table, by the kitchen door. "Um... You can take your armor off you know. Isn't it a little... heavy?" she asked, touching Waite's armor curiously. "Us guards are used to it." Waite explained. "We're much more comfortable keeping it on." "If you insist." Sweetie smiled. "I just wanted to make sure you were as at home as possible." "That's very kind of you little filly." Duarte smiled back. "But we're fine. Just get us our host. We'd like to have a word with him." "O-of course!" Sweetie said. "I'll be right back." She ran through one of the doors that led to the kitchen. "Cute kid." Spitfire commented. "Yeah... Kind of weird she went in there though." Black said. "You'd think that lead to the kitchen." "Maybe there's some kind of short cut through there." Waite considered. "Or maybe she's doing something besides fetching Specter for us." Paita said. "I'm telling you. I don't trust this mansion one bit. I got a bad feeling about it." "I never thought saw you to be the paranoid type Paita." Talon said. "She's probably just as creeped out as I am by the mansion." Soarin suggested. "Am I right?" "Yeah, I guess it is kind of creepy..." Paita agreed. "Mansions always did that to me since I was a filly... bit of a phobia of mine." "But you do have a point. Something's going on around here, and if it has anything to do with the mansion, I'd also find it peculiar the filly hasn't noticed anything out of the ordinary." Duarte said. "Well, if there's anyone who'd know better, it's Specter. It's his mansion, right?" Spitfire asked. Duarte nodded in agreement. With that, the guards and Wonderbolts waited. They waited a good 10 minutes before finally, some pony came back through the kitchen. Not Sweetie though... instead, it was a green coated stallion with a red mane. "You must be Specter." Duarte said, getting up to greet the stallion. Specter smiled and motioned for him to remain seated. "That I am. Specter Yield, owner of this little mansion I have. "Calling this mansion little is kind of undermining, don't you think?" Waite asked. Specter chuckled. "With claustrophobia like mine, there's no such thing as too big." He took a seat at the end of the table on the same side as the guards. "Where's Sweetie?" Spitfire asked. "Didn't she go to get you?" "Ah, yes, Ms. Belle. Once she woke me up, I asked her to make us something to eat." he smiled. "I never like to let my guests go hungry." "She can cook?" "Oh yes Ms. Spitfire. She is a filly of many talents. And a kind heart to boot." "What? How do you-" "Know your name?" Specter asked. "Simply because you and your Wonderbolts are all Ms. Dash wanted to talk about. Spitfire, Soarin and Echo, if I'm right. I can still hear her excited voice echoing in my head for every time she mentioned you earlier tonight." Specter turned to the guards. "And you must be the highly trained, sophisticated, and skilled Canterlot Royal Guard, am I correct?" Every one of the guards nodded. "I thought so. Ms. Sparkle and the princesses mentioned you frequently." Specter said. "Not... specifically, of course. Would you mind introducing yourselves?" Each of the guards did as Specter asked. "Well, it's a pleasure meeting you all." Specter smiled. "Likewise, Yield." Waite nodded. "Now that introductions are out of the way, I wanted to-" Duarte started. Before he could finish, Sweetie came back through the door, balancing three food trays, at least twice her size, on her back. On top of that, was a large wine glass, bobbing from side to side as she walked. "Dinner is served." She said happily as she walked over. "Whoa! How are you balancing all of that on your back?" Soarin asked. "I'm stronger than I look Mr. Soarin" Sweetie chirped as she walked. Once she was close enough to the table, she bucked the food onto the table in front of the ponies with extreme professionalism. Though no other pony gave the swift action a second thought, Paita couldn't help but find it peculiar such a small filly could have such precision and strength. "Ah, another fantastic meal from our little filly guest." Specter smiled. "Well done Ms. Belle." Sweetie simply smiled in return. With that, she took a seat next to Paita. For some reason though... Paita couldn't help but get a strange chill as the filly sat next to her. "Now please... help yourselves." Specter said. Paita looked at Sweetie, then back at Specter, then at the foods of salads, steamed vegetables and cooked fruits on the large dishes. "Is this... good?" she asked apprehensively. "It's not poisoned." Sweetie said smiling. "I promise." Waite was the first to dive into the dish, followed by the rest of the guards... *** Busby limped up the staircase to the doors of the second floor. It was painful, and in all honesty, he wasn't sure why he was going through so much effort to make it to the top. In hind sight, it didn't seem worth it. He was never one to leave his comfort zone, when he didn't have to. Though he couldn't help that something important was behind one of the three doors at the top of the staircase. The mystery was maddening to the stallion. He had to do a little of his own exploring before heading back down to the dining hall. Maybe he'd find something in the process? Busby stood in front of the right most door, and stared at it. A chill went down his spine as he did. A sudden fear tried to keep him from reaching for the knob, but in calling it irrational, he resisted the urge to go back down to the first floor. Besides, the last thing he needed was to put more weight on his leg, traveling on more stairs. C'mon Busby. Don't be a scardycolt. Busby coached himself. It's just a door, right. Just a door... Busby opened the door, revealing the dark hallway. Just a door leading to a creepy hallway. Busby thought. Taking a deep breath, he headed through into the hallway. Once he was through, the door closed behind him with a slam. Busby jumped, as he whirled around to see himself stuck inside. When Busby tried to open the door, it wouldn't budge. What the hay is this?! The rookie guard was trapped in the hallway. Ok, calm down... looks like the only way is forward. Here we go... With every ounce of the little bravery and courage he had, Busby began limping down the dark hallway. He found himself humming to himself... he didn't know the tune, or where it came from. He just started humming it subconsciously... maybe it was some tune that he heard the guards humming earlier that night? Though, he couldn't remember for the life of him who. The hallway was dimly lit by moonlight coming from an unidentifiable area. Maybe if he kept traveling down the hallway, he'd locate some kind of window? The stallion figured that would be his newest goal... in the dark hallway, something told him that light was extremely important... or maybe it was the sheer desire to have some type of 'nightlight' in the hallway. And what better nightlight than a giant orb in the sky? After a while, Busby saw fit to check out the many doors in the hallway as he walked. Most of which turned out to be some kind of bedroom, and occasionally a bathroom or a closet. All of which however... were empty. No pony to be found. In a mansion so big and quiet, Busby didn't expect every single room to be filled with a pony, however he did find it rather strange that he'd yet to find any pony. Between the number of ponies needed to take care of the mansion, and the guests of the housewarming, including the Mane 6 & Princesses, he'd expect there to find someone... instead, the mansion had an abandoned, empty look to it, with dusty sheets covering every piece of furniture he'd seen so far. First a weird reality shift, then a locked door... and now this giant mansion doesn't even have any ponies? This isn't good... where is every pony? Busby thought. Suddenly a chill went down his spine as he heard something laugh. It immediately reminded him of the monster they'd heard in the woods. Busby stopped cold and gulped. He turned around to find himself face to face with a red glowing pony with an extremely long tongue. Boo. Busby screamed as he found strength he didn't even know he had to start running away. With a high pitched laugh, the red glowing ghost pony gave chase to the scared guard stallion... *** "Now then..." Specter asked, once every pony had finished their meal. "What can I do for you fine ponies this fine morning." He put his hooved together on the table, and looked at the guards and Wonderbolts with a certain attentiveness to his face. "We wanted to ask you a few things. Regarding the safety of our beloved princesses... and this mansion in general." Duarte said. "Yes?" he asked. "Your mansion... is there anything special about it?" "Besides the simple fact it's my home, no." Specter said. "Is there something you found peculiar about it." "Yeah actually." Paita said annoyed. "Your mansion just threw us in front of it!" "I beg your pardon ma’am?" Specter asked. "What are you talking about?" "Paita. Calm yourself." Black said. "But as she said, the mansion did have some weird reality shift that put us right at your door step. Do you know anything about it?" Specter closed his eyes for a moment, deep in thought. "There's nothing that the mansion does that can do that but... OH! It must have been Ms. Luna." "T-the Princess?" Talon asked. Specter smiled. "She is quite the prankster that mare. And she certainly knows how to use it for such grand pranks... maybe she happened to see you heading up, and decided to have a little fun with you?" "That does sound like her..." Talon said. The other guards nodded in agreement, except for Paita, who simply stared suspiciously at Specter. "That leads me to the second question: the princesses." Duarte said. Specter raised an eyebrow. "What about them? Has something come up that desires their attention?" "Not exactly. We came to... well... are they alright?" Waite asked. Specter seemed shocked. "B-but of course!" He looked up to the sturdy looking balcony over the dining hall. "If I'm right, they should be safe and sound up in their rooms. I’d believed ponies such as yourself would have known about her being here. Didn’t she receive an invitation?" Duarte shook his head. "If they did, I wasn’t aware of it. In either case, I would imagine the princesses would be up by now. The sun is to be up in just a few hours." "Perhaps, but I don't know anything about the princess's sleeping habits." he smiled. "Who knows? As you said, they could be up and about as we speak." "Can we see them then?" Spitfire asked. "I'm not keeping you from doing so, am I?" Specter smiled. "You can head through the kitchen to get to them." "...you’re not serious, are you?" Black asked. "The kitchen you said?" Specter nodded. "I don't believe you." Paita said flatly. "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "Why? I got Mr. Specter though there." Specter nodded. "There's a staircase that leads up to the next floor through there. From there, Celestia's and Luna's room is just across the hallway." "Why would you need something like that?" Waite asked. Specter shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I didn't design it." "This is stupid. There's no staircase through there." Paita said. "What's really in there." "My, Ms. Paita. I'm starting to get the impression you don't trust me." Specter said smugly. "Like hay I don't trust you! I don't trust this whole place!" Paita said sitting up in her chair. Agitated suspicion was blazing in her eyes. "Paita. Shush." Duarte commanded. "None of us." Paita said. "None of us are going in there, until you tell us what the hay is really up here." "I wasn't aware you were the leader of your little unit. Hm?" Specter said, glancing over to Duarte. "Paita, control yourself already. Mr. Specter hasn't given us any reason to distrust him." Paita laughed. "Are you kidding me? This guy's been sending bad signals the second we met him! And now he's trying to make us believe that everything that just happened was just a prank by the princess! This guy's beyond untrustworthy. For all we know, he's trying to throw us into some kind of trap!" Echo got up, and every pony watched as he headed into the kitchen. Specter chuckled. "Well, Paita... it seems that some pony thinks otherwise." "I can't believe she just walked in there like that..." Paita said. "Of course she did! She's calm enough to realize there's nothing to be worried about. Honestly, you're just being paranoid." Paita put both hooves on the table and extended her numb wings. "Say that again to my face." "Luna Paita! Calm down!" Talon insisted. "Please Ms. Paita. You wouldn't hurt an old stallion, would you?" "I'm not biased to it." Paita said, sinking back into her seat. Specter shook his head. "...I'm sorry. That was impolite of me to call you such a thing as 'paranoid'. I'm sure my mansion can be quite... menacing at times, but I assure you. There's nothing in here for you to worry about. Nothing at all." They waited for a while... it wasn't long however, before the other guards began joining in Paita's suspicion. In the silence that took over the dining hall, they soon realized how they hadn't heard anything from Echo. "Where'd she go?" Waite asked. "Yeah, it's been 20 minutes already." Talon agreed. "Maybe she's still headed there." Sweetie considered. "Mr. Specter's mansion is kind of big." "Bull! That's bull and you know it!" Paita said glaring at the filly. "Hate to admit it, but Paita's right." Spitfire said, looking at the door with her own suspicion. "If the princess's room is as close as you claim... she'd be back by now." "Well, maybe she's just speaking with the princesses?" Sweetie said. Sweetie found herself staring at Paita again. This time, in her paranoia, she didn't hold back. Paita got up and lifted the filly out of her chair by her shoulder blades. "YOU! You know what's in there. Stop lying to us!" Paita yelled at the filly. "Hey! Let go of me!" Sweetie cried. "Ms. Paita!" Specter commanded, sitting up in the chair. "Let go of that filly this instant!" "Yeah Paita! She didn't do anything." Spitfire said. "Are you serious?! This filly's probably in on whatever he's planning!" Paita said, glaring at Sweetie. She was the only one in the room, who didn't see a scared little pony... but something much more sinister. "Put her down now." Soarin commanded. He and Spitfire got up, prepared to take Sweetie from her grip by force. After glancing at every guard who looked at her in the same glaring manner as the two Wonderbolts, she finally dropped the filly to the ground. Sweetie scrambled up, tears running down her face, before she ran fearfully into the kitchen. "Kid! Wait!" Spitfire called, running after Sweetie. Spitfire and Soarin ran for Sweetie, into the kitchen... time passed and neither of them came back. Paita gave a nervous laugh. "See?! Now they're gone too!" "Oh hush you." Specter said harshly. "They're probably chasing the little filly you were so unnecessarily cruel too!" "Shut up you!" Paita said, drawing her sword to her muzzle. Quickly, before any guard could legitimately react, she circled around to Specter and put it to her neck. "Whoa!" Talon said, drawing his own sword, along with the rest of the guard. "Paita! Sheath your sword this instant!" Duarte commanded. "I'd listen to your superior Ms. Paita." Specter said, seemingly indifferent to her advance. The eyes he gave her were almost as though it didn't matter to him if the angry mare decapitated him then and there. "Don't even try to tell me what to do, Yield." Paita said angrily. He smiled smugly. "You wouldn't want to go to jail for the murder of a stallion because of your paranoia, only supported by the fact that his mansion was a little ugly, now would you?" Paita didn't respond. Specter gently pushed the sword away from his neck and got down from his chair. "If you really believe that I'm some kind of evil stallion, then you have no more business here." "Hey wait!" Waite called. Specter didn't say anything. He simply waved to the guards as he walked back through the kitchen, the door shutting behind him. Every guard looked at each other, before getting up and heading to the kitchen door. "You’re not seriously following him are you? It's probably a-" "Paita." Duarte said firmly. Somehow, it was enough to shut the mare up. "I'm not sure what has triggered your behavior for tonight. You act as though there is something wrong here, when besides that reality shift outside, nothing has happened out of the ordinary." "And that's not enough?" Paita asked. "The Wonderbolts-" "Somewhere, certainly. Lost, possibly. Maybe the kitchen. Maybe somewhere else." Durate nodded. "Possibly in danger, but also possibly not. This mansion is large, and likely easy to get lost in with a turn or two. But regardless, that escalation was unnecessary and unprofessional." "But be's-" "Quiet Rookie," Black said harshly. Paita shut up again. The terminology of 'rookie' visually stung her. "This is your first field mission, isn't it?" Paita didn't answer. It was true, she'd been accepted into her guarding unit barely over a month ago. Since guards rarely saw any action, thanks to the princesses, and general calmness between nearby towns, this was truly her first mission… just like Busby. "Act like it then." Black said. "I... Something's wrong with this mansion and-" "Hey, if there is? Then we've got to deal with it either way, right?" Waite said. "We'd might as well find out. If I didn't value my life, I'd pounce on the fact you're scared." "Scared?" Paita laughed. "I don't get scared." "Then let's face what your paranoia is talking about then." Talon said, heading for the door. "I'm NOT paranoid." She said flatly. As the rest of the guards headed through the door, Paita stayed still. She wasn't completely sure why though... Maybe a part of her was scared. Or at the very least, nervous. She shook her head. She wasn't nervous or scared. Not like Busby was, anyway... right? As the door closed, the mare headed through the door... but she didn't find herself in a kitchen as she walked though. Instead, she was in a dark hallway, dimly moonlit by a window at its end. "This doesn't look like a kitchen..." she said to herself. Suddenly, the light of the dining hall behind her went out. When she whirled around, she found not the table where her and her fellow guards had previously sat, but a simple bedroom. Though she wasn't sure what was going on, she was sure she was right now. This wasn't either of the princess's doing. Something was seriously messed up about the mansion she was likely trapped in now... *** "What the hay?" Waite said, looking around at the new area he was in. "This place doesn't feel kitchen-y." Talon said. "Oh, you’re right. It isn't a kitchen." Sweetie said, from somewhere the other side of the large dark room. "My bad." "Sweetie? Sweetie Belle, is that you?" Black asked, calling out to the filly. "Yuh huh! I'm over here!" Sweetie said. "But, really, it's not that important where I am. Especially not anymore." "What are you talking about young filly?" Duarte called. "And why is it so dark in here?" "Oh, the darkness? See, that's the thing. We don't really like light too much." Sweetie explained. "What?" Talon asked. "I mean, the moonlight's tolerable, and even some light sunlight is bearable, but let me tell ya, we hate it all the same." Sweetie said. Her eyes showed up in the darkness... though, they weren't green like normal. Instead, they were now a sickly yellow color. "S-sweetie Belle?" Black called. "But now... in the basement, where we've been getting ready for the main event... now this is some good darkness." "Basement? What are you talking about? We can't-" "Oh, believe me, Royal Guard... anything is possible in here." Sweetie said. Her voice changed a little bit. Her normal voice was there... yet it was twisted, and mixed with the voice of another. Something of a fancy Canterlot accent. The sound of opening doors filled the room. Red K-9 ghosts began creeping out the stacks of cages that revealed themselves in their eerie glow. Sweetie's yellow glowing eyes were starting to get closer to the group of guards. "Duarte. You think this would be a good time to retreat?" Black suggested. "There are a lot of those... things!" Duarte turned around... but not to find a door. Instead, he saw a mirror, balancing on its side. When he touched it to see if it opened like some kind of door, it simply fell over and shattered into pieces. The way they'd come was nonexistent now. The ghost dogs barked and laughed at the guards in their fear. "What the hay is this?!" Duarte said, turning back to the ghosts that were getting closer to them. "Guards! To arms! We're going to have to fight our way out of this!" Sweetie laughed. "Oh, I can assure you... there's no point, Mr. Duarte. Goodbye." The tens of K-9 ghosts then charged at the guards, who began swinging violently at the ghosts they couldn't even touch. There was some screaming that echoed throughout the kennel basement trap... but it was only minutes before the entire basement went silent. *** Gilda opened her eyes after a while of waiting in the tea room. Every few minutes, she'd check the clock to see if it was time. The clock now said 6:30am... that was probably the time Specter had mentioned to her. For conformation, she turned back on the flashlight she had in her hands. Once she did, she saw how it flickered briefly before going solid. Chances were, that was the signal Specter had mentioned. It was time to get started. The griffon got up from the wall she'd waited against and headed for the door, where Spike lay. Rainbow looked up at Gilda. "What are you up to?" Rainbow asked. "Getting your lazy dragon thing to wake up." "He's not a thing." Twilight spat. "Hey. Get up." Gilda said, lightly kicking Spike to the side. Spike moaned. "Five more minutes Twi. I don't want to go to school..." "Ugh... what was it that butler said to say... oh yeah. Sweetie want's you." Spike grumbled. "Sweetie? What is it?" he opened his eyes, causing both Twilight and Applebloom to gasp. They were dilated and empty... it was almost like the Spike she knew wasn't there. "Spike? Spike?!" Twilight called. "Sweetie said not to listen to her." Gilda said calmly. "Sweetie says she loves you. She doesn't." "I love you too Sweetie..." Spike mumbled in a monotone. "Spik' what the hay's wrong with ya? Spike?!" Applebloom tried. "Don't listen to her either. Don’t listen to any other pony besides Sweetie. You hate them. You hate her. Just as much as you love Sweetie." "I love Sweetie, and only Sweetie... I love you Sweetie..." Spike mumbled. "Do you want to make Sweetie really happy?" Gilda asked. "I want to make Sweetie happy..." Spike mumbled. "Keep an eye on them. Don't listen or talk to them. Then Sweetie will be here." "Sweetie will be here... don't talk... eyes..." Spike mumbled. "And why don't you give that to Sweetie for a gift? She's probably like that." Gilda said, pointing to the GCD Spike was still holding. "I'll give it to her... as confession to my love." "Whatever floats your boat dragon. Just keep it on you till Sweetie gets here." Gilda said. "I think that takes care of that." "What the hay'd you do to him?!" Twilight asked. Gilda shrugged. "I dunno. Ask Spiffy when he gets around here." "And what about you?" Rainbow asked. "Where are you going?" Gilda grinned. "To get the only reason you're all are still alive to begin with." With that, she exited the room, leaving Spike to stare at all of his friends, blankly as they yell at him, trying to get him to snap out of his Sweetie triggered trance... *** Once Sweetie was out of the kennel, she exited the burnt theater and started to make her way back to the foyer. A smile of satisfaction was on her face... though, she couldn't help but think something was out of place. She'd gotten all of the guards... right? Of course, she did. They all found their way through the door, into the kennel... though there was that nagging feeling she couldn't shake. She supposed it would be relieved once she reached the tea room after the rendezvous with Specter. Sweetie found her way to the dressing room, and picked a random door to take. Once she opened it, she found it lead to the foyer. Expecting such, it didn't appear to be any surprise to her. Once she entered the once again, abandoned looking foyer, the door disappeared behind her. "Master Yield?" Sweetie called. "I'm here." Specter said, revealing himself from behind the fountain. "I imagine things went well?" Sweetie chuckled. "I haven't had that much fun since my first days of ghost hood. It's fine scaring one little filly over and over again, but it's much more rewarding to scare multiple grown stallions. Guards, no less." "I'm glad you had fun," Specter said. "Are they in route?" "They're being taken to the tea room as we speak." Sweetie explained. "By the Wonderbolts." "Good, good." Specter said. "Once they're there, and Gilda's fetched her, we can run the exercise to break Celestia's will. Then her power will be ours." Sweetie didn't say anything. She wouldn't say anything to insult her old friend's logic... though with just one look into her yellow eyes, he knew what was wrong with what he'd said. "Come, my dear friend. Let's head over there now." Specter said. "I've got a few things I wanted to speak with you about." "Of course, Master," Sweetie said, following Specter through the door to the right of the staircase. "...I... noticed you didn't eat anything, Master Yield." Sweetie said. Specter shook his head. "No... that impact to the head must have destroyed those nerves. Reminds me of how fragile my body is nowadays." Specter explained. He chuckled. "I think the part of my brain that controlled my apatite caved in as a result. You on the other hand, ate several plates!" Sweetie smiled. "What can I say? The filly was starving, and I can't move around very well in a hungry body. I'm surprised how she managed to get so far with nothing more than a few pieces of candy and an apple slice." "I suppose the filly simply has that incredible will power." "Like you?" "... Spiffy." Specter said. "Hm?" Sweetie said. "The filly... she's still in there, correct?" "Naturally." Sweetie said. "But do you have control over her?" Specter asked. "Well... no, of course I don't. I wasn't gifted with the same power as you..." Sweetie said. "But Sweetie isn't getting out, I can assure you. I have her completely under my spell. Between her hypnotized spirit, and the chains I have her under, she isn't escaping." "But she has an incredible amount of willpower. Especially when sub-consciously reminded of Ms. Rarity." Specter said. "You witnessed it when she went up against the Portrait of Kindness. Or during the mind dives. She managed to resist or break free when even vaguely reminded of her sister. And even more, there are the Elements' cutie marks stuck to her spirit." "She can't escape..." Sweetie said calmly. "Even if she did break out of the dark realm I've imprisoned her in... I've got a new world she has no chance of escape. And with a mind like her's she'd barely last 20 minutes before succumbing to its charms. After all, no pony has ever escaped possession by themselves, or with sheer willpower. Especially from me." "Except me," Specter said. "And I'll never understand how..." Sweetie said. "If you’re careless, you just might find out tonight then." *** After hiding in one of the bedrooms for Celestia knew how long, Busby was finally feeling brave enough to venture back out into the hallway. The ghost that was chasing him earlier was likely gone by now. The laughter was gone and the intensity of the chill had left a while ago. Still, it took some true willpower for the stallion to force himself out from under the bed he'd stuffed himself and over to the door. As he got back onto his leg, the consequence of his panicked run became evident. The pressure he'd put on his leg the entire run, and was suppressed by the adrenaline rush, stung him, and made walking near impossible. The only thing that managed to numb the pain somewhat was his own racing mind. W-what the hay was that thing? A ghost? Busby thought. This must be one of those haunted mansions I read about! B-but I thought they only fiction! They aren't real! Ghosts aren't real! Once Busby reached the door, he put his ear to the door he'd slammed shut on during his escape. He didn't hear anything outside... it was clear. Busby clenched his teeth together to stop them from chattering nervously and shakily put his hoof to the doorknob. He turned the knob and opened the door, and entered the hallway. O-ok... that window... m-maybe I can get out through there? Busby thought optimistically, looking out at the end of the hallway. There, he saw the window, and the only light source of the hallway. With his objective set, he set forth to head to the window. As he did, he nervously looked around, expecting some ghost to pop out at him to scare him, grab him, or do some other unspeakable act. He'd already felt the lash of the licker ghost he'd encountered and wasn't looking forward to a second one... or something worse. Thankfully, nothing jumped out at the stallion. He made it to the window safe and sound... but something was terribly wrong. As he looked out the window, it didn't look like he was 2 stories up... it looked more like he was about 7 or 8 stories up, as the trees on the ground looked incredibly minuscule. It didn't make sense, he'd only gone up one flight of stairs. How in the hay did he get so high without realizing? Though one thing was for sure, unless he had an extremely long rope, he wasn't going anywhere through there... at least not without wings, or breaking his neck. Busby put his head to the window in disappointment. Hay of a first day. I thought guards didn't see any action? Ghosts... haunted mansions... traps... what's next? Suddenly, something in Busby's gut told him to duck suddenly. He wasn't sure if it was an instinct, the paranoia, or the sound of slicing air at his right ear. He just ducked, barely dodging a swinging sword. "Gah! What the-" Busby swung around to find Paita, armed with her sword. "Busby?" Paita said through her sword. "Luna, Paita! You almost took my head off!" "Hmph," she said looking off to the side. "It's not like anything's in there anyway." "Paita, listen. Something's seriously wrong with this mansion. It's-" "A giant trap of nonsensical, dark hallways?" "...I was going to say haunted by ghosts, but that's a little new." "Ghosts?" Paita said raising an eyebrow. "You sure that brain damage of yours isn't making you see things? There's-" "No such thing, I know, I know," Busby said shaking his head. "But they're here, and they're dangerous as hay." Busby looked at the sword in her muzzle. "And I doubt swinging that thing at every living thing you see is going to help survive them." "I'll be the judge of that," Paita said, crossing her eyebrows. "Besides. I thought you were that Specter character." A guard in golden armor looks like that old stallion? Yeah, I'm not sure if I'm the one with brain damage lady. Busby thought. "What happened to every pony else?" "... I don't know." Paita said, looking down. "I... I think they might be dead." D-dead? Busby thought. "Y-you’re not serious, are you?" Paita shook her head, regaining her composure. "I'm not sure. They followed Specter somewhere, and I haven't seen them since. I was only lucky enough not to have been taken wherever they were..." "Paita, look," Busby said. "I'm going to be honest. You don't like me, and I can accept that. But if we're going to survive and stop whatever the hay is going on here, we need to work together." Paita scoffed. "Me? Work with you? Ha! I can brave this mansion on my own." "No you can't," Busby said flatly. "No pony can. Not without some help. Those things... you can't touch them. Especially not with a blade like yours. At least, I doubt it. The only way we're going to have any chance at survival is if we watch each other's backs." "Hmph." Paita said, looking away from Busby. "You said you'd at least try and respect me if I was right about the mansion. So pay up. Just have my back until we get out of here. You watch my flank, I'll watch yours." Paita raised an eyebrow. "... If I catch you actually staring at my-" "It was a figure of speech, geez." Busby moaned. "Ok... so what do you think the next course of action should be?" "... something tells me this is a job for the elements. Whenever things stir up like this in Equestria, those artifacts always seem to be somewhat important." "So we need to find them then?" Busby asked. Paita nodded. "Do you know where they might be?" "Hm... the last pony I gave it to was... uh oh." "Let me guess. One of your guards?" "Yeah. Waite." Busby said sheepishly. "Said I didn't need the extra pressure on my leg." Paita rolled her eyes. "Great. We've lost the elements." "Hold your horses, I don't think it's totally lost." Busby said. "I mean... dead or not... hopefully not, Waite's got to be somewhere. If he is, he'll have the elements... at least he'll be a lead to them anyway." "Alright. We'd better get looking for them." Paita said. "But first, we've got to figure out how to get off of this floor," Busby said. "... you can't fly yet, can you?" Paita looked at her wings and extended them awkwardly. "No. They're still not working right." "Then I guess our only option is to wander the floor until we find the exit. Maybe some kind of staircase" Busby sighed. "You ready?" "More than I'll ever be Buster." Paita sighed back. With that, the two nervous guards began walking through the maze-like hallway... *** Specter stopped in front of his study. Sweetie did the same. "Master Yield?" Sweetie asked. "Is there something the matter?" Specter didn't look back at Sweetie, but merely stared at the door to his study. "No... nothing's the matter." "Are you sure? You do seem troubled." "Maybe a bit... but not for reasons you aren't already aware of in any case." "... is there anything I can do for you?" "No, Spiffy. Nothing you can do for me now... I just need some time in my study is all. Alone." Specter explained. "I will join you later once the gears have begun turning. I'll need to be present for once we have broken Celestia's willpower. Besides... it's been a while since I've observed a good... incentiv-isor." "Only this time, you'll be on the other side of the spectrum hm?" Sweetie asked. "Hopefully," Specter said. "...but, there's one thing I want to ask of you." "But of course." Sweetie said. "I want you to... do you remember that little yellow filly? The friend of the orange one and Sweetie?" "Yes, I believe her name is Applebloom. What about her?" Sweetie asked. "Especially her... if she appears to be any type of problem... I want you to finish her." "M-master Yield?" Sweetie asked. "I never knew you to deliberately ask for me to... end a life." "Why? You act as though you're beyond that." "No, no. Of course I can but... is there any reason in particular? I-If I may be so curious to ask." Sweetie said. "... the rules have changed." Specter said. "Because Ms. Applebloom... of every pony she's come face to face has had some of the most mental impact on the filly... she must be the one. The same rules apply for every pony else of course... but especially her." Sweetie wanted to investigate further on Specter's strange request, though she wasn't used to delving deeper than needed into the issues of Specter's plans. He always had a reason... and Sweetie knew it was more complicated than the simple rules of the game. There was something else going on. Some mediator he wasn't thinking of. Not that it mattered. She trusted Specter with all her heart. Or at least, she didn't have much choice. Those were the rules. Sweetie nodded. "Of course. If it comes to it, it shall be done." Sweetie said. Specter entered his study, leaving the filly to head to the tea room. If it comes to it... Applebloom will die... *** Mmmm.... my head... Sweetie thought. Do not worry little filly. You're safe here... I... I am? Sweetie asked. Of course... I would never lie to you. In the darkness, the voice was comforting to the filly. It was pleasant, calm, and hypnotic. Could it have been Rarity? Was that why she had the instinct to trust it so? She couldn't think straight. The only thing she could think about was how serene the voice sounded. Sweetie believed the voice... but something told her she shouldn't have. Shh... you can trust me. Just trust me, and every pony will be fine... just relax... Something sparked in Sweetie. Her friends... Rarity... weren't they in danger? Yeah! They were! Why was she lying in darkness when her friends were in trouble?! Sweetie Belle... shh... it was all a dream. Your friends are safe... it's fine... relax... Was the voice right? Was it all just a dream? Just a big nightmare? No... no, no no no no. It wasn't a dream. It was too vivid to be a dream. It wasn't a dream... it wasn't even as pleasant as a nightmare. It was real. "Stop..." Sweetie mumbled. Sleep Sweetie Belle... Sleep... "Stop... no... Rarity..." Sweetie said again. It's fine... relax... "Stop... Stop! STOP!" Sweetie yelled. Becoming more conscious of herself and her surroundings she started trashing around. She was chained down to something. It's fine... relax Sweetie... Something got on top of Sweetie. It hugged around her abdomen. Sweetie looked up, to find it was Rarity, smiling sweetly. Sweetie, however, wasn't naive enough to see it as the loving sister she knew. She saw in her eyes death... "You’re NOT MY SISTER!" It's fine Sweetie Belle... it's just a dream... Dream... Sweetie thought. "No! You WON'T TRICK ME AGAIN!" Sweetie said, trashing even more violently to get free of the mare and her bonds. It's a dream... it can't be real. Sweetie thought. "It's not! I won't believe it!" Sweetie yelled. It was as though Sweetie was having a battle with herself. One part of her knew that the world she was in wasn't real, and another wanted to truly believe the dark fantasy she was in. It's fine... relax... it's fine... relax... "NOOO!" Sweetie yelled. The cutie marks on her body started to glow white, and suddenly, there was a giant explosion of light, throwing Rarity off of the filly and destroying her bonds. She was free. Sweetie scrambled up and ran through the darkness. She saw a light at the end of the dark tunnel she was in. She was almost there... almost there... Finally, the filly broke light and hit the dirt. "Oof!" Sweetie said as her mouth was suddenly filled with dirt. "Mmm..." she groaned getting up on her feet... though once she looked up, she found herself not in the mansion or Ponyville... but it was definitely somewhere familiar. Something about the trail she stood on that felt like she lived there, yet it felt completely foreign. Where am I?
Chapter 2- The Road to Yield Manor [REBOOT]A-Am I dead? Sweetie thought. She was sure she was right as all she could see was blackness. When she tried snapping her eyes open, all she could see was blackness. Complete and utter darkness, this was what she thought of when she thought of death. However, she both let out a laugh in relief and a groan of anguish as she tried moving her aching muscles and felt herself lying on her back. "Heh heh... ow..." Sweetie supposed she'd take splitting pain over the alternative for now. The first time the filly tried to get up, she rolled onto her front, and getting on her front and hind legs, a pain shot through her, causing her to collapse in the blackness. For a few moment, Sweetie's mind shifted to worrying that her legs were broken. She tried again, this time with a little more success and less pain. She'd definitely done something to her legs, but for the moment, it wasn't anything drastic. It felt like enough pain that, with enough effort, she could ignore. "Ow..." she moaned again. If there was any other plus to the pain besides telling her that she was alive, it definitely woke her up faster. As she became more conscious of the surrounding darkness, fear started to set in. "W-where am I? Guys?" Sweetie didn't receive an answer. It was chilly out, but there wasn't any wind. It was completely silent in the woods, which set the little filly on edge. She'd never experienced darkness like this before. Usually there was at the very least the moon somewhere to tell her that there was something in front of her. This was the type of darkness where it was pointless to even have eyes, and it was horrifying. She didn't know where she was, it was dark, and her friends where nowhere to be seen. Sweetie felt like screaming for help, but instead, she kept yelling out for her friends. "Scootaloo?! Applebloom?!" She still didn't receive an answer. All she got was a faint echo of her own voice before it was swallowed up in the black void. Sweetie began hyperventilating. She was on the verge of breaking into a run in some random direction in a desperate attempt to escape the encompassing darkness. She noticed this and made an effort to take deeper breaths, calming herself down. "Alright Sweetie... Stay calm. You’re just a... alone right now." Sweetie thought, in an effort to comfort herself. Hoping the sound of her own voice, one of the few factors remaining that reminded her she still existed would keep her from losing herself. "Just need to see. Yeah a light. Just a little... oh yeah!" Sweetie remembered the solution to a problem like this. She felt along her sides, and sure enough, her saddlebags were still set firmly on her back after that crash. Thankfully she'd waited to open hers instead of ending up like Applebloom, who's personal effects, including the cape she tried to get, were probably scattered among the trees. She sighed. "Applebloom... Scootaloo... I hope they're okay. Hopefully together." She reached inside and felt around for what she was looking for. Sweetie had a set number of items she brought along with her on every crusade she, Applebloom, or Scootaloo went on, just in case. "No...no...aha! There you are!" Sweetie proclaimed with relief. She pulled out a silver handled flashlight. Momentarily sitting down, she clicked it. "Bah!" Not realizing it was pointing at her face, a magnificent beam of light shined in her face, blinding her for a moment and causing her to drop the flashlight. Once the after image of the light had left she smiled at her little flashlight that she picked up off the ground. It felt as though a burden had left her back, now that she could fight back the darkness with her little hand-held lamp. At least until the magically charged batteries let out. Sweetie stuck the base of the flashlight into her mouth, so she could walk while holding it. Her good feelings left as she realized that even with the light, it didn't shine very far. With such a narrow beam of light, she felt somewhat claustrophobic against the darkness. She looked around at her surroundings. As she expected, she was still out in Everfree forest. Then, it wasn't long before something clicked in her head. Hold on... I'm outside, and it's dark... it must be night time. How long was I out? And how is it so dark out? Where's the moon? Sweetie thought. Sweetie knew this darkness wasn't normal. The darkness she experienced was more like being a box with no opening that ever existed. Where was the moon? "Maybe it's just not getting through the trees." She tried explaining to herself. Either way, it wasn't anything she could worry about at the moment. She had to continue to survey the area to figure out where her friends were, and her next course of action. It soon became apparent she'd managed to fall onto a path. It was a simple dirt path, and about wide enough for 4 or 5 adult mares to walk side by side. It seemed like it hadn't been used much, considering the lack of hoofprints Sweetie found. After a little while, she ended up coming across the crashed paper airplane. She figured she must have been knocked off during the crash. Sweetie concluded since they weren't anywhere around the plane, Applebloom and Scootaloo crashed somewhere else, farther away from the plane than her. And if she, who probably had the worst of it survived, chances were her friends did as well. She went over to the crashed arts-and-crafts project to see it was definitely out of shape. Twigs and branches stuck out of parts of the wing, and leaves were all over the aviation device. All of their hard work ruined. "Better it than us." Sweetie mumbled. Sweetie continued to look at it, thinking. She knew it was a dumb idea, but she couldn't help but want to take the plane with her. She wondered if it could still be salvageable for something. Sweetie didn't know why, but she felt as though she was going to need the plane. Under further examination of the plane, Sweetie noticed something weird at the front of the plane, where Scootaloo was smacked out. A greenish splotch... no, it wasn't just a splotch. It was gooey and slimy, somewhere between a thin layer of gelatin and snot. Sweetie wondered if this was why Scootaloo let go of the rope and concluded it must have been. She saw a bit of blood mixed in the green, likely Scootaloo's bloodied nose. Where the heck did that? Sweetie then heard a roll of thunder, jumping and nearly dropping the flashlight again. "You've got to be kidding me." She looked up, knowing that there must be a storm coming soon. "Great, just what I needed. I've got to find my friends... then a way out of here. They can't be too far right?" Sweetie took one of the ropes still attached to the plane, putting it next to the flashlight in her mouth. With both the flashlight and the plane rope in her muzzle, she began to move forward into the forest, the plane dragging close behind her. Please guys... please be alright... *** Sweetie wasn't sure exactly how long it had been since she started walking. She had eventually started measuring time by every thunder roll she heard. Four thunder rolls of walking, dragging the giant destroyed paper CMC plane behind her, and shivering as she felt the air get colder and colder, she started to feel the fear to set in again. She knew very well, between the adventures her adult friends had supposedly been on and what she learned in school, that Everfree at nighttime was one of the most dangerous places to be. So many creatures around it, many of which deadly, she was nothing more than prey here. However, that wasn't what scared her as she walked. It would have, but it was still the absolute silence, besides her hoofsteps that scared her. There was no movement beyond the trees, there was no monsters ready to pounce her. In fact, the forest felt deader than ever because of something even deadlier lurking beyond her vision. Sweetie kept reassuring herself that nothing was going to hurt her in the forest. "Just keep moving... just keep moving..." Even with her constant self-reassurance, Sweetie couldn't help but feel a chill down her spine as she blindly wandered through the forest. She looked around for things to keep her mind off of the forest. This would have worked if when she looked around, she didn't just see a few trees before black. Sweetie cycled through the memories of the day, recalling its events leading up to her predicament. Perhaps she could recall something that could calm her down. Something good. Something comforting. Something about her sister perhaps? "Sweetie dear, I'll be going out with my friends today around three." Rarity said as she moves around the boutique, gathering various items, placing them into her saddlebags. "Oh yeah? Where?" Sweetie asked her big sister. "Oh just that nice old stallion's mansion. He's invited the Elements and I... you know, my friends, to attend his housewarming party." "Can I come?" Sweetie asked. "Oh, I'm sorry dear, but this isn't like one of Pinkie's parties... It's a party for grown-ups. Believe me, I'm sure you'd be bored to pieces." Rarity said politely. "And besides, aren't you going with your little friends to do... oh what is it you call it... crusading?" "Oh yeah! I almost forgot! Scootaloo said she was planning something big this time. Sure to get our cutie marks!" Sweetie said excitedly. She got up and begun to run out the door. "See you later sis!" "Alright Sweetie. I-" before Rarity can finish her sentence, Sweetie is out the door, headed off to create the Cutie Mark Crusader plane that brought her here. Rarity: the big sister she'd been virtually raised by, and likely one of the best friends she'd ever have, besides Scootaloo and Applebloom of course. She loved her big sister more than anything in the world. It was then Sweetie began to wonder where her big sis was now anyway. Was she still at that mansion with the rest of her friends? Or was she back in Ponyville, worried sick about where she was. Considering Applebloom and Scootaloo were probably also still missing, Sweetie imagined Rarity, gathering all of her friends, forming a search party for them. Twilight would probably think of some tracking spell to pinpoint their location. Rainbow and Fluttershy would probably be flying above Ponyville, and the forest scanning every inch of the town for the fillies. Applejack would probably search all of the places they'd usually be, like the CMC tree house, or somewhere around there. Pinkie would probably have some random search method or maybe she'd misunderstand the meaning of search "party" altogether and use some balloons. They had a tenancy to work like that together. Sweetie smiled to herself, with the thought that all of her closest friends were looking for them. However her warm smile faded at the realization: they hadn't been found yet. Sweetie assumed that she must have been knocked out for a few hours, and Rarity must have noticed by then that she was gone. However there was another explanation Sweetie was willing to consider. Perhaps they never came back to Ponyville. Maybe they were all still at the mansion then? The little filly wondered where that mansion was anyway. She remembered seeing it on their flight; after all, they were originally on a crash course with it. Sweetie wondered if she could possibly find that mansion. Maybe she could tell the mares of the disappearance of Applebloom and Scootaloo, if not, take residence there for the night. That made sense. If there wasn't a search party already looking for them the mansion was the best course of action, especially with the upcoming storm. If she didn't find an exit to Ponyville first, or her friends in the first place, she'd get help at the mansion (she honestly didn't know if she was going in the direction of either). Yes. Even if Rarity and her friends weren't there, she could get some help from someone. It wouldn't be like the whole place was empty. After all, some pony already came to town, claiming to live there. As this plan formulated into Sweetie's mind, she heard a loud crack of thunder above, causing her to jump, and re-awakening her fear. She stopped in her tracks. "Just thunder Sweetie... Just thunder." Sweetie said re-assuring herself. She slapped herself, trying to get ahold of herself. Sweetie knew the storm was inevitable, but she hoped it wouldn't start too soon. She still had no clue how far away the mansion was still. She then continued to walk forward. After another bit of walking, Sweetie got another chill down her spine. She got the distinct feeling... that someone in that darkness was watching her. "Don't be silly Sweetie... t-there's no pony in this wood besides you. Just keep moving." She continued to trek forward. The sixth thunder roll, indicated the storm was getting closer. She began to trot faster, careful to not let her fear force her to break into a run and trip herself. Then, the worst possible thing happened... Sweetie's flashlight went out, causing Sweetie to be once again surrounded by darkness and to stop in her tracks. Oh no, oh no, oh no. I could have sworn I changed the batteries in this? Why is it going out now? Sweetie took the flashlight out of her muzzle, and shook it furiously. It flickered on and off. It wasn't like the batteries were dying, as when the light went on, it was as bright as before. It was almost as if something were sapping power to the flashlight externally. Then, there was a sound that made Sweetie's coat hairs rise on ends. This time, it wasn't the sound of thunder clouds... but it was laughter. A sound that could be described as sadistic, low level, but high pitched laughter surrounded her. Whatever was... it was like it was laughing at her. "W-who's there?" Sweetie called out. The things around her. There was definitely more than one. They didn't answer, rather they kept laughing. "S-stop it! STOP IT!" Sweetie wanted to run, she had to run but a paralyzing fear anchored her to her spot. Her body wasn't listening to her for those moments. Only questions came. Where should she run? Where was the laughing coming from? She had to get away. Whatever it was would be after her if she didn't move now! O[She didn't hear it before, it must be in front of her, RUN BACK] O[It's been following her this whole time, keep moving RUN FORWARD] Author's Note As the title suggests, this is a reboot of an older version of the chapter. Once all chapters have been rebooted, I'll be adding new chapters. I suggest for consistency purposes, if you're new to the story, that you don't go past the reboots, however I will leave the older versions up if you'd prefer to continue on with the story.
CHOICE2Then Sweetie heard one sound, it was just next to her ear. She heard but one single word, the air and sound of the speaker echoing inside of her ear: "Boo." Sweetie stuck the flashlight back in her mouth and bolted forward, letting go of the paper air plane. At this point, the thing would only slow her down, something she couldn't afford to be right now. The only thing she managed to keep in her muzzle was her flashlight. The flashlight flashed on and off, making it incredibly difficult for Sweetie to plan her steps and keep her co-ordination. She couldn't have counted the number of times she tripped and had to scramble up to keep running away from the malicious monsters pursuing her from the woods. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she was chased. The chill she felt turned into a light frostbite as the laughter seemed to get louder and louder. Her body was beginning to feel weaker as well, as though she were casting another telekinesis spell. Was it exhaustion from running? It didn't matter to Sweetie, as long as she could keep running. As long as she still had the chance to escape. She heard more rolls of thunder above her, rivaling the laughter for dominance in volume. The storm was getting closer. The things were getting closer. Her time was running out as the world seemed to be closing in on her. She kept running, the fear of falling again and getting caught by the laughing monsters allowing her to keep her footing now. Just as she thought that her body was ready to give out on her again, salvation, she saw an opening. A dim light emitted from it. Perhaps it was warm? She'd do anything to get away from this cold, and even better, help to fend off the monster she would likely be killed by if she stopped here. She pushed her last ounces of energy into one last sprint. The new light, once she saw where it came from caused the little filly to skid to a stop. In front of her, was the large, creepy old mansion. Lightning cracked and thunder rolled, louder than ever before as she gazed upon the menacing manor. Its windows were darkened, but any ones with light seemed to be lit with eerie yellow lights. The mansion... Sweetie thought, It's so much bigger up close... Sweetie felt a drop of rain on her nose. She then heard the monster in the wood's high pitched laugh, reminding her of the danger she was trying to escape. Without further hesitation, Sweetie pushed through the gate of the manor. The manor wasn't quite as menacing and threatening as the monster that frightened her in the woods. Even if it did look a bit frightening, surely it wouldn't compare to whatever was following her in the woods. [Continue] Author's Note Nice. [update 10/16/18] i have no idea why i thought these were a good idea. i am so sorry.
Chapter 3- The Host of the Night[REBOOT]"Oh... okay... I think... I'm alright for now." Sweetie slammed the gate shut with a rattle. She breathed heavily in a crouched position, tilting her head back to the gate and dark woods beyond. She didn't shine her light directly onto the forest just yet, not prepared to see what thing that had chased her here. The thing that could be staring into her back at that very moment. Instead, she listened to the darkness as the laughter started to fade into nothing. Eventually, she worked up the courage to shine her light into the forest to confirm her hopes. Sweetie sighed in relief. She was right. At the very least, within the range of her flashlight, there was nothing but eerie trees. Though that didn't matter as her pounding heart calmed to a steady beat as she found herself staring out into the dark abyss beyond the gate. One might say she was caught in a trance as she stared. What was so alluring to the forest, the little filly couldn't quite put her hoof on. Maybe it was it the paper air plane she'd abandoned? She took it on a whim. Did she want to get it back? That couldn't be right, the only value that thing had was sentimental value. It was probably for the best it was behind her at this point. Perhaps she was worried her friends were still out there, and still had to survive against the thing she barely escaped from. Between Applebloom's lost items and Scootaloo's history of the most reckless behavior of the three of them, it would make sense she was worried. Then there was another thought. Or did a part of her feel safer in the forest? Sweetie heard a roll of thunder, followed by another streak of lightning. Sweetie was snapped out of her trance. She shook her head from the nonsense her subconscious was coming up with, and tried to pay attention to the more important matters. Like her friends. As far as she knew they were still out in the forest. Right now wasn't the time to worry about them, but do something about the situation at hoof. She still had to get in the mansion and get help. Otherwise, her friends would probably be out in a storm with no hope of rescue. Or worse, become the prey of that there was a thing out there. Sweetie had no time to lose. She then turned around to face the mansion. Despite its supposedly recent construction, it looked decades older than it should have. The walls along the mansion's face had vines, moss and other vegetation growing from it, cradling the structure in it's long dark green arms. For all she knew, they were the things keeping it from crumbling into dust. The face of the mansion was also littered with windows from broken to decently intact. Most of the windows were black, but those with light had an eerie yellow glow emitting from them. Sweetie assumed them to be candles, or a possible fireplace, but it still didn't help deny how creepy it looked. As she thought, It was definitely larger than what she saw from the CMC plane. It's height was somewhere around 10 to 15 floors, she didn't take the time to count. In fact, from a glance, it looked like some of the floors fused with each other from the placement of the windows. All of this loomed over Sweetie menacingly, as if trying to drive her back. Sweetie shook off as many of her feelings of nervousness and fear, disregarding them as irrational. "N-nothing to be scared of." She told herself. "It's just a house." and began to walk along the path to the mansion. Although Sweetie tried to stay focused on the path to the front door, her eyes couldn't help but waver off of it, curious as to what else this place had to offer. When Sweetie imagined the front of a fancy mansion (and being technically Canterlot born, she knew exactly what to imagine), she thought of beautiful grass and blossoming trees, complimenting the fanciness of the mansion. The front of this mansion didn't have any lush trees or grass, but it definitely "complemented" it by being the polar opposite. There was nothing but dead trees and dirt off of her path. Jutting out of the dirt were numerous slabs of stone. No matter how hard Sweetie imagined, the place looked like a graveyard. Why in the hay some pony would have a grave site in front of their house was beyond the filly. Especially if the place was so new. This felt like the setting to a Nightmare Night haunted house, rather than someone's home. The path she was on was composed of neatly packed stone. Along the sides of the path were statues. These statues weren't of ponies however, but rather they were of dragons and griffons. Sweetie stopped in front of one of the statues to examine it. It was of a griffon, starring off to the left of the path in a stately, dignified manner. At least it's body was distinguished in it's pose, however it's face looked off. There were cracks in it's mouth as though they were wrinkles, trynig to resist that face. Sweetie stared the statue, unable to shake the feeling that the statue was somehow familiar. Like she remembered seeing the face somewhere before. Thunder clapped and rain drops touched Sweetie's coat much more frequently. "Ah." She remembered the urgency of the situation. She cursed her short attention span as she ended her examination and ran for the entrance. As though on cue rain began, seemingly seconds later the world turned into nothing but water as the clouds showed no mercy for the filly. She made it to the door and takes shelter under it's stone awning. Her mane and coat were soaking wet, dripping with water. "Finally... I made it." Sweetie said, panting for breath. She choked some water out of her mane. "That's alright. I needed a shower anyway." She shook the rest water off of her body like a wet dog in an attempt to dry herself off. Amazingly she managed to get a fair amount of water off this way; still damp, but the excess water was off. She knew she had best dry off before she caught something nasty. "Now... doorbell. Doorbell." She found the doorbell up by the side of the door. However, it was too high up for little Sweetie Belle. She made an effort to knock on the door as hard as she could. "Hello?! Anyone home?!" she called, but received no answer. The lights from the mansion were enough to prove that someone was home. She concluded that the rain was too loud for anypony to hear her. Her only chance was the doorbell she was too short to reach. "I just got to hit that bell... wait a sec." Sweetie said to herself. Sweetie reached into her bag and took out a red rubber ball, with the letters C-M-C written in bubble letters on it. "Yeah, this'll do." Sweetie remembered playing wall ball as well as other activities with Applebloom and Scootaloo back at the Cutie Mark Clubhouse. They each took turns taking it home and being tasked to bring it each meeting of the three friends. It became something of a charm they passed around among each other. Another symbol of their "crusader-ship" next to their capes. "Guys... where are you?" Sweetie asked the ball, remembering a few of the games they played with it. Unsurprisingly the ball didn't answer. Sweetie used one of her hoof to aim the ball at the door bell. She then tossed it at the button to trigger the bell. The rubber ball hit the device and bounced back into the filly's hoof. A satisfying chime rung from the inside of the mansion. Sweetie smiled in satisfaction, thankful that she was the last to hold the toy. Minutes passed, and Sweetie started to worry that no one even heard the bell. Sweetie gave consideration to trying the bell again, when the door finally creaked open. Light seeped out of the inside of the mansion, flooding its door step. "Good Evening?" asked a stallion's voice said, coming from the crack in the door. A head poked out, looking left and right before looking down. "Who might this be?" He voice sounded more like a Canterlot native: dignified and fancy. It reminded her of the way rich unicorns or Rarity spoke. "M-my name is Sweetie. Sweetie Belle." Sweetie said through the door. There was silence as the stallion continued to look down. "P-please let me in. I need help." The door opened completely, fully revealing Sweetie's greeter. He was a unicorn, wearing what appeared to be a tuxedo. Behind his clothing were the features of a white mane, a yellow coat, and a cutie mark of a wine glass. From what Sweetie could tell, it was safe to assume he was a butler pony. For a few moments, the stallion just stared. He was looking directly at Sweetie, but at the same time looked at her as though she wasn't even there. Past her as if Sweetie was just a cloud of fog. However, he then expressed shock to see her. "Help?" he said. "What is a little filly like you doing so far in the forest during a storm? At night no less!" He seemed more interested in Sweetie's sudden appearance than her "Sorry. It's a really long story. Can I come in?" Sweetie said. The stallion stared at her again. This time, less airy and more directly at her. He bit his lip before shaking his head. "No." "N-no?" Sweetie was caught off guard. "I apologize for this young filly, er... Ms. Belle." he paused for a moment, obviously thinking about something "...but I'm not permitted to allow any-" The stallion looked back into the mansion again. When he looked back, Sweetie offered the biggest puppy dog eyes she could muster, hoping they'd change his mind. There was another moment of silence before the butler sighed. "Master Yield isn't fond of any visitors without being notified in advance... but I suppose he'll be willing to make an exception so long as there's no harm." the butler pony looked past her. "Is there anyone else with you?" "Huh? No." Sweetie responded. "I see..." he smiled kindly. It felt fake, as though he knew he was in for something for doing this."...well, come on then, let's get you out of that rain." The butler pony beckoned the filly in. Sweetie smiled, and trotted into the mansion. The inside of the mansion was more than a slight contrast from the outside. Once Sweetie entered the warmth of the mansion, and her coat instantly drying, she thought she was in an entirely new world. Light filled every corner of the room magnificently showing every detail of the foyer. The decor was new and shiny, as though it had just been built that day. The marble floor looked expensive, the way Sweetie could see her reflection off of it as she walked along side the butler. A grand staircase went up to the next floor along the center of the foyer, with doors on either side. Columns evenly placed around the foyer seemed to keep the roof stable, and from falling on top of their heads. There was fountain at the center of the room, with mirror faces decorating the base. Portraits of famous ponies, such as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, decorated the walls of the foyer. Other paintings of other dignified looking ponies that Sweetie didn't recognized were along the wall. None the less, they looked important, from the way they dressed, to their serious facial expressions. "Come along Ms. Belle." the butler pony said. "We must notify Master Yield of your arrival. I could only imagine how he'd react to a filly such as yourself suddenly showing up at his door step." "Okay mister butler." Sweetie said, following close behind him. "Um... this is a dumb question, but do you work here?" "Yes madam. I am the loyal servant of Master Specter Yield. As well as the supervisor of his other servants." the butler explained. "What's your name?" Sweetie asked "I mean, it's probably weird to call you 'butler' all the time" "Believe me child, it's less queer than you'd think. After all, that is my last name." "A butler named Butler?" He seemed to resist a groan before he spoke. "Yes. You may call me Spiffy Butler." he paused. "And... against my preference for formalities, I'd also prefer if you refereed to me by my first name." Sweetie giggles. "Okay Mr. Spiffy." She said. Spiffy ignored the filly's immature laugh. As they headed through the door to the left of the staircase, and into a hallway, Sweetie noticed how quiet the mansion was. The only ponies she saw were other butlers like Spiffy. She also noticed how lifeless and robotic they were in their actions as they performed their various cleaning and moving tasks around the mansion. They didn't even seem to notice the strange pair as they moved through the halls. "Um... excuse me Mr. Spiffy?" Sweetie asked. "But... isn't there supposed to be a party here?" "Yes, I do believe we did." Spiffy nodded. "Well... where is everypony? It's already over?" "Indeed." Spiffy confirmed. "Though I'm sure, according to your Ponyville standards, parties seem to last into the morning, hm?" If you're at a Pinkie Pie party, you're lucky for the party to end at all. Sweetie thought, but just responded to Spiffy with a nod. "Yes, well you see, Mr. Yield isn't fond of hosting extremely long parties. I don't believe it lasted for more than one or two hours." "O-only one or two hours?" Sweetie asked, surprised. "What time is it now?" "It's coming close to nine." Spiffy explained. Sweetie thought back to when her and her friends were working on the plane. Sweetie was sure they had been working for at least five or six hours. And even surer they had been working when Rarity left with her friends to head to the Yield mansion. By his logic, they should have noticed them back, or at least been found by the time she woke up in the forest. Then again, there was that peculiar absence of the moon to make things difficult. "Are you sure?" Spiffy thought for a moment. "...actually, I may have mistaken. It might have gone on until seven. Maybe I just remembered the time Master Yield wanted to end the party... I also remember it getting a little out of hoof, which may have stretched the party out a bit." "Really? How?" Sweetie asked. "I'm not entirely sure, I wasn't present the entire time. Only to clean up after their messes." Spiffy said. "But from reports from the others, and what I had to clean up, it must have involved something with a musical number, some streamers, and Ping-Pong..." That's Pinkie for you. Sweetie thought to herself. Sweetie could imagine Pinkie throwing some random activity with those random items. Either way, Sweetie supposed that made sense. Perhaps Rarity and the others were just getting home around the time she woke up. "Also, a young white mare also caught the eye of Mr. Yield, who he must have flirted with for maybe an hour or two. Definitely for a majority of the duration of the party." Spiffy said with a smile. "About the same completion as you. If not a shade whiter." "That's my sister!" Sweetie blurted out. There was something about Sweetie's tone that off put him off enough for it to visibly be shown. "Heh... sorry I um... sorry." "That's fine, but the Rarity character is your sibling? The group that came wasn't all your family, now was it?" Spiffy asked. Sweetie giggled. "No. They're like family to me, but they're just my friends." Sweetie said. "The white pony, you know, she's actually my sister... some of the closest family I have." "Oh..." Spiffy said. "I hadn't realized that... are you parents- no, I apologize, I shouldn't be prying into such an sensitive-" Spiffy tried. "Huh? Oh, no. That's not what I meant." Sweetie said. "My parents are just busy ponies and the rest of my family's all over Equestria so I barely see anyone that isn't Rarity. Still, she takes care of me like my mom and dad used to." "I see." Spiffy said. "... Miss Belle-" "Call me Sweetie." Sweetie requested. "Alright then Sweetie. If you wouldn't mind my asking... how did you find yourself on this property?" "Oh, that... It's a long story." Sweetie begun to tell Spiffy everything she recalled. He had a demeanor that seemed trust-able. His eyes were entrancing, but not at all menacing like the forest. Besides, even if it was just a mask, it wasn't as if telling her little story was going to hurt any pony right? She started with telling Spiffy about her friends and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and their desire to obtain their cutie marks. Sweetie then told Spiffy about the paper airplane project, their newest attempt at getting their marks. She told him about the lack of planning, resulting in the crash in the middle of the forest. She then told of her trek through the forest, eventually getting chased by some unknown monster to the mansion. Spiffy listened to every word of the filly's story. Spiffy shook his head. "Though it's not my place, I must say, how did you imagine that plan would work out?" Sweetie shrugged and sighed. "I dunno. Ever have one of those ideas that just 'seemed like a good idea at the time' and nearly got you hurt badly?" "I suppose I'd be lying if I said I didn't make my fair share of idiotic decisions in my youth." Spiffy agreed. "As for the monster, I'm sure you're aware Everfree is known for it's monsters. One of the things your friends warned us over the party." "Yeah, I know about them. I don't know what all of them are, but I know about them." "Neither do I, but I suppose so-long as you're within these walls you'll be fine. In the time we've been here, not one creature, besides ponies, the dragon, or the occasional griffon, has wandered onto these grounds. I can assure you you're safe here." "That's a relief... just wish my friends were here..." she then gasped. "MY FRIENDS! T-They're still out there!" "Actually, that's something I wanted to discuss." Spiffy said calmly. "Were there two of them? A yellow filly and an orange filly?" Sweetie turned to Spiffy. "Yeah! You saw them?" He nodded. "Yes, they came through here somewhere around sun-down. They asked for directions back to Ponyville. I remember greeting them, and giving them the directions, saying they should make it there before nightfall if they moved hastily. Strange..." "What?" Sweetie asked. "They never mentioned you." Spiffy said. "Like you, I queried if they were alone, and they said it was just the two of them." "A-are you sure?" Sweetie asked. "Positive." Spiffy said. Sweetie's heart sunk. Did her friends really come through here, without making any effort to even look for her? Did they forget about her? Sweetie shook her head at the thought. Applebloom and Scootaloo were her best friends. They must have had a good reason for not mentioning her. Maybe the sun was still up and they figured I just head home. I'm not that big of a scardy cat to run away without making sure my friends are okay girls. "Ah, here we are." Spiffy said stopping in front of one of the doors in the hallway. "This is Master Yield's study. Please speak to him with respect... but you seem like a well-mannered filly already. Still, your presence is rather unexpected and is worth noting." Sweetie nodded. "Wait, you're coming with me?" He shook his head. "I still have quite the array of tasks to complete before the hour grows too late." He raised a brow "I can leave you on your own, correct?" "I guess." Sweetie supposed. "Okay, then. Bye, Mr. Spiffy." Spiffy nodded and walked off further down the hallway, and entered a door of his own, leaving her alone for the moment. She felt a chill through the hallway at the sudden solitude, as though the atmosphere had suddenly changed now that she had lost her escort. Weird. She thought with a brief shiver. Must be a draft somewhere. Sweetie entered the room and was once again greeted by the warm comforting atmosphere that resided in the study. It was lit by a single fireplace, but it is enough to make out the major details of the room. It had a blood red carpet, tan walls, and two comfy looking love seats. On the fireplace mantle were expensive looking plates and china. Maybe about 30,000 bits worth or more. Above the mantle was a large portrait, larger than the ones the filly had seen before, of a stallion. From the gaunt frame, dark green coat, red mane, yellow eyes, and brown splotched cutie mark, it must have been the pony Rarity described. "Spiffy, my stallion, get me another glass of wine. I feel like celebrating." the stallion said. A glass with a sip of purple liquid floated in front of a chair before retreating back behind it, followed by a sip. "Ah... Years of work are finally about to pay off." "U-um, I'm not Mr. Spiffy." Sweetie said nervously. "I'm Sweetie." The speaker paused for a moment, as if in momentary shock, before revealing himself from behind the chair facing the fireplace. From what Sweetie could tell, it was the same pony in the portrait over the fireplace, only with a few more years on him. The same pony that had been described to her by her sister as well, wasn't it? His yellow eyes caused the filly to take a step back. They looked as though they belonged to some kind of deranged monster, rather than a normal pony. Eyes she could have easily imagined sharing the same sockets as the thing that had chased her less than 20 minutes ago. They were much more menacing in person, than through the portrait. How could the mares she called friends call this one anything resembling "good natured"? "A kid?" the stallion said. "What are you doing in my mansion at such a late hour?" He seemed annoyed at the sudden arrival. This was probably what Spiffy was talking about when he said his master wasn't fond of guests. "I-I'm sorry sir. I didn't mean to..." Sweetie trailed off, once again, getting caught by those yellow eyes again. She couldn't help but stare into them. They seemed to pull her in, rather than drive her away this time. It was the same hypnotic state she felt when she was staring out into the forest. Something pulled at her gut that there was something "abnormal" about this stallion. She felt as if she would go insane if she kept staring into those eyes. "S-sorry. I'll just-" She wanted to run. The way he looked at her made her want to run out of the mansion right then and there, and take her chances with the forest. She didn't want to be here- "Oh, I see." The old stallion Sweetie assumed to be Specter at this point laughed, causing Sweetie to take another nervous step back. The only reason she didn't run out at that point was that his eyes had softened, becoming less intense. Instead they looked more welcoming. "My apologies... what was your name?" "Sw-" "Wait, wait don't tell me..." he thought for a moment, then looked back at her. "I'm sure somepony told me about that mane before... yes. Mulbery mane. Green eyes. Sweetie Burn?" "Sweetie B-elle." She corrected hesitantly, as if doing so ran the risk of him ripping her head off right then and there. "Right, right, Sweetie Belle. One of my guests mentioned you living with her. I figured from the description she gave, you must be the little filly she was talking about." "Right..." Sweetie said softly. "Well, Sweetie, I didn't mean to sound so rude in that greeting. Please, have a seat." The stallion Specter beckoned her over to another seat by the fire place. Sweetie followed the stallion's instructions, taking a seat in the chair. From here she got a better look of the pony. Like the butler, he is dressed in a tuxedo. His hair is well kept and neat. If it wasn't for the different colors of his mane and coat, and the fact he looked considerably older, she might have mistaken him for Spiffy. "Um... are you... Mr. Specter Yield?" Sweetie asked to confirm. Specter nodded. "And you are in Yield Manor. Created and owned by the Yield family." "So your family built this place?" He blinked. "Yes. I'm sure as you've probably already realized, this mansion was built rather quickly. Unlike your earth ponies in Ponyville, we use magic to set up our architecture." "I know. Rarity said that's what they do in Canterlot too. Sometimes in Ponyville even." Sweetie said. "But... it's just that this place is so big... and kind of old looking too... no offense." "None taken Sweetie." Specter smiled. "I'm actually quite aware of the deterioration of my abode. You see, usually, when ponies use magic for building, it's on a much smaller scale than this. The smaller it is, the less quickly it will age. Likewise, the larger it is, the quicker it will age... and as you've noticed, this mansion is quite large." "But... If you knew that this mansion was going to get older so fast, then why did you make it so big?" Sweetie asked. "My, my. You are a curious little filly aren't you?" Specter said, pausing for a moment. "Claustrophobia. Are you aware of the definition?" Sweetie nodded. "Isn't that when you’re scared of being in small spaces?" "Yes. Phobias like that are common within our family. Fear is a bit of a genetic disease I suppose you could say... but yes, I couldn't live in a small space, so I had members of my family build this mansion for me. On a temporary basis of course. I can't really see this mansion standing for longer than a month now." "Oh." Sweetie said. "Temporary?" "Yes, I have some business to attend to between Ponyville and Canterlot." Specter said. Before Sweetie could utter a "Like what?" he added: "Confidential things, I'm sure a young filly like you couldn't understand." Thunder rolled outside before Sweetie can continue her interrogation. "Quite a storm tonight." Specter said looking out the window of the study. "What brought a filly such as yourself out here?" Her gut told her not to trust this stallion, but Sweetie's head saw no reason not to. She had already told his supposed "right hoof stallion" so one way or another he would find out. Best to hear it from the horse's mouth as the saying goes. She told the same story she gave to Spiffy. "I see. You've been through a lot tonight... how would you like to stay here, in my mansion for the night?" "What? N-no, I couldn't." Sweetie said. "I'd really like to get back home. Rarity is probably worried sick by now." It wasn't just that however. Sweetie's instinct told her to get out of this mansion while she still could. Though, in all honesty, there was nothing driving her away from the mansion, aside from the front she'd already passed. "Ah, Miss Rarity, that kind pony from the party." Specter laughs to himself. He seemed to lose himself in memory for a moment. "What an... interesting group of ponies... especially that white unicorn." "She's my big sister." Sweetie said flatly. "I'm aware." Specter noted. "None the less, I can't allow you to go back out into that storm." "What? Why?" Sweetie asked. "Why do you think?" Specter raised an eye brow. "Just listen." Sweetie heard the rain beating against the window of the study. It was pitch black outside, and the only light came from the lightning that flashed through the sky. "Even with supervision Miss Belle, I'm not sure you'd make it back to Ponyville in one piece, even if you were an adult, let alone a filly." Specter said. "If your sister truly loved you, I'm sure she'd rather you stay here, safe, and be worried, than find you drowned the next morning in the rain, hm?" As much as Sweetie hated to admit it, Specter was right. At this point, it was suicide going back out into the storm. And there was also the matter of the laughing thing, more likely than not, was still lurking in the forest somewhere. And her friends were safe, so there was no real reason to go back out. "I'm only looking out for your best interest Sweetie." Specter said. "I'm not sure how I'd live with myself if something happened to you, the sister of such a beautiful mare." -Flinch Why does he have to talk about her like that. She's not yours she's- "...well... I guess you’re right. I'll stay." Sweetie decided. "Excellent." Specter got up out of his seat. "Here, let me take you to your room." "You mean Spiffy isn't going to?" Sweetie asked. "I think it would be much more efficient for us to just go to your room, rather than locate some butler to do it for me, wouldn't you agree?" Specter said. "After all, if he was the one to escort you here, and felt it necessary to leave you alone, I'd imagine he has more important things to do." Sweetie had to agree. "Yeah, I guess." The two exited the study, and walked back to the foyer. Specter led Sweetie up the stairs to the second floor. As Sweetie looked up, it was too dark. She couldn't even see the ceiling of the mansion. "Miss Belle?" Specter asked. "Yeah?" Sweetie asked. "Once we get to your room, could you do me one favor?" Specter asked. "What?" Sweetie asked. "Don't leave it." Specter said flatly. Sweetie stopped. "Huh? Why?" "I... just don't feel comfortable with a little filly running around my mansion unsupervised. Please understand. I trust you will respect my request?" Specter asked. Sweetie doesn't feel comfortable the way he asked, but she nodded. It was his house after all, and she had to respect his wishes. "Okay... or as Pinkie might put it: Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Specter smiled. "Yes, quite." After walking through different hallways of the mansion, they found a bedroom. "Here, I hope it is to your liking." "It's... wow." Sweetie said. The room was splendidly furnished with a chair, a couch, and a queen sized bed. A dresser was along the side of the bed, with various perfumes and scented items, which made the room not only appealing to the eye, but the nose as well. The room didn't feel fit for a filly. It felt fit for a princess. "Thank you so much Mr. Yield." Sweetie said, taking her saddle bags off and placing them on the dresser. She then headed for the bed. She got on, and immediately felt her previously tense muscles release at the comfort of the bed. It was so soft and comfy... the grips of the sand pony had begun to take Sweetie off to dream land. Sweetie felt herself drifting into sleep. Before Sweetie is fully asleep, she heard Specter silently laugh to himself. "Sweet dreams..." he said, before closing the door to the bedroom. The odd thing though was it sounded different from before and Sweetie yawned. ...somehow Sweetie nuzzled against her pillow. ...familiar... [Continue]
Chapter 4- The Real Nightmare Begins[REBOOT]"No...NO! Get away from me! Go away!" Sweetie screamed this as she ran through the forest. Her voice cracked as she strained her vocal chords to call for someone to save her. She wasn't sure how, but she was back in the darkness again, trying to escape from the laughing monster in the wood. Just like before, no matter how fast she ran, the laughter seemed to be faster. Just like before, as the laughter got closer and louder, Sweetie Belle felt colder and weaker. The entire scenario felt so real, so experienced, she wondered if this was actually happening, and her finding the haven in the mansion was the dream. Sweetie saw the opening to the forest. "The mansion! I'll be saved!" Dream or not, Sweetie believed that beyond that opening was the mansion. There she would be saved by just making it through the gate. She wasted no time in bolting through it. This time, she found herself not in front of the mansion this time, but in a clearing, with a campfire set up in the center. Evenly seated around the campfire were six mares, two fillies, and a baby dragon. It was her friends. Sweetie immediately identified Rarity by her white coat and purple mane. "Rarity!" Sweetie called, as she entered the small campsite. Sweetie embraced her sister, burying her nose in Rarity's mane. "Sis! I thought I'd never see you again! I-I was so scared that I-!" "Relax Sweetie Belle. You're safe here. Just relax. You're safe. Relax-" Rarity continued to repeat, as she wrapped her fore legs around her, stroking the filly. Sweetie found it odd the way she spoke in such a mono toned voice. At first, Sweetie didn't care what Rarity sounded like, but only that she was there. She felt just a little safer with the thought that her friends, especially her big sister, were there to protect her. The relief however was short lived when she heard something else. A new laughter. This laughter didn't come from the woods however, but within the circle of mares around the fire. Sweetie turned her head out of Rarity's mane to confirm who she couldn't believe it was. Applebloom was looking at her, laughing, with a sick, twisted grin on her face. Her leg was extended toward her, her hoof pointing at Sweetie's face as though she were laughing at something hilarious sitting in between her eyes. She almost didn't even look like Applebloom anymore, with that toothy grin spread across her face. "W-what are you-?" Sweetie was about to ask Applebloom, but then Scootaloo then joined in the laughter, and following close behind her, Spike. They both had the same grins on their face. "S-stop..." Sweetie said, but her friends only got louder. Then, Applejack started to laugh and grin at Sweetie Belle. Then Rainbow Dash... then Fluttershy... Pinkie Pie, and finally Twilight Sparkle. "Sis, please! Make them stop! Make-" Sweetie looked up to see her sister grinning as well. Rarity laughed, and was no longer hugging the filly, but holding her in place, as she struggled to get free. "You're not my sister...! Let me go! Hey! Let me go!" Sweetie commanded. Her (sister?) only got louder in her laugh. "It's fine sister! Why are you trying to get away? Why won't you let me love you?!" She said as she laughed. "It's fine! Relax! IT'S FINE! RELAX!" Their laughing had begun to gain in pitch, and was soon on the same level as the monster in the woods. Sweetie managed to break free of her sister's grip, but immediately felt colder, despite her close distance to the fire. She backed away from her so called friends, into the trees. As she did, her flank hit something. Not a tree, not a bush. It felt like a pony- no the feathers of a griffon- no, the scales of a dragon- no. What was she touching? It wasn't normal. It was strange. It was deathly cold... Before Sweetie had a chance to turn around and identify the monster, it grabbed her and lifted her by the waist. It lifted her up into the air, and then threw her her back down. However, she didn't feel any pain from the fall. Instead, when she got up, she felt a biting cold cover her waist. When she looked down at the area the thing picked her up from, she saw her white coat had begun to turn dark grey. She felt the nerves in her body scream in agony as they died, unable to survive the cold. The grayness and coldness was spreading through her body. Once it reached her hind legs, which she collapsed on. It then it went to her upper body, then her forelegs, which she collapsed on next. Sweetie lied helplessly on the ground, her hooves in front of her face, and unresponsive. She tried to scream, but no sounds came. Her vision grayed along with the rest of her body. The last thing she saw was her hooves being stepped on by some "thing" she didn't have the strength to look up at. Her hooves shattered like ice under the pony's hoof... no... no, it wasn't a hoof anymore... it was changing into something else. She felt her grip on her life slipping away, and she accepted her grim fate, as she used her remaining strength to close her eyes for the last time. GAME OVER [Ary Tgain?] Tee hee! *** [AMBIENT RAIN] Sweetie tossed and turned as she suffered though nightmare. She eventually, and thankfully felt herself wake up, as she was introduced to the back of her eyelids and the feeling of a blanket over her body. Though she woke up, she didn't want to wake up and therefore kept her eyes closed. She was still in that mode between consciousness and unconsciousness and still tired. She wanted to go back to sleep, and perhaps have a different dream. Possibly one that didn't involve her dying. Sweetie felt a chill along her coat. Instinctively, she curled herself into the blanket more. That didn't do a thing. Sweetie started to shiver in her semi-consciousness. It was only getting colder as minutes rolled by. It was as if all her body heat was gone, and she was cold all of the way though. --Just like the woods --Just like the dream --Just like the lonely hallway --Only worse The chill of the night turned from cold to freezing, as if it were a winter day. That freezing temperature turned into frostbite to the filly. It stung her, which convinced her to open her eyes to find the source of the cold. It couldn't have been an open window, it had to be something closer to her. When she opened her eyes, she wasn't staring into the darkness of the room, but something else. Sweetie wasn't sure whether or not it was a pony, but it certainly wasn't normal. It glowed green, much like the sludge Sweetie found on the plane. It's eyes were the same color as it's body, but it didn't have any pupils. It's eyes were dead, but it's face was very much alive as it grinned at her, much in the way her friends had in her nightmare. Sweetie didn't have time to scream as the (pony?) thing put a hoof over her mouth before she could let out a peep. The thing laughed as it grabbed Sweetie by the neck with it's other hoof, lifting her into the air. It was impossibly strong, and despite, from what she could tell, it not having wings, it seemed to float up higher as it brought her above the bed. Though it was green like the pony's body, it wore a tuxedo from what Sweetie could tell. The first pony Sweetie could think of when she saw the suit was Spiffy, or at least one of the other butlers he'd mentioned. The strange thing however, was that it didn't have any hind legs, or flank to speak of. Instead was just a tail that funneled into nothing. Sweetie compared it to a tornado. Was this some kind of ghost? The ghost pony used the hoof over her mouth to force it into Sweetie's throat. Sweetie struggled to free herself from the ghost's grip, but it was useless. Sweetie would have screamed again if she wasn't gagging on the pure subzero leg that was taking up most of her esophagus. She could barely breath, let alone make sound. After what felt like an eternity, as Sweetie felt herself ready to lose consciousness, she felt the ghost grab something within her. Oddly enough, Sweetie didn't feel like it's any of her internal organs. No, this was something else entirely. Something magical. Sweetie felt weak and cold as the monster griped her with its freezing hooves. No, not just weak, she felt like she was dying as the ghost got a firmer grip of whatever essence it was trying to obtain. And she knew she would die if she lost the consciousness she was so desperately fighting for. Before the ghostly monster could pulled out the thing it had grabbed a hold of, a miracle happened. A light shined on the ghost- DING! -causing it to scream in pain. The thing let go of Sweetie, dropping her back onto the bed, as it faded away into the darkness. Sweetie didn't question where the light came from, what it just did to the specter, or who the pony in the shadows with the flashlight was. None of her senses were working, her mind wasn't functioning. There was nothing but fear as she automatically grabbed her saddlebags and galloped as fast as she could out of the bedroom. She ran down the hallway, trying to determine where to go in the darkness. Everything looked the same, from the pottery on stands in the hallway, to the various other paintings on the walls. No. No, that was wrong, It was different. Very different from when she first walked through with Specter, but Sweetie couldn't put her hoof on what it was, nor did she feel inclined to wait around and ponder on it. Through sheer luck, Sweetie managed to find the stairway. She ran down it, tripping over a step, and falling down the last few. Lightning flashed for a split second, followed by booming thunder, revealing the foyer. It wasn't a lengthy flash, but it was enough to confirm Sweetie's suspicions. The mansion had definitely changed since she first came in. From what she saw in that moment, everything had an abandoned look, rather the new one Sweetie had seen when Spiffy took her through the foyer. Sheets covered the fountains, statues, paintings, and any other furnishings in the room. Though one other odd change Sweetie noticed was that two spots on the wall with paintings were clear. Though it didn't matter to the filly. All she wanted to do was get out of that mansion, and escape the thing that had tried to kill her. She didn't know what she'd do once she was outside, but surely her chances out there were better than in here. Sweetie charged for the door, and tried to ram it open. However there was a problem: it wouldn't. No matter how hard the filly pushed, kicked or yelled at the entrance to the mansion wouldn't budge. "C'mon! Open!" Sweetie gave one final yell at the door, followed by one final assault. She rammed her small frame against the large door, with no better luck in opening it. "Dumb door!" All she had felt was a pain in her upper body from the attempted forcing of the door. She collapsed on the floor, and started to cry, fearful for her life. Sweetie's ears sharpened up as she heard the laughter again. As her body went cold again, she found herself too weak to get back up on all fours. Only her hind legs were responding correctly. Sweetie flipped herself over to turn herself around, to face the green thing (ghost?), following close behind her. Sweetie used her hind legs to crawl away from the green thing as it grew closer to her. Sweetie backed herself against a wall, cornered and helpless. "Help!" Sweetie tried to yell, however, her dry throat kept her from her plea being very loud. "Help!" She tried again. "Someone! P-please! NO!" The ghost pony was barely a foot from her face by now. It grinned at her, desiring something from her. The thing inside her. It wanted it. She would die without it. But it wanted it. Sweetie shut her eyes tight. She was going to die here. It would get what it was looking for and she would die once it did. No. That was wrong. Something horrible would happen, but she wouldn't just die. Something would happen that would make her wish she was dead. However, instead of her own death scream, she heard a small- Ding -sound. The sound that reminded her of something metal. Sweetie opened one eye to see the ghost pony wasn't grinning anymore, but it had its own terrified look on its face. Shining on her and the ghost was the light of some pony’s flashlight. The next thing Sweetie heard was the last thing she expected to hear. It was the sound of a vacuum cleaner. The ghost was pulled away from Sweetie as it screamed in terror. Sweetie, through the darkness saw another pony, this one actually looking normal rather than acting as their own personal night light. In her hooves she held something, Sweetie couldn't quite make out through the darkness. Is it the hose to some kind of vacuum cleaner? It would make sense considering what she was hearing. Whatever it was, the ghost tried to fly away from it, but was unable to escape it's grasp. After moments, a trail of the ghost began to streak back to the device the pony was holding. They let out one final wail before getting sucked into the device. Once the ghost pony was gone, the unidentified pony collapsed onto the ground, and stopped moving. Sweetie's heart raced in her chest, having difficulty processing what just happened. A pony just saved her from a ghost thing in a mansion she was somehow trapped in, with a portable vacuum no less. If that pony didn't come, her fate would have been sealed. As minutes passed Sweetie remained pressed against the wall, starring at the pony, still lying motionless on the floor. Slowly, Sweetie regained her mind, and started to calm down. Sweetie, although the pony just saved her, wasn't ready to approach the stranger. Instead, once Sweetie regained control over her fore and hind legs, she reached into her saddlebags, to pull out her flashlight. She turned it on, and shined it on the pony. Sweetie's nearly dropped her flashlight when she saw who it is. Her lavender coat, her purple mane with the maroon stripe going through it, her star like purple cutie mark, faded, but clear as day. There was no doubt in Sweetie's mind that she had just been saved by none other than- "T-Twilight?" Sweetie said, shocked. What was she doing here? Didn't Specter say she was headed home with the rest of her friends? Twilight mane, tail and coat was muted from it's original. Her body was shrived and frail. She looked almost as old as Granny Smith. Maybe even older. In her mouth was the flashlight, now turned off. In her right was a vacuum hose that went around to her back. Strapped to her back by some saddlebags was a weird looking grey box, with a cylinder sticking out, above 6 lights. One of the lights glowed green, and the others, red. Sweetie shakily detached herself from the wall, and proceeded cautiously to the mare. Sweetie stood over her, horrified at what she saw. She didn't move. Was she dead? Sweetie shined her light close to Twilight's face, looking for some sign of life. Just as she noticed her chest was ever so slightly going up and down, Twilight's eyes snapped open, revealing her dark purple eyes, pupils contracted. Sweetie jumped back, as Twilight struggled back onto all fours, once she did, her eyes snapped on Sweetie, along with her her flashlight and vacuum hose to point at the filly. "Wait! Wait! Twilight!" Sweetie said, turning off her own flashlight so Twilight could get a better look at her. "It's me! Sweetie!" She stared at her for a moment before her eyes softened. "...S...Sweetie?" Twilight said. Her voice sounded as old and frail as her body, as if she were ready to drop dead right on the spot. "Who..." "Twilight, it's me! Don't you remember?" Sweetie asked. Of course she remembered. She had to remember. But the mare just stared at her with a blank expression. "Sweetie Belle? Rarity's sister remember?" "Sweetie... Belle... Rarity's... my friends... no..." Twilight lost control of her jaw as her flashlight fell out of her mouth. Oddly enough, she didn't seem to notice. Not shining the light directly on her, she looked like a silhouette shook her head as though trying to shake herself from a dream. She fell down again, trying to remain conscious. Sweetie rushed over to help the mare back up onto all four of her legs. As she did, Twilight coughed violently. "Sweetie... you're Sweetie..." she mumbled. "Yes..." Sweetie was at a loss for words. For a good few minutes, the two of them were complete strangers before Twilight could remember her face. "It's... It's not safe here... we need to... that way..." Twilight said as she pointed her flashlight to the door on the right of the stairway. Sweetie nodded quietly. She allowed Twilight to lean on her as they moved through the door. Twilight pointed them through to dining hall and eventually into another room with a stairwell. They both headed down the stairwell, taking them down to another door. Twilight's horn glowed faintly, as the lock on the door releases. This room led them into a new room. This new room was definitely a change from the rest of the current mansion, as it was actually decently lit. The room's walls were completely composed of metal. The walls hummed softly as if a small bee were behind each panel. The room was filled with mirrors of different frames, one of which, of a fountain around it. Sweetie couldn't help but be reminded of the fountain she first came in looking at in the foyer. Against one of the walls was a large network of devices, the one farthest to the left having a little hole about three inches in diameter. Twilight collapsed onto the ground again, exhausted from the walk. "Twilight?" Sweetie asked. "Hold on Sweetie... just... give me a moment to... catch my breath..." Twilight said. She let out a weak laugh, and tried a faint smile, as if to calm Sweetie's nerves of the mare who looked as though she should be on her death bed. "I'm... not as energetic... as I used to be you know..." "...what happened here?" Sweetie asked after a few minutes. "Where is every pony? I thought you headed home with Rarity and the others." For the first time since she saw the mare, Twilight let out a single sarcastic laugh. "HA!" Twilight said, after which, having a coughing fit. The sudden burst of energy made Sweetie jump. "T-twilight?" "Where did you get that idea?" she said sharply. "Huh? Uh... Mr. Yield told me." Sweetie said. She chuckled to herself. "Of course he did... He lied to you." Twilight said coldly. "He lied to all of us... it was a trap, and we ALL FELL FOR-" Twilight coughed again towards the ground. Her sudden outburst drove Sweetie silent. "Sorry. I didn't mean to yell like that... I... I just can't believe what happened..." Tears were running down Twilight's cheeks as she looked back at Sweetie. "I... I watched them Sweetie. I watched that monster... that ghost drag Spike away and I couldn't do anything. He tried to save them and I froze. I froze. And now... even with this thing, I'm not sure if I can do anything about it anymore..." She wiped them away. "Twilight... where's my sis?" Sweetie asked. "Where is she? Twilight where-?" "Dead." Twilight blurted out with gritted teeth. The blunt word hit Sweetie like a train. Dead? Rarity? That. Dead? Rarity? Isn't. Dead? Rarity? Right. The two words didn't seem to work compute or compile in the her mind. It didn't seem real. As Twilight seemed busy in her sobs, not receiving an answer, Sweetie backed away from the mare. It took a moment in her depression for Twilight to realize what she'd just said to the filly. How it sounded. "No... you're lying." "Sweetie... wait, that's not-" Twilight said. Tears for the third time that night, were running down the filly's cheeks. She covered her head and ears as if some unpleasant sound was driving her mad. "NO! RARITY IS NOT DEAD! SHE ISN'T DEAD! SHE ISN'T-" "SWEETIE!" Twilight yelled, before letting out another coughing fit. Twilight forced herself to move over to the filly and embrace her. "I'm, sorry... I..." There were soft sobs that came from under her. Twilight sighed, feeling as though she might regret saying what she was preparing to say. "W... what I said was wrong." Sweetie looked up at Twilight. She paused for a moment before nodding. "Yeah... that came out wrong. Your sister isn't dead." "What?" Sweetie said, wiping her tears away. "She... she's not? Then why did you say she was?" "Well... yes, and no." She cleared her throat. "Honestly I don't know what happened to her specifically, but right now, all I can do is assume the worst for all of them. And that's... that's death." Sweetie continued to stare at her. Trying to decipher how that was supposed to make her feel better. Twilight continued. "But death works differently here because... technically, we're all dead... Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow, Applejack, Fluttershy... and I, in a sense. Anyone unlucky enough to find their way in this place, dead... but... but we're not at the same time. At the same time alive." "Huh?" Sweetie asked confusedly. "I-I don't get it." Twilight sighed. "I really wish I could explain all of this to you... but there really isn't much time." Twilight got up, shakily on all fours. "I need to head back out there, and try to save at least one of them. If I'm suffering in half-life, then I can't imagine what it must be like to be like one of those ghosts." Like one of those ghosts Did that mean that her friends could be-? "Save? You mean, everyone who came here is in danger?" Sweetie asked. "Danger?" Twilight looked at Sweetie and her dumb question. "Sweetie... you've seen the ghosts, haven't you?" Sweetie nodded. "Then you know?" "I... you're not saying that they're like those things right? That's-" "Exactly what I mean." Twilight finished. "What?!" Sweetie said shocked. "How?" "Those things, those... ghosts is probably the best thing to call them right now, they... they're spirits, visible spirits. Abstract magical energy composed of the mind and memories of the pony drenched in concrete magic to give them form and pseudo tangibility. Essentially giving spirits new bodies that we can see and can interact in this world... and at the same time ignore some of it's properties. I've seen them move through walls for example and disappear at will..." Twilight explained. "They appear... to have the power to take out the spirits of ponies, and turn them into ghosts like them... Drench them with their own surplus supply of magic being constantly rejuvinated by the powerhouse the spirit is. They're mindless though. They're all controlled by that pony who calls himself 'Specter Yield'... we were so foolish... so stupid... then again, Specter managed to fool Celestia and Luna as well..." "Huh? You mean the princesses came too?" Sweetie asked. "Unfortunately... anyone who met Specter the first day he visited Ponyville was invited. Mainly the six of us." Twilight sighed, knowing Sweetie would inevitably ask for more information. She decided to keep going. "Even Spike got caught up in this mess." Twilight looked down at the tiled floor, closing her eyes recalling the day's events. She was silent for a good while, trying to gather all of her thoughts before she finally spoke. "We were all invited to a housewarming party. I'd think Rarity's told you that much already. When we arrived here, besides the aged mansion, it was pretty normal. Nothing out of the ordinary on the outside. Even though there was that horrible chill that kept coming and going throughout our visit. Pinkie was jittery the entire party. Heck, even Fluttershy was restless, as if we all knew something was wrong... but we ignored that gut feeling, accepting explanations to sate our suspicions. That Fluttershy was just off put by the size, Pinkie was just hyped up on sugar, and I was just feeling-" "A draft?" Sweetie guessed remembering she thought of the same thing earlier when Spiffy left her alone. Twilight nodded and continued. "Heh... worst part is had every opportunity to leave. The doors were open the whole time actually. But... we stayed past nightfall. We got distracted trying to figure out more about the folk from Stabletown... and Specter. Heck, not one of us cared when the princesses disappeared. Actually... it's funny. Like a dream, we knew they weren't there, but at the same time we were sure they were. It was like trying to become conscious in a dream the longer we stayed in that mansion. It was wrong the princesses would disappear without saying a..." Twilight bit down on her lip hard. She was obviously beating herself up for how weak minded she acted during that party. "I-it's okay Twi." Sweetie tried. A shudder to show how hard she was resisting breaking down again as she took a deep breath and continued on. "No one noticed until late. The sun was down, and I swear someone was trying to say that they were called off on 'celestial business', but that still made no sense because the moon wasn't rising. I knew. I knew something was off so I asked him. I asked Specter what was going on. I asked... him. I don't know why, but I felt like he knew. Maybe it was because I thought he was the one who spoke to the princesses last. Or maybe in the back of my head I... I knew. He answered me himself my flaw. 'You do ask an unhealthy number of questions'. I wish I didn't... not yet, so maybe there was a chance to escape. So he wouldn't attack so soon. Sweetie it's my fault they're dead now. My fault they're..." She began sobbing again. Sweetie wasn't sure how to respond, or console the mare any further, so she asked. "...what happened next?" "Laughs." her voice sounded dryer than ever when she uttered the word. "All of the party guests were laughing. And rotting. Sweetie, they weren't rotting before, but they were then. The place smelled horrible. Everything. Everything was changing. And then... they came. Those zombie like... hyenas spat out ghosts, ghosts came out of the walls, out of the ceilings, out of... any of the seven of us who weren't close to a door that wasn't the entrance like... like Applejack, or Fluttershy didn't stand a chance. I saw them reach into their throats and..." another whimper. "... I don't know what happened to the others, but Spike and I were the only ones who came here. That's why I'm sure they were caught." Another silence. "Twilight... y-you said Spike was with you, where is he now?" She didn't know why she asked that. She knew the answer, but didn't want to hear it. Why the heck did she ask? "After we found this place!" Her voice was louder now, as though she were scolding herself. "We... both found this room, and figured out it had some... property that kept ghosts out, as long as it's humming. When we knew this place was safe, we... decided we had to try and save them. Regroup, and plan our next move with some degree of rationality. At the time we wanted to believe that the others... Rarity, Rainbow, Pinkie, that they all got away, and were running for their lives somewhere else in this mansion. And that maybe they needed our help. We went back out and looked around." she swallowed. "It was okay for a little while. Not much came after us besides the stray ghost which we hid from we... didn't know that light could hurt them yet, but we found out because..." she closed her eyes. "Sweetie, I'm sorry." "Twilight, it's-" "Scootaloo was in an open room." Twilight cut her off. "Scoot...aloo?" Was it so outlandish to imagine her and Applebloom here. It certainly was a likely truth. A truth she should have realized the moment she realized the danger in this mansion. The real reason Spiffy could describe his friends so well. "Was she-" "She was alive but... She was still. Very still. Like she was petrified, but... not. In a room with this... thing. This device." Twilight pointed to her back, without looking. "Spike went to check on her while I went to get it. When I got it I... I don't remember what happened next. Just that there was a lot of laughing, and he was screaming something. Next thing I knew, I was running. I had a flashlight, this vaccum and... Spike was gone..." Looking closer, Sweetie could tell that the flashlight's handle was similar, if not exactly like Scootaloo's. It's handle was decorated with colored rubber bands as if to simulate a rainbow. If Scootaloo had truly attacked the both of them, or was somehow in cahoots with the ghosts- What happened to you Scoots? And even more, where was Applebloom? Sweetie didn't want to think about what had become of either of their friends. "It's... it's okay Twilight. I-if you don't remember, maybe he got away! And Scootaloo too... If you don't remember what happened to him." Another silence. "But..." she seemed to be calming down as her voice wavered less as she spoke. Talking about what happened must have been healthy for her, even if it was difficult. Like therapy. "When I was running, I got caught by one. When I was almost back here, one tackled me and lifted me in the air. My magic wasn't working when it was inside me, like a plug was blocking the flow... so I couldn't cast a spell to free myself. But at the last minute, when I shined the light on it, it wailed and disappeared." Twilight was holding onto the flashlight as if it were a talisman. "...but there was a price. It... ripped on my spirit. Perhaps your spirit is more malable, or maybe you were just lucky when I found you, but the ghost ripped apart of me out. I don't know what it did, but in turn, in exchange for maintaining my body, it began aging rapidly. Especially when I used magic. If I don't figure out how to regain my other half soon, I'll probably be dust before tomorrow morning if I use too much more... and that's if I'm lucky." "Oh..." So much bad news hitting her at once, all she can say is "oh" with a dry throat. Her friends had become some otherworldly entity, something horrible might have of her fellow crusaders (or at least Scootaloo), and now Twilight's life span was now limited to a half a day at maximum. As cliche as it sounded, the phrase "what else could go wrong" seemed oddly foreboding as she was afraid to find out the answer to that question. "When I returned here, I found a book. It wasn't here before, but... it discussed how this machine could catch ghosts. And... since I was likely the only one left alive, after doing everything to rejuvenate myself ready to go back out and search for my friends." Twilight opened her eyes again and looked at Sweetie. "Eventually I found you by chance. I didn't remember who you were, but if you were living, there was no chance I'd let you become one of them." "I... see." Sweetie could fill in the blanks from there. "Twilight... I'm sorry." Sweetie tried to give her condolences to the mare. She shook her head. "Crying over it won't save anyone. I did something horrible. I let my fear get the better of me, but this..." she showed the box on her back a little more enthusiastically. "This device, after a little examination has the ability to attract magic. But not just concrete magic, but abstract magic as well. Therefore, it can trap spirits within it. It's really is an amazing thing." "But... It's a vacuum cleaner." Sweetie commented. "Well... yes, it is fashioned off of a few of its components, but a vacuum, no, a normal magic cleaning could never trap spirit entities and magic like this. Whoever invented this device was a genius. Just as the book says, if the spirit is weak, the device can encase it. It's amazingly compact too." Twilight seemed much more lively now. Her depression from before vanished and her eyes filled with hope. "And guess what? This device... I'll call it the 'GCD' for Ghost Capturing Device... well, It's better if I show you..." Twilight walked over to the machine and put the nozzle end of the GCD into the hole in the machine. "Processing..." the machine said in a computerized voice. The machine reacted to the GCD by making the cylinder turn on the box. Then, something moved through the hose of the GCD into the machine, it's one green light going red, like the others. The entity from inside of the hose entered the first, box like part of the machine. It vibrated violently before moving the entity from the GCD into the next part of the machine, which looked a little like a dryer, with a window on the front. Inside, Sweetie could see a glowing green ball, beginning to get color to it, aside from the green. The ball was then flattened within the dryer like part of the machine. Finally, it moved to the third and final segment of the machine, where it was loudly slammed onto some kind of piece of paper... it looked like canvas, and it was given a frame. All of the items were then spit out of the machine from that part, onto the tile floor, into a portrait, much like the ones Sweetie saw around the mansion. Sweetie went over to examine it herself, and was somewhere between awed and shocked to see the pony that nearly stole her spirit in the bedroom. However, in the portrait, they didn't look dead anymore. Instead, it looked very much alive. His eyes were still green, however, now looked much less dead with actual pupils. It's coat was no longer a glowing green, but a light grey, his mane orange. He still wore a tuxedo, this time, not blending in with the rest of his body. "What did you do?" Sweetie asked. "I put his spirit... into that painting." Twilight explained. "The painting almost acts like a body for him." "But... if he's just trapped in a painting now... then how does that help us" Sweetie asked. "As you're may have figured, this canvas isn't normal canvas. It's actually a hybrid of something known as 'dust parchment'." "Dust parchment?" "Yes. Dust parchment is commonly used for summoning spells of small creatures and brings them to life for varying times. The stronger the parchment, the larger and more complex the creature you can summon. I... don't know what type this is, but I do feel it's strength." "You do?" Twilight smiled warmly. "I suppose you haven't been taught to detect magical energy as well as I can. But yes, it is powerful. And in theory, I can actually, if I can decipher what type of spell to use, charge it to summon the spirit in the painting into a living form." Sweetie blinked. "I don't get it." Twilight sighed. "The point I'm trying to make is... that If I can manage to capture my ghostly friends, and put them through this machine, I might be able to save them. Giving them a new body and in turn releasing them from Specter's control. Assuming he only has control of the spirits of those who've died." "You mean, by capturing them... you can save them?" Sweetie confirmed. All the technical stuff aside, that's all she needed to hear. "That's great!" "Now you see why I'm so excited about this." Twilight smiled. "...so, do you have any idea where to look?" Sweetie asked. Twilight's smile faded. "Well... I haven't exactly found them yet. Or any clues either." Twilight said. "Something tells me they're hiding from me now that I have this device. Either that, or my 'half life' isn't that appealing to the dead." Not too easy to look at physically either Sweetie thought. "...but I'll find them, don't you worry your little head." Twilight smiled, trying to keep the little spirit she still had left, up. "It's all taken care of. Don't you worry." No. A thought came to Sweetie's head as she came to a realization. No. Things wouldn't be alright. Ten minutes ago, Twilight could barely stand on her own four hooves. She thought- no, she must have been deluding herself to believe she, in her current state, could fight anything. No. She would die. She would probably die if she went out to fight those things on her own. Would Sweetie just let Twilight go out and kill herself? O[She'll be fine. Perhaps Sweetie should have more faith in her. STAY BACK] O[She'll die if she goes out. Sweetie couldn't forgive herself. TAKE HER PLACE] Author's Note I'll give you a chicken if you can find the sexiest reference in here. Also Dust Parchment
CHOICE3I can't let her go... Sweetie was right. By letting Twilight go out into that mansion in the state she was in was just short of telling her to go kill herself. But what could she do? She did want to save her friends, right? The answer was obvious of course, but it was the last thing the filly wanted to think about. Twilight pulled out the GCD nozzle out of the machine and headed for the door. I have to stop her. Sweetie concluded. Without another thought, Sweetie got in front of Twilight, blocking her way to the exit. "Sweetie?" "Twilight, you’re not going back out there... are you?" Sweetie asked more out of stalling than legitimate curiosity. "Well, my friends aren't going to capture themselves are they?" Twilight said light heartedly. "N-no... but you can't go back out there!" Sweetie argued, hoping that it might open up some new option she didn't have the creativity to come up with. "Just being around those things almost... it almost killed you!" "I know the danger Sweetie, and I'm prepared to deal with it." Twilight said. "Danger's what I do, anyway. I am an element after all." "You're too weak! You're barely able to stand up on your own, let alone strong enough to stand up against one of those things!" "Then what Sweetie?" Twilight said, her annoyance was showing. "What do you suppose we do? Just sit around here twiddling our hooves, while our friends, your sister, and maybe more ponies are just kept as that stallion's playthings?!" Another surprise outburst that drove Sweetie quieter. "N-no..." Sweetie thought for a moment. She couldn't give into Twilight now. "M-maybe someone will come for us!" "No...no one's coming for us Sweetie. Or... at least with Specter's power, no one's going to make it very far." She sighed. "I'd hate to admit it but... if Luna and Celestia are under Specter's control, there wouldn't even be any light for anyone to go by to make it all the way out here. Even if someone knew the general direction of the mansion. And even if they did somehow make it, Specter's army would only grow. Not only would they not be prepared for what's in this place, but this GCD is the only thing I know of effective against the ghosts. It's a marvel... and a marvel that's difficult to comprehend, let alone reproduce. Any number of ponies who tried to fight even one ghost would be over powered by the sheer fact they can't touch it. Not without this one device or the ability to manipulate abstract magic." "Then...then..." Sweetie trailed off. She couldn't think of anything else she could do. It was painfully obvious that if Twilight Sparkle left that room to save her friends, she would die. No other options besides the one she decided in her head moments ago. It was unavoidable if she wanted to make it out of there alive. It was unavoidable if she wanted to save her friends. It was unavoidable if she wanted to see her sister again. Sweetie swallowed her fear to say three words. "...let me go." "What?" Twilight asked. Sweetie took a deep breath and sighed before saying it a little louder than before. "I said... let me go." Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmm... The words hung in the air for a moment. Silence filled the room, aside from the humming of the walls. Finally, Twilight spoke. "You’re joking with me, aren't you?" Her face had something that resembled a bewildered smile. "Y-yeah, I'm..." Sweetie wasn't sure herself. She wasn't sure what she'd just offered to get herself into. Twilight on the other hand started chuckling, as though she couldn't believe her ears. As if Sweetie had told a funny joke. Rather, a joke that wasn't supposed to be funny, but was so bad it deserved laughing at. "What's so funny?" Sweetie asked, slightly annoyed. "You. Talking about 'going' somewhere." her laughter became less and less as she tried to brush the joke off of her face. "It's not that funny. I said, I'll take your place and go save-" "No way in hay." Twilight said. She sounded serious at the realization Sweetie truly meant to head out in her place. "What? Why not?" Sweetie asked. "Are you serious?" Twilight sighed, as if this was just a bother to waste time. "A couple reasons. For starters, you're just a little filly, who barely escaped that ghost the first time. And there may be worse ghosts out there, and my friends are no exception. You can't take one on." Twilight closed her eyes again, looking away from the filly. Then, she opened them again. "And secondly... your Rarity's little sister. I'd...I might... I don't want you to end up like the rest of my friends alright?" "Twilight..." Sweetie said. "No." Twilight said firmly. The stress was beginning to show on the mare, in the way she talked. Her body was tiring the more energy she spent arguing with Sweetie. "I couldn't protect my friends, but I still can protect you! You’re not going back out there and that's final!" Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmm... The humming once again became the dominant sound of the room. "...then...then I'm not moving either." Sweetie said. "If you’re so bent on protecting just one, because they still happen to be alive, then I don't see why I shouldn't feel the same way. I'm scared of what's going to happen if you go outside, so I'm not moving from this spot, unless you let me go." "I don't have time for this." Twilight gritted her teeth, having enough of Sweetie. She tried pushing her to the side, however Sweetie was evidently stronger than the mare now, seeming like an impassable boulder when she tried pushing on her. "Why don't you just use your magic to move me?" Sweetie commented sarcastically as to bring up Twilight's own inability to use magic. "I need it to open that damn door when it locks again... and for the paintings. I can't waste it on you." Twilight spat back. Twilight stared down the filly with her dark purple eyes. They were filled with pain, guilt and sorrow. Sweetie stared right back at Twilight, trying to look strong, with her own green eyes, trying to convince her to let her try. While Twilight saw intense fear in her eyes... yet she also saw determination and courage as well. "...fine." The words were so surprising after the long silence that they managed to make Sweetie flinch. "Huh?" Sweetie said. "You heard me. You can... you can do it." Twilight sighed, as though giving up. "I'll let you go." "Thank Twi..." Sweetie said. "I won't let you down." "Somehow... I... I don't think you can." Twilight smiled. "Here, take it." Twilight undid the tie that connected the GCD to her saddlebags and allowed the device to fall to the floor with a clang. The mare huffed, as though the thing were getting heavy the longer she kept it on. "Get in front of that mirror." Twilight ordered. "So you can see how I tie this in case it falls off." Sweetie obeyed and went in front of the mirror. Twilight then lightly kicked the GCD like a soccer ball over to Sweetie. Maybe to show how sturdy it was? Or maybe because she was too tired to actually pick it up, or didn't see using her telekinesis to pick it up worth the magic usage. Sweetie watched through the mirror as she was outfitted with the pack and the excess straps on her saddlebags were used to tie it into place. Sweetie watched as surprisingly, it is a perfect fit for the little filly. Guess this is what she meant by 'compact'. "Alright, turn around." Twilight said. Sweetie did so and looked up at her. "Now walk from that end of the room and back. I just need to make sure it won't fall off." Sweetie did so. Between the device and the things in her saddlebags, Sweetie would be lying if she said it wasn't heavy. Twilight however nodded in satisfaction. "Now... Sweetie." Twilight said. "Capturing ghosts isn't easy, and because we don't really have any to practice one, I need you to listen carefully, so when you see your next ghost, you'll be able to fight it... do you have your flashlight?" "Huh? Oh yeah!" Sweetie said as she reached into her saddlebags, pulling it out. "Alright. You know to hold it in your muzzle, so you can keep walking, moving, right?" Twilight asked. Sweetie demonstrated. "Good. Now, the last thing you'd want is to be still in one place for too long so moving and shining your flashlight at the same time is key. "Now, when you see a ghost, shine your light on it. As I explained, that's their weakness. I'm not sure on the complete magical science behind it, but if their bodies work anything like concrete magic, I think that they're built in layers. A thin layer that the GCD can't suck up, and a thick layer the GCD can. You won't have much luck sucking any ghosts up until you get rid of the thin layer first, which seems to be broken by light. Do you understand so far?" Sweetie nodded. "Next, don't be around too many though, because if you do, the ghosts will steal power from the flashlight. Something I've also discovered is that much like the GCD can attract magical energy, these ghosts have the ability to attract and absorb small amounts certain types as well. The light your flashlight emits and the magical energy that makes it shine are two different things, so don't think that just by having a flashlight around that you'll be alright. You have to use it before you're overwhelmed." Sweetie recalled when she was in the forest and her flashlight began to flicker. She must have been running away from a large number of ghosts. That might explain why she was so cold. "When you do, you'll hear a sound, kind of like the sound of metal against metal." Twilight continued. "That's the sound of the initial layer of magic breaking. When that happens, the ghost will run away. It will fade away to somewhere else, in order to regenerate the magic shield using their spirit. That's good if you just need to get away from a couple... but if you need to capture one, you need to use the GCD before they disappear. When you hear the sound, let 'em have it. Suck them up and trap them in the GCD. The closer you are, the less time it will take for the magic to be sucked off. Thankfully, that magic doesn't regenerate quite as easy. If done right, the ghost to get sucked into the GCD. You got all that?" Sweetie nodded. "Yeah. Just one two punch. Hit them with the flash light, and hit them with the vacuum thing. Don't be around too many at a time." "Alright then, you're set... well, almost at least." Twilight said, going over to one of the mirrors which happened to be on a dresser. She reached inside of the dresser to take out a red yellow striped notebook, a rolled up piece of parchment paper, and a camera. "These things might be useful as you go through the mansion. I... left them here because the GCD was cumbersome enough as it was. First, is a type of journal I found when I returned. I... don't know if it was here when we first arrived or if it was brought here by someone but it was here. It contains pictures and descriptions of different types of ghost. It's known as a Mind's Eye journal... you might have seen one back in Ponyville." Sweetie nodded, recalling how she came across an expensive book (about 50 bits, and on 'sale') of a similar texture. [MIND'S EYE JOURNAL! Never have anyone read over your shoulder again!] In short, it was a book where only the writer could see what was written in the book, among a select number of others the owner could assign. Sweetie remembered mentioning the consideration of buying one to Scootaloo who had a fit at the idea she wouldn't have someone to copy off of anymore in class. "Problem is, like any other Mind's Eye Journal, it's locked from our eyes." "Ok, then unlock it." Sweetie said. Surely somepony so knowledgeable knew some way to release whatever enchantment kept it's secrets hidden. Twilight shook her head. "Even if I wanted to use my magic on it, this specific enchantment magic isn't quite that simple. It's a normal ME Journal, but it's been altered so it might take weeks to unravel that kind of spell." "Then how do I use it?" Twilight pondered. "Well... I have a theory. When I first found this book, the instructions on how to operate the GCD were inside, along with the butler ghosts I've been mostly seeing. So I think each time the holder of the book sees a new ghost, or discovers something new, it's automatically revealed in the book. Here, look." Twilight places the book in front of Sweetie, who flips it open. Sure enough, the ghost she first saw was sitting on the first page. Butler Ghost Common Gender: Male Desc: This ghost is the most common and simplest to capture in Yield Manor. It specializes in stealing spirits and freezing anything it deems hostile by grabbing it. Flashlights and Ghost Capture Devices work best against this threat. Main Weaknesses: Light "That's so cool!" Sweetie said, dropping the flashlight out of her muzzle. "You see something?" Sweetie nodded. "I'll keep it on me. This'll help." She places the book into her saddlebags. "The next thing is this camera. Something I also found in the room. It's also enchanted. I've never seen it in this design, but it's a type of scanner. At least that's what I assume." Twilight said. "Scanner?" "Yes" She gave it to Sweetie. Sweetie opened the back of the camera up. "Huh? There's no film!" Sweetie said. "That's why I figured 'scanning' was it's property, since I also felt magical energy off of it as well. According to the book, there are two functions that I found with this camera. First, if you try to take a picture of a ghost, you're able to start hearing what it's thinking. The other is with these mirrors. You see, there's something strange about the mirrors in the mansion. Supposedly, if you take a picture with one it will activate some kind of transportation spell, back here." "Teleportation? You mean like you?" Sweetie said, placing the camera in her saddlebags. "Finally, there's this. It's a map of the mansion... but I don't really trust it." Twilight said. "Why not?" Sweetie said. "Well, maybe it's just me, but this mansion... it feels like it changes. I already know it can. No, it very well might be right. Did you see how the foyer changed?" Twilight asked. Sweetie nodded. "Well, I have the feeling that rooms change around, just like the scenery. That's likely why it exists. It's also enchanted with a special tracking spell. It'll not only pinpoint your location on the map, but it will also tell what places you have or haven't explored yet, and it will change if the mansion happens to change." Twilight said. "And.. that's really just about it." "Gotcha. Notebook for ghosts, camera for transportation and mind reading, and a map for the mansion. Okay, I'm ready." Sweetie Belle said as she turned around to face the door. "Sweetie wait." Twilight said. Sweetie turned back around. "Yes?" "Sweetie it's... something that probably shouldn't worry me as much as it is, does however these things I found aren't mine. Even more, it looks like a majority of them's were made for being able to fight these things. Even room, was made for protection against ghosts... a safe room. Now isn't that strange?" Sweetie nodded. It was strange. Why would the house of a master of ghosts have a tool to fight his own ghosts? "There's two possibilities in my head right now." Twilight continued. "The first being the fact that these aren't his. Maybe the remnants of an enemy of his, which... might make sense since the room I found it in had it displaying like an old museum piece. The second... which is why I'm worried. He might just consider this entire thing some kind of game." "A game?" Twilight nodded. "That this could be apart of some 'plan' of his." she sighed. "Even with what happened with Spike and I, it was too easy for us to have obtained that device. I guess what I'm trying to say is... is I think something deeper a simple haunted mansion happening... I don't know what he'll try to do to you out there, but... I just wanted to let you know to be careful out there and to please, come back." Twilight said. Sweetie nodded. "I'll be back when I find our friends, so we can bring them back." Sweetie said. "I promise, that nothing's going to happen to me." "Stay safe Sweetie." Twilight said. "Don't I always?" Sweetie Belle asked. "No." Twilight said flatly. "... but, good luck." Twilight tilted her head over to the door. "Should be open. I think there's a timer on it where it closes every hour or so on it's own." Sweetie Belle once again clicked on her flashlight, and headed through the door. The door shut behind Sweetie as she once again felt the cold mansion air. In the darkness, a part of her just wanted to turn around, and head back into the safety of the metal room. Second thoughts were flooding her head as the weight of what she was preparing to do was starting to bear on her. But Sweetie knew that she couldn't turn around now. She wasn't going to. She had to do this. It was the only way she would see her friends again. It was the only way she would see her crusaders again. It was the only way she'd see her sister again. Rarity... I'm coming for you... She said as she headed back up the narrow stairwell to the dining hall. [Continue]
CHOICE4She would be fine of course. After all, not only was she an Element of Harmony, but she was also Twilight Sparkle. The underling and favored student of one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria. Even if she did have some difficulties now with her "half life", Sweetie couldn't question her judgement. Twilight knew exactly what she was doing. Besides, it wasn't like Sweetie, someone who had barely touched the "GCD", stood a ghost of a chance against those things. Sweetie gave the aged mare a smile, a nod, and stepped to the side to allow Twilight to get to the door. There was a pause as she stared at the door. As though she were having second thuoghts for a split second. Instead, she spoke. "Sweetie?" "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "I... know this goes without saying, but I need you to do me a favor." "What is it?" "Don't leave this room." She said tilting her head back. "I don't know what's keeping this room powered, but so long as it's running, it's the only safe place in this entire mansion. And... since I know you-" "You don't want me to leave?" Sweetie finished. Twilight nodded. "Don't try to be a hero if something goes wrong. Whatever you hear outside, whatever you think you hear, don't open the door under any circumstances. Otherwise, I can't... I can't say you'll be safe." "I get it." Sweetie nodded. "Don't open the door for strangers and stay put." "Good." "I hope you find them Twilight." Sweetie gave some last words of encouragement. "And..." "Don't worry. I'll bring your sister back here in a jiff." She said, before leaving opening the door and leaving. It shut with an echoed metallic sound. Sweetie sighed as the sound of her hoof steps faded into nothing. Eventually, all she could hear was the sound of the humming walls. "I'll find your sister" "Please... Please do." Sweetie mumbled as she closed her eyes. She didn't realize how tired she was until she tried lying on the floor and found her eyes driffting off to sleep. *** "Huh?" Sweetie woke up. "Mmm... how long was I asleep...? Was that all a-" (dream?) As Sweetie's senses woke up a minute behind her, she realized she was still listening to that familiar hum. She wasn't dreaming. This nightmare was very real. She let out another sigh before looking over at the exit Twilight had left about... How long has Twilight been gone? Without a window, porthole, or clock to name in the room, time was foreign to her. Though considering how her body felt, it was safe to assume she had been asleep for at least an hour. Sweetie stretched her legs, and started walking around the room she now called her "safe room". Out of boredom, she felt like examining the mirrors. They held a strange aura to them. Was this magical energy Twilight had mentioned? No, these mirrors were peculiar, and certainly had magical energy coming out of them, but that wasn't what she was feeling. It felt like she was staring off the edge of a cliff into an infinite abyss rather than staring at her reflection. Sweetie looked at the multiple mirror frames in the room as well. Like she noted earlier, each one had it's own distinct design. There was the one with the fountain, then there was another mirror's frame that held nothing but smaller, color tinted mirrors as it's frame, and then there was one that had a design that resembled the branches of leaves- "AAAaahhhHHHHHHaaaHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Sweetie screamed herself and jumped back as the mirror she was looking in at the moment screamed at her, before exploding into tiny pieces. If Sweetie hadn't ducked as she hit the ground, the pieces of glass would have cut her into little tiny pieces. "Heeheeheehaaahaaahaaw" There was laughter. It didn't last long, but she knew she heard laughter for a few seconds. She heard it from the mirror first as it echoed throughout the room before suddenly stopping. Sweetie's heart rapidly beat in her chest for five minutes before she dared to look up at the destruction. The mirror was nothing but frame and shards now. "What... happened?" Sweetie asked. Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. There was just the hum. That was her only answer. Sweetie sobbed. "Please Twi... come back soon..." Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Sweetie's nerves were deteriorating by the non-existent seconds as she remained in the room. Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. That broken mirror. That laugh. It broke something in Sweetie as well. The hum was becoming overbearing now. She had to do something to keep her mind off of what just happened. Something to keep her mind off of the hum. She shuffled into her saddlebags to get her ball. she stared at it for a moment before looking up at a wall without a mirror. She began throwing it against the wall. One hit. Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Five hits. Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Ten hits. Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm- This is worse. This is worse. She hoped that something besides the maddening hum that was echoing on the inside of her skull would help. But no, it made it worse. The thuds against the wall weren't helping her. They were just adding to the echos. What's happening? This room was doing something to her. Fifteen hits. Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm- She had to leave the room. How long had she really been here? Twenty hits. Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm- She would die if she left. Twilight told her to stay. Twilight doesn't matter. Twilight's not coming back. Twilight's dead. Twilight's dead. Twilight's dead. Twenty-five hits. Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm- It's been a long time. It's been a really long time. It's been hours. It's been days. It's been years. Decades. Time doen't exist anymore. The world doesn't exist anymore. She had to gain control of herself. Why won't it shut up. She would be fine if she had just a little silence. Why won't it shut up? Why won't it- Twenty-seven hits. Hu- "SHUT UP!" Sweetie threw the ball against the wall harder than she thought she had the strength to. She hit it so hard she heard something she hadn't heard before. A click in the wall behind the hum, followed by it's silence. "Eh... eh heh..." for a split moment, the sudden silence felt amazing. As if a great burden had just been lifted off of her, the thoughts that were blasting through her head, the panic, the fear was gone. But then something came to her. The humming did stop. What exactly did that mean? "... property that kept ghosts out, as long as it's humming" As long as it was humming. Before Sweetie could realize what this meant, the lights above, one by one, began flickering off. Sweetie just watched as they turned off, her mouth slightly agape. "Oh." Eventually all of them were off, and Sweetie was trapped in the same blackness she experienced in the forest. She considered getting her own flashlight, but she didn't see any purpose. She didn't even try to make it to the exit to escape the impending danger. What was the point, when she heard all of the laughs surrounding the room? GAME OVER [Try Again]
Chapter 5- The First Battle with the Applebucker[REBOOT][AMBIENT RAIN] "C'mon Sweetie. Come on." Sweetie mumbled to this to herself as she continued her accent to the top of the stairwell. She heard the sound of it's metal creak every step that she took, as though it were teasing her about collapsing under her. "If Twilight and her old flank could do it, you can too." The weight of the device was already enough for Sweetie. Not overbearingly heavy, it was also anything but light. The GCD, despite its small size, was somewhat straining on the filly's back. Hopefully she could get used to it. Even more, the GCD didn't have any kind of holster for the nozzle. Therefore, she had to walk with it while it was in her front hoof. In turn, it was awkward to walk, and Sweetie, more than once, had almost tripped over the thing, to fall back down the stairs. "Wouldn't want that." Sweetie rubbed her head at the number of lumps she would receive from hitting her head repeatedly against hard metal. She still had a faint headache from falling down the stair after all. Sweetie shook her head. Useless thoughts might get her killed out here, she had to stay focused on her goal. Save her friends. Save her crusaders. Save her... sister. Yes. The thought of saving her was the main thought that kept her moving forward despite the fear and anxiety trying to overshadow her in the stairwell. It was the only thing numbing the fear she felt as she climbed. As Sweetie reached the top of the stairs, she froze in place as felt a chill. It was the same warning chill Sweetie had felt both in the woods, the hallway and in her bedroom. Sweetie had felt that chill enough times to know what it meant. The red flag to something was waiting for her at the top of those stairs. "Here we go." Before the chill actually did freeze her, she continued on. Sweetie tried to prepare herself for a fight, trying to show her teeth to create a menacing face. Instead came a fearful face, with chattering teeth. So much for my war face. Sweetie reached the top of the steps, sighing with relief that there wasn't anything around. Still, her nerves were still too far on edge to return to being calm. Coming from behind the flashlight, out of her mouth was the mist of cold air. No matter what she wasn't seeing, there was no doubt in her mind. A ghost had to be nearby someplace and could very well be in the next room. The dining hall. Sweetie couldn't afford to let her guard down now. She cautiously walked from out of the stairwell, and started for the dining hall, and was immediately stopped by a sound. --Heeheeheeheehee It was the laughter of a ghost. Sweetie froze there for a moment, hesitant to head into the next room. She knew she would have to fight a ghost sooner or later. It was almost funny how moments ago she was sure she was ready to show one "what for and mean to be". Now her teeth were chattering louder than ever and her legs prepared to buckle for when it did show up. This is nothing. I can do this. Remember Rarity. Do it for Rarity. Sweetie coached herself to move on. Making sure her flashlight was in her muzzle firmly, and that as she walked the dangling GCD nozzle wouldn't be too far out of reach, Sweetie moved on into the dining room to find- -- ----------Nothing. The dining hall was empty, aside from a long table, chairs, glasses and plates, all of which covered by a white sheet. If it wasn't so likely that they weren't there until tonight, Sweetie might have assumed that their only purpose was to keep the furnature from accumulating dust from an abandoned manor. The manor she would have sworn was abandon at least if she hadn't remembered what it looked like only hours ago. "But... but I swore I heard it..." a mix of disappointment, worry and relief was in her voice. Nothing was here for the moment. As of now, all she could hear was rain pounding against the windows of the dining hall. Thunder was rolling outside along with it after the occasional flash of lightning. Sweetie looked out the window wondering when the storm was going to let up. Hehehahahaha It was her mistake. She let her guard down for a total of 4 seconds. She lost her focus for three fatal seconds. By the time she realized she heard the laugh, before her body would even bother reacting (whether out of the fear or panic the filly knew at the time) it was too late. From the side of Sweetie's eye, she saw something phase through the wall. To her horror, it was another ghost. Worse, this one looked different from the first one. It was smaller than the butler ghost and rather than being green it was a sickly yellow, and had a much larger mouth, yet for some reason she couldn't help but notice it's lack of teeth. Oppose to having a full set, it only had one. From what she could tell, the only real clothing it had was a bib. Sweetie also noticed it's laugh sounded a little younger, much like the sound of a young foals laughter, only much more high pitched and sadistic as though despite it's youth, it knew what kind of horror it was instilling into her. At the moment Sweetie tried to point her flashlight at the pony, it opened its jaw wider than the filly thought possible and spat at her. In the second it flew through the air, Sweetie couldn't help but acknowledge it's resemblence to the thing that hit Scootaloo and caused them to crash. Only this slime wasn't green. Instead a sludgy yellow slime hit her causing her to drop the flashlight and fling her in the opposite direction of the monster. In fact, the sludge hit so hard, it threw her back against the opposite side of the dining hall, effectively sticking her to the wall. "What the- No no no...!" At first Sweetie was surprised that the impact hadn't broken something in her, though her back certainly felt ached. Though she realized that was the worst of her problems as Sweetie struggled to get free, only to find it was no use. The mucus like substance was too thick, the filly could barely move under it. Once again, Sweetie felt helpless against the ghost as it approached her ready to try and steal her spirit. "This... was a bad idea..." She should have stayed in the safe room with Twilight. She'd only been out here a few minutes and she was already staring death in the face. Sweetie knew she wouldn't be as lucky as before. Like Twilight said, no one was coming for them. Sweetie and her were the only ones who hadn't been "ghostified" or whatever the term was. It was determined. If Sweetie didn't figure out how to get out soon, it would be Twilight alone. And how much longer would she last alone? Rather the better question would be would her body give out before the ghosts had a stab at her. She couldn't let such a thing happen. She wouldn't. She had to survive right now. Sweetie thought as hard as she could. Was there anything Twilight said that could save her? ...but a vacuum, no, a normal magic cleaner could never trap spirit entities and magic like this... Wait. Did that count things that came out of spirits as well? Were those spirit entities? Or magic? There was only one way to find out. Sweetie's hoof was already close to the button to activate the GCD. She held it, and effortlessly, the GCD slurped the yellow ectoplasm off of Sweetie's body. Sweetie fell to the wall onto the ground. She scrambled up to face the ghost. It knew she was free and that she would be after it now. She had to do something before that thing caught up to her. It was too late to run away now, she had to do something about this ghost. She- O[has to get the flashlight. GET THE FLASHLIGHT] O[has to gain an advantage. USE THE CAMERA] Author's Note Note to self: Test ambient rain sounds for effect Also /// == left off edits
CHOICE5The thought of using the camera popped in her head. It seemed like an attractive idea at first to use her new gadget, but ultimately, she denied the idea. Something told her that it was a terrible idea right now. If that camera was a device to read the thoughts of ghosts, then it would be pointless. She saw it in it's eyes, even in that little foal's young, tiny, and arguably adorable form, it was insane. Whatever spirit that was drenched in that magical energy didn't have any thoughts to read. It frightened her so much to even fathom the ideas that might be running through the mind of that thing. Even more, to take the time to snap a shot of it would give up her chance at obtaining her lifeline. The only thing she could fight with, being her flashlight. Knowing this, she ran for her hoofheld (or in her case, muzzle held) lamp. With that in mind, she ran for her light. She grabbed the flashlight with a sliding hoof, her face coming centimeters from the ghosts'. So close she could feel a cold breeze coming from it's mouth and grazing her nose. Too close as she could see the very same insane eyes that already frightened her from a distance. Sweetie screamed as she jumped back and shined her light on the ghost. DING! The ding. The ding that told her the ghost was weakened. Now was her chance. "Got you!" She said as she pointed the nozzle of the vacuum at the ghost and hit the button, hoping she was right. A gust of air stretched forth from the GCD nozzle like a lasso and grabbed the foal ghost by the tail (or rather, where the tail might be if it didn't have that funnel like lower half). It's giggles turned into screams as it realized what Sweetie intended to do. A cocky smile crept onto Sweetie's face as she felt for once that she had the upper hoof on these things. Arguably, she could even say she was starting to enjoy this for a split second. However, her moment of glory was cut short as the ghost yanked at her, desperately trying to pull away from the suction of the GCD. "Woah!" the yank was so strong that it pulled Sweetie onto her stomach. It only looked like it from the air at first, but it looked as though the GCD really was acting like a rope connecting her to the spirit. And in turn, the ghost managed to yank Sweetie onto her stomach and begin dragging her around the dining hall. Along her stomach. "Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!" Sweetie complained as her stomach became subject to some nasty carpet burns. "20, 19, 18, 17-" What the heck is...? Sweetie heard at a low level, mono toned, numbers being emitted from the back of her head, yet at the same time the GCD pack as the ghost continued to yank away from her, trying to get away. It seemed to be counting down to something. Hopefully something good. As the ghost screamed, as the GCD continued to buzz lightly as it counted down, Sweetie held on for dear life as the floaty foal dragging her all over the dining hall. She couldn't help but notice how strong it was as it pulled her around. Such a small frame shouldn't have been able to drag her around so easily, even if Sweetie herself was small. Wait, what am I doing questioning logic, I'm catching a GHOST in a haunted mansion for Celestia's sake! Instead, Sweetie focused on holding on to the button, making sure at all costs not to let go and allow the ghost to escape. She had to call herself lucky for even making it this far, she knew to mess up might mean her not getting a second chance. Around the table, under the table, over the table, through the glasses under the cloth, the ghost tried to shake Sweetie off. Sweetie held on firmly wondering when the ghost would finally- "3, 2, 1, 0. Magic depleted. Processing Capture." the GCD said. With one final scream, the ghost streaked into the nozzle of the GCD and eventually disappeared into the pack. She felt it go up the tube before reaching the pack. Though she couldn't see it, on Sweetie's back, the first of the six lights glowed green. The rest of course still being red. "Capture successful." the GCD said. "Heh... heh heh..." she couldn't believe it. She caught one. She caught one of those ghosts, that monster that tried to kill her. Sweetie lied on the dining table, laughing breathlessly. All of the air in the world could have been gone, and she still would have chuckled at her dream like accomplishment. She captured a ghost. "Maybe... that wasn't a bluff after all..." Maybe she really could do this. Who knew? Maybe she could get to the bottom of this mansion and stop whatever was going on. After a minute or two, Sweetie got down from the table. With a breath, she took the next door back to the foyer. As she entered the room, her happy mood left. "W-what the... did this come from?" She said to herself through the flashlight. Some pony had definitely been through the foyer after her. The first indication were the candles that were previously in the room, unlit, were now up, dimly filling the foyer with light. It wasn't nearly magnificent as when she first came in, but it was light. For some reason though, it created a creepy atmosphere that almost made her prefer the darkness oppose to the light. What was more, Sweetie couldn't imagine the ghosts lighting candles. Didn't Twilight say they couldn't deal with light? They craved the darkness, and light was Sweetie's weapon. Sweetie's only explanation is that some pony who wasn't a ghost lit the candles. But then the question became: who? Specter and Spiffy popped into her mind. But... they're responsible for this, aren't they? She was missing something. Either way there was something definitely wrong with the fact these candles were lit. The second indication was a trail of orange sludge trailing from the fountain. It was a different color than the first two she'd encountered. This one was orange. Though there was something stood out about that color to the filly. Something familiar. Under further examination, she saw the mirrors on the fountain had been recently broken. Did whatever that crawled out of the fountain break them? If so why? Between the dimness of the light and these unanswered questions, Sweetie started to feel fatigued. Was it really that though? She shook her head. If she could really save her friends, she had to stay focused on the task at hoof. Sweetie decided to follow the trail from the fountain. It wasn't as if she was given any other clue to her friend's whereabouts but the trail, and the way that it tickled at the back of her brain made it too strange to be ignored. It was then she knew she had to follow it. The trail led through the right door by the staircase... the same direction of Specter's study. The filly headed through, and followed the trail down into another dark hallway. To her relief, as she followed it, no ghosts tried to ambush her. She became so focused on the following the path, that she'd stopped looking where she was going. It came to her surprise when her head hit a door, causing the flashlight to drop out of her mouth for a moment. "Ow." she said. She picked up the flashlight and stood back to see what she'd just bumped into. It was a grand double door. Around it, in the same glowing goo as the trail was the outline of an apple. No, not just one, but three apples, connecting to each other. Besides it's new cursive design, this shape was all too familiar. This cutie mark. "Applejack?" Sweetie said. Sweetie tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. At first, Sweetie thought it was the sludge, blocking the way of the door. She used her GCD to clean the goo off the door, much like the goo from the little baby ghost. When she tried the door again, it moved, but barely any more than it did before. There was one thing she could assume from this. "It's locked? Seriously?" This was annoying. Sweetie couldn't believe it. Here she was, just in front of the room Applejack was probably in, and she wouldn't be able to open it. No, there was a key hole. She wouldn't open that door without a key at least. But the key could be anywhere! The mansion was massive. How was she supposed to find the one little key to fit this one door? M...maybe it's not far. Maybe it's even in this hallway! Yeah! Sweetie thought optimistically. Well, I'd better get looking. There's no time to loose. Sweetie went into her saddlebag to take out her map. She opened it. Initially, the map showed the first floor of the mansion. It showed the foyer she'd just came from, the dining hall, the safe zone, and the hallway she was in and the rooms it connected too. As Sweetie held it, squinting to see the tiny rooms on the map, it began to reshape itself. Lines of ink moved around on the piece of parchment until it showed a blown up version of the hallway, along with its room numbers and names. An ink blot in the middle of the hallway map, indicating where Sweetie was. The door she needed to get in however, had a big question mark over it, along with the picture of a skeleton key. It was almost as if the map had read her mind. Woah, this is neat! Sweetie thought. Sweetie begun looking in the different rooms for the key. She tried to leave no corner unchecked, but the creepy decor of each room scared the filly. Everything covered in a sheet looked like a ghost every time lightning flashed. She didn't stay in any room for longer than 2 or 3 minutes. Even less when she heard an out of place creak that was loud enough to chase her out. Sweetie looked through different rooms of the hallway, where either a door was locked, or had nothing useful to the filly. Sweetie was ready to give up. "Ugh. Hopeless." She slunk against the wall at the far end of the hallway. If it wasn't here, it had to be somewhere else. And who knew how many rooms were in the mansion, no, who knew how many keys. She could spend her entire lifetime looking for a key in this mansion, only to find out it's the wrong one. Heck, for all she knew, Specter or Spiffy could have the key. "...wonder where they are...?" Twilight seemed fairly convinced that everything that had happened her was his fault. Considering what he said to her before attacking her and the others with that army of ghosts, it seemed likely. If that were true, where could they be? But at this point, if she couldn't save one of her friends by finding a dumb key, how could she hope to confront either of them? She sighed wishing something would come and point her in the right direction. Then, like a granted wish, she heard something. "Squeak" A squeak. A light squeak echoed through the hallway that Sweetie swore sounded like a mouse. Perhaps a little more "echoy" but a mouse all the same. Sweetie got back up, listening for the sound again. She stayed as still as a statue, straining her ears for the sound again. "Squeak" Sweetie looked around for the source of the squeak, eventually resolving to turning off her flashlight to test a hypothesis that she came up with. I wonder... aha! Then she saw it. Through the darkness of the hallway, was a small, glowing, golden, transparent mouse. A ghost mouse? Sweetie thought. What hasn't turned into a ghost around here? Though, unlike the other ghosts she'd encountered, rather than looking like insane, this one was far from threatening. In a way, she saw the little rodent as 'cute' as she found herself applying effort to resist "d'aawing" at it's preciousness right then and there. Especially as she noticed something about the tip of its tail, or rather it's lack there-of. At the end was a key! Could that be her ticket through that door? It seemed all too convenient, but at the same time, it made so much sense. She got close to it. She could feel the cold of its ghostly presence, but it wasn't as bad as the other ghosts. Once Sweetie was close enough, she pounced for the mouse. It dodged Sweetie as she fell on her stomach, scurrying away, squeaking fearfully. Sweetie thought fast, clicking her flashlight on, and aiming it at the golden ghost mouse. "Squeak!" the mouse taunted. The rodent wasn't even phased by the light, which surprised Sweetie. She thought that it should have worked on all ghosts... but then again, she'd only tried the trick on two types thus far. Did that mean that there were ghosts that were immune to her flashlight? "Great." The mouse escaped through a door, which Sweetie immediately went after it, scrambling back up and almost tumbling over the nozzle of the GCD again. She entered the room of the mouse, and looked around for it. The good news was that it didn't take Sweetie long to locate the cute golden ghost. However, the bad news was that it sat atop a bookcase, far out of Sweetie's reach. "What the-" Sweetie said. "How the hay did you get up there so fast?!" "Squeak!" the mouse explained. Darn it. Now how am I supposed to get that key? Sweetie thought. "Um... hey!" "Squeak!" the mouse responded. "Uh... how are you?" "Squeak!" the mouse complained. "So anyway, how about coming down, we could talk a little about that neat little key on your tail!" "Squeak!" the mouse declined. After a few moments of waiting, Sweetie continued on. "Oh, come on, please come down?" "Squeak!" the mouse insulted. "What if I said I had a nice uh... chunk of cheese down here for you." Sweetie tempted. The mouse looked down, and saw Sweetie was lying. It might have been her imagination, but Sweetie could have sworn she heard it scoff at her. "Ugh, what am I doing? I'm trying to persuade a mouse." Sweetie mumbled. "I must be nuts." "Squeak!" the mouse agreed. Wait a second... could something be in that book Twilight gave me? Sweetie thought. I mean, it's still a ghost, right? Sweetie reached into her saddlebag to take out the ghost book, and flipped through the pages. The first page still had the picture of the butler ghost. She got a shiver down her spine, looking at the face of that pony again. Though she supposed she would have to get used to it eventually. After all something told her it would't be the last time she saw this type. Sweetie flipped the page to find something new. There was a picture of the ghost pony she had just captured, accompanied with the description. Foal Ghost Common Gender: Male Description: This little foal ghost may appear harmless, but it is far from cute and weak. It vomits projectiles at its targets, and takes their souls as they are cocooned in its ectoplasm. If you find one, don't turn your back to it, or you'll find yourself stuck on your stomach against some wall (*hint* *hint*). If you find yourself trapped, use any device capable of sucking magic, or ectoplasmic waste to clean it off of you before it gets too close. If you don't have said device then what the hay are you doing here? Main Weakness: Light Wait... so that ghost thing threw up on me?! Sweetie felt ill at the thought of vomit on her, but swallowed back down any fluids that tried to come up her throat. She flipped to the next page, hoping to find what she was looking for. Sure enough, there was a little picture of the little mouse with the key. Golden Mouse Gender: ??? Bio: This little critter is one of the most harmless creatures you'll find in the ghost world. They are also very valuable, especially in ghost galleries, considering their difficulty to catch. Unlike most ghosts, it doesn't have a magic shield, so light has no effect on them. This also means they can easily be sucked up. This vulnerability is compensated for their great speed, reaction timing and keen sense of smell. There are ways of catching these cute little critters. The best way is to lure it with cheese. No matter what the situation, it will always come for the dairy product on instinct. The second way, though less efficient, is to scare it out with a cat. That will at least drive it out of its hiding spot, giving you a chance to catch it. Ghost cats or regular cats work either way. Sweetie read over the description several times. Two ways. The first being cheese, and she had already witnessed the mouse's interest in the treat. Unfortunately she didn't have any on her. The kitchen of the mansion might have had some, but she was afraid to leave the mouse alone; that if she left, she wouldn't find it again, putting her back on square one. It also said that the mouse was scared of cats, both alive and dead, but Sweetie didn't have a cat with her. Or did she? Suddenly, a memory sparked in Sweetie's mind. ~~~~~~~ "Opal! No! Get off of that!" Sweetie hollered at the cat. Opalescence, Rarity's cat, had come into Sweetie's room, gotten into her saddlebags, taken her Cutie Mark Crusader cape, and adopted it as a blanket. Rather than admiring the feline's ability to open her bag so easily, or the possibility she might have been a cat burglar in a previous life, Sweetie goes over to the cat, and grabs her cape. The cat resists the filly, stubbornly digging her claws into the fabric and holding on tight. "No! Your ripping it you dumb cat! You're ripping my cape!" Sweetie said angrily. "Let go!" Opalescence hissed back as if to say "No, you're ripping my cape. You let go first dear." She was angry. Angry enough where the idea of kicking Opal off seemed like an incredibly attractive idea for a split second. She disliked this cat a lot. Not particularly because of what she was doing at the moment, but- Rarity came into the room to see the tug of war going on between the filly and the cat. "What are you two doing?" Rarity asked. "Stop it at once! Sweetie!" "But she took my cape!" Sweetie said. "Get her off of it! She's ripping it!" Opalescence only hissed back at Sweetie. "Come here, my precious Opal..." Rarity said, using her telekinesis to float Opal up in the air. --That's why she hates that dumb cat. "Let go now." Rarity then used her magic to shake the cat from side to side gently, as though she were rocking her oppose to trying to get her to let go. Finally, the cape fell from of the cat's claws. It looked like she'd gotten bored with messing with Sweetie for the time being. Either that or she was to tired to fight. Hard to tell. Once that was done, Rarity set Opalescence down onto the floor. Opalescence stuck her nose in the air, and left the room to find something else to dig her claws into for her nap. Sweetie crouched down to her cape. Rips from the cats claws were all over the cape. It wasn't completely ruined, but the rips were very well present. She gritted her teeth as tears welled up in the little filly's eyes. It could be very easily fixed. It wasn't that big a deal. So why was Sweetie so angry? "Sweetie Belle-" Rarity started, but Sweetie cut her off. "Why do you treat that cat better than me?!" she snapped. "Sweetie. We can easily repair that cape. I specialize in that, remember?" She knew that. Of course she knew that, but that wasn't the- "That's not the point! You treat that cat like... like... like SHE's your sister! I thought you were on MY side? Why were you on her's?!" Sweetie cried. "Sweetie Belle... I-" Rarity came towards her, trying to hug and comfort the filly, but Sweetie wouldn't have it. She pushed Rarity away, stuffed her cape into her saddlebags, and stormed out of the room. Rarity sighed, following her out. Knowing her, she would be too mad to ask her to fix the cape for her anyway. ~~~~~~~ That was just earlier that day. She didn't know why she blew up like that. Sweetie knew that although she was her sister, Opal was like a foal to the mare. Plus, for all she knew, Opal probably couldn't control her spoiled personality with a high class owner like Rarity. Either way, Sweetie knew that Rarity loved her more than anything in the world. She sighed, supposing she was just angry that her cape was ruined for the moment. This wasn't the first time she had realized this either. After a small nap, and finding that Rarity had already started fixing the cape, Sweetie apologized to Rarity for her behavior later that day. Rarity did the same, and they both made up. She even forgave Opal, feeling that she still might have been in the wrong, even if the cat was the most annoying creature in existence she knew of at the time. Opal on the other hoof was extremely indifferent on the issue. Either way, Rarity sewed up her cape, however she had forgotten to clean it. Was it possible Opalescence's scent still be there? After putting her ghost book back into her saddlebags, Sweetie searched around them, and pulled out her cape. There were signs of fresh stitches as well as the few little rips Rarity had never finished with. Nothing about it had changed since then. Perfect. "Opal, if this works, you can have my cape." Sweetie said to the cat that was miles away, probably having a dream about the finest tuna money could buy. "Squeak?" the mouse inquired. Sweetie fanned the cape up towards the mouse. The mouse sniffed the air, knowing the scent very well. It squeaked fearfully, believing there was a cat in the room, ready to attack him (or her, who knew honestly). It jumped off of the book case, toward the floor. Sweetie took this as her chance. She aimed the nozzle of the GCD at the mouse and pressed the suction button. The mouse let out one last squeak before getting sucked into the GCD. The second light on the pack of the GCD glowed green. The key however, just hit the ground with a clink sound. Sweetie picked it up, and looked at the key. She grinned, and nodded in satisfaction. Sweetie headed back out into the hallway, back to the door that was locked. "Finally." she sighed. This was it. Before trying the key that she had found, Sweetie first put her ear to the door trying to listen to what could be inside. At first there was nothing. Then- thwack! thwack! thwack! She heard something distant behind the door. Something repeatedly hitting something. Where had Sweetie heard this sound before? Apples. Apples. Apples. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! She had heard this before. The sounds of ponies working at apple acers. Not just the sound of hitting, but the sound of bucking trees. There was no more doubt in Sweetie's mind. Applejack was definately behind this- THWACK! "Ow!" something kicked the door and in turn Sweetie's head, knocking her back. She moaned rubbing her aching ear. "What was that for?" It hurt, but it wasn't as painful as it was annoying. Sweetie could now hear the thwacking from behind the door, though now it had at least gone back to bucking whatever else that wasn't a door with little fillies behind it. Sweetie then shined her light to see the key hole. She stuck the key into the hole and turned. As Sweetie had hoped, it was a perfect fit. The door was unlocked. As Sweetie reached for the door knob, Sweetie hesitated. Fear had come once again, telling her, that she was in for something bad when she opened the door. And even more was that thing that had scared her from behind the door. Sweetie shook off the fear, knowing that if she didn't face it now, she would never save her friends. She would never save Rarity. Sweetie touched the ice cold knob, then griped with her entire fore hoof. She turned the knob and opened the door. As Sweetie walked in, she felt the floor changed drastically. She was no longer on marble flooring or carpet, but was now standing on dirt. Puzzled, Sweetie looked around with her flashlight. She was definitely not outside, considering it was raining cats and dogs out there. As she looked around further, she saw vegetation growing out of the ground. She saw things from potatoes and carrots to- "Apple trees..." Sweetie mumbled. It was some kind of indoor garden. However, with the lack of light, everything was shriveled and dying. Everything except the apple trees. Somehow, Sweetie didn't think that the plants were just dead solely because of malnutrition and lack of sunlight. And she knew better than to think that it was just a coincidence that only the apple trees seemed to be the plants thriving. Sweetie looked off into the distance of the room, and saw a sole glowing pony that appeared to light up a whole area, bucking a tree for apples. Her body was full, lower half and cutie mark included. Her orange body, yellow mane, and green, pupil-less eyes. No doubt about it, It was Applejack! Sweetie didn't think as she ran over to the mare. She was so relieved to see another familiar face. She wasn't thinking. "Applejack!" Sweetie exclaimed. "It's you! It's really you!" Applejack stopped bucking the apples. She stared into space for a moment before acknowledging the one who had called her. "Eh?" Applejack looked over at her. Sweetie stopped about two meters in front of her. Her voice was so echoy, so- Ghostly. "Ap..."Then it dawned on her. Applejack was a ghost now, she was dead. "...plejack..." Applejack smiled. "Well heyya little filly." Sweetie didn't respond. She was frozen in fear, realizing the grave mistake she just made. Blindly walking up to Applejack, ruining her element of surprise. Without considering what kind of ability that she had as the unknown type of ghost she had taken up. "...somethin' th' matter there?" So weird. So very weird. Sweetie didn't feel any enmity off of Applejack right now. She didn't feel safe, but she didn't feel like she was about to die quite yet either. "Sweetie?" The sound of her name snapped her back. "N-no." Sweetie choked out. "I-it's nothing." "Heh. Alright then." Applejack said. "Say, wanna help me then" "H-help?" "Mhm. Gotta keep buckin. See all these apples 'round here?" Not really because it's so dark. Sweetie thought. "Um... are you sure you have to-" "C'mon. You ain't gonna help me or what? I ain't got all night." That tone. That tone Applejack said that in wasn't as friendly as before. In fact, it almost seemed menacing the way she said it. Not like a request, but more like an order. "S-sure." Sweetie said without thinking. Nothing had happened yet. Applejack wasn't trying to kill her or anything, yet the tension and fear just kept rising in Sweetie's mind. She couldn't refuse. Only because she was afraid of what would happen if she refused. "Heh heh. Knew ya wouldn't say no Sweetie. Always do whatcha told, don'tcha?" "What?" Applejack chuckled. "Nothin'. There. Buck that one." she pointed to the tree Sweetie was standing next to- Wait a moment, that tree wasn't there when she approached Applejack. Where the hay did that come from? "S...sure." Sweetie said, getting into a bucking position. She never bucked a tree before, but she was sure that she was able to get it right. She looked up at Applejack. She stood a meter in front of her. "Go on now. Get to buckin'." Something was wrong here. Something was very wrong here. But Sweetie was too afraid to thing. Too afraid to say no, in that doing so would make Applejack do something horrible. ~~~~~~~ "Say Applebloom!" Sweetie called to her friend. "Huh? Oh hey Sweets!" ~~~~~~~ --Thwack! --Thwack! --Thwack! Sweetie quickly lifted her hind legs and kicked at the tree. Sweetie kicked at the tree, trying to buck the apples off of the tree. Applejack stared at her from behind, amused at the filly's fruitless attempts at getting a single apple to disconnect from the tree. Mmm- "C'mon now Sweetie, ya can do better than that!" Applejack said. "C'mon, harder!" ~~~~~~~ "Wow, you guys work really hard!" Sweetie commented. "Heh, thanks Sweets. Really, it's nothin' when ya really get used to it." "Uh... can I help?" "Nah." ~~~~~~~ --Thwack! --Thwack! --Thwack! "Harder! Harder!" Sweetie kept kicking at the tree, getting more and more afraid of how little progress she was making. What would Applejack do if she failed? She had to try harder. She had to hit harder. If she didn't do something, she would die. G- ~~~~~~~ "Huh? Why not?" Sweetie asked. "Well, if ya don't do it right, ya could really end up hurtin' yerself ya know." Applebloom explained. "Trust me. Ah know." ~~~~~~~ --THWACK! --THWACK! --THWACK! "HARDER." ~~~~~~~ "Ah." ~~~~~~~ Crack! "Ah!" Sweetie shouted as she felt a sharp pain shoot through her hoof up through her leg. Stupid, stupid, stupid! She wasn't thinking. She let the fear she felt when she realized the danger she in take hold of her and cause her to become Applejack's entertainment. She just went along with her order and began kicking, not thinking about the fact she had no clue how to buck a tree. "Ow..." Sweetie was sure something was broken when she tried to put her left hind hoof down. She doubted it was anything particularly bad, but she was sure she made a nice crack in the base of that hind hoof. Unfortunately, Sweetie didn't get the chance to comment as she received a swift kick from her side knocking her against another tree. Applejack had moved over to her side so fast that between her pain and natural exhaustion she didn't have the ability to counter or dodge. She didn't even have the time to take a breath and yell out before she flew. "Heh,yeh,heh,heh! Ya really are dumb, ya know Sweetie? Normal filly woulda saw that commin' from a mile away!" "I k...now..." Sweetie said breathlessly, getting back on all fours. She was aching, and her hind hoof was begging at her to get off of it, but she could still move. Unfortunately she wouldn't be running any time soon unless she wanted her hoof to hurt even more. "Ah... ah need a minute. Tha' was just too easy." Applejack shook herself from her laughing fit. "Woo... ah was supposed ta cripple ya. Didn't think it'da be that easy!" "Do... do I look crippled to you? I'm still going to catch you." Sweetie said, desperately trying to restore some shred of confidence she had when she fought the foal ghost, and caught the mouse. The same confidence that was shattered when she met Applejack. This orange ghost wasn't like those two, but rather on a whole different level of ghost. She didn't even need the book to tell her that Applejack was stronger than the thing in the forest, the butler ghost, the foal ghost, and the mouse ghost combined. In other words, one wrong step with this mare, and she might die. Problem was that she probably already made that wrong step when she rushed up to her. "Ah, ya are, are ya? Well before ya try and 'catch' me, why don't ah give ya a little lesson." "L-lesson?" "Yeah. Let me teach ya how a real applebucker does it." Applejack put her flank in the direction of the tree Sweetie had been trying to buck. With a swift kick Applejack bucked the tree. No, that was wrong. So wrong because she didn't just hear one buck, but what sounded like 100 simultaneous bucks of the living trees around her. When she looked around, she saw the imprint in orange goo of the two hooves that kicked the first tree. In result, what seemed like all of the apples fell from all the tree. Sweetie crouched and covered her head as numerous apples fell on her. "Whatcha think?" Sweetie got back up and looked at Applejack, and the ground now covered in apples. Suddenly, the apples around Applejack began floating and began hovering around her. This isn't good. Sweetie thought. She could now feel the full murderous intent from the ghost she was facing. Before she was playing around. Now she was prepared to kill her. "Ready for lesson two Sweetie?" "Any chance I could drop this class?" Sweetie asked sheepishly. Sweetie was a sitting duck where she was now. She had to do something fast. O[Sweetie won't last another minute in here. She has to retreat. RUN FOR THE DOOR] O[Sweetie needs to take cover from the next attack. RUN FOR THE TREES] Author's Note OOOOOO Submissive
CHOICE6She doubted she would make it to the flashlight in time. Sweetie had spent too much time stuck to that wall that the thing was beyond reaching without having to pass the ghost. Another course of action. She had to take another course of action. But what could she do? ...! The camera! The thought came to her instantly. The mind reading camera Twilight had mysteriously found in the safe room. She could use it to find out what the ghost was thinking, and perhaps use it to her advantage! A hint to how she could beat it, or perhaps another weakness. Without wasting another moment, Sweetie went into her bag and snatched out the camera. Without a moments hesitation she put her eye to the viewer and pointed the lens at the monster in front of her. Oddly enough, with the thing inside of the viewer, she couldn't help but feel a buzz in the back of her head. However, her current fear and panic kept her from holding back her irrationality and click the shutter button with the tip of her hoof without a second thought. When Sweetie took the viewer off her eyes, all she could feel was the same buzzing sensation that she felt when looking at the ghost through the camera. Nothing happened. She couldn't hear any thoughts, she couldn't hear anything that resembled a pony's voice. There was only that buzz, and nothing else. No, that was wrong. There was something else, but it wasn't anything Sweetie was hearing. It was what she was seeing. The ghost which had been creeping up on her had stopped in it's tracks and was just hovering there, a few feet in front of her flashlight, just out of it's glow. It was looking at her with a puzzled expression. --Something was wrong. --Something was very wrong with the way it looked at her. After a long time of staring, she came to the conclusion that her and that foal ghost were connected somehow. Perhaps that was it. Could it read her thoughts as well? H-hello? Sweetie tried thinking. Perhaps it could hear her. Perhaps. --Something was wrong. --Something was very wrong with the way it kept looking at her. --Something was very very wrong with the way that it's grin came back without returning her response. "Heheeheehee-" it giggled but it was interrupted by something else. Something Sweetie didn't want to hear. Static. She heard static. The same static she might have heard on the radio her and her friends occasionally listened to at Rarity's house. "Mm-" Next came a headache. It started out soft, but quickly escalated to becoming head splitting. She was sure of it, her brain was trying to explode, but it just didn't know how. The pain was becoming so unbearable that she was willing to do anything, even let that ghost kill her, just to make it stop. "Oh... oh..." Sweetie was about to lose her mind. She was sure she was about to break. Was that ghost doing this? Maybe if she could get to her flashlight, she could use it and catch it and end- Then it exploded. The static in her brain exploded into a maddening mixture of cries, screams, laughs, and whispers. Cries of those who have lost loved ones, mourning over graves. Laughs of sadists torturing or perhaps being tortured. Screams of those being burned alive in fires. Whispers of ponies telling Sweetie of ways she wished she could die right now. "Make it stop... oh Celestia make it stop..." she was crying on the floor, sobbing. How long had she remained there, listening to those voices that scared her so. The voices that would drive any adult mad wasn't just eroding her sanity. It was obliterating it. If it kept up any longer, she knew she would have to- No more. No more. No more. No more. She couldn't take anymore. "Get out of my head!" She bashed her head against the nearest wall. She felt blood after bashing numerous times. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD." But it wouldn't leave. The voices in her head seemed hell bent on making sure they were louder than Sweetie's voice as they only escalated the louder she shouted. Sweetie collapsed to the ground, feeling trickles of blood seep from her forehead. Had she broken her horn? She couldn't tell with this incessant noise in her head. No more. No more please no more Sweetie was going deaf to the static, hearing nothing but that, as her body grew colder and colder. "No more... no more... please no more..." she let out pleading mumbles as she lie there, using her remaining strength. Or at least she thought she mumbled, the static was to a volume she didn't even know possible. A volume that should have blew her eardrums out, but refused to allow the filly the mercy of silence. She couldn't move. She wouldn't move. The static had froze her and she would never move again. "No more... no more... please no more..." She was doomed from here on out to be tortured by the static. Perhaps Twilight would come up and rescue her. But the idea was pointless as Sweetie's thoughts became more and more incomprehensible. The more and more the ghost's mind melded with hers to become the insane mess that it was. It didn't matter if Twilight saved her, for as long as she and that ghost were one, she would never have any piece of mind again. GAME OVER [Try Again?]
CHOICE7Sweetie wasn't sure what Applejack was planning to do with those apples, but she was sure whatever it was they wouldn't be good for her. And if Applejack was the one controlling those apples floating around her, there was a sure chance she could do the same with the numerous apples around her. Here, Sweetie was surrounded. She had to get out of that room, and find some new place to fight her, or come up with a new plan. She had to get out of there. She couldn't fight Applejack now. With these thoughts, Sweetie tried to run for the door, or at least the direction she thought it was. She shined her flashlight in the direction she figured it was. Her light only stretched so far, and she had no clue if she was headed in the right direction as she ran through the seemingly infinite darkness. Applejack gleefully laughed behind her as she ran. Actually "ran" would be an exaggeration of what Sweetie was doing. A more appropriate term would be along the lines of "speed limped/stumbled painfully, trying not to trip over the field of apples". Her hoof was screaming for her to stop, threatening to shutdown her brain and leave her at Applejack's mercy if she continued to put such extensive pressure on it. Even though Applejack was still holding off her attack, Sweetie knew it wouldn't last long. Applejack wouldn't let her escape easily. She had to try though. She had to at least try to escape the room before- There! Finally, Sweetie saw her flashlight illuminate a wall and in turn, the door. If she could just reach that door, then she would escape! Applejack was still holding off her attack. Something was wrong here. Almost there. Something was wrong. Just a few more feet. Something was wrong. Just have to burst through that door and- WHAM! "W...what?" Sweetie's head came to not a door, but a wall. This door wasn't a real door, but rather it was a painting of a door. A large, comical painting of the door she came in. "Heh... eh heh heh..." Sweetie took a few steps back, almost completely forgetting the pain in her hoof. Funny. This is actually kind of funny. They replaced the door. HA. With a painting. HA. This was hilarious even Sweetie had to laugh. She might have laughed more if she wasn't brought out of her stupor by something hitting the back of her head and knocking her out. *** When Sweetie came to, she was lying in a very lumpy recliner- Wrong. When Sweetie came to, she was lying on top of a ball pit- Wrong. When Sweetie came to, she was lying on top of some apples. Right. Rather, she was being sandwiched between two layers of apples. One on the bottom, and one on the top. Her GCD was gone, her saddlebags were gone and her flashlight was gone. All she had left was herself. When her vision cleared, she could see Applejack, staring at her that wide ghostly grin on her face. "Ya wake now?" Sweetie only moaned in pain in response. She tried to move, but only felt pain in response. It was then she realized how tightly she was between these apples. She was trapped. "Heh, that's good. Here." Sweetie found herself floating upright next to a tree. She saw her face in the hollow by some mirror somepony had wedged inside. "What d' ya see?" "I..." "C'mon now. What d' ya see?" "I... see me. Ga-" Sweetie felt something hard strike her back. "Try again, ya can do it." Applejack put her foreleg around Sweetie's neck as if they were posing for a picture in the mirror. "I... see..." As her consciousness became full, she realized the situation she was in. She was trapped and disarmed. She didn't have any other chance to save herself or anyone else. She had failed. She saw. She had failed. She saw. "...failure." Sweetie said, defeated. "Heh. Ain't that the truth." Applejack said as she stuck her hoof in Sweetie's mouth. Gag. What was this pain. What was she doing? This is uncomfortable. This is painful. This hurts. This hurts. This hurts a lot. No. No. No. NO. NO! Once Applejack had grabbed ahold of what she was looking for, she yanked a few times before finally ripping something white out of Sweetie's body. There was a scream. There was a sharp disgusting sound. There was laughter. There was the sound of shattering glass as the mirror broke into pieces. Silence. And then more laughter. GAME OVER [Try Again?] Author's Note Disturbance when a spirit is ripped out of a body that causes mirrors to break when in contact.
CHOICE8She had to move. She had to move now. With her hoof in the shape it was in, she had no chance of making it to the door, and she couldn't stay here. And the only thing she had around her were trees and fields of apples. As Applejack put her flank to her, Sweetie then got a good idea of what she was planning to do. Take cover. Without another thought to it, Sweetie bolted for the nearest pack of trees she could find. Applejack meanwhile bucked one of the apples at her at some impossible velocity. "Yipes!" One of the apples flew just over Sweetie's head, grazing her horn and eventually hitting a wall. Not like a fruit however, but more like a rock as she heard it crash into the wall. Guess that answers whether or not I can afford getting hit by one of those things. She then dove behind one of the trees and covered her head. "That not gonna save ya!" Applejack laughed as she turned into a blur, bucking numerous apples at the tree at an impossible speed. She was too strong. Sweetie wasn't prepared enough. How do I stop her! HOW DO I BEAT HER? Sweetie thought. Her levels of panic, helplessness, and fear were off the charts. The ghost mare was right, this tree wouldn't hold up forever. Considering the amount of force hitting the tree, and the sound of splitting wood, she didn't have much time. She was still alive now, but one way or another, she didn't have much time. She had to do something. But what? She didn't know how to beat her! ...but the book might. The thought came to Sweetie's head like an epiphany. Of course! The book! It helped her with the mouse, so maybe it would help her beat Applejack! Sweetie quickly reached into her saddlebags for the ghost book. She rappidly as she flipped the pages, nearly making the mistake of ripping the pages out of the book. Finally, she reached the most recent page. A picture of the ghost Applejack was displayed on the page, bucking a tree. Portrait of Honesty Gender: Female Desc: So you're taking on a portrait ghost already? Alright then, your funeral. To summarize, portrait ghosts are the most difficult ghosts to capture, given they usually have an immense amount of magic to suck out. They are the ones that can be put into a portrait, and brought back out as a living thing. Rather, they're the easiest to do so with considering how fresh the abstract magic on their spirit and more importantly the presence of their cutie mark. But I digress, on to the Portrait of Honesty. Some portrait ghosts, such as the Portrait of Honesty can't be affected by light. However, apples seem to effect her thanks to her apparent attachment to them. Try throwing a few at her if you can. One other thing is that she cannot tell a lie. Once again, as her name implies, if she consciously says something that is false, this will also have an effect on her. Perhaps even more than the apples. Your probably only going to get one shot at this, so I'd stay locked on that mare if you manage to get that magic barrier down. That's all I got for you. Good luck filly. Main Weaknesses: Apples, Lying Odd. Sweetie was somewhat puzzled at how the book was written now. She was getting more and more the impression she was less reading an instruction manual or a hint book, but a letter. Even more, specifically for her. How was it- Another barrage of apples took her from her train of thought. She didn't have time to consider the book's strangeness. She had her life to worry about. The apples. The apples were something, however she doubted she could fling them at her alone. Maybe she could use her GCD to fling apples at her? It was a vaccum cleaner so it could suck up apples. Could there also be a reverse function?Sweetie examined the nozzle further to see that it had a switch at the bottom of the nozzle. There was an arrow pointing down and there was an arrow pointing up. The switch was set to the arrow pointing down. "Really hope this does what I think it does." Sweetie activated the vacuum like device sucked up one of the many apples surrounding her. As she expected, the apple was too big to be sucked into the GCD, and just sat at the nozzle's end like an ice cream cone. She then flipped the switch. She then held her newfound weapon to her head to her head. Please...Oh please Celestia... let this work... She thought. "Hahahahahahaha!" Applejack laughed. "C'mon ya big baby! Fight like a mare! Quit bein' such a scared little-" Sweetie popped out of her cover for a split second, aiming, and hit the button, firing the apple at Applejack. It was a perfect head shot. Rather than phasing through her like she might have expected it to, it hit her head just like a normal apple would. It wasn't as fast as Applejack's apples, but it was enough to get the mare loose her focus. The apples stopped flying through the air at the tree, as they fell to the ground. "Ow!" Applejack rubbed her head. "Why'd you hit me wit' that apple?" "Uh..." Nothing. Nothing happened. No ding, no break. Just a really pissed looking Applejack. "A what?" Sweetie tried again, sucking up one of the apples on the ground, switching, and shooting at Applejack. This time in her chest. "Ow! Hey c'mon now! Quit that!" You're trying to KILL me, what do you expect? Sweetie thought, vaguely annoyed. But her fear returned quickly as she discovered the only thing the apples were good for was stunning her. There had to be something else she could do. It was then, Sweetie got an idea. It was shaky, but it just might work. It wasn't as if she had any other plans anyway. "U-uh... quit what?" Sweetie said, hiding the nozzle behind her back. "Ya know darn well what, quit throwin them apples at me." Applejack complained. Sweetie tilted her head to the side. "Huh? I didn't throw any apples at you." Applejack narrowed her eyes. "Now don'tcha go on lyin to me Sweetie." "I'm not lying. You're crazy. I wouldn't dare try to hit you." "Ya just did! Ah saw you!" "No you didn't." Sweetie said. "Yes, ah did!" Applejack shot back. "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No you didn't." "Yeah, ah did!" "No I didn't." "Yeah, ya did!" "No I didn't." "Yeah, ya did!" "Yeah, I did." "No ya didn't!" ding "Yeah I did" "NO, ya didn't!" ding "Yes I did." Sweetie said. "Ahm tellin you didn't hit me wit' that app-!" Applejack started, but stopped. What she heard next was what Sweetie hoped for. "Ah hay." Ding! Sweetie leaped out of her cover, making sure to set the GCD back to suck as she did. Applejack tried to fly away, but she is then caught in the suction of the GCD. "What the- No!" Applejack yelled. 50, 49, 48, 47- Applejack went crazy, trying to shake the filly off of her. She was now the terrified one, rather than Sweetie. As she yanked, Sweetie noticed how the numbers go faster. "44, 43, --Remeber the yank-- yank, 4241403938, 37, 36-" Sweetie noted this for any future captures. Perhaps she should do the same to decrease the time she has to be dragged around by whatever ghost she was trying to capture. In order to make sure she would be in the correct position to offer her own yanks, Sweetie pulled back on her to flip up so she could be dragged along the floor by her hind hooves, rather than her stomach. It was painful, but at the same time she felt more in control of the capture. "25, 24, 23, 22, 21-" Applejack started to get desperate. She started dragging the filly all around the room. She slammed the filly into several walls and trees. Between the intense shots of pain she got from her hoof upon every impact, she was constantly encouraged her to let go of the nozzle, and Applejack with it. Sweetie resisted that desire, holding on with every muscle in her small little hooves. She was too far now. She tried to keep the mare from moving so much, or herself from falling over on her stomach again. As the numbers went down closer and closer to zero, Applejack's screams became more high pitched and ghost like. Sweetie was so close, she was determined not to fail now. "7, 6, 5, 4-" Almost there. -- "3," Almost there. -- "2," Just one more. -- "1," Applejack lets out one last, high pitched, ear piercing scream. "0. Magic depleted. Capturing ghost." Sweetie expected, like the two times before, for the ghost to get sucked up, streaking into the nozzle. With Applejack however, a green lightning bolt stemmed from her. It went up to the little filly's body and started to fill her body with an electric shock. The muscle tension from the electricity allowed the filly to continue holding the button. Really, it forced her to now. Sweetie's eyes rolled back into her head as Applejack was forced into the GCD. After a minute of the pain of being electrocuted, Sweetie was allowed to let go of the nozzle. "Capture success. Ghost Capture Device at 50 percent capacity." the GCD said. She wasn't sure what had just happened. After so much electricity had coursed through her body (she still was twitching a little), she couldn't believe she was still alive. "Oh." Maybe she thought too soon as her vision began to blur and her head began to feel like it was prepared to float off her body. She felt different, after the shock. What had that mare done to her? No, that was wrong. Something felt incorrect to blame Applejack for what just happened. What had the GCD done to her? She felt weak, as if she wanted to fall down and faint right there. A peculiar light Sweetie was unable to identify illuminated the indoor garden, revealing every detail of the room. Suddenly, the vegetation that was previously withered begun to spring with life, changing the mood of the previously depressing room. It was almost as if a curse had been lifted off of that part of the mansion. Sweetie looked down in front of her, only to see Applejack's hat, remaining from the specter that had just tried to murder her. Sweetie picked it up and placed it on her own head, not really thinking. Maybe it could be a temporary trophy for her efforts. From her position, she could vaguely see a hollow in the tree Applejack was bucking. She noticed how shiny it was, so she stumbled over there to investigate. Inside of the hollow is a small golden facial mirror. Through the blurred vision and mind, Sweetie remembered what Twilight said about mirrors and the mansion. She shuffled around in her saddlebag to retrieve the camera. She tried to take a picture of the mirror. At first, she missed, as her motor skills were still recovering from the electric shock. She tried again, this time, with better luck. Once she took the picture, the world suddenly started spinning around the filly. Sweetie's body was unable to handle the newly found vertigo, and started to feel weaker than ever. She lost consciousness, as she was hopefully taken back to the safe zone. She did however have one final thought as she closed her eyes. Well... what do you know... I... did it... [Continue]
Chapter 6- The Maiden in the Mirrored Hallway[REBOOT]"Sweetie...? Sweetie wake up." A voice. It was distant. Echoey. Ghost like. An instinct told Sweetie to get up and run, but her body refused to co-operate with her. So instead, she just lied there, hoping whatever was calling to her, would just go away, and not hurt her. "Sweetie..." the voice said. "Oh Celestia, don't you dare... Please wake up... please..." It was much clearer this time, and less ghostly. In fact, it became progressively more apparent that the voice was sobbing. It was familiar. It was older than most ponies she knew, but familiar all the same. Suddenly, the memories flowed back to her. The plane, the mansion, the ghosts and of course, the battle with Applejack ghost. Sweetie opened her eyes, light flooding her pupils. Her vision was still blurred though. Everything she looked at from her current position blended into each other like it wet paint. It took an abnormal amount of will, but Sweetie finally found the power to get up. As she did, blood rushed from her head. Her headache invited her to go back to lying on the ground. "Oh, thank Celestia. Your... your still ok." Sweetie turned to see her senior lavender pony, smiling at her. Sweetie weakly smiled back, before collapsing back to the ground again. Twilight rushed over to help the little filly. She felt her coat and gasped. "Oh no Sweetie! Your freezing!" Twilight said. "...wait, I know. Hold on Sweetie. Stay awake for me, please don't fall asleep. I'll be right back." Twilight laid the filly down, back on the ground, giving her the saddlebags on her own back to use as a makeshift pillow. Twilight unlocked the door to the safe zone and ran out. "T...Twilight don't..." Sweetie strained. The old mare was out and gone before she could even stop her. It wasn't as if she even had the strength to anyway. Sweetie just lied there. If she didn't feel pain, or had her muscles just a little bit heavier, she might have assumed she was dead. She felt her very life force was extremely weak, if not slipping away. Was it that battle with Applejack that did it? What did she do to her? "Oh... I think I'm dying." Sweetie whispered out loud, not as a fact, but just to see how it sounded. It sounded right. Not dead. Dying. She was sure of it. If this wasn't dying, she wasn't sure what was. "Twilight..." Where had she gone? What was she trying to do? Save her? "Twilight..." She couldn't. It was impossible. Even if there was some magic spell that could fix whatever had happened in that fight, it was doubtful Twilight even had the magical energy to cast such a spell. "Twilight..." Sweetie continued mumbling her name as she lie on the ground, waiting for her to return. She wasn't sure if she was doing this just as a prayer that Twilight would return, or a hope the sound of her voice would keep her conscious and from slipping back into a darkness she might not have climbed out of again. As she did, she tried recalling the fight in more detail. The green bolt of lightning that hit her. It did something to her body that shouldn't have happened. --Incompatible. It definitely changed her. She didn't know why, but she felt different. She felt like she'd been changed somehow after the fight with Applejack. But what was it? Was it anything that could help her? --Nachos! Considering at the moment she was a borderline vegetable, she doubted it. As minutes rolled by, Sweetie got more and more worried about Twilight. Sweetie thought of trying to get up again to go after her. Thankfully, the horrible dying feeling started to leave her (or maybe she was just getting used to it), but either way her body was exhausted. Sweetie wondered that if she felt like this for each of her friends (if she could manage to stand up against them that is), how she'd manage to catch them. It wasn't difficult to conclude that it was the bolt that came from Applejack was responsible for her weakness. For all she knew, the GCD could be the cause. Since she felt so bad now, if another of those bolts hit her again in her condition- Finally, after about 10 minutes of silence in the room, the door to the safe zone opened back up again. Sweetie used the little remaining strength she had to turn her head towards the door. It was Twilight, returned and limping back into the room. Twilight had definitely seen a ghost out there as she panted from running. She held something up weakly with her magic telekinetic powers. It was a red, glowing, heart shaped jewel. "Here Sweetie. Open your mouth and suck on this." Twilight said, levitating the heart in front of the filly. "Trust me. It should help a little." Sweetie followed the mare's order and opened her mouth. The jewel like thing was placed gently in her mouth, dropped on her cheek. Sweetie closed her mouth and begun to suck on the jewel. Rather, it wasn't a jewel, and Sweetie realized as her taste buds began reacting to the thing in her mouth. It was some kind of piece of rock candy, and a strange piece at that. At first, it was bitter, like a piece of unsweetened chocolate. Sweetie recalled having a similar 'treat' back at Sugarcube Corner. She hated the flavor, and almost wanted to spit the piece of candy out. But hey, if it's some kind of medicine, then it's not supposed to taste good, right? Then, the flavor changed drastically from bitter to sour. Sweetie remembered tasting candies like this on Nightmare Night. She remembered liking the particular flavor for a time, and eventually getting sick, and losing the craving for the flavor. Finally, the flavor transitioned from sour to sweet. Sweetie thought of Pinkie at that moment. She remembered how the pink pony would always offer all of her friends different treats and flavors she experimented with. All of which, had a similar, candy-like sweetness as the flavor in her mouth. One of her favorites that the pink party pony had given to them was the baked cinnamon butterscotch apples, with an ice-cream center, Pinkie had. Sweetie thought of the richness of the treat, and how it would also make her sick. Though, it was still so good, she'd always come back with her allowance to buy another one. Huh. Sweetie wondered. Where was the pink party pony anyway? Had she met the same fate as Applejack? --Soon Sweetie felt her strength returning as the candy melts in her mouth. Actually, that might be an understatement as the candy almost felt like it was regenerating her entire body. Within moments, her aches were gone, her bones weren't sore, her headache was gone, and her vision was returning to normal. Perhaps even a little better. It wasn't long before the filly hoped back up on all four of her legs, fully rejuvenated. "Woah!" Sweetie exclaimed, surprised from the sudden rush of energy. "Looks like some pony’s feeling better." "That's amazing Twilight!" To confirm her health, Sweetie stomped her hind hoof down twice. No pain, the bone was fixed! "What was that?" "It's a little something I put together while you were gone..." Twilight explained. "I forget the official name for if, but by its shape, I call it 'heart candy' or 'heart jewels'. It's a rock candy I made in the kitchen down by the dining hall." "Kitchen? I didn't see a kitchen." "That's probably because you were running for your life. I heard the commotion from earlier all the way down here and rushed up only to find it was over by the time I got there. Celestia I feel slow..." Twilight sighed. "Anyway, I figured if I couldn't help you catch ghosts, I could at least do something to make your job a task a little easier. I doubted you'd be able to fight those things all by yourself without something a little extra. I saw the mess you made up there and it hurt me to know you could at any time be severely injured." "So you made these?" Twilight nodded. "...how?" Sweetie tilted her head. These 'heart candies' were anything but your run of the mill first aid. This weird tasting treat virtually gave Sweetie a new body. "That's... kind of something I wanted to talk to you about as well. The candy..." Twilight thought for a moment. "To explain why this is so strange would be to explain their origin. Care for a little history lesson Sweetie?" "Would you stop if I said no?" Sweetie asked. Twilight ignored her. "The heart candies recipe is based on a universal healing spell taught, or rather mentioned in the restoration classes in the College of Canterlot. You know, where mare and stallion unicorns go to learn advanced magic. There, they say that this candy, or medicine was developed back in the more violent ages of Equestria. When we used to war with the neighboring zebra and griffon countries for land and resources." she sighed. "I'm sure they must have been mentioned in your classes?" Sweetie nodded. "Yeah. A lot of them were hurt or... what about them? Those were almost a hundred years ago!" "Try a thousand plus that." Twilight corrected. "If it was that short of time, we'd probably still be feeling the effects today. Anyway, in those times it was common for ponies to be seriously injured. So unicorns developed that medicine to heal ponies quickly so they could head back into battle. Hence these heart candies." "Oh..." "Now is there something that seems strange already?" "Um..." Sweetie thought for a few moments before finally answering. "Yeah! If they were that good, why don't we use them today? Is what we have better?" Twilight shook her head. "No actually. What the medical ponies of today use is a significant downgrade from the heart candies they used back then. Really, the only downside to them is the higher the frequency one eats them, the less effective they become." "So why use something worse?" "It's expensive. The resources to make these heart candies are so rare, it might cost a small fortune to make one cheap knock off of the candy, let alone the actual thing. They honestly don't require a lot of unicorn magic to work, so most of it's effects come from it's ingredients." "But you made one." "Correction. I made a number of them. I even had one on my way back to restore some energy. Which shouldn't have been possible." "Huh?" "Sweetie, when I came up after you fought that ghost, I had to find a way to help you. Since it wasn't the best idea to wander too far away from the safe room, the kitchen was the best option. I wasn't expecting to find anything useful if worst came to worst... which it did. But there they were, the ingredients set up, in order, in one of the kitchen shelves. It was just so... well, impossible that if the idea of the heart candies didn't pop into my head, I wouldn't have made the connection between the ingredients." Twilight closed her eyes. "And worst of all, just like the other supplies, I feel like they were set up just for us." There was silence. "...well... I don't think it's a bad thing they're there. Who knows what would have happened if you didn't get that to me." "True. Still..." Twilight shook her head. "No, you're right. I should be thankful. You might have come back to a breathing corpse if I didn't get one in me." Sweetie shuddered. "Sorry for the image. But anyway, the point is I managed to put together the ingredients and squeeze out enough magical energy to create as many heart candies as I could." "Are you sure that was a good idea?" Sweetie asked. "It was an investment. The heart candies, along with healing the body, also restores more magical energy than what's input in the first place. In turn, I managed to make as many as the ingredients available would allow." "Huh... oh, and why do they taste like that? Because of the ingredients?" "No, I just threw in a few extra flavors I spied in the kitchen. To make it taste better." "Better, huh?" "Yeah. Something wrong?" Sweetie nodded. "Yeah, uh... no offense Twilight, but could you leave the candy making to Sweetie?" "Hmph. Don't be like that Sweetie. You should have tasted them without anything added." Sweetie shrugged. True, some taste was better than no taste at all, she figured. Or at least better than whatever Twilight had said was there before. "Well that's cool... and it wasn't all that bad either... wait... Wait, you left the room?" "I think I said so." Twilight responded. "Twice if you count the time I just went out." "Are you sure that was a good idea? Even if I was in trouble." "Those ghosts aren't interested in me Sweetie. After all, they took most of my spirit, so what's left isn't enough to attract them... though I will admit, I did have a close call with one on my way back. I twisted my hoof a bit." Twilight sighed, looking at her left hind hoof, which was slightly out of place. "Doesn't look like I'm going back out back anytime soon." "Oh... that's good." "What?" Twilight asked annoyed. "W-well you shouldn't have gone out anyway. Even if it turned out for the better, that... that was really stupid Twilight." Sweetie criticized. "I was scared for you Sweetie." Twilight responded. "Fear makes you do stupid things." Sweetie kept her mouth to that response, remembering how she had mindlessly followed Applejack's orders out of pure fear. Another shudder. I can't let that happen again... Sweetie thought. "...well, do you have any more of those candies?" "That's the other thing." Twilight hung her head shamefully. "I kind of... lost them." "What? How?" Sweetie asked. "...they were red I think. The ghosts that attacked me on my way back. A few passed by me, but one of them decided to go after me. The one I've never seen them before. Must have been a new type." Twilight contemplated. "...oh yes. They surprised me, causing me to drop the bag of candies I had, spilling them everywhere. They stopped focusing on me, and went for the candies. I guess ghosts like those things... then again those things are like little tiny spirits in candy form the way they contain and generate their own magic through magical chemistry. Anyway, they gathered up the ones I dropped I had and flew off with them. I ran back here. At the time, I thought they missed one. I was in too much pain to go back and check... but then I found you lying here. I thought you were dead." "Oh... so your saying that there are more of those hearts somewhere around the mansion?" Sweetie asked. "If a ghost can't digest or absorb them, then probably." Twilight said. "But that's enough from me. Why did you come back? Did something go wrong?" Oh. She doesn't know. Sweetie smiled triumphantly. It was then Twilight realized Sweetie's new headwear. "Sweetie? Where did you get that hat?" "I got her." Sweetie said. "W-what?" "I got her Twilight! I found her, and caught her!" Sweetie said. "Y-you mean you found one of my friends? Already?" Twilight said in awe. "...Applejack?" Sweetie nodded in confirmation. "Well, what are we waiting for?" Twilight said excitedly. "Let's put her through the spirit printer!" "Is that what it is?" Sweetie asked, walking over to the spirit printer machine. "Well, that's what I call for now anyway." Twilight said. Sweetie stuck the nozzle into the hole in the machine like Twilight demonstrated earlier. "Processing..." the spirit printer said in its mono toned computerized voice. The machine whirled, taking out the three ghosts from the GCD, and moving them through the machine. The three lights that were previously lit green on the GCD went red again. The first painting to pop out was of the foal ghost. It was dressed in a diaper and a bib. It sat in the middle of the painting, drooling on a block. "Aww..." Twilight said. "It's so cute. How could you catch such an adorable little ghost?" "Trust me, I could deal with it." Sweetie mumbled to herself. The next thing to come out came out in a golden frame. It was the mouse that Sweetie caught in order to retrieve the key. Sweetie saw what the book meant by "valuable" as the gold shined in the light of the room. "A mouse?" Twilight asked, puzzled by this painting. "Yeah. It had the key to where Applejack was..." Sweetie said. Finally, another golden painting popped out of the machine. It was a portrait of Applejack. She wore a smug look, as she straightened the dress of tan and green she was wearing, tied together by a red button in the shape of an apple. "Odd." Twilight mumbled. "What?" "Nothing. Just... that dress is all." Sweetie shrugged. "If you say so. Okay, we have her. Now what?" "I'm not entirely sure yet." Twilight laughed nervously. "I really didn't think we'd get this far." "But we've only got one of them." Sweetie said. "Don't tell me you didn't think I could do it in the first place." "O-of course I did. I err... I..." Twilight thought for a moment, trying to come up with an excuse. "I didn't expect you to get back so quickly!" Gee. So much for the vote of confidence Sweetie thought. "You didn't waste any time catching her. I don't think you were even gone an hour!" Twilight said, trying to cheer the filly up. "Hey, who knows Sweetie. Maybe you have a special talent in ghost catching!" "Yeah..." Sweetie frowned, as she just remembered something. "Hey, what's wrong?" Twilight asked. "It's... kind of ironic you say that. The whole reason we're here is because my friends... we were supposed to try to get our cutie marks today... we... we even built a plane and everything... kind of how we got here in the first place..." Sweetie said. Twilight, though her curiosity wanted to know how the filly found her way so far from Ponyville in the first place, she let her continue. "Just thinking about them now I guess. I don't know what he did to Scootaloo from what you said, and I don't know a thing about Applebloom right now either... I don’t know. I guess I know how you feel with your friends and all... I guess I just miss them, is all. I just hope they're ok... even if they're ghosts..." "...Sweetie... there's something I've been meaning to tell you. You might find this interesting." Twilight said. "What?" Sweetie asked. "I err... remember when I first saw you?" Twilight asked. "In the foyer?" Sweetie asked. "No. In the hallway of the room you were sleeping in. When that ghost first tried to... you know." Twilight said. "Yeah?" Sweetie said. She had run out of the room too fast to notice anything, or anyone else. Only that a light had somehow saved her. "What about it?" "Well, a little after you ran out, I started hearing things. At first, I thought it was a ghost, but ... It sounded normal. Creepy as hay, the way they laughed, and muttered, but normal. It was the sound of a filly." Twilight said. "I... I thought I was just imagining it. You know, this mansion plays tricks with your head... mostly because I didn't see anything in the hallway. Then again, I didn't really investigate. I had to save you, after all." "Really? D-do you think that one of my friends could be there?" Sweetie asked. "If you’re feeling brave enough... it's a place to start looking." Twilight said. "Okay then. I guess I'm off then. I feel the best I've felt all night now, so if I could keep myself safe before, nothing can stop me now!" Sweetie said, taking the nozzle of the GCD out of the spirit printer. She headed for the door to the safe room and stopped. "Um... Twilight?" "Yes Sweetie?" Twilight said. "Um... promise me you won't leave here again? I mean, not unless it's urgent, or you have no choice or-" Sweetie was stopped by the waving hoof of Twilight. "Don't worry about that Sweetie. I can barely run anywhere until my hoof has healed." she smiled. "And besides, I've still got to figure out how to resurrect my friend from the dead. Trust me, I'll be too busy to worry about what's out there. I won't be going anywhere." "Ok. Just making sure." Sweetie said. "I'll bring back whoever I find, ok?" "Alright Sweetie. Remember, be careful, and stay out of trouble." Yeah, like that'll be easy. Sweetie said as Twilight opened the door to the safe zone, and Sweetie walked back out into the cold of the mansion. *** Sweetie headed back out to the candle lit foyer. She took her map out of her saddlebags, checking for her destination. According to the map and Sweetie's own memory, there were three doors at the top of that stairway. The one farthest to the left should have been the hallway where her bedroom was. Evidently the same hallway Twilight claimed to hear the filly laughter come from. The thought that her friend could possibly behind that door and just down the hall gave Sweetie mixed feelings. The idea of being reunited with one of her friends was exciting in itself, however since that story Twilight told with Scootaloo, she couldn't help but worry. What if it was Scootaloo? And what if what happened to Spike happened to her as well? She shook her head. One point or another, she'd have to face all of her friends. The Elements of Harmony and if it came to it, her fellow crusaders. Now wasn't the time to be afraid. With this mindset did Sweetie find the courage to walk up the staircase and head to the door. Suddenly, as the filly put her hoof on the door knob, everything went dark again. "What the-" There was a woosh that went throughout the foyer, as though a gust of wind rushed through. The candles were blown out by a that wind with no source. -Something's coming. Sweetie panicked, trying to open the door. The problem was, that it was locked. "No, no, no. Don't tell me I need another key." She shined the light on the door, to confirm her suspicions. "No. No way." Her suspicions were wrong. Dead wrong. "There's no hole. There's no hole!" There wasn't even a key hole. W-what?! How am I supposed to get through no- Sweetie's thoughts are interrupted by the sound of ghostly laughter. Immediately after the laugh, a red pony ghost phased through the door, just short of scaring the life out of Sweetie. It had a long tongue that stuck out of its mouth as if it were licking it's lips at the filly. She screamed, jumped back, and tripped over her hind legs. The next thing she knew, she was tumbling back down the stare case, due to some misplaced footing. She fell to the bottom, and lied there in a daze and moaning in pain. She shook her head, and got back up. "No... no way!" There wasn't just one of these ghosts. There were three of these red ghosts, one from each door, coming down after her now. Sweetie was outnumbered three to one. It wasn't looking good for the little filly. The chill was unbearable as her teeth chattered and her body became stiff from the cold aura the three ghosts emitted. Sweetie backed up as the ghosts approached her. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. Sweetie thought over and over as the distance between her and the ghosts seemed to become smaller and smaller. They let out wet, slobbery laughs, as if they were licking their lips as they laughed at her fear. Their elongated tongues swung side to side with the whisps that used to be their lower half like the pendulum of a grandfather clock. Just as she was about to touch her flank to the fountain, she gritted her teeth. What am I doing? C'mon Sweetie! Move! Sweetie knew this was just short of impossible. But if she didn't do something she would more than certainly join the fate of the rest of her friends. "No..." Yes, this was bad, and probably impossible, but she wasn't prepared to lose without a fight. "Aaah!" Sweetie gave a mad cry as she took her flashlight out with her hoof, clicked it on, and fiercely swept the three with the light from the flashlight. Between the speed of the swing, and how hard it was to keep a hold of the device in her hooves in the first place, the flashlight flew out of her hooves and across the foyer, stopping against the wall. It flickered a little as it rolled to a stop, though remained on for the time being. Ding! Ding! Ding! But that didn't matter at the moment. Those dings were her cue. She then aimed for the ghost at the center of the pack with the nozzle of the GCD. She hit the button and started to suck the first ghost in. 10, 9, 8, --Remember the yank-- yank, 765- The other ghosts vanished as the middle one struggled to get away from her. They were likely restoring whatever shield from the GCD suction the flashlight had destroyed. Like the last one, the ghost dragged Sweetie around the foyer. As she rammed into various walls as the ghost tried to shake her off, she couldn't help wishing she ate more back in Ponyville. She was sure she'd receive more bruises from the ghost running away from her than she would it attacking her. "3. 2, 1, 0. Magic depleted. Capturing ghost." The ghost let out one final cry before getting captured. "Capture successful." "Alright..." Not bad. She got one. "One down, two to go. Now, where are you...?" Sweetie said to herself, trying to keep her calm in the dark chilled foyer. She blinked. The flashlight. Here she was looking for another ghost to fight, and she didn't realize she didn't have anything to fight it with. Sweetie rushed for the wall her flashlight was against. Just as she was almost at the door, one of the red ghosts phased through the wall for a surprise attack. "Gah!" Sweetie had to much forward momentum to stop. Instead, she tossed herself on her side to duck down as low as possible. The ghost flew over her, skimming her coat with the maddening chill. She then scrambled up, stuck the flashlight in her mouth and whirled around. The ghost was still flying in the same direction. Sweetie looked at it with a puzzled expression for a moment. From behind her, she heard another laugh. "Oh no way." Before she could make another move, the filly was then greeted with a swift whip on her flank. "Wah!" Sweetie was knocked forward by the whip like tongue of the other ghost in the wall onto her face. "Hehehe*slurp*hehehehehaha*slurp*haha" Both ghosts now looked at her from a distance and laughed at her as Sweetie got up annoyed. "Oh, I'll give you something to laugh about." With her new found vendetta against the ghost who's tongue went where no tongue should ever touch little fillies, she whirled around as fast as she could and hit the red ghost with the beam of light. "Hehe-" while the other ghost continued laughing, the one in Sweetie's beam expression changed to horror. Ding! Second verse. Same as the first. Sweetie aimed the GCD at the ghost, pulling it into its suction, and was again dragged around by it. 7, 6, 5 yank, 432- Over the sound of the vacuum Sweetie may not have heard the laughter stop, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw the second ghost charge at her. She had no chance of dodging the cold, icy tongue of the ghost, as it wrapped itself around Sweetie's foreleg. The same foreleg keeping the suction button for the GCD held down. The intense chill shot through her leg as she was forced to let go of the button and in turn the ghost she was capturing. From the momentum of the ghost dragging her, she was thrown in the opposite direction of both ghosts. Thankfully, the ghost let go of her leg to let her fly. A few items, such as her flashlight, her ball and Applejack's hat fell. The ghost she was catching dissipated into the darkness out of Sweetie's reach. She was in pain, but she knew she didn't have the luxury of worrying about it then. "Hehehe*slurp*haha!" After all, the ghosts weren't just laughing at her. The ghost that had just attacked her was laughing while rushing at her again. Sweetie wasted no time in getting back up, getting her flashlight, and shining it on the ghost just before it managed to have another lick. Ding! Sweetie aimed for the ghost who hit her, and sucked it in. "10, 9 yank 8765, 4, yank, 3210. Magic depleted. Capturing ghost." The ghost is forced into the GCD. Finally, the last ghost re-appears. It looked around, seeing that it's buddies had gone. "What's wrong?!" Sweetie taunted the ghost. "Your haven't got your gang of ghoulies to back you up anymore?" The ghost pony looked at Sweetie, terrified. She aimed her light at the ghost, and begun to suck it in. Rather than starting back at 10, the GCD started from 0 and captured the ghost nearly instantly. "Capture successful. Ghost Capture Device at 50 percent." "Heh... heh heh." Well what do you know? To Sweetie's surprise, once the adrenaline began dying down, she came to the conscious conclusion that she was still alive. At least by the way her body hurt. As if to reward her victory, to Sweetie's relief the candles in the foyer re-lit themselves, and the foyer was with light once more. Sweetie sighed, happily for that little battle to be over and to not have to rely solely on her flashlight to see. Sweetie went over to pick up and put back on Applejack's hat, and any other bits and bobs that fell out of her saddlebags. Sweetie then heard a faint click come from the top of the stairs. Did that mean that the doors were unlocked now? "Oh... so that's how that works huh?" Sweetie headed back up the staircase too the door. Sweetie was about to touch the knob, but hesitated, as the last time she touched that knob, she was ambushed by those new ghosts. Sweetie pushed aside her paranoia, deciding that even if something else did happen, it wasn't like she would be progressing any further anyway if she just stood there. Sweetie opened the door to the hallway, and entered it's darkness. Sweetie walked down the hallway cautiously. As she continued to walk, she felt colder and colder, like a ghost should have been around there. Despite this, nothing popped out to scare her. Though the filly was okay with not being scared out of her coat, it only made her more tense as she continued to move. Sweetie passed what she assumed to be her bedroom, where she first saw the butler ghost pony. Sweetie's mind crossed Spiffy, the butler that first greeted her and brought her into the mansion. She wondered if he, and even every butler she saw were ghosts, disguised as regular ponies. She wondered where the butler was now, and what his role in all of this was. "Weird." From the little time she knew them before this whole mess started (or perhaps Sweetie became aware of said mess), Sweetie got the faint impression Specter, seemed to favor Spiffy over the other butlers. Even more, of all the ones she observed, he seemed to be the only one who managed to crack something resembling a smile when she walked with him. So did that mean he was special somehow? Was he like her friends and some victim of Specter, or whatever entity brought out the fate of this mansion? As she pondered, Sweetie continued down the extensive hallway. She had no idea that it was so large, but then again, such a large mansion was bound to have some long hall- Sweetie stopped dead in her tracks. She heard it now. It was the sound... the laughter of a filly about Sweetie's age. Maybe a year older. She didn't sound ghostly at all, just like Twilight described. Creepy. Not insane or ghost like, just creepy. Then again any subtle sound in this hallway would set Sweetie on edge, especially considering what kind of things wandered the mansion. It echoed through the hallway, but Sweetie couldn't tell where she was echoing from. It sounded familiar, but at the same time so foreign. "Hello? Who's there?" Sweetie called. "Please come out!" The laughter stopped. It then changed to crying, from the same filly. Cold sweat rolled down the filly's fore head. She was beyond tension now, and just plain paranoid. What was going on here? Where was that filly? Better yet, who was that filly? Sweetie suddenly felt dizzy momentarily, as if she'd just lost her equilibrium. As the dizziness went away, her vision became slightly distorted. She blinked twice and shook her head to attempt to get rid of it, but it wouldn't go away. --Not your eyes. It wasn't her eyes. It was something else.She shined her flashlight around the hallway, shocked to see that it was changing before her very eyes. When she looked more directly at the walls and ceiling around her, she nearly dropped her flashlight in shock. Ooze. Sweetie saw silver ooze coming out of the walls of the hallway. It was like incredibly thick mercury seeping through the tiniest cracks in all of the walls of the hallway. Anything in the hall was getting covered in the metallic ooze. Sweetie tried to stay away from the grey substance, but it wasn't long before it seeped on the floor covering the hallway marble floor and rug in the stuff. Sweetie found herself stepping in the ooze, against her will. It wasn't uncomfortable per say, but it was wrong. It was as though she were stepping into something not made of atoms or matter, but just empty space. Something she should have been infinitely falling through but remained on top. Something that shouldn't exist in the world. She thought of trying to go into one of the rooms, and get on top of a piece of furniture, to escape it, but all exits were blocked by it. Once every corner of the hallway was covered in the grey ooze, it suddenly shifted into either a wall, floor or ceiling. Once all of this was done, the hallway Sweetie knew was gone. The walls, floor, and ceiling of Sweetie's surroundings had turned into a fully reflected surface. The bedroom hallway had somehow become a hall of mirrors. "What... the..." She was afraid, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't awed at the sudden change in scenery, and the infinite Sweetie Belles to either side of her. The mansion changes around... Sweetie thought, remembering Twilight's warnings. Sweetie reached into her saddlebags to obtain her map. She looks at it, to find that she indeed was no longer in the bedroom hallway. The map registered her to be in a basement level of the mansion. "Level B-6... does that mean I'm 6 floors underground?" Sweetie said to herself. "I guess that means I'm... six under?" Sweetie chuckled, followed by a disgusted shudder at her own bad joke in an attempt at making herself feel a little less uneasy. "...who has a floor made entirely of mirrors anyway?" She noticed that the mirrored hallway is actually decently lit and therefore, there wasn't any reason to keep her flashlight on. She shut it off and put it in her saddlebags for safe keeping. The way the light bounced around the room, along with the mirrors reflecting off of each other was disorienting to the filly. From the many Sweetie Belles in the room she could see herself through the mirror, with her GCD, her new hat, green eyes, light mulberry mane, white coat, and two battle tongue mark the last ghost had left on it. "I can't believe that thing licked my butt." she shuddered. Less than two hours had passed and she'd already been violated enough physically and mentally to last her a lifetime. It was then she realized. She hadn't shuddered to what she was saying, but shivering. The place was incredibly cold. The coldest she'd experienced yet. No doubt about it, there was a powerful ghost nearby. The crying filly. Sweetie heard a filly crying now. It sounded like the same filly that was laughing earlier. She looked off in the direction she heard it from to see the filly. They were curled up in a ball, hiding her face. Her coat was dulled from its original color, but Sweetie was sure she knew who the filly was. It's rounded red mane and tail, and giant red bow. No doubt, the sad little filly in the hallway was Applebloom. She had been in the hall for a good minute, why hadn't she noticed her before? "Applebloom!" Sweetie said as she ran for the filly. It wasn't long however, before she hit a surface, falling back on her flank. Sweetie shook her head as she got back up. "Dumb wall." --Nope! Sweetie looked at her map. Sure enough, she was facing another mirror, according to it. "...dumb mirror." --There you go! Even more, she was facing the wrong way. She was facing a dead end. One of the infinite mirrors that held Applebloom's image lying idly in the hall. The mirrored hallway made it impossible to navigate by sight. Sweetie knew she wasn't going to go far without the map in the mirrored hallway. Every few steps, Sweetie looked at her map to tell she was going the right way. She made several turns, realizing the network of hallways was larger than she'd expected as she counted at least 20 steps before each turn. If it wasn't for the map, Sweetie wasn't sure how she'd be able to navigate to her friend, or even find an exit. "Then again..." this was a hallway of mirrors. And she had a teleporting camera that worked with them. Perhaps just taking a picture of a mirror would get her out of there. Though she'd worry about that later. Sweetie finally found herself almost there. All she had to do was round one corner and suddenly, as she approached the corner, she heard something. Not another laugh, or cry but singing. Someone in the hallway was singing a lullaby, Sweetie recognized. "♩Hush now, quiet now, It's time to lay your sleepy head...♩" --Hush now quiet now it's time to go to bed. The song was so blatantly familiar, she felt an impulse to break into song herself. As Sweetie looked up from the map, as she turned the corner. She saw another figure. A mare. A transparent mare that for some odd reason didn't show up in any of the mirrors. She looked down at Applebloom, as she was curled up, facing away from the ghost mare. Staring at Sweetie blankly as if she wasn't even there. As she stroked Applebloom's mane, Sweetie spied a glowing heart floated inside of the mare's see through body. Too familiar. Could that possibly be one of the hearts? Sweetie didn't quite understand what she was doing with or to Applebloom, but she didn't try to. All that mattered to the filly was who this mare was. Sweetie could tell from the pink mane, and yellow coat. "Flutter-?" Sweetie asked. Bah. Sweetie's impulse to call the mare and make the same mistake as before as she did with Applejack. The same mistake that nearly got her killed the last time. The ghost mare stopped singing, which raised Sweetie's caution level. She had to be prepared herself for a fight. The mare turned around to look at the filly. She grinned evilly. No. Not a grin. Not even a sneer, but a real, meaningful smile. "Sweetie Belle..." Fluttershy said. "Your... your here." Sweetie couldn't believe this was the ghost version of Fluttershy. When she saw Applejack, she was entirely different from her original personality. It may have started out vaguely like her, but it turned into something evil, maniacal, and psychotic and bent on Sweetie's destruction. This Fluttershy, was the Fluttershy though. The one Sweetie remembered. No, no, stay focused Sweetie. She'll change any second. Kind. Come on, don't let her get to you. Calming. Stay focused. Sweet. I have to stay focused or I'll die. Lovely. She still had that quiet nature about her voice, even if it was a little echoy. Her smile, rather than making Sweetie's skin crawl, made her feel good. It wasn't warm like usual, but it still felt like Fluttershy. "Fluttershy... what... what are you doing?" Sweetie said. She was beginning to forget the fact she was a ghost. She looked into her eyes, as they sweetly looked back. "Oh, I'm sorry." Fluttershy said. "I was just... I found Applebloom in this hallway, and she was scared. I was singing to her, trying to help her feel better. Stroking her to calm her down. She was crying and... and it just broke my..." she seemed like she was getting ready to cry. Sweetie thought of going over to look at Applebloom to make sure she was ok. Then again, Fluttershy would have done that already, right? Sweetie just didn't want to take her eyes away from Fluttershy's. And besides, the idea of moving seemed so unattractive. "Oh, ok." Sweetie said dumbly. Something was wrong, but her brain wasn't processing anything but the mare and her eyes. Something was creeping in the back of Sweetie's mind, trying to warn her of something. "I'm sorry Sweetie... um..." she bowed her head slightly as though she were guilty of something. Sweetie bowed her head slightly. "It's okay." "Well..." She raised her head. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but... how did you get here?" Fluttershy asked politely. "I, uh... I took... I took a plane..." Sweetie raised her head. "I took a plane with the Cutie Mark Crusaders... I crashed... I crashed and... found the mansion." Sweetie said. --Cold --So cold Sweetie felt cold. She could see mist coming from her breath as she was locked in the eyes of the mare. "Oh... A plane? I... I think I saw one of those around here..." Fluttershy said tilting her head to the side. "A-" Sweetie said, standing perfectly still. The mare started to approach her. Sweetie didn't move. Sweetie couldn't move. Her mind didn't move. Her mind couldn't move. Her body and even her mind were freezing cold, as the mare continued to stare at her. "W...w....what....w....w..." Why can't I move? Another 'innocent' smile. "Don't worry Sweetie. Were you worried about the plane? Oh, you must have worked hard on it..." Fluttershy floated lightly over Applebloom and continued her approach, maintaining that eye contact. "The plane is fine though... oh, I wouldn't want you to worry about it, so please don't... if that's okay." Let...- me...- g- "I know where it is... I saw it hanging somewhere. Here, let me whisper where it is in your ear..." Fluttershy said, getting closer to her. "N...no... Fl...tersh..." Two. Two. Two. Sweetie had made two dumb mistakes when she confronted Fluttershy as she finally realized what was going on. Fluttershy's stare. She had used her stare to capture the little filly. Sweetie had disregarded the ghost's kindness as Fluttershy, and succumb to the mare's town-famous ability. Her stare was able to render any animal, or in this case, any pony paralyzed as long as they remained locked with her eyes. As a ghost however, Sweetie body wasn't just paralyzed but her mind as well was slowing down to a crawl. She was cold, freezing the little filly's body all the way through. It was like some kind of death stare. "F... Fluttershy... please... don't..." Sweetie said, trying to break free of the mare's power. "It's ok Sweetie..." Fluttershy smiled sweetly, as she came closer to her. "It's fine... relax..." --Twitch --Liar. --Get away from me liar. "N...no... no! NO!" Sweetie yelled. She didn't know where she got that. That surge of (will? power?). But she somehow managed to jolt her head to the side. She felt herself somehow break free from Fluttershy's spell. Sweetie turned around the next corner and ran from the mare. Sweetie tried to remember where to go, estimating where she had to turn, not having enough time to look back at the map. Fluttershy didn't chase her, but rather calmly walked after her. She either wasn't in the mood for a chase, or was fairly confident Sweetie didn't have a prayer of finding the exit to the maze of mirrors. As she ran, Fluttershy appeared in every mirror in the hallway. "Don't run Sweetie... I'm sorry... Please don't leave me... I get scared when I'm alone... Don't you?" Fluttershy said through the mirror. "Ah!" Sweetie screamed. Everywhere she looked, she only saw Fluttershy and her eyes. She would catch her again if she looked long enough. Sweetie shut her eyes, determined not to be caught in the death stare's spell again. Sweetie thought hard. Maybe if she could get to her book, she could figure out how to catch her. The problem was that if Sweetie opened up her eyes again, she'd be caught by Fluttershy again. There had to be something she could do. Sweetie got an idea, as she felt the metal tip of the nozzle of the GCD. She wondered if it was hard enough to- With a wild cry, Sweetie started to blindly swing at the mirrored walls of the hallway. She heard the sound of glass breaking. Sweetie swung at each wall of the hallway a few times to ensure that it would be broken when she opened her eyes. The next thing Sweetie broke was the mirrored floor. She slammed it with the nozzle of the GCD, breaking it as well. Sweetie then slightly opened her eyes to see her handiwork. The panels of mirror immediately around Sweetie were ruined. Sweetie could still see bits and pieces if the Fluttershy ghost, but it wasn't connected enough for the stare to have any effect on her. "She'll be here any second." she reminded herself. Sweetie wasted no time in reaching into her saddlebags to find her ghost book. She snatched it out as her hoof grazed it's spine. She placed it on the ground and proceeded to flip through the pages. There were three new entries. The first one was of the red ghost pony. Licker Ghost Gender: Male Desc: This one's one of my favorites. Probably one of your least, but we all have our own opinions right? The licker ghost is a red ghost, known for its long tongue. It's attack consists of whipping it's victims repeatedly with its tongue. Process that anyway you like. It usually travels in packs of at least three or more. Like other normal ghosts, it is vulnerable to light. It will also get scared automatically if it finds itself alone, and it's pack gone. Don't take the ghosts on one by one. They move as a team, and will attack if a comrade is in danger. If there aren't enough to take power away from it, use a source of light to get all of the ghosts at once, and aim for one. Repeat this until all but one remains. I think you know what to do when that happens. Weakness: Light That was useless. Sweetie fliped the page to find a picture of the GCD. Sweetie was puzzled, as this was the first time that had happened. Why did the GCD have an entry? Sweetie quickly scanned the page. Info: Spectral Throwback Congratulations for finally opening the book again! I thought you'd forgotten it existed. In any case, by now, your GCD should have its new feature up and running. You wouldn't know that because you’re so forgetful don't check me regularly. The feature is known as Spectral Throwback. This allows you to take any ghost you find and throw them back up in an ectoplasmic ball that can damage other ghosts. Don't worry though. The Ghost Capture Device should expel the ghosts in accordance to the strength of the ghost, so don't worry about your portrait ghosts getting lost. Though I think I'll let you figure it out how to get it to work, rather than tell you myself. Happy hunting! A new feature? Though the prospect of a new ability was intriguing, she didn't have time to experiment with the GCD now. Sweetie flipped to the next page to find the picture of Fluttershy. "Here we go." Portrait of Kindness Gender: Female Bio: The Portrait of Kindness... one of the nicest ghosts that will try for your life. She is one of the few ghosts that will try to make your death as pleasant as possible. The Portrait of Kindness cannot and will not attack you by any means of physical abuse. Instead, she will use a death stare: A paralyzing stare that takes away life force the longer she looks at you. Keep in mind however, paralysis only occurs if you look at her eyes. Paralysis also occurs if she is but a few feet away from you, so keep that in mind as well physically. Thankfully however the ability of physical stare is weakened through any reflection of the stare. In other words, you can't get too close as she's facing you, making it all the more difficult for her to be caught. Though you cannot get too close to her, she doesn't have a magic barrier to break. That's all I've got for you... and unless you figure out how to get close enough to her without getting frozen... your doomed. None the less, good luck kid. Main Weakness: Kindness? "That's not helpful!" Sweetie yelled at the book. "Dumb book!" She would die. Sure it was nice to know that there was no magical barrier she needed to break, but unless there was some kind of weakness, she couldn't get close to her in such a narrow hallway with no hiding places. She was a sitting duck. Sweetie looked up to face Fluttershy, standing over her. Sweetie is paralyzed again. This time, Fluttershy's stare was too close and intense for the filly to have any hope in breaking it again. Fluttershy touched her body, and turned her around so that she would face her. This time, there was no Fluttrshy, no matter how well this version pretended to act like her. Her freezing hooves reminded the filly that she was still a ghost out to get her. Her freezing hooves told Sweetie wordlessly that there was no escape now. "Don't try to run again please." Fluttershy said gently. "This will be all over soon. Then, I'll take you to Rarity. Does that sound ok?" T...hat...w... Sweetie was unable to speak by now. She was unable to think as well. Fluttershy smiled as she gently opened the filly's mouth, which stayed open like a lid to a jar. "And I promise she never meant anything by what she said... she's just stressed..." Fluttershy said something strange as she reached down the filly's throat, cutting off her air once again. Fluttershy grabbed a hold of what Sweetie assumed to be her spirit. She once again, felt herself loosing consciousness. Sweetie was helpless to stop the mare. She was going to die now, and there was nothing she could do about it. Nothing she could do now. Nothing. To neither the mare's or the filly's awareness, Applebloom had gotten up while these events transpired. She looked mistily at the mare who was stealing her friend's spirit. Applebloom felt the ice cold blood in her body warming as she charged at the Portrait of Kindness. Her color was faintly returning. Applebloom leaped at Fluttershy, who she went right through... however, she didn't go through Sweetie Belle. Applebloom crashed into Sweetie, knocking her out of Fluttershy's hold, and both to the ground. Applebloom is thrown further down the hallway than Sweetie. Fluttershy gasped in horror. "Oh no." Fluttershy went over to comfort Applebloom floating past Sweetie. She weakly got to her feet, looking at the flank of the mare. She was close enough now, and could move. This was her chance! It was now or never. "I'm so sorry. Are you alright Applebloom? Are you h-" Sweetie aimed the GCD at Fluttershy and got her caught in the hold of its suction. "Ah!" Fluttershy screamed pathetically. "30, 29 yank, 28272625, 24" the GCD said. Fluttershy screamed in terror. Unlike the previous portrait ghost however, she didn't try slamming her against the mirrored walls. She just flapped her wings furiously, trying to escape the suction of the GCD. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you I just-!" Fluttershy cried, ghostly tears streaming down her face, as they were also sucked into the GCD. Sweetie couldn't help but feel bad for the ghost version of Fluttershy. Even if she was trying to kill her. "10, 9, 8 yank, 7654, 3, 2, 1, 0. Magic depleted. Capturing ghost." The GCD said. Suddenly, Sweetie realized. Wait a sec. This was a portrait ghost... does that mean that... ah hay. Sweetie thought as she shut her eyes, anticipating what would happen next. A yellow lightning bolt stemmed from Fluttershy to Sweetie as they both screamed out in pain. The lightning bolt seemed to pull the pegasus into the GCD, even though it was coming from Fluttershy to begin with. Sweetie held the button to the GCD as hard as she could, until the deed was done. "Ghost capture successful." The heart that was previously inside of the mare dropped to the ground with a few taps. Sweetie collapsed to the ground for a moment to rest. Just like before, she was weak, and barely able to move. Then she remembered. "The heart..." Sweetie thought. Fluttershy must have gotten a hold of one of the ones the ghosts stole from Twilight. Sweetie crawled over to the heart candy, and proceeded to put it in her mouth. It froze her tongue momentarily, due to the cold of Fluttershy's body. It was almost like eating a piece of wildly flavored ice. It was moments before Sweetie got up again feeling back to normal. "Heh... what do you know? Two miracles in a row." Yes. It was a miracle that Fluttershy had happened to consume one of the hearts. And yes. It had been a miracle that Applebloom had come to save her like that. "...!" Sweetie's looked over at Applebloom who was still shivering. "Applebloom!" Sweetie quickly went over to her friend, who lie on the floor chattering her teeth. She was still getting her color back from being virtually frozen alive by Fluttershy's stare. Still, she was alright. Sweetie's friend was still alive. "Applebloom..." Sweetie said. "T-t-that...tha' was s-s-o... c-c-ool." Applebloom chattered. She gave a weak smile at her friend, who smiled back. "Here Applebloom." Sweetie went into her saddlebags to take out her Cutie Mark Crusader cape. "Put this on. It might help a little." "W-wha' the h-hay h-h-happened-" Applebloom asked, for the first time, seeing the rips in the symbol of their group. "Just put it on before you catch something." Sweetie ordered. Applebloom obeyed Sweetie and took the cape. She curled up under it, trying to regain her body heat. "S-s-sweetie Belle?" Applebloom said. "Yeah?" Sweetie asked. "T-t-tha... thanks..." she said. Sweetie simply smiled at her friend. She looked into her eyes, as they fluttered shut. "...huh." Sweetie said as she went into her saddlebags to fish our the camera. "Weird." As she prepared to use the teleportation camera, Sweetie felt something was off. It was different from what Sweetie could remember. And for the life of Sweetie, she couldn't put her hoof on what was so peculiar about those eyes. [Continue] Author's Note Inventory: GCD, <3, Map, Camera, CMC Blanket, CMC Ball Infinite Sweetie Belles
Chapter 7- The Giggling Ghostie[REBOOT]"You let that ill filly do WHAT?!" After the outburst, there was a moment of silence. The air was tense as rage flamed from Applejack's snout. "Shhh-! Don't do that!" Twilight complained, stopping the flow of magic from her horn. "If I mess this up, you might have to live the rest of your life flankless." Applejack was sticking out of her portrait, her head, neck and parts of her upper body exposed. Other parts, like the lower half of her forelegs, and lower body were still in the painting. Twilight was on the side of the painting, focusing her magic as hard as she could in order to continue to materialize her friend. It hadn't taken long after Sweetie left for Twilight to figure out how to begin the paint re-animation spell. The process was tedious to the mare, but at least it was working. She was getting her friend back. Once Applejack's head was out of the painting, she seemed to wake up, most likely due to her new physical brain activating. She kept up this process, while also using a low level healing spell on her brain, to make up for the brain cells she was losing due to lack of blood and oxygen. To be honest, Twilight thought that she could do it much quicker than she was now, if only her magic wasn't so weak. Though she had to be thankful. She could be so weak that she couldn't do something like this at all. Once Applejack's upper body was formed however, she was able to speak, and boy did she have some questions. Applejack didn't seem to remember being ghostified, but only coming to the mansion, and everything going black. Twilight explained that the mansion seemed to be haunted by ghosts controlled by their host Specter. Then came the question: If she was ghostified, how did she get her body back. After some pressing, tired Twilight was then forced to explain that due to her own weakness magically and physically, she'd entrusted Sweetie, the school-aged filly, and probably the worst person to deal with such a situation, to capture her murderous friends. "What the hay is wrong wit' you..." Applejack muttered, trying to tame herself at the threat she could become a paraplegic. "Will you stop already?" She sighed. "Look, I know it sounds like, but listen. I couldn't stop her, she was stubborn and... well, I didn't have a chance. Look, I know it was a stupid-" "Stupid? Tha' ain't even beginin' to describe what you did." Applejack criticized. "Tha' was careless! How could ya-" "What else was I supposed to do?" Twilight asked sharply. "I'm too weak to save you guys, and stop her to begin with. I tried to talk her out of it. Believe me I did." "Twi. What'd you think that Rarity’s say if she found that ill filly got gobbled up by one of them ghosts?" "You don't think I don't know that?!" Twilight cried. "I did everything I could, but I couldn't change anything Applejack. I'm sorry. I know it was stupid. Just a stupid old mare..." Tears rolled down the mare's face. "...Twilig... ahm sorry. I didn't mean ta make ya cry." Applejack started. "...Ah guess I juts’ know how Rarity’s feel if something'... ya know like' if something’d happen ta Applebloom." Twilight wiped her tears from her wrinkled cheeks and nodded. "I know... I just... I just I know I'm the one who's supposed to be out there." "Ah know. Ah know. Ah shoulda figured ya would've tried yer hardest to keep her out a harm." Applejack sighed and bowed her head down. After another few moments of silence, a new sound entered the room. Something besides the hum of the walls or the silence between the two. A whirling sound. Both of the mare's attention went to the back of the room as they saw a green light swirling around an area in front of a mirror with a mirrored frame. The sound came so suddenly as they were talking that it had shocked Twilight, and even caused Applejack to jump up in the air with the painting still attached to her unfinished body. "What in tarnation?!" Applejack exclaimed. "What in the hay is that?" "That... that must be her now. She must be using that magic camera I gave her." Twilight said. "Magic wha?" Applejack asked, confused. Sweetie Belle materialized in the room in front of the mirror. Though she wasn't alone. While she was still holding up the camera at the mirror with her right hoof, her left hoof had another filly, which she cradled around her neck, keeping her propped up. Once the whirling had stopped, the two mares could see the two fillies in greater detail. The filly Sweetie held was curled up under a red tattered blanket like piece of cloth with the Cutie Mark Crusader emblem of another caped filly on it. Though at first, neither of the two mares could tell who the new filly was at first, once Sweetie laid the filly down, exposing the red mane, and bow- "APPLEBLOOM!" Applejack exclaimed. "Aw no. Applebloom!" The filly lied there motionless, as the apple-bucking pony called after her. The trip back from the mirrored hallway had been disorienting to the filly, so she didn't even acknowledge the worried outbursts of Applejack at first. Sweetie shook her head, trying to regain her equilibrium, as the world seemed to move unsteadily. Once it stopped moving, and Sweetie's normal eyesight returned, so did her hearing. She looked up at the Applejack and Twilight. "Oh... hey guys." Sweetie said, still feeling a bit detached from reality. "How's it going?" "Sweetie... Is she..." Twilight asked, looking at Applebloom, lying on the ground. "Oh, yeah... she's fine. She just a little tired from being frozen. I guess." Sweetie said. "F-frozen? Is that what ya just said?" Applejack asked. "Yeah..." Sweetie smiled. "It was a close one... I don't think she would've lasted much longer if I didn't find her... I doubt I'd even be here if it wasn't for her to begin with..." Sweetie gave her head another shake, fully waking up her mind. "Hey! You figured out how to bring Applejack back!" "Yes I did." Twilight smiled slightly. "...only kind of though. It was easier than I thought too. Besides a couple extra precautions I had to make while I was materializing her, all I had to do was just pump the painting with a bunch of magic. The spell's so simple, you could even do it if you did it fast enough." "Nah. Probably not. I'm no good at magic, you know that." "Sweetie." Applejack said to herself. then something hit her. Hard. "SWEETIE!" "Gah!" Sweetie screamed in shock. "Don't do that! You'll give me a heart attack." "Guess it just comes with the revival." Twilight mumbled. Applejack on the other hand wasn't joking. Just by looking at the filly, memories rushed back to the apple-bucker's mind of that night. Or rather the most recent ones. It seemed so dream like, but at the same time so vivid. She might have still thought it was a dream if she didn't spy the hat on Sweetie's head. She remembered bucking a tree for a while. Sweetie coming in. The two talking for a while. Making Sweetie break her hoof. Then trying to kill Sweetie with apples bucked at speeds that might put Rainbow Dash to shame. "Aw Sweetie. Ya know I didn't mean it, ahm sorry!" "Huh?" Sweetie looked at Applejack puzzled. Then she'd remembered. Sweetie supposed that since it's already happened so many times that night, that she'd almost forgotten that Applejack did try to kill her. "Ah don't blame yeh if ya hate me or anythin' but ah didn't know wat I was doin' and... and..." Applejack hung her head low in shame. "Ah... ah didn't mean ta hurt ya... ah couldn't control mahself ta..." "Applejack, it's okay." Sweetie smiled. "It's not like you hurt me or anything." "Don't lie Sweetie, especially to me!" Applejack exclaimed. "Ah... made ya break yer hoof, and tried ta bash yer skull in with apples an' buckin' ya across the room... Ah remember... laughin' at ya ah..." Truth be told, Sweetie had forgotten about the hoof fracture and that pain in her side. It had been healed rather quickly, thanks to Twilight's heart treat. Applejack was obviously extremely hung over all of this, while Sweetie was much more indifferent about it all. Sweetie went over to Applejack and embraced the half-finished mare. "I'm not mad at you Applejack. Honest." Sweetie promised. "Ah... Ahm sorry..." Applejack said back hanging her head in shame. "I know. I know... oh yeah! By the way," Sweetie broke the hug to stand in front of the mare. "I think this is yours." Sweetie said taking off the mare's hat and placing it on her head. Applejack however, shook her head. "Nah... ah want ya ta hold it for a li'l longer. Fer good luck. Least till ahm out of this painting." Applejack said. Sweetie nodded and placed the hat back on her own head. Good luck huh? Sweetie thought. She'd definitely need that. "So... did you find another?" Twilight asked. "Find another wha'?" Applejack asked. "Well, as I told you, Sweetie's been using that little pack on her back to capture ghosts. That's how she brought you here." Twilight said. "Ah, righ'. The reason ahm in this thing. Brought back another though? Like one of our friends?" "Yeah, I caught another one of the portrait ghosts." Sweetie explained. "Portrait whats?" Applejack asked. "Ahm sorry, but ahm not rightly sure ah understand tha part." "Hm. Is that what the book calls us?" Twilight suggested Sweetie nodded. "Ah. Alrigh'." "Alright well..." Twilight said. "... you came back. Did you get anyone? Or just Applebloom?" "Yeah! This time, it was Fluttershy." Sweetie said. "Fluttershy?" both Applejack and Twilight said. "I guess that explains why it didn't take so long huh? She probably wasn't that hard to capture." Twilight supposed. "Actually... like I said, I'd probably have been done for if Applebloom didn't come along. She was killing Applebloom when I first saw her... just by looking at her." "Really now?" Twilight asked intrigued. "Yeah, with an alternate version of her stare. And tricking me by being really nice." "Hm... Applejack, and you said you killed her by using your bucking?" Applejack nodded. "Hm. I suppose these portrait ghosts use their talents to kill whoever they fight oppose to having generic powers of whatever ghost type they turn into." Twilight hypothesized. Sweetie nodded in agreement. That made sense, especially considering that both Applejack and Fluttershy still had their cutie marks. Definitely something she had to keep in mind. "In any case, we had better put her through the spirit printer." Sweetie nodded, and went over to the machine. She stuck the nozzle in the hole. "Processing..." the spirit printer said. The machine made several mechanical sounds as it took the ghosts out of Sweetie's GCD. The lights on Sweetie's pack all went red once again. The ghosts went through the machine. The three of them watched as the machine turned the ghost ponies into pieces of artwork. Rather than three paintings this time, only two came out. The first one to pop out was a portrait of a triplet of fancy looking ponies smoking something. One of the ponies let out it's long tongue as it smoked, reaching all the way down to the floor. "Somehow, I don't even want to know how those things attack." Twilight said, noticing the abnormally long tongue. "Good comment." Sweetie said, remembering how wet, slimy, cold and painful it felt on her flank. --Ugh. The final portrait to come out was of Fluttershy. She looked down shyly away from the painter, in her usual Flutter'shy' manner. She wore a dress, just like Applejack did. Her dress seemed much more organic, as it seemed it was made of leaves and flower pedals. It was tied together at her neck, with a butterfly shaped button. "Hey, I have a question. Were these the dresses you wore here?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah." Applejack replied. "They wer' all the dresses we wore to the gala. Thought, why mak' new dresses when we got some fine good ones, lyin' in our closets gatherin' dust?" "I guess that makes sense." Sweetie said. "But, then why aren't you wearing your dress like in the portrait?" "Sweetie, the painting reanimates ponies." Twilight explained. "It doesn't create clothing though. I think these portraits were ones that were taken of us and other ponies during the housewarming party." "Oh... ok." Sweetie said, as she took the nozzle of the GCD out of the spirit printer. "Well... hope you can get her talking by the time I get back. I'd better get going." "Beg yer pardon?" Applejack said. "What?" Sweetie asked. "Where do you thin' yer going?" Applejack asked. "Back out see if I can't find any pony else." Sweetie said. "Aw, no ya ain't." Applejack said. "Huh?" Sweetie said. "You ain't going back out there." Applejack said. "Why? You saw it. I caught you, Fluttershy, and about 4 of those other ghosts!" Sweetie argued. "I can take care of whatever's out there." "No, ya can't." Applejack said. "But-" Sweetie tried, but Applejack cut her off. "Listen ta me, little filly. Don't think cause ya caught a few ghosts that ya anythin' special ya hear?" Applejack said. "Ah... Ah maybe wasn't able ta really talk o move mahself, but ah saw things as a ghost. This place 's worse than ya think. Think ya've see horrible yet? Ya think ya hot stuff jus' cause ya caught two of probableh the weakest ghosts out thare? Sweetie. That's righ. Me and Fluttershy probably ain't nothin' ta what ah've seen. Ah'm only thinkin' of you, and that there idea of yers, going back out is plum crazy of you." "Well, I'm thinking of my own friends Applejack." Sweetie shot back. "I know that it's dangerous out there. To be honest, if I could, I'd stay right here, and close my eyes, trying to imagine that all of this is just a bad dream... but every second I stay here, is another second my friends could be in danger. Applebloom is here... so that means that Scootaloo is probably somewhere in the mansion too! Sure ponies have been turned into ghosts, but you saw Applebloom. Ponies can die here. And then they become those mindless... things! Right now could be a moment Scootaloo could be dying in some hallway... or even getting their spirit grabbed out of her body. No, Applejack. I... I can't stay here. No matter how scared I am... or how dangerous it is out there." Silence fills the room, aside from the humming from the walls. "Applejack..." Sweetie finally said. "You... you were a ghost, right? You wouldn't know by any chance where I could find another one of your friends... would you?" "Ah ain't tellin' you." Applejack said coldly. "Yer just a little filly over her head. Ah ain't sayin' nothin." "Ok." Sweetie shrugged as though it was nothing. "Wha'?" Applejack asked. "I guess I could just wander around the mansion, hoping I come across one." Sweetie bluffed. "And you know, If I don't have a destination, I could get lost... maybe even come across another gang of ghosts to practice on, if there aren't too many of them." Sweetie walked slowly to the door. "...Sweetie wait." Applejack said. Sweetie turned around. "Yes, Applejack?" She asked innocently, fluttering her eyes. "Ah... ah can't have you wanderin' these 'ere hallways li' that. An' since yer gonna go out anyway... n' Twi probably can't stop ya the way she is... suppose ah might as well at least tell ya where ya need ta go." Applejack closed her eyes, reaching back into her memories. "Ah remember... seein' ghosts... somewhere around the cookin' place. The kitchen. Ah remember seein' two ghosts. Ah think both of them were those our friends... what'd ya call them. Portrait ghosts?" "Portraits of Harmony technically, but go on." Sweetie said. "Now... don't be git'n all exited or anything. Ah didn't really git a good look at 'm... but ah thought one of them looked... kinda white." Applejack said. "W-white? You mean a white coat?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah. Ah think ya know wha' ah'm gettin' at 'ere." Applejack said. Sweetie smiled. "Yeah." There was only one pony that stood out in Sweetie's mind, who had a white coat. One that also happened to have a beautifully kept purple mane, and blue sparkling eyes. "Thanks Applejack." Sweetie said, going over to give the mare one last hug. "Now... once ah git outta 'ere, ya know ahma be takin over, righ'?" Applejack noted. "Righ now, I only got half of me and ah feel fine as a fiddle so..." Sweetie nodded with an "I know", understanding perfectly clear. If she could catch Rarity, she wouldn't be too keen on leaving her sister again anyway. "Be careful out there ya hear?" Applejack said as Twilight once again, opened the door for the filly. "And remember to get back as soon as you can! Come back if anything goes wrong!" Twilight said. "I know. I'll see you guys later!" Sweetie said as she headed through the door. --Pfft. Like anything's going to happen. MUSIC TIME! *** Sweetie figured Applejack had given her the closest possible place to search for her friends. It was most likely she wanted to keep her at a leg's length in case things went south though. Still, it wasn't that far, and it was the most solid lead Sweetie had received all night. Sweetie didn't have a long way to walk in order to reach the kitchen. After all, the entrance to the cooking area was just through the dining hall. It wasn't any further than the foyer was. Sweetie walked down the dining hall, her flashlight lighting her initial path, when the lightning didn't. The storm still roared outside. As Sweetie walked, she thought about several things. First off, was the location that Applejack had given her to look. It wasn't after she left that she realized that Twilight had probably already spent 10 or 20 minutes in that area making the heart candies. Even if it was her primary focus, she only mentioned having the confrontation in the dining hall with the licker ghost. Nothing about the kitchen. Even more than before, she wondered if this was more of a way to keep her busy while Applejack continued to come back to life, rather than a real hunting mission. Sweetie put aside her suspicion. After all, Applejack was the Element of Honesty. Not even her twisted ghost form could lie to the filly. Sweetie had watched Applejack's facial expressions. It was easy to tell if she was lying or not, anytime she managed to crank one out anyway. With Applejack's abysmal poker face, even the whitest lie she knew was a lie would make her sweat. Her facial expression was worried, but it wasn't a liar's face. Secondly, Sweetie also found herself thinking of her Scootaloo. She remembered the last time she ever saw her friend, was when she had that green stuff splattered all over her face. Scootaloo was the one who came up with the CMC plane idea to begin with. Sweetie didn't know wither she'd hit the filly for coming up with such a stupid idea or thanking her when they all finally reunited. True, things were horrible now, if they didn't find their way out to the mansion, then most likely no one would be here to save her sister. Like Twilight said, no one would be coming for them, and anyone who did wouldn't stand a chance against them. At least as a filly Specter probably didn't expect much of her. Either way, if she didn't come out, she'd never have seen her again. Sweetie's final thoughts before she found herself standing in front of the door which led from the dining hall to the kitchen was Rarity herself. The thought that her sister was behind that door eliminated any initial fear that the filly had. The thought that she'd be able to see her sister again was euphoric. Even if only one more time. She wasn't afraid to fight to save her sister, but then again what she felt now wasn't going to matter once she actually started fighting. At that point, the only thing that would matter was survival and victory. Sweetie pushed the cold door open and walked through, trying to put her bravest face on, but once again, just chattering her teeth. Once she entered the kitchen, she found nothing. As Sweetie had thought before, the kitchen was empty, and like the rest of the mansion, had an abandoned look. The kitchen was grander than what Sweetie was used to. It's size was like something she imagined in a big fancy restaurant, rather than someone's house. Though, unlike any thriving restaurant, rusted pots and pans covered any of the uncovered stoves. Racks with various ingredients and other cooking were all along the center of the room. The room had a misty feel to it. It wasn't a cold mist but rather a fog. It wasn't smoke, Sweetie figured, but it was definitely odd. Something was definitely off here. "How Twi managed to stay in here longer than a minute is beyond me..." Sweetie mumbled as she ventured further into the kitchen. Through the mist, she realized the kitchen was larger than she initially thought. It was like a never ending hallway of pots, pans, and cooking supplies. Sweetie then started to smell something. Nothing bad, but rather delicious. Sweetie's snout led her to an oven. The oven, unlike the rest of the kitchen, or the mansion for that matter, was new looking, and actually a bit shiny. On top of the stove were apples. They smelled of cinnamon and butterscotch. Suddenly, a memory hit Sweetie. It was of her birthday, only about 3 or 4 months ago... ~~~~~~~ "Surprise!" all of her friends had said at the door of Sugarcube Corner, once Sweetie opened it up. Sweetie was puzzled at the strange greeting at first. Sweetie never took surprises in instantly, unless they were meant to scare or shock her. The 'surprise' definitely shocked her however. She jumped back and fell to the pavement in front of the bakery. Sweetie smiled once she realized that the surprise was meant to celebrate her 10th birthday. "Well, come on you silly filly!" Pinkie exclaimed, grinning wildly. "Get on in here!" Sweetie got up off of her flank and entered the bakery. The inside was filled with balloons and banners that said 'Happy Birthday Sweetie Belle". It was a bit embarrassing to the filly to have her 10th birthday, and still be without a cutie mark, though any negative feelings were eliminated, thanks to her friends. "Hey Sweetie!" Pinkie bounced over to the filly with the exuberant attitude she'd maintained since filly hood. "You want to try something? I've been saving it for a super dooper special occasion!" "Sure Pinkie." Sweetie said. "What is it?" "It's a new treat I made!" Pinkie got close to Sweetie's ear, and whispered in a secretive, yet obvious manner. "I've been keeping it a secret, so don't tell anyone." "Sure Pinkie. Whatever you say." Sweetie rolled her eyes. "Oh come on Sweetie! You've got to Pinkie Pie promise. Ok?" Sweetie sighed. "Cross my heart and hope to fly." Sweetie pretended to flutter her arms like a bird. "Stick a cupcake in my eye." Sweetie pretended to have a cupcake in her hoof, and placed her hoof over her eye. "Ok. I call it the Sweetie Apple Surprise!" the pink party said happily. She took out of nowhere, a treat that resembled a candy apple. It had something sprinkled along its outer edge, and a hole in the side of it. "You named that after me?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah! I've got one for all of my friends. Applejack Creampie, Rainbow Dash Cupcakes, Twilight Sparkle Sprinkles..." she said. "And this one, just for you!" "Well, gee. Thanks Pinkie!" Sweetie said as she took the sticky apple, and placed it in her hooves. "Um... aren't these supposed to go on a stick or something?" "Nah. I like to lick it off my hooves when I'm done." Pinkie smiled. "Well? Try it!" Sweetie obeyed the mare taking a bite of the treat. It tasted amazing. Something about the mixture of the apple, cinnamon, and caramel coating blended together so well. To top it all off, the apple's core was somehow taken out, and replaced with ice-cream. "Mmmm!" Sweetie said, her mouth still filled with the treat. "This is great!" "Thanks!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Have as many as you like! There's more on the party table." I thought this was supposed to be a secret? Sweetie thought. "Have fun for the rest of the party!" she said. "If you need anything, you know who to call!" Pinkie bounced away. "What was that all about?" Scootaloo said, walking up next to her friend. "Oh nothing. Just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie." Sweetie said. ~~~~~~~ Sweetie smiled at the memory. It was fun though. This had to have been the second time her mind had been brought to the pink party pony. Both of those thoughts involved that treat. Was it just a coincidence in her mind? What was it about her that made the filly think about her? Sweetie stared at the treats lying on the stove. Her light shined solely on the stove for a good minute. She contemplated wither or not she should try one. It was then, Sweetie connected the dots. A tray of one of her most favorite deserts, lying on a stove freshly baked? It was almost as if whoever made those treats made them just for her or at least to get her distracted for a moment- "You should try one they're delicious." somepony whispered into her ear. Sweetie turned away from the treat to have her fears realized. The entire kitchen had changed. This time however, was by far the most horrifying transformation yet. It wasn't the quality of the place that scared her, but where she was that horrified her... for she was standing behind the counter, in the small kitchen area of Sugarcube Corner and face to face with the worst possible thing. *** "I... I can't believe I almost..." Fluttershy said, as tears rolled down her face. "We know." Twilight said stroking her back. "It's alright. You didn't have any control. Sweetie isn't mad. She'll tell you herself once she gets back." Twilight was getting better at circulating her magic in her old body. She was more and more quickly exerting magic into each painting. In this situation, Twilight resolved to taking a break from Applejack and working on Fluttershy. She figured that she could get more information about the mansion if more of her friends were able to speak. Plus, after seeing Applejack's outburst and guilt, and considering Fluttershy was Fluttershy, that it might be best to let her get her crying out so she could better handle when Sweetie came back. "I... I just wish I could have stopped looking at them. Just for a second... just to let them run." Fluttershy said quietly. She felt just as much, if not more guilt than Applejack did for her puppeteered actions. "Don't blame yourself. It was that damned Specter. He did that. He tried to hurt Sweetie and Applebloom. Not you." Twilight turned to Applejack. "Right Applejack?" "Yeah, tha' rattle snake's th' one who tried ta kill mah sis. When ah git mah hoofs on em... but ya, ah don't blame ya at all." Applejack gave a reassuring smile. "A-and you’re sure she's fine?" Fluttershy asked, looking at the filly lying down, motionless. "Yes, I checked her breathing. She's still freezing cold, but I think her body temperature is steadily returning." Twilight said. "Suppose th' best thing ta do now is let' 'er rest." Applejack determined. Twilight nodded in agreement. "But Fluttershy. I hope you don't mind me asking this but... how did you find Applebloom?" Twilight asked. "Well... it’s a little fuzzy. I'm still trying to remember what happened myself... I'm sorry." Fluttershy apologized. "No need to say you’re sorry, but just try... Think back to your last location." Twilight said. "Well, I know I went down to the mirrored hallway... then I remember Applebloom coming up to me, and staring at me... no... we talked. I don't remember what she said, but we talked... She looked a little different though. I... I just can't remember." Fluttershy closed her eyes, trying as hard as she could to regain that piece of memory. "I... I remember that she looked at me first... said something... then I got angry... I don't know why but I didn't like what she was saying. And she was staring at me like she wanted to get caught. At least that's what I thought at the time..." "Ya think she wanted ta get death stared?" Applejack asked. "W-well, I'm not sure. That's just what I remember thinking is all. I could be wrong, I'm sorry." Fluttershy said quietly. "Odd." Twilight said, glancing back at the sleeping filly. "I wonder what was going through her mind when she came to you." Twilight sighed. "Is that all you can think of?" "For now..." Fluttershy looked down. "Well, if ya think of anythin' else Fluttershy, tell us." Fluttershy nodded as Twilight resumed her focus her mind and magic on the paintings. *** "Wah!" Backed against the oven, Sweetie instinctively covered her face as she saw nothing but pink light stroke her vision momentarily. When nothing happened, she took her hooves off her face to see her new environment in full. "What the hay?" Sweetie said to herself through the flashlight in her muzzle. It wasn't just Sugarcube corner shocked her, but it was the same Sugarcube as her birthday memory, though now, it had the same abandoned look as the rest of the mansion... if she was still in the mansion to begin with. Sweetie noticed something outside of Sugarcube corner. It glowed in the darkness of the streets of what seemed to be Ponyville. It was most definitely a ghost... and Sweetie had a good idea of who that ghost was too. It's white coat, and purple mane... Sweetie couldn't think of anyone else it could be. It had to have been her... Rarity. Sweetie walked around the counter to head out to confront her ghostly sister, but something stopped her. It was the ghostly laugh. No. Not a ghostly laugh, but rather a giggle. A light-hearted giggle that was extremely familiar to the filly. A giggle that would have been familiar to anyone in Ponyville for that matter. She started to see mist in front of her mouth, indicating the dropped temperature. Her teeth begun to chatter on the flashlight in her muzzle. "♫When I was a little filly and the sun was going down...♫" Sweetie knew that voice well, as one of her friends. This was Pinkie. "♫I'd hide under my pillow from what I thought I saw. But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way to deal with fears at all...♫" She was watching her. Suddenly Sweetie remembered what Twilight had said. The powers of the ghosts adapted to their talents. If Sweetie was about to fight Pinkie here and now, there was something in the back of her mind that told her here she didn't have a chance. If Sweetie stayed here she would die. Sweetie cautiously approached the exit to Sugarcube corner. Where the heck was she? "♫She said, "Pinkie, you've gotta stand up tall and learn to face your fears. You'll see that they can't hurt you, just laugh and make them disappear.♫" Sweetie was almost at the exit. Rarity had noticed the filly through the window, and started to walk away. "Ha, ha, HA!" Suddenly, from under the feet of the filly, barely a foot away, a pink ghost pony with curly hair and bright blue eyes came up from the floor. The filly screamed was scared backwards into some tables and chairs that were around the bakery. The pink ghost giggled at the scared little filly. She dropped her flashlight. "Wow Sweetie! You sure are jumpy tonight!" Pinkie giggled. "Jumpie Sweetie! Or Jumpie Belle! I like the sound of that. Which do you like better huh?" Sweetie scrambled to her feet to face the ghost. "Aww. Jumpie..." Pinkie said sadly looking back on the stove in the back of the bakery. "You didn't eat any of my deserts. And I made them just for you!" Sweetie regained her mind. She wasn't about to hesitate this time, and fall into a trap like with Applejack or Fluttershy. Sweetie went for her flashlight, and pointed it at the ghost of Pinkie. *** Applebloom opened her eyes slightly to see the mares all on the other side of the room. Their focus had been driven away from the filly for the moment. As they were currently distracted, with a snake-like movement she crept from under Sweetie's cape, and hid behind one of the mirrors. To anyone who wasn't paying close attention, it almost still looked as if the filly was under its covering. She snuck closer to the three mares, trying to stay as hidden as possible behind the several mirrors around the room. She got closer and closer to the lavender unicorn pony. It wasn't long before Applebloom had made her way behind Twilight, managing to remain unnoticed- "Applebloom?" Fluttershy said, noticing the filly. "I didn't see you there. How a-" Before Fluttershy could finish her sentence, Applebloom yanked Twilight by the tail, breaking her flow of magic to the paintings, ceasing the reanimation process- "Gil-" "Ah!" -and nearly cutting Applejack and Fluttershy in half by the sudden disruption of steady magic. Applebloom took the old frail unicorn mare, and threw her to the ground with amazing strength. Even as a filly, and even in Twilight's current state, it was dream like she could even acomplish such a feat. But no one in the room was concerned over how she managed to do it. But why. "Applebloom!" Applejack exclaimed, shocked by her actions. "What in sam-hill do ya think yer doin?!" Applebloom ignored her sister and went over to Twilight, who lied on the ground, moaning in pain. She stood over the unicorn menacingly. "A...Applebloom?" Twilight said. No. That wasn't her. It... it couldn't be her. It just... Applebloom grinned before bringing her hoof down on the head of the unicorn mare. *** Pinkie giggled at Sweetie, as she seemed to dance around anywhere Sweetie shined her flashlight. It was useless. Sweetie couldn't determine wither or not her conventional flashlight to ghost capture method would work, simply because Pinkie wouldn't let her. It wasn't as if the mare was extremely fast, but it was almost as if she knew where exactly Sweetie would shine her light next. "Gah! why can't I hit you?!" Sweetie yelled. "Because I'm special! I even get my quotes colored! My name too! Oh, and I get two music notes when I sing now!" "What?" Per usual, Pinkie was making absolutely no sense. Wait... no... Sweetie realized. ...her Pinkie sense. If Sweetie was right, then it was hopeless. As long as Pinkie could anticipate her every move, she wasn't going to touch her. Sweetie stopped following the mare with her flashlight. It was obvious that trying to break her with light alone was useless. "Aw, c'mon Jumpie! Don't give up yet! I was just starting to have fun!" Pinkie said happily. "Oooh! I know what you need! Just a little motivation." Pinkie charged for Sweetie, too fast for the filly to react. The mare went right through the filly's body, chill filling every fiber of her being. Suddenly however, it felt as if a weight has been released off of Sweetie. Sweetie looked back on her back, and to her horror, the GCD was gone. "What the-?!" Sweetie yelled. Without that device, she was almost completely defenseless. "Jumpie. Looking for this?" Pinkie said, holding the GCD in one hoof. "Hey! That's mine!" Sweetie yelled. "Give that back!" "Ah, ah, ah! You've gotta catch me first!" Pinkie said, floating to the next floor. Well I can't catch you without that now can I? Sweetie groaned in frustration. She had to get her device back. She used her flashlight to locate the stairs, and quickly ran up them. Rather than finding the next floor of the Sugarcube Corner, she found herself in another hallway of the mansion. When she looked back, the stairway to her previous location was gone, as if it never existed to begin with. "What the hay is up with this place?!" Sweetie said to herself, panicking. She felt as though she were losing her mind. *** Applebloom forced opened the door to the safe zone. She began to drag the unconscious mare out of there. "Applebloom! APPLEBLOOM!" Applejack exclaimed. She was struggling to get free of the painting, but to no avail. She did however gain the filly's attention. Fluttershy merely looked on with shock, unable to comprehend what had just happened. "Yeah 'sis'?" Applebloom said. Though the way she said "sis" almost sounded sarcastic. "Whats the problem?" "What th' hay's wrong with you? Ya dang well nearly killed Twiligh'!" Applejack asked. Applebloom laughed. "Ah don't know wha' yer talkin' about. Ahm better than ever." For some reason, the accent she was giving wasn't the normal one Applejack was accustomed to. Instead it felt forced, as though it wasn't genuine. "And besides, pop 'd kill me if ah killed 'er here. Don'tcha worry though. She'll be dead eventually." "A...pplebloom..." "What's gotten in to you..." Applejack said angrily, though this time, it wasn't to Applebloom. It was quite apparent that this wasn't the Applebloom she knew. Either way, this time, she didn't answer. She simply dragged the mare out of the safe zone, and shut the door, leaving the two mares, halfway, sticking out of their portraits, trapped. *** --Where? Sweetie chased down the sound of giggling in the hallway. She desperately searched for Pinkie and her only means of defense against the ghosts. Sweetie saw the hallway was filled with locked doors and statues of guard ponies with their own weapons. The hallway was so narrow, that if one of them were to release, there was little chance the filly would be able to evade. --Just one little slip. Sweetie ran blindly, not noticing how her flashlight was flickering on and off as she continued down the hallway. Sweetie wasn't sure if she was looking for Pinkie anymore, or just running out of pure panic. Her breath was becoming shorter out of fear and exhaustion. --Are you sure you're breathing anymore? Apart of her wanted to just lie down in the middle of the hallway, and let Pinkie get away. Her adrenaline and will to live kept her on her feet and moving. She doubted she could stop. The guard ponies of the hallway seem as if they were watching as she continued down the narrowing hallway. Sweetie begun to feel claustrophobic as the walls seemed to be closing in on her. --The walls. --The walls would kill her. "No... no! Someone! Anyone! Help!" Sweetie screamed as she felt the walls close in all the way. Darkness befell the filly as she dropped her flashlight. "AH! AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" --And then silence. --And nothing else. [Continue]
Chapter 8- The Hunter Becomes the Hunted[REBOOT]Nothing makes sense anymore... The world moved around the filly unnaturally, shifting around her. Her body felt numb and stiff as she seemed to be falling through oblivion. Darkness shrouded the filly where she couldn't even see her own two hooves in front of her. It was one of the darkest world's she's been in since the forest. "We have her." a voice said. It was distant, and Sweetie couldn't tell where it was. Her brain was processing slowly. She felt as though she'd heard these voices before, but it was all so blurry. Were they pony? Were they ghosts? Hard to tell when they echoed in her skull as they did. She couldn't think or process logic. All she could do was listen. "Yes, Pinkie was the one who managed to lure her into the unicorn's mental field. And even better, we now have that device. Make sure it is disabled, just in case." "Hey, are you sure she's not-" Zap! "Hey!" There was a pause before another giggle. "Okay! Well still, I can't believe AJ and Fluttershy even had a problem with her! She was super easy to deal with." a sigh. "I just sure wish I had a little more time to play with her though." "Come now Pinkamina, you know very well we don't have the time to fool around at this point. We don't have time. Specter is preparing the Princesses to create the eclipse. Even if this little filly isn't a threat, we need as much focus as we can. She must be eliminated" the voice said coldly "Okay, okay, I know. Kill the duck, and be done with it. Gotcha." "Duck?" "Well Scoots is already the chicken, it's the closest bird I could think of!" Echoed hoof-steps were heard trailing off. "By the way, what has become of the possessed filly?" another voice asked. "I think she's went down to the west basement of the mansion, around the kennel area. Celestia knows why." "And the dragon?" "The theater." "And the orange filly. What about her?" "Haven't found her yet." the voice sighed. "Though, I doubt she's even still alive. The last place she was spotted was outside, and the storm has reached its climax..." "Very well. Keep an eye out for her however. Remember, we don't need any more ponies running around the mansion." "Understood. Do you want your kid to finish off the elements in that safe zone? The ghosts can't seem to access it. "No need. According to her report, those mares are trapped and useless. There's no point in going after them. Just focus on making sure everything is prepared once morning finally comes around. There's no way they can stop us now." "♫Ain't no stopin' us now! We're on the mo-♫" "Pinkie!" "Okay, okay! I'm going!" Another giggle. Sweetie fell faster and faster, her head spinning at the speed she was going. She knew the ground was getting closer every second, and it wouldn't be long before she finally hit reality again... if she was even fortunate enough to wake up to one. *** Sweetie head hurt, and her body was sore. She was cold, but she was becoming accustomed to waking up like that by now. Sweetie's head was slowly but surely regaining its composure, that long as she attempted to get up. She shook her head and looked around. It was dark, but it not pitch black like that place she felt herself falling in. Sweetie looked around for the source of light, to find a pink glowing pony, sitting right next to her, smiling. "Glad to see you finally woke up! I thought I killed you the way you landed on your head like that!" She chirped. Sweetie mumbled something in response, but neither pony was sure what it was. Sweetie was trying to say something, but her brain was still getting up to speed. Finally, she spoke again. "W...where am I?" Sweetie asked. Pinkie frowned. "Aw. No thank you? No 'Thanks Pinkie for saving my life! Want a big old hug'?" Sweetie's memories started to clear up. "You... w-where is it? Where's my ghost catcher?" Sweetie felt along her back to find that it was in fact gone. But not just her GCD. Her saddlebags were also missing along with Applejack's hat. "Oh, that old vacuum cleaner? I kind of threw it out. I didn't think you needed it anyway." Pinkie said. "A-and my other stuff?" Sweetie asked. She shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I lost that too!" then giggled again. "My bad!" Sweetie gritted her teeth, though she knew she wouldn't get anywhere with Pinkie if she acted angry. That went for if she was dead or alive. With that, she took a breath and sighed. "What happened Pinkie. Please... tell me. Where am I?" "Well, my big bad boss guy told me to kill you!" she said happily. "But that didn't sound fun now did it?" Right. She did mention something about saving her life. Sweetie honestly shook her head. She was thankful that she'd disobeyed her "boss's" order. Sweetie wasn't ready to die yet. Though there was no reason for her to smile. If she was alive, then it would be unlike Pinkie in any form to not have something planned for her. She always had something planned. And in this case it would probably be something Sweetie wouldn't like. "I thought so." Pinkie said. "I thought I'd give you a sporting chance when I decided to. I wasn't going to kill a little filly while she was sleeping." "S-sporting chance?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah! That's why I brought you down here! To play a game!" Pinkie said. "You wanna know the rules?" Sweetie hesitated at first, but nodded. It wasn't as if she had a choice. "Great!" She said happily. "Now, as you've probably noticed, you're in a cage." "I-I am?" Sweetie said as she felt along the walls. Sure enough, It there were bars blocking the filly's reach to the pink party pony. The cage seemed like something from a zoo, made to hold animals. "Anyway, there's only one rule." Pinkie said. "Stay alive. I think you lose if you die." No, really? Sweetie thought. "Yeah really." "What? H-how did you know what I was thinking?" Sweetie asked. "I read your thoughts!" "What? How?" "By reading the fanfic, duh." Pinkie said something as though it should have been obvious. "I have the unpublished password so I see every chapter before aaaaanyone else!" "You read the what with the who now?" Pinkie ignored the filly for the moment, Sweetie's flashlight out of nowhere. She turned it on and held it under her face. "OOOOOOhhhhh. Spooky." A taunt to show that Sweetie couldn't hurt Pinkie with light alone. Sweetie figured as much, but she still could't help but feel discouraged at the reality check. The mare giggled as she set the flashlight on the ground, facing Sweetie, just out of her reach. Double taunt. "Now, I gotta run. Stuff to do! Fillies to hunt! Ponies to kill! You two have fun now." You two? Sweetie thought as the mare faded into the blackness leaving no other light besides the flashlight. Sweetie turned around to face some pony else in the darkness. She didn't glow like Pinkie, so she probably wasn't a ghost. No. This wasn't a ghost, but Sweetie wasn't sure if she knew this pony either. "Hey Sweetie." Applebloom said from the other side of the cage. The light emitted from the flashlight "A-applebloom?" Sweetie asked. Sweetie approached the filly, every step she took giving her a worse feeling in her gut. "Where are we? What's going on?" "Heh... ain'tcha worried about me?" Applebloom asked. "...'course not. Ya always were only concerned 'bout yahself. No wonder Rarity didn' love ya." Sweetie stopped dead in her tracks. Was it the hit of what she'd just said to her psyche? Or was it the fact that Applebloom would never say something like that to her? "A-applebloom? What's wrong?" Because something definitely was wrong with her friend. She could see through her darkness that her normal orange eyes were gone. They were replaced with an oddly familiar tint of yellow. "Why, there's nothin' wrong." Applebloom smiled. "Is there?" And her voice. It was Apppebloom's, but the accent was just wrong. Forced. As though someone were making fun of the accent instead. Applebloom finally made her own advance, but something in Sweetie convinced her to take a step back. Applebloom laughed at Sweetie's caution. "What'cha doin'? Ya ain't scared?" Applebloom said. It was now, Sweetie noticed a knife in the middle of the cage. A rusty carving knife. What was --Kill her Pinkie trying to --She's not your friend. make her --Kill her Do? --Kill her She didn't want her to... --Kill her or she'll kill you. O[She's not Sweetie's friend. GET THE KNIFE] O[She's still Applebloom, Sweetie can't hurt her. HOLD BACK]
CHOICE10This thing wasn't Applebloom anymore. No matter how much it looked like Applebloom, Sweetie was sure it wasn't. It couldn't have been. The Applebloom she knew was still in the safe room. There was no way Applebloom would leave with her sister the way she was, let alone the fact neither Applejack nor Twilight would approve of her leaving the room to begin with. Plus, the Applebloom she last saw could probably barely walk thanks to Fluttershy's ghost, let alone follow her to wherever the hay they were. Right? It's the only thing that makes sense. It's the only thing that makes sense. Sweetie gritted her teeth as she did her best to convince herself of this. After all, she would most definitely be killed if she kept standing in this one spot trying to plan her next move. Trying to plan if she could indeed attack this look-a-like of the Applebloom. That if she didn't decide soon, she would die either by her Applebloom's hoof or by the tip of the blade that split their distance. Even from across the cage, she could see the murderous intent beaming in her eyes. Now wasn't the time for thinking. Now was the time for action. I've got to defend myself! Sweetie thought. Without her GCD, her saddlebags, or even her flashlight, she was totally defenseless. But that's why the knife was in the middle of the cage, right? --Kill Her She didn't want to. Applebloom or not, the thing looked too alive for her to completely put her into the mindset of murder. However, as the option continued to rebound in her head, and non other surfaced, she knew there was no other choice except to attack. M-maybe it's not even alive to begin with. Sweetie tried reasoning. After all. This thing wasn't Applebloom. This thing wasn't alive. This thing was already dead. It had to be. Sweetie took another step forward. Applebloom noticed this and grinned. "So, ya gonna play now are ya? Alright!" Applebloom quit creeping toward the knife and broke into a run for it. --Or you'll die. Sweetie broke through her leg's refusal to move and ran for the knife herself. Everything seemed to be in slow motion in the dark world for the next few seconds as both Applebloom and Sweetie fought each other. She saw in detail, despite the darkness and speed Applebloom pick up the knife by the end just as Sweetie picked up the blade by the handle. As they engaged in a small tug-o-war for the weapon that would ultimately determine their fates, Sweetie watched as Applebloom paid no regard for the knife digging in her mouth. Sweetie nearly fainted from watching what was happening to this doppleganger- --If you're sure she is one -of her friend. She's not my friend. --Are you sure? She's not my friend. --Are you sure? She's not my friend. --Are you- "Get away!" Sweetie yelled through the knife, pushing Applebloom away from her. The knife was in her mouth now, and Applebloom saw this. Rather than backing off, she grinned at the armed little filly, as though she were extremely happy about something. As though she had come up with an awfully devious idea. With that, Applebloom began creeping at Sweetie slowly again. Sweetie fumbled with the knife in her mouth, trying to get a better grip on the handle. Just as she nearly had it in a good position to defend herself (or at least she thought she did. She had no idea how to properly hold a knife by the muzzle to begin with, treating it more like a pencil than a weapon) the knife fell out of her mouth. She quickly tried to scoop up the weapon as she heard Applebloom pick up pace. When she finally had it up in her hooves- "Ha-*cough*" It happened so fast Sweetie barely could register anything. Not immediately anyway. She couldn't register the mass of weight that was on her legs and hooves that were holding the knife. The eyes that looked at her brigher than ever. The new, crimson moisture on her hooves, and- "*cough* hah! *cough*" -face. "Uh... ah... ah! AH!" The realization came to her as she realized what Applebloom was coughing on her. Blood. This was blood on her. "Ah! Aaah! Aaaaah!" Sweetie screamed as loud as she could, but she couldn't move. "Hahahahaha! *cough* Hahahahaha!" and this thing that looked like Applebloom, was still laughing at her, staring at Sweetie's horror. This thing. --Were you sure? It couldn't have been Applebloom, the way it still laughed so much with blood filling their lungs. It wasn't a pony, it wasn't real. --Are you sure? But it looked so much like Applebloom. That's why this was so scary. --Were you sure that your friend was dead? So very scary. And the blood felt so fresh. Cold, but fresh. --Are you sure now? Suddenly, Applebloom and suddenly pressed her lips against Sweetie's. Sweetie's last scream was muffled as she felt something slip down her throat. Applebloom shivered as she went limp and fell to the ground. Sweetie had let her down as she began to laugh. "Hahahahaha! *cough* Hahahahahaha! *cough* *cough*" GAME OVER [Try Again?]
CHOICE11Applebloom took a few more steps forward as Sweetie took a few back, unable to attack. Applebloom approached the knife in the middle of the cage. Once she reached it, she looked down at it, then back up at the Sweetie. "Ya know... Ah never saw wha' the inside of a filly looked lik'." Applebloom picked up the knife and deviously. "Ah wonder what yers look like." Applebloom took up the knife in her muzzle. Not like one might pick up a pencil, or a non-Equestrian eating utensil, but with the knife pointing out adjacent to her face. The sharp end pointed in the direction of Sweetie. She put it in this same position with the same grin on her face. Her eyes widened and Sweetie saw the murderous intent Applebloom charged at Sweetie. "Ah!" Sweetie backed up and found her flank against the cold bars of the cage. Fear and panic filled her soul as she looked around trying to find a way out. There was none, or at least none that she could spot by the light that Pinkie had left for her. Sweetie saw that Applebloom was aiming for the neck as she came within a few feet of her. Sweetie managed to dodge the filly as she rammed into the bars of the cage. "Applebloom! Stop! Please!" Applebloom. Sweetie had called her Applebloom. That's why she couldn't attack her. Deep in her heart, Sweetie felt herself connected to her, and Sweetie knew that she was in fact still in that body. The body that was trying to kill her, but as long as that Applebloom was still there, Sweetie couldn't attack her. In short, Sweetie would either dodge have to figure out a way to dodge her for the rest of her life, find a way to escape or die when she got tired. Most likely the latter. Applebloom laughed at Sweetie's plea through the knife as she ran for her again. Sweetie managed to dodge again. "Stop! I don't want to fight you!" Applebloom charged for the filly one more time, this time, head first. Sweetie wasn't as lucky as before as Applebloom rammed into her, knocking her onto the cold metal floor of the cage. Before Sweetie had a chance to get up, Applebloom got on top of her. She spit the knife out of her muzzle into her hooves, grasping the blade's handle with extreme precision. She then brought it down on the little filly's neck. --Aw. Don't tell me you die that fast. If Sweetie didn't act fast enough, that would have been the end of her journey. She managed to catch the knife almost an inch from her throat. As Applebloom put more weight on it, Sweetie struggled to keep the sharp object from slicing through her. Applebloom was already stronger than Sweetie, thanks to the work she'd done on the farm (though at the same time, Sweetie couldn't help but find her a little stronger than she should have been), and had a little more muscle weight on her than Sweetie. She couldn't keep the knife off of her forever. "Why don'tcha jus' give up Sweetie?" Applebloom asked. "Ya'll gonna die anyway." "N- o... I..." Sweetie grunted words out as she tried to keep the knife from killing her. She would die if she didn't get Applebloom off of her in the next second. "I... can't." She would die. "I...-" Her friends would die again. "Can't...-" Rarity would stay dead. "-NO!" Sweetie refused the impending reality, and managed to toss Applebloom to the side onto her back. Sweetie scrambled up to her hooves. Her eyes were much more adjusted to the world around her, so she gave another scan of the cage for a way out. To what she could see, there was no doorway to the cage. T-that... that can't be right... Sweetie swore there was something wrong here. She had to have gotten in here somehow. But if it wasn't through a door, then- ...I was dropped in here. Sweetie concluded. --Like a baby in a crib! She looked up in the direction of the flashlight shine. She saw a strip of light above her. Though it wasn't the entire light from the flashlight. It was almost as if the light wasn't hitting a ceiling, but something before that. It was the edge of the cage! It didn't have a roof to it. However, she didn't have the time to try and climb out herself. If Sweetie just had a quick boost, she could escape. Sweetie quickly formulated a plan in her head to escape. All she would have was a moment, and possibly only one chance, so she had to make it count. Next to Applebloom timing and balance were now also her adversaries. As Applebloom got back up, she ran to the wall of the bared cage where the flashlight was. Applebloom got up and charged at her once again. Sweetie, much more prepared than the times before, dodged and let her banging into the cage. Applebloom laughed as she shook her head and got up, showing no pain despite how hard she hit the bars. Sweetie gritted her teeth, unable to imagine how much that should have hurt as she ran around Applebloom to a few feet behind her. Applebloom turned back around to charge at her again. Now. As Applebloom charged at Sweetie, Sweetie charged right back. This sudden burst offense surprised Applebloom but it didn't make her hesitate one bit. If anything, it only amused her further. Once they were about a few hoof lengths away, Sweetie leaped as high as she could and landed on top of the filly's head. She then made another jump for the top of the cage. Barely but surely, she managed to hook her leg over the edge, and pulled herself up and over. She fell on the other side of the cage with a thud. Sweetie moaned in pain, not expecting to fall from such a height, but managed to get up without anything broken. "Hah... hah..." Sweetie gasped for breath, not realizing how long she hadn't been forgetting to take healthy breaths. But she was alright. She was still alive and the one on the otherside of the bars was- "Hahahahahahahahaha!" Sweetie picked up her flashlight and shined it into the cage at the deranged yellow eyed filly. "C'mon... don'cha care about me?" she tilted her head to the side. "Why y'all tryin' yer dangdest ta get away from me? Ah thought we were friends." Sweetie wanted to say something along the lines of "You're not Applebloom", though her breathing wouldn't let her get the words out. "Cause ya know... ya never know when yer best friend could lose it." she put the knife in one of her hooves and held it to her neck. "And do somethin' she regrets, huh?" "No!" Sweetie gasped out. "Please!" She didn't notice them innitially it, but a few tears had already begun streaming down Sweetie's face as she came to the final realization. That was Applebloom's body. --Well now it's Applebloom's. The red mane, the yellowish coat, and the beating heart inside was Applebloom's. That's the message she was getting across. Whatever was inside of Applebloom's body wasn't Applebloom, but that body was hers. And if it died- Applebloom dropped the Applebloom laughed at Sweetie. "Yer a fun filly ya know? Most entertainin' friend ever." Applebloom picked up the knife and put the handle back in her mouth. "But I ain't gonna kill mahself just yet ya hear. Ah wanna watch ya go first." With unimaginable agility, Applebloom jumped to the top of the cage and balanced on the edge. The movement was so quick and nimble, Sweetie could neither awe in amazement, gasp in horror, or even think. All she could do is respond to her instincts. --Run. Sweetie ran as fast as she could away from her possessed friend. Like a cat jumping down from a high perch, Applebloom jumped down from the cage and ran to pursue her prey. Sweetie found herself in a narrowing hallway again, only this time thankfully, it wasn't closing in on her. It turned from a larger room to a smaller one with smaller caged most likely meant for dogs. For some reason, it reminded Sweetie of a kennel. What the hay was a kennel doing in a mansion? Though right now, that didn't matter, as Sweetie heard Applebloom approaching. Sweetie had to hide before Applebloom found her and gutted her with the knife. Desperate, she resolved to take refuge inside of one of the cages. She turned her flashlight off and it was dark again. Still Sweetie couldn't help but instinctively shut her eyes and cover her head as she she held her breath. She heard the hoof-steps. Clip... clop... clip...clop... "Sweetie..." Clip... clop... clip... clop... They were close. So close. So very very close. Thump thump. Thump thump. Sweetie's heart beat so loud that she was sure that Applebloom could hear it. She'd even stopped calling her name. --Maybe because she doesn't have to anymore. Clip... clop... clip... clop... Thump thump. Thump thump. Shut up. Shut up, shut up, shut up! Sweetie screamed in her mind, begging her heart to be quiet. It only beat harder. Thump thump. Thump thump. Clip... clop... clip- The hoof-steps stopped. Sweetie didn't know where they stopped in the darkness, but all she knew was that they were close. Applebloom was standing somewhere in the darkness. She dared not breath now, lest Applebloom be close enough to hear it in the dead silence of the kennel area. Sweetie dared not open her eyes in the darkness, fearing that she would only find two glowing yellow eyes staring directly at her. Sweetie's lungs were screaming at her to breath. Sweetie screamed right back in her head for them to wait just a little longer, or they wouldn't be breathing ever again. She was running out of air. She would have to breath. Sweetie needed to breath. She needed to breath. She needed to breath! Sweetie gasped for- CRASH! air. A large crashing sound filled the kennel just as Sweetie took in a gasp of air. Applebloom must have bucked one of the cages to scare her, or perhaps test if she was truly in the area. Sweetie hoped the crash had masked her breath. She sat there in the darkness as it became silent once again. Had Applebloom heard the gasp? Sweetie still refused to open her eyes to check. "Hahahaha... hahahahahahahahaha!" the laughter began again. The sound wasn't in her direction, but rather it sounded like it was away from her. The hoof-steps started up again. Clip... clop... clip... clop... Clip... clop... clip... clop... Clip... clop... clip... clop... Clip... clop... clip...clop... Clip... clop... clip...clop... They began moving away from her location, getting quieter and quieter until it was silent once more. --Safe. Applebloom was gone for now, likely looking for her in the area ahead. --Safe. Or perhaps she'd figured wherever she was she wouldn't get very far without her GCD. --Safe. Still. Sweetie had escaped for now. She was safe. She was alive. She was- "Oh Celestia." She sobbed. -doomed anyway. Sweetie covered her head in the darkness, and begun to cry. One of her best friends, and closest ponies in the world had just tried to murder her. It didn't particularly matter that it wasn't her, but even the thought she was being puppeted to do such a horrid thing like murder was where Sweetie finally reached her breaking point. It didn't help that she was the pony in question she was trying to murder. Sweetie was cold. The chill of the darkness caused the filly to shiver between sobs as tears rolled down her cheeks. The trail of moisture each tear left created a particularly cold spot where it felt like some freezing wing were digging into her face. Sweetie was lost. She had no idea of where she was, or how to get back to the safety of the safe zone, now that her map and camera was gone. Sweetie was defenseless. Her GCD was gone, and possibly destroyed somewhere, which not only ruined her protection, but it eliminated her ability to catch the rest of her friends. She wouldn't even know how to defend herself without the ghost book either. Sweetie was- "I'm scared... I'm so scared... someone... help..." She was scared. "I'm not brave... I'm not brave..." She whispered in the darkness. She didn't know why she was muttering that. Perhaps she was hopping some guardian angel would come down and save her from this nightmare. Someone would take pity on her and take her far away from this dreadfully chilly, terribly dark and depressing place. Perhaps back in the library, where she could cuddle up with a book to distract her from the horrors she'd already ensued. Perhaps back in the Sugarcube corner where she could wet her dry tongue with some of the sweet drinks Pinkie probably prepared for the coming morning. Perhaps to the Applefarm, which always tended to have a warm atmosphere even on the coldest of days. Or for that matter, Fluttershy's house, where she could start up a fire and cuddle up with the little woodland creatures she'd likely keep around the house. Or for that matter, the Carousel Boutique where she could slip into the bed and cuddle up with Rarity. "Rarity..." she continued to cry. To be honest, she was just as content with just lying there in the darkness. Lying there and just wish all of the horror away where she doesn't have to endure anything else. No more fear. No more sadness. No more depression. No more death. She felt trapped, not because she was in a cage, but there seemed- --The Carousel Boutique No. There was no escape. --Slip into the bed Sweetie wanted to just give up... --Cuddle up with- "N...no..." Sweetie said to herself. "I'm... I'm not brave... but... but I'm not a quitter." She forced herself to crawl out of the dog's cage as she coached herself. "I... I have to save my friends... somehow... I have to... I... I'm not going to die here." She got out of the cage still shivering, and waited a few moments to make sure it was truly quiet before activating her flashlight. Sweetie took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, and turned to face the way she'd heard Applebloom walk. Chances were, that was the exit since more likely than not, the other direction only held the cage and another dead end. Sweetie pushed herself forward into the darkness, the light shining the way to her path. "I can't give up. I have to try..." she muttered. "for Applebloom... for Scootlaloo... for my friends... and for Rarity... *** As Sweetie moved forward, the room opened up again thankfully. She was sure if she stayed in there, she'd become a borderline claustrophobic. Now, there were stacks upon stacks of the same dog cages. They were evenly placed around the room, but poorly stacked as though the slightest shake would topple them over. They sagged to the side, either from the poor stacking, or simple age and deterioration of the cages. Some had sheets over them, while others, their sheets had fallen somewhere down the bottom of the stacks cages. The area became so big, Sweetie almost compared it to a bit of a warehouse. "How... big is this place?" Sweetie mumbled. She actually began to wonder if she was still in the mansion at all. Suddenly, Sweetie froze in more ways than one. She stopped dead in her tracks as she felt the chill of a ghost nearby. She had a bad feeling that there would be more than one. She got behind a stack of cages, careful not to touch it, topple them, and blow her cover. To ensure she stayed concealed, she shut out her flashlight. She popped her head around the corner to see two ghosts patrolling the area. From Sweetie's position, she swore they resembled dogs, further supporting that these cages were in fact, for dogs. She got her head back around, pressing her flank against the cages harder than she desired to. Thankfully, the cages didn't topple. In fact they barely even moved, as though they'd been glued one on top of the other. I've gotta stay hidden... Sweetie thought. Can't let them see me... Sweetie couldn't afford to turn her flashlight back on now, unless they found her. Even then, there was no telling how many there were, so she couldn't risk using her flashlight in combat without her GCD. She popped her head back out slightly, as the dog turned around. She silently ran for another set of cages she saw in its glow. So far, so good... no wait, no! She saw the K-9 turn back around headed in her direction. Sweetie quickly rounded the cage to the opposite side of where the dog was looking. It stopped however. Sweetie held her breath. The ghost dog sniffed the air suspiciously. It knew something was different. It was difficult to tell whether or not it smelled the sweat beading down Sweetie's body, or the very essence of the fear she was emitting. It growled, and barked, alerting the other dog of a possible intruder. Sweetie didn't think. When she heard that dog's bark she bolted in the directions the cages spanned to. She didn't get more than a few feet before the dog turned around and saw the little filly fleeing into the darkness. It barked at her, and raced after her. Sweetie wasn't the fastest pony, but surprisingly, she seemed to keep a good distance from the two dogs that were chasing her. A distance that definitely showed signs of closing, but enough were she could keep her distance for a little while. If she'd ran from the dogs at a little later, they might have caught up to her. However, with the distance she held now she felt like she would somehow make it out of this predicament. That hope was quickly dashed when suddenly, her hoof tripped over something round and rubber. "Oh-" She didn't know how to react. All she knew was that in the coming seconds, she was about to be killed. All because of something horrendously stupid. A ball. It was a ball the dogs must have been using as a chew toy or a play thing. Sweetie fell onto her face, as the ball rolled right in front of it. Sweetie tried to scramble back up, but even she wasn't crazy enough to believe she'd actually get away. She was tackled down, by another dog. Sweetie didn't however let it get on her fully. Her reaction time was at its peak due to the amount of adrenaline coursing through her veins. She used the dog’s momentum to throw it off of her. Sweetie got up and glanced over at the dog she somehow tossed to the side. And ponies ask why I'm a more of a cat pony. Still, Sweetie took note at how much more tangible they were when they attacked her. Perhaps that was something worth noting. Sweetie ran sub-consciously grabbing the ball in her mouth as she racing to a new hiding spot behind another group of cages. Miraculously, the dogs lost sight of her, but they knew she was still around. They could still smell her. Sweetie once again, found herself holding her breath, hoping that the dogs wouldn't find her new hiding spot. Still, it was only a matter of time before they did once again and if they got to her again, she probably wouldn't be as lucky as she just was. Thankfully, Sweetie had a good feeling that she was getting close to the exit. After all, this room could only be so big, right? But at the same time, she felt the air getting colder and colder, telling her she didn't have much time. There were more dogs approaching from somewhere. She couldn't risk another mess up like that, for she doubted she'd escape a second time if she was seen again. Sweetie spat out the ball in her mouth and held it in her two hooves. It was too dark to see the full details of the ball, but Sweetie knew, from the familiar rubber texture, and the bit of magic marker sticking out of the etched on letters of the ball, that it was her CMC ball. Did that mean that her other items could be close by? That could come later though. For now she needed to figure out how to escape. Could she perhaps make a distraction using her ball? Sweetie looked outside of her cover, and saw that her suspicions had been realized. At least three more dogs than before had revealed themselves. One of the ghost dogs was far off, by one of the stacks of cages. She aimed the ball and threw it with all of her might at the cage. Any dogs that were in the area perked up their ears at the sound. All of them ran for the cages to investigate the sound. Sweetie, still keeping her eyes on the dogs, sneaked off in the direction she hoped to be the exit. To her relief, Sweetie found herself in front of a large double metal door. Sweetie creaked it open, and slipped through, closing it behind her. She leaned against the door and sighed. "Alright... out of the dog house..." She was more than relieved that at least she made it out alive. She felt slightly disappointed that she couldn't have escaped with her ball, but she could easily get a new one once she got out of there. Sweetie, at the thought of her friends, once again felt depressed. She didn't cry, as she had used up her recent supply after escaping Applebloom. Once she regained herself, remembering that feeling bad for herself for too long would only get herself killed, she thought about escaping. She never thought she'd be able to cross another ghost again without her GCD, but she'd just gotten out of a room full of them. Maybe there was still hope. "Yeah... maybe I can still get through this." She just had to find her GCD, as long as Pinkie didn't really 'throw it away'. It was still the only way to truly save her friends. Hay, if she could find the ghost book, maybe it could tell her how to release Applebloom from whatever had possessed her. Sweetie smiled. Things were horrible, but there was still some hope left. Hope that would keep her alive. Sweetie got up and activated her flashlight. She found herself in front of a spiraling stairwell, heading up. Sweetie knew that Applebloom had possibly gone through here too, so she still had to remain cautious. She began to slowly ascend the stairway, bracing herself for whatever the mansion would throw at her next. [Continue]
Chapter 10- The Scavenger Hunt [REBOOT]"Alright. Just find the cylinder thingy and get out. Easy." Sweetie said this to herself aloud as she stood in front of a large circular stone. Moss had already begun growing all over it, as though it had been sitting there for ages. At least a couple of years, though this came to Sweetie as no surprise after witnessing enough the mansion's inability to choose an age for itself. The parts that weren't eroded by the mushy plant were cold and smooth to the touch. Though oddly enough, this chill didn't exactly feel as though it were from the temperature of her surroundings alone. Its size compared to the filly, or any pony for that matter was greatly different. From just how awfully foreboding the spot was, and the sense of dread that she got just by standing at the entrance to the next part of this underground catacomb, Sweetie didn't know whether to be thankful or fearful there still existed a way to proceed. The stone wasn't completely blocking her path as it should have been. There was a small opening just large enough for someone her size to fit through. This was good because she doubted she would be able to budge the stone. Even if it was rounded, it seemed too dug into the ground already to be budged by her own muscles. But then again, this also meant that Scootaloo had been through here as well. And Sweetie doubted that if the way forward was closed off before- But now wasn't the time to be thinking about even more things to frighten her. She was still trying to build up the bravery that must have shattered after she figured she was going to die, falling down that pit. Her confidence also needed some reconstruction from being saved by the types of creatures she was supposed to be fighting. Even if this one was nice. As Sweetie stalled her progression, she checked her map. Sure enough, as Madame had said, it offered no helpful information. On the parchment, rather than displaying her location, it was stained with a large question mark. Sweetie assumed that it wouldn't be useful until she managed to get out of the crypt, and up to the church, as the ghost mare had instructed. But first, she'd have to find her GCD part, which could have been anywhere in that crypt. Sweetie tried to remain optimistic however, just so she could convince herself to head into the pitch black catacomb. "Alright... for Rarity..." she said to herself, hoping the reminder to save her sister would convince her legs to move. "Let's do this." Sweetie took a deep breath, and walked to the small opening around the round stone slab. She squeezed through, and was greeted on the other side by a breeze of chilling air. She shivered, almost dropping her flashlight out of her chattering teeth. The mansion was already chilly for this time of year, but it might as well have been winter down in this catacomb. The area smelled of deceased ponies and some preservatives, possibly to keep them from rotting too fast or smelling so bad. Though whatever was supposed to keep the smell down had probably long since kept doing it's job. It didn't matter however, because the sheer thought of being around dead ponies was terrifying to the small filly. Sweetie toyed with the idea of going back to the other side with the torch light, and huddling in its warmth. The smell of whatever fuel was burning was probably better than this decaying smell. Or whatever was making such a stench. She of course quickly through that idea away before the temptation grew any stronger. She knew that she had to keep pushing forward as long as there was still hope. She couldn't waste any time with weak thoughts. She had to remain strong for now. At least until she managed to get her GCD back and Twilight caught. So, she went. There were several things on Sweetie's mind that helped her move through the darkness of the catacombs, and ignoring the creeping graves she passed by. Once again, her first, was her friends. Sweetie knew she'd eventually need to figure out how to release Applebloom's spirit from whatever controlled her. And even more, she didn't even know the fate of her friend Scootaloo, only that she'd been through here at one point. But that was good, wasn't it? Scootaloo had been through here and passed Madame. She wasn't sure what Twilight had encountered earlier. Maybe it was Scootaloo at a point she had been "mentally manipulated" just like Sweetie. After all, Madame had implied talking to her. And being a ghost, she could probably tell if something was wrong with the orange filly. If she were possessed, wouldn't Madame have warned her instead of just mentioning her arrival? Then again, Sweetie didn't exactly ask if Scootaloo was someone to be warned of. Madame wouldn't deceive her like that, would she? Wasn't she trying to help her? Though she did say "if" she made it through. By now she could either be possessed or- Now wasn't the time. That was a negative thought. And in a depressing place as a catacomb that stunk of something dreadful, bypassing the chills that also entered her nostrils, negative thoughts were the last thing she needed. Sweetie needed to keep hopeful. Hope that Scootaloo was in fact, alive and out of this nightmare. At least hopefully she would only be enduring one a little more pleasant. Secondly, there was Twilight, who Sweetie felt guilty of her demise. She felt heavily responsible, given that she felt something was wrong with Applebloom the moment she laid eyes on her, yet never spoke up about it. --She was cold, she thought. --She was tired, she thought. --She's fine, relax, she thought. But what happened, happened. Sweetie needed to save her friend, not only for every pony else, but to relieve her guilt. Finally, there was Rarity. Sweetie missed her sister for obvious reasons, yet there was another side of it. Something in the back of Sweetie's mind that wanted Rarity for a different reason. Sweetie wasn't sure what it was, but one word came to her. Doubt. Sweetie continued on her way down the catacombs, passing by countless rows of coffins. Exactly how many ponies were down here? And exactly how long? Because it went without saying these things had been down here for much longer than a week. Just like the coffins, Sweetie had lost count of how many blind turns and random decisions she took. It wasn't as though she had much of a choice at the time. All of the coffins and cubbyholes that also happened to hold coffins looked the same. And the ones with names were so worn that it would take too long for Sweetie to discern the difference between two. And the last thing she wanted to do was try marking the graves and have to touch the things. Sweetie could see the mist coming from her breath, indicating that the temperature was dropping even more significantly. This cold was different from the normal temperature the place held. She had enough experience by then to know that usually meant a ghost or two were nearby. But that was the only thing. Sweetie had yet to have any encounters with ghosts, or even hear so much as a giggle. The feeling was less comforting than it should have been. That sense of dread. That sense that told her they were watching her. Or perhaps not a ghost. But someone was watching her stumble through the morbid darkness. Sweetie felt an urge to call out to her spy, if it happened to exist. She held her tongue, knowing that any unnecessary sounds she made would be to her disadvantage. Sweetie still remained cautious and paranoid as she continued through the catacomb. Everything was looking the same to the filly. Every pathway she took underground seemed to lead to the same dead end. She was almost positive that she'd seen each coffin before, in the way that they were arranged. Sweetie must have been walking in circles for the time that she'd been down there. 30 minutes must had passed since she entered the crypt. It felt longer to her, but that shorter wander time was the only thing that kept her from thinking she wouldn't ever leave this place of death. That this place would be her tomb. Frankly, it was almost maddening to the filly. She felt a similar claustrophobia that she'd felt when she first chased Pinkie Pie. She had yet to see an exit anywhere, let alone the cylindrical ghost processor. Though again, Sweetie was becoming less concerned about reconstructing her GCD and more about when she'd eventually start rotting like the corpses around her. Had Madame lied to her? Was this just another one of the mansion's devious traps? It was becoming more obvious the ghosts weren't against messing with her before eventually dooming her to something, or more directly trying to kill her. At least Pinkie wasn't, but playing with ponies was in her personality. Still, Madame was an unknown to Sweetie though, so it was still something she was well capable of. Sweetie was a step away in her growing despair from cursing the mare. Just a step. But that's when in the darkness, Sweetie noticed something small glowing in the dark. Faintly, it glowed red. Sweetie wondered. Could it be the thing that just so happened to come to mind? In a way, she hoped it was as much as she didn't. She headed over to the cubbyhole where the open coffin holding the glowing red thing was. It was a bitter sweet feeling, but it looked like she was right. In the hooves of the skeleton of a pony long dead wasn't exactly a piece of the GCD, but it was still something the filly found useful. It was a candy heart. A vital consumable in the hooves of a decayed stallion. Sweetie hesitated at the thought of touching the dead body, disturbing it for something so valuable. Ultimately, she pushed the thought away. As disgusting as it, the thought of taking and- Sweetie shuddered slightly. -eating the healing item, she couldn't look past that it was an item would probably help Sweetie somewhere down the line. Especially in the absence of her GCD. Besides, it looked like any coat, muscle or any other swishy bits had long since gone. The skeleton looked clean enough. But still. Sweetie grabbed the candy heart with her hooves, and pulled on it. It didn't budge. It was as if the pony were still holding it with all of its might. "Nice death grip you've got mister..." Sweetie mumbled, trying to lighten the mood on her little tomb raider escapade. Sweetie tried to use both hooves to force the skeleton release its grasp on the heart. Suddenly, something green and glowing popped out from underneath the coffin, grabbing the filly to show her what a real death grip was like. In her panic, Sweetie found the strength (or maybe the flinch force) to release the candy heart, along with her fore leg, from the skeleton and ghost pony. The ghost pony rose from the coffin, with the skeleton inside of it. It was one of the first ghosts Sweetie had seen in the mansion. A butler ghost. Sweetie staggered back, and remembered her flashlight. She couldn't fight it, but maybe she could scare it away. She shone her light on the ghost. "Go-" she said through the flashlight. Ding! "...away?" Something was wrong. Despite being in such a bright light the ghost, did not disappear. It simply grinned at Sweetie at her futile attempt to drive it away. Sweetie didn't understand. It should have worked, making the ghost disappear just like the others! Was the skeleton acting like some kind of anchor, or perhaps that allowed it to stay with such confidence? Or was it just that Sweetie didn't have a weapon to fight it now to compliment her flashlight threat? Sweetie didn't ponder it long, as she tossed the heart into her saddlebags and ran. Sweetie wasn't sure where she was going, but as long as she couldn't use her map, would she ever? She heard the ghostly laughter echoing through the catacomb. She knew this would happen. In the back of her mind she knew. She was in a place surrounded by death. Surrounded by the essence that spirits were made of, of course there would be ghosts here. And a lot of them for that matter. Stupid. She was stupid. Sure she didn't have much choice, but she was stupid to not be more prepared for something like this. After all, in a mansion where ponies rise from the dead, she just accomplished the equivalent of walking into a hornets nest. And to seal her fate, kicking the nest by grabbing at one of their bodies. But it didn't matter anymore. Right now, Sweetie felt- no, she was surrounded. She knew that she had to escape somehow. She didn't know where to go. She was just as lost as she had been before. Sweetie ran, she skidded on her hooves at corners, and ran some more, knowing to stop for even a moment would mean her death. She didn't look behind her, but she knew that more than one ghost had to be on her flank. And who knew how many more were behind the walls, just waiting to pounce on her? Sweetie ran. Sweetie ran. Sweetie ran. The maze of coffins and cubbyholes seemed endless. She would be running until she ran out of breath, collapsed, or by some horror found herself at- Sweetie stopped. Dead end. Sweetie eventually found herself at a wall. "No way... no way, no way, no way!" Sweetie whispered angrily out loud. She looked back. They weren't there, but she was sure they were around the corner. She could feel the chills growing more and more. They were coming. Those ghosts would catch her and- "Wait..." She stared at the wall for a moment. She wondered. Was she really cornered? After all, of all the turns she came to, this was the only wall she'd come into. And the way the wall was shaped looked odd as well. Like it bulged. Sweetie felt around the stone wall frantically to find something. Something to prove her hopes were true. "Yes!" she quietly cheered. It wasn't just a bulge. It was rounded, like the slab she'd found ajar when she first entered the catacomb. But there was still a slight problem. It was sealed. Sweetie would have to figure out how to get it open before the ghosts were upon her again. She tried to move the stone, pushing its side. "C'mon... c'mon...! Budge!" She had to be strong. She had to be strong to move this thing- To her amazement, after a moment of pushing, the stone moved over easily. It was a little louder for something that seemed so much lighter than she expected but it moved. She managed to move it to the side, just enough to quickly slip through the opening. As she made it through, the stone fell back into its original position. Sweetie backed from the stone. She heard the ghostly laughter outside of the stone, but it didn't try to phase through the door. Did she loose the ghosts? As Sweetie heard the laughter fade away, she slumped down against a wall. "Phew... too close." She was safe for now. Sweetie knew she had to find the cylinder soon, but going outside now was next to suicide. She would wait in here for a few minutes before going out to continue her search. "Wait...where am I?" But that was when Sweetie began to take notice to the change in her surroundings. Sweetie shinned her flashlight around the new room. There didn't seem to be any other exits, but that wasn't what Sweetie noticed first. It was different. The stones, unlike the ones in the previous network of tunnels were a wildly different tint than the ones in this room. It was as though she had stepped into an entirely new crypt! "Weird... what's up with the change?" This new room seemed to be some kind of special burial chamber, as four coffins were lined with flowers and etchings of names. The first names of each pony seemed to be buffed out, only to leave the last name Yield. "Yield... are these..." No doubt about it, they had to be the coffins of the four family members of the Yield family. Specter Yield, Madame Yield and apparently two others. Kids maybe? Another strange detail about them were just how recent they looked. The coffins looked newer, and much more freshly placed than any other coffin Sweetie had come across thusfar. "I... wonder what's inside?" A morbid question of curiosity came to her. She tried to justify what she said by considering that the last one she checked had a candy heart. It wasn't out of the question that something this "different" might hold something important. Sweetie checked each of them to find they were locked. "Of course..." Now she was really curious. What was inside? In the middle of the room seemed to be a drain. Sweetie, given it was the only other thing that stood out, went over to investigate. She shined her light down its hole. At the bottom, something glistened against her flashlight. What the... what could that be? Sweetie wondered. She was sure it was important. The problem however that was it was just out of her reach, as she tried to reach down into the hole to get it. Suddenly, an idea came to Sweetie. --You're a unicorn right? You can use magic. Until the ghost mare mentioned it, Sweetie had near completely forgotten about the magical bone sticking out of her fore head. Then again, she didn't recall an instance in particular it wouldn't have been that useful. Her magic was weak. She could barely pick up the lightest fabric back at Rarity's Boutique. Her inability to stabilize her telekinesis magic had usually resulted in accidents with Rarity. Arguments among the ones they already had. Arguments and yelling- She shook her head. That wasn't important right now. Sweetie had a good feeling that the shiny thing was still vital in some way. She needed whatever was down there, and that had to be her main focus. Sweetie stood firmly over the drain and closed her eyes. "Visualize..." she mumbled. "Cast..." She visualized the object in her head. She saw it glistening at the bottom of the well against her flashlight and the thought of lifting it. Her horn glowed a faint white light. She visualized it slowly rising up out of the drain. She did it slowly, as keeping hold of the item was like balancing it on a pin. One wrong move, one careless release of magic and it would go tumbling down. Energy wise, it wasn't exactly easy on her either. Her legs felt weak as the little magic inside of her was drained into the telekinesis spell. She felt faint, and tired as the magic was depleted. Just a little more... When she felt as though she were at her limit, she let go. Following her sigh of exhaustion, the next sound she heard was a clink against the stone floor, as though something was dropped there. She opened her eyes to see a key, lying on the outside of the drain. Sweetie picked up the key, and looked at it. Just like the coffins in the room, the key was new looking. She wondered if the key could possibly be to the them. Finally, the curiosity of the their contents gave into the dread of them. Whether or not there was something good in one, she was sure she wouldn't like what was inside. Though while she was stuck in here, she didn't have a good excuse to not check them. It wasn't as though anything she needed would be easily accessible or quite frankly "pleasant" to obtain. Sweetie gulped, not expecting to be as lucky to find a completely decayed pony in such new looking containers of the dead. With that, she proceed to check the coffins. The first one she tried at the corner closest to the stone slab didn't fit. She then tried the second next to it. No dice. The third one wasn't any different from the last two. Each time a sense of relief came to her with a wave of disappointment. Sweetie wondered if perhaps this key wasn't even to these coffins, and instead to something else. When the prospect of having to sperlunk the catacombs even longer for one tiny keyhole to this one tiny key, suddenly any rotting, decaying, worm infested body that smelled like Celestia knows what didn't seem like such a bad thing. Finally, she stuck the key into the lock of the fourth coffin, the farthest one back to the left. As she turned it, it clicked open. She gave a bitter-sweet smile satisfied of her success as well as dreading to see what was inside. With another deep breath, Sweetie went over to the side of the coffin and began trying to push the cover off. It was heavy. It was really heavy. Either that or it was stuck. Either way, even when Sweetie put all of her muscle and weight on it, the thing wouldn't move. "C'mon, you've gotta be kidding. This has gotta be lighter that that dumb stone door!" Sweetie said through her teeth as she continued to push. "I can do this, I can push this- woah!" Sweetie slipped as the coffin cover suddenly became movable. CRASH! The stone cover fell off the other side of the, causing it to make a loud sound, and break the covering. Sweetie was sure that if the ghosts didn't know she was in there before, they knew now. She wouldn't have much more time before she either had to get out of there, or hide. Inside of the coffin was probably one of the most disturbing things Sweetie had come across yet. Inside of it was- Nothing. No, that wasn't correct. There was something but what Sweetie found inside wasn't what she was expecting at all. Inside was nothing more than the cylindrical processor Madame had mentioned. Sweetie was glad that she had finally come across the piece of her GCD after such a horribly long time, but there was something vital missing here. "W...here's the body?" There should have been a body here. Sweetie was sure that there were some bodies in the room, dead and rotting. She could smell them. She wished she couldn't desperately, but she did smell them. The other ones, she was sure had something in them, but why was this body gone. After staring at the empty casket for who knows how long, she shook her head and finally put the GCD part in her saddlebags. She wouldn't get her questions answered if she just stood here. Despite how quiet it was, it was still cold. She was still in danger, and now that she had the item she was looking for, she could finally look for a way to escape this place. Either way, Sweetie deduced that the one who put her GCD part here intentionally wanted to make it difficult to obtain without some ghostly, or stronger magical help. Thankfully, this one didn't do that good of a job. But that didn't mean that the other ones would be as simple. She could only hope- "Sweets, are you being weird again?" Sweetie turned around at the sound of the voice. It was familiar. It was a friend's voice. Sweetie turned around, she gasped. Whether it was out of surprise or fear one wouldn't be able to immediately tell. "Heh... but really. Glad to see you got out of that crash alright." Scootaloo said, smiling at her friend. "You... are alright, right?" The heavy slab of stone Sweetie saw from the light of her flashlight was completely tossed to its side. Sweetie didn't say anything in response. "Hey Sweetie. Somethin' wrong?" Scootaloo asked in concern, taking a step closer to her friend. "You okay?" That was wrong. Sweetie might have been able to move it by some miracle, but that was only barely. It was impossible for Scootaloo to do such a thing. Not without some help. Sweetie took a step back. Scootaloo laughed. "Oh come on. Don't tell me you're scared of me now. I got through here easy peasy. If you want to save our friends, you gotta be brave like me." That was wrong. The more she stared at her, the less she sounded like Scootaloo. --Just like Applebloom The more she stared at her the less she looked like Scootaloo. --Just like Applebloom From a glance one wouldn't be able to tell something was wrong, but the more she looked in this increasingly tense atmosphere, she could tell that this was not Scootaloo. No matter how much she wished it was. She wished that this was Scootaloo, and if she hadn't been hunted and nearly killed by Applebloom, she might have tackled to her to the ground, kissing her continuously out of sheer relief. But that wasn't the worst part. No, the worst part was how little she would move. For some odd reason, she couldn't move. But she had to. She had to move now, or else she would die. Sweetie- O[tries talking to her. Confirm whether or not this is her friend.] O[has to get away now. This isn't her friend anymore, she's just like Applebloom.] Author's Note Body Missing
CHOICE12"I-I'm not scared of you." Sweetie stammered out, keeping her distance from the filly. "Huh? Then what the hay is wrong with you?" Scootaloo asked. "I...I'm not scared of you." Sweetie repeated. "I-I'm afraid... of what's inside of you." She spoke honestly. She had no reason to be scared of Scootaloo. Scootaloo wouldn't harm her. But- Scootaloo giggled. --Scootaloo would never giggle. Not here. "Wait Sweets, wait. Hold up. I'm not possessed or anything. Look at me!" Scootaloo said. She got up on her hindlegs, and outstretched her forelegs and tiny hooves to show herself fully. "Do I look like some crazed pony to you?" Sweetie had to admit, she didn't have the yellow eyes like Applebloom did. Still, there were too many contradictions that told Sweetie otherwise. "N-no... but that doesn't explain why you're still here." Sweetie said. "Huh?" Scootaloo shrugged. "I was trying to get through here, just like you." "But... but that had to be at least an hour ago... Madame said-" "Oh, that ghost lady?" Scootaloo said. "Yeah, she told me to look for some hunter. Never expected it to be you." The other side of Sweetie was starting to win as she didn't find any contradictions with her story. Sure, there were things wrong but the hope that she was actually speaking to Scootaloo was beginning to soften her up. She allowed Scootaloo to take a few more steps to her, without moving. Still, there was just one other suspicion she had. "B-but what about that door?" Sweetie asked. "How the hay did you move that big piece of stone?" "Sweetie... no offense, but you're kinda wimpy." Scootaloo said. "Moving that stone wasn't that hard." Sweetie couldn't think of any contradictions as Scootaloo approached Sweetie further. Wait a second- "Stop!" Sweetie said. "What?" Scootaloo said, disobeying Sweetie's command. Sweetie started to back up against the back of the burial chamber, her paranoia renewed. "H-ow did you know I was that hunter?" Sweetie asked. Scootaloo shrugged. "Lucky guess. Figured since you're the only one who's still alive, you had to be them. Plus you've got that little cylindrical ghost processor." --There! "Who told you it was that?" "...what?" "M-madame said she told " Her brain and body were still weak from the spell Sweetie knew something was wrong, but her brain wouldn't have it. She'd seen her friend again, and a part of it craved... or rather needed that company. Her brain wouldn't allow her to leave as long as she wasn't completely sure her friend was altered. "N-no! You were in the dark, without a light, and a crypt full of ghosts. It's impossible for you to have made it here untouched!" Sweetie said. "Let alone at all." Scootaloo stopped. She laughed at the filly. "I guess there's no fooling you anymore huh?" Scootaloo cackled. Scootaloo was joined by two butler ghosts at her sides, completely cutting off Sweetie's path back out to the crypt. "I was kind of hoping to get to do this on my own... daddy never let me do anything on my own." Daddy? Sweetie thought. Scootaloo cleared her throat. "But I guess if the job gets done, in the long run, it just doesn't matter." Scootaloo said. "Kill her." The two butler ghosts laughed at Sweetie as they charged her. At one split second, Sweetie saw the opening between Scootaloo and the two ghosts. She clumsily dodged the left ghost and weaved right around Scootaloo. She ran into the darkness of the crypt. She could hear Scootaloo cackling as she perused her. She was getting louder, faster. Scootaloo, given her dream to become as fast as Rainbow Dash, had practiced increasing her speed. She was one of the fastest Cutie Mark Crusaders, and compared to the three fillies, Sweetie was the slowest. Sweetie's heart pounded in her chest as she tried to locate a way out of the crypt, her friend quickly growing closer. Ghosts popped out of walls left and right, thankfully, not all of them had the skeleton weight on them. Sweetie shined her light on the ghosts popping out of the walls, and dodged or ran past the ghosts coming out of the coffins. Sweetie found the passages of the crypt expanding. Sweetie only hoped that meant something good- Sweetie's head hit a metal door, knocking her back. She shook her head as she got up, and opened it. She looked back at the orange filly, madly grinning through the darkness, her eyes turned a glowing yellow now. Sweetie went through the door and closed it. She looked up to see a lock she could turn. She turned the lock, and heard a click from inside of the door. Sweetie stood back and shined her light on the door in case any ghosts tried to follow her... Nothing came. Not even the sound of the orange filly trying to force the door open. It was as if the ghosts had completely abandoned pursuing her altogether. Sweetie worried for her friend who was still trapped inside of the crypt with those ghosts, but it was better than her being outside, trying to kill her. Sweetie sighed in relief, as safe for the moment. What was more, she managed to escape with the GCD part. "One down... two to go." she sighed. Sweetie weakly smiled in the darkness before shining her light around the area to find out where she needed to go next. She saw a staircase leading upward. Possibly to the church Madame mentioned? Sweetie climbed the staircase and entered the door. Thankfully, once she was through, the nave of the church was well lit. Benches for ponies to sit stretched to the back of the small church. The walls were glass artwork, depicting Princess Celestia and Luna in different scenarios from Equestrian history, one of which, Sweetie recognized as the banishing of Nightmare Moon, and the encasement of Discord. Sweetie determined this was some kind of church that worshiped the Princesses. She'd heard about other places in the vast country of Equestria, where the Royal Sisters were respected not only as princesses but as gods. Their power was great, but ponies close to Canterlot, where the sisters resided knew better. Though they had a long lifespan, and were considerably powerful, they were still somewhat mortal, and even had their own limitations. Because of this, Sweetie had never seen a church before in person, and in all honesty, it was unsettling to the filly, with its Gothic architecture and creepy lighting. Sweetie took out her map to check her location. Now that she was out of the crypt, the maps previous question mark swirled around, and turned back into a map of the mansion. According to the map, Sweetie was to the right of the large mansion. She was as far as she could get from the safe zone around the center of the mansion. However, she hadn't gone too far from the courtyard, which meant the dressing room and auditorium were only a few hallways away. She headed for the back of the room to the exit. As she passed the benches of the church, Sweetie noticed something white out of the corner of her eye, lying on one of the benches. Sweetie went over to investigate to find it was a scribbled note. Forgive me my Celestia. Forgive my children. Forgive me my friends. Forgive me my dear. As my intentions do not matter anymore. For I have committed an act to hurt us all... Sweetie held the note in her hoof. It was some kind of confession. Who could have written it? Sweetie placed the note inside of her bag. Something told her it would be a good idea to keep it handy... She headed out of the church area, and into another hallway. She began her trek back to the dressing room, that note's words still in her head. Who wrote that, and what did they do that was so bad...? *** Sweetie entered the dressing room hallway. The storm still raged outside in the courtyard. Rain puddled inside of the hallway, since she left the door open when she first left. The light from her flashlight reflected off of the water on the floor. Other than that, the hallway remained the same. There several doors with stars on them in the hallway. Sweetie begun her search in each room, which were thankfully unlocked. The first room was a normal dressing room. It had a mirror, make up table, stool, and wardrobe closet. Everything was covered with a white sheet, just like the other items in the mansion. Nothing out of the ordinary. Sweetie headed to the next room over. Still the same. Sweetie went to several rooms in the puddled hallway, to find the same style of dressing room in each, with slight variations here and there. Finally, Sweetie came to the middle door, not very far from the door where wind and rain was coming from. She touched the door knob, to find it significantly colder than the other ones. Sweetie knew that there had to be a ghost somewhere inside of the room. As much as she didn't want to, this was the most different room she found in the hallway. And plus, it only made sense that a ghost might guard the piece that threatened them so much. Sweetie took a deep breath, ready to face whatever was inside of the room. As she opened, she was surprised to find nothing. No ectoplasm, no laughing, no indication that a ghost, or any pony for that matter had been in there for a long time... accept one thing. It was the sheet. Unlike the other rooms, the sheet to one of the make-up mirrors was slightly to its side, exposing the mirror. It was cracked, as if someone had broken it too. This room was definitely altered from the other ones, and it was more than enough to urge Sweetie make a point to examine the room twice as thoroughly as the others. Sweetie looked around the room, in the dresser, in the closet, under the chair, making sure every corner of the room was searched. Still though, the filly didn't find a thing in the room. C'mon Sweetie. Think! It’s gotta be in this room! Sweetie thought. She wasn't sure what made her sure of it, but she could feel it in her gut she was right. Ok... I doubt they would've made it easy to find... so it’s gotta be hidden really well... somewhere I wouldn't think of checking. Sweetie looked around the room one more time before she got an idea. She checked all of the corners of the room... on her level. She had yet to look up though. Sweetie shined her light at the ceiling. Nothing was there, accept a candle chandelier. Sweetie saw how pieces of gold arched into each candle holder... though the odd thing was, one of the arches had a ridged ends and the candle holder was silver, rather than gold like the others. That was it! Her nozzle had been cleverly disguised as a candle holder. Hiding in plain sight. Though Sweetie could now see the candle, the new problem was that she couldn't reach it. Ok, I can figure this out. Just need a way to climb up there. Sweetie thought. Sweetie considered using the dresser, but it was too heavy, and didn't look like it'd be high enough to reach the chandelier. The chair was the same. Sweetie then saw the sheet. She wondered if she could use it to climb up. She took the sheet fully off of the mirror completely exposing it. It completely broken, as Sweetie could barely see her reflection. Sweetie's mind went back to the fountain. The last time this happened, she saw orange ectoplasm trailing from it. Sweetie wondered if this could be how ghosts got around. Sweetie didn't see it as too strange, considering she at one point used a camera to transport to safety. Sweetie rolled up the sheet, tightening it, twirled it around, and tossed it up to the chandelier. She missed her first time. The second time, she almost got it. The third time, the sheet licked across the arch in the chandelier. Finally, she managed to get the sheet to catch on one of the chandelier arches, looping over it. Slowly, making sure she didn't cause it to fall back down again, she moved her side of the sheet up, as the other side's tip returned to her. Once it made it to a level she could take it from, she took both sides of the sheet, and tugged, making sure it was firmly on. She took both sides, and started to climb. Sweetie's upper body strength wasn't great, but it was enough for her to manage to inch her way up the cloth. Her arms felt weak as if they were going to give out on her. She forced herself to remain strong as she climbed. Finally, she made it to the chandelier. Sweetie looked up at the nozzle and hose. She took one hoof off of the cloth to reach out to it. She took it with her hoof, and grabbed the hose, which easily detached from the chandelier base. "Got you." Sweetie said to herself. "Got who?" Pinkie said as she phased through the ceiling, right next to Sweetie's face. The ghost mare scared the filly into letting go of the cloth and falling to the floor. She fell with a thud, groaning in pain on the floor. Pinkie giggled. "Silly Jumpie. You aren't supposed to let go of the rope." Pinkie said. "Didn't think you'd see me again huh?" Sweetie looked up at the ghost mare. She didn't know wither to fear the mare, or loathe her overly joyful attitude. "I thought I hid that part extra well, dont'cha think?" Pinkie said. "Y... you hid my stuff?" Sweetie asked as she got up. For a moment, she forgot her fear. "I thought you threw it away!" "I know I did." Pinkie giggled. "But I just wanted to see how far you'd go to actually look for it." Sweetie groaned rubbing her neck from the pain of the fall. "Only one more part to find, huh?" Pinkie asked. "Y-yeah? So?" Sweetie said. Sweetie figured it wouldn't be any use to trying to escape the mare now. Her only weapon was to keep the mare talking... and knowing Pinkie, that wouldn't be hard. Besides, the mare must have come for a reason... then again, this was Pinkie. "I can't wait for you to find the last part. Then we can play!" Pinkie said, moving around behind the filly. She put her cold ghostly fore leg around Sweetie's neck. "I've been waiting all night for something to do." "Play? Play what?" Sweetie asked. "A game silly!" Pinkie grinned. "But first, I need you to do a couple things for your Auntie Pinkie." A favor? That doesn't sound too promising. Sweetie thought. "Oh, don't worry. It's nothing big." Pinkie said. "S-stop looking at my thoughts!" Sweetie said. She sighed. She knew she wouldn't leave without honoring Pinkie's request. "What... what do you want?" "Nothing you weren't gonna do already... but I need you to catch a few ghosts for me." Pinkie said. "Don't worry. Just two. Can you guess who one is?" Sweetie thought. Someone who she was going to catch already.... the only people she could think of was one of her friends... that was Rainbow Dash... Twilight Sparkle... and Rarity... "...Twilight?" Sweetie guessed. "Good job! And how about the other one?" ".... Rarity?" Sweetie guessed again. Pinkie made a buzzer noise. "Wrong!" She said smiling. "Actually, I want you to catch Dashie too." "Rainbow and Twilight?" Sweetie asked. "Why would you want me to catch ghosts for you? Aren't they your... friends?" Sweetie wasn't sure if any of the ghosts considered each other 'friends' like she did with the CMC and her Mane 6. " "Don't get me wrong. I love Dashie and Twi... though still, I can't play my game until they're out of the way. You'll start to see when you catch them." Pinkie said. "Kind of like... a surprise! I know how much you like surprises." "I hate surprises." Sweetie said coldly. The last thing she needed that night was another surprise. "I think you're gonna love these. Anyway, when you get that done, head back to the courtyard out there." Pinkie said. "Here, let me mark your map for you." Without the filly's permission, she reached into her bag and takes out her map. She opens it, exposing the mansion layout. She touched a part of the map that said 'Library'. A pink smudge was left in the area as she stuck it back in her saddlebags. "I'll be waiting for you, as long as you haven't lost the game by then. Kay?" Pinkie said. "Ok." Sweetie responded. "Well, See ya later. Good luck with the rest of that vacuum thingy!" Pinkie said, floating into the mirror. As she did, the mirror repaired itself, and was as if no pony had ever touched the thing. Left behind on the face of the mirror were words left in a pink sludgy ectoplasm: Get Ready For A Party, A smiley face drawn on the side of the phrase along with some balloons and streamers. *** Sweetie went back through the lobby and back into the auditorium. It was still well lit, so that meant that there weren't any ghosts nearby... then again, she did still feel a slight chill in the air when she opened the door. She also still had that bad gut feeling that something was out of place and wrong in the seemingly empty auditorium. Still, Sweetie only had one more part to look for, and she wasn't going to let some paranoia keep her back now. Sweetie turned out her light, and put it back into her saddlebags, as she walked into the auditorium. As she did however, she suddenly felt lightheaded. The world seemed to move under her feet as she walked in, causing her to stumble over into one of the isles between the rows of viewing chairs. Sweetie shook her head, as she got up trying to regain her equilibrium. Thankfully, the feeling subsided after a few moments. That was weird. Sweetie thought. Sweetie started looking through the seats in the large auditorium, checking for anything that looked like her spectral containment pack. She walked up and down the aisles, looking for where it might be. She didn't see it anywhere. All of the seats in the auditorium were empty. Sweetie realized that the pack wouldn't be hidden so carelessly. It had to be somewhere... but where could she look in the massive auditorium- Suddenly, Sweetie heard something. It was music... piano music. Sweetie turned her attention to the stage. The grand piano sat there, music emitting from it. Sweetie had heard the piece before and it was somewhat unsettling... it was the music of a death march. The sad, depressing sound of a death march that might be played at a pony's funeral. Sweetie cautiously approached the stage, unknowing of whatever could be up there. She felt more dizziness come to her head, but she forced herself to stay up on her feet. Sweetie climbed the steps to the stage to investigate the piano. Before she could see what was behind the keyboard, the music abruptly stopped. Something banged against the inside of the piano, as if some pony were trying to escape its black cover. Sweetie rushed over to try and free whatever was inside, but found that it wouldn't lift. Sweetie noticed a lock on the side of the piano. Once Sweetie let go of the lock, the banging sound inside of the piano stopped. It was silent once again in the auditorium. Sweetie tried to figure out what to do. Some pony was obviously trapped inside... but wither or not it was a friendly pony was the question that came to the filly's mind. It made her more hesitant to the idea of figuring out how to open the piano. Still however, Sweetie had a feeling that her pack was also inside of the piano, and therefore, she had to figure out how to get it open. Sweetie investigated the surroundings of the piano. Sure enough, there was no key to the cover's lock. Maybe the piano player had it? Sweetie went around to the keyboard. No pony was there. What was happening? It couldn't have been a ghost, because the room was still lit. It also couldn't have been Applebloom, or she would have seen her. And Scootaloo was still down in the crypt, otherwise, she would have seen her on her way back. But she could have sworn there was music playing just a second ago... Sweetie examined the keys of the keyboard, and found something peculiar on them. On the three wooden black keys, at the center of the piano, three letters were etched into each one. A-C-T Act? What the hay could that mean? Sweetie wondered. Then something clicked in her head. Sweetie went inside of her saddlebags to take out the note she found back in the church. Forgive me my Celestia. Forgive my children. Forgive me my friends. Forgive me my dear. As my intentions do not matter anymore. For I have committed an act to hurt us all... Was there some kind of connection? Like a secret code in the note that corresponded to the note? Sweetie examined the note further, trying to figure out what it was trying to tell her. It was something related to the piano... related to music. Then she noticed the letters. The way the verses ended and began. Forgive me my Celestia Forgive me my children Forgive me my friends Forgive me my dear As my intentions do not matter anymore For I have committed an act to hurt us all They were notes! Sweetie remembered this from music classes she took back at school. She may not have known how to play a piano fluently, or at all for that matter, but somewhere down the line she learned the keys of a keyboard. Sweetie wondered... One hoof at a time, she started to enter the notes around the black keys with the word "Act" etched in. F, C, F, C, F, F, F, D, A, A, F, A. Once the song was finished, something inside of the piano clicked. One of the keys, the B, popped up. Inside of the key was... an actual key. Sweetie took the key out of the space in the keyboard, and went back over to the lock with it. To Sweetie's satisfaction, it was a perfect fit. She turned the key, and took the lock off of the piano cover. Sweetie used the piano bench to get up to allow her to climb up, giving her better leverage on the piano cover as she lifted it with her tiny filly fore legs. She managed to flip it over. She looked inside of the piano. She stared, with expressions horrified, shocked, and confused. Inside of the piano, was the spectral containment pack... right alongside her filly friend, Scootaloo, who lie there, cold, still, and breathless. [Continue]
CHOICE13There was no way in hay that this was still Scootaloo. There were simply too many things wrong with this picture. If she didn't leave before she got to close, there was no telling what the pony under her skin would plan to do to her. Something like breaking her bones before feeding her to the ghosts of the catacombs? Or perhaps something violent like holding her down, beating her to a pulp until her face was completely unrecognizable? These concepts, Sweetie could only comprehend concept and nothing more. She couldn't see someone who looked so similarly to Scootaloo- no was Scootaloo, but at the not anymore, ruining her like that. Then again, she could barely comprehend it when Applebloom was holding a knife to her throat. For a time, acting on instinct, but when the realization, and just the realization dawned on her it caused her to have near a complete mental breakdown. Sweetie didn't want to comprehend any of it right now. She had to escape before Scootaloo even had the chance to try something. Behind her was the door. If she timed it just right, she could move around her and bolt through. Where she would go once she was back in the catacomb network was unclear. Though that didn't matter. So long as she could escape this thing who wore her coat. Scootaloo... no, this possessed Scootaloo stared at her. Waiting. Expecting. Sweetie made a dodge to the right and bolted forward, determined to get past Scootaloo. At first it didn't even seem like she had even realized the move Sweetie made. She didn't even flinch. Sweetie figured that she had managed to surprise her with such an impulse move. "Alright, almost- wha?!" Suddenly, right in front of her, Scootaloo appeared. Did she teleport? No. She, even possessed couldn't and wouldn't be able to use any kind of magic. That wasn't teleportation. That was just sheer speed. --Rainbow would be proud. Before Sweetie could try another dodge, Scootaloo raised a hoof and jabbed her in her throat. "Guh-ah!" Sweetie gasped, falling to the ground. The jab wasn't enough to kill her. It was simply for all it did. To stun her while Scootaloo did as she pleased with her. She stood above Sweetie, laughing at her as she lied on the ground. Before she could move again, or even try to get up, she got on top of Sweetie, pinning her to the ground. The mad grin was there now. Her eyes shone yellow. There was no denying it at this point. She of course knew it down in her gut, but oh how she desperately didn't want to have to see it. Not here. As the last living memory of her friend. Scootaloo laughed. Sweetie struggled to get free. "Quit squirming." Scootaloo commanded. "I got you. You're my toy now. That means you've gotta do what I say. That's the rules. Ms. Pinkie said so." P...inkie? Regardless, Sweetie didn't stop trying to get free. Scootaloo tilted her head. "You stubborn mule, I said stop squirming!" With a quick movement, Scootaloo raised her hoof and slammed it down onto one of Sweetie's forelegs. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sweetie screamed. "Shut up!" Scootaloo brought down another hoof on Sweetie's other foreleg. "Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!" Sweetie whimpered. She tried to keep her mouth shut, under some vague hope that if she listened to her, the horrible mind splitting pain would stop. "Geeze, you're just like her." she spat. "Always whining over the stupidest things." Scootaloo got up off of her. It wasn't like Sweetie would be able to move with two of her legs virtually ruined. But the mad filly didn't stop there. "I thought I could have fun with you." Scootaloo brought down another hoof on one of Sweetie's hind legs. She screamed again this time, even louder. Though Scootaloo didn't seem to care. "But how in hay am I gonna have fun with a whiner?" "P...lease... please..." Sweetie pleaded. She could feel her consciousness fading from the intense pain. She knew once she fell asleep, she wouldn't wake up. Then again, with this kind of pain, would she really want to? "But... that's alright. At least now, I won't have to listen to you whiing anymore after this." and then Scootaloo brought one last hoof down on Sweetie. Sweetie blacked out. *** Sweetie woke up with a gasp. The air was very thin and stale. And smelly. Sweetie groaned. Her body was in unimaginable pain. --So much pain. Especially in her legs- It was then the memories of when Sweetie blacked out rushed into her little head. Scootaloo. She had knocked her unconscious by pinning her down and smashing at her legs. "Where... hello?" Sweetie called out. Her saddlebags were still on, surprisingly. It looked like Scootaloo hadn't stripped her of her gear this time. She supposed she should be thankful but something felt wrong about it at the same time. After all, it was way too convenient that she would leave something as vital as her flashlight in her mouth. Wherever she was. To avoid only incriminating her pain, Sweetie shifted the flashlight around in her mouth until she eventually managed to turn it on. Click! A circle of light beamed forward, only to be immediately stopped by some grey stone wall. "W...hat?" Sweetie said. It was then she noticed that her side was also against something rough and stone. And her back as well. It wasn't long before Sweetie finally concluded. She was in a coffin. "Hehehehehe...hehehe..." Then the laughter. That horrible horrible laughter. Low, but so very near. As if right next to Sweetie's- Sweetie slowly turned to the left to see what it was, dropping the flashlight out of her mouth when she screamed. It was a body. No, not like the one before, only a skeleton. This one was still decaying. It still had rotten eyes to look at her. Sweetie screamed. She rolling on her back in a panic. She tried lifting her hoof to push open the coffin. "Ah!" --The pain. The coffin lid was already probably heavy enough. With Sweetie's legs ruined like this, there was no way she would be able to push it open. Sweetie screamed even louder at what seemed to be one horrific realization to the next. She tried shifting her body best she could against the sides. Squirming inside as the teeth of the decaying pony began to chatter to compliment the laughs. Trying to escape somehow. Somehow. The candy heart! Of course! There still was a way out. She could just get into her saddlebags and- Sweetie bit through the pain and shoved her hoof into her saddlebags. It's not here. The air seemed to get thinner and thinner the shorter Sweetie breathed. The more she thrashed her broken legs into her saddlebags like a ragdoll, desperate to feel the warmth of it's glow. It's not here. "Help" Her throat was getting dry. So very dry as she cried out for somepony. Anypony. Anyone. Hoping they would hear. And somepony did in fact hear. Scootaloo in fact. She heard her ever so faintly from inside that little box of death. The one with the candy heart ever so neatly placed on top of it. GAME OVER [Continue?]
Chapter 11- The Magic of the Mind [REBOOT]It–that doesn't make sense... Sweetie stared blankly at the filly's still body inside of the piano. She lay awkwardly, facing the side of the keyboard. Her hooves were swollen and red. Her body was cold and motionless. Her eyes were empty, not even containing the yellow tint of someone possessed. Sweetie noticed markings around her neck. "It's your fault you know." Sweetie turned her head on impulse to the sound of the new voice. Whom she saw was a purple scaled dragon, green bones sticking out along his head, back, and tail. It was Spike. At least, that's what he looked like. Sweetie stared at him. Her mind had stopped working at the sight of the filly. It didn't make sense. It just didn't. --Logic is gone "Do you want to know how she died?" Spike asked. Sweetie continued to stare at the dragon. He smiled, "She killed herself, Sweetie. The ghost inside of her made her hang herself." He proceeded to get on his tip-toes and cock his head down to the left, whilst pretending to hold something in his claws over the back of his neck, a rope perhaps. Sweetie didn't respond to the dragon, not even when he gave that creepy laugh, suddenly a little too deep to be the same Spike she knew. All she did was listen, unable to move; her throat too dry to speak back. She felt dizzy but not enough to make her fall over again. It was a similar feeling, similar to what she felt when she lost track of reality. --Logic left the mansion a few hours ago, sweetie pie "I watched her do it, too, you know." Spike said. "Here, it's the rope she used." Spike tossed it in front of the filly. "Think of it as a souvenir." "Sc–Scootaloo...killed...herself?" Sweetie managed to get out. She had a hard time believing the dragon's words. There was the filly, lying inside of the piano, right next to the GCD part. Sweetie didn't want to believe it, but there she was. Sweetie touched the deceased filly. She wasn't just cold; however, she was hard. She was like ice to the filly's touch. As she touched, a crack appeared on the filly's body. The crack spread until it covered the filly's entire body, and her body disintegrated. "You let her stay trapped in that crypt, and you forced her to kill herself. Just because you wanted to be safe." Spike said. "No, Scootaloo. No." Sweetie felt a tear run down her cheek. Did she really kill her friend? Was it really her fault? "You've always been a mess-up, Sweetie. You've been just a big disappointment to all of your friends and yourself. You even managed to get Twi killed because of how stupid you’ve been.” he chuckled. “I mean, how stupid do you have to be to let Applebloom, a pony who obviously wasn’t safe, in your safe zone? Hell, you KNEW something was wrong. Didn't you? But, you didn’t want to believe it," he paused, “or maybe you did, but you just didn’t care.” He tilted his head. “And Scootaloo, the little pony, you forced her into this dilemma. Dying from starvation in a crypt or dying over the course of a few minutes with–” he motioned an arm toward the rope “–that. But considering how lax you’ve been with this entire incident and how you’re just standing there, I’m sure you don’t care about that either.” He started to cackle. For every “Ha” that came from the baby dragon’s mouth, Sweetie's head throbbed. --He was right. Something was wrong with Scootaloo, but there was nothing she could do, but was that really true? She cared about herself and getting away more than her friend- was that really true? --It hurts. The truth hurts. The lies hurt. It hurts. Sweetie wasn't sure from where the pain was coming. Was it the dragon's words? Was it the truth? The world didn't seem real anymore. Ever-disconnected did her thoughts become. The world remained the same, but Sweetie’s mind was more and more lost with every word that came out of Spike’s mouth. --Scootaloo’s dead. Ow. Hahaha --Ah. Hahaha --Scootaloo’s dead. Ow. It seemed like a dream world to the filly. --Dream. Ah. --Nightmare. Nightmare. Just a big nightmare to the little filly. --Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Sssss. --She’s not dead. She’s not dead. Scootaloo, she couldn't be dead. It was impossible. Spike stopped laughing abruptly. “But, it’s okay. Everyone here is dead already. Either that or on their way, right?” The dragon laughed at the filly. He paused before speaking again, "Don't you worry, Sweets. I know just what to do. It'll take all the pain away." Spike took a deep breath and blew a flame onto the stage. A patch of the wooden stage was now on fire with the dragons green flame, “Just let it eat you. I promise you won’t feel a thing.” Sweetie simply stared off into the distance. Her mind desperately trying to put itself back together. "See ya, Sweetie." Spike said as he hopped off the stage and walked out the theater. The flame spread quickly across the stage, getting closer by the second. It was funny. Sweetie didn't hear the fire gnawing at the wood at that alarming rate. She didn't see the fire, bright enough to blind her as it was. But, she smelled the smoke. Her eyes contracted as fear and survival instinct took over her body. Sweetie grabbed the spectral containment pack and slipped the piece on her back under the straps of her saddlebags. Sweetie looked around, searching desperately for some kind of exit. The way back to the exit to the theater, however, was blocked by increasingly large flames. She saw a rope, likely for production, leading up to the catwalk at the top of the stage. If she wasn’t trying not to die, she might have visualized how ponies would usually drop from above for a show. Sweetie dashed for the rope, escaping the flames as they consumed the piano. She looked up at the high catwalk. It was a long way up, but her survivor's instinct wouldn’t have it. She was going to climb it. She wasn't going to die here. --It’s hot Through adrenaline and fear, Sweetie found strength she didn't even know she had as she climbed the rope up to the catwalk. By now, the entire stage's floor was consumed in the green flame. Smoke began to float to the top, almost suffocating the filly, causing her to cough as she climbed. Finally, Sweetie managed to make it to the top of the rope and climbed onto the narrow catwalk. She looked around, desperate for a way out. It was only a matter of time before the fire spread up and burned down the catwalk if the smoke didn't kill her first. --Hot and black. Sweetie squinted through the smoke, trying to find a way out. Sweetie crawled along the catwalk, looking around, feeling around for something, anything. --No air. Sweetie took one of the paths on the catwalk, which branched in several directions over the stage. She couldn't see. The only sense of direction she had was the catwalk, and the direction it went. Finally, she hit an end, a wall. She felt around it to find it wasn't a normal wall. It was rough and metal and an air vent! It had to be an air vent just large enough for her to fit through, too. Sweetie tried to pull the cover off of the vent. It wouldn't budge. It was bolted with four screws. "Come on!" Sweetie, or perhaps her survivor’s instinct yelled in frustration at the vent, banging her hoof against it in frustration. The situation was hopeless. It was only a matter of time before she breathed enough smoke to pass out and fell to the bottom to be eaten by the hungry, hungry inferno. She was already feeling lightheaded from a lack of oxygen. She was going to die if she didn't figure out how to get out of there fast. --Suffocate. So hot. Sweetie balanced her way back down the catwalk, careful not to lose her balance and fall into the blazing green fire below. She went down another branch of the catwalk at random, hoping to find a way to survive. That's all that mattered in the filly's head at the moment, survival. She didn't process why she wanted to survive. She didn't process how she was going to survive. She just wanted some way to survive. Sweetie hit another dead end. This time, however, she didn't hit a wall or a sealed vent. Instead, she hit something sticking out of the wall. Through the smoke, she tried to tell what it was. It was some kind of box with a handle. Sweetie took the handle and opened the box. She sifted through the box, feeling different items inside. There was a wrench, a hook thing, and a screwdriver! It was a screwdriver! Could it possibly fit the vent she was locked out of? Sweetie stuck the tool in her mouth and moved back up the catwalk. The heat was rising as the fire from the bottom moved up the walls and to the ceilings. She felt the catwalk becoming more and more unsteady as if it were ready to give under her weight. Sweetie was halfway when she heard something through the smoke over the fire crackle. It was the sound of metal bending. Melting from the incomprehensible heat. --Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot! Part of the catwalk was coming apart, and Sweetie felt it as it moved to the side. Sweetie nearly fell into the fire. Now, the filly knew to move faster. Sweetie reached the center of the catwalk and hoped the path she took next was the right one back to the vent. She would only have one shot at this. Sweetie chose the center one and moved up it as fast as possible. She hit the wall. It was hot from gaining heat but not like a wall should. It was as though heat had conducted on it. It was the metal of the vent! She made it! Sweetie proceeded to remove the bolts on her escape, ignoring the fire behind her. She felt the flames getting closer and closer to her flank. Sweetie caught the bolts as they fell out of the vent just out of instinct. She wasn't sure why though, but somehow, she couldn't help it. Her body was running almost on autopilot. Finally, after the fourth bolt fell into the filly's hoof, the covering of the vent with it. Sweetie stuck the screw driver back in her saddlebags with the screws and hopped into the vent. The force of her hop caused the fragile catwalk to fall into the fire. Flames licked the filly's flank as she made it through just in time to escape the fire. She yelped in pain at her burnt plot. Still, smoke was filling the vent, and Sweetie still needed to get out of there quickly. She moved as fast as she could through the small air vent into pitch darkness. She couldn't see anymore, but she was sure she had escaped the smoke after a few minutes. At least she got to a point where the black smog wasn’t filling her nostrils and lungs like a barbeque gone wrong. Still, that didn't cause the filly to slow down. Survivor’s instinct had finally decided to take a break and go back to sleep in the back of Sweetie’s brain. Right now, she was just blindly moving. Pumped with adrenaline that caused the filly to lose control of her body, which must have still thought it was in escape mode. Finally, she was forced to a stop as she hit a wall in the metal air vent. The pain threw off the filly's instinctive side and brought back Sweetie, who cried there in the small area. She didn't know why she was crying anymore. Too many things pressing down on her made it nearly impossible to discern which thing she was crying about now. --Crybaby. Was she still mourning the death of her friend? --Crybaby. Was she just still afraid for her life as she just escaped being burned alive? --Crybaby. Or was it just simple stress? Sweetie whispered one thing as her sobs transitioned into small hiccups, “I want to go home.” she wished pointlessly. And unsurprisingly, it wasn’t granted. Sweetie lay in the air vent for who knew how long. She just wanted the nightmare to end. She just wanted to give up. She just wanted to stay in that vent where it was safe. She just wanted to be safe. (But what about your friends?) "My–my friends?" Sweetie asked herself. (Don't they matter to you? What about your sister?) "Rarity." Sweetie responded to her conscience. (You can't give up now. You still need to help your friends. You can do it. Twilight believes in you. Your friends believe in you. You're their only hope. Don't let them down.) "I can't. I can't." Sweetie said as tears stream down her cheeks once again. "Scootaloo's dead. She's–" (That may be, but you can still save your other friends. You can still leave this mansion with the rest of them.) "I can't." Sweetie repeated. (You can, and you will. Just believe.) "B–believe?" Sweetie asked. (Believe you will save your friends. Believe you will see the end of this night. And, you will. Save Rarity. Don't let her down.) "Save Rarity, my friends and escape." Sweetie said. Sweetie nodded to herself and wiped the tears from her face. Sweetie squeezed through the air vent and managed to reach in her saddlebags to take out her flashlight. Sweetie clicked it on and continued to navigate through the air vent. She would keep moving forward. She would keep trying to catch her friends, and she would see the end of the night (or die trying.) *** The air vent opened up into a larger area. It was just enough room for Sweetie to sit up on her flank and stretch out herself from being cramped in such a small area for such a long time. She assumed she'd been crawling for about thirty minutes or an hour. At least that’s what it felt like. Sweetie decided that here would be the best place to start putting together the ghost capture device. She took off the spectral containment pack first, followed by her own saddlebags. She dumped the contents onto the metal surface of the vent. She took inventory of what she had: the mansion map, the golden star box, her heart candy, the screwdriver, the ectotube and nozzle, and the cylindrical ghost processor. Sweetie checked her head to see if Applejack's hat was still firmly placed on her head. Sweetie wondered if it actually did bring her luck. After all, she just escaped a burning theater with virtually no conventional exits. Sweetie put the other items to the side and laid in front of her the pieces to the GCD. “Okay. Got all of the parts. Now what?” There were only three parts, so it wasn't something that looked difficult to reconstruct. There were parts that needed to be screwed back in to each other; however, Sweetie did notice that some of the parts were missing screws. Thankfully, Sweetie kept the ones she used from the vent. "Huh, who would've thought that these would come in handy so soon?" Sweetie said to herself as she held the four screws in her hoof. She was almost happy she wasn’t thinking normally. Normal Sweetie would have been more worried about getting her flank scorched than catching some stupid screws. --Screw the screws! Sweetie only had four, and the GCD was missing about six. Two were missing in the place where the cylindrical ghost processor went, and all four were missing in the place where the ectotube connected to. Sweetie got to work. She put the spirit containment pack in front of her and placed the cylinder on top in the hollow it supposedly went in. She screwed the first two screws into place that were already on the cylinder. She added her two new screws, which fit perfectly. The processor was successfully reattached to the pack. Now, came the nozzle and tube. Sweetie examined the part. It was now that she noticed signs that were on the base of the GCD by the switch. There were three of them. The first one was an arrow that pointed down toward the tube. Sweetie assumed that that was the suction function. Next was the arrow pointing away from the tube. Sweetie assumed that it was the function that allowed her to blow like when she used it against Applejack. Finally, there was a green splotch. Sweetie found this sign newer looking than the others. Also, she could have sworn the switch only had two positions the last time she used it. Sweetie then remembered the ghost book had said something about a”'new feature.” She decided she would try it on the next ghost she confronted. Sweetie then attached the hose to the cylindrical ghost processor where a hole was located, surrounded by four more holes where screws most likely went. She screwed the two screws she had left in place. It wasn't firm, but Sweetie assumed that it would be enough for the machine to function somewhat properly. She could at least use it until she found some more screws. Once the tube was on the GCD, it lit up again. The red lights flashed on top. "Rebooting... Rebooting... Ghost Capture 3000 functioning. Warning! Ectotube is incorrectly configured. Please repair in order to have full functionality." the GCD said. Sweetie smiled. It wasn't a pony, and it certainly wasn't alive, but it felt good to hear the disembodied voice of her GCD. A voice that wasn’t her own. And arguably like one of a friend she hadn't heard from in way too long. Or expected to see again for that matter. The warning worried her a little, but she twisted the ectotube connection the GCD warned her about. It wiggled a little but not enough in which it would keep the device from sucking any worse. Sweetie supposed she would deal with it if it, at some point, became a problem. "Ok, that's working. That's good." Sweetie said to herself, putting her saddlebags on, followed by the GCD. "Now, where am I?" According to the map, she was right next to a hallway that would lead her to the library on the second floor of the mansion. Her destination was just a few doors down. Perfect. Finally, things were --Not dead. looking up for --Dead. Sweetie. --That is the question. She might just be able to catch another of her friends after all. She shook her head. She had to remain strong. Despite what Spike said and despite what she had seen, she refused to believe that her friend was dead. This mansion was wrong. Logic was wrong. To the point Sweetie couldn’t trust her eyes anymore. Not completely. Not without doubts. She might have been deluding herself. Maybe she was deluding herself. Maybe she was crazy. But she knew she wouldn’t move any further if she accepted Scootaloo’s fate. And besides. Even if she did die. Sweetie’s fault or otherwise. She could just recapture her. Right? --Soon! Sweetie placed everything around her back into her bag. She shined her flashlight around the larger vent to find her exit and bolted. She used her screwdriver to open the vent and got it to fall to the hallway floor below. Sweetie jumped out of the vent and into a new hallway. Suddenly, she felt dizziness take her over again, causing her to collapse to the ground. "Ugh." Sweetie moaned. "Why do I keep getting so dizzy?" She shook her head, trying to regain her equilibrium, but it didn't work this time. This dizziness was far worse than she experienced any other time that night. It was much stronger and disorienting. --Closing in on target~ Stay Frosty Jumpie! Sweetie felt the world starting to spin around her again. She leaned against the wall of the hallway, trying to keep herself up. The world stopped feeling real just like when she saw Scootaloo's body or when she found herself in Sugarcube Corner. The world didn't feel real as if it were some kind of dream sequence. --Ddddddddiiiiiiiiiiiivvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeee... Down the hallway, Sweetie sees another ghost, the ghost with a white coat and purple mane. "Rarity." Sweetie mumbled. Sweetie stumbled down the hallway to the specter version of her sister. Sweetie's mind was blank and wasn't working again. She was trapped in another trance as she moved toward her sister, passing the entrance to the library. Rarity beckoned to the filly as she got closer, sweetly smiling at the filly. Once Sweetie was close, Rarity exited to a door to her right. Sweetie followed, repeating her name under her breath. She followed her up stairs. Sweetie didn't know where she was going, but her brain couldn't process any reason. Right now, she was just following her sister on a subconscious whim. Finally, Sweetie reached the top of the stairs and entered a new hallway, identical to the one she was just in. The hallway seemed endless in its darkness. Far down the hallway, Sweetie could see Rarity, lying in the middle of it. --She's hurt Sweetie. You should go make sure she's ok. "Rarity...gotta...make sure...she's ok." Sweetie said, moving in the direction of the mare's location. The walls around the filly seemed to melt. Any paintings or artwork on the walls drooped down in a wet mess. Sweetie didn't care, however. She was almost to where her sister was. She felt something crack under her feet, something sharp, but she didn't look down to see what it was. All she cared about was helping her sister just– Lightning flashed, illuminating the world around the filly. Everything changed, back to normal. Nothing felt dreamlike, and her equilibrium was back. She was standing on broken glass, spread around the floor. What was in front of her was no longer her sister. No, she was standing in front of a broken window, looking out in front of the mansion and the rest of the forest. Rain lightly went through her mane and coat as the wind blew towards her. If Sweetie had just taken a couple more steps forward, she would have walked out of the window and fallen to her death. After that realization, she took a few steps back. What had just happened? Then, Sweetie remembered the words of Madame: You were being manipulated by the Portrait of Magic. Twilight Sparkle, it made sense, now. Twilight's ghost had been manipulating her all night. She must have been in her head, creating illusions, like Sugarcube Corner or Rarity or even Scootaloo's dead body. She remembered having a similar dizzy sensation back in the theater. Did that mean that her friend wasn't really dead? Could it have all just been one big mind trick? Sweetie felt relief at the thought she still might be able to save all of her friends, but then she remembered, she would still have to face Twilight, who almost convinced her to jump out of a five story window. How would she be able to fight someone who could manipulate her mind? Another flash of lightning occurred outside. Then, the lightbulb went off over Sweetie's head. Sweetie managed to break free of the mare's magical mental grip when the lightning flashed. Maybe, she could use it against Twilight? That was her advantage and her only chance at fighting the ghost mare. It was worth a shot. Sweetie looked out at the forest. She couldn’t have been in the mansion for more than a few hours, but she was already forgetting what it was like back outside. Back in Ponyville, back in the Boutique, back where her nice warm bed was, where Rarity would tuck her in every night. Sweetie shook her head, careful not to get too caught up in her homesickness. She still had a job to do. She still had to catch her sister and friends. Sweetie's attention turned to the front yard of the mansion, and she was shocked to what she saw. The first things she noticed were the holes in the ground where the graves were. It was as if some of the ponies underground had just climbed out. Sweetie knew that couldn't be good. The next thing she noticed were the statues along the path that led to the mansion. They were also missing or at least the griffon statues were gone. The dragon ones, thankfully, were still there as still as ever. Something told Sweetie that she was going to have to face a new enemy soon. She wished she still had her ghost book, so she would be ready for the incoming threat. Sweetie checked her map to find that there was another entrance to the library on her floor. Sweetie didn't see any reason to go back downstairs if the entrance was also on that floor. She headed back down the hallway to the entrance, the light shining her way forward. As Sweetie moved forward, something stopped her again. It was a chill, the chill that meant a ghost was nearby. Sweetie's guard went up as she prepared her GCD. Sweetie proceeded cautiously down the hallway, her flashlight ready for anything that might pop out. The next sound she heard wasn't a laugh but a growl. It was the sound something Sweetie imagined a dog might make. Was it one of those ghost dogs from the basement? How the hay did it get up here? Sweetie didn't see anything in front of her, but she could hear the growling getting louder and louder then it hit her. She wasn't seeing any ghost dog because it wasn't in front of her but behind her. “...stupid.” Sweetie thought. Sweetie whirled around only to be tackled by a fierce glowing red ghost dog. Her flashlight was knocked out of her muzzle. Sweetie fell to the ground. Unlike the last time she she was pounced at, she wasn’t as lucky. It managed to put its full weight on top of the filly. This type of ghost, was slightly more tangible, but still she could feel it slowly phasing through her body as it weighed her down, chilling her to the bone. It tried to bite her face off, but as it did, Sweetie held it back by holding its muzzle away from her face. “Get...” The dog didn’t hear her as it continued to bark furiously at her. WOOF! WOOF! WOOF! It snapped at her face, seeming to slip it’s cold snout further through Sweetie’s hooves. --Pain. So Cold. Pain. So Cold. Ah! “Get...!” WOOF! WOOF! WOOF! It even managed to snap at her snout a little bit, nipping and scratching her with it’s teeth. Though whether or not it was the sharpness of the teeth, or the sheer amount of cold in them that cut her snout remained to be seen. --So cold. Sharp cold. Dying cold. Dead- "GET. OFF. of. ME!" Sweetie said, holding back the ghost dog. She managed to toss the it to its side. She scrambled up and went for her flashlight. She took it up with her hooves and shined it at the ghost dog. Ding! The ghost dog howled as Sweetie activated her GCD. "15,14,13-" the GCD said. Sweetie quickly got back into the swing of using the GCD as the ghost dog dragged her around the hallway. She remembered her "yank" technique. "11, 10, yank, 98765, 4, 3, yank 210. Magic depleted. Capturing ghost.” the GCD said. The ghost dog howled as it was dragged inside of the nozzle through the hose, through the ghost processor, and eventually into the GCD spirit containment pack. It felt good to the filly to be able to catch ghosts again, not only the satisfaction of catching one but also the security that she could fight back again. Sweetie continued to move forward to the entrance of the library. Finally, she found it as she stood in front of a large door with a fancy picture of a book over it. This must have been it. The door was slightly ajar, confirming that someone besides her must have been in there and most likely was still there. Without further hesitation, Sweetie pushed the heavy door wider, so she could fit through. Another flash of lightning illuminated the library for a split second. Something was wrong. What Sweetie expected to see when she entered the library was quite different from what she did see. No, based on what she’d already witnessed in the mansion (one tends to have one’s expectations raised when you find a theatre and a church in someone’s god damned house), she hadn't expect something as small as Twilight's library. That said, she was really hoping this one would at least consist of a floor to stand on. Of course, the library was dark. From what Sweetie could tell, she was on some kind of balcony in the shape of half a circle. A banister surrounding it so no one would make the deadly mistake of falling off the edge to what could be quite the nasty fall. It stood just above what seemed to be infinite rows of book cases, evenly placed along the immense library. Her light didn’t seem to reach the bottom of the chasms of bookcases. Sweetie almost questioned if there was even a bottom to begin with. In contrast, there seemed to at least be a ceiling, which book cases that were against the wall alongside the balcony appeared to stretch toward. “Luna...” Sweetie mumbled. “Twilight would have a field day in here. What kind of pony has so many books in their…” then she remembered where she was, and realized if she noted all of the nonsensical things about this mansion, she wouldn’t get anywhere. Either way, she figured she must have been at least 3-4 stories up from the first floor. Even if there was something of a bottom, falling would without a doubt kill her. Sweetie shined her light around the balcony to see that there was nothing. There was no ladder or staircase to lead her back down to the first floor or even further up to the another one. The balcony was almost completely cut off, save for the bookshelves. “What's the point of having this here anyway?” Sweetie thought to herself, breaking quickly breaking her “no-nonsense mindset” by questioning the pointless balcony. Suddenly, she heard something slam behind her. She whirled around to find the door she'd just come through had shut. Sweetie moved over there and yanked on its handle to no avail. It was shut tight. There was no way back. "Come on! Open!" Sweetie yelled at the door. The door continued to stubbornly stay shut. Sweetie then felt a cold chill across her coat. It was official. She was definitely not alone in that library. Sweetie backed away from the door as though the door were the source of the chill. "No, there's got to be some way out of here. Think Sweetie!" Sweetie remembered her map. Maybe, she could find some new exit to the library. The filly took the enchanted piece of parchment out of her saddlebags and placed it on the floor of the balcony. She shined her light on it. "C'mon. Show me a way out." Sweetie whispered to the map. It zoomed onto the library. In the corner of the map, written in fancy cursive, it said that she was on the fifth floor. The map then started to show walls of the library in red ink. Could they be possible exits? Once all of the red lines showed, the map begun to write numbers next to each of the exits except one. It seemed that at the far side of the library was another exit, written in the normal black ink that said '5'. That must have meant that there was an exit on the other side of her floor. All Sweetie had to do, now, was get to it. Sweetie looked over the balcony banister. She saw there was a bookcase top that was just within a jump's length. Sweetie figured that she could use the bookshelves as her bridge to the other side. She had no choice but to brave the bookshelves now. At least it was better than standing there, waiting for a ghost to swoop down and attack her. She put her map back into her saddlebags and climbed onto the banister and balanced there for a moment before making the jump to the top of the bookcase. Sweetie didn't land stably as she almost fell over the side of the bookcase. Sweetie looked down to the floor. Her flashlight light couldn't reach the bottom. Sweetie knew that if she fell from this height, she wasn't going to get back up. Sweetie gulped at the reminder that one bad step would lead to her death. Sweetie took a deep breath. "Don't look down, just forward. Don't look down." She said to herself as she started to walk through the darkness. The library was so thickly dark; if it wasn't for her flashlight illuminating her path along the bookcase, she might have thought she was slipping out of reality again. Sweetie kept her guard up as she hopped to the next bookcase. It was cold, and she knew that if Pinkie was telling the truth, then Twilight had to be somewhere around here. Sweetie remembered Twilight was alive at one point; her spirit split into two. Until Madame mentioned it, a second Twilight had never occurred to her. Now that Twilight was joined with her other half and if she was able to mess with Sweetie when she wasn't at full power in the kitchen, who knew how strong she could be now? Sweetie saw another flash of lightning outside. She stopped and brought her attention to the window far off on a wall in the massive library; its curtains going up along its sides, allowing the lightning to enter the library. Suddenly, a roar of thunder, louder than Sweetie thought possible, came from the heavens. It was so strong that it caused the mansion to shake a little bit. The vibration caused Sweetie to lose her balance, and she felt herself fall over the side of the bookcase. She thought she was dead the moment she fell, but then her hoof grabbed something. Instinctively, she took a hold of the wooden plank that brushed across her hoof, catching herself before she fell. She pulled herself in, hugging the wooden plank with her foreleg. Sweetie confirmed it to be some kind of ladder. It felt weak, and from the emptiness under Sweetie's hind leg, it seemed to be broken. It didn't have a way down for her, but it certainly saved her life. Sweetie sighed in relief and then noticed something glowing in the darkness along the bookcase next to the ladder. With her flashlight miraculously still clamped firmly between her teeth, she shined her light at the spot. It was a book as Sweetie expected, but the spine of that book that red and yellow spine. Could it be– Sweetie, still holding on tight to the broken ladder, reached for the book. It was simply too far away, however, for the filly to reach for it; then, she got an idea. Sweetie took the nozzle of her GCD and aimed precisely at the book she needed. It slid out of the bookshelf and hit her GCD nozzle. It stuck there much like the apple did when she sucked it in. Sweetie let go of the GCD vacuum button and caught the book before it fell off into the dark bottom of the library. She identified it and confirmed it to be her ghost notebook! Sweetie grinned in delight. I guess it would make sense my book would be in a library. she thinks, not caring about the fact that it shouldn’t. She almost thought it was a good thing she almost got herself killed. Otherwise, she would have just walked over the thing. As she put her ghost notebook back into her saddlebags, she noticed something else. The other books, around where the ghost book was previously, began to glow. Did she just set off some kind of trap? "Ah… that’s not good." Sweetie said to herself. She didn't waste any more time on the ladder. She put her hind leg on the next plank of the ladder and started to climb back up to the top of the book case. Once there, she looked back down, going against her judgement. What she saw was light emitting from a whole section of books around the ghost book's spot. Books started to float out of their shelves and, eventually, to the side of the bookshelf of Sweetie. They opened their purple covers and started to fly after her. "No, no, no!" she said as she broke into a run across the bookshelf. She hopped to the next bookshelf just a little higher than the one she was on previously. She was barely able to keep her balance. The books were gaining on her, determined to knock her off of the bookcase. Sweetie was scared and felt helpless, but then, she remembered. She didn't have to keep running now. She had the GCD. Once a little distance was built between Sweetie and the books, she turned around and pointed her flashlight at the hostile transparent novels. Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! The books light shield was broken. Sweetie then activated her GCD as it begun to vacuum the ghosts into the pack. The strange thing, however, something that surprised Sweetie, was that the GCD didn't just start sucking up one ghost, but it started sucking up two! Sweetie didn't question how or why. "0. Capturing ghosts." The GCD said. The first two books went inside of the GCD without a fight. "Capture successful. Warning. Ghost Capture Device at 50 percent" the GCD said. Sweetie ignored the voice as she continued to suck up the ghost books flying at her. "0. Capturing ghosts. Two more ghosts were forced into the GCD again without a fight. Sweetie assumed by the amount of magic inside of them that they were one of the weaker ghosts. Still, there were about four still flying at her. The GCD continued to suck up books; however, this time, rather than sucking two, it sucked one. As it entered the GCD, the device beeped. This was followed by the lights on the back of the GCD blinking red, and the nozzle button to pop back up. When Sweetie tried to push it, it wouldn't budge. "Ghost Capture Device at Full Capacity. Please expel ghosts in order to gain back functionality" "Come on! Work!" Sweetie yelled at the machine. Sweetie then ducked from the incoming books as they flew over her head. Despite the small size of the ghosts, the chill they gave was overwhelming to the filly as though she'd just gone outside on a freezing winter day. They flew behind her for a minute before turning back around and flying back at the filly again. "Stupid vacuum! How do you take ghosts back out anyway?!" Then, Sweetie remembered “The new function.” Sweetie remembered from the mirrored hallway that the ghost book said the GCD had a function that actually fired ghosts back at them. Could she use that to fight? And, possibly, empty her GCD? Sweetie switched the GCD nozzle switch to the green sludge icon. "Spectral Throwback activated." the GCD said. The button released, giving Sweetie the ability to press it again. She pointed her nozzle at the books and hit the button. Purple sludge fired out of the nozzle at such an incredible velocity that it sent the filly back a step. The purple sludge hit two of the books and knocked them out of the air and down into the darkness of the library. Sweetie fired again, this time, only hitting one of the books. The recoil of the nozzle was ruining Sweetie's aim, but it was still working. Sweetie aimed one more time at the remaining book. She hit it directly, causing it to fly back a little before falling into the darkness. Sweetie held up her GCD with both of her hooves until she was certain that the books weren't coming back up. As she listened for any other sounds of ghosts or flapping books, the filly sighed. She was safe for the moment as she only heard the sound of rain pounding against the window of the library. Even so, instinct told the filly that that safety wouldn't last long. Sweetie decided that now that she was safe, it would be a good time to check out the ghost book. Maybe, she could find something useful inside. Sweetie opened up the notebook, shining her light inside, and flipped through the pages that she'd already seen. Finally, she came to a new entry. It was a picture of the GCD nozzle. Dual Capture Info: Oh boy, another upgrade. Late as usual, I see. Something you probably could have used earlier; this new feature allows two ghosts to be captured at the same time rather than one. As you can imagine, this is extremely useful when facing more than one ghost you need to catch. As a wise something or other said, two vacuums are always better than one. Earlier, I didn't even have the GCD! Sweetie thought. How the hay would she have known. She thought the book was way too critical. She felt even worse after realizing she was getting offended by a book. She turned the page, seeing a familiar face. It was a picture of Pinkie Pie. Portrait of Laughter Gender: Female Bio: The Portrait of Laughter, not sure how you plan on getting this ghost, but anyway, this ghost is one of the more difficult to capture of the Portraits of Harmony, yet she is also one of the only ghosts that won't try to kill you right away. This is for several reasons. The main reason, however, is because she takes joy in playing with her victims. She might work with other ghosts to mentally torture their victims, or she might just do it herself. The second reason is, well, this isn't going to be to your liking, you can't catch her. First off, she has the ability to process thoughts by simply reading them. Secondly, she has an extra sense, augmented by the ghostification process that allows her to predict her victim's every move. For example, when they will shine their flashlight. Even if you manage to shine a light on the Portrait's magic shield, it won't work or at least not with conventional flashlights. The only way that this Portrait can be captured is if she wants to be. Note: However, though this doesn’t help you, she does enjoy a good laugh. Maybe you could figure out how to use that? Either way, if I were you, I wouldn't mess with that crazy mare. Main Weakness: Laughter? The ghost book had just stated what she feared. Unless Sweetie could predict Pinkie's moves, she wouldn't have any hope of catching her. And what was this about “reading” thoughts? And to top it all off, the book said that she would have to want to be captured if she had any hope. This discouraged the filly as she flipped to the next page. This one, however, wasn't on a ghost. It was on possession. Ghost Possession Info: So, you've come across a possessed pony, huh? It was only a matter of time, especially in cases of fillies and other children. Ghosts may possess any pony, but they crave possession of younger, or generally more active ponies, given their longer lifespan, and general quality, given they are still growing. Portraits are also usually the ones that enjoy possessing these younger creatures. Unfortunately, the only way to release any creature from possession without the proper exorcism tools is death as the ghost will be released from its shell. Obviously, this will also kill the pony the body originally belonged to. Unlike the other ghosts in the mansion, this death is permanent. The only other way to release the ghost is if you can convince it to leave the body but good luck with that kid. Bodies aren't that easy to come by in such a secluded mansion of dead ponies. "K-kill my friends?" Sweetie said out loud, cold mist seeping from her mouth as the temperature started to drop further. "T-that can't be the only way. C'mon book! There's got to be another way!" Sweetie sighed. She supposed that she'd have to figure out how to cross that bridge when she came to it. She flipped to the next page, which had a picture of a glowing red ghost dog. K-9 Ghost Common Gender: Female These ghost dogs are simply pets of the mansion that were unlucky enough to have their spirits stolen by the ghosts. They are fast and will charge at you if given the chance. They also have the ability not only to smell normal bodily functions such as sweat, but also they can smell the hormone released in the brain that causes fear and adrenaline. In a nutshell, they can smell when you're scared. In addition, being dogs, they have a keen sense of hearing as well. One wrong move, they'll know your exact location. Though these dogs are strong, they are distracted easily as dogs tend to be. Try throwing a bone, a stick, or a ball to distract them for a moment if you find yourself pinned down. If you absolutely need to capture one, the normal light and suck technique will work fine, but I wouldn't try it unless they were traveling alone instead of a pack. Main Weakness: Light, Doggy Pleasures Sweetie flipped to the next page again, seeing that there was nothing particularly useful on the ghost dogs. The next picture showed a photo of Madame. Madame Yield Gender: Female Bio: What is she doing–… right. In any case, this is one of the Portraits of Yield. I didn't know that there were any still wandering around the mansion anymore. The Portraits of Yield are the closest family members to the one who owns the mansion, Specter Yield. I don't really have any information beyond that and what you know, kid. All I know is that she's the wife of Mr. Yield and has the ability to activate lights like candles, torches, and lanterns. Strangely enough, it seems as though she, unlike any other ghosts in the mansion, has her own thought process. She also appears to be on your side; if she is, good for you, but if I were you, I wouldn't put too much trust in that ghost mare. After everything Sweetie had been through that night so far, she wasn't sure if it was a good idea to trust Madame herself, but the ghost mare hadn't led her astray, yet. The next page showed a picture of the butler ghosts: inside of them was the skeleton of a pony. Spectral Skeletal Armor (SSA) Info: This is mostly used with ghost butlers, given skeletons of most grave sites on the property are compatible with their own ghostly bodies. This isn't like possession, mostly, because the pony is already dead. The SSA is used to allow ghosts to remain in their current form even if they are touched by light. Even worse, the Ghost Capture Device will not be able to suck up the ghost it has a hold of now that they are weighed down by the armor. However, if you can manage to destroy the skeletal armor inside, they will return to being normal ghosts. Try using the Spectral Throwback on them or any other function you forget to try out. "Finally. Something useful." Sweetie said to herself. There was one more entry. Sweetie flipped the page to find the picture of the books. Ghost Novels Info: These are basically one of the inanimate objects that have been ghostified. There isn't much to say about them besides that their only attack is flying through its victims, chilling them to the bone. They are extremely weak so much so that light destroys the little magic inside of them, causing for a quick vacuum. They do, however, like to travel in fairly large packs, so you'll want to make sure your device is as empty as possible when confronting a group. Though you don't have to worry about possessed or ghostified inanimate objects unless there is an incredibly strong ghost around them–oh wait, you're going after her, aren't you? You're doomed then. Doomed, huh? Sweetie thought. Is Twilight really that strong? "Oh, a Ghost Encyclopedia. Nice choice." a voice said behind her. “Though, I do hope you plan on returning it on time.” Sweetie whirled around on top of the bookcase to see a ghostly purple mare floating above her. “You wouldn’t want to pay the late fees. Would you?” "T–Twilight?" Sweetie asked. "So nice to see you, Sweetie. Glad to see you're still alive." She said, grinning at the filly. It wasn't nearly as strong as Fluttershy, but it seemed as though Twilight looking at her was giving her a bad chill down her spine. Sweetie stood, frozen with fear on the bookshelf as they shared stares with each other. Finally, Sweetie decided to speak. "T–Twilight. W–were you the one who made me see Scootaloo?" Sweetie asked. Sweetie just wanted to know. She doubted that she'd tell the truth. She was so sure she would lie, and yet- "Maybe." She said smiling. "You really should have seen that hopeless look on your face when you saw her in that piano!" So–so Scootaloo isn't dead? Sweetie thought hopefully. "And yet... That filly might still be dead though." Twilight added. "She's still possessed, you know, and she can still die. I have to remember to suggest that to her when I get the chance.” Her grin seemed to get wider at the thought. “Oh wouldn’t that make a great story Sweetie? Perhaps it will be in the history books. The tragedy of Scootaloo. The orphan who killed herself because her friend was too scared to help.” she paused, before looking at the book Sweetie was holding. “You read that in the book right?" "Uh, y–yeah." Sweetie answered. "Did you read anything about me?" Twilight asked. This was the first time Sweetie had seen the mare, so nothing would be written in the book until now. And she knew that. Sweetie remained silent. "Oh, oh well. I guess I can read it myself after I'm done with you." Twilight said. Her ghostly horn started to glow brighter than the rest of her body. "Oh Sweetie, I couldn’t begin to tell you the spells I’ve seen since this ghostification. Just by being here, it’s a buffet of magic, don’t you feel it?” I’m feeling something, but it’s not magical. “...you know, now that you mention that the Scootaloo thing, It probably won’t hurt to tell you about the interesting little illusion spell recently. It's called 'Mind Dive', and works best if you're close like we are now. Let me demonstrate it for you." Sweetie's flashlight flickered out as Twilight approached. --Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiivvvvvveeeeeeee Before she could say or think anything, Sweetie started to feel dizzy again as Twilight used her magic to prying- --Creeeeeeeeeek -into the filly's mind. Sweetie tried to keep her balance, knowing that she couldn't afford to fall now. Sweetie felt reality starting to fade around her in the darkness. She felt like she was floating even though she was sure she was still on the bookcase. --Creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! But was she really on the book case? --Creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! Maybe she should move a few steps to the left- --Creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek just to make sure. She tried to back away from the ghost mare along the bookcase. Her mind was beginning to succumb to the control of the ghost mare. She felt it harder and harder to resist the idea of just jumping off the bookcase to her death. Sweetie saw another flash of lightning flash through the library, releasing the filly from Twilight's control. The brief light also drove Twilight back a couple feet. Sweetie took this moment to close up her ghost book, stuff it into her saddlebags and run across the bookcase. She shook her flashlight furiously, getting little bits of light from it as she ran as it flickered on and off. Sweetie remained balanced as she ran across the bookcase top. Twilight wailed behind Sweetie as she ran. The next thing she heard was a laugh followed by some type of magical sound. Sweetie remembered hearing that sound before. It was the sound of a unicorn preparing or charging a spell, and Sweetie could only imagine that that spell could be for her. Sweetie didn't dare stop to look back at the mare as she charged her spell. Sweetie saw another bookshelf across from her that she could jump to. As she jumped, she heard some kind of explosion. Out of the corner of Sweetie's eye, she saw that Twilight had fired some kind of lightning bolt at her. If she had remained on that bookshelf any longer, she would just be a pile of ashes right now. Sweetie wouldn't be able to run from the ghost mare much longer. If she hit the other side of the library before she caught her, she would be cornered. She had to catch her and soon. Sweetie tried to come up with some kind of plan, but the filly found it hard to think while keeping her footing as she ran across the bookcase. Sweetie could feel Twilight in her head again. Sweetie Belle Sweetie heard a voice in her head. It was Rarity. Sweetie tried to ignore the voice. Stop fighting. We can be together, you and I. We can end this nightmare just stop running. "Get out of my head!" Sweetie yelled. She then heard another charging sound. Relax, Sweetie. I'm here for you. Don't run. Don't you love your sister? "You’re not my sister!" Sweetie said as she continued to run, jumping to another bookshelf, dodging another magic bolt. Is that how you speak to your big sister? Hmph. You were always a whiny little filly. I could never bear you in the Boutique. I thank Celestia for those–what do you call them? Cutie Mark Crusaders? Purple glowing books started to fly out of their shelves. They flew at Sweetie who ducked just in time before they could ram into her. She didn't waste time to get up and keep running. If it wasn't for them getting you out of my hair, who knows what kind of horrible things I might have done to myself? "Where's lightning when you need it?!" Sweetie asked out loud. "Lightning?" Twilight said. "Ah, of course. So that's how you've been breaking free. Why don't we just fix that?" "Oh, no." Sweetie said. She had just exposed her only real weapon against her magic mind spell. Twilight used her telekinesis to close the curtains of the large library window just before a flash of lightning could come through. She laughed, "That's better." --Dddddiiiiiiiiiiiivvvvvvveeeeeee... Being trapped in Twilight's mind spell was causing the filly to fall back into the loss of reality. Her will was slowly deteriorating as Rarity spoke in the filly's head. I probably would have hung myself if you were always around. All you were was a giant bother just a big annoyance. All you know how to do is ruin everything. Do you have any idea how many dresses you've ruined? How many mannequins and equipment you've broken. Sometimes, I wish mom and dad would just take you already. "Get out of my head." Sweetie said weakly. She slowed to a walk. She felt like collapsing. She had to break free. Somehow, she had to get that curtain open. She wondered. Sweetie reached into her bag, ignorant of the fact that Twilight was hovering right above her. "Giving up already?" Twilight laughed. "I don't blame you. I'd give up too if I knew how much my brother hated me." Sweetie found what she was looking for and pulled it out of her saddlebags. It was the metal screwdriver. Sweetie only had one, so she would only have one shot at her plan. She stuck in into the nozzle opening of the GCD. It was a perfect fit. Several purple books hovered behind Twilight ready to attack. "But I suppose like a good book, all things must end, including you, Sweetie." Twilight said. Sweetie switched her GCD to the blow arrow on the nozzle. She pointed it in the darkness, trying to remember where the window was. "Goodnight Sweetie–" Twilight started to say, but the loud bang that the GCD made interrupted her. CRASH In the darkness, Sweetie heard the sound of glass breaking. It was the window. Wind and rain entered the hole in the window where it was shattered, causing the curtains to flutter up, exposing the window again. A flash of lightning went through the library once more, releasing Sweetie from Twilight's hold. Though the filly lost her screwdriver, she regained her will. With Sweetie's brain fully functioning again, her perception of the world returned to normal; she remembered something. Sweetie remembered using the Spectral Throwback. She didn't even need to use the flashlight to take the book ghosts down. Could she use it on Twilight? As Twilight howled angrily, Sweetie aimed at the books behind Twilight as the books charged. She switched her GCD nozzle to the goo icon and shot the purple slime out of it. She hit a large group of books. She shot again, taking out another group of books. Sweetie jumped to the side to another bookcase as she shot another magic bolt. "Stay STILL!" Twilight yelled at the filly. "Dive in this." Sweetie said as she aimed her GCD at Twilight. It hit her directly, causing her to spiral back but not enough to take her down completely. Suddenly, Sweetie noticed her flashlight flicker on in her muzzle. Twilight was weakened. Now was her chance. Sweetie jumped back over the bookshelf and ran over to the ghost mare. She shined her light on the ghost mare. Ding! "What?!" Twilight yelled. "Gotcha!" Sweetie said as she switched her nozzle back to suck and hit the button. Twilight was caught in the suction. Twilight wailed as she tried to escape Sweetie's grasp. Sweetie was dragged along the bookcase, determined not to let go. "30, 29, 28, 27, 26" The GCD counted down. It wasn't long before Twilight decided to change direction. She started now to move across the several bookcases that went along the library. Sweetie managed to jump each one as she was dragged along. The mare was getting desperate to escape the filly. "15, 14, 13, 12" The GCD continued. "That's it!" Twilight yelled. Her horn charged as she looked back at the filly, who was still holding on to her as though her life depended on it. She was about to fire a bolt at Sweetie. Sweetie used her hind legs to move herself to the left on one of her jumps, letting her narrowly dodging the bolt and almost missing a jump and hitting the face of the bookcase. "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0. Magic depleted. Capturing ghost. The GCD said. Wait a sec. What happens when I catch a Portrait again? Oh, no. Sweetie thought as she shut her eyes, knowing what was going to happen next. A purple lightning bolt came from Twilight to the nozzle of the GCD. Sweetie felt the electricity travel around her small filly body. Twilight gave one final screech, a high pitched wail, as she was finally sucked into the GCD. There were now three green lights on Sweetie's GCD. Sweetie collapsed to the bookcase top, her flashlight nearly falling out of her mouth. The capture of the Portrait ghost had once again drained her completely. She lay there for a moment, catching her breath, trying to remain conscious. The next thing Sweetie heard was a giggle, echoing behind the sound of rain, thunder, and wind that was also in the library. "Oh, boy." Sweetie mumbled. "Don't tell me you’re not happy to see me." Pinkie said, appearing over the filly on the bookcase. "What? You? No of course not." Sweetie mumbled sarcastically. "That was really entertaining, though." Pinkie said, appearing over the filly. "I knew you could do it. I knew I asked the right filly for the job. As a reward, here, take this thing I found." Pinkie took out of nowhere a heart candy. Without permission from the filly, Pinkie stuck it in Sweetie’s mouth. Sweetie started to suck on it, feeling it heal her. "Why–why are you helping me?" Sweetie asked. "Aren't you supposed to be trying to kill me?" “You want me to?” “No!” “You suuuuuuure?” “J-ust tell me why you’re-” She giggled. "I can't have fun doing that unless you capture those two ghosties I asked you to. One down, two to go, Jumpie! You ready for number two?" "...sure." Sweetie said, getting back up. "Hey. I also got something else for you." Pinkie said. Again, out of nowhere, she took out another item. It was Sweetie's camera. "My camera!" Sweetie said. "Yeah, I decided to keep it on me, kind of like a trophy if you managed to beat Twilight?" Pinkie said. She held it out to the filly. Sweetie reached out to take it, but Pinkie snatched it back. "Hey!" Sweetie said. "Hold on. Don't be a grumpy Jumpie. I just need you to make me a promise." Pinkie said. "What?" Sweetie asked. "I know about your pony ghostie thingymawhat’sit. I know you're gonna try and bring Twilight back, but I don't want to see her, or anyone else out here catching ghosts." "H-huh?" Sweetie asked. Another giggle. "I want you. I want to see what you're made of. If I see someone besides you catching ghosties, well, I'm not sure I'd like that very much." Pinkie said cheerfully. “And I don’t like to ‘not like’ anything! I don’t think you’d want me to either.” "R-right..." Sweetie said. Sweetie couldn't afford to anger Pinkie. She was one of the most powerful ghosts she'd come across so far. If she could keep her happy, then, she had a better chance of survival. Who knew what she might try to do to her friends if she didn't comply? "The narrator’s right, Sweetie." Pinkie smiled. "So, what do you say?" "Fine. I won't let them try and catch any ghosts." Sweetie said. "Hmmm, I don't believe you." Pinkie said, winking. "You promise?" Sweetie knew what the mare was trying to say. She sighed, "Cross my heart and hope to fly; stick a cupcake in my eye." "That a girl." Pinkie said, handing Sweetie the camera. Sweetie took the camera before the pink ghost mare faded away into the darkness. Suddenly, candles in the room lit up. It was official. There were no ghosts left in the area. Sweetie sighed. She went in the direction of the next door to look for a mirror. It was time to get back to resurrecting her friends. [Continue]
Chapter 12- The Resurrection of a MareFinally... made it. Sweetie thought as she stood at the opposite door of the one she came in. She sighed, knowing that she was only half way finished capturing her friends. Less if she counted Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Spike who by now, if they weren't posessed she was sure they weren't acting of their own free will. Then again, if they weren't, what could they be? The filly couldn't help but shudder at the thought. She had already had enough of the mansion, but she knew she had a long way to go before she could ever think of leaving. More over, there was her own mental capacity, because even before the half way mark, the stress was already beginning to sand away the remnants of Sweetie's own mental stability. She wasn't sure how much longer she would hold out. How much longer anyone could hold out for that matter. After retrieving her camera and Twilight's ghost, Sweetie saw it best to locate a mirror. The less of the mansion she had to traverse, the better. So with the camera, she could to get back to the safe zone in the blink of an eye. Or the spin of a head, whichever was a better simile. The filly couldn't imagine how worried Applejack and Fluttershy were. --Possessed. Sweetie couldn't help but gulp when she explored the potential status of the two mares. Especially since Applebloom had been possessed around them. --Since she probably killed Twilight. Sweetie desperately hoped that they were alright at all. It had to have been at least an hour since she last saw them. She took out her map to check out her location. As she expected, the map showed her on the other side of the library, still on the fifth floor. On the other side of the door was another hallway. Of course. This one seemed to have more bedrooms, like the last three she'd been through however. Sweetie wondered how many bedrooms were in the mansion anyway. And what would Specter be doing with so many bedrooms? Do ghosts sleep? Did they belong to them when they were alive- Sweetie shook her head. She was stalling, and she knew it. Somehow, she knew she wasn't going to like whatever was on the other side of that door. Sweetie knew better to put aside paranoia, but she felt she had to in order to convince her to head back into the darkness. The heat from the candles in the library, though faint, were comforting to the filly. Maybe it was her imagination wishing she were warmer, but it didn't matter. They were the warmest tongues of fire she had felt all night. At least when ignoring when she was almost burned alive in the theater. Sweetie took a deep breath, whether to calm herself, or take in the last bit of heat she thought she was going to feel for a while, and pushed the door open. As the sound of thunder paused momentarily, she heard the sound of the library exit creak open, light seeping out into the hallway. It almost reminded her of when she first entered the mansion. How Spiffy had allowed her to enter the mansion. Then, something occurred to Sweetie. By now, she was sure that any pony who was associated with the manor, butlers included, must have known about the ghostly presence. But she remembered that Spiffy had tried to drive her away. He didn't try very hard, but he did try. Was he trying to keep her away from the mansion horror? Shouldn't he have let her in without argument so he, or one of the butlers in the mansion could steal her soul? Or was he trying to warn the filly of the horrors of the mansion? Maybe he was actually a nice ghost, like Madame? It was a pleasant thought that she wasn't completely alone as she wandered the halls. Sweetie moved through the door, and into the chill of the dark hallway. She activated her flashlight, and shined it around the hallway, noting some of the landscape paintings. She recognized some of the paintings like the Everfree Forest she'd escaped just earlier that night. The weight of the door caused it to close on its own behind her. Sweetie heard a click. She turned around and yanked on the handle of the door. It didn't budge. "Locked. Of course." Sweetie grumbled to herself. The funny thing though was that it wasn't cold. It was chilly, just like the rest of the mansion, but it wasn't a ghostly chill. It didn't feel like there was any ghost around. Sweetie remembered that Twilight said that the mansion changed. Did that mean it could lock its own doors? And if so, when and why would that happen? The only circumstance Sweetie could think of was when some-ghost pony was lurking around. Then again, who said the mansion had to follow it's own set of rules? "Well, what've we got here?" Sweetie shined her light in the direction of the new voice in the darkness. Her heart pounded when she saw the yellow coat, and red mane of the filly she called friend. "Glad ja made it this far. Thought mah friend Spike woulda killed ya fer sure." Applebloom said grinning. The light of Sweetie's flashlight shined on the filly's possessed yellow eyes. The flashlight also reflected off of the knife in her right hoof. "Hay, ya even managed ta git cha' little vacuum cleaner back together. I gotta say, ahm impressed." "G-get out!" Sweetie yelled fearfully. "Get out of my friend!" "Hmmm... le' me think... nah." Applebloom said. "This here filly's got a nice body, and ah ain't leavin' it till' ah can git a grown up's body." Huh? I thought the ghost book said that ghosts preferred younger bodies? Sweetie thought. "Tell ya what. Just 'cause ah like ya. Before ah kill ya, I'll letcha say hi." Applebloom said. She shut her eyes and clutched her head with both hooves, causing her upper body to fall to the floor. She started to yell in pain. After less than a half a minute, she opened them again. They were their normal shade of orange again. "S...sweetie..." She whispered. "Applebloom? I-Is that really you?" Sweetie asked. "W...where are we?" She asked softly. It's her. It's really her! Sweetie thought. She couldn't help but grin. She was finally looking at her real friend... "Ah... don't feel so good." she said. "Sweetie... what's goin on 'ere?" "Applebloom." Sweetie approached her friend. She put a hoof on her shoulder... then she remembered as she felt the cold shoulder of her friend. In her weakness, she fell into a trap. Applebloom's eye changed almost instantly back to its possessed, crazed yellow. She swiped the knife in her hoof in an upward direction at Sweetie. The white coated filly jumped back, but not in enough time to dodge Applebloom's blade. The filly was cut around her left cheek, but she managed to avoid a critical cut. The cut was just enough however, to draw blood. Sweetie fell onto her back, looking up at the laughing filly. "Ya always wer' gullablest filly ah knew!" "Y-you don't know me. You're not Applebloom!" Sweetie yelled back. "Maybe, but ah still got that filly's thoughts n' memories." She said, tapping her cranium. "Somethin' bout a dragon crush... git'n a cutie mark... and yer little group the Cutie Mark Crusaders. That sound 'bout right?" Sweetie didn't respond. She just glared. Sure she was scared, but she also couldn't help but feel angry. Angry that this thing inside of Applebloom not only stole her body, but was parading around with her memories as well. "Aw, Sweetie. Ah know so much 'bout you, ya got no idea. Ah know how ya git on every pony’s nerves, how ya suck at magic, how ya mess up everythin' ya put yer little hooves on-" "Shut up!" Sweetie said. "...guess yer right. Let's quit the chit-chat and git this over wit. Now jus' hol'-" Applebloom started, but Sweetie had already scrambled up, and ran off in the opposite direction of the filly. "Ya always were a scardy filly Sweetie. Always runnin'." She said, putting her knife in her mouth, and walking after the filly. I've gotta hide! Sweetie thought. She went to several bedroom doors, all seeming to be locked. Why the hay is every door I find locked?!? She panicked, afraid that Applebloom would catch up to her while she was still in the open. --This hallway will kill her Every time she looked back, Applebloom was still walking. Yet, somehow, she appeared to be faster than her. It was like a bad dream, as no matter how quickly she ran, Applebloom was so close behind her. Like the hallway was becoming shorter and shorter, bringing their distance smaller and smaller. --Applebloom will kill her Finally, she came to a door. It had the etching of a flame on it. Inside of the flame was a golden plate that said 'Madame- Second Bedroom- No Children'. Sweetie broke the rule, and opened the door, quickly hiding herself inside, shutting the door behind her. She shined her light around the room to investigate. As the sign said, it was a bedroom, with yellow curtains dressing a window, a grand hoof carved wooden bed, blood red carpet, and a dresser- A dresser! That would have a mirror on it right? Sweetie shined her light on the dresser, as it bounced off of the mirror... but there was a problem... "Oh no..." Sweetie thought as she looked at the many cracks and missing pieces of glass on the window. Some pony, or some ghost, had broken it. Sweetie took out her camera, and tried to take a picture. No luck, the mirror was broken, and therefore, she couldn't use it for transport. Who broke it? Applebloom? Or a ghost traveling from there? Although the mirror on the dresser was broken, Sweetie noticed a book on the dresser. It was brown, and leather. It seemed like someone's special book. "Oh, Sweetie Belle..." Applebloom called from the hallway. "Ya can't hide from me. Ah can feel ya." Sweetie took the book, stuffing it in her saddlebags. --You're still dead though~ Sweetie was dead meat. Sweetie was dead meat. Sweetie was dead meat. Sweetie was dead meat. Sweetie was dead meat. There was no other exits and Applebloom was just outside the door. She was dead the moment she decided to take shelter in the room. She was dead the moment she stepped into that shifty hallway. She was dead the moment she last left Twilight and the others. She was dead the moment her friends took off on that airplane and crashlanded in the forest, only for them all to find shelter in this nightmare. Honestly, she wondered if she should have taken her chances with the forest and turned tail and headed back the moment she crashed. But the past didn't matter anymore. She was here, and if she didn't do something now, she would- The bed. The bed was her only chance. With a quick and final survey of the room, she slid under the bed, turning her flashlight out, once again, being consumed in darkness. She heard hoof steps outside of the bedroom. They seemed to pass by the room, slowly fading away. Maybe she walked away? Maybe she thought she was in another room? Maybe she left- Suddenly, the door slammed open, hitting the wall of the room loudly. It was so sudden and surprising, it made the filly jump under the bed. As if on cue, a flash of lightning, and roll of thunder follow the filly's entrance. For that split second, Sweetie could see her sick toothy grin, holding her knife. Something told her the filly knew she was in the room. Then again, it seemed like it was the only open door in the hallway. Where else would she be? Sweetie held her breath, much in the same way as when she hid from Applebloom down in the kennel. She could feel blood trickle down her face from the wound. The gain in her ear as she hid under the bed was enormous. Her heart sounded like a drum magnified by a boom box. Her tiny breaths felt like tiny whirl winds as they escaped her nostrils. And despite the rain, Sweetie was afraid that the sound of her blood hitting the carpet would bring attention to her as well. "Ah know yer in 'ere Sweetie. Quit hid'n so ah can cut 'cha." Applebloom said through the knife in her mouth. "Ah can smell blood ya know. Like one of 'em blood hounds, or one of them ghost pups prowlin' around." She sniffed the air and moaned in ecstasy. "Mmmm... yer blood smells sweet." No more lightning came, so the filly couldn't see Applebloom in the darkness. At first she determined her distance from her taunting voice and hoof steps, but that was seconds ago. Sweetie was sure that Applebloom wouldn't wait around in one spot for long... she must have been moving silently around the room now. Now that Sweetie had no idea where her friend was, she knew she needed to escape the room soon. It wouldn't be long before the filly checked under the bed. Sweetie decided the next time she heard Applebloom, if she wasn't close to where the door was, she'd make a run for it. Applebloom had to make a sound eventually right? Sweetie then felt something on her face, blowing the drop of blood in a diagonal direction as it went down her face. It was cold, like some pony had opened a window, and light wind was brushing on her face. Sweetie didn't hear any of the intense wind from outside in the room, so there was only one thing Sweetie could imagine it being: Applebloom's breath. It was like she was right in front of her, crouching to her level. Sweetie imagined if it wasn't so dark, she would meet eyes with the possessed filly. Sweetie moved back further under the bed, in order to get further away from her. She had yet to attack... maybe she didn't know she was under here yet? As she silently moved further under the bed, the intensity of the cold breath didn't lessen. It remained the same, almost as though they were remaining the same distance apart. As she found herself getting closer and closer to the wall the bed was against, a realization hit Sweetie. Applebloom was moving with her, trying to force her against the wall. If Sweetie didn't do something soon, she would be cornered with the blade wielding filly. The filly's heart thumped in her chest, seeming like the loudest thing in the room. Sweetie had to get out. It was now or never. Sweetie moved back further than she had before, making a shuffling sound along the floor as she moved back. Before Applebloom could attack her though, Sweetie charged forward under the bed, ramming her head into Applebloom. When she did this, she managed to push past Applebloom, and also having another brush with the knife along her face. It was deeper, and certainly much more painful, but still not enough to be fatal. Sweetie moved from out from under the bed, head throbbing from the impact with Applebloom's skull. She ran out of the room, reactivating her light so she could see where she was going. The filly dared not look back, but then again, she didn't hear any hoof steps pursuing her. Once Sweetie had gained some distance between her and the bedroom, she finally slowed down. There was most definitely no pony trying to catch up to her. Sweetie found it peculiar for Applebloom to just give up so easily. She couldn't see her just lying under the bed as she escaped. Sweetie wondered... did the impact to the head hurt Applebloom more than it did her? Could she have some kind of concussion or skull damage that kept her from following Sweetie? Even though Applebloom was still possessed, Sweetie wouldn't forgive herself if she actually hurt Applebloom, or any of her friends for that matter. That was part of the reason she decided to run from them. Besides, it wasn't like she expected to win in a fight against either of them, possessed or otherwise. Sweetie shined her light back the way she came. There was no Applebloom... but now, there were no doors. Sweetie remembered seeing doors on her escape, possibly leading to different bedrooms but now, they disappeared. Where there used to be doors and artwork, were now just blank tan walls. Where are you Sweetie Belle. "That voice..." Sweetie said to herself. It was ghostly and distant, but there was no doubt, it was her sister. Rarity was somewhere in the hallway. "Rarity?" Sweetie called out. Since Sweetie had already caught Twilight, there was no reason that the voice could be fake, or that it was some kind of illusion. Now that Sweetie didn't feel the dizziness and loss of will power, she could safely assume that everything she saw was real. That didn't comfort the filly as far as the hallway went, but it did make her feel an odd sense of joy that her sister was somewhere close by. Sweetie continued to walk down the changed hallway. "Rarity!" Sweetie called out, cold mist coming from her breath. "Rarity!" She called again. Sweetie... Rarity's voice was fading away. Was Sweetie going the wrong way? The filly turned around and headed in the opposite direction supposedly where she just came from. "Rarity! Rarity! ...Rarity?" Sweetie continued to call out. Now, there was no answer. The voice was gone, and Sweetie had lost her sister again. Rarity... where are you? Sweetie thought. Then, the hallway started to change again, right before the filly's eyes. Something started to seep out of the walls. It wasn't metallic like when she was transported to the mirrored hallway, but it was black, and much more wet and fluid looking. It was like black paint... but it had a strange depth to it, like she wasn't just looking at black paint, but out into darkness. The hallway seemed to be drooping around her to the floor as the black essence took over the walls, and eventually the floor around Sweetie's hooves. Within minutes, Sweetie found herself in an entirely new dark room. The mansion changed again... Sweetie thought. Last time that happened, I heard Applebloom, who was around Fluttershy. Does that mean... that Rarity's here? Sweetie took out her map, but the odd thing was... that it wasn't working. The same question mark that was on the map when she was in the crypt was now in this new room. Sweetie could only assume she was underground in some basement level, because she didn't hear any thunder or rain anymore. All there was the sound of her own breathing to keep herself company. Sweetie ventured further around the room to examine it, hoping to find some sign of her sister. Instead, all she found... were paintings. The paintings varied. There were landscape paintings, portrait paintings, abstract paintings, paintings of historical events Sweetie remembered learning in school. Until now, Sweetie assumed every painting she saw in the mansion, the Yields had bought from different places. Now Sweetie wondered if someone in the mansion painted all of these paintings. There were many paintings in the room, but there was a certain majority of them that concerned Sweetie. They were of ghosts that she'd seen around the mansion. There were several butler ghost paintings, foal ghost paintings, and even a few licker ghost paintings. All of these paintings, unlike the ones that came out of the spirit printer, were of them in their glowing dead form. There was one other painting however, that made Sweetie gasp. It wasn't well made... in fact, it was downright poorly drawn in crayon. It was like it was drawn by a young filly... "H-how the hay did this get down here?" Sweetie said out loud as she looked at her drawing. She remembered it well, as the drawing that brought Rarity to her senses around the time of the Sisterhooves Social. She remembered how Rarity had hung it in her room after the event was over... but she didn't remember the giant rip in the heart between the drawing of Sweetie and Rarity. Who the hay could have done this? Sweetie Belle. Darling... you're here. Rarity's voice was back, though still ghostly, louder than ever. It echoed through the gallery room. "Rarity? Is that you?" Sweetie asked. Who else would it be dear? Sweetie looked around the room, desperately trying to find the source of the voice. She traced the voice vaguely to an extremely large diamond shaped frame in the room. From the outer edges of the inside of the frame, Sweetie confirmed it to be a mirror. Covering the frame was large splotch white ectoplasm. Was this where Rarity was speaking from? Oh Sweetie, don't bother trying to look for me. I'm nowhere near you. Sweetie's heart sunk. She was so high on the hopes of being able to catch her sister, and at least end one nightmare. "W-where are you sis?" Sweetie asked. I don't think that matters right now dear. All that matters... is you. "Me? What about me?" Sweetie asked. Simply that this all needs to end. Now, please stop fighting. My darling Specter would truly appreciate it, and so would I. Darling Specter? Sweetie thought. She remembered how Spiffy had talked about Rarity 'catching the eye' of Specter. Could something have happened between Specter and Rarity? Sweetie shivered at the thought. "Sorry Rarity, but I can't do that." Of course you can't. Rarity's voice sounds much more harsh and angry, maybe even a little annoyed. You can't do anything I ask you to. There's always something, isn't there? "W-what?" You can't do anything right. At least not without breaking, burning, or doing something stupid. Sweetie tried to remember that this wasn't her real sister. Sweetie did her best not to let the mare's words get to her. Sometimes I wish I just let mom and dad just take you. Sweetie shook her head at the words that her sister had said. She tried to get the words off of her head as they stuck to her brain. That couldn't be true, could it? Sweetie had heard the same thing over and over again all night. She was beginning to forget what her sister really thought of her. Sweetie, I know how slow you can be, so I'll make this plain and simple. You're going to die here, and that's that. Please don't make this harder than it already is by fighting it ok? Maybe you can't do anything else right, but maybe you'll do that right. Good-bye my sister. Ghostly laughter filled the gallery room. Sweetie whirled around, shining her light back on the paintings. Now, they were moving inside of them, as if they were laughing at her though some kind of window. Sweetie realized that she was now surrounded by ghosts. Several butler ghosts started to climb through the windowed paintings. As more did this, Sweetie's flashlight started to flicker. This didn't look good. From what Sweetie could tell, there was no visible exit to the room... then again there was the mirror. Sweetie could tell from the edges that, like the mirror she found in the previous hallway, it was broken. Still, the mirror was fairly large, and the cracks on the mirror, as far as Sweetie could tell around the ectoplasm, were fairly spaced apart. The mirror was large, so Sweetie wondered if she could use just a segment of the mirror for travel. It was worth a shot. She just had to clean off the mirror with the GCD. Before Sweetie could start, she was rushed by the first free butler ghost. She dodged it, and shined her light on it. Ding! Sweetie activated her GCD and proceeded with capturing it. The GCD counted down, and eventually notified the filly that it was capturing the ghost. The ghost was dragged in like normal, lighting the fourth light on the pack. It wasn't long however before more ghosts emerged from the paintings. Sweetie's flashlight went out, making the only thing she could see the ghosts as they approached her, and the faint glow of the ectoplasm on the window. Without her flashlight, things seemed hopeless. Now's not the time to lose hope! A voice said in Sweetie's head. "W-who-" Sweetie asked out loud, backing away from the ghosts as they got closer. Madame. It's Madame. Listen to me. You can still fight back. You still have the Spectral Throwback. Use it! the voice said. "But there's too many!" Sweetie said, her flank hitting a wall. "I don't have enough-" Then hit more than one at a time! the voice said. Figure it out! There's always a way! Sweetie looked at how the ghosts were coming after her. She saw two of the six that were out, in a bit of a diagonal line. If she shot them at a different angle, maybe... Sweetie moved to the side, so now she saw one butler ghost in front of another butler ghost. She switched to the nozzle's goo icon and aimed carefully at the two ghosts. She shot a green sludge from the GCD at the ghost. The GCD impacted the first ghost, throwing it back into the second ghost, effectively hitting both of them with the one shot. As the ghosts wailed, and eventually disappeared, the flashlight flickered a moment before turning off. Sweetie's plan formulated in her head. If she could use her GCD's Spectral Throwback, and got enough ghosts away for a short time, maybe she could catch ghosts when there were few enough ghosts for her flashlight to work. The dual vacuum function she just recently discovered would definitely help in that department. Sweetie thought back to her fight with the lickers. Her flashlight worked when there were three ghosts near her... and it also worked in the crypt when she gained some distance from the other skeleton ghosts... distance wasn't in her favor in the closed off gallery, so her only hope was defeating ghosts faster than they appeared... though she probably wouldn't be able to keep that up forever. She would have to balance that, and cleaning the ectoplasm off of the window at the same time. That was her plan: shoot, light, vacuum, clean, repeat. Hopefully if Sweetie could keep that up, she just might escape the room... provided the mirror wasn't to shattered for her to escape... Sweetie strafed to the side as a foal ghost shot its yellow slime at Sweetie. She shot back with her own purple novel ghost sludge, with much greater accuracy. Once that ghost was hit and disappeared, Sweetie's flashlight activated dimly, just enough to hit the incoming licker ghosts. One lashed out its tongue at Sweetie, who dodged to the side. The second one aimed to hit her face, but she swiftly ducked, narrowly dodging the tongue that would have hit her eye. She then swept the two ghosts with her flashlight. Ding! Ding! Sweetie activated her GCD, catching the two ghosts in the gravity of the GCD nozzle. "...5, 4 yank 3210. Magic depleted. Capturing Ghost." the GCD counted before giving the filly the 50 percent warning. There was only one more butler ghost in the room, while other ghosts were still climbing out of the portraits. Sweetie took the opportunity to start cleaning the mirror. She moved over in front of it, and pointed at the sticky white goo. She activated the GCD nozzle and started the process of cleaning the ectoplasm. It was much thicker than the one she found on Applejack's door, therefore being harder to clean. Sweetie was only able to clear a small segment of the mirror, too cracked to use for transportation. Sweetie would just have to try cleaning another- The ghostly laughter of a foal ghost came from behind. Sweetie instinctively jumped to the side, narrowly dodging its yellow sludge. She turned around to see a butler ghost just feet away from her. Out of surprise and fear, she blindly shot the butler ghost, lucky enough to manage to hit it. She missed the foal ghost, losing her chance for a double hit. Another foal ghost from the side of the filly's eye tried to catch her off guard, shooting her with another shot of ectoplasm. Just barely, she dodged it, getting her left side grazed with some of the cold sludge she was hit with. She used her flashlight, just before it went out to catch the foal ghost. Ding! After the ghost was caught, Sweetie saw about six butler ghosts flying at her. She moved forward, ducking as they flew over her. Sweetie turned around and shot two of the six butler ghosts. Suddenly, the GCD stopped working. "Warning. Only ghost left- Level Portrait Ghost. Unable to process Spectral Throwback command." the GCD said. Twilight was the only ghost left in the machine. Even if she wanted to use her spirit, which she didn't, the GCD wouldn't allow such a strong ghost to escape. Most likely some kind of 'safety feature' for the GCD. Sweetie was out of ghosts, and out of defense, unless her flashlight miraculously decided to work. Sweetie took it out of her muzzle and started to shake it furiously. That method seemed to work sometimes when there were too many ghosts around. "C'mon... Come ON!" Sweetie yelled at the light device, as the butler ghosts approached her. The light flickered a moment, but didn't stay on. "Work! You dumb flashlight! Please!" She said desperately. Finally, for just a couple seconds, the flashlight flickered on. Sweetie swept the incoming ghosts with its rays. Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! While the first two ghosts were disappearing, Sweetie managed to catch the second two in the GCD's vacuum. Once the next two appeared behind Sweetie, she heard their laughter. She turned around and jumped back, this time, determined to make every shot count. She moved around to the side, in order to get the two ghosts to look like they were behind one another. She shot the both of them with the GCD. Once those last two ghosts were gone, Sweetie heard the laughter volume in the room increase. The ghosts would be coming full force soon, and Sweetie doubted she would be able to take them all on. She was tired, and her body was freezing. She felt numb all over, barely able to move correctly. The filly moved back over to the mirror and tried another section of cleaning. It was the same as the first. It was too broken for the filly to use. Sweetie heard more laughter from behind. She turned around to see just about every painting in Sweetie's immediate field of view trying to climb out of their own painting. One licker had already escaped, and lashed its tongue at the filly. She didn't have the energy to dodge it again. It lashed across her coat, throwing the filly to her side onto the cold floor. As she lie there, she forced her fore leg up to aim at the ghost and shot it before it could do anymore damage. Sweetie got up, knowing she didn't have any time to waste, fear fueling her determination to escape. Sweetie tried one last time with her cleaning, somewhere around the center of the mirror. This spot was also broken, but it was also the most intact spot she came across the entire mirror. It was her only chance. Sweetie took out her camera as she heard ghosts rushing for her. She snapped a shot of the segment of mirror. The world suddenly started to tremble under the filly's hooves. She started to spin, feeling the GCD take her back to the safe zone... *** "It ain't any good..." Applejack said defeated. "I'm sorry. I just can't get you out any further..." Fluttershy said in a similar tone. For the last couple hours since Applebloom had dragged Twilight's unconscious body out of the safe zone to Celestia knows where, the two mares had been trying desperately to escape. Given the lower half of their body's technically weren't even made yet, it was a fruitless attempt. The mares had finally given up hope. Applejack hung her head sadly, and Fluttershy had finally stopped crying, as tears stained her face. The situation looked grim. There was no pony coming for them, Applebloom had gone crazy, Twilight was probably trapped somewhere... or even dead, and neither of the mares had heard anything from Sweetie. They could only assume the worst. As the last bit of hope slipped from the mare's minds, they heard something from the far side of the room. A whirling sound. "W-what's that?" Fluttershy asked. "Is that... it is!" Applejack exclaimed happily. "Who? What's going on?" Fluttershy asked. Applejack and Fluttershy watched as green lights swirled around the area the sound was coming from. Within seconds, a filly materialized inside of that swirling light vortex. A hatted filly with a vacuum cleaner attached to her back. "Sweetie? Is that you?" Fluttershy asked. The filly still seemed to be getting her bearings after the disorienting transport. She shook her head. "Huh? Then who are you?" Fluttershy asked. "Ah think she's just tryin' ta git her head strait. Ya alrigh' there Sweetie?" Sweetie looked at the orange coated mare, and then at the yellow coated mare. Her mind was coming back. "Y... yeah. Just a little dizzy is all." She said. "What happened to you?" Fluttershy asked concerned. "You... I really don't want to... wow, I'm going to have to get used to that camera travel all over again, my head hurts." Sweetie said, lying on the ground. "Just give me a second." "Sweetie... ahm sorry but..." Applejack trailed off. She saw how tired the filly was, and truly wanted her to rest, but that wasn't an option now. "Sweetie... somethin' happened while ya were gone." After a few moments, the filly got back up, vaguely concerned. "What?" She asked. "Well... while ya were gone, Applebloom... she-" "Got possessed? Yeah, I know. She almost killed me." Sweetie said. "I think she also killed Twilight too, but I'm not really sure if that was her though..." "You... you know about Applebloom and Twilight?" Fluttershy asked quietly. Sweetie nodded. "Twilight got turned into a ghost, and Applebloom got possessed. Applebloom's now under Specter's control and stuff. Look, I know all of that, and I'll tell you all about it. Just give me a minute to..." The filly lied back down onto the safe zone floor, listening to the hum emitting from the walls. She listened to it, making sure not to fall asleep. Just to rest for a second. Applejack and Fluttershy respected the filly's request, silently watching as she lie on the floor. After about 10 minutes of rest, the filly got back up off of the ground, sitting in front of the mares. "Ok... now, what were you saying?" Sweetie asked. "Ah... ya don't seem ta be worried 'bout any o' this do ya." Applejack said. "Ya mind tellin us 'bout where ya were all this time?" Sweetie smiled weakly. "It's a long story..." Sweetie started around the time where she first left the safe zone, after she dropped off Fluttershy. "Um... S...sweetie?" Fluttershy interrupted silently and politely. "Hm?" Sweetie asked. "I... I'm sorry. I really am I..." She felt tears renewed in her eyes as they rolled down her cheeks. "I didn't want to... I would never want to... please forgive me..." The mare covered her face with her hooves, as she sobbed. She remembered much more vividly the thoughts that went through her ghostly head. Although she had her own thoughts, she also had the thoughts of a murderous ghost. The sheer fact she couldn't control herself to help the filly escape... she almost hated herself for the weakness. Sweetie went over to hug the mare. "I'm not mad at you. I don't blame you at all. It wasn't you..." The mare embraced the filly for a few minutes before letting go. She wiped the tears away from her eyes. "I... I'm sorry for interrupting." She sniffed softly. "Please... continue." Sweetie continued her story to when she entered the kitchen. She mentioned how there were supposedly two Twilight's: The first part of her spirit was one who could manipulate her mind, and the other was the one she saw get dragged out by Applebloom. She mentioned how, although she did see Rarity, she also met Pinkie, who lured her closer to Twilight's location, strengthening her grip, which led to her unconsciousness. She talked about how Pinkie wanted to 'play' with her, after stealing her stuff. She talked about the cage match with the possessed Applebloom and her escape through a kennel basement with some ghost dogs. Sweetie told the mares about the discovery of a friendly ghost named Madame, who gave her the magical box, and was aiming to help the filly. Sweetie then told about the search through the crypt, and the locating of her first lost GCD part. She told about how she was chased out into the church by a possessed Scootaloo. She told about the discovery in the dressing room of her second part, and the second appearance of the Pinkie Pie ghost. She told of how she found the third part, and how Twilight almost made her believe Scootaloo was dead. She told of her escape from Spike and the burning theater. She told of how she put her GCD together to capture Twilight's ghost in the library... and finally, she told of her second escape from Applebloom, and her first real encounter with Rarity's ghost. Sweetie sighed once her story was finished. The two mares had a slew of questions they wanted to ask the filly, but they decided to ask about the most important one. "So... you caught Twilight?" Fluttershy asked. Sweetie nodded. "Wasn't easy, but I did it." "Guess ya gonna print 'er out now?" Applejack asked. Sweetie nodded again, heading over to the spirit printer. She stuck the nozzle into the machine. "Processing..." The spirit printer said. The essence moved through the GCD into the machine. Twilight's ghost moved throughout the machine to finally be printed on the canvas in the form of a portrait. In the portrait, she wore a blue dress over her purple coat, tied together with a star button. "Alrig' ya got her on that there portrait... now wha'?" Applejack asked. "Well... now I've just got to bring her out." Sweetie said as she looked at the painting. "But... I thought that Twilight had to use different spells to get it to work." Fluttershy said. "Yeah, said somethin' bout them bein 'precautions'..." Applejack said. "Ya sure ya can do it?" "I'm the only one here that's a unicorn. I'm the only one who can..." Sweetie said. She knew she wasn't good at magic, and doubted that she would be able to do the job alone... thankfully, she had Madame on her side. Sweetie reached into her saddlebags and took out the golden starred box. "Sweetie? What is that?" Fluttershy asked. "It's the thing Madame gave me." Sweetie explained. "She said it would give me enough power to bring Twilight back." "But... Sweetie... are you sure that's... you know, a good idea?" Fluttershy asked shyly. "What?" Sweetie asked. "Ya know, Fluttershy does 'ave a point. Ya don't know anythin' bout that ghost besides what she told ya. How'd ya know she ain't trickin' ya?" Applejack asked. "I... I don't." Sweetie said. Besides the times in the crypt and the gallery room, Sweetie didn't know anything besides the fact she was Specter's wife... and that should have been a red flag for any pony. "But... we don't have a choice. There's no other unicorns in the mansion that aren't ghosts, and... and I don't have enough power by myself to do it. This box is our only chance." Before either Applejack or Fluttershy could try to stop her, the filly opened the box toward her. She gasped as she felt an intense light surround her body. Magic flowed from the box into the filly, filling her to the brim... and more. Sweetie started to lose control of herself, feeling her horn start to sputter magic uncontrollably. She tried to block off the magic, but it was like an uncontrollably fire hose, moving magic through and out of the Sweetie's body. She was way too small to hold even a fraction of the magic of an alicorn. Magic that came from the little filly's horn hit all edges of the room, even breaking some of its mirrors. One magic bolt hit Twilight's painting. When this happened, she didn't just come out. She shot out, hitting the ceiling before she could even grasp conciseness. She fell back down onto the canvas with a thud. The same thing happened with Applejack and Fluttershy, first hitting the ceiling, and then falling back onto the canvas. The magic surge lasted about 10 seconds, but the loss of control seemed to last an eternity to the filly. She just wished it would end, screaming the entire time... and finally it did. The magic abruptly stopped flowing from the filly's horn, and she fell to the ground, unconscious... When Sweetie finally came to, she felt dizzy again. Her vision was blurred, but she wasn't weak as though she'd just caught another ghost. She was helped up by some unknown figure she couldn't see through the blur. She blinked a few times, her vision returning. When it was back, she was face to face with the youthful face of Twilight. "Sweetie. Are you ok?" She asked concerned. "I... could ask you the same thing." Sweetie said, smiling weakly. Sweetie got back up on all fours, standing firmly to show the mare she could stand by herself. She looked behind her to see that she wasn't the only one who was touched by her surge. Applejack and Fluttershy stared at the filly with a similar concern, and finally relieved to see that she was ok... but something was different about them... the three of them... something that Sweetie couldn't quite put her hoof on. "Good." Twilight said smiling. The mare wasn't quite sure what to say to the filly she almost killed. Sorry? "You... you were very brave out there Sweetie. You've done so much tonight. I just wanted to thank you... for saving me... us... you know... and that, I'm sorry I almost..." Sweetie gave the same treatment she gave to Fluttershy, hugging her, and telling her that she's not angry. "Well... now that all of that's out of the way, I think I'll take that." Twilight said, levitating the GCD off of Sweetie's back. Sweetie, however, didn't let go of the nozzle, keeping the mare from taking it. "Um... Sweetie? You need to let go of the nozzle." "N...no." Sweetie said. She couldn't let her go outside to do her job. "Beg yer pardon?" Applejack asked. "What's wrong Sweetie? You don't have to do this anymore. We can take over." Fluttershy said. "No... you can't." Sweetie said. "What? Why not?" Twilight asked. "You should know. You were watching me. Right?" Sweetie asked. "When I could." Twilight said. "So?" "I... I made a promise to Pinkie's ghost..." Sweetie said, "...to get the camera back." "Ya told us already." Applejack said. "Ya don't gotta promise that mare anythin'. She ain't Pinkie." "I know... but I still made her a promise." Sweetie said. "That means I have to go out there myself." "No you don't." Twilight said. "Sweetie... look at yourself. Just look." Sweetie hesitated for a moment before going over to the mirror to get a good look at herself. What she saw... she wasn't sure if it was her anymore. Her coat and face was blackened by the smoke of the theater. Applejack's hat had gone from its normal brown, to a dark black. Her face was scarred with cuts from Applebloom's knife. The rest of the filly's body looked tired and worn, as though it were ready to collapse. The only thing that told Sweetie that she was looking at herself was her green eyes. "You don't have to go-" Twilight started, but was interrupted by Sweetie. "Yes I do!" Sweetie exclaimed. "If I don't go out there, one of you will. She... she can do things. She can't be caught unless she 'wants' to be caught. She's too strong, and if I don't honor her promise she'll... SHE'LL KILL YOU!" Sweetie's exclamation caused Twilight's magic flow to break, and drop the GCD onto the ground. It was silent again in the safe room, besides the light hum that came from the walls. After minutes, Sweetie finally broke the silence as she picked up her GCD. "Listen... I really want to stay here. I mean, I really really want to stay here... but if you go out there, you don't stand a chance now. Even with the ghost vacuum, you can't fight Pinkie unless she wants to be caught. That's what the book said anyway. And... something tells me Pinkie wants me to catch her... but I can't until I catch Rainbow Dash. I've got to do this. I... I'm the only one who can." Sweetie waited for a response, but didn't receive one. "Now... do any of you know where Rainbow might be?" None of the mares wanted to tell the filly to go off on her own into the mansion by herself, especially after the ordeal she'd just managed to break out of. Finally, Fluttershy spoke. "Um... I... I think I know." Fluttershy said quietly. "Where?" Sweetie asked. "She... she went up. To the seventh floor I think, to the outdoor dining place... or at least that's what I heard." Fluttershy said. "I was heading down to the mirror hall... I'm sorry." "Great. I'll head there after I wipe all this soot off." Sweetie said as she went over to her cape, as it lie coldly on the ground. She started to wipe her body with the cape, revealing her normal white coat. "Um... but there's one little thing about that." Fluttershy said. "What?" Sweetie said through the cape as she wiped her face. "The voice I heard say that... it wasn't Rainbow or Specter... or any pony really." "Huh? Who?" Sweetie asked. "Um... It was Gilda." Fluttershy said. The two mares looked at Fluttershy, their jaws dropped. Twilight shook her head. "I'm sorry, I could have sworn you said 'Gilda'. Must have heard you wrong." "N-no. I meant Gilda." Fluttershy said, looking down. "Ya ain't talkin' bout Rainbow's friend are ya?" Applejack asked. "Yes." Fluttershy confirmed. "Fluttershy. You must have made a mistake. That couldn't have been-" "No, I... I'm sure. I'd know that griffon's voice anywhere!" Fluttershy said surely. "Or... at least I think I would. Pinkie told you what she said to me when she first came to Ponyville right? I'd never... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell." "Who's Gilda?" Sweetie asked. Sweetie had never met the griffon in person, only heard bits and pieces about her from her friends. "A griffon who came to Ponyville a while back." Twilight said. "Made Fluttershy 'ere cry too." Applejack added. "That's horrible! What happened to her?" Sweetie asked. "Well... she left. She wasn't from Ponyville and the only reason she stayed was to see Rainbow. We haven't heard from her since." Twilight said. "She must have gotten caught by Specter and turned into a ghost." "That's... the other thing." Fluttershy said. Oh boy, there's more? Sweetie thought. "She... she sounded alive." Fluttershy said softly. "She didn't sound like a ghost at least." "That... that's definitely new..." Sweetie said. "Do you think she's possessed?" "M-maybe. I don't know, I never got to look at her." Fluttershy said. "Ok. There's a griffon out there that may or may not try to kill me. I'll keep that in mind." Sweetie said as she fanned Applejack's hat, knocking some of the soot off of it. "Well... I guess I've got to go back out now." "Sweetie..." Twilight said. "Be careful. Don't do anything stupid. I know, I know." Sweetie said annoyed. She moved to the door. "And one other thing." Twilight said. "What?" Sweetie asked. "If... if you see Spike. Don't hurt him." Twilight said. "Or mah sis, or Scootaloo." Applejack added. "I know. If I find myself around them, I'll find another way that isn't violent. I couldn't hurt them." Sweetie smiled. "And I don't know how... but I'll bring them back somehow." Twilight nodded and turned around to examine the spirit printer, wondering if she could possibly use it for some other purpose... it's then Sweetie noticed the difference in Twilight, and all of the mares in the room for that matter. It was their cutie marks... they were missing.
Chapter 13- The Fastest Mare Deceased"Y-y-y...." Sweetie stammered out. "Hm? Something wrong Sweetie?" Twilight asked. "Y-your... where did it go?" Sweetie asked, trying to bypass her shock. "Huh? Where'd what-" Applejack asked, before seeing what the filly was talking about. "What the hay?" "I'm sorry... but what are you two..." Fluttershy saw what the mare and filly were now talking about. "Twilight... your flank..." "What about my flank? Is something on it?" Twilight looked over to her backside to see what the mares and filly were talking about. There wasn't anything on her flank... quite literally. Twilight's magic star cutie mark was gone, as though she never earned it to begin with. "M-my cutie mark! How?!" "It's not just you. Applejack and Fluttershy's are missing too!" Sweetie said. The two mares took a look at their own backsides. Applejack's apple cutie mark and Fluttershy's butterfly cutie mark are gone. They both look at each other in shock. "How..." Fluttershy asked silently. "Ah knew that box was trouble! Ah knew there was a catch!" Applejack exclaimed. "Box?" Twilight asked. "That box Sweetie got from a ghost named Madame... it gave her power to get us out of the paintings." Fluttershy said quietly, pointing over at the golden star box that lied on the floor. Twilight went over to look at the small box and examine it. Inside was a see though crystal. It was the type of crystals used to encase magic spells and charms. Twilight had studied magical crystals at one point, and had heard of certain crystals that could hold different levels of magic for longer bursts... but had never seen one like one the box held. "Well... this magic charm crystal explains how Sweetie was able to use so much power... but I've never heard of a spell that could remove cutie marks." Twilight said. "Applejack, I'm not sure if this box is the reason for our disappearing cutie marks at all." "Well why in hay not?" Applejack asked, still steaming over her missing cutie mark. "Simply because as far as I can tell, this is a magic crystal. Magic can't affect cutie marks. Trust me, I've tested it." Twilight said. "Then what then?" Applejack asked, " 'cause ah certainly remember havin' an apple on my plot when ah walked in 'ere." "I don't know. I honestly don't know." Twilight said. "All I know is that whatever took them away wasn't magic... or at least not this box." "...now what? We don't have our talents anymore?" Fluttershy asked. She imagined herself not being able to tend to the animals anymore. Applejack imagined not being able to buck apples like she used to. Twilight shook her head. "No. Talents can't be taken or given, no matter what." Twilight said. "...or at least not without consequences." Twilight recalled the Cutie Pox incident. "...but it's still impossible for our cutie marks to be just gone. They're somewhere, wither on our pony or somewhere else, I don't know. I'd need to investigate ourselves. Maybe run a few tests." "Um... Twilight? Is there anything I can do to help?" Sweetie asked. "Oh Sweetie... I couldn't ask you to do anything more than you're already forced to do." Twilight said softly. "I can do it. Is there something? Anything? Maybe I could do it if I come across it or something?" Sweetie asked. "...well, If you happen to find a book on cutie marks for me to reference to... or something written that I could look at regarding missing cutie marks, then that would be more than helpful... but only if you come across it. Don't go out of your way to do anything. Just catch Rainbow, and get back." Twilight closed her eyes, remembering following the filly with her mind, and how she had to run all over the mansion. "We don't want anything like earlier to happen." "You're telling me..." Sweetie said. Twilight magically opened the door, and let the filly out, back into the darkness. The mare closed the door back, as they all listened to her footsteps fade away. "... ah ain't gonna forgive mahself fer lettin' that little filly back out in that mansion alone.’Specially with 4 hooves ah can stand on righ'." Applejack said, staring at the door. "She'll be fine... she has to be." Twilight said as they all stared at the door together. *** Sweetie moved through the dining hall and into the foyer. It was still lit as before. "Huh..." Sweetie thought as she entered the room. It was the first time she'd really thought about it but, this was technically where it all started. Her entering the grand door that must have stretched up for three stories. And the meeting of the butler that she wasn't sure if he was or wasn't on her side. She had yet to hear from the butler, and somehow, she hoped it would stay that way. Friendly or not, the less ghosts, the better. The filly wondered... what time was it? If Celestia and Luna were in here, being controlled by Specter, then the sun probably wouldn't rise. She wondered what time it was supposed to rise? And what would happen if it didn't? She just guessed it would throw some clocks off... which still brought her back to the question... what time was it? Something in Sweetie's gut told her time was very important now. She was sure it was past 12 o'clock, given she probably arrived around 9 or 10, and had been traveling around the mansion for maybe 3 or 4 hours, given she was asleep for maybe about 1 and a half hours. Sweetie wondered why she was so concerned about time all of a sudden... was she running out of it? "Sweetie? Are you here?" a familiar friendly mare voice came from above. "Madame?" Sweetie looked up to see floating down was the dressed yellow mare. "Sweetie... glad to see you're still alive." Madame said. "P-please don't." Sweetie said feeling a shiver down her spine. "Hm? Something wrong?" Madame asked. "It's just... the last pony who said that to me was trying to brainwash and kill me." Sweetie said. "Oh, I apologize." the mare paused for a moment. "... but you did manage to catch her right? The Portrait of Magic?" "Yeah." Sweetie sighed. "Three more to go." "And I suppose my charm worked... like a charm?" Madame asked. "A little too well. I hope I never have to have so much magic in me like that ever again..." Sweetie said. "I'm quite surprised a little filly such as yourself has made it so far. Done so much..." Madame said. "... tell me. What drives you?" "My what?" Sweetie asked. "What makes you so determined to catch all of your friends." Madame asked. "They're my friends. I think that's reason enough." Sweetie said. "Friendship only goes so far my dear." Madame said. If Twilight were here, she'd have a fit over what you just said. Sweetie thought. "There's got to be something more. A much more powerful reason. Some pony, or something you’re looking for." Madame said. Sweetie thought. Something more? Well... there was some pony she was particularly concerned about. "I... I guess my sister Rarity. I... I just need her to remind me of some stuff is all." "You're... you're that white mare's sister?" Madame said. "You know her?" Sweetie asked. "Unfortunately... I've had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting her earlier tonight... and so did my husband, though I'm sure he wouldn't call the encounter as so... unfortunate." "You met Rarity at the party?" Sweetie asked. "Yes. The mule was flirting with my dear Specter." Madame said. "... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult your sister. It’s just... I hate it when people try to flirt with my Specter. It's just an attachment I've developed with him over the years has caused me to get a little jealous of little things." Sweetie realized something. Now she had Madame again. The mare knew things... important things, Sweetie wanted answers to. All of them stemming to one pony. "Um... Madame?" Sweetie asked. "Yes?" "There's something that's been tugging at me for a little bit. You said... Specter wasn't evil, the last time we talked... then who is he? What is he?" Sweetie asked. "He's... he's a stallion who's made a lot of mistakes in his lifetime. That's all I can tell you now." Madame said. "N-now? Why can't you tell me everything now? Where you're from? Who your family is? What is up with this mansion and all of the ghosts? Where-" "I can't tell you all of those things. You have to find them out on your own." Madame said. "Me? How am I supposed to figure this stuff out?" Sweetie asked. "Did you pick up the journal I left in my second bedroom?" Madame asked. Sweetie thought back to the hallway past the library... she did remember picking up a book before hiding from Applebloom. She reached back into her saddlebags to take out the book. She looked at its leather cover and spine, decorated with two yellow stripes. "Is... is this yours?" "Yes and no. It was Specter's originally... but he and I shared a journal as a bit of a trust exercise we kept on during our marriage. That we could write down our thoughts and trust the other wouldn't read them. Its how we were able to get closer... to trust each other... but we stopped it a little while back." "Huh? Why?" Sweetie asked. "There was... a bit of separation between us." The mare said. "In any case, that book holds any background history you'd want to know." That could be helpful... Sweetie thought. "...well, you wanted answers right? You'll find them in that book." Sweetie opened up the book to the first page, and something that shocked the filly... was the date. February 14th, 845 A.C I met the most beautiful mare today. It was during the mansion's theater day... the play of Shakespony's Redneck& Junebug... a fitting play of two lovers... a perfect time to meet the love of my life. As I greeted each of our guests into my home, I must have met eyes with hundreds of mares and stallions as they entered and took their seats for the play... but there was one unicorn mare in particular that caught my eye... Her yellow coat, her reddish mane... and gorgeous deep yellow eyes. I couldn't take my eyes off of her as she walked by with that sweet smile on her face. Spiffy Butler, my most loyal pony-servant had to snap me out of the allure that was the yellow coated mare. I didn't even get to ask her name as she passed by. I simply had to meet this wonderful mare. I had Spiffy go out in search of her in the theater. I didn't care if her family was there. I simply had to find a way to sit with her. The entire time before the play was to begin... about 30 minutes I believe I was a mess. The mare had caused me to fall in love with her... just by a glance. It was maddening, the only thing I could think of was the yellow coated mare... and the things I wanted to do with her. The simple thought of being close to the mare... looking at her... or simply thinking of her was intoxicating. I had to meet her. I simply had to. Spiffy didn't show up, as the play was going to start. I moved into the theater, looking desperately for that yellow coat... so desperately I wasn't looking where I was going. I bumped head first with a pony... a mare, and by Celestia it was the mare I was looking for. We sat on the ground for a few moments, locked in each other's gaze. I wondered if she was on the same wave length as me. Did she think about me? Did she feel about me? Of course, we'd just met. The only physical contact we'd felt was with our heads colliding into each other. Spiffy snapped me out of the mare's hypnotic gaze, and picked us both up. He then ushered us both to our seats as the play began. I owned the mansion, and had seen the play hundreds of times. Even if this were my first time experiencing the play, I doubt I could have taken my eyes off of the young beautiful mare that sit right beside me, looking at the play in such amazement. I stared at her... honestly, I'm a bit ashamed. I must have crept her out when she finally noticed my study of her. She asked me why I was staring at her so intensely. I felt my face heat up at the sound of her angelic voice. I told her that she was just more interesting than the play. It must have gotten to the mare, as she blushed herself. She asked my name, and I told her. I asked what her's was, and she said it was Sunflower Maidem Daisy. She said people call her Madame, because of how her middle name sounded. I wondered what her cutie mark was, but resisted the urge to look at her flank and possibly offend the mare. I felt like I had to be careful. After all, what could a mare, think of me after I'd just hit her in the head, and basically stared her down? She didn't seem into money, or into meeting me. She just seemed interested in the show before I came along... but then we started talking. The play went on, as we talked about everyday things. Politics, economics, art... and even a little gossip on the ponies around Stabletown. I think I even made her chuckle in our conversation. Then something kind of slipped out. I asked if she had a colt friend. She blushed again, this time, seeming more embarrassed rather than flattered. I tried to take back the question, hoping to change any negative thoughts the mare had about me. Instead, she answered the question with a quiet "no". The mare was still responding to me, as she blushed, tugging at her dress nervously. Was I making her nervous? I then asked if she wanted to stay after the play, where we could maybe have some dinner together in the dining hall. I expected her to say no. I was almost certain she would say no... but she said "sure". She said she'd just let her parents know she would be headed home later that night. I hoped I wasn't making her seem like I was forcing her into anything. I wanted her to 'want' me as much as I wanted her... I hoped she would love me. The play ended, and ponies left... all except the two of us, who still sat together in the theater silently. I was sure Spiffy would be making preparations for our impromptu date... but neither of us moved to head to the dining hall on the other side of the mansion. She looked at me, and I looked at her. We stared at each other, this time, having no pony to interrupt us. I didn't notice as she leaned closer to me. Before I knew it, our lips were touching... I didn't think. I couldn't think. The ecstasy of the mare was over intoxicating. I loved that mare, and she loved me back... or at least that's what I think. We didn't exchange words for the rest of that night. She did however stay in my room. I don't know how I couldn't be, but I was the happiest stallion in the world. No amount of money could make me want to change the moments as she lie with me as I write these very words. Nothing... Aw... What a romantic little story... Sweetie thought. Still though, the date couldn't be right. It dated over 2000 years ago! Maybe it was a writing mistake. The next couple pages talked of dates Specter and Madame went on. Sweetie skimmed through the mushy stuff, knowing she could only take so much of it at a time. She eventually came across an entry that talked of their marriage several years later, followed by an intercourcial encounter. Sweetie didn't really understand the details... she was still a little filly after all. Still, something felt dirty about reading about ponies doing those... things with each other. This is followed by Madame getting pregnant with two foals... It's then Sweetie remembered the request Madame had made to catch her children, and their butler, Sweetie confirmed to be Spiffy... the book might really prove useful if she could learn a thing or two about them. June 28th 847 A.C It's been a couple months since my stomach started to grow. My joy was overwhelming when I first learned that I was going to have a child. More, with Specter. When I first met him over 2 years ago, I would have never thought he was the one I would love, let alone bear the child of. I remember our first dates. He wasn't cheap... yet he never tried to talk with his fortune, like I assume most rich ponies do. He's sweet... and he even appreciates my art. He's even given me an entire gallery to place all of my works in, and lets me decorate his... our mansion. I suppose it's ours now. He's called it ours since our marriage, even though legally it still belongs to him... he treats me like a princess, while treating me like a mare. I almost feel as though he's too good for me sometimes. Still though, I only wish he wouldn't hide things from me. I still don't know how he makes so much money. And his cutie mark is odd too... I'm getting off topic. I'm having foals. Twins, as the doctor predicted. A filly and a colt... Specter was just as surprised as I... I can't blame him. Neither of us were able to think about that kind of thing after that... magical night. Specter, although shocked, I could see the happiness on his face. That's around the time we decided to marry. I'm sure I wrote about that somewhere in this book... my parents weren't exactly happy with the thought though. I'm sure they were happy for me to be married to such a rich stallion, but I don't think getting pregnant before that pleased them as much. And they still didn't know much about Specter besides what I told them. They were just as curious and intimidated about his fortune as I. Of course, even though they did allow it, even if they didn't they couldn't stop me from marrying that stallion. Anyway, Specter and I have been discussing what to name our little foals... I would decide on the colt, and he on the filly. I came up with the name of Marbles for the colt. I thought it was a cute name, and Specter smiled, saying he liked it. He always said he liked something I came up with, wither it be literature, or art, or music... Specter came up with the name Candy. I liked it too. Candy and Marbles. I think it has a ring to it... Specter told me about the 'genetic disease' that went down his family. When I first heard about it from him, I became afraid for my foals. I hoped they wouldn't have to suffer any kind of mental deficiency, or deformity. I couldn't live with myself knowing that my foals would have to go through that kind of mental stress, much like my grandmother, who suffered from chronic dementia since she was a little filly... though my fears were relieved when I learned it was nothing of the sort. In fact, it's something I kind of think is crazy. He said that his family has an ongoing phobia disease... something where every member of his family is afraid of something... wither irrational or rational. I told him everyone's afraid of something, but Specter responded that it was a little deeper than simple fear. He didn't want to go any further than that. Was he keeping some kind of secret from me? I don't know, but he told me not to worry about it. I trusted Specter, so I perished the thought of my children being endangered by such a phobia disease. I knew Specter would tell me anything that I thought was important, if he didn't want to keep it a secret... and even when he did lie, it was always to keep me, or even that butler that he cares about so much, safe. I'm sure he feels the same for my... our foals. As I write these words, I can feel my young foals, moving around in my stomach, kicking, and eager to leave my womb... in fact, they are kicking rather hard, now that I- The entry stopped abruptly there. Is... was she about to have the foals? Sweetie thought. Sweetie wasn't sure. She remembered stories Rarity told when she was in her mother's stomach. She kicked much in the same way Madame described. She could only assume... Sweetie turned to the next page to find... nothing. It was gone! The rest of the pages of the journal were ripped out by some pony. Who could have done this and why? And even more, where were the other pages? Sweetie had a feeling she'd need them. "Madame, where's the other-" Sweetie looked up to find the ghost mare had disappeared. "Right... leave me with more questions why don't you." Sweetie placed the book back into her bag. Well, time to get back to looking for Rainbow... now Fluttershy said she was on the seventh floor... oh Celestia... that sounds like a lot of stairs. Sweetie took out her map to find that there was a stairwell at the top of the foyer staircase through the middle door. She headed up and came face to face with the door. She hesitated before opening the door. This time, she wasn't afraid of what would happen if she tried to open the door... but what would happen once she went through it. She headed through and started to walk up the grand staircase. Once Sweetie made it up to the 3rd floor, something popped up in her mind. A memory... of Rarity. *** "Oh No... that simply won't do." Rarity said to herself. "No, no, no! Sapphire would never wear that. Throw that design in the garbage..." Sweetie walked into the mare's inspiration room, taking a bite out of a Sweetie Apple Surprise she'd just returned from Sugarcube corner with. It was in her muzzle, the hooves she walked on, covered in the caramel nectar from the apple. "Heh Shish." Sweetie said through the apple covering her mouth. "Not now Sweetie. Momma is very busy." Rarity said, not bothering to glance at the filly, completely focused on her dress design. Sweetie didn't quite process the importance Rarity saw. "Chome on. Ish shavensh seen shoe slall dhay." She said, still licking the inside of the apple in her mouth. "I said I don't have time Sweetie." finally Rarity glanced at the filly, with the sticky apple in her mouth, and caramel drenched hooves. She saw how they tracked into the room... it was a mess the filly had yet to notice. "And get that messy thing out of here!" She exclaimed annoyed. "Do you know how much work I'll have lost if you mess them up with that disgusting little apple of yours?!" Sweetie's eyes went wide at the sudden outburst, as she sat her on her flank. She threw the remaining apple up in the air, and managed to catch it in her mouth, proceeding to swallow it. It was a little trick Applebloom had taught her back at the clubhouse to dispose of an apple quickly. She looked at Rarity. "I... I'm sorry." Sweetie seemed to be on the verge of tears. Rarity sighed. She used her telekinetic magic to put down the pencil she used to draw her design. She walked over to the filly to embrace her. "Oh Sweetie. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I'm just running out of time to finish these designs up, and I simply can't afford to mess up you see." Rarity smiled at the filly. "Just... just let me finish ok? I just need to work right now." "C...can I watch?" Sweetie asked, sniffling. Rarity hesitated before answering. She knew the filly had a history whenever she 'watched' the mare as she worked... but then again, it wasn't as if she could say no to those green heart melting eyes. "Of course my dear." Rarity's smile faded. "Just... just watch though. Nothing more." Sweetie nodded. At least she'd get to spend some more time with the mare she looked up to not only as a sister, or a best friend, but a virtual mother, and role model... *** Sweetie came out of her memory, seeing herself on the 5th floor. She wasn't quite as fond of that memory, and how it ended. It seemed to only give evidence to the claims of the ghosts... Sweetie tried to think of a different memory as she climbed. Something happier. Something like her friends and their en devours to gain their cutie marks. *** "Cutie Mark Crusaders Cat Rescue Squad YAY!" the three fillies cheered. "Meow." Opalescence said at the top of the tall tree. "Thanks guys for helping me though," Sweetie said, "Rarity would have my horn if anything happened to that cat." "Don't sweat it Sweetie. We're in this together." Scootaloo said. "Besides, ponies do this all the time. This is a perfect chance to test out our cutie marks." "Yeah." Applebloom said, looking up at the cat in the tree. "Only thing ah can' figur' out 's how that cat got up there, on 'he farm. Ain't that Rarity's cat? Ain't she supposed ta be back at the Boutique?" "Yeah, but... I kinda chased her out." Sweetie admitted. "Why?" Scootaloo asked. "Well... you see that little crayon in her mouth?" Sweetie asked. "You chased her out for a crayon?" Scootaloo asked. "No... I was borrowing Rarity's special design drawing crayon to map out some ideas I had for getting our cutie marks and she snatched it out of my hoof... I don't know what it is with Opal and anything I have... she just likes messing with me. Anyway, I chased her here and..." Sweetie glances at Winona, who is barking furiously at the cat in the tree. "You guys saw the rest." "Go on Winona. Git!" Applebloom told the brown sheepdog. Winona's ears went down, upset she had displeased one of her masters, and left, forgetting about the cat. "Now the only thing is... how are we going to get that dumb cat down?" Sweetie said, looking back up in the tall dead tree. "Yeah... it's too hig' to climb." Applebloom said. "And I can't really fly yet, so that's not an option..." Scootaloo said. "... ah got an idea..." Applebloom said, leaving the two fillies. "Be ri' back." She ran off the farm. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo waited for their friend to return for a little while. Finally, Scootaloo picked up a rock off of the ground and chucked it at the cat. The cat narrowly dodged the rock she was assaulted with, and hissed at Scootaloo. "What are you doing?!" Sweetie said, stopping the orange filly from throwing another rock. "I want her down, not dead!" The orange filly shrugged, still liking her original plan. She threw a second rock. Sweetie knocked her hoof down. "Stop it you Dodo!" Sweetie said annoyed. "Ahm back." Applebloom called before Scootaloo could respond to Sweetie. She was followed close behind her, a baby dragon. Scootaloo sighed. "Look Applebloom, I know you like Spike and all, but what's he got to do with this." Spike wasn't listening as he looked up into the tree at the love of his life's cat. "Huh? What's Opal doing up there?" Applebloom went a crimson red. "A-ah don't know what yer talkin' bout." her blush faded. "'sides, ah got an idea usin' this 'im." Spike was still examining Rarity's pussy cat. "What's that thing in her mouth?" Sweetie Belle was puzzled. "What could you use Spike for anyway? He's barely older than any of us." "Well, list'n 'ere. Mah sis's gonna want this 'ere tree down ri'? It's dead and ain't no good fer apple buckin. So ah thought, kill two birds 't one stone." "What are you three up to?" Spike said, finally turning his attention onto the three fillies. "Well, what ah wanted ta do was set this 'ere tree on fire." "WHAT?!" Sweetie exclaimed. "I'm liking this idea." Scootaloo said smiling. "I'm not! I just said I didn't want to kill Rarity's cat." Sweetie argued "Sweetie's right! Why would you want to turn roast that cold cat into a hot dog?" Spike asked. "Hold on and list'n. Ah figured that if we set th' tree up on fire, the cat'd try an jump down. Then, we'd catch 'em!" Applebloom said, "and the tree'll burn so me and mah sis don't gotta worry 'bout cuttin' it down later! It's perfect." "I dunno, sounds kind of risky." Spike said. "And that cat's too stubborn to get out of that tree, even if it's falling down around her!" Sweetie said. "It's pure logic. It'll work." Applebloom assured. "...alright." Sweetie gave in. "I still don't like it. I don't even think I can even light raw bark." Spike said. "C'mon Spike. Please try?" Applebloom pleaded, with her large orange eyes. Spike sighed. "Whatever..." Spike got close to the tree, and blew his green flame on it. The small flame traveled around the tree, licking its base, but not igniting. As he ran out of breath, he looked to see that he had only left a few small burn marks on the tree. "Try again." Scootaloo said to the dragon. Spike took another deep breath, and blew harder with his green flame, this time, a little larger than before, but nothing abnormal for a baby dragon. This time, when he ran out of breath, the base of the tree glowed red with heat. Spike took one more deep breath to blow on the tree. The tree ignited with a green flame. "Success!" Spike exclaimed. The four children took a few steps back from the smoking tree. They all looked up at the cat sniffed the air, noticing the smoke. Fearfully, she dropped the crayon it held in its mouth, falling to the ground, breaking it into little pieces. "Oh no." Sweetie thought. Opal wasn't trying to get down, but was more frozen with fear. Sweetie knew that if she fell from that height without any precision, she wouldn't get back up. Then, Sweetie's fears were realized. As the fire traveled up the tree, much faster than any of the fillies, or the dragon could anticipate, it started to burn the limb of the tree Opal was perched on. The branch cracked, and before any of the fillies could do anything, the cat fell, likely to her doom. Then, out of nowhere, Applejack came out of nowhere, catching the cat before it could hit the ground. She was followed by Big Macintosh, and a couple more of the farm workers, holding buckets of water in their muzzles. They tossed them on the tree, extinguishing the green flame. The cat remained frozen as it lied in the mare's hooves. "What in the hay were you four doin'?" Applejack exclaimed angrily. "Um... Oh! I think that's Twi calling me. See ya!" Spike said before fleeing the scene. "You three." Applejack said angrily, before any of the three fillies could come up with excuses to escape punishment. "Farmhouse... now." *** Sweetie was brought out of her memory as she arrived on the 7th floor. Maybe that wasn't the best memory to recall. Now Sweetie just depressed, and more like she messed things up, by getting her friends into trouble, and breaking Rarity's design tool. She also missed her friends even more, and the adventures they would go on in order to obtain their cutie marks. "I'll get you back somehow..." Sweetie said to herself. Sweetie moved through the door, and into a new hallway, identical to the other ones she'd been through, though with different pieces of artwork. So... Madame made these? She's really good. Sweetie went over to examine one of the paintings with her flashlight, having a new appreciation for her ghost friend's artwork. It was a town. It looked luxurious, and beautiful. Not quite like Canterlot, but definitely a step above Ponyville. The town seemed to be much more diverse in community than Ponyville. The landscape painting was filled with ponies of all kinds. Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth ponies alike... but there were also a considerable number of griffons and zebra as well. She even noticed a buffalo in the background. In the painting, she could see Specter, much younger than the one Sweetie had become acquainted with. He smiled through the painting, possibly at Madame, who was painting it. Besides him were two twins... chances were they were Marbles and Candy. They looked around with their yellow eyes, much more interested in everything going on around them, rather than the painter, as foals tended to be. Sweetie looked off in the corner to some text that was written out in cursive. It said Stabletown... "So this is your home, huh Madame?" Sweetie said to the painting. Something seemed odd about it. Sweetie knew the mansion had an old look to it, but when she looked at the edges of the canvas inside of the frame... they seemed to be browned... as if they'd aged for a very long time. Maybe it was because it was a part of the mansion and aged along with the rest of it... Sweetie took out her map and checked to see where she needed to go next. According to the map, she was in a hallway, where if she headed left, she would head over a walkway over the dining area she'd just been through. If she kept that way, and went through the hallway the opposite end connected to, she would find her way to the outdoor eating area, and most likely, Rainbow Dash's ghost. She stuffed the map back into her bag, and headed to the dining hall area. Moving down the hall, she felt the gut feeling again. The same one she felt as she entered the stairwell to her current location. Her instinct was warning her of something... but given there was no other way she saw to the dining area, she could only keep moving forward. It wasn't like she was feeling cold anyway, so it couldn't be a ghost. Maybe it was just her paranoia acting up again. Sweetie came to the door, and pushed through it. The weight caused it to close behind her. Sweetie didn't bother to check if it was locked, afraid she would find it actually was. She shined her light around. Candles were across the walls, to her right. On her left, was a banister that kept any pony from falling down to the dining hall below. Also past the banister was a weak, yet luxurious looking chandelier. "So what are you? Fire proof now?" a voice said from the other side of the dining hall. Sweetie remembered seeing there was a second path on the map, on the left side of the dining room... and something in her gut was telling her that some pony was also on that side. "Because I could have sworn the last time I saw you, you were baking like... what do call that think Pinkie made... Sweetie Apple Surprise? "Spike? Spike is that you?" Sweetie called out. "And you can form sentences again. Isn't that just wonderful." Spike said. Sweetie was afraid of the fire-breathing dragon, but then remembered. He was still a baby dragon. Unless he found his way over to her side, she would be fine. "What do you want Spike?" Sweetie called. She knew she wasn't speaking to Spike, but she didn't know what else to call him. Still... something felt like she should have known what to call him. "Nothing but to see you burn in every way possible." He said. Sweetie could feel him grinning at her through the darkness. He laughed. "Hey... you ever finish reading that Exerpony book?" Sweetie remained silent. Spike simply laughed. "Probably not, knowing a scardy pony like you." Spike said. "... I remember that day you know. That day you came to the library, wining about how Rarity didn't love you." Sweetie didn't say a word, fearing to feed the argument she anticipated he would make about her sister. "She lied to you, you know. Twilight?" Spike said. "I'm with Twi all the time, especially when her and Rare get together. Now, I'm not going to stand up here and lie to you Sweetie. I've got the ear of a dragon. I heard everything that came out of Twi's mouth, and I'm telling you that she was lying." Sweetie bit her lip. Why didn't she just leave? Did a part of her want to hear what the dragon had to say? Sweetie didn't know. It was like she was anchored to the spot. "Of course she'd lie. You two were in a public library, and I doubt she'd want you to start bawling your little eyes out right then and there. No, I doubt she'd just drop it on you... but I know Twilight. She'll tell a lie every once and a while, and you can tell. You were able to tell too. Remember how she paused? Remember how she hesitated?" "She said that I meant the world to her." Sweetie blurted out. "True, but she also side stepped the question when you asked how many good things Rare said about you. Don't deny it. I'm using cold hard facts. I don't have anything that I know that tells me that Rarity hates you... but I do know she doesn't love you. She lied, Sweetie. Twilight-" "Shut up!" Sweetie yelled at the baby dragon through the darkness. "You're just a big liar! I don't care if you've got one or two of Spike's memories. That's not true! You're not Spike! You're just a liar." "Says the filly who called me Spike herself. Such a fickle one..." Spike said. "Tell me Sweetie. Do you remember anything that tells what Rarity really thinks of you?" "I don't have time for this." Sweetie said. Sweetie started to move down to the opposite side of the room. Suddenly, Sweetie noticed something out of the corner of her eye. It was two blue lights that came on from the opposite side of the dining hall. Were they the dragon's new possessed eyes? Sweetie felt like she'd seen those eyes earlier... Out of the darkness, there came a large orb of green light... coming straight for the filly. Sweetie jumped forward, dodging the fireball as it hit the path behind her, igniting it into a giant flame, blocking Sweetie's way back. How did Spike do that? Sweetie didn't know the dragon could let out so much fire! He had the breath of an adult dragon... maybe even stronger than that. Sweetie then remembered how Applebloom was able to jump out of the cage, higher than a normal filly should have been able too. Scootaloo, although she was definitely stronger than the filly originally, shouldn't have been able to move that stone slab so effortlessly. Did that also mean that Spike's breath was made stronger as well? Sweetie knew better than to just stand there and watch as Spike tried again to hit her. Sweetie ran for the opposite side of the dining hall. Spike fired another green ball at her, hitting the path behind her with its green flame. It was breaking up the path behind her, as she heard pieces of the path fall down to the bottom of the dining hall. "No point in running Sweets." Spike said. "I can see you..." Sweetie couldn't tell from the darkness ahead of her, but she figured she was about half way across the dining hall. Then, out of nowhere, a fireball hit the path ahead of Sweetie. Knocking her back enough to cause her to drop the flashlight in her muzzle. "Get up Sweetie. Get up!" Sweetie coached herself. She looked in front of her to see that she couldn't get through that way. She looked behind her to see her back path up in flames. She was trapped... or so she thought. The way Sweetie's flashlight fell, it pointed out into the darkness of the center of the dining hall. It illuminated the frail chandelier. It was Sweetie's only chance to escape before the segment of the path fell to the dining hall. Sweetie grabbed her flashlight, and stuck it back in her muzzle, tasting the soot and dirt from the burning pathway. It almost made her spit the flashlight back out, but she held it firmly with her teeth. Sweetie put her flank against the wall, feeling the pathway become less and less level. She listened to how it crackled under her very feet. She didn't have much time. Sweetie ran for the banister, and perched on top of it for a second before jumping for the chandelier. She reached out for it with her hooves, grabbing its edge. Spike laughed on the other side in amusement as she climbed on top. The filly heard as the segment of path fell down to the first floor. Ok, now what? Sweetie thought as she got on the chandelier. She could feel it coming out of the ceiling due to the added weight and stress. She saw another chandelier in jumping distance. If she could get to it... Sweetie got back as far as the chandelier would let her and made a running jump for the next one before it fell out of the wall, and onto the dining table seven stories below her. She hit the second chandelier perfectly, but this time, with too much momentum. As the dragon tried to shoot the filly, she just jumped to the next chandelier, trying to slow herself down. She continued to jump, and narrowly dodge fireballs, the momentum she had keeping her jumps long. Finally, after traveling along 5 chandeliers, she was able to stop by grabbing the edge of one. She jumped back over to the path she was originally on, and ran for the exit. She was almost there. Spike aimed for the top of the doorway, aiming to destroy the filly's exit. She rolled through, just as wood and debris fell around it, blocking it off. Sweetie's heart beat fast, after the near death situation. Adrenaline wanted to make her keep running, but she regained control of her little filly legs and brain to stop, and assess the situation. She took a deep breath, and went into her bag to check her map. She checked the map in order to figure out if Spike could still follow her. According to it, the paths in the dining hall all branched off from the dining hall. They wouldn't meet up for a few rooms. Where they met was at another hallway that led to the outdoor eating area. Sweetie would probably confront the baby dragon again, but if she moved fast, maybe she could avoid seeing him before she caught Rainbow Dash. Sweetie saw no time to lose. She headed down the hallway, to the outdoor hallway, preparing her for whatever Specter, or the mansion was going to throw at her next. *** Sweetie managed to beat the dragon to her destination... or at least that's what she thought. As she entered the hallway, where she started to hear rain echoing down it, she didn't see hind or claw of the possessed dragon. Something didn't seem right about that, considering everyone of the possessed ponies, or in Spike's case dragon was better, faster, stronger, and more agile than her. Then again, the same thing happened with Applebloom, who seemed to disappear along Sweetie's path as she escaped the basement. Maybe they had an alternate method of travel? Sweetie could hear thunder and rain outside. It sounded a little less harsh than before. The storm seemed to let up a little, so she assumed she would be able to venture outside with fewer problems than she had in the courtyard. She moved forward, eventually meeting a sliding glass window. She slid it open, rain immediately hitting her face. Still, the storm, as Sweetie had previously deduced, had become much more bearable. Sweetie went out, the sliding door closing behind her. Of course, of course. Sweetie thought as she heard it close behind her. Sweetie shined her light around, the rain limiting its shining strength. She didn't see anything out there. No Rainbow Dash, or any ghost to speak of. Rain hit the filly's coat, drenching her, causing her fluffy mane to fall down. The filly shivered... was she shivering because of the rain, or because there were ghosts nearby? Sweetie figured it to be best to look around the eating area. The area was filled with tables and chairs, as she expected. Some of them had umbrellas, which Sweetie took a moment to take shelter under every few minutes to rest. Lightning flashed, revealing the eating area for a split second. To the right side of the eating area, against a wall, Sweetie noticed something... there were statues over there. But not just any statues... they were the ones of griffons Sweetie remembered seeing on her way into the mansion along its brick pathway. What in the hay were they doing here? She got from under the umbrella to investigate. Sweetie found her way over, seeing that there was a flap at the top of the wall, shielding the statues from the rain. Sweetie touched each one, trying to find any indication any ghost, or pony may have transported them here. As she did, her hoof came across something. It wasn't cold, rough and hard... warm, feathery and soft... that wasn't a statue. "What the heck?" The griffon said, surprising the filly back into the rain, nearly giving her a heart attack. She sounded tough, and adult. Sweetie wondered if this was who Fluttershy was talking about. "G-gilda?" Sweetie asked as she shined her light on the griffon's face. Her eyes were golden... they didn't have the possessed look about them. Sweetie wasn't prepared to let her guard down none the less. She was already fooled by Applebloom and Scootaloo, and wasn't going to let herself get caught off guard again. The griffon paused for a moment. "What do you want pipsqueak?" She seemed to be incredibly uninterested in the filly's appearance. "I-I'm not Pipsqueak. I'm Sweetie Belle." Sweetie said. "Like I care, what do you want?" Gilda asked. "I'm kind of busy here." "W-well..." Sweetie wasn't sure if it was the best idea to ask the griffon such a question. Gilda intimidated the filly, and had a bad feeling that she wasn't on her side, but she didn't see herself having any other choice. Gilda was the only lead Sweetie had. Sweetie moved back under the flap. "I-I'm looking for a mare... her name's Rainbow Dash. Do you know her?" "'course I know her." Gilda said. "She's mine." "...your what?" Sweetie asked. "Mine. My property. My ghost. What, do I have to explain it to you?" Gilda said. Sweetie backed off, back into the rain. She came back, closer. She came back, trying to get her to tell her what she wanted to know, with her big green eyes. She even added some tears. They had no effect on the griffon. "What, you're crying? What a pacifier and a bottle with that?" Gilda laughed at the filly. "You're a bully." Sweetie said flatly. "Whatever kid... say, what did you say your name was?" Gilda asked. "S-sweetie Belle." Sweetie said shakily. Something didn't feel right. Gilda grinned at the filly. "Oh really... yeah, you know what, I think I will tell you where Rainbow is." she said. "Really?" Sweetie lit up. Had she finally gotten to the griffon? "Where? Where?" "Not here." Gilda said. "N-not here?" "She's not even in the mansion. Now use that little brain in your head and guess where she is." Gilda said. Sweetie thought. Where would the mare be? Think. Pinkie obviously wanted to catch Rainbow for a reason. She must have been keeping her from playing her 'game'... Sweetie wondered if she was doing something that kept her from doing that? Something that kept her from setting it up, and playing... Twilight was her mental powers, and Rainbow... what if it was the storm? Did that mean... "...up?" Sweetie said. "I guess you’re smarter than you look filly." Gilda said. "Yeah, she's in the clouds, making this awesome storm you’re standing in. And I should know awesome. After all, I am." "S-she's making the storm? Why?" Sweetie asked. "Why do you think?" Gilda asked. "To keep little losers like you away from the mansion until everything's all finished." "Finished? What are you-" Sweetie asked. "And don't think I don't know what you and that pink dweeb are up to." Gilda said. "W-what?" Sweetie asked. "You're not catching that mare. Not until you grow some wings." Gilda said. Sweetie was discouraged. If Rainbow was indeed up above the clouds, she wouldn't have a chance at catching her. She tried to figure out... could she lure the mare down? Sweetie was brought out of thought as she was kicked in the head by Gilda, knocking her further into the rain. Sweetie could feel the blood from her nose and mouth draining out of her nose and mouth, mixing with the water of the rain as she got back up. She was in a daze, but she heard Gilda laughing at the filly's pain. "Now that that's out of the way, let's get this over with. I gotta get back up there. She's slacking off." Gilda said. "I don't like you pipsqueak, and neither does Specter. So I decided it was time we took you out of the picture. All right, GET HER!" Sweetie looked up at the Gilda, and the statues she was around. There were about 5 of them. The statues eyes glowed with the same golden tint as the griffon. They started to move, erecting their wings. She heard, as they moved, the sound of stone against stone. No way... Sweetie thought. This did not look good in the slightest. Sweetie shined her light on the statues. As she feared, they didn't affect them. They grinned with their stony beaks, before one flew at the filly. Sweetie dodged to the right, falling to her side, still getting herself together after the blow to the head. She scrambled up, seeing the stone griffon come back around for another round. She dodged it again, this time with a little more focus. As it flew past her again, Sweetie ran in the direction it came from, away from Gilda and the other statues. "Come back! What are you? Chicken?" Gilda taunted through the rain. Sweetie's heart was beating fast. She couldn't beat the statues, and she didn't have any of the GCD Spectral Throwback to attack with. All she had was her brain. Was there any way she could fight back the griffons? Sweetie remembered how they flew at her. That was how they seemed to be attacking. Maybe she could use that to her advantage... Sweetie ran until she came to the opposite wall. She heard a whooshing sound, indicating that the stone griffon was making her third swoop. Sweetie planted her flank against the wall, waiting for it to come... she saw its glowing golden eyes through the rain. Now. Sweetie dodged to the side, her flank still against the wall. She heard as the griffon collided with the wall. On impact, the griffon's head was broken apart, obliterating it. Sweetie got a second idea. If she could get the griffon to collide with the wall, maybe she could get it to collide with other things? Sweetie heard the flapping of the stone wings coming at her. She moved forward, moving to the side, dodging the wing of the griffon. She got in front of the glass sliding door, she didn't even need to check to figure it was locked. She stood there, waiting for the griffon to swoop back and fly at her. She waved her flashlight in her mouth, in an attempt to attract the as she anticipated, the griffon flew at the filly. She dodged, as she listened to the sound of glass breaking, and stone smashing. Now she had her exit again, in case she had to make a quick getaway. She went back over to the wall, ready to lure the remaining three statues into the wall. Though this time, they didn't come. Instead, she heard steps. Sounds of stone against floor, as they walked towards Sweetie, their eyes glowing through the darkness. They had figured out Sweetie's plan, and were now aiming to corner her as a team. Now, Sweetie's flank was against the wall out of fear. Now what was she to do? She didn't have anything to fight back with now... did she? The GCD didn't have any ghosts inside for her to fight with... but she did just catch another portrait ghost: Twilight. Every time she caught a Portrait of Harmony, she remembered getting a new upgrade on her GCD. With Applejack, it was the Spectral Throwback, and with Fluttershy, it was the Dual Capture... what about Twilight? Sweetie looked at her GCD nozzle, and sure enough, there was a new icon on there. It was an icon that depicted a snowflake. Sweetie switched to it. "Elemental Capture A activated." the GCD said. She pointed her GCD at the statues, and hit the button. Instead of firing something at them, it started to suck up the rain. After a few seconds, the GCD said something. "Ghost Capture Device Water Containment at 100 percent." What does that mean?! I just vacuumed rain?! Sweetie thought. That's not helpful! It's then Sweetie noticed that the snowflake, unlike the other icons, it had two settings: up and down. Right now, the switch was facing down. What if she switched it up? The filly did that as the griffons closed in on her, still grinning. Sweetie pointed the GCD at the center griffon, which was closest to her. When she hit the button, a cold blast of mist came from the GCD. It was so big and wide, it hit all three griffons. They all slowed to a stop, covered in frost and ice. Sweetie pushed them over, as they fell, breaking into tiny pieces as they hit the ground. Sweetie heard a caw in the darkness. Suddenly, out of the darkness came Gilda. She was much faster than the statues. So fast, it took Sweetie a moment to realize that she was being held by the neck of the griffon. She sighed. "If you want something done right, you've gotta do it yourself." she said, gripping the filly's neck, causing her to drop her flashlight. Sweetie's air was cut off. She was choking. Sweetie struggles to free herself from the claws of the griffon. Gilda took the filly over to the banister that looked over the forest. Lightning flashed as she held her over the edge, as Sweetie looked at the final face she would ever likely see again. The face of a griffon that wanted her dead. She didn't seem possessed... but she wanted her dead. Why? What the hay was happening? Who was this griffon? What did she have to do with any of this? What was it she meant by 'finished'? Sweetie would never know... "What the hay do you think you're doing?!" said a familiar voice. Because Sweetie was being held by the griffon, she couldn't confirm. "What am I doing? What are you doing?" Gilda responded. "Get back up there and fix that storm!" "Are you trying to kill her?" the anonymous mare said. "No, I'm just trying to show her the view." Gilda said sarcastically. "Of course I'm trying to kill her!" "We're supposed to be ghostifying. Not killing them!" the mare argued. "You were up in the sky all this time, you didn't get the memo. Forget about turning them into ghosts, we've got plenty of those now. It's either possession, or death. This loser's been catching ghosts, so she's a special case. Specter wants her dead now." Gilda said. "That doesn't sound cool." the mare said. "You're a ghost. It doesn't matter what you think is cool." Gilda said. "Now let me do this." The griffon lessened her grip on the filly's neck. She could breathe, but she was now slipping through it. "Hold on!" the mare said. Sweetie saw a cyan glowing hoof move past her, and push the griffon in the chest. It was so fast, if it were any closer, it might have been considered an attack. She dropped Sweetie, just inside of the eating area. She lied there, catching her breath. She looked up to see it was in fact, who she thought it was that saved her: Rainbow Dash... why? "How do I know you're not lying? Just like you did with Scootaloo?" Rainbow asked. "What is it? You've got a fetish for killing fillies?" "I'm just doing my job." Gilda said bitterly. "How could I know that? Like you said, I was working with the storm all this time." Rainbow argued. "If you get in trouble, we'll both get in trouble, and I'll end up dead, like that Madame chick." Aren't you already dead? Sweetie thought, as she slipped further away from the griffon. and was something supposed to happen to Madame? Gilda groaned. "You're just as uncool as that... where'd she go?" Gilda asked, looking for the filly she could have sworn she just dropped. She looked over to the side, into darkness, before feeling her body got consumed in a biting cold. She screeched in pain from the intense frostbite. Rainbow simply watched, either still trying to comprehend that her master, as Gilda had put it, was freezing to death; or that she simply wanted to see her master freeze. Gilda was frozen on the spot... but it didn't seem like she was dead quite yet. Her eyes darted around, trying every part of her body to see if anything else wasn't encased frozen in ice. "Ghost Capture Device Water Containment empty." the GCD said. "You little brat! I'll kill you!" Gilda yelled at the filly. Sweetie got up from her location and took her hoof off of the nozzle button. Suddenly, in front of her flashed the mare she was supposed to be hunting. Rainbow scared the filly back onto her flank to sit back in a puddle of rain. The mare stared at the filly with empty eyes. "R-rainbow Dash?" Sweetie asked. She didn't receive an answer. The ghost mare seemed to be deep in thought. Sweetie wondered what was going on in Rainbow's ghostly head... then she remembered she could find out. She remembered that Twilight, earlier that night said something about using the camera to be able to hear a ghost's thoughts. If there was a better time to try it out, it was now. Sweetie, still keeping her eyes on the ghost mare who stared blankly at her, reached into her bag to take out her camera. She snapped a shot of Rainbow. C'mon Sweetie! Run! she heard the mare think. It was definitely the real Rainbow Dash. Was she using her own will to keep her ghostly self from attacking her? Stop fighting it. She can't escape. Its useless. Sweetie then heard another Rainbow Dash. It sounded much more ghost like, and intimidating. Even if she did run, we'd catch her, and kill her all the same. Tell ya what. If you give me back full control, I'll make it quick and painless. That's what I'm best at. Quick. Run, damn it! Run! Sweetie listened to the ghost mare, but instead of running away, she ran for her flashlight. She pointed it at the mare, expecting to hear a ding. Instead, her light bounced off of the mare, in several directions in the form of colors of the rainbow. The flashlight didn't affect her. NO! Rainbow yelled in Sweetie's head. Sweetie's eyes widened as the ghost mare flew at Sweetie such an incredible velocity; she didn't have time to dodge as she flew right through her little body...
Chapter 14- The Frozen Light Spectrum"Get away from me you freak." Gilda said. Sweetie was starting to come to, after being phased through by the ice cold ghost. "Aw, C'mon Gilda. We're all friends here!" came Pinkie's voice, as ghostly and bubbly as ever. "I'm not your fried dweeb. Now are you gonna break me out or not?" Gilda asked, getting increasingly annoyed at the mare. "Only if you say Pretty Please with Peanuts and Pineapples." Pinkie responded happily. Sweetie tried to get up on all fours again, but her body wasn't listening to her. She couldn't remember why her body wasn't working right. She tried to recall facts. She was in a mansion, catching her friends turned into ghosts. Whenever she caught a ghost, she'd get shocked and put near death... was that why she felt like that? Did she catch a ghost? "Look loser, I'm the one in charge around here. You gonna do what I say, got it?" Gilda said. "Nah, that's ok. I'm no good at following orders anyway." Pinkie said. "Why don't you ask my Dashie to get you out? You’re in charge of her, right?" Rainbow Dash... that was the last ghost she remembered seeing. Did she catch her? She didn't remember it. All she could recall was fighting some bully griffon, freezing some statues... and getting flown at by Rainbow Dash. No, she definitely didn't catch the mare. She got away. Sweetie's nerves started to wake up again, as she felt the rain around her, lightly hitting her coat. She was lying in a pool of water that accumulated from the rain around her. Her muzzle stung from Gilda's blow, her body ached and felt cold, and miserable. She wished she could just stay lying there, but knew better. She knew she had to get up and out of the rain at least, and figure out what to do next. Besides, the last thing she needed was a cold. Sweetie made a second attempt at moving her fore legs in front of her, with much more success. It was painful, but she managed to push her upper body up off of the ground. She opened her eyes to see her flashlight, also lying in the pool of water. Thankfully, it was still working though it was in the rain for however long Sweetie was knocked out. Sweetie pushed herself up onto her flank, so she was sitting in front of the flashlight. Sweetie checked her back to see that her little GCD was still on her back, along with her saddlebags, which sat under it. She looked over to the edge of the outdoor eating area's banister to see Gilda was still there, just as frozen as before, and surprisingly still alive. One might have thought that the freezing of her body might kill them... what made the griffon so special? Hovering above her, was the pink ghost mare that’d been following her all night. Sweetie moaned in pain, as she rubbed out some of the tension at the side of her neck, gaining the two's attention. "Sleeping on the job are we?" Pinkie asked, abandoning Gilda to float over to the filly. "W...wha?" Sweetie asked, still trying to get her mind back up to speed. Pinkie was frowning now, which always meant something was wrong. The pink mare never frowned... at least not to Sweetie's memory. She seemed disappointed about something. "While you were taking a nap, Dashie..." Pinkie trailed off. "She's gone Sweetie. She flew away." "F...flew away?" Sweetie asked. Then Gilda's words came to her: you’re not catching that mare. Not until you grow some wings... "No... she can't be... she can't have escaped. No..." Sweetie bowed her head in shame, that she'd failed her task to catch her friend- Pinkie giggled gleefully, causing Sweetie to look back up at the mare. She was grinning again. "You should have seen the look on your face Jumpie! You were all like 'I failed' and I was like 'I can't believe she's so gullible'!" She laughed. "What are you saying? You mean, I didn't lose Rainbow?" Sweetie asked. "Well... I wouldn't say that." Pinkie said. “She's here, but she's not here.” "You mean she's somewhere in the mansion?" Sweetie asked. "Uh huh!" Pinkie chirped happily. This was good, now that Sweetie knew she didn't lose her chance at Rainbow... but something didn't quite strike the filly right. If she was supposed to be making the storm, which she could tell was beginning to die out, then why didn't the mare go back up? Sweetie then remembered how Rainbow managed to stall her ghostly self from attacking her. Sweetie decided to interrogate Pinkie and possibly confirm her suspicions. "... But why?" Sweetie asked. "You already know! You thought it yourself, Rainbow's got some strong willpower going on. Hm..." Pinkie thought for a moment. "... and I think I know what helps her." "What?" Sweetie asked. "Well, you know AJ and Rainbow right? Well, I was thinking... you know about their competitiveness right?" Pinkie asked. Sweetie nodded. She'd heard plenty from Rarity and Twilight about the two's competitive spirits to be better than one another. She even knew about the Running in the Leaves fiasco, where their competitiveness almost resulted in the end of their friendship. "What about it?" Sweetie asked. "Well, I figured that if Rainbow held something like that in her heart, she'd be strengthened by the thought of AJ." Pinkie explained, "And if that's the case, then when she saw your hat, those memories of her friendship with Applejack woke up, and got her to gain a little control over the ghostie controlling her." "I guess that makes sense." Sweetie said, touching Applejack's hat, happy it managed to come in handy. Hm... memories make a manipulated spirit's will stronger? Maybe I could use that to catch Rainbow with... "Maybe you can Sweetie, and I'm just the mare to help you." Pinkie said. "Huh?" Sweetie asked puzzled. "Y-you mean you’re going to help me catch Rainbow?" "Sure! That's why I came over here! I figured if you weren't dead by the time I got over here, I'd see if I couldn't help you out!" Pinkie said. "T-thank you?" Sweetie was unsure if she should have been thanking the ghost mare for giving her assistance. Still, she could have let her go after Rainbow all by herself, and let her die, right? Sweetie wondered... Maybe that memory thing is happening with Pinkie? Maybe she's fighting Specter's control? Maybe she's like- Pinkie giggled, taking the filly out of thought. "W-what now?" Sweetie asked. "Oh you silly filly. I'm not helping you out of the kindness of my ghostly heart. In fact, I look forward to you dying. I just want to have fun doing it myself. It's not always you get the chance to play with a filly as fun as you... so I wanted to do it myself!" Pinkie said happily. Sweetie's heart sunk, her hope doused. Should have known it was too good to be true... "I'm still following Mr. Yield's orders Jumpie." Pinkie said. I thought you said you didn't follow orders? "...but, I'm just bending his orders a teeny bit." Pinkie said. "I'm gonna have to kill you eventually, but I want us to have fun while I do it. What do you say?" "...well, at least you’re not trying to kill me now." Sweetie said optimistically. "That's the spirit!" Pinkie said, punching Sweetie in the shoulder. She flinched at the nearly instantaneous frostbite she felt as her hoof made contact with her shoulder. Sweetie then felt the cold and weakness rush through her again. She felt herself momentarily fatigued, and her she was reminded of her ache. Sweetie reached into her saddlebags to fish out something that could possibly mend the pain. "Wait a sec Jumpier." Pinkie said. "What?" Sweetie asked. "I'd... I'd save that little heart candy if I were you." Pinkie said. H-how does she know about my heart candy? Doesn't she have something better to do than to watch me all night? "Sorry Jumpie, you’re just so interesting to watch!" Pinkie grinned. "Besides, you don't feel like you're about collapse and die yet I hope." Pinkie did have a point. Sweetie felt weak, and hurt all over her body, especially in her muzzle. All that aside, she was 'fine'. Sweetie decided she would take the ghost mare's advice. "Well then... I guess we should better get going." Sweetie said, getting up on all fours. "Now hold up there Jumpie." Pinkie said, holding her hoof. There's just one thing need you to do... well, it's more of a suggestion." "What now?" Sweetie asked. Pinkie floated to the side of the filly and put her arm around her neck, her muzzle to her ear. "You see that frozen meany old griffon over there?" Pinkie whispered loudly as she pointed at Gilda, who was preoccupied with trying to free herself from her icy restraints. "Yeah?" Sweetie asked. "Push her." Pinkie said. "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "You heard me. You know you want to." Pinkie said. "Y-you’re not serious right?" Sweetie asked shakily. Sweetie knew what would happen if she did what the pink mare suggested. If she pushed her, chances were, her frozen body would break apart from the impact. The griffon was barely alive as it was. Sweetie doubted she would survive if she broke her up any more. "What the heck are you two dweebs whispering about?" Gilda asked. "I'd do it myself, but I'm kind of on thin ice as it is. I doubt killing Specter's little birdy would make him very happy with me." Pinkie said. Specter's little birdy huh? What exactly is this Gilda to Specter anyway? "I-I can't. I won't." Sweetie said. "Jumpie, let's face it. Sure, she's frozen, but she's gonna thaw out eventually. Especially after this storm is over. She's gonna hunt you down and kill you, and I doubt you'd fare very well against her. Why not just end it here and now? Just push her over, and be done with it. It's quick and simple. Just a little push, and there's one less griffon to claw at your flank." Pinkie said smiling devilishly at the filly. As much as Sweetie hated to admit it, the mare had a good point. Sweetie already had two fillies and a dragon that weren't ghostified on her tail; even more something told her that Gilda wasn't exactly possessed, which meant she couldn't save her. If Sweetie did something about Gilda now... killed the griffon before she could she could kill her... Maybe. Sweetie felt herself get up and walk over to the griffon, who'd kicked her in the muzzle so hard and coldly. She could still feel the pain as she walked closer to the griffon. She wasn’t sure what she was doing, but the filly knew she'd have to make a choice now. "What do you want pipsqueak?" Gilda asked annoyed by the filly's approach. Sweetie simply stared at the griffon. She didn't like her. She really didn't like her. Without any good reason, the griffon had tried to kill her, of her own free will. For a second, watching her break into a million pieces seemed like a pleasant thought... "No!" Sweetie said. "I won't do it! I can't hurt anyone like that Pinkie. Even if they are just a big smelly bully griffon." "What the heck are you talking about dweeb?" Gilda asked. Pinkie frowned, somewhat disappointed in the filly's decision, but bounced back with a smile and a giggle. "Oh well. It was worth a try. C'mon then, let's get going. I want to get this done before Gilda finally thaws. I don't want her to have all the fun." Sweetie walked over to the hole in the glass, where she'd crashed the statue of the griffon through. "Hey! Get back here and get me out! I'll kill you!" "I can't believe I'm saying this Pinkie... but neither do I." Sweetie said, imagining the horrible things the griffon planned for her... *** Before leaving the eating area, Sweetie sucked up some rain water with her GCD, unsure if she might need it later. She figured it was best to keep herself fully loaded with anything she could, just in case she had to defend herself. Sweetie walked over the broken glass of the sliding window, and the stone shards of the crashed griffon. They were sharp, but much like the window Sweetie had nearly committed suicide on, they didn't penetrate her hoof. Sweetie wondered if they were some ghosts possessing the stone griffon, or some kind of magic spell. Maybe she'd ask Twilight once she got back to the safe zone. She knew all about magic stuff, most of which Sweetie could never imagine being stuffed into her own brain. She was one of the smartest, most magical unicorns she knew... *** "Alright Sweetie, remember. Visualize the ball, and imagine it being lifted into the air." Twilight said softly to the filly. Sweetie looked at Twilight, then at Rarity, who was sitting to the side, watching her little sister attempt her first telekinesis spell. Sweetie looked back at Twilight, who looked at the little filly hopefully. A month ago, Twilight had been tasked with tutoring Sweetie Belle in magic, by Cherelee. The filly struggled with her ability to control her magic, and preform the most simplest of magic. This reflected on her school work, as she wasn't like a pegusi, or earth pony, who were taught how to muzzle write at an early age. Unicorns like her would often write using their magic... but not Sweetie, who rarely ever managed to turn in any legible hoof written work. Twilight had been working with the filly for the last month with little success... Twilight was even beginning to show slight annoyance with the filly. Only recently did she get the idea of Rarity, attending the sessions. Maybe her sister's presence might help the filly? "Ok Twilight." Sweetie said. "I can do this." Twilight placed Sweetie's Cutie Mark Crusader ball in front of her. Telekinesis supposedly worked best on familiar objects, which why the mare had chosen the ball. Sweetie gave one last glance at Rarity, who smiled sweetly at the filly. "Go on dear." She said to her sister. Sweetie heard sounds of ponies outside the library they were sitting in. Sweetie ignored the sounds outside, determined to get this spell right. She was going to show her sister what she could do. She was going to levitate the ball with her magic today, if it was the last thing she did. The little white filly closed her eyes and imagined her ball. An image of her and her friends playing around the tree house surfaced in her mind, but she pushed them away, singling out the rubber CMC ball. She saw it in her mind, and imagined it floating in the air, and her grown mare friends congratulating her on her first levitation. Maybe they'd go out to eat? It had been a long time since Sweetie had gone out with her friends and Rarity to- Sweetie shook the thought from her head, trying to focus... though it was kind of difficult with all of the ponies outside making such a commotion. She kept the thought of raising the ball clear in her mind. She then started to channel the magic in her little filly body into her horn, just like Twilight had taught her. Now she had to take the ball with her magic. As she did, the filly felt a connection between her horn and the ball. As though she were touching it, but not with her hooves, or any part of her body; rather she was touching it with her very mind. Now, all that was left was to lift the ball. Sweetie gritted her teeth, as she tried to push the ball up into the air. As her eyes were closed, she didn't hear either of the mares say a word. Was it not working? Did she have to try harder? She could hear more ponies outside of Twilight's library, most likely gathered at the town square, just outside of the library. Sweetie didn't have time however to think about something like that. All that mattered to her was levitating the ball and impressing Rarity. Magic left the filly's body, as she started to feel weaker. The effort being exerted from her body through the small amounts of magic made her almost want to collapse. She stayed strong however. She would do it for Rarity. For- "Rarity, where are you going?" Twilight asked. Those five words broke Sweetie's focus more than any number of ponies outside in the town square could have ever. The filly's clamped eyes snapped open, as she saw the rubber ball, which levitated only about a foot in the air, fall back down onto the floor, bouncing into a nearby corner. When she opened her eyes, she saw Rarity's tail as it exited the room. Sweetie's heart sunk. She didn't impress the mare... no, quite the opposite, she must have bored her into leaving... "C'mon, let's catch up to her." Twilight said. Sweetie glumly followed the mare, who was as of now, oblivious to her new mood. They both went outside to see what had caught the filly's sister's interest. It turned out to be a small group of celebrity ponies Sweetie had never heard of, but was sure Rarity mention among the hundreds of others. "Rarity..." Twilight said disappointingly to the mare. She wasn't listening to Twilight as she tried to follow the celebrity ponies along with the other group of mares and stallions equally interested with them. Twilight looked down at Sweetie, who still had her head hung low. "...Sweetie. You did really well..." The mare said, unsure of what else to say to comfort the filly. Sweetie knew how the white maned mare couldn't resist the desire to meet someone famous, which made her feel a little better about herself. At least she didn't 'bore' the mare... but Sweetie felt certain anger for the celebrity pony, which had to come around that one time. They'd virtually stolen her sister from her, on the day of her first levitation none the less. Sweetie hated celebrities... because they always seemed to take her sister, and only family away from her... *** Sweetie exited her memory to find herself further down the hallway, past the glass and stone shards. She'd been so lost in thought by the memory that she didn't pay attention to anything around her. All she could think about was that memory... and Rarity. Sweetie was beginning to get more and more worried about the mare. Sure, she was still a ghost, but Sweetie remembered Spiffy saying that the stallion had a thing for the mare. Sweetie wouldn't have her sister stolen from her again. Suddenly, the filly had a hatred for the stallion... not because he was trying to kill her, or that he'd ghostified her friends, but because he might steal her sister away from her again... and Sweetie wasn't going to let that happen. Sweetie shook her head, knowing she needed to focus on more important things, like Rainbow Dash, and how she was going to catch the fastest mare in Ponyville, and possibly Equestria. Maybe Pinkie would have an idea. "Hey Pinkie..." Sweetie asked, "... Pinkie?" Sweetie stopped, and shined her flashlight around the hallway. Sure enough, the ghost mare who promised to help her in her mission was gone. She must have left while Sweetie was remembering. So much for helping me... Sweetie decided that she'd best try and figure out how she can catch Rainbow anyway, despite her "partner's" absence. She sat down on her flank, and took out her ghost book, or as Twilight had called it, the Ghost Encyclopedia. She placed it on the floor, and flipped through the several pages, until she finally came to something new. It was a photo of the ghostly Twilight. Portrait of Magic Gender: Female Bio: Well, considering you have time to read this, you're either hiding for you're life, which I expected, or you managed to catch her... and if you have, good job. If not... well, you’re gonna get yourself killed in a few seconds anyway. The Portrait of Magic is one of the most magically powerful mares in the mansion. She is able to summon and possess pieces of literature to do her bidding, such as attacking you. She mainly focuses on ranged attacks, including creating magical lightning bolts to attack her victims with. Furthermore, she has the ability to use a magic spell known as "Mind Dive" which is a little like ranged possessing. She can manipulate your mind into doing her bidding, like a brain washer. Good luck getting close to her. Though I do have a little bit of good news for you. There is a way to break most Mind Dive attacks, and this is through light entering the eye, and breaking the hypnotic spell... now all that's left is to keep from getting barbecued by a bolt of lightning, or frozen by a flying book. If you do manage to break her control, and get close to her however, she uses most of her magic for her attacks. Naturally, since that magic is being transferred out of her ghostly body, her magical shield is weaker. That's all I got for you kid. Good luck... you’re gonna need it. "I showed you, huh book?" Sweetie said to the book, then realized I'm talking to a book... I guess I'm lonelier than I thought... Sweetie flipped to the next page, to find a photo of the statue of the griffons that nearly killed her. Spectral Stone Armor Info: Let's just say, you'd better hope you don't come across any more of these. The ghosts inside of these enchanted rocks puppeteer them from inside, by fusing themselves to different parts of whatever stone statue they've chosen. They are strong, and not even your Spectral Throwback will have any real effect on them. Unless you can physically destroy them, you won't get very far in fighting them. Luckily, because there is more than one ghost commonly in one statue, they occasionally have communication problems, and are ironically in result dumber than the average ghost, and can be fooled. If you ever find yourself face to face with one of those things, keep that in mind. It just might save your life. Though it didn't mention anything about the Elemental Capture feature, Sweetie had to agree with the book. If she hadn't tricked the stone griffons into crashing into the wall, and had to freeze them all, she doubted she'd have had enough water to take on all five of them. Sweetie flipped to the next page to find what she was looking for. It was a picture of the ghostly Rainbow Dash. Portrait of Loyalty Gender: Female Bio: Not bad you've managed to make it this far. Maybe I misjudged you kid... maybe you'll actually figure out how to catch the Element of Loyalty after all? In either situation, the Element of Loyalty, as far as light is concerned, is impossible to capture. Light passes through her, and bounces back off of her and into the colors of the rainbow. Normal light won't work for catching her... but maybe she'll break under a different light... but all that's only possible if you manage to get your light to shine on the speedy mare. She is so fast, that she can pass through light without even touching it. In result, she can phase through light. Her main attacks are commonly close quarters, but she'll usually use her speed to fly through her victims, freezing them from the inside out. You'd be lucky to survive one fly through, let alone what two might do to you. She also has the ability to control storms, given her background as a weather pony when she was alive. Being inside is the best option when fighting the mare... again, if she slows down enough for you to be able to. Good luck with your newest suicide mission. So my flashlight won't affect her... Sweetie thought. Though the book confirmed it, she figured that already after she tried it the first time. Then how the hay am I going to catch her?... I guess I'll just have to wing it. With no more new entries in the ghostbook, Sweetie closed its cover and stuffed it back into her bag. She took a deep breath, as she looked down the dark hallway, farther than her in her muzzle flashlight could reach. She didn't know how she was going to capture Rainbow, but she was determined to somehow. The more ghosts she caught, the closer she felt to freeing her friends, escaping the mansion... and rescuing Rarity. She wouldn't let her sister leave her without a fight. Not again... Sweetie walked down the hallway until she came to a corner. There, she decided to check her map. According to it, if she headed left, she would be heading in the direction of the hallway that led back to the flaming balcony walkway over the dining hall. She was sure the few doors she saw along that way were locked, and it wasn't if she could go past that hallway again. To the right however, would lead to a second stairway, the right side of the balcony walkway where she last saw Spike, and another hallway branching off of that. She could only hope that Spike had left the area while she was knocked out, as it was the only possible direction she could go now. Sweetie walked down the right hallway, further. As she did, she started to feel the chill down her spine. Her teeth started to chatter softly, as she saw cold mist coming out of her mouth. Hopefully that meant she was getting closer to Rainbow Dash, and not another gang of ghosts. The last thing she needed was to be ambushed in her weakened state. Sweetie started to come across new doors. Out of curiosity, and a little bit of doubt, she reached up to open one. To her surprise, the first door she came across was unlocked! That's a first... Sweetie thought. Since it was in fact, unlocked, Sweetie decided it would be best to check it out. It wasn't every door that would unlock so easily for the filly. She touched the knob... it wasn't cold, which probably meant there weren't any dangerous ghosts inside. Even so, Sweetie didn't feel comfortable opening the door. It just felt too easy... but after moments of hesitation, the filly finally opened the door. Sweetie was blinded with light. She staggered back from the intense light, but pushed herself to go further into the room. Sweetie's eyes finally adjusted to the light, and what she saw shocked her. The room... it looked normal, much like the rest of the mansion did on her first entrance... but that wasn't what surprised the filly the most. For inside of the room were three ghosts. First, there was Madame, who sat in front of a desk with a mirror on it against the far light red wall. She seemed to be writing something on a piece of paper, ignorant to the filly's presence. In the center of the floor, lying on the floor were two children, who looked only a year or two younger than Sweetie. They had similar features to each other, with the same yellow eyes, greyish coats and brown manes. Sweetie recognized them as a filly and a colt... she figured they had to be twins. They wrestled on the ground over a stuffed bear. Could they be Madame's twins? And if so, why had Madame asked her to catch them if they were right there behind her? "M-madame?" Sweetie asked. "M-madame, is that you?" Madame gave no answer. She seemed to be ignoring the filly... either that, or she didn't know she was there to begin with. She seemed to be intensely focused on her writing. "It's mine!" The colt said. "No! It's mine!" The filly said, "Mommy got it for me! Mommy said!" Sweetie wanted to try and communicate with the foals. She started to move forward, but she was stopped by the sound of Madame putting her ink quill down. Sweetie stood still on the carpet, as Madame got up. She ripped out the page from the book she was writing in, and rolled it up. She then kissed the rolled up piece of paper, and floated the ripped out piece of paper over to a chest on the far side of the room. She placed it into a chest against its wall. She turned as she saw a flash of lightning outside of the window. It seemed to scare everyone in the room, Sweetie and the foals included. "Another storm..." She said to herself. "Come along now you two." "Mommy! Tell Marbles that you got it for me!" the filly said. "Mommy! Tell Candy to share!" the colt said. Madame simply looked to the filly and colt and smiled. The then went over to the chest and took something else out of her pocket Sweetie couldn't identify and placed it in the chest before closing it. She took a key out of her orange dress, and locked the chest with it before placing it back into the dress's pocket. "Come on. Your daddy 'll probably be home soon from work. Let's go wait for him downstairs and help Spiffy make him a special dinner. Hm?" Madame said to her children. "And Marbles? Let go of your sister's doll. Do you really want all of the Stabletown kids to know you play with dolls?" Marbles thought for a moment, and finally let go of the stuffed bear. He seemed more worried the menacing look his mother gave him rather than what his schoolmates might think of him. Candy hugged her stuffed bear, while sticking her tongue out at her brother. "No fair..." Marbles sniffed. "Marbles, did you ask your sister to play with her toy?" "She wouldn't have let me anyway." Marbles claimed. "She's just a big plot-head." Its times like this I'm glad my sister's a mare and not a little filly. Sweetie thought. "Marbles, we won't have that kind of language in this household." she said. "Now stop bullying your little sister. That's no way of a gentle-colt like yourself to treat a filly." "You’re always on her side." Marbles said. "Because I'm the better one, right Mommy?" Candy said. "I love you both equally. Tell you what, I'll let your father decide who here's at fault when he gets home ok?" "... fine." Marbles said. Candy smiled victoriously, as Madame ushered her two children past Sweetie and out the door. "Hey! Wait up!" Sweetie said, following the three ponies out of the room... but when she looked around the hallway, they were gone. "Where did they... what the hay?" When Sweetie turned back around, the room changed back to its old abandoned look. The book was gone off of the desk with the mirror and replaced with a white sheet. The framed mirror was now broke, shattered and useless. A layer of dust now replaced the carpet. The only thing that remained the same... was the chest. "Why did they ignore me? Is the mansion playing tricks on me again? Or... or did I just imagine that? Am I going crazy? I know I saw ghosts just walk past me! I know I did!" Sweetie said. She checked her ghostbook. Maybe it would have something on Marbles and Candy, just like Madame... but there was nothing. It was as though she never encountered them to begin with. She took a deep breath. Whatever just happened, crazy or not, it didn't change the fact she had to keep moving. She figured the best thing to do was to check the chest. She walked over to it and tried to open it, but it didn't work. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was that Madame had locked that chest. She wouldn't get to see what was inside until she found the key. Of course... it's never that easy. There didn't seem to be anything else of immediate interest in the room, so Sweetie left, and decided to continue exploring the hallway. As Sweetie continued to walk down the hallway, she started to hear voices in her head. At first she was really beginning to question her mental stability of the situation... but then she started to recognize the voices. It was Rainbow Dash! Her voice was too low for her to know what she was saying, but it was definitely her. Sweetie figured it was from her using her camera to read her mind back at the eating area. She'd almost forgotten about that. She also heard the second voice, which she assumed was her ghostly form. Sweetie figured that Rainbow was hiding in one of the rooms... Sweetie moves from room to room, for the most part identical to each other except with a few new pieces of furniture, in different parts of each room. The next room she came across that was of some remote interest was a bathroom. There was something different about this bathroom however. It had all of the normal accommodations: toilet, sink, tub... and glass tile floor. What made the bathroom special was the sheer number of mirrored surfaces in the bathroom. Every design in the bathroom seemed to incorporated mirrors. It was almost like Fluttershy's mirrored hallway on a smaller level. What is it with mirrors and this mansion? Sweetie thought. Other than the extraordinary mirrors in the bathroom, it held nothing more of interest, but Sweetie decided to keep it in the back of her mind, just in case she could use it for something. Maybe if she was around it when she caught Rainbow, she could use it to escape. With nothing else keeping her there, Sweetie exited the bathroom to explore the hallway further. Down the hallway, she noticed something. She turned her flashlight momentarily to confirm what she saw. It was some kind of glowing aurora on one of the doors... possibly ectoplasm? Could that be where Rainbow Dash went? Sweetie ran down the hall to the door. Sure enough, there it was. On the door of interest, there was ectoplasm, in the shape of a thundercloud and thunderbolt. The ectoplasm, unlike the other ones she'd seen, its color changed. It started blue, then red, then orange, then yellow, green, indigo, violet, and then blue again. If this didn't scream Rainbow Dash at the filly, nothing would. No doubt about it, Rainbow was behind that door. Sweetie tried for the doorknob... but it wouldn't budge. The door was locked. "No way... no way... are you KIDDING ME?!" Sweetie screamed at the door. "Of ALL the doors in this stupid hallway, THIS is the ONLY one that's locked!" Sweetie banged her hoof against the door in frustration. The stress of the mansion was starting to get to her again, as she was starting to get sick of finding locked doors. Sweetie gritted her teeth, angrily... then she took a deep breath, regaining her composure. Now's not the time to be a little filly. I've got to be a big filly... for Rarity. Got to remember sis... got to keep moving forward. Sweetie figured she'd need a key. If this was anything like Applejack, she would most likely find it somewhere in the hallway. Hopefully it wasn't attached to a mouse's tail this time. Sweetie walked back down the hallway, and decided it best to try and check more rooms. She turned down a second hallway that was crossing the hallway of the chest room. She continued to explore the different rooms of the mansion, finding nothing of any real interest. She must have gone through 5 or 6 rooms in the hallway before finding a something different. It was the same etching of a flame. Could this be another of Madame's rooms? Thankfully, this door was unlocked, and she entered the room with ease. As Sweetie expected, it was a similar set up to the room Sweetie found on the 5th floor. Sweetie wondered what a mare could want with more than one bedroom. I guess that's just what you get when you're rich... Sweetie thought. Say... what's that? On the bed, Sweetie saw a lone piece of paper. It was ripped at its edge, but it was still readable. Sweetie went over to the bed and picked it up. Was this one of the missing pages to the journal? April 13th 852 A.C It's been 5 years since the birth of Marbles and Candy, my two beautiful foals. I love them with all of my heart, but at times, their activity can get a little... unbearable. Their sibling rivalry almost reminds me of myself as a little filly. I remember how my grandmother said, before her untimely death, that when I finally had foals, they would drive me crazy... Like today. Those two couldn't stop fighting over that little bear Specter got them for Christmas last year. They've been fighting over it since Marbles lost his own little bear in that mouse accident at Stabletown. Funny... I remember, back when I was pregnant, Specter told me something about how dangerous it was for a Yield to be afraid of something. When we discovered that he had musophobia, I told Specter that there was nothing to be worried about... but he still seemed somewhat worried about Marbles' fear... well something did happen today. He got scared today, of a little mouse underneath a dresser Spiffy must have forgotten to clean out in one of the bedrooms. This was the scary part for me... when he found them, after trying to hide Candy's bear for the umpteenth time, naturally he ran. But as he passed by my room on his way upstairs, I saw something different than a normal fear. I saw something as though he were running for his life. I gave chase to him today. He ran down our hallway, to the window at the end... without slowing down. "Get away from me!" He'd yell. "Get off of me!". I figure now that he was hallucinating of some respect, but then I was so confused and scared for my little foal, especially since he was running head on for an open window. Marbles was fast. Much faster than a mare like me, so couldn't catch up to him. I remembered the tears that came into my eyes as I ran, and imagined what would happen if he didn't stop soon. When it seemed like he was about to head out of the window, low behold, Spiffy Butler came out of one of the doors and closed the window, unknowing of the fearful charging foal until he made contact with the glass. Even then, at his speed, he managed to crack the glass with his little foal head, fracturing his horn and skull. Even as I write these words, I tear up at the memory of my little Marbles being in pain. After getting him to the doctor to patch up his head, we headed over to the Stabletown psychiatrist; where we signed up Marbles and Candy, mostly because I was worried for both children and their mental stability, for sessions to discover their problem. Our first visit, as the psychiatrist was doing his evaluation of the two foals. Specter, the entire time through, had one of those "I told you so" looks on his face... but he remained silent the entire time, as he watched the doctor put them through different psychiatric tests I couldn't understand. The doctor said that they both had a mental disease... a rare one only known to a small group of families in all of Equestria, one being the Yields known as Phobiapathy. He said it was so rare, that doctors didn't really have a treatment for it, but only knew that it was a disease that took one's fear, and multiplied it by 10 to 100, causing the victim to lose all control over themselves and a situation. He said there was nothing he could do... when we all returned to the mansion, the colt was back to his normal foal self, as Candy teased him saying he was crazy. I almost thought that her little insult might have some truth to it. Specter seemed to be giving me the cold shoulder for the rest of that night... something that only happened when he was really peeved, especially with me. I can only hope everything is back to normal in the morning... but somehow, with that Phobiapathy thing... I doubt that some things aren't going to be the same... Phobiapathy huh? That doesn't sound fun. Sweetie thought. I guess I'd better stick this in the book. Could be useful... She took out her journal and stuck the piece of paper inside before closing it and stuffing it back into her saddlebags. Sweetie shined her flashlight around, looking to see if there was anything else of interest in the room. There wasn't anything that caught the filly's eye... accept the closet door that was ajar at the wall to the far left of the bed. She went over to investigate. She pulled the sliding walk-in closet open. Inside was what you'd expect: clothing and hangers. Sweetie wondered... she remembered seeing the apparition of Madame put the key to the chest in her dress pocket. Could be still in that pocket? Sweetie moved through the clothing in the closet before finally, she came across a dusty old dress of the same shade of orange she saw on Madame. She reached into the pocket of the dress... and then she felt something inside. She pulled it out to see that it was a yellow, rusted skeleton key. She grinned happily. Now, we're getting somewhere... She figured it had to go into the chest. Her newest objective was to get back to the chest room, and see if there was anything else useful inside. She stuck the key into her saddlebags and headed out of the bedroom. Once she was back out in the hallway, she saw something in the distance. Something glowing... and pink. It was Pinkie! Where the hay was she? She used her hoof to beckon the filly over to her. Sweetie felt something wrong with the scene, but decided to meet up with the mare anyway. "Pinkie, where were you? I thought you were supposed to be helping me." Sweetie called to the mare as she got closer. Pinkie however didn't respond. She just floated there, grinning at the filly. Though grinning ghosts never made the filly feel any more comfortable, she was used to Pinkie's grin by now. Still, something about this particular way she was grinning rubbed the filly the wrong way. It was almost as though she were eager for something. As she finally got to where the mare was, she asked "How are we supposed to catch Rainbow if you keep-" Sweetie was unable to finish her sentence as Pinkie let out of the words "Sick 'em chicken.". At first, Sweetie was unable to process the random statement Pinkie had just said... not until Scootaloo came out of the darkness from behind Sweetie and tackled her to the ground. It was an ambush, likely planned by the pink mare. Pinkie giggled as she watched as the two fillies wrestled below her. Scootaloo eventually pinned the filly down as she took one hoof and put it at her neck. Sweetie started to choke. "Well, you two have fun now." Pinkie giggled, as she phased through a wall and disappeared from the scene. "Hey Sweetie. How many mares does it take to fool a stupid filly?" Scootaloo asked. "None! You just that dumb!" Scootaloo used her free hoof to begin punching Sweetie's face. Her coat started to bruise and her muzzle wound opened up again. Sweetie started to feel weaker in her struggle as she lost more and more oxygen. Scootaloo felt her starting to calm down. "Come on Sweets. It's no fun if you don't fight back. C'mon! Hit me!" Even when Sweetie was getting her face pounded in, the thought of hurting her friend with her one free hoof was horrifying. She tried to release herself from Scootaloo's grip around her neck, but she was simply too strong. If she didn't do something soon, she'd suffocate. She had to do something... she had to survive... she had to... Sweetie yelled as she used her free hoof to hit Scootaloo back in the face. In all honesty, Scootaloo didn't see it coming from the little white filly. She let go of her neck to touch her face that was now presently pained. Out of adrenaline, Sweetie threw a second punch at the orange filly's face, causing her to fall back off of her fully. Sweetie hesitated for a moment, worried that she may have really hurt her friend... but she didn't have time to hesitate. Sweetie scrambled back up onto her hooves, picked up her flashlight, and ran back down the hallway. Scootaloo let out an angry cry as Sweetie turned the corner of the hallway she assumed to be the one with the chest room. She counted the doors, hoping she remembered how many doors there were before she would hit the chest room. 3...2...1... here! This has to be the one! Sweetie thought as she slipped through into the room, hoping Scootaloo didn't track her back. She stood against the door leading back to the hallway, listening. At first, it was silent. This made Sweetie nervous in much the same way when she head-butted Applebloom. The little white filly didn't care that she'd just tried to kill her... she still hit Scootaloo, and felt sickly guilty over it. She hoped she could still walk around and move... Sweetie was both relieved and horrified to hear hoof steps outside of the door. They passed by the door, unknowing that she was inside. Sweetie silently sighed in relief. She had escaped Scootaloo... for now. Sweetie took a deep breath, shaking the chills she felt from hurting her friend. It wasn't as if she was dead right? She looked at the hoof she hit Scootaloo with, which had a dot of fresh blood on it. She shuddered and wiped it off onto the carpet. It still didn't feel good, no matter how many tries her friends had on her life. Sweetie went over to the chest and took out the key she found. She stuck it into the keyhole. At first it wouldn't fit, and Sweetie started to get nervous. This was the right key, right? She used all of her little filly muscle, in order to push the key further into the hole. Finally, it connected with the tumblers of the lock. Sweetie guessed it was harder to open because of the age of the lock. Sweetie was then afraid she might actually break the lock if it was also weakened by age. Slowly and carefully, she turned the key, until finally, it clicked open. When Sweetie tried to take the key out of the chest, it snapped in half, with apart of the key still stuck in the lock. Guess this is useless now. Sweetie thought as she tossed the remaining part of the skeleton key to the ground. The filly opened the chest up slightly, but was scared by a little golden mouse, which scurried out of the small opening. Sweetie fell back onto her flank as she watched the mouse phase through the wall and leave the room. Sweetie didn't see a key on it... she supposed it was just there to scare her. She opened up the chest fully to find it was some kind of jewel chest. Gems of all shapes and colors were inside... but there were two things inside of the chest that stuck out to the filly. The first being a piece of paper, rolled up much like the one she found on the bed, it was ripped on the edge... this must have been another one of the journal pages. Why was it locked up like this? Only one way to find out. Sweetie opened up the rolled up piece of paper and begun to read... June 24th 852 A.C Specter and I had our first fight today... I know I've written about other times him and I have fought. I suppose it's simply something that comes with being a married couple, but... but this one really made me... it made me scared of him for a bit. I'm not even sure what happened. I'm not even sure what I did wrong. It was about mid-day, I was working in the family kitchen with Spiffy to help make some snacks and cake for Marbles and Candy's birthday party in a couple days. It was going to be big, and we were just two ponies. After all, I doubted Specter would offer any help with him almost always being at his mysterious profession. Spiffy said that we needed flour, and he needed to go down to the cellar past the dining hall to get some. I volunteered to take his place. The stallion worked so hard, and I wanted to at least save him the trouble... but the funny thing was, he argued with me. I've never had that butler argue with Specter or I, given he was hired to serve us. He didn't want me to go down to the cellar myself... but I ordered him to allow me to go. I rarely use my status as Specter's wife against him, or anyone for that matter. It just seemed like the cowards way out of a situation, but the butler's resistance to allowing me to go fueled a curiosity in my heart. The mansion was so big, that I never gave anywhere Specter didn't show me a second thought. What was down there anyway? In any case, Spiffy was forced to let me go and receive the flour... but the mare-servant had the nerve to tell me to 'come straight back', can you believe it? I ignored him of course. I'm a mare, not some little foal that couldn't take care of herself. Well, I went down to the stairwell that led to one of the basement levels. Funny, it was behind a door with a very identical color to the wall... no wonder I never noticed it before. It was almost like Specter was hiding something behind the door. I went through and headed down the stairs, and came across two doors. The first one was a normal wooden door. I figured that was where the flour would be. I was ready to head in and get it... when I noticed the second door. It was metal, and had a magical lock on it. It was one of those kinds of doors you would either need to know the magical wavelength for, or be really good at magic in order to open it. I remembered seeing it in one of those catalogs Specter keeps up in his room. I couldn't open it... but I sure as hay could try. I put my ear to the door to see if there was anyone inside, but all I heard was a weird humming noise. Like there was something inside of the walls. I yanked on the door, trying to open it... then my heart stopped when I heard him. "What the hay do you think you’re doing?!" I turned around to see Specter. I almost didn't recognize him with his anger filled eyes... he was definitely irritated on my attempted entrance to the metal door. I asked him questions, but he shot each and every one out of the air. It turned into an argument... our voices yelled at one another, so loud that it went all the way up to the first floor of the mansion. It wasn't long before Candy, Marbles, and Spiffy came down to finally settle us down. After all, we weren't going to argue at each other in front of our foals, right? For the rest of the day, and night, Specter's been giving me the cold shoulder, so I'm probably not going to sleep with him tonight. He's keeping secrets from me, and I know it. I thought we were supposed to trust each other to the day we died? I... I can't let him see this journal. I'm going to hide it in my jewel chest where hopefully he won't find it. The last thing I want is to spark up another argument with him. Don't get me wrong... I love Specter... but I'm not entirely sure I can trust him anymore... Is... is she talking about the safe zone? Sweetie thought. She had to be... then it was true. Specter had the safe zone made for him... but why? Maybe it was some kind of bunker, for if his ghosts got out of hoof? Did that also mean that he owned the spirit printer, or the camera, or even the GCD? It didn't make any sense... The other thing that caught Sweetie's eye was a small gem with something inside... Sweetie wondered if she might be able to break the rock. With all of her might, she threw the gem at the nearest wall... it was no good. The gem bounced off of the wall like nothing. The filly wasn't strong enough to break it by herself. She needed more force... Maybe she could use the GCD? Sweetie made sure the device was set to "suck", and sucked up the gem so it stuck onto the nozzle. She then switched it to "inverted" and aimed it at the wall. She then shot the gem at the wall with the momentum of a bullet, as it hit the wall, and shattered into tiny little pieces. Something fell to the ground. Sweetie went over to examine it... It was a key! It had the emblem of a lightning bolt that shined different colors when Sweetie shined her light on it. She grinned, sure that this was the key that would allow her to get inside of Rainbow's room. Alright Rainbow... I'm coming for you now. *** Sweetie stood in front of the door that led back out to the hallway. She knew she had a little ways to go before she would make it to Rainbow's room, and there was still the matter of Scootaloo, who was still likely patrolling the hallway. Something told the filly that if she got her hooves on Sweetie again, she wouldn't let her escape so easily. She had to be careful... she couldn't afford to be seen by the filly again. Scootaloo was faster than Sweetie, more so in her ghostly form. She'd have to sneak over to the door... and there was only one way Sweetie could think of. Sweetie turned her flashlight out, and was immediately consumed in the terrifying darkness. She felt just a little colder, and much more afraid without some kind of light to look at. Her legs shook, as though they were ready to give out on her. Sweetie was already weak, and the thick darkness wasn't helping at all. She wasn't sure how long she'd survive in the darkness now. She had to move fast. With that, Sweetie felt her way around the door, and slipped out of it into the equally, if not more dark hallway. Sweetie then begun her slow walk down the hallway. The darkness was so thick, Sweetie started to feel dizzy, as though the hallway was spinning. Nothing felt there... Sweetie felt along the walls as she walked, to make sure she wasn't slipping out of reality again. Even though Twilight was caught, something told her that her mind was still not the safest place now... She felt her way around the corner, trying to keep her hoof steps as quiet as possible. When she heard a hoof step, she'd stop for a moment, to hold her breath... only to find it was her own hoof steps a little louder than she'd intended. In the distance, Sweetie could see the glowing ectoplasm on the door. It seemed to float in mid-air in the thick darkness she was in. She was close, and had to resist the urge to run to the floating light. Sweetie made it to the door and stopped in front of it. She looked at it, knowing Rainbow was behind there. She heard the voices in her head, seeming to argue about something Sweetie couldn't understand. It's then Sweetie realized something... she still didn't know how she was going to catch Rainbow Dash. What would she do?... Sweetie heard hoof steps... this time, she was sure it wasn't her own. There was only one other pony's hoof steps they could be. Sweetie reached into her saddlebags and pulled out the lightning key. She stuck it into the hole and turned. As she'd hoped, it was a perfect fit. She left the key in the hole as she rushed into the room. As she did this, the door closed behind her on its own and clicked locked. Sweetie was trapped. No... Why didn't I grab the key! Sweetie thought as she desperately tried to open the door back up. It was no good. She was trapped until she caught all of the ghosts in the room... but the question became... where were the ghosts in the room? Sweetie turned her light and shined it around the room. It was bare, and had nothing of any real interest. All there were, were four blank white walls. Was it some kind of empty storage room? No... it felt like something was here at one point. The question was... what? Without warning, the walls started to glow. They were, much like the ectoplasm on the door, changing colors of the rainbow. "Look what we have here? A little annoying filly interrupting my nap?" Rainbow's voice echoed in the room. You were sleeping? Sweetie thought. Can ghosts do even do that? "I was so bored waiting for you, I thought you'd never show up." Rainbow said. Sweetie looked around the room, trying to anticipate where she was going to show up. Sweetie! Stay sharp, I'm going to charge at you! the real Rainbow said in her head. Where? Where are you coming from? Sweetie thought back to the mare. "I can't believe there are ghost afraid of a little squirt like you." Rainbow said. "I don't know who you are, but I'm going to catch you!" Sweetie said to the ghost Rainbow Dash. "Tough talk, for a filly that can barely stand up straight." Ghost Rainbow responded. "Well, if you’re so tough, why don't you come out and face me like a mare!" Sweetie called back. "With pleasure." Ghost Rainbow said. Sweetie heard a boom, followed by a whoosh sound echo through the room. Dodge now Sweetie! I'm coming from the front wall! Dodge! Rainbow thought. Sweetie followed the mare's orders and shifted to the right, narrowly dodging a speeding Rainbow Dash. She saw a rainbow streak past her. She must have used her sonic rain-boom to charge her with. A few more inches and Sweetie figured she'd be as frozen as Gilda... probably worse, providing the rain-boom itself didn't rip her to shreds. Sweetie couldn't risk an attack from Rainbow, no questions. "Aw yeah, this is going to be fun. Boys? Looks like Sweetie here wants to dance. Let's see who's going to be her dance partner?" Rainbow said. Out of each of the glowing walls came a red licker. "Are you kidding me?!" Sweetie said. Sweetie! You've got to stay focused alright? Listen to me, and keep those things off your flank! You can do this! Just don't give up! Rainbow thought to Sweetie. Rainbow was right. Now wasn't the time to give up. Sweetie pointed her flashlight at each of the lickers. Ding! Ding! Ding! Sweetie pointed her GCD in between two ghosts, as she switched her nozzle back to "suck". She hit the button and caught both ghosts inside of her nozzle's gravity. The third ghost disappeared. 10, 9 yank 7654, 3, 2, 1, 0. Capturing Ghost. The GCD said. The two ghosts were caught, as two of the GCD's lights went green. When the third ghost showed up, Sweetie didn't waste any time trying to capture it. Instead, she switched to the GCD's Spectral Throwback, and shot it, causing it to fade away into nothing. "Let's crank it up a notch, eh Sweetie?" Rainbow called. Right Wall! Dodge Now! Rainbow thought to the filly. Sweetie jumped forward, narrowly dodging the streak of freezing rainbow. She went through to the other side of the room's wall. Suddenly two lickers came out of each wall, with a total of six lickers. Sweetie's flashlight started to flicker, so she knew she didn't have much time before it inevitably went out. Sweetie quickly swept the lickers with her flashlight before it went out. She then proceeded to capturing two more as the other ghosts disappeared. -7 yank! 654- The GCD said. Sweetie! To your left! Look out! Rainbow thought. Oh no. Sweetie was still catching the two ghosts. Still, as she held the GCD in her hooves, she used her hind legs to jump to the side, and effectively dodge Rainbow, while she captured the two ghosts. Not bad kid. Rainbow thought, impressed with the filly's quick thinking. As the 4 other ghosts appeared, Sweetie switched back to her Spectral Throwback, and shot three of the ghost... before the last one managed to get an attack in on her with her tongue. Sweetie yelled in pain, as she fell to her side. Sweetie! Rainbow thought. Sweetie, get up! Get up! Sweetie was having a hard time moving herself again as the red licker approached. She didn't have any more ghosts in her containment pack... things didn't look good for the filly. Sweetie wasn't about to give up just yet. She still had her flashlight in her muzzle. She moved her head to the side to shine her light on the licker. Ding! Sweetie used her remaining strength to switch her GCD back to "suck", and started to capture the ghost. It was a lazily done capture, for without the resistance from Sweetie, the ghost was less afraid, expecting the filly to faint at any second. 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 Capturing Ghost... The GCD said. The ghost's eyes widened in fear as it screamed and was sucked into the GCD. Sweetie lied on the ground, motionless. Her flashlight fell out of her muzzle and pointed at the back wall, illuminating everything on that side. Sweetie... Sweetie! Are you alright?! Say something! Rainbow seemed genuinely worried. I'm... I'm still alive, but I can't move. I just need a second. Sweetie thought. You don't have a second Sweets. I'm- "Here." Rainbow said as she hovered through the wall, and over the filly. She sighed. "I really wish we could do this more often, but I guess all good things have to come to an end. See ya Sweets." Rainbow picked up the filly into the air. She was there for a few moments, before Rainbow grinned, and gave her own ghostly cackle, before reaching down the filly's throat. Sweetie gagged at the cold ghostly hoof, as it grabbed her spirit. Sweetie didn't see herself escaping this situation. Rainbow had gone silent in her head. Is... is this the end? Did I lose? Game over? Everything seemed to pause when the sound of a key turning in the door was heard. "Huh? What the-" Rainbow said. The door opened, and the flashlight exposed a little orange filly. It was Scootaloo! She must have been hunting Sweetie and heard all of the commotion happening in the room. "S..S...Scoots?" Rainbow slowly whispered. Rainbow dropped Sweetie onto the ground with a thud. She was beginning to regain control over her body now, as she was able to stand up straight again. She looked at the filly and the mare, who stared into each other's eyes intensely. "R...rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo said herself. Rainbow floated down to the ground and sat there to stare at the orange filly. There was only one thing Sweetie could figure was happening. It was that memory re-awakening will thing Pinkie was talking about. Rainbow was Scootaloo's idol, and Scootaloo was Rainbow's biggest fan. They shared so much together, that they were like best friends. It was almost the equivalent of them being sisters... or even mother-daughter. They stood there locked, and Sweetie just stared at the both of them. Time seemed to stand still for a bit. Uh... Sweetie? I'm not really sure how long I can hold her like this... If you’re going to do something, do it now. Rainbow thought. Right, right. Sweetie thought, breaking out of her trance. Ok, so normal light doesn't work... and I'm all out of Spectral Throwback... now what? Suddenly, something sparked in Sweetie's head. She remembered a science lesson from Cherelee. It was something about ice and the slowing of particles. When something got colder, the particles in that item would slow to a crawl, or completely stop... did that apply to ghosts? Could she freeze Rainbow, like she froze Gilda? It wasn't like she could freeze to death, given she was already dead, and Sweetie still felt the water swishing around in her GCD. It was definitely worth a shot. Sweetie switched her GCD to Elemental Capture, and made sure it was inverted. Then she shot the freezing mist at Rainbow. "AAAHHH!!!" Rainbow screamed as the biting cold that surpassed her own normal ghostly temperature covered her body. It wasn't long before she was tangible and frozen solid. Luna above! That's cold! Rainbow said. At least you’re not killing me anymore. That's good news. Yeah, but I wouldn't say you’re out of the storm yet Sweets. Look! I think Scootaloo is losing control again. Rainbow was right. The crazed look of Scootaloo's possessed yellow eyes had returned. Scootaloo charged for Sweetie, who dodged the filly and ran out of the door. Sweetie grabbed up her flashlight and ran down the hallway, and took refuge in one of the dark rooms. She turned out her light and held her breath as she heard the hoof steps come closer and closer to her position. To Sweetie's horror, they stopped in front of the room Sweetie was in. She knew Sweetie was in there. Scootaloo stood outside of the door for a few minutes. Sweetie wondered what was taking the filly so long to open the door... then she said something. "I'll see ya soon filly. Stay sweet." Scootaloo said before walking away, Sweetie listened as the hoof steps faded away... eventually, it was quiet. Sweetie sighed in relief. She wasn't sure why Scootaloo had let her live, after all she was cornered in the room... but Sweetie didn't care. All that mattered was that she was still alive... Sweetie wondered… was that Pinkie’s ‘plan’? Did she want Sweetie to use her friend to catch Rainbow? To use her as bait, nearly getting herself killed?… She supposed it didn’t matter anymore. Now all that remained was to capture Rainbow, which she still had no clue how to do... Wait a second. Something dawned on the filly: The book questioned if she would break under a different light... or rather different lights. What if she put all of the colors of the rainbow back in Rainbow Dash when she shined her light on her? Would that work? If so, Sweetie had an idea of how she could pull this off. Sweetie ran back to the empty room with the frozen Rainbow in it. What the-. Sweetie, what are you still doing here? I thought you ran away? Rainbow thought. Oh come on Rainbow. I'm not going to just leave a friend behind. Then what are you gonna do? You can't save me. Light just bounces off of me, remember? Yeah, but I've got a plan. Just give me a second. Sweetie thought, as she began to push the frozen Rainbow Dash out of the room. She pushed her down the hall, and into the mirrored bathroom. Weird bathroom. Rainbow thought. What are we doing in here anyway. You gotta go? Rainbow To be honest, I’m not sure why I haven’t already. No, look. I'll show you. Sweetie thought back as she prepared her GCD for sucking for whatever would happen should her theory prove true. Then, Sweetie shined her light on Rainbow Dash. The light bounced off of her in the colors of the rainbow. The moved along the mirrors... until each and every one found their way back onto Rainbow Dash. Ding! Ha! Way to go Sweetie! Rainbow thought. The ice broke, releasing Rainbow. Now was Sweetie's chance. Now or never. Sweetie activated her GCD and began to suck up Rainbow. "No!" Rainbow screamed. 30, 29, 28- Rainbow desperately tried to get away from Sweetie, as she held on for dear life on the ride Rainbow was going to take her on. She dragged the filly out of the bathroom and started to drag her through the hallway. 22, 21, 20 yank! 1918171615, 14- The ghost mare tried desperately to release herself from the gravity of the GCD. You've almost got me Sweetie! Just a little longer! Rainbow cheered on the filly. 9, 8, 7- Rainbow tried throwing Sweetie against the walls at her high speeds. They hurt more than they did with other ghosts, but Sweetie wasn't going to let Rainbow down. She was almost there... almost- 3, 2, 1, 0. Capturing Ghost. Sweets, I feel tingly all of a sudden. That normal? Oh no. The lightning bolt. The who now? Sweetie wasn't sure if she was ready for it this time. She was already weak. Imagine what the bolt would do to her now- The lightning bolt stemmed from Rainbow to Sweetie. Both Sweetie and Rainbow screamed out in pain, as Rainbow was sucked into the GCD and silence filled the hallway. Ghost Capture Successful. The GCD said as a light on the back of the GCD pack came on. Sweetie laughed nervously. She didn't hear Rainbow in her head anymore... did she do it? I... I did it... I... Sweetie collapsed onto the floor, motionless. She was losing consciousness. She heard hoof steps as she lost consciousness. She didn't know who was coming, but she didn't care. She caught Rainbow... Only two more to go now... Author's Note [10/16/18] you know, going through this stupid story, the spelling mistakes are kind of growing on me.
Chapter 15- The Trickster's Trap"She got another..." A voice said. It sounded familiar... way too familiar. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't expect the filly to... she shouldn't even be alive by now." This voice also sounded familiar, but not as much as the first one. "I guess she's just really lucky." This third voice... she'd had also heard it before. "Hmph. Let me take her on. She won't stand a chance against me..." "No. I can't allow her to capture you." "Dear, please. I won't get captured." "We're letting Pinkamina deal with the filly." "That rule bending mare? I'm not even sure she's on our side anymore. She's just playing with her!" "That may be true, but it is her nature. If anything, she'll keep the kid occupied until dawn. She has potential to stop our plans." "Oh, I beg to differ... in fact, I think we could use that filly. Especially if she manages to capture Pinkamina... yes, she's already been quite useful already." "Darling, what could you mean?" "Oh, you'll see soon enough, my dear Rarity."..... *** Sweetie woke up in darkness. She couldn't see anything. Everything around her was pitch black. She felt along her back. Her GCD was gone. So were her saddlebags and flashlight. It was the kennel all over again, and Sweetie was beginning to feel nervous. "No... where did that dumb catcher go?" Sweetie asked herself. Her fear turned into anger. "If Pinkie stole it again I'll-" "You'll what Jumpie." Pinkie said, appearing in front of Sweetie, nearly giving her a heart attack. She floated upside-down as she looked at the filly. "D-don't do that! You know I hate that!" Sweetie said. Pinkie just giggled in response. "What did you do with my ghost capturer? Why did you steal it again?" "Oh, stole is such a harsh word Jumpie. I prefer the word... misplaced. It sounds a little nicer, don'tcha think?" "Where is it." Sweetie asked angrily. "Aw cool your hooves Jumpie. You're not even awake yet and you're already getting all uppity. I'm just flying around in your little head right now." "A-awake?" Sweetie said out loud. It was true... the filly did remember blacking out when she caught Rainbow Dash. She must have been so weak that the bolt this time came closer to taking her life than ever. She must have passed out... or worse. "You’re on the brink of death Jumpie. Think of this little mind world as the bridge between being dead, and living." Pinkie said happily. "Y-you mean I'm dead?" Sweetie said nervously. "No you silly filly... at least not yet. If you were dead, I couldn't play with your head and do this!" Pinkie said doing a loop in the air. "Still though, you'd probably be dead if some pony didn't help you out... but that would be against the rules, right?" She giggled, then stopped as her face went serious, and she went right side up. She wasn't pleased about something. "... is... is something wrong?" Sweetie asked apprehensively. "Yeah, actually. I'm disappointed in you." Pinkie said. If was definitely something bad, if she managed to disappoint Pinkie of all mares. "You broke the rules, and now you're going to have to face some consequences..." "Huh? How?! What?!" Sweetie asked. Pinkie's face turned back to a smile and she giggled again. Sweetie looked at the mare nervously. Was she joking again? "That's the great thing about surprises Jumpie. You never know until you right in front of it! I'll let you find out for yourself when you wake up... if you wake up." Pinkie's giggle turned into a cackling laugh as she faded from Sweetie's sight. "I'll see you at the courtyard Jumpie! Don't keep me waiting..." And then she was gone. Suddenly, Sweetie saw a light in the distance... wasn't there a saying "not" to go to the light when you’re told you're dead or dying? Was this that light? Sweetie waited for a moment in her spot, before realizing that the light was coming toward her... it was coming fast too. There was no way she could outrun it, so she didn't even bother. She got up, and walked to the light. As she got closer to the light, she heard faded voices. Not like the ones she heard when she first "woke up" but they were more... familiar. Yes, she definitely knew these new mares. Then, Sweetie was blinded in a bright light... *** "I think she's waking up now." said a muffled voice. "Really? Oh thank Celestia. That's wonderful news!" said another, much softer muffled voice. Sweetie groaned from the light. "Mmmm... just five more minutes..." she mumbled, semi-consciously. "You sure she's alright Twi?" said another muffled voice. "I mean... she looked pretty bad even before I fought her..." "She's breathing, and she seems to be regaining consciousness. Let's just be patient with her." The voice sounded less muffled the more Sweetie climbed back into consciousness. The light around the filly as she opened her eyes began to fade, and become more adjusted to the new found light. Sweetie felt pain, but it wasn't as intense as the pain she felt back outside on the eating area. Her body felt tingly, as though magic were running through it as she lie there. As more magic flowed through her, the pain became less and less. She even felt a little stronger. After a few minutes of lying there, Sweetie decided to try and get back up. Unlike other times, it only took one time for the filly to roll over onto her front, and get back up on all fours. Her vision returned and she was faced with three friendly mares, who all smiled at her. They were Fluttershy, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash... Twilight must have printed her out while she was unconscious. As Twilight saw the filly was up now, she seized the flow of magic going into Sweetie's body from her horn. Did she use some kind of healing spell on her while she was out? Their faces had expressions of relief, but at the same time worry. No one spoke, for they just stared at each other. Finally, after a few moments of silence, Rainbow spoke up. "Well... look who's back from the dead, eh?" She tried to joke. Twilight nudged Rainbow hard. "Ow." "Sweetie are you alright? Is there anything we can do for you?" Fluttershy asked softly. Sweetie took a moment before processing Fluttershy's words, and shaking her head. "No... my Celestia, how long was I out?" "Well... you were brought here around 30 minutes ago... so I'd say around 45 or so minutes." Twilight said. "Brought here huh?... Who..." Then something went off in the filly's head. You broke the rules... Pinkie's rules. They were that no pony could help her out in the mansion. If someone brought her back that must have meant... "Y-you left the safe zone... didn't you?" Sweetie asked. "DIDN'T YOU?!" The mares were quite shocked at the filly's outburst, but they were somewhat expectant of it. "Sweetie, calm down." Twilight said. "Wait a sec... where's Applejack?" Sweetie asked. They were all silent. Only Fluttershy was the one, to point over to the corner, where the corpse of Applejack lie. "Oh no... Applejack no..." Sweetie went over to the mare in the corner to further investigate her, afraid at the same time of what she'd learn. Applejack was bruised all over her body, creating black and blue splotches all over her naturally orange coat. There were cuts on her that seemed to be recently closed, as they had redness around them, along with a few small drops of blood that seeped out of a few. Her eyes, which one of were black and swollen, were closed and still. "She... she isn't..." Sweetie turned back. "Sweetie... she's still alive if that's what you're asking, but she's been out since she bought you back here." Twilight explained. "Well help her!" Sweetie said. "She's barely breathing as it is!" "Sweetie, I've been doing everything I could, but I'm no medical pony. I can only do so much when it comes to healing magic..." Twilight said. "And I can't really do anything to help her without medical equipment." Fluttershy said. Sweetie went over to the spirit printer, where she saw her GCD and saddlebags lying in front of it. Rather than picking the two items up, she kicked the printer out of frustration. "Sweetie-" "I told you not to leave!" Sweetie screamed at the top of her lungs. Anger filled her eyes. "Hey kid! Cool it already. They already know going to get you was a stupid idea, but they did it alright?" Rainbow said. "Screaming about it like a little foal isn't going to help anyone." "Why did you have to leave..." Sweetie mumbled to herself. She broke the rules... and now the mares had made her job even harder, and she wouldn't even know how until it was too late. She'd probably end up like Applejack... was she worried about herself more than Applejack? Was that why she felt so angry? Ya always were only concerned 'bout yahself... Sweetie's head hurt again. What was happening to her? Somehow, the words of her possessed friends were getting to the filly. No wonder Rarity didn' love ya... Sweetie's head begun to throb worse, as she grabbed her skull with her hooves. Was she... starting to believe them? And if so, why? "We... we had ta git ya Sweetie." Sweetie turned to Applejack, who's green eyes were open, and looking at the filly. "Applejack... you're alright..." Sweetie said. Applejack tried to get up, but immediately fell down onto the safe room floor, and cried out in pain. The three other mares didn't waste any time in picking her back up. "Applejack, you need to rest. You’re not well..." Fluttershy said. "Ya think ah don't know that?" Applejack asked. "B'sides. Sweetie'll listen ta me. Ain't that right little filly?" Sweetie gave no response, though the mare did have a point. Something about Applejack, of all mares besides Rarity, she'd almost always lend an ear to, and may even heed to her advice. "Alri' just set me down over 'ere." Applejack said pointing to a wall. The mares did what she said, as they put her against the wall. "Alri' Sweetie. What d' ya want ta know?" "Why did you go after me?" Sweetie asked. "Cause ah... well, we, knew ya were in trouble... 'cause we 'eard a noise from back in th' dining hall. Somethin' crashin' down." "The walkway..." Sweetie thought. She should have figured an entire balcony walkway crashing down would spark some kind of curiosity in the mares as it was so close to their location. "Ah volunteered ta go n' investigate. All ah found was a bunch a burnin' wood n' ember. Ah knew that it had somethin' ta do witcha, and ah had a feelin' Twi n' Shy 'ere wouldn't agree with me if ah told 'em ah was goin' ta search for ya... ya know, not because they didn' want ta, but cause a yer little Pinkie problem... so ah went bah mahself, w'thout no one knowin. If ya gonna yell at some mare Sweetie, yell at me." Sweetie didn't say a word. She certainly wasn't going to yell at the orange mare... she was even beginning to feel bad about yelling at Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow. "Applejack... what happened to you?" "Well... ah knew ah had ta figure out how ta ya on th' next floor. Figured ya'd be on the seventh floor lil' Fluttershy said. Problem was, th' way ta th' foyer was blocked, so ah looked for a new way. Ah checked out the kitchen, and believe it or not, 'ere was a staircase ta th' led all th' way ta th' 4th floor. Ah took some hallway, tryin ta git to another staircase... dark as hay, it was, bu' ah managed ta see a little w'th some lighnin' help... then all of ah sudden, somethin' went across mah hoof, and somethin' else hard hit mah eye. It was still too dark ta really see it comin'. Gave me this 'ere." Applejack said, pointing to her black eye. "It was some kinda trap, I dunno. Ah figured some ghost must've set it up. Sweetie, the Mansion's filled with 'em now. Ya come across any yet?" Sweetie shook her head. It must have been Pinkie who set them up, after she found out Applejack had broken the rules. "There are all kinds a traps round 'ere. Ah found one when ah was on th' sixth floor, where it nearly carved me up lik' a turkey. Ah found another that almost crushed me lik' a pumpkin. Hay, one tried to break up the stairs under mah hooves lik' gram crackers. Ah'll tell ya, they're everywhere... n' ta top it all off, when ah was gittn' close ta ya, Pinkie decided ta pay me a littl' visit. She grabbed me up, and nearly froze me ta death... ah escaped though. Not sure how, but ah did, limpin away from 'er. That there ghost is crazy..." You don't have to tell me. Sweetie thought. "Ah found ya... but ah wasn't feelin' so hot, so ah hid wit' ya on mah back in ah little bathroom." "That weird mirrored bathroom." Rainbow added. "And... and you used my camera and the mirrors to get back?" Sweetie finished. Applejack nodded. "Smart little filly. Yeah, Twi 'ere told me how ya were git'n back with that little thing us'n mirrors. Glad ya still had it on ya... doubt I woulda made it back w'thout it." "You... shouldn't have gone after me." Sweetie thought. "You got really hurt out there-" "Are you kidd'n Sweetie? Ah jus' got a scratch 'ere and there. Ah thought you were dead when ah found ya. Barely even breat'n when I saw ya lyin' there in there. Ahm not sure what woulda happened to ya if no one came for ya." Applejack responded. "Look, Sweetie... ah know ya ain't to fond a me comin, but ya can't do this bah yerself. Yer just a little-" "I'm NOT a little filly!" Sweetie exclaimed. "And I have to do this by myself. It's the only way. Pinkie almost killed you... I have to play by the rules. If I don't, you'll all DIE! I have to do this by myself... I have to face Pinkie on my own... I have to..." The room went silent. Sweetie felt dizzy again... she felt a little woosy from yelling and stumbled to the side. "Sweetie... you're tired." Twilight concluded. "What?" Sweetie said. "Twi's right Sweetie. If you don't take a nap every now and again, you're not gonna even have a chance against Pinkie." Rainbow said. "Why don't you rest here before you go... and getting knocked out doesn't count. It only makes you more tired, trust me." "I... I can't. I don't have any time to waste." "Why?" Fluttershy asked. Sweetie thought for a moment. She wasn't quite sure why she said that. The longer she was in the mansion, the more she kept thinking about time. She wasn't sure how much time she had left of it, and she wasn't sure what would happen once it was up. It was like time was important... Morning... "I... I don't know, but I know I can't waste it." Sweetie said. "It... it's something about morning..." "Dawn?" Twilight asked. "What's happening at dawn?" "I really want to know... but I think I know someone who might know the answer to that." Sweetie said. Twilight seemed puzzled along with the rest of the mares. She couldn't imagine what the filly meant by "dawn"? Nothing abnormal was going to happen, besides the absence of the sun and moon. "Well... we can worry about the morning later. Right now, you need to rest." Twilight insisted. "Yeah Sweetie. If ya ain't focused when ya fight Pinkie, ya won't have no chance." Applejack said. Sweetie sighed. There was no arguing with the mares. Sweetie went over to her CMC blanket, and curled up inside of it. "Don't let me sleep too long. Ten minutes tops." She said... and she was asleep almost instantly. *** The three fillies walked into the barn of Sweet Apple Acres. At the front of the pack was a very disappointed Applejack. Who wouldn't be angry if three little fillies tried to burn down a tree for most likely no good reason? "Sit down." Applejack said to the three fillies, as she pointed three batches of hay. The three fillies obeyed the mare's order. The fillies took their spots, Scootaloo at the most right, Applebloom at the center, and Sweetie Belle on the left. Applejack glared at the fillies. "Now, b'fore ah git into yer punishment, might ah ask what in sam-hay were ya thinkin?" Applejack asked. The three fillies looked at each other, hoping one of the other would speak up for the group. As usual, Applebloom was the one to take the fall. She was always the one to take responsibility for the filly's actions, justified or otherwise. It was kind of an unspoken rule as her unspoken of leadership of the trio. "Sis, it's mah fault..." Applebloom started. "Ah... ah wanted ta git rid o' that tree n' git that cat out a th' tree too... so..." Applebloom continued. Sweetie however wasn't completely listening to the filly as she spoke. All she looked at was the annoyance, irritation and anger in Applejack's eyes. She recalled something... Applebloom wasn't one to get in trouble with her big sis. Even so, with Applejack's mother and father gone, she was left in charge of her as a parental figure, much like Sweetie and Rarity... though their methods of punishment as parental figures were quite different. While Sweetie and Rarity only had a "slap on the wrist/ time out" punishment system, Applejack's involved a much more severe punishment; such ones including corporal punishment. Sweetie recalled around the time Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were first developing their Cuitie Mark Crusaders persona. She remembered something about Applebloom getting caught taking from the Apple family kitchen for their tree house. Sweetie wasn't sure what Applejack did to Applebloom, but she was in a terrible mood for the rest of the month, and it was just a little harder to get food for the clubhouse. "Wait." Sweetie blurted out. Every pony turned to Sweetie. She wasn't sure what she did... but she decided to keep going with it. "It's... it's not really her fault AJ. It's... mine." Sweetie thought for a moment, then continued. She didn't want to lie to the mare... but stretching the truth didn't count. "What are ya talkin 'bout filly?" Applejack asked. "Well... Applebloom mentioned that she was going to cut the tree down eventually, and we needed to get Opal... who I chased her on accident, out of the tree. So... I thought it would be a good idea to burn it down. I mean, it would get rid of the tree, and Opal... well we thought she'd just jump out. We're sorry... but don't blame Applebloom or Scootaloo. I was the one who started it." Applejack stared down the filly, trying to see if she was lying. Technically speaking however, she did say that it was a good idea... and everything else was the strait up truth. Applejack sighed. "Ahm very disappointed in ya Sweetie. Ahm gonna have ta tell Rarity about this ya know." Applejack said. Sweetie shakily nodded. "Now y'all stay put. Yer not leavin this 'ere barn for the rest of the day. Got it?" Scootaloo opened her mouth to say something, but Applebloom stopped her, as Applejack left the barn to tend to the filly's damages. When they were finally alone, Applebloom and Scootaloo turned to Sweetie. "Ya know ya didn't have ta do that." Applebloom said. "Well... that's what friends are for. I couldn't let Applebloom take all of the credit this time." Sweetie smiled. "Besides, I know how you get when you get in trouble with Applejack." "Yeah. At least Rarity'll keep her flank intact. I doubt Applejack would let you off for... what's that thing called..." Scootaloo thought, looking for a word. "I think it's called 'arson''" Sweetie said. "What are you, a dictionary?" Scootaloo asked. "Still, Thanks Sweetie." Applebloom... *** Sweetie woke up from the memory. It was the first time in a while that she woke up without pain echoing through her body. She got up from the little sleeping mat she made from her cape, catching the mares attention. "How long was I asleep?" Sweetie asked groggily. "None of us were counting. I'd guess about... ten minutes." Rainbow responded. "Sweetie, you could sleep for a little longer if you like..." Fluttershy said softly. Sweetie shook her head. She had a duty to fulfill. "No. I gotta go now." Sweetie said as she stretched. She had to admit. The cat nap really made her feel better. At least her headache and irritability were gone... Sweetie went for her saddlebags and her GCD. She was assisted in putting them on by Twilight, with her magic telekinesis. Once she was sure she had all of her equipment: camera, map, ghostbook, and journal; she mentioned to the mares held different information on the yields; Sweetie headed toward the door that lead out of the safe room. "Hold up Sweetie." Rainbow said. "What's wrong?" Sweetie asked. Let me guess... "I'm sorry Sweetie for trying to kill you?" Sweetie thought. Sweetie expected another apology from the mare, not because she wanted one, but because it seemed to be the trend... but Rainbow had something else on her mind. "Well, I know you're probably going to end up going against Scootaloo again, somewhere in the mansion." Rainbow said, "Do you know how to fight?" "Huh?" Sweetie asked, somewhat caught off guard. "Well... I don't really fight Rainbow. I'm not a tough filly." Sweetie admitted. It wouldn't be the first time Sweetie was over powered by fillies just around her age range that night. "And I really don't want to fight Scootaloo or Applebloom, or even Spike." "Look kid. I know you're not into fighting an all, but I've seen those fillies in action. They're gonna kill you if they get the chance... and from what I've seen from you, I'm almost sure you'd let them." Sweetie didn't say anything, because Rainbow did have a point. She probably would have let Scootaloo kill her if her adrenaline wasn't pumping so much, and Scootaloo didn't put more effort into pinning her down. Sweetie probably wouldn't get such a chance like before to escape, so she'd have to defend herself from getting pinned down like that again... but the simple thought of hurting her friends, or any pony for that matter, made her shudder. Rainbow saw the apprehensiveness of fighting in her eyes. "Sweetie. I know you don't want to, but if you're put into a corner, sometimes you just don't have a choice but to fight your way out... tell you what, I'll give you some tips on how to fight, without really hurting anyone." Rainbow said. "It'll at least keep them off of you, you know?" With that, Rainbow gave Sweetie a brief lesson on combat. The mare basically told her about single hoof blocking, for when Sweetie is on her hooves, double hoof blocking, when she's on her back and needs to block, and light side jabbing. It wasn't in depth, as Sweetie didn't have time to waste. The lesson lasted about 15 minutes, as the other mares watched as Sweetie learned the basics of hoof to hoof combat. Sweetie didn't show much progress by the end, as she practice spared with Rainbow... but she did improve by a bit. Apart of Rainbow was a little disappointed in the filly's lack of progress, but she was pleased she got a little better in the small window of time. "Good enough." she sighed. After a moment of silence, Sweetie spoke to the mare. "...you too huh?" Sweetie said finally. During the brief fighting lesson, Sweetie noticed that just like the other mares in the room, her cutie mark was missing. Rainbow followed Sweetie's eyes to her own flank, and sighed again. "Yeah... but Twi's got it under control, right?" Rainbow said. "Huh?" Twilight said. She seemed to have been deep in thought during the minutes that passed by. "Oh, right... yeah, I'm sure I'll figure out what happened... oh, and Sweetie?" "Yes Twilight?" Sweetie asked. "I... I don't want to rush you... but please hurry back with Pinkie." "Of course!" Sweetie thought for a moment, before hearing the worry in Twilight's voice. It was... different somehow. "Why? Is there something wrong?" "I just remembered something... I think our talents are fading." All three of the mares in the room looked at Twilight at the new news. Applejack just faintly looked up at Twilight, also visibly shocked by the development. "What do you mean Twilight?" Fluttershy asked. "I mean, I could be wrong... Celestia I hope I'm wrong... but there's another reason why I didn't heal Applejack completely." Twilight explained. "I... I think my magic talents are leaving me, and I'm trying to figure out if the same could happen to everyone else." "That's crazy Twi! You told me we couldn't loose our talents because they were apart of us!" Rainbow argued. "I know what I said, and I know it's crazy... but the point is, I could be losing my control over magic, and without that..." "...ya can't brin' any ponies out of th' portraits." Applejack concluded. Twilight nodded her head and bowed it. "Sweetie... I know we've asked a lot of you already... but..." Sweetie understood. She walked to the door, as Twilight used her magic to open it. "I'll be back within the hour guys. Don't worry." Sweetie assured. "I'll have caught Pinkie and brought her back before you knew it." "You got this Sweetie." Rainbow said. "Thanks." Sweetie said, before the filly left the safe room, and the door shut. The mares heard her hoof steps outside fade away... and then she was gone. Rainbow went over to one of the walls and punched it angrily. "Why?!" She said angrily. "Why can't we do anything?!" The idea of letting the weak filly back out into the mansion alone ate her up since Twilight resurrected her from the portrait. Rainbow wasn't sure which stung more: being unable to assist Sweetie, maybe even take her place, or feeling so weak and helpless in their situation. "Why can't we help her?!" "Rainbow... we can only do what we can." Fluttershy said, trying to calm Rainbow. Fluttershy tried to put a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder, however Rainbow shook her off. "Rainbow-" Fluttershy said. "I tried to kill her, and all she did was save me. I haven't gotten anything to give back to her but some fighting tips she can barely even use... why can't I do more?" "Rainbow." Applejack called from the corner. "Maybe ya can't do ev'ry thin' ta help... but ya can do what ya can. Sweetie's doin' far more than a filly shou' and ya see what it's doin' ta her head... ya can't beat yahself over thin's lik' that. The filly needs all th' support she can git now... It's all we can give her... and each other. Now ain't th' time ta be worryin about how much help who can give who, ya hear. All we can do, is what we can." Applejack said. "I just wish I could do more." Rainbow said. "We all do." Applejack said. The safe room was then silent for a long time, before Twilight went to see if she couldn't help out Applejack's wounds any more... *** Alright... I'm headed for the courtyard. Pinkie said she'd be there... hopefully it's not another one of her tricks... Sweetie thought. Sweetie made it to the top of the stairs and headed out the door that led to the dining hall. Alright, now all that's left is to get to the foyer and find a hall to the- Sweetie stopped, as she was given a rude reminder of the current situation. She saw the glowing pieces of ember wood from the walkway she escaped from Spike on. Some of the embers glowed green from the dragon's flames, while others glowed orange from pure heat. It was like some kind of crude artistic light show in the debris that ultimately blocked Sweetie's path to the foyer. The filly was blocked off from the hub she'd used to get around the mansion. According to her map, it should have had hallways that led to all parts of the mansion... now she'd have to figure out another way to get to the courtyard. Then, Sweetie remembered something Applejack mentioned. She said something about a staircase that led to the fourth floor in the kitchen. Sweetie took out her map to confirm this. Sure enough, a door showed up in the kitchen on the map with red ink. Next to it, written in the same color was the number four, next to an arrow that pointed up. According to the map, that was the only other exit from the dining hall that wasn't blocked by the hot orange and green debris. Sweetie put her map back into her saddlebags and walked to the entrance of the kitchen on the other side of the dining hall. She stood in front, then hesitated. The last time she'd entered that room, she was put under the influence of the mansion and Twilight's mind dive. The last thing Sweetie needed was to be manipulated again... but Twilight was caught right? That meant that the kitchen was safe, right? Sweetie opened the door, and went into the kitchen. The lack of chill in the kitchen from before invited the filly to venture further in. The kitchen was the same as when she first entered, with shelves along the walls and center of the obnoxiously long kitchen. The kitchen looked as old and forgotten as she remembered, complimenting the rest of the mansion with the white sheets that blanketed some of the shelving. As Sweetie walked further and further into the kitchen, she found herself frequently checking her map to see how much longer she had before she'd reach the staircase. Once she was halfway there, the filly smelled something... something rotten. She followed it to one of the stoves. On top was a cookie tray, with apples... were these the apples that Sweetie saw earlier? What she remembered as freshly made, and pleasant to the eye, now looked mushy and sickening. Did Twilight make her see the rotten apples as Pinkie's Sweetie Apple Surprise? Glad I didn't eat those... Sweetie thought as she continued to walk. Finally, Sweetie made it to the stairway, which escalated behind a door. Sweetie opened the door and shined her flashlight into the thick darkness of the staircase. It was very narrow, possibly one stairway that was only used for emergencies. The walls were very close together, making the stairway a claustrophobic pony's worst nightmare. The thickness and chill of the darkness didn't help in the slightest. Sweetie couldn't help but get a bad feeling from the staircase, and knowing to heed to her gut's warnings, she proceed up the steps with caution. The climb started slow and steady, however as Sweetie climbed, she felt less of a need to be cautious and picked up the pace. It wasn't as if being any slower was going to help her, right? She figured she was about halfway up the stairs after a while. By now, the filly was starting to feel the cramped staircase start to get to her. Maybe she was starting to get a little claustrophobic herself. As she continued to push herself up the stairs, she hit a step. All of the steps she hit so far let out a creek, which the filly had grown used to by now... but not this one. This one let out a click, as though something had been switched. Suddenly, Sweetie heard something at the top of the stairs fall. Next, she heard the sound of it banging down the stairs, headed straight for her. Sweetie didn't know what it was, but she didn't need to, in order to hightail her flank back down the stairs. As she ran, she missed a step and tumbled down a few steps, dropping her flashlight on a step. The filly didn't dare stop for the light source as she sped back down the stairs. She ran down, tumbling over several times in the darkness only to miraculously regain her hoof traction on the steps to continue running. It was amazing that Applejack's hat remained on her head when she flipped down the stairs like some circus performer. The thing falling from the top of the stairs was faster than her, and she doubted she'd be able to beat it. She ran, her heart beating as the thing came closer. She wasn't sure how close she was to the bottom of the steps. It almost felt like there was no end to the steps without her light. She just kept running, hoping she'd eventually hit level ground. Finally, the steps stopped, and Sweetie assumed she was back in the kitchen. She got out of the way of the path of the hallway, as she heard the thing crash down. It was the sound of wood and various pieces of metal hitting one of the counters in the kitchen. The filly panted for breath, as she saw her flashlight lazily roll down the stairs into the kitchen. She picked it up and shined it where she heard the sound come from. What she saw, were pieces of what she assumed to be a wooden broken barrel. Sticking out of the pieces of wood, and the pieces of barrel that were still intact were knives. If the filly hadn't made it down in time, the barrel would have rolled over her, and ripped her up. This must be one of the traps Applejack was talking about. I gotta be more careful. There's bound to be more somewhere around here. Sweetie thought. ... wait a sec... didn't Applejack come through here already? She didn't mention a trap like this... was this just set up? Did... did Pinkie set this trap up for me to fall into? Sweetie shook her head. Applejack must have missed the trap, maybe climbed over the step that triggered it. The pink mare wasn't trying to kill her yet... right? Sweetie climbed back up the stairs, this time her caution with her the whole time. Finally, she made it to the top, and entered a new hallway. Ok... where do I go from here? Sweetie took out her map and checked her location. According to it, she was around the center of the mansion. To her left would be a dead end, giving her no other immediate directional options but right. If she followed the hallway there, she would eventually find a staircase to the foyer, and the other floors of the mansion. If she kept going, she'd find herself in a hallway that had rooms stretching around the perimeter of the mansion. She could probably find a way to the courtyard that way, but the filly figured it would be easier to take a foyer route. Sweetie walked down the hallway, thinking about how she could possibly catch Pinkie Pie. The book said she'd need to want to be captured... but how do you convince a ghost to want to be captured? Maybe... maybe she could get Pinkie in the same way she got Rainbow Dash, using memories to strengthen her will? It probably wouldn't be so easy. Sweetie couldn't think of what she could show Pinkie to wake her up... after all, neither Applejack's hat, nor herself had sparked anything visible in the mare's mind. She was also sure that none of her possessed friends would have an effect on her either. There had to be a way though... there always was a way. After a while, Sweetie was beginning to get close to the stairway. As she did, she noticed something as she shined her light on the ground. It was a shiny thread, next to a small mallet. The edge of the mallet's face was stained red with droplets of blood. Was this what hit Applejack in the darkness? Ouch... Sweetie said covering one eye. She couldn't imagine how painful it must have been for that to have been delivered to a pony's eye. Sweetie shined her light forward, following the thread to a spring mechanism sticking out of the floor in the center of the hallway. It sat to its side, the spring released, rendering the device useless. Least I don't have to worry about a trap like that. Sweetie hoped. As much as she hated to think that way, she hoped Applejack had already set off the rest of the traps along her route. Sweetie continued down the hallway until she reached the new stairwell that connected the fourth floor to the other parts of the mansion... but something stopped Sweetie from descending down to the foyer. The stairs were gone. "You've gotta be kidding me..." Sweetie said as she shined her light around the doorway to the staircase. The planks that made up the main foundation of the stairs were along the sides of the wall, hanging by some chain that Sweetie assumed to have pulled them out. The other parts of the stairs were probably debris lying at the bottom of the stairwell. Was this another trap set by Pinkie? One that Applejack set of and miraculously escaped? It seemed possible, as any pony that was on the stairs at the time they broke would have fallen 4 stories, or more if the stairwell led to the basement, to their death. Sweetie backed up from the stairwell doorway, and put her flank up against the wall. She bowed her head and sighed. Guess I'm not going that way. Gotta be another way around to the courtyard... Sweetie took out her map and checked her location. She still had the path around the perimeter of the mansion. It was longer path, but it would take her around to another staircase, down a few floors, through a few hallways, and eventually she'd find her way to the theater lobby. It was a bit of a hassle, but it would get her where she needed to go. All she could hope was that there weren't any ghosts along the way. Sweetie assumed she was finished with traps, as Pinkie probably set them up for any mare who tried to go after the filly on her hunt for Rainbow Dash. Pinkie wouldn't have made any traps off that path. She didn't want to kill the filly yet... right? That was the only other reasoning the filly could use to convince herself to continue walking down the pitch black hallway. After a while, the filly made it down to the end of the hallway, and turned left, which according to the map, would eventually take her down the staircase she was looking for. She turned... but something new stopped her. It wasn't anything she saw, or heard, but what she smelled and felt. Once she was in the new hallway, she smelled something funny in the air... vaguely familiar that reminded Sweetie of Rarity. She also felt something wet on the floor, as though some of the rain had gotten in. Out of curiosity, and against better judgment, Sweetie bent down to taste the substance on the floor. Once Sweetie stuck her tongue on the ground, it quickly shot back into her mouth, disgusted by the taste of the substance... but she was sure of what it was. Alcohol. Sweetie, being such a young filly, wasn't nearly old enough to drink, but that didn't stop her from once trying the beverage. Rarity always had a stock of some of Canterlot's finest wines, for every time she was visited by celebrity ponies to look at her dresses and designs. Sweetie remembered her curiosity getting the best of her as she tried the drink against Rarity's wishes. At the time, all she knew was that it was supposedly like grape juice, so her and her friends gave it a try. They all rejected the drink's bitter taste and were scolded on having it. To this day, Sweetie could never figure out how mares and stallions could stomach the beverage. The stuff she tasted on the floor was exactly like that, only it didn't have the same vague sweetness of wine. It was strait alcohol... why in hay was it poured on the ground like now? The filly kept moving forward, careful not to let herself slip on the liquid... then a realization struck the filly. This was alcohol... what did alcohol do besides taste bad? She remembered something she learned in Cheerelee's chemist's class. Something about alcohol and fire... it was flammable. Sweetie made her realization a little too late, as she felt her horn cross a thin thread and heard a click. From both in front and behind the filly, she heard the sounds of matches being struck. She didn't look back as she watched the match in front of her strike in the darkness. Time seemed to slow down for a few moments, as the filly watched as the lit match fell to the ground. The fear she felt during those few seconds made her almost forget to clench her teeth to keep the flashlight in her mouth. The match hit the ground and the hallway was set ablaze. Sweetie turned around to see that the path behind her was also now blocked by a wall of flames. She was trapped between the two fires as they closed in towards her. Sweetie panicked, knowing she needed to find a way out of the hall before she was cooked herself. The fact her hooves were soaked with the flammable substance didn't help. Sweetie looked desperately around as the hallway filled with smoke. She then noticed a door at to her right. She went for the knob. Please for the love of Celestia, be open! The knob turned, and she escaped into the room, before slamming it shut. Sweetie panted for breath in the dark room, as she heard the fire crackle and grow in the hallway. "Of course... It's never that easy..." It's now Sweetie comes to a new realization. She was safe now... but she was also trapped. The only exit to the rest of the room... was the hallway that was on fire, and she couldn't risk going back out there... especially with her alcohol soggy hooves. Great... now where do I go? Lightning flashes in the room, illuminating it for a moment. The first thing Sweetie notices is what's around the room. It's another bed room, but it's not like the others that looked to be Madame's... these walls were green with a blue carpet. The bed was obnoxiously large... probably one of the largest one's she's seen in the mansion. Could this be one of Specter's rooms? At the edge of the bed, Sweetie saw a journal page. She picked it up and started to read. It was dated a little earlier than the other writings... it seemed to be written earlier than the others. November 2nd 845 A.C Ms. Daisy... my little Sunflower and I have been dating for a few months now. At this point, I'm almost ready to ask her to marry... but there's just one thing I'm concerned about, and that's her meticulous curiosity. I've managed to keep her ignorant of the parts of the mansion I want to keep from her, but she always has questions... Like for example, our cutie marks. Today, she asked me about mine... I suppose now that we're getting used to each other's company, the shyness stages are long gone letting us dive into each other's personal matters... she claimed she couldn't tell what it was for the life of her, as she shouldn't have been able to. That led to her even asking about my profession, and how I've managed to gain my excessive fortune. Hmph... I've always side stepped the question which has sparked much suspicion in her. She's even come up with her own theories, like I was a part of some pony mob conspiracy... at least that's what Spiffy told me she'd discussed with the stallion. The mare is incredibly smart... even the blinding love we share can't shroud her suspicions of me. I haven't touched any of her journal pages, as we've agreed on, but I'm almost positive that she's starting to doubt me... so to end it, I had to tell her a bit of a lie... at least I'm sure she thinks it's a lie, but I suppose it's not completely true to begin with. When she asked about my cutie mark, I sat her down, with Spiffy for back up. I told her I lost it. I've told her my family owned a place in the wilderness catacombs outside of Stabletown where they tested different magical spells... and I told her that one spell went wrong and POOF... no more cutie mark. Spiffy was the only one to confirm this lie as truth for Sunflower... but she's smarter than that. She knew I wasn't completely beyond lying to her, and that Spiffy, my most loyal companion, would back up such a lie. I knew she wanted the real story... but I couldn't tell her yet... so I asked her about her cutie mark. I must have still had a piece of that paranoia of doing something to make the mare hate me, because for all the time I've been with her, I've barely given her flank a second glance. It was a flame... so I asked her about it. She said it was her talent as candle lighter at her grandmother's floral shop down on Rudder Street around the Stabletown town square... the funny thing was, that she didn't get her cutie mark by exactly lighting a few candles... quite the opposite actually... but then again, cutie mark stories are rarely that simple. No, she said that she started a fire by mistake as a filly... almost burned down the entire block, she said. I remember hearing about that little fiasco, but never paid much attention to it because of how quickly it was resolved... thanks to her. They didn't know what it was, but when the fire fighter ponies came, and they couldn't tame the flames... when the little filly came along, with her little bucket and pale, she seemed to put out more fires than them. From what she said, it was a real phenomenon... as though the flames would obey her, and only her. To be honest, I questioned if she had some psychokinetic abilities. She giggled, showing that I was on her good side again. She said she used some ponies thought the same thing, but secretively, she learned a few spells to manipulate flames. Still though, it's amazing that a little filly could pull of such a feat with simple fire spells. She said that once the flames died down enough for the fire fighters to take care of the rest, she found her cutie mark on the side of her flank. Though the rest of her family had some kind of flower cutie mark, she stood out with her little flame. Some of her family looked at the mare in awe for standing out, while others looked at her in disappointment, wondering if she was going to be able to carry on the Daisy florist name. The only one who was unchanged by this new development was her grandmother, who suffered from dementia and barely remembered who the filly was. She became like an only real family member to the filly... the story vaguely reminded me of Spiffy and I... after that, I'm sure we're done talking about cutie marks. I think she's finally gotten over not knowing my profession... at least I hope she has, for her own good. So... he lost his cutie mark? Sweetie remembered meeting the stallion earlier that night, and the brown splotch she saw where his cutie mark was supposed to be. But... that mark... shouldn't it be blank like my friends? What the hay is going on... and Madame's power... Sweetie seemed to have more and more questions for the ghost mare who seemed to be on her side. Rather than getting any answers, she was just getting more and more confused than before. Nothing was making sense... who the hay was Specter anyway? Sweetie placed her newest page inside of the journal, and turned her attention to the other item that had gained her interest. She shined her light at the window into the outside darkness. Could it be her ticket out of the room? It was one of those windows that opened up like a door on the left and right. Outside of the window, Sweetie's light shined on a few old withed flowers that sat on the perch sticking out. Worth a look... Sweetie tried to open the window, but it seemed to be locked. Thankfully, she didn't need another key to open it. She turned a lock next to a small knob at the center of the window door. She opened it up, and carefully climbed up and out onto the perch. From what she could tell, the rain and wind had died down significantly. All she felt was a light mist of water in the air, and the air moved a little short from still. The thunder boomed faintly in the distance as the storm was continuing to die. Mistakenly, she pushed over a flower pot, which fell over the perch. She listened for a few seconds before she finally heard it hit the ground in the darkness. "Looks like a long fall..." Sweetie gulped. She shook the fear from her body and looked around. Was there anything she could use to get around here? She shined her light to the left and saw that there were thick plants, vines and weeds growing along the side of the mansion. Maybe she could climb along the vegetation to the next window? No... that's stupid! Sweetie thought. It was too risky. All she would need is to grab a bad root, or vine, and she'd fall to her death... but as she looked back into the room, she saw her options were weighing thin. The fire was starting to burn down the door, and eventually into the room. It was spreading rapidly, and Sweetie realized she didn't have much of a choice anymore. Sweetie shined her light back onto the vines, and took a deep breath. She clenched the flashlight in her maw firmly between her upper and lower teeth, and reached for one of the ivy green vines. She yanked on it to test its strength. It wasn't comfortably strong, but it seemed like it would hold the filly's weight. She took a hold firmly on the vine, and swung herself onto the wall. She used all of her legs to stay hooked on the wall, as she wasn't a pony trained in climbing anything like this. She tried to raise her confidence by remembering how she managed to climb out of the fire in the theater... but that only reminded her how flammable she was now. And plus, that was a rope she could shimmy up... not a near flat surface like the vines growing. Sweetie took another deep breath through the flashlight, and started to move along the wall. Her hooves moved along the walls, as she started to gain a little speed to her climb. She was getting better and better the farther she went, and was beginning to feel a little more confident that she'd make it out of this alive. Finally, the vines stopped. This must have been the window to the next room. She carefully placed her hind legs onto the window perch, and eventually her fore legs. She tried to open the window... but there was a problem.,, two actually. The first problem was that the fire was still at that part of the hallway, as she saw the fire burning through that door as well. She couldn't use the room to escape even if she wanted to. The second problem was that the window was locked. Great... just great... Sweetie thought. It was now Sweetie had come to a new realization: the window she first came out of was originally locked... did that mean that the other windows were also locked too? Had Sweetie just locked herself out of the mansion? Sweetie thought of going back to the window and waiting for the fire to die back down, but she knew she didn't have time. It wasn't just that gut feeling either, but if Twilight was right, she would need to get her friends caught before her powers became too weak. She had to keep moving forward. There had to be another way back into the mansion... Sweetie continued her climb along the wall, resisting the urge to look down into the darkness. She clenched her flashlight tighter and tighter, afraid of being stuck, defenseless in the darkness if she were to drop it. Sweetie must have crossed seven or eight windows as she climbed. Finally, she was starting to get tired as she started to feel the burn in her filly muscles. On her ninth window, she decided to take a rest. The filly sat on the perch taking breaths, wondering how much longer she had to keep going. She checked the window she was sitting against. Of course, it was also locked, and the fire was still burning through the door... but it seemed a little fainter. Did that mean she was closing in on where the fire stopped? Sweetie supposed it wouldn't matter if she couldn't get into one of the rooms in the first place. Sweetie went into her saddlebags for her map and decided to check out her location. She wondered how far down the hall she was... she shined her light on the piece of parchment... it had a big question mark on it. Sweetie was a little annoyed with the map, but supposed that the outside of the mansion was just another place she couldn't use the map. She was about to put her map back into her saddlebags, when suddenly, the map was snatched from her hands. Something zoomed past her, nearly scaring the filly off of the ledge. Sweetie dropped her flashlight out of her maw, but caught it with her hoof by the end. "Who-" Sweetie called out into the darkness. "Well if it isn't my favorite little loser... Dumb Belle." came the familiar voice of a griffon. Gilda... Sweetie thought. She shined her light around in the darkness, desperately trying to find out where the voice was coming from. Lightning flashed, and Sweetie saw the griffon, hovering about 10 yards from the filly. She must have thawed like Pinkie said she would. "W-what do you want Gilda?" Sweetie asked the griffon, shining her light in the direction she saw the griffon when the light flashed. "What do you think? To finish what I started, are you that dull?" Gilda asked. "Why do you want me dead so badly?" "What's it to you?" Gilda asked. "W-well, if you're going to kill me, at least tell me why. I mean, you're not dead... or possessed, right?" Gilda laughed. "I'm too cool to be touched by one of those stupid specters." "Then why?" "At first, it was Specter's order." Gilda said. She then grinned at the filly. "But since you tried to turn me into a grifcickle, I think this little kill will be just for fun. Just for me." She's taking orders from Specter? Why? She doesn't seem like the type, so what for? What's the connection? Sweetie thought. Sweetie watched as she saw statues start to float up... but they weren't just griffons this time. Accompanied by them was the statue of a dragon, with the same menacing yellow eyes as the other statues. It was a grown dragon, unlike Spike, having a longer, much more snake like body. Sweetie briefly thought of a similar dragon that plagued Ponyville... Sweetie didn't hesitate any longer to start climbing for her life. She jumped onto the wall, just as a griffon tried to ram into her, and ended up crashing into the window. The dragon however, rather than trying to grab or fly into the filly, it shot a fire ball, much like Spike's only orange. The first shot missed the filly, but still did damage. The vines along the wall started to catch on fire, and burn in all directions, including the direction of Sweetie. She felt the vines weakening as the knots that kept the vines firm begun to thin out. None the less, she kept her climb up, not daring to slow down for any cautions. She hoped to at least make it to the next window perch which felt like it was miles away in the intensified situation... Finally, one of the vines Sweetie was on gave, falling from the wall. Sweetie screamed, as she thought she was going to fall to her death... but she held on firm to the loose vine, as it hung lazily from the rest of the vegetation network. She pulled herself back onto the wall of vines and continued her climb. She wasn't sure how much longer she'd last. A second griffon crashed right next to her, barely hitting and crushing the filly. The shock wave of the impact shook her off of the wall, and she fell for a moment before grabbing onto the vine wall before she fell too far. C'mon Sweetie! Keep going! Keep going! Sweetie said to herself as she climbed back up higher on the wall to her original path and kept going. By now, the wall was lit up by the dragon's flames, the orange tongues of the fire barely missing the filly. Sweetie's muscles ached from the climbing, and was sure they'd give out if she didn't rest them anytime soon. The situation seemed hopeless. She was surrounded, and had no way of escaping Gilda and her army of statues. Finally however, Sweetie made it to the next window perch, which she virtually dropped onto, nearly breaking the platform with her sudden weight and impact. As she sat on the perch, she wanted to keep going, but her muscles wouldn't respond... then, out of the darkness, a griffon statue crashed into her. "AH!" Sweetie yelled out in pain. It hit her with so much force; the statue sent her crashing through the window and into the room. Glass shards lied around the filly, along with stone fragments of the broken statue. The statue hit the filly, but it didn't have a good aim or hold on her. It pushed her through the window, but also slipped under her and went straight for the wall at the back of the room. If the griffon had crashed into Sweetie any higher on her body, she would have been in more pieces than the statue. Even so, the stone griffon did its damage, as Sweetie moaned in pain on the ground around the shards. Get up... Get up... Sweetie coached herself. She moaned in pain as she got back up onto her hooves. She looked at the exit of the room... it wasn't flaming, which meant that the fire must have stopped further back down the hallway. All things considered... that worked out better than I thought... she thought optimistically. Her optimism quickly diminished when she heard the angry screeching caw of Gilda. She may have made it into the room, but she still had a crazy bird on her flank. Sweetie made for the door and exited into the hallway, slamming the door behind her. From what Sweetie remembered from the map, she figured that this was the corner hallway that turned down closer to the courtyard. To her left, she could see the fire still burning brightly, but spreading slower without the aid of more alcohol. To her front, she saw the next hallway. More traps? Come on! Sweetie thought. The new hallway was filled with various bear traps, randomly scattered down the hallway. Sweetie knew that one wrong step, and she could lose a leg. She had to be careful... she looked back as she heard the sound of the griffon, and her gang of statues enter the room. She knew she didn't exactly have the luxury to be slow and careful at this point. Sweetie saw a lock button on the knob of the door and pressed it. That would hold her pursuers for a couple minutes, if she was lucky. With that, Sweetie proceeded to move down the bear trapped hallway. Sweetie shined her light at the ground, making sure to step in between the bear traps, and not on the mechanisms that would activate them. Where the hay did she get these things anyway? Sweetie wondered, both fearful and slightly annoyed with the number of bear traps. Sweetie barely made it a few yards down the hallway before she started to hear Gilda trying to bust down the door. "You think this can hold me Dumb Belle? You don't know what kind of awesome you're dealing with here." Gilda said from behind the door. I don't have time for these traps! She's going to bust through that door any second now! Sweetie wasn't going to make it through the hallway in time. She had to find somewhere to hide. The closest door she saw was one with the little etching of a ghost on it. Sweetie moved past the bear traps guarding the door, and silently slipped inside. As she did, she heard Gilda and her statues finally break down the door. "Huh... that dweebish ghost Pinkie must have set these up... but where the heck did Dumb Belle go? Search every room! She couldn't have gotten far!" Gilda ordered her statues. Sweetie wasn't out of the heat yet. She still had to hide in the room. Sweetie desperately shined her light around the room, and saw a closet at the back. Sweetie moved back silently to the closet, and hid inside, closing the door to a crack. She then turned her light out, causing her to be once again surrounded in darkness. "Find her! Find her and kill her!" Gilda said. It was silent for a few minutes. Sweetie didn't hear anything outside, nor did she expect to. She could see them hovering above traps, rather than trying to traverse them like her to look for the filly. She only wished she could tell where the hay they- The door slammed open, making the filly jump and almost blowing her cover. She saw two yellow eyes in the darkness, and small flames flailing up briefly below the eyes. Sweetie assumed that it was the dragon. She held her breath, knowing the dragon's ear could probably pick up on her light breaths. It looked around the room, every move it made giving off the sound of stone against stone. It seemed to sense her presence, but couldn't decide where the filly was. Just when the filly was sure the stone dragon would float over to the closet, open it, and light her like a candle, it floated out. It left the door ajar which allowed Sweetie to hear what was going on outside in the hallway. She heard the light sound of wings flapping, and more stone. The minutes that crawled by as Sweetie stayed hidden in the closet felt like an eternity, but Sweetie wouldn't move until she was sure that she was safe. Finally, her freedom to leave came with the harsh sounding voice of the griffon. "Regroup you slackers!" Gilda called out to the statues. Sweetie heard as the clunky statues moved to where Gilda's voice was coming from. "She must have gotten farther down the hall than we thought... doesn't matter though. She isn't gonna get far without this." Sweetie then heard the sound of paper being ripped up. It had to have been her map... now how was she supposed to find the courtyard? Let alone anywhere else around the mansion. "Split up to the rest of the mansions. If you find her, catch her, or kill her. Don't mess this up." The statues flew off into several directions, followed by Gilda, who let out a screech before leaving the area. Then, it was silent again. Sweetie sighed... another close call. Sweetie came out of the closet and shined her flashlight around. It was yet another bedroom, with similar furniture and color patterns as the ones she'd been in previously... the only difference however, was that the already large bed was a little bit bigger than the king she saw in the other room. She wondered why... Sweetie's attention turned to a music box that sat on top of the wooden dresser. It depicted who Sweetie assumed to be Specter and Madame. They were close together on the stand of the music box, kissing. Specter wore a tuxedo, and Madame wore a white dress... was this some kind of wedding gift? At the base of the music box was a small note, hand written. To the lovely couple of Yields, Remember to go back to a time of happier days. Those memories will last you a lifetime... Sincerely, ----------------- The name's ink was smudged out. Sweetie wondered why? Out of curiosity of what the tune was, Sweetie decided to wind up the music box... but there was a problem. It wouldn't turn. No matter how hard Sweetie turned to the right, she couldn't seem to get the music box key to twist. "Come on, you dumb box..." Sweetie said. Then she had an idea... what if she turned it backwards? As Sweetie turned the key counter-clockwise, she heard the clicking inside of the music box winding. When it winded completely, she let go to listen to the tune. It didn't make any sense. The music box just seemed to be playing random notes that didn't sound good... but they also sounded a little warped... as if the music box were being played backwards. Once the tune stopped, the music box key shot out of the player, and hit Sweetie right between the eyes. "OW!" Sweetie yelped. She rubbed the spot where the key hit painfully, and looked down at the shiny metal music key. Should she pick it up? "...why not?" Sweetie figured as she picked up the key and placed into a pouch in her saddlebags. Since there wasn't anything left of interest in the room, she saw her only option was to head back out into the hallway to at least try and guess her way to the courtyard. As she was about to leave, she heard something. It was the music box... it was starting to play again, but this time, it was easier to see a tune inside of the notes played. Suddenly, Sweetie's environment seemed to go a shade lighter. It was disorienting, but Sweetie managed to keep her head. Sweetie turned around to see if anything else in the room had changed... and sure enough there were now two glowing ponies, mare and a stallion lying together in the bed. It didn't take long for Sweetie to realize that they were Specter and Madame... and Sweetie couldn't put her finger on it, but something about all of this seemed familiar. The mare and stallion opened their eyes, and got out of the bed. Rather than walking normally toward the filly, they started to walk backwards together, back into the hallway. Realizing they wouldn't answer the filly if she tried to get their attention, Sweetie followed them back into the hallway. When she came out, the bear traps were still there, but the rest of the hallway had changed completely. It was fully lit, and showed every detail of the new, well-kept mansion. The walls were tan, with a wooden baseboard. The candles illuminated the hall, making it much easier to see without her flashlight, which she put away. Sweetie knew better than to question the mansion anymore, and focused on getting around the bear traps to continue following the apparitions she was seeing. Thankfully, the two ponies kept together and moved extremely slowly, allowing Sweetie to follow while staying careful. The two seemed solely focused on each other, lost as they looked lovingly into each other's colored eyes, not really caring where they were going... or where they were coming from? Sweetie wondered... could they be moving backwards because they were rewinding like the music box? She finally made it past all of the bear traps and found them heading down a flight of stairs. Sweetie followed them, carefully taking each step, hoping not to set of anymore traps that Pinkie may have set on her route. Sweetie wondered why Pinkie would try to in the first place... she did want her alive, right? Then again, this was Pinkie... who knew what went on in her mind... or what she had in store for Sweetie at the courtyard. Sweetie made it down to the bottom of the staircase, which she counted to be the first floor. Where in hay were these love doves leading her? She continued to follow the two down a network of hallways Sweetie would have never been able to navigate herself... until finally she found herself in the theater lobby. At this point however, Sweetie felt a little numb in the brain from staring at the two for so long. It was like they'd caught the filly in some kind of hypnotic spell, as she felt compelled to follow the two all the way to their destination. Sweetie followed the Specter and Madame apparitions into the grand, beautiful theater, newer than she'd left it. On the stage was the stage set up of a tomb, along with some props scattered along the stage. Sweetie recognized it as the last scene from the play Redneck&Junebug, where the two lovers die in a horrible tragedy in order to keep their love... suddenly, Sweetie had a hunch of what was happening. She had seen this before... or rather, she'd read it before, in the journal. The music box must have triggered another apparition, like the one she experienced in the chest room. The mare and stallion sat down in their seats, and Madame put her head against Specter's chest, as they embraced in a hug. Madame then looked up awkwardly at Specter, and engaged him in a kiss. Light flashed in Sweetie's eyes, and she was suddenly surrounded in darkness... no, not just darkness, there was smoke. She didn't know it until now, but she was breathing in smoke. The filly coughed, as she bolted out of the theater to escape the dark cloud. Sweetie fell to the theater lobby floor, coughing and gasping for air. She lied there for a couple moments, until she was able to get herself back together and onto her hooves. She'd once again, almost killed herself. Huh... if that's what smoking's all about... no way I'm ever trying a cigarette... Sweetie thought, as she let out another coughing fit. She sniffed, as she took out her flashlight, turning it back on, and placing it back into her mouth. Ok... I guess that works... if this is the lobby, then the courtyard should be... that way. Sweetie headed for the door that lead to the dressing room, and would eventually lead over to the courtyard. It was almost time to face Pinkie Pie. *** Sweetie entered the dressing room, which seemed just a little darker than she'd left it. The door of the hallway was still open after she'd gone to locate the second GCD part. She was reminded of how the GCD made a fuss about the ectotube being out of place, but it had yet to do malfunction in anyway. Maybe she didn't have to worry about it... The puddle of water from the door she'd left open to the outside had let the hallway flood slightly. The flooding however, must have stopped a while ago, around the time the rain stopped. Still, the water remaining was enough to wash the filly's hooves, taking away the alcoholic liquid that saturated them. There was one thing that bothered the filly... the torches from outside. They weren't lit anymore, making the courtyard pitch black... even without the torches, something felt odd about this particular blackness. Sweetie went to the door to the courtyard. It was then she heard the dreaded giggle of Pinkie. "Pinkie?" Sweetie called out into the darkness. "Pinkie, is that you?" As a part of her expected, all she received in response was Pinkie's giggle. There was only one way the filly would find out. Sweetie got that bad gut feeling as she shined her flashlight out into the darkness... that if she went out there, chances were she wasn't going to come back. She still had no idea how she was going to catch Pinkie, but the only way she was going to figure it out... was to try. Sweetie pushed herself out into the darkness of the courtyard. Her hooves found themselves walking across damp grass... but the grass seemed to turn dry under the filly's feet... soon they started to crumble under her feet, and she was walking on dirt now. "What the hay..." Sweetie said to herself, right before her flashlight went out. Sweetie started to panic as she was trapped in the darkness. She couldn't see anything, and her flashlight seemed to be useless now. Sweetie wanted to run back for the dressing room, but the cold fear of the darkness kept her anchored to her spot. "Jumpie!" Pinkie chirped as she appeared, glowing in the darkness. "So glad you could come to play with us!" "U-us? What do you mean 'us'" Sweetie asked apprehensively. "Aw, c'mon Sweets. Wouldn't be too fun of a game if there were only two ponies." the voice Sweetie recognized to be Scootaloo. "Yeah Sweetie. Ya don't think ah'd miss out on this do ya?" The second voice... no doubt it was Applebloom. "Honestly, Sweetie. I really hope you didn't think that it would be just as easy as going in to catch Pinkie and being done." The third voice was Spike's. "W-what are you gonna do? Kill me?" Sweetie asked in the darkness. "Oh Sweetie. Spike's right. It isn't that simple. Games need rules. That's what makes them fun. Do you want to know the rules to this game?" Pinkie asked. "...what?" Sweetie asked. Not like I have a choice. "That's right Sweetie." Pinkie said. "Now, the rules are kind of like hide and seek." "Oh! Ah love this game!" Applebloom chirped. "Now now Ca- er... Applebloom. Stay focused." Spike told Applebloom. "Alri' Sp...ike." Applebloom responded. Sweetie noted how in her excitement, she nearly pronounced Spike's name wrong. "The first rule is simple." Pinkie explained "My friends here will count to 30, and come kill you. If you die... well, you lose. In that time, I'd hide if I were you, but of course you'll hide! That's the name of the game! I just wanted to remind you, know how you hate to follow directions." But Applejack going after me wasn't my fault. Sweetie thought. "Don't worry Jumpie. I hate following directions too, but I just suggest you follow them just this once. I'm not sure dying your way is nearly as fun as mine. The second rule..." Pinkie continued. "... is that you can't kill your friends." "Why would I do that! I'm not a killer!" Sweetie exclaimed. "Oh quiet you." Pinkie said. "Let me finish... you also can't seriously injure your friends either. I know you're at least not beyond that." Sweetie kept quiet. It was true, she'd head-butted Applebloom and managed to draw blood from Scootaloo's muzzle. She supposed that was what Pinkie was talking about. Something still felt ill in Sweetie, realizing she was capable of that. "Finally, the last rule is... me!" Pinkie said happily. "If you can catch me... the game is over, and you win! Doesn't that sound fun?" "Yeah, but good luck catchin' that mare Sweets. She's a wild one." Scootaloo added. "Are you ready Sweetie?" Pinkie asked. ".... let's just get this over with." Sweetie said. "Just... turn my light back on." "Oh. I'll do one better." Pinkie said happily. "Spike, if you please." A green fireball shot up into the air, and changed from its light green, to a devilish pink. It hit the sky with a bang, like a firework, illuminating the sky, and lighting up the area. Streaks of white went through the sky, like some wild wind storm in the sky... but that wasn't what horrified Sweetie the most. What scared the filly, was that the courtyard was gone... it had changed into a place with a bunch of game booths, rides, and other complexes. "What the hay... Pinkie what is this?!" Sweetie asked. The children started to count. One... two... three... Pinkie started to float up in the air. "Will Sweetie be able to catch the strongest ghost she's encountered so far?" "PINKIE!" Four... Five... Six... "Will she survive the rest of her stay in Yield Manor?" Seven... Eight... Nine... Ten... "Stay tuned... and find out next chapter of... Sweetie's Mansion..."
Chapter 16- The Carnival in the CourtyardThis isn't real! It can't be real! Sweetie thought as her possessed friends counting got higher and higher. Just a few moments ago, she was in the courtyard of the mansion... now, she wasn't quite sure where she was anymore. The sky had changed from its dark cloudiness to a disorienting dark shade of pink, with ghostly white lines flying through it. Wind whirled in the air above her, howling madly like some kind of sick animal. It wasn't the sky that had changed that horrified Sweetie the most, but it was her new location. As she ran, she passed by a sign that said "Stabletown Carnival- Here till the end of Summer!". She wasn't in the mansion anymore. Hay, she wasn't even sure she was anywhere around Ponyville anymore. The only Stabletown she could think of was the one that she saw in the painting, and read about in the book. Why was Sweetie here? Why would Pinkie take her somewhere so far away from home? And most importantly, how was she supposed to get back? Sweetie had been to a carnival before and knew what they were like. A few booths here, a ride or two there... But no, this carnival was different. It wasn't a normal one, nor did it have the abandoned look of the mansion. Instead, as Sweetie ran by each booth, She noticed distinct signs of burn marks, as though they had been on fire at one point. The toys and prizes in each booth had aged significantly, showing signs of wear and tear over the years. Sweetie doubted she could use any of them, but for the moment, she didn't see them as being useful even if they were in good condition. Now, her main priority was to hide from her pursues. Only then could she stop and figure out her next plan of action, whatever it may be... Hiding spot. Gotta find a place to hide from those crazies. Sweetie thought panicked. She wasn't sure if criticizing their sanity helped her very much. For all the filly knew, she could be going crazy herself. There! Sweetie noticed an open booth, with a crate in front of it. She hopped up onto the crate and into the booth. She put her flank against the wall, as she heard a "Ready or Not! Here we come!" simultaneously from her friends, as they cackled in the general direction they saw the filly run. Sweetie held her breath as she heard them run past the booth. She swore one of them stopped in front of her booth, but some of her fear left when they continued on their way. They'll be back... Sweetie thought. Need a plan... need a plan... Sweetie looked up to find that she had hidden behind a "Ball Toss" stand. Above her were cups, though blackened with smoke, were neatly stacked, likely to be thrown at by the balls that were scattered on the ground. One ball in particular caught Sweetie's eye. It was a little red ball with the words "C.M.C" written on it. It was hers! She thought she'd lost it for good after she left the kennel in the mansion basement. What's this doing here... she wondered, she then remembered Pinkie. She was likely the person who threw her here, so she wouldn't be surprised if there weren't one or two things that were familiar to the filly... then she remembered something else. Pinkie's game. If you catch me, the game is over! And you win! Her next objective was to find Pinkie and catch her. It was her only chance to escape this weird world. The ghost book had already said that she couldn't catch her unless she wanted to be captured... but the question became how could she make the mare want to be captured? Or at least get her magic shield down long enough to get her with the GCD. Then Sweetie had a realization: Pinkie would know... Who would know better how to capture pink pony than the mare herself? If Sweetie could get a snap of her with the camera, she just might be able to formulate some plan with her friend to capture the ghost. It was definitely worth a shot. It wasn't as though she had any other option anyway... Sweetie took her ball and put it in her saddlebags, in case she might find some use for it later. It wouldn't be the first time the ball had gotten her out of a serious jam. Sweetie looked over the booth to make sure it was clear for her to leave. There was no sign of the fillies or the dragon who were trying to kill her. With that, she climbed over the booth and back out into the carnival. She cautiously started to move down the line of booths, in search of Pinkie Pie. As she walked, she noticed several things. One thing was the large Ferris wheel, not too far from her location. She remembered a time that she'd been to a Ponyville Carnival, with a similar ride. Prior to the airplane the CMC had worked on just earlier that day, the filly had never really gone that high. She remembered thinking that she was flying once her and Rarity reached the summit of the wheel. She remembered how Rarity stood by her, smiling at the small filly's amazement at the view from the top... but as Sweetie thought of it, something changed. In her head, as she remembered the ride, Rarity changed. Her face turned from a smile to a grin... a toothy sickening grin that made Sweetie shake her head. Then she started to laugh... similarly to the nightmare she'd had earlier that night. Without thought of caution, she screamed at the memory. It wasn't her memory, rather it was a memory changed... was this new world really messing with her mind like this? Could she not trust her own memories anymore? The thought horrified the filly, as the memories were the only thing that kept her going. If the real memory of Rarity was gone... then what would she have left to keep moving forward with? Sweetie looked up fearfully, realizing what she'd just done. She looked around her immediate area... no one was coming for her. Did no one hear her scream? Maybe it was quieter than I thought Sweetie hoped. She continued to walk, looking around at the rest of the booths to avoid another memory. At one, she noticed a shooting gallery, with ducks as the targets. A rifle stood loosely in its stand, as the bolts that held it were missing. The game was made for unicorns such as herself, given no pony could really use the triggers efficiently with their hooves. Magic was commonly used for guns like these in order to pull the triggers. Sweetie herself hadn't ever tried it, for two main reasons. The first was the simple fact she couldn't manage to hold the thing, given her weakness in magic. The second was the prospect of shooting ducks, even if they weren't alive, seemed horrible to the filly. Sweetie thought of attempting to take the rifle with her, but decided against it. It wasn't like she was going to use it against her friends, right? It was just another burden Sweetie didn't need to carry... Sweetie continued to walk, hearing her hoof steps crunch in the dirt she was walking on. She was starting to get paranoid, as though there were other hoof steps besides her own... at first she assumed it was simply the echo of her own steps. Though she knew how unlikely this was, she knew it would be worse if she stopped, or broke into a run, alerting her friends to her location. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched... Sweetie found herself around the area of the Ferris wheel. She looked at the empty cart, in which she figured was made for an adult mare. She even saw the "you must be this tall to ride this ride" which was at least three times higher than the filly's normal height. Sweetie went to examine the ride... but suddenly, she was kicked from behind, forcing her into the cart. "Wow, you suck at this game." Scootaloo said, joining the filly in the cart. The door shut to the cart as carnival music began to play over the loud speakers. Sweetie was trapped on the ride with Scootaloo, as the cart began to slowly make its ascent on the wheel. "You were supposed to hide... ah well, guess that now that we found you, you lose huh?" Scootaloo had kicked Sweetie pretty hard in the flank. It took her a moment to get back up and face the filly. She was cornered by the filly, and probably wouldn't have an exit until the wheel descended again... if it did. In the meanwhile, Sweetie would have to survive Scootaloo. Sweetie gave her best battle stance, according to what Rainbow had shown her. Though Sweetie didn't mimic Rainbow's example very well in the safe zone, she found herself a little more solid this time. It was as though she knew what she was doing. In either case, Scootaloo laughed. "So you think you’re gonna fight me huh?" Scootaloo asked. "Now that's more like it. Come on!" Scootaloo came at the filly fast, and Sweetie proceeded to block, as Rainbow had demonstrated. She gave three good hooves to Sweetie as she blocked them, keeping her hooves in front of her face as she balanced on her hind legs and flank. The filly was strong, and Sweetie felt with each blow Scootaloo gave to her legs, the filly received unbearable pain. Sweetie felt as though if she didn't do something soon, Sweetie's leg wouldn't be able to take it, and probably break. Then, her head would be defenseless. Sweetie had to do something. She had to fight back without seriously hurting Scootaloo. Sweetie saw an opening during Scootaloo's fourth punch. It was now, Sweetie decided to take her chance. As Rainbow had shown her, Sweetie gave a quick light rounded jab to Scootaloo's side. The filly, although it wasn't a strong hit, it was enough to throw the filly off balance for a couple seconds, allowing Sweetie to push Scootaloo away to the other side of the metal 5 by 3 cart. For the few moments, the sound of hoof against bone had stopped, and the only sounds that filled the air were the sounds of the creaking wheel as it took the fillies higher and higher. It was another few seconds before Scootaloo said anything else. Scootaloo laughed. "Didn't know you could fight Sweets! I like that!" "There's a lot of things you don't know about me ghost." Sweetie said, trying to sound as brave as possible. "Doesn't matter. You still look stupid anyway." "I look wha-" Sweetie said before Scootaloo charged at her again. This time, Sweetie didn't have the reaction time to dodge. Instead, Scootaloo got Sweetie's head and banged it against the back of the cart. The sound of metal rung in Sweetie's head as she felt a lump forming on the back of it. Sweetie moaned in pain, but didn't waste time as she saw another hoof coming for her face. An instinct in Sweetie got her to push the hoof up, parrying the hoof. Sweetie thought quickly, seeing an opening in Scootaloo's chest, and gave another quick light jab in the area. Like before, it wasn't enough to hurt Scootaloo visibly, but it was still enough to give the filly a good sting. Scootaloo staggered back, to the opposite side of the cart. She laughed insanely at Sweetie, and charged for Sweetie. This time, she head-butted her against Sweetie's side of the cart. Sweetie couldn't have dreamed of blocking or parrying this attach, as she was thrown against her wall of the cart. Scootaloo then grabbed Sweetie by the upper-body, and slammed her down onto the cart floor. Sweetie faced her as she got on top of the filly. Scootaloo, faster than Sweetie could react, was pounded twice in the face. She could feel blood starting to seep from her nose again, and her body losing its grip on consciousness. Scootaloo could see it in her misty green eyes. She grinned. "You’re finished Sweets." Scootaloo said. Scootaloo brought her hoof down on Sweetie, but she caught it before it could reach her face. "Come on! Don't you give up?" "You... you’re not Scootaloo." Sweetie grunted as she kept the orange filly's hoof from reaching her face. "Because if you were Scootaloo, you'd know... that a crusader... doesn't-give-UP!" Sweetie wasn't sure where she found the strength to do so, but she threw the filly off of her, and back over to her own side of the cart. Sweetie got up, as her legs shook from the beating she'd received... and probably would continue receiving if she didn't get away from the crazy filly. Sweetie wasn't sure how she was going to do it, but she had to get off the Ferris wheel... but the only question was, how? Sweetie figured by now that they were at the climax of the ride... and even worse, it was now standing still, as though it had shut down. If the filly tried to jump from this height, she would most definitely not get back up... but there had to be a way down. There just had to be... Out of the corner of Sweetie's eye, she noticed something. Something white and triangular flying through the air... was it the CMC paper airplane?! What the hay is THAT doing here?! Sweetie understood less than she did before. It didn't make sense... but could she still use it? The way it was flying told her that it would fly a couple feet away from the cart she was on... she wasn't sure how she'd come up with the calculation by eye-balling the plane, but she figured that she had just enough of a jump arch to possibly land on it as it flew by. It was her best shot now... it wasn't as though she was going to survive any longer with Scootaloo. Scootaloo gave another insane burst of laughter as she charged for Sweetie again. Sweetie repeated the same plan she'd executed back in the basement when she fought Applebloom. She timed it just right, and jumped on Scootaloo's head, onto the railing that kept any ponies from falling out on the ride, and into the air. At first, she didn't think she was going to make it, as the plane looked farther away as she jumped... but during her jump, the strange thing was she felt as though she was floating. That little boost she received gave her enough of a stretch to land on the paper airplane. She grabbed the middle rope in order to keep herself from tumbling off. Once she felt she had a good hold on the rope, she looked back at Scootaloo, who simply stared at her. Her grin had disappeared due to the loss of her pray. As Sweetie flew further and further away, she finally sighed. She was safe- A gunshot rang through the air as Sweetie was starting to calm down. "What the-" A second gunshot rang through the air, this time, it whizzed past the CMC paper airplane. Sweetie carefully looked over the side of the plane, just enough to keep herself from tilting it, and causing it to fall. When she looked down onto the booths and booths of games below, She could see Spike and Applebloom, sitting there... but Spike wasn't just sitting. Instead, in his claws, he held the rifle Sweetie had neglected to take with her. Spike's hand-like claws allowed his fingers to slip behind the trigger of the rifle with ease, and aim it without the use of magic. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!" Sweetie said angrily. Another shot was fired, this time, it barely missed Sweetie, but created a fairly large hole in the plane. The shot hit just to the right of Sweetie, causing the new vent of air to force the plane to its side. As it fell to its side, it started to fall, at first gradually, but then her speed increased to the point she was almost falling. Sweetie was helpless this time to pull herself up. All she could do was hope that she survived the crash. Finally, she fell into a group of booths that surrounded a long line of picnic tables. The crash yanked the filly off of the plane, and caused her to tumble over onto the tables, and into a group of pies that were set up. It was as though some pony was setting up for some kind of pie eating contest. Thankfully, the pies and other foods set up cushioned her fall, as her face was filled with blueberry filling on the impact. Sweetie got her face out of the pie, which was thankfully not spoiled, but rather delicious and refreshing to have in her stomach. As she licked her face, she realized how hungry she was... she didn't have dinner that night, after all. It took a certain will-power to resist staying on the tables to eat the pies, though slightly burned, still just as good to eat. This is no time for eating. Sweetie convinced herself. Got to keep moving to find Pink- Sweetie then heard the giggle of the devil she'd just spoke of. Pinkie materialized in front of Sweetie, giggling. "You should see your face Jumpie!" Pinkie giggled at the filly's blueberry covered face. "You’re gonna make me start calling you 'Blue Belle'!" Now's my chance! Sweetie realized. "Now's your chance for what?" Pinkie asked. She must not have known about the plan Sweetie had planned for her. "Plan? Ooooh! What kind of plan Jumpie?!" Pinkie said happily, reading the story with anticipation. Sweetie reached into her bag and snatched out her camera. Pinkie frowned at the filly, realizing what her so-called "plan was". "Ooooh! I get it! No, not now Sweetie. What? I'm not good enough for you, so you need a second Pinkie?" Sweetie aimed her camera at Pinkie, who flew at the filly. Sweetie was barely able to hit the camera button as the mare snatched it from her hooves. "Hey!" Sweetie yelled. "Stop stealing stuff from me!" Pinkie simply giggled, as she chucked the camera as far as she could away from the filly. First her map, and now her camera was gone too. Still though, she hit the camera button before it was taken from her. Did she still get the shot? Sweetie didn't hear the bubbly mare's voice in her head, which caused her heart to sink. If she didn't get the shot, then how was she supposed to catch her now? "Gotta fly Sweetie." Pinkie said, floating over past the booths. "See you soon. Don't die too fast for me. Okay?" Sweetie didn't waste any time to giving chase to the ghost mare, who so nonchalantly flew from her. As Sweetie went around the corner that led out of the circle of booths to follow her, she is driven back by a shot from Spike's rifle. Sweetie doesn't wait to check out where the shot came from, as she retreated back to the pie eating area. Ok... Spike's somewhere with a gun, got me cornered and probably headed this way... great. Sweetie thought. She had to figure out an alternate route out of the eating area without completely losing Pinkie. Maybe she didn't get the shot, but she still couldn't give up on trying to catch her. As Sweetie turned around to check for another exit, she was shocked. Now, the pie eating area was filled with transparent ponies. The place was no longer burnt, but rather new looking, with every design of the booths showing vibrant shades of red and blue, along with other miscellaneous colors. The sky's creepy pink was replaced by a pleasing light blue. "What the..." Sweetie said to herself. Was she having another one of the flashes she'd experienced in the mansion? If so, did that mean... Sweetie headed into the crowd of ponies. Just like the last two times, they paid the filly no mind, as though she didn't exist. She could even pass through one of them, and they wouldn't notice. The filly passed through several ponies before she found herself at the front. Now, the previously empty line of picnic tables were filled with fillies and colts, their heads buried in pies. The plane had disappeared and the pies were back in their previous places prior to Sweetie's crash. Sweetie scanned the ponies eating their pies, and recognized one yellow ghost from her first vision: Marbles. On the side of the crowd opposite of Sweetie, she saw Specter, Madame and Candy sitting, watching their son/brother gorge himself on the blueberry pies. Sweetie noticed how Candy cringed at the sight... she wondered why and decided to get closer to the ponies. She sat in front of the family, who like every other pony, didn't even acknowledge her existence. "I swear. That colt has a bottomless stomach I tell you." Madame said to Specter. "He must get it from his mother." Specter commented. "I don't eat like that!" Madame argued. Specter chuckled. "Tell that to Spiffy who ended up making you 6 plates of food the other day." "Oh hush you. I didn't get the chance to eat the whole day with all of the ponies requesting help now a days. I swear, I've never heard of so much property damage in so long." Madame said. "I wonder what's causing it." Sweetie noticed Specter flinch at the words. Property damage... Was he somehow responsible for that? "Yes... it is strange... Candy, are you ok?" Specter said, changing the subject. "Y-yeah daddy. I'm... I just don't get how ponies can put their heads in stuff like that." Candy said. "The pies?" Madame asked. Candy nodded. "I'd just hate for my mane to get covered in that hot gooey stuff. It makes my spine feel all funny." The two parents looked at each other, and Sweetie had a good idea of why. Was that the filly's fear? What was more was if she was engaged with that fear, would she react the same way as Candy? Through exchanged looks, they came to a decision. "Candy, would you like to go somewhere else? You seem on edge." Madame asked. Candy nodded shakily. It seemed the more and more she watched the manes of the colts and fillies get smothered in the blue filling, the more nervous she got. "How about the mirror maze? Does that sound fun?" Madame asked. Candy responded again with a nod, this time taking her eyes off of her horror, and putting them on her mother. "Okay mommy." Candy said. Madame turned to Specter. "Will you two be fine meeting us there when this is done?" Madame asked. "That sounds fine." Specter said. With that, Madame and Candy went past the crowd of ponies and around a corner of booths. As they escaped Sweetie's sight, the pie eating area turned back to its original burnt state, and the ponies of the pie eating area disappeared. Sweetie was alone again... or so she thought. A bullet whizzed by Sweetie's ear, which forced Sweetie into a run. It didn't take much to figure out Spike was right behind her. She heard Spike laugh manically as she ran around the corner, following her vision of the Yield's example. Once there, she put her flank against one of the booths, breathing panicked. She did her best to calm her mind down, and figure out her next plan of action. Ok... they were headed to the hall of mirrors? Maybe I should too... Sweetie figured. The last time she followed one of the apparitions, she was pointed in the right direction. Hopefully that was the same case here, and not Pinkie leading her into another trap. Sweetie popped her head out of the corner, and took it back as she was shot at again. Spike was coming for her, only encouraging her immediate action. Sweetie moved in the opposite direction of Spike, heading down the line of game and food booths. She looked back, moving faster and faster, as she felt in her gut Spike getting closer and closer to the corner. Once he made the turn, Sweetie knew she wouldn't have a chance... especially if he decided to use his fire-breath again. They may have been slower than the bullets of the gun, but its wide range wouldn't be in Sweetie's favor in the narrow line of booths she ran through. Finally, Sweetie found the opening to the booth line. It opened up to a rounded area. Judging by its size and the statue of a clown pony, she figured that she was at the center of the carnival. The odd thing was though, that she never really imagined a clown to be in a carnival... but then again, the way it was designed reminded the filly of the Ponyville mayor, and her costume on Nightmare Night. It wasn't too outlandish to think that the carnival was something based off of the real Stabletown carnival and Pinkie's own memories. "There ya are!" Sweetie looked to her left to see Applebloom, her knife sticking out of the right side of her muzzle, allowing her to talk. "Hold up! I got here first!" Sweetie looked to her left to see Scootaloo, approaching her. "Oh, will you two quit arguing." Spike came from behind, aiming his gun at Sweetie. From all three sides, Sweetie was surrounded. Oh no... Sweetie thought, as the three came closer and closer to her. "Can't you keep your sibling rivalry buried for just a few seconds?" Sibling rivalry? What is he- Sweetie thought. Something then clicked in the filly's head. Something she should have realized a while ago... It made sense: the mistake of name, the way Scootaloo slipped the word "daddy" out of her mouth back in the crypt... "Bu' Spike, ah got 'ere first! Let me kill 'er! It's only fair." Applebloom argued. "Specter told me to do it! I should get to!" Scootaloo argued back. It was a little disorienting to Sweetie to listen to her friends argue over who got the chance to kill her. As Spike tried to calm the fillies down, Sweetie formulated an escape plan. It was risky, but if her theory was right, it was worth a shot. "Hey Marbles!" Sweetie called to Scootaloo, pointing to . "Check out that mouse over there!" "Huh?" Scootaloo said turning around fearfully in the direction Sweetie pointed. Now was Sweetie's chance. She bolted towards Scootaloo, and pushed her to the sides to the new path of booths. "No!" Spike said, shooting at Sweetie as she ran. His bullets nearly hit the filly's head, but she ducked at every shot she expected. One of the bullets whizzed through her hat and through her mane, nearly cutting through her skull. Scootaloo and Applebloom were ready to give chase to the filly, but Spike held his had up to stop them from pursuit. Despite the fact the filly was escaping, he grinned as he saw what she was running past. As she ran through the next line of booths, which would ultimately take her out of the concession area, he saw a barbecue stand... and behind it, from Spike's angle, three propane tanks. Spike, or rather, the ghost possessing Spike, was around long enough to know what happened when the heat and speed of a bullet pierced gas. Using the remaining piece of ammo in his rifle, he shot one sole propane tank with the accuracy of a hunter. The bullet immediately ignited the gas in the tank, creating a one-second chain explosion right next to Sweetie, who had no chance in dodging. Sweetie screamed over the explosion as it threw her to the side like a rag doll, and out of the sight of her pursuers. Spike put the rifle down to his side, to look at the wall of fire they created. Spike's smile faded after a few moments of admiration. Spike rubbed his neck before turning around, and walking away. "Come on you two." Spike said, heading to the opposite path of booths. "Wha'" Applebloom asked. "Bu' Spi', don't ya think we should check ta see if she ain't dead yet." "No... we have our instructions." Spike said. "But I wanted to fight her again. I want a rematch! That wasn't fair!" Scootaloo argued. "Listen to me you two... if Sweetie is still alive, that's a good thing. The longer she has to mess with her." Spike said. "You've enjoyed playing with that mare so far... imagine what she'll do once she loses her playmate? She'll get bored and come after us. The goal of all of this isn't to kill her as fast as possible. It's to keep her here as long as possible." "Sounds boring if you ask me." Scootaloo said. Spike chuckled. "From what I've seen in that mare, ghost or otherwise, it's never going to get boring. Come on. Let's leave the filly to her next little trial." With that, he cackled as he walked away. The two fillies followed his example and laughed as well... Sweetie moaned in pain on the other side of the flames. She muttered one single word. "...why?" she moaned painfully. "As if I wasn't in enough pain..." Sweetie got back up on her hooves and looked behind her. Her friends were gone... it wasn't particularly comforting to the filly to know that they could be anywhere, but at least they weren't here. In either case, with the wall of flames, the only direction Sweetie could go, was forward. In the meanwhile, she'd learned something. The fears of the ghosts inside of her friends. They were still evident... Can I use that? *** Sweetie had walked down the line of booths generally uninterrupted. She only stopped to look in a booth or two to see if there was anything she could use. Like the rest of the carnival though, there was nothing new enough for the filly. Despite this, there were different games along her path that still looked functional. Namely, a "Test Your Strength" bell, a game labeled "Filly Filling Ponies" and a slingshot game. Sweetie attempted to avoid the three mini-games, and remain focused on reaching the hall of mirrors... though with the lack of impending danger, and the overall boredom of the filly, she couldn't help but get a little side-tracked. Well.... I guess one game wouldn't hurt. Sweetie figured. She'd been spending the entire night capturing ghosts. She thought it would be good for her head to get in some leisure time. Out of curiosity, Sweetie went over to the Belly Filler Pony Game. Sweetie hopped up on the stool in front of the booth. In front of her was a little handle that was connected to a nozzle, similarly shaped like her own GCD. On top of the handle was a button. As she took a hold of the handle, the world around the filly changed back into the new version of the carnival. Sweetie noticed that there was a small crowd of ponies gathered behind her, likely parents of the two colts and filly that sat by her now. The one filly she noticed was Candy. She must have gotten as side tracked as Sweetie on her way to the "Alright you four. You know the name of the game." the pony behind the booth said. "Aim your squirters at the mouths of the ponies here." The pony motioned his hoof over to the figurines of ponies with their mouths agape. Inside of each mouth could be seen a little red mark, made for something to hit it, and inflate the pony. "The one who pops the belly of their little pony first wins! Who's it gonna be?" "Me!" Said one of the colts. "It's gonna be a cinch beating a blank flank like her." Sweetie's attention was briefly brought to Candy's flank. Like herself, her flank was bare, not displaying any cutie mark to speak of. Now that she thought of it, she didn't remember seeing a cutie mark on Marble's plot either. She felt for her, and immediately saw the sign of depression on the filly's face. That look, however, turned quickly from sadness to cockiness and determination. It was something that reminded her a little of her own friends. "You’re gonna eat those words." Candy shot back. "On your mark..." The pony started, bringing Sweetie's attention back to the game at hoof. "Get set... SQUIRT!" Sweetie hit the button, causing a stream of some purple gooey substance to spray from her nozzle. She initially missed the mouth of her pony, driving her back in the race. She quickly re-adjusted her aim, and hit the pony's mouth dead on causing it to fill up. The handle shook, trying to make her lose her aim again. Sweetie kept her aim steady, fueled with the unexplainable determination to beat the colts who'd insulted Candy. The colts however, slipped on their aim, and let the goo go onto the side of the mouth, causing them to be driven back in the race. Candy, unlike either of her opponents, had a very good aim, and didn't let a single drop escape her filly's mouth. It was but a few minutes before a bell went off. "We've got ourselves a winner!" the pony behind the booth said. Candy stuck her tongue out at the colts in victory. The colt closest to Sweetie just looked down, sour in defeat... however, the other colt wouldn't take it. He turned the nozzle over, so it was aiming at Candy, and shot the goo at her. "AH!" Candy screamed as the goo got all over her. The sticky gooey substance covered her, even her main. "G-get it off! GET IT OFF!" The colt didn't foresee this as Candy's reaction, as he and the other colt got down from his stool and backed away from the filly. Madame tried to approach the filly, but before she could, she bolted away in the direction Sweetie was originally headed. Madame gave chase to the filly, remembering what happened the last time her children had been consumed in their fear. As the vision ended, the ponies once again, disappeared, and Sweetie was brought back to the reality of the carnival. Sweetie wondered what had become of the filly, and where she would go now... but the good news was that she was headed in the right direction. If Madame and Candy were still headed to the hall of mirrors, she had to be going in the right direction. Sweetie resisted any lingering urge to check out the other game booths, and went on her way. It wasn't but a few more minutes before Sweetie came to a dead end... or rather, the end of the booth line. In front of her, was a double door. The door said: Mirror Maze- Enter At Your Own Risk. At the side of it, written in pink ectoplasm, were the words This means you Jumpie :D Sweetie gulped. The fear that had been numbed by her constant running prior was returning. She didn't have her camera anymore. Her map was destroyed, leaving her navigation to her own instinct. Worst of all, she still had no clue now to beat Pinkie... she would try, but something in her gut told her without help, she would most definitely fail. Sweetie reached for the door- Sweeeeetie Beeeellleee! Sweetie jumped at the sound of the new voice. It was Pinkie's. "Pinkie?! What do you want now?" Sweetie looked around for the mare, expecting her to pop up anywhere to scare her. Huh? What'd I do? Pinkie giggled. I'm just trying to have a little fun is all. Sorry if I scared you. I guess that act's getting a little stale huh? "Like hay you are..." Something clicked in Sweetie's head. "Wait... say that again." Say that again. "No, I mean... say what you first said. My name." Sweeeeeeetie Beeeellleee? You mean like that? Pinkie asked. "You... you called me Sweetie. Not Jumpie... Sweetie." Sweetie said. Yeah, I kind of wish I'd come up with that, but it sounded kind of mean..." Pinkie said. "I like a good joke once and a while, but I hate making fun of other ponies when their scared. "You’re... you’re the real Pinkie aren't you?" The one and only! Pinkie said happily. I guess the camera thing did work! Sweetie said. The filly figured that since she could communicate with her, there was no point in talking to herself. Why didn't you say anything when I first got you? Sorry Sweetie. I screamed super loud for you, but you didn't hear me. Pinkie said sadly. But hey! We can talk now, right? Are you in the mirror maze? Sweetie asked. Yeah, but let me tell you, it's like a maze down here. Pinkie said. That's what it's called. Sweetie commented. Oh yeah. It is supposed to be a maze isn't it? Pinkie said. Even though Sweetie couldn't see the mare, she could feel her warm smile in her head. Can Pinkie hear you? Sweetie asked. Which Pinkie? Pinkie asked. Which one do you think? Sweetie asked. Well... I can hear you, but I don't think the other one can hear us. She can hear me, but I don't think she's paying attention. She's busy working on a couple things. What? Sweetie asked. I can't tell you. It's a surprise. Pinkie said. You're not serious, are you? Sweetie asked angrily. Sorry Sweetie... but she forced me to Pinkie Swear! It's named after me, I can't break that. Pinkie said. Would you break a Sweetie Belle Promise? I don't think so. But she's going to try and KILL ME! Sweetie argued. Yeah... but I'm sure you'll be able to take care of it. Plus, you'll have me to cheer you on! Pinkie chirped happily. Sweetie Belle was beginning to get another headache, this time out of annoyance. She used the tip of her GCD nozzle as a make-shift ice-pack. She took a deep breath... at least she had the mare's support. Well... do you have anything that you could tell me that's remotely useful? Sweetie asked. Well, if how to capture me counts, then yeah! Pinkie said happily. How? Fight fire with fire. What? Sweetie asked. She's been scaring you all night, right? Why not return the favor? Scare her? Yeah! I always love a good scare. If you do that, maybe I could convince myself to let down my guard for you to have at me! Pinkie said. But what about your Pinkie sense? I can't even touch you with that. Sweetie said. Hm... good point... but her Pinkie sense works differently from mine. Sure she can expect stuff, but only by breaking the fourth wall. The what? Maybe I could distract her from the story, long enough for you to give her a good BOO! I have no clue what the hay you’re talking about Pinkie... but if it's a plan, I'm good for it. Happy to hear Sweetie. Just get through the maze, and you'll find her. M'kay? Good luck Sweetie! I'm here for you all the way. Sweetie smiled. It was refreshing to have a companion that would be with her in her battle to capture Pinkie... but something told the filly that her presence wouldn't make things any easier... Sweetie opened up the door to the mirror maze, and walked inside. As she entered, the doors behind her slammed shut, encasing her in darkness. Great. Now what? Why not use you hoofty doofty note- I mean flashlight? Pinkie asked. But it's not working. Sweetie said. Have you checked? Pinkie asked. ... Sweetie went into her saddlebags to take out her flashlight. She found it was switched off. Um... Pinkie... she didn't- Just switch it off? Yeah... Pinkie said. Sweetie sighed. She turned it on and shined it around. She looked behind her to find that her exit was gone, replaced by mirrors... but this wasn't what scared the filly. Sweetie walked closer to the mirror her flashlight was bouncing off of. Something wrong Sweetie? Pinkie asked. Sweetie couldn't think as she looked herself in the mirror. For what she saw wasn't the white filly she knew... but a freak. You look stupid anyways Sweetie remembered Scootaloo saying. At first, she'd just assumed it to be another insult... but it was true. She did look kind of stupid. For on her coat... were cutie marks. Not one, not two, not three... but four extremely familiar cutie marks. On the left side of her flank, there was Applejack's cutie mark of three apples. On her right hind leg was Rainbow's cutie mark of the rainbow bolt. On her left eye was what she recognized to be Fluttershy's cutie mark of three butterflies. Finally, right below her own horn, was Twilight's star cutie mark. "No way... their cutie marks... how... why...?" Sweetie thought. Twilight was right. Her friends' cutie marks didn't just disappear... they were attached to her. Sweetie... where and how did you get those? I... I don't know. Sweetie mind was brought back to the Cutie Pox incident, where Applebloom was given random cutie marks and took up their talents. Well... can you use 'em? Pinkie asked. Maybe... but I'm not really sure how... Sweetie responded. Sweetie took a deep breath. Another mystery... she wasn't sure what she was doing with these marks, or what their purpose was... but it didn't change the fact she had to keep moving. In either case, she still had to keep moving... though the question kept coming back, no matter how hard she tried... What in the hay was she doing with these cutie marks? *** Sweetie wandered through the mirror maze. her light bounced around the twists and turns disorienting... Sweetie wasn't sure how long she was wandering around... but she was sure that she'd have gone crazy if it weren't for Pinkie's company. The fact she still had a friend on her side was comforting, even if she wasn't able to help her completely. It almost helped her forget the impending doom that she was headed toward. And that's where foals come from! Pinkie chirped happily. I... I didn't need to know that. Sweetie said shakily. Oh come on! As Twilight always said, knowledge is power! Pinkie said. That's not knowledge, that's just weird. Sweetie said. No it's not, you silly filly! It's natural! You'll do it someday. Sweetie shuddered. Celestia, I hope not. Pinkie giggled in response. I could see you and Spike being a cute couple. No. Just like everyone knows Spike has a crush on Rarity, everyone who really knows Applebloom knows she's got a small crush on Spike. Not me. Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I just thought since you're Rarity's sister and all- No. Sweetie said flatly. Maybe some pony will make more ships you two someday. What are you talking about ships for? Rainbow was right... you are rand- Wait! Pinkie said. Sweetie stopped. What? Sweetie asked. I... I remember this part. Just... just keep going forward. The exit is just down that way on the first left you can find. Pinkie said. Pinkie... what's down there? Sweetie asked, shining her light down the maze. Uh... I... I got to go. Pinkie? Sweetie asked. She didn't want the mare to leave. She didn't want to be alone again. You'll do fine. Just remember to give her a good scare when you hear me again... got it? Especially when I start talking a lot. Hopefully, it'll be harder to read what you'll do next. Also keep whatever you do short and sweet... say, something that could be said in a sentence or so. Don't let it reach farther than one line, ok? Stay brave and safe for me ok? Sweetie nodded, barely understanding what the mare meant. There was silence for a few moments. "...Pinkie?" Sweetie whispered. There was no answer... the mare was gone, and Sweetie was alone again. "Alright Sweetie. Remember what Pinkie said. Stay brave. Stay safe." Sweetie took a deep breath and kept walking. She wanted to get out of the mirrored maze as fast as possible. She didn't have a good track record with too many mirrors in one place that night. Jumpie... dear, is that you? It was Pinkie again... but Sweetie knew very well this wasn't the real Pinkie. She spoke in a different voice. Sweetie figured she was trying to mimic Rarity's. "No point in trying it Pinkie. I know it's you." Sweetie called back to the voice down the way, not stopping for it. "What are you talking about dear? It's me." Pinkie said back... then Sweetie saw something, lying along her way. A pony with a white coat and purple mane. It didn't glow or move... it was Rarity's body. What the hay... Sweetie thought as she approached the body. There was a chill down her spine... there were ghosts around her... but the question became where? "Sweetie dear... what are you doing here? Why don't you just play by the rules like Pinkie asked so kindly?" Sweetie stood over the corpse of her sister. Her cutie mark was grayed out, as Sweetie expected, proving she was dead. Sweetie had learned back in Cherielee's class that discolor of the cutie mark usually showed signs of death or dying for a pony. Sweetie touched the body of her sister. It was cold... ice cold. The body's eyes opened up wide, showing a glowing green. Rarity's corpse grabbed Sweetie and wrapped its fore legs around her. Sweetie screamed as the ghost inside of Rarity laughed. Sweetie's flashlight dropped out of her muzzle and faced where she was coming from. Sweetie squirmed to escape the corpse's grasp. "Oh, hush now dear. It's fine. Relax... its fine... relax." Sweetie screamed. "Quit yer squirmin filly." came the voice of Applebloom from down the hall. "Jus' let it happen already." Sweetie saw the shadow of Applebloom as she approached. Her shadow was joined by Scootaloo's and Spikes. Sweetie squirmed as hard as she could. She thought... did she still have anything in her GCD to help her? There weren't any ghosts, so the Spectral Throwback wouldn't work... but maybe she could use the Elemental Capture... did she possibly have any bit of water in her GCD to use it? Sweetie managed to free one of her fore arm, and get her GCD nozzle. She switched it to Elemental Capture and pointed it behind her at Rarity's head. Something in Sweetie didn't want to have to do this to her sister, even if it was just her corpse. Even if she still had a chance to bring her sister back... it still didn't feel right doing anything to her body. Sweetie shook off the feeling and hit the nozzle button. She moved her head to the side, narrowly dodging the mist of freezing cold. Rarity's head was frozen within seconds, and Sweetie's right ear, was freezing cold. None the less, it was enough for Rarity's corpse to let go of her, and fall down to the ground. Once it hit, Rarity's head was shattered into pieces. Though there was no blood, the sight was extremely disturbing to the filly... Sweetie quickly got over the fallen corpse that was once her sister, and grabbed her flashlight. She bolted in the opposite direction of her pursuers, who laughed as she ran. Left! Left! Where the hay is that left! Sweetie panicked Sweetie checked each panel, hoping to find some kind of opening... finally she found it! There was one mirror missing from the wall to her left that turned into another pathway. This pathway, Sweetie could see light coming from a small opening. It looked like the window to another door. Sweetie ran as fast as she could, as she heard the hoofsteps of her friends close behind her. As she hit the door with her shoulder, she burst through onto the ground outside, as the doors once again closed behind her. She panted for breath as she lie outside. The wind and pink sky indicated she was back outside again. Strangely enough, being outside deactivated her light again. From what she could tell, she was in an entirely different part of the carnival. The only thing out here... was a rounded building. It looked as though it was meant so the ponies outside could see inside, however, it was blanketed with a large white sheet. The sheet reminded the filly of the mansion's abandoned look... did that mean she was getting close to escaping? Knowing Pinkie though, it wasn't going to be that easy. Sweetie figured it was her only lead, so she approached the building. Upon closer examination, in front of the sheet, she saw the name of the building on a sign, which said: Merry-Go-Round. Sweetie had heard of these types of rides, and how they were banned from amusement parks across Equestria. After all, it was basically a pony with a rod stuck through it. "What kind of weirdoes would want to ride something like this?" Sweetie said. She looked around as though some pony might have heard that... maybe it was just her own paranoia acting up again. Sweetie took a deep breath as she lifted the sheet to go under and into the ride. As she'd expected, it was dark inside. Sweetie was about to re-activate her flashlight, but she stopped as she heard something... it was a voice. No doubt about it, it was Pinkie... and Pinkie. She could vaguely hear them talking in the distance and figured neither of them had detected her yet. Sweetie remembered what Pinkie had told her. She had to keep her movements short as a sentence, whatever that meant, sneak up on Pinkie and give her some kind of scare... if that was even possible to do with the mare. Sweetie figured she could use the volume of their voices to figure out their location. There was no room for error here... she couldn't get caught. Sweetie took a deep breath before blindly walking up stairs in the darkness, and onto the Merry-Go-Round. The Pinkies giggled. "And then Specter was like 'Oh, kill this filly. Nueh nyeh nyeh nyeh' and I was like, are you CRAZY? I'm not gonna pass up an opportunity to mess with her now you know?" Sweetie took a few steps, trying to keep them short, sweet and especially quiet. I know! Some ponies just have to loosen up a bit The real Pinkie chirped back. Like back at the bakery, Mr. Cake was always "This amount of sugar this" or Mrs. Cake was like "This amount of flour that" Sweetie took a few more steps, nearly losing her balance at one point. Have you ever thought about throwing some kind of ghostie party? I'm sure Specter would love that! Pinkie suggested. "I did! But he said only when the Elements were 'erased' whatever that meant." the ghost Pinkie responded back. "He said his life depended on it." Sweetie found herself hearing the voices getting softer, so she stopped. Why is your boss such a serious silly? the real Pinkie said back. He really needs to learn how to have some fun! He needs a party Sweetie turned around and headed in her new direction, hoping she was going the right way again. "You don't think I don't know? I've gotta hear him all night complain about this and that and don't do this and don't do that... it gets kind of annoying... maybe once this is all over, I'll really give him a party he won't forget" Pinkie said, with a certain sinister tone to her voice. The voices were as loud as Sweetie had heard. She figured she was as close as she'd get. Oooh! Will you let me come? Pinkie asked. "You're much more fun than your friends, you know?" Pinkie said happily. "But what else would I expect? I'm the funest person I-" "BOO!" Sweetie yelled. Pinkie screamed, as she fell out of thin air... or rather phased out of something in the darkness Sweetie couldn't see. She laid on the ground, as though she had just gotten a heart attack. "Um... Pinkie?" Sweetie asked. "Did I-" Wait for it... the real Pinkie said. It started out as a small, weak giggle... then it turned into a stronger, much more Pinkie like giggle... then finally, it turned laugh... and finally an insane cackle, which drove Sweetie a step back. Pinkie floated into the air, laughing until she was fairly above. "Pinkie, it's not-" Wait for it. "That was a GREAT scare Jumpie!" the ghost mare exclaimed happily. "I've haven't been that surprised since... EVER! I didn't think you could-" DING! I got it! Sweetie! NOW! An instinct in Sweetie activated immediately. She took up her GCD nozzle, switched it to such and hit the button, aiming it at Pinkie. "Gotcha!" Sweetie said. With that, Sweetie was starting to get dragged along by Pinkie. 40, 39, 38, 37... the grey colored GCD on her back said. The thing that didn't make Sweetie feel comfortable, besides she had no will over where Pinkie dragged her, was the sheer fact... she was barely even putting up a fight. Rather than truly making an attempt to fly away, she flew on her back, gripping her stomach. She was giggling. "Stop it!" She said between giggles. "That tickles!" "This isn't supposed to be fun, you know!" Sweetie said annoyed, as she was dragged in circles around the Merry-Go-Round. Something was wrong. Sure, this was Pinkie's ghost, but Sweetie didn't think she'd be laughing as she was sucked into the GCD. 30, 29, 26... the GCD said. As it continued to count down, and Sweetie was still dragged around the ride, Sweetie got the feelings of dizziness and paranoia. She was going to get captured, but she didn't even seem to give a buck. Sweetie tried to yank the GCD nozzle back to quicken the capture... but it wasn't working! Every time Sweetie yanked, the GCD didn't change its pace in count down at all, as though she weren't even yanking to begin with. There was something definitely fishy here... 20, 19- "Ok, that's good enough!" Pinkie said. She abruptly changed her direction and charged at Sweetie. Out of surprise and fear, Sweetie barely dodged to her right, causing her to let go of her GCD button. The capture was broken. So close! Pinkie said. "I'll admit, using me to distract me from you was a great plan... and you were doing so well too." Pinkie said. "Ah well... maybe if you play by the rules this time, I'll give you another chance." Sweetie! You have to- "Aaaand that's enough from you." Pinkie said to herself. Sweetie! Don't give up! You can do it! You- Her voice sounded muffled... and then it was gone. "Pinkie?! What did you do to her?!" Sweetie asked angrily. "Oh don't get your hose in a knot. She's fine. I just pushed her a liiitle further into my sub-conscious. Now, we won't have any more intrusions in our game. Now that that's taken care of, we can continue. Meet me at the next area, once you've had a little fun with your friends, kay? Don't leave ti'll it's time." Pinkie disappeared from Sweetie's sight before any other words could be exchanged. Sweetie wanted to give chase to the mare, but she knew better than to disobey her order. She had to stay on the Merry-Go-Round until it was time... Time for what though? Sweetie thought. The filly activated her flashlight and looked around. The ride was just as it had been described to her when she'd learned about them. There were ponies made out of metal, and painted over attached to rods in a galloping position... but there were 5 ponies that were incredibly jarring to Sweetie. It was her friend's bodies... they were on the rods, their bodies in between plates on the end of their own rods, holding them in place. For a moment, Sweetie assumed the worst... that her friends had once again been turned into ghosts, or worse. Then she noticed, each of them had their own grayed out cutie mark, indicating they were her friend's old bodies. They were still dead bodies, but the fact they weren't her friends, or technically any pony for that matter, made Sweetie feel a little better. Suddenly music started to play on the Merry-Go-Round. It was starting to spin. "Oh boy..." Sweetie said, readying her flashlight. She felt a chill down her spine... there were ghosts coming. She heard the laughter of the ghosts echo on the walls of the ride. She looked around, expecting one or another to pop up at any time... but then, she heard a metallic click. Her attention was turned to her friends' old bodies. The rods holding them up by their torsos had shifted slightly, freeing them from the piston like rod. They all fell off of their posts, and got up... Sweetie laughed nervously. "You have got to be kidding me." From their mouths, they dripped red glowing ectoplasm, like a drooling hungry dog. Their eyes glowed red as well... they must have been being possessed by some ghost dogs... Sweetie contemplated using the ectoplasm they drooled as ammunition, but figured that there was too little for her to create anything. All she could hope, was that one of the ghosts that were giggling would show up. Sweetie's friends closed in on the filly, each of them grinning their own sick grin. One of them even barked at Sweetie. "Uh... nice doggies?" Sweetie said. Finally, one of the bodies, Twilight, leaped for the filly. Sweetie dodged to the left as it rammed into Applejack's body and threw them both off of the spinning ride. She herd them fall through the blanket, but she didn't see them get back up, or even make any sound indicating them hitting the ground. For once, Sweetie was happy she'd followed the ghost Pinkie's orders, for now, she was surrounded by some bottomless pit of no return. She couldn't leave now. "Never did think you'd make a good dog anyway." Sweetie mumbled to herself. Rainbow barked at Sweetie and lunged to bite her. Though the mare wasn't as fast as the real Rainbow, she did catch the filly off guard, and managed to land a on her hind leg. "OW!" Sweetie said, as she attempted to shake Rainbow off of her. Being mainly a vegan society, ponies commonly didn't have as sharp as teeth as K-9s, so thankfully, the bite didn't do any real damage to Sweetie's leg. It didn't change the fact it hurt like hay. Sweetie shook Rainbow off, only to be rammed in the head by Pinkie Pie, and nearly knocked off of the ride. Sweetie got up. She had to get rid of her friends bodies and soon. The last thing she wanted was to fall into the abyss she was likely around. Suddenly, like a bat out of hell, a foal ghost flew through the curtain, and tried to attack Sweetie. She got out of the way, just in time. Sweetie thought for a moment, as she looked at the foal ghost... what could it do again? It was then, an idea lit up into Sweetie's head. "Hey baby! Bet you can't hit me!" Sweetie taunted the ghost. The yellow foal ghost laughed and spit its yellow ectoplasm at her. Sweetie dodged as the ooze spread over the surface she was previously standing on. The filly sucked up the ectoplasm before jumping back to dodge another blast from the foal ghost. The first red light on the back of her GCD went green. She sucked it up as well. "Come on! You've got to do better than that! Hit me foal! One more time!" Sweetie yelled. The ghost gave one more hefty spit at Sweetie, who dodged it and sucked up right out of the air. Warning. GCD capacity at 50 percent Now to take care of you. Sweetie thought. She swept her flashlight in an upward direction to hit the foal. DING! Sweetie caught the ghost in the grasp of her GCD. As the GCD counted down, Sweetie was dragged past her friend's walking corpses. She did her best to drive herself and the ghost away from the edge of the Merry-Go-Round. ...5, 4, yank!,3210. Capturing ghost. the GCD said. The foal was then dragged into the confines of the spectral containment pack on her back. As she screeched to a stop, she whirled around to find her friends, simultaneously charging at her. The white filly didn't waste any time in switching to her Spectral Throwback function and aiming at her friends. Much like with Rarity in the mirror maze, it felt weird pointing her device at her friend's... she shook off the feeling and shot the GCD at them. The force of each shot she fired at the mare's corpses was enough to knock them each off of the Merry-Go-Round before they could get close enough to the filly. Once they were gone, the adrenaline in Sweetie's veins began to wear off, her heart was beating slower and calmer. She was okay... for now. As the music ended, and the ride stopped spinning, Sweetie heard Pinkie's giggle echo in the Merry-Go-Round, as though there were millions of her surrounding the filly. Suddenly, Sweetie's light went out and she was consumed in darkness once again. Before she could try and activate her light, she saw something. The walls of darkness she was around fell... literally. Like panels of cardboard, segments of darkness fell around the Merry-Go-Round, revealing a new path. In front of the ride, Sweetie noticed a new path had appeared... it lead to a mansion. Not the Yield manor the filly had first walked in on, but a mansion all the same. Was she even still in the carnival anymore? Having no other option, and there being no other building in sight, Sweetie hopped off of the platform of the Merry-Go-Round and headed for the mansion, sure she wouldn't like what she found once she got there. Sweetie walked along the path, having a slight sense of deja-vu as she walked... almost expecting to hear a ghostly "Boo" from behind. She looked around, feeling the chill, and seeing the cold mist come from her mouth. "Been here before Jumpie?" Pinkie's voice echoed in the wood that surrounded the path to the mansion. Sweetie ignored it, focusing her way to the mansion. She walked up the steps to the door... they weren't stone, rather they were cheap concrete... it was then Sweetie noticed a new sign on the door: Haunted Mansion- Enter If You Dare! "Bet you wish you got a warning like that before you came here, huh Jumpie?" Pinkie said. Sweetie didn't think, knowing while the mare was around, there was no point in doing so. She might as well be talking to herself... she did however hesitate when she went for the knob to the haunted mansion. "Aw, c'mon Sweetie. Don't be scared. I promise nothing's gonna kill you when you open that door." Pinkie reassured. "... probably." Sweetie took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Suddenly, a jack in the box popped in front of her at the door, causing her to jump back, and nearly out of her own skin. Pinkie laughed as the filly's heart thumped in her chest. "I didn't say nothing was gonna scare you!" Pinkie said laughing. Sweetie shook her head, regaining her composure. "You’re a jerk." Sweetie said. "I know." Pinkie chirped back. Sweetie moved the jack in the box to the side, and shined her flashlight inside of the mansion. The foyer, rather than being decorated with portraits like the Yield, there were bars and ropes, made for ponies that might wait in line for a ride. Sweetie moved past the bars and ropes to the front. "Are you skipping in line Sweetie?" "No one else is here!" Sweetie said. At the front, Sweetie saw a cart, made for ponies to sit in. It was much smaller than the Ferris wheel cart, and seemed to be made for two or three ponies just her size. On the platform behind it was a small control panel, likely controlling the cart. Against her better judgment, she went inside to investigate. "But what about me? How do you know you didn't cut past me and other ponies? We're all just a bunch of invisible ghosties anyway!" Pinkie said. "Oh! I know!" Suddenly, something around Sweetie's hind hooves clamped around them. "W-what the?!" Sweetie exclaimed. She looked at her hind hooves to find they had been chained to the cart. As it closed, she found that she was trapped. Pinkie then materialized next to the filly. "We can ride together! What do you say?" Pinkie asked. Sweetie simply responded with grunts, as she tried to free herself from her restraints to no avail. "Great! Now, we're gonna play a new kind of game. Want to know how to play?" Sweetie gave up on freeing herself, and hung her head in defeat. Once again, she was left only with the option to play along with Pinkie's games. "What?" Sweetie asked. "We're gonna play a game to test your aim all the same and get you fame!" Pinkie said happily. "What?" Sweetie asked. "Let's see how you do without your GCD's vacuum and your flashlight. It isn't going to work here. Isn't that right flashy?" Pinkie asked the flashlight. The flashlight flickered out. The only thing Sweetie could see now, was Pinkie's glowing body. "H-how did you do that?" Sweetie asked. "I'm Pinkie Pie! How else?" Pinkie chirped. Of course. Because that totally makes sense. Sweetie thought sarcastically. "Anyway, the name of the game is survival. Ghosties here are gonna try to kill you. Your mission, if you choose to accept it... well, not choose really, more like forced to accept... is to make it to the end of this ride, with your soul." Pinkie said. "But how am I supposed to fight ghosts with flashlight like this?!" Sweetie argued. "You'll figure it out. You’re the smartest ghost-hunting filly I know!" Pinkie said. "Wait... you’re the ONLY ghost-hunting filly I know. I guess that isn't saying much huh?" Pinkie gave a good long laugh. "Well, enough stalling. Let's get this show on the road!" Sweetie didn't have her flashlight to defend herself from any ghosts... only her GCD. It was likely empty of anything she could use... maybe there'd be something on the track? Pinkie looked at the cart panel and the red lever switched on. Lights scattered dimly along the mansion ride came on as the cart started to move down its track. Pinkie and Sweetie started heading down the way, further into the haunted mansion. "Here we go..." Sweetie mumbled. Pinkie didn't say anything. She just looked ahead of them, grinning in excitement of what was to come. The track clacked below them, and occasionally made a rusty squeaking noise indicating is age and instability. Sweetie imagined it could be easily taken off of the track if given enough force. She kept that in mind as she rode out of the lit part of the ride, into the darker segment. Lightning flashed to the side of the filly, drawing her attention to some portraits. Candles flickered at the sides of the portraits of the creepy looking ponies. Unlike the mansion she was originally in, none of them looked familiar to the filly. She figured they were just there for tension purposes, preparing for a- "AH!" Pinkie screamed as they both heard a large crack of thunder. As though on cue, the paintings changed into drooped melted versions of their originals. Sweetie was too scared to scream, as she wasn't sure what scared her more: the ride, or Pinkie's own high-pitched scream. Sweetie thought of saying something to the mare, but decided it was pointless. The only thing she'd try to do was scare the filly more. Pinkie giggled as the lights went out again. "Aw, don't tell me you’re scared already. We just started!" "I-I'm not scared." Sweetie lied. Another flash of lighting brought the attention of the two mares. It was by a table, with ponies heads face down on their plates. Another crack of lightning caused them to transition into skeletons... this time however, Sweetie noticed something glowing inside of 2 of the skeletons. Out of curiosity, Sweetie attempted to suck up the substances inside of the skeletal systems. Through the bones, she sucked up what she assumed to be ectoplasm. Her suspicions were confirmed when the first GCD light on her back lit up. I could use this... Sweetie thought. The filly looked at Pinkie, who merely smiled. Sweetie was having a hard time figuring out wither she was smiling at the filly for figuring out how to defend herself... or what she had planned for her ahead. Sweetie sucked up the second bit of ectoplasm, knowing she'd need as much as she could get. As she turned back to face the path ahead, only to be scared by a ghost that popped up in front of them. It giggled maniacally. "AH!" Sweetie screamed. She pointed her GCD at the ghost and hit the nozzle button. Rather than the sound of ectoplasm being expelled from the GCD, Sweetie heard the vacuum noise. It was then she realized that this wasn't a real ghost. It was just another prop, with a light inside of it to make it appear like the ghost was glowing. It wasn't real, but it also didn't make the filly feel any better. If she had switched to her GCD Spectral Throwback earlier, her fear would have caused her to waste her precious ammunition. She'd have to be more careful... if she were to run out of ectoplasm, she would be done for. Sweetie felt them turn in the darkness, likely down another part of the track. In front of the cart, on the ride's track the filly could vaguely see splatters of ectoplasm on the tracks. She sucked it up, causing her GCD to indicate it was half full. "Or half empty if you want to be negative." Pinkie said. On either side, Sweetie heard the sounds of glass breaking on either side of her. She looked around in the darkness, trying to determine where her next ghost would pop up. She switched her GCD to the Spectral Throwback, ready to hit any ghost that tried to pop out at her. Sweetie felt a chill up her spine, different from the one she'd been constantly feeling from Pinkie who sat right beside her. There was definitely another ghost close by... but it wasn't in front of her. Sweetie knew that the ghosts weren't beyond sneaking up behind her to get at her, even if she was chained down. Sweetie forced her torso around to see behind her, and sure enough, there was a butler ghost flying at her. Sweetie didn't waste any time in aiming at the specter, and shooting the ghost down with the GCD. "Not bad." Pinkie said. Sweetie! Front! Pinkie said. "Huh? I thought I got rid of you." Pinkie said. Sweetie whirled back to the front of the cart, and saw that there were two ghosts, a butler and a foal ghost, ready to upchuck at the filly. Sweetie wasted no time in switching back to her vacuum function. In barely enough time, she managed to hit the nozzle button and suck up the yellow ectoplasm out of the air as it was hurled at her. It entered her GCD as it indicated its capacity once again. Sweetie switched back to her throwback and hit the butler ghost as it tried to get close to her. The foal ghost spat at Sweetie again, which she caught again with her GCD's vacuum. The foal ghost gave up on trying to hit Sweetie from a range and charged at the filly. She fired her GCD at the foal and caused it to disappear. Pinkie? You still there? Sweetie thought. "Sorry. Guess she's a little more slippery than I thought. Don't worry Jumpie. She won't bother us again." Pinkie chirped happily. Pinkie! If you can hear me, I'm gonna get you out of there! Ok? Sweetie thought, hoping the mare, despite her lack of speech, could still hear the filly inside of the pink ghost mare's mind. "Anyway, that was really good!" Pinkie continued. "Let's say we step it up a notch. Kay?" Against most laws of physics, even in the ghost world, Pinkie snapped her hoof. On cue, the cart started to speed up. Lights flashed in the mansion, as though it were trying to give the filly a seizure. The rust sound below the cart, as it gained in volume and frequency, was maddening to the filly. She covered her head and ears for a moment, trying to block out the loud sounds of the cart. The suddenly... it stopped. "Hey Jumpie. Like roller coasters?" Pinkie asked. "What? No, I don't like them. What are you-" Sweetie asked as she put her head back up. The world around her had changed again. The pink ghostly sky was now visible again. Now, Sweetie was on a new track acceding, like Pinkie mentioned, like a roller coaster. In the distance, Sweetie could see ghosts flying around them. They were too far to tell what kinds they were, or if they were real or not... but it seemed like there were thousands of them. It horrified the filly. "W-where are we?! Where did you take us?!" Sweetie asked panicked. "This isn't the carnival! Where are we?!" "Calm down Jumpie. We're still the same place we've always been." Pinkie said. No it's not! It's different! Sweetie thought. It didn't make sense. Was Pinkie doing all of this? Could she alter reality so drastically?... Then Sweetie came back to the thought... was this even real? Finally they made it to the top of the roller coaster. From there, Sweetie could see the entire track. It wasn't made of one single track however. It looked like down the line, there were other tracks that stemmed throughout the world like a wildly growing vine. Random items, such as china, paintings, chairs, beds, you name it, floated in the air along the track. There were many twists and turns that Sweetie could notice,.. but Sweetie did see an exit: a gate at the end of the ride she couldn't quite see past. The two of them were up on the top of the tracks for a good 10 seconds... before the cart started to dip down. "Oh no..." Sweetie said to herself. "Here we goooooooooo!" Pinkie said happily behind Sweetie's scream as they flew down the track. Their rapid decline was too much for the filly to be able to think at all in those few seconds. She was caught between the normal adrenaline pump that came with riding in a roller coaster, and the instability that made her think the cart as going to fly off of the tracks at their first turn. Thankfully, once the cart leveled out and came to the turn, it smoothed in, somehow managing to remain on the tracks. The track turned into a portion of the ride that had other tracks stretching alongside it. HeheHAHAHAHA! There was another foal ghost to her left, accompanied by two butlers. Sweetie tried to stable herself as much as she could to aim at the new hostiles. As usual, the foal ghost tried to spit at the filly, which she sucked up with the GCD. As the foal was preparing its second spit, Sweetie took the time to shoot one of the butlers... then she heard something to the right side of her. Grrrrr.... BARK Sweetie's attention was broken from the two other ghosts and brought to the track to the right of her. There was a red, glowing K9 running alongside her cart. "Not you again." Sweetie said. The K9 barked again before leaping at the filly. Blindly, having no time to aim, she managed to hit the dog at the leg, sending it flying off to the side. Before Sweetie could turn back around to face her new butler and foal enemies, something slimy hit the back of her head, causing it to be thrown down onto the seat of the cart. Her head was thrown onto the seat of the ghost mare sitting right beside her. It wasn't as cold as Rainbow's ghost form, but it was cold enough for her teeth to chatter in the mare. "Get your head out of my plot!" Pinkie giggled. "You've got ghosts to fight." Sweetie panicked as she tried to release her head from the gelatin like substance that stuck her inside of the mare's body. Sweetie took a moment to breath, which helped her remember earlier that night. It wasn't the first time she'd been caught in the goo after all. She used her GCD to suck off the goo over her head... 18, 17, 16... the GCD said. Sweetie realized something... the numbers didn't count down when she sucked up the ectoplasm. Did that mean... that she was catching Pinkie? Was the Pinkie inside keeping the ghost mare's shield broken? Pinkie realized this at the same time the filly did. "Oh no you don't." She smiled, flying off of the cart, breaking away from the grasp of the GCD. "I'll see you later Jumpie." And like that, she was gone. Sweetie sucked the remaining ectoplasm off of her head, just in time for her to get back up and suck out another bit of the substance out of the air. The butler ghost was just a few feet from her face once she did. She switched back to her throwback and blasted it out of the air just as it was about to phase through her. The foal ghost spat again, and Sweetie sucked again. Sweetie caught another bit of spit before something clicked in her head: The last time she spent so much time trying to catch the ecto-spit from the ghosts, it had given up entirely on trying to hit the filly with it... why was it so persistent now? Behind you. Something said in Sweetie's head. It wasn't Pinkie, rather it was an instinct she felt. It was then she heard a second clatter of wheels along a track... they weren't her own however. Off of an impulse, she shot the foal ghost out of the air with the GCD. She whirled back to her left, to find that not only had the right track branched off further from hers, but there was a giant emerald green fireball headed for her cart. "No way!" Sweetie yelled, ducking in the cart. The fireball hit the cart with so much heat and force, Sweetie felt it on one wheel, tipping to the side, ready to fall off of the tracks. Sweetie managed to use her own weight, stretching her body across the cart, to push both wheels back onto the track. She popped up over the cart door to see her suspicions confirmed. Her friends were riding in a second cart to her right. Spike stood, aiming his mouth at the filly's own cart. Sweetie had to do something. If she took another hit like that, she was almost sure she'd tumble off the track. Sweetie thought of trying to hit her friend's own carts, but knew that if she did, they might get tipped off themselves. It was a simpler solution... but the filly couldn't even bear the thought of possibly killing her friends. Sweetie had to think. There had to be another way to stop her friends from causing her to fall into the pink abyss below her... then she got an idea. The foal ghost had stuck her head to the seat by simply hitting her at the top of her head, around her mane line. If she could hit Spike in the forehead before he blew another fireball at her, she might stick him to their own cart. Sweetie aimed carefully. The cart was a pretty fair distance away... too far for Sweetie to aim efficiently. She fired one shot of the GCD. She missed, causing Applebloom and Scootaloo to laugh at her failure. Sweetie crossed her eyes, now even more determined to hit Spike. She fired a second shot... she honestly expected it to miss, but she managed to hit Spike dead on in the forehead. A lucky shot to say the least. At first, she was afraid she might have knocked him off the cart, but when she saw that there wasn't a small purple dragon falling anywhere, and that the two fillies had ceased laughing, and were now looking down at the cart, she knew she'd succeeded. The roller coaster cart turned again, away from her friend's track... something told the filly that she was going to see them again very soon. After all, they'd pursued her up to this point. Sweetie looked forward and saw the gate was there. She'd made it. She aimed at the center of the gate, shooting it to make it swing open. She headed through, into the darkness. The gate closed behind the filly, putting her back in the dark. The roller coaster cart slowed to a stop, as Sweetie's flashlight, which at some point she'd dropped to the cart floor, flickered back on. Sweetie's shackles were released and the door of the cart opened. "Glad that's finally over. No more amusement park rides for me." Sweetie said to herself as she picked up her flashlight and walked out of the cart she'd hope she'd never have to set foot in again. She found her hooves on a new surface... it was made of wood. Ok... now what? Where do I go from here? She didn't take but a few steps forward before something hit her in the back of the head. Sweetie fell, knocked out in the darkness. *** Sweetie woke up, once again in darkness. Her body ached, and she could swear her ears were playing tricks on her, for what she heard was the sound of hundreds of ponies around her... kind of like a crowd. "Mmmmm...." Sweetie moaned painfully, getting back up on all four hooves. As her nerves woke up with her, she noticed something about her. Around her neck, and apart of where her mane was supposed to be, she felt something fluffy around it, kind of like cotton... no, not cotton... hair. When Sweetie tried to pull it off, it was stuck there. It was as though some pony had super-glued it all around her neck... Sweetie also noticed something else strange. Her muzzle had something round stuck to it, with smaller hairs sticking out of it. "What the hay...?" "Ladies and Gentlecolts! Welcome! To the greatest show in Equestria!" Pinkie said. It was then a light came on below Sweetie... and that she realized what kind of situation she was in. Far below her, she could see Pinkie, in the spotlight. She was wearing some kind of circus announcer outfit from what Sweetie could tell. Either Sweetie was really high up, or Pinkie was in some kind of pit. "Today, for your viewing pleasure! A live lion! Will walk across a tightrope, or fall to her death." L-lion? Where? Sweetie thought. The last thing she wanted to have to deal with such a large ghost cat. Suddenly, a spotlight from below shined on the filly, allowing her to see herself. She was in some kind of lion outfit, in a circus performer's tights. "W-what the hay?!" Sweetie yelled. Sweetie heard the crowd in the darkness cheer. The blinding spotlight that shined on her kept her vision limited, only being able to see what was immediately around her. She was atop some kind of wooden platform, connected to a large pole. Attached to the platform was a tightrope, which Sweetie assumed led to another platform across from her. "Give our Jumpie lion a round of applause and a good cheer every pony! It just might be the last she'll ever get!" Pinkie said. Some of the crowd of ponies cheered and clapped, their hooves together, but most of them simply laughed at the filly's situation. Sweetie checked her back... her GCD, her saddlebags and even Applejack's hat were gone. "W-what did you do with my stuff?!" Sweetie yelled at Pinkie. "Now folks, I know what you’re thinking. How could a fat scardy cat like that possibly want to cross a tightrope?" Did she just call me fat? Sweetie thought. "Well, let's just say we've given our little kitty a little... incentive to get across." Pinkie said. My stuff... Sweetie figured. "And if she doesn't get across in time... let's just say there'll be consequences. Doesn't that sound fun ya'll?" Pinkie asked. The crowd roared in response, ready for the show. She doesn't honestly expect me to tightrope! I can't do that!... Can I? Sweetie thought. She didn't have the best balance of any filly she knew... possibly some of the worst. Then again, she did have her friends' talents. If somehow, she could use one of them, could she possibly balance her way across the rope? She thought... Applejack's talent involved bucking apples... Fluttershy's talent involved care for animals... Rainbow's talent involved weather and speed... and Twilight's talent was magic. If only Sweetie had Pinkie's talent, as the mare had perfect balance, and also had a habit of breaking the laws of gravity... but then again, if she had Pinkie's talent, she wouldn't be in the situation in the first place. The she remembered... gravity. She remembered Twilight knew many spells, one of which was a gravity reducing spell, which caused the one it was casted upon, to disobey the laws of Equestrian gravity for a short amount of time. When Sweetie first saw it in one of her books, she had no idea what it meant... but now, thinking back on it, she did remember a few spell casting marks, symbols that represented magical spells, that now made sense to her. They were weak in her mind, and barely there... but they were present. Maybe she could lighten herself just enough for her to be able to get across with those few symbols... It was Sweetie's only chance at getting across... Sweetie took a breath and closed her eyes, visualizing the markings. Her horn glowed faintly... though she felt a bit more in control of her magic with Twilight's mark, her magic was still limited. She didn't have nearly as much magic as the mare, and barely had enough to cast the spell. Weakly, she managed to cast the spell on herself, causing her body to glow for a moment. Once it was done, she cut off her small flow of magic with a hefty sigh... did it work? Sweetie didn't have any more time to waste. She had to get across the tightrope as quickly as possible. Who knew what Pinkie had planned if she started to bore the mare. Just don't look down Sweetie... don't look down... Sweetie started to walk across the rope, leaving the spotlight. It was hard to see due to the sudden change in light, but she could still see the rope ahead of her. As she did, she started to hear piano music from below... she assumed it was Spike, given he had already displayed his knack for the instrument. Still though, she never thought he could play so quickly... As she walked, she noticed that her balance had increased, thanks to the lack of gravity trying to pull her down. Still however, she couldn't risk misplacing one hoof on the thin tightrope. Why a circus anyway? What the hay happened to the carnival? Sweetie wondered, doing her best to keep from looking anywhere but her own tightrope. Maybe it was because she wanted the author wanted to mix up the story a little bit. Pinkie suggested. It was the real Pinkie. Pinkie?! Is that- Shhh! She can still hear us. Just keep going. You need to wind up the music box! The what? What are you- Can't talk. She might really mess me up if she finds I escaped again. Pinkie said. Just get to the other side, and watch out. Watch out for what? Pinkie didn't respond. She was gone again. What did she mean by winding up the music box? the last music box she'd used was back in Specter's room... it did something to help her there... could it do something here too? The crowd was starting to get restless. "C'mon Jumpie! The crowd is getting really bored by watching you walk so sloooowly." Pinkie said. "Applebloom, would you kindly move things along?" "Don't mahnd if ah do." Applebloom said. Sweetie's curiosity caused her to look off of the tightrope and down into the circus arena below. She saw several things. She saw Spike, playing ridiculously on the piano. She saw Pinkie, flying off into the crowd of pones... Sweetie noticed that some of these ponies looked familiar... it wasn't a few moments before she realized that they looked like ponies from Ponyville! She spotted ponies like Derpy, Cherielee, Doctor, The Cakes, Lyra and Bon-Bon... along with other ponies that looked familiar. Had they somehow been turned into ghosts too? It didn't make sense though... how did they get changed so fast? And more importantly, what the hay were they doing in a circus? Sweetie also noticed something in the center of the arena... it was square and pink. Could that be the music box Pinkie was referring to? Finally... there was Applebloom, wearing a similar circus get up... though it also reminded her of her CMC costume they'd worn at the talent show. She stood on top of a cylindrical type cup, juggling what Sweetie counted to be about 4 knives. "Hey Sweetie! Think fast!" Applebloom laughed, tossing one of her knives out of the air and at the filly. Sweetie ducked, careful to maintain her balance as the knife whizzed by her head. "Give me a break already!" Sweetie yelled. If it wasn't enough she was basically doing a circus act, she was now being used as target practice! The filly kicked it into high gear as Spike's piano music became more and more intense. Sweetie had a second close call when the knife's edge grazed the back of her neck. She could feel droplets of blood touch the back of her mane and apart of the lion hairs. Sweetie was close to the other platform... she couldn't give up now. She saw another knife coming for. This one was impossible for her to dodge, as it zoomed for her stomach. Sweetie fell off to the side in order to evade the knife. Before she could fall, she managed to wrap her left foreleg around the tightrope to keep herself from falling. "AH!" she yelled. She looked down at Applebloom, who laughed at the filly. Sweetie didn't have that much time before Applebloom would eventually try again to hit her. Because the filly couldn't get a good grip with her hooves on the tightrope, she moved forward by swinging her foreleg over the tightrope, hooking her legs on to the rope with each swing. Slowly but surely, she inched her way toward the platform. Once she was there, she put all of her strength into climbing onto the platform. She panted tiredly... but she'd made it. "Phew... glad that's-" Sweetie said to herself before another blade flew by her head, grazing her ear and piercing the wooden plank the platform was connected to. "I'm already at the other side! Quit it!" Sweetie said, now more annoyed rather than scared. She turned around to see that the knife had struck just under where Pinkie had hung her saddlebags, GCD, and Applejack's hat by a looped rope. Sweetie yanked the knife out of the wood and cut the rope that held her equipment. She then proceeded to put on her saddlebags, followed by her GCD and hat. Guess I should keep the knife. Sweetie thought, holding it her hoof. Could be useful. Before Sweetie could put the knife in her saddlebags, the worst possible thing happened. The platform gave under her feet. It tumbled over the tightrope and fell to the arena floor... and for a moment, with Sweetie as well. Not good! Not good! Sweetie thought panicked as she hung on for dear life to the tightrope. "Time's up Sweetie! Oh, you got it? Great, but you look silly hanging there like that. Why don't you drop down for us, kay? I'll be right back..." She had to think fast. She was a sitting dictionary if she hung there any longer. There was no doubt in Sweetie's mind that she'd try again to hit her with her remaining knife. Sweetie thought... then she got an idea. She was hanging on her escape. She could use the rope to get down. Sweetie estimated that the rope's length was just a foot or two short of the height of the wooden pole. And the knife, which miraculously stayed firmly in the filly's hoof... if she cut the rope from where she was now, she could swing down. It was her only chance. Sweetie used her free hoof to begin sawing at the segment of rope that was behind her. Once she cut through, she immediately felt herself falling. She screamed fearfully as she swung for the ground. She underestimated the length of the rope... it wasn't long enough for her to simply fall to the ground, but it wasn't short enough for her to climb. Sweetie realized this when she felt the heat of her hooves scraping along the ground. It caused her to let go of the rope, and tumble onto the dusty circus arena ground. She rolled about 5 times before she finally came to a stop. It wasn't the most graceful decent, but she'd made it down from the platform alive. She got up, showing every ghost pony watching her that she was still alive. Suddenly, they all started booing for reasons Sweetie couldn't understand. "H-huh? What did I do?" Sweetie asked. The crowd only booed louder. Something about the mass ridicule, despite the fact they were all ghosts, was incredibly embarrassing and horrifying to the filly. She blushed, as her mind raced of what she could have done wrong. Don't let them get to you! Pinkie said in the filly's head. They're just trying to distract you! Sweetie shook her head and nodded. She couldn't get embarrassed by them, no matter how many ghosts there were. She's right. Sweetie thought back. For all I know, they're just mad because I'm still alive... wow, that's a little depressing now that I think about it. Sweetie looked over at the center of the arena at the pink box. That was her new objective: to use the music box. Whatever would happen once she played it had to be good if Pinkie were telling her about it now... The filly could only hope. Sweetie broke into a run for the music box, narrowly dodging another knife as it was thrown at her by Applebloom. Almost there! Sweetie thought as she approached the box. Suddenly, just as Sweetie was about to get close to the box, a cage fell from out of the sky, blocking Sweetie from the box. What the-?! "Ah ah ah!" Pinkie said over a megaphone from somewhere in the crowd. "It's not time for that game you silly filly." No! I need that music box! Sweetie thought. The filly gritted her teeth in frustration. "Uh oh. Our little lion is starting to get angry. Oh lion tamer!" Pinkie called. Lion tamer? What? Sweetie turned around, to see Scootaloo, in a similar circus/talent show getup to Applebloom... though rather than a knife, she wielded a flaming whip. The orange filly lashed out at Sweetie with the whip, which she managed to narrowly dodge to the side. Ok, I get the tamer thing, but why does the whip need to be on fire! Sweetie thought. Scootaloo laughed at the filly as she lashed out again at her. Sweetie dodged to the right a second time. Now Scootaloo was blocking her way to the cage. Applebloom circled around to join Scootaloo as they both approached the filly. Finally, Spike got up from the piano, and joined the two fillies as they began to back the filly up. Sweetie wasn't sure what to do. She didn't have anything to defend herself with, besides the knife she didn't want to have to use... and the GCD. She was sure the device was dry of water, but even if it was, she didn't want to freeze her friends. Who knew what the freezing temperatures would do to them. It wasn't long before Sweetie found herself against the cylinder cup platform Applebloom was previously standing on. She put her flank up against it. As Scootaloo and Applebloom laughed at Sweetie, Spike took a deep breath, ready to blow a breath of fire at the filly. Sweetie's eyes contracted, knowing she'd have to act fast in her cornered situation. An idea popped in her head: Could she use the cup as temporary cover? She didn't contemplate the idea for more than a moment before she slipped under the cup as intense heat surrounded it. Inside of the cup, Sweetie sweated from the hundreds of degrees that were surrounding it. Though it was hot, Sweetie wasn't burning. She was safe for a few seconds... now to come up with a plan, whatever it maybe. But what? She was surrounded outside, not even counting the crowd of ghosts in the audience. And she still had no idea how she was going to get to the music box... but there was one hope she had: The Ghost book. Every time she'd been in a jam so far, the ghost book had told her something useful in one way or another... could it tell her how to save herself without hurting one of her friends? Sweetie went into her saddlebags. Thankfully, her flashlight was stuck inside... she'd thought she'd lost it back at the haunted house. She took it out along with her ghost book. After putting it into her muzzle and shining it onto the book, she opened it to the newest page. Music Info: Not much on that subject kid. All that's known is that ghosts sometimes have a connection with music. They've been known to be used as a hypnosis type thing to pry into the hearer's mind and cause them to see things, such as memories... but sometimes, they can serve as an escape route, or even as a weapon against certain ghosts. They also appear at points a subject is possessed, or being hypnotized... think of your fighting to said music box served as you fighting to resist a ghost's control. Ghosts don't have control over it, and neither do the living. Again, it's a phenomenon no one really understands. Though since its ghost related, it's worth mentioning here. If you find a music box, or something musical, it'll probably be worth it to check it out. That's probably why Pinkie wants me to activate it. Sweetie figured. In her nervousness, the filly had skipped a page. She flipped back one page to see what she'd missed. Elemental Capture B Info: The second half to your Elemental Capture whachamacallit. Now remember when I told you about the first Elemental Capture? It could suck up water, along with other frozen substances, provided it could fit into the GCD. This one however, it can suck up fire and fire it back at them. Not too many fire ghosts, so I'm not sure how you’re going to use it... but here you go. Have fun being a pyromaniac. Fire Capturing huh? Sweetie thought. Before she could think anymore, she felt a large impact of heat against her cup shield. The cup flew off of her, putting her back into the light of the arena. Sweetie stuffed her ghost book back into her saddlebags as this happened. She got up to face her friends. "Game over Sweetie." Spike said, taking another deep breath for another fireball. Sweetie looked at her GCD nozzle to see the flame icon next to the snowflake icon. She switched to it, making sure it was set to "suck". Elemental Capture B activated. the GCD said. Spike blew his flame at Sweetie as she hit the nozzle button, aiming at the flame. The fire that approached her funneled into her GCD nozzle, as it was sucked into her Spectral Containment pack. The pack heated up, making Sweetie's back sweat. It took a few minutes before all of the air and fire in Spike's lungs were exerted. Elemental Capture B containment capacity at 100 percent. The GCD said. Sweetie was right back where she started. She knew Spike would try again to roast the filly, but she couldn't suck up anymore flames. She knew dragons were likely fireproof, but that still left her friends. Even if she could somehow drive Spike back, her friends, more likely than not, would try to attack her; especially Scootaloo with her new fire-whip. She couldn't even touch them with fire without the risk of burning them... but there had to be something she could do. She couldn't hurt them... But can I scare them? Sweetie wondered. Maybe she could bluff her way out of the situation... who knew, maybe the ghost possessing Spike didn't know that dragons were fireproof... Sweetie switched to her GCD to expel the flames she'd acquired. "Get BACK!" Sweetie yelled at her friends. The three of them laughed. "Whacha' gonna do? Shoot us?" Applebloom asked. "You don't have it in you!" Scootaloo taunted. "You’re just a spineless-" Sweetie tapped the GCD button, causing a large hot flame to burst from the nozzle. It was enough to drive the three of them back, and silent. "Try me!" Sweetie bluffed. She took a step forward, periodically tapping her GCD to keep them in check. For some reason though, Sweetie saw the fear in their eyes... they weren't afraid of getting burnt, or lit on fire... but the fire itself. Was this another fear from the Phobiapathy? Or something else... Sweetie was relieved that she was, for the moment, on the offensive... but she still needed to figure out how to release that cage and get to the box. As she continued to drive her scared friends back, she looked for some way to raise the cage. There was a rope attached to the top of the cage. Her green eyes followed the rope to the top of the circus tent to see that it was a part of a pulley system that led to some heavy looking bags being suspended by another rope to keep it from falling. That rope led to a segment of the wall that surrounded the arena. It was a ways high up, but the filly figured she could just get on top of the wall. She looked glanced over to where Applebloom's platform had fallen. It was just high enough to give her a boost up the barrier. After one final burst of flames, Sweetie broke into a run for the audience. She jumped up onto the cylinder platform, and then onto the wall that separated the crowd from the circus tent arena. As she did, Spike shot another fireball at Sweetie, which she managed to dodge. As she began to run along the wall, she was careful not to fall to either side. If she fell to the left, she'd be at the mercy of the Ponyville ghosts who continued to boo and put her down. If she fell to the right, she'd be back where she started in the arena. Though she had to be careful, she also had to move fast to keep away from Spike's fireballs. With that in mind, she ran across the wall to the rope. Thankfully, the anti-gravity spell, although it was wearing off, was still there, aiding her balance. She had a couple close shaves with Spike's green balls of fire. She even felt the tip of her tail get grazed with a little fire... but she managed to make it to the part of the wall with the rope. Looking up, it was a little more complicated than she'd thought. Tied to that rope were about three other ropes that supported the one they stemmed from. It looked as though even if she managed to cut the rope at the base, it would still weakly hold up the bag that would likely pull up the cage. The only way Sweetie could fix this, was by climbing up and cutting the ropes at their branches. She still had the crusaders and Spike to worry about though. She'd have to move fast, and still hope none of them managed to hit her. C'mon little lightning cutie mark. Please work. Sweetie said to Rainbow's cutie mark. With that, she hopped up onto the rope, and began to shimmy up. She didn't move nearly as fast as one might expect the 'fastest pegasus in Equestria' might imagine, but she definitely climbed faster than she did in the theater. She finally made it up to the portion where the ropes stemmed. While holding onto the rope with both hooves so she didn't fall, the filly took her knife into her muzzle and began to cut through each of the three ropes. Once she cut the first one, she heard the heavy bag slip a little out of the air. She cut through the second one, and Sweetie could hear the tension in the rope pulling on the final rope. Just one more... Sweetie thought as she extended her neck to reach for the final rope... though she wasn't fast enough to sever it. Sweetie slid down slightly, just in time to dodge a fireball from Spike. "Checkmate." she heard him say from the bottom. What is he talking about? Sweetie thought... then she looked up at the ropes. Now, the rope she was aiming to cut was burning... along with the one that she was climbing on. Oh Celestia no! Sweetie looked down, realizing how high up she really was. If she fell from that height, she probably wouldn't surv- Both ropes snapped simultaneously, and Sweetie started to fall. She screamed, knowing that once she hit the ground, she'd be done for. Sweetie! Pinkie said. I know this sounds crazy, but you need to hit the wall! You need to break your fall! Sweetie followed Pinkies advice. As she fell, she did her best to direct herself to the edge of the wall. In the end, her lower body hit the edge of the wall, causing her to front flip back into the arena. She hit the ground... hard. She didn't want to get up, but knew she couldn't afford to lie there for very long. Sweetie got up... or rather she tried to. After rolling over onto her stomach, and attempting to get up on all four hooves, she felt an intense pain in her right hind leg. She looked back on it, seeing something bulging through her coat un-naturally. It was then Sweetie realized... she'd broken her leg. Tears rolled down her face as the pain was unbearable. The crowd booed at her even louder, while some had simply started to laugh at the filly's new found pain. Then, when things seemed like they couldn't get worse. "Alright, I'm back..." Pinkie said over the loud speaker. "Oh what Jumpie! Look what you've gone and done! Rarity was right, you’re just a big mess up. I told you it wasn't time!" Sweetie looked through the blur of tears at the cage. It wasn't completely raised, but it was up enough for her to slip through. Sweetie! Are you ok? Answer me! Pinkie said. The worry in her voice was more evident than she'd ever experienced that night, or even for the entire time she'd even known the mare. I know it hurts Sweetie, but please. You need to get to that box! I promise you it's almost over. The chapters going to end soon, just get over there! "What? I thought I got rid of you! Ugh! No one’s doing their job!" Pinkie said angrily. Sweetie limped as fast as she could over to the cage. She didn't have to look to know that her friends were close behind her, laughing as they followed. Sweetie didn't care. All she could see was the cage... and all she could feel was the determination to make it there. "Rarity said you were always a stupid filly. She always told me how much you loved to mess up her dresses, destroy her sketches, and be an all-around trouble maker!" Pinkie said angrily. "I knew you wouldn't play fair! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!" The ghost mare's words stung. They made her seem like a little devil that Rarity would have just rathered give her up, rather than keep her to live with her when her parents moved away. The crowd, as they booed and agreed with Pinkie didn't help in the slightest. Her mind was slowly slipping into believing Pinkie... Just a little further Sweetie! You're soooo close! You've got this! Pinkie cheered. It was only Pinkie's somehow happy mood that kept the filly from strait up giving in. She wasn't going to let her friend down... and she wasn't going to believe Pinkie's lies. Pinkie laughed. "You think I'm lying don't you? You think 'She couldn't say that! She's my big sis and' blah blah blah. Fine. Don't believe your Aunty Pinkie. Maybe you'll understand if you do somehow manage to escape. Maybe listen when you actually hear it from her own-" "Shut up!" Sweetie yelled at Pinkie. She finally made it to the cage. As she slipped under it, the cage fell, trapping her inside. She looked behind her... her friends; they weren't following her. Rather than that, they were simply standing together, waving and grinning creepily at the filly. Sweetie shook her head. She had to activate the music box... She turned back around and went for it... but there was something wrong. The key was missing. That's not fair! Sweetie thought. She fell down, still in intense pain. Uh Sweetie? Don't you have a key of your own? Pinkie asked. What?... Oh yeah! Sweetie thought. She did have a key. The one she'd picked up from Specter's room. Sweetie went into her saddlebags and swam her hoof around until she finally found the tiny metal music box key. She stuck it where she supposed to go in the roundish hole, and turned it in the same direction as back in the one in Specter's room. At first, the box played nothing but nonsense... but once that was over, it started to play again. Sweetie was almost positive she'd heard Applebloom humming a similar tune after a solo visit with Pinkie Pie. As the tune played, everything seemed to go dark around the filly. The sound of booing ponies had ceased suddenly creating a silence that was just as thick as the darkness. After standing in darkness for a couple seconds, Sweetie decided to venture forward. It was then she found that the cage had disappeared, allowing her to proceed. The filly wasn't sure where she was going, or what would happen once the music box, but something in her head told her, no matter how painful it was, it was her only chance at escape... She limped onward in darkness until the music stopped. For a moment, everything was silent... then the world shifted around her. She was suddenly surrounded by maneiquins dressed in the various Gala dresses of her friends. Along with that, were several shelves of fabric on each of the walls of the new room Sweetie was in. Sketches of dress designs littered the floor... but most importantly, standing in front of the filly was a white coated, purple maned glowing ghost mare. "R-rarity?" Sweetie asked. "Rarity, is that you?" "Get out." Rarity said. "W-what?" Sweetie stuttered. Sweetie! Pinkie said. Look behind you! It took a little will power, but Sweetie managed to turn away from her blank faced sister. What she saw was Pinkie, lying tired on the floor of what Sweetie assumed to be Rarity's inspiration room. She moaned painfully. Sweetie! She's weak! Now's your chance! Pinkie said. Sweetie nodded, and switched her GCD to capture mode. She pointed the nozzle at Pinkie and hit the button. 15, 14, 13... Pinkie looked up, her eyes were fearful now. "Ha... ha ha ah...." Pinkie started as the numbers started to count down. She suddenly flew up into the air, and started to fly away from the filly. She began dragging the filly around the room. The pressure that was being applied to her leg was incredibly intense... but she was determined not to let go of her... not when she was so close. Not when she had the mare on the ropes now. She was dragged around the large room of the Boutique against her will. Her leg kept her from trying to yank at Pinkie again, but she doubted it would work anyway. 7, 6, 5 The GCD continued. Pinkie was starting to cry... no, she was starting to scream... no, she was starting to laugh... Sweetie wasn't sure what the mare was doing as she was being captured. But if anything, it was creepy as hay. It was a mixture of the three emotions of fear, sadness, and laughter... all of which didn't belong together. As Sweetie was dragged, she crashed into several pieces in the room. She crashed into a lamp, a few maneiquens, and some of the shelves. As she was capturing Pinkie, she was also destroying the inspiration room. It was somewhat ironic when the filly thought about it. She'd fixed up the room, and now she was destroying it just like... Rarity stared at the filly... there was a certain look of disappointment in her eyes that really got to the filly. The hypnotic stare almost made her want to let go of the GCD. Either way, something seemed familiar about the look... 3, 2, 1, 0. Capturing ghost. the GCD said. Uh oh... Sweetie thought, anticipating what would happen next. A pink lightning bolt came from Sweetie's nozzle, pulling the mare into the GCD. While Sweetie screamed in pain of being electrocuted, Pinkie laughed as she was finally dragged into the GCD. "Ha ha ha ha...." Pinkie said, before she disappeared inside. "That was fun..." those were the last words she heard... Rarity turned around and walked away from the weak filly. "Wait... Rarity..." Sweetie said as she reached for her sister before collapsing. She was still somewhat conscious, but it was slipping fast. The world flashed around Sweetie... and suddenly, she was back in the mansion. Before Sweetie completely lost consciousness, she noticed a couple things. First, that she was lying on some peculiar white surface. The second... was that there was a faint light on the filly. Not like a flashlight, but more natural... before Sweetie lost consciousness, one thought came into her mind. Something she wasn't sure if she should have been excited or horrified by... The moon was rising...
Chapter 17- The Reunion for a Crusade"She... She caught her..." A voice said. Sweetie woke up in the same darkness as before... but this time, her mind wasn't as blurred and misty. Now, she could clearly hear the voices... and she knew exactly who's they were. "Rarity..." Specter said. "No Yield! This changes everything!" Rarity yelled angrily. "You said she wouldn't catch her so fast! You said she couldn't catch Pinkie!" "I know what I said. I didn't expect this in the slightest. I thought the mare would at least keep her busy until everything was set up..." "Now what?" Rarity asked. "The mare knows things! You know she has connections with-" "I know." Specter interrupted. "Then what?" Rarity asked. "Simple. We keep going of course." Specter said. "She may have caught her, but without her camera, or her map, she's going to have a pretty hard time reaching the safe zone. Especially since most of the paths to the dining hall are blocked. Even if she does somehow find a path, or her camera, she won't make it in time to have a chance at stopping our plan. Besides, she still has my kids, Spiffy and the griffon to worry about." "... the plan. How is that going by the way?" Rarity said after a pause. She seemed a bit more calm and collected. "It's halfway done. As we expected, the alicorn race has tremendous will power... but even it can be broken. Recently, I've managed to get Princess Luna under our control. Now we can force her to raise the moon in preparation for the second part of our plan. Worst case scenario, we can rip off her cutie mark and continue its movement ourselves when the time comes." "But what about Celestia dear? We need both of them, don't we?" "Celestia's will appears to be stronger than Luna's... it's going to be tough breaking her spirit like her sister's... but as long as we remain constant, and no pony stumbles upon the lab, it'll break all the same." Specter concluded. "So... we're fine then? My stupid little sister isn't going to stop us?" Specter paused. He seemed to be thinking of something, but Sweetie couldn't tell without seeing him. Finally, he spoke. "... it's quite unlikely, yes." "Specter honey? Is something wrong?" Rarity asked. Sweetie heard hoofsteps. "It's... just thinking is all... that's its all going to be over soon." "What do you mean?" Rarity asked. Specter sighed. "... nothing that matters anymore. You're right though... the stupid filly doesn't have a chance. "Do you love me?" Rarity asked. Specter paused for another couple of moments. "... of course I do." Sweetie heard a kiss in the darkness. "She... she didn't. He didn't make her..." Sweetie mumbled to herself in disgust. "Oh that sneaky little filly!" Rarity said angrily. "Huh?" Sweetie said softly. "What do you mean?" Specter asked. "She's spying on us! She's been listening to every word we've said!" Rarity said. "She heard me?" Sweetie said to herself. "Hm... I figured she'd try something like this." Specter concluded. "I need to go." "Specter honey? Where are you going?" Rarity asked. "I need to... cut off a few loose ends. You won't have to worry about her anymore." "This won't hurt our special plans later... will it?" "Not in the slightest. I'm headed down to the crypt. Just meet me in the church right above it when the time comes." "Of course. I love you..." "I know you do..." Sweetie heard the sound of a door shutting before any other words could be exchanged... *** Sweetie woke up from her slumber. After being brought out of the dream state darkness, pain immediately filled her tiny filly body. She didn't scream, or moan in response however. She was too groggy to even form those sounds. As usual, her body wasn't responding to her brain as it told her to get up on her hooves. Sweetie didn't mind however, for as long as there weren't any ghosts around, she felt she could use the couple minutes of rest. Besides, at least the weakness was an indication that she didn't imagine catching Pinkie... The memories of the carnival she'd somehow survived flooded back into her head. The filly opened her eyes slightly, looking at what was in front of her as she lied on her stomach. She was in a hallway... one of the mansion hallways from what she could tell. She was back... Great... Sweetie thought. I'll take this creepy old place over that crazy carnival. Sweetie wondered... what did happen. How did she end up there anyway? What the hay did Pinkie do to her? Besides the capture, did all of the events she remembered all in her imagination? It simply didn't make sense... did she really go crazy? Weakly, Sweetie's nerves and muscles began responding again. She felt like she could possibly get back up on her hooves again. When she tried, a sharp pain shot from her hind leg through her body. "AH!" Sweetie screamed before collapsing back to the ground, which made a crumpling sound on impact. Sweetie's urge to moan in pain had returned. Something told her that what she'd experienced wasn't completely imagined... the filly couldn't imagine any other way she could have gotten such an injury. That still begged the question... how? Could she mind dive like Twilight? Or was there some other method to the madness she'd undergone... In either case, Sweetie was still stuck with a broken leg, and she wasn't going anywhere... thankfully however, she'd heeded to Pinkie's words. I'd save that little heart candy if I were you... She still had the heart candy... Sweetie wondered if Pinkie planned this kind of situation... but for now, it didn't matter. She could use it to heal herself... hopefully. Up until now, the filly had only received small cuts, burns and bruises from her friends, accompanied by the freezing and weakness that came with capturing ghosts. Sweetie was sure the heart would fix her weakness... but what about broken bones? This was the most significant injury yet... what if it didn't work? How would she get around? Sweetie could only hope as she put the rock into her mouth and began to dissolve it with her saliva. As the melted substance went down her throat and into her stomach, she felt her stomach seem to explode. Not unpleasantly, or painfully, but rather an opposite feeling of relief. Her tense muscles released and over all felt stronger... but the feeling went to her hind leg. The cooling relief in the body part turned into a biting pain. Sweetie flinched, but bit her lip against the pain as she felt the fracture in her bone begin to close and mend itself. Thankfully, it didn't last for long... the pain turned into the same pleasing coolness as the rest of her body... Did it work? Sweetie wondered. She tried to get back up on all fours. There was still pain in her leg... but it was bearable. She'd be limping for a bit, but at least be able to move around. The pain was also something small enough that she'd likely be able to get used to. Sweetie looked around her, fully acknowledged her surroundings. The first thing that caught her eye was the surface she was standing on. It wasn't the red rug that she'd usually find stretched down the hallway that she'd found in the mansion... it was paper. Sweetie painfully limped off of the surface, flinching every time she took a step with her previously broken hind leg and stood back from it, realizing what it was: the CMC paper airplane. The nose was bent and the wings were a little wrinkled... but it was definitely in better shape than what she'd seen when she crashed earlier that night. Some pony must have seen it in front of the mansion and brought it in. Sweetie figured. Who the hay brought it in, and why would they go through the trouble of fixing it up? For whatever reason it had been done, Sweetie was glad some pony had fixed it, and was even happy that she'd gone through the risk of bringing it to the mansion. It was nice to know that the work she and her friends had put into it wouldn't go to waste... Sweetie turned around to face the other side of the hallway. Not too far down, she saw her flashlight, lying in the darkness. She stood still however realizing how clearly she could see her flashlight without any other light... besides the moon. The moon's up now... Sweetie thought, remembering the dark place she'd dreamed about. The moon was a part of some big plan Specter had... she wondered what it could be. All she knew was that it wasn't good... and something told her that she was the only one who could stop it... Sweetie shook her head. The only one to stop it? The filly was getting ahead of herself. Her friends were the ones who dealt with that kind of "Equestia's Only Hope" business, right? Better remember to tell Twilight about this when I get back. Sweetie went over and picked up her flashlight. She activate it as her eyes adjusted around the area it illuminated. Though her vision was once again constricted to where it shined, she could at least point out the details of the hallway. She kept that in mind… The filly already knew from the moment she woke up that she'd been moved from the courtyard... but the problem was the new location she was in... Sweetie had no idea where she was. Up until this point, the floors she'd come across had beige walls decorated with paintings of ponies or landscapes with a wooden baseboard covering the bottom half of the wall. On the walls, in between the other paintings were ponies that seemed to be drawn by a foal. The baseboard now also had different hoof crafted etchings of foal accessories and toys. "Heh. Perfect." Sweetie sighed. It was official: the filly was lost. She had no idea where in the mansion she was, or what floor she was on... and without her map, she was lost. It was fine though, for all the filly needed to do was reach into her bag, pull out her camera and- "Oh you've got to be kidding me..." As Sweetie looked back to get her camera, she remembered that Pinkie had thrown it in the carnival. She didn't have it anymore. This realization however wasn't what the filly was responding to, but it was rather the fact that her GCD was gone... again. "Great. I'm lost, and defenseless. Couldn't get any better than this." Sweetie said to herself. I've got to find the ghost capturer. I can't do much without it. Sweetie hoped that her friends, or any ghost for that matter hadn't decided to split it up like the last time. Sweetie took a moment to look through her saddlebags to take inventory on what she still had. All that was left was her CMC ball, the ghost book, the journal, and one of Applebloom's knives, another souvenir of proof she'd received from her visit to the carnival. There was no point in staying there anymore. She had to investigate her new surroundings in hopes of getting her bearings and returning to the safe room. Sweetie took a deep breath as she pushed Applejack's had firmly onto her head. The filly trekked forward, in hopes of locating her GCD and getting back to the safe room, which was more important than ever now. The mare knows things... If they were talking about Pinkie, then her de-ghostification was the most important thing of all. Pinkie might have held information that could very well be able to stop Specter. Sweetie had to get back to the safe room, if not for herself... But for all the ponies she knew and loved... *** Sweetie contemplated going back to get the paper airplane as she continued to walk forward, but shook her head at the thought. It was fine where it was, and she didn't need the extra weight on her anyway. Sweetie had the gut feeling that the paper airplane would prove useful in some way or another... but until she figured out what that something was, she wouldn't break her back over it like she did earlier that night. All she had to focus on was retrieving the GCD and Pinkie, who was hopefully still inside. Sweetie attempted to open several doors in the hallway. As she'd expected, many of them were locked. The ones that weren't locked held nothing of interest or material value to the filly. The rooms varied from powder rooms, to viewing rooms, to storage rooms, to plain old bed rooms, though in the end, they were all contained same dusty sheets that covered several pieces of furniture Sweetie didn't bother to check out. In some rooms however, Sweetie did take a moment to look out the window at the sky. It was still fairly cloudy, but at some points, the clouds opened up to show the night sky. Then, Sweetie could see the stars dancing around the moon. Something always seemed hypnotic about the night to the filly. She could never understand how some pony, even a supposedly immortal alicorn, could come up with such a thing with magic... Though the filly looked at the sky with admiration, she also looked up at it with fear. Every time she thought of the moon, she thought of Luna. Every time she thought of Luna, she remembered what Specter had said in the dream about her being under his control now. Sweetie feared the idea of having to go up against such a powerful alicorn... and if Specter managed to take over Celestia- Sweetie shook her head, taking her eyes off of the window she was currently looking out of. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about that. The filly turned around, and left the room, leaving the door open behind her in order to remind her she'd already looked through that room. Sweetie went from room to room to room to room, and didn't find a single useful item. Finally, after what she figured to be 7 rooms, she finally came across some variation... this new door that Sweetie stood in front of was one with an emblem on it. It was an etching of what Sweetie assumed to be a piece of wrapped candy. It reminded the filly of Bon-Bon, one of Ponyville's candy makers besides Pinkie and the Cakes, and her cutie mark... could this have been Candy's room? Sweetie reached for the doorknob, but something stopped her. The filly heard voices on the other side of the room. The ones that she knew very well. "Pull harder!" Scootaloo commanded. "It isn't going to come off if you keep pulling it like a baby." "It's not a baby stupid! It's called a foal! There's a difference." Applebloom said. Sweetie recognized her voice, but noted the absence of her country accent. "Whatever, you're pulling like you've got noodles for legs." "You didn't do any better." "Oh yeah? At least I got it loose." "I got it looser than you did!" "Nu uh!" Scootaloo argued. "Yuh huh!" Applebloom said back. They don't know I'm here. Maybe I can scare them when now that I have the element of surprise. Sweetie thought. In all honesty, Sweetie didn't even want to confront the possessed fillies, especially of her own will... but it was too much to hope that Sweetie wouldn't find something useful in Candy's room of all rooms. She put her hoof on the doorknob, ready to bust inside. One... Two... Th- Sweetie counted. Suddenly, her leg gave her a sudden jolt of pain. As Sweetie pushed forward into the room, the pain caused her to lose her balance and collapse to the ground. The two fillies inside, rather than being shocked, they simply turned to the filly, grinned, and laughed at her as she lay on the ground. Sweetie moaned in pain as she tried to regain control over her leg, as the intense pain went back down to moderate. She got back up on all fours to face her friends. "Looky who decided ta show up." Applebloom said. "When we foun th' vacuum thin 'ere in th' hallway, we done thought ya were still stuck in th' carnival place." "Cut the act Candy. I already knew you weren't Applebloom, but now I know who you both are." Sweetie said bravely. The two of them laughed at Sweetie. "I think she finally figured us out sis." Marbles said through Scootaloo's body. "Guess you can quit the lower class talk huh?" Candy sighed through Applebloom's body. "I was starting to have fun with it too. Oh well." Sweetie took a look at what they were doing. In Marble's hooves was the spectral containment pack, and in Candy's was the nozzle and ectotube connected to pack... barely. From what Sweetie could tell, Candy was trying to pull the piece away from the pack. The lack of screws appeared to make the task easier... "So you know who we are. So what? What's that change really?" Marbles/Scootaloo asked. "You’re still the same stupid filly with her friends trying to kill her." At first, Sweetie figured that they were simply trying to separate the parts again for Sweetie to go off and find again... but then she realized what their goal was when she noticed the green light on the back of the GCD flicker as pink ooze seeped from the point between the ectotube and the pack... they were trying to release Pinkie. "You're also the same annoying foal who every pony I've talked to can barely stand. Heh, even Ms. Fluttershy talked about getting you a muzzle." Candy/Applebloom added. As they spoke, Candy/Applebloom hadn't stopped pulling on the ectotube as Marbles held the pack in place. Slowly but surely, Sweetie could see the part coming off of the pack. Sweetie couldn't let them free the mare. That carnival was likely the only shot she'd get at catching the slippery mare. She had to do something. She couldn't imagine what the ghost Pinkie would do to her after that. Sweetie wasn't thinking as instinct took her over the filly as she ran for Marbles/Scootaloo. She didn't know what she was doing until she felt her head ram into the filly's body. Marbles lost her hold over her end of the GCD as she went to the floor with Sweetie. The white filly tried to hold her down, however Sweetie was reminded of Scootaloo's augmented strength as she threw the white filly off of her, and against the window on the opposite side of the room. She hit the window with such force, she heard a crack in the glass. Sweetie's leg started to hurt again. She wasn't sure which hurt more: her leg that had been previously broken, or her head which had hit the window on impact. She wasn't given time to think about such things as she was also reminded of Scootaloo's speed. What seemed like less than a few milliseconds, Scootaloo rushed over to Sweetie and pushed her head up against the window a second time, creating a second crack. Applebloom laughed as she picked up her knife and joined Scootaloo as they cornered the filly against the window. As she fell to the ground, Applejack's hat fell down from her head and right next to her. Marbles/Scootaloo turned the filly onto her back and got on top of her to pin her down. When Sweetie looked up, all she could see was Marbles/Scootaloo's grinning face. When she looked to her left, all she saw was Applebloom with her knife in her muzzle. Sweetie struggled to free herself, but between her leg and her throbbing head, she was stuck beneath Marbles/Scootaloo. "I was kind of hopping for more from you." Candy/Applebloom said through the knife. "Yeah. All you've gotta do is put a little weight on the big bad ghost hunter, and all she is, is just a little foal." As Candy/Applebloom began to approach the filly with the knife, Sweetie noticed something small and yellow dart out of the corner of her eye. It didn't have the same exact yellow tint as a foal ghost... could it be what she thought it was? And if Marbles/Scootaloo didn't seem to notice it yet... I've got to keep them talking. Just for a few seconds. "Wait!" Sweetie said. Candy/Applebloom stopped. "What now?" "A-aren't you gonna give me s-some last words?" Sweetie stuttered out nervously. "What? No way!" Candy/Applebloom said through the knife. "Aw, c'mon Candy. Let's just humor her. Not like she can squirm her way out of this one." Marbles/Scootaloo said. "You always want to do the opposite of what I want!" Candy/Applebloom said. "'Cause what you want is stupid." Marbles/Scootaloo said. "Your stupid!" Candy/Applebloom said. "At least I'm not the one who got us killed! Daddy said so!" "Nu-uh! Daddy said you did it! You got mommy killed too." Marbles/Scootaloo argued. Sweetie saw the thing out of the corner of her eye again. Her eye wouldn't go over far enough to tell if it was getting closer or farther away. All Sweetie could tell was that it was still in the room. Candy/Applebloom sighed. "Fine. What do you want to say." "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "Your last words? Unless you changed your mind." Candy/Applebloom said, grinning wider, eager to stick the knife through her throat. "N-no, no, I-I still had something to say." Sweetie said. She thought for a moment. What could she say or ask to keep her alive for a little longer. She couldn't make it too obvious she was stalling, or they might think the filly was up to something. "I-I just want... I just want to know why you... why you want to kill me so badly. T-that's all." "Why we want to kill you?" Candy/Scootaloo asked. Candy/Applebloom and Marbles/Scootaloo looked at each other, then laughed. Sweetie was too scared to ask why. "Well, a couple reasons actually." Candy/Applebloom said. Oh boy. Sweetie thought. She saw the thing dart across the room a third time. Sweetie figured it was scanning the room, looking for something... "First off... It's fun to see you scared." Marbles/Scootaloo said. "I haven't had this much fun messing with a filly since I was alive and I’d get back at Candy who used to touch all of my stuff." "No I didn't! Half the stuff you played with mommy gave to me! You only gave it back when mom threatened to tell all of your friends you play with mare dolls!" "I don't know what you’re talking about. I only play with stallion action figures." Marbles/Scootaloo said. I don't see what the big deal is. There's nothing wrong with guys playing with ponies. Sweetie thought. "The second reason is because daddy told us to." Candy/Applebloom said. Saw that one coming. Sweetie thought. "... though, he was kind of weird on it. First, he said he wanted your soul without hurting your body... then he said to capture you... then he really quickly changed it to wanting to kill you." Marbles/Scootaloo said. "Daddy was always weird." Candy/Applebloom added. "Your only saying that because he liked me better." I'm starting to sense some family tension here. Sweetie thought as she saw the thing pass by her for the fourth time. This time, she was fairly sure it was getting closer to her. "Third... because Miss Pinkie wanted us to." Marbles/Scootaloo said. "She's your friend right?" Until Sweetie brought Pinkie back to life, the filly was reluctant to call her "friend". Sweetie remained silent. "I don't know how a slow little foal like you could've possibly kept up with her. I haven't seen any pony as crazy as her since Mr. Bonkers who used to put together the parades." Candy/Applebloom said. "I don't really think that's important. Miss Audit always did say you couldn't stay on subject." Marbles/Scootaloo said. "Nu-uh. She wrote that on your report card." Candy/Applebloom argued. This is working better than I'd hoped. Just a couple more seconds... Sweetie thought. She hadn't seen the dart of yellow for quite some time now. She did however notice the hat jump one, as though something small had crossed it. "Forget you. Anyway, Pinkie wanted us to... and let me tell you, you're all she could think about the entire night." Candy/Applebloom said. "Yeah, either she reeealy hatted you, or she had a really big reason for wanting you so badly. We guessed if we killed you, we'd find out why." That's interesting... I've got a good feeling they're under Specter's control. From what I've learned around the mansion, they're brats, and sometimes a little crazy, but even dead, I couldn't see them as murderers... still though, what kind of sorry stallion gets their own kids to do their own dirty work? And even more... what kind of beef did the ghost Pinkie have with me that motivated her so much? I- Sweetie was brought out of thought with the feeling of a cold blade against her neck. She could see Candy/Applebloom's crazed eyes over her neck, her muzzle ready to make the cut. "And that pretty much sums that up." Marbles/Scootaloo said. "Well, it's been fun Sweetie Belle. Really fun, but like mommy said when we died... good things always have to come to an end." "Wait!" Sweetie said. Candy/Applebloom groaned through the knife. "What now?" "M-mouse." Sweetie said. Marbles/Scootaloo's eyes dilated in fear for a moment, but went back to normal as he/she laughed. "Like I'm gonna fall for that again. I'm not stupid." "Yeah you are." Candy/Applebloom said. "You can't fool me twice. Now shut up and cut her-" Marbles/Scootaloo said before she stopped. Sweetie knew why as she felt the coldness of the mouse's feet as it hoped up across her mane and onto her stomach right in front of Marbles/Scootaloo. "M-M-MOUSE!" Marbles/Scootaloo screamed as she jumped off of Sweetie. For a moment, Sweetie noticed something glowing in the filly's mouth, but didn't have time to see any more as the filly bolted out of the room. "Marbles! Come back ya big baby!" Candy/Applebloom said chasing Marbles/Scootaloo out of the room with the knife. Sweetie put her hoof to her neck. "Another close call..." Sweetie said, as she looked at the freezing yellow mouse sitting on her stomach. "Guess I should say thank you?" The mouse squeaked, not really understanding what it had just done, before running out of the room by phasing through a wall into the next room over.... and like that, Sweetie was alone again. "Fine. Leave me like everyone else. See if I care." Sweetie mumbled as she got back up on all fours. She rubbed her head. "As if I wasn't in enough pain. Gotta remember to thank Marbles for that later." Sweetie picked up her GCD and inspected it. Though the fillies had done some real damage to the device, the gap between the ectotube and the spectral containment pack wasn't enough to release Pinkie. Sweetie tested the GCD by hitting the nozzle button. Error. Unable to activate GCD primary functions. Please secure ectotube. The GCD said. "Of course it's not working why would it be working?" Sweetie muttered sourly. She was really beginning to get sick and tired of nothing working for her. She put the GCD on her back, her hat on her head and her flashlight back into her mouth. "Alright Sweetie... what now?" Sweetie figured it to be best for her to check out the room, considering it was the only one so far that was unlocked and different. It was a bedroom, but unlike the other ones, this one had a crib inside. Sweetie went over and looked inside. There were two items of interest inside: a journal page and a key. Sweetie went for the journal page and began to read. As she did, she continued to nervously look at the doorway, as though the children would come back in at any time... but something told her they weren't coming back anytime soon... July 2nd, 851A.C Today wasn’t an eventful one. Calm, but boring. Then again, I couldn't help but still make a journal entry today, just to have this recorded once. It's about our loyal, wonderful, trustworthy pony-servant, Spiffy Butler. I've known him since Specter and I first met and on from there. I trust the stallion with my secrets and even my life sometimes... then again, I can't help but not trust him at all. I'm probably the most shallow mare for thinking something like this, but I think that our butler, unlike the rest of them, is hiding something from me and my kids. I always knew that Specter had something to hide, likely regarding our immense fortune... but trying to find that out is like trying to get the Stabletown tailor, Ms. Axinite, to get dirty. She just won't allow it... anyway, there are a few things about Spiffy that rub me the wrong way that really shouldn't. First off, he's just like Specter. He's always so secretive... and considering he follows Specter when he goes to his "job" he lets no pony follow him to, he knows why... The other thing... his talent. I know that there are plenty of ponies who have other smaller talents that are accompanied by their main one that is planned on their flanks... but Spiffy's range of talents is abnormal to me. He can clean, cook at levels above any pony I know in Stabletown, learn at abnormal rates, great with animals, knows every inside and outside of every gear of the little devices that are around Stabletown... I even remember him instructing some of the pegusi on how to align the sky patterns, it's not normal I say! No pony should have that much knowledge, and be so talented at things they shouldn't have been able to do. Heck, it would have taken me a lifetime to learn what he knows, and get good at it. Today, I went up to speak to Spiffy. I could tell that he wasn't eager to talk to me, anticipating me to ask him about Specter... but instead I asked him about his cutie mark. Caught him off guard, I did. After regaining his composure, and thinking for a moment, he simply smiled and said to me "to serve". He then hurried off to instruct the other butlers on other various errands around the mansion... Spiffy is Specter's right hoof stallion, and along with my husband's secrets, I know he must have some of his own... and that's really what scares me the most. If they both have some big secret that I'm not supposed to know about... it must be big. And I'll bet by bottom bit that whatever secrets Specter has... It's somewhere in this massive mansion. Maybe one day I'll snoop around to see... "I wonder when Madame 'll actually find out what Specter's up to... maybe if she wrote that down somewhere, I can read it and have an idea what to do next once I've caught..." Something hit the filly... her sister, Rarity. She was the only one left now. All she had to do was catch her and she'd be done. She smiled, as the thought of seeing her sister again excited the filly. She was almost done... Sweetie reached through the crib for the key. She took it out to examine it... it had a marble stuck to its base. Better keep this on me. No doubt this is to Marbles' room. She stuck the key into her saddlebags for safe keeping. Seeing no other use of the room, the filly decided to head back out... but then she had a thought. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a mirror covered by a white sheet. Though she didn't have her camera, and probably couldn't use it, she was curious how she looked now. Sweetie went over to the covered mirror and hopped on the sheet covered stool right in front of the dresser the mirror stood on. She yanked the sheet off, and was shocked at what she saw in the reflection. It wasn't that her coat had gone a significant couple of shades darker, or the fact she looked dirty and beaten as some pony who'd just exited a mine... she knew she'd see that. What she didn't see however, was the cutie marks of her friends that had kept her alive through the carnival. "Where in the hay did they go?" Sweetie said to herself. It didn't make sense. One minute they weren't there, then they were there, then they weren't there again... It took a moment for Sweetie to figure that the time that the marks appeared on her depended on where she was, like when they only showed up at the carnival... the question became however, what was the difference? Sweetie sighed. Well... I guess if they aren't here, it's for the better. I wasn't looking forward to trying to explain it to the mares anyway... Sweetie hopped down from the stool and headed back out into the hallway. Making sure she was still headed in the opposite direction of the plane, she continued to look around for a screwdriver, that she was otherwise defenseless without... *** Sweetie continued down the hallway, faster than before. The longer the filly was in the hallway, the colder she felt, indicating that there were likely ghosts somewhere nearby. She stopped looking through rooms in any particular detail, now only opening each door and glancing inside to see if there was anything peculiar. She only wanted to find something to fix her GCD with as quickly as possible... it was around this time Sweetie regretted using it to save herself from Twilight's ghost. She kept her mind occupied by thinking of ways she could have gone about it differently. "Maybe I could have shot a book at the window? The library was full of 'em..." Sweetie said to herself, poking her head into yet another identical looking room. After seeing nothing special about it, she took her head out and headed to the next door she hadn't checked. "No... I was too dizzy, and there wasn't really enough time for me to reach down and get a book from the shelf I was standing on..." Sweetie reached for the doorknob and attempted to turn it. It was locked. "Don't think the throwback would have worked either. Ectoplasm's too soft I think... maybe I could have used one of the books in my bag?" Sweetie headed forward to the next door. She'd stopped hoping for doors to be open or different at this point. She was more running on an automatic function. Just check, move on, repeat. By now, she was more waiting than hoping for anything. What the filly couldn't figure out was what she was waiting for in the first place. "Well... I didn't really have anything besides the two books, my map, and the screwdriver I wish I didn't use..." Sweetie said as she turned the new doorknob. "Hm... well, I probably was a good thing I didn't use the ghostbook... wouldn't have gotten far without it..." She pushed the door, opening it as she stuck her head inside. "And if I wasn't kept somewhat in the loop with that journal, I wouldn't know anything really. I'd probably go crazy like-... huh, this is new." There was definitely something different about this new room. Unlike the other rooms, which were significantly lit by the moonlight, this new room was pitch black. This probably only meant that there weren't any windows in the room... but it was different, and that was more than enough reason for Sweetie to explore it. The filly was hesitant at first, knowing that this had to be some kind of ambush. She didn't know if it was the sheer coldness she felt, or her paranoia red flag going off the charts as she slowly headed into the room. Once she was a couple feet inside, the door shut behind her. click "No, no, no!" Sweetie said, shining her flashlight on the door, yanking on the door. It was no use. It was locked and she was stuck in the room. Great. How could things possibly get worse than this? Sweetie thought. Rather than being bombarded by ghosts, the exact opposite happened. Candles lit up the room along the red walls, allowing for Sweetie to see the perimeter of the room without her flashlight. The odd thing however, was that the candles seemed to be weaker than usual. The center of the room however, remained black. For the moment, Sweetie turned it off and stuck it back into her saddlebags. Against one of the walls, Sweetie could barely notice a tool box that blended in with the red paint it was against. Now we're getting somewhere... the filly thought as she walked around to the wall. She did her best to keep out of the darkness on an instinct, feeling nervous of what was in there. Once she made it over, she opened the box and began to search. C'mon... screwdriver. Screwdriver. Momma needs a... ha ha! Sweetie cheered in her own mind. Finally, she came across a yellow handled screwdriver similar to the one she found back in the theater. Chances were, it was similar enough to use to fix her GCD too... Sweetie wasted no time in taking the GCD off of her back and proceeding to screw in the loose bolts on the GCD. As they fell into place, Sweetie could have sworn she heard a giggle. C'mon Jumpie! That tickles! "...I've got to be hearing things. Please Celestia, let me just be crazy..." Sweetie said to herself. Once the bolts were screwed in tight, the giggling stopped, and the room was silent again for a few seconds. A piece of the pink sludge was cut off from the GCD and fell to the ground. Reactivating Ghost Capture Device vacuum motors. Device basic functions activated. Device add-ons initiated. the GCD said. Ok... at least that's taken care of. Now all I need to do is get out of here... no ghosts to fight, so there must be a key!... I think. Sweetie figured. Pomph! Sweetie heard the sound of candles spontaneously lighting behind her. She turned around to see the center of the room lit. In the center was what Sweetie saw to be some kind of... model. Sweetie went over to investigate... What the hay...? Sweetie thought as she figured out what she was looking at. She figured it out almost instantly when she saw the two three biggest structures of the model: A Ferris wheel, a floating roller-coaster network with no definable bottom according to the model, a giant circus tent... there was no doubt in Sweetie's mind that this was the Carnival/Circus place she'd escaped. There seemed to be small pieces of rope tangled and scattered on the different segments of the carnival, all stemming to a torch that magically hovered above the model. What the hay is this doing here... Sweetie wondered. ...Wait a second, this isn't right. The Ferris wheel was next to the haunted house, the carousel was next to the circus tent, and the main entrance was right in front of the floating roller-coaster. Sweetie also noticed that an entire portion of the carnival was missing altogether. Instead, it was a black square spot with an outline of a square on its edges. It was of the same perimeter and area of the other parts of the carnival. Wait a sec... I've seen something like this before. Can I... Sweetie thought as she attempted to move the haunted house segment over into the empty spot. The filly couldn't get a good grip on the house, so she tried using her GCD to suck it over to the spot instead. The piece moved effortlessly as it slid out of the square area it was bound to, revealing a similar outline to the blank spot of the model. Yeah! This is like one of those slide things we kept in Ms. Cheerilee's class for rainy days... *** Thunder rolled over the skies of Ponyville. Thunderstorms were a rare occurrence for regions in and around Ponyville, let alone during school and professional days. However, thanks to a certain temporary weather pegusis known as Derpy Hooves, an entire month of clouds were lost, putting the town in a drought. In such occasions, weather pegusi would get together and create large heavy storms in order to make up for the lost water. Ms. Cheerilee explained this, minus the part about Ditzy Doo to keep from embarrassing the filly and for her mother's mistake, to the school ponies who sat before her now. "And because the storm is so strong and dangerous..." she breathed, knowing she couldn't stall any longer. "Recess outside will be canceled for today, and likely tomorrow if the storm is still happening." As she'd expected, just like the morning-class, groans of disappointment filled the classroom. "Oh c'mon Cheerilee." Scootaloo complained from the back of the classroom. "It's just water." "And wind going near 200 miles an hour. I'm not sure even the Wonderbolts themselves could fly in this kind of weather." Ms. Cheerilee added. "And that's Miss Cheerilee to you young lady." "Yeah... but Rainbow Dash could." Scootaloo said. "Right Sweetie?" "Hm?" Sweetie said, snapping out of her daze. "Sorry, I'm just mourning the death of the recess I thought we had." "I never said you weren't having recess did I?" Cheerilee said. "I'm just simply saying that you'll be able to occupy your time with something else." "Like wha'" Pipsqueak asked in his normal Pontish accent. "Well, there are plenty of board games in-" Cheerilee started. "Ugh, those are so BORING!" Scootaloo said. "Scootaloo, be quiet already." Sweetie whispered to her friend. The last thing she wanted was the filly to earn another detention from the mare of whom she was getting on the last nerve of. Sweetie could see annoyance welling up in the mare's eye, as she swore she saw it twitch once. "Uh, what she means is... what kind of games do you have?" Cheerilee took a breath. "Well, we have 'Ponopaly', 'Troting and Clopping', 'Sliding Tiles Treasure', 'Word Stampede', 'Apples to- " One of the games, Sweetie had never heard of. As she opened her mouth to ask, Pipsqueak beat her to it, raising his hoof and speaking. "Ms. Cheerilee? Wha' was that third one? I've never heard of it." "Sliding Tiles?" Cheerilee asked. "Oh, right. That's an older game based off of the Daring Doo novels." Scootaloo's wings erected at the mention of the novel Rainbow Dash idolized. "Alright, now we're talkin'. How do you play?" "Well... the game is based off of a sequel in which Daring must solve different puzzles, in this case, a tile sliding one, in order to activate mechanisms to get the treasure. The rules are similar in the game. The pony who can solve the most puzzles in the given time wins." Scootaloo's wings went back to their sides at the thought of a puzzle. "Oh... well I guess it's worth a try." "I'll play it too." Sweetie said, wanting to play the same game as her friend. "Me too!" Pipsqueak said happily. "Alright. You three can play this." Cheerilee said, heading under her desk to pull out the game box. She handed it to the three of them as they came up to the front to collect it. "As for the rest of you, I'll place other games you can pick from. Play nice." The game box depicted Daring in front of a large area, with tiles scattered around a stone temple. Daring had an inquisitive look on her face as she tried to decipher the puzzle. At the bottom of the box, it said: 'Can you guide Daring Doo to the treasure of the lost temple?' As the other school ponies "This game looks pretty cool." Scootaloo said. "I wonder why I haven't heard of it?" "Maybe because you don't read the Daring Doo books... let alone at all." Sweetie smiled. "Hey, I read that one book." Scootaloo mentioned. "Written by Rainbow Dash, illustrated by Rainbow Dash and edited by Rainbow Dash." "It was pretty long though. A full blown novel." Scootaloo said. "I think I read that too... How I Got My Epic Cutie Mark and Made A Rainbow by Ms. Dash? Wasn't that like... 5 pages?" Pipsqueak said. "You’re not helping Pip." Scootaloo said. "Am I supposed to be?" Pipsqueak asked. "Let's just play the game." Scootaloo said, putting her hooves on the box. "Ok, let's see what we've got here..." Scootaloo opened the box. There was a square with light green outlines to form it into a grid. Around the square, there were bags with smaller tiles that seemed just about the same size as each square. The three children looked at the game in confusion. "... forget it. I'm playin' something else." Scootaloo said. "You two have fun with it." "Oh, c'mon Scoots." Sweetie said, trying to convince Scootaloo to play. "Nope." Scootaloo said, as she headed over to Dinky, Snips and Snails, who were playing Ponopaly. "Alright you three, I call the cloud." “But you’re always the cloud!” Dinky whined. "Guess she's out." Sweetie said. Sweetie was ready to follow her friend, until she noticed that Pipsqueak was still genuinely interested in the game. The two weren't the greatest of friends, but Sweetie wasn't about to leave the little colt to play by himself. "I guess we can figure it out ourselves, right Pip?" Pipsqueak nodded happily, as they both smiled. They opened up one of the bags and proceeded to place the tiles on the square board. Once they were set Sweetie looked at the board, realizing something. "Hey, Pip, I think this board is missing a piece." Pipsqueak examined the board, then shook his head. "No, I think this is about right. Ms. Cheerilee said this was a sliding game, right? Maybe we're supposed to slide the tiles. Try it." Sweetie took heed to Pipsqueak's hypothesis, and moved one of the tiles next to the empty spot into that spot. "Hey... don't you think this kind of looks like a picture? Like a square jigsaw puzzle?" "I guess we have to figure out how to slide the picture into place, huh?" The two messed with the puzzle for the few hours that were left in the school day. Cheerilee decided not to interrupt the children as they seemed to get engrossed in the various board games she'd lied out for them... either that or she was napping too long to realize when the indoor recess should have ended. Sweetie and Pipsqueak worked on the puzzle, barely making any real progress. They still managed to have fun as friends, talking and laughing as they tried to decipher the puzzle of the great explorer until- Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! The school bell rung, indicating the end of the school day. The school-ponies then proceeded to put away their games... all except Sweetie. Pipsqueak and Scootaloo stopped to see Sweetie still at the puzzle. Once they both had their coats put on, they went over to Sweetie. "Uh, Sweetie? Schools over." Pipsqueak said. "Right, I know." Sweetie said. "Just a couple more minutes." "You’re still at that puzzle thing?" Scootaloo groaned. "Mmmhmm." Sweetie said. "Listen guys. I gotta go. Mum 'll kill me if I'm late in this storm. See ya Scootaloo. See ya Sweetie." "Yeah, see ya Pip..." Sweetie mumbled, not taking her eyes off of the puzzle. Scootaloo silently waved as he headed out of the door into the rain. "Sweetie, you know Rarity'll probably kill you too if you're late." Scootaloo said. "Rarity wouldn't notice If I were a couple hours late." Sweetie said bitterly. "She's so into her celebrity ponies, she can barely glance at the clock." “Right, sore subject. Guess you’re still steaming over that fight…” Scootaloo said. Sweetie didn’t answer. After a few minutes, Scootaloo sighed. "Look Sweetie, sorry to break it to you, but you’re not gonna solve that thing any time soon." "Huh?" Sweetie asked, looking up at her friend. "Well... no offense, but you’re not the brightest pony out there." Scootaloo grinned sheepishly. "Doubt you'd finish it before tomorrow. Let alone… you know. Ever." Sweetie smiled cockily. "Wanna bet?" "If you could solve that sliding whatever before the end of school tomorrow, I'll..." Scootaloo thought. "I'll do your and Applebloom's homework for a week." Sweetie laughed. "You don't even do your own!" Scootaloo smiled at her friend. "Yeah. Guess we'll figure out what tomorrow huh? If you can, that is." "You can count on it." Sweetie said. "Alright, see ya Sweets. Don't stay too long." Scootaloo said. "I heard the rats love to come out at night." *** As Sweetie finished her memory, she'd also just about completed the puzzle. There were a few things she had to consider as she worked around it, such as the fact she couldn't move the floating roller-coaster, and the range in which she could suck up the circus models... but she managed to figure it out in good time. In the meantime, the filly was relieved that she could finally remember something that wasn't changed. It must have been another thing that came with the switching of worlds... but it didn't matter. As long as she still had the memories of who and what she was fighting for, she was sure she could keep moving forward. Thanks Pip... Sweetie thought. Like Scootaloo said, Sweetie wasn't the best when it came to puzzles, but if it weren't for the little colt, she would have never guessed how to solve the puzzle... maybe she would thank him once she got back to Ponyville... She used her GCD to suck in the last remaining piece into place. Now, everything seemed to be in place. The entrance was at the bottom, followed by a row of booths, the Ferris wheel, the food court, the center, the mirrored maze, the haunted house, the roller coaster, and finally, the circus tent. Sweetie suddenly felt a sense of pride, now looking at the path she'd managed to traverse. The odd thing though was that the ropes connected to the torch that were previously tangled, now seemed to be neatly set along the path that she'd taken. The filly wondered what would happen if she burned the torch and the ropes it was connected to... Sweetie went for the candles surrounding the model and used her Elemental Capture to consume the flames. Because the candle fire was so small, she didn't have much to work with, and she still wanted to keep enough light so that she wouldn't get so dark that she'd need her flashlight again. In order to ensure Sweetie got as much success igniting the flame as possible, she climbed up onto the model, careful not to damage any of the structures, or misplace any of the ropes. Once she was close enough, she gave the floating torch a good puff of flame. It ignited effortlessly, along with the rope. As the flame spread across the rope, lighting up every area Sweetie had been through with a bright orange flame, Sweetie heard something. It wasn't the sound of fire crackling, but it was a whistle. A small whistle Sweetie could only compare to when her sister would heat up water in her tea pot... an instinct in Sweetie told her to get off of the carnival model now. The filly leaped over the rides and booths as fast as she could, just in time to get off of the model platform as it blew up in a fiery blazed. Another trap... Sweetie figured. Why did I expect any less? It didn't end there. Suddenly, as Sweetie lied on her stomach in front of the blazing inferno atop the platform, she heard a ghostly laugh. The candles along the walls and around the model went out. The only light now illuminating the room was the fire trap she'd triggered. Sweetie noticed that the fire was dying quickly, and was almost positive she'd be in trouble when it went out. Thinking fast, the filly used her GCD to suck up some of the flames to defend herself with. She'd learned many times before that she couldn't rely solely on her flashlight to combat against ghosts... hopefully flames would work as well as ice did. By the time Sweetie's GCD was half filled with the fire essence, the fire was dead, putting Sweetie into the world of darkness once again. Sweetie felt the temperature of the room drop drastically. She readied her flashlight, shining it around the room, waiting for any ghost to phase through the wall. She was determined not to let them scare her- Three butler ghosts popped out of nowhere, surrounding Sweetie at a radius of about a yard. Sweetie jumped back at their sudden right into the hooves of one of the ghosts. It wrapped its forearms around Sweetie, trapping her as she dropped the flashlight. The filly struggled to get free, however it was no use. Her body was becoming too numb too fast for her to do anything significant. She still however, had her hoof close enough to the GCD to activate it. Sweetie's body stung with frostbite as she moved her hoof barely an inch to set the GCD Elemental Capture to expel. Once the two ghosts were within a hoof's length, she hit the button on the GCD nozzle. A burst of flames consumed her and the four ghosts. The heat was both refreshing and painful at the same time to Sweetie's front. It wasn't enough to hurt her, but the rapid change from cold to hot stung even more than the coldness of the ghost. She even felt a bit of the coat hairs on her stomach get singed by the flame. The ghosts however, weren't as adept to heat and light as she was. Ding! Ding! Ding! While the first ghost holding was simply hit by the light of the fire, the other ghosts, much like her, were hit by the flame itself. Their natural glow was overshadowed by the light of the flame as they ignited like a match. Their laughter turned to high pitched screaming as they flew around the room in futile attempts at extinguishing the flames. The ghost holding on to Sweetie let go and disappeared to repair its light shield and regain its chill from any heat it had consumed from Sweetie's flame. Once Sweetie was free, the filly didn't hesitate to switch her GCD back to its ghost catching mode in order to capture the two ghosts. ...3, yank!210. Magic Depleted. Capturing Ghost. the GCD said as the two ghosts were sucked into the confines of the GCD spectral containment pack. The second and third lights of the GCD lit up. Capture successful. Warning: GCD capacity at 50 percent. Ok. One more butler left... sure to be more. It's never that easy. Sweetie thought, readying herself for any other hostiles. She picked up her flashlight and stuck it back in her mouth, just in time for a licker to spin up in front of her. Ding! The glowing red licker had popped up right in front of Sweetie's light. Its grinning face went to horror in its mistake. "Ha! Saw you coming!" Sweetie said as she sucked up the licker. The fourth light on the Sweetie's back lit green. Her heart was pounding, adrenaline pumping through her veins. "Alright! Who's next?! I'll take on every last one of you!" Sweetie's moment of triumph and cockiness didn't last long as the room filled with laughter, louder than she'd experienced so far. On the far side of the room, three green butler ghosts phased through the wall... but they weren't normal ones. They were skeleton butlers... the ones Sweetie's light barely even worked on. Through the left wall came yet another licker and a foal ghost. To the right came another similar pair. As Sweetie's light went out instantly, her ears went down and her eyes dilated in fear. A bead of sweat went down the back of her head and mixed into her mane. "H-hey, guys. Y-y-you know I was kidding, right?" The ghosts’ laughter only got louder. Sweetie felt like covering her ears in an effort to block out their immense volume, but she shook her head. She wasn't going to give in to them now. Even if she was outnumbered, weaker, slower, less floaty... Sweetie got into the fighting stance Rainbow had shown her in the safe room. She wasn't as expert like with it as she was back at the carnival, but it was enough to show the ghosts she meant business... at least it was better than her "menacing" face as her teeth chattered in her skull. The ghosts’ laughter volume lowered slightly, allowing for Sweetie to process her thoughts normally. Here we go... can't afford any mistakes in this closed room... Sweetie thought. Just need to stay focused. I'm not going to die here. Sweetie gave the first attack, quickly switching to her GCD Spectral Throwback and hitting the middle skele-ghost. As she'd hoped, the flying ectoplasm did damage. However, rather than defeating the ghost, it simply damaged the skeletal armor, knocking it out of the ghost's body into the wall behind it. Ok, Skele-ghosts: 2 hits with the GCD Throwback to beat 'em. One hit makes them normal. Got it. Sweetie noted. Seeing their comrade defenseless, the second grinning skele-ghost got in front of the middle one as the third charged for Sweetie. Sweetie dodged to the left and ran forward as one of the foal ghosts took a shot of ectoplasm at the filly. The tip of Sweetie's tail caught a bit of the goo, but over all, she managed to dodge it as it splattered onto the ground behind her. Meanwhile, one of the red lickers flew up besides Sweetie and lashed its tongue out at her. She once again narrowly dodged it as she strafed to the right. She didn't however, escape the edge of its tongue as it slid across the side of her coat. Though it wasn't enough to knock her down, the filly did feel somewhat colder and weaker from the attack. Sweetie didn't let the licker have another go as she gave a shot of ectoplasm to the licker’s face, causing it to hit the wall and disappear for good. Three one of the green lights on Sweetie's back went red. One down, a hayload to go. Sweetie thought exhaustedly. Though the foal ghost was within range for her to shoot without missing, the filly knew best to save them for last. As a part of her strategy, she kept them around in case she needed to use their excursions for ammo. Instead, she shot at the second closest thing she could: the second skele-ghost. Much like the first ghost, the skeletal armor shot out of its body, whizzing past the ghost it was defending, and into the wall. Though Sweetie's hooves still shook from the immediate kickback the GCD gave upon firing a throwback, she managed to get in another shot, both ghosts and causing them to disappear like the lickker. Sweetie saw the final skele-ghost coming after her. She aimed her GCD at it, ready to destroy its light shield. Sweetie hit the button to fire a throwback. Portrait Ghost left. No other ammunition available. the GCD said. Of course not. Sweetie thought, cursing her negligence to count what she had left. The ghost rammed into the filly knocking her down. Sweetie managed to get up and dodge it as it came around for another attack. Sweetie circled around the skele-ghost, and dodged the licker’s tongue as it lashed out at her. She made it to where the foal ghost had previously spat at her and sucked the ectoplasm up into her GCD. She then proceeded to fire a shot of ectoplasm at one of the foal ghosts. It was a direct hit, causing it to disappear now. Ok... there's three ghosts left. That means... Sweetie thought, looking down at the flashlight still clamped down between her teeth. Sure enough, the light device flickered on, illuminating her front path. Sweetie circled back around the way she came to the licker. The red ghost tried to defend itself by trying to get a lick on the filly, however, Sweetie ducked just in time as she felt the chilling tongue graze her mane. She swept her flashlight in an upward direction to the licker. Ding! Sweetie went to suck up the licker, now that its light shield was broken. ...4, yank!3210. Capturing ghost. the GCD said. Sweetie whirled around to face the skele-ghost coming right for her. She immediately switched back to her throwback shot it with ectoplasm. It staggered back from the force as it's skeletal armor was ripped out. Sweetie charged for the ghost and lit it with her flashlight. Ding! Sweetie sucked up the butler ghost and turned back around to face the foal ghost, who was no longer laughing. It simply stared at the filly as she gave her own confident grin. "See ya." she said as she shot the foal with her last bit of ectoplasm. The ghosts were gone and no more came. Sweetie sighed in relief as the candles re-lit themselves. She was safe for now. Ok... besides nearly getting myself killed, what did that accomplish? Sweetie thought. Her first idea was to check out the door. Unfortunately, it was still locked, and she was still trapped. That hadn't changed. Sweetie then turned back around to face the model... it was a heap of ash now... or was it? She went over to the ash pile to get a closer look. Where the ropes had burned... there were embers. The glowing red embers were in particular shapes... they were numbers. Numbers 1 through 9 were writing in glowing red. They weren't in any particular order, and for the moment, Sweetie couldn't figure out for the life of her what it could mean... but after a few more seconds of examination, a thought came to her head. Could they be mansion floors? she thought. The font the embers were written out reminded Sweetie of her map and when it labeled which floor she was on. If that were true... then each area represented a floor of the mansion. Sweetie looked over at the pile of ash in which she could vaguely make out to be the food court. It had the number 8 written on it. That must have meant the camera was on the eighth floor. Sweetie made a point to remember that. The numbers weren't the only thing peculiar about the burnt model. Also, in the mist of the ash, a yellow chest with a red crystal at the lock had appeared. Sweetie stuck her flashlight back in her bag to investigate. Sweetie examined the chest, seeing that it had no keyhole, so Sweetie assumed she could just open it. It took a moment to realize she had to press the red crystal to release the lock. Once it was open, she took out each thing she found inside. The first thing Sweetie found... was an apple... not an ordinary apple, but a dessert apple, namely Pinkie's Sweetie Apple Surprise. The filly got a chill of fear, followed by a groan of hunger upon looking at the treat. "Please don't tell me what I think this means..." Sweetie said out loud. The last thing she wanted was to get the news that Pinkie was still loose. Sweetie then noticed a small note nailed to the apple. It was written in pink ectoplasm... apprehensively, Sweetie read it. Dear Jumpie, Good job catching me and those other c-a-razy ghosts! Didn't think you had it in you really, but don't think I'm done having fun with you yet! I've got one more super dooper fun game we can play before you get out of here. This one, I think you'll like the most... oh, I'll keep it a surprise for now, but trust me Jumpie. This one's gunna b gud he he he....It's also the only way off of this floor actually. I blocked all of the exits, so don't bother looking for any other ways around it... but don't worry. I promise. You'll want to play this one. See ya Jumpie! OXOXOXXO With Love <3, Pinkamina Diane Pie "Pinkie Pie. Even if you catch her, she'll still manage to mess with you." Sweetie sighed. "I wonder what this last game is, and why it's so special...?" Sweetie tested the hardness of Pinkie's candy apple. Unlike the previous ones, this one was hard and seemed to retain some warmth, indicating it couldn't have been made more than an hour ago. Sweetie decided to put away the apple for now, in case it somehow proved useful. She stuck it in a separate pocket of her saddlebags, so the caramel wouldn't stick to the other various items inside. Sweetie took out the next item, which she identified to be some kind of science beaker with a large cork on top. It glowed green, and seemed to be coated with a thin layer of ectoplasm on the inside. "Huh. Wonder what this is for? Might as well keep it. Wouldn't be here without a reason, right?" Sweetie put the beaker inside of her saddlebags. "What else, what else..." Sweetie said, going back to the chest. She next took out a piece of paper. It was a journal page... it was written by Specter this time. June 27th 852 A.C After the close encounter my dear sweet Sunflower, and my supplies... she hasn't trusted me. She doesn't say it flat out, but I can see it in her eyes 20/7. When we eat, when we walk, when we make love... she gives me the suspicion of a criminal, rather than a lover... I'm even getting the vibe she's trying to get my children on her side, rather than my own... but who could blame her, I suppose. That suspicion however, isn't why I've chosen to write today. I've written because of the semi-traumatic phenomenon that has occurred that I must have on record in case he makes me forget... In order to release some tension between Sunflower, my children and I, I bought us tickets to the Stabletown fair. I was never one to take my children to such... may I say 'commoner' events. I respect the general population a great deal, but there's always that danger when you have such a large amount of money like me... not to mention my line of work. In any case, we went, we had fun, the normal for a family outing as such... but things went bad when Sunflower and I separated with our kids. I'm not sure the details of how it started, but all I know is that Candy had a phobiapahy episode today. She ran amok though the carnival, and started a fire somewhere on the other side of the carnival... I'm not sure how, but considering it started in the second food court, I could only imagine in her fear, she knocked over something flaming... that's not important though. What's really important is what followed. Once the fire started and spread, naturally, my dear Sunflower attempted to put it out with her ability to manipulate flames... but she didn't put them out, oh no. Instead, when she touched the flames with her magic, they grew... no, exploded. I heard it from my side of the carnival, it was enough to stop the pie eating contest. Oblivious to any danger my lovely wife and child might be in, I followed the example of the other ponies and stallions and went for the entrance of the carnival. Thankfully, less than 20 minutes later, I was met with her, tears streaming down her eyes with Candy, holding on fearfully to the back of her neck. The fire spread quickly, engulfing the flames in an unquenchable fire. It took another good hour for the weather ponies to build up enough clouds to legitimately fight the fire. In the end however, very few injuries were reported and no deaths were registered... but that's not what scared me. This was my love's talent. To manipulate flames to her will, but in this case, she couldn't even control them it just didn't add up. I wondered if ........... but unlike the rest of Equestria, Stabletown, though it has plenty other problems, hasn't experienced any of those kinds of phenomena.......we had.......eal Some of the last parts of the journal entry were scratched out. Something was really up, and Sweetie knew it. What the hay was Specter talking about? Why had Madame's talent turned from controlling flames, to making them spread out of control? Just more questions... Sweetie placed her newest entry into the journal and went for the final item in the chest. It was a skeleton key. "Finally, we're getting somewhere." Sweetie thought. The filly didn't bother putting this into her bag, having a pretty good idea what it was for. Sweetie went back over to the locked door and stuck the key inside. As she'd hoped it was a perfect fit. She turned it and opened the door to exit. As she left the room, the candles flickered out and the room was dark aside from the faint moonlight that streamed through the opening in the door. Once again, checking to make sure that she was still heading in the right direction, Sweetie continued down the hallway to see what else she could find... *** After looking through a few rooms, Sweetie finally made it to the end of the hallway. She stood in front of the window that the moonlight mainly shined through. Upon arriving at the dead end, Sweetie saw what Pinkie meant through her note. To her right was what she assumed was another branch of the hallway. The path was blocked by a wall of boards nailed up to each other. The filly attempted to use her body to break it down, but it was no use. Either she was too weak, or it was too strong. In whatever case, that hallway was blocked off. To the left of the filly was a stairway. Much like the one on the 4th floor, this one also had its planks ripped out, reducing it to nothing more than a pit. Sweetie sighed, realizing she had no other choice but to play Pinkie's "game". She turned back around to face the opposite direction to head back to the plane... but she stopped. Down the hallway, she saw a glowing blue figure approach her. It was a unicorn ghost... no, it was a pegasus... no... it was an alicorn. Sweetie's eyes contracted in fear, knowing it could be only one pony. The raiser of the moon and princess of the night: Princess Luna. Sweetie watched as she approached the filly. Fear consumed her as she got closer and closer. Sweetie knew the power that alicorns had. She'd learned both in and out of school that alicorns were said to be the closest things mortals have come to gods. Proven by the church she'd visited earlier, they were even worshiped as legends. Sweetie knew that she couldn't hope to tame that kind of power... But could Specter? Sweetie thought. She remembered Specter saying that Celestia and Luna had unimaginable willpower... maybe she wasn't here to kill her. She wasn't even grinning like a ghost... Maybe she'd somehow escaped Specter's grasp? The thought caused the filly's heart to slow down a bit in her chest as Luna's distance grew shorter. Sweetie stepped forward. "P-princess Luna?" she called. The alicorn stopped in her tracks, staring at Sweetie. There was a pause for a moment before Luna finally spoke. "FILLY! TH-OU ART THE S-ISTER OF THE ELEM-ENTS?" She called. She seemed to be using her trademark Royal Canterlot Voice. It was quieter than she'd imagined, but she was definitely speaking way louder than any normal pony should have. It took Sweetie a moment to process what the princess had just said. She was the sister of Rarity, the Element of Generosity... "Yeah! I'm Rarity's sister! Sweetie Belle!" Sweetie said. "SWEET-TIE BELLE?" Princess Luna asked. "Yeah! I don't know if you've met her, but she's an element too!" Sweetie said. She was getting tired of yelling, so she began to walk over to her. Luna followed her example and began to walk toward her as well. "S-WEETIE! S-TO-P NOW!" Luna warned. Her words seemed forced, as though it were painful to speak every word that she yelled. "Huh? Why?" Sweetie asked, not stopping her walk. Luna's horn glowed blue, as though she were charging a spell. "BECAUSE I ART ABOUT TO KILL THOU!" She said. Sweetie's eyes went big as an instinct caused her to fall to her stomach and duck as a blue bolt of lightning whizzed over her head. "Woah! What the hay was that for?!" "I HATH NO C-ON-TRO-L OVER M-YSE-LF! R-R-RUN!" Luna yelled as she extended her wings, their length nearly taking up the entire width of the hallway. Sweetie scrambled to her feet and ran for Luna as she charged back. She had to get past her, as the path behind her was a dead end. As Luna had her wings extended, she also blocked the path in front of Sweetie... all but a small opening in the area between Luna's left foreleg and wing. It was small, but if Sweetie ran perfectly through it, she might be able to get past the mare. Sweetie leaped through the hole as Luna went to the side ever so slightly in an effort to help the filly get by. Sweetie rolled over, her outer coat freezing from the close encounter with the incredibly powerful ghost. Sweetie looked back at Luna as she turned around to face the filly. Now, she wore the same ghostly grin as the other ponies in the mansion. It twitched, showing some kind of futile resistance on the mare's part. "ha.... hahaha...RUN!" Luna forced. Sweetie couldn't believe it. Specter had managed to break Luna, the second most powerful being in her mind, into doing his will. "Ha...HaHAHAhahaha... RUN!" Luna ordered again. Sweetie took a step back in disbelief, trying to force her legs to move. "HaHAHEHAHARUNHAHAHAHEHEHEHEHARUNHAHAHAHA!" Luna laughed as she charged for another magic lightning bolt. That was enough to convince Sweetie to book it into the other direction, barely dodging Luna's second lightning attack. Sweetie ran, putting every ounce of energy into her escape. She knew that the alicorn alive had enough speed to beat Rainbow Dash as a ghost, and that she had no chance of outrunning her. Hopefully the real Luna could keep her ghostly counterpart slow enough to come up with a plan of action. For now, all she could do was run as fast as her little filly legs could carry her. Sweetie passed by many doors, and was almost sure that she'd passed more than she'd checked... no, she was almost sure. So far, the filly had left every door she'd come across open, and now, she was passing closed doors. That must have meant she had gone past her starting point... but the strange thing was, that she'd yet to come across the CMC plane. Had some pony taken it? If so, where and why? Sweetie kept running, until she heard a screeching caw some distance in front of her. Sweetie skidded to a stop. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Sweetie yelled. "I'm commin for ya Dumb Bell!" Gilda called from further down the hall. It was official. Between Luna and Gilda, Sweetie was trapped. She needed a plan, and fast. Somewhere to... Sweetie looked up at the door in front of her. It was the etching of a marble... it had to be Marbles' room. Sweetie didn't waste time to reach into her saddlebags, and snatched out the key. She stuck it into the lock and turned. The door clicked open. Sweetie raced inside and slammed the door behind her. She put the key into the hole on the other side of the door, locking it. That'll buy me some time. Sweetie thought panicked. Sweetie looked around the room. It was similar to Candy's room with the crib. The worst thing though, was the lack of hiding places Sweetie had other than under the crib, under the twin sized bed, behind the dresser, and in the closet. Even then, there was no doubt the mare and griffon would check all of those places. There was the window however... but Sweetie knew that even if she tried to escape out of there, she would never survive the fall to the bottom... but the window did give the filly an idea. Sweetie ran over to the window and unlocked it. As she did, she heard Gilda from the other side of the door as she tried to enter. "Break the damn door down mare!" Gilda ordered. Sweetie didn't have much time. Sweetie opened the window and laid Applejack's hat in front of it. She then sped over to the crib and hid under it as the door was busted down by a blue hoof. Gilda and Luna entered the room. They both looked around the room suspiciously. Gilda went over to look in the closet for the filly. Sweetie nearly let out a gasp as Princess Luna almost instantly looked at Sweetie under the crib. Sweetie assumed, much like Celestia and Pinkie, that she had a sixth sense that allowed the mare to know Sweetie's exact location. Then mare didn't say anything however, biting her lip to keep quiet. "Oh, Dumb Bell.... where are you..." Gilda asked. "Are you... under HERE!" Gilda asked quickly looking under the bed, as if to scare the filly should that have been her hiding spot. "Or... are you over HERE!" Gilda asked, checking behind the dresser. Seeing that she wasn't over there, she grinned, knowing there was only one other spot the filly could hide in the room. Gilda slowly went over to the crib. Sweetie closed her eyes and covered her head fearfully, knowing she was cornered... "W-AIT!" Luna said, stopping the griffon. "What the hay do you want?" Gilda asked her. "SH-E'S NOT IN H-ERE." Luna said. "What, do you think I'm stupid?" Gilda asked. "N-O, B-UT I BE-LIEV-E YOU D-O LAC-K C-OMMON S-ENS-E." Luna said. Gilda crossed her eyes and went over to the mare, standing over her. "Alright wise pony. Tell me. Where is she?" Gilda asked. "TH-E FILLY W-EN-T O-UT T-HE WIN-DOW!" Luna forced out, glancing over at Sweetie every few seconds. Thankfully, Gilda was too annoyed with Luna's insult to notice. "The window?" Gilda asked, looking over at the window that was wide open. Gilda went over to investigate. She picked up Applejack's beaten up hat and examined it. She threw it behind her and looked out the window. "She must have jumped into the courtyard down there... no way she could have survived a fall like that." "W-HY DO-TH T-HO-U NOT CH-EC-K?" Luna suggested, still unable to take her eyes off of Sweetie. Gilda went over and angrily put her beak to Luna's muzzle. "Look princess. I don't care who you are, but you'd better remember somethin'. You don't order me around, got it? I call the shots." "I W-AS M-ERE-LY MAK-ING A S-U-GES-TIO-N." Luna said. It took a few seconds before Gilda cooled down and got off of Luna. "C'mon, and follow me down to the courtyard to look around for her. And quit that Royal Canterlot Crap, no pony likes it, and it's annoying." Gilda flew down to the courtyard below. With one final look at Sweetie, she followed her new griffon master. Once they were gone, and Sweetie was sure she was safe, she sighed in relief. Sweetie was almost sure she would have a heart attack if she had any more close calls like that. Sweetie lied under the crib for a few moments to let her heart slowdown in her chest, and regain her composure. As she became much more aware of her surroundings, she noticed a peculiar smell in the air. "Ew... what is that?" Sweetie whispered out loud. She looked to her left to see that she was lying next to a moldy sandwich. "Yuck. Who hides a sandwich under their bed and forgets about it?" Sweetie noticed a sliver of yellow sticking out of the sandwich. Against her better judgment she slid it out of the sandwich. It was a slice of cheese, certainly better looking than the sandwich it was inside. Sweetie looked at the cheese, wondering why it hadn't aged like the sandwich... suddenly she heard something. Squeak. Though it was small, it was surprising enough for the filly to jump and hit the top of her head. "Ow..." she moaned, rubbing the umpteenth blow she'd received to her cranium. She looked forward to see that a little yellow ghost mouse had appeared right in front of her. "Oh, it's you again. Hi." Sweetie said softly. The mouse simply squeaked. Still holding the cheese, she crawled out from under the bed and walked to the center of the room to retrieve her hat. Once the hat was back on her head, Sweetie looked over to see that the mouse had followed her. "What?" Sweetie asked before looking at the cheese in her hoof. It squeaked eagerly. "Oh, you want this? Here you go little guy." Sweetie said, lying the slice of cheese in front of the mouse. Though Sweetie doubted the mouse had intentionally saved her life, she still felt she owed something to the little creature. After all, it was the only ghost besides Madame that didn't act hostile. Hm... wait a second... could I use you again? Sweetie wondered. Sweetie reached into her bag and pulled out the beaker she'd recently found. She wondered... Sweetie took the cork off of the beaker and placed its opening at the edge of the cheese, right next to the ghost mouse. She swept both the cheese and the mouse into the beaker. As Sweetie hoped, the mouse didn't phase through the glass or anything. It simply kept nibbling happily on the cheese. The glass must have been specially made to contain ghosts… "Don't worry little guy. I won't keep you for much longer. I just need you for a little insurance..." Sweetie stuck the cork back onto the top of the beaker, trapping the mouse inside. She then stuck the beaker on her head under her hat to keep from having to shuffle around her bag for it in an emergency situation. Something told the filly that this last game of Pinkie's would involve something with her possessed friends... Sweetie checked the crib, hoping that it might hold another item she would find useful. Inside the crib, there was a single key with a piece of peppermint stuck to its handle. Sweetie took it and pocketed it along with the marble key. There was no journal page to accompany it, and therefore, no other reason to stay in the room. Sweetie left the room, to face whatever the hallway had left to throw at her... *** Sweetie had walked for a good 4 or 5 minutes. She'd stopped checking rooms, having a good feeling she'd see a door that held something interesting inside of it. As she continued to walk for those few minutes, continuing to see nothing but a string of similar looking doors, Sweetie thought about going back to check the doors she'd passed... but then she came across what she was looking for. Sweetie stood in front of a large double door labeled "Play Room". On the two handles was a large lock with two key holes and a note taped to it. Sweetie took off the note and read it. Well, this is it Jumpie. This is one of those climactic thingies that authors like to do to keep their readers reading. That means that when you enter this door, you’re going to have to make a choice, and you’re not going to have much time to make it. I really wish you could have caught me later so I could watch... but I guess we can't all have what we want huh? Still though, I saved the best for last and the last... for you. Don't die too quickly Jumpie, M'kay? Good luck... you'll need it. Sweetie sighed as she folded up the note and put it in her saddle bags. She stuck the marble key and the peppermint key she'd collected into their locked and turned, releasing the lock and allowing Sweetie to enter. Sweetie gulped as she pushed the door open. and entered the play room. Once inside, she saw... no one at first. It was just a normal play room. Toys were scattered along the floor, dusty from age. A balcony window was open, allowing a cool breeze to enter the room. Above the filly was the CMC paper airplane, hanging weakly by two ropes. One at the tip and one at the tail. "Sweetie! How nice of you to join us." Spike said, revealing himself on the balcony. "Let me guess... Spiffy?" Sweetie asked. "Clever filly for you to make it this far. Wouldn't have expected you to make it this far when I let you into Yield Manor... Miss Belle." Spiffy/Spike said. "It's a shame that you weren't however, clever enough to realize that this was a trap." The door shut behind Sweetie, causing her to jump a little. The filly didn't take her eyes off of Spiffy/Spike as she examined him. He didn't have any weapons on him... however he held a rope in his claws. Sweetie looked up to see that it was attached to a pulley hanging by the rope at the tip of the CMC plane. Sweetie wondered what it could be for. It didn't look like the other end was connected to the plane.... "Didn't really have much of a choice, Mr. Spiffy." Sweetie said. "Young filly, there's always a choice. And I'm going to help you make one." Spiffy/Spike said. From the top of the plane, Sweetie saw Candy/Applebloom and Marbles/Scootaloo pop their heads over the edge of the plane. "What's up Sweetie Belle?" Candy/Applebloom asked through the knife in her muzzle. "Yeah! Sorry about running off like that. Trust me. Nothing like that is gonna happen again." Marbles/Scootaloo said. "You see Sweetie, our dear friend Pinkamina wanted us to play a little game." Spiffy/Spike said. "Yeah! Pinkie kept saying this one would be the best." Marbles/Scootaloo said. Her grin was particularly wide. "Well, are you going to tell me, or keep me in suspense?" Sweetie asked bitterly. "Sure! Why not?" Candy/Applebloom said. The two of them jumped simutaniously on the plane, causing the ropes it was attached to, to break and cause the plane to fall down to the ground. It was then Sweetie gasped in horror, as she saw that the other end of the rope attached to the pulley was tied around Scootaloo's neck. "No." Sweetie breathed. "Here's how the game will work." Spiffy/Spike explained. "You have say... two minute to exorcise both Ms. Applebloom and Ms. Scootaloo here. If you don't..." Spiffy/Spike backed to the edge of the balcony. "I'll jump. As you could imagine, this will cause Mr. Spike to dangle for his life and Ms. Scootaloo to hang... and I'm sure you wouldn't want that on your conscience, hm? There is a way to save her however if you fail... but I'll let you figure that out if it come to that. Those are the rules." T-two minutes to exorcise both of my friends, or they'll d-die? Sweetie thought. The filly still barely had any idea of how to exercise to begin with... did she? She remembered how the mouse scared Marbles/Scootaloo into running away... and that glow in his/her mouth... maybe she could scare the spirit out of her... but that still left Applebloom. She got scared when gooey things got in her hair... she didn't have any ectoplasm on her, but there was some on the plane. Sweetie's plan formulated in her head. It was something she could work with... but whatever the case was, Sweetie wasn't going to let her friends die. "And... let the games begin." Spiffy/Spike said spreading his arms, indicating the start of the clock. Marbles/Scootaloo charged at Sweetie as she dodged to the right, circling around the paper airplane. "C'mon Sweetie. You’re supposed to be saving your friends. Not running away from them!" Marbles/Scootaloo laughed. Candy/Applebloom leaped at Sweetie, attempting to cut her with her knife. Sweetie dodged again, as Applebloom attempted to swipe at the filly a good number of times. Sweetie received a few scratches in that time, but nothing enough to fatally wound the filly. "Once you’re dead, we're gonna get Pinkie back, and then we're gonna go after your stupid grown-up friends!" Candy/Applebloom laughed. After glancing at the orange filly, Sweetie noticed that rather than joining the fight, Marbles/Scootaloo simply sat by, watching as Candy/Applebloom kept the filly from her. All she had to do was wait until the minute was up... chances were, once Scootaloo's body was dead, Marbles would trade Scootaloo's body for hers... Sweetie wasn't prepared to let any of that happen. She had to stop the both of them... and she had a plan. "One minute left Ms. Belle." Spiffy/Spike said. Sweetie needed to get Candy/Applebloom off of her back and fast. Luckily, Sweetie noticed Candy/Applebloom get tired for a split second, opening her up to an attack. Sweetie seized the opportunity and rammed into the filly, knocking her onto the paper airplane. Sweetie didn't hesitate to leap off of the filly and over onto Scootaloo putting the filly on top of her. "Not so nice the other way around huh?" Sweetie said, trying to remain as brave as possible as her friend's life was ticking away. It was time to reveal her secret weapon. Sweetie took off her hat and took out the jar. Scootaloo's body went weak for a moment at the sight of the creature. "No. Anything but that!" Marbles/Scootaloo pleaded. Sweetie released the cork, pouring the mouse and cheese onto Scootaloo's stomach. The mouse was oblivious to everything around it as it enjoyed its dairy product. "No! Get it off of me!" Marbles/Scootaloo screamed, trying to get free of Sweetie. Between Marbles fear and inability to use the body he'd possessed correctly out of said fear, it was useless. "Get it off! GET IT OFF! GET IT!!! AAAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAH!" Scootaloo's mouth and eyes glowed as they went wide open. Marbles flew out of Scootaloo's body screaming and rubbing his body in attempts to get a mouse off that wasn't even there. Its tail was still somewhat inside of Scootaloo's mouth. Sweetie had but a few seconds now to get Candy out of Applebloom before Marbles' phobiapathy wore off and he flew back into Scootaloo. Sweetie noticed that the filly was still somewhat lying on the plane, looking up at her brother as he screamed. Sweetie seized the opportunity and leaped off of Scootaloo's unconscious body and over onto Applebloom, catching the filly off guard. Sweetie got on top of Candy/Applebloom in the same manner she did with Scootaloo. Applebloom spit the knife out of her mouth, loosely into her hoof. She tried to stab Sweetie at her side, however the filly managed to knock it out of the air, and cause her to drop it. "Thirty Seconds left." Spiffy/Spike said. Sweetie bent down and hugged Candy/Applebloom by the abdomen and rolled over once toward the tip of the tail, where the ectoplasm was. Candy/Applebloom saw how close her head was getting to the substance. Once Sweetie had wrestled her over to the green glowing splotch, the filly struggled to keep her head and mane up from touching the goo. "No! NO!" Candy/Applebloom cried in much the same way as Marbles. "Now, get out of my FRIEND!" Sweetie screamed as she forced the filly's head into the goo. The filly's red mane was covered in the goo, causing her to start hyperventilating before screaming madly. Just like Scootaloo, Applebloom's mouth and eyes began to glow before Candy flew out of Applebloom, leaving the filly unconscious. "Time to end this." Sweetie said as she went into her saddlebags and snatched out her flashlight. Quickly she swept the two children with her flashlight, so much so, she lost her grip and threw the flashlight across the room. Ding! Ding! "Gotcha!" Sweetie yelled as she started to suck them up with the GCD dual capture. 20,19,18,17... the GCD said monotone. At the sound of the vacuum and the feeling of the magic being taken off of their bodies, the two children began to panic. Like the other ghosts, the two tried to escape the GCD's grasp, but since they kept going in the opposite direction of each other, Sweetie wasn't dragged around as much as she might catching one ghost. ...14,13yank!1211109, 8... The two children's screams got louder and louder. Their tails had yet to leave the mouths of her friends, limiting their movements as well. In a nutshell, they were tied down by the bodies they possessed. "Not so fun when you’re the ones getting scared huh?!" Sweetie yelled at the children. "No! You can't do this! Mommy and Daddy wouldn't let you!" Candy screamed. I beg to differ. Sweetie thought, remembering Madame’s request. "Miss Pinkie said that this wouldn't happen! This can't be happening!" "Don't worry!" Sweetie said. 3, 2, 1. Magic Depleted. Capturing ghost. the GCD said. "You'll be able to tell her all about it now!" Sweetie said. Suddenly, something happened Sweetie didn't quite expect. The GCD let out two bolts of lightning similar to the ones it used to capture the portrait ghosts. The filly thought that this only happened when she was catching the Portraits of Harmony... The bolt of lightning killed Sweetie's adrenaline high, and converted it into pain. She screamed right along with the children as they were dragged into the GCD. Their tails were ripped right out of the mouths of her friends as they glittered on the floor for a moment before going still again. With one final scream, the children were dragged into the confines of the GCD, and the room was silent again. Sweetie weakly collapsed to her stomach, panting lightly. As Sweetie started to drift out of conciousness, her eyes went to her friends... she watched as their chests went up and down, showing signs of breathing... They're alive she thought as she closed her eyes, fainting... ... ... ... ... ... "Bravo Ms. Belle." Spiffy/Spike said. "Bravo indeed." Sweetie's head turned sharply toward Spiffy/Spike, as she still held a slim grasp on her consciousness. "Before I go, might I be so kind to ask you a simple question?" Spiffy/Spike asked. Sweetie could have sworn the dragon took a step back, closer to the edge as he talked. "W...what?" Sweetie managed to let out. "Can you... sing?" Spiffy/Spike asked. It was a random question, and one that puzzled Sweetie. Why the hay would he be asking that? "I... I guess..." Sweetie said weakly, watching as Spiffy/Spike took another step closer to the edge. It was then her brain began processing what he was about to do. "No..." She mumbled. Spiffy/Spike chucked. "Just a bit of curiosity on my part. Goodbye Ms. Belle." Spiffy said as he launched his ghost out of Spike's body, bringing back the dragon's green eyes. Unlike the two filly's the dragon was quite conscious as he began to fall backwards over the balcony. "No, no NO!" Sweetie screamed, finding energy she didn't even know she had to get herself up and run over to the dragon. "Woah! Woah!" Spike yelled as he fell. Still gripping the rope, he fell. As he did, Scootaloo regained some consciousness right in time for her to be yanked up into the air by the noose around her neck. She gagged, grabbing on to her neck in futile attempts to release the rope that was cutting off her air supply. Sweetie ran over and grabbed the rope, but not in enough time to keep Spike from falling over the ledge. Now, as Spike held on for dear life, the only thing keeping him from falling to his death in the courtyard below, was Scootaloo who hanged in the room choking. Sweetie did her absolute best to pull Spike up by the rope, but it was no use. She was far too weak to do anything to help the dragon. As the clock ticked further and further down as Scootaloo's eyes went red from lack of oxygen. Sweetie was running out of time... then a thought popped into her head. An evil thought in the voice of the ghost Pinkie Pie... Cut him loose. the voice said. If Sweetie cut Spike off of the rope, then Scootaloo would be released... but that would also kill Spike... did she really want to do that? She couldn't pull him up herself, so there was no way Spike was going to live... right? The thought sickened her. Sweetie was running out of options, and she'd have to make a decision fast. Cut Spike and let him loose... or leave him and let them both die... Shakily, Sweetie abandoned the rope for a moment to fish out Applebloom's knife from her saddlebags. She couldn't believe what she was doing. Though her hooves shook, she felt like a robot as she went to cut the rope and and let it fall along with Spike- "Sweetie!" Applebloom called running over to her. Sweetie dropped the knife and looked over at her friend. "Wha's happinin'?!" She asked panicked. "Why' is-" "Spike! Sweetie said. "We need to pull him up now!" Sweetie wouldn't have been able to pull up the dragon by herself, however with the combined strength of Applebloom and herself, they managed. Once Spike was up onto the balcony, Scootaloo dropped back to the ground, gasping for air. From all of the stress the filly had endured, Sweetie fell down right on the spot, unconscious and unmoving...
Intermission Inception"Princess?" Busby Sword, one of the guards asked as he creaked the door open. When he received no answer, he swung the door wide open, allowing the torchlight from outside to . "Princess? Are you in here?" He asked again. Still, he received no answer. The silence gave the rookie guard a certain chill he wasn't used to. Though moonlight was softly blanketed over what the guard assumed was her bed, it was still quite hard to see what was inside. His horn glowed in order to turn on the grand lamps that sat in the corners of the room, illuminating it grandly. At the center of the room sat a bed of soft white feathers Celestia had gathered over the years of her rule. Over the bed was a large window in the shape of a sun, allowing the small clouded moonlight in. She's not here? Busby thought. Where could she have gone? The bed didn't show any signs of stress or movement, as the edges of the sheets were still tucked in at various spots under the feathers... however no new ones had shown up. No doubt about it, Celestia hadn't slept in her bed since the previous night. This rose the question however... what did that mean? Where was the sun Princess? The sun would have to be up in less than 2 hours. What if it didn't come up? A thought also stuck the guard. Prior to his recruitment, he'd been a common pony who'd walked around like everyone else. The only reason he went into the guard training nearly two years ago was because of the "Great Threats of Equestria" incidents. One’s notable included Nightmare Moon and Discord... He'd wanted to protect the ones who'd gotten hurt during their games and be able to save lives... or at least that was his surface reason. Part of him simply took up the job to be close to the princess on such an occasion so he'd be somewhat protected by such a powerful pony, both politically and physically. It was also partially the reason why he became a sun guard. Though Princess Luna wasn't exactly feared in Equestria, but rather loved, the guard still held some left after the Nightmare Moon incident as she watched guards get shot out of the air by her lightning. The guard wondered... could that mare have returned? The thought frightened the guard, but he shook his head. It couldn't be true... Celestia herself even assured that the manifestation of the mare's hatred and mental anguish couldn't have recreated itself. Besides, even if it was true, he knew he shouldn't have been too naive to think that a job as Equestria's basic military force wouldn't involve some kind of danger every now and again, even in the mostly peaceful country of Equestria... None the less, the guard knew well to notify his platoon leader of the sun princess's disappearance. Quickly, he bolted out of the room, running down the hallways to the main entrance. He remembered how he was complaining he was the one with the mundane task of checking up on the princess every hour or so... he just thought it was one of those things that guards gave the rookie to do to keep them from the important stuff experienced guards got to do. With that thought, he'd been severely slacking on his hourly check on the princess... specifically, this was the second time he'd checked on her his first night on the job. The first time was around seven o'clock yesterday, in which the Princess had still yet to return. He'd assumed that she was out doing... whatever sun princesses did. Ever since, he'd been wandering around Canterlot Castle, listening to the rain as it beat against the walls. Since it was nearly the end of his shift, and the rain had let up enough to actually leave the castle, Busby thought the least he could do was check on the princess one last time... The stallion finally made it to the Guard Barracks to confront platoon leader Duarte Knight, who was shining his sword along with Waite, a 2 year vet. Unlike Busby, they both had seen a lot of action between the two Great Threats. They both wore similar scars from the lightning bolts they'd received from Nightmare peeking out from the edges of their armor. They also held emptiness to their eyes when silent, hinting they'd been touched by Discord in some way. Other than the placement of their scars, their eye color, Waite's being purple and Duarte's being indigo, and the fact one was earth and the other was pegusi, they looked very similar to the other sun guards. They both, much like himself, had coats altered to be white by the enchanted golden armor they wore. Upon Busby's arrival, they both turned from their swords to the panting stallion. "Busby? What are you doing? Your shift shouldn't end for another 10 minutes! Get back to your post!" Duarte ordered. Waite was the first one to notice Busby's fearful demeanor. "What's wrong Bubble? First day on the job and you've already lost your nerve?" he laughed. Once Busby had caught his breath, he looked up at his superiors. "The... the princess." he breathed. Duarte looked at the stallion peculiarly. "What about her? Speak up stallion!" "She's... she's missing." he breathed. Durate and Waite looked at each other, then back at Busby. "Are you sure?" Waite asked. "Of course I'm sure." Busby said bitterly. "I checked her bed, and all around her room. She's not there. I doubt she even went into her room this night-" "Wait, wait wait." Durate stopped him. "You’re saying that she wasn't in her room all night? Why didn't you report this earlier?" Uh oh. Shouldn't have let that slip out. Busby thought. "I uh... wasn't exactly checking her in detail." "Not in detail? Or not at all." Durate said, crossing his eyes. He gave the stallion a look that made him gulp. After a few seconds of angry staring, he turned to Waite. "Waite. Get the moon guards to check on Princess Luna. Let's see if we've got two missing princesses. I'm going to notify all guards to search the entire castle for Princess Celestia. Neither of the princesses are found, I'll have a few moon and sun guards meet at the castle gates to discuss the next plan of action." Waite nodded and left the barracks room. Busby tried to turn to leave and clock out for the night. "Wait rookie." Durate said angrily. Oh boy. Busby thought turning back to the angry platoon leader.. "You..." the pegusi said before sighing. "You didn't do your duty tonight, and for that, I'm disappointed in you. You swore an oath to protect the princess and to serve her was your duty." Durate said. Sorry if walking back and forth around one door doesn't count as a 'duty' in my book. Busby thought. "I should have you relieved of duty right now... but until we find the princess, I need you to assist with the search around the castle." "Y-yes sir." Busby said. "Once the princess is found, I'll let her discipline you. She has her own... special ways of dealing with lazy guards such as yourself. The thought of Celestia punishing him did scare him, as Celestia seemed way too nice on the surface to "punish" any pony. Busby had read a book about a mare, who seemed to be happy, bubbly and cheerful, but in the end, she just gutted her best friend like a fish. "Well? What are you waiting for? Get out of my face. See if you can't redeem yourself by acting like a real guard who cares about his princess." Busby silently swallowed and nodded before exiting the barrack room. Outside, Waite was waiting for him. He gave the rookie guard a friendly smile. "Don't worry Bubble. Every pony does something like that on their first day on the job. Duarte gets on them all." he assured. "Only a hoofful of them get to the point of really getting it from the Princess, and she doesn't do much." "Really?" Busby asked. "Yeah. I mean, no one's been sent to the moon as far as I've been here. The worst I've heard is something about the princess liking to touch her guards... but that's probably just a rumor." Dear Celestia I hope so... wait... Busby thought. "Well, you'd better get going." Waite said patting Busby on the back of the neck before continuing down the castle hall. "Last thing we'd want is for some Knighty to find you just standing around... or he actually might let Celestia getcha." He laughed before leaving Busby alone. *** Busby walked around the castle, passing by other guards, both sun and moon looking for the same alicorn that was absent. The guard stallion figured that the princess of the moon was also missing, given the number of moon guards he'd passed by so far. He'd already checked a few rooms and briefly the dungeons. There was no sign of either princess anywhere. He decided to head out to the castle gates where Durate told the guards to meet. Once outside, the moist air hit his face. Water that lingered from the heavy rain that had pounded the night earlier seeped through the sides of his armor and into his mane. The feeling chilled the guard... Busby hated that feeling of coldness in his mane. He walked along the path to the castle gates, passing by the statues of ponies that had made names for themselves in Equesrtia history... for better or for worst. Busby stopped in front of one statue in particular. He knew this one well, as should any pony have for that matter. Standing in a triumphant pose, was the stone depiction of the god of chaos, draconequus of disorder, and male of mayhem, Discord. Standing next to him, was another stone statue of Nightmare Moon, standing smugly against Discord. Though they were two different villains with very different goals, the two seemed to fit standing together. Though Busby knew very well that Nightmare wasn't real, but he did know that Discord was. Busby closed his eyes remembering the story of what happened in the two stories... all guards knew this information, for they had to in order to pass the written portion of the Royal Guard exam. Nightmare was the one who hated Celestia for imprisoning her on the moon, fighting the princess over Equestria for 10 years... Discord was the one who liked to have fun messing with ponies, and managed to overthrow Celestia and Luna for 300 years... Busby remembered why Nightmare was released, given her banishment clock had just ran up. Discord however... he could vaguely remember. All he could remember was that it had something to do with three fillies... he remembered their names were Applebloom, Scootaloo and... but Busby couldn't remember the third one for the life of him. He figured she couldn't be that important anyway. Busby continued to stare at the statue, mesmerized, but he wasn't sure why. Was it the simple fact that he was standing in front of a god that couldn't move because he was encased in rock? Or was it something about the- "Sun Guard!" a mare called. Busby turned to face a guard who wore the armor and dark coat of a moon guard. Her flamboyant eyelashes indicated she was in fact female. "What do you know. I didn't know they let mares guard the-" Busby started. "Shut it rookie." the moon guard mare snapped. Sheesh. Try to be friendly. Are all guards like this to newbies? Busby thought. "What are you doing? This is a national emergency!" she said angrily. "The princess is missing and all you can think to do is stare at stones?" "It's... an interesting stone." Busby said timidly. The mare squinted angrily, indicating the stallion should change his approach. "Hey, my name's Busby. Busby Sword. What's yours?" "Busby... I'm surprised your application was accepted on account of your name, let alone your laziness." Hey lady. We just met. I haven't even taken a nap yet. Busby thought. And what's wrong with my name?! "Busby! Paita! Quit flirting and get over here!" Another moon guard called, accompanied by another moon guard, Waite and Durate. "You've got a job to do." Paita grumbled something before flying over to her platoon leader. "Come on you!" She called back to Busby. Oh boy... ten seconds and I've already got her hating me too. Busby thought. Sun and Moon guards always had a moderate rivalry, but no immediate feeling that represented whatever Peta Sharp felt toward Busby. Something told him that by the end of the night, the two would love each other to pieces, or potentially want to slit each other's throats. Maybe both. The unicorn sun guard trotted over to the group to join them. From there, he could see that they were all surrounding one of the royal chariots. "Alright, listen up the five of you!" Durate said. Though they weren't apart of the same team, all three of the moon guards stood strait and dignified to listen to what the platoon leader had to say. Busby was the only one who jumped before joining the rest of the ponies in the same manner. Durate shook his head at the stallion. "As of now, Princess Celestia is missing, and the country of Equestria is on national alert." First day on the job, and there's an official national crisis? Super. Busby thought. "Might I also add..." one of the moon guards came out of the small group to join Duarte. He was likely the leader of that platoon of moon guards. "... that Princess Luna is missing as well." "Right. As you all are aware of, this has happened before... must I mention the Nightmare Moon incident?" Duarte said looking at Busby. "What?" Busby asked. "Nothing... you just seemed like one of those who screwed through the test and lucked out getting the answer right." Durate admitted. The moon guards chuckled amongst themselves as Busby sighed. "I know all about Nightmare Moon and Discord... sir." Busby said. "As you should." the moon guard platoon leader said. "In any case, our first order of business is to alert the Elements of Harmony in Ponyville of this. You may know them from one of Celestia's pupils, Twilight Sparkle." Huh. So I'm going to meet the 'oh so famous' Mane 6 huh? Busby thought, commenting on the nickname he'd heard some of the Canterlot folk talk about. I guess that's kind of cool. "Though... keep in mind. We may be dealing with Nightmare Moon this night." Durate said. "Or a crazed Celestia." the moon leader commented. "This means, keep your swords close to you. You don't know what you might face tonight." Busby looked to his side to see that he in fact did not have a sword on him. "Uh... I don't have a-" "That's fine." Durate said. "Hopefully, you won't need one." The guard ponies began to pile into the chariot ready to go. Durate took his spot at the left of the harness to the chariot to fly it. "And if we do encounter one of the alicorns in a hostile mood..." Paita said in a tone the stallion couldn't help but process as seductive, walking past him. "...we could always use you as bait." Busby gulped once more as she finally took her spot at the front of the chariot to assist Durate in piloting the craft. "Come on Busby!" Waite called. "I kept your seat warm for you!" Busby sighed. His shift should have ended 10 minutes ago. And something told him... That his night had only just begun...
Chapter 18- The Taste of Fire and NeedlesNo... no dream this time? Sweetie thought. She was in darkness now, with the same falling feeling she'd felt every other time she'd fallen asleep that night. However this time, there was no voice to sooth her... no memory to remind her... just darkness. Though Sweetie wasn't fully conscious to grasp any fear in her situation, it was still somewhat uncomforting. She couldn't do anything in that state. Her mental capacity felt extremely constricted in the dark environment. She couldn't remember anything, no matter how hard she tried. She couldn't think beyond simple thoughts. She wished she would just wake up to face whatever hell she had to go through next. The filly's wishes were answered as she saw the light rushing toward her. Knowing no escape from that light she walked towards it, feeling more and more pain as she did. No doubt about it, she was going to wake up in a few seconds... Sweetie Belle... It was Rarity's voice again, causing the filly to stop in the middle of the light. "Rarity?!" She called. Don't come after me Sweetie Belle... Please... The voice of her sister sounded sincere. It was a nice change from her yelling at the filly, wishing for her death for the mistakes she'd made with the mare. She almost wanted to honor her wishes... but Sweetie shook her head. "I... I told you... I can't do that sis, I'm sorry." Sweetie said to the voice. "I'm going to save-" Don't you get it?! I don't want to be saved you stupid clumsy filly. Rarity said. Her voice seemed to quiver with fear. She breathed for a moment before beginning to talk again. I can't leave him Sweetie. I... I love him. "No you don't!" Sweetie yelled. Who do you think you are yelling at your only sister in the world?! Rarity asked angrily. I'm the closest thing you have to love. Mother and Father don't leave you here every month to be with me. Deep down, you know they wanted to get rid of you. Give you up, but no... they decided to give you to me... to ruin my last chance at love! "I'm going to find you Rarity..." Sweetie said. Don't you dare! Not now! Rarity yelled. "I'm going to find you... and I'm going to catch you... and... and..." Sweetie said through gritted teeth. "I'm gonna HURT Specter for what he made you do!" You wouldn't. Rarity laughed. Sweetie wasn't sure where this new found anger was coming from. Did she really hate Specter that much? The kiss that she'd heard after escaping the carnival, though it gave her initial disgust, also plagued on her mind. Was it the kiss? The thought of Specter taking Rarity away from her again? Sweetie was almost afraid of what she might do when she saw Specter... yet another part of her wanted to find out. "I..." Sweetie started. "Rarity... you've got to understand! Specter's controlling you! Why won't you admit it?!" Hmph... you'd like that wouldn't you? You'd like to believe that I'm the victim here... no Sweetie Belle... Specter may have me... but he's not controlling me. Rarity said softly. Horrifyingly, it almost sounded like the real Rarity, as if Sweetie had taken a picture of her with the camera. "I... I don't believe you." Sweetie said silently. ...I'll warn you one more time Sweetie... Don't-Look-For-Me. Rarity said. Sweetie remained silent. It was no use if Rarity was under Specter's control right? The words stung the filly... but the only way the stings would stop was if she caught her and brought her back to her senses. It was the only way... right? Sweetie walked further into the light. She heard Rarity say something else, but she didn't listen. All she had to focus on was waking up, figuring out what next, and eventually saving her sister from Specter... *** Sweetie woke up painfully, though she'd done it so many times, it didn't come to her as a surprise. The filly knew she had to get up eventually, but she decided to make a point to rest for the moments she could. The weakness in her body noted that she must have caught another portrait... but that couldn't be right. The filly vaguely remembered catching Pinkie... but then who could be left? The only one it could have been was Rarity, right? The filly's mind was still extremely cloudy from waking up. Sweetie attempted to get up... as usual, she had a hard time getting up the first time. The second time, her body didn't even respond. The third time, was the same. Sweetie was starting to get scared. What had she done to make her body so unresponsive? She couldn't have been dead yet, for the pain in her body constantly reminded her of the life still miraculously her body... The hay did I do to myself? Sweetie wondered. She tried once more, finally getting her left hoof up. Then her right hoof, putting her into a push up position. When she tried to put weight on her hind legs, the broken leg pain wasn't as intense as the one that rang through her body. At least that was something that was getting better. At that point, she was on all four hooves. Sweetie blinked a few times to fix her vision, and shook her head, trying to get out the cloudiness that still lingered in her head. She looked up from the ground to see what was in front of her. The filly gasped when she saw her friends in the room. Applebloom was by Spike who constantly yanked at the door, trying to open it. Scootaloo was a little more active, looking around the room for something. Applebloom turned to Sweetie and smiled warmly. Sweetie however didn't process the smile as warm or friendly in any manner. All she saw was the grin of a possessed filly. "'Ey look! Sweetie's up!" Applebloom said happily. Oh no. Sweetie panicked. Scootaloo and Spike turned from what they were doing and also turned to look at the filly. "Hey Sweets!" Scootaloo said, climbing over the plane, followed by Applebloom and Spike. They walked together to confront the filly. Sweetie took a step back, but misplaced a hoof, causing her to fall onto her flank. Sweetie had to think fast. She was surrounded, for when she looked back, all she saw was the edge of the balcony. Sweetie had to do something. Sweetie, not completely sure of what she was doing, grabbed a hold of her GCD nozzle and shakily aimed it at the three of them. "S-stay back." the filly said softly. Though none of the children saw Sweetie as a threat, puzzled at her behavior they respected her request and stopped. "What? What's wrong Sweetie?" Spike asked. "Yeah, and what's that thing you’re holding?" Scootaloo asked. "S-stay back." Sweetie muttered again. The three of them took a step back. "Wer' goin' back Sweetie. No need ta be pointn' that there... whatchamacallit at yer good ol' friends ri'?" Applebloom said. "You’re not my friends." Sweetie muttered under her breath. The three looked at each other and back at Sweetie. They knew something was wrong with their friend, though they couldn't quite figure out what. She seemed to have a look in her eye... something between the feelings of paranoia, fear, anger, and distrust. They weren't sure what to say... so they waited. Sweetie kept her GCD shakily aimed at her friends for about a minute. The silence between the four of them for that minute was deafening. Finally, Sweetie decided to break it. "W-what are you doing?" "Waiting for you to stop acting so crazy." Scootaloo said. "I-I'm not c-crazy. You’re crazy. Y-you’re trying to kill me, remember?" Sweetie said. "Sweetie, were not the ones aiming a vacuum cleaner at you." Spike said. "'n wha's all 'is stuff 'bout killin'? No pony's tryin ta 'urt no pony." Applebloom said. Sweetie blinked 3 times, clearing her vision, and swallowed, moistening her dry throat. Her mind was coming back. Memories resurfacing of the capture of Marbles & Candy and Spiffy's escape... which meant... "Y-y... you’re not... possessed?" The three children looked at each other and laughed, causing Sweetie to take a step back. Once they were finished, they spoke again normally, rather than trying to speak in between laughs. "You sure are funny Sweetie. Possessed." Spike said, wiping a tear from his eye. "Where the heck'd you get an idea lik' that?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie couldn't believe it. It was them... it was really them. Her friends were back. No longer possessed by some evil spirit that wanted her dead... but good friends that only wanted the best for her. They were her real friends. Tears of pure joy began to uncontrollably stream down Sweetie's face. Applebloom and Scootaloo immediately knew that their friend needed them. They walked over to Sweetie to give her a great big group hug. Spike hesitated before joining in the hug himself. They weren't sure what Sweetie was crying about, nor did they know how uplifted Sweetie felt from the simple embrace of her friends. The hug was warm, not only physically from their combined body heat, but spiritually, Sweetie felt 50 degrees warmer. The feeling of her friend's arms around her was numbing, and for the moment, Sweetie couldn't feel an ounce of pain in her body. The hug over all... was healing the filly. Sure, the scratches and bruises were still there, but the filly was healed spiritually more than any heart candy could have. Sweetie wasn't entirely sure how long the hug lasted, but whatever it was, she thought it was way too short. Still though, she knew very well that she didn't have time to indulge in such simple things. She still had a job to do... it was still comforting however to know that she wouldn't have to do it alone anymore. Sweetie let the two fillies and dragon step back. She gave them a smile, in which they responded back in the same way. Awkward silence filled the room. What was a pony to say to the characters that'd minutes before, tried to kill her? Sweetie wasn't sure what to say... sure, they were her friends, but that didn't change the fact for the last few hours the fillies and dragon had made several attempts on her life. Just like the mares, she was for the most part, sure that she didn't hold any ill will against them... but the question became: how did they feel about all of this? "Um... crazy night huh?" Sweetie said in an attempt to break the silence once more. "I'll say." Scootaloo said. Her head was to the side as she stared at Sweetie, as though to get a different angle on the filly. "Sweets... you alright?" Sweetie let out a small chuckle. "I'll live." she said. "Ya sure? Ah reckon you done look li' ya saw a ghost when ya saw us." Applebloom said. What pony wouldn't be afraid of a filly who has the image of her holding a bloody butcher's knife in her muzzle burned into her mind? Sweetie thought. "Yeah! I thought you were gonna jump off of the balcony to get away from us." Spike added. After all I've done tonight, I could honestly see myself trying to escape like that. Sweetie thought. "Don't worry." Sweetie said. "I'm fine. I'm not mad either." The three children looked at each other again, then back at Sweetie. "...mad about what?" Scootaloo asked. "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah! What's there to be mad about? Should you be mad?" Spike asked. Sweetie paused, thinking for a moment. Why weren't they guilt ridden just like the other mares... excluding Rainbow Dash, who was likely holding it in. She might expect some pony like Scootaloo to maybe sidestep the events of the night... but not Applebloom or Spike. They didn't even look guilty... rather they looked like the same friendly faces that she'd seen nearly every day of her life... it was then Sweetie came to a conclusion. They weren't guilty because they didn't remember. She had to find out. "Um... guys?" Sweetie asked. "What's up?" Scootaloo asked. "I was just wondering... do you guys... remember anything? Anything at all?" The three looked at each other once again with uncertainty. "Well..." Scootaloo started. "Well, remember th' paper airplane, an' 'ow Scoots here got us crashed in th' Everfree forest." "We wouldn't have crashed if that thing didn't hit me." Scootaloo argued. "Anyway, ah also remember goin' ta look for ya wit' Scoots... then everythin' goes in a blur, then it's dark." Applebloom said. "Yeah... but i think I remember having some weird dream where this flying unicorn lady told me to look for something... can't remember what it was though. Same thing as Applebloom happens after that. A blur and darkness." Scootaloo said. "Yeah, ah had a weird dream too... ah think ya were in it too, Sweetie." Applebloom added. "What about you Spike? Spike?" Sweetie called. The dragon seemed to snap out of a trance like state. "Sorry, I was just uh... trying to remember stuff myself. Sorry Sweetie, but I can't remember much past coming to the mansion on Twilight, along with the other mares... after that, it's just a big blur followed by darkness." That must have been when Madame told Scootaloo to look for me, and when Candy tricked me into getting close to her... but it's true. They don't remember a thing... "Why? Should we be rememberin' stuff?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie wasn't sure if mentioning the events of the night in full was the smartest idea. She'd seen how her friends had broken down because of the guilt of knowing that at any point they could have killed the filly. Sweetie didn't want to put her friends over that same mental stress, or have to deal with their apologies. Besides, they were still out in the open of the mansion, and guilt over friendship wouldn't help keep the fillies and dragon as focused as possible. Sweetie shook her head. "N-not really." she said. "It's not that important." "It's not that important? Or did you forget too?" Scootaloo grinned, referring to the filly's history of forgetfulness. "Something like that." Sweetie said sheepishly. She could only hope she could forget what had happened earlier that night. Silence filled the room once again before Applebloom spoke again. "Uh Sweetie? Ya never told us what happened ta ya." "Hm? Oh right..." Sweetie said. I've uh... I've just had a crazy night is all." "Well? What was so crazy about it?" Spike asked. Sweetie knew very well that she didn't have the time to just sit around and talk, but she couldn't resist the thought of speaking with her friends again. She began explaining about the ghost situation, the Portraits of Harmony, Specter... she was extremely general as she told her story, only mentioning Candy, Marbles and Spiffy in order to keep from dwelling on the subject of possession. She kept her story short and sweet, realizing how fast her clock to get back to Twilight was ticking down. "Hold up a sec..." Spike said. "So, what you’re saying... is that for the last couple hours, you've been running around catching ghosts? Sweetie nodded. "... I don't believe you." Scootaloo said. "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "Well, it's kinda hard to see you running around... catching ghosts." Scootaloo said. "Well, I did." Sweetie said. And I'm getting good at it too... she thought proudly. "With... a vacuum cleaner?" Scootaloo said. "It's called the Ghost Capture Device. GCD for short." Sweetie corrected. "Whatever." Scootaloo said. "I'll believe that thing can catch ghosts when I see it." You'd be lucky if we didn't. Sweetie thought. "And... Pinkie's in that thing?" Spike asked. "Yeah." Sweetie sighed. "... uh Sweetie? Mahnd if ah ask a question?" "What?" Sweetie asked. "Where were we when all of this ghost tomfoolery stuff was happnin'?" Of course you'd ask that. Sweetie thought. Though the three of them, she had to admit, were some of the most curious filly's she knew, Applebloom was the one who was most inquisitive... right alongside herself. Sweetie simply shrugged. "I dunno." she said. Applebloom squinted at the filly. If there was one thing the sister of the Element of Honesty could see, it was a liar. "Ya ain't tryin' ta play us for no fools are ya Sweetie?" Applebloom asked. "Of course not!" Sweetie said, trying to sound offended. "I've got no reason to lie." "...alright then." Applebloom said, letting the issue go... for the most part. "Just hope you ain't keepin anythin important from us." Not important anymore... Sweetie thought. "Well, all that matters is that we're all together again, right?" Spike said. "Exactly!" Sweetie said. Applebloom gave Sweetie one last suspicious look before fully letting go. "Fine. What now then?" "That... that's the million bit question." Sweetie said. "Hold up..." Sweetie went to her saddlebags, and started to fish something out of her saddlebags. "Pinkie's ghost left me a note. I think it said something about a way out around here. Here." Sweetie took out the note and looked over it before giving it to them. "Now all we've got to do is find it." "What's this 'bout a game?" Applebloom asked. "Oh, uh... well, Pinkie's ghost really likes to play games with me. That's what it was talking about. I think you could figure out what it was..." Spike shuddered while Scootaloo rubbed around her neck area. They knew alright. "Ok... so this 'ere room was suppos' ta be th' way out? Where?" Applebloom asked. "Yeah. The door's locked, and we can't find a key anywhere." Scootaloo said. No key or exit? What kind of 'only way out' is this? Sweetie thought. Did Pinkie trick us and trap us in this room? Though the ghost was quite deceptive, something told Sweetie that Pinkie thought this through. There was a way out. "Maybe... we're not supposed to leave through the door. I mean, all of the exits to the staircases and hallways are blocked off." Spike mentioned after reading over the note a few times. "What do ya mean?" Applebloom asked. "Well... when I think of Pinkie, I never think it's the most obvious, or sane solution to a problem. I just doubt the door is supposed to be our way out." "Then where is it? The balcony?" Scootaloo asked. Though the filly didn't mean it at first, the four of them looked at each other. Considering it was Pinkie Pie they were dealing with, the possibility was there. Without a word, the four of them went back out to the balcony to investigate. After a few minutes of looking around, they determined that it was nothing out of the ordinary. It was just a normal balcony... "Hey guys look!" Scootaloo said, standing at its edge. "What?" they all asked. "Look down there! I think I see another balcony window." she said. Sure enough, past the gap that was the courtyard, there it was... a balcony, much like the one they were standing on now, across from them, one floor down. "That'll probably take us out." "Maybe..." Sweetie said. Applebloom however, disagreed. "No Scoots. That ain't gonna work." she said. "How come?" Scootaloo asked. "First off, how ya suppose we gonna git over there?" Applebloom asked. "The plane! Duh!" Scootaloo said, motioning over to the CMC plane that lay on its side. "Ok. Now supposn' we can even git enough speed ta launch it, let alone steer it ri', look at the balcony over there. Th' window's closed." Applebloom said. Sure enough, the filly was right. The balcony window on that side was sealed shut. "Even if we got it over there, we'd prob'ly crash inta th' window and fall over th' side of th' balcony. We'd need it open." "Well... I could always fly over there and open it." Scootaloo suggested. "You can't fly, and you know it Scoots." Sweetie commented. "Ok, maybe not fly, but I can hover." she said. "Just give me enough speed and I could probably clear that jump." "Tha' ain't a smart idea Scoots." Applebloom warned. "Come on. It'll be fine." Scootaloo said. The filly went to the door, opposite to the balcony door. She got into a pre-running stance. "And I guess there's no convincing you otherwise?" Spike asked. "Nope." Scootaloo said. "You’re such a stubborn filly." Sweetie commented. "Whatever. Just get out of the way alright?" Scootaloo said. The three children, although hesitant to let their friend attempt to hover past the large gap between the two walls, got off of the balcony and stood to the side. Once the way was clear, Scootaloo ran as fast as she could, before jumping off the edge of the balcony. Once airborne, the filly flapped her wings as hard as she could. Scootaloo had never learned how to fly, much like a good number of fillies her age. Still, she managed to keep herself from falling straight down with the little air she pushed down with her wings. She managed to keep her speed up as she hovered over the courtyard, down to the balcony... though she was slowing down. As the three children watched, fear ran through them at the thought that she might not make it... however, just barely, she got a hoof onto the edge of the balcony, barely managing to grab onto it, and hang from it. "Scootaloo!" the three of them called. Scootaloo attempted to flap her wings to push herself up, but they were too weak from the flight for any real help. Scootaloo was stuck, and losing her grip quickly. "We gotta do somethin'!" Applebloom said. Sweetie thought. There had to be something she could do to help... then she remembered. She was a unicorn. Sure she was weak, but she did know what was needed to perform a simple telekinesis spell... though there were two problems. First, Sweetie had never tried to lift anything over a pound or two, and even that was draining. Sweetie wasn't sure how she would manage to lift her friend who weighed at least 30 or 40 pounds... Secondly, there was the issue of distance. The farthest she could remember levitating something from was about 5 feet... oppose to the courtyard which had to have been at least 100 feet. Sweetie wasn't sure if she could manage such a feat... but seeing her friend dangle from the ledge, fear filling her eyes, she could only attempt. Without a word, Sweetie got herself as close to the edge as she could, leaning her head out in order to shorten the distance between her and Scootaloo as much as possible. She went so far that Applebloom and Spike went over to the edge with her and held her by the tail to keep her from falling over. They didn't ask what she was doing, seeing how Sweetie was trying to focus on Scootaloo. After looking at the orange filly for a few moments enough to get a mental picture of her, Sweetie shut her eyes. She visualized her hanging from the edge, and her lifting her entire body up onto the ledge... but it wasn't working. Sweetie felt bits of magic coming out of her horn, but given no pony'd said anything, she doubted the magic was getting put to good use. She tried again, putting more magic through her horn, straining her brain to lift Scootaloo... still nothing. As Sweetie increased the flow of magic, she felt herself getting rapidly weaker and weaker. She crossed her eyes, and gritted her teeth as the magic flow started to become painful. She went deep down into her body, taking every ounce of magic she could muster, hoping that somehow, someway, she'd be able to just this once, pull of a real telekinesis spell. C'mon... come on! Sweetie thought as she felt herself ready to faint. Please... work... Sweetie's legs began to wobble, as she was ready to collapse, a miracle. The sound of hoof against pavement, followed by a second, third and fourth. Sweetie opened her eyes to see that Scootaloo had climbed up onto the balcony, and was safe and sound. "See?" She called. "Told you it was fine!" "Aw save it Scoots! You'da gottn' killed if Sweetie didn't help ya!" Applebloom called back, mixed with emotions of anger and relief. "She barely helped. I had it all along!" Scootaloo laughed. There was a bit of nervous laughter mixed in... she knew very well she would have been a goner if the filly didn't come to her rescue. Sweetie collapsed onto all four of her knees, breathing heavily. Scootaloo stopped laughing from the other side, seeing her pain. Applebloom and Spike got on either side of her to comfort her. "She alright?" Scootaloo asked. "I'm... fine..." Sweetie breathed. "Just... a little... winded." "Y'all come back in th' room alri'? Rest a sec." Applebloom said, guiding Sweetie into the room. "She just needs to rest Scoots!" Spike called back. "Alright! I'm just gonna get this window open then!" Scootaloo said, turning to attempt to open the door. The filly yanked at it in attempts to open it, to no avail. "What's wrong?!" Spike asked. "It's shut tight! It won't budge!" Scootaloo said. "Are you serious?!" Spike asked. He looked back at Sweetie who'd nearly fainted to get her over there. "Well, is there any other way inside?" "Uh..." Scootaloo looked around. She went to the left edge of the balcony and looked at the window sill. "I think I see one of the windows slightly open on my side. I'll see if I can't get in through there." Scootaloo called. Spike didn't exactly like the idea of the filly jumping from window to window, but he didn't see her as having any other choice. "Fine! Be careful!" Spike said. "Careful's for scardy cats like Sweetie over there." Scootaloo said before jumping over several window sills to get to the one of interest. She opened it and headed inside, the window shutting behind her. Spike rolled his eyes. "I don't know how you deal with her on a regular basis." "Heh... you get used to it." Sweetie said quietly, showing signs of recovery. Silence filled the room as they waited for a response from Scootaloo. At moments, Applebloom seemed to still be combing pieces of the ectoplasm Sweetie had smothered all over her hair. Given that she didn't know what it was, and doubted Sweetie would, she kept her mouth shut about it... Minutes passed before someone spoke again. "Hey Sweetie?" Spike asked. "Hm?" Sweetie said, leaving some deep thought she was in. "I was wondering... is Twilight okay?" "Twilight?" Sweetie asked. "Yea' and wha' bout mah sis?" Applebloom asked. "Applejack?" Sweetie asked. She thought for a moment before responding. "They're... they're fine. I left them and the other mares in the safe zone when I had to go catch Pinkie Pie. Twilight was doing... some magic stuff, and Applejack let me borrow her hat." "Safe wha'?" Applebloom asked. "'n even more, why did mah sis letcha have 'er special hat? Don't look like yer doin much good to it." "It's this humming room that keeps ghosts out apparently." Sweetie said. The filly bit her lip on the issue of the dirty hat, knowing it would only lead to her talking about Applejack's ghost personality. The last thing she wanted to be on her mind was the issue that her psychopathic ghost sister had nearly killed her best friend. Thankfully, Spike spoke before the filly could ask again. "And... they let you just... go?" Spike asked. "What?" Sweetie asked. "Uh... yeah. Didn't really have a choice with Pinkie running around." "Bu'... why didn' some pony else go ta catch them ghosts ya were talkin' bout?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie looked at the yellow filly, unsure if it were smart to tell specifically of the course of events that occurred, leading to her being the only candidate to go on each ghost catching mission. She didn't want to worry her about Applejack, who was nearly crippled the last time she'd seen her. "Uh... you know. I just... I'm the best at it I guess." "Yeah, the best that has scratches and bruises on her." Spike commented. "I can't believe your even standing really. If I were you, I'd have stayed in that safe room and let some pony else go. You look like you've been through a lot." You have no idea Spike. Sweetie thought And trust me... I really wish I could've. "Well, I'll see about that when we get back." "Hm... if I had a quill, I could... Ack!" Spike suddenly grunted, clutching his head and falling to the ground. "Spik'!" Applebloom called. She rushed over to the dragon's side before Sweetie could even react. "Ya alri'?" "Yeah..." He said strained. "Just a really bad headache is all..." "Aw Spik'..." Applebloom said, stroking the back of his head. "Oh boy..." Sweetie said to herself, rolling her eyes and smiling. "Wha'?" Applebloom asked. "Nothing." Sweetie chucked, how wobbly Applebloom could get over the dragon at points. A few more minutes passed and Sweetie herself was beginning to get worried. Spike's headache didn't subside... in fact, the filly was sure it was getting worse. Out of sheer concern, Sweetie went to the side of Spike with Applebloom. "Spike, you sure you’re ok?" Sweetie asked, laying her own hoof on the dragon's body. As if by her touch, Spike released his grip on his head and looked up at her. He stared at Sweetie for a moment, before blinking and looking at both of the fillies equally. "Y... yeah, I'm fine." Spike said, sitting up. "Good. For a second, I was actually starting to worry." Sweetie smiled. "Yeah... me too." Applebloom said. Rather than a relieved look, she carried a puzzled one. It was like when Sweetie touched him... he was all better. It didn't quite rub the filly the right way for a second... "Hey guys! I got it!" Scootaloo called. Applebloom abandoned her suspicions for the moment to join her friends back onto the balcony. "Took you long enough!" Sweetie joked. "Whatever. Just fly the paper airplane over here already." Scootaloo called. "Alri'. Sweetie. Spik'. Mind helpin' me set up th' plane again?" Applebloom asked, heading back to the craft that still lie on its side. They both nodded and went over to flip the paper airplane. Considering its size they had to do it slow and careful, in order to avoid bending it in any way. The slightest mishap could cause the plane to glide to its side into a wall. "Hey..." Spike said. "You guys, sure this thing 'll fly?" Spike asked. "Yuh huh." Applebloom responded. "It'll fly. It's how we got here ta begin wit'" she said. "Huh... what about you Sweetie?" Spike asked. "What do you think?" "What?" Sweetie asked, caught off guard of the dragon asking her opinion. "Uh, yeah. It flies great... too great sometimes." the filly added, remembering how far it had managed to glide from Ponyville. "Oh, ok." Spike said, turning away shyly. No pony noticed his sudden timid nature. Once the three of them finished flipping the plane, they began turning it so it faced the window. Once it was set, Applebloom raised her hooves to her eyes, attempting to eyeball the width of the balcony window relative to the wings of the plane. Once she was finished, she turned to Sweetie and Spike. "Alri'." she said. "Ah think th' plane 'll fit in fine. Now we jus' gotta deal wit' a couple mo' things. First, since we're goin' down, ah think we're gonna need a little weight on th' nose." "We could hang my saddle bags there." Sweetie suggested. "Not a bad idea Sweets. It should be heavy enough ta bring the plane down a little, n' light enough ta keep us fr'm nose divin' ta th' ground." Applebloom said. Sweetie nodded in agreement as she took off her GCD, which sat on top of her saddlebags. She then took off her saddlebags themselves and hung them on the nose. Sweetie then put her GCD back on her back, holding the GCD nozzle in her mouth while balancing the spectral containment pack on her back. Without her saddlebags, which held the device in place with its straps, it sat freely upon her person. "Uh, Sweetie? Ya sure that there vacuum is worth all that trouble?" Applebloom asked. "Yeah. It's the only thing I can fight ghosts with, remember?" Sweetie said. She didn't however mention it was the only machine capable of saving her friends. That would only lead to more questions, she assumed. "Alri'. Just don't break yer leg over it. Or, some pony else's..." "Will you guys hurry up?" Scootaloo called. "It's crazy cold over here." Uh oh. That's not a good sign. Sweetie thought. "C'mon guys. What else do we have to do?" Spike asked. "Well, we jus' gotta pick our spots. Supposn' Sweetie and I can take our first spots. Ya can take Scoots' spot... If ya don't mind." Spike shrugged. "Sure. Why not." "Congratulations then Spike. You’re the new Scootaloo." Sweetie grinned. Spike simply looked away, rolling his eyes. "Now all we gotta do is launch th' thing." Applebloom said. "And how exactly do you fly an over-sized paper airplane?" Spike asked. "Well, we each grab a part, drag it as fast as we can, 'n jump on at th' last minute." Applebloom explained. "'least that's how we did it." "Just grab the edge of the paper next to that piece of fabric, and jump on when Applebloom says." Sweetie reiterated. "Gotcha Sweetie." Spike said. "..." Applebloom remained silent out of re-birthed suspicion as she went over to grab her edge around the center of the plane with her teeth. Spike followed Applebloom's example and grabbed his own edge around the front, behind Sweetie's saddlebags hanging on the nose. Rather than using his teeth, he used his claws, given he could actually run with his hind legs alone. Sweetie finally took her own spot at the tail of the plane, behind her own piece of fabric. Aside from Spike being at the front with the saddlebags the set up was similar to the one they'd done the previous day. "On th' count of three." Applebloom said through the paper. "One... Two... Three!" The three children ran for the window as fast as they could. Sweetie, much like earlier, lost her hoofing on the first step, however quickly regained it. The loosely sitting GCD on her back nearly fell off, though she managed to keep it balanced as she ran along with Spike and Applebloom. As they approached the window, Applebloom realized something... Spike was at the front, the smallest part of the plane, so he'd definitely make it through. Sweetie was at the back, behind the plane, so she wouldn't have to worry about hitting the sides of the balcony window either. Applebloom however, being at the center of the plane, and having the smallest window, realized she wouldn't make it. The plane would already only barely fit through the window, considering the width of the opening compared to the width of the wings. Applebloom however, was an extension of that length, therefore, if she kept going the way she was, she'd crash head first right into the side of the window. Rather than forcing her friends to stop, moments before the plane reached the window, she jumped on. Out of sheer confusion, Spike jumped on as well, following Applebloom's example. For the next couple of seconds, Sweetie was the only one pushing the plane. This caused some slowdown as Sweetie approached the balcony... however she was going too fast to stop. She ran as fast as she could, causing her to nearly forget about the GCD as it slid slightly on her back, in attempts to keep their speed up. She pushed up to the point she felt the plane pointing down, indicating it was going over the edge of the balcony. "Sweetie! Get on now!" Applebloom yelled. Sweetie hopped onto the back of the plane as she, Applebloom and Spike took a hold of each of the ropes attached to the pieces of fabric on the plane. They flew down, going into a slight slope before leveling out. "Can't believe this thing is working!" Spike said, looking around as he realized that they hadn't crashed yet. "Ah know! That's wha' ah said!" Applebloom said. It only took a few moments though, to realize how slow they were flying. The plane was covering some fair distance, however it was going more down than it was forward. In other words, it wasn't long before they realized that they weren't going to make it. "Uh... guys?" Spike said, unsurely. "Ah know. Sweetie. Yer in the back. Try yankin' yer rope ta pull us up a little." she said. "Uh, right." Sweetie said. When the filly went for the rope however, the GCD on her back slipped off and onto the side of the plane. The impact of the weight of the GCD on the back left of the plane, though it pulled them up a little, it also put the plane to its side. This new shift of weight also caused Spike and Applebloom to slip from their spots, and join Sweetie and the GCD on the left wing of the plane. Once their weight was added, the plane went more to its side, before spinning over so much, that it started to fly upside down, with Spike, Applebloom and Sweetie hanging onto the ropes. Sweetie could feel the nozzle slipping out of her mouth as gravity and momentum pulled the GCD spectral containment pack down. They all screamed as Scootaloo watched helplessly from the balcony, knowing all she could do was hope. The plane continued on its course, thankfully still moving for the most part, directly toward the balcony, They were almost there... though they could also feel their grips slipping more and more... before Applebloom lost her own first. "Applebloom!" Sweetie screamed as she put out a hoof for her friend. The filly was barely able to hook her own foreleg onto her catching her before she could fall to the courtyard below. The new weight on the filly, namely the GCD and the 35 pound filly, Sweetie could also feel her own grip slipping rapidly from the rope. Though her ability to grab things and hold onto them with her life had improved over the night, she knew she couldn't keep it up with only one hoof on the rope. The loss of grip wasn't the only thing Applebloom's weight had altered. The high weight on the back of the plane caused it not only to pull upward even more, but slow down the plane to something short of a hover. They were so close however to the balcony. They just needed a few more feet that they were sure the plane wasn't going to give them. The plane was going to fall down before they'd make it to the balcony's edge. "Spik'! Grab Sweetie's saddlebags and jump!" Applebloom ordered fearfully. "Are you crazy! I can't make tha-" Spike argued. "Do it!" Applebloom yelled again. No pony had ever heard her give the dragon such an intense order, and to every pony in earshot who knew Applebloom, it was a little jarring. Spike followed her order, swinging to the balcony by his own rope, grabbing onto Sweetie's saddlebags on the way. The dragon barely made it, landing feet first on the very edge of the balcony. "You too Sweets! Now!" Applebloom yelled again as the plane started to dip downward. Sweetie'd learned not to hesitate in such a situation by now, especially when her friend's life, along with her own, was on the line. Sweetie jumped herself, clamping as hard on the GCD nozzle with her teeth, as Applebloom who clutched to Sweetie's leg as she swung. They both managed to, much like Scootaloo, grab onto the edge of the balcony, just as the plane went vertical, and dropped down out of the air. "We gotcha." Scootaloo said. Though Spike originally went for Sweetie, Scootaloo beat her to it, beginning to pull her up. The dragon then went for Applebloom who hung right next to Sweetie. Scootaloo had more control over her strength, so she was able to steadily pull Sweetie up onto the balcony. Spike however didn't have as much control, as he pulled Applebloom up, he over-estimated her weight, and pulled her up, onto her. Applebloom lay on top of Spike for a few moments, the orange filly blushing out of sheer embarrassment. "Uh... ah...." Applebloom said. "Come on you two." Scootaloo said, breaking up the love fest. Spike lightly pushed Applebloom off of him, over to the ground next to her. He seemed unaffected by her shyness over the contact. Sweetie sighed. The guy could never get the signs. Sweetie thought. Applebloom had been crushing on Spike for quite some time now. She'd shown the obvious signs of the crush... but never had Spike even acknowledged it. Though this was by far, the closest contact the two had had in such a situation, the dragon still showed much ignorance to Applebloom's feelings... "Uh, Sweetie?" Spike asked, bringing the filly out of thought. "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "These um... these are yours." Spike said, handing her the filly's saddlebags. "Oh yeah! Thanks." Sweetie smiled, grabbing the bags by her teeth. Spike looked away again with the same shyness as earlier. Once again, Sweetie didn't notice... however, as Scootaloo helped her up, Applebloom noticed, and watched. Sweetie looked at the top strap of her saddlebags. The tie in which the GCD would be placed was severed. "Hey Spike? Could you do me a favor and tie this strap onto my back with my GCD? It's kind of hard to tie stuff without magic, and I'm still filling up my own so..." "S-sure." Spike stuttered, as Sweetie placed her saddlebags onto her back. Spike then helped the filly put her GCD on her back as well, with a particular gentleness that Applebloom couldn't help but notice. Why was he so careful with the filly, like she was some kind of delicate flower... was Applebloom getting jealous? It didn't take more than a minute for Spike to finish tying the severed strap on her back, along with the GCD. "Thanks Spike!" Sweetie smiled. "Uh huh." Spike looked down. Applebloom could have sworn he was blushing... "So much for our plane." Scootaloo sighed. "Now what?" Scootaloo asked. "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "I'm guessing you know more about this mansion than anyone here, right? What's next Sweets?" Sweetie thought. Sweetie thought for a moment. She felt the air around her, confirming Scootaloo's feelings. It was freezing, and no doubt about it, there would be a lot of ghosts on the floor. They couldn't stay there for long. "Keep moving." Sweetie responded. She took out her flashlight from her saddlebags. "We've got to get down to the first floor... then we can figure out how to reach the safe zone from there." "You mean you don't know?" Scootaloo asked. "I know where one or two things are, but this place is big, and moves around sometimes. Without my map, we're gonna have to just wing it when we get to the bottom of what I think is the mansion courtyard. One of them anyway. Just hope it's the one I'm thinking of..." Sweetie explained. "Fine then. Let's get out of here." Scootaloo said, heading for the door of what they all figured to be just another generic bed room. After she unlocked the door, Scootaloo went into the hallway, followed by Sweetie, followed by Spike, and finally, by Applebloom... *** "It's official... you three are nuts." Spike said once the filly was finished telling their story. "I wouldn't say that." Scootaloo said. "Fine. Then why in all of Equestria, would you think flying a paper airplane off of a cliff would get you a cutie mark?" Spike asked. "It could happen." Scootaloo said. "There's absolutely no logic in that." Spike said. "You could've been killed!" "But we weren't killed. And to be honest, isn't that all that matters at the end of the day?" Scootaloo asked. "That and you own sanity." Spike said. Spike and Scootaloo argued as they continued to walk the hallway, looking for a staircase of some kind. Sweetie didn't speak often, given for the last couple hours, she'd walked these hallways alone. Now that she was joined with her friends, and there was already a small bit of natural light filling the hallway, it was a whole new experience she'd need to get used to. Besides that, she had to stay focused on everything around her, doubting her friends understood how much danger they were in. The filly was determined to keep her friends safe from any ghosts trying to hurt her friends. Applebloom was also unnaturally quiet as they continued down the hallway. Over the half an hour from when she woke up from who knows what, she was almost sure that Sweetie had lied to them several times. Even more, Spike's behavior around Sweetie didn't make her feel very good... but she decided to let that go for now. "C'mon. It was just a little dare-devil shenanigans." Scootaloo said, defending her paper airplane idea. "And that's insane." Spike said. "No it's not! Plenty of ponies do crazy, daring stuff every day. Just look at Rainbow Dash! She's always doing all kinds of crazy flying tricks." "And those ponies are insane too. Either that or stupid." Spike said. "You calling Rainbow stupid?!" Scootaloo said, jumping in front of Spike, halting the group altogether. Applebloom and Sweetie turned around to see what was going on. "What? O-of course not." Spike said, seeing the bit of rage in Scootaloo's eyes. That's a note. Never say anything bad about Scootaloo's Rainbow. Sweetie thought. "C'mon ya two. We gotta keep movin'" Applebloom said. "Yeah guys. The longer we're in this hallway, the more dangerous it gets." Sweetie added. "Come on Sweets. It's just a little chilly here. Nothing dangerous about-" Scootaloo said before Spike collapsed to the ground again. "Gah!" the dragon said, clutching his head. "Spik'!" Applebloom said, rushing once again over to the dragon as he lie on the ground, stopping the entire group. Sweetie and Scootaloo turned to see what was happening. Sweetie didn't react as urgently as Applebloom, and didn't worry about him as much, given she'd already seen a similar headache episode earlier. Scootaloo however didn't react, as she was still somewhat fuming over the Rainbow Dash comment. "What's wrong with him?" Scootaloo asked with a certain disinterest in her voice. "Uh, nothing serious. Spike's just been getting weird headaches all of a sudden... You alright Spike?" Sweetie asked. The dragon got up with a little help from Applebloom. "Yeah." he said with strain in his voice. He still appeared to be in pain. "Just... a little weak and headachy is all." "Hm... hold on a sec." Sweetie said, getting an idea, reaching into her saddlebags. The filly had a theory: she remembered how some ponies at school would get sick from not eating regularly. Namely, she remembered some, such as Snips, or Dinky, always getting some type of headache before lunches... however once they ate, they were fine. Could Spike have just been hungry? Chances were, given the entire thing was a trap, Spike never got to eat at the house-warming. Sweetie also assumed it was something around 3 am... the thought of the time only made the filly the drowsier. Though, if that were true, then that meant no pony or dragon had eaten since lunch the previous day... about 14 or 15 hours. Now, thinking about her own stomach, it started to grumble, and Sweetie felt a little weak herself. It wouldn't be much longer before the pain and weakness her friend's love had numbed would be re-awakened by her own hunger... Sweetie found what she was looking for in a separate pocket in her saddlebags. It was Pinkie's candy apple. "Hey, where'd you get that, and where can I get one?" Scootaloo asked. "I'm starving!" Applebloom looked over at Sweetie. Though she didn't say it, Sweetie could also see hunger in her eyes. Guess I'm gonna have to split it four ways. Sweetie thought. Sweetie took her hat off and put it on the ground before placing the apple inside. The last thing she wanted was the layer of dust on the rug to get attached to the sticky caramel of the apple. The filly then reached into her saddlebags to take out Applebloom's knife. Though the filly looked at it strangely, she didn't say a word, the reminders of the gripping hunger keeping her quiet. Sweetie did her best to wipe off the edge of the knife with her hoof. Bits of dried blood were on its edge... though a very small trace. Sweetie figured it must have been one of the knives Applebloom... rather Candy, used earlier that night... likely the first one she managed to get at Sweetie with when she'd tricked her... the filly must have simply thrown it at her by chance. How many knives did that crazy filly have anyway? Thankfully, Applebloom didn't ask any questions as Sweetie finished her cleaning, whipped the droplets of her own crusty blood onto the carpet, and proceeded to cut the apple four ways. As she cut through the center, she hit something. Unlike the soft gooey centers that usually filled a desert as such, this one was hard. Sweetie had to cut around the apple core area, rather than through it to split it and see what was inside. Sitting snugly in the place where the apple core would be wasn't filling, but two heart candies. "Great." Sweetie said to herself. "What are you mumbling about Sweets?" Scootaloo asked. "N-nothing. Just gotta save these is all." Sweetie said pulling out the heart candies and putting them into her saddlebags. No doubt they'd be useful later... though the filly could only hope they wouldn't be a part of another of Pinkie's "games"... Sweetie finished cutting the apple up so that they were in four even slices. With that, she handed a piece to each of her friends. "Here." Sweetie said, giving one to Scootaloo. "That's all we get?" Scootaloo asked. "Sorry. It's all I've got. Really." Sweetie said. "... do you want me to cut my piece smaller so you can have it?" "Uh, no. This is cool." Scootaloo said, feeling a little guilty. That's what I thought. Sweetie thought. "Here's yours." Sweetie said, giving an apple slice to Applebloom. "Thanks Sweetie. Should keep us fr'm starvin'." Applebloom said. Sweetie smiled at her friend before moving to Spike for his own apple slice. "And here's yours Spike." Sweetie said holding out his apple slice. The dragon looked up. Not at the apple slice, but at Sweetie herself. He stared for a moment, in a somewhat hypnotic state. "Uh... Spike?" "Oh! Sorry." He said looking down, blushing again before taking the apple slice. This time, Applebloom wasn't the only one with suspicions... now Sweetie was beginning to notice Spike's behavior. "Spike?" Sweetie asked, using her hoof to point his head up to look at her. "Are you sure you’re ok? You’re acting kind of funny." "Yea', ever sinc' Sweetie woke up..." Applebloom commented. "I'm fine, alright?" the dragon said, taking a couple steps back, away from Sweetie. "Just... need something in my stomach. That's all." "Ok... Just making sure." Sweetie said. For a moment, she still had her suspicions that Spike was still possessed, causing his behavior... but she'd witnessed Spiffy fly out of Spike herself. There was no chance of that... besides, if he was, the dragon would have probably tried to make an attempt on her life by now. Once that suspicion was gone, Sweetie decided not to dwell on Spike's act being out of the ordinary. Applebloom however, only got more and more suspicious by the second... They all ate their slices of candy apple. "You feeling better?" Sweetie asked. "Uh... y-yeah. I'm good. I'm better. Thanks Sweetie." Spike said. "No problem." Sweetie said happily. "No, really. Thank you." Spike said again, taking a few steps back toward Sweetie, coming nose to nose with her. He nearly knocked the flashlight out of her muzzle. "Uh..." Sweetie said, feeling somewhat nervous around his advance. "Come on y'all." Applebloom said, breaking them up. "We gotta keep moving. Ri' Sweetie?" "Right..." Sweetie said, taking an awkward step back from Spike, who stared at the filly. Sweetie turned to face Applebloom and Scootaloo, who had already begin to keep moving forward. Sweetie followed Applebloom, and behind her followed Spike. They walked barely a few feet before Scootaloo stopped. "Luna, it's gotten cold." Scootaloo cursed, shivering. "Any pony else feel that temperature drop?" "Oh no." Sweetie said, shivering herself. Suddenly, Sweetie's light began to flicker, as though it were ready to go out. "Sweetie. Wha' wrong wit' yer flashlight?" Applebloom asked. "Oh no no no." Followed by at least three flickers, the hallway filled with the laughter of ghosts. "Uh... Sweetie?" Scootaloo asked, with a hint of fear in her voice. "What is-" "Run." "Beg yer-" "RUN!" Sweetie ordered. The four of them broke into a run to Sweetie's command, just as a two butler ghosts phased through the walls, crossing Scootaloo and Applebloom. "What the hay was that?!" Scootaloo asked. "What do you think?!" Sweetie responded. A butler phased through the ceiling, attempting to grab Applebloom. "Get away from her!" Sweetie yelled angrily, swiping her dimming flashlight across the ghost. Ding! Sweetie didn't bother attempting to catch it, as it simply disappeared. Sweetie looked forward to see a little ways ahead of them was a foal ghost. Its head went back, as though it were about to spit at them. "Duck!" Sweetie yelled. The three Cutie Mark Crusaders ducked as instructed. Spike however, hesitated, causing the shot of ectoplasm to go right for him. The force of the goo put his head to the ground and caused him to stick to the floor. Applebloom stopped, causing Scootaloo to as well. "Spik'" Applebloom called. Sweetie saw that behind the group, a skeleton butler ghosts had materialized and were coming after them. They were all pretty trapped. "Go!" Sweetie yelled. "I'll help Spike, just go!" "Applebloom, c'mon." Scootaloo said, pulling at the filly. "I think Sweetie knows what she's doing." "No Scoots! Ah ain't leavin' neither of them! Neither should ya." Applebloom said. She's not gonna leave until Spike and I are safe. I've got to think fast. Sweetie thought. Sweetie's first move was to suck off the ectoplasm off of his head. He still lay there in a daze, his eyes rolling around in his head. Sweetie looked back, behind Scootaloo and Applebloom where the foal was. It was ready to spit again. "Get down!" Sweetie barked. The two did as they were told, barely dodging the flying bit of ectoplasm. Sweetie quickly sucked the substance out of the air, causing the 5th light on the GCD to go on. Sweetie turned back onto the skele-ghost, who was still charging at them. She switched to her Spectral Throwback and fired a shot at the ghost. Its skeletal armor flew right out of it. Once Sweetie had regained her aim from the nozzle recoil, she fired a second shot, defeating the grinning skeleton ghost. "Sweetie! Look out!" Scootaloo yelled. Sweetie turned back around to see that not only had her friends ducked again, but there was another bit of ectoplasm flying at her face. Sweetie was hit with it, and flew to the ground in much the same way as Spike. "Sweetie!" Applebloom called. The filly switched back to the suck function and proceeded to suck off the ectoplasm on her face. She quickly switched back to her GCD throwback and shot the foal ghost out of the air. "Nice shooting Sweetie." Scootaloo commented. Sweetie didn't respond, knowing that they were all far from safe now. The laughter had only gotten louder by this point, and her flashlight was out too. "Sweetie, you alright?" Spike asked getting up. Sweetie wasn't listening, more interested in what was behind the dragon... Two more skele-ghosts, and three lickers were charging at them from down the hallway. "I'm fine, but for Celestia's sake RUN!" Sweetie ordered, running from the group of ghosts that was coming their way. Seeing that her crush and friend were ok, Applebloom listened to Sweetie and continued to run. Sweetie could barely see the stairwell opening at the end of the hallway... Sweetie looked back every few seconds, noticing how the ghosts were going faster than them... at least faster than Spike and Sweetie. It wouldn't be much longer before they caught up with the two of them. Things looked grim for Sweetie and Spike at that point. They weren't going to make it... Just when neither child could think the situation could possibly get worse, Sweetie and Spike heard the crackling of wood under their feet. "You've got to be-" Sweetie said before the floor gave under their feet. "Kiiiding meee!" Sweetie screamed as they fell. "Sweetie!" Scootaloo called. "Spik'!" Applebloom called. The two fillies turned back around to see the hole that they'd fallen through. They could see the two of them lying on their backs. The fall must have been a good 15 or 20 feet... thankfully, they both fell onto a bed together, in the room below. "We... we're fine..." Sweetie said painfully. "Run... go..." Sweetie strained, getting up, followed by Spike. Before any other words could exchange, or actions could be done, the floorboards that had broken around the three of them disappeared as the hole in the ceiling they'd fallen through quickly closed itself... as if they'd never gone through to begin with. "Sweetie. What in the hay was that?!" Spike asked, still getting a bit of panic out of his system. "Those... those were terrible things." Sweetie said, still trying to get her own head together. "No, I mean that" Spike said, pointing to the ceiling. "Uh, yeah... that was another terrible thing. This entire house is a terrible thing." "You mean that kind of stuff just... happens?!" Spike asked. "Something like that." Sweetie said. "C'mon. We've got to get out of here." The filly jumped off of the bed, followed by Spike. "Uh... right." Spike said, still startled from the closing of the ceiling. Sweetie picked up her flashlight that had fallen to the side of the bed. It was working again. She used it to locate the wooden door that was likely the exit to the room. "Sweetie?" Spike asked. The filly put her hoof on the knob before turning to the dragon. "Hm?" He went up alongside Sweetie, as though he was ready to say something important... "Uh... never mind." Spike said, losing whatever nerve he had. "Ok." Sweetie said smiling. "Just let me know if there's anything on your mind. 'Kay?" "Well then uh... what now?" Spike asked, not making direct eye contact with the filly. "Hm... I guess the best way to go is to keep heading down our hallway in the same direction as Scoots and Applebloom. Hopefully, if we didn't get teleported to an entirely different part of the mansion altogether, we should meet up with them soon." "If they got away." Spike blurted. "DON'T... don't say that Spike." Sweetie said, looking down. "I-I'm sorry Sweets. I didn't mean to..." Spike said. "It's fine." Sweetie said, looking back up to the dragon. Sweetie had already gone through hell to bring her friends back. The thought of losing them again was a little unbearable. She took a deep breath and sighed. "We've got to get out of here." Spike nodded as Sweetie opened the door to the hallway. Once they entered, they were relieved to find that it wasn't as cold as the one that was above them... was it? Both Spike and Sweetie looked down each end of the hall. It was moonlit thankfully, but the filly wasn't where they were exactly. From either side of the hallway, they couldn't see anything that looked like a stairway... "Ha. Perfect." Sweetie said bitterly. "Where are we Sweetie? Weren't we just... shouldn't we be-" "I know..." Sweetie sighed. "Well, I guess all we can do is pick a direction and walk. Hope we meet up with them soon." "Ok. You lead the way then." Spike said. Sweetie decided to go right on a whim, only hoping that they might somehow come across their friends again... *** Spike and Sweetie remained silent for a while. Sweetie wasn't entirely sure why Spike was so quiet, but she was apprehensive to conversing with the dragon again after earlier. Still though, every time she looked back at him, she saw something in his eyes... it was the eye of someone with something on their mind. Sweetie wanted to ask what, but always ended up just continuing to look back, forward into the stretching hallway. The only times that Sweetie even made any real contact with Spike was when he got another headache, in which Sweetie stopped to comfort him. He'd blush, say thanks, and they'd keep moving. Sweetie did her best not to give the behavior a second thought... By now, Sweetie was used to silence, but with someone there, especially a friend like Spike, it seemed unnerving to her. She had to say something... so she chose a subject they could both relate on. "I uh... still have to catch my sister you know." "Huh?" Spike asked, looking up at Spike. "Rarity." Sweetie said. "Catch her... you mean, she's turned into one of those ghosts?" Sweetie nodded. "Oh... well, you seem to be pretty good at it. I'm sure you'll catch her in no time." Spike said optimistically. There were a few moments of silence. "I was um... hoping for a little more of a reaction Spike." Sweetie said. "What? Why's that?" Spike asked. "Oh come on, Spike. Every pony knows that you have a crush on Rarity." Sweetie grinned, briefly looking back at Spike. "Oh... I'm not into her anymore." Spike said. Sweetie stopped in her tracks. "What's wrong Sweetie? Why'd you stop?" he asked. "Say that... one more time." Sweetie said, not looking back at Spike. She couldn't have heard him right. "...What's wrong Sweet-" "No, the other thing." Sweetie said. "... I'm not into your sister?" Spike said. Sweetie turned around. Her eyes were crossed. "Who in the hay are you?" "What?" "Don't you what me." Sweetie said, taking a step toward Spike. "How can you be Spike if you’re not hopelessly in love with my big sis?" "Sweetie, hold up-" "No!" Sweetie said, aiming her GCD at Spike. The dragon put his claws up in the air as looked down the nozzle hole. "Now I'm gonna ask you again. Who-the-hay-are-YOU?!" "Sweetie just listen ok?" Spike said. Once a little of the rage left Sweetie's eyes, he saw it safe enough to put his arms down. "Ok, I'll admit it, I had a little tiny teeny little crush on your sister... a bit." A little? Sweetie thought in disbelief. Sweetie had already spoken to Rarity every now and again regarding his little crush. She always talked about how cute it was that he thought she was "most beautiful creature to ever exist" or "the nicest pony to ever live in Equestria"... She even talked about how he tried to "confess love to her" when they were falling from Spike's grown spurt. Sweetie wasn't sure if it counted as "little" if the mare knew it already, and enjoyed playing with his head over her actually being his "mare friend". "But... not anymore." Spike finished. "But I do have a new one." By now, Sweetie had calmed down, letting go of the GCD nozzle. Her brain had processed that if this wasn't Spike, then whoever it was would have killed her by now before trying to pass themselves off as the dragon. "Who?" "It's... some pony around my age." "Applebloom?" Sweetie asked hopefully. "No." Spike said. "Scootaloo?" Sweetie asked curiously. "No!" Spike said. "Dinky?" Sweetie asked. "No." Spike said. "... Twist?" Sweetie guessed. "Hay no!" Spike said. That'd be too good to be true I guess. Poor Twist... Sweetie thought. "Then wh-" Sweetie was interrupted by the sound of some door slamming further down the hallway. Sweetie could only assume it was a ghost... or worse, Gilda and Luna. "Spike. We gotta hide." she whispered. "Uh..." he hesitated. "Come on!" Sweetie said, pulling the dragon into a random room. Once inside, Sweetie closed the door as silently as she could. She put her ear to the door, as she heard hoof steps walking by. It wasn't long before they started to fade away. They weren't gone, but they were far away enough for Sweetie to assume that they were safe for now. "We can lay low here." Sweetie said turning to Spike. The dragon had gone over to a desk in what Sweetie had identified to be another study. Not as grand as the first one she found Specter in, but a study all the same. The biggest items Sweetie saw first were two love seats, a few paintings, and a desk. The only item in the room however that didn't have a white sheet over it... was the desk. In fact, a small candle was lit, illuminating its surface. Spike took off the desk what he identified as a quill. "Hey, Sweetie. Look what I found." he said raising it. "Nice. You mentioned something about that earlier, right?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah. Hey, Sweetie. Let me check out that note Pinkie gave you." Spike said. "Sure." Sweetie said, reaching into her saddlebags. She took out the note and gave it to him. He examined the note and nodded. "I was right. This is enchanted parchment." Spike confirmed. "Oh?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah. Twilight keeps some around her so she can always send a letter to the princess when she needs me to." "So?" Sweetie asked. "So I could use this piece to write a letter to the princess telling her about all of this." Spike explained. Spike started to write something on the blank side of Pinkie's note. Once he was halfway finished, something hit the filly. "Spike, I don't think that's a good idea." Sweetie said. "What? Why?" Spike asked, jumping down off of the table. "Well... Celestia came to the party, and so far, every pony I've known... besides Scootaloo, Applebloom and you of course... has been turned into ghosts. All that note will probably do is tell Specter where we are." Sweetie explained. "Wow. I never thought about it that way Sweets." Spike said, taking a couple steps toward her. "You were always a smart filly." "Uh... thanks?" Sweetie said sheepishly, taking a couple steps back. Spike only got closer as she continued to move backwards. "Sweetie... you were wondering who was the pony who stole my heart?" Spike asked, getting closer to Sweetie. Sweetie wasn't really listening to the dragon anymore. The way that he looked at her was creeping her out. She was even getting a little scared... no, that wasn't the word. It was fear... but it was also nervousness. Sweetie's eye darted at the door, which Spike blocked her path too as he drove her further and further into the corner of the room. "Spike, what-" "I'll give you a hint. It's a little filly I know very well." Spike said. Sweetie's flank was up against the corner by now. Her heart began beating faster as she started to panic. Within just a few moments, she was trapped by the dragon. "S-spike, stop-p it." Sweetie stuttered. A bead of sweat dropped down the back of her neck. "And that filly had a gorgeous sister." Spike said. "Spike, I mean it. S-" Spike's nose touched Sweetie's. "And that filly... she had a beautiful mulberry mane." "W-" Sweetie tried to say... before her lips came in contact with Spike's. The filly's eyes contracted. She wasn't sure what she was feeling anymore. Surprise? Fear? Confusion? Embarrassment? The filly wasn't quite sure what to feel at that point. Any focus the filly had prior to entering the room was shattered into tiny little pieces. What in the hay was- "SWEETIE BELLE!" Applebloom yelled angrily from the entrance to the door. And by that point, the little pieces of focus that were shattered were broken into even smaller pieces as Spike separated his face from Sweetie's, staggering back to clutch his head painfully. Sweetie's eyes went to the door, where she saw Applebloom, with a look of horror, shock, disgust... and possible hatred. Scootaloo on the other hand, couldn't help but hold in a grin, which burst into her laughing and rolling around on the floor. Sweetie felt dizzy as she got her flank off of the wall Spike had driven her to. Applebloom clenched her teeth, obviously furious with Sweetie. She looked like she was going to say something... but ended up just leaving the doorway altogether to wait in the hallway. Once Scootaloo got up, she walked over to Sweetie, who was still somewhat in a daze. "Come on you two. We've gotta go." She said, with a silly grin on her face. Spike groaned before looking at Sweetie, and blushing again, with a face of disbelief. He quickly exited the room. "Uh... yeah..." Sweetie said heading for the door. "Sweetie, what's this?" Scootaloo asked, heading over to the table, and taking the piece of parchment and quill. "Oh... bring that stuff too, I guess." Sweetie said, stumbling out of the room. As she was joined by Scootaloo, the group began silently walking in a direction led by Applebloom and Scootaloo. No matter what though, Sweetie couldn't get the same thought off of her mind that was on everyone's... Sweetie's first kiss had come from a dragon. Spike had just kissed her... *** It wasn't very long that the four children had to walk down the hallway before they'd finally come across the stairwell Applebloom and Scootaloo had taken. Thankfully, the mansion had only transported then further back from the two fillies, rather than taking them to some random part of the mansion. "See guys? Told ya it wasn't far. Can't really figure out how you two didn't see it from your floor." Scootaloo said. No pony nor dragon answered the filly. The filly's smile faded. The humor from the kiss had worn off. She herself was beginning to feel down from the other three's attitude. Scootaloo blankly looked to the side, her head unable to get out of the room, or that corner Spike got her into for that matter. Spike looked to the opposite side of Sweetie, unable to believe what he'd just done. Applebloom looked forward, cross eyed, and unable to look anywhere but forward. She wasn't sure if she should have been angry for what Sweetie did, or upset that she'd likely lost her chance at being with Spike. "Guys, aren't you gonna say anything?" Scootaloo asked, as the three of them began to descend down the stairs. "Ah ain't got nothin' ta say ta any a ya." Applebloom said, not looking at Scootaloo. "Oh come on. I bet it was all just a big misunderstanding, right guys?" Scootaloo asked, looking back at Sweetie and Spike. Spike kept quiet while Sweetie mumbled something neither filly could understand. "...well, I'm sure there's something behind it. It's not like Spike just-" "Scoots, if ya ain't gonna keep yer mouth shut, can we talk 'bout somethin' else?" Applebloom snapped. Scootaloo went silent as they continued to descend down the stairs. They passed several floors... no one bothered counting how many... up to the point they had to stop. "Whoa." Scootaloo said looking in front of them. The group couldn't move forward, given the stairs heading down had been ripped out. Planks were scattered at different parts of the stair well, but not enough to call the area anything more than a pit down to the first floor. "Who the hay did this?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie lifted her and opened head to answer, but then she saw Applebloom, and ended up looking back down at the ground. It depressed the filly that she may have just lost one of her best friends again. "Uh... ok, now what. Any ideas?" Scootaloo asked, looking back at the group. Again, no one answered. "You guys are no help at all. Fine. Let's just head back to the next floor up." she decided. She went past Applebloom, Sweetie and Spike to lead them back up to the last floor they could access. Once out of the stairwell in the new hallway. Scootaloo turned and looked at them. She thought for a moment before saying something. "Look. All of you." she started. She had a bit more of a serious tone now. "I don't know what happened in that room, how it happened, or why it happened, but let me tell you, I don't care, and neither should any of you. Especially you Sweetie." The filly looked up at Scootaloo at the sound of her name. "You guys saw those ghosts chasing us. They barely caught us too." Scootaloo continued. "We can't let a little smooch break us all up when any second those ghosts could attack us." ".... you’re right Scootaloo." Sweetie said. She could put aside her emotions and deal with Spike later. The only one the filly was still worried about was Applebloom and what she'd probably done to her... "At least some pony understands." Scootaloo smiled. "Ok... well, i don't think there's really any point in trying to look for another staircase." Sweetie figured. "What? Why not?" Scootaloo asked. "Well, this is the second stairwell I've found like this... and Pinkie was the one who did it probably. Remember Pinkie's ghost?" Sweetie explained. "Anyway, more than likely, she probably messed with all or most of the staircases in one way or another. So it's probably best to work with the one we've got here." "Ok, then what?" Scootaloo asked. "Well... I think we need to find something to get past the floors that are missing steps. Right now I think it's a floor-" "Two floors actually, I think." Scootaloo corrected. "Right. That means we can't jump it without breaking a leg... or getting hurt by whatever debris lying at the bottom. Heck, even if you hovered down there, you'd be falling too fast to get cut by all of the jagged planks..." Sweetie said. "But... if we could find something... maybe a rope or something-" "We could get as close as possible to the ground to avoid breaking something, or getting cut." "Or at least minimize the possibility." Sweetie said. "That's a great plan Sweetie. Where'd you learn to come up with stuff like that? I never saw you as the planner type." "It's nothing really. I had to keep thinking like this all night to stay alive." Sweetie said, attempting to give a small smile. "Any other ideas then?" Scootaloo asked. "We should also... split up." "What?" Scootaloo asked. This didn't sound like a smart plan and Sweetie knew it. The filly proceeded to elaborate. "We need to cover ground as fast as possible. You saw how many ghosts showed up when we were in a group like this earlier. And that wasn't all of them either. Not only will we find what we're looking for faster, but we'll hopefully keep them from finding us if we travel in smaller numbers." "Ok... then how are we gonna do it then?" "I'll go with Applebloom and you go with Spike." "Uh, Sweetie?" Scootaloo asked, looking at the filly peculiarly. "Why specifically the-" "Because I have my flashlight that ghosts don't seem to like, and Spike has his fire breath. Ghosts don't like fire." "But Spike's flame is so small. How would they-" Scootaloo stopped, looking into Sweetie's eyes. That particular set up wasn't just for strategy reasons... "... alright fine. I'll look around with Spike, and you can look around with Applebloom. We'll met up in the hallway in say... 20 minutes. If not, we can find each other if something goes bad, or we find something." "We'll take the right side of the hallway doors, and you guys take the left side doors." Sweetie said. "Fine. Stay safe." Scootaloo said pulling on Spike. "Come on Romeo. Let's get searching." "Okay..." he mouthed before following Scootaloo into one of the rooms, leaving Applebloom and Sweetie alone in the hallway. "...Apple-" Sweetie started. "Don't say nothin'." She said. "Let's just git ta lookin'." She said heading into some random door. "Fine..." Sweetie said, following Applebloom. Rather than Sweetie leading the way, Applebloom was the one who led them from room to room. Most of the rooms was the same generic bedroom, holding nothing of interest inside. Sweetie however, wasn't exactly looking thoroughly. She was trying to figure out what she could say to her friend... the friend she'd basically betrayed. Did I really betray her? Spike was the one who kissed me. Sweetie thought. No... no, I could have stopped him. Why the hay didn't I stop him? I could have, right? And Applebloom... who knows what's going through her head. Spike's the only one I knew of that she had any real feelings toward beyond the average friendship... Sweetie racked her brain from room to room, trying to figure out. What did she say? What could she say to keep Applebloom from hatting her... she did hate her right? Finally, the two of them came across a door... this door was different however. Its lock... it was broken. Bits and pieces of the contents originally inside of the keyhole were lazily hanging out... was this door locked before Sweetie came to it? Sweetie gave an unsure look to Applebloom, who simply looked in her opposite direction. Sweetie then turned back to the door, and pushed it open. With the lock utterly destroyed, it opened easily with a creak. Inside, much like the other rooms she'd come across so far in the hallway, there were no windows... but it was definitely not a bedroom. Instead, the room was bare, beside a table that sat at the center of the room with a red lamp next to it. It was the first real sign of modern day technology Sweetie had come across in the mansion. Up to this point, Sweetie had yet to come across any magically electrified equipment like her flashlight. The red lamp creepily lit the entire room up, revealing what was along the walls. Rather than paintings, there were photos, taken by a camera. While some seemed to be in mid development, others were finished... it seemed to be some kind of dark room used to process photos. All of the equipment needed for such a project was there... except for an actual camera. Guess that'd be too much to hope for... Sweetie thought. Sweetie looked along the walls and was somewhat shocked. Along those walls were photos of ghosts. There were the ghosts that she'd seen before, such as the butlers, the foals, the lickers, the K-9s... but there were also ones that Sweetie didn't even recognize. There was one light blue one with enormous hands, one that was striped like a zebra, one that had spikes sticking out of its body... she even noticed a brown buffalo ghost, and a griffon ghost. Sweetie was just awed by the variety of ghosts that existed... each of them having a date beside them that had the words "discovery" behind them. Chances were, they were all the years that they'd shown up. They dated back as far and beyond the journal entries Sweetie had found so far. The farthest back was 100 B.C. It was a white ghost, round as a ball with a toothy grin, and its tongue sticking out... it didn't even look like a pony, or any creature Sweetie could name. Maybe it was some kind of prehistoric creature. On an entirely separate wall... there were just pictures of the sun and moon. They were all in the same pattern: Sunrise, Noon, Sunset, Moonrise, Midnight, Moonset, Sunrise... the pattern kept up until one picture came that Sweetie had only saw in her history books. It was a Solar Eclipse. Sweetie wasn't sure what it meant, so she picked it up. On the back of the photo, it simply said: End. Sweetie pocketed the photo and went to the table at the center of the room. Among the various pieces of equipment she saw, she noticed two photos facing down. There was something written there. On one it said: The mare knows the combinations... and the other simply said: Be careful. One more. You'll find the villain. - Madame. Though Sweetie figured out the second one was likely referring to her capture of Marbles and Candy... however she couldn't figure out what mare Madame was referring to. Sweetie overturned the photos to find that they weren't pictures of ghost ponies or sun patterns... but they were items she'd already seen. One was a journal page, and the other was the first music box Sweetie found. The funny thing was that the journal page was still in the book, and that the music box looked much less dusty... "Sweetie?" Applebloom said before she could examine the photos anymore. Sweetie's eyes snapped toward Applebloom. This was the first time since the kiss that the filly had said anything. "What's up Applebloom?" Sweetie asked, sticking the pictures in her saddlebags for later. "Ah... ah was just wonderin'... whe Spik'... when ya... when ya'll kissed... did ya like it? Did 'e like it?" She asked shyly. "No!" Sweetie exclaimed. "I mean, I didn't not like it, but I didn't like it either." "Righ'..." Applebloom said looking away. "Applebloom, look. Sweetie said, going up alongside the filly. "What happened in that room, was a stupid mistake of me. I like Spike, but not like... well, you do." "Then why'd ya kiss him?" "I didn't! He did." "So... he really like's ya then." Applebloom said lowering her head. Ouch, bad move. Sweetie thought. "N-no... I don't think so." "Then how do ya explain that 'e kissed ya w'thout ya needin' ta do nothin'?" I will admit, she's got a point. I don't remember doing anything memorable that would get the dragon to even think about me more than Applebloom... "I... I don't know." Sweetie said. "... but I bet he really likes you." "You tryin' ta lie ta me again Sweetie?" What, you didn't believe my first ones? "No no! I just think... well, this mansion can mess with you when you’re scared. Make you see things that you shouldn't be... make you think you like some pony when you really don't... I bet you, that once we're out of this mansion, Spike will be all over you again." "Implying tha' 'e even knew ah existed ta begin wit'." Applebloom sighed. "I promise." Sweetie said. "Fine..." Applebloom sighed. "So... we talking again?" Sweetie asked. "Fer now... less ya try somethin' lik' that again." Applebloom said. There was still a good amount of bitterness in her voice, indicating the filly hadn't entirely won her friend back. "Yer gonna regret it if ya do." Not sure why Applebloom, but I get the distinct feeling that you’re threatening me... Sweetie thought. Applebloom then gave her friend a forced smile, causing Sweetie to smile as well. At least her friend was trying to forgive her for taking her only crush... still, she could also see a hint of sadness in her eyes. Something told the filly that she'd have to figure out a way to make good on her promise to get Applebloom and Spike together. "Hey guys! Come out where ever you are!" Scootaloo called from the hallway. Sweetie and Applebloom went back outside to see Spike and Scootaloo with several bed sheets. Spike had one over his head. "Uh, guys? I don't think the ghosts will buy that as a disguise." Sweetie said. "It's not a disguise, it's our ticket down to the first floor. "How?" Sweetie asked. "Easy. All we got to do is tie the sheets up to each other and we've got ourselves a rope." Scootaloo explained. "I read it in a book." "Uh, correction Scootaloo. It was my idea, and I read it in a book." Spike said. "That's a little more believable." Sweetie said. "Every pony knows Scootaloo doesn't read." "Whatever. In any case, you guys want to help us out?" "Ah reckon we can do that." Applebloom said stepping forward. Scootaloo smiled, thankful that Sweetie had actually managed to lighten Applebloom's mood. Sweetie smiled likewise, noticing a little more happiness in Spike's attitude. As they tied each bed sheet to each other, for the moment, things seemed to be normal. Just being together doing the simple activity felt like another activity they did to attempt to get their cutie mark. Just another day in the life of a Cutie Mark Crusader... and it was refreshing to the filly. No doubt about it, from an emotional standpoint, no matter what, the simple presence of the CMC and even Spike in this mansion was the healthiest pony interaction she'd had all night. It didn't take very long for the four of them to finish tying each bed sheet to each other. The result was a string of three bed sheets, at about 25 feet length total. They all figured this was more than enough to get down to the bottom without risk of injury. With that, they headed back to the stairwell to attempt to figure out how to climb down. Along the way, Sweetie stumbled to the side, and fell against a wall. Her three friends turned around to see what was wrong with their friend. "You okay Sweets?" Scootaloo asked. "Yeah... just got dizzy for a sec." Sweetie said, getting off of the wall. She shook her head as the dizziness quickly left. "You guys feel dizzy?" "I'm good." Scootaloo said. "Ahm fine." Applebloom said. "I was earlier, but I'm good." Spike said. "Why?" Scootaloo asked. "Just... curious." Sweetie said. Given that her friends weren't experiencing Sweetie's symptoms, it couldn't have been another mental manipulation... maybe Sweetie was sick or something? "Let's just get going before we're stampeded by some more ghosts." Once the group reached the stairwell, they walked down to where the planks were pulled out, previously halting their progress. Sweetie checked the banister that was attached to the stair case. She jiggled it a little bit. "Hm... I don't trust this thing to hold any of our weight." Sweetie figured. "We can't tie the sheets here." "Then what?" Scootaloo asked. "... I guess some pony will have to hold it while everyone else will climb down." Sweetie said. "I'll do it." "Why not Spike?" Scootaloo asked. "He's got those... what were they?" "Opposable claws." Spike said. "Right. That makes him the better candidate to go down first." Sweetie explained. "He can spot you and Applebloom as you shimmy down. With those claws, he'll be able to catch you better if you fall." "Lik' a spotter?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie nodded. "Plus, with those thick scales, he'll keep from getting splintered on the wood if it's really bad down there." Scootaloo looked at Sweetie, amazed, and somewhat jarred by the filly's ability to think things through. She knew that Sweetie said it had become an adapted ability, but the question became, from what... Scootaloo was beginning to wonder seriously what in the hay had Sweetie been through so far... to cause her mind to evolve in such a way... Sweetie put her flashlight down to her side. While holding one end of the bed sheet rope in her teeth, she threw the other end down the pit like staircase. "Alright Spike. Down you go." Sweetie said through the sheet, motioning for Spike to begin his decent. "Right... Sweetie?" Spike asked. Sweetie merely looked at Spike, rather than giving him any worded response. The dragon didn't blush this time, instead rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Uh... never mind. I'll tell you later." "Then let's get going. The longer we're here, the more dangerous it gets." Sweetie said. Spike nodded in agreement before climbing onto the rope and sliding down. There was a small crunch after a few seconds. "You alright Spik'?" Applebloom called out of concern. Even still, her heart for the dragon was still strong... even if it had been fractured a little. "Yeah! There's a bunch of wood down here, just like Sweetie said." Spike called back. "I can feel it scratching my scales." "Good call Sweets." Scootaloo said. "Let me just move this stuff around so you guys don't get nicked by a piece of wood." Spike said. They heard the sound of wood being shifted around. "Ok, you guys are good to go!" "After you Applebloom." Scootaloo said. Applebloom carefully gripped the bed sheet rope and began to shimmy down. Given she hadn't had much practice at it, the climb was slow, and Sweetie, more than once thought the rope would slip out of her teeth... but she made it. "Ahm down! C'mon, yer turn Scoots." Applebloom called. "Hey Sweets, why don't you go instead." Scootaloo suggested. "What? Why?" Sweetie asked. Scootaloo didn't say anything, but simply showed Sweetie by extending her wings. "Can you control your flying enough to hover down lightly?" "Of course I can." Scootaloo said. "Besides, who's gonna let you down when I go?" Sweetie thought for a moment. That made sense... but why did is seem wrong at the same time? Because I'm wrong... I'm always wrong a thought popped into Sweetie's head. "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "What?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie shook her head. She wasn't sure where it had come from, but something had just spoken to her... didn't it? Sweetie couldn't have been losing her mind again, like with Twilight right? From what she understood, any pony caught in the mental manipulation field would experience something... "Nothing. I'll start climbing." Sweetie said, handing the rope to Scootaloo. She then went to pick up her flashlight and stick it into her saddlebags. Making sure she wasn't leaving anything behind, the filly began to climb. Second only to Spike, Sweetie seemed to have climbed the fastest so far. Between the theater and the circus, the filly deemed herself to be one of the best ponies she knew that could do such a difficult climb with hooves. She was good at it... and probably wouldn't have messed up if it wasn't for her second dizziness. For a moment, Sweetie felt faint... and it only took a moment for her for her to lose her grip on the rope. Sweetie fell back off of the rope and began to free fall. Her hat fell off of her head as she fell. The filly screamed in terror, believing she would die once she hit the bottom... however, she was caught by Spike just in time. "What happened?! Sweetie! You alright?!" Scootaloo called. It took a moment for the white filly to get herself together, get out of Spike's arms and pick up Applejack's hat. "I'm fine." "What happen'd ta ya Sweetie? Ya lost yer grip?" Applebloom asked. "S-something like that." Sweetie said. She looked at Spike... he was staring at her again with the same googly eyes as before. Before Applebloom could get a chance to notice Spike's romantic behavior again, Sweetie turned back up to Scootaloo. "Hey Scoots! You want to hurry it up already?" "We ain't got all day!" Applebloom joined, looking up into the darkness. "Alright, alright. Don't get your bow in a knot." Scootaloo called back. Scootaloo dropped the rope down before hovering down. The hover wasn't slow, so the orange filly ended up coming down hard... right on top of Applebloom. "Oof!" Applebloom said as Scootaloo lie on top of her. "Hey, thanks for cushioning my fall Applebloom." Scootaloo grinned. "Git off a me." Applebloom said. Scootaloo did. "Ok Sweetie, what's the next plan?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie thought for a minute before shrugging. "I dunno." "C'mon Sweetie. Y'all know more-" Applebloom started. "I know, I know..." Sweetie sighed. "Well... as long as the mansion doesn't change up on us like it did with Spike and I, our best bet is to find the courtyard... then maybe find our way to the theater... all we can do after that is wing it from there." "Ain't too keen on th' thought a wanderin' this 'ere mansion aimlessly." Applebloom said. "Best plan we've got for now." Sweetie said. "Okay then, let’s go." Scootaloo said. "You lead the way Sweets." Sweetie nodded before heading forward. "Sweetie wait." Spike said. Sweetie turned her head back around to look at the dragon. He still looked nervous, but at the same time, he seemed to build up enough nerve to say something to her. "I... was just wondering..." he started. "Do... were you around Twilight lately?" "... yes. Why?" Sweetie asked. "Well... remember in that study when I suggested writing to Celestia, and you said no, and I..." he paused for a moment, reluctant to get into the details of what happened next. "A-anyway, I got to thinking. If I couldn't write to Celestia... maybe I could write to Twilight. I mean... Celestia enchanted me and my fire breathing to be able to teleport any enchanted parchment to her at any time... but I also learned I could send my fire messages to other ponies as well, if I had some kind of item that came from them. Do you have anything like that?" Sweetie thought for a moment before shaking her head. "No, I don't..." she thought again. "Wait... you said anything that came from them?" Spike nodded. "...like... like magic? Does that count?" Sweetie asked. "As long as it hasn't been enchanted by some other unicorn stronger than Twilight... yeah. Stuff she used her magic on should work." Spike confirmed. Sweetie reached into her saddlebags and pulled out one of the heart candies. "Twilight made these with her magic. It heals injuries... but she was the one who enchanted it with a healing spell. Will this work?" "Worth a shot. Let me see the note and the quill." Spike said, taking the heart candy. Sweetie went into her saddlebags to give Spike the two items he requested. Spike got down to the ground and began to finish his note. The CMC gathered around Spike to see what he was writing. Sweetie took out her flashlight to assist him. "Wait, can't Twilight teleport or something? Can't unicorns do that?" Scootaloo asked. "Exactly." Spike said. "I'm gonna tell her we're going to that courtyard Sweetie talked about, so she could just come and take us someplace safer... as long as she's seen this part of the mansion to teleport to." She must have been in some other part of the mansion when I got there... so one could only hope... Sweetie thought. "Also, tell her that Pinkie's caught. It's the only reason she'll even think about coming out." Sweetie said. "Why's tha'?" Applebloom asked. "Er... I'll tell you once we're there." Sweetie said. "Trust me, you'll understand when we get there." "Ok... Courtyard... Pinkie's captured... anything else?" Spike asked. "Tell her we're gonna wait there for about 10 minutes... and that if she doesn't find us, that means something went wrong, we ran into something on the way or we went to find our own way." Sweetie said. Spike nodded as he wrote. "Ok, now just to send it off." Spike said. He wrapped the candy heart with the note, creating a little ball. Once finished, he put the paper ball on the ground and blew his green flame on it. The paper glowed green as it started to burn. They waited around it for a couple minutes. "Uh... why is it taking so long?" Scootaloo asked. "It's the candy heart. Once it and the note are all burned up, it'll get sent to her." Spike explained. "That might take a couple minutes." "In th' meantime, lets git a move on ta th' courtyard." Applebloom said. Sweetie nodded, moving out of the staircase, past any other wood that Spike hadn't moved yet into the new hallway. Sweetie guided her friends through the hallways with one thought on her mind, she kept to herself: Twilight, if she were to teleport, would need magic... magic running out... Limited magic that was needed to save her friends, and could very well be gone by now... *** It didn't take the four of them long to reach the courtyard. They ended up blindly following Sweetie through hallway that eventually led to the theater. "Ok... this is the theater." Spike sniffed the air. "Hey... anyone else smell smoke?" Sweetie stared at Spike before remembering that he couldn't remember he was the cause of the scent he smelled. She quickly looked away from him when she noticed Applebloom watching her stare. "It's nothing. Let's just keep moving." Sweetie said, continuing forward. "How much farther?" Scootaloo asked. "Not much. Just down this hallway, and we'll be there." Sweetie said, pointing to the hallway in front of them. The three of them continued to follow Sweetie. Finally, they made it to the glass door, which was still as open as the filly had left it. The water had dried up a bit as well, though the hallway was still pretty wet from the rain. "Hey... I've seen this before..." Scootaloo said. I could imagine. Sweetie said. She did remember Madame saying that Scootaloo might have run through here... The filly wouldn't be surprised if this was the route she took. Sweetie didn't respond however. If she somehow led to any conclusions, she'd rather her figure it out herself. "Yeah... I mean, there were some torches out there, but I swear I saw this in my dream." Scootaloo said. "The torches are gone?" Sweetie asked, looking out into the moonlit courtyard. Sure enough, the torches that had guided the filly to the hole into the crypt was gone. The crypt hole itself was also boarded up, with the CMC paper airplane lying on top of it with a bent nose. "You mean there actually were torches there?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie hesitated before seeing no harm in answering honestly. "Yeah." "Was... there also some kind of... I dunno, cave?" "Crypt." Sweetie corrected. "You would know what it was called." Scootaloo commented. "Well, that's what it is. Caves don't go down. Mines and crypts do, but-" "Ok, ok, ok. I didn't ask for a whole history lesson." Scootaloo said, rolling her eyes. "But... that's where they put dead bodies, right?" The three of them went out of the dressing room hallway and into the courtyard. Sweetie nodded to Scootaloo. "Yeah... cause I remember seeing some dead ponies in my dream." "Kind of morbid, don't you think Scootaloo?" Spike said. "Well, it's what I saw... then, something started chasing me." A bead of sweat dropped down Sweetie's neck. It sounded like she was starting to remember something. "What chased ya?" Scootaloo asked. "...ghosts." Scootaloo said, looking at all of her friends. Spike and Applebloom turned around to look at Scootaloo. Sweetie didn't bother looking at them as she went to go examine the paper airplane. It was a little banged up, but not as bad as the first crash. This damage was fixable. "Ghosts?" Applebloom said. "Bit of a coincidence if ya ask me." "Then..." Scootaloo closed her eyes, trying as hard as she could to remember. "Then, they cornered me... in this room with other dead ponies. I hid... but one of them found me. A colt, I think." "A colt?" Spike asked. "Yeah, a ghost colt." Scootaloo said. "And he... he..." "Stuck his hoof in your mouth?" Sweetie finished. The three of them looked at Sweetie. "Yeah. How'd you know?" "One almost got me once." Sweetie said. "Tried to rip my soul out of my body. It would have too, if Twilight didn't save me." "Well... I don't think any pony got to me... and I don't think it took anything out of me. It just kept sticking its hoof further down my throat until... its leg was there... then the second leg... then everything goes dark after that." "Sweetie." Applebloom said, going to the white filly, still looking at the plane. "Sweetie!" Sweetie didn't turn to look at Applebloom, as though ignoring her would make her go away. Applebloom forced Sweetie to turn around and look at her, the fillies' faces barely two inches from each other. "Ah know ya know what happened ta Scoots. Ah reckon ya know what happened to all of us." Applebloom said. "Why don'tcha stop lyin' n tell us th' truth already? We're yer friends remember?" "I... didn't know you still considered me your friend Applebloom." Sweetie said. "Ya ain't answered mah question. What in the hay happened?" Applebloom asked. "Let her go Appleb-" Spike started. "Hold up!" Applebloom said, stopping the dragon from proceeding. Applebloom took a hold of both of Sweetie's fore legs. "Sweetie. Ah don't know what y'all been through, but ya gotta stop lyin. Ya gotta trust us. Tell th' truth already." Sweetie knew she'd only be able to sidestep the issue for so long. She was going to have to tell them now... "I... I didn't want you guys to know until we were safe." Sweetie said softly. "What?" Scootaloo asked, getting closer to Applebloom. "Just let me go and I'll tell you." Sweetie said. Applebloom did, gently. Every pony stared at Sweetie. "What's wrong Sweetie? You've been lying to us?" Scootaloo asked. "Why? Don't you trust us?" Sweetie took a deep breath. "I... did lie, yes." Sweetie said. "Why Sweetie?" Spike said, joining Scootaloo. "Because... I didn't want to hurt you with the truth yet. You guys were... you... do you guys hear bells?" "Sweetie, now ain't the ti-" "Hold up, I hear it too." Spike said. "Huh? Ah don't hear nothin'!" Applebloom said. "Me neither." Scootaloo said. "What are you... guys?" Neither of them answered. Spike went over to stand over next to Sweetie, and stared into space in some kind of trance. "The time has come..." Spike said "It's coming from the church..." Sweetie said. "What 're you two talkin 'bout?" Applebloom asked. Neither of them answered, but rather Spike put his arm around Sweetie's and they both began walking back toward the dressing room hallway. "Hey! Where y'all goin?" Applebloom asked. "C'mon! Let's follow them." Scootaloo said. Applebloom nodded. It didn't take a genius to figure out that something was wrong with her two friends, but it still bothered her to see Sweetie break her promise so quickly. Applebloom shook off the feeling, and focused on keeping up with the two of them as they walked. Sweetie and Spike moved together in unison, leaning on each other as they went through the hallways. Every so often, Spike might nuzzle Sweetie's mane, and the filly would giggle in response. Applebloom flinched every time, while Scootaloo simply watched in dis-satisfaction. The walk didn't last much longer than a couple minutes, as they eventually came across a large metal door. It had an etching of a sun on one side, and a moon on the other... this was the church Sweetie had exited the crypt from. The only difference from then, was that there was a giant splotch of ectoplasm blocking it, and ultimately sealing it. Once they were in front of the large door, Spike kissed Sweetie on the cheek. Sweetie responded with a kiss of her own on Spike's lips. Applebloom turned away from it, as Scootaloo's jaw dropped. "What is wrong with you two?!" Scootaloo exclaimed. Sweetie and Spike separated before collapsing to the ground, holding their heads in pain to another headache. Scootaloo went over to help Sweetie back up on her feet. Applebloom only turned back around to do the same for Spike. Once the two of them were on their feet again, their headaches subsided and was replaced with a bright red blush on each of their faces. why... Why did I do that?! Sweetie exclaimed in her head. She wasn't sure what had just happened. She didn't feel like she was out of control in any way... no, she definitely still had her own will... yet something in her head just told her to kiss Spike. Something she couldn't explain... Whatever it was though, it didn't change the guilt Sweetie immediately felt upon looking at her friend who she'd just about immediately betrayed... again. I'm guessing a word or two won't really help in this case... better keep my mouth shut. "Sweetie?" Scootaloo asked. The filly looked at her friend. "I've got a whole bunch of questions for you but... first, where the hay are we?" Sweetie looked at the door, examining it. "Uh... the church I think." Sweetie confirmed. "Don't remember this wall of ectoplasm blocking the way from before." "Do you still hear bells?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie shook her head. "No... but it do hear... music?" Sweetie's ears perked up to get a better sound. "Yeah, I hear music... wedding music, do you hear it?" Scootaloo perked her ears as well. "Actually, yeah. From the other side of the door." "No doubt some pony's in there." Sweetie commented. "Yeah, but it would take forever to clean this thick gooey stuff off to get in." Scootaloo said. "Actually..." Sweetie said, raising her GCD nozzle. Making sure it was set to suck, Sweetie cleaned the door of the ectoplasm blockage. The fourth light on Sweetie's back lit up. "Huh. Now we can get in?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie shrugged. "I guess." "Then let’s-" Scootaloo said, heading for the door. "Wait!" Sweetie whispered. "What?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie went to the front of the group and by the door. She stuck her ear onto the door. Sure enough, she heard ghost ponies inside, silently giggling. "What? You hear something?" Scootaloo asked. "Yeah, a hay load of ghosts." Sweetie said. "I don't think we should-" "...Sweets?" Scootaloo asked. "Shhh." Sweetie said, pushing her ear as hard as she could into the door without physically opening it. Sweetie heard something above all of the other pony voices. They were all voices Sweetie recognized very well. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the sight of Celestia..." it was Spiffy. He was speaking as the loudest pony in the room. He was saying some kind of speech... which Sweetie almost immediately recognized as a speech done by a priest pony at weddings. Why Spiffy was doing this was beyond the filly... though she continued to listen. "Master Specter," Spiffy said, "Will you have this lovely mare to be your lawfully wedded wife, to live together in Celestia's ordinance in the estate of matrimony? To love her, comfort her, honor and keep her in sickness and health until death... or whatever comes first, do you part?" "Specter?" Sweetie said to herself. By now Applebloom had gotten up with Spike, and gathered around Sweetie to see what she was doing. "Specter? You mean that stallion you mentioned earlier?" Scootaloo asked. "Is he in there?" "I do." Specter said. "Yeah." Sweetie whispered. "Apparently, he's getting married. I think it's to a... a..." "...Sweetie?" Spike whispered. He seemed to, much like Sweetie, get over the kiss. "Get married to a what? Who?" "No..." Sweetie mumbled. "He couldn't be." Sweetie closed her eyes, hoping and wishing it wasn't who she thought it was. "And you. Will you have this stallion to be your handsome wedded husband, to live together in Celestia's ordinance in the estate of matrimony? To love him, comfort him, honor him, and keep him in sickness and health, until whatever comes before death?" "I do." Rarity said. Sweetie completely lost all control over her body. All thought of subtlety left her body as she burst through the door and into the nave of the church. "Sweetie! Wait!" Scootaloo said running after her friend. Only Applebloom and Spike hung in the back of the church, barely entering. The church had remained the same besides the ghosts that were now sitting inside, except for the windows. They had been boarded up and covered with a curtain to keep the moonlight out. Sweetie and Scootaloo ran down the center aisle, past all of the ghosts who stared at her, grinning. Thankfully, their level of laughter didn't increase upon their rude entrance... yet anyway. Both of the fillies skidded to a stop once they reached the front of the nave at the crossing. "Specter!" Sweetie yelled angrily. "Sweetie!?" Rarity said surprised. "Rarity!" Sweetie said. "Sweetie?" Specter asked. "Specter!" Sweetie yelled angrilly. "Specter?" Scootaloo asked. "Scootaloo?" Rarity asked. "Rarity?" Scootaloo asked. "Scootaloo." Specter asked. "Specter!" Sweetie said. "Get on with it!" Spike yelled from the back of the church. The door to the church slammed shut on its own, causing every pony to go silent for a moment. Even the ghosts momentarily stopped their laughter. "... Ms. Belle." Specter said breaking the silence. "How nice of you to join us." "Cut it Specter." Sweetie said angrily. "What in the hay do you think you’re doing?" Specter chuckled. "You know, I always thought little fillies like you looked cute when you were having your little tamptrums." "That's kind of creepy dude!" Spike called from the back. Specter briefly looked at the dragon with a slight hint of annoyance. "For the love of Celestia, some ghost get him." Two ghosts, a licker and a butler from the benches in the nave flew up into the air and back to Applebloom and Spike. The two tried to evade, however the ghosts were two fast, grabbing them by the stomachs and swooping them into the air. The ghosts hugged the two children to their stomachs, trapping them in their grasp. "Uh, Sweetie?" Scootaloo said, looking back at their captive friends. "I know." Sweetie said through gritted teeth. "Now that that minor annoyance is out of the way... what were you asking dear filly?" Specter asked. "What are you doing with her?" Sweetie asked angrily. Specter chuckled. "You mean you can't figure it out yourself? My wife must have been right. You are a stupid filly." "Master Specter. Do you want us to postpone the ceremony until Ms. Belle and her friends are taken care of?" Spiffy asked. Specter waved a hoof. "No need. This won't take long. And besides, there's no need to be rude to these fillies. I plan to honor Ms. Belle and Ms..." "... Scootaloo." Scootaloo said. "Ah, I do remember my loyal pony-servant mentioning the capture of a pony by that name earlier tonight." Specter said. "Sweetie? What is he talking about?" Scootaloo asked. "Not now Scoots." Sweetie said, not taking her eyes off of Specter, or ghost Rarity. "Tell me!" Scootaloo insisted. "Later." Sweetie said flatly. "And now, you stand before me... neither ghostified, nor possessed. I must say Ms. Belle, I'm impressed with your feat of exorcism. Just make sure to keep my children safe in that little box your carrying on your back." "If you wanted to keep your kids safe, you shouldn't have sent them after me in the first place!" Sweetie shot back. Specter flinched, as though he'd actually felt a shot of guilt through his body. Then, he laughed. "You surely are a riot Ms. Belle." "You didn't answer my question. What in the hay do you think you’re doing." "You mean the church bells, the organ, or this hoof ring," Specter said, holding up a large diamond ring, just about Rarity's hoof size, "Didn't tip you off? This is a wedding Ms. Belle." "You’re not serious." Sweetie said. "Oh, I am quite." "B-but you already have a wife! What about Madame?" Sweetie asked. "Thanks to you, dear filly, I've been forced to... quit my wife." he said. "Thanks to me?! Everything's your fault! No pony would be in here if it weren't for you! No pony would have died if it weren't for you! You’re the one who-" "Shut up Sweetie." Rarity said. Sweetie did as she was told. Specter chuckled again. "You can think of me, anyway you'd like Ms. Belle. The facts remain... you are surrounded. Your friends are in danger, you are stupid and my little gem will soon be named Rarity Yield." "Get away from her." Sweetie said through gritted teeth. The ghosts began to get up from their seats and float toward Sweetie. Scootaloo's flank went against Sweetie's body as they closed in. "Sweetie? We've got a problem here." Scootaloo said fearfully. "Good bye Ms. Belle. And I hope to see you in the-" "GET AWAY FROM MY SISTER!" Sweetie yelled, pointing her GCD at Specter, before switching to its spectral throwback and firing it at him. The shot was too fast for Specter to even make an attempt to dodge. Sweetie made a direct shot to his neck area, sticking him to the wall closest to him. "Specter!" Rarity called, flying over to the stallion. Upon getting hit by the ectoplasm, the ghosts controlled by Specter screamed in pain before falling down around Scootaloo and Sweetie. Even Applebloom and Spike were freed from their captors. "Nice shot Sweetie!" Spike said, running with Applebloom to reunite with Sweetie and Scootaloo. "Yeah Sweets." Scootaloo said. "How did you know hitting Specter would stop the ghosts?" "Uh... I didn't." Sweetie said, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "Just lucky guess I suppose." "I'll take that." Scootaloo said smiling. So, if Specter's hurt, so are the other ghosts? That's something to keep in mind. "You..." Rarity said. Uh oh. Sweetie thought. "You stupid, idiotic, selfish filly!" Rarity said turning to Sweetie, her blue eyes filled with rage. "R-rarity?" Sweetie said. "Rarity! It's me! Sweetie!" "I know exactly who you are, do you think I'm dumb?" Rarity asked, looking at her. "You’re the filly who ruins everything in my life. Every pony I try to love, everything I try to create. Going down in flames because of you, and your carelessness. Sweetie Belle, the sister I wish I never had." The words stung Sweetie... but she had to remember. She was being controlled by Specter. He was the one talking to the filly... not her. "Ms. Rarity. He's unconscious." Spiffy said. "Will my dear be alright?" Rarity asked concerned. Spiffy nodded. He did something to the goop around Specter's neck sticking him to the wall, before easily pealing it off like a sticker. He lay him down on the floor. "I'll try and wake him up." "Look what you did Sweetie." Rarity asked. "Now the wedding is ruined..." The ghost mare began to tear up. "Rarity..." Sweetie said, trying to console. "Why can't you let me be happy?!" Rarity asked. Sweetie felt weak, her bones making her sit onto her flank. "I... I'm sorry Rare-" she said quietly, on the verge of tears. "Shut up. Both a ya." Applebloom interrupted. Sweetie looked up to see her friend standing at her side. "Y'all both know it's a lie. Ri' Sweetie?" Sweetie didn't answer. She wasn't entirely sure. "Stay out of this Applebloom." Rarity commanded. "Ah ain't gonna let ya make mah friend feel bad from yer lies." "Yeah!" Scootaloo joined. "That's just a bunch of hay and you know it! Sweetie loves you more than anything in the world! Right Sweets?" Sweetie looked up, wiping a tear out of her eye. She nodded. "Hmph. How would you know? How do you know that little filly won't try to keep me to herself?" Rarity asked. "You have no place here." Rarity's frown turned into a smile. Not a grin, but a sadistic smile. "But if you’re so enthusiastic, then you can join my sister then." "What are ya-" Applebloom started. The filly wasn't given a chance to finish her sentence as the curtains from the boarded windows were ripped off by Rarity's magic. They quickly swooped down and wrapped each filly individually in the pieces of fabric. Only their heads were visible in the upside down cocoon Rarity had fashioned for them. They all struggled to get free, however, it was no use. They were trapped. "Uh Sweetie?" Scootaloo asked. "She's got us a little tied up here." "I know. Shut up." Sweetie said panicked. "Err, Sweetie?" Applebloom said. "Ah think these 'ere wrappin's are gitt'n tighter." "I know! Shut up." Sweetie said, even more panicked as the fabric got tighter and tighter around her entire body. "Sweetie, the blood is rushing to my head!" Spike said. "I KNOW! Shut up!" Sweetie said, at the peak of her panic. "Rarity! You have to fight it! This isn't you! If not I'm going to-" "Die?" Rarity said, smiling. "That's the idea. You see Sweetie, there's something you don't quite get. I'm not under Specter's control." "The hay you aren't!" Sweetie yelled. The filly struggled in her bindings... not to escape however. She had a plan. "You’re not my sister!" "Oh? Then why is it that other ghosts disappeared when you assaulted my lover.... and I remain here?" Rarity grinned. "B-because you’re a Portrait ghost?" Sweetie figured. Rarity shook her head. "Such a sad sad thing to see a child trying to deny the truth." Sweetie managed to get her hoof into her saddlebags. Now all she had to do was get her item of interest. "And what's that 'truth' you’re talking about?" Sweetie asked. Rarity got as close as she could to Sweetie's face, to the point she could feel the mare's icy cold breath. "I... hate... you." She whispered. Sweetie managed to grab Applebloom's knife and used it to cut through the curtain fabric, causing her to fall to the ground. The contents of Sweetie's saddlebags poured out upon impact as she hit her head. Though she was immediately in pain, Sweetie managed to keep her focus high enough to go for her flashlight and point her GCD nozzle at Rarity. The mare laughed. "So... you going to fight me then? You’re going to hurt your one and only sister?" "I'm not going to fight you. I'm going to catch your flank." Sweetie said. "Besides, no matter what you say, I won't believe you’re my sister." Rarity sighed. "I suppose children like you have to learn the hard way." Sweetie then heard the sound of nails being ripped out of wood. She saw the boards fall as whatever held them in place was ripped off by her magic. Moonlight flooded the church. Sweetie saw something glimmer in the moonlight... something shiny and sharp. Dodge! the voice in her head said. Sweetie jumped back, narrowly dodging a nail that was coming straight for her... no, it wasn't a nail, it was a needle. One a dress maker like Rarity might use to sew. Sweetie heard more wizz through the air. Quickly, Sweetie made the decision to hide under one of the benches she saw in the moonlight. She covered her head as the bench sheet shielded the filly from the barrage of needles coming at her. "Mr. Butler. Would you be a dear and help me eradicate this little worm?" Rarity asked. First I'm stupid, now I'm a worm. That's cool. Sweetie thought, figuring out when she should abandon her cover... Sweetie would have used her safe time to attempt to use her ghost book, however it was far away from her, lying among her other items that fell out of her bag. Sweetie'd just have to wing it until she got another chance. "You know that's not my role Ms. Rarity. I can however give you some ghosts to fight by your side." "Fine. Do it now." There was a large knock on the door to the church. "Sweetie! You in there?!" It was Twilight! Even with her lack of magic, she'd managed to make it. "Twi!" Spike called. "Twi, is that you?!" "We're in here!" Scootaloo said. "Rainbow. Help me break down the door!" "On it." Rainbow said from the other side. There was a large impact against the door. It shook, showing immediate signs of weakening. "Oh no you don't!" Rarity said, raising a needle with a metallic looking thread. She shot it at the door faster than a speeding bullet, making a large clank noise. "What the heck was that?!" Rainbow said surprised from the other side of the door. The needle shot back through the door, wrapping around the line in which the door would open from. The metallic thread spiraled down, continuously making the clanking noise until the double door was held together by the thread. There was a second impact. "Twi! The door won't budge!" Rainbow said. "I think it's sewn it shut!" Twilight said. "What?! Well unsew it!" "I have to cut it Rainbow that'll take a bit. We'll be there in a few minutes ok?!" Twilight assured. If we're not all dead by then. Sweetie thought. She had to get out before Rarity tried something new. The filly scrambled out of her cover and ran to her friends. She had a good feeling that the flashlight in her mouth wouldn't work against Rarity... but she had an idea she could try. "Spike!" She said as she got closer to her friends, glancing back at Rarity every few seconds. "I need you to blow as hard of a flame as you can!" "What? Why?" Spike asked. "Now's really not the time to argue Spike. Do it NOW!" Sweetie commanded. Spike took a deep breath and blew a flame at Sweetie. Sweetie switched to her Elemental Capture and sucked up Spike's flame. It wasn't nearly as strong as when Spike was possessed, however, it was just enough to fill the GCD cylinder a quarter of the way. Now Sweetie had something she could possibly fight Rarity with. As Sweetie turned around to face Rarity, she saw the glimmer of some needles coming her way. Quickly, Sweetie dodged to the right into the benches. Sweetie barely dodged them in time, getting nicked by a needle on the way. A droplet of blood slid down the filly's face. It stung, and Sweetie did her best to ignore the pain... though she was used to pain being inflicted on her, this one in particular needle stung even more than the cuts from Applebloom's knife. Did it just create a deeper cut, or was it that Sweetie watched her sister as they flew at her face... She circled around the benches, dodging more needles, back over to Rarity, coming up on her side. Sweetie stopped and aimed her GCD at the mare. "Rarity. Don't make me have to hurt you." Sweetie said. "What are y'all doin'?!" Applebloom yelled at Sweetie. "Yeah! She's a ghost! She won't listen to you." They're right. She's not gonna listen to reason anymore... but then why in the hay am I not pushing the button?! Sweetie thought. She noticed her hooves shook as she pointed the GCD at Rarity in its current setting. The filly remembered how horrified she was when she froze Rarity's head. Freezing the actual Rarity was unthinkable. But she's not Rarity! She's not! Sweetie thought, trying to convince herself to hit the button. "Stupid, clumsy, and now gutless. What can't you do that isn't disappointing?" Rarity said. "Sweetie! Look out!" Scootaloo warned. Sweetie's eye darted to the right as she saw a yellow foal ghost clumsily flying at her. Sweetie jumped back, narrowly dodging it. Sweetie noticed how, unlike before, it didn't seem like it had control over its body. Instead, it seemed like it was being swung around, rather than really flying. Sweetie looked up to see the yellow glow of Spiffy, with a puppeteer’s cross, it's strings attached to the foal as it flew... Sweetie directed her attention back to Rarity, dodging another group of needles she threw at her. "Stay still Sweetie! At least do that right!" Rarity said, throwing individual needles at the filly as she dodged each one. The closest calls Sweetie had was twice, where two needles pierced and went through Applejack's hat... Sweetie was almost sure one stayed inside, creating three holes around the hat. The close calls, along with the running from Rarity was tiring the filly out. Her friends noticed as she was getting clumsier and clumsier as she dodged both the flying foal and the needles. "Twilight?!" Spike called. "How's that door coming?!" "We're working as fast as we can!" Twilight said. "Just give us a minute!" Scootaloo looked at Sweetie as she dodged another needle. She was sure that a second one had grazed the side of her coat, creating a long red line of blood. "We don't have a minute! Hurry up!" Sweetie jumped under one of the benches again to take cover from another barrage of needles. She covered her head fearfully, knowing she'd have to leave soon before the foal came for her. "We're trying! Just a little longer!" Rainbow said. Just then, Rarity stopped firing needles at Sweetie's cover. She grinned, as though she'd just gotten an idea. "Fine... since you’re incapable of staying still... fine." She said calmly. Sweetie stopped covering her head. Something was very wrong, and she knew it. "You may be able to move... but your friends can't." "Uh, Sweetie?" Applebloom said, panicked as she looked at Rarity. The white ghost mare used her magic to lift several needles before aiming them at her friends. "Sweetie? Sweetie!" they all called, desperately struggling to get free of their wrappings. "Say goodbye to your friends Sweetie. I hope you'll understand the loss you've made me endure... through the death of your dear friends." "No!" Sweetie said, running out from under her cover. The ghost foal was waiting for her, as she dodged it. She ran for Rarity, and pointed her GCD at her. Completely on instinct and without hesitation, Sweetie hit the button, causing a great red flame to be thrown from the nozzle of the GCD. There was no ding, however Rarity did scream in pain as the fire engulfed her. She fell to the ground, not too far from Sweetie. With her, the needles fell down around her friends' bindings. Sweetie blinked, coming back to her senses. "Rarity!" Sweetie said, dropping the nozzle and running over to her sister. "Rarity, are you alright? Are you-" The filly didn't get a chance to finish speaking, or realize her mistake of checking on the mare, before she flew up at Sweetie and grabbed her by the neck. Sweetie desperately tried to free herself from the mare's grasp, but it was useless. All she could do was look helplessly at the ghost mare's face. She couldn't release herself, or attempt to grab onto the GCD nozzle as her oxygen slipped away. Sweetie heard her friends calling for her, but she wasn't sure as the world around her became blurry. The filly felt her life slowly slipping away... Sweetie then heard a crash, followed by a thunderbolt. She felt herself fall down to the ground... and she wasn't sure what happened after that, as she fainted. *** "What... do we do now?" Rarity asked in the darkness, her voice muffled and distant. "Now, Ms. Rarity... we wait." Spiffy said in a particularly sinister tone. "In just a little bit... Ms. Belle won't be a problem anymore... and I will have for filled my duty... *** "Sweetie..." said a ghostly voice. "Is she gonna be alright?" the filly felt herself placed down onto the ground. "She'll be fine. It's just the shock of catching portraits. Did she catch any recently?" "Not that I remember... hey, I think she's waking up now." Sweetie moaned painfully. The feel of catching two portrait ghosts was finally beginning to come down on the filly. She felt pain rushing through her body. "I'm going to try and heal her a bit more." the voice said... it was definitely Twilight. "Sweetie, if you can hear me, stay still. This might hurt at first." Sweetie felt magic starting to flow though her body, as pain followed. She opened her mouth to scream, but a pained groan only came. The magic flow only lasted for a few minutes. "That's all I can do for now." Twilight said. "You've got to do more than that! Look at her!" "I'm sorry, I just need to save magic for emergencies. She'll survive for now." Twilight said. Sweetie's eyes fluttered open. Her eyes hurt for a moment before adjusting to the light around her. She was relieved to find herself back in the safe zone... her and her friends still alive. Every pony stood around her, looking at the beaten up filly. Applejack stood, still looking pretty beaten up, though much better than before. Applebloom stood by her. Rainbow and Scootaloo stood together as well. So did Spike and Twilight. Each of them looked at their loved one, before looking back at Sweetie and smiled. The filly herself smiled with pride that she'd managed to reunite them with each other. "Hey guys." Sweetie said weakly. "What's up?" Sweetie groaned as she tried to get up. Fluttershy advanced, lying a hoof on her abdomen to keep her down. "Please Sweetie. Rest." she said, smiling sweetly. "Yeah kid." Rainbow added. "You’re safe now." About time. Sweetie thought, rubbing her neck. She looked at her friends, remembering the danger they'd been in. Thankfully, there wasn't a visible scratch on them... but she could see some pain in their eyes, from watching their friend fight Rarity. "You alri' there Sweetie?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie nodded. "I've been better, but I'll live." she said. "What... what happened?" "Well," Scootaloo started, "When Rarity got you by the neck, we all thought you were gonna... you know, die. Anyway, when all hope was lost, Rainbow busted into the room and Twilight shot a bolt of lightning from her horn." "Almost hit ya too. Good thing Twi ain't a bad shot." Applebloom commented. "Anyway, Rare screamed and flew up to that butler ghost for protection. Then, Rainbow heroically flew up to the both of them." Scootaloo continued enthusiastically. "Then, she punched Spiffy in the muzzle." "She flew through him and hit the ceiling." Spike corrected. "Then they both flew away." "Whatever. Rainbow scared them off!" "She didn' punch 'em though." Applebloom said. "Bah. Details, details." Scootaloo said. The mares smiled at the sound of the children's senseless bickering. After a few more minutes of rest, Sweetie got up again. Without a groan, Fluttershy didn't stop her. "Now wha'?" Applebloom asked. "Now? Um..." Sweetie looked around the room. "You guys didn't print out Pinkie yet?" Applejack shook her head. "Ya'll just got back." "Then that's what's next." Sweetie said, walking over to the spirit printer. "That's the most important thing right now." "...any particular reason why?" Twilight asked. "I mean, besides bringing her back." "Yeah. I had this dream earlier... Rarity was saying something about Pinkie knowing things." Sweetie explained. "Like what?" Rainbow asked. "Hopefully, we're gonna find out." Sweetie said, sticking the GCD into the ghost printer. "Processing..." the spirit printer said as it began to shake and whirl. Sweetie held the nozzle firmly in the hole, as Pinkie went through. "Hey, is that machine laughing?" Spike asked, hearing giggles come through it. "No... no, it's not the machine." Sweetie said, hoping Pinkie's ghost wouldn't try anything at the last minute. After way too much suspense on every pony in the room, the painting of Pinkie popped out of the machine. She wore her pink gala outfit, much like the other mares. Unlike the other mares however, she looked as though she were ready to stuff her face with a white cupcake. "Error. Error." The machine said. "Unable to create portrait. Other ghosts needed. Containing ghosts until captured." "Other ghosts?" Fluttershy asked. "It must be talking about Candy and Marbles." Sweetie figured. "I caught them earlier, after exorcised Scootaloo and Applebloom." "Exorcised?" both of the fillies said. "You mean ya'll don't know? Sweetie, ya didn't tell 'em?" Applejack asked. "Of course not." Sweetie said. "How do you think they'd feel? Besides, we had ghosts flying after us, so it didn't really seem like the most important subject." "Wait, wait, wait." Scootaloo said. "Back up. What are you talking about exorcism?" Sweetie rubbed her neck nervously. There was no use in keeping it back now, and here was a better place than any. "Well, you guys were-" Sweetie started, before she was interrupted by a tapping sound behind her. It was Pinkie's painting, vibrating on the floor. "Uh... is tha' supposed ta happen?" Applebloom asked. Everyone stared at the painting, standing back from it as it began to vibrate more and more violently. It almost sounded like a drum-roll against the floor... before finally, streamers exploded from the painting as Pinkie jumped out. "Surprise!" Twilight's jaw dropped at the sight of Pinkie, escaping the confines of the painting without even the slightest hint of magic. "H-how?!" the mare asked. "Because she's Pinkie." Sweetie said flatly. "But that doesn't-" "Because she's Pinkie." Sweetie repeated. "You’re not going to get a better explanation than that." Twilight twitched for a moment, struggling to accept the reality without any kind of explanation... then again, it wouldn't have been the first time Pinkie had done un-explainable things. She sighed. "Well... more magic for me to use I guess." All attention turned back to Pinkie, who stared at the group with a great big grin on her face. This wasn't the same sadistic grin of the mansion, but rather a friendly one... the one of the Pinkie they all knew and loved. Rainbow was the first to confront the mare. "Hey Pinkie... you alright?" she asked. "I'm pinkie keen Dashie!" She said, as bubbly as ever. "Cupcake?" she asked, pulling the white cupcake from the painting out of thin air. "N-no, I'm good." Rainbow said smiling, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "...what are you guys staring at?" Pinkie asked. "You just popped out of a painting for no reason, and you’re asking us what we're staring at?" Twilight asked. "Well, of course I came out silly." Pinkie said. "It was really cramped in there. That little box too." she added, pointing toward the GCD on the filly's back. Sweetie examined Pinkie. No longer was she transparent, but she was solid and breathing, just like a normal pony. Her flank was bare, just like the other mares as well... did that mean she'd obtained her talent too? Finally, there was her eyes. It was filled with life and excitement just like before her ghostification... yet, they also had a tiredness, and hint of guilt after further examination. Pinkie may have appeared to be the same happy mare, as though nothing had happened, the guilt was vaguely evident in her eyes. "Hey Sweetie!" Pinkie called, louder than necessary. "Hm?" Sweetie asked, bringing her out of thought. "How ya doin?" she asked. "Uh... great." "Hungry?" "I don't want the cupcake. I don't know where it's been." Sweetie said. "Oh, ok. Just checkin." She said. For a moment, she paused, allowing the room to fill with silence... before Sweetie finally spoke. "Are... you ok?" Sweetie asked the mare who'd been forced to hunt her all night. Pinkie enthusiastically nodded. "And... you’re ok with remembering the stuff?" "You mean like the cage thing? or the carnival thing?" Pinkie asked. "Yeah." Pinkie blinked... Sweetie was almost sure she saw a tear get sucked back into her eye. The mare was trying her hardest not to break down in tears in front of the filly. Though Sweetie didn't want to prey on her mind of the events that had transpired that night, there was one thing she still had to ask. "Do you... remember being told anything in particularly important when you were with Specter?" Sweetie asked. Pinkie looked up into the air, putting her hoof on her muzzle, deep in thought. "...anything?" Sweetie asked again. "Mmmmmm.... nope." Pinkie said, looking back at the filly. "Nothing super important. He told me to... do stuff, aaaand I did it. Not much that I can remember besides that." "Oh..." Sweetie said looking down. She looked back up at the mare. "That's ok. If you don't remember it, then I'm sure it isn't that important." Sweetie looked in her saddlebags. "Hey guys? Some of my stuff-" "Oh yea'!" Applebloom exclaimed. "We picked that up for ya. Ah got yer glowin heart thing." she said, showing the filly the rock candy. "I got your flashlight right here." Rainbow said, showing Sweetie. "And I got your two books." Twilight said, showing the filly the ghost book and journal. "And I got those pictures that you found." "Pictures?" Twilight said. "You found them in the mansion?" Sweetie nodded. "I didn't really get a chance to look at all of them, so I brought along three of the interesting ones I found." "Mind if I take a look?" Twilight asked. "Here you go Twi." Scootaloo said, handing the pictures to Twilight. "An eclipse?" Twilight asked. "Eclipse?" Pinkie said, closing her eyes. "Yeeeaahh... Specter did mention something about that. He said he was... going to make one." "Make an eclipse? How and why?" Twilight asked. "Why? I dunno. How? With the princesses I think he said." Pinkie said. "Well, alicorns naturally have pretty strong wills, so I don't think we'll have to worry about that any-" "He got Luna." Sweetie blurted out. Twilight looked at Sweetie. "Y-you’re not serious." "She chased me down a hall. I could see her resisting... she even managed to save me, but she was still under Specter's control... either her's or Gilda's.." "Gilda..." Rainbow said to herself. "That... it can't be. It's impossible... if it is true... then who knows how much longer until he has Celestia too." "Not long." Sweetie said. "At least, that's what I remember from my dream." "Perfect." Applejack sighed. "Not only do we gotta deal with tha' rat, Specter, we gotta worry 'bout the princesses too?" "We'll figure this out." Twilight said. "Only wish we could figure out why he wants an eclipse so badly." Twilight switched to the second picture of the journal page. She squinted. "Hm..." "What's wrong Twi?" Rainbow asked. "Huh... I always did have a hard time reading small text without my glasses." she said. Rainbow laughed. "I guess you’re getting old huh?" "You have no idea how ironic that is." Sweetie said. "And the third one is... a music box?" "Yeah. Apparently they're important around the mansion. Helped me out... more than once." Sweetie said, glancing at Pinkie. "Hm... something's written on it." "What does it say?" Fluttershy asked. "To the lovely couple of Yields..." Twilight read. "Remember to go back to a time of happier days. Those memories will last you a lifetime. Sincerely... sincerely..." Twilight froze as she read the last word on the music box. "...Sincerely who?" Spike asked. Twilight didn't answer, as her eyes contracted and the photo fell out of her hoof. She didn't move. "Twilight?" Fluttershy asked. Every pony closed in on the note that lay in front of her. To the lovely couple of Yields, Remember to go back to a time of happier days. Those memories will last you a lifetime... Sincerely, Discord ... ... .....
Intermission InvestigationThe moonlight shined and bounced of the golden royal chariot as it flew through the skies of Ponyville. Duarte and Paita flew the chariot, scanning the landscape for some place to land. Waite and the two other guards looked forward into the distance, looking as professional as possible. The royal guards had to keep their image up for any pony that was restless enough to be up at this hour. Only the rookie, Busby, looked over the town in awe. It been a while since his last visit to Ponyville, the town of which most earth ponies were born, raised, and lost any sanity they were born with... at least to Canterlot standards. Though he'd been absent from there, it didn't take much longer than a good 5 minutes of examination to realize something wrong. "Um... sir?" Busby said. "Is Ponyville supposed to look so... run down?" The other guards, letting Busby's contagious curiosity get the best of them, glanced over the sides of the chariot. Sure enough, Ponyville was very short of ruins. Trees lay in the streets, carts and booths were overturned, and some buildings seemed ruined by the trees that crashed into them. "It must have been the storm." Duarte said, not stopping his search of the area for a landing zone. "I'm not surprised that a tree got uprooted and thrown at a building or two." "Ok, maybe the storm was that strong, but then why didn't Canterlot get hit with anything?" "Because Canterlot's isn't made out of that natural material earth ponies are too ignorant to use." Paita responded. "Hey, I take offense to that." Waite said. "And even more, you know Canterlot is so much higher than Ponyville. There isn't the Everfree forest completely surrounding it for trees to throw at it." "Or, maybe the storm didn't hit us as hard as Ponyville..." Busby said. "Whatever the reason, it happened." Paita said. "Now will you shut up and let us fly?" "Ok, sorry for being curious." Busby said, looking back over the side of the chariot. Paita glanced back at Busby. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." she said. "Huh?" Busby asked. "Why?" "Well, the slightest jolt-" She said, halting her wings for a moment, causing her side to quickly and briefly fall to its side. Busby, the only one who wasn't sitting forward nearly fell over the side. "Could send you to tumbling to your untimely death." She laughed. The two Moon guards joined in her laughter. "Professional! The three of you!" Duarte said commandingly, stopping their laughter. "This isn't the time for your little faction rivalries. I expect you to set the example for your subordinates Black." Black Sheath straitened his face to match the seriousness of Duarte and the situation itself. His second in command, Talon, did the same, looking at Paita. "Your right Duarte." Black agreed. "Paita. Don't pull something like that again, or you'll have to face a punishment from the princess herself." Paita turned back to face the ground, rolling her eyes, knowing Princess Luna wouldn't even attempt to punish one of her moon guards; especially over a prank, one of the princess' favorite passtimes. It was, after all, why she was paired with them to begin with, according to the compatibility portion of the guard tests. Paita, much like the other Moon guards, though very serious and cold at points, could be very playful and devious, much like Luna; contrast to the Sun guards, who were commonly serious and more professional, given they were the guild that guarded royalty much longer than the Moons. The nightmare armor was only donned a little before Luna's first visit to Ponyville on Nightmare Night... The guards were flying around looking for a landing zone with no such luck. Most of the open spots of Ponyville were covered with fallen trees and debris from the storm. One of them might have tried to fly down to do clear a spot, however the only two who could were keeping the chariot from falling to the ground. All they could hope was some pony would notice them. But what nutjob would be up at this time of- "Hey!" came a voice. Every pony in the chariot's eyes turned to the left as they saw a blue pegasus flying up beside them. From a closer distance, it was easy to tell that it was one of the famed Wonderbolts, Soarin. He flew up alongside the chariot. "What's up you guys?" "Hey, aren't you one of those Wonderbolt stallions?" Busby asked. "What? You don't know who I am?" Soarin asked. "Don't mind him. He's not the smartest tack in the box here." Paita said, trying to overshadow Busby's comment. Much like many other pegasus mares around Equestria, even in Paita's coldness, couldn't resist the allure of having a famous male Wonderbolt flying next to him. "Hey!" Busby said. "I-I knew who he was. I just didn't recognize him in the light is all." "Anyway, what are you guys doing flying over Ponyville?" he asked. "Never seen a mix of Sun and Moon guards flying the same chariot. Plus, where's the princesses?" "You mean you and the other Wonderbolts didn't hear? The princesses are missing!" Waite said. "For real? I thought that was just a false alarm, or some kind of drill. I didn't think that you guys were for real on this." Soarin said. "Wait a sec, how would he know about any of this?" Busby asked. "Wonderbolts are just as important as the guards, idiot." Paita said. "How did you even pass the tests without knowing basic knowledge like that?" With a little studying and lots of glancing at other tests. Busby thought, remembering how close he'd come to nearly failing the test. All he'd managed to retain was a few stories, and extremely general guard information. Luckily, one of the other takers wasn't smart enough to keep his paper covered. Truth be told, he should have failed. "Soarin. We need you wake up some ponies and get some help to clear out the debris down there." Duarte said. "Can you do that?" "Sure. Spits and Echo are already up, and so is pretty much every other pony out here." he explained. "Everyone's still awake?" Duarte asked. "Yeah! That storm was insane!" Soarin asked. So was the pegasus who made it... Busby thought. "No pony could sleep with all that racket all night." Soarin said. "And even after that, who could sleep in chills like this?" "Chills like what?" Busby asked. "Are you kidding? It's freezing here! You probably can't feel it under that heavy armor." Soarin said Before Soarin could hear another of the guard's question, he flew down to the town. Within minutes, he'd gathered the two other Wonderbolts Spitfire and Echo, along with a few stallions to clear the trees. Once the zone in the center of Ponyville was cleared, Paita and Duarte landed the chariot in the clearing beside the Ponyville fountain. Once they were grounded, the guards exited the chariot to confront their helpers. Naturally, the Wonderbolts stepped up to confront the guards. Their leader, Spitfire, was the first to speak. "Soarin tells me that you've got a princess predicament." she started. Black nodded. "They're nowhere in the Canterlot castle, or Canterlot in general. They are officially missing." "Really... about how long ago has it been since her disappearance." Spitfire asked. "That's a good question." Duarte said looking at Busby. "Our rookie didn't check up on her regularly... all we can assume was that it was between 20 minutes ago, and yesterday afternoon." Busby scratched his neck, feeling a little nervous as the Wonderbolt looked him down. "You don't have any useful information for us Mr..." "B-busby. Busby Sword, Ms...." "It's Spitfire, Busby. Spitfire." Paita sighed. "I knew who she was. It's the light, I swear." Busby said, a bead of sweat dropping down the back of his neck from all of the attention directed at him. "A-and no. I didn't even see her at the beginning of my shift." "You should have notified us the moment you noticed she was gone." Duarte said. "The royal guard handbook says that if either of the princesses aren't in a scheduled spot-" "I know, I'm sorry." Busby said, knowing he didn't know a word of the guard handbook "I just figured she was out doing... princess things, I don't know. I didn't think it was that important." Though Duarte seemed ready to scold Busby even further, Spitfire cut in. Rather than joining in the discipline lecture, she smiled. "A rookie mistake for a rookie's first day. Lay off him Knighty." "I hate when you call me that." Duarte said, looking to Spitfire who smiled goofily. "He hates it when I call him that too. So I just call him it behind his back." Waite whispered into Busby's ear. "Oh yeah! I remember. You used to hate that back in flying school too. Kept getting referred to some other colt by the same name." Spitfire reminisced. "Spitfire." "But I hear he got in with this weird thing with the magic-net. Something about fanfic-" "Spitfire!" Duarte. "I believe you've forgotten the graveness of this situation. Do you realize we could be facing a national crisis if we don't find the princesses soon?" Spitfire was brought out of her memory, bringing back her seriousness. "Alright. What do you plan to do here then?" "Two things. First thing's first is to locate the Elements of Harmony and their bearers. If we are facing something like Nightmare or even another Spirit Draconequus like Discord... then they will be needed to stop them." "And two?" Spitfire asked. "We need to investigate the town. See if they know anything in relation to the Princesses' location. Next to Canterlot, this was her favorite town, considering her pupil, Ms. Sparkle chose it as her home." Duarte explained. "If we were to find some kind of lead, it would be here." "Makes sense." Spitfire said. "Then I guess it'd be best if we split up into groups. My wonderbolts and I will assist you in your investigation. After all, it's our job." "I thought your job was to fly around and do tricks?" Busby asked. "We've got many fields to cover Busby." Spitfire explained before Paita could open her mouth again. "Combat and military, science, and entertainment. We're her protection, her investigators, and her... entertainment for all needs. Whatever they may be..." "Oh." Busby said. He kept his mouth shut, noting the glare of Paita, keeping him silent. "In any case, if we're going to get this done fast, we've got to split up into groups." Spitfire said. Duarte nodded. "Divide and conquer. Do you suggest any specific groups." "Yes, actually. A sun guard, a moon guard and a wonderbolt." Spitfire said. "Ponies are used to sun guards from Celestia's visits... however, they aren't as used to moon guards. Trust me, the first thing they think when they see that bat armor is 'Nightmare Moon'. And let's all be honest, the thing's creepy as hay." Black shrugged. "I think it looks kind of cool." Spitfire shook her head. "I doubt the ponies around here will share your opinion. In any case, that's what I think. At least with two positives to counteract that negative will make this as successful as possible." "Fine then. Who will you chose for your group." Spitfire looked at all of the guards. "... Busby aaannnddd Paita." "You’re kidding, right?" Busby asked. "Seriously? With this rookie?" Paita asked. "If I'm not mistaken Paita, but you’re not that far off from a rookie yourself. You were only enlisted a month ago." Paita grumbled something. "Wait, so you’re new here? Then why-" "Can it Buster." Bubble? Buster? What will they think of next? Spitfire smirked. "I figured you two would be an interesting pairing." "They're not for your entertainment Spitfire." Duarte said. "Oh no, of course not. They just seemed like they needed some... team building." she said. "We're not even on the same team. He's a sun guard and I'm a moon guard. He's an idiot and I'm-" "A bitch?" Busby blurted out. Within a second Paita tackled Busby to the ground, pinning him there, trying to punch him while Busby blocked with his hooves. Waite facehooved as the helping stallions, Soarin and Echo chuckled along with Spitfire. Duarte glared at Spitfire who stopped laughing. "What? I'll keep them focused, don't worry." Spitfire said, unable to hold in her grin. "...despite your skills Spitfire, I will never be able to figure out why Celestia chose you as her right hoof mare." "I know right. I'm just terrible." Spitfire said, walking over to Busby and Paita. "C'mon love birds. We've got work to do." "We're not love birds!" They both said, before glaring angrily at each other. *** The groups had been made: Soarin went with Duarte and Black, Echo went with Waite and Talon, and Spitfire went with Busby and Paita. Their plan was as follows: each of them would look for two of the elements of harmony, and meet back at the town square to discuss their findings. Soarin's group was to look for Pinkie and Fluttershy, Echo's group was to look for Twilight and Rarity, and finally Spitfire's group was to look for Applejack and Rainbow. As the three groups split up, Spitfire saw it best to search for Applejack first, as they headed down the path of apple trees. They passed by the sign that said "Sweet Apple Acres" indicating they were getting close to the main farm house. Likely, that was where the Element of Honesty would be residing. Spitfire looked around at her surroundings, noticing there were actually a few apple buckers still out. Spitfire assumed that they were trying to keep warm from the odd chills she and numerous other ponies had been feeling. Spitfire looked back on her little investigation team. They looked in each other's opposite directions at the trees they were passing by. Paita looked out of sourness and annoyance of being paired up with Busby. Busby looked out of apprehension and fear that Paita may attack him again if he so much as glanced in her direction. Spitfire saw it best to make some conversation. "So... you said this was your first day on the job?" Spitfire asked. Busby looked up at the mare. "Yeah. Some first day." "Don't worry. This kind of stuff happens with the princesses every so often. Especially with that crazy group of mares she's gotten herself with." "You mean the Main 6?" "I thought guards were supposed to refer to them as the 'Elements'?" Spitfire asked. "Psh. Like he read a page of that handbook." Paita commented coldly. "It's fine." Spitfire said, looking forward again. "Main 6 is a little catchier anyway." "Do you know them?" Busby asked, kicking a rock that was in the path. Spitfire looked up at the sky, as if she were reaching for a memory. "Uh... somewhat." she finally said. "One of them has actually caught my interest." "Y...you don't mean like-" While Paita gave Busby another glare, Spitfire chuckled. "No, not like that." she said. "Still though, it's not out of the question Rainbow thinks otherwise." "Rainbow Dash? You mean the running winner of the Best Young Flier's competition." Busby asked. "I can't believe you don't know a Wonderbolt, but a little winner of a stupid contest." Paita said. "Hm. Let me think. A generic celebrity, or a savior of Equestria. Which one should be more familiar?" Busby shot back. Paita growled at him, in which Busby flinched back. "Don't hurt me." "Thinking about it." Paita said, giving one last glare before looking back at the trees. "Anyway, the mare's been trying to get in with us for... Celestia, as far as I can remember." she said. "I've been thinking and discussing with the other Wonderbolts on what they think. Apparently Soarin says yes because of her skill, enthusiasm and dedication... but between you and me, I think he just wants to have a third mare in the group. Echo says no because she question's the mare's focus and well... sexuality. Unfortunately that kind of thing can cause issues in the workplace." "Huh." Busby coughed. "Personally, I'm not sure for a couple reasons... but in the end, the vote has to be unanimous for such an important role." Spitfire finished. "Still though, I could see Echo softening her decision up in a few months. Not like she doesn't have her own mare-" Spitfire sneezed. "Anyway, who knows? We might just have a fourth Wonderbolt by this Fall..." "Ok." Busby said. "Spitfire?" "What?" "Just curious... what are you doing in Ponyville? Don't you live in Canterlot or Cloudsdale or something?" Spitfire shook her head. "Wonderbolts don't really have a home. Wither it's a mission or a show, we're always on the move. Just happened to be in Ponyville for a show that was scheduled for this morning into the afternoon." "...but there won't be a morning if we can't find Celestia." "All the more reason to stay focused and work together to get this investigation done as quickly as possible." Spitfire smiled. Paita grumbled something while Busby looked at the mare and nodded positively. "Over there. That looks like the farmhouse." As the three of them came up on the farmhouse, they saw numerous lights lit inside of the house. Just like the applebuckers, it seemed like the main Applefamily seemed to be up. Spitfire knocked on the door. "Applejack!" Spitfire called. "This is Wonderbolt Spitfire! Open up!" "Ah cin here's ya jes fine!" A voice came from inside. It wasn't Applejack's however, rather it was a much more elderly sounding voice. "Now jes hld up here... les se, how does this confounded doohickie work?" "The knob ma’am." Spitfire said. "Ah knows how ta us a door, yeh whipersnapper." "Sorry." Spitfire said. There was a few scratching noises from the inside of the door before the knob finally turned and opened, revealing a lime colored pony with a piece of pie as a cutie mark. "Ye-yesh." Granny Smith asked in her old voice. "Yes, sorry to bother you at such a late hour but, we're looking for-" "N-n-nightmare!" she screamed, pointing at Paita. Paita raised an eyebrow. She then gave a toothy grin showing off her vampire like teeth she'd obtained by putting on the armor. "Paita!" Busby said. "H-head for th' hills!" she said, slowly trying to run past them. "Ma’am." Spitfire said, trying to stop her. Before the pegasus mare could get another word in, Granny gasped before falling to the ground. "Dear Celestia! Is she alright?" Busby asked, fearful the mare had just literally had the life scared out of her. Spitfire put her ear to her mouth. Spitfire sighed. "She's fine. Just fainted is all. I'm going to see If I can't wake her up. In the meantime, you two see if you can't find anyone else to ask about Applejack." Busby nodded as Spitfire began lightly shaking the elderly mare to wake up. The two guards left to venture further into the farm. "That was stupid! What were you thinking." "Hmph." Paita said. "You could have killed that mare!" "Whatever." she said, not giving a second look at Busby. "She's gonna be dead by morning anyway." "Paita!" "What? She's old. Old ponies do that." "Your such a-" "Say it. I dare you." Paita glared at Busby, who decided to keep his mouth shut. They both walked for a while past the trees, their only light being emitted from the moon above them. They saw shadows of generic looking applebuckers neither of them believed would know anything of the Element of Honesty. All they looked like were ponies trying to keep themselves warm through labor. Finally, they came across one that was closer to them. He was red with a large green apple on his flank and a yoke around his neck. He bucked apples more professionally than what the guards had witnessed so far. The stallion looked important. Busby ran up to the red stallion. "Sir?" Busby said, standing in front of the tree the stallion was bucking. He seemed to ignore him. "SIR?" Busby said at a higher volume. The stallion sighed in a manner that seemed somewhat depressed. He stopped bucking the tree and went over to confront the guard. "Uh... sir?" The stallion stared blankly at Busby. Busby stared back, as though caught in a trance. He shook his head. "Sir, I am... looking for some pony." he didn't respond. Busby was getting somewhat nervous from his stone face. "Err... her name is Applejack? The Element of Honesty? Are you two related?" It was a few seconds before the stallion finally responded. "Eeeyup." Well, we're making some progress. Busby thought. "How exactly." "'Err brother." he said flatly. "Listen you." Paita said. "You'd better quit that silent talk when you have two guards talking to you. "Ah reckon ah don't have ta speak ta either of ya." the stallion said, not changing his face. "Ah know mah rights." "Paita, stop or we're not gonna get anything out of this pony." Busby said. Turning back to the stallion. "Ignore her. She's got issues." Paita glanced at Busby. Something told the stallion he was in for another beating for that. "Please. What's your name sir?" "...Big Macintosh." he said finally. "Right. Now we're looking for your sister. Do you-" "Nope." he said. "No? You mean you don't know where she is?" "Ah reckon ah do, but ah don't right care 'bout 'er righ' bout now." "What? What are you talking about? What's wrong?" Busby asked. "Ah..." he turned away. He seemed to be tearing up, though the look quickly faded. His face was left with a softer looking one than before. "its mah other sister." "Your other sister?" Busby asked. "Is it another Element?" Big Mac shook his head. "It's mah... little, little sister. She's jus' a filly. She... ain't come home yet." "You mean she's lost?" Busby asked. "I'm sure that's not a problem. She-" "Was supposed to come back over 14 hours ago." Big Mac cut off. "No pony's seen mane no tail of Applebloom." Applebloom's her sister? Huh, what a coincidence. The sister of an Element releases a demon while her older sister has to put it back... Busby thought. "Not in Ponyville?" Busby said. "Nope." he said, bowing his head. "...well, is there any place beside Ponyville she could be?" Busby asked. Big Mac shook his head. "Checked every inch a th' farm. Nothin." "Anyplace we could look for clues?" "Busby, you’re getting side tracked. We're supposed to be looking for the Elements." "We've got time. Besides, just look at this guy?" Busby said, pointing at Big Mac's saddened face. "Even more, who knows? Maybe the Elements are all somewhere holed up with her sister." "Clues?" Big Mac asked. He thought for a moment. "Well... there's always 'er little Tree house she goes ta wit' 'er little friends. Checked their earlier mahself, but didn't find th'm in there. Didn't bother lookin for no clues though." "Well, it's at least worth a look see." Busby said. "Is it far?" Big Mac shook his head. "Nah. It's over yonder." he said, pointing to a path of trees. Paita groaned at the detour from their investigation as they both followed Big Mac to the tree house. Once they were there, Busby looked in awe. "Did... did your sister and her friends build this by themselves." Busby asked. "Fer th' most part, eeyup." "They must be some talented fillies." "Yet they still ain't got their cutie marks." "Not yet? Ouch." Busby said. "Ah well, I'm sure they'll get it eventually. "That's wha' every pony tells 'me. Still, they're always doin' crazy stunts ta get 'em on their flanks." "Like what?" Busby asked. "Ah... Ah'd rather not get inta it." Big Mac said. "Let's just say they're crazy and dangerous, n' leave it at that." "Fair enough." Busby said as he began walking up the thin ramp to the door. Being made for small fillies, he was almost afraid the ramp would break underneath his hooves. Thankfully, he made it up to the top. When Busby tried the door, he learned that it was locked. He looked back down at Paita. "Hey! Let me see your sword!" "What? NO!" Paita said. "I need it to get inside! I'm sure there's something important in there." Busby said. "In a little filly's playhouse? Doubtful it has anything to do with the fate of Equestria, Buster." "Yer name's Buster?" Big Mac asked. "No! It's... Give me the damn sword Paita." "You know what? Here." Paita said. "If it will get you to shut up, take it." Paita threw the sword at Busby, nearly cutting his head off before the stallion ducked. The sword stuck into the wood of the tree house. "Hey! That could've killed me!" "And nothing of value would have been lost." Paita said. "I want that back when you’re done." "Yeah yeah." Busby grumbled as he used his magic to take the sword out of the wood. He put the sword to the door. Sorry little fillies. he thought before swinging the sword at the door. It only took a few swings before he cut through, breaking down the door. Once the opening was made, he carefully stepped through the door barely able to fit a grown stallion of his size. Once inside he examined the room. Everything was smaller than him naturally. There was a table, a small magic-electric Simple Bake Oven, a window, a bookcase and a few pictures scattered around the tree house. Hmph. Cozy. he thought. Careful not to destroy any more of their hard work, Busby went over to two things hanging on the wall. On one side was a crudely drawn map of Ponyville... at least that's what he thought it was. Several buildings were indented to be important, such as the Sugarcube Corner, Sweet Apple Acres, the Carousel Boutique, the Library... all of which had a name of an element beside each. Busby noted a newer looking one that seemed to be at the edge of Ponyville. It was a cliff... and rather than a name, it just had an arrow that said Launch. On the other side, Busby noted a list of items labeled Cutie Mark Crusader Cutie Mark Attempts. It had a bunch of items listed on it, most of which the guard couldn't identify because they were crossed out. There was one thing that Busby could read at the bottom. Next to the name Scootaloo It said Cutie Mark Crusader Paper Airplane with a little "Yay" written at the side in purple crayon. Next to that was a note saying Ask Pinkie for over-sized pieces of paper. She has weird stuff like that. "Hey! You finished looking at children's toys?!" Paita called. "Give me a sec!" Busby called back, continuing to look around. On the table, he found some plans... much like the other documents in the tree house, it was easy to tell it was made by little kids, likely the CMC themselves. The plans vaguely depicted a paper airplane. From what he could tell, it was quite a large one, indicated by the measurements listed on its design. There was a checklist on the side of items needed to create the beast... and all of them were checked. "Hm..." Busby picked up the piece of paper and stuffed it in between one of his plates of armor. Something told him it was important. Finding nothing else of use in the little tree house, he left. "Here's your stupid sword back." Busby said, tossing it down to the mare, before coming down himself. "Now, about the Element's location..." "I already asked Buster." Paita said. "Supposedly, she left for some housewarming party with her friends." "...gonna have to be a little more specific Paita. Where-" "Ask him yourself." Paita said, motioning her head to the silent stallion. "Macintosh?" "Sorry, wish ah could tell you but... she left in such a hurry. Said she was late for meet'n 'er friends at the Everfree forest. I'd guess it was somewhere out there." "What kind of pony puts a house in the middle of Everfree?" Busby asked. "Ah don't rightly know, but that's all ah can tell ya." Big Mac said. "Now... did ya find anythin' bout mah sister?" "All I found was her cutie mark plan for today..." "And?" "It was uh... flying on a plane off of a cliff." Busby said, not realizing how bad it sounded until the words came out of his mouth. Big Mac's eyes contracted, before he closed them and turned away from them. "Ah... need ta go, alri'?" "I-I'm sure she's fine, Macintosh. Probably somewhere with her little friends, safe and sound. Out of danger of any kind." "Ah sure hope yer right Buster." "It's Busby." Busby said. "Good-bye." Big Mac said, before walking off into the trees. Busby was almost sure he heard a sniffle before he was gone. Poor guy. I hate to see a grown stallion cry. For his sake, I really hope that Applebloom isn't in any danger. "Well, if you’re finished wasting time, let's meet back with Spitfire, so we can look for Rainbow." Paita said. The two of them walked back to the farmhouse, and were met with Spitfire on the way. On her suit were bite marks. "I'm hoping you two had a little more success than me." she sighed. "Luna, what happened to you." Busby asked. "Apparently, the Applefamily has a dog. I guess she's not too fond of a random pony giving her master's CPR." "Huh. Well, we did find something actually." Busby said. "Yes, she went to some kind of housewarming party in Everfree." "House warming..." Spitfire thought out loud. "... in Everfree forest? That does sound familiar. C'mon, we need to see if we can't find Rainbow Dash now. If she's not where I think she is, then I'm sure I'm right." With that, she walked off to the exit of the farm back to Ponyville, followed by Paita and Busby... *** Once they were back in Ponyville, their next goal was to reach Rainbow. The mare usually stayed in her cloud mansion up in Cloudsdale, far out of their way. In order to save time, Spitfire came up with a second place to look. "Are you sure this mare is a good lead for Rainbow's location?" Paita asked. Spitfire nodded. "Of course. Next to her Mane 6, Ditzy Hooves is one of Rainbow's closest... friends, I suppose is a good way to put it." "Really?" Busby asked. "Yes. Every so often, when Rainbow decides to stay in Ponyville for a night, she usually picks Ditzy's home." "A grown mare staying over another grown mare's home with no notice? That sounds kind of-" "Ms. Hooves is married, Busby." "... it still could-" "To a stallion." Spitfire said. "...still. I could see that kind of thing happening." Spitfire chuckled. "I doubt that the Doctor is that kind of stallion, but let your imagination go crazy Busby... just not while we meet her." "Huh? Why? I-I mean, is there a specific reason?" Busby asked. "Yes. Ms. Hooves has an eye condition that I'm not sure how sensitive she is about." "You sure know quite a bit about this mare. You friends with her?" Paita asked. Spitfire shook her head. "No, but when you make as many weather mistakes as that mare, or have eyes like hers, you get known, trust me. I think this is the place." She said, knocking on the door. "Hooves? Are you in there?" "Hold on! Be there in a sec!" came a voice. It was adult and female... the three of them assumed it to be Ditzy. The sound of flapping wings was heard from inside of the house, followed by a crash. "Oh no! I'm so sorr-" "It’s fine Ditzy." said another voice. It was male, so it could only be assumed that it was Ditzy's husband, Doctor Hooves. "That wasn't that important for the machine anyway. Just go answer the door." The sound of more wing flapping was followed by the opening of the door. There revealed a grey coated mare with yellow crossed eyes. She greeted them with a warm smile. Only noticing the eyes, Paita burst into a fit of laughter. Busby shook his head. Spitfire ignored the both of them. "Hello Ms. Hooves. Can we speak to you for a bit?" Ditzy's smile faded as she noticed the two guards. "I-i can't be arrested. I didn't do it!" She said, taking a step back. "What?" Spitfire asked. "I was in my house the whole storm! It couldn't have been my fault! Honest!" "The storm... what are you talking about?" Spitfire asked. "Y-you aren't here to arrest me?" Ditzy asked. "Why would we?" Busby asked. It took a moment for him to remember something. "Oh yeah... you were that mare I read about in the Equestria Daily? The one who made that huge storm a while back?" "I didn't mean to! I just kind of thought that some clouds were supposed to go one place... and they weren't really supposed to go there. It was supposed to be a little rain, but it turned into a big thunderstorm I'm-" "Hold up, hold up. We're not here to arrest you." Busby said. "Unless you want us to." Paita added. "Forget her. We just want to talk is all. That's it." "Oh... ok." Ditzy said calming down. "Are you alright there Ditzy?" Doctor Hooves called. "I'm fine! Just got a little scare is all." she said. "Now... why don't we start by properly introducing ourselves." Busby said. "You probably already know Spitfire." "Every pony knows Spitfire!" Ditzy said happily. "Every pony except him." Paita commented. "Anyway, My name is Busby Sword. My friends call me Busby..." "Or Bubble." Paita added. "Or Buster." Spitfire finished. "Just Busby." Busby said. "And I'm Paita. That's all you need to know cross eyes." Spitfire glanced at Paita before looking back at Ditzy, who merely smiled at the comment. "And I'm Ditzy Hooves. But you can call me what every pony else calls me. Derpy!" she grinned. "Derpy huh?" Spitfire asked. "Sounds offensive." Busby said. "Sounds appropriate." Paita said. "I thought it was kind of a cool name. Took a little while for me to get it though." Derpy said. Paita opened her mouth to insult the mare again, but Spitfire glared at the mare. She kept her mouth shut. "Any who, what can I do for you?" she asked. "We were... looking for a pony. Rainbow Dash? Any idea where she is?" Busby asked. "Rainbow Dash?" Derpy asked. She frowned and shook her head. As she did, her eyes went cross eyed again. "No, I haven't seen her since yesterday when I last spoke to her. She said she was-" "Headed to a housewarming?" Paita finished. "Yeah! At that really big mansion all of Ponyville was talking about." Ditzy said. A light bulb went off in Spitfire's head. "That's what I heard about! A giant mansion built and owned by some pony named Specter Yams, or something." "Do you have any other information about the mare's location? Like where the mansion is?" Paita asked. Ditzy went cross eyed again as she thought. "Mmmmm. No. No, just that it's in Everfree." "Everfree is kind of big. We're not gonna find it that easy, even in the moonlight." Paita commented. "I'm sorry." Ditzy said bowing her head. "Hey, It's not your fault. You did give us some useful information." Busby smiled. "Define useful." Paita commented. "Dear Celestia, shut that hole in your face!" Busby said angrily. "Wanna fight Buster?" Paita said, pushing Busby. The stallion was one who learned it was never good to fight a mare back... but for those moments, he was seriously considering it. Even if it did earn him a whaling on Paita's part. Busby took a deep breath and turned back to Ditzy. "Well, we'd better head off." "Yes. We've got to meet back with our own friends. You have a good night Ms. Hooves." "...wait!" she called as the three of them began to walk away. They all turned back around to face the mare. "I-I just remembered something else!" The three of them looked at each other before walking back over to the mare. "What is it?" Spitfire asked. "I... I'm not sure how useful this is, but... Rainbow had a fan." "A fan?" Busby asked. "Well, she is an Element of Harmony. I'm sure she'd have plenty of those." Spitfire shook her head. "The Elements were a big deal when they were shown again. Nowadays it's just old news. They were only heroes for a month or two, and they went back to being normal mares. Anyway, who is this fan?" "Her name was um... Scootaloo, I think." "Scootaloo?" Busby asked. "Did she also have a friend named Applebloom? Applejack's sister" "Yeah, and a third one named Sweetie, I think she's Rarity's sister. Visits from Canterlot? Has Ponyville like a second home?" That's what the third filly's name was! Another sister of harmony huh? "So, what about this Scootaloo?" Busby asked. "Well... I'm not sure, but if any pony knows where that mare is, it's her. Scootaloo was like a sister to her. She knows everything about the mare... if any pony were to tell the exact location of the mansion, it would be her." "Sorry, Derpy. Call it a hunch, but I think she's missing along with her two other friends." Busby said. "What? A-are you sure?" Ditzy asked. Busby nodded. He explained what had happened back at Sweet Apple Acres. "Oh, that's terrible. I'm sure her brother and grandmom must be worried-" There was an explosion from inside of the house. "No Dinky! You don't play with that! No-" Doctor Hooves said. There was another explosion. "Dinky go to your room now!" "Sorry dad!" the sound of a filly came. She didn't sound that sorry. "Um... Derpy? What's going on in there?" Paita asked suspiciously. "Huh? Oh nothing. Nothing at all." Ditzy said, crossing her eyes again. "Do you mind if we come in?" Busby asked, joining in Paita's suspicion. "Well, it's getting really late." she said. "I got to go deal with something. See you guys later." With that, she closed the door on them in a rush. Whatever was going on in there, had to be something weird... "Oh well. Let's head back to the square." Busby said. "You head forward Busby. We'll catch up." Spitfire said. "We?" Paita asked. "Gotcha." Busby said beginning his started walking to the square. "You." Spitfire asked. "What." Paita asked. "I'm not sure what your deal is. You’re acting as sour as a bad griffon." Spitfire said. "What do you have against the ponies we've met tonight?" "Nothing." Paita said. "Then what?" Spitfire asked. "It's nothing alright? Now we're wasting time. We've got to go. See if any pony else found anything useful." Spitfire squinted at the mare, before finally following Busby on the way to the square. Paita followed. *** Duarte, Echo and Soarin were waiting with the rest of the guards at the chariot. "There you three are. Did you run into any trouble during your investigation?" Duarte asked. "For the most part..." Spitfire looked back at Busby and Paita. "No... it was pretty successful. Then again, we didn't find out much besides they went to some mansion somewhere in Everfree." "Nothing more?" Duarte asked. "Nothing more." Spitfire sighed. Duarte hit his hoof against the chariot. "I guess your investigations didn't yield any results?" Spitfire asked. "Besides the information you gathered, all we have is this." he said, showing the three a purple looking box. He opened it to reveal several necklaces and a big crown thingy. "What's this?" Busby asked. "You’re kidding right?" Paita asked. "These are the Elements of Harmony. They were used to defeat Nightmare and Discord. Don't you remember even that?" "I remember. I just forgot what they looked like is all." Busby said. Duarte shook his head. "Anyway, how did you find them?" Busby asked. "A little birdy told me." Duarte said. "I thought it was an owl?" Soarin asked. "And an annoying one at that. I was almost ready to cut that thing in half." Black said, looking at his own sword, sheathed on his side. "Probably would have if Duarte didn't stop you-" "Anyway, I thought that these would prove useful if we were to come across one of the Terrors of Equestria." "But they can only be used by the bearers of the Elements right? Bearers we don't have." Talon spoke up. "I know. It's simply something to have if we do somehow find the mansion the Elements are hopefully at." There's got to be a way to find the mansion the elements are at. Wait a second.., "...I think I know how to find it." Busby said. Every pony looked at Busby surprised. "Well, this is a first." Paita said. "Busby, did you find something out that you didn't tell us?" Spitfire asked. "Speak up stallion! What do you know?" Duarte asked. "Er... well, it's not something I know per say... more like a theory." "You coming up with some kind of 'theory'? This I've got to hear." Paita said, getting up close to Busby. The stallion took a step back. "Well... from what I understand, the bearers of the Elements are... missing. And from our investigation, we also found out that one of their sisters, Applebloom, and one of their fans, Scootaloo are missing too." "Alright. So there's a bunch of ponies missing. So what?" "Well... let's just pretend that somehow, the reason that the fillies never showed up in Ponyville, was because they went with their sister or idol. What if they were with them now?" "Get to the point Busby." Duarte said. "What if we could find the fillies instead? We'd also find the Elements with them, right?" Busby said. "Bubble, you don't have some kind of way to track them down... do you?" Waite asked. Busby nodded. He took out the piece of paper that he found back at the CMC clubhouse. "According to the findings of my own little side investigation, I found out that some time yesterday, likely around the time that Celestia disappeared, three fillies tried to fly a giant paper airplane off of a cliff." "...why?" Waite asked. "I think to get their cutie mar- Look. That's not important. What is important is... say their plane actually worked. if we took the same flight path they took in the chariot-" "We'll be led right to them." "And the mansion as well." Busby finished. "Hot hay! That's some great detective work Bubble." Waite said smiling. "Yes, if you’re right, this just might redeem yourself for tonight's buck up." Duarte said, heading for the chariot along with the other guards. The wonderbolts went to the sides of the chariot, ready to fly beside it. Busby looked at Paita. "...well?" "What do you want from me? A hug?" "...mayb-" Before Busby could finish, Paita punched him in the muzzle. Not hard enough to knock him down, but just enough to sting like hay. He covered his nose. "Gah! What was that for?!" "What do you think?" Paita asked. "I was just hoping maybe we could start over. That maybe we got off on the wrong foot or some- Geeze that stings!" "I want you to remember something, Buster, and remember it well. I don't like you, and you shouldn't like me." "Why?" Busby said releasing his grip on his nose. Paita raised her hoof as if ready to punch, causing Busby to flinch. "I could think of several. I'm a Moon and you’re a Sun. You’re a rookie and-" "So are you." Busby said. "Look. Paita. I'm not going to hate you alright? If I'm gonna be a guard, Sun or Moon, we're gonna have to learn to work together and dare I say, love each other. Especially when one of our lives are on the line." "Ha! I'll break my own leg off before I even think about liking you Busby." Paita said, heading to the chariot. "My fore legs are wide open if you change up Paita!" Busby said, taking his own seat in the chariot. "Now, if you two are done, Busby, could you please guide us to the cliff? You do know where it is right?" Duarte asked. "I think it's over, up on that big hill. In that direction." Busby said pointing. The chariot flew up into the air, with the Wonderbolts flying right beside it. What would have taken a pony at least an hour to reach the hill and climb up to its cliff, took the chariot about 5 minutes. Once up there, they noticed that there was a large line leading from one part of the cliff to its. No pony could deny it looked like a giant knife had been dragged along it... or more likely, the base of a paper airplane. "Well what do you know. The rookie was right." Duarte said. "Alright all of you listen up! Keep an eye out for the mansion as we fly. We can't afford to miss it alright? Let's go!" he said before launching the chariot in the same direction as the plane. Little did Busby, or any guard for that matter know, that they'd just figured out the mystery that would lead to the horrors... of Yield Manor.
Chapter 19- The Possesion PredicamentWithin minutes after Twilight had dropped the photo, the safe room had lost the calmness it had somehow maintained in the hectic mansion. The room's newfound tension had turned the room from a fairly sized safe haven, to a claustrophobic's nightmare. The soft hum that came from each of the walls had gone from tolerable to maddening. Finally, the moods of the mares had gone from optimistic and for the most part, positive, to nervous and stressed. Twilight hit her head against the humming wall, desperately trying to convince herself that she didn't read what she thought she read. Rainbow flapped her wings, pacing in the air to either side of the safe room, unable to stay in one spot in the air. Applejack had the back of her head up against another wall, her head looking up and her eyes shut. Only Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie continued to read over the text written on the picture that Twilight had dropped. They read it over and over, as though if they kept reading, it would somehow change... of course it didn't. It took a while before one of the mares decided to speak on the issue of the mention of the God of Chaos' name. It was Fluttershy. "M-maybe it's a different Discord." She said hopefully. "Or maybe it's a typo." Pinkie said. Twilight stopped banging her head up against the wall to turn to the two mares who held the photo. The bags on her eyes were much more evident now, whether out of lack of sleep or pure stress. She opened her mouth to say something... but shook her head and turned back around to face the wall. What could she say at the mention of his name? That they were wrong? That that theory was just about as good as her getting a stallion friend? Though she wished as hard as she could that the two mares could be right, she knew that would be too good to be true. "Discord..." Applebloom said out loud. It didn't have the exact same stress as the other mares, given she and the other CMC hadn't been touched by the draconequus like the others. After all, during Discord's attack of Ponyville over a year ago, her and her friends had been safe and sound up in Canterlot, while their home was the only place that was really hit hard. Though, it was doubtful that either Sweetie or Spike were listening anyway. They simply stared up into the air in a trance, seemingly engrossed in some train of thought. "Wasn't that that snake-dragon guy who you guys stuffed in a stone?" Scootaloo asked. "Yeah! He's supposed to be a statue in Canterlot!" Rainbow said, dropping out of the air and turning to Twilight. "What the hay is his name doing in this mansion? What? Does Specter have something to do with him?" "...I don't know." Twilight finally said, turning to the mare. "I'll admit, this is... pretty surprising. And you know that's saying something." "Maybe the author just stuck his name in there to get more views?" Pinkie suggested. "Now ain't the time for yer crazy talkin' Pinkie." Applejack said, turning to the mare. Pinkie took a hold of her stomach. For some reason, a light wave of nausea hit her causing her to go silent for the moment. "What... why do you think he-" Fluttershy began to ask, turning to Twilight. "I told you, I don't KNOW!" Twilight snapped. Fluttershy dropped the photo, taking a step away from Twilight. Her ears went down as she bit her lip. Seeing how she'd hurt her friend, Twilight's softness returned to her eyes. "Sorry Fluttershy. You know I didn't mean that, but I really wish I knew..." "Wha' about that there other photo?" Applejack asked, pointing to one of the two other photos accompanied by the music boxed one. "Maybe there's a connection between th' three of 'em? Figure out wha' Specter, o' th's mansion has ta do with 'em." "I can't read it." Twilight said. "Ah think we c'n." Applebloom suggested. "Well? Go ahead! Tell us what it says!" Rainbow said impatiently. Wha'? If yer so impatient, wha' don'tcha read it yerself? Applebloom thought. "You got it Rainbow Dash." Scootaloo said, going over to pick up the photo. The two fillies had to squint to see the incredibly small text on the picture of the journal page. It took a moment before they started to read the different lines on the page. Though no other mare or filly knew it, the page was one that Sweetie had found earlier that night... "Ah wondered if th' god ah spoke wit' had anything ta do wit' it." Applebloom read. "I knew we weren't out of the war, but unlike the rest of Equestria, Stabletown, though it has plenty other problems, hasn't experienced any of those kinds of chaotic phenomena." "Th' god didn't change Stabletown, but of course he wouldn't. We had a deal. He couldn't have broken it... righ'?" "... it ends there." Scootaloo said. "Wha' the hay is he talkin' about?" Applebloom asked. "Not sure... when's the entry dated?" Twilight asked. "...huh. That can't be right. Says it was dated in... 852." Scootaloo said. "Hm. I feel like I've heard that date somewhere before..." Twilight said. "And the deal huh? What kind of deal is he talking about?" Rainbow asked. "... wait a second... I..." Twilight started. "I think I have an idea." The mare walked over to the photo of the eclipse. She picked it up and stared at it. "... how many eclipses have any of you seen in your lifetime?" she asked the group. "... none ah reckon." Applejack said. "When I was a little filly, I remember hearing about them in Cloudsdale's school... but only in my reading classes in old pony tales." Fluttershy added. "Yeah! My papa used to tell bedtime stories of how the princesses used to create some crazy stuff with those things back on the rock farm." Pinkie confirmed. "Well... you guys know better than any pony else that some of those pony tales are true, right?" Twilight said. All of the mares looked at each other, knowing she was right. After all, prior to their friendship, Nightmare Moon was just a pony legend. "Those eclipses... wither solar or lunar, they gave the ponies of Equestria... even the world for that matter, magnificent powers. At least the ponies strong enough to control that power anyway, mainly alicorns when there were a bunch of them. The magic they cast across the world could be used to create incredibly powerful spells. Enough to change the face of the earth... or if concentrated, one particular spot." "So?" Rainbow asked. "So, think for a second. Specter seems to have the power and knowledge of the undead. Maybe a few ghosts spells. He's almost got both princesses under his control. Two alicorns to do his bidding, not only to control the sun and moon to create the eclipse, but to cast whatever spell he wants." Twilight took a breath. "And finally... a deal with Discord, the dead draconequus-" "Dead? We didn't kill him!... did we?" Pinkie asked. The thought they might have murdered the draconequus, despite how evil he was made every pony cringe. Even Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow with a strange look. "Well... yes and no." Twilight said. "By trapping him in stone, we kind of put him in limbo between living and dying. I'm not sure how it works with the princesses, but with immortal beings... or spirit draconquus' like him, they can't die... but they can be put on that border line with the Elements of Harmony. How?... not entirely sure, I'm still researching the Elements, but that's beside the point. Let's just call him dead for now... but what do you do when you have a pony who can make the dead rise into their spirit forms like we've seen tonight?" "You... really think he plans to use an eclipse to revive Discord?" Fluttershy asked. "Well... I guess we can ask him when he finally wakes up." Twilight finished. Suddenly, Sweetie was snapped out of her trance. "Huh?" Sweetie asked, looking at the mare. "What do you mean 'when he wakes up'? Where is he?" "You didn' see 'im?" Applebloom asked. "Over there." Scootaloo said, pointing to a corner of the room. Somehow, avoiding Sweetie's notice, there he was. Specter Yield was lying in the corner of the room on his side, facing the wall. "How did he..." Sweetie asked. "Well, after you fainted," Rainbow explained. "Rarity and that yellow butler looking guy left, leaving Specter there, lying unconscious." "R-really?" Sweetie asked. "Well, he did hit the floor pretty hard." Applebloom replied. Sweetie stared at the stallion. "He... he tried to marry her." "What?" Fluttershy asked. "Oh yeah! I couldn't believe it when I saw it too, but that guy was trying to marry Rarity." Scootaloo explained as Sweetie slowly walked over to Specter. "Probably would have too if Sweetie didn't bust in right on time." "What kind of sad stallion forces some mare to marry him?" Rainbow asked. "Specter, that's who." Twilight said. Sweetie stood over the stallion, and stared at him. Sweetie felt an unbridled rage as she looked at him. She couldn't help but kick the stallion as hard as she could at the center of his back. Once she did however, a few things happened. Initially, she lost her balance, causing her to fall back onto her flank. It wasn't the kick however that caused her to lose balance... but what she felt as she did so. When she kicked, she didn't feel the warmth of a stallion, no quite the opposite. He was cold... freezing actually. It was almost as if... as if... he did hit the floor pretty hard... Sweetie looked at him, recalling back to when she saw the stallion back in the church. He was alive and breathing there... but now, he was still, and breathless. Even more, there seemed to be some incredibly bad bruising, barely being hidden behind his mane. Something hit the filly... almost as hard as Specter hit the floor by the force of the ectoplasm flying at his head. "No... no, no no..." she said as she started crawling back from the stallion. Fluttershy was the first to come to comfort the filly. "Sweetie? What's wrong?" Fluttershy put her hoof at the back of Sweetie's neck and began to stroke it as means to calm her down. "He can't be. He can't..." Sweetie said. "What's up?" Rainbow asked. At first she went to Sweetie... then she went to examine the body. When she touched it, she was just as shocked as Sweetie. "Holy hay... he was warm when I carried him here... but now he's... he's dead." "What?" Pinkie asked. Every mare looked at Rainbow, then Specter, then Sweetie, then back at Rainbow. "Tha... tha' don't make no sense!" Applebloom argued. "He was alive n' everythin' th' last time we saw 'em before Sweetie hit em with that..." it was then, the same realization was struck with the two fillies. Even Spike exited his little daze. "The goo Sweetie shot from her GCD... could it have hit him hard enough to give him a fatal concussion... oh Celestia Sweetie..." Spike said, going over to the other side of Sweetie, to comfort her in much the same way Fluttershy did. "Hold up... are you not saying Sweetie killed him-" Scootaloo said. Those three little words were enough to cause the filly to break into a fit of crying. She covered her face with her hooves as tears began rolling down her face. Great job Scootaloo. Applebloom thought, going over to comfort her friend. Scootaloo immediately followed, guilt evident on her face of causing the filly's most recent mental breakdown. Sweetie hated Specter for what he'd done. Between sending the ghosts after her and hurting her friends the way he did, she had more than enough reasons for said hatred... the relationship he forced between Rarity and himself however, broke it for the filly. She'd never felt so out of control in her entire life... Sweetie was sure that in her mental anguish and anger, she'd at some point thought of actually killing the stallion. Having it actually happen however... the filly wasn't sure what to think anymore. She wasn't even completely sure why she was crying. Was it that she'd just possibly committed a murder on an actual pony? Or was it the sheer fact that the reality that she wasn't in control of herself was coming crashing down on her. Sweetie wasn't sure... all she knew was that she felt just as weak and defenseless as her first hours traveling around the mansion... that she not only wasn't in control of what was around her... but her own self. Time passed, and Sweetie's cries transitioned from loud bawling, to small sobbing hiccups. One by one, each of the mares backed from Sweetie, letting her have some air. Only Spike, Scootaloo and Applebloom remained close as they guided Sweetie to a wall, as she lie there, still covering her face. Scootaloo and Spike stroked Sweetie as she eventually went silent. Spike kissed the top of Sweetie's head as she lie there. Though both Twilight and Applebloom wanted to say something about the sudden act of affection, they knew better than that to ask about it as the filly was still going through what she was. It was a little while before another mare spoke again in the cold light. "So... since he's dead, are we done?" "Dashie!" Pinkie said, surprised that Rainbow had brought up Specter's death again so bluntly. "Seriously! If he's dead, then that means that it's all over right?" Rainbow asked. "I mean, he's the head in all of this, right?" Twilight shook her head. "No... we're far from done Rainbow. Specter might be dead... but I doubt he's gone." "Wha' are ya talkin' abou' Twi?" Applejack asked. "Well, I don't think he was expecting Sweetie to be the one to... you know, but I don't think he was stupid enough to think no pony would try to drop him." Twilight said. "I wouldn't be surprised if when he died, he had some plan to turn into a ghost just like every pony else to escape." "So... you think he's just someplace else in the mansion?" Fluttershy asked. Twilight nodded, and hung her head. "It's gonna be hay trying to figure out where though..." "Great... so nothing was accomplished then." Rainbow said. "Pretty much..." Twilight said. Pinkie looked over at Sweetie sadly. Even with her face covered, she could see all of the strain of the stress she'd played a large role in applying on the filly's body. She couldn't stand seeing her like this... she knew something had to be done. "We've got to find Rare first though." Pinkie said. The four mares looked at Pinkie and nodded, knowing that she was right. Sweetie had already gone through so much, mostly in order to rescue her sister. The only way that any mare could help Sweetie at this point was bringing the little filly the white mare, safe and sound. Twilight walked over to the children who watched Sweetie as she lied there. "Sweetie?" she said as gently as she knew how. The filly didn't respond at first. When Twilight called a second time, the filly peeked her green eyes out from under her hooves. "I... I'm going to need your ghost capturer." she said. Sweetie looked at Twilight strangely, as though the words were foreign to her. As right as it was, the words didn't sound correct to the filly. Twilight asking for the GCD. "Twilight... you... you know I can't do that." Sweetie said. "Why?" Twilight asked softly. "Because Pink-" Sweetie stopped. She looked over at the pink mare that stood at the center of the room, with a concerned look on her face. "Pinkie's here and alive. She's not going to hurt any pony if we leave now... it's safe for us... as far as safe ghosts go." Twilight said. "But..." Sweetie said. She wasn't sure what to say... she wasn't sure why she would say anything really. Here she was, presented with the chance for some pony to relieve her of the burden to capture ghosts... yet she didn't want to take it. Why? "...Sweetie?" Twilight said. "You don't have to do this anymore. Your safe here... you can let us handle the rest of this." "N-no..." Sweetie said. Twilight looked at Sweetie puzzled. "What?" "N...no. I want to go back out." Sweetie said. "I... want to keep going." "Sweetie, just give me the GCD." "Get your own!" Sweetie said angrily. "Sweetie. I told you, you don't have to-" "I KNOW I don't have to go out! I know I can stay here! But I don't want to say here! I want to go back out!" Sweetie screamed. Her voice rang in the room, shocking everyone with her outburst. "Why?" "R...Rarity. I don't..." Sweetie muttered. She wasn't sure why she wanted to go back out. She knew she wanted to catch her sister, but why she was so intent was even a mystery to the filly. "Sweetie, just let us-" Twilight started as she reached for the GCD on Sweetie's back. Sweetie dodged the hoof, slipping past her friends and Twilight. As she did, she Rainbow and Pinkie tried to block Sweetie, though the filly managed to dodge past them as well. Finally, Sweetie made it to the door. Before she could open it, Twilight's horn glowed weakly, as the door briefly glowed the same color for a brief second. Click Sweetie tried to open the door with no luck. It was locked. "It won't open Sweetie. The door-" "Has a magic lock, I know. I read about it." Sweetie said, sourly. "Sweetie. Just listen-" "No! You listen!" She turned back around to the mares. "I have to catch her! Not you! Not you! ME! I have to! Let me out of here!" Sweetie yelled. She turned back around onto the door and banged her hooves against the door. Twilight tried to levitate Sweetie away from the door, however her magic was becoming too weak to lift the 30 to 40 pound filly. "C'mon Sweetie! Quit it!" Rainbow said, confronting the filly. Rainbow grabbed her by the torso to drag her away from the door. "Don't touch me! Get off!" Sweetie yelled, pushing Rainbow away. Sweetie was actually getting to the point of becoming violent... she was becoming out of control, desperate to leave the room to peruse her sister. Rainbow, trying to gain control over the filly, wrestled her to the ground. Still being a filly, and one of the weaker ones at that, she was easy to pin down... though it didn't stop her from trying to squirm out of Rainbow's grasp. "Rainbow! Keep her steady!" Twilight said. "Stay still Sweetie. We're only trying to help!" Rainbow said as the filly continued to squirm. Twilight thought, trying to remember the simplest spell she could think of that could possibly help. Something came to her head as her horn began to glow again. This time, Sweetie's body began to faintly glow purple... but there seemed to be no effect. "I need her just a little calmer..." Twilight said. Fluttershy had an idea of her own in order to assist Twilight. The mare took a deep breath, making sure her throat was clear. Hush now, quiet now, it's time to lay your sleepy head... she sung as soothingly as she could. Though the voice that Fluttershy had now, wasn't nearly as soothing as it should have been, it was still quite a calming voice. Hush now, quiet now, it's time to go to bed... Suddenly, Sweetie started to feel a bit calmer as she slowly stopped squirming. As was the intention of singing the song, and Twilight's sleeping spell, Sweetie was getting drowsy. Drifting off to sleep, the exciting day behind you... The verses of the song, in which Sweetie usually began singing, sealed the deal, as Sweetie's eyes began to flutter shut. She did her best to resist sleeping, but even the weak magic, or Fluttershy's rougher than normal singing was too much for the filly to handle. Drifting off to sleep, let the joy of dream land find you... she continued. By now, Sweetie's eyes were shut, and the only visible motion in her body was the steady rise and fall of her chest. Carefully, Rainbow got off of Sweetie... she didn't try to get back up. So hush now, quiet now, it's time to lay your sleepy head... Fluttershy kept singing, as though to make sure she wasn't waking up. Rainbow put Sweetie on her back and carried her over to her friends, who simply watched as their friend was laid beside them. Hush now, quiet now, it's time to go to bed.... Fluttershy finished. Once she was done, Twilight stopped the flow of magic from her horn and sighed. Even the simple spell was beginning to wind her out... and it was still getting worse. Fluttershy rubbed her throat, noting how much harder it was to keep her singing voice that she'd used to communicate with all of her animal friends. No doubt about it, it wasn't just Twilight's talent that was getting weaker, but Fluttershy's and likely Pinkie's as well... "Poor Sweetie..." Fluttershy whispered. "Yeah... though a little sleep will hopefully relieve some of her stress..." Twilight said back. Once Rainbow, the CMC and Spike set Sweetie up in a comfortable looking sleeping position, Spike assisted Rainbow in taking gently taking the GCD and Sweetie's saddlebags off of her back. "Here you go Twi." Rainbow said, giving the GCD to the mare. Noting how Sweetie had set up the GCD to fit perfectly with her saddlebags, Twilight put the filly's bags on, along with the GCD on her back. It was a tight fit, but enough to allow for Twilight to move without threat of the GCD falling off of her back as she walked. "Sweetie... she's not going to be asleep for long though." Twilight finally said. "Her nerves won't let her." "Then we'd better come up with a plan before she wakes up then." Rainbow said. "What have you got?" "Well, the way I see it, the next course of action is to find out where Rarity might be." Spike lied down by Sweetie, his head lying on top of hers, beating Applebloom or Scootaloo to it as the three of them cuddled into a mound. "Well, th' way ah see it, if Specter was tryin' ta marry Rarity, dont'cha think he'd want her close by?" Applejack suggested. "Yeah! If you find Specter, you'll probably find Rarity!" Pinkie said hopefully. "But we don't know where Specter is?" Rainbow asked. As Scootaloo stroked Sweetie, Spike kissed the top of Sweetie's head again. Applebloom glanced at Spike, thinking about saying something. She shut her mouth, realizing that directly after Sweetie's breakdown wasn't the time to feel jealous. Right now, all she could worry about was the mental health of her friend... "True... but I've got a good guess of where he might be." Twilight said. "I remember back during the party? I think it was when Pinkie was doing her... song." Pinkie started humming the tune she'd sung about earlier that night. "I don't even want to know where you got so many Ping-Pong balls." Rainbow said. "Anyway, I remember somewhere around that time, before the ambush, Specter invited Rarity back to his study." Twilight continued. "I went with her and hung out there for a bit before Specter kicked me out... and didn't see Rarity since." "You think that Specter's in there?" Rainbow asked. Twilight shrugged. "It's the closest likely spot. It wouldn't hurt to check there first." "Yeah, but ya gotta clear th' way in th' dinnin' hall b'fore ya go." Applejack added, reminding the mares of the blocked exits. The two of them nodded. "Agreed. You and Rainbow are the strongest, so you two can help clear the way. How's your body doing Applejack?" "It's better." She said. "Still got plenty a healin' ta do... ain't gonna be doin' any long travelin... but ah reckon ah can still help ya clear th' way." "Alright, once it's clear, you can head back. Rainbow, are you gonna stay with me?" "You bet Twi." Rainbow said. "What about you Fluttershy?" Twilight asked. "I... think I'll stay behind." Fluttershy shyly responded. "I mean, if that's ok." "Perfectly. Your pretty good with injuries, so you could probably find something to help Applejack heal faster anyway." Twilight said. "And you Pinkie?" "I think I'll stay too Twi." Pinkie said, trying to give her friend a smile. It was weak, and by the look on her face, Twilight and Rainbow new exactly why with just one look at the filly she'd been forced to torture mentally and physically that night. Rainbow went over to Pinkie. "Alright Pinkie... just don't beat yourself up over all of this, alright?" Rainbow said. "I'm... I'm not." Pinkie lied. "I just want to have some time with her when she wakes up is all." Pinkie smiled in attempt to re-assure her friend. Rainbow smiled back and gave Pinkie a hug. "Alright guys. Let’s get out of here." Twilight nodded as Applejack got up on all fours. Twilight unlocked the door and the three of them headed out... *** Barely 10 minutes after their departure, the door opened again as Applejack walked inside. She was somewhat dirty, covered in a thin layer of the ashes of the wood she'd helped the mares move out of the way. She sighed as she went back into her corner. "She ain't wake up yet?" Applejack asked. Fluttershy looked at the fillies and dragons huddled up against the wall, then back at Applejack. "Thankfully no. This is the most peaceful I've seen her all night. The longer she's sleeping, the better." Applejack nodded in agreement. She then looked over at Pinkie, who lied on her back, looking up at the ceiling in a daze. It took a moment for the mare to realize Applejack had come back. "AJ?" she said, flipping over on her front. "What happened?" "Well... they're on their way. Headed ta th' study ah reckon..." Applejack looked at the mare. "Uh, Pinkie?" "Yeah?" she asked. "Ya didn't... set up no more traps, did ya?" Pinkie swallowed. She'd been reminded of yet another act she'd committed during her ghost time. "...no. O-only on the ones that led to Sweetie, I think. AJ, you know I-" Applejack waved a hoof. "Ah don't care. Ah know ya weren't in yer ri' mind. B'sides. Ahm fine now, an' tha's wha' matters now, ri'?" Pinkie nodded, shakily. She still wouldn't forgive herself for a while, but it was nice to know that she wasn't hated. Applebloom however, looked up questioningly. "Wha' are y'all talkin' about anyway?" she asked. "Uh... just some stuff I did when I was a ghost." Pinkie explained. "Like what?" Spike asked, finally looking away from Sweetie. "Huh?" Pinkie asked. "Yeah! Sweetie said something about you and the other mares doing something... and you mentioned something about a carnival? What?" Pinkie remained silent. She wasn't sure how to say that she'd basically ordered them to kill their best friend. It was easy to tell that Sweetie hadn't even hinted to what they'd done to her, and likely for good reason. She didn't want them to know... "W-well, it isn't that important, I guess. Let's just say I... I hurt her a lot tonight. That's all." Pinkie said. "Why can't you tell us more?" Scootaloo asked. "Yeah... and Sweetie w's actin' all weird when we tried ta talk ta her 'bout you and... us." Applebloom said. "Pinkie, ya were around th' mansion t'night... where were we? Fainted someplace?" "Y...yes? Yeah, you were out all night. Specter was keeping you-" Pinkie lied. Scootaloo however, shook her head. "Nuh uh!" Scootaloo said. "I remember walking around here in some crypt. Applebloom wasn't there but I don't think Specter was keeping us anywhere... and something happened down there. What happened?" "How would she' know?" Applebloom interrupted, defending Pinkie. "She had 'er own stuff Specter was prob'ly tellin' 'er ta do." "But she lied." Spike said. "Why Pinkie?" "I... I..." Pinkie was beginning to tear up. Everyone's attention was turned from the mare back to Sweetie, who moaned as she was beginning to wake up again. The three children gave the filly some room to get back up on all fours, as she stretched and looked around at everyone. Without a word, she looked at her back and saw that her GCD and saddlebags it was tied to were gone. "What...who..." Sweetie mumbled. "Twilight... she took your ghost capturer and your saddlebags." Fluttershy explained. "What?" Sweetie asked, looking at the mare. "She headed out with Rainbow to-" "No..." Sweetie walked over to the door, and put her hoof to it. Though she wanted to go out to peruse the mare, she knew she wouldn't get far, especially without her flashlight. She then put her head to the door. "I'm sorry Sweetie... but you know it's for the best." Fluttershy said, trying to cheer the filly up. It didn't work as Sweetie gritted her teeth. She wanted to save her sister... but now that chance was taken away from her. Still, the filly couldn't figure out why it made her so angry... "Sweetie?" Applebloom finally asked. Sweetie didn't turn around. "What." She said flatly. The filly's change in mood was a little unnerving to the two CMC, and even Spike. "I... we... ya were gonna tell us wha' happened ta us earlier, ri'?" Sweetie didn't answer. She simply kept her head up against the door, Applejack's hat slightly falling off as she pressed her forehead to its metal. "Well, what was it Sweets? Where were we?" Spike asked. "...the mansion." Sweetie said. "Well, we know that." Scootaloo said. "I mean, where were we? You found us so you must know-" "I do know." Sweetie said, turning around. There was coldness in her eyes. Emotionless and dead… it was frightening to be coming from the small filly. "You were trying to kill me." The words hung in the air for a few minutes as everyone stared at Sweetie. The mares stared at her for how bluntly she'd shared the information, and Applebloom, Scootaloo and Spike looked at her in disbelief. "...I-I'm sorry, but what?" Spike said. "Yeah, ah think we musta' mis-" "No, you didn't Applebloom." Sweetie said coldly. "You tried to cut my throat." she said, pointing at Applebloom. "You tried choking me to death." she said, pointing at Scootaloo, "and you tried to burn me alive!" "Sweetie, we'd never-" "You tried to kill me. Keep me from catching any pony. Kept me from catching her. ALL of you... and even better, you laughed while you did it. Great friends you are." "Sweetie-" Pinkie tried to stop her. "And you, are the worst of them. If you were a Pinkie who cared about trying to save me, to try and help me, you would have done your little thing and helped rather than sitting in her mind, just watching as I break every bone in my body. Just like now, when you could have said something. Let me go to save her... Some friend you are..." Silence filled the room once Sweetie was finished. The explainable anger within the filly subsided after a few moments. It took a moment for the filly to completely regain herself and realize what she'd just said. She looked at the faces of the mares, she'd managed to hurt with her words. Severely reminded of the horror they'd made the filly undergo. Pinkie Pie and the Crusaders especially. Pinkie, unable to hold it in any longer, had tears streaming down her face. The crusaders and Spike looked at Sweetie in disbelief... yet at the same time, from hearing Sweetie, they knew they had no choice to believe the truth they tried to refuse. "I-I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me..." Sweetie said. "Guys?" "Sweetie... tha'... tha' ain't true... is it?" Applebloom finally said. Sweetie wanted to say no... yet at this point, she couldn't lie anymore. It'd probably only hurt them even further. "Sweets... why would we do somethin' like that?" Scootaloo asked. "We... couldn't have..." "It wasn't your fault." Sweetie said calmly. "Those three ghosts I told you about... they were controlling you. You didn't have any choice." With that, Sweetie began slowly explaining to them the details she'd skipped over pertaining to that night. The ones involving her first encounters with the possessed children, and the different ways they each tried to kill her. She told them about the carnival and finally... the hanging game Pinkie had planned. "That's why you were so afraid of us when you woke up..." Spike said, looking down. "I-I wasn't afraid of you!" Sweetie said. "I was afraid of them! Candy, Marbles and Spiffy. Not you." "But... if we still tried ta kill-" Applebloom said. "Shut up, ok?" Sweetie said. The three of them looked down to the ground, seeming to be on the verge of tears, much like Pinkie. She began walking over to Applebloom. She gave the filly a hug. "It wasn't you, alright?" Applebloom didn't answer. She simply gave the filly another hug back, as hard as she could. "But Sweets-" Scootaloo said, not bothering to look up. "Relax. I said, it wasn't you." Sweetie continued. "You didn't have anything to do with it. The way I see it, you weren't even involved." Sweetie hugged Scootaloo. As Scootaloo hugged her back, as Sweetie felt a tear drop down her back. "And because of that..." Sweetie said, moving over to the dragon, giving him a hug. "I don't have any reason to be mad at any of you." Spike didn't give a hug. He simply stood there in a trance as Sweetie hugged him. She gave the dragon one of the longer hugs... Finally, Sweetie went over to Pinkie, who still had tears streaming down her cheeks. "And Pinkie... I know we've been through a lot... and I know it's probably silly to keep saying the same thing over and over again..." Sweetie standing in front of the mare. "But you’re not the one to blame, and I'm not mad... but there is something I want you to do." The teary eyed pink mare looked up at Sweetie... or rather down at her, given her small stature. "I... could I have a smile? Not one of those creepy ghostly ones... but a real smile? The one the real Pinkie would make." The mare did as she was told, giving a friendly smile to the filly. Not waiting for her to approach her any further, Pinkie quickly went forward, lifted the filly in the air and gave her the biggest bear hug she could. "Uh, Pinkie?" Sweetie said strained. "I still gotta... breath." "S-sorry Sweetie." Pinkie said, putting the filly down. "Well..." Sweetie said, checking her chest to make sure it hadn't caved in from Pinkie's hug. "Now that we've got that out of the way, and there's no negativity anymore... I wanted to ask all of you few questions..." "Sure Sweets!" Pinkie said. Every mare, filly and dragon in the room gathered into a group in front of Sweetie, ready to listen to whatever she had to say. "What's on your mind?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie glanced over at the dead Specter, in the corner. She shivered at what she might have done, but pushed the thought out of her head. Now wasn't the time to get emotional again. "I... wanted to ask you a few questions about the mansion... the ghosts... and Specter." *** Rainbow and Twilight entered the mansion foyer, looking around the massive foyer at the doors. Rainbow, out of curiosity went to the front door out of curiosity to see if it would open. She pushed it... it wouldn't budge. "I tried that earlier tonight Rainbow. It won't open... some kind of magical lock." Twilight said through Sweetie's flashlight. "Well, you’re good at magic, right? You could probably open it, right?" Rainbow asked, looking back at the purple mare. Twilight shook her head. "No. Two reasons. One, because my magic right now is barely strong enough to open up simple locks. Hay, I thought I was going to black out after that teleportation spell and that lightning bolt." Twilight explained. "Secondly, the lock, unlike the one down by the safe room, requires a specific frequency and flow of magic to be flowed through it. Kind of like a security code. Providing the mansion itself would even let me, I'd need to know that code in order to open it... and the only one who probably knows it is..." "Specter." Rainbow finished. "You think if we can find him we could get out of here?" "Provided he's willing to give us the code to begin with." Twilight said. "That's easy. I'll just beat it out of him." Rainbow said. "You’re going to beat up a ghost huh?" Twilight said, raising a brow. "Just like you were going to beat up that butler?" Rainbow shrugged "I could still try. You never know... but even if we couldn't we could just catch him, right? Can't you just put him through that printer thing?" Rainbow asked. "Actually... yeah, but I don't know if it'll work." Twilight said. "Sweetie's captured and printed out other ghosts, but when I tried to revive them, nothing happened. No matter how much magic I put into them, the photos just kind of... blew up in my face." "Blew up huh?" Rainbow asked. "Yeah. The magic just blew back onto me, Applejack, and Fluttershy. One was so big it threw the three of us against the wall." Twilight explained. "Ouch." Rainbow said. "But... then why did it work on us then?" "Not sure. I had a theory that the paintings used whatever magic I pumped into turn our cutie marks into new bodies. Something tells me that am not right though." Twilight said. "Then what do you really think makes it so ponies can get revived?" Rainbow asked. "I really don't know... but so far, every pony that's been revived has only died just this night. They haven't been dead for much longer than a few hours." "Then what? You think only ponies that died tonight can get revived?" Rainbow asked. "Yeah... but if that's true, then we haven't got any chance of getting out of here through that door." "Why not." "Because I'm almost sure that tonight... isn't the first time Specter died." Twilight said. "... come on, we're wasting time talking here. We've got to head through that door over there." Twilight pointed over at the door. to the right of the staircase. "If the mansion doesn't mess with us, like it did with me earlier, that should be the way to Specter's study." "Gotcha Twi." "I haven't seen any ghosts yet... but I'm almost positive that we're gonna come across some soon. Watch my flank alright?" "On it." "Not... too closely though." Twilight joked. "We've got to pay attention to what’s around us too." "Ha ha." Rainbow said unenthusiastic, rolling her eyes. "Not in your life Twi." The two of them headed through the door into the next hallway... *** "Ok, first off... the carnival. What-the-hay was that." Sweetie started. "You went to a carnival?" Fluttershy asked. "How... was it?" "A blast." Sweetie said sarcastically. "Everything was burned, ghosts were everywhere, and I was the star of a circus act as I walked across a 60 foot tightrope wearing a lion costume. A hay of a time." "Sorry. I should have figured it wasn't good." Fluttershy said, looking down. "Well Pinkie? You seemed to know what was happening. Do you remember a lot of it?" Pinkie nodded slowly. "Yeah, I remember. I watched you the whole time... or did I read about you, I forget." Pinkie paused, feeling another wave of nausea. "Oh Celestia, what's that author planning..." she said lowly for no pony but herself to hear. "Ok, so then you probably know what the hay happened in there, right?" "...kind of." Pinkie said. "It's... kind of hard to remember places where you weren't there... like I remember everything after you snapped me with that camera... up until the ghost Pinkie started trying to snuff me out." "So... you don't know what happened then?" Sweetie asked. Pinkie got up, and began to pace. She was trying her very best to remember what it was that gave her that kind of power to manipulate reality into the twisted carnival. She was determined to give the filly some kind of answer. "I... think some pony gave me that power to manipulate the mansion." "Specter?" "Maybe. I remember him praising me a lot. His voice was really twisted when he did too." Like it was a whole bunch of ponies instead of just him." "He just... gave you that kind of power?" "Yeah... see, the way I remember him saying it... there are different parts of the mansion that can be... manipulated. Changed around, right?" "It happened to us when we were running from those ghosts." Spike said. "When Sweetie and I fell through that hole in the ceiling and almost got lost in some different part of the hallway." "But... there's different, super special places in the mansion... like the courtyard, where stuff can be added, taken, and even completely manipulated. There’s a couple spots in the mansion like that..." "... and?" "I... just remembered something. It had something to do with Rarity... why can't I remember it clearer..." Pinkie mumbled. "A-anyway, I remember, when Sweetie caught AJ and Fluttershy, that they gathered Rainbow, Rarity, a calidascopy looking Twilight, and me... they said that if you caught too many ghosts, they'd give every pony remaining a piece of the mansion to use... that's why I wanted you to catch Twi and Dashie so much... might have tested it on one pony earlier tonight, but really, I forget." "Was that why you wanted me to catch Twilight and Rainbow so badly?" Sweetie asked. "And why you were so... interested in me?" "No." Pinkie said flatly. "I don't think that's... completely why." "Really? Then what?" Sweetie asked. "I... don't remember. Just that some pony I liked made me think to really like you even more. It's like they liked you, so I wanted to like you more. Makes sense?" "I guess." Sweetie said. Honestly, there were too many 'likes' for Sweetie to really make sense of it. "Another question..." Sweetie asked. She glanced at Spike who was giving her another dreamy stare... Sweetie was almost caught up into it before looking back at Pinkie. "Can... Specter mentally manipulate ponies? You know, that Mind Dive thing?" "Mind Dive... yeah, I do remember Specter mentioning that a little while ago. Getting into a pony's head and making them see and do stuff?" "Yeah. Can he... or maybe Spiffy... or even Rarity do that? Could you do that?" "I know I couldn't." Pinkie said. "Anything you saw that wasn't real... I think that was all Twilight." "T-there's no other way that some ghost pony could make them do stuff?" "Nothing involving magic I don't think. Rare wasn't strong enough... neither was Spiffy or Specter." Pinkie confirmed. "But... Spike... and I, we..." "Yer what?" Applejack asked. It didn't make much sense to the filly. She was sure that she didn't like the dragon... yet since that kiss, he was the only thing besides the safety of Rarity on the filly's mind. She wished there was some other explanation besides the idea that "She was in love with Spike". It didn't make sense any way the filly put it. And even more, she couldn't have a relationship with the dragon... she probably wouldn't even be able to imagine what she'd put Applebloom though with that second kiss at the church. Applebloom replied. Sweetie looked at Applebloom, who didn't bother to look back. After learning she'd been nearly puppeted into driving a knife through her friend, Sweetie was sure she'd still 'act' like her friend. She was positive that Applebloom wouldn't get emotional like before over the kiss... but she was sure that Applebloom was still getting torn up inside. Wounds Sweetie would eventually have to figure out how to heal. "They were... just doin some experiment'n." "Experimenting?" Fluttershy asked. "Yeah. Relationship experiment'n is all." Applebloom said. "Uh..." Fluttershy said, unsure of how to react to that. "Hey Pinkie, I've got another question." Sweetie said, interrupting before they could delve deeper into the subject. "Just one more big one." "Sure Sweetie. Throw it at me." Pinkie said. "I wanted to know... you don't know where Rarity is, do you?" Sweetie asked. Silence took over the room once more. "...Sweetie, ya know we can't-" Applejack started. "I-I know. I just wanted to see if Pinkie knew... just for curiosity's sake." Sweetie assured. "I'm not gonna leave. At least... not without my flashlight anyway." "Well... no, not really Sweetie." Pinkie said. "If I knew, I'd've probably told Dashie and Twi before they left." "But, you were the closest to Specter! That's how you got that carnival, right?" Sweetie asked. "You have to know something! You have to!" "C'mon Sweetie." Scootaloo said, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "If she doesn't know, she doesn't know. Sorry." Sweetie bowed her head. "Ok..." Pinkie felt more guilt stabbing at her as she watched the filly slump down in that depressed manner. She couldn't bear seeing her like this. "... but..." she said. Sweetie looked up. "But?" "But... I do know that Rarity was given the same power as me... yeah, in fact, I know she was." "R-really? Does that mean she'd be somewhere around the courtyard?" Sweetie asked. Pinkie shook her head. "The courtyard was mine... she was given another place." "Where?" Sweetie asked. "I'm not sure... but i do know it was on the other side of the mansion... Opposite of the courtyard you've seen" Sweetie didn't remember seeing any other ways to that other side. Any hallways leading that way were either blocked off or destroyed by Pinkie. "But you blocked all of the ways leading that way, right? Does that mean only ghosts can make it over there?" "I didn't block all of them Sweetie." Pinkie said. "Just like I didn't lock all of the doors. No, they were already there... but there is a way." "Where?" Pinkie shrugged. "Not sure... but I know it exists. Meany old Gilda's not a ghost, but I'm sure she had to go over there at some point... there's probably some secret way over there." "...wait..." Sweetie thought for a second. "Applejack." Sweetie said. "Didn't you say you saw Rarity headed into the kitchen?" Applejack nodded. "Leas' tha's wha' ah thought ah saw." "Right... and Pinkie. When we first met when you were a ghost... did you see Rarity too? Outside of the Sugar Cube corner?" Pinkie thought for a moment. "I didn't see anything that looked like Sugarcube before you went all crazy with Twi's mental mind thingy... but I was looking at you the entire time, so I don't know... wait, you don't think that..." Sweetie nodded. "Maybe the secret entrance is in the kitchen." "Hold up Sweetie." Applejack said. "Ah was in tha' kitchen too. Ah didn't see no door to no new part o' th' mansion." "Maybe there's some special way you need to open it up." Sweetie said. "...somewhere Specter can access easily." "Sweetie? Do you think you have an idea of where this 'special way' is?" Fluttershy asked. "It's a guess, but... why not Specter's study? It's private, and somewhere he'd probably visit regularly." Sweetie figured. "That's genius Sweetie!" Spike said. He went over to hug the filly, who blushed on impact. After a few moments, Sweetie regained herself, and gently pushed Spike off of her. Scootaloo shook her head. "Bu' Twili' and Rainbow are headed there right now." Applejack said. "And if they go there... they won't know what to look for." Fluttershy said. "They might leave and just start aimlessly wandering the mansion..." "...unless we tell them." Sweetie said. Every pony looked at Sweetie. "Sweetie-" "Guys, they won't find Rarity or Specter if we don't." Sweetie argued. "They might get in more danger looking for them than actually finding them. The sooner we find them and tell them, the better. We have to, before it's too late. "...she's right." Pinkie said. "Pinkie?" Sweetie said, some pony, specifically a mare, agreed with her. "Yeah! And I wouldn't want something to happen to Rainbow. She might fall in some kind of trap." Scootaloo said. "Sure, she'd probably get out in time, but still..." "n' th' faster we tell em' th' faster we c'n get Rare, and git outa here." Applebloom said. "And you Spike?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah! Totally! Whatever you say Sweetie." Guess since she's gonna have 'er new 'mate' she might as well take advantage of him... Applebloom thought. Sweetie however, smiled at the fact that most of her friends were siding with her. At this point, every pony except Fluttershy and Applejack had agreed to the plan. "Ah don't lik' this idea one bit." Applejack said. "Don't seem too smart let'n more ponies go out... but if it gets us out'a here faster..." "Exactly." Sweetie said. "But we need a flashlight. We aren't going anywhere without one." Pinkie said. "Well... I remember Twilight putting a yellow flashlight over there, in that dresser." Fluttershy said, pointing over to a dresser with a mirror that had a swirling pattern around its frame. Sweetie went over to check it's drawer. She saw the flashlight Twilight had used earlier that night. Accompanied by it, was a small balled up piece of paper, which the filly could vaguely identify small splotches of pink ectoplasm and a piece of charcoal in the shape of a heart. Sweetie assumed that it was no good, so she just took the flashlight without giving it a second thought. "Ok, we can head out and be back in-" "Hold up, no pony said anything about you goin' anywhere." Applejack argued. "Can't Pinkie just go?" Fluttershy asked. "She's a tough mare to get ahold of... you can take care of yourself, right Pinkie?" Sweetie shook her head, not allowing the mare to answer. "No. Maybe she might if she had her talents, but now they're getting harder and harder to use, right?" Sweetie asked. Fluttershy touched her throat. She nodded in agreement. "That means that she's going to need some help right?" Sweetie convinced. "And who better to help her than me and my friends, who've had the most ghost encounters, right?" Though they both hated to admit it, Sweetie was right. The filly had spent hours in the mansion, somehow dodging and surviving the ghosts that tried to get her. "An' we ain't gonna let our friend go either, ri' Sweets?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie nodded. "They've had their share of ghosts too. The more eyes to watch what's around us, the better." "Alri... so yer all gonna go then?" Applejack asked. Sweetie nodded. "Ah suppose ah'll have ta stay here on mah own, ri'?" Applejack asked. "Lik' ah told ya, ah can't really do no long travelin' till ahm completely healed. "You've got Fluttershy." Scootaloo said. "She's not coming right?" Fluttershy shook her head. "I'm sure I'd just... slow you down. Besides, I still need to see what I can do for Applejack." "But the readers want to see you walk around the mansion..." Pinkie mumbled, gripping her stomach again. The mare had to stop, before she ended up vomiting. No one noticed. "Ok. So, Fluttershy and Applejack will wait here, and we'll be back as soon as we can." Sweetie said. "The door's open?" "Ah guess." Applejack said. "Didn't have ta do nothin' ta open it." "Be back in a jiff, m'kay?" Pinkie chirped. "Just be careful ok?" Fluttershy said. With that, Pinkie, Applebloom, Scootaloo, Spike and Sweetie left the room, closing the door behind him. "...ah got a bad feelin' about all a this." "What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked. "All this separation ain't good... ah just don't seein' it endin' well is all..." *** The two mares entered the door, and entered yet another dark hallway. The moonlight had difficulty reaching that part of the area, making the only visible light come from the Sweetie's flashlight, carried in Twilight's muzzle. Rainbow kept her eyes peeled behind her and Twilight as they walked. As Rainbow kept feeling the chill down her spine, she couldn't help but feel something was wrong. "Hey Twi?" Rainbow asked. "Are you getting the feeling your being... watched?" "I wouldn't be surprised." Twilight said. "Ghosts around here are always looking for a chance to pounce any unsuspecting pony when they're not looking." Twilight looked back at Rainbow, and smirked. "Don't tell me the big, tough, Rainbow Dash is getting scared now." "No, no, of course not." Rainbow said. "I don't get scared... but I am getting a little... paranoid I guess." "Around here, that's not a bad thing." Twilight responded. "Paranoia works with you around here. When I had to move around the mansion, I was always expecting some ghost would pop out to scare me... or the mansion would change around on me. Paranoia can be bad sometimes, but here, it just makes you prepared for the worst." "So you think the worst is gonna happen?" Rainbow asked. "Dear Celestia I hope not." Twilight said, before stopping. "Wait." "What's up Twi?" Twilight had stopped in front of a large metal door. A light residue of orange ectoplasm was vaguely outlined in the shape of an apple. "I remember passing by here a little while back..." she said. "I guess Sweetie must have figured out how to clean it up to get inside." "You mean you couldn't?" Rainbow asked. "I thought you were supposed to be the brains? How'd Sweetie figure it out when you couldn't" "Hey, I was a crotchety old mare earlier with half a soul. My head was barely on strait." Twilight argued. "Still... I'm amazed that she figured out how to clear it with the GCD and even find the key that went to the door..." "What do you think's inside?" Rainbow asked. "When I first passed by, I was almost positive it was Applejack's hiding spot." Twilight said. "Though between the door being locked and the ectoplasm keeping the doors shut, I didn't find out... Now, I'm not really sure, I just want to peek to see what was inside. Maybe some kind of clue." "Careful Twi." Rainbow warned. "If AJ was in there, I wouldn't be surprised if this was some kind of trap." "You’re telling me to be careful?" Twilight asked the mare who spent most of her days doing life threatening air stunts. Twilight kept one hoof on her GCD as she slowly opened the door. Once it was fully open, she shined her light inside... it was just an oversized tea room. Tea tables and china were all over the room, covered with the same generic white sheet. There were only two things the mares found peculiar about the room... One was the patches of dirt scattered all over the room, and the few seedling trees that were growing out of the ground. The other, was that the room was dimly lit by a sole chandelier at the center of the room. "Nothing... just some china and some plants." Twilight sighed. "C'mon, let’s keep going." Rainbow motioned. "This creepy lighting is giving me more chills than the hallway." "Ok, let’s go." Twilight said, closing the door and continuing to guide Rainbow down the dark hallway. They walked down the hallway, until Twilight stopped in front of another grand looking door. "If I'm right, this should be Specter's study." "You really think he's in there?" Rainbow asked, looking behind her. "I mean, If I were Specter, and I knew that some pony was gonna hunt me down, I'd have a little more protection right?" "Hm... your right. Then again, the hallway's pretty cold. There's got to be a good number of ghosts somewhere." Twilight figured. "Maybe they're inside?" Rainbow put her ear to the door. She closed her eyes, to focus on the inside of the room... "...nothing Twi." Rainbow finally said. "Nothing? No laughs? No giggling?" Twilight asked. "No... I thought I heard a crackle, but that's it." Rainbow said. "Ok, I'm going in. Cover me Rainbow." Twilight said, as she swung the door open. She aimed the GCD nozzle in front of her ready to suck up any ghosts she saw... but none came. Besides the lit fire place that sat in front of two chairs, there was nothing. It was just a normal study with a small library of books, and portraits hung on the walls. Twilight sighed. "Nothing. No ghost in sight." "Now what Twi?" Rainbow asked. "Anywhere else you think the guy might be?" "... well, maybe the library. I remember him visiting there once." Twilight thought. "It's a little ways away from here though. Maybe we should just explore this hallway a little more before we go." Rainbow nodded as she headed for the door... when all of a sudden, the door shut on its own. In her surprise, Rainbow's wings erected. "What the hay?!" The portrait over top the fireplace depicting Specter fell over in front of the fireplace blocking the light, dimming the room significantly, just short of pitch black. The room filled with laughter. "It's a trap!" Twilight said. "Keep your eyes peeled, they could come from anywhere!" Twilight backed into Rainbow as their flanks touched. Twilight looked around the room wildly, trying to anticipate where any ghost might try to show up. Seconds of laughing passed before finally- "Twi! 6 o'clock!" Rainbow said, looking to her left. Twilight looked in the same direction to see a K-9 ghost phase through the wall and jump at her. Both Rainbow and Twilight jumped in either direction as Twilight shined the flashlight on the dog. Ding! As Twilight aimed her nozzle at the dog, she began sucking it up. 15, 14, 13, 12... the GCD said. Twilight, unlike Sweetie was unfamiliar with the yank technique. She didn't bother experimenting with it. Even more, the mare didn't have the stress of not knowing wither or not she would hold on long enough. Given she was heavier and likely stronger than Sweetie, the ghost didn't drag her around like the filly. While the numbers counted down on the GCD, a butler ghost phased through the ceiling and went to grab onto Rainbow, who zoomed into the air, out of the path of the ghost as it went through the floor she was previously standing on. Rainbow wasn't however fast enough to dodge the second ghost as it phased through the wall in front of her and tackled her down to the ground. "Gah! Twilight!" Rainbow struggled to get free. Unfortunately, the ghost was stronger than even her. "Hel-" Before Rainbow could say another word, the ghost proceeded to stick its hoof into the mare's mouth. She gagged on it, as it laughed, beginning to rip out her spirit and soul. "Hold on!" Twilight said, wishing there was some way to suck up the ghost faster. 3, 2, 1, 0. Capturing Ghost. the GCD said. The K-9 whimpered as it was sucked into the confines of the GCD. "Get off of her!" Twilight yelled as she shined her light on the ghost. Ding! Twilight sucked the ghost off of Rainbow as she proceeded to suck it up before it could do anymore damage to Rainbow. Once the ghost was sucked up, the laughter in the room only got louder. "Twi, you got a plan?" Rainbow asked, coughing and looking around the study nervously. Twilight thought for a second when she noticed the painting in front of the fireplace. Just as a plethora of ghosts phased through the wall, Twilight aimed the GCD nozzle at the painting, sucking it off of the fireplace it was covering. Light from the fire filled the room. A deafening DING! echoed through the room as any ghost inside disappeared. Both Twilight and Rainbow panted exhaustedly, thankful they'd somehow managed to survive the ambush. "You ok Rainbow?" Twilight asked. "I'll live..." Rainbow responded. "That... that was close." Twilight said. "Yeah... you’re telling me." Rainbow said. The door clicked. "The doors open. Let's get out of here, before anymore decide to show up." Twilight nodded as they both exited the room and headed back into the hallway. They both decided to check out the end of the hallway to see if there was anything of interest at the door it ended with. "...hey Rainbow? Mind if I ask you something?" Twilight asked. "What?" Rainbow asked. "Uh... You know Gilda's here, right?" "...yeah? What about her?" Rainbow asked. "Well, you two were friends, right?" "Were friends..." Rainbow emphasized. "Ever since that thing with Fluttershy and Pinkie... I haven't kept with her that much." "You mean, you haven't seen her since she came and left Ponyville that Fall?" Twilight asked. Rainbow nodded. "I remember getting a letter or two from her... just the normal, sup, what's going on... hay, I almost thought she wanted to be friends with me again, but I kept reminding her that you guys were a part of the deal... then I lost contact with her... funny." "What?" Twilight asked. "I remember... back when I was a ghost and all, she wanted me for some reason. Who knows, maybe she just wanted to be friends with me... the griffon was always a mule's flank hole, but since I was the only pony who ever... y'know, tried to befriend, I guess she got a really jealous when I got a new friend of something." "You think that's why she was so mean to Fluttershy and Pinkie?" Twilight asked. "Partially. To be honest, I think another side of her just gets off on that kind of stuff." Rainbow responded. "So... what? You’re not friends with her? You don't know why she'd be associated with Specter?" Twilight asked. The two of them finally made it to the door. "I don't have a clue of why some griffon like her wants to have anything to do with Specter..." Rainbow and Twilight looked at each other as they walked through the door, not paying attention to what was in front of them. "...but friends? Ha! Since she hit Sweetie like that, she can forget that. The next time I see that griffon, trust me, I'm gonna deck her right in the-" The two of them looked forward. The room was filled with every kind of ghost, playing some kind of game, wither it be pool, darts or anything else in the game room they'd just walked into. There had to be at least 30 of them. Inside was also Gilda, grinning at the two mares just like every other ghost inside. "Aw don't mind us Rainy." Gilda said. "Please. You were saying?" The door shut behind the mares, clicking as it locked. "Oh hay..." Twilight mumbled as both of the mare's ears went down... *** The group of ponies entered the dining hall, lit by the moonlight shining through the windows along its side. "Hey, is that where they went?" Scootaloo asked, pointing to the door with pieces of cleared wood on either side of it. Sweetie nodded. "Yeah. It leads to the foyer I think." "C'mon then." Applebloom said. "We gotta try n' catch 'em before they leave tha' study." Every pony and dragon agreed as they headed started to head through the door. "Sweetie." Pinkie said. "You got a sec?" Sweetie, who hung at the back of the group, looked at Pinkie at the front, Twilight's flashlight firmly in her muzzle. "Y-yeah." Sweetie said. "You guys go on ahead." "You too Spike." Pinkie added. "What? Why?" Scootaloo asked, looking at the mare. "Well, it's just a few things that I think... just they need to know for now. Just wait for us at the fountain for now. Take this." Pinkie said, giving Applebloom the flashlight. Rather than using her muzzle to hold the thing, she fixed it in with the bow on her head, so she wouldn't have to carry it in her muzzle. The flashlight itself was hidden in her mane, however the light shined magnificently through the red hairs. Sweetie smiled. "That's resourceful." Applebloom gave a weak smile back before heading with Scootaloo into the next area. "What's wrong Pinkie?" "Yeah. Did you remember something else?" Spike asked. "Yeah, I think so." Pinkie said. "But first Spike, since your Sweetie's new... dragon friend..." Sweetie twitched at the mention. "...you can keep this a secret from the other mares right? I mean, you don't want them to know, right Sweetie?" "...Your talking about the cutie mark thing?" Sweetie asked. Pinkie nodded. "Anyway, when you went to the carnival, and you showed up with those the mare's cutie marks... you weren't you." "Huh? What do you mean?" "I mean... everything you saw was real... but at the same time, it wasn't." Pinkie said. "Though the mansion did change, it changed into a memory... something Specter... at least I think it was Specter, told me to let you see." "So?" Spike asked. "Where you went, your body didn't just go, but your spirit did as well. It was kind of like, you were in the world I created, but your spirit was in some kind of memory. That's what those special places do... they can separate the spirit from the body without killing either. Really, it inverts it, where your body is inside of your spirit instead of the other way around." "You’re not making sense Pinkie." "When does Pinkie make sense." Spike mumbled. "What I'm trying to say is those cutie marks, are in you. They're latched onto your spirit. And anytime you walk around in your spirit instead of your body." "My body inside of my spirit?" "At least that's the way Specter explained it to us after Applejack was caught." Pinkie thought for a moment. "Actually, I think she was the first to use one of those special areas. After that, they said that we should stop using them... mostly because now that you had those cutie marks, you could use them in the areas..." "So... those special areas, I can use my cutie marks in... or at least any time I'm using my spirit for travel?" "In a walnut shell, yeah." Pinkie chirped. "And what about Spike?" Sweetie asked. "You said something about him?" "I did?" Pinkie asked, turning her head to the side. "Yeah! You said Sweetie and Spike!" Sweetie said annoyed. "Why did you want to talk to him." "I did want to, didn't I... that's weird." Pinkie said. "I forget." "What? How did you forget so fast?" Spike asked. "I don't know, it's like some pony just threw my thoughts out the window." Pinkie said. "But I'd relax. It's fine. If it were that important, I would have remembered right?... Guys?" The two children's eyes contracted as they stared at Pinkie blankly. Pinkie went to touch them and possibly shake them out of their trance, but she wasn't given the chance. The two of them dodged to either side of the mare, running past her into the foyer. "Hey wait! Sweetie! Spike!" Applebloom and Scootaloo, who were waiting by the fountain looked up as they saw Sweetie and Spike running into the area. They then ran up the staircase at the center of the two doors, up to the second floor, Pinkie closely following. The two fillies looked at each other in confusion before following the mare. They all ran through the left door at the top of the staircase. Once they were all through, no pony was focused enough on anything else besides the white filly and purple dragon, to notice that the door had locked on them. Sweetie and Spike ran down the hallway, until finally running into a random door. Any normal pony would have thought it would be a dead end for the children... but Pinkie wasn't naive enough to believe that. "NO! WAIT!" Pinkie called as the door shut behind the two children. Upon reaching the door seconds later, the mare opened the door to find a generic bedroom... no Sweetie Belle or Spike to be found. Pinkie had lost the filly... she hit the door in frustration. Applebloom and Scootaloo rushed up to the guilt struck mare. "Pinkie! What happened?!" Scootaloo asked. Before any other words could be exchanged, the hallway filled with laughter. "Tha' don't sound good." Applebloom said. Pinkie looked up, and just like both fillies looked to either side of the hallway to find waves of ghosts flying at them. The door to the bedroom shut, trapping the ponies in the hallway to be at the mercy of the ghosts flying at them, one group being led by a yellow ghost mare... *** "Ok, does this hurt?" Fluttershy asked, pressing a part of Applejack's stomach. "Nope." Applejack responded. "How about here?" Fluttershy asked, moving her hoof to a different part of the mare's body. Applejack twitched when she pressed the part. "Hey, tha' tickles!" Applejack complained. The mare wasn't into tickles, especially if it was coming from another mare. At least not by Fluttershy in any case. "Sorry." Fluttershy said, moving to a different spot at the socket of one of her hind legs. "How about-" "Ah!" Applejack hissed. "Yeah. Right there." "Ok, just hold still for a second." Fluttershy instructed. "This might hurt a little." The yellow pegasus the applied more pressure on Applejack's stomach. The mare clenched her teeth in pain, though she didn't scream, and kept still as Fluttershy had asked. It was barely moments of pressure later that the pain subsided. "Is it better?" Once Fluttershy got off of Applejack, the mare got up and stretched. "Yeah. What'd ya do?" "I just figured one of your bones might have been out of place." Fluttershy figured. "I think now you'll be able to move easier." "Thanks Fluttershah." Applejack smiled. "No-" Fluttershy said. She stopped, looking horrifically behind Applejack at the other side of the room, at the corner in which Specter lay... or at least he was lying. Now, he was sitting up on his flank, smiling as he looked at the two mares. "Good morning ladies." he said. "What the hay... ya were d-" "Dead? Yes, I find that to be a bit of a problem around here now a days." Specter said. "Did you know that this manor's filled with ghosts? I tell you, what pests." As Fluttershy hid behind Applejack, the apple bucking mare got into a battle ready position. "Ah don't know wha's goin on around 'ere, but you we got some questions for you." "Ah, questions, questions. Those are also quite common around here." he grinned. "Especially from a nosy little white filly-" "Don'tcha dare talk about Sweetie." Applejack said. "Now, you gonna talk, or do I gotta beat th' answers out of ya." "It's funny, really. Death?" Specter said getting up on his flank. "Every pony I've come across seems to see it as... I'm not sure what to call it, unfamiliarity? They pretend it doesn't exist... at least until it just happens to some pony close to them." Specter went over to one of the mirrored dressers and looked inside. Seeing as there was nothing in there, he closed it back. "But the really funny part, is that your friends... are about to realize how real their deaths are." "W-what are you talking about?" Fluttershy asked quietly. "Oh my dear, nothing important." Specter said. "...aside from the fact that while you two are sitting here, touching each other, your friends are either dead, or dying as we speak." he gave the two mares another sickly grin. "And I do believe... you two are next." Applejack had enough. She leaped at the stallion, and attempted to kick him in the face. Specter dodged to the side of the mare as she turned around to throw a punch. Specter caught it out of the air. As they struggled, Specter gave one final smile to the mare. "And this, my dear guest... is where the lights go out." Specter said. Before any pony in the room could do anything, Specter's horn glowed. The humming of the walls stopped, and the lights in the room went out. In the darkness, Applejack let go of Specter, standing back from him. She lost him in the pitch black of the room. "Goodbye, Element." The room filled with laughter. The only other sound that was evident in the room was a small "Eep!" from Fluttershy, as ghosts began swarming the room. *** Gilda leaned up against the wall of one of the many generic bedrooms of the mansion. She had her eyes closed, catching a few moments of sleep as she waited for one ghost in particular. Now that she had fulfilled her orders, she had nothing to do at the moment. As she leaned against the wall, she only thought of the plan Specter had to capture all of the mares. She didn't really pay much attention... all she knew was that once his plan was all said and done, she'd get the chance to re-ghostify, the two mares that had caught her interest. For now, she just waited for Spiffy to come and tell her if the plan was almost finished. Gilda opened her eyes, looking out through the window of the bedroom. She saw the front of the mansion, along with the trees that stretched across the landscape. She could vaguely see Ponyville touching the horizon from her vantage point... but then she also saw something else. It glimmered in the moonlight, unlike any star should have. Using her naturally acquired eagle vision, she saw that it was in fact a chariot... and from the golden designs along the sides, it was easy to tell it was a royal chariot. Flying alongside, the griffon could vaguely make out the three tight wearing Wonderbolts. Gilda grinned. "About time we saw some action." she mumbled getting off of the wall. Gilda was ready to fly out the window to intercept the chariot, before Spiffy phased through the wall. "Griffon." the butler said. Gilda sighed, as she got out of her pre-flight position. "What do you want?" she asked annoyed. Spiffy raised a brow as he floated in front of Gilda, blocking her path to the outside. "I just wanted you to know that we have them. In the tea room." "Pft. Took you long enough." Gilda said. "Might I ask where you were going." Gilda crossed her eagle arms. "I was going to keep those guards from ruining Specter's... whatever." She pointed out the window, in which Spiffy looked. "I wouldn't expect you to see old-" "I see them." Spiffy said, turning back to the griffon. One side effect of being a ghost was heightened senses after all. "So what? You want them to just show up and ruin everything? Or do you want me to get at them now." Gilda asked. Spiffy shook his head. "Two weeks you've been working with us, and you still don't know how Specter runs things." Spiffy sighed. "No. I want you to... down them. Get them out of the air... without them knowing there's anypony trying to kill them." "Why?" Gilda asked. "Seems kind of pointless if they're gonna find out about us anyway." "Two reasons, Ms. Gilda." Spiffy said, floating around her. "Number one, think. If one. JUST one, figures out that there are ghosts, or something seriously wrong with this mansion, we'll have the whole Equestian army on Specter's tail. We wouldn't want that, would we?" "We've got ghosts. You can't beat that." Gilda argued. "You over-estimate the power of such a small number of ghosts. Two hundred at the most." Spiffy explained. "Who's to say if ponies knew what they were dealing with, that they wouldn't try to create another GCD. We don't need more of Ms. Belle running around." Gilda rolled her eyes. "And two... they're Mr. Specter's orders. He doesn't want the threat to be evident until our guests are locked up tight in his little abode." "I'd take them down before they'd even figure out what was happening." Gilda said. "This seems kind of-" "Listen to me griffon." Spiffy said harshly. "I... am above you. I might be a pony servant, and friend but only to Specter. But to you? Until you get your ends of the bargain, don't act like you have any power over us. Know your place. You will do as Specter and I say... or would you like to join the same fate as the Elements and their little fillies?" Gilda squinted angrily. "Get out of my face." "Do we have an understanding?" he asked, floating away from Gilda. "...what do you want me to do, Butler?" Gilda asked. Spiffy floated to the window, and looked out at the incoming guards. "You? Nothing. I do however want you to instruct our Princess Luna to cast some type of spell. One that will keep our guard friends from getting any further by chariot. To make it so they have to walk here." Spiffy floated back over to the door leading to the exit of the room. "And you? Where the hay are you headed off to?" Gilda asked. "I'm... headed off to attend to a little... unfinished business." Spiffy said, giving the griffon a ghostly grin before heading out of the door. *** Sweetie walked with Spike down the long hallway. She wasn't sure how long she'd been walking, but she didn't mind it. She had Spike, who kept his scaly arm around her, guiding her as they walked closely together. The oddest thing... she didn't have her flashlight, or her GCD, or even her saddlebags to protect herself with. Besides Applejack's had on her head, the filly was completely exposed. Still though, she had her new dragon friend, Spike to keep her safe, right? Of course she did. He seemed to care enough. It was easily to tell every time he kissed her on her cheek. The kisses felt numb... as though they weren't there. Like they were in a dream... then again, so did everything else around the filly. So dreamlike... maybe that was why she wasn't scared. That made sense... maybe all of this was a dream? Maybe she'd eventually wake up in her bed, Rarity by the side, and they'd both just laugh off the nightmare like sisters should... sisters did that, right? Sweetie looked over to Spike... he had a blank stare on his face, just like the filly... but even then, he still smiled at the filly. What a good dragon friend he was... if this was a dream, maybe when she woke up, she'd head over to the library again... maybe take out another novel to get a conversation started with the dragon... maybe Applebloom's crush was just a dream, and she could have Spike all to herself without feeling guilty. That sounded right... besides, even if the crush wasn't a dream, Applebloom never tried to make an advance to the dragon anyway. Between the library, and the dragon's constant visit's to Rarity's Boutique, she was sure that she'd have a better chance than her friend... For a brief moment, Sweetie wondered if it wasn't a dream... then what was she doing? She was being with Spike, that's what. The way he held her made her feel safe. He was a dragon, right? She was sure that was right... that meant that he had fire, and could protect them if any ghosts tried to hurt her. He would protect her right? Of course he would. He was her dragon friend, and she was his filly friend. Sweetie barely noticed that there were some dogs walking alongside the two of them. They glowed red and were transparent... Sweetie was sure that they were the horrible K-9 ghosts that had tried to kill her earlier that night. For a moment, Sweetie got scared, but she was reminded not to be as Spike held her closer again, and proceeded to kiss her. He was protecting her... it was the only reason Sweetie could process of why the ghost dogs weren't attacking her. He was such a good and protective dragon. The best dragon friend a mare could ask for... did many mares have dragon friends anyway? It seemed kind of weird when Sweetie first heard about the crush from Scootaloo and saw it in Applebloom... but now, it didn't seem to crazy. Now, Sweetie saw even mares like her sister, Rarity, who'd had Spike eating out of the palm of her hooves, as crazy for not seizing the dragon's heart when they had the chance. Sweetie looked forward to see the glowing figure at the end of the hallway. Was it Spiffy? Yes, she was sure that it was him. Sweetie got scared again, seeing the ghost at the end of the hallway. Spike is protecting you Sweetie. Spiffy whispered. It's fine... relax... "Spike is protecting me... I need to relax..." Sweetie mumbled in a mono-toned whisper. Sweetie, Spike and the two ghost dogs stopped in front of Spiffy. Spike let go of Sweetie as she got scared again, given the dragon who'd been protecting her had just stepped to the side. He's here Sweetie. You don't have to worry, your safe here. Spiffy whispered. It's fine... relax... "Spike's still here... everything's fine..." Sweetie mumbled. Good... good... Spiffy whispered. It's fine... relax... it's fine... relax... the butler continued to whisper as he approached the filly. Sweetie didn't know what was so out of place here. Everything was fine... Spike was there, the ghosts weren't attacking her... the only thing that seemed kind of weird was the ghost that was opening her mouth and reaching down her throat...
Chapter 21- The StablevilleSweetie wasn't sure where she was or where she was going... all she knew was that she had to keep moving forward along the path. It wasn't as though she had any other choice in that case. The filly didn't see or hear any immediate towns nearby, and the thicket of trees along the path made it difficult to see far. All she could see was the direct path above the trail she was walking along, and the far distance in front of her. This doesn't make any sense... Sweetie thought. She knew that she was still in the mansion... she had to be. Before setting out on her venture, she took note that her GCD, saddlebags, and even her hat were gone. For a split second, she wondered if all of her experiences had just been a dream... but then she saw that she still had the cutie marks of her friends on her. There was no other explanation for them... right? Maybe there is... Maybe there's an explanation for them that actually makes sense. Maybe it was a- Sweetie shook the voice from her head as she walked. It had been whispering notations that she just refused to believe. She refused to be tricked for the umpteenth time that night. It was night right? The filly was beginning to forget that in the real world, the moon was still up... opposed to the sun, which seemed to be close to setting... What makes you so sure this isn't the real world? "Shut up..." Sweetie mumbled under her breath. The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place who it was. Still, she kept getting that feeling that one gets trying to remember the name of an old friend, but can't quite reach it... or maybe it was an old enemy... You don't have any enemies Sweetie... You’re the most friendly filly around... even if you are a little delusional... "I'm not crazy." Sweetie said flatly. "And quit talking to me. You’re not real, and I'm not going to believe a word you say." The whisper remained silent this time, and it actually scared Sweetie more now that it was gone. As they usually did on the rare occasions the voice stopped talking, her ears felt plugged from the world as everything was deathly silent. She felt alone again... but shouldn't she have been used to that by now, after traversing the many hallways of the mansion? The familiarization with loneliness was suddenly... escaping her. As if all of her experience was starting to slip away from her... What experience? It's just doing what dreams do. Slipping away.... Sweetie suddenly felt dizzy. She stumbled off to the side of the path and leaned up against a tree. The world seemed to drift around her, making her dizzy... until it finally stabilized again. The whisper was gone... Her ears perked up as the whisper sound was replaced with the serine nature sounds of birds happily chirping in the trees around her and the slight wooshing of wind. There was one sound in particular that surprised her. Clop, clop, clop, clop... Followed by the sound of wheels turning and crunching into the dirt path. It was the sound of some kind of cart transportation. She knew that sound better than any filly she had made acquaintance with... Sweetie turned around to see that her suspicions were correct. It was an Equestrian taxi, headed towards her. Sweetie felt a small part of her that wanted to run from the vehicle that seemed to appear out of nowhere... but then again, maybe it was simply that she didn’t hear it coming. After all, just like every other sound, it just came into form once the whispering had stopped. Whether or not it was her ears, or the world itself that was playing tricks on her, she decided to stay. What she saw was, not a ghost, nor any evil pony... but rather a friend. A good friend with a red coat, light gamboge mane, and green eyes. "B-big Mac?" Sweetie said. She didn't say it loud enough for the stallion to hear her, but just enough for herself. She was somewhat awestruck. She couldn't believe it. What was he doing in the mansion? This... was the mansion, right? Sweetie closed her eyes and tried to remember what had happened before she woke up on the trail... but for the life of her, she couldn't. It was just... impossible. As though those last moments were ripped out of her memory... or didn't exist to begin with. The filly did however come up with some explanation for the stallion's sudden appearance. After all, among the other ponies of Ponyville, Pinkie had already created that illusion at the circus that the stallion was there... of course there, he was also a ghost, and laughing or booing at her. She knew that was an illusion, so this must have been another. It had to be! This time was different though. He seemed... normal. Same silent expression she'd come to expect on the stallion’s face as he worked... if he were some kind of ghost in disguise... wouldn't he be laughing, grinning, or at least smiling? The filly remained cemented to her spot until finally, the Big Mac slowed to a stop, the cart with him. The large stallion stood over the filly, looking down at her with that emotionless stare of his. "Li’l filly." He said in his normal southern tone. "Could ya kindly move out of th' rode?" Sweetie continued to stare, hypnotized by his gaze... "Mr. Cabbie... why have we stopped? Is there something wrong?" a voice said through an open window of the taxi. A very familiar voice. Sweetie snapped out of her stupor and looked around. She didn't see another pony in the area. Could the voice have been talking to some pony else in the taxi? "No ma'm. Jus' a little filly in th' road." Big Mac responded. D-did he just get called Mr. Cabbie? Sweetie thought. She could have sworn his name was Big Mac... was this stallion his twin or something? "A filly? This far out of town?" the voice said. Sweetie was positive she knew this voice. It almost sounded like... like... The taxi door opened and a mare stuck her head out. It... was her... it was HER! The white coat, the purple mane, the blue eyes, it was HER! "Rarity!" Sweetie exclaimed, running around the side of the cart over to the mare. About half way, she stopped. What am I doing? Am I crazy?! Sweetie knew this had to be some kind of trap... it had to be. She wasn't going to fall for it... she wasn't... The mare had a look of concern for the filly. "Dear? What are you doing so far away from Stabletown?" Stabletown? Sweetie thought. Hopping out of the taxi, Rarity confronted Big Mac. "Cabbie! You would have just passed this little filly, wouldn't you?" Rarity asked angrily. Big Mac tried to keep his expression strait, and unintimidated by the mare. "Well, th' way ah see it, she musta gott'n out here fine by 'erself. Plus, ah don't see her askin' or payin' no bits for a ride. Side's, ya got enough passengers. Ya don't need ta stuff no more." Though the stallion spoke like the Big Mac she knew, he didn't... act like the Big Mac she knew. The Big Macintosh she knew wouldn't have been requiring bits to give a filly a ride... and what was he doing giving taxi rides anyway? Wasn't he an applebucker? "Oh hush you. She won't make it anywhere far before sun down. And we've got plenty of room." Rarity said. "Ah still don't see no bits." Big Mac pointed out. Rarity grumbled something before heading back into the taxi. Her flank stuck out of the door, as she bent over to get something inside. After a few moments of fishing around, the came back, holding a sack of bits in her teeth. Once she was back over by the stallion, she used her magic to telekinetically float the bag in front of her and float about 6 bits into the satchel around the red stallion's abdomen. "Happy?" she spat. "...Alri', th' little filly c'n ride." Big Mac said. "Come along Deary." Rarity said, walking back to the open door. Sweetie stayed put. Rarity looked back at the filly curiously. "Is there something wrong?" the mare asked with concern. Sweetie didn't want to go in the taxi with the mare. It was probably some kind of trap Spiffy or Specter had set up in the mansion... at least that's what she figured. Briefly, Sweetie looked around her and saw how thin her options were. Just like she said, there didn't appear to be any real civilization anywhere around her, or at least within any conceivable walking distance... only somepony who was used to such travel would get to... wherever in a decent amount of time. Somepony like Big Mac... or in this case, Cabbie. If Sweetie was going anywhere, it was by the taxi. "O-ok..." Sweetie said reluctantly, walking to the door of the taxi. Rarity helped Sweetie up into the seat as she entered herself and closed the door. "Hello little filly how are you?" a zebra Sweetie recognizable to be Zecora. "I see you are headed off to Stabletown too?" "I-I guess..." Sweetie said as the Big Mac began pulling the taxi down the road. Not like I've got much choice now anyway... Sweetie wasn't sure what it was. Something about the presence of both her sister and her zebra friend was odd. Sure, it was random for either of them to show up, but... there was something about the way they acted. Maybe it was the fact that they weren't trying to deceive her with friendship. Rather than acting like her friends they acted like... strangers. Excluding Big Mac, but strangers none the less, as though she didn't really know these ponies. Maybe it was the kindness itself that put Sweetie on edge, expecting to be ambushed by a plethora of ghosts should she let her guard down... or maybe it was the strange disoriented feeling she got every time she looked into either of their eyes... *** Twilight shut her eyes and focused as hard as she could. The stress she was putting in trying to flow magic to her horn was evident as a small vein popped from her head. After a few moments of strain on her body's magical flow, she sighed and opened her eyes. "No luck?" Pinkie asked. Twilight shook her head. "I still need more time to re-charge." Twilight sighed. "C'mon Twi. You never had trouble doing that magic stuff before." Rainbow argued. "That's also when I had my cutie mark..." Twilight sighed. "Now that my talent's fading... I'm losing my ability to automatically generate magic." "Really? I thought unicorns always did that." Fluttershy said. "I mean... whenever we visited Rarity, she never ran out of magic, and it wasn't even her talent! ... I-I'm sorry." Twilight shook her head. "It's fine, but... usually, a unicorn is asleep by now. Without rest, my magic won't recharge... and it's hard to do it any other way." Twilight sighed. "So what... ya too tired to use magic now?" Applejack asked. Twilight nodded. "Pretty much, yes... only way I could use magic now is with rest or my cutie mark... Spike." Twilight turned back to the dragon who stood by the door, clutching the GCD in his claws. "Please, listen. You’re not yourself. You've been hypnotized, o-or something! You've got to snap out of it!" Spike didn't respond. He continued to stare blankly at his friends. "It ain't no use." Applejack sighed. "Whatever Gilda er Specter's done ta 'im, they got 'im good." "Twi, you’re smart though." Rainbow said. "Don't you know anything about hypnotizing, or some mind control magic?" "I... forget." Twilight sighed. "You forget?" Pinkie asked. "How? You’re like, the most elephant brained filly I know! How could you forget?" Twilight shook her head. "Probably has something to do with my cutie mark being gone. Magic and comprehension of all the subjects related to it were all attributes of my talent. I know I learned something about mind control somewhere... but I can't remember any useful details." Twilight explained. "Now... I'm useless." She looked down depressed. "Aw, don't say that Twi." Pinkie said, giving her friend a smile. "You’re totally useful.” Twilight didn't bother looking up. "Doing what? I let Sweetie go out on her own and now she's probably..." Twilight trailed off. "... and now, I can't even help my friends with my useless horn. Because of that, we're all gonna..." "We're gonna be fine." Rainbow reassured. She repositioned herself in her bonds against the tea table. "And you’re not useless. If you weren’t there, I probably would’ve gotten my soul sucked out or something." "But Sweetie..." Twilight started. "And I bet she's fine too." Rainbow assured. "Yeah! You shoulda seen her when we got attacked." Applebloom added. "She's really good at kicking ghost flank! She's almost as cool as Dash!" Scootaloo added. "I bet she's somewhere, coming up with some amazing plan to sa-" Suddenly, the tea room door swung open, revealing a little dirty filly, wearing an oversized rancher's hat over a poofy mulberry mane. She looked at the mares with her big green eyes. "G-guys?" Sweetie said, as she walked into the room. Twilight sighed in relief. "Sweetie. Thank Celestia you’re ok." "W-what's going on?" Sweetie asked as she made her way to Twilight. She ignored Spike, who simply continued to stare at the mares as though the filly hadn't even entered the room. "Why are you tied up like this? Are you all hurt?" "We're fine kid." Rainbow smiled. "But don't worry about us. Where the hay did you go?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie looked at Applebloom and smiled. For a moment, every mare could have sworn it twitched. "Does it matter? I'm not the one tied up, right?" "I guess..." Applebloom said. "But what about Spike? You and him-" Pinkie started. Sweetie waved a hoof to silence her. "We got separated. What can I say?" Sweetie smiled. "But..." Pinkie trailed off. She knew something was wrong about the filly's behavior. "I'm fine..." Sweetie said. "But where'd you go after you got separated?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie stood in front of Twilight and stared at her. She stared at her. "...Sweetie?" Pinkie asked. "Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" Twilight asked. After a few moments, Sweetie blinked. "Where I went... oh, no where important. Just somewhere I could go for a little-" without warning, Sweetie raised her hoof and slapped Twilight across the face. "assimilation!" "Sweetie!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "Wha' th' hay'd you do that for?" Applejack exclaimed. Sweetie began to laugh insanely. "Oh no..." Pinkie said. With Twilight lying back on her side in her bonds, she was the first to see the change in the filly 's eyes. Rather than their normal green color, they had transitioned to the sickly glowing yellow. They turned to Pinkie Pie, who stared back in horror. "You’re not Sweetie." "Oh my Pinkamina." Sweetie shook her head. Her voice changed to a twisted fusion of a grown stallion's voice and the filly's own normal one. It was as though two ponies were talking at once. "I'm saddened you didn't realize that sooner. Between the trances and the utter hopelessness of your current situation, I'd think the fact Ms. Belle is gone would be... quite evident by now." "Who the hay are you then?!" Rainbow asked angrily. She struggled in her bonds, as she watched Twilight lie motionless on the ground. "Hm, let me think." Sweetie took a moment to think before looking back at Rainbow. She chuckled. "I do believe you futilely tried to hit me out of the air. Am I correct?" "You’re... you’re that butler guy, aren't you?" Sweetie gave a loud cackle and bowed. "Spiffy Butler, at your service. And I do believe... it's almost time to start our little game." "G-game?" Pinkie asked. "Of course. After your shenanigans with your... oh, what was it you called it... your ‘Ping-Pong Sing-a-Long’, yesterday evening, I'd imagine you would enjoy such activities I have planned." Pinkie opened her mouth to speak, but Applejack intruded. "She don't want no part in any a yer 'games'." Sweetie chuckled. "Oh, I doubt that... by the way, Ms. Pie. How's that nausea treating you? Make any comments to the author lately?" At the mention of it, Pinkie felt like vomiting again, much like she did back in the safe room at the mention of him. Sweetie gave another chuckle. "Excelent... It shouldn't be long now. Now all we need to do is wait for that lazy good for nothing griffon to show up with the princess, and we can get this little activity underway... I only hope for your sake that the princess cares as much for you as the mare I..." Sweetie went over to make sure that Twilight was still alive. Surprisingly enough, the little filly had managed to knock her out. "... mistakenly rendered unconscious..." "W-what do you mean?" Fluttershy asked hesitantly. Sweetie shook her head. "Don't worry. You'll learn soon enough what's in store for you. We’ll also find out how much pain tollerance you have." Sweetie laughed as she walked over to Spike. “Applejack, what do you think she means by that?” Fluttershy asked feafully. Applejack shrugged unsurely. Sweetie’s voice changed back to the childish filly everypony knew and loved. "And how are you doing, Spiky-wikey?" Sweetie said, using the term the filly had heard Rarity use some time ago. Spike snapped out of his trance at the sound of the nickname. "Oh Sweetie! I didn't see you come in." Spike said, turning to the filly. "Y-you look really pretty today." Sweetie giggled. "Thanks." She gave Spike a quick kiss on the cheek. Spike's tail briefly erected in excitement. "Er... I have something for you." Spike said. "I-I hope you like it." Sweetie raised an eyebrow. "Something for me?" she asked. Her eyes went to the GCD he was clutching. The "Oh!" she gave sounded more like it she'd forgotten that she was supposed to receive the device, rather than one of surprise... Spike held out the GCD to Sweetie. "Can I help you put it on?" he asked politely. "Okay." Sweetie smiled. Spike walked around to Sweetie's back and helped her put on the saddlebags that were attached to the GCD. Though, once the GCD made contact with the filly's back, something strange happened. The GCD's red and green lights had all changed to yellow. "Huh. That's kind of cool" Spike said, staring at the now blinking yellow lights. "Hm? What is?" Sweetie asked, who couldn't see the lights as immediately. Beep...Beep...Beep... The GCD was starting to beep quietly, just loud enough for anypony within a few feet could hear. Finally, the GCD said something that scared the filly. Warning. Possessed Hunter. Warning. Keep caution around- Before the GCD could say anymore, Sweetie quickly threw off the saddlebags and GCD over to the other side of the room. "What the hay..." She said breathlessly, unable to bury Spiffy’s voice under the filly's normal one. The intense fear could be seen in her yellow eyes, keeping her from controlling her voice... "What happened? Are you ok?" Spike asked. "I'm sorry Sweetie. I'm sorry..." He went over to Sweetie and began stroking her, in an effort to comfort her. The filly seemed to be oblivious to Spike's affections. All she could keep thinking was... What the hay was that... That wasn't supposed to happen... *** Despite the massive combination of weight between three ponies and the taxi itself, Big Mac... or Cabbie, as he liked to be called, seemed to pull the transport at a much greater pace than any normal pony's walking speed. Sweetie couldn't bear imagining the stallion's normal walking speed was, let alone his running speed. She sat in between Zecora and Rarity silently as they rode, on every occasion coming over a large bump that might make one of them respond with an "Oof". Otherwise, the ride was awkwardly quiet, as every so often, either Zecora or Rarity would glance at the filly. Finally, Rarity spoke. "Dear?" Sweetie tried to pretend that she didn't hear her, hoping she'd just go back to looking out the window... as if that would do any good. "Dear," she repeated. "You've been awfully quiet. Is something the matter?" The filly didn't want to speak to the mare. She knew that either she wasn't real, or that she was trying to deceive her in some way. Then again, the voice sounded so sincere... so like Rarity, that she couldn't help but offer another response. "Y-yeah, I'm ok." Sweetie said, not daring to look at the mare. "Are you sure that all is well? Your head looks like you must have fell." Zecora said, offering the filly her own attention. "M-my head?" Sweetie asked. Zecora reached a hoof out to touch the top of her head. Sweetie darted her eye over to the mare. Zecora snapped her hoof back, getting the message that the filly didn't want to be touched by the zebra mare. "Dear, we only want to help you." Rarity said. "Please let us..." Her voice was so soothing... Sweetie didn't notice as Zecora reached again into Sweetie' head, moving the hairs around before. "Ow!" Sweetie jumped as she felt a tender spot atop her head. "As I thought you have endured some drama. What has caused this cranial trauma?" Zecora asked. Sweetie didn't answer. She knew they knew what had caused it... but then again, Sweetie wished she knew herself... "I... don't remember." Sweetie said truthfully. No matter how hard she thought, she couldn't remember anything having to do with hitting her head earlier... in fact, she couldn't remember anything past waking up barely a few minutes earlier! At least nothing concrete. She could remember ponies she knew, and a few events from her past that stuck out in her mind... but nothing solid enough for her to claim she remembered... it was as though none of them existed, and she'd just imagined them up out of some delusion. No! I didn't imagine anything! Remember the cutie marks! They're proof!... right? "Aw... poor dear. Amnesia and cutie pox. I wish I could help you more..." "Amnesia... yeah, lets go with that. A-and cutie pox?" Sweetie asked. "Of course dear... that is what you have, right?" Rarity asked. Sweetie knew what cutie pox was of course. It was the very same rare, and thought to be eradicated disease. Her friend, Applebloom had contracted from her own desire to have a cutie mark... that and the help of Zecora's own "Heart's Desire" concoction. It was odd to hear it brought up like it was some common disease... was it? "I-I guess." Sweetie said. Rarity shook her head. "I suppose it was a matter of time before Stabletown was the one to be hit with the plague." "P-plauge?" Sweetie asked. “You mean that’s common around here?” "My, little filly. Have you not heard? There's been many magical diseases that have taken off like birds." Zecora explained. Rarity nodded in agreement. "Just about everywhere in Equestira, and the entire world had been hit so far." she glanced at Zecora. "Even the Zebra Nations. Why, I wasn't even aware ponies could get Cutie Pox, especially with the other diseases they could get, such as chocoestacia, aquaedema, babema disorders... and cutie pox seems to be one of the most common of them. I was hoping I could help my friend, Xina, escape from such horrors in Stabletown..." "Xina? Who's that?" Sweetie asked. Rarity chuckled. "I apologize little filly. I haven't introduced myself or my friend yet, have I?" "Um, I think I might..." Sweetie started, but trailed off. She was going to tell how she already knew the mares... but they didn't appear to know her. She assumed that it would have sounded crazy if she said she knew the ponies that supposedly never met her before. "Well, I am Jewely Axinite, owner of the Rose Valley Showroom, Stabletown's best... and erm... only perfume, jewelry and dress store." "A-axinite?" Sweetie repeated. The name sounded familiar... did she hear it somewhere before? It was around this time she noticed the lovely fragrance she had. "And that is a zebra friend of mine, Xina," she said, pointing over to the zebra at the other side of Sweetie. She smiled and gave a small wave. "She's my supplier for most of the exotic plants I use in my perfumes... you may have noticed one I'm wearing right now? Most of the supplies I used to make it came from her." "Zeena?" Sweetie emphasized, mostly out of disbelief. Rarity... or rather, Ms. Axinite smiled and nodded. "That's right." That... that can't be right! Her name's Rarity! RARITY! And Zecora! What the hay is going on around here?! Sweetie thought in a panicked manner. Just calm down Sweetie. That's probably what Specter wants you to do, right? He want's you to panic. He wants you to get off your guard. Can't do that. Can't panic... "Dear?" Axinite asked, bringing the filly out of thought. "I... don't believe you told us your name... I mean if you wouldn't mind..." Sweetie didn't see the harm in saying her name. If she was ensnared in some kind of trap, it wouldn't have made much difference. "My name... Sweetie... Belle." she said. It was odd. She knew that the name she'd just uttered was her own... but somehow, it felt foreign to her. Like she was talking about another filly, rather than herself... like the name itself was a dream, along with everything attached to it... Silence befell the taxi before finally- "Ah! We're almost here." Axinite said happily. Sweetie's awareness was definitely diminishing, as it seemed as though the entire environment had changed entirely. Rather than the woods of the path, everything was now stone. Stone houses, stone streets... and ponies were all walking around, running their own errands and business affairs. They weren’t in the same woodland area Sweetie had been found in, but instead, a hustling bustling town. It was official, they were definitely in Stabletown. The environment and architecture of the buildings looked very similar to the painting she'd seen before going to fight Rainbow Dash. It all felt like she'd just jumped right into that exact portrait... minus the fact that every pony, buffalo, or griffon she saw resembled someone she'd met at some point in her life... or at least had been told about. All of them wore some kind of dress or suit she'd imagined somepony like Rarity making... or some kind of brown village rag. The filly felt like she could name everyone the taxi passed by... though after coming to terms with the fact she wasn't sitting next to Rarity or Zecora, she doubted it would matter. Of everything that caught her eye however, the biggest sight of interest she noticed was the massive mansion looming over the town. From a glance, it was obvious that this was Yield Manor... but... wasn't she supposed to be inside of the monster of a mansion? What the hay was going on? Where was she? "Here we are..." Axinite said as the taxi came to a stop. Her and Sweetie looked outside of the taxi to see a stone building, vaguely resembling the Carousel Boutique... it was the Carousel, right? Sweetie was having trouble remembering what it looked like... d id the original two windows in front of the building have glass art of a perfume container, surrounded by jewels and roses like the ones in front of her? Were the support beams surrounding the Boutique the same colors of candy canes like the building she sat in front of now? Or were they a different color... she knew it was different... but she couldn't distinguish the differences... why? What was so wrong with her memory that she couldn't remember the second home she'd spent nearly half of her time in...? "Xina, would you be a dear and help me unpack the supplies from the back of the taxi." "Of course I'll assist you Ms. Axinite. I know you working alone isn't a pretty sight..." Xina smiled. "Thank you. It's not like that lazy stallion up there is going to help at all." Axinite rolled her eyes. Cabbie glanced back at the mare, but didn't say a word before waiting for them to exit the vehicle. Both Xina and Axinite moved out of the taxi leaving Sweetie alone in the taxi. "Little filly?" Cabby said shortly. "When ya git to ya stop, ya supposed ta git out." "Oh hush you." Axinite glared at the stallion. "Come along Sweetie dear." Axinite held out a hoof to help her out of the taxi. T his time, Sweetie found herself much more comfortable taking the helping-hoof. The filly was less thinking about the possibility of there being a trap, or getting ambushed. Instead, she was starting to trust the mare without thinking, and it was starting to scare her. Why couldn't she think straight or keep the paranoia alive? Sweetie looked around. She didn't see Xina anywhere. "Um... where did-" "Xina? She went into the showroom to start taking a few items in..." Axinite trailed off. "Sweetie... if you don't mind my asking... you never told us what you were doing so far outside of Stabletown... you aren't running away from home, are you?" "O-of course not. Um..." Sweetie tried to think of some excuse. It would have been impossible for her to explain what had happened to her. The filly also knew that she couldn't go with the lie of running away. She knew if she'd been caught trying to run away, she would likely get taken to the authorities. She already had that experience once and knew she would have a hard time moving around to escape this world if she was in custody of any form of pony police. She thought for a second... "I... I came to see the mansion... f-from a nearby town. Not too far from here," Sweetie said. Axinite looked at Sweetie strangely for a few moments... as though she was sensing that she was lying to an extent. Finally, it looked as though a lightbulb went off in her head. "Oh! You must be talking about the house party this evening." "House party? I mean yeah! House party!" Sweetie grinned. "That's what I came for." "Oh, how splendid then!" Axinite smiled. "I wasn't aware the Yield was inviting anyone outside of Stabletown. You have a ticket?" "Ticket... I mean, yeah! Of course I have ticket." Axinite's face went sideways. "Hm... I don't see anything on your person to carry said ticket..." "Someone in the town is holding it for me." Sweetie explained. "A-a friend from inside the town." "Oh... and I suppose you'd best be off to retrieve it, right?" Axinite asked. "Y-yeah." Sweetie said. "Well... I won't hold you up then." Axinite smiled. "Just... let me know if you need anything. I'd be more than happy to help you in any way..." Sweetie smiled. "Thanks Ms. Axinite." Ms. Axinite smiled and left the filly to retrieve another box from the back of the taxi, and entered the showroom. Sweetie sighed, and began walking toward the mansion. Thankfully, Rose Valley was just down the path from the massive mansion, joining a string of shops and houses that led to its gates. She figured if there was any way she would escape this world she was having a harder and harder time remembering it wasn't real, the mansion would hold the key. It had to... after all, it was her only lead. As Sweetie made her way to the gate she continued to pass by familiar looking ponies. She noted not all of them were ones she met before... but had at least heard about. There was a shop that sold quills, paper, and other writing materials that seemed to be owned by Carrot Top. There was a puppet stand, with a show being performed by the Spa Ponies. There was a baking shop owned by Chief Thunderhooves... There was even a stand that sold nuts that was controlled by Gilda! Of all the shops she passed by on her way to the mansion gate, everypony she saw, she was somewhat familiar with... but besides Axinite, all of them completely contradicted their talents and skills that were implanted in Sweetie's head... but the odd thing was, that none of them had the correct cutie mark, rather one that matched their new profession. For example, Daisy and her two flower girls, Lily and Rose, were... rather than attending to their flower shop and garden, were building a new shop next to another one. To complement their new profession, they each had a construction cutie mark. Sweetie had already assumed that they wouldn't go by the names she had come to know them by after the encounter with Axinite and Xina... but curiosity got the better of her. She broke off her path to the mansion and walked over to the three dirty looking mares. "E-excuse me." Sweetie said nervously. The mares didn't look or respond to her. Sweetie tried again. "EXCUSE ME!" she said much more loudly. Though Lily and Rose didn't respond to the filly, and seemed to be intentionally ignoring her, Daisy turned from a brick she was setting. "What'cho want?" the mare asked. It sounded like the Daisy she knew... somewhat. The mare spoke in Daisy's voice, however it sounded like... she was pretending to be a stallion. She changed her voice for it to sound somewhat deeper. "Can't you see we're in the middle of somethin'?" "S-sorry." Sweetie said. "I was... just curious of what your name was." "The hay do you need my name for?" the mare asked. "E-er... just um... curious?" Sweetie said. "I'm a little new here and I um... wanted to get to know a few ponies is all." The mare glared at the filly, annoyed that she'd interrupted her for something so stupid. Sweetie smiled sheepishly, hoping that the mare wasn't going to knock her block off right then and there. "... the name's Bronze Bricks. Happy?" "Bronze Bricks?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah. Why? You got a problem with it?" "No! Of course not but I was kind of... expecting something a little more... feminine." The stallion crossed his eyes. Did Sweetie say something wrong? "What you tryin' to say filly?" "Er, I mean... y-your a mare right? I just thought-" The grown mare pushed the filly back. She nearly fell onto her flank to the ground. "Little filly, I don't care how new yeh are, but I ain't gonna take no pony calling me a mare." N-not a mare then? What is she... a stallion? Sweetie thought as the mare glared at her. It seemed that some ponies in this world weren't exactly the gender they appeared to be at the eye. Rather than being the real Daisy, or a mare with a different name, she was just an entirely different pony in the shell of some pony Sweetie knew... or at least thought she knew. "S-sorry. My mistake. I didn't mean to offend you." Sweetie said, trying to keep the angry mare stallion from beating her to a pulp. Sweetie began backing away shyly. "I'll just get going. Sorry." The filly then bolted off in the opposite direction of the angry magenta pony. Sweetie ran so fast, fear fueling her speed that she forgot to look in front of her- "Oof!" Sweetie said as her head collided with the head of another pony around her size and age. This time, Sweetie fell onto her flank, along with the other pony in front of her. She shook her head clearing the dizziness the collision has caused. Once her eyes stopped rolling in her head, she found herself faced with the most unlikely of all ponies. "Pipsqueak?" Sweetie blurted out. The other pony seemed to still be getting his... or her bearings. He shook his head in the same manner as Sweetie, regaining control of his swimming world to stare at the filly. The two awkwardly stared at eachother for a few minutes before Sweetie spoke up. "U-um sorry about that. Wasn't looking where I was going." "What?" he asked. He seemed to still be in some kind of daze. "O-oh! No! It's my bad! Really!" the Pipsqueak lookalike scrambled to his feet. Before Sweetie could have the chance to do it herself, he was over by Sweetie's side, helping her back up onto her hooves. "Er... thanks." Sweetie smiled. Well, whoever this is is really nice... "No problem!" He said, looking off to the side. He blushed. "Colts like me always like to help pretty fillies like you." "H-huh?" Sweetie said, caught off guard. She took a step back. Pipsqueak immediately noticed that the filly was awe struck and nervous to the stranger colt's sudden advance. "N-no, I'm sorry. Heh... didn't mean to..." the colt laughed nervously before looking down, as if to think for a moment. After a few seconds, he snapped his head back up. "Let's start over. My name's Little." "Little?" Sweetie said, regaining her bearings. "Yeah. Little Squee, at your service madame." Squee bowed fancily. "Er... My name's Sweetie. Sweetie Belle." Sweetie said, giving a little bow of her own. "I'm new here." "This is your first time in Stabletown?" Squee asked. "Y-yeah." Sweetie said. "Figures." Squee smiled. "I couldn't imagine missing a filly as beautiful and majestic as you." "Uh..." Sweetie said, noticing how Squee was staring at her so dreamily. "Listen, I've got er... places to be." "Why, wouldn't you like a tour of Stabletown?" he asked excitedly. As much as Sweetie hated to admit it, a guide would be nice to have around for the moment. "I... I guess." Sweetie smiled sheepishly. "Great! Maybe I could show you um... some of Stabletown's restaurants. Maybe we could eat together?" Fantastic. First Spike, and now Pipsqueak's falling for me. Who's next? Scootaloo? Sweetie thought. Seriously! Where does he think he's taking this story?... Woah, where'd that come from? "Well... sure. But first, I've got to get to that mansion over there." Sweetie said, pointing to the manor gate. "Yield Manor? But the party doesn't for another few hours." Squee said. I doubt I can wait a few hours... But maybe I can still use him... Sweetie thought. "I know. I just wanted to uh... explore. You don't mind, do you?" Sweetie took advantage of the situation and got up close to the love-struck Squee. "I really want to see what's inside." Squee blushed again, looking off from Sweetie. "Uh, sure. I guess we could." Squee shakily began moving forward in the direction of the mansion. Huh. So that's how Rarity get's stallions to do what she wants. Go figure. Sweetie thought triumphantly at her wooing of Squee. She followed close next to Squee, her eyes wandering as they made their way to the mansion. Eventually Squee started rattling off about Stabletown, likely to get more comfortable around his new crush. "... Anywho, like I told ya, you'll probably find most a' the stores and stuff around here in upper Stabletown. You saw the other part on your way in, right?" Sweetie shook her head. She had been entranced through talking to Axinite to really notice anything else when she first entered the town. Honestly, Sweetie shook her head no. "Well, that's where most ponies live." Squee explained. "It's not as fancy or appealing as Upper Stabletown, but it's home to me and a bunch of others. Really, I think you'd like it... where are you from anyway?" "Uh..." Sweetie thought for a moment. "Ponyville." Squee raised an eyebrow. "Ponyville? Where's that?" "Um... over on the Equestrian west coast I think. Around Manehatten and Canterlot." Sweetie said. "Huh... I've heard of Canterlot... but not Ponyville or Manehatten." Squee said. "Really?" Sweetie said surprised, but then a realization came to her. This world she was in... it didn't take place in her time. After the Nightmare incident and forward from there, Ponyville became a short-term landmark: The Home of the Elements of Harmony. Though as time went by, the hype over Ponyville went down, everypony in Equestria had at least once heard of Ponyville or the famous Mane 6... "Er, no. Forget I said that, Ponyville's just a small town I came from anyway." Squee smiled. He wasn't about to question his love's word. Suddenly, something happened. Sweetie felt something in her tail, causing it to erect unnaturally. "Uh... Sweetie?" Squee asked. "Is your tail supposed to do that?" "Hm?" Sweetie looked back at her tail. It stood stiff, pointing at the ground. It jerked every few moments as though it were... twitching. Twitchy Twitchy Twitcha Twitch Jumpie A familiar voice said in the back of Sweetie's mind. Sweetie's eyes contracted as she looked up above her, seeing a giant crate coming straight for her and Squee. Thinking fast, she pushed Squee out of the way, and jumped out of the way. The crate crashed into the ground, breaking open and letting out a bunch of kittens, many of which ran off in several directions. One of said cats, Sweetie recognized to be Opalescence. Who puts a bunch cats in a crate?! Sweetie thought, the adrenaline pumping through her body. Wait a second... I twitched! Pinkie's twitchy tail means that something's going to fall and something nearly fell on me... does that mean I have Pinkie's sixth sense? Neat!... Oh... Sweetie began to slip back into the dizziness state again. "Oh man. My boss is gonna kill me if I don't get all of those cats back." the mare said, hovering above the mess. "Don't worry." Said a familiar voice. "I've got 'em!" Both Squee and Sweetie got up just to see a grey pegusus fly off in the direction a string of cats had. Sweetie assumed it was Ditzy "Derpy" Hooves... or at least her body anyway. The other pony, Sweetie recognized as Raindrops, a weather pegasus who occasionally worked with Ditzy on larger deliveries were she to... mess up. The one who resembled Raindrops however, rather than a raining cutie mark, she had one that resembled a crate. Sweetie didn't get the chance to see Ditzy's cutie mark before she was off and gone. Huh... I guess Stabletown had somepony like Derpy huh? At least that's something that hasn't changed... Sweetie thought. The mare flew down and started scooping up cats in the immediate area. "Wait, there are plenty still-" "Hey!" Squee called up angrily to the mare. "What the hay's wrong with you?!" "Huh?" the light gold pegasus said, looking down to the two fillies she'd nearly rendered to pancakes. She covered her mouth with her hooves. "Oh hay, sorry. Didn't mean to drop that on you." "You should be! You nearly killed me and my new fillyfriend!" Squee said angrily. Oh brother. Sweetie thought, shaking her head. "Yeah, sorry." the mare said, scratching the back of her mane. "But I gotta go." Before any other words could be exchanged, the mare sped off in the direction of another group of cats. "Hmph." Squee shook his head. "The nerve of some ponies eh? Don't even check to see if we're not hurt or anything. Sometimes I wonder if colts and fillies are more adult than the older ponies. I mean she sped off like we were about to tattle on her or somethin'!" Have to agree on you there... Sweetie thought. There were many a times that she'd experienced the mares acting more childish than even her and the other crusaders... The filly wondered if age really mattered anymore. Especially since for the last few hours she had to be the bigger pony for all of her helpless friends. "C'mon. Hopefully we can get to the mansion without getting crushed to death by clumsy ponies, huh?" Squee smiled. The two continued to make their way to the mansion, getting ever closer to it, and suddenly... Sweetie developed the feeling that they were being watched. The brief feeling of paranoia was surprisingly pleasant to the filly, though it didn't last long as Sweetie felt dizzy again. This time however, it was worse than before, given she'd completely lost her balance and fell to her side. "Sweetie!" Squee said, getting over to the side of the filly. "Sweetie are you alright?" The voice sounded muffled for a moment, but within moments Sweetie recognized the words. She nodded slowly... but she wasn't alright. The dizziness intervals were getting shorter and closer together... and Sweetie was beginning to find that it happened shortly after remembering friends from Ponyville. It was as though her body was trying to keep her from remembering any pony she knew. Why? Sweetie didn't know... but it wasn't too difficult to figure out that the longer she remained in this world, the more violent and difficult it would become to remember her friends. When Sweetie got back up on her hooves, once again with assistance from Squee, the hairs on the back of her mane began to rise. It wasn't the normal "watched" feeling she was experiancing anymore... somepony was actually behind her. Sweetie slowly turned around to be met, face to face, with a pink mare. Boo! She said. To both the mare's and Sweetie's own surprise, she managed to scare the filly back onto her flank again. The mare giggled. "Wow, you sure are jumpy filly." "D-don't scare me like that." Sweetie said. After what she'd been through, the filly couldn't believe she'd been scared so easily... especially in broad daylight. "A-and don't call me that." "Call you what? All I said was that you were a jump-" "That." Sweetie interrupted. "J-ust... just don't." "Sorry little filly. Didn't mean any harm by surprising you like that." the pink mare said, turning her head to the side. Sweetie stared at the mare... something was wrong. Really wrong. As she looked at the mare, she could figure out who it reminded her of! She knew the name of the mare should have simply popped up in her head without so much as a second thought but she couldn't! What was wrong with her memory?! How was she forgetting her friends?! Who was this mare?! "You know I didn't any harm by it. Right Little?" Squee sighed. "Yeah. But don't do it again. She's new and a little lost. I'm showing her around and stuff!" Sweetie shut her eyes tight... who was this mare... She had blue eyes, a pink coat and a darker pink mane and tail... pink... pink... Pinkie! That's what her name was. Her name was Pinkie... her mane and coat should have been a dead give away, she supposed. Though the filly remembered her name, she doubted she'd respond well to it. She was going to ask her new name anyway... "E-er..." Sweetie asked. "I didn't get your name... who are you?" The mare grinned. "My name is Romania L. Bonkers, wife of the greatest fireworks expert who ever lived." she said the last name with a sense of pride. "Honey, are you terrorizing little kids again." came another voice. It was another mare, though she spoke in the same stallion-like fashion as Daisy. Sweetie took her eyes off of Romania to see another familiar mare coming this way... who was it. Sweetie figured the best way would be to identify her main features. Her coat was a cyan color... not too useful. Her purple eyes didn't help either. Her mane and tail however, were stripes that resembled the pattern of a... Rainbow! That's who she was... or at least that what her body was. Sweetie felt somewhat disappointing going through all of the trouble of remembering the mare's names, when she couldn't use them anymore in the first place. Maybe she should just stop for now... "Nah. I'm just saying hi to this new filly dear." Romina said back. Dear? Honey? Oh boy... Sweetie thought. "Uh... and you are?" "You can call me Bottle Bonkers." the mare smiled. "And your her... husband?" Sweetie asked. "Why, yes I am." Bottle smiled. Just when I didn't think this adventure could get any weirder... Sweetie thought. First Spike hits on me, then I get transported to some Stabletown, Ponyville hybrid with no memory of how I got here, then Pipsqueak hits on me. then none of the mares genders matter anymore... and now... now Rainbow is married to Pinkie... "Hey! You’re going to the mansion party, right?" Romania chirped. "Huh? Uh... yeah." Sweetie said. "How'd you-" "I heard you talking to that nice mare, Ms. Axinite. You came into town with her... are you a relative?" No use in lying to her on something like that. If she's anything like Pinkie... she'll eventually snoop out the real answer. Besides, I only know one pony who lied to Pinkie and got away with it... Sweetie figured. Either way, if she was going to answer her, she might as well have stuck with the story she gave Axinite. "Uh... no, I er... I'm looking for somepony. Someone to... uh... get me a ticket to the party over at Mr. Yield’s." "Oooh!" Romania exclaimed. "You’re going to that too? Are you parents taking you to it?" "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "I thought that this was a grown up's party... Specter just invited you?" "Erm... I'm special, I guess." Sweetie said. "Hm... Well, do you at least have something to wear to it?" "Uh..." Sweetie said. "...well, if you do need something, just ask Axinite. She's got the best suits and dresses in this region of Equestria. If you’re a VIP like you say, then you'd probably need the best anyway." Bottle suggested. "Right... I'll keep that in mind." Sweetie smiled. Like I have any intention of going to that party anyway... "What about a date?" Romania asked. "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "Oh right! It is a couple's party isn't it?" Squee chimed in. His eyes sparkled in excitement at the realization. He was likely visualizing him walking into the party as Sweetie's... date. In your dreams, Squee. Sweetie thought, shaking her head on the inside. "Uh... yeah, I've got one. Totally." Sweetie looked over at the mansion. "Well, it was nice meeting you all, but I've really got to go." "Aw... already?" Romania asked. "Well, do you want me to help you find that pony? I know everypony in Stabletown." "Uh... no thanks. I can find them myself." Sweetie said, backing away from the two mares. "I'll... see you later I guess." With that, she began speed trotting to the mansion. "See you later Mr. and Mrs. Bonkers!" Squee said, as he caught up to Sweetie. Romania giggled. "Odd filly. Did you get the feeling that she was lying about something?" Bottle shrugged. "Guess we'll find out if she shows up later." The two children, after a little while exited the market area of upper Stabletown. There was a brief line of trees they passed by as they walked along the path before they finally ended up at the Yield Manor gate. Upon closer examination of the mansion, it was much more apparent that it was newer than the one that was now, vaguely floating in her memory. The outside of the mansion looked shiny and well kept, oppose to the mansion she first approached which was falling apart. Replacing the eerie gravestones and dead trees on the front lawn was lush green grass and oak trees, or decorative rocks. The mansion as a whole was grand and magnificent, and seemed fit for a queen... just by looking at it, Sweetie nearly forgot what kinds of horrible things it held inside. "...Sweetie?" Squee asked, breaking the filly out of the trance she was in as she stared. "Huh?" Sweetie asked, looking at the colt. "So you just wanted to look at it? I mean... is there anything else you wanted to do here?" Sweetie shook her head, bringing herself back. "N-no, I wanted to... I need to get in there." "Get in where?" Sqee asked. "The mansion, where else?" Sweetie said, walking to the gate. "H-huh? I thought you just wanted to explore around the gate!" Squee exclaimed. "You’re not allowed in there! Only Marbles and Candy's friends can go in there for play dates! Specter hates visitors!" "Where's your sense of adventure? Don't be a scardy cat." Sweetie teased. Huh... could have sworn I sounded like one of my friends for a second there... what was her name? Sweetie put her hoof on the gate and pushed. It didn't move. She pushed harder and harder, trying to open the gate... but no luck. "Darn it... it's shut tight." Sweetie said, kicking the gate, causing it to shake slightly. Sweetie thought for a moment. There had to be a way inside.... The filly took a few steps back and judged the height of the gate to be at least 12 feet high, 6 times the filly's own height. A normal filly wouldn't have had a chance to climb or hop the fence with any success... but then again, Sweetie wasn't a normal filly. After all she was bearing the cutie marks of the... something something Harmony. She forgot what they were called, but by now, she was starting not to care. "Hm... I think I can jump it." Sweetie muttered. She turned around to Squee. "You think you could stand there, and I could use your back for an extra boost." "Sweetie, I really don't think this is a good idea. E-even if you could jump that thing, you'll get in really big trouble if somepony catches you inside without permission! What's so important that you need to get in there so badly anyway?" "It's just... I can explain later I guess, but now I need you. Please?" Sweetie asked, giving Squee her best puppy dog look. It worked on just about any pony she tried it on, so Squee didn't have a chance against her. "A-alright." He said, a goofy smile spreading across his face, followed by a blush. "Let's just uh... get this done before we get caught." Sweetie nodded and got behind Squee. After taking a few steps back, Sweetie ran for Squee's flank and jumped on his back. Though Sweetie didn't notice it, Rainbow's and Applejack's cutie marks began glowing on her body. For a few moments, she could feel herself flying through the air to the top of the gate. She was going to do it! She was going to jump the- Out of nowhere, Sweetie felt a shot. A large yellow bolt of lightning struck her body. It's shock started from her face and spreading to the rest of her body the moment it touched the line the gate created, separating the mansion and the outside world. The shock was so great, it was enough to throw Sweetie back onto the ground with a thud. She lie on the ground, moaning in pain, once again, dizzy and confused. The filly wasn't even sure if Squee had come to her side like before... did he even see what had just happened to her? "You know filly..." She heard a muffled voice say. "This gate is locked for a reason." Sweetie stumbled to her feet. She saw Squee was still in the same spot as before. He seemed to be in some kind of strange frozen state. Everything around the filly had suddenly seemed to pause. No more wind was blowing through the trees, no hoofprints could be made by any step Sweetie made... everything was stopped, except for the stallion behind the gate. He stared at her with yellow eyes and a yellow coat... but she wasn't sure if she knew him or not. She felt even dizzier just by looking at him. "Can I... help you filly?" the stallion asked. He smiled sweetly... or was it sinisterly? Sweetie's vision kept getting blurred when she looked at his mouth. "I... need to come in there." Sweetie said dumbly. Her head was throbbing again. "It's really important and-" "Shhhh...." The stallion spoke. She could still hear his voice through his ears, but at the same time, it felt like his voice was speaking inside her head. Like... the stallion was speaking her own thoughts as they came... or was it the other way around? "It's fine little filly. Relax... you can't come in here... there's no reason to come here..." "M...no..." Sweetie mumbled. "I... I need to find a way in there... there's got to be another way..." Sweetie was fighting as hard as she could to keep conscious, but wasn't lost enough to realize she couldn't keep herself together for much longer. Everything in her head... or at least everything that was left, she could feel oozing out of the side of her ears. Her name... her friends... her homes... her adventures... everything was going and it was going to be gone soon. It was crystal clear to her: Stabletown was somehow leaching away her memories. Sweetie fell down to her flank as the hypnotic voice began to coax her into sleeping then and there. "Gotta keep fighting... gotta keep remembering... gotta remember Rarity... gotta save-" She doesn't exist... None of them exist... Ponyville and nothing you know exists... Only Ms. Axinite exists... everything you see is normal... Sleep... Sweetie was starting to believe the whisper this time... almost without question. The cutie marks, the mare-stallion confusion meant nothing as proof. All that was left was the vauge thought that she had to get into the mansion. "There's got to be some way I can get into that mansion... some way..." Sleeeeeep... "The... party... the... invitation... the ticket... I need an invitation..." Sleeeeeeeeeeeeep "Need a ticket... get an invitation... need a ticket... get an invite... need my ticket..." Sweetie slowly repeated to herself over and over again. She fell to her side, and started breathing heavier. The world seemed to start collapsing around her as she fought to keep her eyes open to no avail. Before long... the filly was fast asleep. *** The two guards walked through the lonely hallways of the seemingly abandoned mansion. They noted the dust and sheets that made it look like nopony had stepped inside of the mansion for years, or possibly decades... though neither discussed the inconsistency between what they saw, and what they'd seen in the foyer and dining halls. Paita kept quiet to keep her awareness up for any of the so called "ghosts" Busby had claimed to seeing... if anything she was sure that something was keeping a close eye on them. Busby kept quiet as he contemplated possible subjects to speak to Paita about to break the eerie silence, whilst keeping from losing the minuscule amount of respect he'd managed to salvage from the mare. Every couple moments he tried to sneak a glance at the mare's face without her noticing. He tried to tell from her eyes whether or not the mare shared the same fear he had for the situation. All he saw however, was the same stone, brave face that he'd come to expect from her in the few hours they knew each other. Maybe a hint of paranoia as they seemed to dart around the hallway as they walked, but nothing more. For all he knew, it could have been her simply looking for the exit to the maze of hallways they were walking through... For the past half an hour or so, the two had been looking around for some kind of staircase that would take them to a lower floor. Their plan was to reach the first floor, head through the same portal that the guards had gone through, and hopefully track down their comrades. They both knew how shaky their actual plan was, considering that the doorways weren't always ones to make sense. After all, they'd entered one door to find themselves stories above where they should have been, with no real explanation... but there was something else now. In the time that the two guard ponies were wandering the hallways, they already found what they thought was a stairwell, but the problem was that it was blocked off by bars sticking out of the ground. The gaps between them, too small for even a filly to be able to slip through. Somehow, the mansion seemed to taunt them, saying how close progression was... but not possible. Though, it was only one stairwell... not all of them could be blocked off, right? "No way..." Paita finally mumbled as the two of them stood in front of another barred stairway. "Another one?" Busby said exhaustively. Suddenly, Busby noticed Paita laughing nervously. It was the first hint of fear or real emotion he'd gotten out of her. The mare sat up against one of the walls of the hallway, covering her face with her hooves. "We're never going to get out of here." "Paita... we've only checked two. This mansion's massive, it's-" Busby started before Paita interrupted him with an icy cold glare. "Don't you get it Buster?" she said. "We've only checked one." "W-what?" Busby asked in disbelief. "Look at that portrait besides the door." she said, pointing to a painting besides the stairway. It depicted a village clouded with smoke and ponies walking around in it. "Same portrait, same side. Either this mansion's got worse variation than I thought, or we've been here before." Busby gasped at the realization. "Wait! That doesn't make sense! We barely took two turns! How could we have gone in a circle like-" "We didn't go in a circle moron." Paita said coldly. "Whatever this mansion is... it's toying with us. It's trying to confuse and disorient us... and hay, it's doing a good job too. At this rate, we won't even get the chance to find another staircase. Barred or not. We're trapped here like rats." Busby sat besides Paita in the same hopeless manner. It did seem like they weren't going to escape anytime soon... Maybe they had a better chance at just waiting there for somepony to come to their rescue. The two guards sat there in the dark hallway, with only the dim light of the moon from some other hallway branch to keep them company. Busby sat down and closed his eyes for a few moments, realizing that it was their only hope... if there was any left. It was lonely, dark and quiet... until Busby heard something. Somepony was whistling... a very familiar tune at that. Busby's eyes snapped open, though he didn't move his head. Without moving his head, his eyes scanned the hallway for the source of the whistle and hoofsteps. Was it a ghost? Was it some other pony coming to find them? After his eyes adjusted, he found out who was making the whistle... it was Paita, or at least that's who Busby thought it was. As her eyes came into focus, he saw nervousness and fear. She a few steps into one direction of the hallway, and stopped, before turning around to walk toward the other end, only to repeat the same pattern. It was like she was trying to figure out what she wanted to do, and where she wanted to go... but she couldn't seem to figure it out. This was at the very least, surprising to Busby... "Paita? Y-" Busby started before the mare jumped at the sound of his voice. She glared at him. "What are you trying to do? Give me a heart attack?!" Busby got up. "Sorry. I didn't even know the big bat lady could get scared." As the words slipped out of his mouth, he expected another slap across the face for the insult but... all she did was simply sigh. "I... wasn't scared. You just surprised me is all." Paita said, looking off to one of the hallway ends. "Well..." Busby thought for a moment, hoping to try to keep the conversation going. "They say that someponies like to whistle when they're-" "I'm not scared." Paita snapped, looking back at Busby for a brief moment. Some of the fire had returned to her eyes. "What was that then?" Busby asked. "It was um... just a little... ah forget it." Paita said. "What?" Busby asked. "Hmph. It's stupid. Nothing you'd want to hear Buster." the mare said. "I wouldn't know until I heard it Paita." Busby tried. There was silence for a moment, and just when he was sure he wasn't going to get an answer, she spoke. "It was a box." "What?" Busby asked. "A... music box, alright? One I had when I was a little filly. Played that weird tune... and had a green heart in the middle. Something that got passed down through the family I guess." she explained. "That's the tune that it played." "Really?" "That's what I said." she said. "And this... family heirloom. Was it... important? Valuable?" "Why?" Paita asked, turning back to the stallion. It was obvious she wasn't very keen of the line of questioning. "Just um... curious?" Busby said. "... it was a music box." She said sharply. "An old dusty music box, and that's all I know. I don't know if it was valuable because I lost it when I was a filly. All I remember is that the last thing my dad said before he... he just said it was important." Busby raised an eyebrow. "Before he...? Before he what?" Paita turned away from Busby. Busby thought for a moment... could he fill in the blank? "Before he... left?" he tried. The stallion noticed how Paita's head de-elevated, seemingly depressed at the single word. "Paita I'm-" "Shut up." she snapped. "I wouldn't expect you to understand anything about my life, Busby." She used my real name? Now I really know I've struck a nerve. Busby thought. "He left so early... I never even learned my last name." Paita said. Busby could have sworn the mare was on the verge of tears, however he couldn't tell for sure with the mare turned around like so. Hm... I wonder if that's why she was so short with her name earlier... Busby thought. "Growing up as one of those stupid 'one namers'... wasn't that excepted around the orphanage I grew up in. Kind of made you half the pony you should be." Busby knew about the one named ponies... ponies without last names. The stallion didn't see anything wrong with the name, but then again he'd grown up close to a more suburban town like Ponyville before living in Canterlot. He'd heard rumors of some areas in Equestria... few and far between that were much more urban or high-classed, and relied on last names to mark one's status in their community. Until Paita, he'd yet to meet one who really talked or even mentioned it. "Kind of why I wanted to be the best guard out there. Working under Celestia and everything... hmph. Because I pulled one little prank on one of the officers during my training, I got pushed to the lower job as one of Luna's guards. Apparently I was too 'playful'..." Luna's the lower job? Besides her being a little weaker than the sun princess, I don't really see the difference. Busby thought. "I... actually envy you actually. A guard for Celestia and a last name... but me, I'm the kind of guard every pony's afraid, no respect, and still a stupid one name." Paita's words seemed more down and depressed than before. The change in mood from the mare was shocking to say the least... until then, he wasn't sure the mare was even capable of such emotions toward him. Especially sadness. "Paita, I didn't mean to-" "Hmph." She raised her head and turned it to him. Her voice had returned to normal. "Like I said. I wouldn't expect somepony like you to get it." "Paita. If it means anything... I don't think of you as any less of a pony." Busby said sympathetically. "Heh, like your opinion matters to me." she said. "And I really hope you can still think of me as a friend." Busby tried, smiling. "Don't expect the same back, Buster." Well, I'm guessing that moment passed. Busby thought looking off to the side. Though, the fact that Paita had just opened up to him like that was somewhat refreshing. It renewed a bit of hope in his body... and that hope gave him inspiration as he looked at a door down the hall. "Hey... Paita." Busby said walking past the mare. "I think I have an idea of how we can get out of here." Paita turned her head to the side, looking at the stallion in disbelief. "No way." "It's... it's simple. We leave the same way we came in." Busby said. "Through a door." "Hah. Good luck finding the door we came through Buster." "No Paita. Not the door we came through. A door we came through." Busby said. Paita gave the stallion another puzzled look. "J-just hear me out. None of these doors, or anything about this mansion for that matter makes sense. No doors are certain to take you into the right room, no hallway is going to take you to the right location." "So?" Paita asked. "Well... what if we just started trying different hallway doors?" Busby asked. "If anything, one of them's bound to take us to another random part of the mansion. We can keep trying doors until we reach the first floor! Or, if we're lucky, the foyer." "...I don't like the idea of trying random doors." Paita said. "We might get ambushed by those ghost things you were talking about in one." Oh, so when I have a plan, you believe me? Busby thought. "And if we've got them to deal with, I don't want to be locked in a room with one..." Paita said. "No doubt if a door can throw us around like leaves in the wind, I bet it can even lock itself." "Well, we've got as much of a chance being ambushed out here as we do in a closed room. Two ghosts on either side of a hallway is more than enough to trap us... not like they've got to worry about fighting us anyway." Busby said. "It's a risk worth taking. What do you say?" "...Fine." Paita said. Busby could tell in her voice she wasn't too keen on the plan... but at the same time, he could hear a hint of willingness in her voice. Maybe he was making more progress with befriending the mare than he'd thought. "But we need to stay close together. All I did was go last before the rest of the guards and we got separated." "We'll stick side to side like this." Busby said, getting close enough to Paita so his armor was touching her. She seemed to flinch from being touched like that, but she didn't say anything. "Lets get to searching..." Paita said. *** "S-sweetie? Are you sure your okay?" Spike asked, looking at the possessed filly with concern. "Yes my Spiky-wikey." Sweetie said, without the enthusiasm she'd had before. She actually beginning to sound as though Spike's constant apologies and check-ups were getting annoying. Chances were she was so short was because she wanted to keep focused on the GCD device she had minutes ago dissected and was now examining each piece, looking for something out of the ordinary. She had already taken off the processor and ectotube. Though, those items weren't of her main interest... instead she was looking at the innards of the meaty bits of the GCD. She silently named each thing, seeming to have full knowledge of every bit and bob. So far, she'd yet to find anything particularly peculiar. "No... besides that speaker, there's nothing new..." she mumbled to herself. "You looking for something Butler?" Rainbow asked. Sweetie looked up at the mare, then back at the GCD as she continued to take parts out and lie them on the ground next to her. "Quiet. Unless you’re going to wish you were your unconscious friend over there. And besides... I doubt Ms. Gilda would be too keen of me hurting you before she got her hand on you and the pink mare." "What the hay are you talking about?" Rainbow asked. Sweetie ignored as she examined one round glowing piece in particular. Of all the pieces she took out, this one seemed the most peculiar to her, oppose to every other odd bit and end piece she'd examined. In the meanwhile, Rainbow turned over to Pinkie. She whispered. "Pst. Pinkie. Any idea what that nut job is talking about?" Pinkie looked up and thought for a moment. "Um... Oh yeah! Remember when Gilda came to Ponyville?" "Yeah... pissed me off how she treated you and Fluttershy." Rainbow said, glancing over to the mare who was looking at Twilight, fighting back tears of fear. "Well, maybe she wants to... I dunno. 'Deal with me' herself." Pinkie shrugged. "After she stormed out of my party like that, I started to think she didn't really have that much fun. Heck, I even think she hated me a little... as crazy as that sounds." Rainbow did remember how Pinkie, in her fun, managed to make Gilda snap and just about lose it entirely. "You seem pretty... calm about it Pinkie. I mean, if your right, and Gilda's gone as crazy as I think she has she-" "Oh, I'll be fine." Pinkie smiled. "I didn't survive this long into the story for her to off me yet! I bet Mr. Shooter has... ugh..." Pinkie's head went down in pain. "Pinkie? What wrong?" Rainbow asked. "Just... my tummy again. I guess I'm just really sick when I..." Pinkie said. She shook her head. "But... what about you?" Rainbow looked off to the side in the same unsure manner. "Doubt she's planning on doing anything drastic to me. Whatever she's up to, I bet it's got something to do with our friendship. Hay if you'd call it that now." Rainbow said. "I remember when I was a ghost, when the feather brain wasn't bossing me around, I vaguely remember her talking to me. Talking about memories when we were both in flight school... before I dropped out anyway. I guess even though I was still a ghost, she kind of liked at least talking to me when she knew that I wasn't speaking to her after that incident at the party." "Aw... that's kind of sad..." Pinkie said. "She probably only wanted a friend." "Well working with an insane ghost pony to resurrect their 'friend's' worst enemy isn't the way to make 'em." Rainbow said spitefully. "And if we get out of this, she can forget about making friends with me. She can also probably forget about eating solid foods when I'm done with her." "Forgive and forget Dashie." Pinkie said positively. "Even if she tried to cut my head off, gut it and use it as some sadistic party decoration, I'd still try and forgive her. I won't hold a grudge, Sweetie didn't hold one, and neither should you." "...wait, what was that last part about party decorations?" Rainbow asked before the door creaked open. Sweetie eyes darted to the open door, revealing the old green-coated stallion. The other mares, besides Twilight turned to face him. "Ah. It seems I'm not late. That griffon is late per usual, I presume?" Specter smiled as he entered the room and closed the door. "Specter Yield..." Applejack said with a certain disgust. "Ah, and you lovely mares are conscious, that's even better... at least four of you are anyway." Specter turned his head as he looked at Twilight, who still lie unconscious. "My good friend... you didn't follow my directions... did you?" "Hmph." Sweetie said. "Master Yield. Can I ask you a question?" "What is it?" "If you concider me as your friend then why did you attempt to kill me?" the filly asked. Specter simply laughed. "Oh your a funny stallion you know that? You know it's impossible to kill a ghost. You are one a ha!" "Don't give me that." Sweetie said. Though it wasn't completely disrespectful, it was much more stressed and nervous than before. "This... device of yours. You didn't say that you added anything to it." Specter shook his head. "I've had that device for years. You know it's been added on to keep with the times. Of course the Council has suggested addons. All of which you've overseen... after all, I don't know anything about the inner workings of that thing." "No... no, that's where you’re wrong. I never remembered putting this in there." Sweetie raised the glowing green piece up to show Specter. "What is this?" "Oh, you truly don't remember?" Specter asked. He laughed. "That's the new power source." "New power source?" Sweetie asked. Specter nodded. "I'm actually a little sad you don't remember it. It was the first piece of the device you and I worked on as a team... remember?" The filly closed her eyes. "The new power source we worked on... The Adaptive Capture Capacitor!" "There you go." Specter said smiling. "Right... normally it needs to be constantly generated with power but.. with the jump start of magic from a unicorn it can generate itself some power." Sweetie explained. "It also converts the energy from whatever ghosts it catches to magically upgrade itself... yes, I remember when that new addition to the Counsel came up with that idea." "You seem to know more about this new device than you claim to Spiffy." Specter said. "But... but when I put it on, it clearly stated that I was possess this filly." Sweetie said. "...is... is that how you escaped that first time?" "My my. Your memory is dampening. The technology to even build that power source wasn't even invented yet." Specter said. "So, there isn't any possibility this was how you broke free." Sweetie said. Specter raised an eyebrow. "You aren't suspecting me of helping the filly escape, are you?" Sweetie blinked twice. She laughed nervously. "O-of course not Master Yield. I suppose this... entire ordeal is making me a little paranoid." "Hm. Of course it is." Specter said. "Well, paranoia aside, I believe you should get to putting that little device back together on your back." "What? Is that really necessarily?" "Did I stutter Spiffy?" Specter asked. He was getting a little impatient with the filly. With a slight sense of fear, Sweetie got to using the screwdriver to rapidly putting the GCD back together. "...we can't get careless." He begun, noting the renewed paranoia the filly had in her yellow eyes. "Whenever Gilda returns, and has finished assigning the rest of the guards and prepared those Wonderbolts for the second to... final phase, she'll be back with Celestia. You've seen how strong she is, even in death and I can barely keep her under control. The most advanced Ghost Capture Device in Equestria would likely be the best tool if things were to... get out of hand. At least until I can..." Specter glanced at the mares. "Break her." "T-the Wonderbolts?" Rainbow stuttered. "Oh, you don't know?" Specter asked before chuckling. "I almost forget how clueless you all are of this entire ordeal. Yes, my dear Dash. Your kind guard friends were nice enough to bring the Wonderbolts along for their little search for your princesses. I'm even happy to say they were the first to volunteer to be ghostified." "You’re lying." "No, I assure you. They walked right into it very willingly. Or... against their will. I'm sure it's all relative anyway." Specter smiled. Rainbow growled as she gritted her teeth. "Oh, by the way Spiffy." Specter said, turning back to the stallion. "Hm?" Sweetie said, turning up from his work. "There was... one other thing I've been meaning to ask." Specter said. "Yes master?" "Between the Wonderbolts and the guards, how many guards did you greet at the entrance?" he asked. "I believe nine..." "And how many did you capture and send to ghostification?" Specter asked. Just by looking into his eyes, Sweetie knew he'd already seen the contradiction. "S...seven." Sweetie said. "One's missing..." "One? Try two." "No, no. I know where the other one is. I trapped her high up on the eighth floor." Spiffy/Sweetie explained. "The floor's one of the highest one's blocked off. She won't interfere with out plans, I assure you." "I instructed you to ghostify all of them." Specter said. "I know... but there's something about that mare. I think she saw through my disguise. Subconsciously anyway." Spiffy/Sweetie explained. "She even... she even had the same eye color as me." "You don't have any children." Specter said. "None alive or ghostified like me anyway..." Spiffy/Sweetie said. "But I did what I thought was necessarily. Think about if she was apart of one of the Council's families." "Hm... I doubt it. Every Butler was a hunter right? And all of their lines are dead right?" "...Yes." Spiffy/Sweetie said. She shook her head. "Y-you're right. It was just a coincidence. I suppose there are plenty of ponies with yellow eyes. Hay, we both do and we aren't even related." "And her behavior tonight was simply an act of paranoia my good friend." Specter said. "Heh... but even if she was anyway... which she probably isn't... family, genetics or otherwise, she's still as defenseless and inexperienced as any other pony." Sweetie said. Specter nodded. "Which is why I sent my wife up to search for them. It may not be a cavalry, but it'll be enough to deal with two idiotic guards." "Sounds fine." Sweetie agreed. "But since she's going after them, my dear Rarity is... defenseless." Specter explained. Sweetie raised an eyebrow at the word "defenseless". "You know what I mean. I need somepony to... ensure her safety. Or at least... some dragon." Specter looked over at Spike. "Of course Master Yield." Sweetie said as she walked over to Spike, who was still mumbling if Sweetie was ok, or apologizing to the floor. "Spikey-wikey?" She asked in her most innocent voice. He looked up and gave a sleepy smile to the filly. "Could you do me this tiny teansy wensy favor?" "O-oh! Anything for you Sweetie!" Spike said enthusiastically. Sweetie giggled. "Oh, I know you will. I want you to take that secret entrance in the kitchen to your other crush, Rarity. You remember her." "My... crush... Rarity?" Spike asked. Sweetie nodded. "You love her just as much as you love me." "I love... Rarity... just as much as... Sweetie." Sweetie glanced over at Applebloom and gave a devilish smirk. "And as much as you hate Applebloom over there." "I... hate... Applebloom." Spike said. Applebloom glared at Sweetie before looking away from her, trying not to look like she didn't care. She wasn't doing a very good job however of remaining indifferent from the frequency she blinked her eyes. "Your rifle is in the kitchen as well." Specter added. "Use it to kill anypony you come across." "Especially Applebloom... if you saw her." Sweetie said. "Or even Sweetie Belle." Specter added. Sweetie glanced at Specter from the thought, finding it odd he'd add something like that. "I... I can't hurt... Sweetie..." Spike mumbled. "But I want to die, Spiky-wiky," Sweetie said, somewhat unsure. She supposed Specter was simply making some "insurance" if the other Sweetie managed to escape. He did know that, right? She added, for a little flavor and to entertain Specter that much more, "Not now, but later for sure. I'd be really happy if you shot me right in the body so I could bleed to death. Don't shoot me in the head. I want to feel it. And remember to be even less forgiving with Applebloom or Scoots there... make them die slowly too..." Sweetie hissed. Both Applebloom and Scootaloo shuddered in fear in their bonds. "I'll... do what... you want Sweetie..." Spike mumbled. "Alright... go off now." Sweetie said as she gave Spike one last kiss on the cheek. As he turned, she also gave the dragon a little slap on the butt. With that, Spike stumbled out of the room, rubbing the spot Sweetie hit. He then turned to Specter, perplexed. "Master Yield, what was that all about?" "Hm. I could ask you the very same thing." Specter started. "Because you told me to. Or at least told him, and I imagined..." "I don't remember being so detailed on the subject of the filly," Specter said, before grinning. "Though it was a nice touch. In any case, they're all enemies... including the filly your possessing, might I add..." That wasn't everything. It couldn't be. "...or..." "Or?" Sweetie asked. "...Maybe I'm simply worried." Jackpot. "About?" "Like I've said, I don't think that Sweetie's going to be possessed as easily. Have you checked up on her?" Specter asked. "...no question, you were right. The filly's spirit has become stronger than ever. Between those marks and sheer willpower, she broke free of the initial possession bonds. Though, thanks to my own memory spell, she's subdued and clueless about anything. She's gone." Specter shook his head. "You can't rely on that spell to keep her locked up. You can't keep using it as your easy card." "Well, it's kept this mansion standing this long." "That's not the same. I'm not worried about it collapsing... I'm worried about Sweetie figuring out how to collapse that memory." He grinned. Sweetie wasn't sure how to take that grin. "It's not hard to break." "Between her loss of memory, the charms of Stabletown, and the sheer fact no pony can escape possession without some version of will of the ghost..." Sweetie argued. "... or if she can break the ghost into letting her go..." "That was you. Before I had this little trick. With this, she isn't going nowhere, and she won't even find me." Sweetie laughed. "You can't break what you can't touch." "We'll see about that." Specter said, glancing over at the halfway put together GCD. *** The white filly woke up. Her eyes blurred as orange light hit her face. All she could see was a blurred tan colored room and another yellow blur that vaguely resembled a pony. Her head throbbed painfully as she tried to sit up in whatever bed she was lying in. "Oh no. Please, stay down. You need to rest." the yellow blob said. From the sound of her voice it seemed to be a gentle calming mare. "Mmmm..." the filly moaned. "Here... this should help." the yellow mare said. She put something to the filly's mouth. "Open up..." Without question, Sweetie opened her mouth to receive a warm mucusy liquid that began flowing down her throat. Once the taste started getting to her, she started to cough up whatever didn't make it all down. "Oh... I'm sorry. I know it doesn't taste very good, but I promise it'll make you much better." "Who..." Sweetie asked as her vision began to clear up. The pink mane and big blue eyes of the yellow mare finally came into focus. "...Who are you?" "Me? You can call me Feather Fine... but I'm more interested in who you are." "Me?" The mare chuckled. "Yes you. Your little colt friend and one of Yield's butler's rushed you in here saying you needed immediate attention. They didn't even mention your name." "My... my name..." the filly thought hard. "I... don't know." "You don't?" Feather asked. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. That bump on your head must have given you amnesia badly if you can't remember that." "I'm sorry..." the filly said looking down. "But... where am I?" "Well, you’re in lower Stabletown now..." "Do I... live here?" "I suppose." Feather smiled. "I suppose it's the only thing that makes sense. There aren't many towns close to here after all. This must be your home." The filly smiled. For some reason, she felt she could trust those hypnotic eyes... as though they were incapable of lying or deceit of any kind. She felt like she could take anything the mare said as fact... including the suggestion of her home being this place. It felt good... at least she knew something now. Stabletown... it was her home. "Can I... get up?" the filly asked. "Of course... I mean, if you’re up to it." Feather said. "I mean... you did hit your head pretty hard." "I... I did?" the filly asked. She felt the top of her head for the bump. Feather nodded. "I've heard of hits like that causing decreased motor skills, to intense hallucination." "I don't know what you’re talking about Ms. Feather." the filly said. "Basically, you might get really dizzy a lot and hear voices for no good reason." Feather explained. "Mr. Butler claimed that you were experiencing some of those symptoms... are you... hearing voices?" The filly shook her head. "Well... that's good." Feather said. She held out a hoof for the filly to hold on to. "Come now. If you feel ready, I can take you to your little colt friend." "O-ok..." the filly said. She figured it would be best to get whatever information about herself she could... and chances were, that other colt might know. As she got onto her hooves, she felt dizzy again, just like the mare mentioned. She paid it no mind, however, figuring it was only one of those "symptom" things Feather was talking about. Once the dizziness passed once again, she began following the mare out of the bedroom she was in. As she did, she heard something in her head. It was a voice... the filly knew that it wasn't a good idea to listen to it, but she couldn't help it. The voice said six words and repeated them several times... Need a ticket... get an invite... it said... in her own voice. I wonder what that's all about? the filly wondered as she exited the bedroom... *** Gilda stood in front of one of the doors in the mansion hallway. Over one of her wings was a Spectral Net: yellow glowing sheet that tingled to the touch. Used to ensnare any ghosts whilst rendering them powerless. She kept it close to her body, as a filly might hold their security blanket. She looked off to either direction of the mansion. She recounted the doors from the sheet covered vase next to a turn into another branch in the mansion's network of hallways. She sighed. 8 doors... Second half of the minute. If that senile seed brain wasn't lying, this is the place, and I'll be able to open it in like... 15 seconds. Gilda said. She knew she had to make sure that the correct door. On the other side of the mansion, a mistake like that would have been fine. All she would have found was another one "normal" looking room... depending on what one found anyway. This side of the mansion, however... past the kitchen entrance, was different. The mistake of choosing the incorrect room could have resulted in her getting sucked into one of the traps Pinkie had set while she was free. She remembered that Specter ordered this area to be especially locked up because of some "important rooms" he didn't want anyone, even herself to go snooping around. Gilda only knew the details of one room she was permitted to know about... but then again, it was also the room she was instructed to retrieve her from. Gilda put her eagle-like talons on and around the knob of the door. She held her breath as she watched the clock she built into her head as carefully as she knew how. The clock was nearing the 30-second mark... 23... 24...25... she counted. Her talons shook and sweated from nervousness as she held the icy cold doorknob. She didn't want to make a mistake... especially since watched one of the other ghosts make the mistake of entering a trapped door, and being lit up like a candle by some fire oriented trap. It didn't get destroyed or killed, but the thought that the tortured and pained screams of the ghost could have been the griffon frightened even her. 28...29...30... Gilda thought. She gave the count a few more seconds, just in case her counting had gotten off during the time she made her way up to the area. When she was sure the door had changed, or at least as sure as Specter's instructions on when to open the door, she turned the knob and threw it open. What she saw... she was relieved to find it wasn't any kind of trap... rather, it was progression. The door opened to what seemed to be a narrow staircase leading downwards. The portal down was pitch black and gave off the ghostly chill assuring there was a ghostly presence down in the bowels of the stairway. The only thing that came from the abyss of a stairway was a slight hum, coming from either one of the pale, cracked walls. Alright... let's get this over with. Throw the sheet over her, and drag her back to the tea room. Gilda thought, reviewing her orders. Seems easy enough... Though, at the same time, the griffon felt herself running stiff for a few moments. She couldn't move... it couldn't be fear... could it? C'mon. I ain't afraid of anything. Especially some dead alicorn. With that last thought, she took from under her wing the flashlight she took off of Twilight. As she turned it on, it flickered a few times before illuminating her path a solid beam of light. Gilda then began her descent down the staircase. As she did, she noticed the walls were getting smaller and smaller. Just when she thought it was going to get too narrow for her to progress, the walls opened up, allowing Gilda to enter a new hallway. Great. Gonna be hay trying to squeeze a giant alicorn through that tiny space. she thought as she shined the light around the hallway. Though the griffon never saw the dusty hallways of the mansion to be well kept, she definitely considered them to look better than the one she stood in now. All of the humming walls of the hallway were cracked. The cracks themselves were blackened and had bits of charcoal inside, branching off to create more burn marks and browned walls. It seemed that at some point, this hallway had been on fire... Alright... he said it was going to be the door that was still unlocked. Gilda thought. Great. Couldn't he have just told me which door it was to begin with? I don't feel like wasting my time down here longer than I should. Gilda began checking the doors of the hallway. As she assumed every one of the doors was either locked, or the knobs were too fragile to even try as they disintegrated at her touch. Gilda ventured further and further down the hallway, as it got colder and colder. As she did, she started to feel faint... was it a sign she was getting closer to Celestia's ghost? As she found herself in front of another locked door, she heard something. It was a voice that echoed throughout the hallway. Leave... it said. It was ghostly and unrecognizable, but Gilda was sure she could make an educated guess of who it was. "Heh. I didn't think you actually liked this place lady." Gilda called back to the voice. ...If you haven't come to free me... then leave... the voice said. "Sorry lady. I'm not on the losing team here." Gilda responded. If you don't leave... I might have to hurt you... the voice threatened. Gilda was somewhat intimidated by the threat but laughed it off. "Sure. A corpse is gonna hurt me. I'm soooo scared." You underestimate my power... Gilda knew she was bluffing with her bravery. She had already been briefed on how strong Celestia was... and that even trapped in her own lifeless body, she was still had as much if not more power, her magic (at least) now unbound by her physical body. If it weren't for the devices that hummed inside of the walls of the hallway, she might have already leveled the entire mansion by now... and Gilda was the idiot who was supposed to drag her all the way back the way she came. The danger of the situation was beginning to bear down on the griffon... ...You don't have to do this. the voice considered. "Huh?" Gilda asked. You can help me... free me... and assist me in saving my dear student and her friends. the voice urged. Doesn't it seem like a better option to getting yourself killed by me? Gilda didn't answer. It did seem like an attractive option... but then again, if she decided to switch sides now, she thought about what she'd be losing... the things Specter promised her... and of course what would happen if she didn't come out on top. Even if Specter lost. "Tell me where you are, and I'll think about it." Gilda said after moments of thought. There was silence for a moment before Celestia spoke again. I can sense you... Seven more doors down... Gilda followed the mares instructions, heading past the next seven pairs of doors that were on each end of the hallway. She tried the right door... it was locked. When she tried the left door, however... the knob turned easily. Even better, the knob didn't disintegrate or dislocate itself from the door. This had to be it. Gilda gripped the Spectral Net and pushed the door open. She shined the light around the bare room... the only thing inside, besides dirt and wall, was a dead, oversized pony... a white one with long legs, wings, and horn. Dressed in a royal head-dress and necklace, it was definitely her. Celestia. Listen to me. she started. If you can drag me out of here and get me out into the open mansion, I should be able to free myself. "Free yourself?" Gilda asked. Of course. I'm not sure how Specter plans on doing it, but he likely wants me to... break me into his will. she explained. I'm too strong. He can't control me. "Right, right..." Gilda said as she began to slowly approach the alicorn. "He mentioned something like that." And if I can get to my sister, I might be able to break her out of it too. she continued. She may not have as strong as powers as mine, but all she needs is a little push... a memory to get her to regain control. "Uh huh..." Gilda said. By now, she was barely a yard away from the alicorn. And... you’re not even planning on helping me now, are you? she asked. Gilda stopped cold. Guess apart of me knew she wasn't gonna buy that for long. With that, Gilda rushed toward Celestia with the net. Somehow, by sheer will of her spirit, Celestia raised her head and opened her eyes. What should have been the dilated eyes of a deceased mare were now glowing orbs of light. Celestia's horn rapidly charged and fired a bolt of magic at Gilda in an attempt to defend herself. Gilda instantly extended her wings and flew back to the side, barely dodging the streak of lightning. In mid-air for a few split seconds, the streak of lightning stopped and turned around to try and hit the griffon. It moved through the air like an airborne snake, swiftly and quickly. Somehow, every time the lightning came at her, the griffon managed to get out of its path before it hit her with the thousands of volts it contained. As Gilda played bull with the magical lightning snake, she found herself run with two problems. The first being that every time she tried to get close to the mare, some kind of telekinetic force pushed her away. With the mare's magic still active, there was no way she was getting close enough to trap her. The second problem came with the griffon's own stamina. She had a lot of it, and could move fast from practicing with and racing other ponies... but racing and dodging lightning were two entirely different fields. She was more jerking herself around rather than efficiently dodging the speeding ions. It wouldn't be much longer before she made a mistake and tripped up. She had to end this fight... and fast. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in the griffon's head. She looked at the door and raced for it. It was still open though Celestia used her magic to close it before the griffon had a chance to escape. Fine then princess. Your funeral. she thought with a devilish grin. Stopping for a moment in front of the closed, and likely locked door, Gilda saw the line of lightning rocketing straight toward her. She dodged as quickly as she could and raced for Celestia. When she was as close as she thought the mare would allow her to get, she whirled back around and dodged the lightning. Not seeing it coming, the alicorn didn't see the bolt of lightning coming as it pierced her head. The shock pulsed throughout the mare's body as she let out a deafening shriek... before her head fell to the ground again. Gilda didn't waste any more time to grab the Net and wrap the mare in it. Once she tied her up well, she grinned at the fact that she'd managed to outsmart the great alicorn princess, turning her own power against her. "So, what was that about hurting me huh?" Gilda laughed. Man, I must be a genius. I'd like to see that stupid filly take on an alicorn... She heard the door click, indicating it was time to leave. "Alright... time to get this thing to Specter, get Rainbow, finish Pinkie..." she said as she started to drag the ensnared corpse of Celestia. And turn myself immortal... cool.
Chapter 22- The Party Crasher (Segment 1/2: Tour of Her Tomb)The white filly exited the bedroom with Feather, slowly getting back into the swing of using her own four legs and hooves. Though she was almost sure that she had been walking as long as she had lived, the filly felt as though she was doing it for the first time. If it weren't for the nurse hatted mare's support, she might have tumbled down the stairs and hit her head... probably for the second time that day. Guess another bump’s the last thing I need... the white filly thought. She noticed her thoughts were blurred and disoriented, almost to the point she couldn't even understand them. Was it from the impact she couldn't remember happening? It had to be... why else would her thoughts be so distant? Finally, the white filly made it to the bottom of the stairs, and entered a medium sized living room area. The floors were wooden and smoothed out. A couch, along with a few extra love seats that all seemed to be fashioned out of a yellow colored wool sat at the center of the room. The white filly counted there to be about five windows, that provided the majority of the light in the room. From what she could tell, the sun was just about to set. Paintings and shelves filled with various knick-knacks and pottery littered the walls, adding something for ponies to look at, if they were to wait in the room. There didn't seem to be any books anywhere around... "Sweetie!" somepony said from behind one of the love seats. The head of a little colt popped out from behind the chair. The confused little filly scanned the room to find this "Sweetie" pony that the colt seemed to be so excited about. Oddly enough, the only ones in the room were the colt, Feather and- The colt embraced Sweetie, nearly knocking her onto the ground. "I'm so glad you’re all better! When you fainted like that, I thought... what happened to you?" "H-huh?" the addled filly pushed the colt away, mildly confused. "Sweetie?" "You’re... talking to... me?" she asked. Sweetie huh? I guess that's my name. "Sweetie? Something... wrong?" the concerned colt asked. "Um... your friend is having a little trouble remembering things. Amnesia, I believe." Feather explained. "Hopefully it's only temporary..." "But besides that, she's fine?" the colt asked hopefully. Feather nodded. "But... just to be safe Squee, would you mind telling me something? What happened before you and that other stallion brought her here?" "I guess... but nothing really happened. Sweetie wanted to see Mr. Yield's mansion. When one of his butlers caught us jumping the gate, she kind of just... stared at him and fainted." "And... she already had this bump on the head?" Squee shrugged. "I guess. Nothing hit her when Mr. Butler helped me carry her here." "Hm. I suppose what hit her the first time must have caused her brain to shut down... Sweetie, does any of this seem familiar?" She shook her head. "Not... not even your Cutie Pox rings any bells?" "Cutie what?" "The disease that's giving you all of your Cutie Marks." Feather explained. Sweetie looked at the mare strangely. "What's a Cutie Mark?" Feather looked at the filly unsure of her memory's condition. "Maybe this amnesia might last a little longer than I thought. All she seems to remember is basic language... maybe a few other things." "But she can still walk around, right?" Squee asked. "She's still getting used to it again, but yes." Feather smiled. "Why?" "Cool! That means I can still take her around town!" Squee said excitedly. "Town?" Sweetie asked. "Stabletown! I was touring you before you fainted." "You were?" Sweetie asked. "I thought I lived here." "I'm not sure about that. All I know was that I was going to tour you... and we were going to go out to eat afterwards!" "We were?" Sweetie asked. "And you told me that you were looking for a colt friend!" "I did?" Sweetie asked. Even Feather looked at the colt strangely. "What's a 'colt-friend'?" "I'll... tell you later." Squee said, rubbing the back of his head, showing a sudden sense of shyness. Well, I'm not really sure what's going on... Sweetie thought. But this "Squee" sounds like he's a trustworthy pony. I should probably take his tour thing and learn about wherever the hay I am... maybe I'll figure out why the hay I'm here anyway. Maybe I'll figure out what he means by 'colt-friend'. Maybe I'll find one? "C'mon Sweetie!" Squee said, lightly tugging at Sweetie's tail to follow her. Feather stared at Sweetie and smiled. "Yes, go along now... though, don't go too far, ok? J-just in case. Stay inside of Lower Stabletown for now, alright?" Sweetie nodded as she began to follow her tour guide, stumbling for a moment before being able to normally follow him out the door. As she did however, something whispered from behind her. She turned to see Feather heading back upstairs. Sweetie opened her mouth to ask if she'd said something, but the whisper came again. This time, as the filly focused more on it, it was the same six words that she'd heard on her way out of the bedroom. Need a ticket... get an invite. It said it in a sense of urgency, though Sweetie couldn't place why. There was nothing urgent at all about her situation... then again, how would she know? She couldn't remember anything... Just as she did before, she pushed off the vague thought as nothing to worry about as she followed Squee. She had a town to explore. *** "See anything Buster?" Paita asked the stallion she was sticking to in the bedroom. "Shhh!" Busby said, sticking his head out of the doorway. "Are you trying to wake up the dead?" Paita stopped scanning the room herself to look at the stallion. She separated herself. "Well, do you?" Busby continued to scan the room as Paita groaned and left the room. Finally, just before noticing Paita had left him, he shook his head. "Just another bedroom." he sighed, before turning back around and heading back to Paita in the hallway. "You'd think by now the place would have opened up some portal to somewhere else by now? You know... like we got here?" "Or maybe it's just trying to keep us trapped. You know, like a trap?" Paita said in annoyance. "Give up Buster. There's no way that old stallion would want us wandering around freely around here. Especially if he's got something to hide. You'd probably need some kind of special access or some crap to actually move around here normally. Otherwise, we're gonna keep walking around in circles, finding more and more dead ends..." For the last ten minutes, Paita and Busby had been looking through any door they could open to find some hope of exit. Fortunately, they had yet to come face to face with any ghosts or triggered traps of any kind. On the negative side, they didn't find anything useful in any of the rooms. Even Busby, who was the only one who was even trying to drive any optimism to the 'locate an escape route' plan was losing hope. "...maybe there's something we're missing." Busby considered. "Like what?" Paita asked. "Maybe... maybe there's supposed to be a way out of here, but there's some kind of secret we're not looking at. L-like a puzzle." "A puzzle..." Paita sighed with a small laugh before whirlling around to Busby, eyebrows crossed. "You think this is some kind of game?!" Busby took a step back from the fury he saw in her eyes. The mare approached Busby and backed him up against a wall. For those moments, their faces were barely 3 inches away from each other. "You think this is some kind of game, don't you?!" Busby looked off to the side nervously and said with a sheepish grin, "Uh... maybe?" Just as Paita looked as though she was about to knock Busby's block off, the stallion put his hooves up to defend his face. "You said it yourself! The mansion's just messing with us!" After a few moments of glaring, Paita stepped off. "What are you suggesting?" "I don't know, lady..." Busby said, relaxing his hooves. "Maybe... maybe you're right. Maybe there is no real exit because the rooms don't hold one... but maybe they're just a key to getting out. A piece of some kind of really big and unconventional puzzle." Paita looked down either end of the hallway. "Each room on the left side of the hallway are the same... so are all of the ones on the right. Every room on one side is the same." Paita recapped. "That means... under those white sheets is probably the same thing. Same bed type, same seats, same dressers, same mirrors..." "Right. So if there's nothing in one room, there's bound to be nothing in the others." Busby agreed." "There wouldn't be a trap door or some other type of portal in every identical room, I suppose," Paita said. "Then if the exit's not through the door, where is it?" "...how about the paintings?" Busby said. Paita raised an eyebrow. "What about them?" "Unless we go too far, they're the only things that don't change," Busby said. "You have a point there Buster," Paita said looking down each side of the hallway. "There are five different paintings in this hallway. Now that you mention it, this is the only hallway we've found that has paintings at all! At least before we ended up back here after venturing too far... or just plain hitting a dead end over past that staircase." "They've got to hold the key!" Busby exclaimed. "I mean... we've just got to figure out which one." Busby went for the clouded village portrait. Paita stared at him as he went to take the portrait off of the wall. Suddenly, something in the back of her mind... an instinct of some sort said something. If I were hiding something big, I wouldn't make this so easy... "Busby wait!" Paita said, holding out a hoof as Busby stopped in his tracks. He'd yet to get a good grasp on the painting yet, but by hearing his real name, he knew the mare was serious. "What's wrong?" "Don't... take that one down." Paita said. "I don't think it's that one." "Can't hurt to check, right?" Busby said. Paita shook her head. "No. Actually, I don't think we can afford to make any mistakes without triggering some other type of trap." At the idea, Busby backed away from the painting. "You think this place is booby trapped?" Paita shrugged. "Hey. I would anyway. This place... I bet it's some kind of front for some operation involving some evil plan, the princesses, and the Elements themselves." "And?" "And if I were this old stallion, I'd be afraid someponies... or in our case, some guards would try and thwart my plan. If I were as paranoid as he was-" "Which you are." "Shut it." Paita snapped. "If I were as paranoid as him, I'd probably put some kind of death trap behind that painting. Like a spear, or an arrow to go through your head. Heck, even a bomb could be behind any one of these things. If I knew the answer, it wouldn't be a problem. Same case if I put in the effort of making it 'solvable'." "Huh?" "Like... if I were Specter, I'd have henchmen. Like that Sweetie. But if my lackeys got killed because they didn't remember the solution to a puzzle, they could still just solve it and get where they have to get anyway... but like I said, that's if I were Specter." "Why would he care if-" "I said if I were Specter," Paita glared. "I don't know why he'd care if his lakeys could die, but considering Sweetie and him looked the part, it's plasuable... or maybe you're right. Maybe he's just sick in the head and wants ponies to play his game before he kills them. Probably truth in both." Hey, my idea stuck! Busby thought proudly. Then he thought about being impaled through the head, and that pride went away as he shuddered. "Fine. Then how do we figure out which painting we can take down?" "Well... if this hallway's a game or a puzzle like you said, then there's got to be rules, right? Something off about one of the paintings that's not with the other ones?" "That makes sense." Busby nodded. "Let's look at each painting before we figure out which one to take down." With that, the two started looking at each painting, taking out every last detail they could from each one. They started with the one at the dead end of the hallway, with the blocked off stairway that Busby had nearly triggered the mechanism of... if there was one behind it to begin with. As they figured, it depicted a little village that seemed to have just experienced a terrible fire. The origin of the smoke that was covering the village wasn't clear, but it was likely somewhere off in the smoke-cloud blocked background. At the center of the painting, among the other ponies wandering around in the smoke, there was a banner... though what it said was extremely unclear. Further down the hallway, the next painting was one that depicted a cave. Possibly a mine of some sort. Tracks led out of it, likely for any mineral carts to be dragged in or out. A sign was posted in the darkness... it said: "Stabletown Mine - Condemned - Keep Out". Despite this, there seemed to be the shadow of a little pony somewhere deep in the cave... Even farther down, the third painting depicted a factory of some sort. Much like the cave, it seemed to be closed down. The factory looked strange, to say the least. It was mostly composed of metal, aside from a few extra add-ons and watchtowers that were mostly made out of stone and some other unidentifiable purple material. The factory held a certain elegance to its design in the way that each tower curled around the main body of the building and the cone-like shape it created at the top. If it wasn't for the gears and belts popping out of the factory, or the smudged sign in the foreground that one could barely make out the letters "S...l...t...n F.cto.y" one might have assumed it to be some kind of fortress. The fourth picture depicted a Ferris Wheel, towering above some kind of festival below. Balloons floated above the scene up to the peak of the Ferris Wheel before they seemed to pop. In the top passenger cart, there was a pony looking below at the festival. Oddly enough, besides the balloons and the booths, the festival looked... quiet. The background was grey and gloomy. It looked more like a funeral than a parade. Finally, there was one of the mansion itself. It looked old and unlivable like they saw during their first confrontation with the building. Though there weren't any gravestones, there were dead trees that seemed to be decaying, mold and fungus growing along the sides of them. In one of the windows, at the front gate, there was a blue scaled, baby-sized dragon looking up at the mansion. It watched one window in particular that had fire popping out of it, and the silhouette of a pony likely trapped in the mansion. "...well?" Paita asked. "Notice anything about any of them special?" Busby scratched the back of his head, under a piece of plating to his armor. "Uh..." Busby thought, giving every picture one last scan. "Well... I guess those three all have something to do with Stabletown. I mean, I'm guessing that village is apart of the town right there." Busby pointed to the village painting. "Right. The factory and the mine also mention Stabletown." Paita agreed. "So that leaves these two... the mansion and the Ferris wheel." "But... if we're working with which one is from Stabletown, and which one isn't... how do we know?" Paita squinted. "Hm... hey look!" Paita said, pointing to the Ferris wheel. "The Ferris wheel is mobile! This is some kind of carnival!" "Carnival? But there are circus tents too, see?" Busby said. Paita shook her head. "You're missing the point Buster. If that Ferris wheel moves around on wheels, and is apart of a moving carnival, then it's not from anywhere! It couldn't have a home... at least not like the mansion." "But wait... does that mean this mansion is from that Stabletown?" Busby asked. "Then what's it doing here, I wonder. It's looks almost exactly the same... but that's impossible!" "You're asking the wrong mare," Paita said. "But if there's anything useful behind one of these paintings, the Ferris wheel is our best bet." "Alright..." Busby said, moving over to the painting. He hesitated for a moment and looked back at Paita. "M-maybe I should use my magic instead this time eh? Just to be safe." Paita rolled her eyes, indifferent to Busby's decision. The stallion guard focused his magic into his horn and then onto the painting itself. He tried to lift it... but there was a problem. It wouldn't move! Because of some strange magical gravity spell surrounding the painting, his magic wasn't having any effect on the two pounds painting that felt as though it weighed a ton. "Magic isn't working on this thing! I can't lift it." "Then use your hooves." Paita sighed. "It's easy really. You just get up on your hind legs, reach for the painting-" "Alright, alright." Busby said. Nervously, he put his hooves on either side. The thought of being stabbed through the skull by something lurking behind the painting reached his brain again. Before making another move, he looked back at Paita unsure. "Are you sure this-" "Look, If you die, I'll bury you in one of those holes we saw coming up. How's that sound?" she said with slight annoyance in her voice. "You're the most reassuring pony I've ever met, and I appreciate you, you know that?" "Quit being a little foal and be a guard. Take painting down already! Take it down!" Paita snapped. That's not how guarding works though... Busby took a deep breath as slowly lifted the painting off of the wall. As he did, he heard something click behind it, scaring him back onto his flank. Paita rolled her eyes at the downed stallion. "You're the biggest jellyfish I've ever met, Buster." Jellyfish? "You want to do this?" he asked, getting back up. "No, I wouldn't want to steal the chance from you. You're looking for respect right? Pull that thing down and I'll respect you a whole two percent more." Paita said with a small smirk on her face. Woowwe. That's a whole two percent more than never minutes ago. Busby thought. Maybe I'll earn the rest by the time I'm that Yield stallion's age. Busby got up and went for the painting again, lifting the piece of artwork carefully. He shut his eyes, afraid of what might happen next as he heard the click again. Once the painting was completely off, he dropped it on the floor as the wall shook. "Uh... Paita?" Paita, got close to Busby, now afraid for her own life as they both stared at where the painting used to sit. They watched as a yellow box appeared on the wall, just about the same size as the painting itself. Within seconds, it expanded to about half the size of a door. Suddenly, without warning, the spot ignited and blew up at the two ponies. Though the flames were too far to hurt either of them seriously, they came close enough to lick the noses of each of them. Oddly enough, rather than being burnt by intense heat, they felt a brush of coldness along their snouts. As fast as it came, the fire went out, revealing a rectangular hole, just large enough for either Paita or Busby to fit through. "Well... that was frankly terrifying," Busby said, still somewhat frozen by fear as he continued to stare at the portal. "Uh huh..." Paita said, imagining what might have happened if those flames had come even a few feet further. "...but hey. There's a thing behind it after all. Who would've thought it huh?" "Y-yeah..." Paita said. After a minute, she shook her head, snapping her out of her trance, and looked at Busby. "Well Buster? I know you're eager to find out what's on the other side." Of course I am. Of course, Busby thought sarcastically. Without another word in protest, knowing they'd be futile against the mare, he went towards the square hole. He climbed up into it and began crawling through. Paita waited in anticipation on the other side. After a few minutes of waiting, she decided to call him. "Buster?" she called. There was no answer. "Buster!" She was beginning to get worried. Did something happen once he made it to the other side? Was he okay? She thought of the other guards and how quickly they'd disappeared. Leaving her... "...Busby?" "...So you only call me my real name when you're scared then. Good. To. Know!" Busby answered, sticking his head out of the hole. "Don't do that, I thought you were-" "What? Dead? Didn't realize you thought that little of me," Busby lied with a stupid grin. "If I died that fast, I think I might have broken a record somewhere." "What did you find?" Paita asked, in attempt to change the subject. "You won't believe it-" "Coming from your mouth, probably not, but go ahead." Paita said. "There's another hallway! No blocked exits or... well, any exits at all. Just a hallway with a bunch of windows and doors." "That doesn't sound very unbelievable, honestly," Paita said with a sassy lean. "In this place?" Paita straightened. "You have a point ...okay, fine. Move back so I can climb through too." Busby did as he was told, as Paita climbed up. Once she was up, they were face to face. Busby gave Paita a sly smirk. "What the hay are you smiling about." She asked annoyed. "You were worried about me, weren't you?" Paita gritted her teeth. For a moment, she just sat there, face to face with the stallion in the small space. Finally, she answered. She didn't answer with words, but instead, with a hoof to Busby's snout. "Gah!" Busby said, covering his shout. The HAY! This armor sucks! "Want another one?" Paita asked. Busby shook his head still. "Then start backing up." Busby uttered a painful moan and nodded as he began moving backward through the portal as Paita followed him. Finally, Busby made it to the end, and so did Paita. It was a little bit of a drop as they exited the portal, and they managed to land hooves first. "Hm. Looks like we're gonna have to use something to climb back up." Busby said. Paita nodded in agreement. "My wings still aren't working right, so we can't really rely on them yet..." "Then let's get searching then." Busby suggested. And hope that there's something we can actually use here... *** "Where we goin' Squee?" Sweetie asked as she followed the little colt through the dusty little village. The immediate surroundings were mostly dirt and bricked housing. Any shops were built from wooden logs and bits of straw. "Well, I thought I'd show you a few of the attractions little ol' Stabletown has to offer, y'know?" Squee responded. "Like?" "Well..." Squee started. He seemed to be deep in thought for a moment. "...Huh. Only big thing we have I can think of is Yield's place." "Really?" Sweetie asked. "I mean, we've got smaller, less important stuff here in Lower Stabletown, but that's the only thing that's really put us on the map. It's the biggest one in this region." "Why is it so big?" Sweetie asked curiously. Squee shook his head. "Dunno. Remember learning about it in class though." Squee shrugged. "If you're really curious, I guess you could ask Audit about that. She teaches the Stabletown school around here." "Okay. I'll try and remember that." Sweetie said. Then again, without any other memories to hold, what left is there to? "But uh... Oh yeah! I know who we could see." "Hm? Who?" Sweetie asked. "There was this new stallion that arrived here a little while ago. A little after that big carnival fire not too long ago..." Squee said. "An odd ball one... then again, lots of ponies around here aren't really on their rocker. Like... ever." "Who is he?" "Dunno. Came with another really cut- er... j-just a filly and a silly looking mare. Don't remember their names though... anywho, he set up shop and keeps to himself mostly during the day, but loves meeting new ponies when they come around. So does his kid and wife apparently. 'Least that's what they say." "You think he'll let us meet him?" "Like I said, he likes to meet to new ponies." Squee said. "I think they live around here..." Squee scanned the houses for a couple moments before responding with an "Aha!", pointing to one wooden house in particular. It stood in a little square area of Lower Stabletown. From here, Sweetie could also clearly see the mansion... but she didn't give it that much thought as she followed Squee. "That looks like a shop." "It is." Squee explained. "I think it was a flower shop, but I forgot. See, you know that mansion you were so crazy about earlier?" "No." Sweetie said flatly. "Right... no memory... anyway, some mare caught the eye of Mr. Yield and went to live up there. The other mare... old one I think... something happened to her. Disappeared sometime around her leave. I forgot if it was before or after though. Anyway, I think it got sold to some pony, and eventually that stallion rented it out from 'em." "Why a shop? Why not get a nice home to move in." Squee shrugged as they stopped. "Dunno. Only reason he gave anyone was that he was planning to stay for a really short while. But uh... to be honest..." Squee got in close to Sweetie's ear and whispered. "I don't think he's supposed to be here." Sweetie turned her head to the side as she noticed Squee had gone into some weird trance like state. His face looked like he'd come to some kind of realization... "...Squee?" Sweetie's eye was taken off of Squee as she noticed a mare walk out of the shop. A purple maned mare, who for the first time since Sweetie had woken up, looked familiar for a split second. She was carrying some kind of magestic fabric materials that almost seemed to hypnotize Sweetie. She was also accompanied by a second pony... a stallion Sweetie figured. For a second, Sweetie could have sworn he saw him as a silhouette of a pony, rather than an actual- "SWEETIE!" Squee yelled, snapping Sweetie out of her stupor. Upon the breaking of her trance, Sweetie grabbed her head, feeling intensely lightheaded. The light around her seemed more intense than it should have... the filly felt ready to faint again. Squee braced Sweetie's sides to keep her up on her hooves. "You ok?" "Y-yeah... I uh... just was feeling dizzy again for a second." Sweetie shook her head. "I'm fine now." "Okay, you ready to head over to the library now?" Sweetie shook her head in confusion before looking at Squee. "Huh?" She asked as she squinted at the colt. "Yeah. You kept talking about how you wanted to go to the library and check out some books earlier... don't tell me you forgot already." Squee teased. "O-of course not!" Sweetie lied. Had she really forgotten where she wanted to go? Did she really want to go anywhere to begin with? She wasn't sure... but she knew that she could trust Squee for now. Besides, though she wasn't entirely sure what Squee meant by "check-out" or "book", but somehow, the words seemed to interest the little filly. "Well, let's head over there. Not in the square though. Follow me." Squee said smiling. Sweetie smiled back as she began following the little colt out of the square and along the streets of Stabletown. As Sweetie continued down the street, closely following behind Squee, she found herself feeling a little awkward. Though most of the other species didn't seem to pay her as much attention, she noticed that every pony was staring at her. As the little filly passed by a window, transparently showing her reflection, she was reminded of why... it was those marks on her. Feather had called them Cutie Marks... but from what she could tell, everypony around her seemed to posses only one cutie mark. She had five... and only one or two were even on her flank correctly. She questioned where they came from... then she remembered Feather had mentioned something about "Cutie Pox"... was that bad? Was this Cutie Pox something she had to worry about? As the little filly pondered this, Squee once again brought her out of deep thought. "Here we are!" Squee said grandly, gesturing his leg toward the building in front of them. "It's... it's-" "An acorn, I know." "I was going to say big, but... wait, what's an acorn?" Sweetie asked, looking up at the giant building. As Squee had said, it was in fact, an oversized acorn. Though there were windows along the sides of the door on the first floor of the giant brown tree seed, the two biggest ones were on the second one, taking up the space four or five windows might. On both sides of the acorn were two tall trees, extending up twice the size of the acorn itself. "And even better, what's inside?" "What? An actual acorn? I don't actually-" "No, not that thing. The library." "Oh! Uh... books." "Books?" "Books." Squee repeated. "What's a... book?" Sweetie asked. She wasn't sure why, but for some reason, the simple four to five letter word gave the filly a rushing feeling she wasn't expecting. It wasn't another loss of equilibrium, but simply a sense of excitement... did she have something inside of her that made her feel so... intoxicated. She felt some kind of importance of knowing what these books were... or better yet where she could get them. "Can I see them?" Squee chuckled. "Wouldn't be much of a tour if you didn't get to see things, right?" the colt headed forward and opened the door for Sweetie. "Pretty fillies first." Sweetie smiled as she trotted inside, followed by Squee who closed the door behind him. Once inside, the filly looked around the acorn. On every wall, there seemed to be a shelf of books as well as there were shelves along the center of the room. At the front however, right next to the door, there was a small desk with a bell. There also seemed to be a quill as well as a piece of parchment listing off the names of other ponies and books. Sweetie guessed that the long piece of parchment could hold just about every pony living in Stabletown... it was likely to keep a record of what was going in and out of the library. Sweetie didn't know what any of these things were, but she did notice something in particular. Some of the names had been written in a strange green ink, as everything else had been written in black. It seemed to bulge out of the paper unnaturally- "HEY!" Squee yelled, making Sweetie jump. "ANYONE HOME?!" "Shhh!" hissed somepony from the second floor... oddly enough, there didn't seem to be any platform or stairs reaching up to the second level. There were only walls of books... "This is a library! That means you need to... wait... visitors?" "Yeah Ms. Covri. You got a sec?" Squee asked. As Sweetie scanned the shelves above, she noticed on one of the shelves along the center of the room, the purple head and mane of a mare popping out to look at the two ponies. Something was odd about the way she looked at them though... almost as though she weren't looking at them, but instead their general direction... "Of course! I've always got time for fellow scholars and veracious readers such as yourself." "Actually, Ms. Covr-" "Sheep! Be a good dog and fetch me my ladder would you?" Covari called. Her request was followed by the sound of a barking dog. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a brown border collie leaped out of nowhere, surprising the little filly. The dog ran over to a wall where a wheeled ladder lay against. After skidding to a stop, Sheep grabbed the ladder with his teeth and dragged it over to the shelf Ms. Covri sat atop of. Once it was there, Sheep barked again. "Good girl Sheep. Catch!" Covri said as she tossed down a multi-colored dog biscuit to her. Sheep caught the treat and wagged her tail before quietly going back over to the front desk to lie down and rest. Ms. Covri then used the ladder to climb down to the first floor. "Um... what's was she doing up there?" Sweetie whispered. "Inka Covri lives here I think. She has her bed and stuff mostly on top of the shelves." Squee explained. "Never leaves the place unless there's a party, a parade, or a firework show to check out." "Why?" Sweetie asked. "Doesn't she like to be outside? It was but a few seconds before Covri made it down to the first floor. From this angle, Sweetie got a better look at her. The mare wore big goofy looking glasses and a casually colored librarian skirt and blouse... but it wasn't the glasses or clothing that shocked her. It was the mare's eyes. Everypony else she'd come across so far had eyes that somewhat complimented their coat or mane in some way. Covri's eyes however were different. Rather than being the color of her mane, or... any other color, they were white. "What's wrong with her eyes?" Sweetie asked as the mare approached them. "Can... can she see?" Squee nodded. "Yeah, she can see fine... sometimes." "Sometimes?" "Yeah. She can see in rooms that are moderately lit... but she can't really see anything too bright. Like the daytime sun. That's kind of why she she spends most of her time inside... and part of the reason she has that dog. Otherwise, the daylight would blind her." "But... you said she goes outside sometimes. If she can't see anything, then why bother-" "Why don't I be the one to answer you questions about myself, hm?" Covri said, causing Sweetie to jump again. Even she was surprised how high strung she was now. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Sweetie quickly regained her composure. "It's fine. I wasn't scared..." Covri smiled. "Of course not, now what can I do for you fine ponies today? Oh, I actually got a shipment of books from the mansion you might be-" "A-actually Ms. Covri, I'm just here for her," Squee said. "Besides, you and I both know I don't have the attention span for books anyway, right?" Covri frowned. "I suppose one could hope." the mare looked over at Sweetie. "But you... are you a reader?" "What's a reader?" Sweetie asked. "She's er... got amnesia or something." Squee quickly explained. "And new to town too, so I'm giving her a tour. When I mentioned books and the library, she got excited so... I figured she'd at least like to take a look around." "I see... and what your name might be?" Covri asked, pointing her full attention toward the white filly. "S-sweetie." she said. "Sweetie? That's all?" "I don't know." Sweetie shrugged. "I'm kind of learning stuff as I go along." Covri looked at the filly strangely before Squee came between them. "Er... her last name is 'Belle' I think." "Really?" Sweetie asked. "Sweetie Belle." Covri said, allowing the name to fill her mouth. "Alright. I'll need to remember that when I write you down for a library card." "Library card?" Sweetie asked. "What's that?" "It's a little er... piece of stone we use to tell who can take out a book or not." Covri said, taking a stone out of her pocket. It was white, and had an etching of her name, as well as a few other pieces of information. "You don't have one, do you? Possibly from where you're from?" "I... I don't think I have anything, really." Sweetie admitted. "Oh... well, until you can get you one... probably by tomorrow, you can't really take any books out." Sweetie frowned, looking severely disappointed. She looked over at Squee who simply scratched the back of his head. "Sorry Sweetie. If I could, I'd give you one... but I lost mine a while ago." he explained. "Besides, I rarely come here anyway." "Oh..." Sweetie said, bowing her head. Squee hated seeing Sweetie upset, and racked his brain for some kind of compromise. "...wait! Can't she at least look at them?" "O-of course!" Covri said. "This is a public library." Sweetie looked back up at the mare. "Really?" Covri nodded, giving Sweetie back her will to smile. "Well, I suppose I could tour you the different sections of the library... maybe I could even reserve a book you find interesting." the mare said smiling. "Squee, are you coming?" Squee scratched the back of his head. "Actually uh... I think I'm going to keep your dog here company." "Of course you are." Covri sighed. "Come along Sweetie Belle." "I'll be waiting for you here Sweetie." Squee waved as the two female ponies moved deeper into the library. Once he was out of earshot, Covri shook her head. "Colts... can't appreciate the wonders of a good book, eh Sweetie?" "I'm not even sure why I appreciate it myself Ms. Covri... but they've got to be something if they make my spine tingle every time I hear about them." Covri smiled. "That they are Sweetie. That they are." As they walked around, Sweetie spied different metal labels atop every few shelves. They started around the Fiction sections of the library. "So... Ms. Covri. You still go outside? Even with your eyes like... like that?" Sweetie asked. The mare nodded. "Only at night though. My eyes aren't supposed to be exposed to extremely bright light... but I do love to go outside at night for one of the Yield's parties, or one of the Bonker's parades and firework shows." Covri explained. "But I can't look at, or see any bright surfaces on light backgrounds. That's why you see all of the shades drawn in here... and so many lamps." "Oh, ok." Sweetie said, somewhat comprehending what Covri was talking about. The mare then began explaining the genres of fiction there were, as well as what fiction was to begin with. Sweetie took a few minutes to flip though the pages of the book. Though she could understand some of the words, she felt she'd probably understand even more if her memory wasn't so bad on what every word meant. The next area they went to was non-fiction section. "Now, this place during the school year is where most of Ms. Audit's students set up." "Why?" Sweetie asked. "Mostly because much of the history of important ponies is concentrated here. It's the best available place to get information on your favorite historians." "Um... best available place?" "Why yes... didn't Squee mention where the books came from?" Sweetie thought for a moment. She remembered that Squee had mentioned something about the books she got from the mansion. "Yeah, he mentioned it... but I don't think I understand." "Well, as you could imagine, there are many books that I get from other libraries... but a majority of the books I get come from Yield's enormous mansion library." "Bigger than this." "Much bigger Sweetie. Amazingly enough, his library takes up 3 of my little acorn library's space... and it's only one room in the mansion." "And... it's also filled with books?" Covri nodded. "Naturally." The strange purple cutie mark around her horn began to tingle and itch with excitement, as well as the rest of the filly's body. So many books... she wondered if she could even handle such a thing. "Anyway, every so often, Mr. Yield donates his books to us. I'm unsure of where he manages to get them, but the point is, that he's our main supplier of books... because he's got the biggest library in this region of Equestria." "...but?" "But... he doesn't like ponies wandering his mansion, so nopony can access the library, or anywhere in the mansion for that matter, unless he's hosting a party, like tonight." "Party?" "Yes... he's allowing ponies to come in, eat, mingle... at least anyone who's been invited anyway." Suddenly, Sweetie felt another wave of dizziness. She moaned painfully as she felt a sharp pulse in the back of her brain. Then... she heard the whisper again. Need a ticket... get an invite... Sweetie shook her head, trying to make the whisper go away. "Sweetie, you alright?" "Yeah... I'm fine... now, what were you saying?" Sweetie said, thankful the annoying little whisper was gone again. "About the party? Well... not much to tell besides the fact Yield only invites ponies he knows, has business with or are performers for his theater and music... and even they must go in couples." "Oh... guess I won't be going then... I don't have an invite, or somepony to go with huh?" Sweetie said sadly. Covri smiled. "Oh, I don't know. If you did somehow manage to get an invitation, I'm sure that nice colt in the front would really want to go with you." "What?" "Oh, I've seen how he looks at you Sweetie..." "No, I mean, what's a date?" Covri giggled. "I'm sure you'll find out later." "...hey, what's that?" Sweetie asked, pointing over to a shelf in the non-fiction section that stood out to the filly in particular. It held a large array of big and bulky looking books. "That?" Covri asked. "Nothing you'd be interested in. A bunch of books taking simple subjects and dissecting them into extremely complicated subjects you wouldn't really understand. Hay, even I don't understand some of the discussions in there..." "Like?" Covri thought for a moment. "Hm... I'd say books on subjects like the different types of Apple Trees, their life cycles, and their changing bucking spots.... explanations on the different Pegasi related and Non-Pegasi related weather patterns... the different animals and their eating habits... only to name a few." From just hearing the subjects, Sweetie's body, especially the areas around her Cutie Marks, began to itch eagerly as she looked at the books. "You said I could look at them right?" Sweetie asked in confirmation. Covri smiled. "Now Sweetie, I'd probably lose my job if I said you couldn't. Just... remember not to take them anywhere outside the library alright? Not until tomorrow." Sweetie nodded and found herself hopping happily over to the shelf. She wasn't sure why, but the oddly placed joy she felt was now accompanied by an uncontrollable urge to bounce... She'd have to figure out how to control this misplaced urge, lest she looked silly to the townsfolk. Even Covri gave the filly an odd look before going off to pre-occupy herself with some inventorying of the books on the wooden shelves. Having herself a little bit of semi-privacy, Sweetie began taking out books and placing three or four on the nearest table to begin attempting to read what they had to offer. She opened the book and began reading. As Covri had warned, the books were completely convoluted, using large words that no filly Sweetie's age would even be close to learning. It didn't help that Sweetie's grasp on Equestrian language was limited by the amnesia either. Sweetie found herself barely spending one or two minutes on each book before checking out a different one. Though there was nothing remarkable or exciting about each book aside from the strange tickle on her horn every time she turned a page; Sweetie did sense something odd on a few certain books she looked through. When she came across books such as "Apple Farming: An Explanation of How to Maintain an Acre of Apples", "Clouds: What Are They and How do They Work" or "Woodland Creatures: Know Thine Animals", one of her Cutie Marks began to itch slightly. Even a book named "Surprises of the Brain" seemed to make one tickle her, almost to the point of giggling in the library... but all of those types of books, no matter which one... the filly felt as though she could do what the books illustrated. Did she know how to do the tasks listed in the books before her amnesia? Once Sweetie has skimmed through just about every book on the surprisingly small shelf, she noticed that she'd managed to miss one. A brown leather-spine book that... unlike the other books, made the filly's horn itch just by looking at it. How could she miss a book like that? Sweetie looked around by some strange paranoia that surfaced from inside of her, to see if Covri was watching her from afar. She was nowhere to be seen. What's wrong with me? she wondered, finding her new found paranoia strange and silly. She pulled the book from the shelf and sat at another clear table, seeing as the last one was now covered in books. Though... without the wall of books to cover her area, Sweetie felt open for some reason. Once again, she shook off the sudden paranoia. What was the harm in checking out the little book she'd probably never understand anyway? Then why did she feel so scared of opening the book... that she'd somehow be doing something wrong? Sweetie buried the feelings and opened the book. Immediately, she found herself greeted with a very old looking picture of a white bearded pony casting a grand spell on thousands of other evil looking ponies with holes in them. The next page contained the table of contents. Table of Contents Introduction..........................................................................................................3 Spell Safety............................................................................................................10 Magical Measurement Equations Reference Tools......................................................17 Section 1: Teleportation Chapter 1: Teleportation Introduction..........................................................................23 Chapter 2: Teleportation Theory.................................................................................35 Chapter 3: Symbol Sequences and Orders..................................................................49 Chapter 4: Teleportation Exercises.............................................................................55 Chapter 5: Teleportation Conclusion............................................................................77 Section 2: Facial Hair Spells ..... The contents themselves looked extremely dull and boring. Something about the font of the text alone was making Sweetie yawn... but something inside of her told her to keep looking through- "You've got quite a number of interests Ms. Belle." Ms. Covri said from behind the small white Cutie Mark covered filly. Sweetie jumped at the sound of her voice, falling out of her chair. "Yeah, and you've got a knack for sneaking up on ponies," Sweetie said back. "Sorry, but I can't help but walk quietly," Cover explained. "I am a librarian after all." "Right..." Sweetie said, mildly annoyed she'd been scared once again by the purple librarian. "So what's this book? Starswirls the Bearded's Book of Magical Spells and Theories?" "That's what it's called?" Sweetie asked. "It didn't have a title on it..." "Yes... that's the original copy. Written by Starswirl himself before he died... besides the Table of Contents of course. Somehow Mr. Yield obtained it and sent it down here by mistake." "Aren't you going to give it back?" "Just got it today. I haven't gotten the chance... but I'm hoping to return it when I go with my date up to Yield Manor for his party." "Your going too?" Sweetie asked. "With who?" "Maybe you'll find out." Covri smiled. "...so... who's this Starswirl guy?" Sweetie asked, changing the subject to bury the whisper that had returned at the mention of the party. "Him? Only one of the most respected Magicians in Equestria. One of the best too until he died." "Die? What's that?" "Er... think of it like a vacation you don't come back from. Or want to go on in the first place for that matter." Covri explained. "Ok... how'd he die?" "Nopony knows... some speculate that he went on some kind of magical expedition and something went horribly wrong... others say he simply was experimenting with spells and it backfired, killing him. No body was recovered, but only his notes, which were compiled into that book." "These are them?" Covri nodded. "Hasn't been largely copied yet though... only a few others around Equestria exist, but that's the original you're looking at." "Oh..." "It's quite complicated though..." Covri continued. "Complicated?" "Because it was written by the modern Father of Magic, unabridged and unsimplified, right now, that's one of the most advanced magic books in Equestria." "I don't understand." Sweetie admitted. "Or know what abridged means." "Well... think of it this way. Do you know the telekinesis spell?" Sweetie shook her head. "Well, simply put, it's one of the simplest spells a unicorn can learn. Here. Let me demonstrate." She said as she began floating the books Sweetie had taken out back into their appropriate shelf. "Neato!" Sweetie said in awe of the demonstration. "Now, my Cutie Mark doesn't make me a magician," Covri said, exposing her flank under her librarian attire. It was a single page that seemed like it was ripped on the ends. "...but from what I understand, other spells can be cast in by creating variations of that spell by visualizing certain marks... it's complicated, as I've said. Somepony would need years of studying for one to even comprehend the first spell in there unless..." "Unless...?" "Well, unless their talent was for magic." Hm... every time I looked at a certain book, I got a tingling sensation... and felt like I could do what the books were saying easy. Like an instinct... Sweetie thought. Maybe... maybe... Once again, Covri left Sweetie alone to look through the book she doubted she'd ever be able to decipher. Sweetie began scanning the book. At first however, to her disappointment, she couldn't understand a word of the first page... but pushed on. She read through the introduction, explaining who Starswirl was, and touching base on a few adventures he detailed in a separate set of notes. Then the book started lecturing what magic was, and how the book would explain further upon how magic worked. Once the tiny text book was finished, it went on about how dangerous magic could be. How it could be used not only for assistance and experimentation... but defense and even as a killing weapon. Both purposefully and accidentally... The next chapter talked about different measurements that needed to be taken into consideration... Sweetie didn't understand one of them, but her ticklish horn urged her to push forward. As the table of contents foreshadowed, the next section was all about the teleportation spell. The introduction simply gave a brief explanation and history of teleportation... the filly learned teleportation could transport a pony from one point to another with sheer willpower. Though most of the words in the chapter were far beyond her understanding, she did catch a few words an sketch to the side of the page that did shock her a bit. It said that sometimes, ponies can make mistakes... and teleport into other beings. The illustration depicted a crude image of what happened to the victim. The picture wasn't graphic enough to make the filly vomit, but it was enough to make her shiver. Could... could she do that if she made a mistake? Sweetie was apprehensive toward reading further to learn more about the potentially deadly spell... Sweetie skipped ahead to the next chapter, which talked about theories regarding teleportation. Some believe that one can teleport to other dimensions... or even places that didn't even exist in the real world if one could visualize it enough. Places that existed outside of what ponies called "reality". She skipped through most of the convoluted speech. What use would she have for the ability to teleport out of this wonderful world anyway? For the most part, it was perfect. Finally, she came to the chapter that talked about the "Spell Symbols". Sweetie could feel it in her horn... something was on the next page that was important... but what could it- Sweetie turned the page and was met with a barrage of crazy symbols. Sweetie's eyes widened as she scanned the page, the numbers, the symbols and the words that were on it. From which, Sweetie was shocked to tell she could fluently read it... and comprehend it as though it were a child's book! Flipping through the pages as quickly as possible, Sweetie didn't feel in control of herself. Her eyes and arms seemed to, for the moment, have a mind of their own as they ran through the chapter. It felt like forever before finally, she reached the end of the chapter... all of her tensed up muscles released as she turned onto the next page. The filly breathed heavily as she felt as though she'd just finished with some intense workout. Her brain throbbed from the information that was forced into her head by the will of her horn... or possibly the Cutie Mark? It didn't matter though... Sweetie was sure of it. She knew how to teleport. Sweetie blinked, allowing for light to normally enter them, and for her to see her previously blurred surroundings. She looked around... thankfully, Covri wasn't there this time to see her little freak-out. Once she had completely calmed down from the strange information scramble she'd experienced, she turned the page to see what kinds of exercises the book had to offer. The next part was a simple explanation of how to cast the teleportation spell. Apparently, the spell was similar to telekinesis where one simply had to visualize the object. Sweetie had to visualize where she wanted to go as well as the symbols and her flowing magic into them. She didn't want to go far however... just to test herself to see if she could truly complete the task. Sweetie looked over at the table where she sat previously and closed her eyes. She visualized the table and the area around it and then imagined the symbols in the order she was supposed to on the table. Finally, she began flowing magic into them, as she felt magic flowing out of her horn... but not toward the table. Instead, the warm magic seemed to bubble out of her horn and cover her entire body. First her face, then her neck, then her abdomen... until she was completely covered in the magic. As the magic flowed out of her, she felt weaker and weaker... beginning to wonder if she truely had the strength to cast the spell. Then... it happened. For a moment, Sweetie felt as though she didn't exist... and in those moments of non-existence, Sweetie felt sickly weak. She felt almost... dead. The horrifying moment thankfully didn't last more than half a second as she felt herself land on the table with a thud. She opened her eyes to find that she was indeed on the table she intended to teleport to. "I... I did it!" Sweetie said weakly. But... It's so tiring. To hay if I'm gonna ever use that spell again... only when I really need it. Covri, before long, rushed over to the little filly on the table. "Sweetie! Is everything alright? I heard a thud!" "M...Ms. Covri! I did it!" Sweetie exclaimed, fully regaining herself. "Did what?" "I-" Sweetie was about to share her magical milestone when she heard a bark from the front of the library... followed by a loud hiss. "H-hey! Don't get on that! HEY!" Squee yelled before the sound of breaking glass echoed throughout the otherwise silent library. Sweetie and Covri looked at each other briefly before running back to the entrance of the library. There, they witnessed the aftermath of what Squee had just seen. The front desk was in ruins, scratched up paper everywhere and the oil-lamp that was previously on the desk lie at its bottom, shattered. A small orange flame had arisen where the shards of the lamp lay. "FIRE!" Covri exclamed. "LIBRARY FIRE!" "Um... what's fire?" Sweetie asked, momentary oblivious to the flame. Covri didn't waste any time in using her magic to rip off one of the curtains to one of the nearby windows and smother the flame. "Squee! What happened?!" the mare asked angrily. "I-I don't know!" Squee stuttered. "I was just sitting here, minding my own business when your dog went crazy! He jumped up on your desk, knocked over the lamp and ran out of the door!" "Did you leave it open?" "What?" "You didn't close the door. Did you?" Squee scratched the back of his head. "Uh... no?" Covri groaned. "I hate it when this happens. Sheep must have seen something outside to catch his attention... did you see which way he went?" "I'm guessing that way down the road, but I'm not sure." "Alright... look. I need you two to see if you can't get him." "What? Why?" Squee asked. "Because one, you're the one who left the door open and let him out. And two... I can't go out until it's gotten a little darker. It's still too bright out." Squee groaned at the new chore he'd been presented with. "Come on Squee." Sweetie said. "Ms. Covri needs our help. Let's just get her dog for her, okay? Pretty please?" The filly fluttered her eyes for extra effect, almost instinctively. Squee shot up and looked off to the side for a moment. Sweetie noticed a little bit of redness on his cheeks... did she do that? "Well... I guess. Yeah! We've got you covered Ms. Covri." The librarian smiled. "Thank you, you two..." The two little ponies nodded and headed out the door in the direction Squee supposedly saw Sheep run off to. "Hurry back with my little assistant!" *** Sweetie and Squee ran down the road, asking other stranger ponies whether or not they'd seen the little brown dog run past them. Most of them had been too busy to notice anything. When they were sure they had gone the wrong way, they came across a yellow pony with an orange mane. She claimed that she'd seen a little dog run through... and she noticed it because it had ran right through her garden of watermelons. The mare wasn't sure, but she had a feeling that it was chasing something over to the pear farm at the end of the road. With their new lead, the two of them ran off for Prickly Pear Farms. Finally, they came to the wooden sign welcoming anyone to the acre: Welcome to Prickly Pear Acres... We Farm Pears and Pear Products The two looked at each other before pushing open the picket fence gate that led onto the acre of farmland. "You sure that mare was right?" Squee asked, looking around at the hundreds of pear trees. "She sure sounded sure of herself. If anything, the ponies here might have seen Sheep pass by." Sweetie said back. "Maybe-" Sweetie was then interrupted by the sound of barking and the same hiss they'd both heard back at the library. "C'mon now! Shoo!" Sweetie and Squee didn't waste any more time in running to where they heard the complaining pony. It wasn't long before they found the scene they were looking for. There was Sheep, barking up at a tree. He had a small scratch on the side of his coat. In the tree, there was a puffy white cat with yellow eyes wearing a small purple bow. The cat seemed as distressed and angry as Sheep was... Next to the tree was an orange mare with a pear for a cutie mark and a rancher's hat, yelling at the two animals to get lost. "Well, looks like we found our missing mutt eh Sweetie?" Squee said. "Yeah... but between the two of them, I don't think it's going to be easy calming them down. C'mon." Sweetie said, attemting to take charge of the situation as she went to confront the orange mare. "E-excuse me." The mare stopped yelling at the two to put her attention on the filly. "What? Who the hay are you? These yer little mongrels?" "Huh? Uh... no. One of them's a... a friend of mine's that got out." Sweetie noticed a tiny scratch on the mare's face similar to the one on Sheep's body. "Um... are you okay?" "Hmph. Which one is th' one yer lookin for?" the mare asked bitterly, covering her face. She hissed in minor pain. "Um... the dog." Sweetie said, pointing at Sheep. "Best be glad you ain't in charge of that cat." the mare said. "Like it's possessed or somethin'." "It sure looks angry..." Sweetie said, looking at it. "Wonder why it's so mad?" "Dunno little filly... Name's Cal. Cal Olive." she said holding out a hoof. "Yers?" "S-sweetie." Sweetie said. "...Belle. Sweetie Belle." The filly remembered to add her last name, remembering how Covri had looked at her like some kind of alien. "Well little filly... ah can't seem ta get yer little pup's attention. You said it ain't yers but... ya got any idea of how ta git it ta heel?" "...what?" "Can ya calm it down." Cal asked. Sweetie looked back at Squee unsure of herself. The colt simply shrugged. "Sorry Sweetie. I'm terrible with animals." "Um..." Sweetie looked back at the dog. She found herself staring at it... and suddenly, she felt sorry for it. That was the weird part though... the cut wasn't deep, and nothing the common pony would even think about... but something told her that it really stung the little dog. She felt like she had to help. "I guess I could give it a try... but do you have something I can use to clean and cover that cut right there?" Cal nodded. "Eeyeah. I reckon there's probably some in th' farmhouse over there we could use. Hold up." The mare ran over to the pistachio colored farmhouse just through the trees. She returned within five minutes carrying a bucket of hot water, a rag, and a roll of tape. "Yer lucky ah had th' pot o' water over th' kettle when yer little animal friends showed up. But uh... how ya gonna keep em' still long enough ta work on em?" Sweetie wasn't sure of that herself. She tried touching Sheep to make her give the filly her attention... but she just lashed out at the filly, attempting to sink her teeth into the filly's leg. She quickly pulled her leg back to her chest. Sheesh Sheep! You nearly took my arm off! I'm never going to get close to him unless I figure out how to calm him down... but how? Sweetie felt one of her cutie marks begin itching again. This time, it was the one on her left eye. The one with the butterflies... did she have some kind of talent that would help her calm Sheep? And if so, did it have something to do with her eyes? Sweetie supposed it was worth a shot. "Sheep..." Sweetie said as she reached out to touch the dog's fur. As she did, she turned to Sweetie, ready to try and bite at her again... but that was when they're eyes met. At that point, Sweetie put as much focus as she could on the collie's eyes... it didn't bite her as she began petting her. In fact, she barely even breathed as she petted the dog. It was almost as if she'd frozen it with sheer willpower! First I can learn years worth of magic in a matter of minutes... and now I can freeze animals in their tracks just by staring at them. I'm just full of surprises! "Squee? Could you please pass me that rag? Wet it too." Squee nodded and did as the filly requested. "Now Sheep..." Sweetie said softly. "This might sting a little..." Sweetie began lightly stroking Sheep's cut. She flinched, but didn't or couldn't move in protest. Once the cut was clean, Sweetie put the tape over it, and patted it. As she did, Sweetie noted how natural it felt to care for Sheep... despite the fact she had no memory or experience of doing so. After petting Sheep to calm her down even further, Sweetie released the dog from her stare grasp. Sheep looked at Sweetie, then at the patched up wound, then back at Sweetie. After a few moments, Sheep began wagging her tail as she licked Sweetie. Well, at least she's happy. Sweetie smiled as she wiped the doggy drool off of her face. "Well, that takes care of her." "But what about that there cat?" Cal asked. "Hm... I guess I could get her down too..." Sweetie said. "Squee. Do you mind taking Sheep back to Ms. Covri for me?" "Um..." Squee said, unsure if he should leave Sweetie alone. "I'll catch up. Go on ahead ok?" "Uh... a-alright Sweetie. Don't be too long, ok?" Squee said, beckoning Sheep to his side. "C'mon you. Time to get back to your mum." As Squee disappeared through the trees, Sweetie turned her attention back to the cat. "It's ok! You're safe now! You can come down!" The cat merely hissed at the filly. Guess something's wrong with her too. Eye freezing powers to the rescue I guess... Sweetie thought as she got in front of the tree. "Hey you! Down here!" The cat hissed at Sweetie again, but this time, Sweetie managed to catch her eyes, freezing her just like Sheep. Alright... now I've got you... now how do I get you down? The apples Cutie Mark on Sweetie's flank itched this time. A new ability? Sweetie wondered... so far, the Cutie Mark abilities she'd discovered were all related to different parts of her body. Magic for her horn and staring for her eyes... but this one was on her flank. The filly doubted a pony's flank could be useful for anything... maybe it was referring to her back legs like the cloud mark? Now that she thought about it... they did feel particularly strong. Not taking her eyes off of the cat, she got in front of the tree. Quickly, she turned around and kicked it as fast and hard as she could. The tree shook for a moment as pears and leaves fell out of the tree... as did the fluffy white cat. "Ah got 'er!" Cal said as she caught it before it could hit the ground. As she did, she wasn't looking at Sweetie anymore, breaking her stare hold. The cat began hissing again as it started to scratch at Cal's coat. "Gah! Git it off me!" the mare exclaimed. Something in Sweetie made her jump for Cal, just over her back allowing her to grab the feline off of her. The cat squirmed in Sweetie's grasp as she held it. It would have scratched at her too if she hadn't regained her stare again. Once the cat was frozen, she began examining it to see what could be wrong with it. It wasn't long until she found several small pieces of wood sticking out of the cat's body, buried under the poofy white fur. Where the hay did this cat need to be to get so much wood stuck into her? Sweetie began pulling out the pieces of wood, piece by piece, watching as the cat's eyes shook in pain at each splinter removal. Once Sweetie was sure all of it was gone, and she finished cleaning and patching the cat, she let go of her. Like Sheep, the feline no longer held any ill will toward the filly... but seemed to be indifferent to her selfless act. Ungrateful dumb cat... Sweetie thought as the cat walked off from them, it's nose sticking up in the air. "Thanks lil' filly." Cal smiled. "No problem!" Sweetie said happily. "Hey... where'd you learn to buck lik' that anyway?" "What?" "Buck. You know... how ya kicked them pears and that pussy cat down." "Oh, that... I guess it came with my Cutie Pox." The mare examined the filly. "Yeah... ya do have tha' disease, dontcha?" Cal said. "Hm... never heard of no pony haven' any control over it though." "Over what? The marks?" Cal nodded. "Eeyeah. Heard a pony'll just be forced ta randomly use their talents all at the same time til' somepony either cures them, or they jus' tire out and faint... sometimes it makes 'em go crazy." "But... I don't use mine randomly... and I don't think I'm crazy either." "Hm. Alrigh' then, but like ah said. That's how Cutie Pox usually works anyway." Really now? Sweetie thought. She was beginning to question whether or not she had this disease everypony was talking about. "Still though... nice buckin'. Really." Sweetie smiled shyly. "Thanks, I guess." "Wish ah had somethin ta give ya fer helpin' me out too..." Cal thought for a moment, before an idea came to her head. "Ah know. Here. Have mah hat" The mare took of her hat and handed it to the filly. "Huh?" "Ah reckon yer good enough at buckin' ta be an honorary pear farmer. What do ya say?" Well... it is a free hat. Guess you can't have too many hats... right? Sweetie thought as she took the hat. "Um... ok. Thanks." Sweetie fit the hat over her head. Between the size of the hat and her big mane, it fit perfectly. Even more, hid the one cutie mark around her horn, and even shroud the one around her eye. "Lookin' good filly." Sweetie nodded. She then began backing toward the way that would lead back to the Stabletown roads. "...well... I really need to get going Cal. I'm supposed to be meeting Squee back at Ms.Covri's library for a tour of Stabletown." "Tour? Ya new here?" Cal asked. Sweetie shrugged. "Dunno. Don't think so, but my amnesia kind of makes it unclear." "Oh really... well, you be careful then. Don't reckon I'll be seein' you at th' Yield party, hm? Ya'll heard about it by now, righ'?" "Y-you're going to that too?" "Heh. Bein' Stabletown's only pear provider, I just oughta be." Cal said. "Yeah, I got an invitation ta go." Need a ticket... get an invite... Shut up you. Sweetie mentally hissed back at the whisper. "...the one where you need to bring a date, right?" "Little filly's done 'er homework. So... ya goin'?" "Not unless I find an invitation lying around..." Sweetie said. Need a ticket... get an invite... "Shhh!" Sweetie hissed. Cal looked at the filly strangely. Sweetie blushed embarrassed... knowing no one but her could hear the voice. "Um... like I said. I got to go. Hope to see you sometime soon Cal!" "Righ'... you too Sweetie." And with that, Sweetie headed off of the farmland and back into the main area of lower Stabletown... *** Sweetie left the Prickly Pear farm, beginning to head back the way she came... or at least she thought she was. It took a couple minutes to realize the street she was on was completely different from the one she remembered running down with Squee. The filly found it utterly amazing that in the last thirty minutes, she'd learned a new spell, stared down two deranged animals, and kicked down an entire tree of pears... yet somehow she'd managed to either go the wrong way, or completely forget the way she came to begin with. Either way, one thing was for certain: the little filly was lost. Perfect... Sweetie thought. C'mon Sweetie. Think! What way is the library! There's gotta be a way back. Maybe if I ask somepony- Sweetie stopped in her tracks. Suddenly, she felt dizzy again. Something was happening to her, and she didn't like it. Even worse, she wasn't sure what was happening to cause the dizziness... then, she heard it. Need a Ticket... get an invite... What the hay do you want from me?! Sweetie yelled in her head. Who the hay are you?! Sweetie knew she had to calm down. Feather said that something like this would happen because of her brain trauma she'd talked about. That she should ignore any inner voices she heard... besides, they were supposed to go away eventually, right? Right?! The voice didn't leave her this time. In fact, it only got louder and louder, as though it was coming for her. Sweetie got to the point that she shut her eyes and fell to the ground, clutching her ears in futile attempts at blocking it out. Every market pony around her either ignored her completely or glanced at her as simply a filly undergoing the madness that came with the Cutie Pox. Nopony wanted to mess with her, assuming the authorities would eventually come and pick her up. Nopony tried to help her until- "Excuse me, mis?" Suddenly, the voice in her head stopped. Sweetie was once again surrounded by the ambient sounds of the market vendors as they managed their various businesses. Sweetie looked up to find herself staring at the face of a brown coated stallion with a frizzy darker brown mane, tail and blue eyes. Though the whispering had stopped, the dizziness only got stronger as she looked up at him. "U-um..." Sweetie said, somewhat dazed. Once she realized that she was in fact on the ground, in public, clutching her head like a mad mare, she scrambled to her hooves. She nearly fell down a second time, but managed to maintain her balance this time. Blushing and embarrassed, she responded with a shaky "I-I'm fine." "That's good." the stallion smiled. "For a moment there, I thought I was going to have to carry you off to the loony bin." "The what?" "The mental hospital." Sweetie blinked obliviously. "A place where they take crazy ponies?" the stallion sighed. Sweetie blinked a couple more times before responding again. "O-oh! Well... d-don't worry. I haven't gone crazy." Yet anyway... the filly added internally. "Fantastic..." the stallion said. "You wouldn't be, perchance, oppose to telling me your name, would you?" "U-m..." Sweetie thought for a moment, trying to clear her thoughts through her spinning world. "S-sweetie." "Sweetie?" the stallion said. "What an appropriate name. "But... I didn't tell you my last name yet." "Oh. Would you rather I referred to you by it?" the stallion asked. Sweetie looked at the stallion strangely. She hadn't met any pony that didn't care about her last name... until this one. "N-no... I guess you c-can call me Sweetie." she said. "Besides, it's what everypony else calls me... what about you?" "Hm?" "W-what's your name?" "My name..." the stallion thought for a moment. As though he were making some kind of decision, rather than trying to remember his own, likely two part name. "...you may just call me Time." "Time?" The stallion glanced at a watch on his left hoof. "My goodness, it's getting late." he said. "I must be off. You'd best be off to get ready for the party... if you're going, that is." "Party..." Sweetie said, as though to remind herself of it. "Uh...uh huh..." The stallion nodded as he walked off. As the distance between the filly and himself grew greater, Sweetie began to regain her equilibrium fully. It was as though... there was something about him that was supposed to keep her away. That she wasn't supposed to be around him for some reason... The filly shook her head. That was silly. What reason would there be to be away from the kind looking stallion? That couldn't be it, right? But there was definitely something about that stallion that caught the filly's interest alright. Not only did he not care about her name... but he made her subconscious pest disappear. Maybe she knew him before her memory was lost? There was something about that stallion... Maybe... maybe I should follow him? Sweetie thought. Was that her thought? Or the other voice's thought? Which one was fuzzy to the filly, but it didn't change the fact that she agreed with it all the same. As the stallion turned onto another street, Sweetie put down the rim of her new hat to hide her face. As she did the filly developed enough courage to begin tailing the stallion. Sweetie kept her distance from the stallion as she followed him through the streets of Lower Stabletown. Sweetie's heart beat as she used the market vendor's booths and different ponies' homes to keep herself hidden. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't feel as though she could afford to be caught by anypony as she followed the stallion. As though... she wasn't sure why she got the feeling, but as though he'd just disappear up into thin air lest anyone stopped her. She must have followed the stallion for a good ten minutes before finally, she came to a familiar part of the Lower Stabletown. The Stabletown Square... Sweetie thought, remembering Squee had toured her over here. She was sure she could figure out where to go from here, if she needed to find the library again. He used a key to enter one of the shops... it looked like a flower shop. Wait... did Squee say something about a stallion living in that place? Sweetie's memory was still a little vague, but if that was true... that would be quite the coincidence. Was there truly something about this stallion Sweetie needed to know? Once the door was shut, Sweetie began walking towards the house. Dizziness seemed to push her away, but she pushed forward as she finally came to the door. She considered knocking... but instead simply creaked the door open. She'd already went through all the effort to sneak her way to his living quarters, why let him know she'd been following him by knocking on the door? Who knew... he might not want her in there to begin with... Sweetie slipped through the door and looked around the room she was in. From the little knowledge Sweetie could recall, this was, in fact, a flower shop. As she used houses for cover as she made her way here, she noticed the place was filled with hooks, just like the ones ponies used to hang flowers and flower pots in front of their houses. Though... it was apparent there weren't any flowers being sold here for two reasons. First off, there were no flowers hanging on the hooks. Secondly... the entire place was a mess of odds and ends. Bits and pieces of metal, machinery, and tools Sweetie had yet to see anywhere else in town.. the filly figured the pieces looked like parts to something, but Sweetie couldn't tell what. Whatever it was, it was apparent that Time was inventing or working on something here. Sweetie heard hoofsteps above her... Time was likely on the second floor. For now, she could explore the lower level of the little shop, as long as she kept quiet... The filly looked around the building, careful not to step on the metal items scattered around the floor. Eventually, Sweetie made it out of the room by going behind a checkout counter, and into another, much cleaner and organized, one. It seemed to be some kind of dining room. Though it was barren, it had to be, considering there were three plates and silverware set up on the table. Besides the notable fact there was a case of stairs leading up to the next floor, there was nothing in particularly remarkable about the room. Finally, Sweetie made it to the back room... unlike the other rooms, which were either lit by lamps or windows, it was dark. Sweetie would need one of the lamps she saw... Because Sweetie couldn't hold any of the lamps or candles by her hooves, she decided this was a perfect opportunity to test out that telekinesis spell she'd read about back in the library. Up until now she'd been apprehensive to using more magic but seeing as the room was pitch black, she didn't feel like there was much other option... at least not without risk of her dropping the candle or lamp and lighting the whole store on fire.. Hopefully, it wouldn't be as draining as the teleportation... once Sweetie found a candle she thought would be sufficient, she closed her eyes and focused on it. She imagined herself lifting it in the air... and then began flowing magic through her horn. Thankfully, she found herself able to circulate her magic well enough not only to levitate her candle with ease, but also open her eyes as she floated it over to the next room. She set it down in the center of it. It wasn't the best illumination, but Sweetie could at least make out what was inside. Along the walls of the room, there were pieces of paper with blue writing on them. Yellow notes were stuck to them as well... though Sweetie couldn't make out what was written on them. She supposed it didn't matter anyway, as she doubted she'd understand a word. Just outside the center of the room, there was a large rectangular prism covered by a tarp. Sweetie was about to take the piece of cloth off, just as something else caught her attention in the very back corner of the room. A flicker of light. Sweetie went over to where the flicker came from and picked up the object that had drawn her attention. It was a little grey cylinder that opened up at it's end. To Sweetie, it almost looked like some kind of weird glass. The button on the side made it stream a magnificent stream of yellow light... then the word came to her. It's a flashlight... There was a little switch at its end. Curiously, Sweetie looked into the glass end of the flashlight and hit the switch. The filly was immediately blinded with light, nearly dropping the device. She hit the switch again and continued to examine it, once the spots in her eyes had left. Sweetie hadn't seen one of these contraptions anywhere else around town. What was it doing here? And even more, why did Sweetie feel so strange holding it...? It wasn't the same dizziness that she'd felt as she stared at Time, but rather it was a different feeling... as though Sweetie had one of these flashlights before. Whatever the case, Sweetie decided to keep it... but where could she carry it? The filly felt she might stand out more than she already did with the torch... Sweetie spotted a pair of saddlebags in the very same corner. How convenient... Sweetie thought, as she put the saddlebags on her back. She stuck the flashlight into her saddlebags and continued to explore the room. She felt morally odd about taking the items out of the room... though she shook off the feeling as she adjusted the bags further on her back. She figured she might as well explore the other parts of the room if she was going to start taking things from it... Sweetie went to the other corner of the room to find a rectangular box with a cylinder on top of it. A piece of glass was at the end... It's a camera... There it was again. That subconscious voice... not as pestering as the one she'd heard before, but... it seemed as though it were reminding her, rather than repeating what the device was. In the tone it spoke, it was definitely her voice... yet at the same time, it was distant and faded. As though it were somewhere far away, trying to reach the filly... if it was truely her thought, why did it know the names of these devices? And more importantly, why were they important? Sweetie examined the spring loaded switch in the back. She used it to flip open the back of the camera. Once she did, she found two things. One was about six or seven slides, Sweetie assumed they were important to the use of the camera... and there was an etching in the back of the camera. It simply said the word "GREEN" in faded letters, the two 'e's filled with an ooze of the color. Green? Sounds like the title for some really mushy story... Sweetie pondered. No, what am I thinking? Must be talking about the color... but why? Sweetie decided to stick the camera in the saddlebags she'd acquired. She gave the room another quick look around, on the walls. The wall was littered with pictures of Time and other fancy ponies in front of places... only one Sweetie could make out was a mansion and a factory. There was one picture in particular that Sweetie noticed that stuck out from the others... it was a picture from the inside of Covri's library. It was of a shelf... and it had a circle around one area in particular. It was drawing attention to a book. Drawn with a green marker a similar shade to the filly's own eyes. Something in Covri's library...? I wonder what? Sweetie questioned herself as she ripped the photo off the wall and stuffed it into her saddlebags. There wa one other thing in the corner. A rubber ball with the letters "CMC" written in black marker. Sweetie didn't exactly remember weither or not she had ever owned the plaything, though somehow, she felt it held some kind of sentimental value. Something worth holding on to... with that she stuffed it into her bag as well. Sweetie gave the room one quick look around. She didn't find anything else of interest to her and moved on to the mysterious looking tarp at the center of the room. Ok... now what's this? Sweetie asked. She attempted to pull the tarp off, but found it to be too much wrapped around the top to pull off without ripping it. She could however slip. She sighed and figured she could at least take a peak by slipping under it. She lifted the white tarp just enough to get under. Once she did, she moved in further, just enough to get her head past the sheet. The tarp was now laying on her neck, just in front of her saddlebags. Hm... too dark... Sweetie thought, as she squinted at the thing. She put her hoof against the thing the tarp was covering... but couldn't make out what it was from what she felt... or rather, she couldn't remember anyway. Suddenly, just as she did, something strange happened. Whatever Sweetie's hoof was resting against at that moment... it vanished! Either that, or Sweetie's hoof phased through it. And result, Sweetie fell further under the tarp as it fell on top of her. W-what the- Suddenly, Sweetie heard something, that slipped a shiver down her spine. It was a laugh... an amused laugh at that. The part that scared the filly was that, much like the voice that had notified her of the items, it was in her head, completely out of her control. Are you trying to leave so soon? the voice said. "W-what?" Sweetie said. The voice laughed again. Behind you... Sweetie turned around and popped her head from under the tarp to see the exit to the room. Standing in it was Time... no... no, this wasn't Time. This was another pony... wasn't it? He had the same brown coat and brown mane... but he was different. His Cutie Mark... it was of an hourglass now... was it that before? The filly couldn't remember. All Sweetie knew was that it had an unnatural yellow glow to it. But it wasn't just his Cutie Mark that warned her, but it was his yellow, crazed looking eyes. Though he couldn't see it from under the tarp, all four of Sweetie's legs were shaking uncontrollably. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that she'd been caught, or the way that Time was looking at her that made her shake so... or perhaps it was the strange chill that had taken over the room... "M-mr. Time- I-" Time? That’s what he called himself? Ha!... I knew you wouldn't remember... "Mr. Time? Is that you? How are you doing that? What's wrong with your-" Time raised a hoof to cut the filly off. He then shook his head. I suppose it was expected for me to lose sight of you if I didn't continuously watch you. Especially with your Cutie Marks... it was only expected you'd subconsciously try and come up with ways to escape. Pockets where you could drop out and start to remember... "H-huh?" Sweetie asked. "Mr. Time, I don't know what you're talking about... s-sorry for breaking into your house, I was just-" Time laughed. It's amazing though. Amazing you managed to make a place to drop out in some place... a zone that isn't even supposed to exist in this time... let alone this memory. How you subconsciously knew it existed baffles even me... but you didn't, did you? "I... I don't understand." Sweetie shook. "H-how are you talking without moving your mouth? What's going on?" She wanted to get under the tarp, and hide from the increasingly terrifying pony... but something kept her still as a statue. As though moving an inch could mean life and death... You knew this pony in a lifetime... am I correct? Of course you did, he wouldn't exist here if he didn't. I suppose it's only by chance that you came across this memory by accident... did you come across this memory that way? I've got to get out of here... Sweetie thought. But... why can't I MOVE?! Sweetie's body wasn't reacting to what her brain told her to do. It was... it was frozen! Sweetie forced her eyes down to look at herself and noticed something horrible about the parts of her coat she could manage to see... they were graying out. Her body was beginning to sting from the spontaneous frostbite that had overcome it. Sweetie wanted to scream... but her vocal chords seemed to be frozen shut. It's alright Sweetie. Relax... hahaha... those little words won't save you now... it doesn't matter how you made your little safe haven pocket... nor does it matter how you knew this "Time" or whatever however he identified himself in this world... Sweetie soon realized that she wasn't breathing anymore. It was as though she was in some kind of nightmare... and for some reason, she felt a sense of déjà vu... All that matters is that now... this pony doesn't exist... and whatever Time had for you... you're out of it... Sweetie's eyes contracted as she felt a particularly painful bite of frost before she heard herself scream at the top of her lungs as she shut her eyes... "HEY SHUT IT!" Somepony yelled. Sweetie stopped screaming as she opened her eyes to find herself lying in a cart filled with ice. "H-huh?" Sweetie said, as her eyes snapped open. She was cold all over... but she was sure that was because of the fact she was lying in a pool of ice and cucumbers. She lifted her head and lower body off of the ice so she could sit up. She was in Lower Stabletown square... lying in somepony's chilled cucumber cart as a few others stared at her. "W...what the-" "GET THE HAY OFF OF MY CUCUMBERS!" the pony behind her yelled. It was a masculine sounding mare, with a voice so booming it was enough to make Sweetie jump out of the cart of ice, and onto the sun warmed ground. Sweetie moaned, unsure of whether it was because of the rapid transition of temperature, the impact from hitting the ground, or the splitting headache she had developed upon her awakening... she had just woken up, right? The filly looked up to find the annoyed mare who'd only seconds ago yelled at her, glaring down at her. They locked eyes for a moment. Sweetie could have sworn they were some kind of warning for something... she also swore for a second that they'd flashed yellow... Sweetie figured it must have been the light, combined with the mare's yellow coat and orange curly mane. The mare then put up her nose, and walked off, leaving the filly in the square. What... what just happened? Sweetie thought. How the hay did I end up in there? Was... was I doing something? Wasn't I supposed to be going somewhere? Sweetie's eyes went over to the flower shop just across the square from her. Her eyes seemed drawn to it, because it was the only one that was boarded up and closed. A sign on the front door stated the words "condemned". Well, that's certainly not it. Sweetie thought. ...oh wait! I was supposed to be heading back to the library to meet Squee. Sweetie looked up at the sun. She noted how it was so much lower in the sky now. Wow... how long was I out? I'm wasting time! Squee and Covri are probably waiting for me back at the library right now. Better not keep them waiting... especially Squee... Sweetie wasn't sure what had made her think of Squee in particular... or maybe she did. She giggled at the thought of the colt, wondering if she was starting to understand the feelings of her new found friend. Briefly, the filly found it a little odd though... she hadn't had any feelings like that prior to her awakening in the chilled cucumber cart. Why now did the thought of the colt fill her with such feelings? And even more, why did she get a sense of foreboding toward them? As Sweetie began to make her way out of the square, the little bit of paranoia left her, as well as her questions as to how she ended up in the icey cold cart to begin with. All she knew was that after who knew how long, she was finally going to make her way back to the library.
Chapter 22: Party Crasher (Segment 2/2: Entering the Mansion)The sun was orange now, as it peeked over the horizon of Stabletown. The evening was approaching, as was the party that Sweetie had been told about repeatedly that evening, constantly being reminded that a "date" was to come as well. She did have someone in mind if she could go... but without an invite, she knew it would be impossible for her to even think about going. The filly almost felt as though the town was trying to tease her at how the absence of a single piece of paper was keeping her from attending such a festivity... then again as the evening was progressing, she was starting to lose all of her desire to attend the party at all. Sure, it sounded interesting enough, but she was beginning to question whether or not it was as important as she'd thought. It was as though since the voice stopped, when or where it stopped, the filly was unsure of, any interests associated with the mansion were almost non-existent aside from ones stemming to Squee. At this point, Sweetie was way out of the square by now, and taking the same route of the streets she remembered Squee guiding her through earlier that morning... she was at least happy she could remember that. The filly noticed how the roads she went down had ponies left and right, going about their everyday business. Sweetie didn't think that there would be that many ponies out at that hour... but she at least thought somepony would be outside. After leaving the square, Sweetie had yet to see another pony, griffon, buffalo, zebra... or any other creature besides a pidgin that might have flown over the town. There were plenty of houses and cabins however... some of which, Sweetie could make out the silhouettes of ponies inside. The filly knew where they were... but why were they all inside now? Was she even supposed to be outside now? Better get back to Covri soon... Sweetie thought. I doubt I'm supposed to be out now... maybe she'll let me stay the night? Yeah. A nice good rest would be perfect after all of this walking. Maybe I can ask her about the party in th- Sweetie stopped in her tracks. Her ears perked at a new sound that filled the otherwise silent area. What... what is that? Sweetie wasn't sure why, but the sounds made her smile. For some reason, she couldn't seem to name what she was hearing. Maybe that it was some type of instrument, but nothing beyond that... though one thing was for sure, she certainly liked it. "Dum... dum dum dum dum...dum dum..." She sang quietly along with it. The filly began walking again. Rather than following the route to the library, she began making her way along a new road in the direction of the sound, humming along the way. She continued along her way, until she came to something. It was another line of the wooden cabins she'd seen all throughout Stabletown... but there was one house in particular that caught her eye. A house that stood out among the others... There wasn't anything completely abnormal about it, but breaking the monotonous trend, this house not only had a white wooden sign sticking out of the ground in front of it, but there was also two ponies sitting there... it was odd though. The filly figured she should have been able to see them clearly... but they were extremely blurry. So was the house itself... almost to the point that she couldn't even tell there were any ponies or homes there to begin with... Sweetie wondered if it had something to do with her head injuries, or perhaps she wore some special kind of glasses prior to her amnesia. Seeing no reason not to, the filly continued for the house to investigate. As she did, the house seemed to clear up, as well as the ponies in front of it. There were two of them. One was an earth pony with a cream coat and dark blue and pink mane. She seemed to be talking to the other pony that accompanied her. It was an aquamarine unicorn mare with light cyan and white mane. She had some kind of long device around her neck she seemed to flow magic into. It was rounded at the end and there were strings attached to it... It took a bit of thinking, but Sweetie eventually determined the instrument to be some kind of guitar. Both of the mares were facing the opposite direction, as they didn't notice the filly was approaching as they continued their conversation as their voices entered Sweetie's range of hearing. "...last time. Just five more minutes. That's it." said the aquamarine pony. Sweetie noted that much like the orange mare that had yelled at her earlier, she had a gruffness to her voice. It sounded like she was trying to pretend to be a stallion or something. I wonder what's with the mares around here... Sweetie thought. Must be some kind of Stabletown thing I haven't learned about yet... maybe I'm supposed to talk like that? "Honey, no one's coming. Everypony, griffon, buffalo, zebra... everyone's inside for Mr. Yield’s curfew. Remember? We could get arrested if we stay out here much longer." A-arrested? That doesn't sound too fun... Sweetie thought. M-maybe I should head back? Sweetie shook her head, her curiosity getting the better of her. She figured she would just figure out what was going on with these ponies, and head back to the library before anyone else could even notice that she was out. She couldn't stay too long though... "...either that, or actually preparing for tonight's festivities. Exactly what we should be doing now." the wobbly mare continued. "We can't afford to be late, or look as poor as where we live. You should know that better than I should." The masculine mare ignored the mare, as she continued to stare down the street, and flow magic into her instrument. "Honey, quit pretending that the pony you're looking for is just gonna walk up the road. Especially now, when nopony's even supposed to be out. The least likely time anyone'll show up." The masculine mare stopped flowing magic into her instrument, and the music stopped. She turned to look at the wobbly mare. "That's exactly when talent shows up. It's always where it shows up. In the least likely place, in the least likely pony, at the least likely time. How do you think so much of it is missed all the time? You just-" the mare stopped short as she looked past the wobbly mare, directly at Sweetie. "Hey... Hey! Hey kid!" "H-huh?" Sweetie said, looking behind her, momentarily forgetting she was the only possible pony the mare could be calling for. "M-me?" "Who else?! C'mere a sec, would ya?!" The filly nodded and ran the rest of the way to the house and stood in front of the sign. The masculine mare and the wobbly mare examined the little filly for a couple moments, managing to create a bit of unease within Sweetie. After a couple moments, the aquamarine masculine mare smiled. "Um..." Sweetie said. She looked at the sign that was posted in front of the house. It was still pretty blurry and incomprehensible. "...what's this?" "What is this, little filly?" the masculine mare asked, with a new grandness in her voice. "Why... it's the chance of a lifetime." "Of the chance for this year." the wobbly mare commented, rolling her eyes at the other's exaggeration. The aquamarine ignored her. "Tell me filly. What's the most luxurious thing you've ever wanted to see? The most fantastic thing that you've ever thought about seeing?" Sweetie shrugged. She hadn't been awake long enough to hear of such a luxury, nor could she remember past her awakening should such a luxury exist. "I dunno." "Hm... well then, little filly. What if I were to tell you that I could take you to a place so lavish that it just might blow your mind?" Sweetie flinched at the prospect of her head blowing into a million pieces. "uh..." "It's a figure of speech Ms..." The cream wobbly mare stared at the filly for a few moments. "...I'm sorry. We didn't ask you your name, now did we?" "S-Sweetie..." Sweetie said. She noticed how the mares stared at her before she realized that she'd yet to give them her last name. "...Belle. Sweetie Belle." "Sweetie Belle... what a sweet name." Sweetie shuddered inside at the pun. "My name is Harmonica Clef. Ms. Clef to you, young lady." the cream wobbly mare said. "A-and you?" Sweetie asked, turning to the aquamarine mare. The aquamarine mare put her hoof to her chest, pumping it out proudly. "I am Treble Clef. A musician of high standards, and your ticket and opportunity to fame, fortune, and luxuries beyond your-" "Treble!" Harmonica snapped. "I think the filly gets it. Just cut to the chase already! We're losing more and more sunlight!" Treble shook her head. "You have no value for presentation..." She turned her head away from her wife. "Times like this I wish I married that Romina chick." she mumbled under her breath. "What was that?" "Nothing my little sugarnote." You talk about another mare out loud... and your best response is 'sugarnote'? Sweetie thought. "Look little filly, because I want to get this done quick and get it out of the way so me and my husband here can actually get something done." "E-r... get what done?" The mare sighed. "Take a look at the sign." Sweetie did as the mare said and looked at the sign. The text was still blurry, but with a little extra effort, and some squinting, she managed to make out the words "Vocalist Wanted; Invitation Up For Grabs; One Time Opportunity" "...Vocalist?" Sweetie read over. "A singer, little filly." Harmonica said flatly. "I-I knew that." Sweetie lied, unsure whether or not she really knew... she was just tired of not knowing. "But for what?" "A first time, first serve opportunity little filly. One you won't come across very often, I promise you." Treble smiled. "The chance to obtain a ticket to Mr. Yield's exclusive party this evening." Sweetie's ears perked in excitement at the sound of getting one of the invitations she'd heard so much about. Treble chuckled. "Seems as though I've caught your attention." "Y-you have an extra? But how?" Sweetie asked. "You'd think somepony would have jumped on getting one of those!" "And you'd be right little filly. Think. A lowerclass pony going to such an event you'd only hear of Uppertownsponies, and ones affiliated with our Stabletown government, hm? Ones you'd never imagine yourself being able to go with..." Odd... I could have sworn that pearbucker was going... I wonder what's she got to do with the government. Better yet, I wonder who else I've met is going...? "Yeah... it's really weird. Why hasn't anyone else tried for it?" "... are you even from around here, Ms. Belle?" Harmonica said. "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "Um... I dunno. Maybe? Maybe not...?" "Well, whatever the case," Treble said. "You should probably know that Stabletown isn't the most... musical of towns." "What do you mean?" "Well... I'm not sure where you come from, but towns with a dominant population of ponies have something within their souls. Something that may cause them, or even entire groups of ponies around them to occasionally break out into song. Instruments and vocalists together." "Woah, really?" Sweetie asked. I wish I lived in a town like that... "And... Stabletown?" "Well, a while back, a few laws were passed over the town. We're talking years, possibly decades ago. Among those laws were ones that... well, restricted our allowance to sing or play music on such levels." "Y-you mean you're not allowed to sing? It's illegal?" Treble shook her head. "Not exactly. I moved here after that law was placed but... from what I understand, years back there was some kind of uprising, or riot caused by some pony's singing... and because of it, Mr. Yield, the Stabletown Church and The Mayor got together to create restrictions on singing. No pony's allowed to sing. I don't mean 'not at all', but rather, not enough to disturb the peace... or as some ponies put it, 'enough to wake the dead'." Treble said. "In turn, over the years and generations that followed, music's kind of died here." "So... no one can sing or play music anymore?" "Well... no, not really." "What about that one in Upper Stabletown, honey?" Mrs. Clef reminded. "Hm? Oh right, I can't believe I nearly forgot about Bassa and her little quartet..." Clef said. "Smalltownspony like me probably wouldn't have even gotten such an opportunity if I didn't meet her... Mr. Yield may have never found out that I played, or you sung." She sings? Sweetie thought. Guess I'll only believe it when I hear it... "The point is that not many ponies really dabble in the musical arts. Either too busy or too lazy look for the ways around that law." Treble finished. Mrs. Clef shook her head. "And still, my stone-headed husband still insists that a born talented singing pony will just strut down the road right now, just as though Celestia sent them out of the sky." "Well... I don't know about Celestia-sent... but I'd like a chance to try." Sweetie said. "You said I could right?" "Of course-" Mrs. Clef chuckled. "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "You're both wasting your time." "What? Why?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah, I don't see-" "Treble. Look at her. She's a ranch pony." Harmonica explained. "When's the last time you've seen one of them singing and dancing." "Ranch pony..." Sweetie asked. "The hat? Only fruitbuckers wear those. Let me guess... you work at Cal's farm?" "Huh? N-no, I was only helping there to get a cat out of a tree... only bucked some pears out while I was doing that..." Harmonica shook her head, dissatisfied. "Bucking isn't an easy task. Something that takes years to master... even with an even if that is a real cutiemark. I don't want to waste my time with one of those southern chants you buckers call 'singing'." Your voice doesn't exactly sound like an angel either, Ms. Clef. "Honey... I think those are real cutie marks." "Couldn't be... could they?" Harmonica asked. She walked up to Sweetie and examined her closely, moving the saddlebags to the side to scan every inch of her body. She then licked her hoof and rubbed the cutiemark around Sweetie's horn. "H-hey!" Sweetie said, jumping back at the sensation. "My... they are real!" Clef said in awe. "I didn't know ponies with the Cutie Pox could even function properly... how long have you had it?" Sweetie shrugged, unsure of how long she'd had the marks attached to her body. "Dunno... but I can use them like anypony else I think..." "Hm... so those aren't your real Cutie Marks then... I suppose it was a bit foolish of me to expect such a small, frail looking filly to be able to buck apples for a living." Frail? Sweetie thought, mildly offended. "Nonetheless. I don't see one music Cutie Mark on that body." "Just give her a chance Harmonica." "Y-yeah! I can do it..." Sweetie thought. ...I think... Harmonica looked up at the sinking sun, her patience visually wearing thin. "Very well, but I'm not tolerating any mistakes. We've wasted enough time as it is." "Fine. Once is all we'll need to see if Ms. Belle can truly live up to my expectations..." Treble said. "If not, I suppose you'll have to sing it on your own..." Oh boy... Sweetie thought, somewhat intimidated. It was then she began questioning whether or not she could really sing. Did she really, or ever know the first thing about music? Could she do this... or would she just end up embarrassing herself and disappointing these ponies... wasting their time, as Harmonica put it. Sweetie almost felt like turning around and just giving up, but something in her decided against that. She might have been wasting another pony’s time... but she didn’t want to give up so easily. She had to give it a go... Sweetie nodded. Treble smiled. “I like that. Still gonna shoot for the moon, even in the face of intimidating odds.” Treble picked a piece of paper from behind the sign and handed it to Sweetie. “What’s this?” the filly asked. “The lyrics to one of the songs I was planning on performing tonight.” Sweetie looked over the sheet. To the right, were different stanzas of words, with names written next to them. Next to some of the stanzas, Harmonica Clef was written... and next to others were written “Vocalist 2”. I guess I’m supposed to be “Vocalist Two”. To the right of the verses of the song were dots, lines, and words such as “piano”, “diminuendo”, “fortissimo”, “crescendo”... among a bunch of other letters Sweetie didn’t completely comprehend. She opened her mouth to ask what in the hay the symbols meant, but considering how little faith they held, or at least how little faith Harmonica held, in the filly, she decided against it. She didn’t need anything else to make her look bad. “Alright Ms. Belle. Let’s get this over with.” Harmonica said, holding out the lyrics in front of her. “This song should really work any range you have. If you can sing this with little to no mistakes, you can sing anything I come up with for you.” Sweetie nodded in comprehension. “Ready?” Treble asked. “Get on with it.” Harmonica said, clearing her throat. This should be interesting... Sweetie thought, as she followed Harmonica’s example. Treble closed her eyes and began flowing magic into her guitar. The strings moved as she used some type of kinetic spell to strum the strings. There was a light, yet solemn guitar fill as the tune began. Harmonica was first to sing. “As the sun... sets on... the lush and green plane, She gazes over it with feelings disdain, She thinks about you, wondering if she should, Feel sadness, sorrow and shame....” Harmonica sang. Sweetie was frankly awestruck at how much control Harmonica held over her voice as she sung. It was as though she’d just dropped her old voice and traded it for a new one... According to the sheet, Sweetie was next to sing. She noted the changes of tone in her voice and compared them to the notes of the song... since she couldn’t read the notes, the best she could do was sing along with the guitar and hope for the best... “I... don’t know... if I can soar and fly, My soul can not knowing my ending is nigh, Would you care, if my time should come now this day, Would you truly care if I die...?” Sweetie sang. Sweetie felt odd as she sung the song. Disoriented in a sense... almost to the point that she wanted to fall over and faint. She shook her head and kept going, reading the next stanza of the song. She was doing perfectly... and she wasn’t going to fail now. The next part was for both of them to sing together. “Sister to sister, you must understand, Intentions of mine to repair love to sand, To never have hate between souls, bodies, eyes, When love’s the one offer I can...” they both sang. Both Sweetie’s and Harmonica’s pitches perfectly contrasted each other. Sweetie was getting the hang of singing in duet with Harmonica. Maybe she could do this... provided she could stay awake long enough to finish the tune. There was a small guitar fill that followed the stanza, but it wasn’t long before it was once again Sweetie’s turn to sing. “Blackness and darkness is now my new way, Your comfort is worth every gasp scream of pain, For you I would give up my soul if I must, I’ll find you and save thou I say...” Sweetie sung. She shook her head, reorienting herself. What the hay was happening to her? Why was she feeling so sick... and strangely sad, all of a sudden. Still, she was glad to at least have a break for a stanza to get herself together. Harmonica was up to sing. “She’ll travel all through these dark halls of dark ink, Hearing the laughter as her sane mind sinks, She will not however stop listening for you, Her pain that somehow make you too laugh to pink...” Harmonica sung. As Harmonica ended her verse, Sweetie took a deep breath, knowing that for some reason, this song was going to make her sicker and feel even worse the more she sung it. Regardless, the little white pony was determined to endure it to the end. “Sister, my sister, I fear for my life, Despite this I won’t stop because of such trife, I do not know if I still see the dawn light, Though you will, I swear this, on my knife...” Sweetie sang. There was a pause for a moment... there was silence... before finally, it was both of their turns to sing. “Sister, dear sister, oh hear my last plea, A song from my heart, just myself unto thee, If you would just listen to my sole one poem, You’ll find that I want to be free...” they both sang. As a long guitar fill followed, Sweetie looked ahead at the next couple stanzas... they were all for her. Was this some kind of typo? Was she really supposed to sing all of that...? She was unsure if she could actually do it this time. She was already getting weaker and weaker. Somehow, she knew it would only worsen if she continued to sing this song. Still, she decided against dropping out. She was almost done. Just a little longer... Sweetie knew it was her time once again, as she heard the guitar slow down. Here we go... “Sister you may not hear my last few words, As much as I wish it is you who had heard, My song that I wish you could hear...” Sweetie sang. Her legs felt a bit wobbly as she was going through the last verse. Everything was seeming to mesh around her unnaturally, her vision distorting. Her head was hurting again, and increasing times 10 every word she sang... She had to stop... she had to stop... She swallowed and resisted the urge. She took another breath and continued further on as the guitar progressed to grow more and more retarded. “My dearest sister... my prettiest sister... My first and most loyal of friends... I’m sorry for all of the sorrow I caused... And I hope you’ll forgive in the end...” Sweetie sang. There was a pause before there was a final long guitar fill. Sweetie wasn’t sure if she was even standing anymore. Her legs and body were beginning to feel cold and numb... as though some kind of external force was trying to keep her from finishing the song she’d up to this point, sang perfectly... at least she thought she and hoped she did. Her vocal chords seemed to ache and sting to the point that simply breathing became a chore to her. She was afraid to utter any more words, not only out of fear of what she’d sound like, but how much it would hurt. The final duet was almost up. She would have to make a choice... “...Sister to sister, I’ll fight to the end, Forever for you I shall fend.... Forever for all I shall fend... But for you I will fend... to the end...” Sweetie heard Harmonica, but she didn’t hear herself. All she knew was that her lips were moving, but she wasn’t completely sure if any sound was coming from. All of her senses were blurred... it even took her a few moments to figure out that she was now lying on her side on the ground, convulsing violently. “Sweetie! SWEETIE!” Treble yelled at her, shaking her in attempt to bring her back to reality. It took a few moments before the twitching filly could regain a hold of her body. Sweetie got back up on her hooves and shook one last time before looking at the two ponies now crouched beside her. Her vision and hearing had returned fully. “Wh....what happened?” Sweetie asked. “You tell us. Once you finished singing, you had some kind of seizure or something...” Treble explained. “Wha... I... I don’t know...” Sweetie shook. “Hm... it might be the Cutie Pox.” Harmonica hypothesized. “I found it strange that you weren’t showing any signs of uncontrollable Cutie Mark usage... part of the reason why I thought yours were fake. They must have something to do with it...” Was it really the Cutie Marks...? Sweetie wondered. Something inside of her gave her doubt that was true. “Well... what about my singing? Did... did I mess up in the end?” The three ponies stared at each other for what felt like forever, before finally Treble smiled again. “You were phenomenal.” “R-really?” “For a filly, definitely!” Harmonica said. Sweetie felt a sense of victory in herself when she saw the smile on the cream mare’s face. She even managed to get rid of the depressed feeling she’d developed as she sang the song. “So... am I in?” “As long as you can keep yourself from fainting on stage, yes.” Treble picked something else that was stuck behind the sign. “Here you are Ms. Belle. You’ve certainly earned it.” Sweetie took the item... it was a card of some sort. The border was lined with a swirling gold lining. Little thin ovals, were inside of them... Sweetie compared them to the shape of her own eyes. The way the gold was around them made them glisten in the orange sunlight, as though they were shining at her. Inside was written in cursive Greetings to whoever possesses this, You have been graciously invited to attend the festivities located at Yield Manor. Dress code is formal, and all those who don’t comply will be turned away at the door. You will also require a second pony. A date, if you will, to attend this type of party. Also, punctuality is important. If you aren’t present at the manor by or before 8pm on the 5th of August, you may not be given permission to enter. Otherwise, my mansion is your mansion. Within reason, you will have liberty to move around to the different plays, musical performances, and meals prepared by our staff. My wife and I do hope you do enjoy your stay at my humble abode... Sincerely, Specter Yield Below the message were two blank lines. Sweetie figured one was for her, and the other was for whoever would be her date. “I expect you are able to attend Sweetie?” Harmonica asked. “Huh?” “I mean... I do hope you have the correct attire to attend, correct?” I sure hope so... there’s got to be somepony I know that’ll be able to get me something to wear... Sweetie thought. “And you have a colt friend that can attend as well...?” Treble asked. “I mean... I’m sure a filly as attractive as yourself must have that special somepony who can come.” Colt-friend... Colt-friend! Sweetie thought, remembering Squee’s words from earlier. “...and you told me that you were looking for a colt-friend?” Squee asked. Sweetie grinned. She may not have known where she was going to get a dress, but she certainly knew who she could take with her to the Manor. Treble chuckled. “I’ll take that as a yes.” Harmonica groaned. “Can we head inside now? We have to rush now as it is.” Treble nodded and gave one last look at the filly. “You’d best hurry along Sweetie Belle. You can’t be late, alright?” Harmonica nodded. “I’d guess you have maybe an hour and a half... maybe two before eight. I’d move quickly if I were you.” Two hours? I’m sure that’s plenty of time... right? Sweetie thought. She wasn’t sure herself, considering the day had passed by so quickly. She nodded in comprehension. With the excitement of possibly having a chance to attend the party, she ran back the way she came, to five news of her new ticket to Yield Manor to her “colt-friend”... *** “C’mon... there has to be something in this hallway.” Busby mumbled to himself as he closed the door from the previous room he’d looked through. He looked to either end of the hallway. To his left was the hole the two of them had crawled through, still far out of his reach as a unicorn. To his left was a seemingly endless hallway of doors. Paita and he had split up to cover more rooms as quickly as possible... he didn’t see her, so he figured that she was still looking through a room. “Paita?” the stallion called. He didn’t get a response. Probably can’t hear me... Or maybe one of those ghosts got her. "Or maybe she's just trying to keep her trap shut so that doesn't happen," Busby muttered in response to the thought. He knew how contradictory the act was respect to his own survival, but he just felt it had to be said out loud. If only to make the idea a little more real and himself a little less alone. The guard shook his head. In any case, he would have heard the grown mare scream, yell... something to at least alert him of the danger. Besides, Busby was sure that if he could escape a few of them, a semi-experienced guard of the night would be able to as well... then again, Busby was only lucky enough to see the ghost before it could even touch him. What would happen if it snuck up on Paita...? She’s fine... Busby comforted to himself. I’ll just wait here for a little bit... if she doesn’t come, I guess I’ll have to go looking for her. Can’t afford to waste any time... Busby looked ahead at the window across from the room he’d just exited. Inside of the glass were indentations of flowers and vines... at the center of which was the indentation of a heart, much like the other windows in the hall. He stared out of it... looking at the moon high up in the sky. He was once again reminded of his mission. The princesses were in danger... though how close the danger was had yet to be determined. Unless they had something to do with the ghosts... and if they did, the question became what? And what role did they play in Yield’s? Biiiilllllyyyyyy.... A cold whispering voice echoed down the endless seeming hallway, sending a chill up Busby’s spine. “P-Paita?” he stuttered fearfully. He saw cold mist coming from his nostrils, noting that the temperature had just dropped even further than it already was. “P...Paita?” Suddenly, Busby felt something on his back. He screamed and jumped forward, turning around to face the black and blue armored mare. She laughed. “Very funny.” Busby said, rolling his eyes. “It wouldn’t be if you didn’t scare so easily.” She said. “How you passed the bravery test is beyond me.” I don’t think I did, Busby considered, shamefully. Pretty sure the Instructor felt so bad for me once it was over he gave me a passing mark anyway. Doubt I was the first either. Besides, who is going to have to ever have to go through a labyrinth of demon snakes and zombie ponies anyway...? “But why did you call me Billy?” Busby asked. “I thought you were calling me Buster.” “Don’t recall ever calling you anything different.” Except when you were worried about me... wait... Busby was starting to panic at the realization. “Y-you didn’t call me?” “Nope.” Busby looked back at the endless seeming hallway. “Then... Paita, please tell me you heard it then.” “Heard what?” “The voice!” Busby exclaimed. Paita raised a brow. “We’ve only been in here for... what? A few hours?” Paita said. “You’re really letting this place get to you that fast?” “Hey Pot, I'm Kettle," Busby shot back. He saw that "hitting" look in Paita's eyes, but he was too nervious not to hold his ground this time. Believe it or not, something out there was scarier than Paita right now. "Look, I’m not just hearing things all of a sudden. Somepony called me 'Billy'.” Paita rolled her eyes. “Sure they did.” You’re gonna diiiiie heeeeerrrrrreeee..... The voice said silently again. Busby shivered again. “At least tell me you’ve noticed how much colder it just got.” Paita shrugged. “I’m a night guard. I’m used to the cold.” Busby shook his head. “Something’s about to happen, and I don’t like it. We’ve got to figure out what we came in here for and get the hay out. Did you find anything?” “I’m the one who’s supposed to be asking you that first, rookie.” So we’re back to rookie now? Busby thought. “Well, I didn’t find hay. Did you?” “...I checked about four rooms...” Paita said. “How many for you?” “I only got to check two.” Busby admitted. “Let me guess... they all looked the same?” “Different from the ones in the previous hallway, but... yeah. Queen sized bed, nightstand... heck there’s a window in there when there really shouldn’t be!” “Damn... it’s the same thing with the other hallway. All of the rooms are the same!” “Maybe it’s another puzzle?” Busby suggested. Paita let out a small groan. She looked around. “Well...if this one’s anything like the last, it probably has something to do with this hallway...” Busby nodded in agreement. “But... there’s nothing in here... except the doors and the windows.” Paita went up to one of the doors. She squinted for a moment and then took her sword out. “Paita? What are you-” “Just shut up for a second Buster...” Paita used the edge of her sword to scratch something in the center of the door. After a couple moments, she nodded. “It is something...” “What?” Busby asked, approaching Paita to see what she what she’d discovered. It was a small glass hole inside of the door, tinted a bright blue. It was about two inches in diameter... about the size of a pony’s eye. “A peephole?” Busby asked. Paita didn’t answer as she opened the door and began working on the other side of the hole. Once she was done, she sheathed her sword and entered the room, closing the door behind her. Busby figured she was trying to see if anything was through the hole. “...see anything Paita?” “Oh... I see something alright. That window behind you? It doesn’t lead outside at all.” “What?” “Leads to some kind of weird room with a few more doors... this peephole lets me see past it, like some kind of X-Ray of some sort.” Paita opened the door. “These windows are fake! They’re entirely new rooms.” “Then should we check it out?” Busby asked. “Don’t see why not.” Paita agreed. “If you say so. Ready?” Busby asked. “The better question is, are you?” But... I asked you first... Busby frowned. Paita didn't notice. Busby backed up as Paita brought back her sword and swung at the glass window. It’s shattering sound echoed throughout the hallway as the large window came crashing down. Only as the glass came showering on her did Busby realize how dumb the idea was. “Paita! You ok?” Immediately after breaking the window, the other windows blackened and any moonlight coming from them was immediately shut out. The hallway would have been pitch black if it weren’t for the candle lights coming through their newly created portal. The mare shook off some of the glass that had fallen on her. She turned to face the stallion, revealing the cut that was on her face. “Just a scratch here and there. I’ll be fine.” Busby circled around Paita, examining the mare. “Are you sure? Nowhere you need to be treated or-” “I said I was fine Buster.” Paita snapped. “What the hay is wrong with you? Why are you so worried about me?” “The same reason you were worried about me Paita.” “I wasn’t worried about you.” Paita stressed. “I was just trying to figure what the hay was taking you so long. Get your mind out of your stupid fantasies already.” Busby blinked. “Who said I was fantasizing? Even more, about what?” “About...” Paita trailed off. She didn't need to finish, apparent by the blush that showed up on his face. "A-are you serious? I'm not..." Busby sighed. The blush went away as fast as it'd shown up. Regardless it was obvious Paita wouldn't forget it. “I’m worried about you because I don’t want to see any pony die. Especially not a friend.” “We’re not friends.” Paita turned away from the stallion. “For the last time. We’re just working together to get out of this Celestia-forsaken maze of hallways. Nothing else.” “Well, I see you as a friend I can trust, and would risk my life over.” Busby said. “That makes one of us.” Wow. I didn't think it could get colder in here. “Now... we’re wasting moonlight. Let’s see what we’re dealing with through here.” Paita walked through the new portal and Busby followed. As Paita said, the room was quite peculiar... it was a large square room with four doors. On each door, there were words written in some kind of pink sludge. Aside from that, the only furnishings or items of interest were the candles themselves providing the two ponies with dim eerie lighting. “What the hay is this...?” Paita asked. “...another puzzle?” Busby smiled. Paita groaned. Louder this time. “I’m sick of this puzzle crap.” “Oh Paita, we just got here.” Busby mocked. “Don’t tell me these puzzles are getting to you already.” Paita raised a hoof to hit the stallion. He covered up, expecting his muzzle to fill with pain and suffering... though the mare ultimately decided against it as she went to examine the door to the far right. “...well... at least this one has instructions, I think. Or at least has some kind of message.” Paita said. “...wanna read it?” “I suppose I have to do everything then...” Paita sighed. Yeah, Paita. You do everything. Good job moving that booby painting, or jumping into that death hole in the wall. I wish I did as much as you Paita... Busby thought sarcastically. “Would you like to play a game with me?” Paita read, moving around to the different doors. “Just by using your brain, you will see... the solution to this puzzle is as clear as glass... the right order is the way to pass... and then there’s a smiley face right next to pass.” “Well, at least the sadistic buck who came up with all of this had a nice attitude about it.” Busby joked. “Does it matter? We still need to figure out how to get out of here.” Paita snapped. “Okay, okay...” Busby said. “No go open that door.” Paita said, pointing to the furthermost left door. “Why am I always the guinea pig?” Busby asked, heading over to the door. “Technically you haven’t said ‘no’ yet.” Paita said. Gee, I wonder why. Busby's snout started to ache again. He put his hoof to the door and bowed his head. He turned his head to the mare. “At least give me a thanks every now and again. Or maybe a little credit?” Paita sighed. “Good job crawling through that hole in the wall Buster. I’m so proud of you.” “I-It was a death hole! It could have had death in it!” Busby exclaimed. “It was a hole Buster.” “One of these days Paita. Something’s gonna happen.” Busby said as he opened the door. “And when it does-” *click* Paita’s eyes widened as the stallion pushed the door open. “BUSBY! Back! Now!” As though Paita’s sheer words and will moved him themselves, the stallion jumped back and was immediately thrown by the force of a fiery explosion. “Busby!” Paita called, rushing to his side. He was unconscious, but still alive. She saw it just as he opened the door. She didn’t realize what it was, but she did see the mechanism of wine glasses and matches built behind the door... it was yet another booby trap. “Damn...” Paita mumbled. She examined the stallion to make sure that he hadn’t suffered any real damage... aside from a few bruises from the impact, and a burn he’d received ironically on his snout, he was fine. “Can’t you take care of yourself for once?” Paita put Busby in a more comfortable position on his stomach and looked back at the door he’d just opened. Apprehensively, she went over to the room and examined it. It was completely destroyed. The floor was obliterated and the walls were charred if they were even up at all. Paita couldn’t see anything past the fire, unfortunately. On the chunks of wall that were still there however... she could make out little markings made in the same pink sludge that she’d seen on the doors. Inside of the door frame, she could tell there was, in fact, a little switch. That switch... Maybe I’m supposed to press it once the door opens. Paita figured. Problem is I need to open the door to hit it. Can’t open the door without triggering some kind of trap though, but that message said I needed some kind of order. It probably has something to do with what was written against that wall. But how the hay am I supposed to figure out what’s against the wall without opening the damned thing? Paita thought long and hard on the issue... there had to be a way of making sure she was opening the right door in the right order. A thought came to her as she looked at another door. She moved over to it and took out her sword once more. She proceeded to scrape off the tough gooey message off of it. Maybe there’d be something like before, a hole maybe, that she could see through the door with. Once she was finished, she was disappointed to find that all that was there was an emblem depicting a design of a flower and a heart. “Wait a second...” Paita mumbled as she stood back to look at the design. She’d seen it before. Recently too, but the question became where? She closed her eyes to think about it. She remembered Busby standing at the window, looking out it as she walked up to him. The window... it... it had an etching just like that one! But what does that mean? I used that hole in the wall to figure out what was behind that fake window. Maybe... just maybe... Paita looked at Busby one last time before heading back through the portal and into the hallway. It was still pretty dark, but she could at least see the door to the bedroom with the peephole. She gave it a look one last time before she took her sword up into her teeth once more and aimed it steadily just to the left of the glass circular object. She then gave the side a few good swings before she finally made her slit in the wall. Once she was sure she’d completely penetrated the wall, she did the same thing for the top and bottom of the peephole. Once it looked loose enough, the mare sheathed her sword and hit the glass piece with her hoof as hard as she could. As she’d hoped, the piece was released from the door and fell to the ground. Perfect... She smiled as she picked up the piece with her teeth. Paita headed back through the portal into it’s light. After making sure Busby was alright again, she decided to stand in front of the door that she scraped the message off of, and test her hypothesis. Carefully in one hoof, she held the peephole over her right eye and closed the left to see through it. As she’d hoped, she could see that, behind the door, was written the number “4”. Paita assumed, of the 4 doors she needed to open, this would have to be the last one. She moved to the next door and looked through the peephole... though this time, it was impossible to read it. The message that was still scribbled on the wall was in the way. Paita groaned, annoyed at the extra work she needed to do, as she used her sword to scrape off the gooey substance. At least she knew that whatever the glass was made of, it was made to find whatever that goo was made of. Though it didn’t explain how it told her that the windows were fake. Maybe it did something more than track weird glowing goo? Once she cleaned off the door, she used her peephole to check the number. It was “1”. This was the first door she needed to open. She held back the urge to open it quite yet, however, desiring to make sure she didn’t make a mistake in this puzzle. She scraped the next door off and checked the number. It was “2”. I guess that means that number in the room on fire is 3... speaking of which. Paita thought. She walked over to the room and closed the door. Hopefully, now that all the doors are closed it’ll restart the puzzle. Suppose I’ll find out in a second. Damn it Busby, why did you have to get knocked out like that. Paita took a deep breath and went to door one. She opened the door, hoping not to meet the same fate as her co-worker. The door creaked open to Paita’s relief allowing her to see inside of the room. It was another bedroom. What kind of pony needs so many beds? I don’t care how rich you are, there's something off about that. the mare thought as she hit the door frame switch and moved to the next door. She was hesitant to open the next door, but not as much as before, feeling just a little braver from the previous one. She opened it... it was a bathroom this time. Two down, two to go... Paita thought as she went to the third door. She opened this one with no fear, knowing the trap behind it was already disarmed. Though, when she opened it and felt the heat of the fire hit her so suddenly, she realized how right Busby was when she felt the shift in temperature. Huh. Guess he was right... wonder what made it so cold...? Ah whatever. Only one more door to go. She hit the switch. Wonder what was in that room anyway...? Paita went to the last door and proceeded to open it. It revealed to be some kind of study. Well... I’m still alive and all of the doors are open. Paita thought. Now... what’s gonna happen when I hit this switch? Paita gave one last look at the still unconscious stallion before she finally built up enough courage to hit the switch. Something on the ceiling slid loudly, allowing something to fall down from it. Paita approached the item and picked it up. “What the hay?” Paita examined the object. No matter what, she couldn’t see it as anything else but one thing. It was a camera. “No... no way...” Busby moaned painfully as he got back up onto his hooves. “Oh boy... what the... what happened?” Though she didn’t realize it, Paita smiled, happy to see the stallion back to his feet. Though quickly, her smile turned into a sly smirk. “You got blown away, that’s what.” “What?” “You fell for another one of those stupid traps. Just like the little idiot you are, Buster.” Busby shook his head before looking at the mare. He wasn't even surprised anymore. The annoyance was still there, though. “You could at least ask if I was alright.” “You’re still alive right?” Paita asked. “And you’re on your hooves?” “Yeah, but-” “Then you’re fine.” “...so what were you doing while I was out?” “Actually getting something done.” “Like?” Paita showed Busby the camera. “This is the crap we went through that puzzle crap for.” “A... camera?” Busby asked. Paita threw the camera over to the stallion. “I can’t believe it.” Busby began examining the camera. “M...maybe it’s another pu-” “Forget it Buster. It’s a dead end from here.” Paita stormed back through the portal. “Paita... c’mon. There’s gotta be something we’re missing.” “No Buster. I’m sick of it.” Paita said from the hallway. “This was a dead end from the beginning. Our entire unit is probably trapped... or dead somewhere. And we’re wondering this maze that probably doesn’t even have an exit. I- what the hay is that I- glk!” “...Paita?” Busby called to the suddenly silent mare. “...Paita, this isn’t funny.” Busby took a few steps to the portal before she saw Paita, being grabbed by a yellow ghost pony. It’s hoof was extending down the mares throat, fear and confusion in her eyes. “PAITA!” Paita was struggling to free herself from the ghost’s grip, of course to no avail. She hit it’s sides, and face, somehow managing to hit it, but nothing to get it to stop grinning, let alone release her. Oh Celestia no! Busby wracked his brain trying to figure out what to do about the ghost killing his friend. Suddenly, a thought came to him. He remembered reading up on a belief that cameras were used to steal ponies souls. Could he do the same with the camera he held now? “Hold on Paita!” Busby yelled as he aimed his camera at the grinning ghost mare and clicked it. Nothing happened... the mare simply glanced at Busby and laughed at his attempts. “NO!” Busby yelled, repeatedly clicking the picture button. Billy. It won't work. “What?! Who’s there?!” Busby panicked. Listen to me Billy. I don’t have time to explain. Listen to me! Light is the key. It’s the only way to save your friend! Use it before I put it out! “Light... light... Light!” Busby said, remembering the candles on the walls. Quickly Busby used his magic to snatch one off the wall and threw it at the ghost. As he did, he ran for Paita. Almost instantly as the candle hit the mare, she lit on fire and screamed, dropping Paita. Busby arrived just in time to catch her on his back and bust through the door into the bedroom. Quickly, he slammed the door behind him, panting with the shivering mare. Busby set Paita down against the wall and sat beside her. “Are... are you alright Paita?” Paita was uncontrollably shaking. The stallion had never seen fear like that in her eyes before. “What... the hay... was that?” “It was uh... a terrible thing. Just remember to avoid those.” "Ghosts... right," Paita shakily nodded. There was an acceptance in that voice and that nod. “Busby I... I... never... want to feel a chill like that... again...” Busby hugged the mare in an effort to warm her. She didn’t fight it; the stallion was sure she was even embracing the contact. She leaned against the stallion, allowing his body heat to mix with what was left of her own. ”I wouldn’t call myself terrible for saving your life Billy.” “My name’s not Billy.” Busby called up to the ceiling. “I didn’t... call you Billy. I said-” “Shh.” Busby said. “There’s a voice in my head speaking to me.” “W...whatever you say...” Paita said, blankly staring at the ground. Wow, she really was out of it. It was almost depressing. “Who are you?” “Simple... I am Daisy Maidem Sunflower. Legally known as Madame Yield and to you, the ghost mare who just attempted to kill you.” “But... what are you doing in my head?” “You know that little device you have in your shaking hooves?” Madame asked. Busby looked at the camera. “Taking pictures of certain ghosts allows their uncontrolled halves to make contact with the living’s minds... useful for ghosts who still have the will to help the living.” “But... you tried to kill my friend! You mean you’ve been being controlled by somepony or something?” “Something like that... but I’m here to help you stay alive... as far as I can anyway.” Madame said. “Ms. Yield... you couldn’t imagine the number of questions I’ve got for you, but right now, I’ve just got one.” Busby said, not realizing how loaded the question was. “What in the hay is happening in this mansion?” “Billy... I could go on for hours... on what’s been happening around here, but I can only tell you what’s important for time’s sake... because we’re running out of it rapidly.” Madame explained. “You need to get to a white-coated filly named ‘Sweetie Belle’.” “Sweetie Belle? You mean that filly that greeted us at the door?” Busby asked. “Why... in the hay are you talking about her?” Paita said sourly. “She’s the one who got us into this mess.” “That wasn’t the real Sweetie Belle... she calls herself such, but believe me, when I say that isn’t her” Madame explained. “The real Sweetie... is gone.” “Gone?” Busby asked. “Yes... overshadowed by the spirit of one Spiffy Butler.” Madame explained. “She’d been hunting for her friends as well as other ghosts before you and your guards arrived... now she’s gone. And I have my doubts as to whether or not she’ll be able to retake control over her body... which means you need to finish this and stop my husband from making the biggest mistake of his life... afterlife... whichever makes more sense to you.” “Hold on, back up... that filly was... hunting those things?” Busby asked. “How?! You can’t fight those things!” “Believe it or not Billy, there are numerous ways to go to battle with ghosts... but what Sweetie has is a specially designed Ghost Capture Device you need to acquire to capture her sister... If this works, you should be able to obtain the mare’s cutie mark, and hopefully, that will stir something to help you stop Specter... if he hasn’t taken control over Celestia anyway.” “Take over Celestia? How and why?!” “As I’ve told you before. We don’t have time for every single question you have.” Madame said. “Besides, we’ve wasted too much time as it is. We need to get you out of that room and back to the first floor before all of the ghosts I’ve alerted start swarming the place.” “YOU’RE BRINGING MORE?!” Busby exclaimed. “Yell any louder Billy, and they may come faster.” Madame warned. “In fact, maybe you should try using your inner monologue. We can communicate telepathically, after all.” “Telepathically...In my head? Why didn’t you say I could talk to you by thinking?!” Busby asked. “Because I’m sure it must look fun when your marefriend sees you talking to yourself.” Madame said. “So now not even my own thoughts are private?” Busby asked. “I’m not sure.” Madame responded. “I suppose we’ll find out?” Oh boy... the stallion though. “But enough of this Billy. We need to get you back over to that bathroom.” “But I don’t have to go.” Busby argued. “I... meant for your escape, Billy. That camera... it has a secondary property to it.” Madame explained. “It has the ability to teleport any ponies wielding it, as well as anyone touching them at the time, to teleport back to the safe zone... truth be told, since my husband shut down the power, it’s not very safe anymore... but it’ll at least get you out of there before you get ghostified by my re-enforcements.” “And... the bathroom?”Busby asked. “The bathroom should hold a mirror... one with which you should be able to teleport with by using it... hopefully there’s a mirror compatible with that particular one down there... It’s one of your only chance at escape...” “Alright. I’ll let Paita know what’s happening.” Busby responded. ”Tell me when it’s alright to leave.” “Paita?” Busby said. She didn’t answer, looking down. Busby shook the mare. “Paita, listen to me. We’re going to get out of this alright? I... I think we can get out of this.” Paita shook her head hopelessly. “No... no there’s no way out. It’s a trap. There isn’t supposed to be a way out.” “Yes. Yes there is.” Busby assured. “Look, I... we’ve got a plan. We just need to get to the bathroom-” “I’m NOT going back out there.” Paita snapped. “Paita. Paita!” Busby said shaking the mare. His voice was forceful... a tone that he didn’t even know he was capable of. “What are you? You’re a night guard right?” “...I don’t know. I guess.” Paita said, looking up to the stallion. “Look, I’m scared too, but going up against the things that scare you most is what it’s all about. You can’t let a few ghosts scare you into a corner, can you?” Busby smiled as the mare looked up at him. “And besides... are you really going to let me be the brave stallion and you be the scared little filly when this is all said and done?” Paita crossed her eyes. Busby saw that fire he knew and loved, renewed in those pretty yellow eyes of hers. She looked down at Busby’s legs, and back up at his face. “Buster.” she said. “Huh?” “Are those... your legs around me?” “Uh... well, you were shivering and-” “Stop.” “What?” “Now. I’m going to say this slowly so a simple brain like yours can comprehend it.” Paita said. “You have... one second to release me, before you end up being called Bumpy.” “Bumpy? Why?” “Let me go or I will rip your legs off.” Busby quickly released the mare as she stood up and stretched out. She was still shivering, but she was just definitely feeling better. Never before had he felt so glad for somepony to threaten to turn him into a vegetable. “Buster... let it be known that we will never, and I mean never, speak of this again.” “Until it happens again...” Busby mumbled. “What was that Buster?” Paita asked. “Nothing, dear heart.” Busby smiled. “...you mentioned an escape route?” Paita asked, ignoring the stallion’s comment. “Yeah, but we’d have to move slow and quietly. Did you see a bathroom somewhere around here?” Busby asked. “In fact I did.” Paita said. “While you were unconscious.” “Did it have a mirror?” Busby asked. “... I didn’t check. Why?” “Because if I can take a picture of it, it will transport us to some kind of ‘safezone’.” Busby explained. “And pray tell where did you hear this?” “The voice in my head told me.” Busby explained. Paita looked Busby as though he was crazy. “I’ll... explain later. But trust me, it’s our only chance for escape. If you've got a better plan, I'm all ears.” “...fine.” Paita agreed. “But if I get killed over this, I amgoing to haunt you.” ”Around here, that should be easy enough.”Madame commented. “You both say that like my life isn’t in danger too.” Busby said. Paita ignored it. “Are you ready?”Madame asked. As we’ll ever be... Busby thought. “That’s all I ask. Now move.” Madame said. “Go. Now.” Busby reiterated to Paita. The two slowly opened the door and peeked their heads out. The candles were now out, and aside from any ghostly glow, the world around them was pitch black. Madame was gone, but she was replaced with grinning ghosts, looking in the direction of the square hole they’d originally come through. Both of the living ponies were cautious to opening the door too wide, knowing the moonlight might have been enough to alert the ghosts to their position. Silently, Paita and Busby snuck past it and through the windowed portal. In the room, there were two more ghosts, both of whom were patrolling the room. Paita and Busby held their breaths, as though the slightest huff would be enough to blow their cover. Paita turned to Busby, who she could barely see from the glow the ghosts emitted. “Follow me.” she mouthed. Once both ghosts weren’t facing what Paita hoped to be the bathroom, she began to lead Busby. They moved slowly to the second room, careful not to make any sudden sounds when- ACHOO! Paita let out a loud sneeze. Both Busby’s and Paita’s eyes dilated with fear as they saw the two ghosts now looking directly at them. “RUN!” Busby commanded as Paita ran into the bathroom, followed by Busby. Paita shut the door. “Damn! I can’t see anything! Where’s the mirror!” “Just start taking pictures! Hurry!” Madame urged. “Hold on to me Paita!” Too scared to question the stallion, Paita hugged Busby around his neck as he began taking pictures in random directions in the room. The laughter outside became louder and the room was getting colder and colder. “There’s a lot of them out there Busby!” Paita panicked. “This had better work!” “You’re telling me! C’mon... C’MON!” Busby yelled. Just as the room filled with ghosts of every shape and form, another glowing form began swirling around the two guards... the world began swirling around them in a green light... *** “...so after I woke up with the saddlebags and left the square, and after walking around for a little while, I started hearing this really pretty guitar.” Sweetie continued to tell Squee of her evening and why she was so late. “And then-” “Sweetie...” Squee stopped her. “That’s all wonderful and stuff, but why didn’t you come right home?” “I told you! I got lost.” “Stabletown’s only so big! You were gone for hours!” Feels more like an hour to me... Sweetie thought. “Sorry Squee... I didn’t mean to make you worry...” Squee sighed and smiled. “I can’t be mad at you... I’m just happy none of those other Stabletown weirdos didn’t get to you. Young ponies sometimes go a little crazy, or disappear completely if they don’t know how to take care of themselves...” “... but I do have some really good news.” “You told me when you ran in here.” Squee grinned. “The anticipation is killing me, what is it?” “Hold on...” Sweetie sifted through her saddlebags, noting there was more than the invitation inside. Huh? What’s all this stuff? Sweetie figured she had to check it out, but not before she gave Squee her little ‘surprise’. “Here it is.” “What’s that?” Squee asked. He took the card from Sweetie and examined it. As he read down the cursive, his eyes grew wider as Sweetie’s grin grew larger. “H-how did you... you... do you have anyone to go with you?” “Weeeeeeellll.... I dunno Squee. Do I have someone to go with?” She cooed to the colt. Squee chuckled. “You know.... it’s the colt who’s supposed to ask the filly out, right?” “Well... I haven’t asked you anything yet. And you’re the one holding that invitation.” Sweetie reminded. “You’re the one who’s got to find a date. Not me...” Squee combed his hair back and got in front of Sweetie. “Well... are you doing anything tonight then?” As the colt stood so close to her, Sweetie felt somewhat intimidated by him. Perhaps it was nervousness of being so close to the opposite sex in that manner. Sweetie looked away from Squee, pretending to remember if she did. “Hm... my night’s looking pretty busy, but I’m sure I can make time.” she joked. “Well then. How would you like to go to this here little party huh?” Squee said, getting close to Sweetie before nuzzling her on her neck. The chill of pleasure tickled her to giggle and step back. She liked the feeling of another against her, yet at the same time, she felt an extreme sense of déjà vu as he did. Like that feeling had as much of a bad omen, as it did a good one. “Sounds like fun.” Sweetie rubbed her neck. “But... but we need clothes, don’t we?” “Hm... yeah. I think I’ve got a suit or two myself back at home... but that leaves you. You need a dress... you don’t have one, do you?” Sweetie shook her head. “...you don’t think that somepony would have a dress for me now, do you? The sun’s down and...” “Well... I remember seeing you talking to that Axinite chick earlier.” Squee remembered. “Er... not that I was spying on you or anything. Just happened to see you and her talking.” “Axinite... why does that actually sound familiar...? And Squee, I didn’t ask if you were spying.” Sweetie raised a brow. “Besides... I doubt I would’ve remembered if you had ...are you sure you weren’t-” “A-anyway,” Squee cut off, “She seemed to be fond of you... you seemed to be fond of her too. Probably why she actually rings a bell or two. I bet she’s got a dress your size somewhere around her shop.” “Really? Well... I guess that’s our next stop huh?” “Better hurry though. Party’s about to start, and we can’t be late.” Squee reminded as he went to the door. “C’mon.” “Actually, mind waiting outside? I just wanted to check something.” Squee shrugged. “Sure. Just don’t be too long...” Squee thought for another moment. “And don’t go any further into the library, Ms. Covri said.” “Ms. Covri... I was wondering where she went.” “Yeah. She’s somewhere in the back.” Squee motioned his head in the general direction he’d seen Covri head off. “She’s getting dressed and meeting her own date. Doesn’t want anyone she’d have to clean up after to go any further into the library. Trust me... Covri’s nice, but she’ll hold a grudge for ponies who intentionally break the rules. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you... just stay near the door, alright?” Sweetie nodded in comprehension. “Anything else?” “...nah. I think I’m good. Anyway, don’t be too long... whatever you’re doing.” Squee headed through the front door of the library, leaving Sweetie alone. Alright... really quick. Let’s see what’s in these random saddlebags... Sweetie looked through the bags, examining each object over. The camera, and it’s ‘green’ writing on the inside, the flashlight, which she tested out and was nearly blinded by, and the photo. The photo of the library illustrated a shelf with a book circled. “That book... it’s in here?” Sweetie looked up. “And that green... I remember seeing it somewhere... where did I-” Sweetie turned to the library front desk. She hopped up on it and checked it. There it was, the list of ponies that owned library cards and were registered in the establishment. As she remembered, some of the ponies had their names written in a green bulging ink. Under closer examination, most of them were the exact ponies that stuck in her mind that she’d met or heard about somewhere around town. Romina, Bottle, Feather, Cal, Axinite, and Covri herself. Oddly enough, there were also 6 of the ponies who were apparently going to the same party she’d only recently been given the ability to attend. Odd. Wonder why these are highlighted like this... probably should remember them... if I can. Sweetie jumped down from the desk and looked down an isle of shelves. She really wanted to know where this book the photo she found emphasized so much upon. At the same time, she didn’t want to get in trouble with Covri, or create any bad blood between herself and the mare. For the next minute, Sweetie found herself walking back and forth, indecisive on what her next course of action should be. Finally, she stopped, staring at the isle once more. Mmmm.... J-just a peek. I’ll be in and out before Covri even knows I’m gone. Sweetie decided as she quietly began her creep deeper into the library. Sweetie didn’t dare make any sudden sounds, lest she be discovered by Covri or her dog Sheep. She turned the corners of the maze-like sections of the library, passing by some she didn’t even recall Covri showing her during her first tour. The ranch-hatted filly was beginning to question if she would be able to make it back to Squee in the timely manner she’d hoped for. Sweetie stopped in her tracks as she heard the sound of a yawn. Somepony was just waking up. No it wasn’t a pony. It was too high pitched to be so, it would have had to have been an animal. The realization that Sheep was just waking up didn’t make Sweetie feel any better about the situation... if he was truly awake, no doubt he would alert Covri to the intruder. Sweetie backed away from the corner, and turned around, ready to head back. But that book... the thought came to Sweetie’s head. She wasn’t quite sure where it was coming from, but she couldn’t help but feel that the book held some kind of importance to her. It had to have been important if it was so boldly circled. Sweetie took a deep breath and pushed forward. Maybe she’d just imagined the yawn. Maybe Sheep was somewhere else entirely in the library. Sweetie poked her head around the next corner. As she feared, Sheep was there... but he was asleep. Although, it looked that rather than waking up, he seemed to have just settled down for a nap. Sweetie held back her sigh of relief as she crept by the dog as quietly as possible. Staying against one bookcase, Sweetie crept by him as every breath he breathed made her stop, fearing he was about to awaken once more. Though the seconds felt more like minutes, Sweetie managed to pass by the collie without fault. Once her heart had finally decided to calm down, she kept on going. Eventually, Sweetie came to a ladder, much like the one that was shown in the picture. She looked up, figuring that, like the photo, the book was at the top of the shelf. After looking to the left and to the right, checking to make sure that Covri and Sheep weren’t coming that way, she began her ascent up the ladder. Once she made it to the top, she looked around until she finally saw the red and gold bound book in the picture. Sweetie didn’t waste time in picking it up, though with her three other hooves keeping her anchored to the ladder, all she could do was stuff the book in her bag for now- “Hey! Who’s that! Cal?! You’re not supposed to be here!” Sweetie froze, not daring to look up. She knew exactly who’d called her, as she heard Covri’s voice from atop the bookshelves. She remembered Squee mentioning how she did most of her private affairs up there, such as sleeping, eating and changing. Wait... I’m not Cal. Sweetie thought. She realized that Covri must have only seen her hat, but under closer inspection she’d realize it was the filly instead. Sweetie had to think. She couldn’t afford to go back down and run out, as she might risk getting cornered by Sheep. If she was going to escape, it would have been to get past Covri, but the question became how? ”My eyes aren't supposed to be exposed to extremely bright light...” Ms Covri said. Sweetie needed a bright light. Something that would at least keep Covri unable to see long enough to conceal her identity until she could leave. ...and I think I’ve got just the thing... Sweetie fumbled around in her saddlebags as she listened to Covri get closer and closer, hopping along a bookcase every second or two. Finally, Sweetie found the flashlight amongst the other items and promptly stuck it in her mouth. “Cal, if you moved one book out of place I-” Sweetie hit the switch and turned toward where Covri’s voice was coming from, shinning the light directly in her face. “AH! Cal! What the hay is that?!” As she thought, from the sound of her master being confronted, Sheep woke up and barked. Gotta go. Gotta go. Sweetie realized. If Sheep managed to spot her, and track her to the exit, she’d be done for. Quickly but carefully, Sweetie ascended to the top of the bookcase, while still keeping the flashlight trained on Covri’s face. She squinted, trying to see past the light, but with her condition, she couldn’t even afford to move toward it, or at all even, risking falling to the floor below due to her temporary blindness. She’d need at least a minute, even after the light was off, to be able to see anything. Carefully, Sweetie kept her light trained on her as long as she could, hopping along the bookshelves. “What did you do?!” Covri yelled. “Who are you?!” Sweetie didn’t answer the mare, feeling somewhat guilty for stealing from her. She almost considered stopping the deception of who she was and what she was doing. Maybe Covri would go easy on her? No... it’s too risky... Sweetie realized. If she planned on going with Squee to the party, she couldn’t risk wasting any more time with Covri. Even if she didn’t desire the filly’s head for her actions, she’d still have some explaining to do. She had to go with the book now, if she ever hoped to get out in time. She wasn’t even sure how she would make it out in time even now, considering everything else she needed to do. Once Sweetie couldn’t turn her head any further without walking backwards, she decided she’d have to book it as fast as possible, hoping Covri would stay blinded long enough for her to escape. Gotta go faster... faster... Sweetie thought as she hopped faster and faster down the line of bookshelves, glancing at the still frozen Covri. Finally, Sweetie found herself at the end of the line. Without thinking, she jumped from the bookcase and down to front of the library. She wasn’t sure why, but some kind of instinct, something that was used to falling such heights and knew how to land activated in her. With barely a thought, parkour rolled onto the ground and right by the desk. She even managed to do it by barely making any noise. “What the... where did she go?” Covri asked out loud. Better get out of here. Won’t be long before she realizes I probably left through the front door... Sweetie said as she crept out of the front door of the acorn building. “Sweetie?” Squee asked when she left the library. Sweetie was annoyed and shocked at how loud he was. “Shhhh...” Sweetie shushed. Squee raised an eyebrow. “Sweetie? Something wrong?” Uh oh. Can’t let him get too suspicious. Last thing I need is him blowing my cover. Sweetie thought. “Uh... no, o-of course nothing’s wrong.” “Are you sure? It sure sounds like something.” Smooth Belle. Now he’s even more suspicious and likely to blow my cover. “N-no. No, I’m sure.” Sweetie stabilized her voice. Gotta get him out of here. “Er... we’re going to Mr. Axinite’s place, right?” “Ms. Axinite.” Around here, that tends to get a little confusing. “Yeah, Ms. Axinite. I’ll... I’ll race you there.” Sweetie wasn’t sure why she’d mentioned a race when she could have just said that they needed to hurry. Either way, her flank tingled at the prospect. Squee seemed to find the idea interesting as well, as an enthusiastic grin stretched across his face. “You’re on! Just try and keep up!” Squee raced off and Sweetie happily followed, giving one last look at the library. She saw Covri bust out just as she ran into the shadows of the night, barely escaping pursuit. Phew... that was way too close. Alright you stupid curiosity. Next time... I make the shots. You’re dangerous... *** “Sweetie Belle!” Axinite exclaimed as Sweetie and Squee stood in front of the door of Axinite’s shop in Upper Stabletown. The outside was pitch black at this point, the sun gone and the moon barely risen. “And... and Little Squee... how nice.” For a moment Sweetie wondered why the mare suddenly sounded so unenthusiastic upon seeing her little colt friend. After comparing the cleanliness, not to mention the dressing of both Squee and Axinite, Sweetie felt she could guess why. Axinite seemed hesitant, but after looking at Sweetie once more, she smiled. “What can I do for you?... both.” “Erm... I know this is kind of last minute but... Squee said we could get something to wear... to the party.” Sweetie explained. “F-for both of us, if you could.” “For both of you?” Axinite looked at the two small ponies, putting her hoof to her lip. “Hm... Sweetie, I specialize in dresses dear. Unless your friend here is a filly in disguise... I don’t have anything for him.” “What?” Squee said, surprised and unconvinced. “But what about that stallion I keep seeing you with around town? You made him a suit! Didn’t you?” Axinite shook her head. “That stallion, Mr. Satin, is my... er, special friend dear. My date for tonight actually.” She paused for a moment. “However, the fact he is so doesn’t change my profession. I solely specialize in perfumes, dresses, make-up... mare things colts such as yourself wouldn’t commonly be concerned with.” she explained. “However... for Mr. Satin, I was more than willing to learn how to make a few suits and even get a zebra to teach me the mixes for common colones. You remember Xina, right?” “Nope.” Axinite raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? You only met her just this-” “Er... she has amnesia. She barely remembers anything past when she got brought back to Feather’s infirmary. She’s getting better though, I think...” “Oh... you poor thing.” Axinite said brushing the back of Sweetie’s mane. “As I said though, Mr. Satin’s the only reason I even considered working with suits.” “Anything my size?” “Well... I do believe there might be a dress in the back you could borrow.” “Really?” Sweetie’s ears perked in excitement. “What about me?” Squee asked. Axinite frowned. “Like I said, I only learned how to make them with Mr. Satin in mind. I have a few...” Axinite shook her head. “...but nothing tailored to a colt your size.” Sweetie’s ears went back down. “But... we both need something to wear.” “I’m sorry Sweetie, but I just don’t have the time, or the materials for that matter to make Squee a whole new suit tailored.” Axinite apologized. “The party is less than an hour away!” Squee immediately noticed Sweetie’s sudden slip into sadness as she bowed her head; Her eyes were covered by the shadow of her hat. The colt saw fit to reassure her. “D-don’t worry Sweetie. We can still go! Remember, I said I’ve got a suit over in Lower Stabletown?” “B-but that’s all the way over there!” Sweetie argued. “Ms. Belle does have a point... that is quite the trip.” “Ah don’t sweat it. I’m fast remember?” And who’s the one who beat your flank here? Sweetie thought. She arrived at Axinite’s doorstep a full 30 seconds before Squee with only a barely knowing where to go to start. “Just head up before me.” Squee backed toward the door. “You know how to get there, right?” “And if you’re not?” Sweetie asked. “I’ll be there, but if I’m not, I’m sure you’ll think of something.” Squee smiled. “Worst case scenario, we’ll meet up inside somehow, alright?” “Think of something? W-wait, what do you mean by-” Sweetie asked as the little colt burst out of the door. She sighed. Always on the move. Axinite giggled. “You sure picked one gem of a colt, hm?” Sweetie rolled her eyes. “Come along now. The festivities officially start 20 minutes after curfew, if I’m not mistaken... you haven’t seen a firework go up in the sky on your way here, have you?” “Firework?” Sweetie asked. “Yes... a white flare that shot up in the sky and blew up... have you seen one of those?” Sweetie shook her head. Axinite sighed in relief. “Excellent. Then that means we’ve at least got a bit of time to get you cleaned up and ready...” Axinite looked at Sweetie. “There’s a tub with warm water... Mr. Satin might have used it, but for the most part, it’s clean. Hm... as for the dress... there should be a light blue dress in the back... Do... you need me to help you or anything?” “What?” “I mean...” Axinite rubbed the back of her head. “It’s not my place, as a stranger, still, to ask to assist you in any of your private affairs, but...” She looked off to the window that was placed in front of the home/dress shop. There was a look of longing... nostalgia perhaps in her eyes. She was likely remembering something. After a couple minutes, she shook from her stupor. “I’m sorry. As I said, it’s not anything I should be concerned with. After all, with so many stories and rumors of disappearing children, I have no reason to trust you, or treat you like a filly who can’t take care of herself.” Sweetie looked at Axinite like a puzzle. One possible reason was simply the matter of how she acted around Sweetie. As though despite the fact that she didn’t have any relations to this mare, Axinite was treating her differently. Treating her like a sister might... or possibly a mother. At the very least, her eyes showed she cared for Sweetie. Or maybe it wasn’t Sweetie that she cared about, but something else that the hatted filly reminded her of. Then there was Sweetie herself. As she stared at the mare, she couldn’t help but feel something bubbling inside her. Dim, but present emotions, again as though she knew this mare from long ago. Did she really know this mare before her memory loss? Evidence proved that to be false but... she couldn’t help but feel like she not only could trust this mare, but she had to. That Sweetie wanted to be treated as such. Even if it was her being a little baby, Sweetie craved contact with the mare. But why? And more importantly, why did the emotion feel so mutual? “Well... I could use some help washing my back. Really hard to reach anywhere past these saddlebags.” Sweetie considered. “And I don’t know the first thing about putting on a fancy dress. You think you can help me with that?” Axinite smiled. “Of course little filly, follow me to the bathroom. Hopefully Satin’s left so we can have our privacy.” Sweetie nodded and followed the mare through the shop, to the back, residential quarters. It had transitioned from its stony interior to a much more wooden and cozy one. Sweetie passed a room... getting a glimpse of the stallion that Axinite was taking for her date. It was just a moment, but for some reason, by the slight glimpse of the grey coat and dark blue eyes, Sweetie for a moment was consumed with an untraceable rage. She didn’t know why she became so distressed, but for some reason, she had great hatred and jealousy for that pony. *** “Mmmm... ugh....” Busby moaned. “Ugh... mmm... what the...” Paita moaned nearly in harmony with her co-guard. “The hay, BUSTER! Get off!” “Ah... but this pillow... it's so soft and comfy.” Busby mumbled. “What?!” Busby rubbed his head into Paita's chest. “Nice and warm too...” It was around that point that she realized that Busby was drooling. "'sides. I feel sick, can't I just stay in today." “Buster," Paita said sweetly. "I'm already going to hurt you, but if you throw up on me, I'm going to rip that airhead straight off your neck and stick it so far up your flank you'll see what you had for breakfast! Now GET OFF OF ME, NOW.” Busby’s eyes widened as he jumped up onto all four of his hooves in the darkness. Paita did the same. “Alright... now where are we?” Paita was desperately wiping the drool off of her -- but it was too late. It already seeped between the cracks into her armor and onto her fur. Unless she decided to strip, she just had to wait for it to dry. “I don’t know... I took that picture and now we’ve awaken to find ourselves in a dark room.” Busby recapped in a spooky manner. “Dark room huh?” Paita repeated. “That voice... that one that told you how to get out of there. You still hear it?” “...nope.” Busby sighed. “Looks like we’re on our own for right now.” “I swear, if I see one more puzzle...” Paita hissed. "And speaking of annoying things," With incredible precision, Paita punched Busby square in the snout. "That's for drooling on me." "How?! It's pitch black!" "You were talking," she said plainly. "It's not hard to figure out where you are." "Remind me never to talk again." “...speaking of seeing, how the hay are we supposed to get out of here if we can’t see anything? You know any light spells Buster?” “No. Don’t think so.” Busby admitted. “...but I do have an idea.” “Shoot.” “Let me see your sword.” There was silence for a couple moments before Paita spoke. “...excuse me?” “Let me see your sword,” he repeated. “Buster, I barely trusted you with my blade back at that treehouse. There’s no way in hay I’m letting you have it when I can barely see you.” “Then just let me touch it. If I can feel it, I can visualize it.” “So?” “If I can visualize it, I can use telekinesis on it.” Buby explained. “Every spell produces magic. Depending on the type of spell... it can give off varying amounts of light. If I can cast the spell on your sword...” “You can give us something to see with.” Paita finished. “Alright Buster, we can try your stupid plan.” Stupid? You’re the one agreeing to it, stupid. Busby thought. “...is this you?” Paita asked. “...that’s my flank, yes.” Busby said with a snarkish tone toe to his voice, risking a grin in the darkness. “Is it just me, or do I see a little bit of-” Busby was cut off by a swift kick to his rump, knocking him down. “Talk to me like that again Buster.” Paita warned. Déjà Vu... something tells me I can talk to her like that as much as I want and that’s the worst that’ll happen. Busby thought, getting back up. “Let’s... try that again then.” Paita touched Busby’s neck, notifying him of where she was. She then held out her sword to the stallion and allowed him to stroke it up and down, from the handle to the tip. Once Busby was sure he could, he visualized raising the item in the air, whilst flowing magic steadily through his horn. As the magic flowed, his horn glowed, filling the immediate area with a dim light. Paita’s eyes reflected against the light, almost making them sparkle. “Heh... you look cute in this light.” Busby commented. Paita raised a hoof to hit him, but after seeing Busby not even flinch at the action, she simply groaned and turned away. “Let’s just find the door out of this stupid room.” The two walked around the pitch black room, quickly locating the supposed exit. Paita yanked on the door. “...nothing?” “Damn! It’s locked from the outside... if there is a lock to begin with. What’s this thing?” Paita pointed to a star symbol. “Wait... I know what that is! It’s a battery.” Busby assumed. “A battery? Sounds familiar…” “Yeah… or at least this looks like the adapter to it. Doesn’t have any magic running through it.” Busby confirmed. “So?” “Hm… it looks like even with power, it still needs a little bit of magic.” Busby continued. “Which means… without any magic powering it, it’s pretty much dead. We’re stuck here until we can power up whatever was generating it.” “Since when did you know about magic tech?” Paita asked. “I read it on the back of a cereal box.” Busby explained. Paita looked at him oddly. “I-it was the magic edition of Beirdos. ‘Can you power the Swirl-o-Matic to get the little ponies their favorite cereal?’.” Paita shook her head. “You’re basing all of this off of what you read off of a cereal box… a child’s cereal box.” “Look, I’m 80 percent sure that it’s legit.” Busby insisted. “Hmph… Then… I suppose you think that there’s any hope the way to start up the flow is in here?” Paita asked. Her voice shook at the thought of being trapped yet again, let alone for good this time. She’d had enough of seeing the next part of her world possibly becoming her new tomb. “Sure hope so.” Busby sighed. “If there’s enough crap that needs power in here, chances are whatever generates it is close. C’mon, let’s look around.” The two of them walked around using the glow of Busby’s horn and Paita’s magically held sword. They explored the safe room, passing by the dressers and mirrors with different frame designs. Eventually, they came to a wall and a large machine with a hole in it. “What the hay is this thing? The generator?” Paita asked. “Mmmm… don’t think so. Nothing to push or anywhere I can activate it…” Busby climbed up onto the machine to look behind it. “…but it’s got some really thick wires running into it. Going into the wall too… must mean something.” “…could… could the thing be in the wall?” Paita asked. Busby climbed back down and shrugged. “Maybe. Try checking them. See if you can’t find a panel, or anything out of the ordinary.” Starting from the machine, the two began following the chilling walls around the room, looking for a way to activate the lock. They didn’t find anything. Not a panel or button in sight. Aside from the dressers and mirrors that were against it, the walls were bare. “C’mon… we’ve got to be missing something.” Paita grumbled. “No pony would be stupid enough to have this room locked without some way to open it from the inside… besides you Buster.” “Now’s not the time for banter on my intelligence Paita.” Busby said flatly. “Besides, we’re dealing with wall phasing ghosts remember? Who needs doors?” Paita lowered her head, Busby realizing his negative statement immediately. He raised his hoof, “B-but you’re probably right. We’re just missing something. That machine’s too big for the generator to it to be too far… Wait… what if it’s not just the generator behind the wall.” “What?” “What if… what if what activates the thing is there too?” Busby considered. “Start feeling the wall. Start with this one.” Paita nodded and began feeling along the walls to the left as Busby went to the right. After a few moments, Paita exclaimed. “Busby!” Busby jumped at the sound of his real name. If there’s one pony I hate calling me the right name, it’s her. It never means anything good… he thought as he approached the mare. “Here… there’s a bulge in the wall.” She explained. “Feel it.” Busby did and was surprised to see that she was right. It was a cylinder shaped bulge sticking just about a millimeter out of the wall. There was an indentation at the center of it… it looked like a burn mark. “Think that’s something?” Paita asked. “Only one way to find out. Can you cut at it?” Paita took her sword at the metal and began carefully cutting around the bulge. Whatever it was supposed to be, she didn’t want to risk the possibility of breaking it, or pushing it further into the wall, causing them to lose it forever. After approximately 5 minutes, the segment of wall was thin enough for the mare to peel it off with her teeth. It exposed a grey cylindrical device, with a hole at the center. “Hm…” Paita said. “What is it?” “Hm... try sticking your horn in it." she suggested. Busby gave her a look. "Just stick it in. It looks about the same size.” Paita said. “I haven’t been there for long, but I have seen the princess keep special boxes around her room. Some of them, she uses magic to seal them… a special magic lock she’d stick her horn into and flow some in there.” “And… you think that it’s the same thing here?” “Well… the generator needs magic right?” Paita asked. “Surely it’d need some kind of kick start to begin the process. A shock to start the flow?” “Mare, that thing burned through a wall. I don’t think sticking my horn in it is a good idea.” “Please?” the night guard mare said quickly. “…what?” Paita closed her eyes and took a breath. She opened them, looking back at the stallion. “I said, please.” Paita said flatly. “…you… said ‘please’… to me?” Busby was having difficulty processing the statement. “That’s a new one.” “Look. I’m sick and tired of being in the dark, alright?” She looked away from the stallion, thinking, before rejoining his gaze. She swallowed. “… t-the faster we get out of here, the better…” Paita looked down, ashamed of her fear. “I don’t want to end up like the others.” Busby was entranced. Was it the sincere words Paita had used? The change in tone that she’d received? That same jarring fear that she’d displayed not too long ago in that room? Or was it simply the way he looked at her? The sheer fact that for the moments that they shared eye contact, the mare who’d talked so lowly herself… was now below him? Though, he knew one thing was for sure… Paita was scared. More scared than Busby in fact, and somehow that was the scariest thing of all. “…alright, alright.” Busby smiled. “Just stop looking at me like that.” Busby faced the cylinder hole. He took a deep breath before shoving his horn in the hole. Closing his eyes, he forced as much magic as he could through it. The bone felt like it was ready to explode, just as the wall device glowed, showing the different wires inside it and how the magic flowed through them. When Busby’s horn started to heat to the point he could feel it burning, he quickly retracted his head and took a step away from the glowing cylinder. Both Paita and Busby watched as it sunk back into the wall and disappeared. The walls of the room began to hum. Activating ghost wall defenses. Activation complete. Activating lights. Processing… A computerized voice said. Both Paita and Busby wildly looked around for the source of the voice, but immediately forgot about it as the lights came on. The lights from above were apparently run by bulbs or something rather than candles, as it magnificently illuminating the room. The two ponies could see themselves in full now. “Let there be light.” Busby smiled. He looked over to Paita, also looking up, smiling as well. She must have felt it too. From the very beginning, the situation seemed pretty grim. Everyone had disappeared, the Elements and their accessories were still missing, and there seemed to be no hope for anypony anymore. Somehow, the light seemed to give them hope Hm… who knows? Maybe we are gonna make it out of this alright. “…er, c’mon Buster.” Paita said. Her voice had stabilized back to normal, though the sarcastic undertone she often spoke to him in was non-existent for the moment. “Could you open the door?” “Oh right!” Busby walked over to the door and flowed a telekinetic spell into it, effectively opening the door with a creek. “There we go...” “C’mon. Lets get out of here.” Paita said as she moved through the door. Busby nodded, following the mare. He closed the door and began following her up. *** “And that should do it!” Axinite smiled as she tightened the bottom piece of Sweetie’s new dress on. The dress mare gave Sweetie’s hair a quick comb before taking a step back. “Now that didn’t take long, now did it? Take a quick look Sweetie. We’ve got a minute.” Sweetie obeyed the mare as she guided her to a mirror. Sweetie took a look at herself in the dress. The light blue outfit went down her backside, covering her saddlebags and her flank. Effectively, it hid a fair amount of her cutie marks, lessening her chance of getting noticed by them. She even managed to keep her saddlebags concealed under it. The dress was tied to a little necklace around her neck that connected to the dress. She touched the heart-shaped button that kept it tied to her neck. “It’s... it’s really pretty.” Sweetie commented. “So is the pony in it.” Axinite added. “Hmph... that Little fellow doesn’t know how lucky he is...” “You don’t like him that much, do you?” Axinite shook her head. “It’s not that I hate the little colt. I just can’t understand how young males such as himself find it so difficult to keep clean. I can’t stand the filth.” The two mares heard the faint voice of a stallion. Sweetie couldn’t make out the words, but Axinite nodded. “Alright! I’ll be there in a second! Sweetie, I need to go now.” “Do you want me to follow you?” Axinite looked at Sweetie, then at the exit to the room, then back at her again. She swallowed and frowned. “...no.” “No?” Sweetie asked. Axinite shook her head. “Me and my stallion prefer to show up at the gate... as a pair.” She thought for a moment. “... and if you were to come along, well... rumors might arise. After all, this isn’t the first stallion or mare I’ve dated... I wouldn’t be surprised if a few more aroused when you came with me with Xina... you understand?” Sweetie shook her head. “Of course you don’t... you're much too young to be even thinking about things.” Axinite smiled. “Besides, you said you could find your way there, right?” Sweetie nodded. “I think I can find my way.” “Excellent.” Axinite smiled. “Just as intelligent as you are beautiful... wait a minute or two before leaving after we do, alright? Don’t worry about the lights. Most of the candles are running out and should go out themselves.” Sweetie gave one last nod of confirmation as Axinite made her way to the exit. “I’ll see you at the manor then!” Sweetie waved as the mare left the room. Sweetie decided she might as well take a look around the room while Sweetie browsed the mannequins of different purposes. There were the full-sized ones, in different positions around the room. Sweetie didn’t know, or for that matter remember, much about dressmaking, but she couldn’t help but find the positions themselves a little odd. There was one that was normal, wearing a similar dress to the one on Axinite, but much more similar. Stitches were all over it... likely something to practice the stitches on the dress she wore out. There was a large needle stuck inside. It’s eye was heartshaped and it intrigued Sweetie. “Hm… I’m sure she wouldn’t miss it.” Sweetie said to herself. Besides, it’s not like this’ll be the first useless thing I’ve taken without permission tonight… Sweetie took out the needle and stuck in in her saddlebags. If it turns out to be important, I’ll give it back. If Axinite knows Squee as well as I think, or known enough to get ‘rumors’ spread about her, she’s got to get around… Another was in a sitting position on the ground, looking up diagonally. Its hooves were extended as though it were pulling at something, and it’s flank angled so it was almost balancing on it. It was bare. Then there was another one, lying on the ground in an uncomfortable looking position. Sweetie compared it to a very exhausted pony, or possibly a very sad one. Finally, there was one on the ground, that wasn’t even together. It’s hoof was covered in mud and dirt. Even stranger, by the looks of the broken ends of the mannequin and the cracks on it, either somepony had violently ripped them out of the sockets, or it had fallen from a very great distance. Sweetie’s head started to hurt as she looked at the lifeless interpretations of pony anatomy. She turned her attention to the lone mannequin heads on the shelf closest to her. There were nine total heads, only seven of them having a mane attached, each with different manestyles. What shocked Sweetie was that they were the exact same ones of the ones listed on the library sheet she’d seen… minus two anyway. The red one and the purple one were totally foreign to the mulberry maned pony. Even stranger, were the faces of the two bald ponies. If their lack of hair didn’t set them apart from the others, both of them, unlike the empty expressions of the other seven, seemed to hold emotion. The larger one, likely the face of a mare seemed to have shame on it, yet at the same time anger. The other one, a head the size of a filly, also held shame and sadness. There was a ball of yarn attached to the horn. As she went to grab it- What did I do wrong? Sweetie clutched her head just as the random thought exploded in it like a firework. She had to leave the room. She had to leave it now. Unable to allow either of her hooves leave her cranium, she blindly and desperately scooted on her stomach as fast as she could out of the room. She scooted until her head came in contact with a wall, replacing her old pain with a new, much more pleasant and tolerable pain to her head and a little aching to her neck. Nonetheless, she moaned in pain. After a few seconds, she forced herself to get over the minor trauma and get back onto her hooves. She shook her head. Knew it was too good to be true for that stupid voice to be gone forever… Sweetie dusted herself off, checking her dress to make sure it hadn’t gotten too mangles in her little freak out. Alright, I’m sure I can leave now… Sweetie then headed for the exit and into the blackness. Most of the houses that had emitted the tiny lights that had guided Sweetie and Squee to Axinite’s home were all out. Likely because they were empty or anyone inside was asleep, or off to the mansion. The only thing that allowed Sweetie to even see her own hooves was the light coming from the massive mansion in the distance. At least, for a few seconds it was. Barely a little after Sweetie shut the door to Axinite’s home, a white firework shot up in the sky. That firework…must mean that curfew’s started… guess I’ve got twenty minutes before- Sweetie’s line of thought was interrupted by a second flare that was shot in the sky. “What the…” Sweetie was fearful. What did the second flare mean? Did Axinite mention it? She couldn’t remember. Was it some kind of warning or reminder flare toward the curfew? Or did it indicate that her twenty minutes were up…? The thought that she was out of time sickened her. She had to confirm… she had to follow that flare. Sweetie began running through the streets as it’s light dimmed out and died in the sky. Sweetie found herself behind a few houses, finding it harder to see, until yet another flare, barely ten seconds after the first one shot up into the sky, illuminated Sweetie’s path once more for her to proceed. The pattern seemed to continue, as Sweetie found herself in more places the mansion didn’t illuminate, another firework would. Whoever was shooting up those things… if they weren’t using magic, they must have been having problems, being exceptionally wasteful, or they were crazy for shooting so many in the air... possibly all three. “Honey! Your device! You need to come out here now!” Sweetie heard somepony yell. It was yet another one of the masculine sounding mares. “I’m coming, just a minute!” another mare. Feminine. Sweetie turned the corner to find some kind of cone shaped machine, with valves imitating steam and fire sparking out of tubs all around it. Sweetie watched as another white firework spat out of the circular hole at its tip. The machine coughed violently. Circling around it nervously was a rainbow-maned mare with a tuxedo. “Bottle, how much powder did you put into the thing?” the voice called from inside the residence the machine sat in front of. “Only a barrel! Just like you told me!” Bottle responded. Sweetie resolved to hide behind the corner, seeing as nopony had noticed her yet. She didn’t want to intervene quite yet, either out of fear of the fiery machine, or curiosity of the two’s conversation. “I told you only to put a bit. The sparkler is meant for three fireworks. Not a whole Celestia-cursed show! Aha!” Bursting from the house, a second mare with a pink coat, darker pink mane and a dress to match the pattern flung a box of some new type of powder over it. The powder entered the several metal tubs over it and let out a thick black smoke. The pink mare then proceeded to kick the cone machine over onto its side, and once again on its base. The machine then coughed up a black piece of coal and silenced. The pink mare sighed. “Oh Bottle… that’s the last time I let you work with this thing.” She shook her head. “You could have blown us both up. That wouldn’t have been fun if no one was around to see it!” Implying that it would be fun at all. Sweetie thought. Then she realized something. Was that mare talking to Bottle? “W…what?” Sweetie said nervously, exposing herself out from the corner. The two mares turned to see the filly emerge from the corner she’d hid behind. The two looked at each other and then back at her. “Who... Wait... oh! I know who you are!” the pink mare exclaimed happily. The mare’s strange enthusiasm discomforted Sweetie, making her take a step back. The fact the blue mare was eyeing her so suspiciously didn’t help. “Y-you do?” “Of course Sweetie! We only met like... a couple hours ago! I never forget a pony’s face.” “Well I’ve forgotten just about all of them.” Sweetie sighed. “Amnesia... or whatever it’s called.” “Amnesia?” the pink mare asked. “Already?” “Apparently I hit my head or something... I really don’t know.” Sweetie admitted. The mare giggled. “You sure know how to get yourself into trouble quickly huh? Well, I don’t mind introducing myself again. I love meeting new ponies... even if it’s only a one sided pleasure!” “O...kay?” “My name is Romina. Romina Bonkers! And this is-” “Bottle?” Sweetie blurted out. Romina giggled again. “Guess not all of your memory’s gone, huh?” Bottle shook her head. “Sweetie didn’t remember me, she heard you call my name. Didn’t you?” Sweetie swallowed, getting the horrible feeling that she was somehow in trouble. “Y-yeah.” Romina’s grin faded at the realization. “H... how much did you hear?” “I-I was here when Mr. Bonkers was walking around that firework thing.” Sweetie explained. “I was going to come out, b-but I wanted to know what was going on. Mr. Bonkers...” Sweetie thought it best to press forward. Something didn’t add up to her. “I thought you were the one who did this stuff? Everyone keeps saying you do it.” Romina leaned over toward Bottle. “Do you think she knows?” Bottle shook her head. “Doubt it, but if she tips anyone else off...” “What?” Sweetie asked, tilting her head to the side. Romina stepped forward and kneeled on all fours to meet Sweetie’s eye level. “Sweetie... you need to keep this a secret, okay? Everything you just saw...” “Huh? Why?” Sweetie asked. “I mean... I know Bottle is the one who everypony says does the fireworks but...” Romina sighed. “There’s a reason for that.” Sweetie raised a brow. “See... mares aren’t really supposed to be working with fireworks... or any really dangerous fire for that matter.” “Really?” Sweetie asked. “Something about a fire... something one of the Yield kid and wife set off in some carnival.” Bottle mentioned. “At least that’s what’s going on about the reason he passed the law.” Romina explained. “Law?” “See, Mr. Yield’s crazy rich... or something. It’s the only reason I can think of that he’d be able to have a say in lawmaking. Or he’s a part of some ” Romina continued. “For example, that silly curfew he passed, waaaaay before we moved here... nopony knows why he did that, but everypony guesses this law about mares and fires has something to do with the burning of some Carnival. Nearly killed some ponies I think... anyway, some law was passed, disallowing any mares or fillies to mess with fire. Only stallions when it was really important... or for shows and stuff. Like fireworks!” “And... and you?” Sweetie asked. Romina giggled. “Well... when we moved here about half a year ago, the law had been passed... problem was I was the explosives firework expert... and Bottle,” Romina glanced over at the disabled firework spitter, now emitting white foam from all of its openings. “er... he was more experienced in a different field.” “Which one?” Sweetie asked. “Bottle crafting? Soda making?” “Butter churning.” Bottle said flatly. “Butter?” “Butter.” Bottle repeated. “My... parents weren’t very good namers.” A misnamed butter churner and a firework fanatic with possible sanity issues. What a pair. I’m almost afraid to find out what brought them together... even more, that my curiosity might make me ask. “Anyway, so I could get supplies and be able to secretly work my passion while here, I had Bottle here pose as the super crazy smexy firework genius so I could keep at work!” B-but Mr. Bonkers IS a mare! And more importantly, did she just say ‘smexy’? What is this story coming to? Sweetie thought. “But... Sweetie, if you said anything-” “Stabletown police would jump down our throats.” Bottle said. “So Sweetie... that’s why it’s really important you don’t say anything.” Romina said softly. “If you do, I’ll have to move and... well, quite frankly I like it here. It’s pretty, it’s quiet, everyone gets along... and anyone around these parts doesn’t really have much entertainment since a lot of things around here got shut down. I’m an entertainer, and that’s what I intend to continue doing.” “...alright.” Sweetie said finally. She didn’t really understand how “Mister” Bonkers could still be given the credit of creating such light shows when Romina couldn’t. The puppy dog eyes the pink mare gave Sweetie turned any of the suspicious thoughts into liquid as they dripped out of her head. She supposed no matter how contradictory, she could keep this one secret. “Thanks!” Romina grinned. “I knew we could count on you.” “Hm... anything we could do to seal the deal?” Bottle asked. “Um... I don’t-” Picture Sweetie clutched her head at the new thought explosion. It was only one word, and faded to the point Sweetie could barely understand it, but it still hurt. “You okay Sweetie?” “Yeah... I’m fine...” Sweetie said. It was then something clicked in Sweetie’s head. The connection between the list and the camera. They both had that green sludge, meaning they held some context within each other, right? Was Sweetie supposed to take pictures of the ponies highlighted on the list? Hm... suppose it couldn’t hurt. “...well, if there isn’t anything-” “Actually, I was er... hoping I could take your picture.” Sweetie said. “You... have a camera?” Bottle asked. “They sell those to the public nowadays?” “Yeah! Those things are like... 100 bacrilian bits!” Is that the real price? Better yet, is that even real a number? Sweetie thought. “I’ve only seen photographers and journalists too good and lazy for paint and brush with that type of equipment. Just hit a button and presto, instant picture. How did a little filly like you get your hooves on one?” Bottle asekd. “Er... I kind of just found it. S-so can I?” Sweetie responded. “Weeeeellll, as long as you didn’t steal it or anything.” “Of course not! I don’t steal things.” Sweetie proclaimed. “You want a shot of both of us?” “Er... individual shots, yeah.” “Any particular reason?” Bottle asked. “Uh... scrapbook?” Sweetie tried. Bottle opened his mouth, but was cut off by Romina. “Fair enough. Me first!” Sweetie reached under her dress and into her saddlebags to take out her camera. After reviewing it over once more, she figured out how to take a picture. She aimed it carefully at Romina as she gave her biggest grin. She hit the button. CLICK! A white blank slide popped out of the camera and floated to the ground. “Huh... that’s weird.” “Oh Sweetie, those things aren’t magic you know. Still amazing how it develops all by itself! Almost like magic.” “Ok... now you Bottle.” Bottle wasn’t looking at the filly, but had turned his attention to the mansion in the distance. Sweetie didn’t wait for him to turn back around to take the picture. CLICK! Another slide popped out and fell on top of the first one. “Romina. We need to get going.” “Huh?” Romina asked. “We’re running late as it is. We need to move.” “Oh right! Alrighty then, let’s go!” Romina said, following her husband as he ran off toward the mansion. “See you later Sweets!” Sweetie raised a hoof to return the goodbye, but the two were gone before she could. They forgot to clean up the area.There were was an overturned barrel, a box and the useless firework spitter. Sweetie investigated the barrel to find it was somewhat filled with gunpowder that poured over onto the road. This stuff... it’s used to work that firework thing, right? It’s... it’s like a giant firework! No wonder Mr. Yield doesn’t want anypony to mess with fire. This barrel’s a bomb and fuse waiting to happen! IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. Sweetie didn’t want to leave the gunpowder so exposed, fearing explosion from the slightest spark from the uncomfortably close sparkler. She took a moment to lift the barrel onto it’s front... thankfully, it wasn’t that heavy. There was however, still a fair amount of gunpowder on the ground. Maybe she could gather up the rest...? Sweetie went over to the box and picked it up. She looked at the label... Baking Soda. She used this to stop that machine huh? Wonder if it can be used for other kinds of fire too... Whether or not it could didn’t matter, considering the thing was empty. Nonetheless, she could still use it to swiftly gather up as much gunpowder as she could, lowering the chance of any real explosion sparking from the irresponsibly placed explosive substance. Sweetie sighed and looked up at the mansion. Sure hope I haven’t wasted too much time... She thought. Without any further thinking, she stuck the box of gunpowder, her camera and newly acquired pictures into her saddlebag and hid them under her dress once again. With that, she sprinted toward the mansion. *** Eventually, Sweetie found herself out of Upper Stabletown, and headed down a tree littered dirt path. She could see a gate in the distance as the mansion created its silhouette. From where she was, she could also tell that the doors were still open. She still had some time. Nonetheless, she kept running, noting that aside from a few mares and another filly or two she might have seenrunning around in the beautiful front lawn of shining grass and slender trees, there weren’t many ponies risking to be outside. Sweetie continued to run until she came to the ajar gate. You’d think that a pony who was having a big party would keep the door wide open for his guests… Sweetie said. It was then she noticed her lack of movement, as though something were anchoring her to the ground. No… it wasn’t like she was being pushed down, but back away from the gate, like the negative of some kind of magnet. Sweetie shook her head. Dumb gate. It’s just a dumb gate. With that, the little hated filly pushed forward toward the gate. As she’d suspected, nothing was throwing her backward, however her limbs became gradually more and more stiff as she progressed. Finally, she made it to the opening. Just as she put her hoof against the metal to push it forward, she received a hefty shock to her hoof. “Ow!” she yelped as she snatched back her hoof and put the tip in her mouth. She took it out to see that it was burned. Not severely enough to break any skin, or rupture any nerved, but enough to warn the filly of its lethality. What kind of gate…? Sweetie looked up at the ponies still in the front. “HEY!” She called. Despite that she was in plain sight and within earshot, the ponies ignored her as though she didn’t even exist. Gah… where the hay is Squee? She looked back the way she came. It was pitch black to the point not even the light of the mansion could illuminate the void. It was as though the path she’d come through didn’t exist to begin with. Even worse, it could have been her nerves playing tricks on her, but she could have sworn the blackness was getting closer. Sweetie turned back around, pacing nervously in front of the somehow electrified gate. She knew it was dangerous, but she knew she couldn’t turn back now. Sweetie thought of using her new telekinesis to push the gate open, but she didn’t want to risk shocking her horn from the magical contact. She didn’t know how electricity worked with magic anyway. She had to find a way to make something else open the gate for her. Maybe there’s something I found… Sweetie thought as she lifted her dress to check them. After a little bit of shuffling, she found something: the rubber ball with those letters. She looked up at the gate, noting the flat metal piece on it. Bingo. Sweetie aimed the ball carefully at the metal slab on the gate and threw it as hard as she could. It hit, causing the gate to move about two inches from its origin. The blue dressed pony smiled. A few more throws like that and she’d have the gate Sweetie-sized in no time. Sweetie looked up at the yard again, now noticing that everypony was leaving to enter the mansion. She probably had only until they were gone before her time was up. Sweetie quickly continued to hit the gate with the rubber ball as the stubborn gate continued to open as slow as a gate could possibly open. Throw, Hit, Push, Catch, Throw, Hit, Push, Catch Gah, there’s got to be an easier way of doing this! Sweetie thought as she continued to play wall ball with the gate. She might have tried to use the rubber ball to push the gate open, but she might have received another shock as a result. She didn’t know how rubber balls worked with electricity. After about 15 hits, Sweetie knew she couldn’t waste any more time. The gate had been inching, decreasing the effect of each impact of the ball every time. Sweetie doubted she could get it any larger… though she was sure it was now wide enough to fit her flank through. Sweetie quickly, yet carefully slipped through the gate, only snagging a bit of her dress on the gate and ripping a little. The loose ribbon of blue cloth dragged as a bit of her flank, as well as one of the cutie marks tattooed to it showed. Oops. Sweetie thought. She used her telekinesis to quickly lie the ripped cloth back in place. I-I’m sure that’s fine. Ms. Axinite could probably fix it fine. Just gotta keep this dress from getting any more damage… Sweetie ran up to the door, bolting past the straggler ponies who casually continued their way. Panting, Sweetie made it to the door as some pony stood to the side of it. “S…sorry I’m late.” Sweetie panted. “But I’m here and-“ She looked up. The stallion… he was blue. Sweetie was completely sure she’d never seen this stallion in particular before, but the yellow eyes made him so familiar. He looked at her with a certain emptiness, an automated being without a soul to call his own. “Invitation.” He said in a bit of a mono toned voice. It gave Sweetie a chill, though she went into her bag and gave him her newly acquired ticket. “Here. Hope it’s worth the work it took to get it to you.” Sweetie sighed. The butler looked over the card and nodded. “A… Master Squee Little and his Madam Belle Sweetie?” Sweetie shrugged. “That’s the backwards version that card told me to write out, but yeah.” The stallion took up a clipboard he kept at his side and wrote down the names. “Now… you seem to be in the correct attire.” The stallion paused to scan the filly’s clothing. “But… is it necessary to wear that ridiculous looking hat.” Hey… I like the hat. Sweetie thought. “Er… I’d rather. If it was okay. The stallion sighed. “Very well. Now, your date?” “Uh… my date?” “Mr. Squee Little, madam.” For Celestia’s sake, pick one. Mister, or Master… or at least say his name right. “The stallion or colt supposedly joining you?” “Well… um…” Sweetie wasn’t sure what to say. “He’s coming.” The butler stallion shook his head. “You must be accompanied by your date or no entrance. Master Yield’s strict instructions.” “Oh come on! I’ve got the thing,” Sweetie pointed to the card. “And the other thing,” Sweetie pointed to her dress. “I can’t go in just because he’s a little late?” “Master Yield’s instructions. Every point on the invitation to a T. Considering you bringing you hat is stretching it a little.” The butler stallion said. “You’d better hope this Squee of yours shows up soon. About a minute is left before we need to close the doors…” Where the hay is that colt! I can’t turn back now! The Clefs are counting on me, and I didn’t go through all of that to just turn back around! Sweetie considered bolting into the foyer, in hopes of escaping the grasp of the stallion butler. Though considering the amount of attention she’d gather, she doubted she’d make it far before being kicked out again. For good, most likely. Need a date Sweetie Belle WHERE?! Sweetie screamed at her semi-sentient inner monologue. Then something dawned on her. This was a couple’s party. The area was swarming with potential dates... or at least ponies she could pass off as such. Sweetie looked at the oncoming pairs of ponies. Three pairs. Two pairs of stallion and mare, and one pair of two fillies. There weren’t any colts around... but Sweetie wondered if she could work with that. Sweetie hatched a plan as the next two pairs of ponies walked past the two. Once they were out of the way, and the two fillies, one grey with glasses and one pink with a little tiara, Sweetie went to work. “Little! There you are!” Sweetie exclaimed smiling. Just about a few steps down from Sweetie the two halted to look up at the strange smiling pony. “Uh, are you talking to us?” Asked one filly. Sweetie giggled fakely. “Of course you!” She lightly hopped down the steps to the two confused mare. Probably going to only have one shot at this... really hope this works. “What are you-” before the pink filly had a chance to utter another word, Sweetie kissed her on the lips, shutting her up. Sweetie then promptly put her right leg around her neck to keep her silent. “Hey! Who the-” the grey, masculine filly started, just as her eyes met Sweetie’s. She was caught in the hypnotic stare she’d learned at the pear ranch. What do you know... it worked! Sweetie thought cheerfully. It felt odd kissing the pink tiara, but she knew her weird little feelings couldn’t get in the way now. She had to run through with her plan. Without taking her eyes off of the frozen grey filly, Sweetie began guiding the confused one up the stairs. She looked in between the butler and the grey pony, so she could at least some part of her could face him. “Here. This is my date. Little Squee.” The butler raised a brow. “This... is your date?” He asked suspiciously. “Yeah! Isn’t that right little?” Hm... I’m not familiar with how I should deal with such an odd couple.” “I’ve seen odder.” Sweetie admitted. “Yes, but I’ve yet to cross couples of... well, fillies or mares.” Oh, so NOW it matters? The butler sighed. “But who am I to judge a pony’s... er... attractions. Especially ones around your age. Besides, I don’t see any rules in particular prohibiting dates of the same gender.” “So can I go in, or what?” Sweetie felt her patience thinning every second she was under the butler’s contradictorily judgmental gaze. The butler looked in at the party. “Yes, yes. Run along you two. The doors should be closed already. I don’t have time for technicalities.” Says the one holding everypony up. Sweetie thought. “C’mon Squee.” Sweetie guided the dazed mare, still attempting to piece back together what just happened. The butler gave a glance at the frozen filly. He found her lack of speech or movement odd, but didn’t have much time to question it. He closed the door on her as she seemed to disappear into the darkness. Phew... made it. Sweetie thought. Despite her relief that she’d made it into the mansion, and the triumphant feeling of a plan gone right, she couldn’t help but feel strange. Maybe it was the fact she’d kissed that filly. Masculine or not, it didn’t feel bad, but rather strange. Maybe it was the empty feeling for giving up on Squee so easily. She was really starting to like the little colt- What the hay...? Sweetie let go of her scapegoat filly as her attention was drawn to the far left wall, under a painting of a white alicorn and blue alicorn. It was Squee, leaning to the wall under it, wearing a black suit. Sweetie rushed over to the colt, careful to make sure the crowds of gabbing ponies didn’t mangle her dress any more than it was. “Squee, what the heck?” Sweetie confronted, surprising him. “H-uh?” He snapped out of whatever daze he’d caught himself in. Upon seeing his friend, he grinned. “Oh, there you are Sweets. I was wondering where you’d ran off to.” “I could ask you the same thing. Where the hay did you go?!” Sweetie asked. Squee got off from the wall and looked at Sweetie. “I’ve been here. Managed to sneak past the guy at the door... been keeping a low profile until you arrived.” “Why didn’t you wait for me?” Sweetie asked. Squee scratched the back of his head, doing his best to avoid Sweetie’s angry stare. “Er... I guess I was thinking you’d end up doing the same thing. Sorry.” Sweetie sighed, but was interrupted mid-sigh by a nuzzle from Squee’s snout. “But hey, we both made it... that’s what matters, right” Sweetie felt the pleasurable chill shoot up her spine again. “Y-yeah.” Sweetie stuttered nervously. “So... how did you get in here anyway? I mean, if you didn’t sneak.” “I er... kissed a filly who was passing by.” “Really... how was it?” “Excuse me?” “Er... forget it. How did that work out anyway?” “Well I obviously made it in but... I kind of stole her date. Managed to convince the butler she was you.” Sweetie looked down in shame. “I was kind of panicking... I mean... I didn’t want to steal her chance at going but... really hope neither of them hate me too much for that.” Squee waved her off. “It’s fine... tons of ponies miss this thing anyway. I’m sure whoever got left ‘ll get over it.” he assured. “Besides, lots of ponies who make it here have already been here 4 or 5 times before. This is our first! We should enjoy it... they can wait until next year.” Sweetie smiled, feeling a little better about herself. “Okay... well, I’d better go look for Mr. and Mrs. Clef. They’re probably looking for me.” “Who?” Squee asked. “Oh, I didn’t tell you? They’re the ones who gave me the invite.” Sweetie said. “I’ll... explain while we move.” “If you say so.” Squee said as she began to follow Sweetie. “By the way Squee... just wondering.” Sweetie decided to ask. “Did you have to touch the gate on your way in?” “Yeah. The thing was almost closed.” “Did it shock you?” “Huh? No.” “Oh... that’s weird.” Sweetie asked. “Why?” “No reason.” Sweetie said. “Doesn’t matter any more anyway.” ... does it?
Chapter 22- The Stableville (Escaping the Memory)The red rubber ball hit the casing of a china cabinet against the wall. Sweetie caught it, not taking her eyes off of the glass, faintly showing her reflection. She threw it again, this time harder than before. She managed to crack the glass a little bit this time. Every time the ball impacting the glass cabinet made contact with the cabinet each of the silent mares, or at least all of the conscious ones, flinch or seize slightly. Rainbow and Fluttershy’s wings contracted every time, squeezing their sides. Pinkie and Applejack, in a futile attempt to get sleep, had their eyes closed, and squeezed tight, as though being stung by the echo of the ball entered their ear drums. All of the mares were on edge. Between Twilight still unconsciousness, Sweetie’s possession, and the fact that she now had the only thing they could stand a chance against Specter... they were pretty sure they were screwed. Only Specter remained still as he watched his little associate assault the cabinet with the CMC ball to pass the time as they waited down Gilda’s return. He staring her down with watchful eyes, as though trying to read her mind, or rather expecting something to cross it. Whether or not she would admit it, Specter knew she was worth watching though her repetitive and nervous act of throwing and catching. He knew she was stressed or at least worried about something. Excluding Specter, everypony jumped when they heard the ball finally penetrate the glass, as it shattered to the ground. “Where the hay is that slack off of a griffon.” he said finally. “It’s been over an hour since we sent her out to retrieve the body.” Specter chuckled. “You say that as though you’ve forgotten about the labyrinthine of this mansion. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was still wandering the basement area.” “You gave her the directions, didn’t you?” “I gave her the numbers and seconds to get there with her head attached to her shoulders... I may have neglected to tell her how to get back.” Specter admitted. “Though, if Ms. Belle could navigate the mansion mapless... I’m sure even you could agree, she could make her way back.” Sweetie groaned and bowed her head. She was growing impatient. “What’s wrong?” Specter asked. There was a severe lack of concern in his voice, oozing with sarcasm. “You talk like we ourselves are running low on time.” Sweetie didn’t look at him. “...are we running out of time?” Specter asked, raising a brow. “Let me guess... she’s progressing, isn’t she?” “It’s under control.” Sweetie snapped. “If you call her running around in the memories of Stabletown ‘under-control’...” Specter sighed. “Next thing you know, you’ll be calling Ms. Belle’s capture of you a minor security error.” “...I’ll admit, she’s moving around abnormally fast… she’s lucky... or strong-willed, something among those two. The resonance of six cutie marks certainly isn't helping either -- its like trying to keep five ponies posessed at once on top of something else. Some faint subconscious that’s been hiding from me has been guiding her into blind spots of the memories.” “Her’s?” “What else?” “Pockets of her subconscious mind’s creation... ones to go hoof in hoof with your own?” “I’m surprised she could even pull that off...” “Are you? Her cutie marks already were enough to break the anchors you kept on her. Who’s to say her subconscious can’t start manipulating the memory yourself. Especially if you continue to treat her as though she’s ‘just some filly’. She’s already proven to be more than capable of-” “I said I had it handled.” Sweetie snapped finally. She quickly regained herself and regained a calmer disposition. “...I apologize Master Yield, but I won’t allow her to escape. She’s in the mansion... but there’s nothing in there that will allow her to go anywhere outside of the memory.” “Is there?” Specter asked. Sweetie turned around and stared at Specter. “Are you trying to say something? You’ve been acting as though you know something I don’t.” “I’m only trying to remind you of the mansion’s... memorial value.” Specter explained. “If there were anything that Ms. Belle could use... or anything of interest that could make its way in there, it would be in my manor.” “Make its way inside...” Sweetie trailed off. What did he mean by- There was a knock on the door, causing everypony in the room to draw their attention to the exit. “Hey! Open up, will ya?” It was Gilda. “You’re late.” Sweetie said as she approached the door, and opened it for the griffon. She walked in, carrying something on her shoulder, barely larger than herself wrapped in a blanket. “Kind of wishing you didn’t rip up that map hm?” Specter asked in a humorous tone. Gilda carefully laid the mass of blanket on the ground. “Here. Nearly got killed getting her but...” She looked over at Rainbow, who’d returned to blankly staring at the ground. “Look, I did what you told me. Held up my part of the deal. Now can I leave with them?” “...in a moment.” “What the hay do you want me to do now?” “Nothing.” Specter responded. “Just need you as a little insurance. You know how wrong this part can go... we could use a few extra talons.” Gilda groaned. “Once this is over, you can head back over to the second side basement with Ms. Dash and Ms. Pie.” At the mention of their names, the two of mares looked up at Gilda. Pinkie opened her mouth to say something, but only let out a groan as the pain returned to her stomach. “Pinkie?” Rainbow asked. “You alright?” “...less than 20 minutes I’d say. You should be able to make it over to the area by the memory my dear is taking up before it happens.” Specter explained. “Trust me, we won’t have you around here longer than that.” “What’s going on? What the hay are you two talking about now?!” Rainbow exclaimed. Gilda ignored the mare, crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. “Alright, fine. Let’s get this over with. How does this work exactly?” “...I’m supposing the princess’s spirit is fully conscious right now?” “I already told you. Bucker nearly killed me. She was trying to get out the whole way here, but she’s been quiet for a little while now.” Gilda recalled. “Still... aren’t you supposed to control these things or something?” “Spirits like the princesses’ are quite strong-willed and powerful in nature. True, I am able to manipulate the wills of most spirits I come in contact...” Specter glanced at the sick Pinkie Pie. “... Rather, most of them in either case. However, ones like the princesses require a special procedure, especially for the magnitude of the eclipse spell. Since I don’t have the ability to break her will by force, our only option is for her to willingly give me control.” “You’re kidding right? Why in the hay would she do that?” “Simply by making some kind of... shall I say incentive?” Specter smiled. “Before, when we were working on Luna, we simply raised her hopes that her sister was alive... and would join her own fate if she didn’t comply.” “How stupid she must have felt when she found out she was already dead.” Sweetie chuckled. “So, what are you gonna do with Celestia? The same thing?” “Celestia is a bit more of a challenge than Luna, not only in the will department but the magic department. We could barely manage to contain Luna’s magic... and with the added years and experience of the sister of the sun, with as much planning time as she’s had now, she will kill us. I actually wasn’t expecting you to even survive Ms. Gilda.” Gilda glared at him. “However... we do have something that might make our Princess think before acting... Spiffy? Get into position. Make sure you’re the first thing she sees. The quicker she understands the weight of the situation, the faster we’ll be done.” “Yes, Master Yield.” Sweetie reached into her bag and took out the knife. He then approached Fluttershy who looked up, her eyes dilated with fear. “Oh, you and I are about to have the most fun, Ms. Shy.” Fluttershy’s lower lip quivered in fear. “Hey! Get away from her!” Applejack yelled. Her anger only made Sweetie chuckle. Once Sweetie put the knife handle in her mouth, she got beside Fluttershy and put her leg around her neck. She put her face next to hers, making the knife’s edge barely touch her snout. Fluttershy resisted the urge to shiver, fearing she would cut her nose by the slightest movement. Once he was satisfied with how the scene looked, Specter nodded and took a few steps back. He nodded at Gilda, telling her to pull the sheet off. She kept a tough face but was unable to hide her shaking talons as she went for the dark sheet. In one motion, the griffon grabbed the covering and yanked it off of the princess and flew back. As the sheet disconnected from Celestia, a white lighted explosion surrounding her and threw both the sheet and Gilda herself against the wall. Before Gilda could even get a chance to hit the ground, a beam of magic shot from Celestia’s body and went for Gilda, hitting her with tremendous force. Gilda was then pinned to the wall by the neck, followed by Specter. A white ghostly figure emerged from the body with glowing purple eyes. They looked at Specter furiously, though Specter Yield seemed to be unaffected by their penetrating gaze. There was a good minute of silence before anypony spoke “Good morning Princess.” Specter finally smiled. The uninterested voice of Specter made Celestia’s ghostly form even angrier, as she pushed Specter harder against the wall. The ends of his clothes began to singe and grow black as Celestia increased the temperature of her spell, her anger growing further and further as she held the stallion in place. “I’m getting the impression you’re trying to threaten me, Princess,” Specter said. “... and for a being that’s lived along as you... that seems quite impractical without a full grasp of the situation at hand, no?” The temperature of the spell increased further, as it became apparent Specter’s coat was burning, and close to catching on fire. Specter simply laughed, indifferent to the intense heat around his body. “Besides, Celestia... if I may be so bold to call you such, and put the formalities aside...” Specter continued. “You have bigger problems than me.” Sweetie whistled to Celestia, diverting her gaze from Specter and over to her. “Master Yield has a point. If you value the life of your fellow subjects-” Sweetie yanked Fluttershy’s neck, making her yelp weakly. “- I’d suggest you listened to what he and I have to say... wouldn’t you?” It happened so quick, it might have made any pony jump just by being close to it. Celestia shot a strike of lightning aiming for Sweetie. The bolt suddenly stopped in midair, as if halted by time itself right in front of Sweetie’s snout. “Well, well... it looks as though our princess does have a few brains in that fossil of a head. Or at least some semblence of a moral compass,” Sweetie laughed. “I think she’s beginning to figure a thing or two out... wouldn’t you agree?” “Given you and Ms. Shy aren’t now wriggling on the ground, seizing uncontrollably, I’d imagine so.” It wasn’t a matter of whether or not Celestia could hit and kill Sweetie with the bolt, but rather that she would hit and kill her. Though she didn’t know the filly as personally as the other mares, she did know who it was. She also knew Sweetie didn’t have yellow eyes but rather green emerald ones. Though her malicious actions were completely apparent, it was just as obvious the filly was possessed. As much as Celestia would have liked to light the grinning thing inside of Sweetie like a Hearths-Warming Pine Tree, she couldn’t do anything to him without hurting or possibly killing Sweetie’s body. Celestia considered taking her up like Specter and Gilda with telekinesis. Unfortunately, then she might risk Fluttershy poor throat, sitting along the edge of the blade. Even for the percision of an alicorn, it was too risky. “Power down Princess... so we can discuss matters like civilized adults, hm?” Specter suggested. “And I’d suggest being hasty about it. My friend here tends to get a little... loose-hoofed when it comes to knives.” Fluttershy whimpered in fear as she felt the knife find its way down to her neck. She felt as Sweetie applied pressure to the blade and lightly pressed it into her neck. Not hard enough to draw blood, but just to cut into an initial layer of skin so the mare could feel its icy chill even more. “What’ll it be Princess? Will you cooperate? Or will you be the one who gets this cute little mate’s blood spilled all over this mansion?” After what felt like ages, Celestia finally closed her eyes and the bright light that surrounded her diminished. The figure materialized into the tall, majestic pony all of Equestria identified her by. Gilda and Specter were released from her telekinetic grip and dropped on the ground. While Gilda gripped her neck, thankful to still be alive, Specter simply straightened his suit as though nothing major had even happened. “I’d suggest you kept your power level no higher than that. I’ll know if you try anything...” Specter said. “And so will my dear butler. He maybe in a filly's body, but boy is he a speed demon.” The mares who weren’t sick, unconscious, or held hostage looked at Celestia in awe. She looked as strong, leader-like, and powerful as she’d looked when she was alive. And yet here she was, allowing herself to be ordered around by this old stallion. “C’mon Princess, don’t listen to him!” Rainbow yelled. “You’re the boss not him!” Celestia didn’t look at her, but only glared at Specter, who smiled wisely. “Now... I’m sure you’re aware of your sister’s cooperation in this little... er project of mine, no?” Celestia didn’t respond. “Of course you are. You’re a 'goddess', are you not? 'Deities' like you tend to know this type of thing.” Specter continued. “Either way, I’m unable to proceed with my project because I’m missing two key things... one of which is you. You see, one of the factors that play a role in my endeavor is an eclipse. A solar eclipse, to be precise. Now, what I plan on achieving with this eclipse is not of your concern, but what is of your concern... is where I need you to place the sun. Now... the trick of this is where I need you and Princess Luna to place the sun. As you know, it’s incredibly difficult for you and Luna to coordinate the sun and moon in the exact same position to create such a phenomenon. Sometimes decades, if I’m not mistaken, to create the celestial lunar and solar alignment.” Specter paused for a moment, looking at the transparent alicorn, giving her another smile. “I can tell I’m boring you with my little ramble and get to my er... request as some might put it. I want your body... or rather, your ghost body.” Celestia remained silent. “And as you might already be knowledgeable about, I can’t simply take control over you... I must have your blessings, do you understand?” The princess and Specter shared yet another eternity of eye contact before Specter sighed. “Somehow, I figured you would want to do things the hard way. Your sister was so much easier. She was stubborn yes... I suppose that must run in royal bloodlines, hm?” Specter chuckled. “Though, I’ll admit, breaking her will was pretty entertaining. All she could do was whine and cry saying ‘No! Don’t do that to her! You can’t do that! Don’t!’. Image after image of the torture we pushed through that ghost's mind... ah, the look on her face as we told her you were already dead was priceless.” Celestia gritted her teeth, but continued to play the quiet game. “Oh, but don’t worry Princess... I won’t bore you with lies or empty threats, oh no...” Specter said. “Will we, Spiffy?” Sweetie chuckled. “Of course not. For such a respected and powerful princess... we aim to please.” She slid her hoof down Fluttershy’s body and loosened the rope slightly, just enough to get under it and to her side. Sweetie began tenderly petting Fluttershy’s left wing, giving her another chill of unease. “Now... I’ll ask you one more time Celestia.” Specter said. “And truly, I’d suggest your cold shoulder charade end now... pretending you’re still the one in charge. Pretending you’ve still got the situation control.” “I agree. Because princess I’d hate to break it to you-” Sweetie said as she quickly grabbed at Fluttershy’s wing and yanked it downward. A sharp crack echoed through the room, followed by a high pitched scream of pain from the yellow mare. “-but you’re just about as trapped as your little friends here.” Sweetie put her face in front of Fluttershy’s. “Hey... that looked like it hurt. Oh, did it hurt? I’m so sorry.” “Fluttershy!” Rainbow and Applejack yelled. Rainbow struggled in her bonds. “Get the hay off of her! I’ll-” Rainbow sighed frustrated at her own helplessness. Applejack gritted her teeth in seething rage. Applebloom and Scootaloo simply shut their eyes and looked away. Sweetie laughed. “Hey, hey hey.” she whispered to the sniveling, whimpering mare. “You see that nice little white ghost over there? Why don’t you ask her to make the pain go away, hm? All it takes is a simple blessing. Look at her.” Sweetie forced Fluttershy’s face towards Celestia’s body. “Look-at-her.” Celestia’s eyes widened slightly as she saw the tears running down her face. The utter pain and suffering in her eyes. True, she did want to help the mare... but that would mean giving up ultimate power to a bat-guano insane old stallion and his slightly crazier assistant. She couldn’t. Celestia returned to her stone-faced demeanor. She would not fall to his control... even if it meant hurting another pony she considered her friend. Sweetie shook her head. “Nothing? Oh well... hey, while we wait for your princess to continue considering her little decision...” Sweetie slipped her hoof around to Fluttershy’s other side. “Maybe you could... influence her thinking pace, hm?” Fluttershy shuddered as she spoke one single word. “N...no...” Sweetie was a little surprised, as was Specter himself. As they planned out this little will breaking exercise, they’d picked Fluttershy to be first, mainly because of her own weak and defenseless nature. The one pony anymare or stallion would feel numb over, just by seeing her in the slightest bit of pain. And yet she seemed willing to endure the pain, likely to encourage their own princess to keep strong. If she wouldn’t give in, Celestia certainly wouldn't dare. Nonetheless, Spiffy grinned in glee. “M'Kay.” Sweetie gave another tug on Fluttershy’s other wing. The snapping rip of muscle and bone made everypony flinch. Though this time, no pony called out for her, knowing it would only be serving the torture’s purpose. Even Fluttershy didn’t scream this time... then again she couldn’t she passed out from shock. “That’s one...” Sweetie sighed. “She was boring. Oh well. Four left to work with. Maybe they'll scream louder, you think Master,Yield?” Sweetie looked over at Rainbow, grinning. “Two.” Gilda intervened. “Remember our deal. I get Pinkie and Rainbow.” Rainbow looked up at the mention of her name. Specter nodded and sighed. “It’s true, we did reach an agreement accompanied by the promise.” Specter turned to Sweetie “You're not to harm either of them. That's the griffon's pleasure.” Gilda scoffed. Nopony asked what she meant by thhe sound. “Right, right... I do recall.” Sweetie frowned. “Disappointing… nonetheless. I haven’t heard wing bones crack that cleanly since my time with those... ahem. Anyway, that’s fine. I suppose we don’t exactly have the time to drag this out for too long... if our friend here is so insistent to be so stubborn.” Sweetie, let Fluttershy drop to the ground. She then glided over to Applejack, knife in teeth. If Celestia had tried to attack then, she probably wouldn't have made it before Sweetie got her hooves on the mare. Applejack was already horrified at seeing her friend put through so much pain. She was thankful that she’d blacked out before Sweetie could ruin her body further, or worse, draw blood. On the other hand, now that Fluttershy was out, she was the new target. She swallowed and put on a stern face, attempting to emulate Celestia’s, “show no fear” attitude... though her eyes were doomed to fail hiding the intense fear that grew every step the little filly took towards her. Sweetie laughed. “Oh, what’s wrong Applejack. You aren’t scared of a little filly like me, are you?” “Me? Heh, yer so darn small, I ain’t got no reason to be scared of a little...” Applejack immediately regretted talking, as she noticed how her voice quivered as Sweetie’s snout got inches from hers. As she breathed on her, rather than warm, she was chilled with a cold breeze coming from her nostrils. Sweetie laughed. Nervously, Applejack joined her before Sweetie stopped abruptly. She took her hoof and forced her to look into her eyes. “Listen to me, Ms. Jack. I’ll be honest. As much as I enjoy listening to you mares scream, I like you. You're my favorite." "Y-yer huh?" Applejack's voice betrayed her. It was meant to sound bewildered and came across as hopeful. Sweetie ate that up with how she smiled at the mare. "You sure are. Suppose I've developed a soft spot for particular brand of the southern bell type -- and hey. I bet you're Sweetie's favorite too. At least you were. But with me, that’s an accomplishment. Normally I can… barely usually stand that damned Appaloosa drivel you applebuckers are so famed for… along with your complete disregard of manners. Unlike the lot of you, you’ve got something that… I suppose I could call it class.” Sweetie cocked her head side to side as if in conflict with herself. "Ah. Aaaah. I don't want to hurt you." "Y-ya don't huh?" Again, that betrayed quiver to her voice. Applejack couldn't help herself. "Nope," Sweetie shrugged. "I may sound crazy, but I'm not! I'm a reasonable pony. So can't you make this easy on me? On us?" Applejack paused and nodded. “Sure.” she said as she leaned past the insane filly to get a better look at Celestia. “Princess? Mind hurrin’ it up in helpin’ this guy buck himself?” She could have been mistaken, but the apple bucker could have sworn she saw a tiny smile on Celestia’s face, slightly increasing Applejack’s confidence and hope. The brief high was abruptly interrupted as Applejack received a hoof to the face. “Sis! Sweetie! Stop!” Applebloom yelled. “At least Ms. Shy was decent enough to give a straight answer.” Sweetie spat. “Though I suppose it’s to be expected from a low-class apple bucker such as yourself.” Applejack spat back, a little more literally, right in the center of her face. “Ya’ll right. Us applebuckers ain’t got no manners for yer kind.” Sweetie’s eyes widened with anger as she took the knife out of her mouth and prepared to stab her... then stopped. Her smile returned as she laughed. “What’s so funny?” Applejack asked. Sweetie wiped the red, gooey substance off of her face. “You, Ms. Jack. You and your... somehow thriving will to rebel against us.” “Wha-” “And... it puzzles me, really.” Sweetie lightly put the tip of the knife against the exposed area of her chest. “With all of the odds… you insist on rebellion against Master Specter and myself. Resist. Fight… even in the most futile ways possible.” Sweetie slowly pushed the knife into Applejack, as she began screaming. She resisted struggling from her grip, as she knew too much movement would only help drive the knife deeper. Right now, all she could do was take the knife and hope it didn’t cut into anything important. “Why are you all so... insistent on keeping such seditious attitude?” Sweetie halted the knife just about a few millimeters in and began cutting across. Applejack by now had resolved to gritting her teeth to hold herself from screaming anymore. Not only was it not in her best interest to move too much with the knife only millimeters inside her; she knew she was merely being used as a tool to weaken Celestia’s will. The last thing she needed was for the princess to give up on account of her own pain. “I asked you a question Ms. Jack.” “B-because we ain’t quitters.” Applejack said, keeping her breaths low so it wouldn’t rise further into the knife. “We’re gonna git all of ya’ll dead folk. A… and git the hay out a this hole ya call a home.” Sweetie laughed. “Dead? You’re basically the same…” “We… ain’t dead. We’re… alive. We ain’t… gonna die... again.” “Ah… so that’s it isn’t it. You insist on rebellion because of your… will to survive?” Sweetie began dragging the knife maddeningly slowly across the open area on Applejack’s body. She let out a groan of pain, as well as a quiver as she felt droplets of blood trickle down her coat. She bit her lip in an effort to distract herself from her chest. “Intriguing… pointless, but intriguing.” Applejack was sure Rainbow was screaming something, though she was too blinded by pain to even acknowledge what kind of bloody murder she was hollering. “But… I still find it slightly strange.” Sweetie continued, not breaking her snail paced cutting, creating a elongating red line on the orange mare. “Something I can’t seem to understand… possibly resulting from my own immortality is simply your will to… survive. Much more, in such an environment of hopelessness and despair. Even going as far as to delude yourself to believing you’re going to survive this night with your soul still in your body. “And what brings about this desire of life and delusions of living is what puzzles me so… that said, I’ve noticed a similar trait in a few of your friends... which brings me to another question. A… philosophical query, if you will.” Sweetie stopped cutting, right over her heart, ending the cut at about 6 centimeters in length. “Why is it you want to live?” Every breath she took hurt her as the knife’s tip sat over her thumping vital organ. Applejack was sure if she didn’t answer, Sweetie would drive the knife into her chest, ending her. She had to respond fast. “B… because.” She said. She was almost blubbering and her voice was just above a whisper as she took her shallow breaths. “Because… ah… we gotta stop you… and because…” Applejack’s eyes went over to Applebloom and Scootaloo. Scootaloo stared horrified at the scene. Applebloom simply looked away, tears streaming down her neck as she was unable to watch her sister be tortured by her possessed friend. “And… because ah… a gotta protect who ah care abou- Gah!” Sweetie snatched the knife out of her and quickly stuck it into the side of her one exposed leg. Much more carelessly than the one in her chest. “Mmhm… go on.” “…cause… if ah don’t got them… mah sis… mah friends… then…” “There is no point in living?” Sweetie smiled. “Nothing… a creep like you’d understand…” Applejack glared. “Yer… to dead ta care.” “Oh my, Ms. Jack, but I do.” Sweetie smiled as she pushed the knife a whole two inches into her body. She wailed at the pain, though to her relief, Sweetie had let go of the sharp tool, leaving it to sit inside of her leg. Sweetie let the applebucker fall down to the ground on her back to wallow in her suffering. “I simply needed… confirmation.” “Confirmation for what?” Applejack groaned. “Oh… just the thing I require to break the will of your dear princess.” Sweetie smiled. “You see, the factor keeping Specter and myself from gaining control over the princess is the simple will to resist. To fight. As you said, to survive so that she can live to protect something. When that something, or more specifically, that somepony close to her is threatened, anyone, even a thousand-year-old princess would do anything to ease their suffering, or in our case, more importantly, keep her alive. Even submit to us… and since her sister is already dead, there’s only one thing left that holds that special value to her. Within our immediate reach and in any case.” “…no…” “Our princess’s protégée... possibly the one keeping her hope dangling by a thread.” Sweetie approached Twilight, still lying unconscious on the ground. She stood over her head, and stared for a few minutes before looking up at Celestia. She sighed. “Before I… start this Princess, I should probably note… this is your last chance to amend your decision. Lest you make your dear student endure the same suffering as the mares you coldly ignored.” Sweetie said. “…no… no I can see it in your eyes, even as dead as they are now. She’s more than a student to you. More than a friend… you two share a special connection, now don’t you? A bond that goes beyond friendship, and may even drift into the realm of materialism or beyond… hm? You see Ms. Sparkle as someone you love with all of your old heart… the daughter you never had. How close am I? One for completely off the mark and ten for ding ding ding, winner winner chicken dinner!” Celestia turned away from Sweetie, who laughed. “Well… if you continue this fruitless rebellion of yours… she’ll be the daughter you never strangled, either.” “You wouldn’t dare.” Celestia snapped her head back toward Sweetie. “Oh? And praytell what’s keeping me?” “Because… because there’s nothing holding me back from-“ “Killing me?” Sweetie gasped. “Oh my! I didn’t know you were as low as killing little fillies! You monster!” “I’ll… I’ll kill your Master. And the griffon.” Sweetie laughed. “Implying that my immortal master gives a buck as to what you do to his body, or that we even care about the fate of the griffon.” “Hmph.” Gilda looked away, pretending it didn’t bother her. “Face it Celestia… you’re powerless here. You’re not a princess, you’re not a queen, you’re barely even an alicorn. You’re just like them. Just another mare desperate for survival. And your only way out is submission.” Sweetie said, as she flipped Twilight on her back. “In which… I can see you’re still insistent on rebellion. Therefore, instead… we’re going to play a game of sorts.” “Game?” Pinkie raised her head weakly. It sounded just a pitch higher than usual. Somewhat stressed. “I…like games.” Her head fell back down. Sweetie chuckled. “Pity… you’d probably like this one.” She then turned her attention back to Celestia. “Creative mare she is. Might not have broken Luna so easily without using one or two of her methods. As I was saying… the name of game is Chicken,” She said it grandly as though she were hosting some kind of show. She turned Twilight around so that her hind hooves were pointing at Celestia. She then sat behind Twilight’s head and lifted it to her chest. “Here are the rules in a nutshell. You win… by killing Twilight. You lose by being a chicken. Buck buck. See the beauty of this game is all you have to do is not be the chicken. And to do that, is to just keep on doing what you're doing. Rebell to your hearts content.” She shrugged. “Lucky you too. With her wind pipe blocked off, you won't hear a peep, even. If you close your eyes, you only need to know that Twilight's about to cross that line which, in this mansion, she'll never be able to cross again. And sit there in acceptance that you are killing the one remaining dearest thing in your life. However… you lose by being the chicken, by stopping the game by submitting to Master Yield and myself. Understand?” “Don’t…” “What is it, princess? Do I sense a bit of fear in that powerful voice?” Sweetie laughed. “Are we having second thoughts now?” Sweetie began petting Twilight’s head, moving the hair out of her eyes. “You know… they say that the average pony brain can last 4 minutes without oxygen… more or less if they panic and waste their last breath... what an appropriate time to test that fact, wouldn’t you think?” “This isn’t an experiment Spiffy… focus.” Sweetie took Twilight’s head from the cheeks and shook it, attempting to rouse her. Within a few minutes, Twilight began to stir. “Huh…?” Twilight moaned. Sweetie chuckled. “Excellent. If there are no other objections… I say we begin. Deep breath Twilight!” Before Celestia could say anything to stop her, Sweetie wrapped her forelegs around Twilight’s neck and hugged her esophagus with incredible strength. The shocked mare’s eyes widened as she gagged. She’d just woken up, and was incredibly confused. All she knew was the severe lack of oxygen going into her lungs upon her awakening. For the first minute, all Twilight’s eyes did were shoot around the room, panicked and desperate to find something to help her. She didn’t know what she was looking for as she thrashed in her bonds, trying to free her hooves to release herself from whatever was trying to kill her. She thought about using magic, as in her sleep, she was sure she’d built up enough to cast some kind of spell. However, between the lack of oxygen to her brain, or the inability to think clear enough to process such a spell, it was near impossible. As it turned out, she had not taken a deep breath after all. For the first minute, nopony still conscious was watching a mare, but a dog. The way she squeaked and whimpered under the pressure exuded on her windpipe, the way she clawed at everything and everyone she could to no avail. Blindly. Fearfully. Ferrally. Mindlessly. Even Sweetie, she no longer saw a filly, just a force she had to get off of her. She beat at those forelegs with all her life -- the life that was quickly fading away. As she began calming down, and started getting weak and dizzy from the oxygen deprivation, her eyes rested on Celestia. They were fearful, confused, pleading… and dying. Celestia tried to look away from her student, but found her eyes glued onto her student’s. It wasn’t just torture for Twilight anymore... for all she could see in those purple eyes were the words: Help me… They stung Celestia more than any knife, or any bone fracture she could. Her naked soul was aching at the sight of her sufferer. All she could think about as Twilight’s eyes started to flutter shut was the fact that she wouldn’t be suffering if she’d just gave in. That no pony would have to suffer if she’d just submitted. That this whole affair was no one’s fault except herself’s. After an estimated 2 minutes and thirty seconds, Twilight’s eyes rolled back into her head and she began convulsing before finally… she went still and she was- “Stop. Stop! STOP!” Celestia’s voice boomed in the tea room. Sweetie raised an eyebrow. “I… I submit.” Celestia bowed her head in defeat. “See?” Sweetie let go of Twilight and let her head hit the ground. “…oh my.” “What?” Specter asked. “Well… it appears she’s not breathing.” Sweetie said. “No…” Celestia’s voice quivered. “Hold on.” Sweetie sighed. “She hasn’t passed 4 minutes yet. If I’m not mistaken, her brain should be able to survive at least that long…” Sweetie blew air into her mouth and pumped her chest. She repeated the process several times before simply slamming on her chest once… surprisingly enough, Twilight started breathing again, coughing indicating to Celestia she was in fact alive. “There we go.” Sweetie said. “She’ll… she’ll be alright?” Celestia asked. “Oh Princess, of course she’ll be fine… as long as a certain somepony doesn’t decide to change her mind.” “…what do you want from me?” Celestia asked. “We already told you what I want from you. I want to control you… as I said, it was a special puppeting technique that is unique to you alicorns. As long as you remain cooperative-” “Them.” Celestia said sharply. “Hm?” “Their wounds… I won’t… I won’t do anything until you do something about my friends.” Celestia’s voice quivered, fearing she might speak out of place to anger Specter or the possessed Sweetie Belle. Specter smiled. “Of course. It’d be a shame for such respectable and still useful mares to die. Not much use dead anyway without their marks anyhow. Now… before our friends die of shock or blood loss, I…” Specter went inside of his coat, as though to receive something. “Hmph…” “You forgot it?” Sweetie asked. Specter chuckled. “I suppose I’m not the only one who’s age is catching up with him… If I’m right, it should still be in the study though.” “Wouldn’t imagine why not.” Sweetie considered. “It is the room you’ve most frequently used to get to her. If anywhere…” “Yes. Gilda. Quickly, would you mind heading to my study to retrieve the spirit sphere, as well as the locket? … And Ms. Sparkle’s gems as well. Four would be a good number to bring.” “Four? Ms. Sparkle isn’t in need of any immediate attention and there’s only two ponies who need it.” “I asked for four… and I meant four.” Specter repeated. Sweetie looked at him suspiciously. “Master…” “You say that as though you don’t trust me… do you?” Specter smiled. “Besides, wouldn’t you agree it’s within our best interest to keep at least some of Ms. Sparkle’s healing items to keep on hoof?” Sweetie opened her mouth to rebut, though by one look at Specter’s face, she closed it back. It was apparent he wasn’t inclined to dwell upon such a seemingly trivial subject. All she’d have to do is trust him for now… though lately, she was starting to find that difficult. Especially with the reminder of that GCD add-on she was still questioning its function… even if she was the one to install it. “Well Ms. Gilda?” Specter said. “Hop to it. We haven’t gotten all day.” Gilda groaned as she went toward the door. “And… try not to make a mess.” As Gilda pulled the door open however, without warning, two armored ponies rushed through it. The black one stopped on a dime, though the white one, unable to stop, charged toward Sweetie, who promptly dodged him. The white stallion eventually hit the wall and fell to the ground with a thud. “Damn it Buster!” "Huh," Sweetie said flatly. “Well well… what do we have here?” Specter asked. *** Sweetie wandered around the foyer aimlessly, just a little bit anxious. She’d been walking around for the last 20 minutes… or at least as far as the big clock above the paintings pointed out. She weaved through the ponies who socialized around the foyer with other fancy looking ponies. Occasionally, Sweetie noticed a butler or two handing out appetizers to the guests, but other than that… Sweetie couldn’t seem to find a Clef to name. Squee followed closely behind Sweetie, making sure not to lose her. Despite his affection for the blue dressed filly, he spent more of his time ogling the other ones, who were even more lavishly dressed, than he did at his date. Sweetie might have been vaguely offended in the manner he looked at them if she wasn’t so worried about the location of Harmona or Treble. Finally, Sweetie sighed and stopped. “Where the hay are they…?” “Huh?” Squee asked, noticing her break. “Oh you mean that Clef guy you told me about?” Sweetie had previously informed Squee of how she acquired the invitations. “Uh… have you tried looking for somewhere that ponies would… y’know, watch a show, or preform or something?” Sweetie shook her head. “It’d be nice if I knew where a place like that was.” Sweetie hadn’t been solely wandering since she entered. She’d done as much exploring of the first floor that her boundaries would allow her. Aside from the staircase, there were only two doors that she could access. The one to the right of the staircase, there was a double door. Unfortunately, that door was locked. Though she found the locked door in and an electrified gate to be active during somewhat peculiar during a supposedly ‘open house’ party, though disregarded it as unimportant. To the right of the staircase was only a single short hallway that led to the dining hall. There were very few ponies held up in there. Possibly to sample some of the dishes that had already been laid out for the dinner later. Though Sweetie was reminded of her stomach’s emptiness, she was more worried then about finding Mr. Treble and checking in with him… though she was sure there was no way dinner could come fast enough. The only way that Sweetie could tell she could go was the kitchen, which she had her doubts that there was anything else but food and maybe a few cooks. Definitely not the ideal place to preform one’s works of music. Sweetie was now thinking about checking the next floor, wondering if her destination could possibly be up there. She did notice ponies heading up that way through the center door. It didn’t make sense to her as she’d assumed that the upper floors would be where ponies slept, or engaged in more personal affairs. Then again, her memory was still a bit foggy on basic matters. There was also that fear that the moment she left to investigate the second floor, that the Clefs would appear just as she left. Then again, as the minutes rolled by, she was beginning to get a little antsy. After a fair amount of hesitation, Sweetie came up with a plan. “Er… Squee?” “Yeah Sweetie?” Squee asked, once again, tearing his eyes away from some other pony. “What is it?” “I’m gonna go on ahead to see if I can’t find the Clefs up there.” Sweetie pointed to the staircase. “But I need you to hold either of the Clefs if you see them.” “Sure! But uh… what do they look like again?” “Well… one of them has a poofy mane like mine, and a cream color coat I think… and the other’s like an aquamarine color with a strip of white in her mane.” “You sure that’s right?” “I think so. Why?” Sweetie asked. “Welp… I’ve heard of those new Clefs, but I don’t remember them looking like that. I dunno… still, I’ll keep an eye out for them Sweets.” “Thanks Squee. I’ll pick you up if I find them myself.” “Alright. Don’t be long.” Squee nuzzled Sweetie on the neck making her giggle. “See you.” Sweetie made her way through the different ponies conversing, barely acknowledging her existence as she had to push through a few walls of them to get to the staircase. She began climbing, and about half way up- “Hey! Pear-bucker filly!” “Huh?” Sweetie asked. She’d been referred to as a pear bucker before by the Clefs, grabbing Sweetie’s attention. Though, when she turned her head to the top of the staircase, it was neither Harmona, nor Treble… but a grey coated mare with purple eyes. Sweetie climbed up to the top to confront the mare. Immediately upon being close enough for her to examine her closely, she began walking around her. “So… you’re the pear bucker that apparently has the voice of an angel, hm?” Her voice was feminine to Sweetie’s relief. “Er… I guess. I mean, I don’t sing that well.” Sweetie modestly admitted. “B-but I’m not a pear bucker. One just gave me her hat.” “Hm… odd fashion design, but that’s not important I suppose.” The mare said. “But you can sing, correct?” Sweetie shrugged. “Um… Mr. Clef said I could. Wait, do you know him?” “Who else would tell me about such an obscurely talented filly?” the mare said. “Yes, he did. I’m the one who gave him the-” “-opportunity to perform?” Sweetie finished. “…it’s not polite to interrupt an elder while she’s speaking.” “Sorry. He just used that word a lot.” “…none the less, you are the filly who he recruited as the third. A strange decision to allow a school-aged pony to sing in a professional environment, but he knows how special this is… and how he’ll never get this chance a second time if he royally fails at this.” No pressure… Sweetie thought. “Either way… I suppose you and him have a fair amount of time to prepare for your own act.” The mare said. “I do?” Sweetie asked. The mare nodded. “Yes… for some reason, most of the performances will be taking place after dinner, which should be in a little while… only Mr. and Mrs. Clef, myself and my two assistants will be performing any music before the host’s formal introduction. A little background music… nothing more.” “You mean Mr. Yield?” Sweetie asked. The mare nodded. “Okay… so I’m not performing yet. Or at least I don’t have to… That’s cool.” Sweetie smiled. “But just so I know where they are, where are the Clefs?” The grey mare pointed to the center door. “Take that door right there. Make the second right you can. Then take the first stairwell you can down and you should be able to find your way from there to a theater area. Treble is performing now, and I should be down there eventually after I’ve met up with my second assistant.” “Where’s your first?” Sweetie asked curiously. “Right here, of course.” Sweetie then became aware of the small male purple dragon atop her back. He waved. “Erm… hi.” Sweetie waved. “Hiya!” The dragon said in a feminine voice. You’ve got to be kidding me. Sweetie twitched. Does gender mean anything anymore?! “My name’s Notetooth.” He smiled. “What’s your name?” “Sweetie.” He giggled, slightly disconcerting Sweetie. “Nice to meet you Madame Sweetie.” “Er… likewise Mas- er, I mean, Madame Notetooth.” “Hm… it’s getting late. I need to head off.” The mare turned around with a snap and headed for the center door. Notetooth leaned his head the back of her neck, using it as a lounge and closed his eyes, likely to go to sleep. “Wait! I didn’t get your name.” The mare stopped and turned her head back towards Sweetie. “Violinist Barra Basso. Don’t forget it.” No promises Sweetie thought. “…oh, one last thing.” Barra added. “Huh?” “This might be something that you may not already be aware of but… you aren’t to be snooping where your snout isn’t to be around here.” Barra warned. “Specter will kick you out.” “Really? Why?” “Because some ponies appreciate it when you respect their privacy.” Barra responded. “You should keep that in mind. When I first met him, that was the first thing he told me. Don’t go wandering around the mansion.” “…alright.” Sweetie said. “Yeah. I wasn’t planning on doing that much exploring anyway.” “Good.” Barra turned back around. “Remember to arrive in the dining hall at the appropriate time. Treble will take you to perform from there.” “Okay, okay…” Sweetie said. Barra and Notetooth went through the door, and it shut. Specter really doesn’t want anypony to wander huh? I wonder why… Sweetie shook her head. She didn’t need her curiosity to make her do something stupid. She’d already worked hard enough to get into the manor, she didn’t want to get kicked out… and yet for some reason, she couldn’t help but get the feeling that snooping around was something she had to do. Like it was important for some reason… Sweetie resolved to heading through the front door. She swung it open… and in fact, there was a long hallway that stretched almost endlessly… what was she expecting to be there anyway? She began to make her way down the hallway as the door creepily creaked shut. The only light in the hallway were candles hanging off the walls. As Sweetie navigated the hallway, she felt pressure at the back of her head, as well as a bit of dread, which she felt was a little misplaced. The hallway was very well lit and extremely normal looking. The ‘normal’ part was, for some reason was a part of the reason the hall put her off. Despite its obvious openness, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of oppression and despair brooding inside her… why did this hallway seem so threatening? As Sweetie walked down the strangely lonely hall, she decided to check one of the doors. There were a unreal number of them stretching down the hall. Even more, there was no way there could be a pony in every single one of them… she figured a peek inside one of them couldn’t hurt, if only to satisfy a little of her curiosity as to what could be inside. Sweetie took a hold of the knob and turned. It wouldn’t budge. Locked.Sweetie thought. Who woulda thunk it? She looked down the hall. She still had a few more doors to try before the first turn. There had to be one that was unlocked… maybe she could find one along the path? Besides, it wasn’t like anypony was around to rat her out for her nosy behavior. She proceeded to check the doors… Locked… Locked… Locked! Sweetie wasn’t completely sure why she was getting so upset over these locked doors but everyone she came across made her more and more annoyed. Who in the hay has the time to lock ALL of these doors?! Sweetie wondered. She sighed. She shouldn’t have been even trying to break into the rooms anyway. She still had to check up with the Clefs anyway… right after she checked this one last door just at her turn. Sweetie put her hoof on the knob- “Daddy said guest ponies aren’t supposed to be sneaking around the house.” Sweetie whirled around to find herself met with two fillies, who’d spoken to her in perfect unison. One of them was a yellow pony with a red mane, and the other an orange pony with a purple one. They grinned at her. “Daddy says,” They continued, “that the nosy ponies are supposed to be punished.” Sweetie backed against the door, scared of what they were about to do to her… then they both began to giggle. “You should have seen your face!” the purple filly laughed. There was a hint of masculinity in her voice, though it wasn’t as stressed as the other ones. “I wish my sister was that easy to scare.” “Lucky for me, you are that easy to scare Marbles.” The other one whipped a tear from her eye. “Hey shut up Ms. Firebug. At least I didn’t burn down the only fun thing that comes around here.” Marbles retorted. “That wasn’t my fault! Mommy said so.” “Uh…” Sweetie said nervously. They both looked at her and smiled friendly. “And you…” Marbles said. “What are you doing wandering around? Daddy did say that other ponies weren’t to be trying to get into any locked doors…” “L-look…” Sweetie said, still shaken up. “Please don’t tell your dad I was trying to…” The red mane giggled. “Weeeellll, I dunno.” “Look Ms. Firebug I-” Marbles snickered. “See? Even she knows it was your fault.” “Shutup! My name is Candy. And this is my idiot brother Marbles.” “Sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.” Sweetie said. “It’s fine.” Marbles said. “Listen. I like you. Gave us a little entertainment and proved how big of a dodo my sis is.” This seems incredibly ironic, but I can’t remember why… “Maybe we’ll-” “Hold up…” Candy stopped. “First things first. Who are you?” “Er… my name’s Sweetie. Sweetie Belle.” “Cute name.” Marbles looked at her in a way that made her feel a little uncomfortable. “Hmph… weird name for an-” “I’m not an pear bucker, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Sweetie cut off. “I just… happened to come across it.” “A pear bucker hat? You mean like the ones down in Lower Stabletown?” Sweetie nodded. “Can I… see it?” “Uh… sure? Why not.” Sweetie said, taking off the hat and handing it to the red mane. She examined it with extreme interest as Marbles leaned over to take a look at it herself. “So rough… really warm though. What’s it made of?” Sweetie shrugged. “It feels so weird…”Candy mumbled. “Lemme see.” Marbles snatched the hat from Candy. “Hey!” Candy sighed and looked back at Sweetie who oddly eyed their curiosity. “Er… we don’t really get to see much stuff from Lower Stabletown.” Candy explained. “Daddy said that wasn’t a really good place to be for ponies like me… what’s it like down there.” “I don’t think I’ve seen all of it, but really, it’s nothing special.” “You haven’t?” Candy asked. “Don’t you live there?” Sweetie shook her head. “Wait a sec… you’re not from around here then?” Marbles looked up at Sweetie, who nodded. She gave back Sweetie’s hat. “Nope.” “Where are you from?” Sweetie shrugged. “Amnesia… I’m getting better, but I still can’t remember stuff like that.” “Ah… but wait a second… if you’re not from around here then…” Marbles nudged her sister who nodded. “Sis, this could be the pony we’re looking for…” “Hey yeah! Sweetie. Mind doing us a favor?” “Uh…” Sweetie looked to the side, uncertainly. “Because… well, you didn’t get a library card from Ms. Covri yet, did you?” “No… plan to get one soon though.” “And… she hasn’t written down your name or anything?” “Nope. Not that I know anyway.” “And you haven’t met Mommy or Daddy yet, right?” “Not yet.” Sweetie affirmed. “Why?” “That means… there’s no way Daddy or his butlers know who you are right?” Marbles asked. “Besides that one at the front who I showed my invitation to, I don’t think so.” “It hasn’t been too long since the party started. Which means nopony who matters knows who you are!” “Huh?” Sweetie was lost. “What does Covri listing me down or ponies knowing me have to do with anything?” Marbles and Candy looked at each other. “Think it’s worth telling her?” Candy asked. Marbles shook his head. “Nah. I barely understand it myself really. All she needs to know is that anyone that Specter finds the name of… if they wander on the mansion grounds, they lose their memory.” “What? Why? How?” Sweetie asked. “We’re not really sure ‘why’. The ‘how’ has probably got to do with magic. And I’m not really sure how to answer the ‘what’.” Candy said. Losing memory by wandering… is Mr. Yield somehow related to my memory loss? “Anyway, if one of those uptight butlers got a hold of your name, it’s probably not long before it gets to Daddy. We won’t get a chance like this ever, if he gets your name.” “What do you mean?” “We… we want you to run a mission for us. We want you to go explore a little of the mansion we’ve never gotten to be in.” “…you’re asking me to snoop around?” “That’s a sneaky word for it, but yeah.” Candy said. “Every time we wander around to certain parts of the mansion, one of the butlers comes and picks us up… or we black out and wake up back in our rooms, forgetting just about everything from our exploits.” “Kind of weird that your dad doesn’t even let you walk around your own house.” Sweetie said. Almost like he’s hiding something he doesn’t even want his own kids to see. Wonder what could be that horrible…? “You’re telling us.” Candy sighed. “Anyway, we want you to do that… in fact, we need you to do that. Tonight.” “Huh? Why?” Sweetie asked. “What’s special about tonight… besides this party of course.” “Check this out.” Marbles reached into her tuxedo and took out a small key with a little heart on the end. It was glowing yellow. “Whoa…” Sweetie said, mesmerized by it. “Yeah. We found it in one of Mommy’s powder rooms. It started glowing around the time the sun was almost down. We know it goes into a few doors we found… but we checked those ones. Nothing but bedrooms normally… but every time we try and go in one now, we feel dizzy, and…” “…nearly blackout?” Sweetie guessed. They both nodded. “So you want me to go to the door this opens, and see if anything is different?” “Yeah!” Marbles said. “You’re crazy then.” Sweetie said flatly. “Huh?” “You checked it, right? I don’t think doors change when you put glowing keys into them.” Sweetie said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound rude, but… really, I don’t have time to check doors that I know don’t have anything interesting inside.” “C’mon Sweetie. You’re a unicorn. Ponies like you know this better than anypony else. We live in a world of magic. Stuff like that is normal!” “You think your dad cast a spell on a room for no apparent reason?” “I don’t know. Maybe?” Marbles said. “Besides. It’s a glowing key for Celestia’s sake! That’s weird, isn’t it?” Marbles shook the key in front of Sweetie for extra effect. Sweetie sighed. “Like I said… I don’t have time right now. I’m sorry… maybe a little later?” Candy shook her head. “No, we’ve got to take every second we’ve got. Listen Sweetie. I like you. Marbles likes you. But if you don’t do this thing, we will tell on you.” “What?” “You were wandering around the mansion like a aimless rat-” “Please don’t talk about rats.” Marbles shivered. “And we could get you kicked out of here.” “Y-you wouldn’t.” Sweetie stuttered. “We won’t if you do what we say.” “You don’t have any evidence!” Sweetie argued. “Who is Daddy going to believe? Two of his pure hearted kids? Or some weird low class little pear bucking filly who he’s never met before?” “I told you, I’m not a-...” Sweetie sighed. “So… where am I going again?” “That’s the spirit.” Candy smiled. “You want to take the left door, the one to your right as you go back to the foyer. It’s a little twisty, but all you need to do is try a few doors, explore a few hallways… and the next time you see us, tell us what you find.” “…that’s it?” “And don’t get caught.” Marbles added. Obviously. “Marbles is right… I mean, it’s weird really…” Candy continued. “Daddy threatens to throw ponies out if they snuck, and I’m sure some have tried before… but of every party he’s thrown, it hasn’t happened once.” “What? You think they never leave?” Candy shrugged. “I don’t know what happens to them… but who knows? Maybe it has something to do with his ultra big secret.” “Like I said… if you don’t want to find out the hard way… don’t get caught.” Marbles reiterated. “…thanks.” Sweetie sighed. She was more nervous than ever about this now. “Don’t worry Sweetie. You look smart… I’m sure you won’t do anything too stupid to get yourself caught.” Candy said as she gave Sweetie the key. “We’re counting on you. “Well… We gotta go.” Marbles said. “We’ll see you at dinner.” “Yeah. We can talk more there.” Candy said. “See you.” “Bye.” Sweetie said. The two of them bowed and headed down the hall Sweetie was originally going to go. They took the staircase down… and like that, they were gone. Sweetie looked at the glowing key for a few moments before stuffing under her dress into her saddlebags. She thought about forgetting about the sneaking mission and just going to her destination… but she feared coming across Marbles and Candy again. She didn’t know if ‘snooping’ counted if she hadn’t found anything interesting to name… but then again, she’d worked too hard to get inside of manor. Then again, going along with the mission could have yielded an even worse consequence. Decisions… decisions… Sweetie finally resolved to going along with the Yield kids mission. Between her obnoxiously growling curiosity, the pressure the children had put on her, and the fact she’d been literally handed the key to resolving both issues, how could she resist? Sweetie headed back to the foyer and took the door she’d been instructed to take. She looked behind her, making sure there were no ponies, butler or guest, that was paying her any attention in particular. When she felt confident enough, she cracked the door open, and slipped through, closing it without a peep. As she’d expected, the door led to a new hallway, one perpendicular to the one she’d just exited. This one however, Sweetie wasn’t too keen on exploring. Unlike the previous one, only the first two candles were lit. The hallway down further was pitch black. Sweetie swallowed and reached into her saddlebags. She took out her flashlight and lit up the path ahead. Here we go… Sweetie walked down the hallway as the candlelight at the beginning of the hallway got dimmer and dimmer as she grew further away from it. The walls, paintings, and even the vases in the reduced light seemed more menacing than before. The chronic dizziness she felt as she went deeper and deeper didn’t make her feel any better. Thankfully, she didn’t get anywhere close the black outs Marbles and Candy claimed to experience. Still though, Sweetie knew there was definitely something sinister about this hallway. It was when Sweetie felt the chill down her spin that she stopped. She felt as though she were being watched by something. Or more likely, something was looking for her… This place is giving me the creeps. Alright Sweetie… she thought as she took out her key again. Just test this thing on a few doors and get out… before something I won’t like finds me… Sweetie picked a random door and stuck her key into the hole underneath the knob. Surprisingly enough, it was a perfect fit. A lucky guess perhaps? Before she got the chance to turn it, the glowing end of the key shocked her. “Ow!” She yelped as she snatched her hoof back. Dumb electricity The key became transparent along with the knob of the door, and then began glowing white. Sweetie stood back as the entire door began to glow white, growing to a nearly blinding light. The hallway shuddered for a good minute before the door blew up in a flurry of light, revealing a portal into another room. “…okay…” Sweetie got from against the wall she must have backed herself against out of fear. “What in the hay was that?” “Hunter detected. Please acquire Ghost Capture Device.” came a voice from inside of the room. “H-huh? Who said that?” Sweetie asked. There was no response until- Take it. You don’t have much time… “W-what?” Sweetie asked. “What’s going-” TAKE IT. He’s coming now… Sweetie opened her mouth to ask who, but then she heard a click at the end of the hallway. Somepony had just entered… Sweetie entered the room and gave it a quick look around. It looked like a bedroom, though Sweetie couldn’t be sure as every piece of furniture was covered with a white cloth. Even more, everything was pushed against the walls in an unorganized fashion, as though some magnetic force pushed everything from the center out. It surrounded the one piece of furniture at the very center of the room in particular covered in a green sheet. Giving a quick glance back to the hallway, Sweetie proceeded to the piece of furniture under the green sheet. Sweetie yanked it off, and there sitting on a small table, was a grey device in the shape of a rectangular prism, and a glowing cylinder inside of its top with tubing extending to the side of the prism. Put it on… use your saddlebags to keep it from slipping off… “Who in the hay-” Shhh… we don’t have much time I told you. I can’t keep talking to you forever. I’ll explain later, but right now, you need to put that device on and locate this mansion’s memory ‘pocket’. Quickly now! Sweetie was hasty as she moved her dress to the side, listened the straps on her saddlebags, and used her telekinesis to fit the device snuggly under her dress. Quickly, she hid it under her dress once again. “So did you find what you were looking for?” Sweetie whirled around at the sound of the third voice. She was met with the eyes of a cold looking yellow eyed butler stallion. Was this the same one she’d seen at the door? No, this one had a yellow coat and was much more fearsome. “W-what?” Don’t bother trying to move. It only quickens the process. Just wait. I’m trying to activate the particle from here. “Quickens what process? What particle?” Sweetie asked. “Who are you talking to Sweetie Belle?” the stallion asked. “I-I… d-don’t you hear him?” Sweetie asked. She shivered. “W-why is it so cold all of a sudden?” The stallion chuckled. “Don’t worry Sweetie. I’ll find out eventually. I won’t make the same mistake of not searching you before. Then I’ll get back to your friends.” Five more seconds… “But right now… everything is fine… relax…” Sweetie was scared as she felt her body getting colder and colder. She couldn’t move either, leaving her fettered to her spot under the butler’s gaze. Just as her body began to sting from it- Now. “Spirit Pulse activated. Please refrain from motion.” the device on Sweetie’s back said. “What the hay?” “No. That can’t be... the-” Sweetie was then immediately surrounded by a green explosion that blew everything outside of a foot from her back, including the butler. It will only work once Sweetie. Run! Sweetie sprinted through the door, past the stunned stallion against the wall and down the hall. “SWEETIE BELLE!” The stallion roared. His voice sounded much darker, numerous, and demonic than before. The filly barely recognized it. “What the hay is happening?!” Sweetie screamed fearfully. It was then, Sweetie began hearing the chilling laughter echoing behind her. When she looked back, there was no candlelight, but only a flurry of white figures charging at her. “WHAT THE HAY IS THAT?!” Left! Here! the voice sounded more faded than before. Sweetie snapped a turn in the direction the voice had instructed and continued to bolt down the hallway. It seemed to impossibly stretch on forever. Right! Take a right! Sweetie bolted right. She heard the stampede behind her cutting through the wind. It’s sound barely meeting the volume of their laughter. Right! Sweetie took a right. The ghostly figures were gaining on her. She could feel them getting closer and closer, no matter how fast she ran. One more right! You’re almost there! Sweetie took the next right. She was getting tired. She was sure that if she didn’t find someplace to rest, she’d end up tripping over her own hooves. Take the staircase! Sweetie looked to her right and in fact there was a stairwell there. She bolted down it and sped to the first floor. She busted through the door and slammed it behind her, panting for breath. The laughing figures faded behind her as she sinked to the ground in relief. She covered her face. “This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening…” She mumbled to herself. You should be safe or a few moments now… the voice reassured. Though don’t stick around too long. Mr. Butler will find the memory pocket if you stay too long. Nor can I assist you much longer in this way… I’m really gambling my luck and yours by speaking to you in this manner, which is why we need to move quickly. When you’re ready, take that book out and place it in front of the candle-stand at the center of the room. Once Sweetie had calmed down enough, she looked up and shined her light around the pitch black room. In front of her, there was in fact a candle-stand with a candle made out of green wax on top. “The book…?” Sweetie then remembered the book she’d grabbed from the library. She did as the voice had instructed, taking it out of her saddlebags and placing it in front of the candle-stand. She stood back as the book opened itself and began rapidly flipping through the pages. The book emitted light… and behind it, there was the hologram of a large sillouette figure. Judging by its large snout, and curved spikes along its back, Sweetie assumed it was some kind of dragon. Not a baby, but not quite an adult either. “Hello there, Hunter Sweetie Belle.” The figure greeted. “Who the hay are you?!” Sweetie stuttered. “How do you know my name?! What just happened?!” “Interesting… I suppose by putting so much focus on your memory loss, Mr. Butler assumed you’d fall like the other hunters by your own panic… either that, or to slow down your progress…” “Huh?” Sweetie asked. “Who are you?” The figure shook his head. “Who I am… doesn’t matter right now. My name won’t mean a thing after tonight… even if you manage to survive with yourself and your friends physical and psychological wellbeing intact.” “My friends… you mean Squee.” The figure shook his head. “No… believe it or not, that colt, along with anyone else here is your enemy.” “What?” Sweetie asked. “N-no… you’re lying. Squee wouldn’t ever want to hurt me.” “Oh believe me Sweetie. They are. Even if they’re being protected by the memories of your real friends… they won’t be for long. Once Spiffy takes them by the reins, you won’t even have a prayer for escape.” “I don’t believe you.” Sweetie said. “Very well… I suppose wither or not you believe what I say matters at this point. Only what you do now… that you escape.” “Escape? Escape what?” “Escape the general Stabletown Ponyville memory. Make it to your spiritual hub and retake control of your body.” “Huh? What are you talking about? I’m already in control of my body. You’re crazy.” The form shook his head again. “Says the pony talking to a holographic dragon. As I said. It’s unimportant weither or not you deem my sanity as credible or otherwise. All that matters is how you act for the next 30 minutes… because that’s just about all you have before somepony dies.” “D-dies?” Sweetie asked. “Listen to me, for I don’t have much time to explain. My connection with you is weakening. I could barely supply you with analytical advice on the ghosts through the encyclopedia Specter had erased. The only reason I contacted you now, in this form, is to get your attention.” “So wait… if you’re not here, then where are you?” Sweetie asked. “It’s not important.” Sweetie groaned. “Then tell me. What IS important. What did you come to tell me?” “This room… you need to use it to stop the memory. Crash it, if you will. If you can do that, not only should the rest of your true memories return, but you should be able to have a stab at fighting Spiffy head on. He might have been cocky as to how fast you would progress, though I’m sure he wasn’t expecting to have to deal with the GCD. Why Specter didn’t tell him of its spirit particle de-possession function is peculiar either way.” “GCD?” “The Ghost Capture Device.” “If you say so… and Specter?” “It would take hours to explain his involvement in this and it’s not worth explaining now. Besides, I have doubts you’d even believe it.” “So… okay, this room. How do I ‘use’ it?” “Simple. You must put in the photos in the correct order, play the instruments and light the candle. Simple.” “Photos… oh!” Sweetie went into her saddlebags and took out the two photos of Romina and Bottle. They now had color to them and showed their faces. There was an “S” on the back of Bottle’s picture, as well as a “P” on the back of Romina’s. “I would keep them somewhere safe, if I were you.” The figure suggested. Sweetie nodded and placed them in the book. “And… playing music?” “There should be two instruments in here.” Sweetie shined her light around to find that it was true. There was one large harp, and a bass to either side of the candlestick. “Okay… I’ve got to get somepony to play those two?” “At the same time. Yes. I’m sure you already know of two instrumentalists?” “Hey yeah… the ones that helped me in here.” Sweetie remembered. “A-as well as that one that I met on my way up here!” “You’ll also need to locate the sheet music for them to play. I can’t help you in that department.” “Oh… well, maybe I’ll come across it. I’m bound to find it somewhere I go. I was asked to be a musician here so I’ll get to see all the music.” “One can only hope. Now all you need is a way to light that candle… and if you’re unable to locate a match, you could always use the GCD’s fire spitter feature.” “Huh?” “Just… play with the device before you head out. You’ll figure it out. You’re smart when you want to be.” “Okay… I think I got it. And something’s going to happen once I do all of that?” The figure nodded. “But I have my doubts you’ll locate everything you need in the time you need. Celestia’s lost her will, and soon, one of your friends will try to escape… at least that’s what I predict. When that happens… as I said, they will die.” “Then what do I do?” Sweetie asked. “…the mind is a very interesting thing. Especially yours. It has the ability to dream. Lengthy dreams in as short as minutes… when it could feel like it lasts for hours. Making time pass queerly to the dreamer. Have you noticed any weird changes in time?” “…kind of. Hours have been passing weirdly now that you mention it.” “Yes. A bit of a time dilation in one’s own mind. It can be lengthened or even shortened at times. Your mind… somehow, subconsciously, whilst guiding you throughout Stabletown, it’s also activated that inner time dilation in your brain. Making time progress slightly slower, as well as speeding it up a bit on the inside, giving you a reasonable amount of time to get yourself here just before your friends and Spiffy… anyway there’s a way you can slow down time even further for a little longer.” “Oh really? How?” “There’s a clock in here. Bring the hands further apart and it should make the next 30 minutes… as long as about one minute in the real world.” “I’ll believe it when I see it.” “You won’t notice it... though admittedly, you’ll likely have an easier time getting from place to place, aside from any obstacles associated with the memory itself. All that matters is that you do it. Though… once you do, there will be consequences.” “Like?” “For starters, once the extended time dilation process is up, time will begin matching the one of the real world. Everything you do from then on will be in real time… and you really won’t have any time to waste. Secondly, Spiffy has been neglecting you for the time of your possession… though, once he realizes you’re able to manipulate the memory by the end of the phase, he will do everything he can to stop you for good. He may quit trying to deceive you with this illusion… he may try and crash the memory himself with you still inside.” “What happens if that happens?” “Your spirit cease to exist.” “W-what?” “Inside of a memory… a spirit is just another memory. If the memory is forgotten, or destroyed, the spirit is forgotten… if something abstract is truly forgotten, lost, or somehow dies… it stops existing.” “That’s… a lot to take in.” Sweetie admitted. “And I’m not really sure if I believe any of this mumbo jumbo.” “If I’ve said it once… It doesn’t matter that you believe me, or think I’m crazy. Even I question my own sanity sometimes, but… if you don’t do this, you will regret it. Keep that in mind.” “…I’ll do it.” Sweetie sighed. “If anything, because those things nearly killed me.” “Oh, and that.” The figure added. “Spiffy will try and attack you with more of those things if you stay alone too long. Even more, if you turn on the time dilation, then we won’t be able to communicate. I won’t be able to assist you in escaping again.” “Okay… Stay with other ponies then?” “This memory may be how Spiffy remembers Stabletown, but he won’t set up anyghosts where it would disrupt the memory. As long as you’re around living ponies, and none of those white round things, then you should be okay.” “Gotcha.” Sweetie shined her light to the corner of the room where she saw the clock the figure had mentioned. “There’s the clock. Just move the hands?” The figure nodded. Sweetie climbed up onto some tables against the wall the clock was against. As she put her hooves on the hands, she stopped. “I won’t be able to talk to you again?” “That’s right. As I said… you’ll be fine. Just keep your wits and you’ll live to see your friends again. You’ll see your sister.” “My… sister?” Sweetie asked. She had a sister? Somehow, the prospect of having a sibling seemed familiar to her. More familiar than anything else she’d been presented to her that day. The only thing she could almost vaguely remember from her past… something she was fighting for, and at points questioned why. “Good luck kid.” The figure said. “And food for thought… try not to mess up again once you get out. The pages of this story is already long enough, wouldn’t you say?” “Yeah.” Sweetie said, not completely sure what she was agreeing with. Sweetie moved the hands so that they were in an 180 degree angle. The room jerked, knocking Sweetie back on the ground and the flashlight out of her mouth. She got up and put it back in her mouth. When she looked over at the book, the hologram was gone and she was alone again. Sweetie was definitely not going to go back out to the hallway anytime soon… though, thankfully, there was another door she could take. Though, before trying it, Sweetie went over to the book and looked at it. Inside were the words, written in fancy cursive: She might still be counting on you… *** Busby and Paita made it to the top of the narrow spiral staircase and entered the dining hall. Paita stopped in her tracks as the hairs on the back of her neck stood. Busby took a few steps before noticing his partner had stopped. “Hey Paita, come on.” Busby said he looked around. “This is the... yeah, this is the dining hall. We’re getting close to the foyer, right?” “This… this is where we last were.” “What?” Paita looked over at the kitchen door. “We… they went through that door. The kitchen... somehow, I didn’t go to the same place they did.” “Should we check out the kitchen first.” Paita shook her head. “If it didn’t actually take us to the kitchen, it’d take us anywhere they weren’t. Going in there is probably the best way to get us killed right now.” “Then what’s wrong?” Paita paused and sighed. "It's just earlier... If I’d gone in there with the rest of them... Hay, I’d probably be in the same boat as them and you’d be wandering that labyrinth on your own… Just that Durate and Black and the others, if they didn't call me out and make me stop, I'd be done. I’m just thinking about how close I was to chasing after that filly. I was the one who made her run away I think… and maybe...” "...maybe?" Busby asked. Paita shook her head. "Maybe nothing. Don't worry about it." Busby shrugged. “If you say so... if means anything, I’m almost glad I wasn't around." "You're glad you weren't doing your job?" "No I was investigating... but if I'd been with the rest of you, I'd have probably chased after her because you scared her away.” “Didn’t scare her.” Paita sighed. “I think she was just the bait everypony else fell for… she just used me as a reason. Somehow, I don’t know what she did, but she made me see something in her eyes that just made me so angry.” “What?” “I don’t know. Something familiar… and evil. I can’t really explain.” “Huh…” Busby stared at Paita, who also stared blankly at the door that could have led her to her end. Finally, she snapped out of the trance. “What are you waiting for Buster? We’ve got to find the princesses.” “B-but you’re the one who stopped!” “Hmph.” She walked past Busby toward the doorway that led to the foyer. “I don’t get distracted by white sheets and creepy dining rooms.” Why do I even… Did we even have a conversation a second ago? “Alright. Still… do we have a plan?” Busby said as he followed the mare. “Find the princesses, obviously,” Busby said. “Either them or the elements.” “But where do we start?” The two of them walked into the foyer dimly illuminated by the moonlight outside. The white rock in the sky stood stiller than it’d ever in the black sky. “Good question. I think... the kitchen was o the right track,” Paita nodded, as though in more agreement with herself than Busby -- how only blinked at the action. “No doubt it’s trapped somehow, but I know for a fact the other guards went somewhere before they fell into whatever trap they did.” “So?” “So wherever that door led is probably where they’re keeping the bodies, and even more likely…” “The elements of harmony?” “Exactly.” Paita said. “Or if we’re lucky, the bearers themselves." "Paita, I don't think we want to find the mares surrounded by a bunch of bodies." Paita ignored him. "Though if we want any hope of going there without falling into the same trap, it’d probably be best if we found an alternate route there. It’s the only lead I can think of towards locating the princesses.” “So where do we find an alternate route?” “I don’t know!” Paita snapped around to Busby. “Why don’t you try using that peanut in your head for once?” “Sheesh. Sorry. Just wondering if you plan involved something besides wandering this ghost infested death-trap is all. Which is what we’ve been wasting our time doing for the last hour or so, mind you…” “Well!... well…” Paita sighed. “Look, I’m sorry I don’t have the best plan, but it’s all I can think of right now. Frankly, this mansion does give me the creeps, and even I’m starting to feel a little cold. Stress is getting to me I guess…” “It’s fine.” Busby smiled. “Well… where do you think we should start exploring first?” “You’re asking my opinion now? We’re moving so fast in this relationship.” “I’m taking you seriously. Don’t ruin it.” “Uh…well, I’m guessing taking the kitchen directly is totally out.” “You couldn’t pay me any amount of bits to try that way,” Paita said flatly. “And the doors up there…” Busby looked up to the second floor. “I’m guessing it’s not within our best interest to spend the rest of the morning trying to find something in those windy hallways.” “We both can agree on that.” “…what about that d-“ “Quickly! Hide!” “What?” Busby whirled his head around. “What’s wrong now?” Paita asked. Busby’s eye went to the fountain. “Quick. Duck down!” Without thinking Busby grabbed Paita’s tail by the teeth and yanked her over and down behind the fountain with the cracked mirrors. “What the hay B-” Holding her down, Busby covered Paita’s mouth. Barely a second later, a griffon busted through some doors in the dining hall and walked into the foyer. She carried something over her shoulder in a blanket large wrapping something large. Something pony… or possibly princess sized. At that time, whilst giving Paita the silent look to be quiet, they both peeked their heads over the fountain to get a good look at the bird. The griffon surveyed the foyer. “Almost there. Give him the princess, and I can go off with Rainbow and that dumb friend of hers… do that and not only have Rainbow, but immortality…” She mumbled. She stumbled to the side before shaking her head, as though she’d had a momentary loss of equilibrium. Busby glanced over at Paita, who gritted her teeth. Rage seemed to be in her eyes, as her wings awkwardly extended and she looked ready to pounce on her. Her hoof was slowly preparing to draw her sword… “Restrain your hot-headed friend Billy. She’s about to get the both of you killed.” Busby lightly touched Paita’s hoof. She looked at him silently, and he shook his head. As he did, he slowly pushed her wings back down in an effort to calm her down. “Hey HEY!” the griffon said, both making them snap their attention back toward her. The form inside of the blanket began to shuffle and seize, as though trying to escape its grasp. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning shot from the front end of the blanket. As the griffon crouched, using her free arm to cover her head, the beam of light ricocheted around the foyer faster than either guard’s eyes could keep up with. Finally, the beam of light hit one of the mirrors on the fountain. The mirror, rather than bouncing off the streak, completely absorbed it. A whistle filled the room before the already cracked reflector burst into a million pieces in a flurry of white light. The remains of the mirror disintegrated into ash. “Damn it!” the griffon got back up. “Really hope this featherbucker’s is worth the times she’s already tried killing me…” The griffon then continued on her way through the door to the left of the staircase. Once the coast was clear, both Paita and Busby got up. “Welp… we found one of the princesses.” “You think?!” Paita said angrily. “I could have easily diced that bird into a chicken salad if you didn’t hold me back.” But she’s a griffon… Busby thought. “Plus, griffon meat is incredibly tough… from what I’ve heard. Not the finest dish, I’m sure.” You! “Me.” “What? No remarks?” “Shh… the voice speaks to me…” “I do have a name, you know.” Madame said. I was trying to sound mysterious. “It’s not working.” Madame said. Where are you? Busby asked. “Nearby. That’s all I can tell you for certain. I can see you though.” Y-you can? But- “Don’t worry. Only I can see you… or at least for a split second I did. My power over my magic, as well as my clairvoyance spells are extremely limited in this form… but thankfully, I don’t think my ghostly self has enough information to know your exact location or even the first place to start looking.” Alright… why did you keep us from fighting that griffon and getting the princess? “I’m fairly sure Gilda has her own little group of ghosts she keeps on her. Even if you don’t see them… they’re there. Hiding in the walls… the paintings… And they would have killed you too, without the proper means of fighting them.” “Oh.” “What?” Paita asked. “Apparently if you’d have attacked that that griffon, you would have been bucked by a bunch of ghosts she keeps around.” Right? “…a raw way of stating it, but essentially yes.” “That voice… does she know her name?” “What?” “Does the voice know the griffon’s name?” “Yeah… Gilda. Not sure why it matters much though.” “So I was right!” “Huh? You know her?” “About a week before you arrived, I remember seeing that griffon around the castle.” “A week ago?” Paita nodded. “I knew something was up with her… I couldn’t really figure out what. The way she looked at that Discord statue was the thing that really got to me.” “Did she do anything suspicious when you saw her?” “No… I came across her once, but I knew she was up to no good, I could still see it in her eyes. The same look. Devious… Nervous… Untrustworthy as hay.” “…you really are a paranoid pony, you know that?” “I’m just telling you I knew something was bad the first time I saw her. And the fact I didn’t see her since then messed with me even more. Besides, I was right wasn’t I?” “I guess… but I don’t think either of the princesses disappeared until tonight... so if she wasn’t around Canterlot Castle for kidnap, or to lure them to the place… I wonder what she was doing around there. Moreover what’s she’s doing here.” Paita shook her head. “Doesn’t matter anymore. We know she has the princesses. Can’t we go after her? Maybe smack her around a little?” Well… can we now? “…go the way she went… I’ll inform you when or if you can go for an attack.” “Madame will tell us when it’s not safe, but for now, yes.” Busby reiterated. “Madame?” “The ghost voice in my head. The one that nearly killed you, remember?” Paita blinked. “D-don’t worry. She’s on our side, I think. She got us out of that jam with those other ghosts, right?” Paita shook her head. “Still don’t think it’s a good idea trusting any ghost, if I’ll be honest.” “Not much of a choice. Like you said, we’ve got to follow every possible lead we can to retrieving the elements, rescuing their bearers securing the princesses… and she’s one of them.” “Still… I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” “I say trust Madame for now…” “I’m not talking about her anymore. I’m talking about what’s behind that door…” “Come on then. No use stalling.” Paita shook off a shiver and looked at Busby. “Hey, I’m the one who’s supposed to be rushing you.” “Then please. Ladies firs-” Busby was cut off by a hoof to the snout. “Okay, now what was that for?!” “Don’t bite my tail again Buster. Got it?” “No ‘or else’ this time?” “What, do you need a better threat?” “In a relationship like ours, it feels traditional.” Busby gave her a stupid smile. Paita opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it, closing it back and sharply turning toward the door. “Come on.” They both made their way over to the door and cracked it open. They made sure the griffon was nowhere to be seen before they opened and entered. “Looks like the coast is clear.” Busby sighed quietly. “Gilda probably took one of these god-damned doors.” Paita figured. “…wait… does that mean we lost her? Can we still follow her through these things?” Well? “That hallway… it’s similar to the kitchen. It doesn’t shift as often or as randomly as the rest of the mansion. Only if there’s a specific purpose, trapping and navigating being the common one. Meaning as long as you’re still concealed, wherever those doors go, won’t change.” “Thankfully no. This place doesn’t change.” Busby reassured. “…however, the qualities of certain rooms do and can change.” What? What’s that supposed to mean? Take a look in front of you… Busby and Paita looked forward to see that there was a wall. There was a frame around an area as though there was supposed to be a door there. However, all that was apparent was how blank and empty the wall was. “What the hay is this?” Paita asked. “Don’t tell me… is this where she went?” “I guess” Busby answered. “And let me guess… we’re going to have to go through more puzzle crap to get to the other side.” “Yup.” Busby answered. “And get caught in some more Celestia-damned traps, right?” “Probably. Really Paita… at this point, do you even have to ask?” “I wouldn’t call the activation to that door a puzzle… really, it’s as easy as pushing a button. And given this is the hallway has my husband’s study in it, I doubt he’ll have allowed Pinkamina to set up many deadly traps for you, or himself to fall into.” “Oh. Madame says it’s easy supposedly. And boobytrapless… supposedly.” “Fine. Then where do we go from here?” “To Specter’s study.” “Specter’s study? Where’s that?” “Down the hall. Take the right. 3rd door to the right.” “Just follow me.” Busby told Paita. Without question, they took the directions supplied by Madame. They knew how close they were to the princess, and likely how many ghosts were lurking about, ready to protect their prize. They moved quietly and slowly and quietly, whilst getting the creeping paranoia they were being followed. Finally, they made it to the door… “This is it.” Madame confirmed. Busby put his hoof on the knob and turned. After jiggling it a bit, he sighed defeated. “It’s no use. It’s locked.” “You’re kidding.” “Well, Specter tends to keep a fair number of spare keys around.” Madame considered. “But he keeps his spare keys locked away with special locks… more puzzles?” Busby finished. “Yes… I suppose if you could find one-” “Buck that.” Paita said. “Wha-” Just in time for Busby to get out of dodge, Paita swung her sword at the door. “Luna! Paita! What the hay?” The mare didn’t listen as she repeatedly swung her sword around the knob before she disconnected the doorknob and the door itself. She finished by turning around and bucking the door with her hind hooves. Once she was done, she looked down at Busby who lie on his side, his heart beating loudly in his chest. “…what?” She smiled. “What the hay was that?!” “I just saved us a good 2 hours and you know it Buster.” “You nearly KILLED me!” “So?” “For the second time!” “Well you know what they say. Third time’s the charm, hm?” “What’s that supposed to-?!” “Come on. Let’s get that stupid door open so we can move on.” Paita entered the study. “My, Billy. You really know how to pick a good mare, hm?” Not sure who will get me first. A ghost, or her. “I know where I'm placing my bet.” Busby entered the cozy looking room lit by the fireplace inside. It was refreshing to be exposed to a room, not only warm but lit by something other than the moonlight. “Okay… so where’s the ‘easy’ part of opening the door?” Paita asked. “All I see are a bunch of books and paintings.” “Last we checked, paintings are pretty important to getting around here. Hiding the occasional secret passage way, or overly deadly trap.” “Very well done Billy.” You do know my name isn’t Billy, right Madame? ”You’re right.” Madame continued. “The paintings are the key… and you’ve got the key for the key.” Pardon? “Does your marefriend still have that piece of the door? The glass one?” Madame asked. Piece of the door… what? “Ask her.” “Uh… Paita?” the mare looked up. “Are you.… holding a part of a door or something somewhere in that armor?” “Door? You don’t mean this do you?” Paita took out a small rounded purplish glass piece out of a wedge in her armor. “This peep-hole thing? Didn’t know you knew about it.” “I didn’t. Madame told me.” “Right… she grabbed me right after I put it away.” Paita recalled. “Let me see it.” Paita tossed the peephole glass piece to Busby. “Go nuts.” “Take a look through it. It’s able to expose spectral entities even if they’re hidden by real and/or tangible substances.” Busby put the piece up to his eye. “You should be able to see different symbols around-” “Nothing.” “What?” “I don’t see anything. No symbols… this is just a normal piece of stained glass.” Busby explained. “No… that’s definitely the spectral filter… remind me how you got that camera of yours again?” “Paita tossed it to me.” “Ah… I should have figured. She’s the one with the light eye.” “The what?” “A trait usually passed down through the families associated with the… have you perchance asked your marefriend about her family?” “Er… she doesn’t like to talk about it… why?” Paita glanced at Busby, then resumed scanning the room. “Billy. Do you trust this mare?” Busby returned the glance before turning the opposite way. …Not sure I trust her judgment completely… then again mine isn’t the best either. Still, even with every hiccup we’ve had, she’s… kind of been there to help. Heck, I bet she was even a little worried when I got knocked out. I think she’s trustworthy enough… why? What does that ‘light eye’ have to do with- “Billy… Busby. Listen. Make sure you know she won’t turn on you. That eye means she must have some kind of relation to the family of the ghost hunters.” The what? “It’s difficult to explain… but there are others.” Others? “Other hunters. Much like my husband once was… only his was a special case. You think that that Yield might be related Paita? Paita Yield…? “My husband has been alive for a thousand years… I’ve lost track of his family tree.” A millennium… don’t go on and tell me Paita could be his daugh- “No. I know that for a fact.” Madame cut off. “I may not have been alive or particularly conscious during the whole millennium… but I know one thing. Specter wouldn’t cheat on me so openly. He couldn’t.” What makes you so sure? “When’s the last time you’ve heard of the dead reproducing?” To be honest ma’m, I haven’t heard of the dead coming back to life and ripping ponies souls out until tonight either. I barely know anything about the dead... how would I know how they er… did it? “Fair enough. Regardless, I suggest you maintain some questions for your partner… the sooner you know you know about her past, the better.” I’ll ask her once we’ve made a little more progress. “In the meantime, have her locate a tea cup symbol with the glass-piece.” “Er... Paita? I need you.” Paita looked over. “Hm?” “Here.” Busby gave her the peephole glass piece. “Apparently, you’re the only one who can use this thing.” “What? Why?” She asked. “Can’t we talk about it later?” “…what did that lady say about me?” “Later,” Busby pressed. Paita stared at Busby, as though attempting to read his thoughts. Eventually, she gave up and took the peephole piece and looked through it. “See anything?” “Sure as hay do. Some symbols written in that damned ghost sludge.” “Tell her to look for the teacup. Take it off of the wall and burn it.” “See one that kind of looks like a teacup?” Busby asked. Paita nodded. “Right there.” She pointed to a painting of some ponies drinking tea on some abstract plane. “Take it down and toss it into the fire.” Paita shook her head. “Why don’t you do it?” “Seriousl-” “My wings are still bucked and it’s too high.” Paita cut off. “Quit being lazy and use your fancy magic to take it down. Save us both a little trouble.” Sheesh. Just trying to get you to pull some weight around here… Busby focused his telekinesis spell onto the painting and carefully floated it off the wall. Once it was inside of the fireplace, he dropped it inside. Within seconds, the wooden frame of the fire began to crack and pop hungrily to the newfound kindling. “Stand back.” Suddenly, the fireplace exploded in a flurry of fire and sparks. It was as though the little wall pit was giving them a fireworks show. The marvel of embers went on for a good 2 minutes before it gave one final explosion, so large it blinded them for a moment. Once their vision had returned, they saw the fire had changed a completely different color. The flame was no longer the same fire orange, but a very distinct yellow. It was also lost some of its brightness, making the room just a little darker than before I’m guessing that did it? “I would imagine so.” Madame agreed. She paused for a moment, as though she’d left Busby’s mind. When she returned, her voice had a much more urgent tone to it. “Oh no… You both need to hurry. They need you.” Madame? Is something wrong with the princess… you said them. Are both of them in that room? Madame was silent for a few more moments. Busby felt the hairs raise on the back of his neck. He felt sick to his stomach at her next few words. Barely ten words that sent a chill down his spine. “Whatever you see in there… he’s not an evil stallion.” “What are you talking about?” Busby was too unnerved by the utter coldness that was now apparent in the ghostly voice. “What’s in that room? Answer me!” Madame was gone again. “Busby? What’s going on?” Paita asked. “Something’s wrong. We’ve got to get to the princesses now.” Busby said. “Then come on!” Paita ran over to the study’s exit. “Get the lead out, let’s move!” Busby didn’t argue as he chased her out of the door and ran along behind her back down the hallway. They forgot caution to the hordes of ghosts that could, or could not be stalking them in the hallways. All they knew was that one of the princesses, or possibly both of them were in danger. Specter was doing something to them… “It’s that wall, right?” “I think so. The wall should have a door.” Busby confirmed. “You know where you’re going?” “If this hallway didn’t change up, it should be… there. That turn.” Without breaking pace, Paita turned into the hallway smoothly and kept going down as fast as she could. Her wings erected as her heart rate grew. Out of fear or exhaustion, she wasn’t sure. Busby made the same turn, though less gracefully than his nightly friend. He barely avoided falling over to his side as he turned into the hallway; slowing down, regaining his balance, and continuing to chase after Paita. His hooves were shaking now. The same fear he’d managed to quell from the ghosts was now focused upon the discovery of what could be in the room Madame had felt so important to mention the morality of her spouse. What could he be doing… his legs nearly buckled at the thought, or worse, that they may already be too late. Finally, the two came to a stop in front of what used to be a blank wall. Now, a large wooden double door stood in the space of the wall. They both gave each other a nervous look before they began a more cautious walk toward the door. Busby put his hoof to his mouth, to remind her to remain silent. Paita shot him a look as if to be offended that he thought she didn’t know that. They both put an ear to the cold wood of the door. “I don’t feel any chills…” Busby noted. “That means there aren’t any ghost in there or-” Paita shushed him. They listened. “You say that as though you don’t trust me… do you?” Paita crossed her eyebrows and clenched her jaw at the familiar voice. Specter was in that room, she was sure she’d never forgotten the voice of the pony who probably killed her friends. Busby saw the anger building up in her eyes again… this time, he wasn’t sure he could douse it without making their presence known too soon. “…try not to make a mess.” Mess? Busby thought. What are they doing in there? Paita had had enough eavesdropping and backed up from the door. Busby followed her example. “On three. We bust in there.” Paita whispered. “You focus on the door and I’ll be right behind you. I’ll take care of any hostiles.” Busby nodded. “One… Two…” Busby prepared his head to butt the door and hopefully make their surprise attack a success. Hoping to have enough confusion to take advantage of whoever else could be in the room. “Three!” Busby speed toward the door first, Paita was close behind. Unlike Paita, Busby wasn’t in the slightest prepared to stop for any reason besides hitting the door. There was no way he could have stopped without hitting something… which was exactly why he didn’t have a chance of stopping without the conveniently placed wall at the other side of the room. Upon it making contact with his skull, he fell down to the ground and moaned in daze. Paita, on the other hoof, stopped on a dime in the middle of the room. “Damn it Buster!” "Huh." “Well… what do we have here?” Paita snapped her head in the direction of Specter, who stood with perfect poise toward the side of the room. “You!” Specter smiled a falsely friendly smile. “I’m not familiar with a ‘Mr. You’, ma’m. Please. Call me Specter Yield. Or Mr. Yield, if you prefer. At your service.” “Cut the crap. Where’s my unit? My team? My Friends?! Tell me!” Paita commanded. “My, do you look stressed. Could I interest you in some water? I might offer you coffee if you weren’t already so high strung. Perhaps some tea. This would be the perfect place for-” Paita drew her sword and held it in her mouth in a ready to attack position. This merely made Specter chuckle. “Quit playing bucking games with me!” “Oh put that butter knife away Ms. Paita. Before somepony gets hurt.” Specter said. “There’s no need for any more blood to be spilt in here. Not yet anyway. Just ask Ms. Applejack behind you. I’m sure she’d agree.” Paita didn’t stray her eyes away from Specter, barely giving two stick shakes about the mare. Though, it wasn’t like she’d have received any input to start with, as applebucker had lost consciousness a few moments ago. Wither out of blood loss, pain, seeing Twilight get strangled, or a combination of the three, no one would be able to tell. “I want to know where my friends are.” “I wasn’t aware a work associate could be qualified as a ‘friend’ now a days… oh well, I’m sure it won’t matter soon. You’ll be joining your ‘friends’ as well as my dear Rarity shortly.” “Why… you…” “And perhaps your bodies will serve as some nice, cozy homes for some of the butler ghosts. Sure you might not be very young, but I’m sure they’ll be most-” Paita has stopped listening to the yellow eyed stallion speak. Without a Busby to hold her back, she charged at him with all of her might. It was as though an animal or perhaps one of the insane Yield children were possessing here, as she charged, ready to kill. Just as she was ready to take the knife into his throat, she stopped. Her sword fell out of her mouth and clattered onto the ground. She was unable to move as she found herself surrounded by a transparent glowing bubble. “…appreciative.” Specter finished. “What the?!” Paita said through gritted teeth. She couldn’t turn her head, but managed to shift her eyeballs enough to see to the side of her the glowing horn of a defeated-looking Celestia. “I’m sorry.” She said solemnly. “Please, Princess. Do us a favor and quiet this talkative mare.” “Princess what the hay are-mmmmph.” Paita’s voice was cut off. Celestia’s horn had changed colors, indicating that she’d activated another spell. Likely one shutting the everlasting mouth of the night guard. “As you can see Ms. Paita…” Sweetie said. “The princess works for us now. If she hopes of seeing her student leave this experience with her head on her shoulders…” Paita looked over to Busby, who seemed to have knocked himself out… again. Damn it Buster… Paita thought. Still… he is free. Hopefully, he can use that little walnut brain to get us out of this… “So… can I go now, or what?” Gilda asked, standing in the door way. “I don’t see what could have been keeping you,” Specter said. “Go on now.” Gilda closed the door behind her and left. The slam echoed throughout the otherwise silent tea room. Twilight lie there with Sweetie next to her. She was silent as she stared at the helpless princess who stared back. She was horrified… not only that her teacher had given up and put herself in Specter’s hooves… but the simple fact that is was her fault. Because she couldn’t quell her panic enough to if necessary, give her life… that Celestia was now to take orders from Specter. In a way, she’d just doomed them all. *** To her surprise, the exit to the strange little room led back to the foyer. She slipped through the door and closed it back without drawing much attention to herself. “Alright then…” Sweetie mumbled to herself. Her voice held a tremor to it, still somewhat shaken up from the near death experience with the spectral creature in the hall. She might have remained in the room a little longer, in hopes of digesting what the dragon hologram had said. Possesion, death, and time were somehow a factor in this mansion somehow. All she knew was that she didn’t have that kind of luxury to waste time. She had to solve that room as quickly as possible, supposedly before her 30 minutes were up. “Now… where to start.” She looked around, unsure of what her next move would be. She likely needed somepony to play those two instruments in the room. Admittedly, the guitar Treble played was incredibly different from the harp in the room, though she supposed it was worth finding out if she could play it. As for Barra… she could ask what she played after she knew what Treble was up to. Though, something about Ms. Basso told Sweetie that she’d be more than capable of playing the oversized cello that accompanied the harp. “Might as well head the way Barra told me.” Sweetie then moved her way around to the staircase and up to the hallway. She traveled the hallway without seeing another sign of Candy or Marbles. Wasn’t looking forward to talking to them again anyway… Sweetie finally found the stairwell Barra mentioned and headed down. From there, she could hear the faint sounds of music: A piano, a guitar, and an angelic voice to be specific. Aside from the pianist, she could take a fair guess as to who was performing at this time. Hm… did they start without me? Couldn’t have been that late, right? Once Sweetie met the bottom, she was met with more generic mansion hallways. More doors, Sweetie assumed were locked, were littered throughout them. About 3 halls later, Sweetie found herself at a door that led to a courtyard. Ponies outside here as well, mingling and conversing like the ones back in the foyer. The music seemed to be coming from across there… Sweetie entered the courtyard and went to the front where the music was coming from. As it turned out, she was right. A medium sized stage was set up in the middle of the courtyard. Its rim was lined with silver and the sides had a design of flames coming up from all sides painted in gold. On the stage, facing opposite of each other were two of performers playing to the ponies that may or may not have realized they were playing. To the side, on Sweetie’s left, there was a piano that seemed to have been rolled from somewhere… at least according to the dirty wheels. On the stage, naturally were Harmonica and Treble. Treble stood facing the away from Sweetie, sitting and flowing magic into his guitar to play different chords and notes with Harmonica. At this point, only she could see Sweetie as she sung. They weren’t singing the song that they’d practiced, or in Sweetie’s case, tested on earlier. Even more oddly, Sweetie couldn’t really make out exactly what she was singing, though in all honesty, she wasn’t really trying. She could tell that the music was a little more celebratory than “Sister, Oh Sister”, and she was just fine with that. Though, the only thing she could tell for certain was that Harmonica was annoyed at the filly. She just had that angry look in her eyes that simply said: “You’re late.” Sweetie mouthed the words “Sorry”. She would have also attempted to mouth an explanation but Harmonica turned away to face another side of the audience. She sighed and decided it to try and go talk to Treble, who she couldn’t imagine being in any better of a mood. Then again, they seemed to have gotten off alright with the performance, even if no pony was really paying attention to them in the background. Even more, they had a whole night ahead of them to perform any other duets Treble looked forward to playing. Not according to that dragon thing though… Sweetie thought. She was then reminded she did have another reason for coming here. She needed to get Treble to come back to that room with her. Unfortunately, when she looked at his face, his eyes were closed, likely more focused on playing his music, rather than anything else. Sweetie didn’t feel it was her place to call out to the mare/stallion in the middle of her show either. She supposed she’d have to wait until they were finished the song to get the chance to talk to her. In the meanwhile, Sweetie moved over to the piano to find- “Notetooth?” Sweetie asked, as she saw the purple scales and green spikes. “What are you doing here?” “Oh hey Sweetie!” she said cheerfully without breaking a note. “Fancy seeing you hear.” “Technically, this is my show. Besides, Ms. Basso told you I was headed this way, remember?” “Oh yeah… wondering where you were.” I bet. “Weirdest thing. Big Barra said she had to run an errand somewhere and to head here myself. So I came down here, and saw that they were playing the background music. I thought it was missing something… I dunno, a second instrument or voice.” “Yeah…” Sweetie sighed. …Big Barra? “So I decided to jump in with the piano. They didn’t seem to oppose.” Notetooth finished. “I usually play next to a violin, or one of Sunglasses Symbol’s drums... but I’ve got a good ear, so I played along.” Sunglasses Symbol…? Seriously. Where does he come up with this… oh, I’m sorry. Where does she come up with this? “Ah. Alright… well, thanks, I guess?” Sweetie said. “I was supposed to sing with them but I ran into a few difficulties along the way.” “Oh, do you want to switch off now? I could stop, and you could hop up there and-” Sweetie shook her head. “No, you’re doing fine. I actually have a few things I need to do myself. As well as talking to Treble too… hey, do you have any clue when this song will be over? Any guess at all?” Notetooth shook his head as he did some kind of roll up the piano one of his claws. “This song doesn’t end.” “Huh?” “Or at least, it doesn’t have an official one. It’s er… one of those songs that kind of repeat itself. Something that kind of keeps going so there’s no break in the music, but it sounds just different enough that ponies who don’t have all their focus on it won’t notice how repetitive it is. Just listen to Harmonica. She stopped singing actual lyrics a little bit before you arrived. Now she’s just singing bits and pieces of them behind Treble and me.” What? No nicknames for them? Sweetie tried again to listen to Harmonica’s singing to see Notetooth was correct. She was just spitting out some kind of classical hybrid between scatting and singing actual words. “So… they’re not going to stop?” Sweetie asked. Notetooth shook her head. “Not until it’s time for dinner and we’re called to the dining hall.” “And that is…” “Uh… I’d guess about 30 or 40 minutes from now.” But I’ve already got less than 30 minutes to get that room… I don’t have that long. Sweetie thought. “There’s got to be some way I can get to Treble before then.” “Sorry Sweets. Doubt either of them are going to stop just to talk to you. They look pretty into their show. If there’s even a chance somepony will notice they stopped… they probably won’t.” “But what about Barra. Aren’t they going to let her play something?” Sweetie asked. “Nope. They’re on until dinner starts. I think she’s on for the next hour after dinner…” “That’s dumb…” Sweetie mumbled. “Only way you could get them to stop is if… well, if they couldn’t perform.” Notetooth shrugged. “Sorry Sweetie. I can’t help you.” Sweetie sighed. “It’s fine. Do you at least know where Barra is?” “Nope. Though she couldn’t have gotten far. If you look hard enough, I’m sure you’ll find her. Or maybe you’ll find Ms. Symbol” “Alright… I guess I could go off looking for her then. Thanks.” “What do you need her for anyway?” Notetooth inquired. “Er… just want to ask her a question.” Sweetie said. “I could answer it for you.” Notetooth smiled. “I can multitask, see?” She played a roll back up the keyboard. “It’s about a bass.” “I’ve been around her nearly my whole life. I’ve watched her play lots of strings… I’d know.” “I’d rather ask her.” “But I can answer you for her.” Notetooth urged. “Look. I’m going to be honest with you, Barra hates talking with… y’know. Lower ponies.” “She seemed just fine before.” Sweetie argued. “That’s because she had find you for Treble… heck, even he had a hard time convincing her to get this gig. Anyway, he’d asked to keep an eye out for you. Really Sweetie, he was the only reason she really even thought about talking to you. Kind of a stuck up sometimes if you ask me…” Sweetie remembered that Barra how short she’d been, aside from that final warning she issued to her. The very same she ignored with so very little hesitation. “Anyway, unless you’ve got like a legitimate reason for bothering her, she’s not going to waste her time with you, let alone answer whatever question you’ve got.” Of course. If I could just ask her, this might be simple… something tells me ‘over complications’ is going to become theme. “Well… what would Ms. Basso care about?” Sweetie asked. Notetooth thought for a moment as she played some kind of chromatic chord to contrast Harmoncia’s voice. “I suppose if there was a problem with her instrument… or maybe if someone she cared about got hurt or needed something, like me, or Ms. Symbol.” “Alright…” Sweetie said. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks Notetooth.” “I saw that.” “What?” “In your eye. You’re going to try something… aren’t you?” Notetooth asked, playing an extended rest for a short solo between Harmonica and Treble. “H-huh? Like what?” Sweetie asked. Notetooth shrugged. “I dunno. But I can see it in your eye. That… I dunno, nervousness. Or a deviousness… maybe even fear, it’s hard to tell, but you’re thinking about doing something big in that head.” “N-no… of course not.” “Don’t lie Sweets. And really… I don’t mind. Be kind of fun to see you pull some kind of prank on Big Basso, or Sunny Symbol. Still, if you do… just make sure it’s nothing too drastic, y’know?” Notetooth’s smile shrunk. “Her and Symbol’s really the only real family I’ve got.” “I promise. Nothing’s going to happen to them.” Sweetie smiled. Even if I did think of something, what does he think I’m going to do anyway? Kill them? Notetooth’s turned back to the piano just a beat late as he continued to trail Harmonica and Treble’s sound. Alright… so I’ve got to figure out a way to get Barra and Treble’s attention… likely in two separate ways. Hm… I suppose I should head back and see if I can’t find Barra. Notetooth might be right, but it’s at least worth a try… In the meantime, maybe I can think of something big to get Treble to at least talk to me… With her new objective set, Sweetie exited the courtyard. As she went through the glass door that led to the hallway, she was met with two ponies heading the opposite direction. Both of which were familiar, and the other one she was almost positive she knew. “Ms. Feather?” Sweetie asked, squinting to see if it was really the yellow mare who’d greeted her upon waking up. The mare looked away from her crimson coated date to meet eyes with her. “Sweetie?” she asked. Sweetie walked over to her to confront her. “Hey… I didn’t know you were going to this.” Sweetie smiled. Feather returned with a smaller, shyer one. “Likewise… how did you get an invitation… let alone a date and a dress?” “I sung for my invitation, got a dress from Axinite, and Squee decided to take me.” Sweetie explained. “Oh, that’s wonderful.” Her smile faded. “How is… how is your head?” “My head? It’s hurting less, I guess.” “And your memory’s returning fine?” Sweetie nodded. “For the most part.” “Have you experienced any… visions?” “Huh?” “Visions… hallucinations… anything?” “Um… I…” Sweetie thought for a few moments. For the first time since she’d exited the room, she was actually being questioned on her sanity. Not only by the yellow mare, but by herself. Did she really see what she thought she saw? Or was it simply another after effect of her head injury. “N-no. Of course not.” Sweetie didn’t think it’d be in her best interest to go off and say “Nope. But I did see these really bucking scary ghost things chasing after me in a never ending hallway, followed by an dragon who’d bent his spike bones back to look fancy.”. Even thinking about it made Sweetie feel like a crazy pony. Feather nodded. “Alright… just let me know if you see anything out of the ordinary and I’ll try and help you.” Yeah, with an inch long needle and a cozy straight jacket. Sweetie thought. “Thanks Feather.” Sweetie said. “Hey… do you mind if I snap a picture of you?” “A picture?” Sweetie nodded as she took out her camera. “For a scrapbook.” “Er… I don’t see why not.” Feather said. “Do you want the both of us?” The stallion shook his head. “Don’t like no pony tak’n a photo of me.” “C’mon Cabbie, it’ll be fun. A little for tonight.” Cabbie… I know I’ve heard that name before but… ah well. Can’t be too important. Stallion doesn’t even seem to remember me anyway. “A-actually, Ms. Feather… I just need a picture of you.” Sweetie said. “Just me?” Feather asked. Sweetie nodded. “Alright…” Feather said. Cabbie leaned against one of the walls, waiting for the two to finish their photo-shoot. “Alright… smile.” Sweetie said as she hit the button. CLICK! “Oops...” Feather said. “I blinked.” The photo fell out of the camera and onto the floor. “It’s fine, I just-” Sweetie looked down to the photo… of course, it hadn’t developed completely yet, though there was a big green “X” across the whole thing. Welp… I guess it’s not fine then. “Actually Feather… could I get another picture?” “Of course Sweetie.” “Erm… Please make sure you don’t blink this time… okay?” “Of course. Sorry.” Sweetie snapped another photo. CLICK This time, the photo was just like the others. Sweetie figured she had to see their eyes in order for the picture to come out correctly. She made a mental note of that. “Thanks Feather.” Sweetie said. “Anything else I can help you with?” Sweetie shook her head. “I’m alright, thanks. I’ve actually got to go meet up with somepony right now…” “Okay. I’ll see you later then Sweetie.” Sweetie walked past them. “See you.” “And remember. If you need any help at all… I’ll be happy to.” Right… I’ll give you a call when I need a ride to the loony-bin… If I don’t already. *** Sweetie walked up the stairwell continuing her way back to the foyer. She wasn’t sure how much time she had left. Compared to earlier that day, it seemed to be passing much slower now, though she knew that it couldn’t be infinite. She assumed 10 minutes had passed… and dearly hoped so too. Besides Feather’s photo, she hadn’t accomplished a thing. She still had three photos to acquire, some music to find, and some instrumentalists to herd into the room. Even worse, less than 20 minutes to do so… though what would happen at the end of the clock, Sweetie was still unsure. Just as she made it to the end of the hall, and turned into the second one, she went head to chest with another mare, knocking her to the ground. “Sorry ma’m, I-” Sweetie looked up to see who she’d bumped into. Oh boy. Of all of the ponies… “Sweetie!” Covri said. “Looks like you made it after all, hm?” “Heh… yeah.” Sweetie smiled. “You too?” Covri nodded. “You wouldn’t believe it. I nearly didn’t actually.” “Do tell.” Sweetie said apprehensively. Somehow, she had a feeling she knew what had kept her up. “Well, some pony snuck into the library… and attacked me!” I didn’t know shining a light in somepony’s face constituted an assault charge… “Even more, they stole one of my books. THEY STOLE ONE OF MY BOOKS!” She repeated. For a split second, Sweetie could have sworn she was yelling at her, making her flinch slightly. “W-well… at least somepony knows the good things to steal, h-huh?” Covri calmed down. “I suppose… at least they’re stealing something to expand their minds… I just can’t believe they stole one of the books Yield had asked me to hold onto… I was supposed to bring it too.” Sweetie’s side itched as her saddlebags rubbed against them. Specifically the pocket with the very same book she was talking about. “I’m… sorry to hear that Ms. Covri.” Sweetie said. “I’m sure the thief will show up eventually though. They can’t hide forever… or who knows? Maybe they’ll return it!” Covri smiled. “Such positive thinking… maybe you’re right. Still… if I catch the pony who stole that book from me I’ll…” There was rage in her eyes. Sweetie made a mental note to never steal a book from this crazy bookworm again. “Er… anyway, where are you headed to?” Sweetie asked, changing the subject. “I’m headed to the courtyard… might as well listen to something while I mingle.” “Your date?” “Somewhere in the dining hall, sampling some of Yield’s fine wines.” Covri said. “…probably getting drunk while he’s at it.” “You’re just letting him?” “Can’t stop him really. He calls it ‘constructive inspiration’, sampling different wines and alcohols to make his own… but really, he’s just trying to drink himself into a hole at this point. “Huh…” Sweetie said. “I suppose next time, I’ll actually be a bit more decisive about my date choice.” Covri smiled. “Possibly one that I won’t have to carry on my back all the way back to Stabletown.” “I guess… Erm, Ms. Covri?” Sweetie asked. “Do you mind if I take your picture?” “I don’t see why not.” Covri smiled. “You have a camera?” Sweetie nodded and reached for the pocket. She cautiously did so, realizing that she’d put the book in the same bag as the camera. The last thing she needed was Covri exploding over her book thief again. Finally, Sweetie managed to take it out and aim it at Covri. “Make sure you don’t blink.” Sweetie said. “That’s not one of those ‘flashy’ cameras, now is it?” Sweetie shook her head. “Don’t think so. If it is, I think it’s turned off, so you’re fine.” Covri nodded and smiled. CLICK The picture came out and Sweetie picked it up. “Perfect. Thanks Covri.” “Anytime Sweetie. Is there anything else you need?” Sweetie shook her head. “I’ll see you at dinner.” Covri said, passing by Sweetie. Just as Sweetie continued on her way, from behind her, she heard Covri one last time. “Sweetie. You don’t know if Squee…” “He didn’t take it.” Sweetie said quickly. “How do you know?” “Um… he didn’t have anything on him… not even any bags to carry them in.” “And you don’t know anything, do you?” “N-no.” Sweetie said. “…alright. See you.” And then she left. Sweetie went to the end of the hall and through the door. She found herself back in the foyer, considerably emptier and easier to navigate than before. She went down to the first floor to find Squee flirting with some other pony. “So then I threw it at ‘em. He got pissed, so just as he was coming at me, I upper bucked him right in the snout.” The two fillies listening to him, one lightly purple, and the other one, wearing goofy glasses oohed at Squee’s badarsery. He did a little flex with one of his fore legs. “Yeah… so anyway, what part of Stabletown are you two from?” “Squee?” “Sweetie?” Squee turned around to face her and smiled. “Excuse me ladies...” Squee went up to Sweetie. “I was wondering where you’d run off to. Did you find who you were looking for?” Sweetie nodded. “Yeah. And then some.” “What?” Sweetie opened her mouth, ready to explain what had just happened to her. Then she stopped to reconsider. She wasn’t sure why… but something in her told her that she couldn’t tell Squee what had happened. The reason however, was difficult to place. Maybe it was simply the thought that he’d think whatever came out of her mouth was the drivel of some filly gone mad. Or perhaps… perhaps it was that creeping paranoia that seemed to resurface in the back of her mind. For some reason, despite yet doing anything to earn any distrust, she felt as though she couldn’t trust him with such information. “Er… I’ll tell you a little later.” [Not and actual break] “Well… what are you up to now?” “I’m trying to see if I can get Mr. Treble’s attention. He’s too busy performing back in the courtyard… so that wasn’t happening. I came back here looking for another of the instrumentalists. Speaking of which, did you see a grey mare pass by here?” “Wasn’t really paying attention.” Squee shrugged. “Sorry.” “Dang. Dinners going to be soon too… I need to get a hold of both of them.” “Want me to help you look for her?” Sweetie considered allowing Squee to tag along, but ultimately decided against it. The paranoia told her she’d get more done on her own. At least for now. “Not yet. Just stay around here, in case I do need you.” “You sure?” Sweetie nodded. “I’ll keep an eye out for that grey mare while you do… well, whatever you do.” “Thanks. I’ll see you soon.” Squee turned back to the two fillies he’d been chatting with. Sweetie place exactly how she felt about Squee’s flirting with the two other fillies. Something in her was offended at the colt, just short of forgetting that he’d come to the party with her as a date. Yet at the same time, a part of her was relieved that it was so simple to keep Squee occupied and from looking over her shoulder when she least desired. At this point, Sweetie was almost positive she had more than one mind working in her head. Something trying to work its way to the surface of her brain… something important. Sweetie moved over to the small hall leading directly to the kitchen, hoping to catch a glance of Barra, or possible inspiration for a distraction plan to stop the show. Once inside, she didn’t come across Barra, but another pony she needed to speak to. “Cal?” Sweetie asked the mare who leaned against the wall, boredom reading across her face. She turned her head toward her summoned and gave a small smile. “Well, look at you little filly.” She got up off the wall. “Don’t you clean up nice?” Sweetie returned the smile. “Thanks. Ms. Axinite gave it to me.” “Upper Stabletown girl?” “You know her?” “Know her? Anytime there’s a rush for these here dresses, she’s the only one to know. Though, didn’t know she was willin’ to sell to a Lower Stabletown filly at the last Celestia cursed minute. What’d ja do to get her to sell to you?” “Apparently she knew me from earlier today.” Sweetie explained. “Must’ve made some impression to make her hassle like that.” Sweetie shrugged. “I guess.” “So where are you headed off to now?” “Er… actually, I’m looking for some pony. Did you see a grey mare pass by?” “Mmmhmm.” Cal nodded. “Couple times actually.” “Where did she go?” “Can’t say for sure. She passed back and forth a few times… though I’m betting I wasn’t paying attention enough to really know which way she was going. I’d check the dining hall if I were you.” “Thanks for the tip.” Sweetie smiled. “Anythin’ for another pearbucker.” She winked back. “By the way, I was also hoping if I couldn’t take a quick picture of you.” “Huh?” “It won’t be more than a second. I just need a-” “Hay no!” Sweetie stopped in mid-reach for her hidden saddlebags. “What? What do you mean?” “I ain’t lett’n you put my soul in no little box.” “…you’re kidding right?” Sweetie let out a few laughs before realizing Cal’s smile had transitioned into an appalled expression. “No I ain’t.” Cal said firmly. “Ms. Cal, it doesn’t-” “Ah don’t believe it. Listen to me Sweetie. If you got one of them demon boxes, then I’d throw it away if ah were you too. Ah’ve seen it. Some pony takes a picture of some pony, and all of a sudden, it bites a chunk of yer soul right out of yer eye sockets.” “That’s silly. You’re being silly.” “Then the demons in that damned box can read yer thoughts. They take control of yer mind. Some kind of government conspiracy I tell you. A crime against the princess!” But I thought the princess kind of was the government… “But Cal-” Cal shook her head. “Nope. No magic demon boxes gon’ get my soul. End of story.” So much for ‘Anythin’ for another pear bucker’. “Right… right. I was just kidding anyway.” Sweetie attempted. “Heck, I don’t have anything to take a picture of anything anyway.” Cal raised a brow. “Really! I was just er… testing to see if some other pony knew about the evil camera conspiracy. I was joking.” Sweetie lied. The last thing Sweetie wanted was for Cal to know about the ‘demon box’ in her bag, and possibly consider smashing it into tiny little pieces. Thankfully, Cal didn’t push it further. She merely leaned back up against the wall. “Alright then. Had me worried for a second.” “Sorry.” “Nah, it’s fine.” Her smile returned. “No harm done righ’?” Sweetie forced one back. “I guess. Well… I’ve got to go.” “Alright. See you. Ya look good in that there hat, by the way.” Sweetie nodded and left Cal to enter the dining hall. Once she was sure she was out of earshot, she mumbled a groan. It looked like every time she made progress, or the less time she had, another problem came up. As far as she knew, she needed Cal’s photo to add to the other names on the library sheet. Without it, she was just as stuck as she was without Treble or Barra. C’mon Sweetie think. You’re somewhat smart enough to work your way through this predicament… just wish there was some kind of hint to point me in the right direct- “Hey there!” Sweetie snapped her head to the booming sound of some masculine mare in the hall. It was then Sweetie realized how empty the place was, aside from a few butlers setting up the elegant delicacies along the table. The only non-butler currently in there was a purple mare, who without a doubt was intoxicated. It was quite apparent between the empty wine bottle and the slur in her voice. “C’mere little filly.” Oh boy. And now this. Against her better judgment, Sweetie approached the mare who squinted at her, as if she were examining her. She didn’t like talking to this mare, though at this point, she was lost. Even if she left now, all she’d do is wander the mansion more until she found Barra, inevitably running into another problem. Just as Sweetie entered the vicinity of her foul alcohol layered breath, she let out a laugh. Sweetie stopped. “C’mon filly, just a little closer. I’m not gonna bite you.” You could do a whole lot worse. “What do you want me for?” Sweetie asked. “C’mon. I wanna ask you something.” “You can ask me from right there.” Sweetie said. She laughed again. “You crack me up little filly.” “Please call me Sweetie.” “What are you up to little filly?” What made me think she was actually listening? Sweetie thought. “Um… stuff. Listen, I’m really busy and I need to go-” “Where?” the mare asked, surprising Sweetie. Her voice was still slurred and barely comprehensible, though her tone had more structure to it. “You don’t even know… huh?” “…that’s… not a bad guess I guess.” Sweetie said. Now she was interested. Could this slurred mare have some insight to achieving her goal? “Yeah… I guess we all find us there some time or another, eh? Something stuff in life just… happens and BAM!” She slammed the table, making Sweetie jump. Even a few of the butlers turned a head to make sure the mare wasn’t preparing to get out of hand. Within the second, they turned back to their tasks. “You find yourself at the bottom of some pit dyin’ or wishing you already were dead.” She snickered. “In my case, at the bottom of some bottle.” “…you’re drunk.” Sweetie sighed, feeling the glimmer of hope fading. “Listen, I don’t have time for any philosophical-” “Dah, shut up and let me yap already.” The mare slurred. “Might learn something.” Sweetie shook her head, annoyed, but didn’t move from her spot, deciding to let her continue to run her mouth some more. “But when you find your there… and you’re not dead yet, time passes. You start thinking. Start… observing why you went there. Why you fell, you know?” “I don’t, but go on.” The mare leaned her head back in her seat and opened her mouth. It was hard to tell, but Sweetie assumed she was thinking. After a moment of silence, she continued. “Ever hear of Dragonshine?” Sweetie shook her head. “One shot and you’re out, I’ll tell you. Had to learn that the hard way. Made the mix myself actually. Not a smart idea I’ll tell you though.” “No offense, but where’s the point to this story?” “I went for a bottle.” “…is that bad?” “A kid got put into the hospital because of me.” She ignored. “Wife left me. Lots of hate on me, I’ll tell you. Funny now that I’ve got myself a pretty library mare to take up and…” he snickered, looked at Sweetie and shook his head. “Suppose that’s something you’ll learn sometime later but… but damn me if I couldn’t hold my own for a while. That’s the ‘stuff’ I was telling you about, you follow?” “Surprisingly.” Sweetie admitted, amazed that the drunkard’s story did hold some consistency. “… so then before I had her… my best friend was the bottle, y’know?” the mare continued. “Eventually, not knowing nothing about drinks, I go ahead and start mixing them. Disgusting stuff I’ll tell you, but it did the job. Kind of…” “What’s the ‘kind of’ part?” “All it did was numb the brain. Tasted like jack, I’ll tell you.” “I’ve never tasted ‘jack’ before, so I can’t relate.” “But eventually, I came across a special mix I named ‘Dragonshine’. Never tasted anything like it. Had the perfect blend of bitterness of Lunashine, and Berdragon wine… with a hint of Kidder’s Hue. It’s fine if you know how to control yourself, which I didn’t.” “How much?” “The stuff takes a good 4 or 5 minutes to kick in. Take one shot, you’ll get a nice buzz. Two, you’re out. A whole bottle… well, you might as well have signed your death warrant right there. Bein’ well… me, I took a whole half a bottle. Hay, even that was enough to melt my brain and throw me out. If it wasn’t for some mare finding me on the ground on my back, barely breathing and out cold, I probably wouldn’t be telling you this story right now.” “Sorry to hear that… but even after that, you kept drinking?” The mare nodded. “Lying in that hospital that night got me thinking about quitting. And you know what? I couldn’t. Found myself lying at the bottom of some hole because of that stuff, y’know? Anyway, then I got to thinking… if I couldn’t stop, or rather, if I didn’t want to stop, how in the hay could I turn this thing around? Then I realized something. Because of all of that drinking, I got a taste for good and bad wine. Once I was out, I started a business for mixing different wines. Got good enough when I started getting associated with the high class stuff… especially that Dragonshine.” “Is that the end of the story?” Sweetie asked. The mare shrugged. “Pretty much.” “And… the moral was?” “Weren’t you listening? Because of that hole, I’m the bucking king of wine around here!” she exclaimed. Sweetie flinched at her outburst, and even the butlers gave her a second glance. “Don’t you even know who I am?” “Not a clue. Even if I did, I’m still sorting out my memories… so if I heard your name-” The mare lazily pointed over at the empty bottle of wine set on the table. The same mare was on it, leaning against a barrel of wine with her forelegs crossed. It said: Clasee Crosser’s Rolling Red Wine “Huh.” “How else in the hay do you think I’m as drunk as a spunk and haven’t been kicked out yet? Willing to bet half of the ponies here come for my stuff so they don’t got to buy it themselves.” “I guess.” Sweetie said. Sweetie looked around the room at a few ponies that had entered the room, likely preparing for the dinner. How much time had she wasted talking to Clasee? She had to get moving. “Besides, it’s not like I cause a racket when I’m drunk eh? Can’t imagine some of these ponies when they’re drunk and angry.” Drunk and angry? Sweetie thought. She wondered… “Thanks for the story Miss… ter Crosser?” Sweetie added. “I really need to get going.” Sweetie turned around and stopped. A brainstorm came. “Er… Mr. Crosser?” “Hm?” She asked. She seemed to be slipping further into her drink. “Actually… an er… mare wanted me to offer them some drink. If I were to, oh, I dunno, get them one, where would I find it?” “Which one are you looking for?” “Berdragon.” Sweetie regurgitated. “Hm… didn’t know you knew about no wine names.” His memory’s worse than mine! Sky let out another drunk laugh. “I guess you’d find it in the kitchen, I dunno where the uptight classy Yield keeps his happy juice.” “Thanks for the tip.” Sweetie walked off, hoping she wouldn’t have to talk to her again. Admittedly though, she did inspire a plan of some sort. A horrible idea, though one that could work… Sweetie entered the kitchen, thankfully currently empty of any living pony. Even the chef or whoever was cooking originally seemed to be absent. He couldn’t be gone long however, as Sweetie still smelled something cooking, as well as the black burning of the coal in the oven. Next to the oven, she noted a pack of kitchen matches. Sweetie knew they might come in handy as she took them and put them away under her dress. Sweetie continued to look over the kitchen. Since it was fairly lit, and fairly narrow, Sweetie didn’t take long to find the rows of wine set on their racks. “Alright… what was that mix again…?” Sweetie mumbled. Lunashine, Berdragon, and just a hint of Kidder’s Hue… Sweetie checked the door again, sure that she’d get in trouble if she were caught doing this. Once she was sure she was still undetected, she began scanning the brands. Eventually, she came across each, and set them down to the side. She then took down another random wine bottle that looked just about emptied. Conveniently, each of the corks were pulled out just enough for her to grab onto them with her teeth. Sweetie then proceeded to pour even amounts of each drink into the bottle. It might have a little bit extra… but that should work. Sweetie thought as she put the cork back onto the previously empty bottle, now holding the Dragonshine mix. She stuffed the bottle in her saddlebag, as well as a separate wine glass, cleaned her mess, and left the kitchen. She moved past Cal, hoping she wouldn’t notice the bottle bulging through her dress. At least not yet. Once Sweetie was back out in the foyer, she found Squee alone. It looked as though the two he’d been talking with had finally lost interest in him. “Hey Squee? Mind doing me a really weird favor?” “Hm? What’s up?” “In about a minute, I need you to get Cal to follow you.” “Cal? You mean the pearbucker we met earlier?” “The same.” “Why?” “Later. Right now we’re kind of on crunch time.” “For-” “Squee. Later. Just… in a minute, go into that hallway, and lead her, or even better, get her to chase you over to the courtyard where the performance is happening. Make her mad at you if it’ll make her move faster.” Squee looked at Sweetie unsurely. “Sweetie, what in the hay are you planning to do once she’s over there?” “C’mon. Please?” Sweetie looked at Squee with puppy dog eyes. He broke instantly. “Alright, alright, I’ll do it.” Squee said. “Remember. One minute.” Sweetie ran back to the hall splitting the dining area and the foyer. She didn’t need another tingling nuzzle from Squee to cloud her already thinly laid out plan. Once she was there, she again confronted Cal again. “Hey Cal.” Sweetie greeted. “Hey. Ya need something else?” Sweetie shook her head as she took out the bottle. Cal raised a brow. “Ya know little fillies ain’t supposed to be carryin’ booze around like that.” “I just thought you looked like you… er… were thirsty is all.” Sweetie smiled. Sweetie took out her glass next. “Ah don’t usually drink filly.” “C’mon…” Sweetie pleaded. “Everypony comes here for the wine.” “Who told you that?” “The rambling drunk pony in there.” Sweetie said. “Just give it a try. What harm could one or two glasses do?” Without the same knowledge as her, Cal nodded. “Ah suppose no pony’s really been hurt by no glass… alright, I’ll take a glass. But you put that back once yer done with it.” “Definitely.” Sweetie said as she put the glass on the ground and proceeded to pour the Dragonshine. Cal carefully took up the glass and drank it in one gulp. She shook her head as drink hit her stomach. “Alright I’ll er… just take this back where I found it.” “Yuh huh…” Cal mumbled. Had the drink already started taking effect? Maybe Cal didn’t have as strong of a tolerance for wine as she’d guessed. “See ya.” Sweetie put the bottle back away, left the hall and made her way back to the hallway at the top of the stairs. She didn’t see Squee, and was slightly worried for a moment that he wasn’t executing his part of Sweetie’s plan. Sweetie walked through the hall that lead to the courtyard, occasionally glancing back, hoping to hear the patter of a mare chasing a colt… Finally, Sweetie was back in the courtyard. Not much had changed besides the added guests of Cabbie, Feather and Covri. Treble and Harmonica were still performing and oblivious to Sweetie, and Notetooth was still playing the piano. It was then Sweetie realized her plan was still in jeopardy if she couldn’t get Notetooth to leave her piano for a good minute or so. Sweetie went over to the of the piano opposite of the dragon and stared at the courtyard entrance. She rapidly brainstormed ideas to get her away if the first distraction didn’t. Just as Sweetie was ready to give up, Squee came running through as fast as he could. He ran over to the filly. “Where were you?! It’s been like… 5 minutes!” Sweetie asked. “Oh, it’s only been more like ten.” Squee panted. “Besides, you told me to make her mad, and that’s what I did. Amazing how short somepony’s temper gets when they’re drunk off their flank.” “Where is she?” “Last I checked, right behind me.” Squee recalled, also watching the entrance. “Screaming how she was going to beat me into the ground with a pear tree.” “Fun.” “If you were trying to get her some attention Sweetie, I bet-” “Where the hay are ya you little runt?” Came the slurred speech of the pear bucker. At first, only a few heads turned. It was only when the mare came barreling and tripping through everypony did she really start gaining attention. Her and Squee locked eyes. “There ya are. I-” As just about all eyes on Sweetie’s and Squee’s side of the courtyard were turned at the drunk ranch pony, two butlers went to confront her. Though apart of Sweetie expected it, she was somewhat surprised to see how right Notetooth was. Harmonica and Treble didn’t miss a beat even with Cal’s arrival. Notetooth however, in his short attention spanned girl mind, had stopped playing to watch attentively. “Ma’am. We’re going to have to ask you to calm down.” One of the butlers suggested. “I need you to do something else.” Sweetie turned to him. “Don’t tell me I’ve got to get some other nutcase to chase me now.” Squee said, facing her. “No, not that. Remember when you were flirting to those other ponies earlier?” “Look Sweetie, I wasn’t flirting with-” “I don’t care what you call it. I need to do the same thing with him- er, her.” “Who? That cute looking dragon?” Squee asked. “Y-yeah. Keep her distracted… at least long enough for Cal to get dragged out.” Sweetie said. “Use your… charm or whatever.” “Git out of my way! I’m gonna kill ‘em!” “Ma’m. If you can’t calm down, we’re going to have to restrain you and ask you to leave.” The other butler warned. “You ain’t the boss of me!” Cal attempted to charge through the butlers who caught her before she could get through. Squee meanwhile moved over to the other side of the piano. Sweetie couldn’t hear the dialogue between them, though a loud enough giggle told her that Squee had distracted Notetooth for the moment. Sweetie lifted the piano lid and gave a quick look around to make sure everyone’s eyes were still locked on the rowdy pearbucker, now wrestling the two butlers attempting to restrain her. When she was sure she’d be alright, she gave a look at a corner of the courtyard and studied it for a few moments. Then she looked back at the piano and lifted the lid. She studied the inside of it, so she could see the sound board and hammers with her mind’s eye as well. She closed the lid and crawled under the piano so she’d be out of sight. Once she was sure she wouldn’t bring any attention to herself in the spot, she closed her eyes and cast a teleportation spell into the piano. The next thing she knew, she was lying on the strings of the instrument in claustrophobia inducing darkness. So far so good. she thought. She then reached into her saddlebags and fished out the gunpowder box. She remembered the racket and sparks it caused on the road… she also remembered the damage it caused to the firework machine because of the amount stuffed inside. That thing was made of metal… the piano was of wood. She wondered what would happen if she planted lit gunpowder in the piano. Maybe it’d do enough to convince Treble and Covri to get off of the stage? Sweetie set the box as flat as she could on a set of string hammers beside her. She heard Squee outside attempting to convince Notetooth to leave to party with her. Notetooth seemed to sickeningly giggle that masculine giggle that made Sweetie want to gag, every time Squee spoke to him… er, her, in that flirtatious manner. Though it was obvious Squee’s charm was beginning to wear on her. It also sounded like Cal had finally been restrained outside as her thrashing became dimmer and dimmer. She didn’t have much time… but she was almost done in either case. Sweetie took out one of the matches she found in the kitchen and lit it on the matchbox. She held it in front of her, hesitant to light the box… realizing how close Notetooth was to the box. It’d definitely catch her by surprise, but… could it hurt her? “Listen…” Notetooth giggled. “You’re really fun, but I’ve really got to get back to playing.” “Aw c’mon. Don’t be like that. Want to see my muscles?” “You already showed me.” She giggled again. “Want to see them again?” Squee insisted. Sweetie had to do it. Now or never, she supposed. She lit the box on fire and watched as the small flame began to glow. She had to get out now… wouldn’t be long before the sparks started to fly. She closed her eyes and focused whatever magic she had left on a second teleportation spell and appeared behind several ponies in the corner of the courtyard. She saw Squee and caught his eye. She beckoned for him to approach her. He nodded, said a few words to Notetooth, and began walking toward Sweetie. The colt barely made it halfway to Sweetie, nor did Notetooth play more than two chords before- BOOM! The whole courtyard jumped as the piano burst into flames. The explosion was way larger than Sweetie had anticipated. Anyone within a few yards of the piano was blown back from it… including Notetooth, Harmonica and Treble. “Uh oh.” Sweetie mumbled. Squee gave a few moments of staring at the piano before staring back at Sweetie with a look to say What in the hay did you just do?! Sweetie ran forward to Squee. “Sweetie-” “Shut up and check if Notetooth is alright.” She rushed past him to the scene, as every other pony began chatting panicky, evacuating the courtyard, or frozen over shock the explosion. Sweetie dodged the dropped broken wine glasses and appetizers as she made her way over to Treble and Harmonica. She first checked Harmonica. She was unconscious… and thankfully so. She was alive, but Sweetie wouldn’t have to hear her start complaining over being blown off of the stage. Aside from a few burn marks, she looked like she would live. Sweetie moved around to the other side of the stage where Treble had fallen. He moaned as he laid on his now shattered guitar. “Treble. Are you okay?” Sweetie asked. She shook her head and looked down at his broken instrument with a heavy heart. She almost looked like she was ready to cry, striking Sweetie with a sudden arrow of guilt. “Treble…” Sweetie tried again. “I’m sorry about your-” “This… this was the first guitar I’d ever played.” She mumbled, barely audible to Sweetie’s ears. She closed them for a minute and looked sharply at Sweetie. “What the hay just happened?!” “Er… the piano exploded.” Sweetie recapped. “HOW?!” She said angrily. “I-I don’t know!” Sweetie lied. “It j-just happened. I’m sorry…” Treble took a deep breath, shivering over the entire inhale. Finally, the anger left her eyes. “It’s… not your fault Sweetie I…” She whipped the little water droplets that had accumulated in the sides of her eyes. “Just… really liked this guitar is all.” Sweetie allowed a minute of silence, for Treble to pay her respects to her special guitar. As she did, a thought came to Sweetie. Something that didn’t just sting her conscience, but weigh on her soul, as she watched Treble cuddle the remnants of her guitar: she did it for her own selfish reason. It stuck in her mind in a certain way for reasons she couldn’t quite allocate. She heard something in her head, whisper to her… You did it again you spoiled filly… Sweetie shook her head, and turned her attention back on Treble. “M… Mr. Treble?” It took a moment for the mare to respond before she over at her again. “What is it?” Hm… maybe I should have a good reason to lure Treble where I need her to. Doesn’t look like she’ll be in the mood to just follow me without one. Sweetie figured. “I… that is, Mr. Yield… he sent me for you actually.” “Heh… weren’t you supposed to be here?” Treble commented. “I got a little side tracked and came across him first. He knew who I was apparently.” Sweetie explained. “I… suppose I did mention you when we arrived... then again, I don’t remember really going into detail about you with anypony else aside from Barra.” “Maybe he just has a good eye for naming ponies?” Sweetie suggested. “…what did he want?” “He er… wanted you to play an instrument for him.” Sweetie said. Treble didn’t look very thrilled at the thought of playing another instrument after the loss of his previous one. “Hmph… I’d rather decline that opportunity.” Treble said. “I might break it.” “H-he said it was important. Urgent actually.” Sweetie pressed. “Why would it be ‘urgent’ to play something?” Treble asked. “Er, because… his daughter’s been feeling really bad. Hiding it really well but, she’s been sick for a long time.” Sweetie weaved. “But she really likes er… listening to harp music when she’s feeling down. That’s what Mr. Yield told me anyway.” “Really now… well… I don’t exactly have an instrument to play.” “That’s fine. He has a harp.” Sweetie said. “You… can play that, can you?” Treble sighed. “It certainly isn’t my favorite instrument. Hay, in all honesty, I’m better at the lyre, but… I could play the harp for the kid.” “Great!” Sweetie exclaimed. She calmed down after she noticed the suspicious look Treble darted at her. “Er… let me go check on my friend real quick and I’ll meet you back in the foyer.” “Hm… yeah, I’ll take the opportunity to check on my wife as well.” Treble said, getting up and leaving her broken guitar on the ground. “See you in a few.” Sweetie nodded and the two went their separate ways. Sweetie went to go check on Notetooth and Squee. “How is she?” Sweetie asked out of concern. “Hm… she’s breathing, but out cold.” Squee diagnosed. “But damn Sweetie! What the heck did you do?” “…stuff.” Sweetie responded shortly, not eager to get into the specifics of her bomb. “But Notetooth’ll be alright?” “She’s not bleeding as far as I can tell. Dragons are tough like that but… if you call a bruise or two ‘okay’ then she’s just peachy.” “I’ll accept that.” Sweetie sighed, happy she at least wouldn’t need to add murder to her list of guilt tonight. “Anyway, could you carry her over to Feather? She should still be around here and-” “NOTETOOTH!” yelled two voices. The both of them turned around to find Barra, and another white pony with unkempt blue mane and glasses, running for them. Though Sweetie couldn’t read the expression behind the white pony’s sunglasses, she could see the bright worry and fear of Barra present on her face. Certainly the most emotion she’d seen her display that night. “What happened!?” Barra asked. “Is she-” “Calm down, she’s fine.” Squee assured. “Sweetie and I just checked. She just got a little-” “Move it kid!” The white one pushed Squee to the side, as they both knelt beside their unconscious dragon friend. This must be that other mare Barra mentioned… Did Notetooth say her name was Symbol or something? Sweetie thought. “Um… Barra?” “She’s still breathing.” The grey mare sighed in relief. “Told you.” Squee said. “Just a few bruises is all.” “Is there a nurse somewhere around here?” Symbol asked. “Feather is around here somewhere.” Squee noted. “What’s she look like?” “Er… yellow mare, pink mane… really quiet looking.” Sweetie said. “Sym, go look for the mare.” Barra instructed, proceeding to pet Notetooth on his head. “Poor dear…” “On it Barry.” Symbol gave a quick salute and left the scene, leaving Squee, Sweetie, Barra, and unconscious Notetooth. “Barra.” Sweetie tried again. She looked up. “What? Oh, you… what happened?” Squee gave Sweetie a quick glance. “Er… her piano exploded.” She said. “What? You mean it just-” “Blew up out of nowhere, yeah.” “My… I’ve heard rumors that this mansion wasn’t safe, but this is ridiculous!” Barra said. Heh, you’d be surprised how unsafe this place really is Sweetie thought, recalling the ghosts that had tailed and attempted to kill her a little over 20 minutes ago. “Well, I’m sure she’ll be fine.” Sweetie said. “Er… Barra, would you mind doing me a favor?” Barra shook her head. “Not now Sweetie. I need to wait to make sure my Notetooth will be alright. Ask me a little bit later.” But I don’t know if I have a little bit later! Sweetie thought, though she resisted the urge to press the issue. It was fairly clear that Barra cared, and was downright scared for Notetooth’s life. Even if she wasn’t in any immediate danger, she’d need a little while, and possibly a diagnosis from Feather to his health, before she could think about doing something else. “Okay, sorry.” Sweetie said. “I’ve got to run somewhere else anyway, but I still need to talk to you. Don’t go too far, okay?” “I’m not going anywhere until I’m one hundred percent sure she’s okay.” Sweetie nodded, and beckoned for Squee to follow her, which he did without question. Once they were out of earshot, Squee whispered to Sweetie, “Alright, now what are you planning tootse?” “First off, don’t call me tootse.” Sweetie started. “And second off, I’m not planning anything.” “Feels like déjà vu already.” “Really.” Sweetie assured. “But I do need you to do something else. Nothing major.” Reluctantly, Squee sighed. “What?” “C’mon.” The two of them made their way to the two butlers who were watching the unconscious mare who they lied in a corner. Sweetie looked up at the butlers. “Um… is she alright?” she checked. “Yes. Ms. Cal here just blacked out.” One of the butlers said. “You’re just going to leave her here?” Sweetie asked. “We’re sure she’ll move herself once she wakes up.” The other butler assured. “Wither or not she wakes up before dinner is over… well, that will be her own fault. It’s quite improper to show up drunk to a gathering such as this.” “Unless you’re a fellow who maintains some of his class like the Crosser fellow.” The first butler sighed. “But what can you expect from a pear bucker, hm? No offense.” “None taken, but could I check her for a second?” “If you insist.” The second butler allowed, stepping aside for Sweetie and Squee. “So… what do you want me to do?” Squee asked. “Hold her eyes open.” Sweetie instructed as she went into her bag to fish out her camera. “I’ve got to see her eyes.” Squee opened his mouth to ask why, and shut it, quickly realizing Sweetie was bound to side step his in inquiry regardless. He went behind the mare, propped her head up, and pulled on the eye lids to display her green eyes. Sweetie took out her camera and aimed it at Cal. “Smile for the camera.” Sweetie mumbled as she snapped the shot. CLICK! Got it! Sweetie cheered in her mind. That was the fifth picture. Now, all she needed was Axinite’s photo… the only problem was that she’d yet to see the mare anywhere around the mansion. Where in the hay could she be? Hopefully she’d come across her somewhere… “Alright, let her be.” Sweetie said as Squee let go of the pear bucker’s head. “Now what?” Squee asked. “I just need you to keep an eye on Barra and Symbol while I’m gone.” Sweetie said. “I’ve er… got to check something else.” “If you say so Sweets.” Squee said. “Don’t be long though. I want to walk with you into the dining hall at dinner.” “Sure.” Sweetie nodded as she ran off. She gave a quick glance over at the flaming piano and stage a few butlers had gone over to douse the fires of, noting Treble was now gone. Sweetie figured she’d gone ahead already. Sweetie quickly made her way down to the foyer, afraid to find a clock to tell her how much time she had left. After a fair amount of sprinting, Sweetie made it to the foyer in what felt like less than a minute. There, she saw Treble, conveniently waiting by the same door that led into the instrument room. “Mr. Clef!” Sweetie called, gaining his otherwise aloof attention. “In there!” Treble looked at the door he was next to and pointed to it. After Sweetie gave a nod of confirmation, she headed inside ahead of her. Suddenly, without Treble’s consent, the door swung shut all by itself. Uh… Sweetie thought, unsure of what just happened. Thankfully, no pony who was still in the foyer commented on the sentient door. Curious on the fate of Treble, Sweetie walked inside herself. It was just as dark as before… but when Sweetie shined her flashlight around, she nearly dropped it when she found Treble. She was frozen! Completely and fully frozen throughout her body. She was so chilled, that clouds of mist surfaced on her rock solid coat. Oh Celestia… is she dead? Sweetie wondered. Then, a thought of hope came to her. That… maybe she wasn’t. Perhaps her freezing was somehow apart of the puzzle/scavenger hunt she’d been tasked with. Maybe there was a way of unfreezing her. However, until the time came to figure that out, she still had plenty of other stuff to complete. “Sorry about this Mr. Clef.” Sweetie said, unsure if she could hear her. “B-but I’ll be back to fix you. Hold on, okay?” Sweetie left the room, constantly hoping that she didn’t just kill one of the nicest ponies she’d come across… next to Ms. Axinite of course. *** Sweetie sped back to the courtyard to find Feather bandaging Notetooth. Barra stood by him, watching the dragon intensely. Sweetie was a bit angry to find Squee nowhere to be found, as she assumed he was, once again, flirting with some other filly. The trend was beginning to get annoying to her. She approached the triplet of mares. “Is she still doing okay?” Sweetie, of course knew the answer, but figured she wasn’t getting far with Barra if she didn’t show some concern for the dragon she cared so much for. “Dragons are remarkably fast healers.” Feather commented. “She’s healing up fast, but right now, I’m just monitoring her vitals to make sure she doesn’t decline. Other than that, if she keeps up at this rate, she’ll be up and about a little after dinner time.” “That’s good.” Sweetie said. “Barra-” “Not now Sweetie.” Barra snapped. Sweetie resisted a groan. “Barra, listen, I really need you to come with me. Notetooth’s fine. Right Feather?” “Only concern I can name is the exposed bruising.” She said. Barra shook her head. “I’m not leaving until my friend is up.” “But-” “No, Belle.” Sweetie was feeling panicked again. She had to be just upon the 30 minute mark then, and she’d be running over time in just a second. Her plan had backfired on her, creating a new problem: how in the heck could she convince Barra to leave sooner?! Sweetie closed her eyes to think, and come up with another plan… then one did. “Ms. Feather?” Sweetie asked. “You don’t… have any more bandages on you, do you?” “What? Why?” “Well… you just didn’t look like you had any.” Sweetie said. “And even more, there’s other ponies in here that need medical bandage stuff too, right? Like Ms. Clef over there.” Feather covered her mouth at the mention of a pony she’d neglected to provide medical attention to. “You’re right. I didn’t mean to, I just-” “It’s fine.” Sweetie said. “I was… just going to offer to go get some more supplies for you. One of the Yield kids showed me where some medical supplies were. A whole infirmary full of stuff.” “Oh, that would be wonderful!” Feather smiled. “But… I could use some help in getting those supplies.” Sweetie said. “Maybe… Ms. Symbol could help me?” Symbol opened her mouth, but was cut off by Barra. “You should help her.” She said. Feather nodded in agreement. “Some pain killers, some more bandages, perhaps a splint in case she has something broken that requires more healing… enough for the two of them.” Symbol shrugged. “Sure, I guess.” “Great! C’mon. Let’s hurry.” Sweetie insisted as she ran out, inviting Symbol to do the same. Matching her speed, the two made it back out into the foyer second floor. “Through here!” Sweetie said, heading through the right door. “Slow down, will ya?” Symbol suggested. Sweetie ignored her, continuing through at the same speed. Sweetie raced down the empty hallway, doing her absolute best not to think about the horror that had chased her through it earlier. Finally Sweetie found the door she was looking for, still as wide open as she left it. Sweetie waited for Symbol inside the room she’d found the GCD in. Her mind continuously thought about how she was going to execute this little point of deception. “Here? You sure this is it?” Symbol asked, looking at the strange room. “All I see is a bunch of furnature and crap.” “Er… I’m sure this is it.” Sweetie lied. “Let’s look around, maybe it’s under these sheets or something. Here. Take off those sunglasses so you can see better.” “But I like my sunglasses. It’s like, my thing.” “We’ll get back faster alright? Do you really want to stick around here that long?” “…I got to admit, this room is giving me the creeps… sunglasses aren’t helping much either.” Symbol said. “Give them to me, I’ll hold on to them.” Sweetie offered. “…alright kid, sure.” Symbol smiled as she took the glasses off, exposing her red eyes. “Don’t break them.” “Wouldn’t dream of it.” Symbol turned around to investigate the far wall. “I’ll check this wall. You check the other one.” “Sounds like a plan.” Sweetie said, as she quietly crept out of the room. She closed the door, thankful that it didn’t creek as obnoxiously as she’d expected it to. Once she clicked it shut, she quickly moved a vase stand conveniently beside the door and propped it up against the knob. “Filly?” Sweetie heard from the other side of the door. “What the-” There was banging on the door as she tried desperately to force the door open. “Hey! What happened?! Open up!” “Sorry Ms. Symbol…” Sweetie said, giving a look at the sunglasses before throwing it against the wall. She picked it up, examining it to find it had a nice crack across the lenses. “I’ll come back to let you out if I can.” Sweetie placed the broken sunglasses in her bag. “FILLY! SWEETIE BELLE!” The banging became progressively more furious as Sweetie ran back the way she came. The same hit of selfish guilt came to her again. She ran her way back to the courtyard, breathlessly. She was getting sick of all the running around bull already. “Sweetie? Where’s the supplies.” Barra asked when she rushed up to her. “…Symbol…” Sweetie panted. “Something happened to her. She needs Barra.” “Me?” Barra asked, looking up from Notetooth. With that, Sweetie presented the broken pair of glasses to them. Both Barra and Feather gasped. “First Notetooth… now Symbol…” “She called for you specifically…” Sweetie said. “She’s with the medical supplies to. I need you to follow me.” “I’ll come too-” “No!” Sweetie snapped before Feather could complete her sentence. “Er, I mean… you need to keep an eye on Notetooth. So you can make sure she doesn’t decline, or whatever you call it. Symbol’s not seriously hurt… she just needs you.” Barra glanced unsurely at Feather. “…go. See what’s wrong with your friend… I’ll keep an eye on Notetooth for now, unless you really want me to-” Barra cut her off, nervousness in her voice. “N-o, no, that’s fine. Sweetie won’t mind coming back for you if… if there’s something to worry about, I’m sure Sweetie will be willing to run back to get you… right?” “Sure!” Sweetie said, jumping impatiently. “C’mon! Let’s go!” Barra followed Sweetie the same way she came half way before slowing down, breathing heavily. “Hold… hold on Belle. I need to catch my breath.” She panted. Sweetie turned around to see Barra’s head ducked down to the ground as the breathed heavily. As much as Sweetie hated slowing down, she didn’t say anything to urge the mare forward. “Sure.” “Thank you.” She sniffed. “Could we… possibly slow down? I-I mean, is she really in need of such immediate attention? Is she really that…” “Er… I suppose we could just speed walk the rest of the way. It’s not much farther.” Sweetie said. “And… she’s not as bad as you think. She just had me worried when she er… fell down that flight of stairs.” Barra looked up with worry in her eyes. “L-like I said. She just wanted you to be with her is all.” Sweetie said. “I’m sure she’ll live.” “I hope… she’s one of the two things that give me purpose these days…” She sighed. “What?” “…it’s nothing. Just an old fooler’s self-pity. Nothing more.” “You’re not that old.” Sweetie commented. Barra chuckled. “You’re either sarcastic or blind if you’re letting that slip through your teeth. 30 years? Hmph… I’m just about at the end of my life.” “R…really?” “They say cardiac problems.” She said. “What’s that?” “I supposedly have a weak heart. One that could go out at any second.” “I’m… I’m sorry to hear that.” “Hmph. Don’t be. I’ve got Sym to pity me when I need it. Notetooth to… to almost make me forget.” “What do you mean?” Sweetie asked as they both turned the corner. Sweetie could see the door was open from where she was standing. “Sym I met a while back. Going on about some ‘musical revolution’ that would change the course of history… something like that. She was just a big fat dreamer, but the way she just talked about music with such interest and… I just fell in love with it. She reminded me of my own love for music during a little slump in my life.” “A pit.” “What?” “Er… just a word somepony used for the same thing. Forget it.” “The point is… she gave me a bit of meaning to it when my career simply wasn’t doing it. And Notetooth…” She trailed off, and slowed down a bit. For a split second, Sweetie could have sworn it wasn’t her that was moving in slow motion, sped an inch, and returned to normal speed. She shook her head. It had to have been the following loss of equilibrium that nearly made her fall to her side. “What about Notetooth?” “What’s that?” “You were about to tell me about Notetooth.” “Was I now?” She asked. Sweetie nodded. “Oh… there’s not much to tell. She’s just a dragon I adopted a few decades ago.” “D-decades?” Sweetie asked. “Mhm. Late bloomer though. Only recently started looking at other ponies… you included, from the way she talked to you.” There’s a joke or some irony here… wish I could remember what it was… Sweetie thought. “I dunno, I didn’t really get that vibe when I talked to her again.” “If you say so…” Barra smiled. “Though I suppose she could forget it. You like that colt you brought with you?” “Dunno.” Sweetie shrugged. “I’ve thought about him… but I don’t think he’d work out for me. Nice… for the most part, but too flirty. Then again, I don’t remember everything a good gentlestallion’s supposed to act…” “Well, I’m sure as long as whatever pony or creature that catches your heart treats you right-” Just as the two of them came to the door, it slammed shut, making Sweetie jump back onto her flank. Barra, on the other hand, continued moving as though nothing had even happened. “and they’re your type, you’ll do fine.” “D-did you see that?!” Sweetie exclaimed. The reaction actually made Barra jump. “What?” She asked. “The door! It just-” Sweetie stopped. “…it just what?” The gears in Sweetie’s brain began turning. Forgetting that she was talking about Notetooth was one thing. But not noticing the shutting door? Something foreboding made Sweetie sick to her stomach. Something was really wrong about this… and she got the feeling it was only about to get worse. “F-forget it.” Sweetie said. “C’mon. We’ve got to get to Ms. Symbol. Fast.” Sweetie quickened her pace, as Barra followed the example. Sweetie pushed the door open, noting how much more difficult it had been than the first time. She guided Barra down the stairs and to the door. I swear if this is locked… To Sweetie’s partial surprise, the door wasn’t locked. It even opened with ease. “Are you sure this is-” “Yeah, yeah. Quick. Inside.” Sweetie urged. “She’s hurt! Move!” Barra nodded as Sweetie ushered her inside. She gave a quick glance behind her and noticed something even odder: everypony was gone. The foyer was bare of any life whatsoever, and it was quiet as a graveyard at midnight. If they’d been herded somewhere else, Sweetie swore she would have at least heard them. Instead, all she received was a wind that sneaked through her dress and chilled her spine. To escape the cold, Sweetie snuck into the room she’d put Barra in. Once she was inside, she attempted to turn the flashlight on only to find it very difficult to turn on. After a few attempts, she managed to make a faint beam emit from it. Out of curiosity, Sweetie went into the bag and began sifting through for her book. Before opening it, she pointed her flashlight at the clock. As she’d guessed, it now read “10:21”… the hands were farther than 30 minute apart now. Her time was most definitely up, and whatever dangers the dragon had mentioned would be upon her soon. In hopes of reaching him, she opened the book. Now that the ‘time dilation’ or whatever he called it, was done, she should have been able to speak to him. Perhaps get some extra information, or support as to exactly what would happen if she failed to complete her task in the allotted time, as she had now. She still had Axinite’s picture to obtain and sheet music to play… Sweetie’s heart sunk when she found that every one of the white pages were now covered in a thick black ink. Sweetie flipped through the pages, hoping to find something of usefulness, something that hadn’t been swallowed up in the void of ink. All she found were a few white words that were almost immediately swallowed up in ink: Leave it. “What’s that mean?” Sweetie mumbled. Was the book telling her to leave the room? Sweetie went back to the door she’d just come through, only to find that it was locked. No… no, he wouldn’t have locked me in here, would he have…? The dragon said I HAD to be in this room! It was the only place I was safe from those things… right? Sweetie shook her head. She couldn’t panic. Especially now, if she was in danger. Perhaps she could try the other hallway, as much as she hated to, to get back to the foyer and continue her search. In the meantime, Sweetie got a hunch that the book meant something else by ‘Leave it.’. “M…maybe it’s talking about my stuff then. That’s got to be it.” Sweetie said. She couldn’t imagine why, but she figured the book-dragon had yet to lead her astray yet. Then again, how long did she know it to begin with? She took everything off and laid the GCD, her ball, the pictures she took, and the book by the candle stand. She only took the camera, her flashlight and her saddlebags; the few things she needed in order to get Axinite’s photo as well as navigate her way back. Before leaving, she shined her light on Barra, who held a distinct look of fear on her eyes as she was frozen. Maybe it was misinterpreted worry for Symbol, who was likely, or rather hopefully, still trapped in that room she’d left her in. Or maybe… she was just as scared as Sweetie might have been, to be left in the pitch black room. “I’ll be back.” She whispered. “I promise, I’ll unfreeze you once I’m done... somehow.” The statues of ice didn’t respond. Sweetie then left through the door and headed up the stairs to the hallway. She walked around, feeling the hairs on her mane stand on ends. Something was about to happen. She kept repeating the fact to herself. Something was going to happen in a second. Something bad. And she had to be absolutely, positively, one-hundred percent- “Sup Sweetie Belle.” Squee said from behind her, making Sweetie yelp. “SQUEE!” Sweetie exclaimed. “Don’t sneak up on me like that. I thought you were some kind of…” Sweetie trailed off, or at least her voice did, lowering its volume to absolutely nothing. She felt her mouth move, but nothing came out. Oddly enough, it didn’t alarm Sweetie very much, as she stared deeply into Squee’s glowing yellow eyes. Her ears had stopped working. All she could see was Squee’s mouth move, laughing and saying “Sorry about that. Creepy hallway huh?” Sweetie nodded, unable to take her eyes off of Squee’s. He got closer. His mouth moved again, though this time, Sweetie could faintly hear him speak. “What’s a pretty filly like you doing wandering creepy mansions?” Sweetie wasn’t even sure what she said this time. She must have said something though, as Squee laughed and said, “You must have been seeing things. It’s pretty dark in here, even with that little light box of yours. Maybe the darkness was making your hallucinations more vivid, huh? That’s what Feather said, right?” His voice sounded so convincing. He had to have been right, so she nodded numbly. “Speaking of which, what’s that little thing you’ve got there. Can I see it?” Squee asked. No, not asked, it sounded more like a command. None the less, Sweetie obeyed and spat out the flashlight. He didn’t look at it as it rolled into his forehoof. “Good girl. See, I know I picked the diamond out of the dirt when I saw you. So obedient. So submissive. So…” “What’s happening Squee?” Sweetie asked. Squee frowned upon the brief glimpse of his date’s free will, then smiled again. “Did you find anything else besides this while you were snooping around town?” Squee asked. Once again, Sweetie didn’t have the option to speak. She just did in that silent, mouth moving way. Squee laughed. “It’s okay. I forgive you. I’m sure that Time will as well. Give it to me.” Sweetie wanted to resist, feeling her will attempting to break through Squee’s stare… or whoever this douche was with Squee’s coat. Ultimately, she failed as she removed the lower part of her dress and removed her saddlebags. She gave them to Squee, still trapped in his eye. “Is that all Sweetie? I know you found something else. C’mon…” He took the camera out of the saddlebags. “I know you’ve been busy. I’ve been around you all night, remember?” “N-no.” Sweetie forced. “I-I didn’t-” Squee slapped Sweetie across the snout, rage coming from his eyes. “DON’T LIE TO ME YOU-” His voice boomed, seeming to make the entire mansion tremor. His voice turned into a laugh. “YOU… you… you can’t escape here. Stop trying, alright? There’s no escape… no matter what anypony told you.” His voice wasn’t Squee’s anymore, but rather, some hybrid between Squee’s and some other pony’s. “I am a god in here. You couldn’t kill me before… and you certainly won’t catch me now.” Sweetie tasted blood in her mouth as she lie on her side. She got up, barely able to stand on her own four hooves. She stared At Squee who came over to her, and stopped just as his snout was an inch from her own. “Don’t try to challenge me. Because if you do… you’re going to wish you’d died sooner.” Suddenly, his eyes softened. Still as yellow as before, but now they had a bit of compassion in them. “Sweetie, are you okay?” “Wh…at?” Sweetie asked. The hit had left her in a daze, making her attempt desperately to remember why she needed to run as fast as physically possible from this mad-colt. “You were running through the hall and hit your head… remember?” Squee asked. His eyes flashed, and in response, so did Sweetie’s. “Y…yeah… I did. Somepony was chasing me and- mmph.” Sweetie was cut off by a kiss. Her body tingled again, both pleasurably as well as the opposite feeling. She didn’t know wither to love the kiss, or hate it… or rather, she couldn’t quite remember anymore why she should hate it to begin with. They separated their faces and starred at each other. The yellowness of Squee’s eye had vanished and was replaced with the normal brown she’d come to love from him. “C’mon! Dinner’s starting! Don’t want to be late, huh?” Squee asked, running ahead of her. Sweetie starred at him, still in a daze as the saddlebags dangled loosely from his neck. She knew she was supposed to remember something about the situation. Something about those saddlebags, about a pony dying, something… She touched her snout, as though to wipe something off, but felt nothing but a little snot. Still, it stung when she touched it, as though it were a reminder of something else important. So many important things to remember… I wonder what they could be…? *** Gilda entered the tea room carrying a brown bag over her shoulder. Annoyance read across her face at the additional task she had been given thanks to Specter’s forgetfulness. She surveyed the room to see if anything had changed since she’d left. As she’d suspected, the night guard was still trapped in Celesita’s force field bubble; the day guard was still out cold, and the mares, aside from Rainbow, who’d breathlessly given up on squirming to escape and Twilight who kept her head down in shame, and the two fillies who were still looking upon their friends in hopelessness, were unconscious. Only possessed Sweetie and Specter could move freely around the room at this point. “Gilda. You’re back. You didn’t perchance catch the clock in my study, now did you?” “Eh… something like 7:00, but I dunno. All these clocks say different crap. 4:00, 2:00, hay I came across one that said twelve for buck’s sake.” She said. “Here’s your toys.” She tossed the bag to Specter who caught it with his own dark yellow telekinesis spell. “Very good. We should be well past sun-up by now…” “Now can I go?” She asked impatiently. “Not yet. First, I need to connect to Celestia’s will… and you need to escort her to the observatory… before you go off and have your fun with your friends.” “Fine.” Gilda took her leaning place against the wall and folded her arms. “Just make it quick.” “Now now Gilda. One can’t rush these things. This is a very meticulous process. A mistake could cause spiritual damage to a pony. Even a powerful alicorn like the princess here. Don’t you remember how Luna wailed when we fractured her?” He chuckled, earning a brief, hateful glare from Celestia. Gilda rolled her eyes and looked over at Sweetie, who was as still as a statue at the center of the room. “Huh. What’s her deal?” “Who, my assistant?” Specter shook his head. “I warned him something like this would happen. Especially if the filly managed to make it into the memory of the mansion… not to long before you returned, Sweetie had apparently activated an advanced spiritual time dilation to advance in better time. According to him, she’s unnaturally close to crashing the memory.” Gilda gave a puzzled look. “Ugh. In short, terms you seem to be more acquainted with understanding, he bucked up.” “So what’s he doing now?” “Becoming what he should have been the entire time he possessed her. Paranoid.” “What?” “He doesn’t know something. A piece of knowledge I’m surprised he hasn’t taken into consideration.” Specter smiled. “He should have been paying attention to the properties of the particle. He should know that the GCD is designed for these types of situations.” “What the hay are you-” Gilda asked. Specter gave another chuckle. “But I digress. I am wasting your time aren’t I?” “…yeah.” “Then let’s get down to business.” Specter said as he reached into the bag and pulled out three heart candies. “First things first. Feed these to the bleeding and broken mares over there.” He tossed the candies over to Gilda. “What?” She barely managed to catch the candy gems out of surprise of her new task. “But don’t these things like… heal them or something? You want them to get better?” “Sure.” Specter shrugged as he continued to shuffle through the bag. “Why?” Gilda asked. “A few reasons actually. For one, at this point, if I leave them now, they’ll bleed out and die. I can’t let them die in this manner or, well… the painting spell will destroy their bodies, and they’ll automatically turn into ghosts… wither I want them to or not. I can’t use, or rather control ghosts that have died, been reanimated by paint, and died again outside of a controlled state. Even more, they don’t have cutie marks, which already makes them pretty useless… it’s also the element I need in order to turn them back at all.” “What?” Rainbow looked up. “What the heck are you talking about now?” “Oh, didn’t I tell you already?” Specter chuckled. “That little ‘extra life’ Ms. Belle gave you only works once. Without a cutie mark… let’s just say it’ll really be game over for you. Only you won’t just die… you’ll be stuck on earth for the rest of time until some kind little ghost hunter decides to eradicate your soul. To destroy your existence, or trap you in a painting for centuries to come.” He grinned. “Kind of like me.” “And the other reason?” Gilda asked. “C’mon. Torture in a tiny tea room, left to bleed out. Where’s the sport in that? Does that sound like fun?” Specter looked over at Pinkie who’s ears perked and mouth let out a faint, wheezy giggle. “Fun.” She mumbled. She sounded sick. Specter took out a little golden locket in the shape of a heart. He opened it and looked inside at the picture of Madame, and a caption that said ‘Love in Savior’s Death’. In the other door of the locket was another heart candy, only it was yellow. He closed it and put the locket around his neck. “Either way, we can’t afford to lose them again. They’re still just as important as Sweetie is right now. Dead or alive. Especially if she manages to catch Rarity.” “…you’re talking like you’re expecting-” “Go on, post haste.” Specter interrupted. “Make sure their tongues are wet. They need to dissolve the candies for them to take effect as it goes down their throat.” Gilda went over to the two mares and opened their mouths. She stuck the candies inside, laying them on their tongues. “Isn’t that right Ms. Sparkle? That’s how you designed them, correct?” Twilight didn’t answer. “An incredible feat you managed to create such powerful healing supplements.” He took a third out and held it in her direction. “Sure, I had the supplies on hand, but the fact you managed to put them together, and enchant them, even in your elderly state… ” “…so you’re not going to kill us…?” Twilight finally said. “At least somepony appreciates it.” “I think Twi’s still trying to get the ‘why’ part. What the hay do you still need us for?” “Oh, you’ll see my dears. And besides, we're not done with the princesses, are we? In any event, it would be rude of me to give it away now, hm?” Specter said as he took out an orb with holes in front of it. If it wasn’t for its bronze color, one might have suspected it to be a Changeling egg, considering its holey texture. About half of the holes glowed dark blue, whilst the others were completely dark. “Here it is.” Just as Specter spoke, Sweetie jerked up, as though being awoken suddenly from deep sleep. She gave a shake of her head and looked at Specter. “So, has she escaped yet.” “I told you, she can’t.” Specter shook her head. “So what is the status of our memory wandering guest?” “She was doing something… rather, she found something.” “Did you find out what it was?” “I’m sure she’s hidden something. I’ve yet to locate the memory pocket… but once I’m done here, I’ll head back and check it out. I did, however, find a camera, as well as a flashlight her mind must have conjured up using the memories. What she’s been using them for… or if she’s even used them at all has yet to be determined.” “Did you destroy them?” Sweetie shook her head. “I didn’t see any reason to. Could belong to one of the memories and I didn’t want to risk fracturing or crashing the memory before I have to… or worse, risking the loss of Sweetie’s spirit along with her cutie marks… again, not without good reason.” Specter shook his head. “You said it yourself. Sweetie may have conjured them up with her own memories. They won’t crash the memories by making them cease to exist.” “I don’t know that. I have to investigate to make sure.” Sweetie said. “I’m still working on trapping her in order to keep her safe if I do decide to crash the memory…” “I suppose I was wrong.” He mumbled, just audible enough for Gilda to hear. “You’re paranoid and apprehensive in all of the wrong areas… memory isn’t serving well either.” “What?” “Nothing.” Specter turned toward Celestia. “No, Princess. In order for this to work, I need for you to release all thought from that ghost brain of yours.” He twisted the orb and it expanded width wise, exposing a yellow core at the center that occasionally flashed dark blue. “Otherwise, this could prove more painful than it already will be.” Celestia closed her eyes and took a breath of cold air, as though to calm herself as Specter approached. “Open.” He said, holding the orb up to her mouth. She followed his instruction silently as he slipped the orb inside and it fell down along the track her throat would have been. It settled down in the middle of her chest, and began to spin. After a minute, the orb was then surrounded by a large red heart, similar to the candies, only with a much smoother surface. Specter stood back, and closed his eyes. He began mumbling incomprehensible gibberish to Celestia and the orb. As he did, the orb itself jittered, only slightly at first, but eventually it became more violent in its movements. It apparent from her face that she was experiencing from her pain as the orb began sparking out of her ghostly form. This went on for about 5 minutes until the orb was jumping to all parts of Celestia. “Now… stay still Tia. It’ll be over in just a second.” Specter’s voice sounded… different now. It was mixed in with another voice. When he opened his eyes, just before they became engulfed in light, she noticed they were a different color. A familiar color- Before she could re-clear her mind of the new eye color, white lightning shot from Specter’s horn, and directly at the crazed orb. Celestia howled and wailed as arch of lightning danced around her body. Her real body disintegrated into ash as her howl became louder and louder. Sweetie gritted her teeth and pulled her hat over her head to attempt to block out the blaring scream. Even the mares and fillies… the conscious ones in any case, gritted their teeth as their eardrums desperately pleaded for the maddening wail to cease. After what went on for what felt like ages, the scream stopped abruptly as the electric flow stopped. The orb popped out of her ghost formed and rolled over to Specter’s hooves. Celestia collapsed moments later. “That went better than expected.” Specter said. His old voice had returned. He picked up the orb and inspected it, pleased to see the white light emitting from the holes that were previously dark and void. “Princess?” Twilight asked the still transparent form of her teacher. “Princess, are you alright?” “Yes Princess.” Specter said. “Why don’t you rise for us. You’ve got us all very, very worried.” “Heh… heh…” “Rise. Celestia.” Specter repeated. “Heh… heha…” “…princess?” Twilight said again. “Princess, what did he-” “Shut up… haha… hahaha….” Celestia’s head snapped up. She now wore the same sadistic grin as the rest of the ghosts in the mansion. She was one of them now. “Can’t you just… haha… heh ha… shut… hahahahaha…” Princess Celestia rose to a crooked crouching stance. “For once… hahahahahahaha… do you really… hahaha… need to answer so many of th- HAHAHAHA… those STUPID questions?” She cocked her head back for a laughing fit before finally stretching to her full height. “Just shut up already you wide mouthed snobby bitch!” “Celestia…” Specter laughed in approval. “A faster transformation than I ever hoped possible. Now Celestia. I have a job for you.” “Anything for you… Master Yield.” Celestia said, still maintaining a wide eager grin. “I need you to raise the sun. A task I’m sure you’re quite acquainted with, of course. In the course of the next two hours.” Celestia’s grin faded, but only slightly. “Raise… the sun? Why? Why can’t I just do something more entertaining? Like killing her?” Celestia motioned her head over to Twilight, who flinched in response. “Not yet.” Specter said. “Hmph. I’m surprised you’re desire to kill Twilight is so strong so early on. Usually, that’d be a difficult feat unless… my, you really did give up hope, didn’t you?” Celestia merely laughed in response. “Either way, you’ll eventually become accustomed to the murderous instinct as time passes. You can wait. She’ll die in due time.” Specter assured. “In either case, I need you to do this for me.” “Of course, master.” Celestia said. “Now… Gilda, would you mind escorting Celestia to the-” “I can see the way.” Celestia laughed. “I know the way to the roof.” “Oh you can now?” Specter asked. “You do realize you can’t just fly through the ceilings, there’s a particular route through to the observatory that-” “I know the way.” Celestia said. Her voice almost sounded annoyed. She covered the slight annoyance with a brief spell of laughter. “I’m a goddess, remember?” “Ex-goddess... and even so only in relative terms.” Specter sighed. “Go on then. Don’t get lost… I don’t want to have to look for you.” Celestia gave a bow, but only ended up falling over from another brief string of laughs. She got up, and stumbled her way through the door, cackling madly. The ball surrounding Paita flickered for a moment, though no pony besides her seemed to notice. The laughter faded to eventual silence. “Well… that went much better than Luna.” Sweetie commented. “Yes… much better indeed.” Specter said. “Perhaps I’m getting quite skilled in this ‘god taming’ business. Or…” “Or?” Specter shook his head. “Nothing.” “I can’t believe…” Twilgiht mumbled. Tears began running down her cheeks. For a moment, as Rainbow looked at him, preparing to enter another wriggling attempt to escape, she could have sworn she saw sympathy in his eyes… but only for an instant. “Oh, don’t cry Ms. Sparkle. You’ll be seeing her soon enough.” Specter said. “And when you do… well, I’m sure you’ll be crying for a whole different reason.” Specter turned to Gilda. “Now… I’m sure you’re eager to leave, correct?” “Yeah.” Gilda said. “Now, you’re sure this’ll work?” “The ghostification? Yes.” Specter said. “As long as you follow my instructions, you can ghostify them so they won’t run off once they die. You do remember them… right?” “Yeah. Tie them to the thing in the basement and let the ghosts do their thing. I got it.” “If they escape Ms. Gilda…” “They won’t escape.” Gilda said, moving over to Pinkie and Rainbow. While Pinkie kept being unconscious, Rainbow looked upon her ex-friend with disgust. Gilda remained unphased. “C’mon you.” Rainbow opened her mouth to ask ‘where’, and closed it back, realizing she wasn’t going to find out until she got there. But if she could help it, she wasn’t prepared to find out. To Gilda’s surprise, Rainbow didn’t fight her, or struggle as she untied the bonds that kept her anchored to the tea tables, and picked her up by the ends of the rope she’d been tied up in. She took Rainbow and Pinkie, and swung them over her shoulder like luggage. Gilda then proceded to carry them out of the room. As she did, Rainbow kept an eye on the bubble Paita was still trapped in, as well as the sword Gilda was about to pass by. Rainbow brainstormed the most practical uses of the sword, considering she might only have one chance at using the thing. As she contemplated a place to hit Gilda on her body, she saw Paita move her lips, likely resulting from Celestia’s increased distance. Rainbow wasn’t a trained lip reader, though she could plainly see her message: Pop it It was worth a shot. Besides, though Rainbow knew it probably had to be done, she wasn’t looking forward to cutting the griffon. She may have wanted to beat her within an inch of her life at this point, but she certainly didn’t want to kill her. For all she knew, she could have been another one of Specter’s puppets. Paita watched in anticipation as Gilda passed by, hoping one of the mares she was carrying so close to the floor would somehow free her… Just as Gilda passed by the sword, Rainbow made her move. She swung herself in one motion over by the sword and picked it up with her teeth. Then, with every bit of momentum and neck muscle she had, she swung back, and released, aiming to hit the bubble Paita was inside. Before Gilda had the chance to say “What the hay?” The sword darted and pierced the bubble, popping it, and sending Paita groundward. The night guard reacted instantly, rolling down to grab her sword by the teeth and run for her target. Though, instead of running for Gilda, she went for Specter, ready to follow through with her initial intent, ready to kill the stallion who’d likely killed her friends. Just as she was about to make the cut at Specter’s throat, Sweetie intervened, snatching the knife out of Applejack and meeting Paita in front of him with impossible speed. She parried the sword with surprising accuracy and strength with her own knife. The movement was so quick and unexpected, Paita was knocked to the side, and away from Specter. Sweetie stood in the path between Specter and Paita in a similar battle stance to Paita’s. They both shared glared at each other for a few moments, locked in each other’s eyes. While Paita’s eyes held hatred for Sweetie, or rather the ghost possessing her, Sweetie’s eyes held a sick enjoyment of the new challenge presented to her. “Uh…” Gilda was unsure if she needed defend Specter or if she was still clear to go. Sweetie grinned, waiting for Paita’s next move. “Go on. Don’t worry. I’ve got this little lady you let loose under control.” "What'd you just call me?" Paita asked. “You sure?” Gilda asked, hoping the answer would remain unchanged. “Yes. Just go.” Specter assured. “Just keep your friends on a tighter leash next time. It’d be quite the blunder for them to escape while they’re still tied up.” “Hey! Cut us loose already!” Rainbow was struggling to get free again. Still to as much futile avail. Paita took her eyes off of Specter and glanced at Rainbow, Pinkie and Gilda. She could use a little help, as her own teammate still appeared to be out cold. The only problem was that when Paita tried to move forward, Sweetie was there, ready to lunge at her legs, or worse her throat, with the sharp knife. She couldn’t get to them. “A little busy mare.” Paita said through the sword. “C’mon.” Gilda said as she readjusted her two ponies over her shoulder. Rainbow screamed and kicked to get free, all the way out of the door. Her voice became more and more faded as they went down the hall, before they were gone. Meanwhile, Paita and Sweetie continued to stare at each other. Paita could have attacked her at any time, as she was confident of her swordsmare skills. The only problem was the fact Sweetie was still a filly was beginning to sink in to her skull. Could she really attack her? She’s not a kid. Paita coached. She’s not a kid. I’ve got to kill her. I don’t care how old she is. If I don’t kill her… she’s going to kill me. Just as Paita was beginning to get used to the idea, Sweetie’s patience wore out. She gave the first move with her knife, which Paita parlayed quickly. Just look at that Celestia damned speed and strength. She’s not normal. She’s not a kid. I’ve got to. I’ve got to! I can’t let her kill me! Stop being just a bucking wimp Paita! Sweetie jumped and swung her knife for Paita’s snout, grazing it as she stepped back. Kill her… KILL HER… And finally, Paita made the first swing to a series of clanks and dings. CLANK DING! TING! Sparks flew as they clashed swords, or in Sweetie’s case, knives, as they fought around the tea room. Surprisingly, Sweetie force was so great that Paita was still being pushed back, despite her offensive sword swings at her body. If Paita had eyes behind her head, she would have realized she was being led towards one of the tea tables. Specifically the one Applebloom and Scootaloo had been tied up at. Just as the clashing became uncomfortably close to the two bonded girls, Scootaloo spoke up. “Hey! Watch out!” she warned on impulse. The warning was just enough of a distraction for Sweetie to spot a weakness in Paita’s already flimsy defense, the crazed little girl made for a stab at her exposed neck. Only barely able to dodge her unreal speed, and strength, the knife hit the sword instead, knocking it out of her mouth and nearly hitting Applebloom and Scootaloo. The force of the sword came with so much force, it impaled the floor and stuck out at a 45 degree angle. With the sharp object in such close vicinity to their bonds, they both saw this as their chance as the squirmed forward, nudging the heavy table they were bonded to along. Sweetie in the meantime was progressively tiring Paita out as she continued to dodge the knife, now defenseless without a weapon. Paita had even slowed down to the point of occasionally allowing Sweetie to strike her armor, in hopes of reserving energy for the next swing that may, or may not have been the fatal one. Paita couldn’t risk taking her eyes off of Sweetie, knowing another loss of guard would definitely lead her to either a second loss of balance, or an opening for Sweetie to sink the blurred knife into. Paita noticed how sloppy her form was becoming as the strife progressed. It was apparent that Sweetie wasn’t fighting her anymore, rather playing with her; Tossing the somehow standing form around the room like a puppet. She had to figure out how to get over to her sword, though with her vision restricted to Sweetie’s muzzle, and occasional hoof, holding the small blade, she wasn’t sure how she’d- Paita saw the change in Sweetie’s eye. The loss of crazed amusement that was now replaced with slight indifference and boredom. She knew it was coming before Sweetie had made the lunge for the metal plating around her chest. The force, just like the sword, was impossible in force, especially suggesting Sweetie’s own muscle mass. Though, thanks to the ghostly power-up she now had, it was enough to knock Paita halfway across the room. Particularly onto her awakening and ultimately useless partner, Busby. The impact, thankfully, rather than knocking him out again animated him into at least groaning in annoyance. “Ugh… what?” he asked, looking over at Paita who fell off to the side of him. He noticed her panting heavily. His head was still raising out of the fogginess of sleep, as well as beginning to comprehend the headache he’d been presented with upon his awakening. Sweetie laughed. “You two make such a cute couple.” He paused for a moment. Busby rolled over on his back and looked up at Sweetie who approached. She noticed immediately and leaped over whatever distance she was, right onto his stomach. He could have sworn he heard something crack, only making Sweetie giggle even more. She kicked his hooves away as they tried to grab at whatever bones he’d broken. She proceeded to hop on said broken bones and giggle a little more at his anguish. She thought about giving him a kick to his head to possibly knock him out again, or even better and more likely with her strength, kill him. She motioned her hoof toward his lower jaw, and looked over to Specter for the “okay”. To her disappointment and slight confusion, he shook his head no. He didn’t even look too amused at her sadistic nature towards the two guards, considering the fruitlessness of it. The point of the torture, and the fight was to keep everypony as down and hopeless as possible. Then again, there was one pony Specter did mention earlier. One that he actually wanted killed. The other sister. Even more, the conditions only proved valid if she miraculously freed herself. The sister of an applebuck- Sweetie was off guard as she was rammed in her side by the skull of the orange filly, off and over a few feet to the side of the sun-guard. Sweetie got to her hooves and looked to see Scootaloo standing, battle ready to fight. It took her a few minutes of daze to realize what had just happened. She looked over to the ropes lazily lying next to the tea table, severed and sawed through by Paita’s erect knife. She looked over to the mares, who Applebloom, free, was now attempting to wake. Sweetie looked back over at Scootaloo, deeply into her eyes. Her fearful eyes, from watching her mentor be dragged away to a fate unknown. Her doubtful eyes, unsure of what to do with the possessed form that was previously her friend. All of these emotions that Sweetie could only grasp were hidden behind one strong stance of desperation. She was ready to fight her friend, likely getting used to the fact she wasn’t her friend, but hay if she knew what to do. And to hell itself, if she could deal with the crazed filly. But that wasn’t the important part, which was making Sweetie chuckle. “What’s… what’s so funny?” Scootaloo asked. “You… you just killed your friend. You know that?” “Huh? What the hay are you talking about Sw… whoever the heck you are.” Sweetie began approaching Busby and Scootaloo, who’d leapt over him to headbutt her. Scootaloo, tried to resist showing any signs of fear. However, Sweetie’s searing yellow eyes still proved enough to push Scootaloo back across the living hurdle who clutched at his pained body. “It’s funny really. Funniest thing all night in my opinion.” Sweetie’s laugh grew louder. Specter turned and left the room for the moment. Applebloom was too occupied shaking Applejack awake. “Simply put Scootaloo… that is your name, right?” Scootaloo didn’t respond. She simply stood at the one side of Busby, as Sweetie stopped at the other. “Simply put… I wasn’t going to hurt either of you. Not even touch you, as long as you both stayed put and quiet… well… maybe smack you around a little bit. Might serve Ms. Belle here some justice hm? Even if she were possessed, I’d like a little revenge for whipping at me, or trying to beat my skull in. Wouldn’t you?” “It… I wasn’t… Shut-up and give me back my friend, alright?!” Scootaloo’s voice cracked a little bit. “Perhaps later. Perhaps when you’re broken next to these two lovely ponyfolk, and I’m standing over Applebloom’s bled out body and you looking on in horror. Is that a bad time?” Scootaloo made her move, pushing forward on her hooves and extending her wings to glide, and collide again with Sweetie. On guard this time, she strafed to the right as Scootaloo flipped over and turned back to face Sweetie. “I’ll… I’ll… I’ll stop you before you even get the chance you butler buck.” “My, my. I’d watch the language if I were you Scootaloo. Besides, if this were the last time I was going to hear my friend, the last thing I’d want her to remember me saying is something as silly and offensive as “butler buck”. Besides. I’m not a butler, I’m Sweetie Belle!” Sweetie turned to Applebloom who was only recently rousing Applejack, and beginning to remove her bonds. With the brief distraction, Scootaloo took the point to give Sweetie a swift swing to her face. A direct hit that would have knocked any pony out cold, and admittedly did knock Sweetie to the ground. The hit was so loud, even Applebloom looked up from Applejack before shaking her head, and continuing to figure out how to undo the complex, tightly tied knot. A good minute passed and Sweetie remained still. Scootaloo cautiously approached Sweetie, hoping that she did in fact knock her out, and could possibly restrain her so when she woke back up- Just as Scootaloo stood above Sweetie, she hoped up with a movement so quick, and took ahold of her neck. Sweetie raised to her hind hooves, and stood up, managing to pick Scootaloo off the ground. She grinned. “Now that the gloves are off then… why don’t we have some real fun, hm?” Sweetie then proceded to throw Scootaloo across the room directly at Applebloom, who she collided with. Scootaloo went so fast, they both hit the wall with incredible force. If Applebloom hadn’t shared any force with Scootaloo, the pegasus filly might have broken a bone or two on impact. Knowing they couldn’t risk wasting a second to let Sweetie get the upper hoof, they both stood up and got into battle stances. Sweetie stood before them, laughing. “So… you two little girls are going to fight one me?” “No.” “Hm?” Sweetie turned around just to see Paita yank her sword out of the floor. “Three ‘little girls’.” Paita said, getting into her own battle stance. It looked just as unprofessional as Applebloom’s and Scootaloo’s considering how much pain she was in. Sweetie laughed. “Fun. I’ll enjoy the challenge…” Sweetie turned back to the two crusaders. “Before killing you as violently as I know how dear applebucking filly…” *** Sweetie's face sting didn't stop after she followed Squee down into the foyer. If anything, the sting only increased as she attempted to conceive where the pain came from. The more she thought, not just remember but simply think at all, the more the invisible sickle seemed to be impaling the side of her cheek. "C'mon Sweets!" Squee excitedly urged Sweetie to move faster. Sweetie couldn't help but stare at Squee's saddlebags with some kind of subconscious interest she couldn't quite understand. All she knew was that dwelling upon it, and its significance only made her pain. "I'm... I'm coming." Sweetie assured, stopping at the bottom of the foyer steps to hold her face. Even talking seemed to be connected with her face's new 'no thinking' rule. She expected there to be blood. No, she wished there was blood, though, like the other times before there was none. The fact her nerves were emulating the liquid streaming down her cheek didn't make the fact less maddening. "You should see the food the Yields put out! Applecreips, Pearsoufle-" "I-I believe you." Sweetie resumed trailing her new coltfriend. Coltfriend. Then, there was Squee who was leading her to the dining hall she didn't quite recall the location of, or for that matter, attempt to remember. The colt who carried the same saddlebags she could keep from being so interested in. The same colt who had kissed her no more than 3 minutes ago. He kissed her, and for the first minute or so, she'd been very taken by most intent act of affection Sweetie could dare recall. The kiss made her light on her feet, and almost happy... but as the second and third minutes rolled, an unexplainable fear for him began surfacing, accompanied with an equally vague hatred. Once the 61st second passed, somehow she didn't think she could trust him. No... she knew she couldn't trust him anymore because- "Ah!" Sweetie's cheek shot a particularly sharp wave of pain through her cheek, reverberated throughout her entire skull. There was almost a bit of a delay before Squee turned around to check on his 'fillyfriend'. "Huh? You okay Sweetie?" Wouldn't you like to know... Sweetie's internal monologue spat. "Yeah... just um... just one of my legs aching is all." "Aw Sweets, why didn't you say something?" Squee asked out of almost genuine sounding concern. "Do you want to sit here for a few-" "No." she cut Squee off, before grabbing onto her transparent facial wound and hissing in anguish. She didn't want to stop moving. Simply keeping moving, despite her inability to recall where to move next, felt important. That standing still would kill a pony The invisible face scar gave her the greatest jolt yet, though Sweetie bit her lip, refusing to publicly expose any more of her pain. She knew it would only encourage slowing down. Losing time she wasn’t sure she could afford to waste. "I'm... I'm fine Squee. Really." Sweetie looked at him, tears of pain welling in her eyes. To her relief, Squee was too ignorant to notice the little droplets of water. "If you say so." He shrugged. The two of them entered the foyer, which was filled with just about evey pony from the party. Those who weren't sitting down and helping themselves to the appetizers, were walking around, still conversing and likely waiting for their host. Out of the crowd, Sweetie picked out Ms. Axinite. "Squee?" Sweetie asked. "Would you ex-" She hissed painfully before continuing. "Would you excuse me for a few minutes?" "Hm? For what?" Squee asked in a tone she couldn't help but classify as untrusting. The voice of a colt who'd expected to be backstabbed. Or maybe it was the voice of a colt who she expected to backstab her. She couldn't tell the line between the two. Perhaps it wasn’t a voice to fear, none the less, one she had to get away from. "I... just want to ask her something. I promise-" Hiss. "I promise to find you when I'm done." Squee stared at her for a few moments, attempting to read Sweetie. When he either finished, or gave up on doing so, she smiled. "Alright. Don't go too far okay?" Squee kissed Sweetie again, this time, longer than before. She felt her chest flutter, and her horn tingle in ecstasy. As they disconnected, Sweetie was almost reluctant to turn around and leave her handsome loving colt- Focus Sweetie, FOCUS! The cheek pain was gone for the moment, though it was traded with the jelly like legs she'd experienced during the first few moments of affection. The drunken feeling that nearly removed her ability to think at all, rather than threatening thought with unbelievable pain. She wasn't sure which she loathed more. "Love you Sweets." "L... love you too." Sweetie turned and walked away from Squee and to Axinite. Admittedly, she wasn't completely sure why she needed to talk to Axinite. In fact, she had a good feeling she couldn't do anything useful without something. And even more she couldn't get across the fact that approaching her was both a good idea, and the worst one she'd come across all night. The only one thing she knew for certain. Her horn was still tingling. Upon closer examination, Sweetie realized that she wasn't just standing by herself, but conversation with another pony. A stallion who filled her up with rage even Squee couldn't have influenced. Axinite was the first to notice her. She motioned for Sweetie to talk to her, though now, she was reluctant to do so. At last with that stallion so close. With a few seconds of hesitation, Sweetie pushed to her. "Sweetie!" Axinite said happily. "I was beginning to think you hadn't make it." "Heh... I was close though." Sweetie said. "I actually had to steal a date to get over here." "Steal a date? Wasn't Squee your..." "He er... found a way to go ahead of me. He was waiting inside." "Hmph. Typical of impatient little colts like him. Not even the decency to wait for their own date." "Well, we were kind of running against the wire. Heck, at the time, I thought I was the one leaving him behind." "He should have been there none the less. You were not in the wrong Sweetie." Sweetie smiled at the remark. "I’m wondering if I can lose when it comes to you Ms. Axinite." "...Oh! I never introduced you to my stallion friend. How impolite of me. Quill?" As Sweetie turned her gaze from Axinite, and to her date, the smile evaporated into thin air. Sweetie almost had to fight to keep from her lips frowning, and her eyebrows crossing when his eyes locked hers. They stared at each other; he looked at her with indifference as she looked on him with anger and hatred covered up to only show apparent passive aggressiveness. Axinite seemed oblivious to the apparent bitterness between the two strangers. "Well? Aren't you two going to greet eachother?" "...Good evening." he said, forcing a smile and offering a hoof. "...hi." Sweetie said, meeting his hoof with her own. However, she couldn't find the strength to smile. To her disapproval, rather than a hoof shake, Quill bent down to kiss her hoof, which Sweetie snatched away before he could let his saliva touch her white coat. If Quill was offended by the rejection of his chivalrous the movement, he didn't give off any other responses besides the vanishing of his smile. "I'm sorry Quill honey. She's just shy." Axinite said quickly, noticing Quill's dampened mood. She turned to Sweetie. "Isn't that right Sweetie Belle?" her voice was harsher than anyway Sweetie had been addressed before. "Y-yeah. Of course. I didn't mean anything by it." Sweetie lied. "See? Sweetie's a good filly." Axinite smiled. "Polite, kind-" "Where are you from Ms. Belle?" Quill asked. His voice only stimulated Sweetie's badly burried anger. It wasn't that the voice was annoying, or sinister in any way, but it was the familiar tone that made her want to kick his teeth into his nostrils. To do violent things she didn't even know she was capable of coming up with. Rather than cursing his curiosity, she answered as honestly as she knew how. "I'm not sure." "She's recovering from some type of amnesia." Axinite added. "Amnesia hm...?" Quill asked. "What's a little filly like you doing running aroun with that?" "Wouldn't be amnesia if I knew that, now would it?" Sweetie spat back. "Sweetie!" Quill waved Axinite off. "She's right. Poor filly doesn't, and rightly wouldn't remember anything. Am I right?" "...sure." Sweetie agreed. "...what about you? Where did you come from?" "Oh, no where you'd have heard from. A town a few hundred miles north of here. I doubt you'd remember it if you had, conceivably." Quill looked around the dining hall. "Now where this mediocre date my Axinite mentioned you having?" "He's not mediocre. His name is Squee... he's over on the other side of the room." Sweetie said. "Ah... is he the one flirting away with those girls over there?" Sweetie didn't need to turn to know he was probably right. "He's just really sociable." she responded flatly. "...and sweet." She couldn't quite place why she added the last part. Was it to defend her questionable colt friend, or was it to avoid justifying whatever this stallion was insinuating. “Oh if you say so Ms. Belle. I didn’t expect a young little pony like you to know anything about relationships anyhow.” Quill said. “Girls like you have to learn the hard way. Through bone breaks, and heart aches.” “Why don’t we change the subject now, hm?” Axinite said quickly, finally realizing the developing hostility between the two ponies. “What? Do you mean like our marital plans-” “NO!” Sweetie yelled. “YOU DON’T DESERVE HER! SHE’S MINE!”She wasn’t sure if say anything, or if so, she was sure she didn’t mean for it to be so loud and sharp. Every pony’s attention was turned towards her. Without thinking, she went for the kitchen, in desperate hopes to escape the situation at hand. Once inside, she found herself panting deeply and clutching her head. Why had she yelled so loud, and even more at the mention of a mare she’d only met earlier that day. And why did her head feel like exploding for some reason. Then again, as the memories rolled into her head, she was beginning to think “an exploding head” wasn’t the most outlandish possibility. With her newly free mind, Sweetie was remembering. Remembering something horrible about the whole mansion. This room was protecting her memories… or hiding them from Squee- No, not Squee, but that had hit her, and made it so hard for her to resist forgetting them forever. He wanted her to forget so she couldn’t, as that dragon silhouette had put it “crash the memory”. She had to get her camera back. She to snap Axinite’s photo…she still had to find that sheet music she had NO IDEA WHERE IT- Food for thought… the pages… The dragon’s words echoed once in her head again. Perhaps… perhaps the sheet music was in here? In a kitchen? Not like I have any other choice but to look here… before the others come looking for me Sweetie thought, realizing that someone had to be coming in soon to subdue the loud little filly. Sweetie looked around and eventually, her eyes began scanning across the mass array of cook books that were on the shelf. Among them, there was one that was a particularly vibrant yellow. It almost seemed to glow in the darkness. Sweetie used her telekinesis to take it off of the shelf without needing to go on a climbing mission for it. She dropped it in front of her and rapidly began flipping through it, glancing nervously at the door to the dining hall. Her glancing was so erratic, she almost passed by one page of the cook book in particular. One recipe on one side was for something called “Sweetie Apple Surprise” which sounded vaguely familiar, and a second one that didn’t sound familiar at all, but still sent chills down her spine: “Sour Apple Pie”. On the page, there was a crudely drawn staff in green goop, as well as notes for two instruments: Bass and Harp. At the bottom of the 4 staffed, 12 measured song, at the bottom of each page were two separate, equally crude drawn pictures. They were both of Sweetie. In one, she could be seen looking up at some taller pony in anger and disgust, and in the other she could be seen looking down at a shadow of her in even more disgust. “What in the hay…” Sweetie felt sick to her stomach. She might have threw up then and there if- “Sweets?” You okay?” Squee asked, coming through the door. Sweetie didn’t waste a moment in ripping out the two pieces of paper and stuffing them into her hat. “Yeah,” She lied, “I’m fine. How are you doing?” “…Sweets? Are you sure you’re okay? We’re all worried about you outside.” He has my camera. I’ve got to get it back… and something tells me he isn’t just going to give it. I don’t think I can even let him know I know he has it! Sweetie turned around and saw him at the half way point between her and the door. “N-no, I’m fine. Axinite and I just had a disagreement is all.” Sweetie smiled. “It’s nothing, really.” “Are you sure?” His voice sounded eerie. Sweetie moved as slowly as Squee over to the wine racks. “Here Sweetie…” Only got one shot at this “Let me-” Squee didn’t get a second to finish his sentence as Sweetie used a quick sweep of telekinesis over one of the wine bottles in the rack. It shot out of its holding like a cannon, and right into Squee’s head. He was down for the count before Sweetie could comprehend it herself. Sweetie then rushed over to the unconscious Squee, unable to resist whispering “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Over and over again. Her feelings had only lessened for him as the night and events of the night unfolded. However, she couldn’t resist feeling bad for him. After all, it wasn’t his fault, was it? No… she was sure it wasn’t. There was only one that was responsible for what had happened in the hall. She was just still getting used to figuring out who it was. She picked up the saddlebags and did a quick inventory to make sure everything was where it was. Thankfully, Squee didn’t do anything with them. She put them under her dress and started to head out- Suddenly, Squee woke up and grabbed Sweetie’s dress with his teeth. Sweetie yelped in surprise. She looked back. His yellow eyes were back. They were different than the yellow she’d seen before. Less bright, but much more dead than before. They didn’t look evil and insane like before, but they looked solely insane. “Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah.” Squee couldn’t stop laughing, as Sweetie struggled to get herself free from Squee’s grasp. Could the ponies outside not hear this crazy colt’s laugh? Finally, Sweetie escaped, but not without a tiny price. RRRIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPP For some reason, the sheer sound of Axinite’s hard work and trouble ripping seemed like the scariest thing in the world, making her freeze up and almost forget the colt who’d assisted her in it’s distruction. Sweetie looked back at Squee, who’s laughter had died down slightly. “Hehehehe… you’re going to die here…. Sweetie Belle…. Hehehehehe….” Squee said. His body melted into green goop. Sweetie bolted from the room, not daring to look back at the now, indefinable form that was her “coltfriend”. All she heard was a woosh before she found herself back in the dining hall. The next sound she heard was a scream of terror, right next to her ear. “SWEETIE! What did you do?!” Sweetie looked to see Axinite, her face a display of shock and anger. Her eyes contracted with rage and her teeth clenched, she looked at Sweetie with almost absolute hatred. “A-axinite?” Sweetie asked. “How could you do something like this to my beautiful dress?!” she asked. “Huh?” Sweetie, for the first time looked to see her exposed a few cutie marks, her flank and her back holding her saddlebags. The dress was ripped, threads hanging lazily in the air, the colt goop that somehow managed to get on her was starting staining the remaining portion of the dress. In other words, the half-a-dress looked beyond repair. “Axinite I didn’t mean to… It was Squee! He-” Sweetie cut off as she noticed every pony looking at her; particularly the butlers, who now had that yellow glow to their eyes. Sweetie knew she had to get her picture and get out of there. Now. “I can’t believe you Sweetie. I entrust you with one of my finest dresses and you go off and ruin it!” Sweetie got a strong sense of dejavu. Not word for word, but it was too close to be anything but. She swore she’d held a similar conversation with the mare. Even Sweetie’s sudden sadness felt familiar. “Rarity I’m…” Sweetie trailed off. Rarity? Her name’s Axinite… right? Who the hay is- “Fire!” yelled a pony. Sweetie looked to see the pony who’d called was in fact Mrs. Bottle. Sweetie looked above her to see a trail of smoke flowing into the dining hall from the kitchen. Did Squee light the kitchen on fire? Was that the sound she heard? One thing was for sure though. No pony seemed particularly panicked about it, as their attention remained locked to her. “Sweetie… did you light the kitchen on fire?” Mrs. Bottle asked, approaching her with Mr. Bottle. “N-no!” Sweetie defended. “It was Squee! It had to be!” “Squee Sweetie… who the hay is Squee?” Covri came up to Sweetie now. “Is he a pony from around here?” It was then Sweetie realized two things: first, that no one seemed to know Squee, despite the impressions he’d supposedly developed on ponies over the years. And secondly every pony she’d snapped a picture of: Covri, The Bottles, Cal, Feather, all gave her looks of either annoyance, or pity. Axinite though, all she could see in those eyes were hatred. Sweetie wasn’t sure if she even knew the mare anymore. The same mare she’d shared those brief, but warming moments in her shop was now glaring at her, almost as if she were prepared to kill her. The mares began closing in. The six mares she’d supposedly befriended earlier that day were now cornering her against the burning kitchen like some kind of animal. “She needs help.” Feather said. “She must be hallucinating. Perhaps it has something to do with that injury… let us help Sweetie.” “…n-no.” Sweetie stuttered. “You’re not here to help me… you’re not here to help me at all. You never were… were you?” “Of course we were Sweetie. That’s all we want for you…” Feather’s voice began to decline into some kind of demonic baritone. “We just want to help you…” “That all we want… to help you Sweetie…” the other five’s voices all began to decline in the same manner. Behind them, she could hear laugher. High pitched laughter that Sweetie was sure she would eventually go deaf from hearing, or possibly mad from the way it mixed with the deep voices. She had to get out of here. She knew without a doubt. She was going to die if she didn’t escape. Memories, Sweetie could feel in the back of her head were banging against its shackles, getting all the more free. Though one memory did come to mind. One in the voice of Covri’s. No one’s coming to save us. “They can’t help me anymore… I’m on my own aren’t I…?” Sweetie mumbled. …you know it kid. *** At this point, Sweetie wasn’t even fighting the three of them anymore. She danced around them in an airy fashion, dodging whatever attacks they threw at her. “Come on Paita! I expect more from a Canterlot Guard! You’re the one with a blade for crying out loud” She laughed. “At least try to hit me.” Paita swung her sword madly, unable to put her training to work as her muscles spazzed at every bit of pain. Precision was impossible wither she used her hooves, or her muzzle to attempt murdering the possessed little ghost hunter. “Scootaloo! Could you move any slower?!” Sweetie mocked. “Ms. Dash sure expects a lot of a snail-paced foal such as yourself.” “Shut up!” Scootaloo screamed as she took another swing at Sweetie. Applebloom and Scootaloo, were a bit more coordinated in their attacks on her than Paita. They’d even gotten to the point where they quit fearing the mare might deliver a fatal blow to their white coated crusader. They’d also gotten used to the fact that neither of them would likely land a hoof on her. She was just too fast. Right now, all either of them could do was hope that they could somehow subdue their friend before they became as tired as Paita and they endured whatever consequences that came with their escape. Sweetie dodged Scootaloo and gave a light jab on her side, knocking her to the side and throwing her to the course of Paita’s latest missed attack. She moved with Sweeie’s force in order to gain enough speed to pass and dodge Paita’s sword, as well as fall over in the process. “Watch where you’re swinging that thing!” Sweetie giggled as her eye darted to the left, just to catch Applebloom preparing to buck her in the face. Out of either pity or some twisted desire for pain, she let her get a clean shot in. The applebucker-in-training’s buck possessed 10 times the force of any of Scootaloo’s hoof swings, even if it did trade if off for a 10th of the speed. It wasn’t a room knocker, but it was enough to throw her off of the ground. She fell down with a thud. She tried to remain still, hoping Applebloom would fall for the same trap Scootaloo had minutes ago. To her disappointment, Applebloom was just a little bit smarter, so she just settled for a laugh that at least managed to visually chill the red mane’s spine. She looked up at her, grinning with her bloody nose, the droplets dripping down and staining her teeth. “Why… why are you doing this to us?” Applebloom asked. “What the hay did we ever do to you? What did Sweetie ever do to you?” Sweetie simply chuckled. “Believe me Appleboom, I could care less about what you could do, or ever would do to me, or even Specter for that matter.” “Then why huh?! Why can’tcha just let any of us go?” Applebloom asked. “Perhaps it’s because of how far in we are to this little scenario…” Sweetie took a few steps toward Applebloom who backed away from the bloody nosed Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo charged at Sweetie, who simply ducked just enough to toss her over her back and against the closest wall. “Perhaps it’s the orders I’ve got to complete this little session and murder each one of you that doesn’t pertain to the plan anymore.” Paita swung her sword at Sweetie who stopped for a moment to catch it at the edge, and snatch it out of her hoof. She then proceeded to swing it at her and knock her down with the handle. Sweetie then proceded to approach Applebloom, now backed against a wall. “Applebloom…” Applejack mumbled, looking at her through hazy, wakening eyes. In an instant, Sweetie lept for using her leg to pin her up against the wall, so she could get her face as close to Applebloom’s as possible. “Or perhaps it’s sanity, hm?” she said through gritting grinning teeth, even wider than before. “I don’t know why Specter wants you dead specifically. And to be perfectly honest, I don’t care. I’ve been waiting to kill something all night. Playing with your friend… the only reason I didn’t kill her the dozens of opportunities I had… the dozens of times I watched her, with my fellow ghosts, stalking her, when she…” Her voice was shuddering, as if she were all of a sudden cold now. Her body definitely felt chilled beyond a normal, healthy filly, however, it was odd that it seemed to just start bothering her. She wiped her face with her free hoof, as if she were sweating. She gave it a shake, before regaining eye contact with the struggling Applebloom. “My patience was wearing thin, you see.” She continued. “It’s funny really.” She gave a low few second laugh before reaching for the blade sticking out of her mouth, sticking horizontally in her mouth. “How painful it was to wait. To let them… get the fun with her, while I had to wait. Even that pink devil seemed to posses more patience than me. Even managing to restrain herself to put Sweetie through those trials… enjoying her struggle. Suffer, to survive. But me?” Sweetie picked up Applebloom and slammed her against the wall once more, forcing her leg tighter along her neck. Applebloom’s air was cut off completely now. “I loathe that survival. I loathe a pony that doesn’t know when it’s her turn to die. As sweet as you’re little, innocent friend might be… she’s probably the most bucking annoying of all of you.” Applebloom was beginning to feel the effects of her strangulation as the world began spinning around her. Scootaloo and Paita attempted to rush to her aid, but were stopped in their tracks by chains of Sweetie’s own telekinesis spell, now supercharged with ghostliness. The magic may have still been draining to Sweetie, despite her ghostly help, but they were enough to keep the both of them anchored to the ground. From that point on, they were stuck there, all but able to watch Applebloom in her last seconds of life. Sweetie laughed. “Perhaps however… killing you might make up for all of the… missed opportunities to end her life. Those, long, dragging moments of self control I had to execute against my ghostly instincts. Perhaps to see you, her best friend, her hooves on your freezing throat, your sister, and other best friend, watching… staring in disbelief… Why Sweetie… why…” She mocked in Sweetie’s regular voice, rather than the twisted mix of filly and adult stallion she was using moments ago. “Perhaps… you’ll do…” “Applebloom!” Applejack screamed for her sister. The one dying by her own friend, her own crusader’s hoof. Applebloom was beginning to struggle less and less. Her consciousness slipping away along with her life. It wouldn’t be more than a few minutes now before- *** Sweetie acted fast. She had to, knowing instinctively that her time was just about up. That somepony was going to die if she didn’t kick it into high gear stat. As the six mares closed in, looking angrier, and even more pitying with decreased distance, Sweetie reached back. Thankfully, with that cumbersome dress out of the way, Sweetie didn’t have to fumble as much to grab ahold of her camera. She whipped it out and snatched a photo of Axinite. “What the-” Sweetie didn’t wait for the mares to charge her with her newly acquired photo. She closed her eyes and focused on the portion of the table closest to the exit. She might have tried another place, but considering how distant the table already was, she dared not teleport any farther, in fear of fainting from magic deprivation. Behind her eyelids, she saw a flash, before she felt herself land onto the tablecloth, and uncomfortably, several pieces of silver ware. Her brain immediately went into a state of dizziness, removing her basic motor skills for the time being. All she could do was hope the loss of equilibrium didn’t last long enough for anypony to scoop her up and catch her. “Where’d she go?” Sweetie heard. It sounded like Feather. “She’s over here” came the voice of one of the mares, followed by an insane little giggle. Sweetie saw the blurred figures of several ponies on the opposite side of her, staring at her. Just as they charged, Sweetie put all of her focus on these ponies, and where their eyes might have been. As she hopped, their charge halted just as they were preparing to get on the table. I can’t see them the best… Sweetie thought. But they can see my stare just fine. “Somepony! Gra-” It was the voice of Cal this time, though she wasn’t able to finish her sentence, as just as she was preparing to make the “b” sound, a different kind of “b” sound beat her to it. BOOM An explosion erupted from the kitchen, blowing anypony within its radius away like burning leaves. Sweetie snapped her head in the direction of the explosion and covered her mouth in shock. As her vision cleared, she was even more horrified to see the burning folk that had assisted her throughout the day. Is this… my fault? It was an accident! I swear! screamed a second inner voice, the same as Sweetie’s, though much more distant. A…memory of some kind? Once Sweetie realized what she’d done by refocusing her attention, she turned back to see the stallions and mares previously frozen now directly on her tail. Just before they could grab her, with incredible speed she rolled back off the table as they flew over her and onto the ground behind her. She got up quickly, jumped over them, and ran out of the dining hall. SWEEETIIIIIIIIE The six moaned from the dining hall. They sounded in pain and agony, but at the same time mildly amused at Sweetie’s attempt at escape. Sweetie didn’t dare look back, just about acquainted with the realization they probably wanted to do more than “catch” her. Something much worse. Once Sweetie entered the foyer once more entered the foyer and gasped. It wasn’t just the side of the dining hall that was on fire now, but the whole mansion! The heat hit her like a bull, nearly throwing her onto her hooves. “This is insane!” Sweetie yelled. Sweetie covered her mouth with the remaining part of the dress, and lowered her hat to keep as much smoke out of her eyes. She made her way to the other side of the staircase, in hopes of regaining access to that room. “You’ve GOT to be kidding!” There was a large piece of bright burning wood. It crackled in Sweetie’s face, making her flinch and turn away from the blockade. “Okay Sweetie. Don’t panic. Don’t panic.” She wasn’t doing a very good job, as her mind couldn’t think straight, making her have to scream over the blaze to process the simplest thoughts. Her breaths were becoming shorter and shorter, though perhaps the smoke was to blame for that. “There’s… there’s another way! Down the other hall!” Sweetie abandoned the door and raced up the staircase to the door. She tried to push it. “No way. NO WAY.” The door was locked. She looked around her. Parts of the ceiling looked just about to cave in on her. “No! I’m not dying here!” Sweetie turned around, and with more force than she knew she had, she kicked at the door. It didn’t come down, but rather it created a hole, just large enough for Sweetie to get through… also jagged enough for Sweetie to gut herself on. She didn’t have enough time to consider it as she heard wood bend above her. She leapt through the jagged wood, managing to only scratch her tummy as she rolled into the hallway. Sweetie looked back just in time to see the masses of ceiling wood fall and block off her hole. She sighed. “That couldn’t have been closer.” Though the hot little filly wasn’t out of the woods yet. She still had to traverse the hallway without burning to death. Sweetie’s eyes contracted as she began hearing the screams of the ponies that were still trapped in the holocaust of flames on the first floor. Their screams of pain and suffering echoed in her head, as she attempted covering her head with her hat to block them out. “Ignore them Sweetie… ignore them they’re… not… real…” The situation was beginning to clear up as the smoke fogged her vision further. This whole mansion, the town, and everypony inside of it wasn’t real! Or at least not in the way she’d come to think of it as “real”. It was an illusion made to distract her so something could have the chance to kill a pony… Sweetie had to move. She had to crash this party as soon as possible… or at least make it to the room so she could escape without it crashing with her inside of it. It took a minute for Sweetie to acknowledge the fact, and cause her to get up and run as fast as she could. “What did that voice say…?” Sweetie asked herself, trying to remember how to get to the crashing room as efficiently as possible. Left, right, right, right, staircase she recalled. The floor creaked under her. It was ready to give in to the heat. Sweetie gave an annoyed groan and bolted from the spot before the floor gave way to a pool of flames. Between the confusion, fire, and screams that surrounded her, Sweetie wasn’t sure which dominated her lungs. Her screams, the smoke seeping through her ripped dress, or the coughs that resulted from a combination of the two. On multiple occasions her coughing caused her to ram into burning tables or walls. Even worse, the giving floor was becoming more and more frequently by her. It was only the fact that the mansion was crumbling around her that she was able to resist slowing down from the lessening oxygen of the air hungry inferno. Just as Sweetie was preparing to make her first left, she passed by the door that she’d originally trapped Symbol in, the very same mare burst through it. The door hit and crumbled beneath Sweetie in a flurry of embers. Sweetie was dazed for a moment, though before she could get back up to continue her run, and ignore the violent door, the subject mare tacked her and pinned her against the wall. As Sweetie’s vision cleared, she was horrified to see what the fire had done to her. Much of her body was burned, and the part of her previously white coat that wasn’t blackened with soot, exposed patches of bare skin, muscle, and sometimes bone. Sweetie felt an urge to vomit on the zombie mare, though Symbol’s hoof against blocked the bile and sent it straight back down to her stomach. Symbol laughed as she picked Sweetie up, getting on her hind hooves and preparing to throw her into one of the fire pools Sweetie was running against. With her own unpinned hindlegs, she swung at frizzy light and dark blue, or rather black and dark blue, mane mare’s stomach. She still threw Sweetie, though the kick turned it into more of a sloppy toss. Sweetie hit the ground and rolled into the hole of fire, barely managing to catch the splintery ledge and avoiding falling to her doom. Symbol was still laughing, telling Sweetie she didn’t have any time to hang around. She pushed through the pain of the jagged wood, feeling bits of blood droplets slip down her leg as the splinters cut into her. Since they weren’t any deeper than the ones she’d acquired from the door, she ignored them. She pulled herself half way up before she saw Symbol walking towards her, prepared to kick her down into the devil’s pit and finish her off. Sweetie wasn’t going to let her. Just as the corpse Symbol was within reach, when she kicked, Sweetie let go of the ledge and grabbed onto Symbol’s leg. Yank! Sweetie pulled on Symbol and pulled her down into the fire. Unfortunately, Symbol wasn’t as coordinated as Sweetie, and didn’t manage to catch the ledge in time. She fell into the fire and burst into flames. Sweetie climbed back up, and then lost the ability to contain her bile at the act she’d committed. She… she’d just- She’s not real. None of this is real. It’s Spiffy. It’s Specter. It’s a lie. Sweetie remembered. Her memory was coming back more and more. Specter and Spiffy were her enemies, and they’d taken something from her. Sweetie knew for certain if she pushed to the room that every memory that had somehow been buried would resurface. She just had to stay alive long enough to see them. “Easier said than done.” Sweetie commented as she shook her head and continued running. Left! Sweetie remembered. Right Right Ri- Sweetie skidded to a stop as she came to a large gap, which had to have been a good 40 yards across. One she was almost sure she could neither cross without falling into the inferno, nor teleport across without fainting and being burned alive in her sleep. The worst part was that through the smoke, she could still vaguely make out the passage to the stairwell. “No…” Sweetie looked back at the falling apart hallway. There was no was she could go back the way she came. “No! C’mon Sweetie! Think! You’ve got 6 cutie marks on you ONE of them has to help here.” A memory came back to her. One of a carnival where she’d made an impossible jump. Not exactly one as long as this one, but about half as long. Onto… a paper airplane? Sweetie didn’t take the time to dwell on the peculiar memory, but rather hatched an idea. She might not have been able to jump across with the cutie mark alone… but what if she could consecutively use a combination two of her talents? Would it exhaust her to nearly fainting again? Considering her lessening options along with the thinning wood below her, she figured she didn’t have anything left to lose. As the hallway behind her continued to crumble, Sweetie used as much runway room as she could and made a run for the ledge. She jumped and could feel herself soar for a few moments, as well as the cloud cutie mark tingle. As she felt gravity kick in, she imagined the passage in her mind and used a teleportation spell in mid air. She reappeared inside the stairwell, only upside down. Once gravity decided to set back in for her, Sweetie found herself tumbling down the stairs, and hitting her head on the floor. She got up to look around the room. Surprisingly, it was the only part of the mansion that hadn’t drastically changed. The only difference was that smoke had settled at the ceiling and the room was filled with even more unsettling muted screams from outside. “Ignore them Sweetie, ignore them.” Sweetie said aloud, feeling inexplicable guilt attempt to keep her from moving forward. “I don’t have much more time.” Sweetie spread out the pictures in front of her and shined her light on them. She looked back around the room at the frames set up, and facing the candle at the center. “Let’s try lighting that candle first.” Sweetie used one of her new matches and lit the center candle. Despite its small size, it lit the room quite well. Even more, though the room was already hot enough, only after its light flooded it did Treble or Barra start thawing out. Boy am I going to have some explaining to do when their done. In the mean time, Sweetie took set up the sheet music in accordance to the corresponding instrument. “Okay… and now the pictures.” Sweetie looked back at them. Considering there was something written on the back of each of them, she figured there had to be a specific order they had to go in. She turned them over and tried different arrangements. SECAPE CAPESE PEASCE …ESCAPE! It was the most valid word, and for that matter, most appropriate word she’d come across yet. It had to be it. She looked back up at surrounding picture frames. “…now if only I knew where I had to start!” Sweetie examined each of the picture frames. One wrote: “This little pony fed their bellies…” Another one: “This little pony sped to the hospital…” Another one: “This little pony went to get bandages…” Another one: “This little pony nearly was broken…” Another one: “This little pony danced to town…” Finally: “This little pony cried hate, hate, hate, all the way home.” … The little sequence made sense, yet at the same time, none to Sweetie. She knew if she just had a little more memory… but something told her it didn’t matter. As long as she knew where to place one of the “E”s… “The little pony who cried hate…” Sweetie mumbled. She remembered the specific hate that Axinite held in her eyes. That familiar hate and embarrassment… Sweetie placed Axinite’s picture in the frame of hate. From there, Sweetie decided to work backwards, getting the feeling the frame of feeding wasn’t the next part in whatever story they were insinuating. Axinite’s was “E”. Romina’s was “P”. Covri’s was “A” Feather’s was “C” Bottle’s was “S” And Cal was “E”. “That should do it… I hope…” The room moaned. Sweetie wasn’t sure if that was a direct response to the puzzle, or if it was the sound of the fire working its way into the ceiling’s roof. One thing was for sure however, it was certainly getting hotter- “Sweetie?” Sweetie turned to see both Treble and Barra thawed out. They were wet, but it looked like the brief cryo-freeze didn’t harm them. They weren’t even shivering, but considering the room was progressively turning into a black sauna, who would? “What’s going on? What’s with all of the-” “Less talky. More play-y.” Sweetie cut Treble off. Sweetie saw panic fill their faces as they realzed the current situation. “What’s with this smoke! Are we on fire?!” Treble got up and moved around to Sweetie. “That screaming… oh my Celestia…” Barra was too paralyzed by fear to move. “We need to find a way-” “There is no way out.” Sweetie said sharply. “Look, if you want to… if you want to survive, you’ve got to listen to me.” “Listen to you?” Barra asked. “Ms. Belle, I have my doubts we’d even be in here if you hadn’t lured us in here. Where’s Symbol?” “Dead.” Sweetie said flatly. She was almost surprised how easily the morbid word passed her lips. Even more how carelessly, as if it weren’t anything to really consider. As if she didn’t care. They’re not real. Remember they’re not real. Barra gasped. “You’re… you’re ly-” she entered a coughing fit as the smoke started to thicken. “We don’t have time to argue about who lured who.” Sweetie urged. “You need to do exactly as I say or we’re all going to die here.” “Why should we listen to you?” Treble asked. “Even ignoring the fact that you tricked us into coming here, you’re still just a little kid!” “Because I said so alright?!” Sweetie exclaimed. “Now play those instruments. Now.” The two mares looked at each other momentarily before going to their instruments. Treble went over to the harp and took position, while Barra took hers by the bass. In the meantime, Sweetie took a moment to put on her GCD. The name of the device come to her effortlessly, like like the name of a forgotten best friend… “Play these. Hurry!” Sweetie urged, throwing the pieces of sheet music onto the stands, and hoping she applied each musical piece to the correct musician. There was a moment of hesitation between the two before they finally followed Sweetie’s order. They began playing. As music filled the room, Sweetie began feeling the same strange guilt feel as she had back when she first sung Treble’s first song. Thankfully, or perhaps not, the guilt didn’t last for more than a minute of the song, as it looped back to the beginning. A loud buzzing sound reverberated in Sweetie’s eardrums, giving her the sharpest headache yet. But it wasn’t just the head this time. As the music declined in tempo, she could feel the shockwaves of the instruments increase in volume and force. She could feel them stinging like bees all over her body, as the tone of their playing became more and more twisted with each loop. Sweetie’s hearing left just as the tones began to twist out of seeming possibility. Finally, the candle at the center of the room began glowing green. Any smoke in the room vanished as the candle’s light grew in magnitude. Neither Treble, nor Barra seemed to notice the spectral phenomenon happening before their very eyes. Then again, they didn’t have much time to react as the candle fire branched out and pierced them. They continued playing as the tentacle-like ropes of the candle fire pierced their bodies and went through them, turning their mouths and eyes into fire. Silent wind whirled around the room as the pictures themselves began rounding the room. Faster and faster they went before they were just a blur. Both Treble and Barra had stopped… no, their names weren’t Treble and Barra, but… but Lyra and Octavia, were the names coming to Sweetie. They both stopped playing their instruments, though echoes of them continued to play the tune, or at least continue strumming the instruments. They both looked at her, giving Sweetie another chill before exploding in a flurry of blinding light, consuming Sweetie in its magnificence. *** “Applebloom!” Applejack yelled for her sister, who seemed just about ready to give in to Sweetie’s grip. Just as every ounce of hope seemed to be gone, one sparked with Sweetie’s horn. She felt the tingle that turned into searing pain. Normally, the possessed filly could easily forget about any kind of pain, and turn off any nerves that tried to apply any. However, this pain, she couldn’t turn off. This pain wasn’t to her body, but to his spirit! Sweetie wasn’t the one getting hurt anymore but the spirit inside of her. Sweetie was doing something to Spiffy! Before she could do anything, the pain transitioned into a magical discharge that exploded her horn and threw her across the room away from Applebloom to give her a little breathing room. In that same instance, Applebloom was dropped to the ground to have a little breathing space while Scootaloo and Paita were freed from Sweetie’s telekinetic grasp. While Paita was left a bit dumbfounded, Scootaloo wasted no time rushing to make sure Applebloom was alright. Sweetie on the otherhand… or rather, Spiffy, the ghost possessing her at the moment, was momentarily trapped within the little filly’s body. *** … … ………. “Sweetie…” “Sweetie… you need to get up. Now’s not the time to lollygag. They’re still in grave dan…” Sweetie moaned as she attempted to force herself up. She looked up and saw a familiar sky. Similar to the one she’d seen in Pinkie’s carnival, but with a green tint to it. It still had those peculiar, menacing, white lined clouds running through them. “Out of one mess… and into another…” She mumbled. Then she remembered. Something. No, she remembered everything! How she’d gotten here, the possession, the mansion, the ghosts, Specter, her… her sister. “That… he took my memory and tried to trap me there…” Sweetie continued. Her eyes widened when she realized the two ponies she’d kissed to escape were Diamond Tiara and Pipsqueak. She took a moment to spit out any Tiara parasites or Pipsqueak cooties she might have picked up in her momentary memory absence. “I’m gonna have to visit Colgate for a month straight to get that out of my mouth…” She might have vomited to the fact that she also, for the moment, liked each kiss due to her lack of memory. It was a good thing her stomach was already empty. She didn’t need the extra taste in her mouth anyway. “Well… at least I’m out. Feels like I’ve been there for over half a year…” Sweetie thought. “I hope my friends are still alright.” “…more or less.” Sweetie jumped at the voice. “W-who are you?” “If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you one hundred times. That’s not important. The important part is that you’ve got about 5 minutes before Spiffy’s spirit wakes up from the memory crash trauma and attempts to take another stab at your friend Applebloom… literally, most likely.” Sweetie shook her head and looked around to get her bearings. She seemed to be on the same surface as the memory crashing room, however all of the walls were gone, exposing a green void, similar to the one she’d seen along the tracks of Pinkie’s rollercoaster ride. Though, instead of miscellaneous items, she saw frozen ponies floating around like statues. Flying around them, there were other ghosts. They seemed to be the same white round ghosts that had chased her in the hallway, as well as seen around the time she kissed Spike. “Really gotta stop reminding me I did that.” Sweetie commented, unsure who the comment was directed to. Lyra and Octavia lie dead next to disintegrated instruments, and blackened like coal. The candlestick was now much taller than before, stretching above to another segment of the mansion, floating above her. “I’m guessing that’s my destination?” “That’s right. That’s likely where Spiffy will be, manipulating your body’s core. Where your spirit would normally send signals to your brain for the body to perform any tasks… like killing little kids, for example.” “I get it. She’s in trouble.” Sweetie said, slightly annoyed. “How about telling me how to get up there!” “You already know.” Sweetie looked over past the candle and noticed a lever. Her heart sunk. “I have to solve some stupid puzzle, don’t I?” “You know it kid.” Sweetie groaned. “I don’t have time for more puzzles though!” You’re in a haunted mansion. What more do you expect?” The voice commented. “And besides, arguably you didn’t have time about two hours ago real time. What’s another 5 more minutes with your applebucking friend is brutally murdered as incentive, hm? Now get moving!” Sweetie ran over to the lever in the ground and pulled it toward her. The world moaned as another floating platform came down just beside the memory crash room platform. Dangling from the platform were what looked like millions of dangling threads hanging loosely around the perimeter of the platform. Through the threads, Sweetie could see a large yellow combustion emitting from the center of the platform, likely allowing it to move. From Sweetie’s perspective, and the way they swayed in the intense wind, the platform looked comparable to a purple jellyfish. The platform Sweetie was currently standing on gave a loud, long creak. With little hesitation, Sweetie jumped and took ahold of a bunch of threads, just as the first platform fell down into the green oblivion. Sweetie then used her applebucking strength, and weather mare speed to ascend up the jelly like platform. Once she got to the top, she noted that this portion of the platform seemed to be a segment of the dining hall. A burnt, broken portion of the table lie in the center, and around it lie the six mares she now remembered then names of: Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie, Applejack and Rarity lie on top of each other atop the table remnants. From the looks of it, someone seemed to be preparing to burn the bodies. Sweetie shuddered at the thought… or perhaps it was the chill of the wind blowing through her mane. It must have been, after all, she’d seen worse, right? “Doesn’t mean I can get used to it though…” Sweetie mumbled. Sweetie took a moment to look around at her surroundings. From where she was standing, she could see four platforms in the distance. The only problem was that unlike the one she was standing on now, though they had flames to move them around the area, they didn’t have threads… which meant unless there was a way to make them ascend from the platforms themselves, she couldn’t use them! They’d either be uselessly on the same level as her, or too high for her to reach. “Okay… so how do I do this?” Sweetie took a look on her own platform to see there were in fact, four levers. Strangely enough, unlike the first one these had symbols on their bases. Lever 1: “ O ” Tangent Lever 2: “ | | ” Radius Lever 3: “ = ” Radius Lever 4: “ X ” Tangent They also possessed buttons on the side, going from 1 to 3. For a moment, Sweetie’s mind went back to Ms. Cheerilee’s class. She remembered a particularly boring geometry lesson discussing different lines of a circle… that must have been what the puzzle was referring to. Perhaps the different levers referred to how each platform moved in accordance with the one she was currently on. Sweetie couldn’t match up the correlation between the signs and the functions of the levers. She supposed she could just test each one out and see what happened. Just as she prepared to give a good yank on the lever, she heard a ghostly giggle behind her. “Noooo…” Sweetie said in disbelief. She turned around, only to see the same dead bodies lying on the wood. “Nooo…” Sweetie repeated as she went over to the piled bodies. She poked them with the nozzle of her GCD. Upon touching it, she stared to hear a hissing sound. “No!” She jumped back before a bursting white flame could blow her face off. The flame didn’t last long, for out of them flew what seemed like hundreds of the white ghosts Sweetie had seen. Only five however, stuck around on the platform to terrorize the little ghost hunter. They didn’t attack her initially however, but instead just flew around her. Sweetie looked around in every direction at the surrounding ball shaped ghosts. They were much smaller than the other ones she’s seen, but their sharp toothed mouths and black beady eyes made up for it. “Poor poor little Sweetie Belle.” “Thrown into a nightmarish mansion hell.” “The little ghosties fly around.” “Little Sweetie Belle has been found.” Sweetie swallowed. And prepared to give the ghosts a sweep of her flashlight, and hope light affected them. “Dancing Sweetie, looking for a friend.” “A sister who’s hate and loathe she sends. “Shut up! I’m getting sick of being told the same lie OVER and OVER again.” Sweetie yelled at the ghosts. “Lies?” One of them giggled. They flew out of the group and confronted Sweetie face to face. Fearfully Sweetie fell back onto her flank from the closeness of its. “We don’t lie Sweetie. It’s stupid to lie. Lies are just another way of cushioning life. To shroud it’s truth and make it look better to everyone else…” “But we’re dead.” Another one laughed. “What do we have to lie about.” “T…then you don’t know what you’re talking about.” “Oh! But we do Sweetie! You’re the liar here. You know just as well as everyone else that your sister. Your… Rarity couldn’t forgive you for ruining that once in a lifetime opportunity.” “Please don’t use that word, it gives me a headache.” Sweetie said, attempting to lower her current panic levels. “Think about it. You’re smart enough to know that your sister, a nosed up, Canterlot wanna be. A pony who over eats up drama and exploits gossip as a hobby. A pony who could hate… even her own sister if she ruined something, or somethings worth thousands of hard-earned bits.” “Get out of my face.” Sweetie was doing well in controlling her fear now, but terribly in controlling her anger. “A sister who put two other ponies in the hospital… and a sister whose fault it is, for ruining their chance at marrage… twice.” “I said get out of my FACE.” Sweetie swept her flashlight up in the ghost’s face white face. DING Sweetie didn’t take the time to suck up the first ghost, but rather rolled past it and gave another sweep to three of the remaining surrounding nine. DING! DING! DING! Once behind the circle of ghosts, Sweetie aimed her GCD at the bunch and began sucking them up. Once the two of them were caught, and the other one disappeared to who knew where, in in the current of the device’s suction, they began flailing, making a strange groaning/yelling sound. Sweetie was also reintroduced to being dragged nearly aimlessly by the panicking ghosts. 60,59,58,57 Sweetie gave a good yank!. 56, 55545352515049,48,47 “There we go…” Sweetie smiled as she continued yanking, and attempting to control the two ghosts as they dragged her around, attempting to throw her off the platform. …14,13,12yank!11,10,9,8- One of them somehow managed to shake free of Sweetie’s grasp and escape the GCD suction. It disappeared into thin air. Sweetie noted how apt these types seemed to be towards escaping her grasp. 5,4,3,2,1,0 The ghost gave the familiar, satisfying yell as it was dragged into the confines of the GCD. Sweetie spotted another one flying at her. She dodged swiftly, nearly falling over the edge of the platform before. She then shined her light on the ghost- DING -and proceded to capture it. It wasn’t the same ghost, but Sweetie wasn’t complaining. As long as she could get them. 4,3,2,1,0 Sweetie managed to suck up yet another ghoul into her GCD before she saw another one charging at her. Third verse, same as the first… Sweetie thought, and she caught the ghost again, with incredible ease. She wasn’t sure if it was the anger of the ghost’s words that were powering her, or the skill she’d aquited earlier, because despite as much time she felt away from the device she was catching them like a pro! “C’mon! You’ve gotta do better than that!” Sweetie taunted as she felt was almost done catching the fourth ghost. “IF YOU INSIST!” Screamed an invisible one. Sweetie looked to her left to see another angry, wide smiled ghost charging at her. This time, Sweetie didn’t have the means to doge this time. Just as the ghost entered her GCD, the white entity knocked her off the platform. It hit her so hard, she wasn’t able to take ahold of the threads of the platform before they became out of her reach. “Not getting rid of me that easily!” Sweetie quickly switched to her Spectral Throwback and hoped her plan would work. She put the nozzle end of the GCD to her chest and pointed it away from her. She then shot a white ball of ectoplasm. She felt the force of the shot in her chest, as well as felt it push her back toward the threads. She gave another shot and turned around mid air to just barely grab the ends of another bunch of threads. She heard the white ghost from above laugh as it charged down at her. Sweetie, on the other hoof, was ready for it. She smiled, and risked using telekinesis to aim the nozzle at the ghost. The ghost’s grin turned to a frown, anticipating her next move. “Not good enough.” Sweetie mumbled as she put more telekinetic pressure around the nozzle. The GCD fired and made direct contact with it, throwing it out of sight. Sweetie sighed in relief as the adrenaline left her body. “Heh. That wasn’t so hard…” “Just so you know Sweetie, you’re four minutes in.” “Thanks, Mr. No-Pressure.” “I suppose I’ve come under the assumption you work well under it.” Sweetie climbed back to the top. “Alright… now the puzzle. Hey!” Sweetie looked up at the platforms now. They had ghosts flying around them in circles. Sweetie gave a few seconds of examination before she realized that from her own perspective, they were flying patterns were similar to that of the symbols! Two rings of ghosts flew around each other to create an “X”, another two flew above and below a platform to create a “| |”, another two rings flew horizontal to each other, creating an “ = ” and finally, one group flew around the platform to create an “O”. “Well… this certainly takes away the experimenting time…” Sweetie squinted at the platforms. There weren’t any bulges on them, so Sweetie figured they likely didn’t possess any levers, as she’d expected. However, she did come up with an idea. Sweetie first made sure both “tangent” levers were on the same level as her. From the looks of it, they looked as though if she pulled either lever, they’d just skim her platform and keep on going. The “ O ” platform would travel east and pass by the north, and the “ X ” platform would travel south, by the east. The platforms now below her faced the north, the “ | | ” and the south, the “ = ” and would eventually collide into each other if Sweetie were to pull one of the levers. Sweetie judged the distance of the two platforms and nodded when she decided to pull the fourth lever first. She then ran over to the first lever, waited a few seconds while watching the “ X ” before pulling it. She then watched, and bit her lower lip hoping her logic or timing wasn’t too off. As she’d hoped, the two platforms intersected perfectly. While the “ O ” stopped in its tracks, the “ X ” was knocked off course and flew into the void. The ghosts floating around on it went into a frenzy and scrambled off of it, and headed to the upper platform. A few of the ghosts were startled as well on the “ O ” platform, though many of them seemed indifferent to the impact, or simply didn’t notice, and continued along their course. Sweetie looked over at the other platform and considered just hitting the third level button for the “ X ” and making a jump to the other platform, but between the ghosts still swarming around it and the fact that the chances of her making the jump were almost nothing, Sweetie didn’t think it was worth the risk. Besides, she wouldn’t be completely solving the platform puzzle anyway. She still had the platforms below her. She looked over the edge and did the same mental calculations determining the distances between the platforms. Once she was sure of herself, she went back and pulled on the “ | | ”, waited a few seconds, and then pulled he “ = ”. Both of the platforms eventually collided below the “ O ”. The “ = ” was more vertical to the “ O ”. Now all she had to do is hit the third level button to the “ = ” and the “ O ” would be knocked up and take her straight to Spiffy! Ha! Who says Geometry doesn’t help anypony? How else could Sweetie have figured that puzzle out in the 55 seconds she did? “Yeah, because you’ve got to be ready when life throws a demonic ghost puzzle at you. Gotta know those tangent and radii.” Sweetie commented, again clueless to the one she was commenting too. She shrugged it off, and hit the “ = ” third level equal sign. She made the jump over to the “ O ” platform, thankful the ghosts didn’t seem to care about her arrival… or at least remained indifferent as they didn’t alter their previous flight pattern. “Alrighty, now all I’ve gotta do is wait for the-” Sweetie was interrupted mid sentence by the very platform she was just talking to herself about. “Woah!” The force nearly knocked her off of the platform again. The ghosts around her scattered and retreated to the upper level, just as Sweetie’s platform was thrown up along with them. “I’m coming for you Spiffy!” Sweetie yelled. *** “Applebloom, You sure you’re alright?” Scootaloo asked. “Yeah, ahm alright, but what ‘bout Sweetie?” Applebloom got up to look at her friend. Scootaloo shrugged. “Dunno. Her horn flashed and threw her over there. She’s out cold, I think. Least she didn’t get up and grab me like before.” Applebloom finally got up and looked over at her friend. Paita, for the last few minutes, had only been poking the little filly, attempting to rouse her, getting braver and braver towards touching the homicidal little pony with each poke. “Ya think… you think Sweetie… ah mean the real Sweetie might’ve stopped ‘em?” “That Yield guy didn’t look too confident in him… maybe he was a pushover and Sweetie’s giving him and old fashioned flan-” The Sweetie Spiffy thing’s eyes snapped open. Her sockets glowed with fury, anger, and magic, becoming pure balls of energy, rather than eye jelly. Before Paita even had the chance to step back, Sweetie hit her in the chest and threw her against the wall. She pinned her down against it with telekinesis and applied immense pressure. For the moment, only screams, supplied with a crack or two were heard. The guard mare fell silent as she entered unconsciousness. “O-or not.” Scootaloo shuddered. She replaced her newfound fear with fake determination as she entered a battle stance. “She shouldn’t have been able to do that. She shouldn’t have been able to crash the memory like that! That WASN’T supposed to happen EITHER.” “Heh, what’s wrong? Sweetie too much for you?” Scootaloo mocked. “Silence!” Sweetie wasn’t in the mood for play anymore as she used another telekinetic spell to pick up Scootaloo by the tail and slam her face against the wall. Sweetie did it a second time, satisfied to see a tooth fall to the ground. “It’s improbable, neigh, impossible for her to be able to get as far as her spiritual nexus! She shouldn’t be able to reach her core. She’s not even registered… she’s not special. There’s something else. Something else.” “Scoots, are you alright?” Scootaloo only moaned in response. Sweetie then proceeded to tie Scootaloo up by the tail on one of the chandeliers above her, her mouth agape and now with one tooth unaccounted for. Sweetie then proceded to pin Applebloom against the wall. She got up close to her. “Do YOU have anything to do with this?” “Eh… I ain’t got any clue what ye’re talking about.” Applebloom shuddered fearfully. “Specter wanted you dead for some reason… maybe killing you is supposed to stop it eh?” Sweetie called her knife to her hoof, and raised it at the red mane’s stomach. “Why don’t we just test that out?!” Sweetie cackled as she went for the lunge. *** “One… two…” Sweetie was rapidly approaching the final platform. She had to time it just right or she’d miss her stop. “….three!” Sweetie leapt from her platform as the one she was riding flew up out of sight. She now found herself on the platform the candle was on. Scattered along the large plane were tables and loose ropes tied to the bases and ends of certain ones. Do YOU have anything to do with this? “What the…?” Sweetie looked up. There was some kind of portal displaying Applebloom pinned against a wall by an outline of… white magic. The same aura that her own horn emitted. Somepony was using her telekinesis. “Applebloom!” Sweetie looked over above the green candle. Above it was Spiffy, floating inside of some kind of transparent bubble. That had to be where he was controlling her from! She looked back at the window, and saw her own hoof holding a knife, aiming at her friend’s stomach. Why don’t we just test that out?! “Oh no you don’t!” Sweetie aimed her GCD at Spiffy and fired her last shot of ghost goo at the bubble. It pierced the bubble and hit Spiffy square in the chest. “Gah!” He yelled in surprise. Rather than disappearing, he simply went a few feet out of the bubble before falling onto the platform, the ectoplasm stuck to his chest. Sweetie glanced at the window, which had now gone black. She sighed in relief that this was the real Spiffy. He looked up at Sweetie. “You… but that’s impossible. You’re too fresh to make it here.” “I guess your dumb memory erasing trick failed miserably and backfired.” Sweetie aimed her GCD at the downed butler. “I’m gonna get you for making me kiss…” she shuddered. “Tiara…” Spiffy laughed. “Don’t get so full of yourself yet Ms. Belle.” He got up on all fours. “I’m still quite in control of what happens here. The only reason I haven’t erased your spirit in my own memory crash is because we still need you somewhat alive. After all, I’d be a shame for the cutie marks of the Elements to be lost by a goof like you.” “Guess it doesn’t even take a goof to beat a poor flank like yours.” Sweetie retorted. “Enough talk.” He floated up in the air. Just as he did, spikes spat out of the rims of the surrounding tables. They then began spinning like saws, making Sweetie feel uneasy about their closeness to each other. “If you really want to die then… I’d be happy to oblige. I’m sure Specter will understand next we meet. Good bye Sweetie Belle.” Black smog then started to surround the platform. Sweetie heard thousands of giggles and laughs from the surrounding ghosts. “I’ve come way too far to have my body stolen by a psychopath like you!” Sweetie said, entering her battle stance. With Twilight’s cutie mark, she could now use her telekinesis to hold the nozzle trained on Spiffy, and she could focus on her leg movement to dodge any of the spinning blades. Sweetie looked around before she started to see shadowy sludge like creatures begin falling out of the smog. “Sweeeeeetttttiiiieee…” They held a long, groaned version of Rarity’s voice. “Oh, shut up already.” Sweetie moved around the tables to meet the first smog creature. Instinct told her that Spiffy was going to be fairly tolerable to her own flashlight. She’d need to weaken him before she could take a stab at his magic shield. Sweetie kept a fair distance between herself and the smog creature before shining her light on it. DING! Sweetie began sucking up the monster, though the strange thing was that the GCD didn’t register any type of magical count this time. It wasn’t capturing it! Even worse, after about 3 seconds of sucking, the GCD stopped functioning. “Miscellaneous Waste Storage Full. Please Empty In Order To Proceed with Self-Exorcism and Continue to Engage in Spectral Anomalies.” the GCD said in its monotone voice. “Are you KIDDING?!” Sweetie couldn’t catch this ghost thanks to either what it was made of, or what it was wrapped in. If Sweetie didn’t work fast enough, these things could really swamp her, and she’d really be in trouble. There was only one now, but what would happen when there were ten? Or 100? Just as the ghost cackled at her futile attempts, it threw a black, slobbery tentacle of darkness at her. Sweetie dodged to the side, and nearly fell into one of the whirling table blades. Okay, so I can’t catch these things… then please tell me I can at least shoot out what I suck up… Sweetie thought as she aimed her GCD at Spiffy, who was still floating higher in the air. WHAM! She got a direct hit just below his muzzle, knocking his head back and down back onto the platform. “I didn’t hear a ding…” Sweetie mumbled. There had to be something else. Perhaps… perhaps fire? There was the green candle in the center of the room. Hopefully it had a limitless supply. Sweetie switched back to her capture and sucked up some of the fire. Surprisingly, rather than sucking up fire, it sucked up a pure rope of light that connected to the GCD nozzle. As she looked at the string of light, another hypothesis popped into her head. Rather than wait for the device to fill up, she ran behind Spiffy, sweeping him with the rope of green fire. He began floating again, this time not on his own accord. He was also screaming in pain as was now wrapped in the rope of green flames. There were loud whooshing sounds as the fire constricted him, but no ding. She knew she was close though… she just needed a little extra light. Sweetie swept her flashlight up at Spiffy. DING “Gotcha now!” Sweetie took a hold of the nozzle by the hooves, sure she wouldn’t be able to have Spiffy drag her around with only her own easy to break telekinesis spell. She let go of the button and hit the capture button a second time. She saw the funnel of air connect with Spiffy… but nothing happened. Literally, it seemed as though all time had simply paused for a moment. Oh no, no no, now what?! “Relax Sweetie. You’re fine. Just wait a moment. This catch is a little different than normal. Just remember to remain aware of your surroundings before I go…” “Ghost Capture Device Feature, Spirit Kick Function Activated. Please wait while GCD synchs with real time” Wait! You need to tell me who the hay you are?! The voice sighed. “You’re a terrible listener kid. I told you, it doesn’t matter now. You won’t even remember my involvement in this little exercise if you win.” “But-” “Real Time Synch Complete. Prepare For Foreign Spirit Exorcism” *** Sweetie had remained as still as a statue, still in that attacking pose aimed at Applebloom’s stomach. Applejack had quit screaming, as did Scootaloo, now curious as to what had stopped the maniac. Was it some kind of new mind game she was playing? Was she having second thoughts? Did Specter have something to do with it? Or was Sweetie… the real Sweetie actually- “Ghost Capture Device Feature, Spirit Kick Function Activated. Please wait while GCD synchs with real time” Sweetie dropped the knife as she fell back. She looked at her hooves that were now shaking. “No… no this isn’t supposed to happen. It’s not supposed to happen, it’s impossible. This shouldn’t be in this model device it’s impossible!” “Is it now, Spiffy?” Sweetie whirled around to see that Specter was in fact standing there, looking upon him with deadly calming eyes. “You… knew this would happen.” “Of course I did. After all… I’ve been counting.” “Counting?” Sweetie got up. “What the BUCK do numbers have to do with-” “The… the add-on.” Sweetie looked at the GCD on her back. She tried to take it off, but it was now latched to it. “It won’t work, you know how Spiritual Kicks work. The pack will be stuck on there until either one spirit remains in the body, or both spirits are calm… and I’m willing to bet Sweetie is anything but ‘calm’ about an old stallion walking around in her skin.” “But… this is a model 2032, isn’t it? Isn’t it?” “An adaptable elemental processer, yes. That is the model.” “This thing shouldn’t have been made for self-exorcism.” “Your right Spiffy. Very right.” Specter smiled. “But… the add on. No… it’s still impossible. I know what it was. It was a spirit core! All it should have done is enhance her abilities in times of extreme stress or emotion. That all!” Specter shook his head. “No Spiffy. Not Spirit Core. Spirit Particle.” Sweetie’s eyes dilated. “…you’re not serio-” “Real Time Synch Complete. Prepare For Foreign Spirit Exorcism” “Oh… oooohhhhhhhaaaaAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!” Sweetie let out a maddening scream, opening her mouth as wide as possible, her eyes glowing the brightness of the sun. And but a moment later, a yellow ghost resembling Spiffy Butler, with his tail still stuck in Sweetie’s throat, popped out. Sweetie, the real Sweetie, now with momentary control over her own muscles, wasted no time in reaching back, grabbing the real world GCD nozzle and pointing it at Spiffy. “GET THE HAY OUT OF MY BODY!” Sweetie yelled as she squeezed the capture button. No ding was required as the funnel latched right on the butler ghost. And like that, as Spiffy attempted to retreat away from the suction of the funnel, Sweetie started to be dragged nearly uncontrollably around the room. This time, the countdown started. “75,74,73,72yank!71706968686766… “C’mon Sweetie!” Scootaloo cheered, spitting out a little blood so it wouldn’t sound too garbled. Anypony aware of Sweetie’s capture began cheering for her success. Sweetie didn’t notice them however. All she saw, and held attention for, was Mr. Butler at the end of her GCD’s wind funnel. “GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT! IT WAS MY BODY FIRST!” Sweetie yelled. Then, as she found herself coming up to a table, something came to her. Remain aware of your surroundings… Sweetie took her eyes off of Specter for a second to realize that the room was filled with tables, just like the ones on the platform, only these didn’t have any… spinning blades. As Sweetie found herself preparing for her face to cross the side of a table, she questioned if she was also being dragged around in the spirit world, as well as the real world. At this realization, Sweetie dodged to the side. She didn’t bleed physically, though she did feel her spiritual self only barely graze the edge of one of the blades. Talk about a close shave. Sweetie thought. Spiffy groaned in anger at the fact his plan of cutting Sweetie’s unaware head off had failed. “57,56,55,YANK!5453525150494847464544-” “Got you on the ropes now Butler!” “Not quite Ms. Belle!” Spiffy said, yanking her over to the side through two tables that were way to close together. There was no way she could dodge the blades on this one being dragged. She had to let go before her head was chopped off! *** Sweetie let go of the GCD capture button as the world immediately flashed back to the spirit realm. “C’mon! I just need another good run like that and I’m home free!” Sweetie said. “You’re not going anywhere Sweetie Belle…” Spiffy moaned from above. He was incredibly high this time, and a much harder target for Sweetie to hit. Sweetie looked over at the candle and was horrified to see that it was now covered in a crystal like substance. She couldn’t get to the flame now! “No fair!” Sweetie yelled. “No fair!” Spiffy mocked. Sweetie looked around and saw there was not one, but four of the shadow creatures now. They flowed like water around the blade spinning tables, much more aggressive than before. Their speed proved Sweetie would need to figure out some way to take care of them before she could gain a good aim on Spiffy. “I don’t care what kind of ‘add-on’ or trick Specter’s trying to pull. No hunter has caught me for an entire millennia! I WON’T let some filly be the hunter to best ME. Forget preserving your spirit. DiE aLrEaDy!!!” Sweetie could hear it in his disorienting voice. He was legitimately scared now. Not particularly of being captured, but her breaking his freedom streak. The thought Sweetie could not only catch him, but get revenge by damaging his pride pleased her, and only increased her determination, rather than oppressing her from the added hostiles and inaccessible candle. Sweetie eased a smile as she charged around the blade tables and toward one of the shadows. Her Pinkie Sense tingled as her tail twitched. Sweetie rolled to the side, just as one of the shadows pounced on her. She rolled to the side and rather than attempt to capture the monster’s essence, Sweetie run. She looked back to see that both of the monsters were in fact chasing her. Her plan was working. Sweetie ran for the third form and dodged past it. Spiffy looked down on her, questioning what she was trying to do. Sweetie finally attracted the fourth one and now each one was directly on Sweetie. Amazingly, Sweetie was able to use every minute twitch and muscle convulsion to successfully dodge every time the shadows attempted to whip her with their tentacles without breaking her pace. With half of her plan in action, she used a boost of Rainbow’s speed cutie mark to gain some distance between her and the shadow monsters. She touched the crystal for a moment and yanked her hoof back. It was just as freezing as it looked. She couldn’t buck it, lest she risk her hind hoof sticking to the icy surface of the crystal. She also couldn’t be sure that she could break the crystal with one buck. She needed some heat, and time to give the crystal some good bucks. “Hope I’m right about this…” Sweetie thought as she looked back at the charging shadows. “One… two… three!” She dodged to the side. The four monsters ran into the giant crystal, and ultimately into each other. As they did, their liquid smoky forms forms seemed to morph together, and grow much larger than before, now to the size they were towering over Sweetie. They whirled around indifferent by the impact. “Take this!” Sweetie switched to her Elemental Capture and squeezed hard. The GCD nozzle let loose a large, yet admittedly short burst of flames. Surprisingly, rather than a green burst, it was the regular fire orange.The monster was then consumed in the fire causing it to scream maddeningly. Sweetie got up. Before it could have the chance to move backwards, Sweetie moved around to make herself directly in front of the monster and noted a small patch of darkness that hadn’t been completely consumed in fire. She yelled as she charged toward it, and pushed the monster into the crystal. She pushed it into the crystal and held it there, hating the disgusting, slushy, furry texture it held. As she’d feared, the smog began consuming her head from its contact. It didn’t help that she was pushing on the thing either. Feeling that it was enough, Sweetie took hold of her nozzle again and sucked up some of the shadow’s form. “Miscellaneous Waste Storage Full. Please Empty In Order To Proceed with Self-Exorcism and Continue to Engage in Spectral Anomalies.” Sweetie then hit the capture button to expel the goop again, using its force to pull her out of the monster. Sweetie then used her nozzle to knock the now orange and black monster into one of the table blades. It ripped up the darkness into bits and pieces, and spit it back into the four segments that lie idle next to it. Not for long though… Sweetie thought. Sweetie looked back at the crystal. A patch was now desaturated from the rest of the light blue crystal. Sweetie approached it, and proceeded to buck on it. The first buck didn’t do anything, and quite frankly hurt both of Sweetie’s hind hooves. The second buck, she heard a crack, pleasing her to know her sore hooves were doing something in this case. It was the third buck that shattered the crystal shards to create a small portal to access the candle. “Do I have to do EVERYTHING?” Spiffy floated down closer to Sweetie. “Well, you are a butler, so-” “If they can’t kill you, then I will!” “Uh-oh.” Sweetie said. She felt her entire body chill, and shiver. She couldn’t tell what was the Pinkie Sense or not anymore as Spiffy charged down on her. Sweetie dodged as he swooped down on her. Sweetie wouldn’t be able to get a clear shot of him with the erratic movements he was making around the area, she’d have to have a good second or two to even hope to hit him. Just as Sweetie was thinking of ways she could possibly hit Spiffy with another shot of the black sludge, she heard multiple rattling sounds. She looked around to see that it was the spinning blade loosening hold of whatever mechanisms held them centered at their origins. “Give me a break already!” Spiffy laughed. “How about a roll?” Several of the tables popped out and began spinning along the platform like free wheels flying off of a crashed cart. Every time they got to the edge of the platform, a smog tentacle would slap them back the way they came, into another direction. They didn’t go directly after Sweetie, though the fact that the wheels refused to telegraph their paths didn’t make them any easier for Sweetie to dodge them, even with most of her attention on them. How the hay am I supposed to dodge those when I start catching Spiffy again?! Sweetie kept her eyes between the renegade death wheels and the maniacal ghost butler circling the lower sky above her as she moved over to the black shadow monsters that were just beginning to stir again. Sweetie knew she’d have to take care of them again, but now that she had the candle on her side, she figured it wouldn’t be as much of a problem until more of the things showed up. For now, she needed to figure out how she’d deal with Spiffy, and the death wheels once she made the jump back to reality. She didn’t want to break the flow again, if she could help it. She sucked up a little of the black forms and pointed it at Spiffy. As she’d expected, he moved way too fast for her to get a clear shot, though aiming at him seemed to spark an idea. If she could get him to fly at her like before, perhaps she could get a shot in from him being in the same vertical space as her. It was at least worth a try, though the problem aroused in getting him to do just that. “What kind of nansy pamsy ghost are you anyway?” Sweetie yelled. “C’mon! Face me like a stallion! What are you, scared of a little girl?” Spiffy continued flying around. The forms were getting up now, and Sweetie looked back at them. With only a whim of thought, Sweetie aimed the GCD nozzle at them and hit fire. One of them flew into the black smog and didn’t come back. Rather, the three instead looked at her, and gave evidence that they did in fact possess mouths. More specifically, the same mouths those white ghosts she previously fought had, only proving that the smog was really nothing more than another protective armor for the ghosts. Never the less, they smiled at her, and only hoped back into the smog with their comrade. Sweetie heard the giggles, and immediately knew they had come up with some new idea. Sweetie had to act fast now if she didn’t want to see what the spirits had in store for her now. Sweetie racked her brain as she felt it necessary to suck up more of the candle flames for whatever may decide to attack her. This time, she waited until the GCD was completely filled with fire and would accept no more. Was there something that she knew about Spiffy that she could use against him? Then she recalled what she’d found and seen. The journal entries… the wedding… everything she knew about Specter, Spiffy had been involved. Sweetie was sure the two were something of close friends. Yet, at the same time, Spiffy seemed, at the very least, vaguely shocked she’d managed to gain so much footing on the possession situation. What if… what if Specter knew something like this would happen. Or at least how possible it was. Maybe… “Hey! Butler!” Sweetie yelled. “I gotta ask. How did I get out of your stupid trap so easily huh?” It could have been her eyes playing tricks on her, but she could have sworn Spiffy glanced at her. “Specter… Specter’s the guy who made this thing, right? Right?! I felt it you know! The thing!” “What kind of thing are you going on about Belle?” Spiffy stopped in the air. He floated way above her and definitely outside of her reach. Then again, she couldn’t have tried to aim at him if she wanted to without any of the smog monster’s goop to vacuum up. Sweetie remembered when she was in that black void. All of her cutie marks blowing up and releasing her from those shackles. “That explosion thing! The cutie marks that freed me!” Sweetie continued. “I didn’t do that though… not alone anyway!” Spiffy seemed genuinely interested. She was feeding on something that was inside of Spiffy… paranoia? “Yeah, I didn’t do it. Something ELSE did! Something that wasn’t me! It was HIM.” Sweetie couldn’t read his expression from where she was, but she knew he was paying attention. She paused for a moment before continuing. “…I had help too! And I know it wasn’t you. It was HIM.” Sweetie was half lying at that point. The voice she’d heard wasn’t Specter of course, though she felt she might as well try to use it to her advantage. “You felt it too, didn’t you?! You felt that influence outside of your control! He helped me escape the void thing! HE guided me through the stupid Stabletown-Ponyville limbo you kept me in. HE Betrayed-” “You know NOTHING.” Spiffy’s voice boomed, shocking Sweetie from the transition of his own silence. “Specter’s always planning. Always planning. Always got some… deal, with a plan of some sort that he keeps secrets about, but I know about ALL of them. I know about the infamous Plan B he developed with Discord. I know EVERYTHING about how he plans on bringing down the Equestrian kingdom. I KNOW what his sins are and I ALONE am the only one who he can communicate them to.” He was laughing nervously now. Sweetie knew he wasn’t sure wither or not to believe the words spilling from his mouth now. “I’m his only friend… he wouldn’t dare think of any mischief to harm me.” Implying capturing you will ‘harm’ you… Sweetie thought. “You can’t believe it yourself. You’re in denial! You’re just another ghost to him, you know that? Just another… just another Gilda-” The comparison to the griffon seemed to do it. He charged at her, this time determined to run her into the ground, or at least through whatever the platform was made of. Just as he did, Sweetie heard the giggles reach their climax. Whatever the smog ghosts were planning, they were just about to make their move. Sweetie had to time her own attack just right to avoid being overtaken by either Spiffy or the monsters. Just as Spiffy was only a few feet away, a large black bulge of the black smog lunged at Sweetie. In response to the both of them, Sweetie flipped flat on her back and pointed the GCD nozzle upward. Just as the two were above her, Sweetie fired a long blast of fire at both the smog bulge and Spiffy as they met each other in the air. Spiffy screamed in agony as the smog bulge did the same. The smog retreated back into its home surrounding the platform as Spiffy wriggled in pain. Sweetie sighed in relief before she heard the sound of something tumbling forward. Sweetie rolled to the side, barely dodging one of the death table wheels. She looked over at Spiffy. Now’s my chance! Sweetie moved into the vertical space between herself, Spiffy, and the candle, and sucked up the green flame, making sure Spiffy was in the middle of the path between them. DING “Gotcha now!” Sweetie said as she switched back to normal capture and hit Spiffy with the wind funnel. Just like before, all of time stopped for a moment. Sweetie saw the tables, still randomly rolling around the platform while the other tables that hadn’t left their places remained still. She hoped that while she was stuck in the middle of time that none of the tables would hit her and questioned how she would possibly dodge them while catching Spiffy… “Ghost Capture Device Feature, Spirit Kick Function Activated. Please wait while GCD synchs with real time” *** Sweetie lay on her side in between the two tables. Everypony, even Specter, watched with anticipation, waiting for her next move. After what felt like an eternity and a half, Sweetie let off a few twitches, before rolling onto her hooves and looking over at Specter. As she walked toward him, or rather stumbled clumsily in her case, it took a few moments for her to clear out the cobwebs in her head. “If she’s as talented as she’s proven to be, my dear friend… this might be the last time we talk for quite a bit.” “You… how…” “Hm?” “You… shouldn’t have… she shouldn’t have the…” “The… oh! The spirit particle! Yes, she really shouldn’t. Such a powerful spectral entity could be dangerous in opposing hands, wouldn’t you agree?” “What… are you planning…” Her head twitched awkwardly now. “Planning? What are you talking about?” Specter got close to Sweetie’s face. “You know I’m not the mastermind behind this little exercise. Of all ponies.” “This has changed… hasn’t it?” Specter moved his face away from Sweetie’s and backed off. “Yes… yes it has.” “Oohhh… aaaahhh…. aaaaaAAAAAHHHHHHH!” Sweetie’s eyes started glowing with power again as Spiffy’s spirit flew out of Sweetie’s body in the same manner as before. And again, Sweetie immediately took ahold of her GCD nozzle and pointed it at Spiffy, proceeding to suck him up. 43,42,41,40,39,38,37,36… The GCD counted down. Sweetie knew she wouldn’t last long blind like this. Though some of the tables did remain hazardous, she knew that the other blade tables were still rolling around in the spirit world, ready to run through her like an out of control steamroller. She focused as hard as she could, trying to see the spirit world again so she could at least remain aware. After a second of focus, Sweetie developed another maddening headache, though this one actually yielded a positive result. As Sweetie was dragged around the tea room, she kept getting flashes of the real world and the spirit world. She could see the tables running around the platform, and even managed to dodge two of them just in time. She was going to do it now. She was going to catch Spiffy for sure! 15,14,13yank!111098… Spiffy was yelling and bawling almost pathetically now. After the heck he’d put her through, Sweetie held no sympathy for the stallion and simply laughed at him as he desperately made his last desperate attempts in throwing Sweetie into a blade table or a rolling one, which ultimately failed, and became easier and easier to dodge with each attempt. “YOU WON’T GET HIM SPECTER YIELD!” Spiffy cried his final words. “WHATEVER YOU’RE TRYING, IT WON’T WORK! YOU WON’T CONTROL HIM! NOT WITHOUT ME!” Specter laughed. “…oh, don’t you worry dear friend. I already know that’s beyond my grasp…” “YOU CAN’T USE HER EITHER! I KNOW YOU NEED HER! IT WILL-” “3,2,1,0” As Spiffy heard that ‘zero’ from the GCD, he started to cackle madly. “It WILL KILL HER!” “Wait what?” Sweetie said, though the damage had already been started. “Self-Exorcism complete. Please insert Primary-Up to avoid certain death in 3…2…1…” “Wait!” Sweetie said before the second ‘zero’ sounded. The GCD let out the yellow bolt of capturing lightning and grabbed ahold of Spiffy. The electricity wend down Sweetie’s body, and sent waves of electricity throughout her, then up to the GCD, then through the nozzle back into Spiffy, and so on. The GCD had created some kind of loop of electricity that Sweetie couldn’t stop. It was frying her, cooking her throughout, and she couldn’t stop the pain before Spiffy let out one last cackle and was dragged into the GCD. Sweetie skidded to a stop, stood for a moment, smoke coming out of her mouth, before collapsing onto the ground. “Capture Complete. Self-Exorcism Complete. Hunter Terminated.” The GCD said before room was silent once more. Author's Note *belches, throws down microphone to go and goes into fetal position in a corner to pretend to be a potato* I'll edit the rest of the Sweetie's tomorrow. This is way to smucking overdo. Also, let me know if you want the multicolored ***s for bookmarking fun. [10/19/2018] “Well… at least I’m out. Feels like I’ve been there for over half a year…” Sweetie thought. the absolute worst part about this joke is that im going to have to make it a second time for a significantly longer period of time if i ever get around to finishing this fucking story.
Chapter 23: The Bloom Breaking"C'mon, Sweetie! Wake up! Wake up!" Applebloom had been shaking her friend on the ground for the past few minutes. By now, she was desperate for a reaction. She did everything she could to make Sweetie open her eyes, flinch, moan, something. Every couple of seconds, Applebloom would put her ear down to Sweetie, trying to hear a heartbeat or feel something warm. Neither were present. Applebloom soaked Sweetie's coat in her tears as she futilely tried to elicit even the slightest response from the lifeless form on the floor of the tea room: to the point Applebloom fooled herself twice believing her shaking was waking up Sweetie or her own voice was overshadowing Sweetie voice. But no, Applebloom's pathetic cries and whimpers were the only sounds echoing in the tearoom. "Don't do this to me. C'mon! C'mon!" Six minutes in, Applebloom had unknowingly given up on simply shaking Sweetie. Now, she was beating Sweetie's back, trying to make the dead filly do something rather than just lay there. At this point, Scootaloo, the beat-up piñata hanging from the ceiling, had given up on untying her tail. Both her freedom and the blood rush seemed trivial. Sweetie Belle was no more. Instead, Scootaloo used her remaining will to resist bawling like Applebloom. Scootaloo was already starting to fail as she felt the tears seep down her forehead into her mane. Five ponies, two of whom were unconscious, had also quit trying to escape. With the reality that escape was more impossible than ever and that her mentor would eventually kill her, Twilight was already hopeless enough. Though, now faced with Sweetie's death, Twilight felt her mind dissolve into nothing. There was no telling what the future held. Sooner or later, Sweetie Belle would "Get up. Dang it. Get up! Get up! Please!" Applebloom would get her wish, for Sweetie would get up soon. Transparent. Smiling. More murderous than ever. And that would be it for the group, now that their overall usefulness had been used up. They would die at the hands of the one who saved them. At least now with the princess, no, both princesses in his control, he would be unstoppable. "Ha." Applejack gritted her teeth, occasionally shaking her head at the scene before her. She was the only one who resisted crying, but she was anything but mentally healthy. Anyone could tell by how tight her jaw was clenched. Her pupils changed ever so slightly in size frequently, as she struggled to choose an emotion to let out. Slightly bigger out of sadness. Slightly smaller out of anger. But what to direct her feelings at was an even bigger mystery to her. When she looked at the situation, she didn’t know whether to be sad that she was still tied up, or angry that she got herself there in the first place. When she thought about the past, she didn’t know whether or not to be sad that Sweetie had met fatality, or that she hadn't taken Sweetie's place sooner. When she listened, she didn’t know whether to be sad for her sobbing younger sister, or angry that she lacked the vocabulary to console her sister. Oh, how Applejack wished she knew the words to say to make Applebloom feel better. She dreamed of looking at her, even with a forced smile to somehow find a way to tell her that everything would be alright. Even if that wasn’t necessarily true. "Ha, ha, ha." And then there was Fluttershy. She should have been crying herself, but her tear ducts had been drained and dried after being used, tortured, and forced to essentially watch Sweetie's body burn in a desperate attempt to save herself. But still, she strained her face, trying to cry. Instead of tears however, she simply she made little gasps at each breath as though she were having miniature seizure for every tear she couldn’t shed. Her body was fiercely trying to find something in her body to release to project the extreme sadness that was tearing her heart into pieces. "Ha ha ha ha ha!" They all deserved to though. To mourn. To cry. To hate. After all, everything that could have gone wrong finally did. Spike was patrolling around the mansion, probably armed and definitely hypnotize. Gilda was surely somewhere in the mansion doing something horrible to Rainbow and Pinkie. Celestia, and in turn both of the princesses, were now under Specter's control. But worst of all here, lying in the middle of the tea room, Sweetie Bell lie de- "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! HA HA HA HA HA HA!" After minutes of silent chuckling, Specter revealed his presence at the doorway with a loud obnoxious laugh. With the exclusion of Twilight and the two unconscious ones, everyone directed their attention toward him. "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" He was laughing so hard that he had to lean against the doorway to clutch his stomach. Fluttershy looked at him airily, not sure what kind of expression to make. Applejack and Applebloom however, looked at him with eyes filled such searing hate to the point they looked murderous. Even Scootaloo managed to swing around to glare at the stallion. "You…" Applebloom’s voice shuddered with rage. Unlike her sister, with Applejack’s anger, a certain awareness of Applebloom's anger became clear. She knew something was wrong. She put herself in the filly’s horseshoes for a moment and thought about her position. Unlike her, Applebloom was free. Unlike her, Applebloom was angry. Unlike her, Applebloom was reckless. If their roles were reversed, she wouldn’t hesitate to tear that smile off of Specter's face. Even if she didn’t have a plan on how to approach him, she would do exactly that. She would beat the remains of his head with every ounce of applebucking energy she could find. Even though it probably wouldn’t change a thing. "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" "Apple…" And Applebloom was probably even angrier than Applejack could perceive. Just by the fact that he was laughing them. He was laughing at Sweetie's corpse. Her friend. Something like that would have been enough to drive anyone truly mad. Crazy. All she had to see was that terrible fantasy of Specter suffering, and nothing else. She didn’t see her sister. She might not have even seen Sweetie anymore. Applejack was sure all her sister saw was an opportunity for revenge. The knife that had been used for the torture session was even perfectly placed between the two of them. Applebloom had the perfect opportunity to get at Specter. Which meant- "Applebloom." Then she put herself in Specter’s mind, as much as she hated to. This stallion. This thing had killed Sweetie. And Applebloom was, like Sweetie, now nothing more than a liability. A risk, now that she wasn’t possessed. Now that Celestia was his. Applebloom something that needed to be exterminated as soon as possible. The reality dawned on her what would happen next. "Applebloom!" She would attack Specter and- "APPLEBLOOM DON'T!" "SHUT UP!" It was too late. Applebloom had already began charging at Specter. She would be next. Specter was still laughing, clutching his stomach. It was as though he had yet to notice he was being charged at. Applebloom would die. Applebloom scooped up the knife in her mouth, and held it with her teeth. She wasn't sure where she would do it, but she just wanted to do it. She wanted to cut Specter somewhere for hurting her so much. There was no reasoning in her eyes. Only pure murderous intent. "APPLE-" SHINK! *** "♫ 9000 Rainbow Cupcakes on the wall, 9000 Rainbow Cupcakes! ♫," Pinkie sung. "♫ You take one down, pass it around... uh... a really big number of cupcakes on the wall! Woo! ♫" Gilda was at the edge of hitting the mare upside the head for a fourth time on their seemingly endless walk. The only thing that kept her from doing so was the promise that the unrelentingly fast healer known as Pinkie Pie would only sing her song louder if she did. It wasn’t like she could kill her if she wanted to. Specter’s instructions included for her specifically not to kill either of them in any other way besides how she was instructed. So, all she could do was to tell her to “Shut the buck up” every now and again, and quicken her pace as she continued to her destination as she shined her flashlight forward and made her way through the tunnels. Gilda was sure that her head would explode from the mare’s annoying song- "♫Another really super dooperly big number of-♫" "Uh... Pinkie?" Pinkie stopped singing and giggled. "Yeah Dashie?" "You mind uh...?" Rainbow asked tilting her head. "I've kind of got a headache right now, and you're not really..." She giggled again. "Sure thing! I'll just hum it really quietly!" Rainbow sighed. "Yeah, sure." The sound of Pinkie's singing was replaced by an ominous hum of the same song. Still, it was quieter, and it relieved both Gilda and Rainbow. Gilda looked back on Rainbow. "Thanks. Owe you one." Gilda tried. The way she phrased what she said was quite awkward. Though that wasn’t why Rainbow didn't respond, intent on giving Gilda the cold shoulder. "C'mon Rain. You've got to talk to me sometime." Gilda shrugged, readjusting the two bound ponies on her back. "You will anyway." "Why the buck's that?" Rainbow spat. "Well… hay, I dunno. I guess because you'll be dead soon anyway." Gilda shrugged. "Kind of won't have a choice when Specter gives me control of you." Gilda could feel Rainbow tense up at the words spoken so plainly. “What?” “You’re about bucking killing me, I’m not supposed to react?” Rainbow shuddered. “…you said that as if it was nothing.” "Psh, well is it? I mean, it’s not as if it’d be your first time.” Gilda said as a matter of fact. "Besides you don’t have to worry about anything. It’s not going to hurt." she thought for a moment. "At least that's what he told me. I don't bucking know, but it better not. At least he sounded sure it would be fast." There was a silence for another few moments. The tension in Rainbow didn’t fade, so Gilda spoke up. "...what?" Gilda asked eventually. "...what...the hay happened to you?" Rainbow asked in genuine confusion. "What do you mean?" "Don’t play dumb, you know exactly what I mean. You’re different. As in... really different. Last time I saw you, you stormed out of Ponyville in a temper tantrum." Rainbow said. "Next thing I know, I see you here of all places as Specter's left hoof bitch." Gilda chuckled and shook her head. "Well what does an old fart like Specter have that you want anyway, huh?” Rainbow continued. “Money? Power? Guys...Girls?" Gilda shrugged. "Something like that." "What?" "You wouldn't get it. But it’s pretty important. All of it." "Yeah I bet it is." Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Better be if you’re killing with your old best friends for it.” “I told you, it’s not a big deal,” Gilda stressed. "I owe him something and he owes me. And the reason’s none of your business alright? Now quit squirming." "Gilda. This isn't like you." Gilda chuckled. "Oh really? Then what is?" "The Gilda I know... yeah she's an ass, but she wouldn't join up with a lame old fart like Specter!" “Really?" Gilda stopped before shaking her head. "Times change I guess." She shrugged. "Guess I'm not the bird you knew eh?" What? Something was wrong with what Gilda just said. Gilda would never call herself a bird. Sure she was different from the Gilda she knew, and sure she held some birdlike characteristics in her species, but Gilda had too much pride to just call herself "bird". It seemed- *** "-BLOOM!" "Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Before Applejack instinctively shut her eyes, she saw stakes shoot out of the ground. She was sure that final image of her little sister would tell the tale. She was dead. “Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!” She was sure she was dead as the metal stakes seemed to shoot up out of the ground around Applebloom. She had to be dead. All it would take was one, just one, of those stakes to impale her and she would meet her untimely end. "Ha ha ha ha ha!" "Oof!" Though rather than the sound of filly flesh being impaled or horrifying screams of her sister in agony, there was just one sound. A cute metal thunk as Applebloom's head hit came in contact with the body of something metal. The metal stakes themselves only surrounded her to create an impromptu cage. So like that, her charge was suddenly halted as she fell down. Her knife followed with another light metallic sound when it hit the ground. "Ah..." Once Applejack had opened her eyes to see what had happened she was genuinely surprised. She called to check if she was really still alive. "Applebloom! Y'all alright?" "Y...eah," Applebloom rubbed her head and momentarily forgetting what was going on. "Ahm alright." It was true. Aside from the lump on her head, she didn't have a scratch on her. Applebloom was, arguably fine. "Ha ha ha... ha ha... ah ha..." Specter was finally calming down. But then the question became: Why? Why keep her alive? The tips of the stakes were sharp enough to make Applebloom bleed if she so much as pricked her hoof in it. If they were used to kill her, they would have been the perfect tool with the perfect timing in the most perfect way possible. Yet, she lived. There was no reason to keep her alive with probably plenty of reason to put her down. Right? "Phew." Specter wiped a non-existent tear from his eye as he straightened out his suit. "I haven't laughed like that in years. The drama. The desperation. The fear. It’s just… It’s hysterical! Oh, I knew I’d enjoy your company here in my mansion. From the moment I laid eyes on you, I just had that feeling from my own masterful intuition. You are a very entertaining group of individuals. Has anyone ever told you that?" "Buck you." Applejack spat. Specter shook his head at Applejack and approached the trapped filly, ignoring the other death threats Applejack called at him to “get the hay away” from her sister. He got down lower to Applebloom’s level, who was still somewhat stunned. "Now Applebloom. With every fiber of honesty and intelligence you may or may not have, tell me.” He looked up at the top of the cage, then back at her with a tilted head and a puzzled look. “Was that really smart?" Applebloom was still in a daze from the impact and Specter thought it was cute. He chuckled. "For every choice you make, you make it all the more difficult for me to hold to just ridiculing your friend when if you make such fantastically idiotic decisions like that. Even Sweetie wasn't stupid enough to charge at me head on." Finally, Applebloom regained her bearings. She hopped to her hooves and bucked at her makeshift cage. She managed to bend it out by a few centimeters, but impossibly the stakes formed back into their original straight position. Specter shook his head. "Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. I suppose it's true what they say. Brains don't run in buckers." Specter didn’t laugh this time, this time giving his most intense look. It chilled Applebloom. "Decisions like that will get you killed in the future. Especially in a place like this.” He grinned the same impossible grin that only a ghost could. In a childlike tone, he went on, “Mean scary ponies might tear you limb from limb and do terrible things to the remains if you don't learn your place." He then whispered. "Try and remember that." Defeated, Applebloom didn't go for a second buck, realizing she would just ruin her hooves. Instead, she resolved to just glaring at Specter from behind the stakes. "You've got some nerve to come back here!" Scootaloo spat. "Nerve?” Specter got up and looked at her. “Ma'm, I live here," Specter retorted with an artificial offense. "What about you? Getting blood all over the floor. Impolite and unladylike.” He gave an exasperated sigh, while straightening his suit. “But what should I expect from such misbehaved children? Regardless, I go where I want, or in some cases, where I am needed." "Need? You killed Sweetie you jack!" Scootaloo cursed. "Why don't you just leave us the-" "Language, language. My, you're becoming more of a delinquent than Rainbow. I suppose you would be proud of that. Who knows? You might even end up like her." Specter said, eyebrows raised. "And besides. I didn't do anything to Ms. Belle here. She did this to herself." Scootaloo just glared at him along with Applebloom and the others. “Oh, don’t you all look at me like that. I’ll be out of your manes shortly.” Specter chuckled again. "Truly. I promise I won't be long." And with that, he began approaching Sweetie. "Hey! Leave her alone!" "Unfortunately, I can't do that," Specter said without breaking his stride. "After all, if I leave her like this, she'll die." (She'll die.) These two words were the ones that everyone heard. Even Twilight raised her head at the strange words. (She'll die.) Not "She's dead". She'll die. "W...what do you mean?" Fluttershy timidly asked. "Hm?" Specter stopped and turned his attention to Fluttershy. "You..." Fluttershy did her best to regain control of her words so she wouldn't babble as terribly. "You... said 'she'll die' when she's..." "Pfft, heh heh heh." Specter nearly broke out into another fit of laughter before clearing his throat to regain his composition. "So that’s what caught your attention, is it? Yes. Yes, I did say that, didn't I?" Specter approached Fluttershy, who shrunk back at every step he took back against her bonds. "How such a small change in words can mean so much here. In this mansion. Of this little filly’s fate. Such a small change in words, which can lead to a comic interpretation for an even more humorous, and even ludicrous idea. Of course with the correct context, such an idea could provide a small spark in a place it’s arguably doesn’t have such a thing. So funny such a little shift in tense can mean all the difference. A difference in time. A difference in fate." He stopped halfway between Sweetie and the others. He paused for a moment before continuing. "There's... a rule when it comes to portification and spirits in general." He went on, pacing in front of them. "The rule states that any pony with the class of Portrait or higher must have originally obtained a cutie mark over the course in their life. To tap into their… spiritual potential. Often manifesting itself in a special ability created from a combination of the particular cutie mark, and the pony themselves while overflowing them with the appropriate units of magic. Without said cutie mark, magic will have nothing to reference off of, often turning them into almost feral minded beings, occasionally capable of coherent thought by the reference of some puppeteer.” He stopped short and turned to the group. “Are you following so far?” Fluttershy did her best to straighten herself up, less threatened than before. She looked to either side of her at Applejack and Twilight. Neither of whom looked as if they were listening entirely to the sudden ghostly lesson. So, Fluttershy silently nodded for them. Specter then turned around to continue pacing. “The same applies to the portification process. The cutie must be present somewhere in the area for a portification to be completed. Of course with the provision of the spells, equipment and the structure of the machine, which I’ll spare you with the details of.” He stopped again and looked at the three of them. Though the others seemed to be paying attention somewhat now, Fluttershy seemed to still be the most attentive. Then, he said quite plainly, “My point is, that without a cutie mark, if you die, then you stay dead here." He tilted his head in the direction of Sweetie. "And ergo, mares with cutie marks have two lives, but fillies such as Applebloom and Scootaloo without a cutie mark have but one." "Git on with it!" Applejack yelled. "A-applejack..." Fluttershy tried to calm her friend down, that seemed to be getting over what Specter had said and reciting back to her anger. The last thing she wanted was to stop Specter from talking. She wanted to know more. At least he wasn’t trying to them at the moment. Specter sighed. "I suppose the other point I was making here is, yes. You would all be very correct in assuming that Sweetie was indeed dead and non-revivable. Or maybe you were worried about her coming back to life for-” he chuckled. “-seconds.” “However, in whatever scenario of death, two to five minutes is often the average time it takes for the dead to turn a spirit into a magically drenched ghost in a spirit raising hotspot such as this manor. Some take longer, most take shorter, but that is the average. Under any other circumstance Sweetie would be dead and probably be one of my minions about..." he pulled out a pocket watch from his suit and looked at it. "Three minutes ago." He closed it with a snap. "C...circumstance?" "That's right. Under the circumstance she hadn't died from self-exorcism, and under the circumstance she didn't catch as many of you as she did, we wouldn't even be having this conversation now." he paused again and smiled. "But before that, do you know why I said Sweetie had done this to herself?" Once again, Fluttershy shook her head on behalf of the rest of the group. Applejack opened her mouth, to curse at Specter for saying that again. Though, this time, she decided against it. As if it would do any good anyway. "Very good Applejack, you're learning. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Applejack bit her lip. "Sweetie did indeed kill herself. Often, hunters aren't insane, suicidal or ignorant enough -- whichever Sweetie was you can decide for yourselves-- to attempt a 'self-exorcism'. To start, the capture tether is a very dangerous element of the device, and Sweetie should have been able to figure that out. For stronger spirits, it works with the magical suction technology to emits a certain electro-magical attraction to pull the remaining magic on the spirit, and in turn the spirit themselves. However, electric magic is difficult to contain, so in a capture, the magic will cast what is necessary to capture a ghost, and the remaining energy will kick back at the hunter. While also affecting the body, it mostly affects the spirit of the hunter. And in turn, while each capture can strengthen the hunter’s tolerance to the arch, there is always the chance the discharge of energy will be great enough to decimate the spirit’s very ability to exist. “But like any exercise of a muscle, you can only go so far. Rarely can an adult hunter even exceed 3 or 4 portrait captures in succession before risking the connection between spirit and body, or destroying both completely. At least without some type of magical supplement, a healer or a healing item to restore or replace what was already there." Specter sighed. It looked as if even he was getting tired of his own long-winded lesson. And yet he went on. "But the magical kickback is deadly. It’s a miracle that the capture of Applejack didn’t kill her then. Or more over… Applebloom,” He turned to her, still in the makeshift cage. “Do you recall when Sweetie snatched my child out of your body?" Applebloom didn't respond. "And what about you Scootaloo? Do you remember how much that must have hurt?" No response from Scootaloo either. He shrugged. "I'll take your silence as confirmation. I’ll also assume it hurt. Now imagine that pain, but twice on Sweetie's end from the kick back, as there likely wasn’t a ton of energy required to capture Marbles and Candy. Then, multiply that times two again from the dual capture. Think about how strong her spirit would have to be. If her spirit wasn't hardened enough even that would have killed her on the spot. “With that in mind, self-exorcism isn't like a regular capture. Because the magical energy kicking back changes. Or rather, the amount of energy that a hunter must endure changes. Because unlike a regular capture, the spirit is inside of you. And because of that, Applebloom and Scootaloo for example, felt the same amount of energy my two children felt when Sweetie captured them. It wasn’t enough to affect them deeply, but because of that connection, they shared that experience. A regular capture lasts around 3 seconds minimum, depending on the ghost’s resistance. Often applying 10 units of magical energy per second, often with about 40 milliamps being kicked back. But Sweetie. It took her around… fifteen seconds to capture my butler. Now how many units of energy would have been cycled through her body?" "S…sixty." Fluttershy stuttered. "Indeed. Sixty times.” “…enough to stop her heart.” Twilight mumbled. Specter didn’t hear her. “That's why self-exorcism is essentially suicide." He finished. "But..." "The circumstances I mentioned?" he chuckled. "It's actually incredibly funny luck actually. Because if she had failed in her capture of Pinkie Pie, or allowed her to get away, indeed she would be gone, and you’d all be in deep trouble if the magic didn’t burn her spirit away.” He sniffed the air. “For all we know however, you might have lucked out if that were true.” “But worry not, Elements of Harmony, for the last portrait she captured not only gave her the ability to escape Spiffy's memory spell, but it also gave her the 'Spiritual Instance' feature. A bit of a hunter’s suite designed to make self-exorcism a little less idiotic." "Spiritual... instance?" Specter nodded. "An interesting feature designed for if a hunter found themselves abandoned by their team to achieve a traditional exorcism, showed the skill and importance to catch enough portraits, and themselves were forced to use the self-exorcism technique, lest they have their fellow hunters deceived by the possession. Much as you were earlier." He smiled and looked over at Applebloom and Scootaloo. "Or in contrast, how she was deceived by you two." After a nod to himself, he continued. "But Spiritual Instance usually consists of two parts. The first being the ability to create mental light to bring about some consciousness to the spirit who's been possessed. At least beyond the consciousness, one had during any dream. Often through memories, reminders, and a voice in one’s head screaming for them to wake up before something awful happened. But it only serves to act temporary. Allowing anywhere between minutes to even a few hours of manipulation of one’s mind in an attempt to cast out the possessing spirit. And the second being once the hunter completes the capture, once the body dies, and an instance of the spirit interacting with the body is saved." He went over and stood above Sweetie's corpse. "And from there, all that's needed is a special jolt of magic, provided from the device here to revive the spirit." He took something out of an inner pocket in his suit’s jacket. Instead of his watch, it was another candy heart. This one however, was nothing like the ones Twilight had constructed at the beginning of the night. This one was green and had white splotches all over it. It glowed brighter than the ones Twilights too. It must have been charged with even more magic than them. This heart however, even with its radiance, still felt soft, and pleasant, even just to watch it fade in and out in Specter’s hoof. And yet there was something about it no one could particularly place. "And a magnet to track such a 'special jolt'." "W..." "Hm?" "W...why is it special?" Fluttershy asked. Specter's smile faded. "That's more or less a surprise for a later time." "Liar." Specter turned to the new voice. It was Twilight who glared at him. "You're lying. It doesn't make any sense." Specter didn’t have a response to that. “Yeah.” Applejack chimed in. Though her anger was less intense, and rather more concerned. “What’s yer game Specter?” "If you were telling the truth and all of a sudden you’re trying to save Sweetie,” Twilight went on. “Then trying to kill her all night would have been pointless." "Twilight... heh... heh hah ha ha ha!" Specter entered another laughing spell. "Ha... heh heh... he… is that really what it looks like? That... that killing Sweetie Belle is my top priority?" he looked down at the green heart. "I'm not the one who wants to kill her exactly.” He patted her head and rubbed her hat. He seemed to be talking to himself. “Oh no, don't want to kill Sweetie. Not yet. She's too important now. Especially now. She has too much potential." "Potential for what?" "Entertainment value!" He said grandly. "To..." Specter's smile disappeared completely this time. He looked at Twilight with an unreadable expression. Then it returned. "Twilight. Do me one favor for me, will you?" "She ain't gotta do jack for you!" Applejack spat, some of her anger renewed. Specter ignored her as he bent down to put the heart in Sweetie’s mouth. "Twilight... if you ever come across Celestia or Luna in a scenario that they're not trying to tear you limb from limb..." Specter moved over to the door without looking back at the group. "Ask her if during the couple millennia she's lived, if she's ever had a regret for something selfish. Ask her… what being a princess made her." "Wha-" SHINK! CRACK! "Woah!" The rafter that Scootaloo's tail was tied broke and she fell to the ground. At the same time, the stakes trapping Applebloom recited into the ground. Surprised, neither of them attacked Specter right away. Whether it was out of curiosity or caution, neither of them could figure out. Specter still had his flank to the five of them (seven if you counted Paita and Busby, still out cold) and seemed to have his mind on something else. The both of them could have attacked if they wanted to. But even excluding what Specter said about attacking him, after the speech he gave on Sweetie's condition, she was their primary focus. Especially as- "Magical Magnetic Force Detected. Please apply magical jol-" BEEP BEEP BEEP "Jolt Target Detected. Reviving Hunter." Small slides opened up along the side of Sweetie as something white and glowing began to pour into her sides, biting into her body like leeches. But instead of taking something out, they seemed to be flowing something foreign into Sweetie's body. And for some reason, no one in the room believed that it was just Sweetie's "Spiritual Instance" before she died. After thirty seconds of flow, Sweetie's body began to seize and shake wildly before going still once again, as the streams of light disappeared into Sweetie's body. It was silent and just as it had been before. Even Specter still was facing out the door rather than at the scene. "S...weetie?" Applebloom was the first to take a step toward her motionless friend. Though something seemed different about this motionless. Rather, it was a step above motionless. For there was the sign of Sweetie's body moving up and down, her lungs working correctly. It was another minute before she really began to move and moan. She tried getting up off her stomach and on all fours but ended up collapsing again. But this was more than enough for Applebloom and Scootaloo to rush over to her and tackle her back to the ground on her second attempt. "Sweetie!" "Ah!" Applebloom and Scootaloo hugged Sweetie, who was fully awake now. She couldn't speak for some reason yet besides groans. Whether or not that was from dying or being smooshed by her friends no one could tell. Then again, who cared cared? Sweetie was alive again. "Sweetie! Yer' alright! Yer' alive!" "Ah man Sweetie! I thought... we thought you were a gonner for sure!" Sweetie was at a loss. "H...ey..." Sweetie forced out. "Could you... guys you're kind o... get off!" Sweetie found some kind of energy to push the two fillies off of her, who fell to the side of her. They both got up and helped Sweetie to her hooves. "Sorry Sweetie." Applebloom smiled. "Yeah, but c'mon. How many fillies got to go through their friends dying and get to come back to life?" Scootalloo noted. "Three." "D...ie?" Sweetie looked at Scootaloo with glassy eyes before nearly going faint again. She drifted to the side just in time for Applebloom to stop her from collapsing again. "Woah! Sweetie, y'all alright?" Applebloom asked. "Ah mean y'all want to just sit down fer a sec? After what jes happened ta ya, ah wouldn't blame ya if ya did." "I...m fine. I'm... what...?" Sweetie looked at Applebloom. Her vision was so uneasy, she felt as though the world were spinning around. Every word they spoke seemed to tilt her world in a slightly in a different direction than the last. "What... happened?" "Two." Sweetie's body felt so strange as her friends asked her about her condition. Her mind felt so foggy, it took real effort to recognize them as friends and not complete strangers that she had just met. --They would have been a few hours ago. Yes. Something happened not too long ago that made everything that was in (this?) life seem foreign. Everything that was (hers?) she would forget. That was a butler's fault. --The Butler's fault. "One" Spiffy Butler and- "Zero." "SPECTER!" Sweetie screamed, startling everypony within earshot. Everyone except the pony in question (and poor unconscious Paita and Busby). "Hm hm hm... Ha ha ha ha!" Specter turned back around to face the lot of them with the biggest grin he could muster. "Finally awake now are we Sweetie." Sweetie’s focus fell on him as she gritted her teeth as she took a few steps forward. She was Applebloom-levels of ready to kick that insane grin off of his face. Applebloom foresaw this and took the liberty of stepping on Sweetie's tail to keep her in that one spot. Sweetie felt her and didn't look back to her. "Let go, Applebloom." "Sweetie, don't try anythin'. He ain't defenseless as he looks." "Well said Applebloom." Specter agreed. "SHUT UP!" Sweetie yelled again. Applebloom felt Sweetie tug at her tail as she leaned forward. It was like holding back an attack dog from mauling a victim. "My. So much loathing. You act as if I've taken your sister or something..." he thought for a moment and broke out into another fit of laughter. "Oh that's right!" he stopped laughing. "I did! And what a delectable marshmallow of a sister she is." "I swear if you did anything to my sister I'll-" "Me? Do anything to my dear, sweet bride to be?" the smile didn't fade, but he scoffed, almost humorously. "The bride to be you crashed the wedding of? Perish the thought. I wouldn't lay a hoof on her. If anything, she needs protection from an abysmal sister such as yourself for ruining her perfect night. Though, perhaps I should thank you for giving me the opportunity Sweetie Belle. Because with your actions, and her desperation to keep away from you, she’s I have to say she's been all over me. In more ways than one." --Snap Sweetie's rage was boiling to the point it took both Applebloom and Scootaloo to keep her from charging at Specter now. "Heh heh... you hate me, don't you Sweetie? That's good. That's good." he laughed. "Hate makes things so much easier. It drives things, Sweetie. And it makes things so much more interesting to ruin the things you hold dear. Or in Rarity's case, violate the things you hold dear in ways I’m unsure you’re even old enough to understand. Perhaps I'll you’ll watch when there's nothing left for me to do." At this point, Sweetie had found enough strength to start dragging Applebloom forward. Scootaloo held on to Applebloom to keep the virtually snarling Sweetie anchored. He paused. "Oh right. And to top it all off, you might want to do a head count of your group there. Because I do believe two ponies are missing." Sweetie stopped struggling for a moment, causing Appleboom and Scootaloo to let their guard down. She turned around back at her friends. She gasped when she saw the patches of dried blood on Applejack's coat, the tears on Fluttershy's face, and the red mark along Twilight's neck. "Oh and of course you going a little insane and nearly kill your friends. That was entertaining to watch. But that's the past. Right now Rainbow and Pinkie could be having their spirits ripped out as we speak. Violently considering the bird we're talking about here. Not to mention our little trigger happy dragon who's probably watching the spectacle." Sweetie looked back at Specter who had taken a few more steps back into the hallway the exit led into. "You should have seen the look on Rainbow's face as her childhood friend took her to her killing ground. Mmm...~ Priceless." Specter could see that Sweetie was beyond hating Specter now. If she could, she would probably kill him. And if he was already dead, she would catch him and figure out how to do it again. "That's good Sweetie, that's good. That hate will be perfect when you take your revenge on Gilda and slice her into pieces for killing your friends." he paused. "Permanently killing your friends, without their cutie marks." "No… I’ll get her. But right after I get at you!" With that momentary distraction, Applebloom and Scootaloo lost hold of Sweetie as she charged for Specter in the door. She honestly didn't know what she was charging at him to do, but she was sick of hearing him talk. "Sweetie no!" CLANG! THUD! Rather than summoning stakes from the ground like before, two metal slabs from the inner frame of the door closed on Sweetie just as she rammed her head into them. Separating the hallway Specter was in, and the tea room Sweetie and the others were still in. "SPECTER!" Sweetie seemed fairly unaware of the lump on her head from running into the wall. "I suppose this is about the time I am to take my leave!" Specter called through the door. "Happy hunting! ...oh and I do hope you figure out a way out of there! I'm sure your pink and rainbow friend would greatly appreciate you getting to them before they started pushing up daisies. And try not to die again along the way. I might not be able to shower you with my generosity again!" With a laugh, he walked off, leaving the group in the room with no way out. "I'll get you if something happened to my friends!" Sweetie slammed a hoof on the metal slab. "I'll... I'll..." she collapsed. "Sweetie!" Applebloom and Scootaloo rushed over to her to help her back to her hooves. Once Sweetie could stand on her own again, this time, seeming a little more stable than before, she finally took a look at the scene of the tea room. After a moment of examination, she bit her lip and bowed her head. "What... happened to me." she knew what had happened to a degree, especially based on what had just happened. Seeing Applebloom nearly get stabbed by her own hooves probably being only a sample after being possessed for nearly two hours. "Did... I didn't mean to..." "Sweetie, it's alright. It don't matter." "It DOES matter!" Sweetie snapped. "I... I was supposed to be helping you... guys I'm-" "Don'tcha start Sweetie." Applejack spoke up. "What happened wasn't yer fault. Ya said it yerself, couldn'tve been helped, could it?" "Yeah but-" "A...and we're okay." Fluttershy added. "Mhm." Applejack nodded. "See? No cuts no place. We're fine. No harm done that's worth mentioning." Sweetie looked over at them. She could tell it was a lie, and a big one at that. At the same time, she knew there was no ill will from whatever she had done. But the blood. There was so much blood. "...hurting you isn't the only thing I did though... is it?" Sweetie asked, looking at Twilight. Twilight kept silent. "It ain't nothin worth-" "Twilight. What else did I do? You haven't said anything." There was a stale silence for five minutes as Sweetie stared at Twilight. "...Celestia's his." Sweetie’s stomach turned. "...what?" "Celestia... is... his. Sweetie." Twilight said. "And to top it all off, if we die again, we're dead for good. Without our cutie marks, is what he said. I was a... the perfect device to force Celestia to give up her power to him. You were t... Spiffy used you to threaten to kill me. I probably looked so pathetic and..." Sweetie sat on her flank and leaned against the door and looked up. She was silent for the next few minutes as everyone looked at her. Letting what happened sink in. Possessed for a few hours, she managed to torture her friends, break Celestia's will, and essentially do everything Specter wanted her to do. The question now, was what next? The minutes passed before finally Sweetie looked back on everyone. "S...weetie?" Fluttershy said timidly. Sweetie didn't speak. She surveyed the area before getting back up. She looked at the two metal slabs pressed together. She touched the slit where they both met and attempted to wedge the tip of her hoof in between them. "Sweetie." Applejack tried. She nodded to herself and then went around back to the unconscious Night Guard. The first thing she noticed around her was the camera. Where had she found it? Whatever the case, it was important, so she took it. Then there was the knife. Numbly, she stuck that in her saddlebags as well. Sweetie then noticed a peculiar glass piece by her and picked it up. After examining it, she wondered if it was somehow important as well. It looked nothing like anything a guard would normally have. Then again, she didn't know anything about guards to begin with. Let alone why one was in front of her to begin with. However, on an impulse that it could be important, she took it. "Sweets?" Scootaloo tried. Sweetie then tried to pick up the sword by her. She managed to lift it by the hilt onto her back, though it apparently was heavier than it looked. "Guys. Help me pick this up." "S-sure thing Sweets." Both Applebloom and Scootaloo accompanied her to pick up the blade. "Good idea Sweetie.” Applejack agreed. “Best to cut us free first. Then we can-" "What?" Sweetie gave her a distant confused look. "I'm not cutting you free." The little movement in the room paused as all eyes gave Sweetie a briefly puzzled look before Applebloom asked "What?". "I said we’re not cutting her free." Applejack blinked. "Sweetie, ah know things haven't been great but, that's just-" "Crazy talk?" Sweetie asked. There was a hint of nervous laughter behind the words. "Crazy talk. You're thinking about cutting yourselves free, and roaming around the mansion after what just happened, and I'm the crazy one?" she shook her head. "Heh... who knows? Maybe I am crazy." "C'mon Sweetie, that was just a-" "NO." Sweetie yelled, pointing at the three mares as the sword fell to the ground. The stress she had been holding in exploded in front of everyone. "I'm not letting this happen again! You're all staying here.” She turned to them. “You're going to help me get out of this room” And to no pony in particular she yelled out “ And you're ALL going to go let me find my sister! That was what was supposed to happen." There was another silence. No mare or filly in the room agreed with her decision. "S-sweetie. Calm down." Scootaloo hesitated. "I can't calm down!" she shuddered again. "Just-" she paced from the sword and back again. "Just..." "S-sweetie. What about mah sis?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie's eyes darted at her. "Ah mean... can't be all that safe in here." Sweetie took a deep breath and sighed and looked around. "This is… the safest part of the mansion right now. If... Fluttershy and Applejack are here, then the safe room's not safe anymore. Otherwise, no one would have gotten to them." he turned to them. "...right?" "Specter... came back t' life and did somethin' to the room." Applejack said. "But-" "Still. Am I right when I say it was shut down or something?" Applejack didn't say anything. "And this room has light. That's the other important thing. This room has some kind of... something to show there's no ghosts too close by." "Well couldn't we just untie them?" "...I don't trust them to stay put." Sweetie shook her head. "Especially in the final stretch. It's just my sister left before-" "And the Princesses." Twilight chimed in quietly. "Twilight!" "She's right... I have to consider them. He's already attacked me with Luna. And if he has Celestia, who's to say he won't try to kill me with both?" Sweetie noted out loud. "It's not a good idea for you to go out there Sweetie." Twilight spoke again before looking up. "He brought you back to life for a reason. If you go out there, you'll be walking into a trap." "I've been walking into traps all night Twilight, I can-" "No Sweetie, you don't get it." Twilight's voice was much more bitter. "Specter wants you to go out. Just you. That's apart of his plan. I don't get how but Sweetie, this entire night must have been following his plan. It's all surrounded around you, if you go out there-" "I'll deal with it." Sweetie said. Twilight looked up at her. There was clear anger in her eyes. Something that might have petrified Sweetie if she hadn't seen so much worse that night. "Sweetie, Specter's going to do something worse than kill you. Something worse than marrying Rarity. Get that through your thick skull. You have no reason to go out there. What, you think you've got some guardian angel that makes you the only one who can save everyone? You're not lucky Sweetie. You're not even skilled. You're only alive right now because Specter wants you alive." "I can-" "You're his tool. Get it. A damned device, just like that thing on your back. Just as… just as I was. To... I don't know what, but it has something to do with Discord, and an Eclipse spell of all things, and you've got to be apart of it. I don't know how, but you are now." "But-" "He knows Sweetie. He knows your mind well enough to get you to do whatever he wants. Because he knows that you're going to blindly charge after your sister and-" "Shut up Twilight. Just..." Sweetie trailed off. Trap after trap after trap she had fallen in and miraculously made it out. But was it really a miracle? Or was it just as Twilight said? An illusion to make her think that she was making some kind of difference? Was she really going to be chasing her sister until Specter had finished with her, and decided it was time to throw her away? Was there really no difference? --Won't save Rarity. Her head throbbed. So many headaches that night. Everyone seeming to be worse than the last. --Ow. Suddenly some words came to mind. Words of Specter's wife, Madame. Specter's not evil honey Before, sounding like the excuse for her own husband's horrible activity. And yet now, Sweetie couldn't help but find the phrase strangely convenient. "...so what?" Sweetie looked at her after a long pause. "No one knows what Specter's planning. If he's using me as you're saying, then I have no other choice than to be used... and hope for the best in the end. But... it's just as Pinkie said the first time. Only I can go out there, and expect to come back alive. Even though she's captured, that hasn't changed. Whether I'm being used, whether I can really catch ghosts, or whether I'm just the luckiest kid in the world. I'm the only one who can do this now. And right now, I have to go with the flow and just... hope.” "But I know you'll come after me anyway.” She continued. “You'll try to do it yourself... and get killed again. Or worse, I might do something and get you hurt again..." She shuddered but resisted the urge to cry. "You have to stay here. And those ropes will make sure you do." Twilight didn't say another word. She just glared at Sweetie. "Now." she turned back to Applebloom and Scootaloo. "Are you going to help me bring this over to the door or what?" The two looked at each other. Applebloom had to try one more time. "Sweetie... ya sure it's best to leave 'em here like that?" “Let her.” The three of them turned to Twilight, who had gone back to bowing her head. Neither Applejack, nor Fluttershy objected. Sweetie nodded. “There’s your answer.” The two fillies didn’t like Sweetie’s decision, but neither of them objected either, with the three mare’s silent consent. There was another moment of nothing before Scootaloo forced a laugh. "Yeah alright. We’ll follow your lead. You know this place best." "Thanks. C'mon. I'll take this end, Applebloom, take that one, and Scootaloo keep it up at the middle." The two compiled and helped her pick up the sword and bring it over to the door. The group of mares simply stared at them, still bound to the tea tables mounted in the ground. "Alright" Sweetie said once they got to the door. "Stick it in between there." "We gonna pry it open?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie nodded. Together, they turned the sword to it's side and stuck it into the thin slit. Only the tip went through before halting. "Applebloom, could you-" "On it." Applebloom went around to the handle of the sword and bucked it further into the slit. She bucked a good 5 times before the sword was halfway through. "Okay." The three of them went to one side of the sword. "On three, push. Scoots, use your wings to give a little extra boost." "Right." Scootaloo nodded. The two of them put their hooves on the broad side of the sword. "One... two... three!" The three of them gave a hard push, Scootaloo flapped her wings rapidly forward. She may not have been able to fly well, but her wings did give the extra oomph as a fourth force. Surprisingly however, the slabs of metal gave easier than they'd expected. There was certainly the loud scraping of metal between the doors, but all in all, it was fairly easy to pry the door open between the three of them. Within seconds, they had created a gap wide enough to fit each of them through if they squeezed. After that however, it would not budge. It looked as if Specter made it only just wide enough for Sweetie to get through. "Good. Just enough room for me to fit through." "Us. Sweets." Sweetie looked back at them, opening her mouth preparing to deny them. "Stop Sweetie... if ya really think ya gotta go out there yerself, fine. If ya think mah sis and her friends gotta stay here, fine. But ya ain't goin' out there without us." "Guys-" "It wouldn't be fair." Applebloom snapped. "Yer goin' out there fer your sister. Don't lie. Well ahm going out there fer... fer Spike." "Spike?" It was then Sweetie noted that Spike was indeed absent. It was then that what Specter had said fully registered in her brain. "Was he taken away too?" Applebloom shook her head. "Specter 'n Spiffy did somethin' to him. Ah dunno, maybe possesn' him again. Or somethin’. Still, we gotta save 'em too! I have to." "Would make ya a pretty big... whatcha call 'em. Hypocrate if ya didn't let mah sis tag along witcha." Applejack chimed in. "Applejack?" Fluttershy timidly asked. Even Twilight gave the mare a curious glance. "How she gonna just supposed ta sit by 'n lecha go off in that mansion when she wants ta fer the same reasons as ya?" Applejack reasoned. "When she just want's ta save 'er malefriend?" Applebloom blinked at the word “malefriend”, but she none the less nodded in agreement. Because I said so! Sweetie thought about saying, but held her tongue, understanding how much worse it would sound. "Yeah!" Scootaloo agreed. "And Rainbow's just like a sister to me! I want to save her and kick that buck in the teeth, just as much as you want to get at that jack Specter for touching your sister." "Plus, can't hurt to have some extra eyes on and around you, right?" Applebloom went on. "'N what about happened ta Spike? Happened ta ya too before ya got all possessed! What if it happens again, yer gonna need some help!" "Yeah well-" "Sweets, after all the crap you've put us through, we deserve to go with you, alright?" Scootaloo said, earning her a shame-filled glance from Sweetie."Sweets, I didn't mean it like that I..." She turned away from them, considering everything. First, what she said about how she got possessed. Her memory was fuzzy and pretty dreamlike. She barely had control, and if it had something to do with Spiffy, and Spike was still somehow under that hypnotic influence, there was no reason Specter couldn't take advantage of it as well. She felt fine now, but there was always the chance. The idea of having extra eyes on her seemed to be a good idea as well. The ghost sense she'd been building up over the course of the night was anything but flawless at this point. Finally, there was the personal feelings. She started catching ghosts with the hope in the back of her mind she'd eventually come across her sister. That was the prime reason she went out. For similar personal reasons as Applebloom and Scootaloo. Besides wanting to help keep her alive, they wanted to save someone close to them as well. And after whatever horror she had likely put them through, and forcing the others to stay tied up in this only supposedly safe room, letting them come along was the least she could do. "...If you really want to come, you have to stay close to me." Sweetie said after a while. "No more than a yard from my flank and you've gotta be either at my side, or in front of me at all times. I don't want anything to happen to you." They both nodded in understanding. Finally Sweetie turned back to the three tied up mares, and the two unconscious guards. "We'll... be back. We promise. After we save Pinkie, Rainbow and Spike, and catch my sister, I'll cut you all loose and we'll figure out what's wrong with the safe room so we can bring them back to life." There was another pause before Applejack gave a bitter smile. It was forced, and it looked as though she had to swallow her disapproval of this plan. Still, if they would be stuck here, at the very least she could know the two of them would be safe around Sweetie. Hopefully. At this point, she and Fluttershy knew that all they could do was trust Sweetie was telling the truth. That she'd come back with her sister, as well as her sister. "G-good luck Sweetie..." Fluttershy said quietly. Sweetie nodded. "Stay safe and quiet." "And if the lights go out again?" Twilight asked somewhat sarcastically. Sweetie gave Twilight a shrug. "...then play dead." With that, Sweetie beckoned her friends to follow her through the portal. As they did, it suddenly shut behind them, throwing them back into the darkness. Both Applebloom and Scootaloo looked back, frightened by the clash of the two metal slabs. Sweetie on the other hand, kept her eyes forward. Trap or no trap, there was one thing she was almost sure of. She was in the home stretch. *** The door leading back to the foyer was locked. "Celestia damn it." "Don't say things like that Sweets." Scootaloo looked around. The chill seemed to already begin biting at the two crusaders. Sweetie supposed that after wandering the mansion for so long, she must have grown accustomed to it. "Well, what now Sweetie?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie shined her flashlight back on her friends. "...a key. We need a key. Or something to trigger the door to open." she concluded. "If this area stayed the same, it shouldn't be too big. So we should start looking around." "Well ya know this place better than either of us. Where do ya want to start looking?" "Uh..." Sweetie thought for a few moments, trying to determine where to go next. "...study. Let’s check out Specter's study. If not we're gonna just have to do a little wandering. That's how I found most of the things I needed. Usually important doors are unlocked, or have a way to be unlocked." "If you say so. Lead the way." Scootaloo said. "No. You lead the way. Front and center at all times. I don’t want you all to disappear on me." "Yeah, yeah." Scootaloo and Applebloom started off before Sweetie, who followed them down the hall. "...how bad was I?" Sweetie asked. "Huh?" they both asked. "Heh... no offense, but you both were uh... pretty psychotic when you all were pos-" "Stop Sweetie. Ah don't wanna hear about no more possession talk." Applebloom cut off. "But I have to know." Sweetie said. "Did you see all of that blood, I can't..." "Sweetie." they both looked back at her to see that she had halted. She was sobbing again. She shook her head and sniffed. "Sorry. Sorry. Keep going, I'm right behind you." Instead, however, they both wrapped their forelegs around her again. This time, less out of excitement, and more out of comfort. "C'mon Sweetie... don't cry." Applebloom cooed. They stood there for a while, doing nothing but holding each other. Sweetie was annoyed at her weakness, as well as how good it felt to be comforted like this. But even Applebloom and Scootaloo got teary-eyed as they held her. Perhaps it just wasn’t the happiness of having a friend brought back from the dead still lingering among the group. But there was something else. That strange authoritative she had in that room. Among her friends now, when her very frame wasn’t shuddering and tearing as it was. Perhaps it was the initiative of finally seeing Rairty as her truly primary goal now, where she could make such decisions for the good of the collective without any sort of hesitation. Not to mention how the mansion had hardened her. But at the same time, she was trapped in a perpetual limbo of fear, knowing the next corner she turned might very well be her head. This place had beaten her and made her mind so fragile. No, that was wrong. It wasn’t just fragile. It wasn’t whole. Rather, it was preparing to break for the umpteenth time that night. She was already a broken horse hours ago. Now, she was just shatters of her former self that had been breaking into tinier and tinier pieces she'd only managed to glue together quickly enough to keep her alive. Now, all she could do was wonder, as her friends tried to comfort her, how long it would take before the pieces were too small to make whole again. Or if she could at least function with the pieces long enough to feel her sister’s love one last time. "They will find you if you stay still..." --Lub dub The three of their tears as a chill worked their way up their spines. The same chill that had seasoned Sweetie to tell the difference between normal mansion and ghostly presences. --Lub dub This chill that foreshadowed unavoidable death in large quantities. But this chill, this great chill was in one place. It was a chill of a thousand ghosts concentrated into one spot. The same spot where that dreadful echoed voice bounced from. Right behind the three fillies. --LUB DUB. LUB DUB. LUB DUB. And the worst part was, they knew this voice well. Especially Applebloom and Scootaloo, who listened to this voice plead for Twilight's life. Without a doubt, the ghost of Princess Celestia was behind them, staring at them, waiting for them to acknowledge her existence. The option to run seemed pointless. She was too close for them to even dream of making it more than two feet before being caught. The option to fight seemed even more-so with the immense power they felt just by being around her. No. This was the end, and the three of them knew so. --No. They wouldn’t accept that. More specifically, Sweetie wouldn't accept it. Dying so stupidly, so uselessly as not looking over one’s shoulder every now and again, or acknowledging the paranoid instinct she kept. So, she thought, scanning through the rest of her options as fast as possible. She was sure there had to be something else in her GCD. Spiffy was in there. But the GCD wouldn't let her shoot him out even if she wanted to. So once again, the offensive was not an option. Then there was the teleportation. Could she pull it off? Teleport far away enough to hide from Celestia. The spell was fuzzy in her head, but it was still there. Still, Sweetie doubted that without Twilight's cutie mark present that she'd be able to without killing herself, or rendering herself unconscious. "Sweetie..." Applebloom whispered, on the verge of panic. One other idea popped into her head. She recalled how Luna managed to resist Specter, and how Rainbow managed to bring herself back when she saw Scootaloo. Maybe she could help Celestia resist long enough for them to get away. Maybe. "Twilight." Sweetie said as loudly and as firmly as she could. "Sw-" "Remember Twilight." Sweetie said again. Perhaps even louder than before. "Do you remember her Princess? Do you remember that you gave yourself up for-" Sweetie didn't have a moment to finish her sentence as she felt a rush of wind at her back. A wind that was a discomforting mixture of extreme heat and chill at the back of her neck as she felt Celestia's telekinetic attack hit her up in the air before she swoop over to her and scoop her up out from over Applebloom and Scootaloo. If they called her name, it was blocked out by the torrent of wind engulfing her. --Bad Move Sweetie Belle Though, Sweetie's flight didn't last long as she quickly found herself already at the end of the long hallway, far from her friends, pinned against a wall. Celestia's hoof was in her mouth, blocking Sweetie's air. "Shut. Up." she said with a certain vibration to her voice. Whispered, but strong. Her face was sprawled into that familiar wide grin. "Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up! SHUT UP!" Sweetie could hear hoofsteps rushing toward her. Likely her friends running after her. She wanted to tell them to run away, but with Celestia's hoof in the way, she couldn't do anything but make small muffled sounds. "Don't... say a word," she said, giggling between words. “Just… listen.” And then, to Sweetie's surprise, instead of going deeper, the hoof was taken out of her mouth. Sweetie coughed as she was dropped to the ground on her flank. She heard the hoofsteps slow down, her friends either noticing she was let go, or realizing how stupid it was to blindly rush the princess in the first place. Probably both. "If a ghost heard you, you would be dead right now," Celestia said, once again laughing as if the idea of being dead was the greatest joke ever told. "Never. Under any circumstances, do that again." There was nothing but the sound of Celestia's untouchable mane flowing in the non-existent wind for a few minutes. As Sweetie examined her, she noticed that her eyes weren't as crazy as her grin. Rather, they were calm as they stared down on her. The toothy grin made her look as though she were wearing a surgeon’s mask preparing for a complex operation rather than a grin dreaming of the ways Sweetie's body could be violated. "P...rincess." Sweetie forced out. "Sweetie Belle." She returned. The giggles sounded much more controlled this time. "...did you have to ram me against the wall like that?" She stammered out without realizing. She covered her mouth, afraid she had offended such regal power that could crush her at any second. Even if she wasn’t trying to kill her at the moment, she was still the princess of Equestria, not to mention the goddess of the bucking sun. The grin didn't fade or grow. It remained constant as she continued to giggle. "A precaution... and an instinct." she eventually explained. "If I didn't attack you some way, I might have drawn more suspicion than I already was by approaching you." She started to giggle between her teeth. She took a step back toward Scootaloo and Applebloom, who stepped out of the way themselves to walk around to Sweetie and ask if she was okay. Celestia covered her mouth. "Hee hee hee... I- hee. Don't know why that was so funny- ha ha ha..." She took a deep breath, and gritted her teeth. "I'm sorry... I'm okay. You don't have to worry. We're alone now. He's not watching. And I'm not going to hurt you- bahahahahaha!" It didn’t sound as if she could resist laughing, but at the same time, the three of them wanted to believe her. After all, they weren’t dead yet, which was always a good sign. The three looked at each other before looking back at Celestia. "You're not?" They all repeated. Celestia replied with an exaggerated nod, bobbing up and down with every other “Ha”. "...I don't believe you." Sweetie blurted out. "Sweetie!" Both Applebloom and Scootaloo looked at her in horror at how blatantly she had said what she did. "Hm. I have to agree with your friends. Sweetie, shouldn't you know after your encounters with Pinkie that calling tricksters out on their own tricks is bad form?" she sighed a small laugh. "But I can't help understanding how you feel. I only wish I could convince you by wiping this sadist’s grin off my face. Or quitting this laughter. But I'm not killing you. Take it for what it's worth and listen to what I have to say. I don't know how long I can resist, nor do I know how long until Specter realizes I still have something resembling free will." Sweetie didn't look entirely convinced, but like Pinkie, what could she do? So instead, Applebloom spoke up. "What is it, Princess?" "I want you all to go back to the tearoom." she said. "Go back and stay safe in there." "...no." Sweetie spoke up. "I'm not going back Princess. I have to-" Celestia laughed. This time though, it seemed more intentional. "Stop Specter and save your sister?" she predicted. "Or is it save your sister and stop Specter?" Now, Celestia's tone was beginning to annoy her. Even with those chilling laughs, Celestia seemed sane. The last person she felt wanted to be ridiculed by was someone who made sense. "I don't see the difference, I have to do both." Celestia shook her head. "No Sweetie, you must do one before the other. Saving your sister and your friends was your top priority tonight, wasn't it? Finding out Specter's plan and stopping that should have been the first. He is the factor keeping you and your friends in the mansion as his hostages." Sweetie opened her mouth, but no words came. Going after Specter first? Or whenever they could get their hooves on him? It made so much sense it hurt. They had him in that room, didn't they? Maybe if Sweetie didn’t press to go out to save her sister, maybe they wouldn’t have split up? Who knows, maybe they could have held him down and kicked him in the plot until he let them out to go for help. It wasn’t as if Rarity was going to get any deader. Then again what would they get out of beating a dead horse? Better yet, what had they gotten out of him. Sweetie racked her brain for an excuse. "W-ell... because we could never get to him." Celestia knew that she was lying. "...oh! And we were sure he was powerful. After all, he controls this entire mansion!" "Yeah! He made them spikes appear right in front of me 'round the time Sweetie woke up!" Applebloom chimed in. "And I think he made that beam break to let me go!" Scootaloo chimed in. "He probably controls every inch of the mansion!" "I doubt it." The words hung stale in the air for a few moments. "...what? What does that mean?" "It means he doesn't. Not as much as you think. It's impossible for him to be able to maintain this mansion himself, I can tell you that much. Because it's not a mansion at all." Celestia said softly. "It's an illusionist’s spell known as a phantasm." "A what?" "A phantasmic spell. A type of spell that only can be reproduced by the mind." Celestia explained. "...do you remember Discord?" There was that name again. Discord. Yet another enemy in the back of Sweetie's mind that she loathed to think about facing. An enemy she subconsciously prayed that he wouldn't end up being a threat to begin with. For now, she kept silent and nodded. Applebloom and Scootaloo followed her example. "Allicorns, Draconequis' , Windigos and other mythic beasts of legend are the only type who have the magic capacity to cast these phantasms to alter the fabric of space-time at varying levels by bringing spells that can only exist in their minds to reality. Hmph. Even then in some cases, we have our limits, making some phantasms existing in their concept and theory. Never to become physical. For example, as mad and powerful as Discord was who can bring his own twisted brain’s creations and alterations to life on the size of nearly two small Equestrian states, doing something like reacting into a different multiverse would kill even him. Even his power isn’t infinite. However a phantasms such as altering laws of physics, altering time and space are very possible." "...like creating a mansion in the middle of nowhere?" Sweetie suggested. "Hm. You would think that at first wouldn't you? Especially now... I'm supposing I'm not the only one who's heard Discord's name a few times around the mansion." she shook her head. "But this phantasm isn't his work either. Not completely." "Why not?" "I've sensed his phantasm more than once. Fought it even. And the feeling I get off of this one... it's not his. It does mimic the properties of his phantasms that are designed to spread chaos, but it doesn't feel solid enough. This phantasm feels less chaotic, but more as many orderly things broken and stitched back together.” She paused for a second. “It's power feels somewhat distant. Any lack of consistency in this place does not feel intentional... it's because it just can't." "I don't get it." "Neither do I Sweetie. Which just adds to the mystery." Celestia sighed. "Regardless, the point is that Specter's not the one in control of this place. I don't care how old he is, he doesn't have the mental, nor does he have the magical capacity to pull off such a feat. It's rare mortal ponies who do not ascend to greatness even achieve the ability to process such spells. Maybe a stallion like Star Swirl the Bearded, but not Specter." "Who knows? Maybe they're both the same person?" Scootaloo suggested. "Don't be silly Scootaloo. That'd be the stupidest plot twist ever." Sweetie sung. "What?" "What?" Sweetie retorted louder than necessary. She cleared her throat. "I honestly don't know where that came from." Celestia gave Sweetie a strange look. "...ergo Specter couldn't do this, Spiffy is captured at this moment, and even then I have my doubts even he could create a phantasm but... and this is not the work of Discord. Tee hee hee... Specter's nothing but an old puppeteer, I can only assume. At minimum. Assuming he is the mastermind behind this entire act of terrorism." "...but we don't know what at th' bottom of them strings?" Applebloom said. "Metaphorically speaking yes," Celestia agreed. "Which is why you can't do this. Specter may be weak, old, and probably dead stallion, but no one knows what the extent of the power he has behind him is. He’s a definite unknown. The phantasm this mansion was created from may hold some similar properties to others, it's still a phantasm that no one knows about. It's unpredictable." "...so what?" Sweetie let out a laugh. "You're going to go after Specter?" "Yes." She said flatly. "So long as I resist long enough to cast a spell on him, I could potentially cut off any connections he has and hopefully release the spirits of this mansion, and bring Specter under custody." "Sounds too good to be true. Do you really think that you'll be able to sneak up close enough behind Specter to do something like that?" "I can sense when he's watching better than you can Sweetie." she said. "If I was smart about it-" "You would still kill your chance. What if he's watching his back at all times? Or what if someone else we don’t know about is doing it for him? Didn't you say that?" Sweetie said. "It's only a matter of time before you lose it as Princess Luna did." "Hm. It's better than doing as Specter wants and rushing after your sister, isn't it?" Celestia responded coldly. "The safety of the largest number of elements should be your top priority. Even if it means leaving your friends to their fate." Sweetie stared at Celestia, hating what she was saying. She wasn’t wrong. Going after Specter was a bad idea, but going for her sister could be worse. Still, she couldn’t just turn around and head back. An idea. An idea came to Sweetie and she started to smile. This surprised the princess, and even the other two crusaders. "Sweetie?" "No... no, that's perfect! That's a plan!" Sweetie said. “Going after my sister is the best plan.” "What do you mean?" "Well... Twilight said if I go after Rarity, I'd be just doing something else for Specter's plan, right? Whatever it is, who cares? Wouldn't he want to watch me when I did?" Sweetie explained. "And while he's watching me go after Rarity, you can have a better chance at sneaking up at him and whacking him with your ghost magic!" Celestia gave Sweetie another negative look. "What?" "Why do I get the impression you're just looking for excuse to go after your sister?" "Tell me it's not a good idea." "It's not a good idea." Celestia mocked. "You would be putting yourself in more needless danger at the expense of not only possibly getting yourself killed, but putting whatever finishing touches are left on Specter's plan." "And you're asking to be caught by Specter turning around to see you at the wrong moment so he can zap you with more ghost control. Or whatever he does. And then I have to deal with you and Luna. And Specter and his cronies to boot! Plan or no plan!" Sweetie shot back. "Celestia, Specter will watch me. If I'm so central to his plans that he brought me back to life, he will watch. Because if I die, or find a hole to his plan, then they might fall apart!" Sweetie took a step toward Celestia. "Princess, I'm right. If we're going to stop Specter, we need to work together." There was a long pause. Applebloom and Scootaloo only stared as the little unicorn and the great allicorn glared at each other. Eventually, Celestia spoke. "What about your friends in the tea room?" "If I move quickly, then there's nothing they have to worry about." "And your friends under the custody of the griffon?" "Just a few more minutes for you to figure out how you'll approach Specter." Sweetie said. "I'll… we’ll save Pinkie, Rainbow and Spike if he's with them, and my sister. And you'll have enough time to get to Specter while he watches me do that dance for him. Even if I mess up, as long as I survive long enough to do what you have to do, then we can beat him." Celestia closed her eyes for a few moments before opening them again. "Fine. We'll go along with your plan. You save the captured Elements and your sister. I'll hunt down and detain Specter." Sweetie nodded. "Good. If all of us pull this off, we can finally figure out how to get out of here. Right girls?" "Y-eah." both Applebloom and Scootaloo agreed, brought out of watching the argument unfold. "Yeah!" "Awesome." Sweetie grinned happily. It felt good to have a plan that could actually work. As sketchy as it seemed, it seemed possible for a change. At least compared to how she'd been for the last couple of hours. "...I can tell you where your sister is as well as Pinkie, Rainbow and the griffon. You shouldn't waste too much time." Celestia went on. "I'm sure there are hints that you'd find around these halls for you to have eventually found it yourselves. You can thank me later for saving you another hour or two of mindless wandering and ghost encounters." Celestia couldn't begin to fathom how thankful Sweetie actually was (nor could she, the readers for that matter) but she kept quiet to keep listening. "The key is in Specter's study." "Great! We were just heading there." Scootaloo said. "But I'm not sure if you would have found it so easily. Because it's not a physical key this time. Rather, the key lies in the destruction of paintings." she explained. "Special doors have been added that are directly connected to them. Destroy these paintings, and you destroy the lock on the door... or in some cases, the door itself." "Huh... somethin's tellin' us ya don't suggest detroyin' all of 'em and seein' what happens?" Applebloom assumed. Celestia shook her head. "You could unlock the door to something you'd wish stay closed. I can't say for sure, but I wouldn't want to find out." "Then how do we know which painting does what?" Sweetie asked. "Try looking at them in a different light." "What?" Celestia shook her head. "That's the extent of my knowledge, I’m sorry. You'll have to figure out that meaning yourself." Sweetie sighed. "Well... beats having to find the cryptic message myself. Okay. Paintings." "As for locations... the two places you'll want to open up are the doors to the foyer and the door to a hidden door in the kitchen area. That's the one that will take you to the hidden side of the mansion that holds your sister and the captured Elements." she said. "That's the most specific instructions I can give you. From there, you're on your own." "Alright... yeah that'll save tons of time." Sweetie agreed. Celestia turned around. "I will begin looking for an opening around a half hour from now. Plan to make significant progress by then... and if all else fails, you yourself keep an eye out for the hole you're so sure Specter will watch to make sure you don't take advantage of." "Alright. Good luck Princess!" Sweetie said. Celestia started to walk off then stopped. "R-right. Sorry. Too loud." "No... no that's not it." she said. "There's something else that's been bothering me... the whole time I was talking to you." "Huh?" Sweetie looked at either of her friends, who shrugged in return. "What's wrong?" Then, Celestia asked something strange. "Sweetie Belle...out of curiosity, did you eat Twilight Sparkle?" Sweetie blinked. "Say what now?" She turned her head back towards them. "Did you eat Twilight Sparkle? Or Fluttershy, for that matter?" Sweetie once again looked back at her friends, who both returned a "how the hay should I know what she's talking about?" look. "Or Applejack? Did you eat her?" she paused and turned around. "No... no that would mean you've eaten Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash as well." "P...rincess, what are you talking about eating other ponies for?" "Because according to the aura you've been giving off this entire conversation... that strange comment, that ability to debate a point and plan with such celerity, and that sheer bravado to look me in the eye and tell me I'm wrong... Sweetie Belle, I mean to ask you why do I sense each of the elements you've captured thus far?" Sweetie swallowed when Celestia turned back around. She did not like that distrusting look that she gave her. "Why?" she asked again. "I-I have no idea." Sweetie stammered out as her head throbbed. "Liar." Celestia’s horn glowed slightly brighter than the rest of her body. Sweetie was lifted into the air by a strong telekinesis spell. Or maybe it was Celestia altering her own personal field of gravity, because whatever this spell was, it certainly felt more earth shattering than a regular old telekinesis spell. As she found herself lifted into the air, she really began to feel the regal amounts of magical energy at Celestia's disposal. Further reminding her how little she was looking forward to even thinking about fighting her if it ever came to it. Oh pray to Celestia she hoped it wouldn't. "Sweetie!" Applebloom and Scootaloo called. "Stay back," Celestia commanded. The two fillies watched in horror, but they didn't move any closer. Sweetie's body began to glow nearly as bright as the alicorn's horn. She felt funny. Sick. It wasn't pain, but nausea this spell she appeared to be casting on her was. She felt it inside of her body, shooting waves of non-lethal magic throughout. Suddenly, a large jolt shot through Sweetie's body, influencing her to seize for a split second, just as the five cutie marks she'd acquired over the course of the last couple hours began to appear on her body like strobe lights. Applebloom stared in surprise as she saw her sister's cutie mark on Sweetie's body. Even Scootaloo mouthed a "what the buck..." at seeing Rainbow's cutie mark on her as well. "Ah!" the feeling inside of her was reaching uncomfortable levels for Sweetie at this point. "Stop!" Celestia complied, releasing both spells on her as she fell on the flank with a thud. "So I wasn't crazy. Their cutie marks are indeed gone..." Celestia said in slight awe. "Yet, somehow, you have them." "Y-yeah..." Sweetie admitted. "How?" "I don't know, okay? I just... caught my friends and after I did, there they'd be. At least when I went into Pinkie's carnival." Sweetie explained. "...do they know?" Sweetie looked back at the crusaders who were still shocked. "No. Now, just you, me, and my friends here know." "This... this is not normal." Celestia voice was concerned. “You think?” Sweetie said, dusting herself off. Celestia ignored her. "I need to think on this further. Moving a cutie mark from one pony to the other should be impossible." "Why?" "Because it's an element of the soul. Even if two cutie marks may look similar, each one is unique to the person it belongs to. A cutie mark isn't just a mark of one's talent. It's a visual representation of one's self. And these aren't replicas of similar marks Sweetie. These are the actual marks of the Elements." Celestia looked down the hall. "...at this point, I couldn't tell you what Specter's entire plan is. I couldn't even tell you why you were chosen to be involved. But from what I know now, I can only assume one thing." "...what's that?" "That Specter wins when you catch your sister and obtain the sixth cutie mark." The final reminder stung. The reminder that she would be going along with Specter's plan. And the reminder that this was likely the last leg of the plan. Of course that was the catch to this seemingly perfect counter-plan they had come up with to stop Specter. "...this doesn't change anything. I'm still going after her." Sweetie said. "I understand that. It's to be expected, so the plan cannot change." Celestia nodded. "Still, if either of us fails our tasks, then..." "This is our chance. My chance to save Rarity and your chance to save Twilight. A-and if everything's been to his plan, a sneak attack our chance to strike back and stop Specter... plus whatever power behind him." Sweetie said. "It's worth the risk. Trust me, I've been taking them all night." "Hm..." Celestia chuckled. Next to the smaller laughs, this one looked real. Still, it seemed to take a visible amount of effort not to enter another ghostly laughing spell. "Sorry. With the marks you're playing off aside, it just seems so surreal humorous to become lucid and realize I'm getting a motivational speech from a filly that makes sense." Sweetie shrugged. "I'm going now. Remember. Thirty minutes. Aim to make major headway by then." Celestia said, before turning around and walking off again. "Good luck. To all of you." The three cutie mark crusaders nodded as Celestia disappeared. And then they were alone again as silence filled the hall. Sweetie bowed her head, and took Celestia's place in front of Applebloom and Scootaloo. She looked at them and shrugged. "Well?" "...well what?" Scootaloo asked. "You've been pretty quiet. Do you have anything to say? Any questions?" "Th' better question is if ya could answer 'em." Applebloom said honestly. "...when were you gonna tell us anyway?" "When I had to." "You were gonna keep something like that from us? I mean... damn Sweetie, you've got cutie marks. A bunch of them!" "Just like cutie pox... or worse, considering I virtually stole these marks." Sweetie sighed. "Ya didn't steal 'em." Applebloom assured. "They just found yer way on yer body is all." "Yeah... still not something I'm exactly excited to tell Twilight and the rest of them. Especially after Celestia said 'moving them is impossible'," Sweetie said before mocking, "Hey guys! I found your cutie marks and can use them way better than you too! Don't think I can give them back though, sorry about that." "Ya wouldn't say it like that either." Applebloom said. “Yeah. And did you see the look on her face? You know… behind the crazy smile and all.” Scootaloo added. “She doesn’t even know anything about this thing. For all we know, it’s an easy fix.” "Yeah well, that's what they'd hear when the thing that marks who they are is on the back their friend's klutz of a sister." Sweetie sighed. "We have to tell them Sweetie. We can't keep it from them forever." Scootaloo noted. "That's like... even worse." "I know, I know." "C'mon. Rainbow's chill and so are the rest of them. We'll vouch for you, so there's no way they could be too mad, if they were at all. Hay, they'd probably get over it right away. Maybe they could put their heads together to figure out how to fix it too. It'll be fine. Relax." -- It won't be fine -- Can't relax -- Hate. Hate. Hate. Sweetie blinked a few times. "Sweetie?" "Y-yeah. Yeah, alright. I'll think about it." Sweetie seemed to have entered a trance for a split second. "Speaking of her, we need to head to the study and get moving. Every minute we're just standing around here is another minute Pinkie and Rainbow are in danger. Spike too, right?" "Right!" "Damn, it must have been a while since Gilda took them away." Scootaloo said. "Hope they're still alright." *** "Hey Sweetie? Not for nothin' but why ya still hold th' flashlight in yer mouth?" Applebloom asked. "Ah mean... ya saw where ah kept the flashlight hidden. Ya can use it from there, why dontcha-" Sweetie cut her off. "AJ's hat is in the way." "Uh... alright then, why not just take 'er hat off?" Sweetie shrugged. "Superstition? I feel like... naked when I'm not wearing it." "You're already naked Sweets," Scootaloo commented. "That joke is so old..." Sweetie mumbled. "What?" "No, I meant naked... defenseless. That's the word." She explained, "As in things just get even worse than worse when I don't have it on. AJ said it could be my lucky charm." "Huh." "Now... we've gotta think. What did the Princess mean by 'look at this in a different light'?" At this point, the group had entered the study. It was fairly lit in contrast to the hallways which only had hints of moonlight at best. The room was also warm, a the fire crackled in the fireplace, seeming almost inviting to the three of them. This was especially true for Applebloom and Scootaloo, considering they were sure they'd freeze if they stayed a second longer in those halls. They took the moment to stretch their muscles in presence of the flames. "Hm... well there's plenty a light already. Ya got another one right there in yer mouth too," Applebloom suggested. "Yeah, give that a go," Scootaloo agreed. Sweetie tried shining her flashlight on the painting. Unsurprisingly however, the flashlight made no difference. She shook her head. "Nothing." "Hm... different light. Different light... how 'bout a different color?" Applebloom suggested. "Maybe we can make it some different color?" "Different color huh?" She turned her flashlight off and looked at the front. She wondered. What about that piece of glass I picked up from that guard? She shuffled around in her bag. She had trouble finding the piece of glass, so she took out the ghost book first. Upon seeing it out in the open, she sighed at a slight realization. "What's wrong Sweets?" "I... ah, I should have checked this book way sooner. When I got out of Pinkie or saved you all, sooner." She looked at her friends who still seemed vaguely puzzled. "This uh... updates me on all different going ons with my ghost capture thing and ghosts. You understand?" They both nodded, though she could tell they were still somewhat skeptical. Dead ponies and shifty mansions were one thing, but a book telling her what to do and how to do it was really stretching it. "Alright. What do you have this time?" She began flipping through the pages of the book, going through pages she had already looked through. The first new page she came across turned out to be a picture of Princess Luna's ghost. Portrait of the Moon Bio: Luna above, no pun intended, I thought you'd never crack this thing again. Seriously kid, what kind of hunter waits hours to read the book that's been supplying information vital for your survival? Hopefully after whatever ignorant endeavors you've endured, you've learned your lesson. Doubtful, but we can hope. Regardless, you lucked out. Because honestly, after facing something close to an Elder's power, you should be dead. I cannot give you any useful information on how to capture the Portrait of the Moon. Not at your current level, and probably not by the time you read this. It would be impossible. Your spiritual magnetic potential is not nearly great enough and your skills- let’s just say luck alone will not cut it if she's applying every unit of magical energy she has to murder you. She's faster than even the Portrait of Loyalty. Has more magic than the Portrait of Magic. More strength than the Portrait of Honesty. Even more status altering abilities similar to the Portrait of Kindness. It's suicide to even think about going after her without at least a team of eleven hunters all highly experienced at catching Elder type spirits. At least. Never engage this ghost if you expect to walk out of this hunt alive. The only thing that can be used is working with something relating to the Portrait of the Sun. But who am I kidding, we're talking about a pony who didn't even have the common sense to check to read her instruction book. "Give me a break. I was busy, okay?" "Whatcha say Sweetie?" Applebloom asked. "Nothing, just talking to my book," Sweetie said absentmindedly. "What?" "What?" Sweetie returned, waving them off. "J-ust... don't worry about me. Go back to looking for clues or something." Both Applebloom and Scootaloo looked at each other and shrugged and continued scanning the room. Better try to keep thoughts like that to myself. Sweetie thought. Hm... wonder what the book meant by Elder? ...oh. Sure enough, the next page started on the very topic. Info: Elder Spirits Though the aforementioned spirit is in technicality not Elder level, she is close enough while her sister actually is. So it concerns you enough. Essentially, Elder ghosts are top dog in the spirit world. The strongest of the strongest by the knowledge obtained by any living hunters that have survived ghost hunts. Having the most abilities and attributes that they've gained over the course of many years of being spirits. Though, often, this is the case for spirits, the qualification for Elders is usually power and knowledge. Not age. Though power and knowledge does often does factor into age in this respect. Either way, these are not the type of portraits you even want to dream of capturing on your own. Essentially, they are just short of gods. Elders are one of two things. Completely harmless and sane, or deadly and driven mad by the thousands of years of being undead. Often they have the mental capacity to not be influenced, so there's the occasional chance that even in a situation as the one you're in that maybe they might not kill you. However, there are ways to get to even an Elder, and I wouldn't be surprised if your antagonist so happens to have the resources. ...just short of gods. Sweetie thought. Of course, after facing Luna and Celestia, to some degree she knew that they had a lot of power. Still, just seeing the words written there seemed even more unsettling. Once again, reminding her how badly their plan had to work. She flipped to the next page. Info: Spiritual Kick/Instance Well, considering you wouldn't be walking, talking, or reading for that matter, I'm assuming you already know how this feature works. Either that or you're the second biggest bookworm of a ghost I've ever seen in my life. Regardless, Spiritual Instance is a very special feature of any ghost capturing device. Rarely do hunters ever obtain such an ability, or upgrade their personal pack with enough magical energy to obtain it. In short, this is the only feature one can use in order to accomplish a self-exorcism or exorcize one's self without the external help of an external force. It allows a possessed hunter to awaken from the possessive dream state in order to shortly attempt to lucidly regain control of the hunter's muscles as well as kick out the ghost possessing in order to attempt a capture to ultimately rip the ghost out of the body. Under normal circumstances, this would be suicide, as the units of magical energy constantly flowing throughout your body would lay over and be multiplied to deadly amounts. Which is why in turn, by the end of this self-exorcism, the body will cease to function and be killed anyway. Again, under normal circumstances that you even managed to do a self-exorcism without this feature. However, with Spiritual Instance, an instance of not only the spirit, but the body before it died is saved by the GCD as a projection within the pack. At the same time, the GCD will keep the hunter's spirit within the body until it eventually runs out of power. The hunter will medically be dead, and the GCD will note this, but with the jolt of some type of magical target, the hunter can be revived in their normal body. Usually applied orally, or around the stomach area topically. Cutie mark or no cutie mark. However, there is one extra catch that might interest you. The jolt from the GCD imprints nothing but the hunter's spiritual instance on the body. Though, if the target in question has been tampered with, whatever is inside of it will be imprinted onto some aspect of the hunter as well. So was your target tampered kid? Sweetie swallowed before talking. "Guys... Specter... did he…” It didn’t take a genius. Based on how he acted, what he said and how her friends reacted to him, she already believed very well that Specter had brought her back to life. And yet there was something worrying her. “…how did he bring me back exactly?" Both Scootaloo and Applebloom looked at each other before they looked back and Applebloom spoke. "He put somethin' in your mouth an'… ah dunno, it did somethin’ with yer backpack." “Yeah, there were all these leach things crawling over you, and they put something in you and-” "And you just stood there and let him?" Sweetie said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "W-well we didn’t have no way to stop him! Ya didn’t see what he could really do yerself!" “And, c'mon Sweets. You were... you were dead,” Scootaloo argued. “Besides, it’s not as if we had something to lose-" "No. You did guys." Sweetie scolded. "You saw how I was possessed. Spike's hypnotized. All of our friends were brainwashed as ghosts to believe that they hate us... I could have easily taken you out of here and..." she bowed her head and went silent. "...Sweetie?" Sweetie sighed. "Nothing. Nothing right now." She couldn't help but worry about how Specter might have altered her body with whatever he put into her mouth. Though she shook her head, there was too much to worry about now. All she could do was hope for the best. Hope that whatever Specter did to her wouldn't ruin the plan her, the other crusaders and Celestia had hashed together. Hope. At this point, that was all she had left. Hope, and the dim possibility she would hug her sister. At this point, these were the only things keeping her sane. Keeping her together. Probably. Sweetie flipped to the next page. Instead of more info, the page was covered in blotches of ink. There seemed to be words under them, but there was no way Sweetie could decode the message. This was definitely wrong. Had Specter or Spiffy messed with the book while she was possessed? And if so, what was so important on this page that it was worth blotching out? Worrying about this before I know what it means is pointless. Sweetie reminded herself. Best to hope it doesn't change anything. She flipped the page. Info: Elemental Throwback Info: Yet another power that you will completely be ignorant to until you decide to open this thing up. Since you’ll likely be rushing through this anyway, I’ll make this brief as there’s not all too much special about this ability. It’s simply a secondary fire to your Elemental Capture, allowing you to concentrate all of the element of your choice into one shot. Similar to the Spectral Throwback function. A new function? Sweetie figured it would be best to make use of it as soon as she could. For all she knew, it was another power that might save her life. Or at least make her life in the mansion just a bit easier. She flipped to the next page. Info: Black Light Lens Not much on this kid. It's just a lens that emulates the properties of a black light with normal light around it. I'm sure you already know what one of those are, so I won't get into details. You could use it as an eyepiece if you have the trait of light eye as well as on your flashlight to reveal items of interest. More interestingly, however, it can be used in combat with your flashlight. Admittedly, against regular ghosts, it will not be as effective, taking a second or two to break the ghost's shield, contrasting to the instantaneous effect of the normal light. That said, it does destroy magical energy for special ghosts who can regenerate it. Not as effective as fire, but still effective enough. In theory, you could destroy a ghost with a black light or black light lens. Plus, it is much more effective for the rare, types of ghosts or elders that can manipulate, and even thrive in light. If you're lucky, you'll never have to face either. But we both know how arguable that is, don't we? "Black light lens." Sweetie mumbled, before going into her saddlebags, and shuffling through to find the eyepiece she had picked up off the night guard. She stared at it, feeling it probably represented another few hours of fumbling around in the dark to look for the damned thing. It might have been as Applebloom said. A different color. If this is what Sweetie needed to solve this new puzzle, she was glad she already had it. But at the same time it worried her. If she really did need it, she couldn't help but worry why the guard had possessed the piece in the first place. And where she and the other came from in the first place. And if they were indeed just another part of Specter's plan. She thought about her friends, still tied up, with those two in the room, probably waking up as she thought. And that sword. Was it all planned? She shook her head. Now wasn't the time to get hysterical. She had to focus on one thing. Reviving her sister and following the plan. Or else it wouldn't even matter. "One of you." Sweetie called. "Catch." She tossed the piece to the both of them, and Scootaloo caught it. She played around with it in her hoof. "What's this?" "Puzzle piece. Don't drop it." "Good idea throwing it then." "Quiet you." Sweetie said. "I need you to look through it and... look around the room. I think that thing's what Celestia meant by 'looking at this in a different light'. Maybe." "Gotcha Sweets." Sweetie nodded before flipping to the last filled page. As per the chronological order, finally, she saw the picture of Princess Celestia's ghost. Portrait of the Sun Bio: You know how they say never to look directly into the sun or you'll go blind? At this point, I'm surprised you're not blind, deaf and dead to boot. I don't need to say how stupid it was to confront this ghost. You've probably felt it. Her power is incredible. But in a sense, that might be a good thing, considering why you're probably alive. Because the power contained in the Portrait of the Sun is so great, as peer the power of an elder, she can much better resist the influence of any spiritual alteration spells or enchanted items to manipulate and control her. She's not invincible but her ability to resist is massive. She's likely one of the few ghosts in this mansion you can trust at this point. At least until her free will is caught and snuffed out for good. And should that time come, much like the Portrait of the Moon, forget about it. Though besides her sister, if you even want to hold a chance against her, your normal flashlight won't work. Period. "Hm..." Sweetie flipped the page to make sure there was no new information before closing it again. "See anything through there?" Scootaloo turned to her and nodded. "Nope. Just a whole lot of purple." "Toss the piece over to me. I want to check something." Sweetie said. As Scootaloo was about to toss it back, Applebloom snatched it from her and walked it over to Sweetie. "Don' drop it, remember?" "Yeah, yeah." Sweetie said, taking the piece and proceeding to examine it. She then took her flashlight in her free hoof and placed the lens over the top. "Hey, could one of you check to see if there's some tape or something on the table over there?" Sweetie twitched her head in the direction of the sole desk in the study, as she continued to mess around with the lens and the flashlight. The two of them went, and a few seconds later came back with a desktop roll of tape. "Here you go Sweets." She took the tape and placed a few pieces to attach an edge of the lens to an edge of the top of the flashlight. Once she was satisfied, she turned the flashlight so the tape was on the top part of the rim in her mouth, and jerked her head up. The lens flipped back onto the handle of the flashlight. She jerked again, and had the lens fall back in place over the flashlight. "Yeah... that'll work. But will this?" Sweetie mumbled as she turned on her flashlight, now outfitted with the new lens. Rather than the regular white light, the flashlight emitted a purple hue. As she shined it against one of the paintings, she saw what Scootaloo had not seen through the lens. There was a white streak across it. And a circle on another. The shapes got more and more complex the more she looked at the paintings. "’Secret symbols." Applebloom said in awe. “Cool. Now you can probably find all sorts of stuff with that light!” Scootaloo added. "Not only that, but if I meet any ghosts I can't fight with my normal light." Sweetie flipped the flashlight to display the normal white light. "I can use it for combat as a quick switch to the black light." She switched back. "Smart." Scootaloo smiled. "Not smart. Common sense I’ve been apparently lacking by leading you around like a potential bomb and not checking this book that could tell me what to do and when to do it.” Sweetie shook her head. This mansion was getting to her, she was already starting to insult herself. “According to this book, I need to be fast and efficient. If I’m not, I could be in real trouble if ghosts of light like Luna became a problem." "Or Celestia-" Scootaloo hit Applebloom in the back of the head. "Ow! What was that fer?" "Don't jinx it. You don't say stuff like that and expect it not to happen." "I'mma jinx you if ya hit me again." "Guys, guys. Focus." Sweetie said. "Now... we're supposed to burn one of these, right?" "Right. Celestia said we gotta burn the door to the foyer... and one to the kitchen." Scootaloo reminded. "Them symbols probably are related to th' door they open." Applebloom assumed. "Right, so which symbol goes with which door?" Sweetie asked. She started scanning the paintings with her black light. As she slowly swept across, she saw an E-shape, a triangle, a V-shape, a "4" and a shape with two halves of an arch going away from each other. "Huh. They really just look like random symbols Sweets." Scootaloo said after staring at them for a while. "Maybe we're supposed ta find somethin' else ta relate them to." Applebloom suggested. "Maybe." Sweetie mumbled, still looking over the paintings. "...or maybe we already have what we need. Like, you know what those curves remind me of? They remind me of a spout." "A spout?" They both asked. "Yeah. Like water coming out of some spouts. And a fountain has spouts, right?" Sweetie suggested. "And there was a fountain past the door in the foyer. So maybe that's one." Sure of herself, Sweetie used her GCD to suck the painting off the wall and onto the nozzle. Once it was stuck, she released it so it would fall to the ground. "What else... what else..." Sweetie brainstormed while Applebloom and Scootaloo just watched her think. Eventually, her light went on the painting with a "4". "Yeah, that one reminds me of a knife. See the handle and the blade?" "So?" Scootaloo asked. "And you find knives in kitchens, right? So maybe it's that one." With that Sweetie sucked that painting off the wall as well. She placed the paintings between the two of them. "Well? What do you think?" "Huh... seems like a long shot Sweetie." Applebloom noted. "Ya sure them symbols mean what you think they mean?" "Yeah, and you heard Celestia. Might not be a good idea to burn the wrong one, you know." "I'm sure these are them." Sweetie said. There was a hint of annoyance in her voice. "You have any other ideas? Or do you want to wander the mansion a little more? Maybe get some hints while we have ghosts breathing down our flanks." Neither Applebloom, nor Scootaloo objected. They seemed more willing to try Sweetie's method if it meant getting done to save Pinkie, Rainbow and Spike faster. Just while it was still there, Sweetie used her GCD to suck up some of the fire in the fireplace until it was filled. Just in case she so happened to need it. "Alright guys. Toss the paintings into the fire." They both complied, stacking the paintings on top of each other and using their combined strength to toss the paintings in. There were a few short initial cracks in the fireplace before the fireplace became blindingly bright and it started crackling like fireworks at the Grand Galloping Gala. Naturally the three of them stood back, squinting as they stared in the general direction of the fireplace. A loud ear piercing whistle came behind it, as the pops reached their maximum volume. They all had to cover their ears, for fear of going deaf from the impossibly loud whistling before finally- A large gust of wind went through the study as the fire suddenly went out. The whistle stopped as quickly as the flame went out, leaving the only sound in the room to be the leftover snaps, crackles and pops of the paintings as they seemed to continue to burn without the fire. Still, at that point, the worry that the only light now present was the moonlight from outside. It was still light, but much darker than any of the three of them would have wanted. "S...weetie-" "Shh!" Sweetie said. She lent an ear to the hallway to listen, staying still as possible. Trying to feel if there was any change in temperature. Attempting to tap into the sixth sense she'd acquired over the course of the night. There was no laughter. There was no change in chill, besides what was probably because of the absence of the fire. She didn't sense any ghosts anywhere. Though her instinct also told her not to take that for granted. That could change at any moment. And she wouldn't wait around to find out what corner they would pop out and try to nibble her giblets from. Or whose giblets would be nibbled first for that matter. "C'mon. We have to move." Sweetie said. "Stay close behind me." she quickly made her way to the door. "...not too close though." Sweetie probably didn't see it, but both of her friends once again nodded in compliance. After flipping back to her normal flashlight, she quickly moved out of the room, constantly looking behind her to make sure her friends were still behind her. It seemed to take a shorter amount of time, but they all soon found themselves at the door. The door itself wouldn't opened. For curiosity's sake, Sweetie tried. No, strangely enough, instead, it was burned open. "Huh," Sweetie said. "...can't say I thought that would happen, but I guess it gets the job done huh?" "Whadya know. Good job Sweetie," Applebloom praised. The three climbed through the hole and found themselves back in the foyer, staring at the fountain. "Alright, so next stop is the kitchen, right Sweetie?" Sweetie stared off into the distance for a few moments. "Sweetie, don't we gotta go?" Applebloom asked. "Yeah... well, there's just one thing I want to check out before we head off," Sweetie said. "Let me clear my GCD first." *** "Damn it!" Gilda punched one of the walls of the hallway with her free fist. "Buck these halls and damn this mansion." "Lost Gildy?" Pinkie asked. "Shut the buck up," Gilda snapped. "Well are you?" Rainbow asked. Gilda ignored her. "...must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. Was I supposed to turn left... or right back at... can't believe I forgot those damned instructions back at the..." She paced back and forth, seeming unsure of where to go next, mumbling under her breath. It was actually making Rainbow a little dizzy. Pinkie couldn't help but giggle at how turned around the griffon was. "Maybe Dashie could help!" Pinkie suggested. "Riiight Dashie?" Rainbow gave Pinkie a questionable look, while Pinkie winked back at her. "Uh... yeah. Yeah I probably could." Rainbow lied. "Buck both of you." Gilda spat. More towards Pinkie than Rainbow of course. And of course, Pinkie giggled in response. "Oh c'mon you silly bird! Listen to your good friend Dashie." "Yes..." Gilda then mumbled something she couldn’t hear. "What?" Rainbow asked, turning her head up. "Yeah alright Dash." she stopped in the middle of the hallway. "Where to?" "Uh… where we going again?" "The boiler room featherbrain." Gilda said. "Only place worth a damn on this side, besides the observatory." "Right..." Rainbow couldn't help but think. What was with the sudden change of heart? Still, she wasn't about to look this gift horse in the mouth if she would actually listen to her opinion. "Down that hallway." "How many doors?" she continued. "Gotta be a number, right? Some second set way besides those damned tunnels. This bucking hallway goes forever you know." "I know I know." Rainbow lied again. Of course she didn't. She had no clue where to go next, for Gilda's benefit or her own. She could barely follow how they got in that hallway to begin with. A blur, then suddenly she was in this new hallway. Odd. She looked to Pinkie for guidance, who just shrugged innocently. Don't look at me! I didn't think this far ahead. You put this on me! Rainbow imagined her saying from that look. All she could do was roll with this chance that had opened up. She tilted her head, pretending to examine the hallway. Partially to legitimately find any clues or items they could use to escape, and partially to pretend she knew what she was doing. "Well from where we are uh... how about 9 doors down. Yeah, that sounds about right." Gilda shrugged. "Whatever you say Dash." Rainbow blinked as she and Pinkie were further carried down the hallway. They passed the first door. Pinkie gave Rainbow another look. She was still smiling that strange smile, but this time, there was at least the effort to be serious in her eyes. The look was enough, even with the flashes of humor she saw in them. Right now, this was their chance, but the question at this point became to do what? Furthermore it wasn't as though either of them could discuss how to escape. And once again it was not as though they could bank on anyone saving them. Stalling was probably not the best option at this point. Pinkie mouthed the word "rope" before snapping her teeth once. Rope. Rainbow repeated in her head. Rainbow shook her head. I know we've gotta cut the rope, but how? As though reading her thoughts, Pinkie shrugged. Maybe if we could... hey I don't know, grab something to cut it? Or burn the thing. Rainbow thought. Pinkie tilted her head and stared at Rainbow before mouthing the word "How"? To this, Rainbow gave Pinkie an odd look. She couldn’t be but- Wait are you actually looking in my head? Rainbow thought curiously. Pinkie shrugged again, as if to say "Maybe". Huh, Rainbow thought. She knew Pinkie was weird, and could to even weirder things, but she never colored her a psychic. Then again, this was a pony that could potentially tell the future just by twitching. Heh. Didn't know you could do stuff like that without your cutie mark. Guess even without it can't take away what makes Pinkie Pie Pinkie Pie, right? Pinkie giggled. "Shut up back there." Gilda said. They passed the second door. Fine. What have we got? Ropes are too tough to get at with our teeth, right? Pinkie nodded in agreement. It’ll probably be hard to get something to cut it with our damned hooves tied like this. Rainbow continued. Still. Maybe if we can get something in our mouths that’s sharp enough, we can cut through ‘em that way. Or maybe there's some candles or something to just burn through enough to break free. Pinkie tilted her head up to Gilda. Rainbow nodded in comprehension. Chances were, Gilda wasn’t going to take them to a place to cut themselves free. So, she did her best to craft an excuse. "Uh... probably should tell you that we're not looking for the boiler room." Rainbow mentioned. “Not right now anyway.” Gilda didn't stop. "Oh yeah? Where then? Trying to stall me?" "Nah, just... looking for a landmark is all. Just think it's down this hallway... I think." "You think?" "By think, she means know you silly bird!" Pinkie said. She mumbled again. It was even harder to hear than the last time. Maybe Rainbow was just imagining it. "...yeah alright." Gilda nodded. "Well what's this landmark." "Er... a candle." Rainbow said awkwardly. "As in if I can get a good look at it, I can know where to go next. Trust me on this." "...yeah alright." Gilda repeated. They passed the third door. "There's a catch for her telling you where to go though, Gildy!" Pinkie went on. Rainbow gave another look, wondering what she was planning. "She has questions, don't you Dashie?" "Uh... yeah?" Rainbow said. At this point, she wasn't sure if this was a part of her plan or not. "Huh. Maybe I'll answer them." Gilda shrugged. "Nooooo. You silly birdy Gildy, you have to answer them all full and honest." Pinkie chimed. "It's the least you can do for helping her kill herself." Rainbow blinked. Was she saying that to keep suspicion down for suddenly wanting to help like this? She wasn't sure at this point. She mumbled again. The same "lucky colt" again. "...yeah alright." she paused. "What do you want to know?" They passed the fourth door. "...well? Ask the buck away." Gilda said. "Alright uh..." It was true, she had a lot of questions for the griffon. She supposed she could start from the beginning. "What happened to you?" "Gotta be more specific." Gilda said. "When? What?" "...last time I saw you. What happened then? Before you stormed out." "Thought you turned into another dweeb back then. Thought that was crystal." Gilda said. "And buck being around another dweeb. Even if she was my best friend." "You were mad because I was on my friends’ side?" "I was mad because you weren't on mine." Gilda said. "Spent all of flight school with you. Then suddenly you're on the side of these bitches you just bucking met-" "You were being a jack to my friends for no good reason. If it was the other way around I would have done the same with them." Rainbow snapped. "You're the one who threw a hissy fit because I wasn't 'cool' enough to drop my crap and ride off into the sunset with you." Rainbow expected her to snap back. Instead she stopped just before the fifth door. “Yeah well…” Gilda paused. "I'm sorry." A chill ran up Rainbow's spine. Something about that apology seemed even less like Gilda. It sounded so guilty. "...still think you're friends are a bunch of..." Rainbow could hear the edges of her beak grinding together. "Buck." "Gilda?" She continued forward. "What else?" They passed the fifth door. "What... happened after Ponyville?" Rainbow asked. “Where did you go?” "I flew." Gilda said. "Cussing out my abandoning bitch of a friend while I did. Settled for a month in a little city called Whinisburg." She laughed. "Wanted to get as far away from you as possible at the time, so I picked that place. Maybe 20 miles off of Appaloosa. Just on the other side of Everfree?" "Never been there." Rainbow said. "Whatever." Gilda shrugged. "After that, what. You met Specter there?" "No." she said. Her throat sounded dry. Rainbow couldn't see it, but by now, Gilda's eyes had contracted very abnormally. As if she was having some sort of flashback. "I met him later?" "When?" "At-" she forced out the next words. They felt so rehearsed as if she’d had to say them more than her share of times. “Bonza Brook Correctional Facility” They passed the sixth door. "A prison?" Rainbow asked out of some disbelief. “Yeah.” Both of them had been to jail more than a few times in their youth. For little charges like vandalism or even a fight they shouldn’t have gotten into. There was even a night or two they had to stay there before their parents were allowed to pick them up. But prison was a different story. Especially coming out of someone raised in the generally free-spirited towns of Cloudsdale and Ponyville. An unspoken of type of place where Equestria’s worst went. The thieves. The worst conponies. The illegal goods producers. The murderers. The ones who didn’t have the moral line Equestria set went there spend nice chunks of their lives behind iron bars. The idea of Gilda, Rainbow’s best friend throughout flight school, ever heading on a path there never would have crossed her mind. “Celestia…” She said quietly. "I knew you could get bad but... damn." "Yeah.” "What did you do?" Rainbow asked. "I bucked up, that's what." Gilda said. “Just… really hurt some pony.” "You... what?" Rainbow asked in awe. Despite everything that had happened so far in the mansion, the idea of her "hurting" anyone enough to get her put in prison of all places really bothered her. She didn't want to ask how badly. "And... he bailed you out of prison?" Rainbow finished the story. "Specter had the money to bail you out and hire you as his henchman or something?" "No." Gilda said. She was silent, obviously not wanting to go on with the story. They passed the seventh door. "How did he get you out then? Just waited?" "I had twenty years left when I met him." Gilda said. "So no." Thirty years? Rainbow thought. "Then how?" "He broke me out." Gilda said, again with that dry, dry throat. She swallowed and said it again. "He broke me out." --This hurts, this really hurts, and she wants to stop. "...how." --No more questions. Ignorance is bliss. Bliss for all. "How did he break you out?" Rainbow asked. Just before the eighth door, Gilda dropped the two of them to the ground on their heads. They both moaned in pain as Gilda leaned over and vomited on the ground in front of her. "Ew..." Pinkie moaned. Gilda gagged a few times before wiping her mouth and looking back on them blankly. She got up, and took them up on her back again. She didn't move forward yet. Just stared blankly into the endless hallway. "Ever hear of the place Rainbow? Bonza Brook?" "No." Rainbow admitted. "A hundred miles from Whinisburg. In the middle of now where, but you really might have heard of it sometime. It and Whinisburg since you’ve worked weather over there before. At least that’s what I was told. It was just once but…” Gilda said. “If you don’t know about it now, you never will. And because you’re not there, you probably won't remember that I mentioned it an hour from now." Gilda said. "What?" "He broke me out by... they're all dead. Every single one of them is dead." Gilda said, laughing slightly. "And I'm the one to blame. I didn't want to be a murderer. I didn't bucking want this, I never bucking asked for this-" "Gilda! Calm down." "Please Birdy Gildy! You're scaring Rainy!" Pinkie chimed. Gilda whimpered. Rainbow opened her mouth to comfort Gilda. She had caught Gilda breaking down before, everyone broke down every now and again. But not Gilda as she was now. Never so openly. But before the word could get out, the griffon gave a mad scream and threw a fist into the eight door, echoing a defining THUD! throughout the hallway. She left a dent in the door, reminding Rainbow of her frightening strength. She breathed deeply in and out. "...Gilda?" "What's... the next question?" Gilda asked. There was no tension in her voice anymore. It was as though she completely forgot how difficult the last few minutes were for her. Rainbow couldn't see it, but she somehow knew there was something wrong with the way she spoke now. Smooth. Happy. Wrong. She took her fist away from the door and continued down the hallway, walking over the pool of her own stomach fluids. They passed the eighth door. At this point, there was only one other question Rainbow desired to ask. The last one she was bold enough to ask. "What is Specter giving you really?" She laughed again. "I don’t know what will happen after tonight. Specter and Spiffy barely tell me anything. But I know one other thing he told me. He promised me this. I’m never going to die. Not really. Especially once the sun goes up and the eclipse is over with. As long as he exists, dead or alive on Earth, I’m going to be stuck here. I’ll be immortal. I’ll really be immortal. I’ll live with him, but I’ll live forever." "So you don't have a choice?" Rainbow asked. "I don't know." Gilda responded, chuckling slightly less this time. "I really don't. I hated it at first, but… hey. Now I’m excited. I get to live forever once I’m finished here.” The laugh sounded so fake. But it didn’t sound as if she was laughing at Rainbow, but rather for herself. As if she was still trying to convince herself to be excited. As if half of her was excited, and half of her, a half buried by something sinister, was not. “What do you mean?” Rainbow asked. “You said you don’t know. Why not?” “I did have a choice at the prison... once anyway. It went fast. Only slowed down once so I could see where the buck I was.” She went on. She didn’t seem to be making any sense, but Rainbow let her go on. “But I don't know about after that. I'm not a bucking slave or his bitch. I'm doing this for a reason. My own damned reason too." "…well what’s the reason?" "Heh. I don’t totally know that either." Gilda said. "Revenge? A chance? I know there was a reason, but since I started seeing… I…” She trailed off. Stopping. “Gilda?” “Yeah… I guess I know one.” Gilda said blankly. “The power to change something. Get something back. And If I do my job, I’ll get a touch of the power that I need to get it back. And then some." "You don't think he’s just messing with you though-" "It's the only chance." Gilda cut her off. Then, she started to laugh again. "And besides. There's one other thing he promised me. It’s pretty obvious." "...us." Rainbow guessed. "BFFBL. Best friends for bucking life." Gilda said. "Just think. We'll be together. And you won't abandon me like a dweeb and put shit like this on me again. No, even better, you’ll do what I want, when I want. You’ll both be mine." That annoyed her. Any sympathies she felt for the griffon vanished at that moment. "...pathetic." Rainbow gritted her teeth. “You won’t be saying that in a little bit.” They stopped in front of the ninth door. "You're willing to hurt more ponies, probably a lot of them, just to get me." Rainbow said. "Who's the dweeb here again?" "The one who's tied up and yapping at me about morals?" "It's your fault." Rainbow went on. "Do you even know how many ponies Specter's going to hurt? A town? A few cities? The whole bucking country? What is he going to do?! Do you even know?" "Well, do you?" "Gilda-" "He might not be so bad. Who bucking knows?" Gilda shrugged. “I’m in it for me right now. So right now, I don’t care. I can’t.” "Gilda..." "I have to trust him. It's all I got left. That’s what he said. That’s what he said." Gilda said softly. Almost in monotone. "...now you know. Any more questions before we head in?" "...no. I’m done." Rainbow mumbled. "Then let’s get this over with, Lucky." Gilda mumbled back as she opened the door and walked through. *** Sweetie opened the door to the spiraling staircase that should have led down to the safe room. Of course, none of the three fillies were completely sure was safe anymore. "Ya sure this is a good idea Sweetie?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie nodded. "If I get rid of Spiffy, that's one more slot for the GCD. And every slot counts," she explained. "The thing won't let me just get rid of him, so I need to at least try to use the portificationer." "But what if that room's like... infested with those ghosts?" Scootaloo considered. "Which is why you're only going halfway down while I scout ahead." "And leave us in the middle of a dark narrow stairway. Right." Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "I promise, it's worth the risk." Sweetie assured. "Besides, the farther away Spiffy is, the less violated I feel and the more I can focus on fighting other ghosts. And who knows if he can do something from inside the pack. Ever think of that?" "Ya sure that ain't just paranoid talk?" Applebloom suggested. "Hey. Paranoid talk's what got me this far... probably." Sweetie shrugged. "I'm going down there. And if you want to be safe, you've got to be close if something happens. Now c'mon." Without giving them the chance to argue, Sweetie started her way down the stairway. With no other choice, both Applebloom and Scootaloo followed her. As per her plan, Sweetie stopped halfway down the stairs. "Alright, I'll let you know what I find okay?" Sweetie whispered. "Wait here. Scream for me if you see anything out of the ordinary, and I mean anything." They nodded as Sweetie proceeded forward. Keeping her hoof steps light, she made her way down the rest of the stairway. It might have just been her imagination, but the darkness was suffocating. And that was with her flashlight on, she couldn't begin to guess how petrified her friends might have been, and how much effort it probably took for them to remain so quiet. --Maybe they're not quiet. Sweetie halted as she came face to face with the door. --Maybe they're not even there anymore She suddenly turned and looked back up the steps. The sudden urge to call through her flashlight "You guys okay?!" to make sure her friends hadn't become ghost prey again. It was then what Celestia said earlier echoed in her head. --Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. SHUT. UP! An image of her making that grave mistake the Princess warned her of popped in her head. One of her yelling for her friends, only to attract a swarm of butler ghosts to kill not only her friends, but her as well. To this, she bit her lip. She wasn't going to mess up again. She had to trust that they were fine, and would play it smart if they did find themselves in danger. With this in mind, Sweetie took the last few steps before coming face to face with the door to the safe room. She put one ear to the cold metal door. She was surprised when she heard something. The faint humming of the walls inside. Was it an illusion? Was the room really working to keep ghosts out again? Sweetie pushed the door open. Thankfully, it was unlocked. Whoever last closed it probably didn't put the most effort into closing the thing. The lazy pony. But still, that was a good thing, since Sweetie would have had a difficult time opening it on her own. So thank Celestia for lazy pony. Whoever it was. Either that, or Specter messing up. --Or planning this. The door squeaked as Sweetie put up her GCD nozzle, prepared for anything that might be waiting on the other side. She poked the nozzle through the door so she wouldn't receive any unwanted surprises. She sighed in relief to find the safe room was not only ghostless and indeed humming, but also exactly the way they had left it but a few hours ago. Lit. Thank Celestia. Now, gotta move fast, Sweetie thought. She wanted to wonder what had happened to the room in the first place, as well as what got it running again, but she had a timetable to keep. She had to get what she came to do done and leave. She rushed over to the portificationer machine and stuck her nozzle in. Nothing. "No, no no no no..." she mumbled. She could feel her hooves trembling as she took out and re-inserted the nozzle into the portificatoner again and again and again. All yielding the same result. Once again, Sweetie found herself on the verge of tears. Or screaming. Or maybe even both. Stressed. So very stressed. "Calm down Sweetie... calm down, the room is working. So this has got to work too. There's nothing wrong with it," she said to herself. "G-gotta be a loose bolt or something." Sweetie nodded to assure herself as she took the nozzle out of the machine. She then started to walk around the machine, looking for something, anything to be different than what she remembered. On the surface, there appeared to be nothing. The box part seemed to be unharmed, everything around the dryer part appeared to be in order, and even the printing spot seemed to be in perfect condition. Sweetie put an ear to the different parts of the machine, and knocked on it. No rattling. The innards of the portification machine seemed to be as stable as the outside as well. "C'mon. C'mon, what's wrong with you?" Sweetie mumbled, pacing back and forth in front of it. A thought came to Sweetie. So far she had only looked around the front of the machine. She had yet to look around at the back. Maybe there was something wrong back there? With a strong leap, Sweetie leapt on top of the dryer part of the machine, that she couldn't help but think would be more appropriate in a Laundromat. As she thought, even here, the machine was flat against the wall. She sighed when she realized that even if there was something wrong with the back of the machine, she wouldn't be able to get to it. Not without some he- Squeeeeak. Sweetie whirled around and aimed her GCD at the door. "Woah Sweetie!" Scootaloo said, putting her hooves up. "Calm down. It's just us." "What are you..." Sweetie trailed off. Likely from this being a normal ordeal only a few hours earlier, she was reluctant for a split second to relax before putting her GCD down. "C-close the door. You're letting all the light out." "Can ya even do that?" Applebloom questioned. "Just close it, please." The two of them did, closing the door with another obnoxious squeak. "N-not all the way, I don't want to risk it locking on us." Sweetie warned. The two of them left the door open just a sliver from there. "Now what are you two doing?" Sweetie asked. "We wanna ask ya the same thing fer leavin' us literally in the dark while ya played jungle gym." Applebloom said. "Yeah Sweets. You said you'd be fast." "Was I really that long?" Sweetie asked. "Sorry." "It's cool." Scootaloo waved off. "You got the room working? Good job." "It was already working when I got here." Sweetie admitted. "Weird." Sweetie nodded. "Well whacha doin' now?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie hopped down from the top of the dryer-looking part of the portification machine. "The things busted and I'm trying to fix it." "How do ya know?" "My GCD won't make it do anything. I need to uh... restart it, or something. If I don't, we won't be able to bring anyone else back to life." Sweetie explained. "I think the problem's in the back but..." "...to close to the wall?" Scootaloo finished after leaning around the machine a little bit herself. "Hm... Got some rope? Maybe we can use it to lean it up a little to th' side so ya can get a peek at the back." Applebloom suggested. "Rope... rope... rope..."Sweetie looked around the room. Eventually, her CMC cape, an artifact that seemed ages older than it actually was at this point, caught her eye. She picked it up and rolled it up diagonally. "Will this work?" Applebloom and Scootaloo nodded. With that, Sweetie took the cape up to the top again and tied it to the edge before coming back down again. The fillies agreed the best way would be to get in a sort of conga line as Applebloom was at the head, holding on to the cape with her teeth, while Scootaloo held on to her tail, while Sweetie held on to her tail. "We've gotta be careful guys." Sweetie warned. "We don't want to ruin this thing more than it already is." “Sweetie, I dunno about you, but that’s not what I’m worried about. I mean, this thing looks heavy, and if it goes the wrong way-” “I can’t think of much else to try besides hitting the thing and making whatever’s wrong worse.” Sweetie said. “I don’t think it’ll slide on the floor, but it might tilt. It’ll be fine. You all will keep that from going too far.” "Alright but..." Scootaloo said, still not entirely sure of Sweetie’s plan. "Fine. Just hurry up, whatever you're going to do, and we'll do the rest. Don't want this thing to fall back into place with you back there. Stallion lost his leg with something that heavy." "Y'all ready?" Applebloom asked. The others gave a simultaneous "Mhm" before they began. "One... two... three... PULL!" Applebloom said as everyone started to move backwards. The strain was felt on everyone's teeth and tails as they pulled at the dryer part of the machine up. At first they weren't sure what progress they were making, but eventually, they saw the machine balancing itself on its tip. "That's enough!" Sweetie spit Scootaloo's tail out. "Hold it steady." Sweetie climbed on top of the dryer part once more. Now that it was on that edge with only two little fillies as the counterbalance, there was a little wobble, but after a second or two it felt stable enough. Sweetie leaned over and took a look at the wall behind. From what she saw, there were three thick cables running from the three different parts of the machine behind this part. They each ran into each other before running into the wall. One cable stuck out from the rest of them. It was safe to assume this wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Was that the problem? If so, it would surely be an easy fix. “I think I see something. Just gotta reach it!” she called to her friends. She didn’t hear a response over the hum of the wall. Sweetie reached her leg down as far as she could. For a brief moment, she hesitated, recalling Scootaloo’s words. She reached down as far as she could, but her legs were too short. She was just out of reach. "C'mon... C'mon Sweetie." Sweetie mumbled, leaning further and further into the gap. She could feel her stomach being indented by the sharp edge of the boxy machine. She felt her skin scratching as she leaned further. Further. Further. Fu- "Woah!" Sweetie fell headfirst into the gap. Sweetie heard Scootaloo say out of Applebloom's tail, yelling this time, "You alright Sweetie?!" "Y-yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," Sweetie called back loud enough for them to hear them, before mumbling a sarcastic "Just perfect." Well, at least she was closer to the cable now. She couldn't help but be glad she wasn't a claustrophobic --Yet. because of just how little maneuverability she had in the gap. She could only move one leg in her position. She knew she'd have to flip herself around in order to get out before the fillys' jaws got exhausted, or the (now that she thought about it) holey cape would rip and she would be in a heck of a lot of trouble, but she had a priority first. She had to fix the machine. Sweetie took her free leg and moved her hoof around to the cable in the wall. Then, she started to jiggle the cable in the wall, trying to get it to connect better. "C'mon. Give me something. Give me something." Sweetie mumbled, hoping the machine would do something to tell her that it was working again. Something. Anything- BANG! "What the-" --Bug. Those were the last words Sweetie heard before it happened. It was amazing how quickly her brain understood that it was going to die when she heard Applebloom's yelp to the gunshot like "bang". Likely from the door they had so foolishly left open. Even if it was slight. --Bug. Her first and only coherent thought, as the pressure fell on her skull was something along the lines of “It's not your fault Applebloom. Anyone would have made the same mistake ”. But she couldn’t say it. Not with the machine keeping her jaw shut and her brain from functioning at all the way it was meant to. --Bug. HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM She couldn't hear anything as the portificationer pressed her head against the wall, and in result, her machinery behind it. The humming. Tolerable at best before, was now defining loud as it was forced to echo in her skull. The same skull that was being crushed as she was (crack!) trapped in that little gap. She was trying to remember. How did they manage to move that thing to begin with? --Bug. HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM She felt so insignificant. Not exactly alone, she knew, or at least thought that her friends were (crack!) there. She just felt insignificant as if she might as well be alone. Or rather, as if she might as well left them alone. As her (crack!) skull was being more fragmented second by second, her frail little filly bones being fractured by the immense weight of the portification machine she felt not as a pony, but rather as an insect. An insect under the hoof of a pony, perhaps a colt, perhaps a filly, holding her down. Holding her in place. Not meaning to kill the insect, but doing so anyway. Slowly. Painfully. To the point that the insect wished that the skull would finally pop and spill the contents of its brain. But of course this wouldn't happen. Because the insect is a pest. Insignificant. It would die, in an accident the pony never meant to happen. Sweetie knew this as she felt something trickle on the top of her head. --Crushed like a bug. Suddenly, the pressure was released. She could see out of the corner of her eye something red dangling above her. Her ears weren't working correctly still. Still ringing from the insane hum. Strangely enough, it reminded her of a piece of taffy. Thoughtlessly, she moved her free head up to bite at the piece of hanging taffy. Gripping it hard with her teeth, trying to bite it off and taste its sweetness. Maybe it was cherry. Maybe it was strawberry. It tasted like neither of these things, but Sweetie kept her grip anyway. She felt her body being lifted. Blood must have stopped running from her body because the rest of her body felt as if it was getting a whole new supply. Her body felt as if it was asleep. Because of this she was limp as she was dragged out of the gap, as she was bought up by her two friends. Slowly and steadily, her ears started to come back into focus as they heard her friends screaming her name. "SWEETIE!" "SWEETIE!" She stared blankly at them. It came to her mind that she must have looked dead. She was limp. She was still. She wasn't even sure if she was still breathing. Who knew? Maybe she was? She felt way too calm to be alive. Or maybe it was shock. She had to try to blink. Not only for her sake, but for her friends. Could she blink? Was she alive? Sweetie blinked. "...what?" Sweetie said softly. As though nothing had happened, Sweetie found herself on her hooves again, out of Applebloom and Scootaloo's arms. She stared at them cloudily as though she’d just woken up. "Ya... ya… ahm..." Applebloom said. It looked as if she had been crying. "Yeah... I'm fine. Don't worry about it," Sweetie assured. Just as she did, she felt something trickle down her face and into her mouth. It tasted of iron. It was warm. Sweetie friends' mouths moved, but she didn't hear a word as she wandered over to one of the mirrors to get a good look at herself. The hat she was wearing was wrinkled beyond belief. Three stripes of red were rolling down her face, among a few others. At that moment, it didn't occur to her how strange it was that it didn't hurt as much. At that moment, she only had a mind of vanity, as she mouthed the word "ugly" as she stared at her own reflection. At the moment. Suddenly, all of Sweetie's dulled senses seemed to rush back into her body. "Gah!" Sweetie said in pain as she instinctively went to touch her head "Ah!" She threw her hat off to keep any blood from seeping onto the material. "Sweetie! Yer hurt!" "Yeah, thanks," Sweetie hissed. "Wouldn't have been able to tell on my own." "We've got to wrap that up. Something." Scootaloo suggested as she herself leapt on top of the portification machine, now back in place, to grab the cape. Sweetie held up a hoof. "No need. I..." she went into her saddlebags to take out her last candy heart. Wordlessly she stuck it in her mouth and began to suck and swallow its medicine. "This should fix it up good as new. No need to bloody up my cape, it's already dirty enough." She then looked over at Applebloom who had her head bowed. It took a second for Sweetie to register why. Her change in tone must have hit her harder than she’d realized. "Applebloom. Don't beat yourself up over this. I didn’t mean it like that." "But Sweetie-" Sweetie put a hoof to her mouth. "Listen to me. It's not your fault. If you didn't let go, the cape would have ripped anyway. And it was surprising. Shock makes you jump, and do things you wouldn't do, so don't beat yourself up over this." she smiled as she looked over at her drool covered tail. "Besides. You saved me with that tasty looking tail of yours." After a moment Applebloom smiled. "What?" Sweetie laughed, clutching her head. "Nothing." she looked at it still. "Really, if you weren't here, I probably would have gotten crushed like that anyway. I would have figured out a way to squeeze back there and get stuck just like that, if not worse. And after everything I've gone through, the last thing I want to do is look my big sis in the face as a ghost and say I got killed by a washing machine. I'm really happy you both were here." "...alright. Thanks." "Sweets?" Scootaloo asked. "Did... you do it though? As in, get the thing to work?" "I better have. Else I just gave myself a headache for nothing." Sweetie said as she went over to the machine and stuck her nozzle into the machine. It beeped a few times before beginning to whirl. Scootaloo and Applebloom cheered for Sweetie. Spiffy's ghost went up through the hose and into the machine before being processed. Apart of Sweetie expected the same error as earlier to appear. Instead however, the painting of Spiffy printed out. He looked smug in this one. "Portrait of Spiffy huh?" Applebloom said. "That's the one who possessed ya to do all that horrible stuff?" Sweetie nodded. The three of them stared at the painting for a long time, reflecting on all the trouble this ghost in particular put them through. Eventually, Scootaloo spoke up. "...well what do you think?" Scootaloo asked. "What do you mean?" "Well... the others were talking about how they hurt you and all." Applebloom chimed in. "You think that Spiffy's just... you know. Another victim? Just as our friends were?" "Of Specter?" Sweetie asked. "Ah mean. Ah know he was close to 'em and all... but so's yer sis. I'm just-" "I know, I know." Sweetie nodded. "Maybe. But we can't do anything about it one way or the other. Not without Twilight. And besides, my sister comes first and he's not going anywhere. We need to go." The three of them agreed. They went back to the door, hoping it hadn't locked them in. Thankfully it opened up just as easily as before. It looked as if the locking mechanism was just as broken as the portification machine previously was. With a brief spell of mental preparation, the group finally decided to go up the stairs and head to the kitchen. Hoping that along the way they wouldn't find their friends something besides alive. *** Gilda walked into the room with Pinkie and Rainbow, still bound over her shoulder. "What the hay are we looking for?" Gilda asked. "Give me a minute." Rainbow said, looking around the room for something, anything she could exploit for an escape. Based on her sketchy memory of being a ghost, she did know things weren't always as they seemed. Random things, near anything could end up being a key to opening up a new area. She just had to find something she could instead use to knock out Gilda, or cut the two of them free. The room was sickeningly plain for the mansion. A fancy bed, dresser, window (that of course didn't make sense to the geometry of the mansion). After looking around somewhat hopeless to finding anything worth noting, Pinkie nudged her. When Rainbow looked, she motioned her snout in the direction of the upper left corner of one of the walls. She saw a shelf nailed to the wall, and on it was a sizable vase. It was so large that half of it wasn't even on the shelf, but sticking itself precariously off the edge of the shelf. Rainbow nodded. That might work. "Oh yeah. Over there. That table by the wall." Rainbow said, referring to the night stand below the vase. "Alright." Gilda said, walking over to the table. Once they were there, Pinkie spoke up. "Hey Gildy? Don't be a silly birdy, you have to turn around so Dashie can get a good look at the table." She mumbled again. "Yeah, alright." Almost obediently Gilda turned around and allowed the two mares a perfect angle at the table and the wall. Rainbow looked at Pinkie, who nodded with a great giddy grin, motioning her head in a "Go ahead" like fashion. On three, we throw our heads against the wall to knock that vase on her head. Got it? Pinkie nodded, giving another "Go ahead" motion. One. Two. Three! Rainbow threw her head against the wall as hard as her position would let her. A light thud resounded. Rainbow gritted her teeth in pain, cursing in her mind from the headache she'd given herself. Pinkie tilted her head to the side, giving an expression Rainbow read as "You can do better than that." followed by a soundless giggle. Pinkie, you were supposed to help me! Damn, that wall is hard as a mother- "What the heck are you doing?" "Oh, don't worry you silly birdy. Dashie's just doing the thing to make the other thing work!" Pinkie assured before mouthing "One more time". Like before, she gave the same "go ahead" look and the excited smile. Rainbow had to resist the urge to groan the mare's name in annoyance. With another throw of her head, Rainbow hit the wall with another thud, and started to hear the vase above teetering. She felt Gilda's body shift, as though she were looking up. Without another moment of hesitation, Rainbow threw her head against the wall a third time. "What the-" Gilda didn't have time to react as the vase hopped from it's place and onto the griffon's head. Rainbow couldn't help but compare the sound to that of a cartoon. The entire plan was a bit cartoonish, and just as implausibly possible. Especially considering the griffon's reaction time. And somehow, it worked. There was a crash as the vase broke over the griffon's cranium as she stood around for a split second before falling to the ground with the two. Shards of vase broke along with it. Pinkie giggled. "Nice work Dashie!" "Shut up Pinkie. Just..." Rainbow groaned, her head still throbbing. "Can you do something and... you know. Get one of those shards to cut us free?" "Rodger dodger!" Pinkie chimed. She wiggled with Rainbow over to one of the shards to pick up one end with her mouth. She began sawing her bonds as Rainbow kept watch of Gilda. Her head was bleeding, but she was thankfully still breathing. Rainbow definitely wanted to knock her upside the head for a few hours, but she didn't want to kill her. It was a few minutes before Pinkie sounded again. "Got it!" "Cut us free then. Before she gets up." Rainbow ordered. With a shard of the vase in her mouth, she began sawing away at the rope. As she did, Rainbow kept an eye on the unconscious Gilda. With the lump on her head growing, Rainbow did not want to be around when she woke up. It took another long few minutes before Pinkie could finally sever one of the ropes. And with that, the rest of their bonds came a loose. It was then Rainbow realized how tightly the bonds actually were, as she felt the indents they left in her sides, and more importantly her wings. "Ouch." Pinkie giggled. "Those ropes sure were-" "Yeah, I know." Rainbow nodded looking to her sides. "But if I just stretch them just for a few minutes, they'll be fine. Let’s get out of here." The two of them quickly crept out of the room as though a loud noise would wake the sleeping Gilda. Once back in the hallway, they closed the door. "Okay, now what?" Rainbow asked. Pinkie shrugged. "Walk until we hit something good?" Rainbow nodded. "We walk and take any stairs or tunnels or whatever and try to make it back to the others and free them." "What about Sweetie?" Pinkie considered as the two of them started walking. "If it came to it, we could take her. Tie her up if we've gotta. What's the worst she could do anyway?" Rainbow joked. The two of them walked for a little while. Neither of them knew how long they'd walked, and they had given up on counting the number of doors they had passed after about 20. Not to mention telling the difference between door and wall in the moonlight coming from nowhere seemed brain numbing the more they did. Not to mention how pointless it seemed as they found that the hallway and as Gilda had said, was indeed endless. Or maybe it was repeating as they found themselves crossing over the same puddle of vomit Gilda had left every so often. Fear turned into boredom quicker than either of them, at least Rainbow, could have ever imagined. Time slowed to a crawl, it seemed in a place where measuring it was impossible. Rainbow, a mare of action was wishing something would happen. Preferably something to "advance the plot" as Pinkie occasionally put it. And so her prayers were answered as only 5 doors behind the two mares did they hear a door get kicked out against the opposite wall. They both turned in horror as they realized two things at the same time as the angry griffon stepped out into the hallway. It dawned on them. How close she, and those razor sharp claws of hers were to them. Not only that, but the sheer fact that they wouldn't escape the hallway. Not so long as it repeated the same 10 doors over and over again before fading into the pitch black ends of the hall. She gave a mad caw as both Rainbow and Pinkie bolted in the opposite direction. Rainbow's wings still hurt from the ropes cutting into them, so flying at the moment wasn't an option. So like Pinkie, she had to rely on her legs getting them away from the mad griffon chasing after them in the apparently endless hallway. The two were fast, but whatever speed they were going Gilda easily doubled as the distance between them quickly closed. "Dashie! Against the wall now!" Pinkie commanded. Without thinking, Rainbow stopped and got against the wall along with Pinkie as Gilda zoomed past them. When she tried to stop herself on the floor, she instead found herself slipping in the puddle of her own stomach acid she had left. She fell onto her side with a splash that made Rainbow's stomach turn. "Get her before she gets up Dashie!" Pinkie giggled, as Rainbow gave her a look. "Hit her before she gets up!" Rainbow looked back at Gilda who seemed to have been a mix between stunned from the force of her speedy fall, and disgusted at what was covering her left wing. Rainbow hesitated for a moment before running for her and tackling her as she was half way up, getting on her back. "Get off of me!" Gilda screeched. Rainbow had tried to hold her down, but she was too small for Gilda to be truly weighed down. It looked as if she had really gotten stronger since the last time they'd met, and therefore longer than she'd expected. "Hit her! Hit her!" Pinkie cheered as the two of them struggled. Gilda got up with Rainbow on her back. Thinking fast, Rainbow switched her forelegs around so they would be wrapping around her neck, in an attempt to put her in a choke hold. Gilda gave a mad caw as she tried to pry Rainbow free. It was a fight of endurance vs. strength and lung capacity. Could Rainbow hold on for dear life until she choked Gilda out? At this point, neither of them were thinking. It was a fight for survival. Minutes passed as Gilda thrashed and clawed at Rainbow, smashing her against walls in an attempt to throw her off. Rainbow held tight. Tighter. Tighter. Constricting Gilda as she slowly began to become weaker with every action. Rainbow gritted her teeth as the realization she might be killing her old friend tried to break through her instinct. Gilda fell down, as she seemed to be starting to lose consciousness. Could Rainbow let go after that? Or would she have to make sure, holding as tight as possible until- CLICK! Rainbow felt something against her head as she held on to Gilda. Something hard and metal. She didn't let go of Gilda completely, but the chill of the barrel of the rifle pointed to her head was enough to make her loosen her grip. "Spikey? What are you doing?" Rainbow's eyes darted to the side to see indeed Spike was holding her at gunpoint. Staring at her. Buck... so where have you been? Rainbow thought. She wasn't sure if she was glad or not he had come to break up the struggle. Even considering what it meant now for her and Pinkie. "You better get off of me if you know what's good for you." Gilda said. Rainbow might have went on if it were just her. Just to go in defiance of Gilda’s command. But her fate would be Pinkie’s, and at this point, it wasn’t worth it. She blinked before letting go of Gilda and falling down to the side. Pinkie giggled. "Oh well. I guess that would have been too easy if that was it, huh?" "...yeah." Rainbow said absently. The gun was still pointed at her head. Gilda got up, looking at her wing. She swore under her breath before looking at Rainbow. The two stared at each other, and wordlessly communicated. --Don't do that again. Gilda then looked at Spike. "You. Specter told you where the place is?" Spike nodded. "I need... to save her." "Yeah, yeah, you will. Just take her there. And keep an eye on both of them. If either of 'em try anything, shoot them in the leg or something." Spike wordlessly nodded, and motioned for Rainbow to move forward. She got up from her side, and stepped away from the rifle trained on her and moved down the hall with Pinkie. Pinkie giggled "Don't worry Dashie. Everything's going to work out, I promise!" At this point, Rainbow wasn't so sure, as the four of them moved down the hallway. *** Once they were finished in the safe room, three crusaders finally made their way to the kitchen. They all stood at the entrance, staring into its darkness. “Ya alright Sweetie?” Applebloom asked. “Yeah… just don’t really have the best memories of this place. This is where everything really started to go wrong,” Sweetie whispered before looking at the two of them. "I don't remember there being traps here but be careful. This was the first place I saw Pinkie. And she's been responsible for most of the traps I came across yet. I wouldn’t put it past her to have some left over here especially." Scootaloo and Applebloom nodded as they followed her inside. "Any clue what we're looking for?" Scootaloo asked, once they were a fair ways into the kitchen. "Something changed or something added," Sweetie said. "Preferably something that doesn't look as if it'll kill us if we touch it. Maybe a door. Just… anything that looks out of place." The two of them nodded. Sweetie looked around, finding nothing until Applebloom called her. “Hey, Sweetie?” She shined the light over in her direction to see that she was holding the edge of a piece of paper in her mouth. “Ah just found this lyin’ about,” she said through the paper. "Can ya shine yer light over here ta see it better?" “Sure.” Sweetie approached her to investigate the document with her. "Ah don't know about you Sweetie, but that don't look like no recipe that belongs in here," Applebloom concluded after scanning the paper for a few seconds. Sweetie couldn’t help but agree. On the page were a series of arrows and shapes, accompanied with numbers. "Hm... knowing this place, they look like directions. How far to go north... west... See, there's a compass at the top right. It's like a map." "Well if that there mattered, how would we know which way's north?" "I think we entered Everfree from... that direction." Sweetie pointed toward where she figured the foyer and front door was. "So if the mansion didn't and doesn't shift around, north should be that way if we entered where I think we did." "Ya don't sound so sure." "I'm not. Right now I'm just making my best guess and hoping I'm right." "Uh... hey guys? Sweetie?" Both Sweetie and Applebloom looked in Scootaloo's direction. "Shine your light over there." She pointed in a direction of one of the kitchen walls. As Sweetie did, she nearly dropped the flashlight, as she saw the giant gaping hole in the side of the kitchen. "Ahm guessin' that wasn't there before?" Applebloom asked. "Nope." Sweetie said. Taking a step forward to shine her flashlight deeper into the hole. The light didn't hit an opposite wall. Wherever this tunnel led, it was it was so dark and it was deep. The foreboding depth gave Sweetie a chill that managed to even frighten her. Something bad was waiting at the end of that tunnel, and she knew it. They all did. The tunnel looked deep to be in the mansion without leading outside. Though as much as they hoped it was the case, with the mansion the impossible geometry and tendency to deceive, the idea of it leading to yet another part of the mansion did not surprise them. A hidden part that should not have existed. But if this was true, and this tunnel led to a secret part of the mansion the likelihood of something being there they weren’t supposed to find was all the more high. The perfect place to take Rainbow, Pinkie and Spike. The perfect hiding spot to keep her sister. "Well... we've got to go in there it looks like." Sweetie said. "Ya sure that's a good idea?" Applebloom asked. She knew the answer, but something inside of her hoped that Sweetie would think of something different. There was something particularly wrong about that tunnel she couldn't quite place. "You've got a better one?" Sweetie asked. "I remember your sister told me Rarity was in here. Last time, it was a trap Pinkie set up, but this matches her story! Rarity is through there." "But what about Spike 'n Rainbow 'n Pinkie? They're still in-" "They're probably along with her." "Well what if they're not? What if they changed places since we talked to Celestia?" "Then fine. They're not." Sweetie said flatly. "I know you want Spike, and I know Scoots wants Rainbow. So do I. But we can't save either of them unless the plan works. We have to go this way. Who knows if we're past the thirty minute mark? If she fails, no one gets saved." Sweetie paused for a second. "You just don't want to go into that tunnel, do you?" Applebloom didn't deny it. "...it just don't look safe in there is all." "Nothing in this mansion is any safer than whatever is in that tunnel." Sweetie said harshly. "If you're too scared, you can head back and huddle up with the others." "We’re with ya Sweetie, we’re the crusaders but… ahm just sayin' ah got a bad feeling about what'll be at th’ end of that tunnel. Or even what’s already in there." Applebloom said. "We'll stick close." Scootaloo assured. She was hesitant herself, but she did a much better job hiding it than Applebloom. "Sweets knows what she's doing. It'll be fine. Right?" Sweetie didn't answer. She was staring into the tunnel. "Hey Applebloom. If you're still with us, could you pass me that paper you found?" she said without taking her eyes off it. The two others looked at each other before looking back. "Sweetie?" She turned her head to them lazily and blinked. "What? What's wrong?" "Nothing, just... ya were lookin' pretty deep into that hole there, you alright?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie blinked again, this time, half a second or two slower before looking with more alive eyes. "Yeah, I'm alright. Just a little tired is all. And I was just thinking about something." "About what?" "Just uh… the tunnels.” She nodded. “Just how this map works. I’m guessing since the paper’s the closest thing, this is a map to how to get through that tunnel in one piece. And I’m thinking it’s like uh… like a treasure map. Take x paces this way, then take x paces that way." "Well," Applebloom brought the page to her. "If yer right, then there's only five ways ta go. If that way's north, then we gotta go in the tunnel, turnin’ every 20 steps fer four directions in a square 'n go backwards forty steps." “You sure? That sounds kind of stupid,” Scootaloo commented. “This whole mansion is stupid,” Sweetie replied. "Alright, fine. Then what? That it?" "Ah dunno. Sweetie? Ya think that’s all we gotta do?" "Hold on, what about the other side?" she flipped over the page to find there was a circle accompanied by another number '26'. "Hm... well, maybe we wait 26 something. Seconds?" "Ah dunno Sweetie, ahm the one who said it, and I ain’t even convinced this is right." "Just stay close and we'll find out. And deal if we’re wrong." Sweetie said. "I feel as if these instructions were for someone. Look how wrinkled it is, someone was holding this earlier.” “The griffon, you think?” Scootaloo asked. “Maybe.” Sweetie went on. “And if it is, and she went this way, then maybe they're not supposed to be as cryptic as everywhere else. If we think too deep on it, we might get lost." "Well... if it's exact, we'd best stand side by side. Just 'n case." Applebloom suggested. “If this was made just fer Gilda, ah’d think it’d only be made for one at a time.” "Good idea." Scootaloo agreed. "Let’s say how many steps we've taken out loud. So, we don't take the wrong number of steps or something." Sweetie nodded in agreement. Once they were standing next to each other, touching sides, they began to walk into the tunnel. They counted each step. One... two... three... four... The three of them whispered, counting their steps in unison to make sure they were all taking the same number of steps. For all they knew, turning on the wrong step could end in them being separated. They stayed close, noting that for each step they took, they swore the temperature was dropping a degree every step they took. It was getting so cold. By the time they reached the 17th step, they were already more focused on huddling for warmth instead of huddling to keep together. The tunnel was made mostly of rock, as though they had walked right into a mine. In fact, the walls seemed to becoming so jagged, that it was more comparable to a cave. It was pointless to comment how impossibly deep it was. Let alone the fact that it existed to begin with. Thankfully, the ground was flat, covered in a long carpet, as though to remind them that they were still in the mansion. To keep at least something resembling consistency in this surreal place. Nine-teen... twenty. "Stop." Sweetie whispered. She shined her light to the right, in accordance to the makeshift map. Surely enough, to their right was another tunnel-cave. She noted that the opening was significantly less wide than the one they were already inside. "A-alright." Scootaloo shuddered. "You alright?" Sweetie asked. "J-just cold is all. Don't worry about it." Scootaloo said. "Applebloom?" "Ahm f-fine." Applebloom assured. "Ahve been in colder in rushes ta pick apples before winter started. J-ust didn't know this place'd get this cold." "N-no kidding. I-I thought that last hallway would be the w-worst." Scootaloo agreed. "Well keep it together. It might not get much better." Sweetie warned. "Focus on counting. Now face the tunnel-cave and we'll start again." "Tunnel-cave?" the other two asked. "Well... it's shaped like a tunnel, but made up like a cave so... tunnel-cave." "If you say so." Scootaloo shrugged. "I'm calling it a tunnel." "Girls, we got other things to worry about.” Applebloom said. “As in, do we go in there first 'n start counting steps, or do we start from here?" "I don't know." Sweetie admitted. "Let’s... just start from here, and we'll turn into the next opening we see. Okay?" The two of them nodded, and turn to face the next branch of the tunnel along with Sweetie. "Alright. Second verse, same as the first." Sweetie said. They then began walking in the direction of the tunnel. Six... Seven... Eight... Nine... Sweetie noticed it less, but she began to feel the same familiar bite of cold. She couldn't imagine how the other two, who weren't as accustomed to the chill of the mansion were holding up. She might have considered stopping to make sure they didn't need a break or anything if she wasn't running the risk of throwing off any of their count. But the chill wasn't the worst part. Because around the time they reached the 14th step of the second tunnel-cave, Sweetie's flashlight began to flicker. She didn’t shake it to get it to stop flickering, for the same reason she didn't ask if her friends were okay. Besides, it's not as if they were blind yet. Though it imposed the already present uneasiness inside of the three little fillies Sweetie resolved to fix it once they reached the end of the second stretch. So long as it didn't mean what she thought it meant. Nineteen... twenty. The three of them stopped, and Sweetie started to shake her flashlight. "W-hat's wrong?" Scootaloo shuddered. She rubbed the sides of her legs in an attempt to keep warm. "The flashlights do this sometimes." she groaned. "Either it's just messed up from taking some abuse or..." "...we're not alone?" Applebloom finished. "Yeah..." Sweetie said. "But since we're not dead yet, and if there are ghosts around, either they haven't noticed us yet, or we're walking into another trap." "L-let’s just keep moving. I'm freezing my flank off here." Scootaloo shivered. "Crap, did it just get even colder" "But what about the-" "F-forget the flashlight. As long as w-we can kind of see, right?" Scootaloo cut off. Sweetie shrugged. "You're probably right. And even if it goes out, as long as we stay together and keep moving. In case it does go out, just stay together, okay?" The other two nodded in the flickering light before turning in the direction of the next opening. It was certain that the tunnel-caves were indeed getting smaller. In the same formation, they pressed onward. Eleven... Twelve... Teeheehee- There was a laugh. Suddenly, something broke loudly in the middle of the three crusaders just as Sweetie's light went out. "Crap, what w-as that?!" Scootaloo whispered. As she did, the three of them stopped. "...my flashlight." Sweetie said. Neither Applebloom nor Scootaloo could see in the complete black, but it felt and sounded as if she was shaking the light. Their hearts sunk as deep as Sweetie's as they heard the light rattle of broken glass inside. "That's don't sound good..." Applebloom said. "It's busted." Sweetie sighed. "It's busted and I have no throwback." "W-what's that mean? We can still keep going, right?" Scootaloo asked thoughtlessly. "It means we're defenseless now. I can't fight anything that comes our way." Sweetie said hopelessly. “And if there’s too many ghosts, I don’t even think my elemental will keep us safe for long.” "So what now? We can't go back, now can we?" Applebloom asked. "We can't. Not without getting worse off than we already are." Sweetie said. "Just gotta move forward and hope we can make it to the others without having to fight anything or anyone." "...'n Rarity?" Applebloom asked, almost shyly. "Portraits don't always need light. I can only hope she's an exception." Sweetie said. "Uh... alright." Applebloom said. "'nother question. How many steps have we taken?" "Uh..." Sweetie thought for a moment. Applebloom looked at Scootaloo. "You?" "Crap. I don't remember, uh... I think thirteen." "No." Sweetie corrected before nodding to herself. "Twelve." "Right, sorry." Scootaloo said. "Just this damned cold and dark getting to me. Lets keep going so we can get out of here." And with that, the three of them continued forward. Seventeen... E-e-eighteen... ninet-t-een... twenty... The three of them stopped at the indicated spot. It was silent for a moment. "Y'all okay over there? Scootaloo?" Applebloom asked. "I-I'm here." Scootaloo whispered. "Sweet's still here too." "Ah know, ahm next to her too." Applebloom reminded. "Sweetie, talk to me." "Sweetie?" Finally, a loud "shush" came from her. The two went quiet. "...don't you hear it?" Sweetie asked. "Hear what?" "Laughing. Her... Rarity laughing." Sweetie whispered. The two perked their ears up, and were surprised to hear there was some faint laughing in the darkness. If they weren't so cold already, the chills might have been more intense. The two of them were surprised Sweetie's ears managed to pick that up. Though, they didn't recognize the laughing as Rarity's, but someone else's. "That ain't Rarity, that's Pinkie!" Applebloom whispered with a bit of excitement as well as worry. Worry of what exactly a "normal" Pinkie would have to laugh at. Especially with a murderous griffon in a mansion of equally murderous ghosts where just giggling wouldn't make them go away. "W-we must be getting close to them." Scootaloo assured. "What are you both talking about, listen! That's Rarity!" Sweetie assured. "Sweetie-" "We ain't got time for arguin' over somethin’ silly." Applebloom said. "One of our friends are close. We just gotta keep goin'. One more, then back forty, right?" "You read the map." Scootaloo commented. Sweetie kept silent. "...Sweets, you sure you okay?" "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just fine. Let’s get out of here fast, alright?" "...ya ain't feeling weird, are-" "We can't turn back! And I'm not turning back with Rarity this close!" Sweetie exclaimed. Applebloom and Scootaloo could have sworn they felt the tunnel-cave shook slightly at the outburst. "We weren't saying anything like that. Just... you know. Being careful as you told us to be back there." Despite not being able to see her face, the two of them felt Sweetie calm down. "Sorry. Just... I don't know why this dark is getting to me too. I’m starting to see what you mean Applebloom. Something's wrong with this place. Something different." "You think?" Scootaloo commented sarcastically. Sweetie ignored her. "Let’s keep moving. Turn carefully on me." The two of them did so, turning until they felt they were in the direction of the next tunnel. Four... f-f-five... six... sev- "ow!" Both Applebloom and Scootaloo said as the group was dragged to a stop. "What's wrong?" Sweetie asked. The daze she was in before seemed to be gone, as though it never even happened. "Wall!" Scootaloo said. "I ran into a wall!" "Me too!" Applebloom groaned. "We at a dead end?" Sweetie waved her hoof blindly in front of her, only catching air. "...it got smaller." Sweetie said. "Does it turn in, or does is it a complete dead end where you are?" "...uh, the walls a bit slanted. That what you mean?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie nodded, even though the other two couldn't see. "Just walk along it. We'll walk in a single file." "Uh... Sweetie, wasn't the reason we were walking all bunched like this to make sure we didn't add steps or something?" "We'll just have to be careful. Count your own steps. I'll take a few steps to make room for Applebloom. Then Applebloom, we'll take a few steps forward to make room for Scootaloo. Once we're in, grab each other's tail and don't let go. And count to yourself. Got it?" "But what if one of us gotta go past the other?" Applebloom asked. "Then go over each other." Sweetie shrugged. "We'll work it out. We just needed to make sure we all stick together. Alright? I'm moving up... six steps." Six light clops were heard. There was silence for a moment. "Alright, now Applebloom. Move behind me with three. Try to grab my tail when you're there." Two more clops were heard. Sweetie felt a slight tug at her tail. "Got it." Applebloom said through her teeth. "Now Scoots, go up one," Sweetie said. "And get Applebloom's tasty tail." "What?" "Mmph?" Applebloom raised a brow. "I said, get Applebloom's tail." "No, you said... nevermind. On it." One clop was heard this time. Applebloom felt the tug. "Everyone good?" Applebloom's and Scootaloo's responses were muffled, but were enough for Sweetie. She led the group onwards. Though the numbers were different for the others Sweetie counted in her head. "Fourteen... Fifteen... Sixteen...". It's around the seventeen step of the fourth stretch that she noticed something. The grip of Applebloom's teeth on her tail was fading. Not that it was slipping off, but rather, as though it were growing ghostly. Sweetie's first impulse was to call to them to stop. To make sure that everyone was okay. Then her mind went back to the laughing. The laughing she still heard now, even louder for every step she took. Maybe it was another illusion. Another of the mansion's tricks. Her friends were still behind her, she was sure of it. They wouldn't let go because their lives depended on it. --If they were even there to begin with. What? No, that's crazy. Of course they're there. --As Scootaloo was in that piano. "Shut up," Sweetie mumbled to no one. She blinked in the darkness. "Nineteen." She didn't feel her friends on her tail anymore. She didn't even feel her tail up anymore. It was as if they weren't even there to begin with. Now Sweetie, the one used to the chill, was starting to feel cold. --They weren't there to- --Ah... Twenty. Sweetie stopped. ... She waited for something. A tug to notify that she wasn't alone right now. Nothing. Her friends appeared to be gone. "Guys," Sweetie whispered. She looked behind her, hoping even in the pitch black tunnel-cave she might be able to see them. That by looking in the direction they were, she'd suddenly feel something. Hear something. When suddenly she realized that even Rarity's (or was it Pinkie's?) laughing had stopped. "Guys," she tried again. No response. Sweetie was about to try a third time when she heard a "No!" from in front of her. She flinched, but managed to keep from jumping from her current position. She recognized the voice immediately. Specter... she said quietly in her head. In the distance, she saw the end of the narrow tunnel-cave. And because her light was out, she could only conclude there was a light coming from that direction of some other opening. Something was glowing in the distance. "What is wrong with you?!" There was a familiar voice. Another that made Sweetie's heart skip a beat. It was Rarity, of course. Though she didn't sound ghostly, nor did it echo as a ghost might. The voice, like Specter's sounded present and alive. "Now Rarity, I won't-" There was the sound of something being thrown against a wall. Silence, before Sweetie heard Rarity laughing again. The laugh, strangely enough, sounded somewhat angry. Almost an "I can't believe you just did that" kind of laugh, accompanied with a hint of alternating irony. "You've... been controlling me... I can't let you." There was no extra response before another smash. This one sounded wet. "I won't let you." she said. She laughed again. Now, the laugh seemed to hold bits of sobbing with it as something hit the ground. Sweetie let out a dry "Rarity", before her brain could catch up with what was happening. The voice in the distance responded with a concerned "Sweetie?". Sweetie let out a breathless gasp. "Where are you? Tell me where you are." She didn't give another response. She bit down on her tongue to keep from making any more outbursts. --It's another trick, it's another trick, and it’s another trick The light at the end of the tunnel-cave grew bigger. Eventually, its source turned the corner and blinded Sweetie with light. She wanted to run. To turn around and run the forty paces back as fast as she could. But she was frozen. Though not with fear, though that might have still been there. Was it curiosity? Ignorant hope she thought she got rid of hours before? She wasn't sure as the light on Rarity's horn dimmed slightly. At first, she did look ghostly. Though as the light on her horn faded, Sweetie could see she was very solid. Rarity was alive. "Sweetie..." she sighed. As her features became clearer, Sweetie noticed something red at the base of her fore-hooves. Tears were streaming down her eyes. It was difficult to tell whether or not they were tears of relief, or tears of guilt. "Rarity, I-" holding her tongue didn't work, as her teeth once again found themselves spouting out words she shouldn't have. Words to show remind both her, and anyone else how weak she was to the sight of her sister. Illusion or otherwise. "Sweetie, you're okay..." At first, Sweetie didn't notice the walls spread, as though to accommodate for the larger pony she was so fixated on. She walked slowly- no, more in slow motion. If anyone were looking only at her upper body, they would have sworn she were gliding, her strides toward her were so perfect. So beautiful. It felt like an eternity before Rarity finally made it to her. She stopped when there was about a ruler's length between them. "You're okay. He said... they said they did... I watched them Sweetie. Then I couldn't watch them and..." Rarity sniffled. "I'm... fine." Sweetie started to relax. Real or not, if there was one thing Sweetie had learned to sense, was when something or someone wanted to kill her. And Rarity (or this apparition of Rarity) didn't have anything like that. There was no ill will in those eyes, no murderous intent she cast in her radiant, if not somewhat dirty aura. It was worry that reminded her almost a little of Madame. Or her friends. Perhaps even double that amount of care and love. Rarity would not kill her. She was just here to comfort her. Rarity tried to make a smile over her tears, but it looked hard. It was around now she saw the fear in her eyes. She was scared. "He's... he's going to come back Sweetie... He's going to make me... Then he'll control me more and..." she was speaking in broken sentences. Always having her train of thought interrupted by a sniffle, or lost when she trailed off. But Sweetie understood what she meant. What she was trying to say, anyway. Still, Sweetie wasn't sure how to respond. Then, Rarity whispered, "I'm scared." "...I'm scared too," Sweetie said quietly. Pieces of her mind felt distant when she responded. "I don't want to leave you..." she said. "...I don't either," Sweetie said. She was so close. --So close. But Sweetie wanted more. She felt so cold. --So cold. She wanted to feel her embrace, even if it wasn't real. Even for a moment she could pretend she was hugging Rarity, her real sister, then maybe she wouldn't feel as cold anymore. Just a little warmth. Just a little fire. Sweetie felt so weak. So very... very... --Stop. Sweetie's eyes widened. In the last two minutes, Rarity hadn't said anything. She hadn't even moved, she was just sobbing. Sweetie on the other hand looked down to see her right hoof half way moving forward. So that's what you want... Sweetie wondered. Rarity was only a step away. Just a step. One good step and she could embrace her, but what would happen next? Would she be lost in this tunnel? To do nothing but hug this pretend version of her sister? --But would it really be that bad? Sweetie shook her head. It was a trap. She knew it was a trap, as much as she wished it wasn't. As much as she wished it was something else. Anything else. But it was a trap. If she took one step forward, then she would never save her sister. So why would she trade her real sister for some imposter? --You know. Sweetie felt the walls again. Had they really opened up? Or was that another illusion? She couldn't see them, but she could feel the uneven walls, sticking into her sides. They were rock, but felt like icicles sticking into her. --It hurts... it hurts... --And it's only going to hurt more. Her resolve was set. She couldn't let this thing keep her from moving toward her goal. The real Rarity. Sweetie moved her raised hoof back, to begin her first step in the reverse direction. She couldn't turn in the narrow space, so she'd have to settle for moving in reverse. One... two... When she made her first push back, she could feel the edges of the walls scratching along her sides. She knew the walls would only get smaller. She would just have to push through and hope that the walls didn't start to cut and gut her. Three... four... five... six... So far so good. Seven... eight... nine... ten... At the tenth step, Sweetie noticed the walls start to open up again. Not a large amount for Sweetie to turn around, but just enough where she didn't feel the walls sticking her. She then noted that she didn't hear Rarity sobbing anymore. She must have stopped focusing on her when the pain of the walls came. She looked at her. She could see her staring at her. Just staring. Even though she was maybe five yards away, Sweetie could tell that she had stopped crying. The streaks of tears and eye shadow were still there though. "Why," She whispered loudly. Not as a straight question, but more as a command to answer "why". "You know why. You jealous little filly." Sweetie did her best to pay her no mind. She kept counting, taking advantage of her new wiggle room to move faster in the opposite direction. "Are you proud? You know." Rarity mumbled this, as she stood taller, and began walking toward Sweetie. This time at normal speed. Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty. Twenty-one. Sweetie moved faster and faster, learning under desperation to get away from Rarity how to run backwards. Making sure to keep her count as she did. Like before, she didn't feel as if she would die if Rarity were to get to close. Yet at the same time, she didn't want Rarity to get any closer. She didn't want to hear anything else she'd have to say. “You jealous, ugly little filly.” she said. “You don’t want me to be happy. You wouldn’t hug me. You wouldn’t love me. You wouldn’t even let me have love.” Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one- "AH!" Sweetie felt her left side come across one part of the wall sticking out. It cut along her slightly. It wasn't deep, thankfully, but Sweetie still felt a bit of something warm dribble down her side. She did her best to ignore it, but it did make her slowdown to be more careful. She was glad she did when she felt something scrape along the top of her body before hitting the top of her head. Give me a break! Sweetie thought on the thirty fifth step. It took a moment for Sweetie to figure that the wall had lowered now. She'd have to crouch into the tunnel-cave like a mole now, if she planned on getting through. She did so, moving backwards as the walls, both above her and to the side of her felt tighter than ever before. Thirty-six. Sweetie pushed hard backwards. The walls thankfully weren't as jagged here, but they still hurt. When she didn't feel the walls scratching against her, she felt bits of the walls coming off on her body. Likely messing up her mane and tail more than it already was. Thirty-seven. Still, if it was such a tight fit for her, surely it would be a tight fit for her fake sister. Then again, the path got wider before, what was stopping it now? All Sweetie could do was hope, as she saw Rarity's legs in the opening that she had pushed herself through. The opening didn't get bigger, and she just stood there. For the moments she did, Sweetie finally felt that familiar murderous intent. Yet still, she did not move where Sweetie was supposedly safe. Had she crawled into another trap? Thirty-eight. Almost there, Sweetie gritted her teeth. Even under her, against her chest. The walls were constricting now, she could barely breath. Truly a claustrophobic's nightmare, even in comparison to the vents she traveled through earlier. "You won't believe me." Rarity said. "But you're going to be disappointed." Thirty-nine. "Because she'll never forgive you fully." Rarity got low so Sweetie could see her face. Just as Sweetie saw her face, the light on her horn went out. And in the quickly receting light, Sweetie could have sworn she saw the frozen neck of the Rarity she had decapitated in Pinkie's park. And as the light went out, Sweetie could have sworn she heard three last words. "And you know it." Sweetie sat there, motionless for a few moments. Something chilled her. Apart of her knew what she was talking about. Apart of her didn't want to acknowledge it. And a part of her knew she was right. ... Sweetie shook her head. One more push and- Forty. A gust of wind hit Sweetie as she felt the walls rush away from her in one fell swoop. She was free now, but also noted something else. The ground under her was shifting slightly to the left. On an instinct, Sweetie took a step in the opposite direction, to the right. Just as she did, the floor re-adjusted for a moment before shifting to the right. Sweetie leaned in again to level the plane again. Just as she did, a spotlight went on a few feet in front of her. The ambient light around the main cone of the spotlight showed that she was standing on a 2 by 2 meter square of carpet covered by stone. The rest of the tunnel-cave seemed to be gone. Or perhaps it was just that it had expanded on a much larger scale this time. Either way, it was obvious that all that was left was this square, and something under it that Sweetie had to balance on. Under the light was a platform with a door she assumed she'd have to jump for. Twenty six. Sweetie remembered the idea of waiting the twenty six seconds. Would she then make her move? How many seconds has it been... six? Seven? Eight? Sweetie wasn't sure. So, she picked a number, seven, and hoped she was right. As she did her best to keep still, balancing on the square so she wouldn't fall to her likely death. ... Twenty-four maplesipping... twenty-five maplesipping... twenty-six maplesipping! Sweetie leaped for the door, barely making it as she heard the square fall down. After waiting for maybe a minute, she heard it crash at the bottom of the tunnel-cave. After that, she went back to the door, and opened it. Once inside, she found herself in a small mid room with candles illuminating it. The door behind her had disappeared and there was another double door in front of- "Sweetie?" Sweetie jumped at the sudden call of her name. She looked directly to the right of her and there was Applebloom. Maybe an inch from her side. "How did you-" "Ah could ask ya the same thing." Applebloom cut off. "Where'd y'all go?!" "What do you mean, where did we go?" "Ah was walking and... and y'all disappeared! Ah tried calling for you, but ya didn't answer. Then... then ah saw Applejack. And the rest of them." "So did I. Well... I didn't see your sister, or any of the others, but I did see someone." Sweetie shook her head. "I think it was another trick of the mansion. But... last time something like that happened, it was with something called 'Mind Dive'." "Mind who?" "Just... something that happened when Twilight was attacking me." Sweetie said. "Well, ah figured it was a trick. No way the others would've gotten this far, right? So ah went back. N' the tunnel was gettin' all weird an-" "When you got to the end, you had to do a balance act for a good twenty six seconds?" "Yeah! Ya did too?" Sweetie nodded. She wasn't sure why, but it made her feel better to know that Applebloom had a similar experience to her. Still though, in all honesty that wasn't the most disturbing thing about it. Just the way she looked at her. Just the things she said, as few as they were. She had to ask. "Did Applejack... or any of the ones you saw say anything?" She shrugged. "Just kept sayin' ah was goin' the wrong way and to come that way." "They didn't... insult you? Or make you feel as if you did something wrong, or-" "Nah. That's how ah knew they weren't real." Applebloom said. She seemed somewhat proud of her little deduction. "Why?" Sweetie shook her head. "No reason." It was then when Applebloom's smile faded. "Sweetie, where's Scootaloo?" Sweetie looked to the other side of her, then back at Applebloom. "I don't know. I was here for about a minute before I saw you so-" "No Sweetie." Applebloom corrected. "Ah was here first." Sweetie blinked. "That's not right..." Sweetie looked to the other side of her and back at Applebloom. "It's... one way or the other she should be here right now." There was silence for a few moments. Neither of them wanted to acknowledge what Scootaloo's absence meant. But they both thought it. They both knew that in some way the mansion had split them up, midway into those twenty steps. From then on, if one of them made a mistake, none of the others would have known until now. Scootaloo was already having trouble keeping the numbers steady when they were counting. Now, with the confusion of the different steps to account for, what if Scootaloo had lost count? --It was your idea. What if she were now, wandering the tunnel-caves, or the mansion, or somewhere else entirely without any way to protect herself? --She could be dead. Or was cut deep along one of the jagged walls? --And this time, it's all your fault. Or worse, what if she made it to the balancing square and leaned a wrong way to fall to her death? --Isn't it? Sweetie gritted her teeth for who knows how long. She was angry at herself. This was real. This was real. Flashbacks of Scootaloo in that piano, that terrible trick (it might not be a trick anymore) came to her. Scootaloo messed up and it was her fault probably. "We..." Sweetie forced herself to speak. Trying not to think about what a dead, Cutie Mark-less Scootaloo meant. "...need to keep moving." "Sweetie, we can't-" "She's not coming." Applebloom went quiet then. Sweetie closed her eyes, trying to think of something to say that even she might be willing to believe. "...If Scootaloo didn't... in those caves, she'll be fine. She's fast, and she can outrun ghosts if she has to. A-and ghosts like kids, I think. Maybe the worst that could happen is-" "Her gettin' possessed again." Applebloom finished. It was a dark hope, but it was better than the alternatives. "...yeah." Sweetie nodded. Sure. That could help. At least until she found Scootaloo's body, at least the both of them could believe that and keep moving. "We just need to hope for the best. She'll be fine, I'm sure." "Okay." Applebloom sniffed. Sweetie wasn't sure how much her words helped, but it looked as if they had at least kept Applebloom from going into a full-on mourn for her friend. "...so yer sister's behind that door?" "I hope." Sweetie said. "Something important better be." The two advanced, and pushed the double doors open. "Hey! Dashie look!" Pinkie exclaimed as they saw Sweetie and Applebloom enter the large dome-shaped room. "What the..." Rainbow said when she twisted around in the chains they were hanging from. "Oh no, not you too." "Rainbow! Pinkie!" Sweetie exclaimed. "Don't worry!" Applebloom called. "She ain't possessed no more! We're gonna get y'all down!" The two fillies entered the large dome room with a sprint, knowing they were just in time to stop whatever was getting ready to happen to the two mares tied up together and hanging upside down by chains. They had no idea what they were going to stop, but they knew they had to before something happened to them. Lanterns hung against the walls to illuminate the room more than either Applebloom or Sweetie thought the mansion was capable of. It showed the dark silver metal floor, as well as the machinery and large tanks of oily substances, as well as metal tubs of rocks that sat on them. Some of which glowed. In between each piece of machinery was a large crater in the wall, as if something had crashed through, or burned into it, and been sealed after some time. There were three of these inside of the large, arena-like room. "C'mon! Get us down!" Pinkie cheered. "You hear that Dashie? We're saved!" "No, no, they've got to get out of here," Rainbow said. "You two have to go back where you came! She'll kill you if you come back." "Gilda?" Sweetie asked. "Go on, get out of here!" "Sorry Rainbow, but we couldn't if we wanted ta. There ain't no way back!" Applebloom explained. Rainbow cursed to herself. "...fine. Then get us down so we can help you when she gets back." "Well duh Dashie. That's what they're trying to do!" Pinkie giggled. "Girls, the chain's controlly bits are somewhere else. I don't think you could get us down like that, buuuuuut..." She paused for dramatic effect. "You see those thingies up a level? Those little spear things?" With further examination, both Applebloom and Sweetie noticed that there were indeed a flat plain above the initial wall where the machinery was. On that level, actually blending into the walls behind it, there appeared to be guns of some sort, trained on Pinkie and Rainbow. They looked to be large spear guns, four of them in total, where the ends of the spears seemed to have glowing tips. They glowed the same color as the few rocks in the tubs below them. "Oh no..." "Yuh huh! Apparently it's a part of some big plan Gilda was promised!" Pinkie explained. "She said they wouldn't hurt, but I don't think she was telling the truth." "I don't want to know what happens if those things fire at them." Sweetie said. "It would probably be messy!" "You're not helping." Rainbow mumbled. "We need to climb on top of those tanks and up to the second level." Sweetie figured. "Applebloom. If I got you up there, you think you could buck all of them but one completely out of place so they're not aiming at them?" "Ah'll try, but why keep one?" "I'm hoping that they're aimed with that chain as a center point. If that's the case, maybe we could use one to cut them loose." "Ya sure that'll work? It's a pretty itty bitty target that chain." "Better than nothing." With their plan set, the two headed to one of the larger tanks. "Alright, looks as if I'm going to have to boost you up." For a moment, Sweetie took off her GCD and put it to the side so Applebloom could jump off her back. With a running start, Applebloom jumped on Sweetie's back, and then on top of the edge of the first tank. She scrambled up on top before eventually making the second jump to the second level. "You okay Applebloom?" "Yeah!" Applebloom said as she went by one of the spear guns. She looked to be examining it. "What's wrong?" "Just somethin' weird about these things. They're attached to ropes." she said. "So?" "So, ah know a thing or two bout rope length, and fer some reason, I don't think this would reach Pinkie and Rainbow! Let alone their chains." "What the..." "Sorry Sweetie. I'll mess 'em up, but ah don't think any of 'em could cut 'em free, just cause they wouldn’t reach th’ chain." Applebloom said. "Either whoever set 'em up didn't do no measurin' or they weren't meant to hit 'em to begin with." "...fine. We'll think of something else. Just get rid of them." "On it." Applebloom kicked at the spear gun three times. It squeaked as it was taken out of its hinges before finally clattering to the ground. "Okay... well that ideas out." Sweetie mumbled before looking back up at the two hanging mares. "Hey Pinkie! You got any other ideas?" "Mmm... not off the top of my head!" she giggled. "Or the bottom! It's kind of hard to tell from here!" "Dang... Rainbow?" Rainbow shook her head. She didn't feel like speaking because of her headache. Though, whether it was from the blood rushing to her head, or Pinkie Pie, it was hard to tell. Sweetie then started looking around for something, anything to help get the two of them down from their chains. "Hey Sweetie!" Pinkie called. "I've got an idea!" She looked up as Applebloom made her way to, and started bucking the next spear gun. "Let’s hear it." "Why don't you ask Gilda?" Sweetie rolled her eyes. "Sure. That'll work. Even if she'd tell me, she isn't even here, Pinkie." "Yes she is!" "Why's that?" "Because Spike's here. See?" Pinkie motioned her head behind Sweetie. Her eyes widened as she saw Spike, on the same level as Applebloom, aiming at her. When did he get here?! Sweetie said before looking back at Applebloom. "APPLEBLOOM. DODGE." Maybe it was because she heard Pinkie. Maybe it was because of the panic in Sweetie's voice. Maybe it was a mix of the two. But just as Applebloom kicked over the second gun, she dodged to the side, over the edge of the level just as a BANG! echoed in the room and a bullet whizzed by Applebloom's flank. She fell about 10 feet, before rolling down onto the first level. Sweetie rushed over to her. She was lying on her back "Applebloom. You okay?" "Yeah, Ah'm fine, it just nicked m- SWEETIE DODGE!" Sweetie felt the incoming death swooping at her. She pushed Applebloom out of the way, and dodged back herself, just in time to dodge the claws passing by her. The sound of claws scraping against the ground filled the air. Metal sparks flew in the air around the angry griffon as she came to a complete halt. It was then Sweetie noticed something. Two things actually. The first thing she noticed was that the craters that were in the walls between the machines had opened up to become black circular portals leading somewhere else. Inside of them, she could hear the whirl of active machinery, opposed to the dead machines that were in the area she was in now. The second thing she noticed was that her cutie marks were showing. She didn't examine her entire body, but she assumed that they were all there, happily showing everyone who could see her. Applebloom stood in her battle stance, less concerned about the cutie marks she already knew existed. Gilda stared at her with nothing but the intent to kill. Spike stared at the scene blankly, keeping his gun trained where Applebloom was before. The bag by his side hanging limply and uselessly. Even Pinkie just giggled when she saw her balloons sitting on Sweetie's coat. Only Rainbow looked remotely surprised, though at the moment she was a little more concerned about Gilda's talons. "...Gilda." Sweetie tried. Gilda stood tall and silent. Still there was intense rage in her eyes for mucking up what was already set up. Sweeite swallowed, as she knew that she was beyond mad. "...what are you doing?" Gilda didn't answer. "You're... are you trying to kill your friend? I mean, I don't know how you feel about Pinkie-" "Way to through me under the cart!" Pinkie giggled. "-but Rainbow? Why are you doing this-" Sweetie stopped speaking when she heard the clopping coming from one of the tunnels. Growing steadily louder than the machinery behind them. It wasn't long before Sweetie's eyes were filled with rage when she saw Specter coming out of one of them. Was this the real one? Or just a part of another illusion to trick Sweetie? And if it was the real Specter, had Celestia attacked him yet? She could only hope not. He stopped at the edge of the crater. "Congratulations Sweetie Belle," Specter called. "You nearly at your final destination, I hope you realize. You so very close... you can almost taste her, can't you?" He laughed. "Well, I certainly have." "If you hurt her at all-" "How many times have I told you? I wouldn't dare," Specter said. "All I've been doing is giving her the pleasure a stallion should." "Sweetie...?" Applebloom called. Sweetie didn't hear her as she glared at Specter. "But if you're so desperate to yank her from such loving arms, I suppose I am but a feeble old stallion to stopping you. However," Specter smiled. "Our little jail bird was promised something. And I'm very good on my promises." Sweetie saw something glowing around Gilda's neck. Some kind of stone that looked similar to that of the glowing tips and the rocks in the tubs around the arena. "Her own personal ghostly servants, as well as immortality to make up for the difficult time she's had in the last few months." Specter nodded. "Isn't that right, bird?" "...yes." Gilda mumbled. She blinked a few times. She then spoke with a little more confidence. "I'm getting my immortality, Rainbow and Pinkie. Buck what's happened to me already, now I've got two little dweebs trying to buck everything up." "That's right, bird. You do. And you've got to do something about this before they make things worse." Gilda mumbled lowly again before barking at Specter, "Don't tell me what to do. I know that, old stallion." Specter turned his head back to Sweetie. He didn't even seem to be acknowledging Applebloom, who just stood there looking back between Spike, Gilda and Specter. "You see Sweetie, everything comes with a price. A sacrifice. And Gilda here isn't dead, nor is she a pushover, as you've witnessed. But now, you're stronger than her, aren't you? What sins are you willing to commit in order to find out if your sister will forgive you for being... well, you?" --Kill her. "Shut up." Sweetie mumbled. "Are you willing to murder someone in cold blood Sweetie Belle? I'm truly curious now." Specter said. "You'll face your own death for her, but what about someone else's? Will you justify it?" --Kill her. "Sweetie, careful, ah think it's a trick." Applebloom whispered. "Don't try runnin' for him, he'll do somethin' to stop you." "No." Specter said. "You won't, will you? You aren't willing to do something so heinous for someone you love. You'll wander around, begging for forgiveness forever before you do something so horrible. You can't do it. You lack the initiative. Which is why I'm better for her." --Kill her. "Sweetie-" "Because Sweetie Belle, I'm starting to believe I love her more than you ever could." "Shut UP!" Sweetie ran "Sweetie, don't!" Applebloom called. At first, she was sure that she was going to run for Specter. But instead, she did something else that chilled her slightly more. Sweetie ran with near impossible speed, Rainbow's cutie mark glowing brightly, as she ran for Gilda. Impossibly fast, Sweetie reached into her saddlebags, pulled out the knife to toss the handle in her mouth, before switching to Applejack's cutie mark to have more strength with a clean swipe. Still, Gilda was faster as she dodged to the left a few meters before Sweetie could get to her. The impulse was over. Sweetie was shocked at what she had done, or rather nearly done. What had gotten into her for those few moments? Her mind was so clear, so intent on killing Gilda. So horribly clear she already visualized her slicing at her torso before she even pulled the knife out. What was wrong with her? "Don't be so shocked Sweetie. That's nothing but anger at the girl. I'd be mad too if someone tried to kill me more than once in one night. Especially if I didn't know them personally." he laughed. "Ironic, isn't it? Regardless, I think you've made your match now. One of you will die in the next fifteen minutes. Hopefully. All of the craters will close by then, and you'll be stuck here for good. And since this is nearly the end of our arrangement, bird, I won't be coming for you. Once you're done, you're free to go, but you might want to kill her and reset the Spirit Binders before you're stuck in here forever. Good luck you two. I'll be watching." Something about that last sentence felt wrong. Very wrong. With that, Specter left for the room, heading back into the hole he came out of. "...you should just lie down and give up, you know." Gilda said. "I'm faster than her already, and you're not even as fast as she was. Even with that cutie mark you stole. Isn't that right Rainbow?" Rainbow didn't answer. She was stuck between being shocked from the cutie marks on Sweetie's body, and the fact she'd tried to killed Gilda. "Fine. I'll make this quick. I've been meaning to kill you all night anyway." she laughed. "And I'm not going to stop until you're dead." --Kill her. In what felt like a split second, Gilda covered the distance between herself and Sweetie, before smacking the knife out of Sweetie's mouth. It fell to the ground with a clatter, though she didn't hear that until Gilda grabbed her by the throat. She held her up, and wound her free foreleg back to launch her claws into Sweetie's body. Before she could, Applebloom bucked at her hind legs as hard as she could, knocking her down and Sweetie out of her grasp. Applebloom grabbed up the knife before Sweetie could. "What are you doing?" Sweetie asked. "Ah got an idea." Applebloom said quickly. "You just need ta keep Spike and Gilda busy for a few minutes." "What? Wh-" "Jus' do it! Ah don't care how, but jus' do it. We ain't gotta kill her!" Sweetie blinked. Maybe she was right. Maybe there was a way to get past this without killing Gilda. Or Spike for that matter, who still had his sights trained on where Applebloom originally was on the second level. "Ya gotta boost me up. Ahm gonna see if I can't free 'em from up there." Sweetie didn't ask how. She just ran over to the spot of one of the tanks to boost her up. Applebloom did the same behind her, preparing to jump on her back and onto the top of the tank. "What the hell are you waiting for? Get them!" Spike finally looked down at Sweetie and Applebloom. He then reached into the back by his side and pulled out a black black ball the size of his hand with a fuse sticking out. He blew a small flame on it and threw it in the general direction of the tank. Sweetie saw it just as Applebloom scrambled to the top. "Oh you've got to be kidding me. Applebloom get off of there now! It's a bomb!" She screamed, before retreating from the now fuming ball herself. Applebloom jumped onto the second level and got as close to the wall as possible before the bomb Spike threw blew up, along with the tank Applebloom had climbed over. "APPLEBLOOM!" Sweetie yelled. Smoke filled the entire left side of the arena. At first, it was hard to tell whether or not she had survived. She was relieved to immediately hear coughing and to at least tell that she was still breathing. She was breathing smoke, but she wasn't dead yet. That was all that mattered. And with all the smoke, Spike wouldn't be able to shoot her. All Sweetie could do was hope Applebloom was alright enough to get up, out of the smoke, and do what she planned on doing. Sweetie's mind was taken off of Applebloom as she heard a mad caw. After she felt Gilda coming with Pinkie's mark, almost without thinking, she tapped into Rainbow's cutie mark and dodged to the right, just in time to miss Gilda's talons. Sweetie ran around so she could face her. Gilda was back to being pissed. She didn't take her piercing eyes off of Sweetie. "You stupid dragon!" She called to Spike. "You could have ruined the damned guns! I said to shoot them!" Spike didn't say a word. He just kept his gun trained on the smoke cloud, waiting for Applebloom to either run out, or choke to death. Sweetie had to think. She had to figure out what to do so Applebloom could safely get out of the smoke cloud and figure out how to free Rainbow and Pinkie. She looked over at the rocks. That was it. She didn't have a gun or even bombs like Spike, but those rocks could make good projectiles. She would just have to make sure she didn't miss and hit him somewhere fatal, if she were to use the things. After all, she wasn't thinking about shooting slime at the dragon. She was thinking about shooting stones. Sweetie ran over to them as Gilda prepared to speed toward her again. Just as Sweetie nearly made it to one of the tub of glowing rocks, she felt it again. She dodged Gilda, who skidded to a stop before, sparks flying, before she hit a wall. She didn't hit her head, but she hit it hard enough to stun her for just a moment. Sweetie pointed her GCD at the pile of stones and sucked one of the glowing ones up by chance. It hit the nozzle harder than she had expected. Apparently these appeared to be gems of some sort. Aproximately five seconds after it stuck itself onto the nozzle, Sweetie saw a bit of smoke rising from the end of the nozzle. It was then Sweetie noticed that the rock was burning it! Quickly, Sweetie switched the flow of the GCD and shot it in Gilda's direction. Though it wasn't her conscious intention, the rock went straight for one of her wings. Gilda dodged herself before the rock hit her. This pissed her off even further. "Gah, forget that bitch, shoot her. Shoot her!" Gilda growled at Spike. "But... I love Swe-" Gilda cawed. "Why do I have to go through this with a god damned kid!" By this point, Sweetie got a new rock, this one non-glowing, and went back to paying attention to Gilda. She looked up at the cloud of smoke emanating from the tank Spike blew up. Just as she did, she saw Applebloom, limping out of the smoke, with the knife in her mouth. She was coughing, but quieter this time. Spike didn't notice her yet, and Sweetie wasn't going to let him. She aimed her GCD at Spike's gun. She didn't use any of her talents this time, and it didn't seem as if luck was on her side for a good shot. So when she hit Spike this time, instead of hitting his gun as she was hoping, she instead managed to hit him right along the side of his head. He fell over onto his side. Just from his facial expression, it looked as if he actually wasn't expecting that. Maybe because he was hypnotized to still believe that Sweetie was still Spiffy? That would explain why he wouldn't shoot her when Gilda told him to. This time Gilda looked up at him this time. "You alright there?" She didn't sound particularly concerned about Spike's wellbeing. If anything, it sounded as if she was about to use it for another reason to kill Sweetie. To both Sweetie's and Gilda's surprise however, Spike not only got up right away, but he smiled. The two of them could tell something just clicked in Spike's head. And something told Sweetie, she wasn't going to like what had clicked. "Oh..." he said. "Specter said you would start playing hard to get... and he told me that you like to play back so..." he pointed his gun at Sweetie now. "...I'll do what my Sweetie wants. I'll play too." Welp. You wanted them both off you Applebloom. There you go. Sweetie thought, before jumping back to the side to dodge a bullet. She tapped into Pinkie's talent now, knowing that she wouldn't be able to dodge all of the bullets without it. At least as long as she still had to keep an eye on Gilda. She would have to rely on her mark to predict and dodge everyone's attacks. "Alright then. Let’s go." Sweetie said, as she charged for Gilda. While Sweetie was dipping and dodging Spike and Gilda on the first level, Applebloom limped around quietly around to one of the two remaining spear guns. Sweetie was doing well in keeping the others' attention, making it easy to examine the gun without worrying a bullet would go through her forehead. She looked around and eventually found what she figured would be the firing mechanism to launch the spear. She then got as much behind the spear as possible to gauge where it would fire. As Sweetie had predicted, the gun was aimed toward the general center of the chain- "Hey Applebloom!" Pinkie called. "Shhhh!" Applebloom hissed back. Pinkie giggled, and whispered as loudly as she could. "Whatcha doin'?" "Ahm tryin' ta get y'all down from there!" Applebloom said. "Now keep it down b'fore they hear you and start shootin' at me again!" "What are you doing again?" Pinkie asked, as if Applebloom never said anything. "You'll see. Now hush up!" Applebloom said, as she used the knife to saw away at the rope attached to the spear. It was but a few seconds before it was cut. Now, she had to put it in a position where it wouldn't impale Rainbow or Pinkie. She got into bucking position underneath it. But when she tried to buck as high as she could- "Ah!" Before she could even tap the spear she was reminded how she had to limp all the way there. A sharp pain shot from her hind legs and to her spine. She was sure something was broken. Though she counted herself lucky for escaping that explosion as she did, this wasn't good. Everything on the spear gun, save for the ropes, seemed to be bolted in place. And she didn't have a tool to remove the bolts, she had to rely on brute force to even hope to move the gun at any angle. With her bucking legs the way they were, that spear wasn't budging. Applebloom had to think. She looked down at Sweetie moving around against Gilda as well as dodging Spike's bullets. The cutie mark with three balloons, Pinkie's, was glowing brighter than the rest. It didn't take long for her to note that she was using those cutie marks somehow, elements of her friends to augment her abilities. Chances were, with Applejack's cutie mark, she could probably buck the spear gun where she wanted easily. Faster too, if she used Rainbow's mark. The problem was that Sweetie was busy. In order for her to even try to get up there, would mean to leave Gilda alone for a split second. And it wasn't as if Gilda would take a break from trying to kill either of them. Much less, Applebloom was in no physical condition to even attempt to tag out with Sweetie. Applebloom wracked her brain. There had to be some way to- Spike's bombs! The bag by his waist was filled with bombs. It was only for a second or two, but she was sure the bombs had knocked her out for a little bit. At least it stunned her enough. If she could catch Gilda by surprise with one of those bombs, maybe she could stun her long enough to have Sweetie buck the spear higher. The only problem was getting a bomb away from Spike. Applebloom looked over at him. He stood by one of the remaining spears. He seemed so focused on the scene below. Firing at Sweetie as she ran around below. Reloading. Firing again. Maybe Applebloom could sneak one out of him? After all, if he was hypnotized, she was sure he wouldn't be able to focus on somepony pickpocketing him. It was worth a try. Worst case scenario, she got shot in the face, right? Mustering all of the courage she had left, she began sliding against the wall, limping quietly as she made her way around the level to Spike. BANG! Tink! Tink! Every step, felt nerve wracking as though she were stomping as she approached him. BANG! Tink! Tink! Every second that passed, felt like an hour she was wasting while Sweetie risked her life against Gilda. BANG! Tink! Tink! Every shot sounded louder, making Applebloom's ears ring more and more, the closer she got. Truly she had no idea how he could take such loud shots fired at her. BANG! Tink! Tink! Right next to him. She was right next to him, and Spike didn't seem to even notice. He was so entranced on aiming and firing at Sweetie that he didn't notice her. Applebloom slowly reached into the bag, which was thankfully open from the first bomb he used. She felt around three more left. But at the moment, she only needed one. Flawlessly, she pick pocketed the bag and retreated back to where she came from as quietly as she could. Once back at the first spear gun, she tried raising the bomb to Sweetie while Gilda seemed to have her back turned. She couldn't tell if she understood why she had the bomb, nor could she tell if she understood the plan. Really, it was hard to tell if she could even see it. All she could do was try to use the bomb to hit Gilda close enough, and hope that Pinkie's talent would let her get out of the way. Applebloom climbed on top of the spear gun as high as she could to reach the lantern sitting above it. She opened it, and looked back. She waited for the right moment... there! Gilda was standing next to a tank. Her back was turned again too. With that, Applebloom lit the bomb, and threw it in the direction of both Gilda, Sweetie and the tank of flammable liquid. Sweetie couldn't help but be amazed at how much energy the griffon still had compared to her. Even with five (six when counting Spiffy's mark that she assumed to be there) she was already starting to get winded. She hoped Applebloom would release Pinkie and Rainbow so they could help her take Gilda down. Mercifully, as she wanted to. But what was taking so long? Surely her plan couldn't be taking- What was she doing? She seemed to be on her way from Spike. She was holding something, but she couldn't tell what it was. Now she's holding it up. What was it, a bomb? Sweetie couldn't get a good look, as Pinkie's sense told her to dodge the coming claw to the right, before jumping diagonally back to dodge a bullet headed straight for her side. Is she going to blow something up? What's she going to do? Blow up the chains? She's going to knock out Gilda. The realization struck her. Something went wrong and Applebloom needed to talk with her. She was going to blow up Gilda, probably to stun her. --Or kill her Shut up. To test if she was going to do it, Sweetie did her best to guide Gilda's attacks where she could be a non-lethal distance from another one of the explosive tanks. Just as she expected, once she was close enough, her- (Twicha Twitch) Pinkie sense told her of the incoming explosion from the bomb Applebloom threw. Gilda didn't hear it over the most recent BANG! from Spike's rifle. So of course, unlike Sweetie she didn't see it coming when she found herself flat on her front after a massive BOOM! came from behind her. Pinkie giggled while Rainbow stared, still stunned at the show stopper. Spike kept firing at her as though nothing happened. Sweetie had gotten so good at dodging with Pinkie's talent, she didn't even need to think about it as she dodged them. "Applebloom! What happened?" BANG! Sweetie dodged to the left. "Mah leg won't buck! Ah need you ta do it! High enough ta cut the chain as you said!" "Alright, I'm headed up!" BANG!, Sweetie dodged to the right, before tapping into Rainbow's talent to get a running start, and jump higher in order to get on top of the one remaining tank. "Buck it before she wakes up." Applebloom warned. "Then get back down there. Ah'll do the rest." "I know, I know." Sweetie said. She got under the spear gun and bucked upwards as hard as she could. Like an expert bucker, she did it with such force that it easily nudged up half a foot. When she did, Applebloom glanced back at Gilda. She was still on the floor. It looked as if she was still knocked out. She looked back at Sweetie. This time her exhaustion looked apparent, now that her adrenaline rush was gone. "Sweetie, y'all alright?" Applebloom asked. "Yeah just... just because I have these cutie marks, I guess it doesn't make me as strong as the others. Just..." she shook her head. "One more. One more. Let’s get them down before she wakes up." It was then Applebloom noticed something. The bangs had stopped. Applebloom looked over at Spike. He aimed at the both of them, but no bullets came flying at them. She heard tiny click!s as he made a motion to load another bullet. Though, his hands were empty. It looked as if he was finally out. Was he that entranced? Sweetie bucked the spear gun into position with a particularly loud squeak of metal. Well, as long as Gilda didn't bark at him to use another bomb- She was gone. Gilda was no longer where she was. Applebloom looked up as high as she could, but the ceilings were covered in smoke. "Sweetie! Gilda's-" And that was the last thing she said. It happened so fast, neither Applebloom, nor Sweetie knew what was happening until it was over. Out of the smoke clouds above, Gilda came speeding at Sweetie. She launched her talons at her face, and this time, she didn't miss completely. By sheer luck, Gilda missed Sweetie's eyes, but instead cut deep into her cheeks, also knocking her off of the level where she was. The next thing, Applebloom knew, she was being held up by the neck by Gilda. She could see the blind rage in her eyes. She was just another --Bug pest. Another dweeb trying to mess everything up. But this one. This one was weak. Not worth her time or effort. --Not like you. And yet this one was the reason why her back felt as if it were on fire. Gilda didn't hesitate. She felt rehearsed. She did it as if she knew what she was doing. She did it as if there was a muscle designed for this moment in time. She didn't bat an eye when she threw Applebloom as far as she could across the room onto the first level, as everyone in the area heard a sickening CRACK! When she hit the ground. Sweetie hadn't been knocked out. But she did feel the something oozing out of of her injury. How much? She didn't know, but it was enough to make her feel light headed. Enough to make her vision go blurry every couple of seconds. Maybe most of it was shock. Or maybe she was bleeding out. Without a mirror, or a doctor, she couldn't tell for sure. Regardless, with her life in danger once again, she looked at Gilda. She didn't see Applebloom anywhere at first, but when she looked to the side, she saw Applebloom's body, lying in a crooked manner. What happened? --CRACK! Sweetie blinked. Applebloom was knocked out. --CRACK! Gilda must have thrown her hard enough to knock her out. --CRACK! But why was she so angry? Much angrier than before. Perhaps as angry, if not angrier than Gilda was now. She couldn't explain it. But it was a strong anger. A strong hate. She stood up and glared at the griffon. The griffon who just stood there. Staring at her hand. She didn't see her expression. She didn't hear a word she said, if she said anything. Her mouth moved but Sweetie didn’t hear any words. She forgot about being merciful. She forgot about everything. All she remembered, all she saw was the griffon. All she remembered was Specter's order. --You have to kill her. Once Gilda glided down to the first level, she didn't let her say anything more. Sweetie's body was back on that hostile autopilot as she used Rainbow's talent to quickly run around to where the knife had fallen out of Applebloom's mouth, and launched herself at Gilda. She jumped once she had enough momentum and once again switched back to Applejack's talent for strength. Like before, Gilda dodged, but Sweetie anticipated this with sheer instinct. As she moved to the side, Sweetie shifted in Gilda's direction just enough to get a clean cut along her front. She cawed in pain as she retreated. At this point, Gilda was on one side of the arena while Sweetie was on another. She growled something to herself, before calling out to Spike. "You! Turn on the damned machine!" Sweetie didn't hear her. She just launched herself again, this time seeming ready to land a fatal cut. She couldn't even hear Rainbow begging her to stop. And for that matter, no one heard Pinkie's giggles had turned into laughs of utter joy and amusement. Wordlessly, Spike put his weapon over his shoulder as he took a few steps from his spot to a wall around him. He pressed it in and something inside the two remaining spear guns began to hiss. "Alright dweeb. You want to die that badly too... f-fine." She stuttered the last word as though she were having second thoughts. Then she clenched a fist and gritted her teeth with a "Lets finish this then." Sweetie didn't say anything as she launched herself again. Gilda did the same, heading straight on for her. Sweetie didn’t expect that. Nor was she expecting Gilda to, at the last minute, dodge to the side of Sweetie and grab her by the sides as she did. And like that, the two of them were airborne. Gilda flew higher and higher into the air, likely preparing to throw Sweetie down. Sweetie may have had Rainbow's talent, but she wasn't Rainbow. The air belonged to Gilda. And it was there where she would finish off the bleeding filly. The air was hers. Gilda could fly, but Sweetie could not. Even with Rainbow's talent, she could barely float more than a few seconds. If Gilda dropped her, or more likely spiked her at the ground at that point, she would not survive the fall. No matter how she fell. --Kill her She had a few seconds to figure out how to get down. Frantically, she began swinging her head, and the knife at Gilda, who held her out just enough where she wouldn't be able to reach her. She had to get closer before they reached the top where all the smoke was. Just close enough to get a good cut at her stomach and- Sweetie let out an incomprehensible, painful cry as she spat out the knife and tossed it against her hoof. In her current position, she couldn't get a good grasp on the knife, but that was fine. Her body was acting on it's own again, as she guided it through the air with one hoof, before using her other to jab it into one of Gilda's massive wings in mid flap. Gilda screamed herself, not expecting that kind of pain. But Sweetie wasn't done. Rather, her body wasn't. Again. Stab. Again. Stab. Again! Stab. Again! Stab. AGAIN! Stab. Five more times Sweetie did this before she missed the knife when pulling it out and dropped it to the ground below. The wounds, both the entrance and exit wounds pooled with blood, but the following effect was immediate. Rather than plummeting to the ground, Gilda found herself desperately trying to regain control in the air, almost gliding back down instead as air rushed through the holes Sweetie had made. In fact, she wasn't even thinking about the filly anymore, as she unconsciously gripped her. She couldn't imagine the pain Gilda was in right now. Just as they were halfway down, after the few seconds that must have passed, the spear guns finally fired. Though the first one, closer to Pinkie's side was going to hit the chain to potentially cut them free, the one by Spike was still pointed directly at Rainbow Dash. Though, before even Rainbow could realize it, Pinkie swung herself in the chains so now the spear would fire at her. "Pin-!" Before Rainbow could get a word out, or try to swing back to get them both out of the way, or even keep Pinkie from risking her life so suddenly, it was too late. The spear, now pointed at Pinkie fired, but as expected was stopped short by the rope tied to it's end. But something else did reach her. A beam of light fired into Pinkie's neck, and for a split second, Rainbow, when she turned as far as she could to see her, swore she saw an echo- no, Pinkie's ghost herself stretch slightly through her body. Something was wrong with it though. But before she could consider it, the other spear hit the chain with a surprisingly clean cut, resulting in them falling to the ground. They both were knocked out as a result. Once Sweetie found herself as close enough to the first level as possible, she found an opportunity to bite at one of Gilda's claws. Just as a reflex, Gilda let go of Sweetie, letting her fall and roll onto the first level. Gilda did the same, less menacingly than before as she stopped herself against one of the walls of the first floor. She gripped at her bleeding wing, gritting her teeth as she stared at Sweetie. Something clattered somewhere, but neither of them looked to see what it was. Without the ability to fly, she was defenseless. Even with her claws, without her wings Sweetie was now officially faster than her with Rainbow's cutie mark, as well as the others she had on her. Gilda was at a very bad disadvantage. And the filly standing before her, blood dripping onto the ground, with only adrenaline keeping her from fainting from the wound on her face, did not look merciful. She looked truly angry. It was almost ironic. At this point, Gilda was somewhat scared of her now. Gilda didn't see the knife, but she knew it was somewhere in the area. For all she knew, Sweetie had already found it, and was just waiting for her to make her next attack. She looked at one of the holes that Specter had retreated back into. As fast as her actual legs would take her, she rushed forward to Sweetie, who let out another insane cry as she charged again. Though, Gilda moved around so she wasn't going for Sweetie anymore, but the unconscious mares still wrapped in chains. She picked them up and rushed for the hole. She heard Sweetie pick something up behind her. Gilda ran into the hole, desperate to get away from the senseless girl chasing her with a knife. Sweetie stopped dead at the edge of where Gilda had retreated to. She didn't know why she had stopped, but she couldn't go any further. There was something inside of her telling her not to go that way. Not as if there was a trap but... --Sweetie... Yes. Yes, there it was. Rarity. She heard Rarity's laughter again. Her ghost was close. If she went this way right now, she wouldn't find her again, just as in the cave. It was the same damned trap. And if she didn't fall for it the first time, she wouldn't fall for it the second. They'll be fine... Sweetie thought. Did she think that? She wasn't sure. Her mind voice sounded so strange. Probably the blood loss... probably the blood loss. Sweetie touched the gash on her cheek. It hurt, but she still couldn't help but touch them. Feel them, as she stared into the abyss Gilda had escaped into with Rainbow and Pinkie. There were three gashes with one that was frighteningly deep. One... Sweetie turned around to look at Applebloom. She started to reach into her bag, and grab a candy heart. Though, her body suddenly forgot about the healing item, dropping it to the side as she stumbled over to her, not exactly thinking about anything in particular. She knew where the laughter was coming from. She would head there right after she checked up on her friend. When she looked up lazily onto the second level, she noticed that Spike was gone. Though she didn't worry about that. So long as he wasn't here. Once she was by Applebloom, now in a room where only the faint sounds of machinery were heard, she could hear her perfectly. She called her name, sobbing. "Ah can't feel 'em... ah can't feel 'em. Sweetie where..." "I'm here," Sweetie said, absent minded. "Get up. We need to go find my sister." "Ah can't move Sweetie. My legs ain't moving." "Oh," Sweetie said. Two... "Oh," She said again. This time, her senses returned to her. The world returned to her. The laughter became more vivid as she came to the realization. Applebloom couldn't move. Of course she couldn't. The way she must have fell, it's not surprising that she would have fallen and broken her bones. Or maybe she broke her neck. --It's all your fault Either way, it was a miracle that she was still alive. Still breathing and sucking up air to let out scared little sobs. But... --She's here because of you There was nothing she could do. If she was really paralyzed, what could she do? Carry her back to the safe room? Carry her straight to where Rarity was being kept? Sweetie paced back as tears felt well up in her eyes. Though they hadn't started to flow yet as she stared back into one of the open holes. Then she heard it. Three. The opening of the crater in the wall was groaning. Something deep inside of it was groaning like metal bending in on itself. From her position, she saw that it was closing ever so slowly. --Before. Sweetie bowed her head. The tears didn't fall however. --Just like. She turned around to Applebloom and smiled before shaking her head. --Just like before. "You think I'm that stupid huh?" Sweetie said. "Sweetie...?" Sweetie walked over to Applebloom and without warning kicked her in the stomach. Applebloom gasped as air rushed out of her lungs. "I'm not going to fall for the same thing twice." she whispered. "Not anymore." "Sweetie- guh!" She kicked her in the gut again. "You tried this before Specter!" she yelled at Applebloom. "Scootaloo in the piano, now this? I won't! I'm not going to let you close me out and burn me alive or whatever kind of trap you've got! I'm not!" Sweetie stared at her. There was a mix of anger and cleverness in her eyes. As if she had figured something out, and hated what she knew. "So where is she?" Sweetie asked. Tears were falling from Applebloom's eyes. She looked so confused, so afraid. She would have called Sweetie again if she wasn't afraid of having the air kicked out of her again. Even if she couldn't feel it, she still felt that terrible force of an applebucker ring all the way up to her skull. "Where IS she?!" Sweetie screamed. She kicked her another three times. "Where is she?! Where is she?! WHERE IS SHE?!" It made sense to her. Scootaloo was gone, probably lost in the mansion. It made so much sense, how was Applebloom the only one? They had already used Scootaloo, why not Applebloom? It made perfect sense. This wasn't her friend. This was another imposter. Just as in the piano. Just as in the tunnels. Just like nearly everywhere else. Her friends couldn't- no, wouldn't survive without her. It made sense. For all she knew, she had been alone since she left the room. No one survived as she did. Whether she was meant to, or she was better at it, no one else could survive as she did. It was impossible. It made sense. She stared at Applebloom. This. This. This thing. This thing that was pretending to be her friend. It represented something, something that Sweetie absolutely hated. The deception that Specter thought he could get away with every damn time. The sheer gullible mentality that Specter had put into his old mind. That he kept lying. Lying about Rarity. Lying. This Applebloom was a lie. She didn't kill Gilda. She wondered why she didn't. Did she regret it? Maybe just because she was alive. She didn't know. But this lie in front of her. This thing that was dead, pretending to die. She could destroy it. Just to spite him. Just to spite Specter who she felt was watching her from somewhere. She could do it. She was still lying there. Lying to her. Lying about being paralyzed, lying about being her friend. She would keep it up. She could spite him. She could destroy that lie. He was watching. He was watching somewhere. Somewhere with Rairty. He said he would. He said he would watch. He was watching with her. With Rarity. Applebloom saw it in Sweetie's eyes. She didn't know what to do. Plead for her life? Call for help? Sweetie looked at her as if she wasn't real. As if she hated her. She shut her eyes, for what might have come next. Two seconds passed. Four seconds passed. Six seconds passed. Seven- Applebloom heard the sound of hoofsteps walking away. "Sweetie..." she called thoughtlessly. She opened her eyes to see Sweetie walking off toward one of the craters. "Sweetie!" she called louder. "Come back" The lights were going out in the arena as the groaning sound became more intense. One by one, as though following Sweetie as she left. "SWEETIE! COME BACK!" Applebloom yelled as loud as she could. "DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!" And then, the last light went out, Applebloom was swallowed up by the darkness and Sweetie disappeared into the crater. The loud groaning noise had finally stopped. Author's Note [10/19/18] Fixed some shitty science. May not be entirely accurate but did that among a few other small edits and word changes. Won't fix the whole story since I glossed over a few bits, but I did fix some. also this plot dump exposition is terrible
Chapter 24: The Faker in the Fabric Factory (Part 1)Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 24: The Faker in the Fabric Factory (Part 2)"Where is it..." Gilda said weakly as she struggled to move forward. She meant to say it angrily with some degree of intimidation in some desperate attempt to convince her captives she was in control. Instead, it came out as more of a dribble than actual words. To top it all off, the captives she still thought she had a hold of were now 10 feet behind her and out of their bonds. Free to run away from the griffon that would eventually bleed out. "Where is it..." She patted along the inners of her wings, groaning in agony as she looked desperately for something. The heart she had kept on her in case she ended up in a situation like this. Had it fallen out when she got stabbed? No, no it couldn't. It couldn't have. Because she knew that if it had, in short she was screwed. "Where is it..." Rainbow and Pinkie didn't run, however. Once they were out of their bonds, they found themselves for the moment transfixed on the struggling mass virtually crawling down the hallway. Rainbow personally didn't know what to think, nor how to react. She didn't know what to say after everything that had happened. It was somewhat surreal to see her friend like this, at the verge of dying. Struggling to hang on by nothing more than a thread, with all of the blood she had lost. After everything that had gone on that night, after as many horrible things she had done, she didn't know whether she should feel good, or feel bad about this sudden change in pace. Less than a half an hour ago, she was facing her own death. And now- "Where is it..." "Where's what?" Pinkie giggled. This is what brought Rainbow back to reality as she looked over at Pinkie, eyes wide at that annoying, out of place smile. It was when Rainbow lost control and pinned Pinkie up against a wall that she was sure of what she thought. "What the hay, Pinkie?!" Rainbow said, louder than she intended. "Why are you laughing?! She's-" Pinkie giggled again. This time this sent a wave of anger through her body. She was sure that if it was anyone besides Pinkie, she would have hit her as hard as she knew how. Instead she held her against the wall harder. "Stop laughing, damn it!" Rainbow said. "S-" Pinkie leaned forward and kissed Rainbow square on the lips. The move was so surprising (and euphoric as Rainbow would never admit there) that it was enough for Pinkie to push her away with as little force as possible. Once Pinkie was back on her four hooves, she licked her lips and giggled again. What the hay is wrong with- Rainbow thought before Pinkie took a step forward. "Nothing~." Pinkie hummed. It sounded so off next to Gilda's groans, enough to quickly drain whatever good feeling she had left. Rainbow gave her a look, but she didn't think anything. She was quite frankly afraid to. "You don't have to be scared Rainbow! I just know things that you don't~" She went on. "Like what?" "Like how Applebloom broke her neck." She thought for a moment. "Didn't you hear that gross crack?" Rainbow remembered that crack. She didn't remember what she thought at the time, or if she wanted to think at all, but she definitely heard it. "And Gilda's looking for her own heart. You think maybe Sweetie got lucky and knocked it out?" "...so?" "So, if she's bleeding out right now, that means that whatever candy heart she had must still be in there!" she giggled again. "Probably. And if Applebloom's still alive and can move something, then it's a good thing Gilda's like she is now." Pinkie leaned forward and kissed Rainbow again. She took a step back, though less surprised and a little more relieved. "That's..." Rainbow wanted to say that it was a bad way to look at it, but it was a trade off. Gilda's current status for Applebloom staying alive. Rainbow didn't like that look in Sweetie's eye. That deranged look that showed that she was sick of messing around and being deterred from her sister. That look in her eyes said it all: If Applebloom couldn't move forward, even if she was only knocked out and refused to wake up, Sweetie would leave her behind. "So be happy!" Pinkie said, nuzzling at the side of her neck. The affectionate gesture seemed to calm Rainbow just enough. Though it was hard for the stress to completely disappear with Gilda moaning, now completely sprawled on the floor, given up. "Oh, right. We should still probably help Gilda before she... you know. Dies. I think she's learned her lesson!" Rainbow blinked. She was right, they needed to help her. "What can we do?" "Well, I'm no nurse, but I don't think her bleeding all over the place is helping." Pinkie analyzed. "We need a bandage." "Bandage, huh?" Rainbow looked around. This hallway resembled the same one they had been in earlier. Did that mean it shared the same properties? "You think-" "I do!" Pinkie interrupted. "And that could work! Wrap up her wing with some bed sheets and she'll be right as rain! Well... she won't fly anytime soon, and she's probably still in danger of infection or something, but right as rain!" Rainbow blinked. Pinkie went and opened up one of the doors "You go talk to her and make sure she doesn't faint. I'm gonna get some sheets and whatever else that can help. Don't have too much fun while I'm gone~!" And with that, she disappeared into one of the rooms. Rainbow walked over to the griffon lying on the ground. Weakly she looked up at Rainbow and frowned. "Ah... shit." "Shut up." Rainbow said, using all of her power to flip her onto her back, before pulling her against one of the walls. "Sit up." As she did, Rainbow must have bent her stabbed wing a wrong way as she let out the loudest "BUCK!" she had so far. "You're fine." Rainbow mumbled. "You'll live." Gilda hissed a laugh as Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't supposed to Rainy. I wasn't supposed to." "What?" Gilda looked at her, wild eyed as much as hurt emotionally and physically. "I wasn't supposed to be here, Rainy. I was supposed to die with the rest of them. One way, or another, I was supposed to die." "What do you mean?" "I lied to you. I lied so bucking hard." Gilda had to have been delirious. Still, Rainbow kept quiet and let her speak, as much as she didn't want to hear. "I was supposed to die. By the law, or by him. And somehow, I got lucky. And I survived. So I get the reward that I never wanted. I'm getting what's been coming to me. I was supposed to-" "No." Gilda's smile went away, somewhat puzzled. Rainbow was too, not sure why she said that. She spoke the first thing on her mind. "No." Rainbow said. "I don't care what you did." "Why?" "Because I... only care about what's happening right now." Rainbow said. "And right now, I know that I don't want to see any of my friends die." She forced a grin. "Especially you." Gilda gritted again. She wanted to say something. She wanted to say that she hated that, that she hated what she said, that she hated her. All that came out were more sobs. Rainbow wasn't sure what that meant, whether it was from the pain, from what she said, or from guilt for whatever brought her here. Whatever brought them together. But they were together. Not as enemies, yet not quite as friends. They were just together, and somehow Rainbow was fine with this. She just wanted Gilda, who was once upon a time a friend, to stay alive. *** Stupid, stupid, stupid. Scootaloo had been beating herself up over her terrible mistake for following what had clearly been a lie. It was a lie which she had been desperate enough to believe, but at the same time, it was a lie that wouldn't have made sense. Yes, Rainbow Dash was awesome. No, it didn't mean she'd gotten away. She played back the memory in her mind, remembering how she had been so carefully measuring her steps, just as she'd been told. Then suddenly, at the end of the hall, Rainbow had appeared. "Hey kid, was wondering where you all went." "Rainbow?" She'd been so focused on counting that the idea that it had been a trap hadn't crossed her mind. Damn, she wished that Sweetie had made at least a little bit more of an effort to explain how tricky the mansion could be. Had Sweetie been dealing with this same thing all night? If so, it was a wonder why she hadn't gone crazy from being constantly tricked. Or at the very least, she should've been more mildly irritated by them. Either way, she'd fallen victim to the trap. There was a decent chance that Sweetie had made it through -- simply due to how she had been acting, how mature and focused she'd become by being inside of the mansion in order to survive. The same couldn't be said for Applebloom, so she might have been in the same predicament as her. As much as she hated herself for acting like such a wimp -- someone she imagined Rainbow would probably shake her head at and give a pat on the back to get her to grow up a little more -- she darkly hoped that Applebloom had fallen victim to the trap. If she did, then maybe they would find each other soon and be able to give each other company. Scootaloo was confident that Sweetie could take care of herself if she'd made it this far, but both her and Applebloom were inexperienced with the whole ordeal. Perhaps they would be able to double their chances of survival if they could've been able to watch each other's backs. For the time being however, Scootaloo was now in a hallway and absolutely alone. No ghosts, no ponies, no nothing. She couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Would she be forced to wander this place until something happened and either Sweetie or Celestia finally stopped Specter in whatever the hay he was up to? With that in mind, she considered quitting her wandering and taking a rest. She did so several times during her walk, though she never completely stopped. True, if she were doomed to starvation in that hallway, she might only starve herself faster by using up her energy -- but besides that already taking a long time, the last thing she wanted to do was look at that as a possibility. Honestly scared her that she even considered it for the few moments that she did -- was she starting to panic herself? Either way, she resolved to keep moving forward no matter what eventually. After all, if Rainbow Dash were here, that's what she would've done, right? So Scootaloo kept walking. And walking. And walking. Until she felt a chill move up her spine forcing her to stop. She looked around, perked her ears to see if there was any laughter coming her way, or anything indicating that she was in danger. There was nothing, thankfully, allowing Scootaloo to sigh in relief. She had been expecting to something to eventually come up from behind her and take her by surprise. So far, that hadn't happened yet. She then took a moment to examine her surroundings. She wasn't in front of any of the doors that seemed to be littered all along the hall. Though, she knew that they didn't hold anything special. They all had the same design, same windows, same everything as though they were all the same room. Maddeningly enough, every time she'd done something in the room, the mess would remain constant among all of the rooms. She'd even tried skipping arbitrary numbers of doors to try and checking them then with the same result. She was still doing that. By the time she had gotten that chill, she was skipping twelve doors on either side. But now, she found herself in front of a painting rather than a door. From what she could tell, it was a painting of the moon shining over a grass maze and a castle in the background. She couldn't help but wonder if the likeness was reminiscent of the Canterlot castle's maze or if it was something entirely different, reflecting something only Specter could know. Either way, she remembered what Celestia had said about paintings -- that they could open up new passage ways that weren't there before. Perhaps that could've been the way out, she figured. Anyone who didn't know that would've likely been stuck like her. "Thanks, Princess," Scootaloo mumbled beneath her breath. She hopped up as high as she could, pushing the base of the painting off whatever hook it was connected to and causing it to fall to the ground. Once it was there, she did everything she could to break it into pieces. She took the canvas out of the frame and proceeded to rip it into as many pieces as possible. Once that was done, she went and started breaking the glass and the frame that it had previously been inside. Once it was done, Scootaloo took a few steps back to look at her handiwork. It hadn't been burned, but hopefully that would've been good enough. Worst case scenario, perhaps there was something inside of one of the rooms which she could use to burn the remains. She looked left and right and found that nothing had really changed. The only thing left that could've changed would have been either inside of the rooms or the rooms themselves. She checked the closest one and opened it. At first, nothing seemed to have changed. Scootaloo examined the room more closely and found something interesting. Before, in the corner of the room, there was some sort of closet which was locked. She didn't think much of it at first, but when she checked it this time, somehow, someway, it appeared to have been unlocked. Perhaps the way out of there was through what she'd only thought was a closet? Excitedly, she swung the door open without thinking. Thankfully, nothing popped out at her, taking advantage of her lack of forethought, but what she saw left her slightly dejected. Inside of the closet was- "Nothing," Scootaloo sighed. Indeed there was nothing inside of the closet, not even clothes. Or perhaps she couldn't see from where she was. Perhaps if she gave it a closer look- The moment that she took a step into the closet, all Scootaloo felt was air. The movement was so quick, so confident, that she couldn't stop herself from tumbling forward. With that, she felt herself hit something hard and metal head first as she fell through what she could've only described as some sort of ghost floor. After she hit the metal surface, Scootaloo felt herself tumbling down some kind of series of tubes designed probably to hold a pony three times her size. She fell for a while, eventually pushing herself so that she could gain some sense of control and orientation inside of the darkness she found herself in. By that point, she felt less like she was falling or tumbling, and more like she was going down some kind of super slide in an amusement park. If her life wasn't in danger, she might have even said "Wooooo." But she didn't say "Woooooooo." Instead, she just kept tumbling down, staying as focused as possible and trying to anticipate every turn she could so that she wouldn't end up falling like before. All the while trying to figure out where this terrible slide was trying to take her. Eventually, she felt herself hit dirt, and tumbled out of the slide into an that appeared to have a torch stuck to the wall right where the slide ended. Now stopped, Scootaloo could feel the pain aching in her body. More importantly though, where had she ended up? She didn't reckognize this part of the mansion and it certainly didn't look like the narrow passage way she'd gotten lost in before. This place was entirely different. From where Scootaloo stood, she could see that the dirt area transition to metal right where she was. It was yet another passage to go down. Scootaloo considered attempting to take the torch with her, but besides the fact that she knew there was no way she could safely carry the thing (perhaps if she had been a unicorn she could levitate the thing) but she also realized that it was a bad idea. Because from what she could tell, somewhere beyond that passage way, she swore she could make out another light. And the faint sickly chuckle from somepony that she wanted to knock the teeth out of. Somewhere, dangerously close to her, Specter Yield was there. *** "A... factory?" Applebloom couldn't help but give off a wry smile out of sheer disbelief. From her perspective, while the factory had a definite ceiling, there didn't appear to be a bottom as various gears and pistons that seemed to have no real purpose extended to an infinite bottom, past any distance the sun's rays could travel. When she saw the sun, she briefly wondered if it was a sign that Celestia had somehow managed to defeat Specter -- but that was wishful thinking. This place was just another apparition created by the mansion, she was sure of that. Even though she could feel it, even though she could smell it, even though she could walk through the place, there was no chance it was real. Which meant that Specter was still alive and that Sweetie was still in a lot of trouble. Applebloom steeled herself. She had to be careful still. There would no doubt be hazards, ghostly or not, wandering this place -- especially if it turned out that sweetie was right. "What are you both talking about, listen! That's Rarity!" If she had heard her, if that had been Rarity, then she was close. And if she was anything like how the others, and managed to ruin her so terribly, then this place was the most dangerous place to be -- especially without a GCD. All it would take was one mistake. Just one. And she wouldn't be coming back. Not alive, anyway. "Please be okay, Sweetie," Applebloom said as she walked forward into the- "WOAH!" She hadn't been looking where she was walking, and certainly didn't expect to step on anything. So when she felt something beneath her hoof, she panicked and tripped, nearly falling over the edge of the catwalk before stopping herself at the last minute. Hah... that was too close. What the heck was that? Applebloom looked over to where she'd been just to see a small rectangular device finish it's own skid to a halt. She looked over at it for a moment, cautious of the thing which had nearly sent her plummeting into oblivion. Had it been a trap specifically for that purpose? She couldn't rule that out -- but at the same time she couldn't rule out the fact that she had been meant to find it. Or perhaps it had been an item of Sweetie's that she hadn't known about prior? Couldn't hurt to investigate, she supposed. Applebloom went over to it and picked it up. It was... A... tape recorder? Yes, it was in fact a small hoof held tape recorder. Under closer inspection, it had a strap to the back, designed for a pony to be able to strap it to their leg to be able to record on the go. Notably, the record and fast forward buttons had been taken out. The only ones left were play, pause and rewind. Also notably, there wasn't a tape inside. Still, Applebloom couldn't deny that it was important. Another puzzle, huh? That possibility also stuck out to her. If she were thinking like Sweetie, or thinking as though this were some kind of game, there was no doubt that this thing was important. It was too out of place -- too strange. She couldn't only imagine that she would come into tapes later on. Wonder if there's a reason the other button's are gone. Applebloom strapped the tape recorder to her leg and picked up the flashlight she'd put down to do so. With that, she continued to walk deeper into the foreboding coal factory that her friend had to also be wandering as well. The fact that she hadn't picked up the tape recorder worried her that much more. Why? As Applebloom worked her way through the factory, walking deeper and deeper along what seemed to be an endless set of catwalks, passing by machines that seemed to be stuck in the wall or hanging from the ceiling with no particular purpose aside for simply "being there," she felt uneasy. She swore she was walking in circles despite moving generally in one direction. Could she have been looping somehow? Applebloom decided she would try something. She grasped a strand of her own hair handing off to the side by her teeth and separated it from the scalp with her hoof, flinching from the brief moment of pain. She then tied it to a railing and continued on her way. Sure enough, she passed by it again. "Alright now, so what am I doing wrong?" Even in her state, Sweetie had managed to get past this point as she was nowhere to be seen or heard -- at least not above the monotonous machines around her. She thought for a while before sighing. What had Sweetie figured out that she wasn't figuring out right- Wait. She sighed again. This time, breathing more through her nose. Before she could only smell the smell of burning oils and smoke that seemed to be coming out of a few of the machines. However, when she thought about the smell just a little more thoughtfully, she noticed something else inside of that smell. It smelled like-- "Perfume?" And then it made complete sense why Sweetie had continued on so easily. Because the puzzle here had nothing to do with the environment -- not necessarily -- but instead had everything to do with Rarity, the ghost who had to have been calling this factory her domain. She would've been looking for that kind of thing, most definitely. And a specific perfume would have been a dead give away. Did that just mean if she would follow the smell, she could possibly pick up after Sweetie's trail? On top of that, if Sweetie smelled that immediately, perhaps that would have distracted her from finding the tape recorder. If that were the case, perhaps that just meant that she was more aware of her environment than she'd previously thought. Perhaps that still meant that she was still safe, albeit at yet another height of her paranoia. Regardless that didn't mean Applebloom could turn back. There was no doubting that she was still very mentally unstable. Her going after her sister probably wouldn't help. Especially with those awful suggestions that Specter had mentioned before leaving Sweetie and Gilda to fight to the death. Applebloom put her nose in the air and started to sniff. Once again, burred beneath the other smells of machinery, she could also smell that perfume. She followed it, moving in the direction where she thought it was the strongest. She did this for a few minutes, only focusing on the smell before taking a moment to examine her surroundings. This became a cycle of smelling for a little while, then once again taking a survey of where she was. Each time, she'd notice that the machines were different. The gears themselves seemed to become less angular and more soft edged as they appeared to be more rounded out. Had they been melting somehow? Also notably, the pistons which seemed to have not purpose began shaping into sharper, thinner pieces of metal going up and down, up and down against the walls. And against many of the walls, covering a progressively more frequent amount of machinery, it appeared that they were being covered by a purple fabric -- something Applebloom couldn't help but compare to the color of Rarity's hair. Yes, this had to be it- "WOAH!" Applebloom jumped back as she felt something graze the side of her ear. Was it an enemy? A ghost? Something else possibly following her? When she whirled around to see what it was, she was both puzzled and fearful at what she saw. Dangling from what she could only make out to be a thin piece of thread appeared to be a tape which had in big, bold, pink letters, which said: PLAY ME Applebloom couldn't help but swallow in nervousness as she snatched down the tape. There was no doubt that she had to play it for some reason -- perhaps pertaining to another puzzle ahead. She put it into the tape recorder and pressed the only button that she could. She pressed the play button and listened for something to happen. Ssssssssssssssssssssszzsssssssssssssssssssssssss There appeared to be nothing but a tiny buzz of static coming out of the other end. There wasn't anything -- not even the sound of someone breathing. Something was wrong -- the tape was definitely important, but how remained a mystery even as she played it. She briefly considered ejecting it before something flashed out of the corner of her eye. Applebloom didn't have time to dodge, but was lucky as she caught it's glint against the sunlight coming out of the ceiling. Something silently grazed the bare fur and hit an unseen part of the catwalk with a metallic CLINK! Applebloom looked in the direction in a panic and saw something move out of her field of view, behind something way above in the darkness. It didn't glow, but it absolutely looked like a pony. Had that been Specter? If so, what was he doing here? Did that mean she would cross paths with Celestia as well if he happened to be here too? She wasn't safe. Applebloom needed to keep moving, so she started to walk at a brisker pace, now focusing on her sense of smell for a longer period of time. Finally, something did happen -- or rather, something happened and Applebloom had either been too focused on the smell or the catwalk so she hadn't noticed it. The smell suddenly became incredibly vivid, no longer burred underneath the dirty smell of coal and soot. In fact, the whole factory smelled purely of that intoxicating, calming perfume. But more importantly, the color of the sun through the cracks of the roof had changed from their normal rays of yellow and orange to a cooler blue and purple. Applebloom looked around and realized she was at neither end of the factory, but towards the center. It looked entirely different now. The catwalk had changed, asside from where she stood, to some kind of pincushion surface, crackling benieth her feet with every gesture she made. In the distance, she could make out the factory much more clearly as she could see various platforms all around the factory. Not only that, but there were conveyer belts in nonsensical places that seemed to go absolutely nowhere. Along them the sillouettes of ponies worked tirelessly hamering them, sewing them, threading needles, and various other things that seemed to remind Applebloom of one thing. Rarity. Needless to say, this was where she was, there was no doubt about it. If she had to have a world of her own -- like most of the others had supposedly had -- it would be all about dress mak- "BOOOO!!!" Out of nowhere, Applebloom heard the sound of something below her. It made her jump and she felt herself fall over the end of the catwalk which had somehow turned into some sort of pincushion surface. Author's Note Just a note: not worrying about editing at the moment. Just worried about getting it done. Also, both for my sake and any other readers, I'm going to at the very least go back to previous chapters sometime, and break them up into more manageable parts, similarly to what I'm doing here.
Chapter 24: The Faker in the Fabric Factory (Part 3)Scootaloo was someplace she wasn't supposed -- and that was about all she knew. She might have had an inkling that where she walked was important, but she couldn't quite be sure of that either. The only thing she was certain of was this: Specter Yield was nearby. She didn't know how she knew, but she just did in her gut, and that was enough to make her feel queasy, despite how much she tried to ignore the sensation. She was brave after all. If Sweetie could handle that queasiness, she sure as hay could too. Beforehand, moonlight that bounced and dissipated throughout the mansion allowed her to see in one hoof in front of the other as she moved. If not that, then at least torches or candles. Now, from some unseen place there was a new light, neither that of a torch, nor of the moonlight, but something else which held an ominous glow. And along with that glow, she would've sworn she could hear Specter Yield chuckling to himself. She knew the laughter could be anypony -- any ghost -- but despite being unable to remember hearing that stallion's real laugh, she knew it could only belong to him. As Scootaloo approached a corner, she slowed herself, making sure not to step on anything that would give her position away. If Specter was nearby, she hoped she might be able to get the drop on him. Though what she would do was still a big problem that she couldn't get around. She knew how strong Specter was. Hay, he could make spikes come out of the floor and impale her where she stood, just like what could've happened to Applebloom, Celestia's promise that he "wasn't" be damned. So if she were going to anything, she would have to make it count. Then again, would she have to do anything at all? Wasn't Celestia on her way down there just like her? Surely more than thirty minutes had passed, she imagined. So wasn't there a strong possibility she had she already gotten down there? Wasn't there a strong(er) possibility she she already lost? No, of course not. Scootaloo didn't want to think about that possibility because it was pointless. Because it was impossible. Yet still. If they lost the last princess this time, there was no way that she could do anything. The idea of losing what could've very well been their last card to play was too depressing. Sure, Sweetie was strong now, but nowhere near as strong as either of the princesses -- even with those cutie marks of hers (for whatever reason they were there to begin with). It didn't help that none of her friends had their cutie marks, which could've implied that none of their talents were there to begin with. For all she knew, none of them were elements anymore but were instead just regular old ponies. So she couldn't think about that either. Just spy on that old stallion and see what I can do, Scootaloo reasoned. That's all she could think about now. That was the most productive thing, anyway. If she were lucky, something might open up in front of her. Even if it did rely on chance, thinking that way seemed at the very least a little more hopeful. When Scootaloo turned the corner, she silently bit her lip. Where she was appeared to be some kind of secret study, with books on all walls that weren't some sort of passageway. From what she could tell, there were two entrances to the area -- where she was and across from her which seemed to hold a similarly formed passageway. At the center of it all was none other than Specter Yield. In front of him, there appeared to be some sort of crystal made hologram. They seemed smoothly formed, seemingly created out of wisps of glowing steam, images of rooms that she both recognized and did not. "Interesting..." Specter seemed to say to himself as he crossed around to examine what seemed to be a particularly long hologram. "I suppose I misjudged the elements. They were brave enough to leave the tea room so..." He crossed over to yet another hologram. "And the safe room... it appears they're trying to go there. Perhaps I'll pay them a visit once the Element of Generosity has finished dispatching that filly..." and again he crossed over to another hologram, chuckling to himself. "But these three think they're on the run now... perhaps I should send them a surprise in the meanwhile." And then he paused. And looked straight back at Scootaloo. "What do you think I should do, hm?" Buck. Had she exposed herself? Or had the stallion known all along she was on her way? In either case, there was no doubt that she had been found out. Scootaloo tried to run away, crossing the glow that came out of the hologram before she tripped over something. From how it felt, it was a rock -- an oddly formed rock she would've sworn hadn't been there before. Though before she even had the chance to hit the ground, two foal ghosts came out of the bookcases and fired two shots of ectoplasmic goop at her. The next thing she knew, she was pinned against the wall just at the back wall of the entrance where the passage turned into the room. The first shot had gotten most of her lower body, in addition to flipping her upside down. The second managed to get the top part of her head, forcing her head to also stick to the wall as Specter approached. Once he was in front of her, he crouched down and looked her straight in the eye. "Your stealth is much to be desired, little filly." Scootaloo simply scowled at him. At the same time, she could feel the blood rushing to her head as she felt herself getting a headache and her vision blurring only slightly. Or maybe that was just the daze from the impact, she couldn't be sure. She found herself looking at the passageway opposite of the area for no particular reason. Specter must have noticed this as he seemed to show a very brief face of paranoia as he looked behind him only to see the two foal ghosts, floating there and giggling mindlessly at the scene. To this, he laughed and spoke again. "Don't worry. If you're looking for anyone, I can tell you first hand that they are likely not coming. Applebloom and Sweetie are safely in the hooves of my new beloved. Hence they weren't foolish enough to fall for my trap. No one is coming to save you." What? Scootaloo would've sworn that for a split second that he worried that she had gotten the drop on him. Did that mean that up until she exposed herself he didn't know that she was present? Perhaps that meant... "What to do, oh what to do?" Specter mused. "I'm honestly drawing a blank on any reasons to keep you alive. Do you have any perchance?" Scootaloo didn't say anything, only glaring at Specter. "Hm. Well, while killing you would be fun, the matter would be how to kill you, wouldn't you say?" As Specter spoke, Scootaloo could swear she saw a glow -- a new glow of yellow and orange appear in the passageway. She dared not look in the direction, worrying that Specter might see. Because if it was who she thought it was, she could've had a chance not only to escape, but to end this all once and for all. "Bleeding? Asphyxiation? Oh!" He said excitedly, searching through his coat. "I think I even have some poison in my-" "Hey," Scootaloo interrupted before Specter had the chance to turn around. "Oh, so you do speak, hm?" Specter asked. "L-listen. Probably wouldn't do me much good to beg for my life, yeah?" Scootaloo asked, stalling for time. Specter stared at her, deciphering, then smiled and shrugged. "I don't know. I'm a fairly open-minded stallion." As Scootaloo held Specter's attention, she could see the yellow-orange form as two golden lines appeared from its head to connect to both of the foals. As this happened, the laughter continued on, seeming to grow fainter and fainter as though they were going away. Yet still, they floated there as though nothing were going on. Scootaloo stared deep into Specter's eyes, trying to make her perceived change as convincing as possible. "Actually... on second thought, I don't feel like giving you the bucking satisfaction." Specter bowed his head. It wasn't as disappointed as it was expecting. "Again with the degenerative language. Fine, I'll be sure to kill you." "But," Scootaloo interrupted. "...but?" "But I uh... I gotta ask. Before I die and all. What are you trying to do? You know, with all of this eclipse stuff." Specter chuckled. It was an ironic chuckle, Scootaloo thought. Or at least how she imagined one would sound -- dry and humorless. "So somehow you've figured that out, hm? That I'm using the princesses' powers to create a phantasm? Well... if you're able to figure that much out, you should be able to deduce my goal." "I-I'm still working on that. But seeing as I don't have that much time left..." To this Specter grinned. "Well, it should be obvious by now. To dethrone those ponies in replacement for a real royal figure. Not a princess but a king. Not a fake goddess, but a real god. I'm going to use their power to resurrect Discord and give him the power to take over Equestria!" "Oh huh? Well..." Scootaloo thought. Besides the plan just sounding like a letdown and overly complicated, she wondered if there was anything else she could do to stall for time. Maybe she didn't have to. The form behind Specter didn't move, probably listening to everything he had to say. Hopefully, that meant that everything was ready, and it up to Scootaloo as to when the trigger was finally pulled. "What kind of power, huh?" Specter opened his mouth and sighed. His eyes lit up for all of a moment before that glint disappeared. Suddenly that wild grin seemed to look a lot more tired -- though just for a moment before it went back to his regular distinguished look, as though he were making a face for one of the portraits. "It doesn't matter. It's power he needs, and it's my duty to give it to him. Though I'm impressed with you. Even before Sweetie Belle it seems you've discovered the correlation between my plan and the celestial bodies. Given your knowledge now, you might have discovered the larger part of my plan. Unless-" Just then, Specter's eyes widened as he looked behind him. In that same instance, a blinding light seemed to surround everything as Specter let off a loud scream. And to Scootaloo's satisfaction, it was a definite scream of pain. *** Applebloom couldn't think as she fell. She knew that if something didn't happen, then she would die. Which was why she wasn't sure if she was thankful or not that something did happen before she had the chance to die with how the world jerked around her. Just when Applebloom felt the weight of gravity trying to pull her into the depths of the unknown factory, she felt the softness of fabric beneath her as it took in her weight only to be stretched out again by unseen forces launching her further into the factory. Surprisingly, that was when she started to scream. The scream stopped when her fly through the air was abruptly stopped as she fell onto another catwalk. Not quite vertically to cause any lasting damage, but certainly not horizontal enough to have been painless. She rolled on impact and almost fell off the other side -- likely a fall that would've spelled certain doom if she hadn't stopped herself in time. "Uuggghhh," she moaned. "Why..." Somehow, she was still gripping the tape recorder in her hooves as she did. Carefully she got up, eying all around her and half expecting something to push her over the edge, considering how close she was. "You had your neck broken, and you're scared of a little old drop? If that isn't the funniest-" "Bah!" Applebloom didn't hear the last few words as the tape recorder clattered to the ground against the metal catwalk. She'd forgotten to pause the thing, and... was that Pinkie she'd just heard? Better yet, was that Pinkie she'd heard before the drop? Surely- "Theeee ooooone and only! I'm back, baby!" the voice on the other end of the tape recorder sung. It talked back. The tape recorder talked back. "Naw... no way... Pinkie?" "Well that is what one and only is supposed to mean, silly!" Applebloom moaned. "You're not-" "Dead? Me? Naaaaah. This is just a recording! Honest! Pick me up and see for yourself!" Applebloom hesitated before approaching the tape recorder. She picked it up and hit the stop button. She rewound the tape a few seconds. "-one and only! I'm back, baby! " A pause. "Well that is what one and only is supposed to mean, silly!" Another pause. "Dead? Me? Naaaaah. This is just a recording! Honest! Pick me up and see for yourself!" And then nothing but static. Pinkie, or at least this recording of Pinkie, was telling the truth. Applebloom paused before saying to the tape recorder, "...Pinkie?" "Toldja!" "Da... buh... how? HOW?!" "Uh... I recorded this when I was dead! Duh!" Yeah... that makes sense... wait, no it doesn't! "Doesn't it, though?" If Sweetie had to deal with this kind of... Celestia, no wonder she's losin' it. "She sure did! Starting to, anyway! Kicking you up like that, what a mean filly!" "Ya can hear my thoughts," Applebloom tried to say normally, but it came out closer to an exhausted whimper. "More like I can read 'em, buuuttt... I already made that joke. Besides, we've been waiting forever for this chapter! Like... 4 years forever! We should probably speed things along." "Four y-" "We made that joke too! Ah! What a hack of a writer we've got, am I right? Anyway, you should move on. Not too far ahead are Sweetie's things! And well... you'll see in a bit, but Sweetie herself isn't really in a good spot right now." Applebloom ignored the nonsense and focused on the last thing Pinkie's recording said, "...can I help her?" "Maybe! But to tell you for sure would be spoilers! Pause me 'till you find her things! Should be hanging around here somewhere! Then I'll tell you what to do next! Just tap the play button again. 'kay?" Applebloom waited, but was unsurprised when the tape went on and added "You know there's only so much tape heeeeere! Better do what I say and get moving! Else you won't have my sweet voice to accompany you while you get murdered! Hehehehehehe-" Applebloom shivered and stopped the tape recorder as instructed. She steeled herself and then began following the catwalk, hoping to find Sweetie as soon as possible. As she walked, things got notably brighter. Not so bright that it made the environment any less disconcerting -- if anything it made things only more so. It appeared to be day-time, though the filly's gut told her that anything past those windows draped in the purple fabric was anything representing the sun. It was a nice thought, but an easy one to doubt. As Applebloom went on, she noticed a set of stairs that appeared to go down. "Aw no... Sweetie..." She hadn't expected the Pinkie recording to be lying to her, but just seeing her sister's hat -- now (hopefully) temporarily Sweetie's hat -- and GCD laying lazily beneath it at the foot of those steps had her feeling nauseous. They didn't look tossed aside, but more like they'd been laid there. There was a word that surfaced in the filly applebucker's mind. She was no wordsmith, but the word came bubbling to the surface as she approached the artifacts. Resignation. Applebloom pressed play on the tape recorder. The tail end of a "-he!" squeaked out before some static. Looked like even Pinkie in her omnipotent knowledge was bound for some mistakes, even as a ghost. Perhaps it would've been hopeful if it didn't also mean her only lead on Sweetie's whereabouts has a small possibility of being unreliable. Eventually, Applebloom spoke. "What am ah lookin' at?" "Sad, isn't it? It's like she just gave up!" "Yeah," Applebloom agreed. She hated the chipper nature to Pinkie's voice, but (like Sweetie) she had accepted that cheer to just be a part of the awful package unraveling before her. Not like she could do anything about it. Clairvoyance or whatever-the-buck-she-had or not, this was still a recording. Arguing with it was as pointless as arguing with a laughing teddy bear that never shut up. At the end of the day-night, it was just an inanimate object placed to taunt her and her friends. "Well you gonna aaaaasssskkk?" Applebloom sighed. "...she down those steps or somethin'?" "Nnnnope! In fact, if you go down there, you'll die immediately!" "I-immediately, huh?" "Immmeeedddiiiaattteeelllyyy!" Pinkie said spookily. She didn't elaborate, and Applebloom wasn't sure she wanted her to. "Then where the hay 'd she go?" The filly paused before she added in attempt to please the mare, "...be mighty boring if that happened, don't you think?" "Now you're talking my language!" the tape recorder cheered. "But before I tell you... you ready to do some hardcore parkour?!" "U-uh... I guess?" "Aw. That doesn't sound like someone who wants to save their friend. Now. ARE. YOU. READY. FOR. SOME. HARD. CORE. PAR-" "YES! Yes!" Applebloom cried, frustrated with the ghost-mare. "Great! So here's what happened! Ahem!" Pages could be heard being turned over the tape recorder. Applebloom resisted the urge to tell Pinkie to "get on with it," like Spike had earlier that night. "This is the sad, sad tale of Sweetie Belle! Once upon a time, there was a little filly. She was such a baaaaad sister, her own sister decided to sleep with this stallion that could do a bunch a really cool stuff! Then the little filly got jealous and tried to kill her sister's first real love in a long time! Then blah, blah, blah, stuff happened, then she went to a mansion and did the same thing again! With a stallion that could do even cooler stuff! What a baaaaaad filly! Glad my sisters aren't like that, I'd love a necromancer pony step-brother! Or whatever he does! Anyway, blah, blah, mental trauma this, bad writing that, a flank load of a hiatus and then she heads to this factory. Eerily similar to the one you're standing in right now! Wooooooo wooooooo! She arrives! You know. After beating her friend within an inch of her life, but what are details, really? She hears her sister calling. She's sorry, oh Celestia she's sorry! She'll do anything. A-ny-thing to get her sister to forgive her! She'd even..." "...even what?" "Well... it gets a little 'red' after that. Not sure a filly should hear such gruesome details like what would happen if a filly threw herself into a pit of whirling, grinding gears! It's a little dark, honestly! Kind of a boring ending too if you ask me." "W-where is she?!" "B-but Applebloom! What if you fail to save her! You'd never get that image out of your head, you know. It's like a cider stain, it just won't wash out. At least not with the cleaning power of Oxy-" "Pinkie I know ya don't give two shakes about me or my friends, but please tell me what I gotta do!" Applebloom cried. "Please!" There was a pause of static. An irrational part of Applebloom feared she might've scared the ghost mare off. Or worse, she'd just start hearing cackling on the other side. Finally, the recording spoke. "...if you jump off the railing and onto those machines on the side, you should be okay. It's a little tough, but you should be strong enough to make the climb. Take the GCD and the hat with you, and follow where those machines take you. You might not need them, but you might not make it back this way either. When you see a hole in the wall, climb in. You should be able to find her from there." The instructions were so matter-of-fact, they caught Applebloom off guard. It was almost worse than what Pinkie normally sounded like -- as a ghost, anyway. "Applebloom?" "Ah'm here," she said into the recorder, half forgetting it was in fact, a recording. "T...thanks." "Nooooo," came the sing-songy voice of Pinkie pie that reminded Applebloom's stomach to turn. "Thank you! And if you still have the will to live after what you see, then feel free to play me again! Wheneeeeever you like! Looking forward to it! And don't die too fast! Hahahahahahahaha-" Applebloom shut the recording off. She didn't like what Pinkie was implying. Not one bit. *** "Sucks to be on the other side of the pain, huh flankhead?!" Scootaloo cried at Specter. He was only just getting up, and only just realizing that he was trapped. Around him, was a white-light bubble with runes and shapes Scootaloo would never have been able to even begin to understand. "Why... why you..." Specter weakly punched at the edge of the bubble, only to receive a massive shock. "Gah!" He was thrown back and bounced all over the bubble, receiving more shocks as he did, before finally coming to a rest. From a glance, it looked like he was completely knocked out. "Princess! You did it!" Celestia smiled. Not a hint of laughter or insanity in her eyes. Was she free? "Yes, I suppose we did." We, Scootaloo thought. We did it... she said we... does that mean that I just helped the princess save Equestria? Oh man oh man oh man... wait! Scootaloo looked at her flank and was stunned. "Blank..." she whimpered. "After all that..." Celestia couldn't help but giggle. It was a sane giggle -- even with the ghostly nature of it all, it felt good to listen to. "Filly... it may take a moment for it all to sink all in, now. For all we know, you'll receive your cutie mark after we walk out of this mansion. It's not always so immediate." "Yeah, I guess you're right," Scootaloo said, her head still hung low. She still sounded pretty dejected, and sure that she'd never get her cutie mark. Ever. She wasn't quite sure what she'd see there, anyway. A net? For catching? Who the hay wanted a net for a mark? What did a distraction cutie mark look like, she wondered. Or a "savior of Equestria" mark? "Now, Scootaloo," Celestia said. "If you wouldn't mind standing aside, I'd like to give this stallion his rights. Something that's been a long time coming." "H-his rights?" "Of course," she paused because she realized that Scootaloo had no clue what she was talking about. "That thing cop ponies give criminals before they arrest him." "Oooh... guess we do gotta arrest him, huh?" "Naturally," Celestia nodded before locking her gaze on Specter. "This stallion's going away for a long time." Specter moaned at this. "...what...?" "Right, just that... I figured you'd ask him other stuff. Like where the Moon Princess was. Luna? Or Rarity. Or Rainbow! Or our friends! Are they okay?" Celestia shook her head. "All in due time. Sweetie and Applebloom... and of course Pinkie and Rainbow, who I'm assuming you're most concerned about, they're intelligent enough not to get into too much trouble. Right now our main goal should be to remove Specter from the premises and whatever control, small or great, he may hold on the mansion." "Thought you said earlier you didn't think he had that much control?" "I meant it in a direct sort of fashion. As we've just proven, he's no omnipotent force within the walls of this mansion. However, I do believe we can safely conclude that with the loss of his butler and himself, this mansion could be considered relatively safe. In my own experience, the ghosts appear more docile without anypony instructing them." "So you're saying I could go out and look for my friends?" "Perhaps, though I wouldn't suggest doing so alone. The ghosts may be neutered, but that doesn't make them any less unpredictable. And there's also the matter of any remaining traps." "Ah. So what's the plan now?" "You stand aside, I read Yield his rights, we gather everyone from the safe room, which I imagine they are now, and exit the premises." "Not without the others, right?" "Once we're out of the mansion, we can contact Canterlot to take Specter into custody. We won't go far. You will go with the guards and myself and the other mares will find your friends -- and if Sweetie hasn't caught her by then, Rarity, and discover what exactly Specter was planning to do with Discord... if that in itself was anything more than a sort of misdirection on his part. And if there's any way to get myself, Luna and anypony else lacking a body, one, temporary or otherwise, it should probably be considered." Scootaloo was about to object to the whole part about her going with the rest of the guards, but the look in Celestia's eyes made it obvious she wouldn't be persuaded. "Ah... okay," Scootaloo nodded, eventually. "That's fine, I guess. Hate to keep everypony still wandering waiting but-" "Ahem." It was the "ahem" of some growing impatient pony that would have to keep her friends waiting even longer if she didn't get this done. "Right, sorry, sorry." Scootaloo did as the alicorn so she could be the one to stand in front of Specter. She walked toward the door that led out of the room, but didn't leave. She really had to see this part, since she'd never seen somepony read their rights in real life. And considering how little crime there ever was where she lived, she doubted she'd ever see it again -- especially given by the Princess herself. "Specter Yield. Owner of Yield Manor," Celestia started. "You are under arrest for-" "No..." "-suspicion of murder in all three degrees, corpse defilement, conspiracy to commit said murder and high treason against the Canterlot court and all of Equestria... among other things...-" "No... no... No... no..." Specter was gritting his teeth. This was all too good. "-...anything you say from this point on can and will be used against you in a court of law-" Specter then put his hooves again at the edge of the bubble. There was arches of electricity everywhere and... was he? Oh shit, he was, wasn't he? He was trying to open the bubble with his bare hooves! Ha! Scootaloo could even make out his horn glowing as he tried to make a dent in the bubble with raw magic. And the best part about it was that he was failing miserably. He was frying and too stubborn to realize it. He was desperate. Scootaloo could see the in those eyes. That face. He was livid. And almost pitiable. They were the eyes of someone who knew it was over. "No. NO. NO NO NO NO NO!" He cried, obviously not considering the whole 'anything you say can and will be used against you' spiel Celestia had explained in her monotone. "It WASN'T SUPPOSED TO END LIKE THIS! AND IT WON'T. RARITY'S STILL OUT THERE. SHE'LL TAKE MY PLACE! HA! And THEN You'll all be SORRY!" Celestia ignored him. What he was saying was slightly concerning, but it might as well have been jibberish in the end. The alicorn reveling too much in this karma-justice happening right here. "-if you do not have an attorney by your trial date, you will be appointed one by the Canterlot Court." "AND... AND... NO! JUST BUCKING NO!" He went on. "NO! NO! NO!" They'd done it, Scootaloo thought. They'd won. If only Sweetie were there to see what Specter's hissy fit. Sweetie, she thought. Celestia, she hoped that they were all alright. *** Pinkie looked up. "Something up, Pinks?" "Yeah... I think the story just ended. Or is about to, anyway." "Huh?" "It's over. It just started all of a sudden and now it's over," Pinkie sighed. It was depressing, Rainbow thought. "Kind of weakly too. Like a wet fart." "What..." Gilda muttered. "What's that crazy bitch droning on now?" "I think she's saying that she thinks your Master just lost," Rainbow shrugged. "...in her own way." The mare half thought the Gilda would just call her a 'crazy bitch' again, or react to calling Yield her 'Master' but instead, she laughed. Even with her treated wounds, it was still damned hard to laugh but did it she did it. "Really?" "Guess so. Hard to tell with her." "Figures. Guess he was crazy after all. Crazy strong, but just crazy as the rest in the end. Shoulda figured y'all'd win eventually," Gilda groaned and spat a bit of blood to the ground. Rainbow couldn't help feeling hopeful considering how bad off she was looking before. Even more surprising was how quickly she'd resigned to her loss with little to no evidence of it. "To be fair," Rainbow tried. "It was kind of touch and go." "You trying to make me feel better about trying to kill your friends and turn you into my ghostly little buck toy?" Rainbow flinched. "I didn't need to hear that." "Good thing you didn't." The two stared at each other and then broke out in laughter. Pinkie was saying something, but noone was listening to her. Where had this Gilda been all night, Rainbow wondered. Despite the joke and its context, at that moment none of it seemed to matter. Like Gilda hadn't tried to kill her friends or attempted to force Rainbow into being her friend as a ghost... and hopefully not that last thing that never got said. Rainbow was laughing so hard that it took a moment to realize that Gilda's laughs had suddenly turned to sobs. The good feeling was gone and the chill down her spine was back. "Hey, hey. C'mon, don't do that. You know I don't know what to do about you crying on me." "I think the birdy realizes she's going back to jail," Pinkie commented, still sulking about whatever she was sulking about. "Probably forever." "Pinks, come on," Rainbow said. "Nah, she's right." Gilda wasn't sobbing anymore. Sudden change, Rainbow thought. "Probably like it should be, really." "Gil... what happened? Why the hay were you in prison to begin with? Did you really...?" Gilda stared at the ground for a long time. Just as Rainbow was about to ask the question again, the grifon began to spill her heart out. "It... was an accident, I think, but yeah. But I wanted it to happen, and it happened, so it doesn't really matter what I think. Even if it was all for a second. You know what I mean, Rain?" Rainbow nodded. She did, at least somewhat. Nothing drastic had ever happened, but certainly things she'd done "in the moment" had ended in ways she'd never meant for them to. Who hadn't? "Well..." she sighed. "There was this girl I was seeing at the time. Clover. Not to be creepy... like it matters anymore... she kind of reminded me of you, so I'm thinking... yeah. I'm game. She had an attitude to her but could be the sweetest bucking thing. Unicorn, believe it or not. Always thought they had to be all high and mighty, like that Twilight chick. Or that other one you were hanging around... And... well, anyway. One thing led to another, and we started dating." "R-really," Rainbow said. She had no idea if she was blushing or not, but she turned up toward the ceiling in case she was. Gilda didn't take notice, staring down at the ground like she was in a trance. "She helped me out a bunch. Got me this job, and out of a kinda shit part of my life." Then something hit Rainbow. A thought. Gil, you didn't... was she the one you hurt? "Thing I didn't get about her was that she... she uh... well she may have been filly-foolin' but her barn doors swung both ways, if you catch my drift. I think... I think I was just a fling for her, really. A throwaway, because when I found out she was with him and that he wasn't 'just some stallion from the office' I asked her if she loved the guy and she said 'yeah'. I moved out not too long after and got a train headed to nowhere. And wouldn't you bucking know who's standing at that platform. Mr. 'stallion from the office'. Hah. And you want to know what else? The train was coming. And me? I'd only just realized I was standing right behind him. Just close enough to do some permanent... something while I wasn't thinking." "Celestia..." "The trial was quick. I plead guilty. I didn't even care what happened to me. That was supposed to be the end of it. At least until I heard the mare jumped off her apartment building a month after I was shipped off to Bonza. Crazy thing is... I told myself I didn't care about that either," Gilda laughed. "Just like I told myself I didn't care you were gone. That you had other friends." She leaned her head against the wall and looked up toward the ceiling. "Buck I need help..." "...and Specter?" "Him... right." Gilda's throat clicked. She shrugged and winced. "Sure, what the hay. It's over, right?" "Yeah." Gilda stared for a long time at nothing at all. Rainbow wasn't sure if she'd have to snap her out of it again. Then, like before, everything came out all at once. "Think... I was going a little nutzo already when he and that butler came. It'd only been a few weeks since I heard of Clover. I wasn't talking to anyone. Lashing out. Called me a violent inmate... said they'd extend my sentence. Put me in the hole. I didn't care. I was telling myself it was fine. Buck her. Who needed that two-timing bitch anyway... that kind of thing. Telling myself I was glad she was dead when I really... well, all of a sudden, I start hearing this screaming and laughing outside my cell. At first you couldn't tell under the rest of the noise of mares and griffons in the same block as me just talking, making deals, talking about who was gonna cut who. Then those sounds started to get quieter and the laughing and screaming getting louder. And then my whole cell block opens and anybody who's anybody and their mother bolts from them. Ponies, mules, griffons, all of 'em. Everyone but me who's just thinking her own thoughts. Saw a lot of them run by too. Didn't know what was happening, didn't care. Might've figured a riot started. Maybe some kind of emergency. Who knew? Then, all at once, all the laughing and screaming stopped." "...just like that?" Gilda nodded. "Yeah. All I hear are hoofsteps. A pair of them. Must not have been the only one to stay in her cell when they all opened up, because the first time I heard those hoofsteps stop, I just heard somepony screaming again. Then I heard something snap and then... there was just this sick crunch and... it kept going again and again... that crunch... that grunt... that crunch and uh..." Gilda's throat clicked again. "Then I heard the hoofsteps again. I remember the things that went through my head. That someone was crushing something. That was making the crunch. Then this image in my head that really stuck... and it was so damn clear in my head of... it was of that pony... or maybe it was a griffon, or a mule or... well, I never looked but I thought they were being... eaten. And... and I remember thinking... I didn't wanna be eaten Dash... I don't want to be eaten... but I was too... scared to run. Doubted I'd make it far with my wings clipped. It was all my speed. And somehow, I was... damned... damned sure that whatever was out there would catch me before I made it down the stairs. ...then he walked by my cell and stopped. That stallion... Specter... He had a stack of papers. Levitated in front of him all proper and shit. Records it looked like. And mine was on the top, followed by a bunch of others that trailed behind him. All of those ones had red X's on them. He stared at me for the longest time. He glanced back in the direction of those crunches and... then he smiled, looking back at me. And all he said to me was 'You. Walk with me.' And I did." Rainbow was stunned. She didn't want to ask what was next, because by the look of things, Gilda's story wasn't going to get much easier. Then her eyes eased up, only slightly. She still didn't look Rainbow in the face. "It wasn't all bad at first. Well... it was bad, but I got used to it before it got worse. He started by making it easy on me. Making me want to do it... I didn't believe him at the time, but he told me that he'd read up on me. He knew who I was and where I'd come from. Humble beginnings in Cloudsdale, the storming from Ponyville and on and on... buck, he knew so much, Dash. He told how I could get revenge on everyone who'd wronged me. Pony and griffons all the same. That the world was wrong and that I needed justice. Prison wasn't a place for that... That it needed to suffer. The world. And that all I needed was you. That would be what would make things right. And numb the guilt. Not that I had much choice besides to listen to him. I was going to die if I didn't. Or worse... Rain... I know you think what happened tonight was bad, but tonight was nothing compared to the shit he put me through for the next couple of months preparing for this night. I never killed, but I dug graves. I helped do rituals I didn't even understand. I got so used to the smell of rotting corpses. My eyes had become so used to crypts and... and the dark. I never stopped being scared, but I tried to... be myself I guess. In little ways. Keep myself alive, you know? Talkback here. Give 'em shit there. Mostly the Butler, but I was slowly starting to get my sass back with Specter too. It felt good. Gave me a little power. Then... this one night, I guess I'd let my mouth go a little far... I'd said something about his wife. Specter's. Hadn't met the bitch yet or her two squirts, but I figured if I said something I could make him sting, and maybe that'd give me the courage to really fight back. To maybe escape. He didn't like that, and the butler was already looking for a reason to punish me. They made me... appreciate how much freedom they'd given me after they stuffed me in that coffin and only took me out when they needed me for grunt work. I'd hear them talking outside with other ponies, and I'd kick and scream trying to get someone on the outside to hear me, but nothing. Eventually, I'd just stop. Just lay there in the dark. And listen to Spiffy's whispering. Night after night after night. The same preaching they gave me in the beginning. I need you to be 'okay'. I needed to hurt Pinkie to be 'justified'. I need to just let the world burn. All until tonight. I... ha... I didn't get it until now, but I guess that's really how it went, isn't it? Why do you think that is?" Rainbow only stared at Gilda. "I never died... my personality... the stuff that made me, me. But it was buried deep. And it was losing air. Forgetting bits by bits and... something just let me tell all this to you now. I... I think you must be right, Dash. I think it's all over. Because all this time, Spiffy, that butler... he was in my head. Always in my bucking head, I hated it. Hated them. Both of them. Lashed out at everything all the time, because he was always there. Wasn't even about Clover anymore. Or you. It was them. Always making me think I knew what I wanted... that butler was in my head. I... think he's still even there, now. But he's quiet now. And something just shut him up." Then, for the first time, Gilda looked in Rainbow's eyes. "What... do you think did that, Dash?" Rainbow looked long in those eyes. She looked in the reflection and of those eyes and saw something that made a chill run down her spine. She looked behind her to confirm what she'd feared. Pinkie was no longer behind them. "P-pinkie?" "Yeah?" Rainbow looked in the opposite direction. Pinkie was standing right there. Everything was fine. Rainbow sighed. It was true. It was over. She could relax. Everything was over. Then the floor started to rumble. *** "NO NO NO NO NO!" Specter went on. Scootaloo couldn't help wondering how long until he passed out or Celestia shut him up. By the smug look on her face, she was reveling in it. The filly considered telling the princess to get the lead out her ghost-flank, then remembered that she'd been forced to watch her friends get tortured by the stallion's lackey. She supposed the alicorn deserved this little bit of catharsis. Especially since she didn't have to do anything. Specter was frying himself by fruitlessly fighting the mare's force-field. Scootaloo was thankful that whatever spell Celestia cast, it didn't let the stench out. She could only imagine how awful 'cooked old stallion' smelled. It was around when Scootaloo was actually getting sick of watching this -- the novelty of the stallion suffering slowly dissipating -- was around the moment she realized the stallion was finally growing tired. "NO! NO! NO. No... no... no... ... ... no..." "Are you quite done, Mr. Yield?" Celestia asked. Then it happened. He smirked. "Nah." In the split second everything started, Scootaloo noticed the change in the air. It'd become lighter. "Misty" was the word that came to Scootaloo's mind. The change was slight but clear that she could see Specter and Celestia, only slightly less. Like a fog where the further you looked out, the less you could see. And it was from the very edge of that fog, past Specter, Celestia and the hologram he was looking at before, that the gunfire started. They hit Celestia. They all hit Celestia. Again and again, glowing green bullets flew through the mare and they hit her as though she were made of physical matter and not the ethereal magic she was. Every single one of them flew through the alicorn, creating holes and turning her to swiss cheese. There was no blood, but there didn't need to be. The intense pain and surprise were evident on the alicorn's face. Scootaloo didn't realize that she was on the floor until Celestia had fallen herself, and Specter was free again. When she looked in the direction the firing had come from, nothing was there. Nothing. No guns. No Spike. Nothing. "That's..." Scootaloo crawled but was too paralyzed by fear. This was impossible. This was im-bucking-possible! "That's... not fair, Scoots? Is that what you were going to say? Not fair?" Specter was no longer burned and fried from the princess' magic like he'd never been touched. Scootaloo realized this in utter horror. "Oh Scooty scoots, haven't you heard the good news?" "No... no...." He grinned devilishly. "Life isn't fucking fair."
Chapter 24: The Faker in the Fabric Factory (Part 4)And... here we go! Applebloom gave the railing a running start, stuck the landing on the bar of metal and made the leap over to the machine attached to the wall beyond. It was only a distance of two or three feet -- likely so that any ponies working in this place (if there'd ever been such a time where this factory was used for more than disturbing fillies, that is) could reach and do maintenance on the machines for whatever their purpose once was. Still, to a filly like Applebloom, even considering her superior applebucker strength, it was still terrifying. Especially with the ominous warning from Pinkie earlier. "If you go down, you'll die immediately." "Immmmmeeeeddddiiiaaa-" She didn't land directly onto the machine like she would've liked, but hooked enough of her upper body onto it such that she could be sure she wouldn't fall. The tape recorder she held clasped in her hoof certainly didn't make things any easier from jump to climb, but she managed. She considered putting it under her hat, but couldn't help fearing it would slip from under and clatter into the unknown below. As Applebloom climbed onto the machine sticking out of the wall and prepared to make another leap to the next machine, she wondered what the ghost-mare meant by that. She seemed to imply that she and Sweetie would go down there soon after the two met. Perhaps Sweetie was a key of some sort that would activate some new part of the factory. Or maybe Pinkie was just doubtful Applebloom would manage to survive, having next to zero experience with the GCD. That was the hopeful answer. Or maybe she just wants to let me see Sweetie die first. And that was the unhopeful answer. Applebloom pushed the thought from her mind as quickly as it came. She made the second jump. Then the third. Applebloom had been thinking about death a lot lately. She hadn't grown so macrabe as to think about her own death specifically, but she couldn't help broaching the subject in general. It made sense of course -- it seemed to be among the only theme this mansion even knew. Or at least it was it's favorite, now that she thought about it. There was more than death, of course. There was suffering. There was hate. There was loss. Hopelessness. Fear. But in the end, didn't all those things lead back to death? Wasn't that the overall connection? Did all things, all the fears of the world not all lead in some way, shape or form back to the subject of death? Well, perhaps it wasn't the whole connection as much as it was a connection. She sighed with another jump. Her mind was growing more morbid by every minute she was stuck in this place, but she hadn't been that far gone. The sooner she could get out of here, the better. Applebloom made three more jumps, all in proper succession while maintaining some forward momentum. Something else she thought about was Sweetie herself. Not current Sweetie -- the Sweetie that Applebloom was chasing and the one that thought she was another trick of the mansion (the poor thing). But she didn't think about the Sweetie before the mansion either. At least not yet. She thought about the Sweetie she decided in her head to call the "Pre Pinkie Capture Sweetie." The one that had allegedly been out capturing the likes of her sister, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Twilight and so on. For no reason in particular, she wondered if she could've just left at any time. After a few moments, she figured it to be doubtful. If Twilight and the others couldn't have left, then it was doubtful she would've been able to leave either. Between the ghosts and the nonsensical layout of the mansion, even the idea of breaking a window intentionally seemed like a poor idea. Especially now she had all those cutie marks on her. What was up with that, anyway? Why hadn't all this gotten them cutie marks? No, not Sweetie of course, but at the same time, maybe. Sweetie had all her friends' cutie marks, but like Applebloom and Scootaloo, Gosh, I hope you're alright, Scoots. she was still technically a blank flank, wasn't she? As Applebloom made another jump, she ventured to wonder if the mansion had some sort of "cutie mark keep away field" or something with a better name that did the same thing. Just their luck -- the night they would've been for sure to get them, some magic hoo-hah had foiled them. If that wasn't just super. Or maybe she had an invisible cutie mark. Because of all the ghosts. What a useless cutie mark that'd be. Then again, what a useless cutie mark a giant paper airplane would've been too. Scootaloo really hadn't thought that whole thing through. When they saved Rarity, beat Specter and got out of here, Scootaloo would never live down how her "last" cutie mark scheme almost ended the world. Because we are gonna make it outta here. We are- Applebloom stopped. In front of her was another machine sticking out of the wall, and above it was a hole -- just as Pinkie had promised. "If ah were a bad pony... that had her run a th' mansion..." Applebloom said aloud through the flashlight clamped firmly between her teeth. "Ah'dve put somethin' right there that'd make me slip and kill myself." She didn't see anything where she pointed the light, but the paranoia didn't go away. Her voice was drowned out by the sounds of the machine. She noticed all to suddenly how unsteady she felt standing still on one of these things. It was a strange thing to say, she knew that, but she felt it important to do so regardless, just to ensure herself that she wouldn't in fact, make the jump and would instead find the piping along the wall, and use that to cautiously shimmy over to the machine with the hole. She did just that, sticking the recorder in a tuft of her mane whilst constantly expecting it to fall and clatter into the "immediate death" zone below -- only to find that there was in fact, no oil slick or comedy gag waiting for her on the other side. "Huh." That didn't seem good. Rather, it was good, but not in the good way the filly was hoping. Applebloom was hoping she'd dodged a bullet, but instead, she just got a chill down her spine. Jumping and slipping wasn't the main attraction here. In fact, besides the fall and the aesthetics of the factory, the factory on a whole was sort of underwhelming and that was perhaps the most disturbing thing of all. Like it was all building up to something that was about to explode. Something Sweetie related, Applebloom had no doubt. "...if you have the will to live..." Don't die Sweetie, Applebloom begged. Don't die. Applebloom climbed in the hole. Sounds became more echo-y in what she found to be some sort of cave. The hole wasn't made of plaster but instead, it looked to be naturally (as natural as a factory in the middle of a mansion can get) set and made no sense in contrast to the industrial feel of the factory she'd just left. If Sweetie had ever been through here, Applebloom couldn't imagine how. Even with the flashlight, it was so dark. The black spots in the walls -- she could only imagine they were coal -- seemed to be sucking the light away from the world around her, making it still next to impossible to see more than a few feet in front of her. Some vague notion of how this was the way light behaved around substances as black as coal, but Applebloom knew there was nothing "normal" about those things. If the light was the enemy of ghosts, then that coal was the enemy of the light. Applebloom did not and probably would never understand what kind of horror Sweetie Belle had survived that night, but somehow, just that quality of this place gave her a bad feeling that Rarity would be particularly hard to catch. The tunnel was so long. Applebloom was getting flashbacks of the tunnel before the fight with Gilda and expecting to see apparitions in front of her. Applejack, or perhaps more likely, Sweetie Belle, calling her into a trap. But like the non-existent oil slick, there appeared to be no traps left for the filly. 'Cause they already got Sweetie. 'Cause they already got what they wanted. Ahm just a... (a side character?) Ah ain't important to Specter's plan... Sweetie... Then something hit her all of a sudden. A queasy feeling. Specter's plan didn't make sense if Sweetie died, if she was particularly important. If he had control any over the ghosts, he wouldn't! At first, Applebloom wanted to think that "of course Sweetie was going to be alright! Specter's model is too far in for his centerpiece to be taken out all of a sudden." But then she thought about in the relatively brief span she and Sweetie had been traveling together, how many times all it would've taken was a moment's hesitation for Sweetie to meet an untimely end. It was almost like it didn't matter if Sweetie lived or died anymore. Applebloom felt sick because she wondered if Celestia might've been wrong. Maybe it was really just a coin flip. And Sweetie had really only just turned up heads every time. And in this game, all she had to do was turn up tails once before it would be- (Game over, man. Game over.) No... no, it couldn't be that simple, Applebloom thought. There'd been too many factors in Sweetie's favor that shouldn't have even existed. Pinkie's involvement. Specter saving her from Spiffy. For it to just "not matter" was contradictory. All of it was contradictory. And in the end, it didn't seem to raise Sweetie's chances of survival because the facts of the matter could no longer be trusted. That thought only seemed to grow louder in her head as the monotonous machinery behind her seemed to grow quieter, and the sound of clockwork gears seemed to grow steadily louder in front of her. And in her gut, Applebloom knew Pinkie was telling the truth. Sweetie was here. And she was about to die. *** "I don't think we finished that talk we had earlier. How I'd planned to kill you." Scootaloo knew very well that her time was up as the cold encroached upon her. "At first I was thinking... ah, posh, look at this pitiful little thing," Specter explained. This was the old Specter. The one that she imagined saying "bucking" instead of "fucking". The perfectly emulated Canterlot-ian accent that was familiar to her and not the far, far away voice that seemed to rise out of the stallion from hell itself. The one that was, with its familiarity if nothing else, comforting. "I wasn't going to get any pleasure out of killing you slowly. Not really." He said the word "really" with a grin that seemed to grow even wider. His teeth were so white. So perfect. Scootaloo hated it. It was like he hadn't even been touched -- if anything he looked better. "Life's already handed this poor filly a downer. She's an orphan! She can barely fly and is... what. 11? 12? Ah, what does it matter? And to top it all off she's a blank flank! Constantly checking to see 'duuh, i just took a poo, did I get er cutie murk? Dawww...'" The mocking tone was followed by a gale of cackling laughter. "But after that little stunt? Right there? You know... I don't think I am going to go easy on you. You think you've made mistakes before?" Then he stopped smiling. As though he knew that would scare Scootaloo more than anything else. He changed again. "You done fucked up now, filly. I'm going to make Sweetie's night look like heaven when I'm done with you." A feral, animalistic scream came from the side, and Specter was no longer standing over Scootaloo and now half buried into a wall off to the side. Celestia was standing there, panting as though she had lungs to pant with. She locked eyes with Scootaloo. "Get out of here," she ordered. "But-" She turned her attention back to Specter. "I'm going to end this." "Because that worked out so well before, now didn't it?" Specter said, climbing out of the hole Celestia had sent him into. "You and the others need to get out of here," Celestia said quickly. Then, for the last time, she locked eyes with Scootaloo with a deadly serious look. "I'm bringing this mansion down. Now." The words were sudden. Immediate. Those eyes said everything else. They said to Scootaloo, "this mansion is his power," and "He's stronger than I thought," and "So long as it's standing, he'll never be defeated. It's the only way to stop him from fulfilling his plan," all at the same time. Scootaloo had plenty of objections to this, but she wouldn't have had time to say anything. Because as the mist returned to that basement, Celestia exploded in a flurry of magic that sent Scootaloo flying backward. How far she'd gone, she couldn't say for sure, but eventually, she did hit a wall. After that, things went dark for a few moments before she finally came too. There was silence. Was she alone, she wondered. Then the mansion moaned. Then she started to hear things falling. Scootaloo dodged to the side before a bit of the falling ceiling could hit her. "Crap! Crap!" She scrambled to her hooves and sped down the hallway -- all of which appeared to be made out of wood, she noticed -- looking for something, anything that looked like it might lead somewhere anywhere but there. She could only assume at that point she was in the basement between the lack of windows and the fact Specter might've mentioned something along those lines. As such she had to assume the direction she had to go was up. If she was right, she was right. If she was wrong, she'd just glide to the ground wherever she saw the window. Provided some ghosts didn't snatch her out the air or something stupid like that. Speaking of ghosts, Scootaloo had to skid to a halt as she saw something yellow dash past the far down hallway of the basement area. Scootaloo was drawing a blank on what that color meant. Butlers? Babies? Dogs? Celestia, she wished Sweetie was here. Celestia, she wished Celestia were here. Was she still fighting Specter? She imagined a hole, sending them both somewhere deeper into the mansion -- some cavernous area where they would have their final battle. And as awesome as it would've been, Scootaloo thought she might for once not miss witness something so "awesome" anyway. She'd just tell the others that she did see it when she and the other crusaders all got together. Rainbow too. Definitely Rainbow too. Yeah. That's what I'm gonna do. A white ghost zoomed to the right. Had Sweetie mentioned anything about white ghosts? Wait. Rarity? Could that be Rarity down here? It'd make sense, for sure, considering that pervert Specter was creeping up on the mare and trying to marry her. It'd also mean one of two things: that either Sweetie (and hopefully Applebloom) were close by, or they were way off the mark- A black ghost zoomed past. Now Scootaloo was sure she'd definitely not heard of any generic 'black' ghosts. Well, they weren't as black as they were 'off black' or 'of a darker color' if she wanted to be politically correct as Cheerilee might put it. It was after the black ghost crossed by that all three of the ones she'd seen started to- They're floating backward...? Scootaloo squinted at them. Was she seeing that right? They sure were. In an odd looking conga-line, no less, with their hooves on the shoulders of the one in front of them. There was the black ghost first, then the white ghost, then the yellow-orange ghost that- That's... that's Spitfire, ain't it? There was no "ain't it" about it. Even from that distance, even as a ghost glowing in the dark Scootaloo recognized the mare immediately. She was here. And with what looked like a guard from the Sun and Moon guard respectively. And they were all dead as fried chicken. They flourished their shoulders at the filly in a manner she might have almost thought was seductive. "Bump da bump bump," their gesture seemed to say. "We are comin' for that rump." Then they started to laugh and fly at her, Spitfire leading the charge. "Oh boy." *** As Applebloom exited the coal tunnel and entered what she could only describe as a tower, the sound of gears became near deafening -- as though she'd opened a door to the cacophony of sounds of metal grinding hard against metal. The entire room was like nails on a chalkboard and she desperately wanted to cover her ears and return to the relatively less-awful comfort of the tunnel again. She was so distracted by the blindingly loud gears that she almost walked off the edge where the tunnel ended, and into a sea of rapidly spinning gears that looked closer to buzzsaws than anything else. The only thing that suggested they were gears were the significantly slower moving ones all along the walls going up infinitely toward the top of the tower. The top, notably, could not be seen, but Applebloom did see something that was equally terrifying. Sweetie Belle. She could see her shadow hanging from a rope somewhere far above. Applebloom took a few steps back, shaking her head. "Naw... naw... naw..." She stepped back once. Twice. Once she was past the veil that separated the sound of the tower and the sound of the cave, she realized at some point that stepped on the recorder which she'd kept in her hoof in such a way that she made a mistake and hit the play button. And the first thing she heard was the sound of Pinkie's cackling. "Naw... naw..." She kept saying. "What's wrong 'bloom? See something scaaarrryyy?" "Please," she said in a voice so soft she might as well have just thought it. "Just tell me that wasn't real. Tell me she's not dead." "Okay! It's not reeeaaal. She's not deeeaaaaddd." Just as Applebloom was about to bawl, Pinkie added in a sort of eye-rolling tone of voice. "Sheesh, quit being a baby 'bloom. It's not like this would be the first fake out! Hey! Baby Bloom! Oh oh! Even better! Baby Bloomer! Ha ha! I gotta write that one down!" As the sound of pencil against paper filled the speaker of the tape recorder, the words did coalesce to Applebloom's psyche, resetting the cracks that had started to form at the idea. She supposed it was possible: the distinct Sweetie shaped shadow could be anything -- or anypony that wasn't the filly. Then came the other, very real possibility in Pinkie's next words. "Who knows if she's dead or alive, my little Baby Bloomer! But there's one sure-fire way to find out for sure!" "Y...yeah," she said weakly. Pinkie was right. There was one way. But if Applebloom did see Sweetie hanging there, really, then dead or alive, illusion or disillusion, she would break. Perhaps not permanently, but certainly enough to fall to the bottom of the hazard that was the tower. ("You'll die immediately!") "Yup! I sure did say that thing that got written!" Applebloom took a deep breath. "...I'mma turn ya off now." "Okaaaaaay! Careful! She's a hardboiled filly that doesn't play by the-" Applebloom shut off the recording, put the tape recorder down and walked forward into the tower. The last thing she needed was to press play by accident here. She needed all four hooves and all of her focus if she planned to scale the tower in one piece. She scanned the surroundings. She couldn't see what was actually making the shadow from where she stood. That was a good thing, she hoped. She also didn't bother trying to call Sweetie's name for two main reasons. For one, it was too loud. And for two, if Sweetie did hear her, there was a solid chance that if Pinkie was telling the truth, she may react in a bad way to her presence. She at least wanted some distance to be closed before that. To her left, gears appeared to be functioning some sort of platform that could take Applebloom higher up the tower. From what she could tell, that was her best bet. First, she had to make her way along a narrow indentation that went along the circumference of the tower -- wide enough for her not to have to press her belly against the wall and risk pressing herself into the grinding gears that made them up, but certainly small enough to give her a fright or two if she looked too far down. She moved slowly, but thankfully she didn't come across any problems along the way to the platform as she hopped on. The platform took her up a distance, allowing her to see past the apparatuses sticking out of the walls and previously blocking her view. She saw what was making the shadow. When she first glanced, all she could see was the white coat. Applebloom's heart skipped a beat. Then she realized that it wasn't just the coat that was white. Everything on the pony hanging there was white. It was a maneiquin meant to look like Sweetie. And it looked off. As though something sharp had been stuck into various places of the blank pony replica, and that it had been cut in certain places. Notably part of one of the ears were missing, as though, unlike other parts of the body that had been gone at with some sort of sharp object, it was ripped and frayed at the edges. Applebloom would've felt relieved if she hadn't felt more disturbed. There was the first thought that came as a relief: "That ain't Sweetie." Then the second thought made it's way to the surface: "... but Sweetie saw that thing hangin' there if she came through." Applebloom didn't doubt the filly had seen her share of horrific things in the last however-long they've been trapped in here. She had to ask: had she seen anything as personal as this? No, that was wrong. The better question was how Sweetie might contextualize an image like that so close to the pony she'd become so emotionally invested in. As in, how would she feel knowing Rarity, or some ghost that pretended to be her, did or wanted to do something like this to her? Before Applebloom could examine the new height further, as the platform approached it's top and was preparing to go down again, saw how pistons were slowly coming in and out of the walls going further up and around the tower until it reached a metal beam. They seemed to be all moving at once, if not so close that it looked like they would all go into the wall at once, and leave at the same time. The filly couldn't calculate whether or not once the platform reached its climax if it would be the best time to maximize the length of time she had to reach the top of the spiral before she no longer had pistons to stand on. What she could calculate, however, was that the platform she was standing on was never meant for her weight. The mechanics of the platform reached a snag that seemed to groan in place before she heard the distinct sound of something snapping. "Gah!" Without thinking, she jumped toward the piston just as the platform fell down. As it hit the bottom, the winding grinding gears below ate the platform. The shreds of wood and metal made up the platform was eaten by those gears and disappeared to somewhere below. She didn't see it, too focused on the pistons and the fact they were already on their way into the walls, but the disconnected thought did cross her mind, is that what bones sound like in those things? Go go go go! She thought to herself. Applebloom sped her way up the pistons, running as fast as she could. She worried the GCD was slipping off her back as she did and thought of how the gears if given the machine, would leave nothing left if it were it to fall. She didn't have time to really check or straighten the thing on her back -- she could only pray that it just didn't fall. With barely a hoof to spare, Applebloom made it onto the weak wooden board that served as a makeshift bridge over to what appeared to be a ladder on the other side. Almost out of breath, she made sure the little vacuum was still secure and indeed it was. Still no sign of Sweetie. Applebloom remembered what Pinkie had said -- she'd definitely suggested Sweetie was somewhere she could be killed by grinding gears. Wasn't that here? Or could she have moved on? If Ghost-Pinkie was as omnipotent as she pretended to be, surely she'd know that much. It should've crossed her mind that there was a possibility that the mare had lied and just wanted to bring her here for shits and giggles, but right now the tension was too high for her to have the energy to account for it. And then she heard the sound to end all sounds. A sound that, in Applebloom's ears, was all too clear, even with the gears all around her grinding away. It was a hiccup. Sweetie's hiccup, she was sure of it. She was only one level up. Applebloom wasn't too late after all. (Or maybe she was, and didn't realize it.) When she looked up, the light seemed to be too bright, obscuring anything past several meters up beyond the ladder. Applebloom carefully walked across the wooden beam and over to the ladder. She ran through her head what she'd say to her, only stopping at the beginning. Sweetie, I'm... no, that ain't right. It's alright Sweetie, it's... nah, nah... Ya don't gotta feel... There was no telling what she'd say to Sweetie once she saw her. She'd just have to find out when she did. Every rung of the ladder she grabbed with her hooves felt like a lurch in her chest, like it was about to explode in any minute. She was going to see something terrible up there, past what she realized to be dust particles, reflecting light off light making it impossible to see anything inside of the cloud. Then, Applebloom made it to the top of the ladder and nearly fainted. She was close to screaming, but even that she only barely managed to stifle. There were more hanging maneiquins. That didn't surprise Applebloom, really. She'd seen the vague silhouettes hanging above and expected to see more, but that wasn't quite what the filly got to see. In reality, there were only two more manequins: one of Scootaloo, one of Applebloom herself, and one of Spike. All hanging in a way meant to look like they really were dead bodies. But those replicants of herself and the friends she knew didn't hold a candle to the actual dead bodies hanging around them. The bodies of all her friends, Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie and A...pple...jack... All with wounds that Applebloom could only hope were inflicted postmortem. They were dressed in their gala outfits, so the extent of their injuries was impossible to see, but by the blood covering the gowns, it certainly looked gruesome. Flies were already festering their snouts, their eyes, and whatever other open wounds they had because all throughout them appeared to be needles with aimless threads through the eyes -- like their bodies were some sort of sick excuse of a pin cushion. The only thing that kept Applebloom from screaming her head off was the quick conclusion that these were in fact, the old bodies -- as could be told by the faded white spots where their cutie marks used to be. At least on the mares who's dresses were ripped enough where one could see their flank. As much as it may have been easier to excuse this as a trick of Pinkie's, besides the tape recorders, it was quite easy to see that as far as this display was concerned, the mare hadn't touched them. This was all one ghost's doing only. And Sweetie knew it. Sweetie, the one curled up in a fetal position at the other end of the tower. The filly was sobbing and somehow Applebloom could hear that too. Between the two fillies was another bridge, this one made out of metal. However, it didn't go all the way across. Between them appeared to be a 10-foot gap. The area that could be walked was barely two feet in width and about four feet in length, she supposed. The first things that came to Applebloom's mind were pirates and the planks that mutineers would be forced to cross by the captain in those stories. Only here, they weren't attached to a boat but a nonsensical tower. And there were two of them. Sweetie was on one and Applebloom on the other. "Sweetie," Applebloom said impulsively forcing a smile. All too suddenly, Sweetie stopped crying. She slowly looked up from between her legs and over to look at Applebloom. There were a number of things that made Applebloom's smile fade into more of a twitch of the face that did everything in its power to keep from going down in complete horror. The first thing was the look Sweetie gave Applebloom. Even with the distance separating them she could feel the vacancy in those eyes. (Gone, gone, gone, baby oh baby my Sweetie has gone.) There were tears to be sure that were rolling down the filly's face, but that face betrayed that of simple sadness or fear. It was the same sense of resignation Applebloom had felt when she picked up Sweetie's things. Sure, she'd kept the saddlebags, Applebloom could still see the things slung over Sweetie's back, but it felt more like she'd forgotten they were there more than anything. Besides, they didn't have anything to do with the hunt. In a way, the fact she'd kept that, but left everything else was so intentional, so (gone, gone, gone) specific, it made Applebloom feel even worse. Surely this was the first thing she noticed -- or at least it was the first thing she wanted to notice and not the second thing she only got a glimpse of as Sweetie raised her head. "Applebloom... hey..." Sweetie slurred with no expression at all. "Swe..." the words caught in Applebloom's throat. She doubted Sweetie had heard her at all. Sweetie stood up, and Applebloom could see it indeed hadn't been a trick of the light at all. For behind her, stuck into the wall and pinned many times to a dead gear that sat in the wall was a rope. And that rope was attached to the filly -- wrapped around her neck. She... put that there herself, the filly thought absently. For once, it looked like Pinkie had been wrong and her first assumption, her first fear had been right all along. Applebloom was going to watch Sweetie hang herself after all. *** It should have been a dream come true: A fantasy comes to life. Scootaloo was being chased not by her idol, but her idol's idol. The one and only Spitfire. It didn't need to make sense why she was being chased by Spitfire, but the fact that she was, was a-bucking-mazing! "Awesome," one might say. That alone would've been great. But then she finds out Soarin is here too? Echo? What the hay, what did a filly like Scootaloo do to deserve this? Was it her birthday or something? When she'd entered the mansion, she was sure it was still at least a few months away, but now, she wasn't entirely sure. So maybe! "You know!" Scootaloo cried. "I've had dreams of stuff like this! Wouldn't tell you- woah!" As Scootaloo rounded a corner and saw yet another ghost moon guard charge at her. She (completely and intentionally) ducked and slid under them just in time, but not soon enough for the ghost to run a nice chill down her mane. She felt slightly heavier as though the ice crystals on there was really enough to weigh her down -- but thankfully they weren't enough to slow her down. "Yeah!" the filly continued. "Nothing quite as freaky as this, but... ya know! What are you gonna do? Supposed to be hitting puber-shit! Shit!" Spitfire had already flown circles around the filly, so beating her or any of the Wonderbolts in a contest of speed -- especially in their superpowered ghostly forms was going to be beyond impossible. Thankfully as ghosts, they still appeared still follow the something resembling the laws of physics as any living pegasus had to live by -- meaning even with what appeared to be much more impeccable reaction time, speed and momentum needed to be equally acted upon over a distance proportional to the object the force of acceleration was acting upon. A thing Scootaloo was proud to admit she had learned out of Cheerilee's class -- even if it was only a vague understanding and served to only to better understand Rainbow's flying statistics. In more immediate terms, it meant that even with the bullet-like speed of the mares and stallions around her, particularly regarding the three Wonderbolts she counted so far -- Celestia I hope there's no more -- if she kept dodging just right, they would keep having to stop and/or turn around, allowing Scootaloo the chance to make more distance before another fly-by. Sure there were, from what she could tell, seven different ponies making flybys now and three of them were the Celestia-damned Wonderbolts, and some of them were coming from the Luna-forsaken-bucking walls like the five that did just that a second ago- But all in all, Scootaloo was pretty sure she had a good chance of not dying. Talking shit to the Wonderbolts was the only thing keeping her somewhat sane right now. In regard to the sea of ghost ponies that came through the wall left of Scootaloo, she barely had time to think before she spied and jumped on an end-table that was mercifully just sitting against the opposite wall the five ponies had just phased through. They were headed straight and hadn't accounted for her being higher than her own height, so between the end table and her wings she used to glide the rest of the way, she cleared them with relative ease. Also something, something, the mansion was still kind of crumbling around her. "Haha! Suck it, nerds- gaha!" A piece of debris fell on Scootaloo's head before her hooves could touch the ground and she herself could start running again. She saw stars as she was flipped front-ward onto her head and rolled the next couple of feet until she skidded to a stop. She felt blood trickle down her head and wondered for all of a split second if she'd gotten a concussion. Then the spirits of the guards and the Wonderbolts were upon her. They surrounded her and Scootaloo saw there was absolutely no escape. They were all laughing at her with those insane grins she'd gotten used to that night. "A heh..." Scootaloo laughed nervously. The words that came next were more automatic. She supposed if she was about to die, she wasn't going to waste such fire material for her last words. "D-d-d-don't suppose you'd just settle to give me your autographs and you just let me go, huh?" The Guards' stares didn't waver, but the Wonderbolts looked at each other. Then Spitfire just said, "Like we'd give our autographs to a chicken like you!" Welp, I got called a chicken by the captain of the Wonderbolts. I think I've lived a full life... The ghosts' laughter got louder as she felt herself being picked up by the mane while the ghost Sorin reached down her throat. And just as Scootaloo really was done for, farther down the hall, Specter crashed through two walls with Celestia following close behind. She stopped in the middle of the hallway. "Scootaloo!" "Lihhle helph!" she choked. The ghost alicorn's horn flashed and all of the spirits were suddenly blown backward and were gone with a loud, DING! -- either phased through the floor or the walls around them. As Scootaloo coughed and got to her hooves, she was about to say "Thanks," when she caught the princess glaring daggers at her. "What are you still doing here?!" Celestia screamed. "Do I look like I know where I'm going?!" Scootaloo shouted back. "Oh ladies~" The voice called through the hole. The mist was back. That terrible misty air. "GO! THERE'S-" Scootaloo was telekinetically pushed off to the side and down to the ground as Celestia dodged in the same direction. Bullets flew through the walls, throwing splinters of wood everywhere. Most of the bullets didn't make it through the wall but the ones that did Celestia managed to deflect with some magic she shot out of her horn. At least mostly -- as a few bullets made it through, adding to her collection of holes and increasing the anguish displayed on her face. Scootaloo stayed glued to the ground, frozen with the knowledge just an inch raised would put her in the path of that hail of gunfire. Eventually, it stopped, but something told Scootaloo that wouldn't last for long. "Go!" Celestia repeated. And go, the little filly did, speeding forward with no real sense of purpose where. Thankfully this time, Celestia was following close behind with hopefully a better idea of where to go than her. "Where?!" "The stairs going up are ahead!" She went on. "The basement's about to collapse! You need to hurry and get everpony out! Before the rest of the mansion follows!" Her expression really did betray her. This time, Scootaloo could most certainly read that same last sentence with the word "Twilight" traded out with "everypony" in the form of a brief twinge of shame betwixt the panicked expressions. Or maybe it was the concussion that was making her delirious into thinking she'd just looked that. In either case, just as she said that and turned around to face the hole she created behind them, Specter walked out of his new hole. He dusted some debris out of his mane and smiled. "You think knocking me around will do anything princess? Don't you get it? I can't die!" The mist was back. Scootaloo wondered if she'd make it all the way to that last stretch of hall in time while dodging the collapsing ceiling. "I'm already immortal, my dear Princess. That is my gift." Definitely a concussion. The words sounded odd in Scootaloo's ears. Strange. ...fake? Time to go! Scootaloo forced herself from a shakey trot into a full on sprint. One second. Two seconds. Three. Four. "Even if you and your friends escape," he promised. "I will not die. I will never die. Never. NEVER!" Then the roaring laughter came from the stallion's throat. Five seconds. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine- Then Scootaloo heard the gunfire start up again followed by the electric sound of Celestia trying to keep any from hitting the filly. She ran and ran and ran. Just as she made half the distance, more rubble appeared to be falling from above. All it would take was for one thing to hit her one more time and she would be buried with the rest of the mansion. She dodged left. She dived right. Just a little further, and she would be home fr- Two bullets whizzed by her. One of them grazed harmlessly through the top of her mane. The other one buried itself into Scootaloo's left hind leg. She screamed as she tripped and rolled to a stop. The mansion was still crumbling around her -- the ceiling just around the doorframe looked ready to collapse. She couldn't think about the pain if she ever wanted to know it past the next few seconds. So despite the blood which she quite nearly slipped in, she got to her hooves and kept on running in a fashion that was more of a limping trot than anything else. The sounds of fighting were distant behind her now. Celestia and Specter had moved on to fight somewhere else. Win, Princess... win. She might have thought "win before he takes you over for real this time," but was too busy diving through the doorway just as the ceiling collapsed, blocking the way to that level of the basement. Now all she could hear was distant rumbling as she lay there, catching her breath and in incredible pain. "Guh... guh..." she gasped. So far so good, she wasn't going to get crushed to death by the mansion. Still, there was the smallest, newest problem the filly had to deal with now: it looked like she was that it looked like she was going to bleed out right there. Great. Against her better judgement, Scootaloo looked down at her hind leg and moaned even more, seeing the blood gush out the way that it did. Through the red, she spied a glimmer of something green and deduced that it had to be the bullet that hit her. "G...reen bullets?" Scootaloo knew absolutely nothing about guns besides what she saw in movies. Strange, she thought. Bullets were supposed to be orange, or silver, or copper, or gold, but green? She'd never seen a green bullet before. Not that it mattered. It hurt deep. And it was going to kill her. "Get up," she ordered herself through gritted teeth. She didn't dare look up. There was light somewhere around, allowing her to see, but she didn't want to look up and realize how far she had to go. She didn't want to think about the odds. She just kept Rainbow in the center of her mind, and the intense desire to see her and everyone else again. Rainbow... Twilight... Fluttershy... Scootaloo climbed the first step. Rainbow... Pinkie... Applejack... Another step. Rainbow... Spike... Applebloom... Sweetie... Rain- "Ack!" Another jolt of pain shot through her entire leg causing her to collapse. She didn't realize that she was sobbing until the pain dulled into a numbness she couldn't quite call "healthy," now could she? She was going to die here. In this dark. Dank. Miserable place. She was going to- "AAAAAAHHHHHH!" Scootaloo screamed. "HEEELLLP!" She doubted it would do her any good. If anything, it would only serve to call ghosts to her and kill her that way. It wasn't ideal but, as much as she hated to admit it, it beat bleeding out. "HEEEEEELLLLPPP! HE-he-he-EEEELLP!" She scream-whimpered again, becoming less and less hopeful with every letter in the scream. She was full on crying now. If Rainbow could see her, ha, she would laugh. She could see it now. She would laugh and laugh and- "HEEEEELLLLLPPPP MEEEEE!" Scootaloo's voice grew hoarse. She had about one more scream in her, she estimated. She was getting dizzy. The world was spinning. The dark itself was spinning in the opposite direction. So disorientating. She wished she could just sleep. Just sleep. The pain was gone now. Was it supposed to go that quickly? Was it already supposed to feel that cold? Or were those the ghosts encroaching on her? She could feel some presence getting closer. She could. "Heellp..." Scootaloo said weakly. And then she was staring upward. Just staring. Staring. "...heard... there..." She could hear a voice now. Calling to her? Or just calling? "...an... her... P..." It was a nice voice. A nice voice indeed. Soothing to the filly. So soothing. And as Scootaloo shut her eyes for what she only supposed would be the very last time, she hoped that it was all over, that Celestia would win, and that at least everyone else would make it out alright. Then she heard hoofsteps. And then there was darkness. *** Applebloom stared at Sweetie and Sweetie stared back. "Are you... real?" Sweetie finally asked. "Y-yeah!" Applebloom said immediately. She said it at the end of a breath, so the sound came out as more of a gasp. "And... you've got the GCD I dropped." "Yeah!" Again, more of a gasp than a real word. Her heart was beating so fast and large she wondered how her lungs were even able to find any air at all. Sweetie then took a look at the bodies and manequins surrounding her. She sighed a depressed sigh. "No... no you're not real. Are you?" "Ye-" the word came halfway out her mouth before she realized Sweetie's question. "Ah mean, no! Ah mean... Ah mean..." "Who cares," she interrupted. "If you're the real Applebloom or not... who cares? ...that's funny, right? Aren't you going to laugh? Like the rest of them?" "Ah ain't gonna laugh!" Applebloom called out. Tears were coming down her face. Sweetie was so far away. She was so far away and there wasn't a thing she could do about it. The jump was too far and the rope was too long. Long enough to snap a neck, Applebloom was sure. Maybe even worse than that. "Why not?" Hundreds of thousands of reasons ran through Applebloom at lightning speeds. ("Because we're friends!" "Because I'm here to help you!" "Because I'm real!" "Because you're about to... about to...!") "You wouldn't remember," Sweetie went on. "But... earlier tonight something like this happened. Spiffy was trying to get Spike to do something like this... as an accident. To make it my fault. Maybe it would've been if I messed up. Or if you... the real you weren't there. You know?" "Why are ya doing this?!" Applebloom cried out. She didn't know what else to say. "Why?! It don't make no sense!" "Maybe not to you... if you're really you..." Sweetie stared at Applebloom. The applebucker's heart lurched when all she did was take a step toward the edge of the metal plank. Applebloom put a hoof up in the universal gesture of "No!" but the word just wouldn't come out. Her throat was too dry. "Why... you asked why, right?" "Yeah Sweets! Why?" Then she smiled a fake looking smile. It sent a chill down Applebloom's face -- that smile combined with those empty eyes. "Because I'm worthless." The phrase was so bizarre, so out there that Applebloom had to blink a few times to let the words register in her mind. What...? Worthless...? Sweetie...? Again, a thousand thoughts flashed by. Ways to contradict such an insane combination of words. "W-who in hay put that idea in yer head?!" A list of names pushed through Applebloom's mind. Specter? Spiffy? Rarity? Any of the other ghosts that had taunted her that night? The smile faded and Sweetie shrugged. "Nopony... not really," she sighed again. "They said it, last, yeah but, really... nopony but me. I just... tried not to think about it for a while. Tried to pretend the thought wasn't there, but it was. You can't catch a thought. You can't kill it either... not..." She trailed off again, off into a deep part of her mind Applebloom feared she may never fish her back from. Applebloom shook her head. "Rarity got ya thinkin' like that, didn't she?" Then she was back. "And what if she did?!" Sweetie snapped. The suddenness took Applebloom by surprise and nearly making her jump. She took another two steps towards the edge. "She didn't put the thought there though. She woke it up! She reminded me. I thought it and ignored it for months until tonight. But now..." What in hay was she talking about? Applebloom racked her head, her thoughts interrupted by Sweetie taking another step towards the edge of the plank. She was so close. So close and yet so far. "And now... I gotta make it right," she said after a while. "I talked to her tonight. Finally, I got to talk to her. For real. If I... I wasn't supposed to save her, you know." "W...hat?" "She was right. She didn't need saving. She never needed it. Crazy as it sounds, Specter was going to make her happy! And I screwed it up..." Sweetie took another step. One more and she'd be over the edge. She'd be falling and then- "But now I can make it right, you know? I can leave her be. I can let her be happy..." She stared into Applebloom's eyes for a long time. (Gone, gone, gone, baby oh baby my Sweetie is gone) "Are... you really... the real, Applebloom?" "Ah... ah..." The words wouldn't come to the filly. If she did, she risked Sweetie calling her a liar and jumping. If she said she wasn't, she'd lose hope and end up jumping. If Applebloom said nothing, and kept on stuttering "Ah... Ah... AAAAAAAHHHH-" then Sweetie would go ahead and still end up jumping. Applebloom fell to her knees. Her brain wouldn't work. It was short-circuiting as she saw Sweetie jump over and over. She heard that snap of her neck and again like a broken record that span so fast, if she touched and tried to stop the mad sound coming from (the gramaphone) (Sweetie's mouth) (her inner voice saying she was going to kill herself. she was going to kill herself and it'll be all your fault) she would catch on fire. As the days passed, the years passed, and Sweetie's corpse just hung there. Rotting with the rest of her friends as insects and maggots festered all throughout her making her plump and purple and bloated until the flesh rotted off to be ground in the ever-turning gears below. All while the applebucker's sister just kept going "Ah... ah... ah..." like the broken bucking record playing in her head. "You... have the GCD. If you... really have to go after my sis... if you're really real... you can do it. You deserve to get out of here," Sweetie finished, her hoof over nothing but air. "You have the right to make your sister happy..." And then Sweetie "It ain't yer fault..." Sweetie stared at the applebucker. She didn't say anything. "Rarity... what happened with Rarity ain't yer fault." "What... do you know...?" "Ah know ya tried to kill somepony. Like ya wanted ta kill Specter," Applebloom went on. Shakily she got to her hooves again. The story Pinkie told her earlier reverberated in her head now. That was all the gramaphone played. That story. Her only chance. Yes, before it just seemed like more Pinkie nonsense, but now it was Applebloom's only hope. No more thoughts on how she could convince Sweetie -- just her honest thoughts on the matter. "What... do you know...?" Sweetie repeated. She was more stunned than anything. It was the first real expression she'd shown since seeing Applebloom, though the filly didn't look up to face it. "Ah know... ya were mad... and scared. Cause nopony saw it... not me... not Scoots... nopony and ya were alone..." Applebloom chose her words carefully. Treading ground from what Pinkie told her and what she knew about Sweetie into unknown territory. She swallowed. "...and... ya were scared ya'd lose Rare, cause she was all ya thought ya had. And... ya made a mistake... and did somethin' Rare turned sour over... and now tonight ya wanted ta save her. Tonight was yer big chance..." Applebloom put up a smile that would've done the Element of Honesty proud. "...am ah close?" "...so what...?" Sweetie asked. "What? You're trying to remind me too?" She sounded as though a part of her was trying to be accusatory. Then there was the other part Applebloom vaguely recognized as somepony she actually knew. The filly's mind grasped onto that "somepony she knew" with all her might. "Ah'm tryin' ta get ya ta think, dang it!" she screamed. "Ah don't know nothin' about that whoever Rare was seein' but are ya really gonna look me straight in the face and say Specter wants ta make yer sis happy? Are ya out of yer freakin' mind?! Have ya had yer eyes shut all night? I ain't even been awake half the time you been, and I see that all Specter cares about is hurtin' you! You! You! You!" Applebloom's fear had turned to anger, and she couldn't keep it in. "Yeah, ah think Rare got in yer head! And yeah! Ah think tonight's been hay on you in every way possible right now! But ya wanna know somethin' real? Ah think right now yer acting mighty worthless! Ya wanna run from what Rare's gotta say? Ya wanna run from whatever truth or lies she and Specter's got that ya think has truth in 'em? Because that's whatcha doing here! Ya ain't gettin' Rarity to forgive ya! Ya ain't bein' sorry! Yer just running away from her! Yer just running! 'Cause yer scared! Just like the rest of us! And that's all yer gonna ever do if ya... if ya..." Applebloom hoped she could yell and scream forever as the words poured from her mouth. If only just to keep Sweetie there, frozen in place on that plank. She felt her knees wobble as the energy just went out of her all at once. Keep going... she ordered herself. ...or she'll die. "...do... ya still love her?" Applebloom asked. "What?" "Do ya still love her?" "...Applebloom of... of course I do!" It was the most genuine thing she'd said since finding her. Applebloom resisted the urge to smile, lest it be interpreted as a laugh. "Then why ya just standin' there when yer supposed to be savin' her?" "Because..." Sweetie paused. "Because I really think... that's really her. Deep down... I really think she hates me." There was a silence between the two. Sweetie didn't move forward, nor did she move back. Applebloom didn't avert her gaze. There was only one real answer that came to the filly's mind. One that came as sudden as the speech that spewed from her mouth only moments ago. "...who cares?" "...what?" "Who cares if she hates ya. You love her, right?" "Yes!" Sweetie said immediately. "Yes I do! I was doing this because I...! Because..." "...then act like it. It ain't yer job to go dying for her. And it ain't my job to catch her! It's yours! As her sister, it's yer job to protect her. Whether you think she's happy or not, do ya think she's safe with Specter? Do ya really believe that?" Sweetie didn't respond. "Course ya don't. Ya wanna know why?" Applebloom went on. "Because that stallion's insane. His butler's insane. His kids are insane. Everything about him is insane and everypony around him follows. And he ain't safe to be around. Not alive. And not dead." "Madame's not insane..." She muttered. "Who?" "...his wife..." "Right... his wife..." Applebloom did remember mention of the mare. "He's married then. So ya ain't gonna tell me that makes sense he gonna have two wives now." Sweetie wasn't looking at Applebloom anymore, but down at the whirling gears. Her mind was a million miles away for what seemed like a long time to both of them. Then she shrugged. "...I don't know. Some ponies are into that, I hear." Was that a joke? A real joke? Or at least an attempt at one? "Ah dunno Sweetie. Rare always crossed me as the uh... mono... mona... crap, how d' ya say it?" "Monogamist," she said lowly and slowly. "Yeah, that!" She sighed. It was a healthy sigh. Not quite devoid of the depression of before, but Applebloom would take it nonetheless. "Yeah, I guess you're right." There was another long pause before Applebloom dared speak again. "Are ya... feeling better?" "...no... no, not really," she paused. "...but like you said. Who cares?" As she said those words, Sweetie took the noose from around her neck and held it in front of her. "How I feel doesn't really matter while Rarity's in Specter's hooves." "Yer damn right." Applebloom nodded. Sweetie tossed the noose to the side. However, instead of falling to the side like a rope attached to a wall is supposed to, it snapped from where it was attached to in the dead gear. Then the gear started to spin and it started to spin fast. "Aw hay," Applebloom's ears went down. Sweetie did the same as she looked at the gear. *** "It's a tra-" Before Sweetie could get the words out of her mouth, the two metal planks gave beneath the two fillies. They screamed, but both managed to grab at the planks as they flew down and against the wall. Applebloom managed to hold on but Sweetie, upon the plank's impact with the wall was thrown off with force. Out of sheer luck however, she fell in the direction of her own hanging manequin and grabbed at it with all her might. This time, she managed to hang on. "Sweetie! Help! Ah'm slipping!" Applebloom had both hooves hooked into the sides of the plank now hanging vertically. As she cried, she was indeed sliding down the plank toward the end. Below her was the wooden bridge, but between the narrowness of it and the bridge and the shoddiness of it's integrity, Applebloom would doubtlessly crash through it and fall down to the sea of death-gears -- and that was if she even touched the bridge at all. "Hold on!" Sweetie wracked her brain for what she could do now. She looked over by the entrance to the tower. There was the platform above the tunnel that blocked anypony from seeing into the room besides the silhouettes. She remembered thinking she'd see her own corpse when first walking in the room because of that blinder and was willing to bet bits that Applebloom thought the same. There was no way Sweetie would be able to catch Applebloom. The mock corpse was too high up and wouldn't have reached Applebloom. She considered using her talents, but was sure that even with Twilight's mark, she'd get too weak before getting either of them to safety, effectively killing them both. Fluttershy's and Rainbow's were pretty useless in this situation too. And all Pinkie's mark would do was just remind her how screwed the both of them were anyway. Almost like the real deal. How about Applejack's then? An idea formulated in Sweetie's mind. Using Twilight's mark for thinking alone, she calculated if what she was trying would even be possible, and as it turned out it was. Risky as hay, but possible all the same. Sweetie began to pump on her mock corpse, as though she were on a swing -- because effectively, that's what she was doing. She was swinging along the circumference of the tower toward Applebloom as far as the rope would allow. As she listened to it creak, she hoped it would hold long enough. "Don't complain, okay?!" Sweetie called. "What are ya-" Then Sweetie executed the plan. At the end of her forward swing, she jumped off, and as hard as she could, bucked Applebloom off the plank she was holding on to. The filly cried out in pain, but the desired effect came to pass. Applebloom flew along the circumference of the tower -- thankfully not getting caught in any of the gears along the way -- before landing on the platform over the cave opening. She moaned in pain, but was still alive. Now that left Sweetie Belle, who herself was still flying through the air and now after passing her own momentum onto Applebloom, was falling straight down toward the pistons, on their way out of their wall. She switched her focus from Applejack's talent onto Twilight's again, calling upon her levitation magic to slow her ascent ever so slightly. She still hit the piston hard, but not nearly hard enough to break the bones in her legs, and just enough not to miss it as it went into the wall. She winced but knew she wasn't out of the woods yet. She went back as far as the piston would allow, and once it was at full length, she called upon Rainbow's talent and ran toward the end of the piston, jumping far and wide until she came to a rolling stop inside the mouth of the tunnel. She was in pain. She imagined Applebloom was in pain. But the both of them were alive. They were alive. "Sweetie!" She could see Applebloom's legs wiggle as she climbed over the lip of the platform. Then she swung inside of the mouth of the cave and joined Sweetie Belle. She stood over her for all of a second before joining her on the floor, the both of them out of breath -- albeit for different reasons. "Hah... hah... You alright, Applebloom?" "Hah... hah... Yeah... yeah, ahm alright... you alright Sweetie?" "Hah... Yeah... yeah I'm okay... hah... hah..." Sweetie swallowed. "Hey... Applebloom?" "...yeah...?" "Thanks for yelling at me back there... I think I'm this close to... losing my mind..." She raised a hoof and pinched the air to emphasize her point. Applebloom considered the present-tense nature of the statement, but decided it didn't matter with the filly breathing next to her. "Yeah... Ya... and every pony else..." "Yeah... yeah... well they do say... crazy loves company... I guess... I don't know..." The two of them laid there, breathing hard, saying nothing. Then Applebloom spoke up. "...ya got... a kick like a mule though... ah'll tell ya what," she commented. "Blame... your sister..." They both breathed hard for another few seconds. Then both of them laughed.
Prologue- The Letter [REBOOT]To Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Element of Harmony or Whomever Else It May Concern My name is Specter Yield. We met a few days after I innitially arrived in this region of Equestria when I came through Ponyville. I want to begin by thanking you for the incredibly warm welcome you and the local townsponies gave upon my arrival. It was more than a pleasant surprise after the long journey up to your capital. Which is in part why I write this invitation to each of you. If it may be my honor, I would like to return the favor by inviting each of you to join me at my manor just outside of town for a private gala hosted by me and my staff of servants who should be also arriving shortly as well. I insist you join as I do not plan to keep you for more than an few hours, as I'm sure you are busy what with the immesurable duties of the Princesses and Elements. If you are indeed able to find the time to attend, the festivities will of course take place at my private estate at six o'clock in the evening this Saturday. I will not attempt to give directions, as not only am I still unfamiliar with the Everfree Forest area, but I'm sure you already are aware of the location of my estate. I believe you mentioned that you innitially noticed it's location not too long after it's erection. So I'm sure you will "know it when you see it", as they say. I will conclude this invitation by once again hoping that you will accept, because while there is food and drink, I’m sure each of you would be looking for an explanation of my home and my reason for coming from almost the other side of the country. With your town's supposed notoriety for attracting malicious entities, the last thing I'd desire is for you to think of me as another one of your "Nightmares" or "Discords" I've heard muttered amongst you all. If there's one thing this old stalion would not like to appear as, is a threat. Once again, I hope to see you very soon. Sincerely, Specter Yield [Continue] Author's Note To those reading this currently, it's worth noting to all that this story has been written with the mindset that events from Season 3 onwards along with the movies and Equestria Girls has not happened. Also I have no intention of changing or removing the choice chapters. Not because they were ever a good idea, but purely because I'm lazy. If you want to look at the bad endings, more power to you, but for those who see how stupid they are, I apologize. Just go green as I must've written somewhere else. With that out of the way, please enjoy this trainwreck of a story.
Chapter 1- The Flight of the Cutie Mark Crusaders [REBOOT]“Hey Applebloom. Think you could help me fold this end over this way?” Scootaloo asked. "Sure," Applebloom replied, moving over to Scootaloo's side of the oversized sheet of paper. Scootaloo and Applebloom bit the end of the page, clamping down with their jaw and pulled it over towards the center. Once there, they both stopped and looking at Sweetie Belle. Of course, she wasn't paying attention to what the two other fillies were up to. Instead, she was off to the side staring off into space, clearly somewhere else mentally. "Sweetie?" Applebloom tried to call her through the paper. It was muffled and didn't even phase the one entranced by absolutely nothing. "HEY SWEETS! WAKE UP," Scootaloo boomed, taking her mouth off of the paper. Without Scootaloo, the rigidness of the paper pulled Applebloom slightly back to the to-be fold's origin. Sweetie snapped in her direction. "Huh?" "Run your hoof along that part there, would you? We've gotta make a clean crease and can't hold the thing steady with just one of us." Scootaloo said before helping pull the piece back in to place. "Right, sorry." Sweetie went around to the other side of the sheet to crease the paper so Applebloom and Scootaloo could lie the now folded piece flat. Both of them spat out their edge of paper with a "blech". Who would have thought that something Pinkie owned could taste so bad? Then again they should have been thankful somepony had such an unpractically large piece of paper on hoof. Then again, considering the array of miscellaneous items the mare had on hand, was there any doubt? Though Scootaloo was already moving to the other side of the sheet before Applebloom could pick her head up. "Alright girls, other side now." she said. “Eh Scoots? Hold on." Applebloom looked across to her friend. "Ah know ya wanna fly an’ all but do ya really think this ‘ere gian’ paper airplane ‘ll help git our cutie marks?” Scootaloo nodded in assurance. “Totally! I've been thinking about it all week! A building cutie mark probably... or crafting, whatever the heck you call it. Or when we fly this thing, maybe a flight cutie mark! Maybe not for me, since... you know." she erected her wings and looked at them, showing how redundant it'd be for her of the group to have a "flight" mark. "...but just think how cool it'd be if you could say you flew, turn around and-" she flipped around to where her cutie mark would be (if she had one). "-BAM. They see a plane... or a wing... or a piece of paper or something. I don't know. But it's foal proof!” “Scootaloo, we done tried some crazy stuff before, but don'tcha think this is kinda... pushin' it?” Applebloom said. “Yeah. Don’t you think this is kind of... dangerous maybe?” Sweetie said slightly lower than Applebloom. “No way! Look." Scootaloo jumped across the page over to her saddlebags. Her energy hadn't wavered since they'd made their way to the top of this hill. She was no doubt excited about their latest plan. After a moment of shuffling inside, she took out a little paper plane with three small generic pony dolls glued to the top. Written on the side of each were three names. Scootaloo in the front, Applebloom in the middle and Sweetie in the back. "See, I've got the design just right to hold our weight." "Just like that paper boat ya thought we could float in?" Applebloom commented. "This one's different. I spent all week in Cheerilee's class perfecting it this time." "Right... you kept asking me for paper." Sweetie sulked, recalling her mental note to buy a new notebook before the week started again. Another 5 bits she could have spent stuffing herself at the Sugarcube Corner, or perhaps paying more of her library fines off she owed to Twilight. "Anyway check it." Scootaloo threw the paper plane at Sweetie. Before she could catch it, it struck her head, sticking it's nose into her poofy mane. "Ow?" Sweetie automatically said, feeling the sharp tip of the plane strike her head through her mane. It didn't hurt, but for some reason she found it mildly annoying. "It flies great. And this version'll fly just as good. It'll be the same thing. Just a little bigger." A little? Sweetie thought as she took the plane out of her mane and threw it back at Scootaloo. The plane was enormous! Or at least it looked like it would be judging by the size of the paper. She was sure once it was done it would be able to fit a maximum of six fillies rather than three. This should have been slightly encouraging but... "Besides, even if it was a little dangerous, that hasn't stopped us before right? We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders! Nothing scares us, especially if it gets in the way of our cutie marks!” Scootaloo said. She paused before looking at her two companions and laughing. “...don’t tell me you are scared.” “I ain’t scared of nothin’.” Applebloom defended proudly. “Y-yeah. Me neither.” Sweetie looked out off of the hill they were building their airplane on high over Ponyville. "But... we just ain't tryin' to do nothin' that will get us killed." Applebloom added, glancing at her friend's hesitation. She wouldn't look fearful, but she'd be lying if she said Sweetie's obvious fear wasn't justified. Sweetie agreed with another "Yeah". She waved them off "Psh... have a little more faith in me. Like I said. It's foal proof. We'll be fine." Scootaloo promised. "If you say so." Sweetie and Applebloom sighed. *** The three of them had been up there for just about the entire Saturday. In their sisters (or in Scootaloo's lack there of, "role model's") absence to go to some party they weren't allowed to attend, the three had been able to work nonstop on their airplane project, now nearing completion. Sweetie, of the three of them knew their latest cutie marking scheme was among their most dangerous yet. She was never one who enjoyed blindly diving into danger, though the problem there was she rarely could articulate or project herself well enough to protest. Plus, with few exceptions, it would usually be the two of them versus her own opinion wimpy opinion. Though at the same time, she didn't mind being put into situations that, hurt her (and in some cases threatened her life) as long as she had her friends at her side. It was always nice to know that even if she came out of a try for a cutie mark with a few nicks and bruises she could still share a few laughs with her friends. Still, even with Applebloom's stubborn nature to appear brave, it was refreshing to Sweetie to actually consider how insanely bad an idea this was. She had probably been so nerve wracked over the project since the first time they came to the top of this hill that some of it must have rubbed off on her. It wasn't much longer before they put the finishing touches on the crude, yet recognizable paper airplane. It didn't turn out exactly like Scootaloo's model, but it looked stable enough to look flyable. Good enough for Scootaloo to say: "Yup, that's perfect! Applebloom, you brought the rope right?" "Yeah. Sis wasn't workin' today, 'n no one else was either, so there was a ton a rope just lyin' around." "Nice. And Sweets, you brought the fabric too right?" "Right here. I got corduroy. You said you wanted it to be rough, right?" "Right, so we don't slip off when we take off. Alright, lets get it on the plane. I want to get off the ground before the sun starts going down." Ropes sewed on by Sweetie to be attached to different parts of the plane for steering and something to pull on in order to take off, and seats, or rather patches of fabric to be super glued on by Scootaloo to help them keep from slipping off the plane to meet a most unfortunate end. These were Scootaloo's "safety precautions". Both Applebloom and Sweetie, at this point knew that these were poor when they couldn't find any type of parachute or contingency item. However by this time, they couldn't back down now, or convince their "Scoots" how bad this idea was. Instead, they both occupied their minds by how much this plan supposedly meant to Scootaloo. Though it was likely a legitimate cutie mark plan, Sweetie and Applebloom both agreed Scootaloo's purpose was to have the ability to say she legitimately flew without help from Rainbow Dash. After all, she was one of the few in her class that had hadn't learned how to fly beyond gliding short distances yet. In their eyes, Scootaloo's desire and pride outweighed the danger. "Alright, cool!" Scootaloo grinned at their creation. "Now we gotta make it look cool. C'mon, there should be some paint in my saddlebags." The three of them spent the least time however painting the plane, whilst being careful to not put too much paint in one area to weigh it down anywhere. It was painted the colors of each of the filly’s coats with the purple letters CMC at the nose and flank of the plane creating a tri-colored rainbow effect. Sweetie tilted her head, the Rarity in her unsatisfied. "I dunno girls... looks a little tacky." "What are you talking about, it looks great!" "Just look at the way the colors are blending. It looks like someone started a lazy rainbow and gave up." Sweetie criticized. "Bah, what do you know about design?" The sister of the town-wide designer gave Scootaloo a look that, as if to say "Seriously?". However she held her tongue as Applebloom snickered silently. Scootaloo didn't notice either of them. “Alright guys, you ready?” Scootaloo said. She picked up her saddlebag, and went inside to take out some goggles that were only a shade darker than her own orange coat. Sweetie sighed. "As we'll ever be.” Both her and Applebloom then put on their own saddlebags along with Scootaloo. “Sure hope ya know whatcha doin' Scoots.” "You worry too much." Scootaloo reassured her. "I'd expect this much complaining from Sweets." "Hey!" "Now, help me turn it that way. We need the longest strip of runway we can get. And we gotta start off fast too. You know, like we're throwing it." The three of them picked up the plane, surprisingly sturdier than it looked. Perhaps the hardened paint was keeping the wings still? Thankfully however, even with the added paint, rope, it was surprisingly light. Then again, that was only when the weight was distributed evenly between them. Scootaloo took her position at the front left of the plane, by her own patch of fabric. Applebloom went to the right of the plane, near the middle, by her patch of fabric. Finally, Sweetie moved around the back of the plane, behind her own piece of fabric. They each took an end of rope by their teeth. "Alright, on three, run for the edge. When we get there, jump on." Scootaloo said through her gritted teeth. "One..." Sweetie and Applebloom prepared to make their sprint. However, unlike Applebloom who had finally put her mind in the danger, Sweetie's legs shook as if they were preparing to buckle. The reality was dawning on her how high they were, and how high they were preparing to take off from. "Two..." She was scared. No, "scared" was too light of a word to describe her fear. She was terrified at the realization she would be a good hundred, maybe two hundred feet above Ponyville with barely a harness to identify or a prayer should their "precaution" fall through. If she took off on this plane, she was sure she wasn't just going to get a scraped leg, or a bruised flank. She felt it in her stomach, the sickening foreshadowing something horrible was going to happen if they took off from here. She felt they were missing something. She had to say something. She had to assert herself before- "Three!" Scootaloo and Applebloom raced along the sides, dragging the plane and for a brief moment, an unprepared Sweetie. Sweetie's brain went into automatic as her legs began moving as well, despite her worries. She barely even realized she was moving at all. Once Sweetie regained her footing, she also began pulling the plane along with her friends. They dragged the plane, gaining speed to the point they could barely keep up with the plane itself, until they reached the end of the their strip of land, and beyond which was nothing but a big fall. "Now!" Scootaloo yelled. The three jumped on, taking their spots on the plane, now grabbing onto the ropes with their hooves. As she thought she felt them dive, Sweetie shut her eyes in fear. She felt like screaming, but resisted the urge. If her friends weren't screaming, there wasn't any point to screaming, right? Right? Even with her self control, Sweetie expected the worst and for the plane to crash and that to be that. However, it didn't. She did feel wind rushing all around her, but it didn't feel as if gravity was pulling them down to the ground anymore. After a few seconds of not dying, Sweetie opened her eyes. "Ah can't believe this ol' thing is flyin'!" Applebloom said in awe. Looks like Sweetie wasn't the only one who had shut her eyes since she was also just noticing the relieving lack of crashing and/or spontaneous combustion. She could feel the tension in her rope, she could feel her flank just begging to disconnect from her corduroy patch, and she couldn't have her eyes completely open, but she was on the plane, and it wasn't pointing down. That's what mattered. "Ha! I told you!" Scootaloo said. To confirm they were indeed flying, and they weren't just still on the hill with a big invisible fan pointing at them, Sweetie peered over the edge of the plane. By now, they were soaring over Ponyville, and all of its inhabitants. Sweetie could make out some looking up in awe to see the sight of the over-sized "tacky" paper airplane. Others didn't notice or shook their heads, disregarding it as "another day in Ponyville". The day before yesterday, chocolate rain, yesterday, a pink hot air balloon, today a giant paper airplane, tomorrow a time and space machine. From the crusader's point of view, the sight of all of Ponyville was breathtaking. Rarely did ponies so young, especially earth and unicorns, see the world from such a vantage point. They could see the library, the boutique, the school house, the bakery, the library and even the farm, and the forest they were getting ready to fly over. This was truly a day to be a crusader. Though for her life, Sweetie couldn't help but still feel a sick, uneasy feeling in her stomach. *** They flew. *** They flew. *** They flew. They kept flying, and soon, they were beginning to head out of Ponyville. Out into the wilderness that was the Everfree forest. Then, something occurred to Sweetie. She suddenly had an idea why she felt so sick, even after they took off and were supposedly "safe", for now. A surprising ten minutes of flying, and now, only being able to see Ponyville at the tip of the horizon, Sweetie looked up at her friends who had quit discussing the amazement of soaring through the air. "Uh... Scootaloo?" Sweetie asked. Scootaloo tilted her head back to her. "What's up Sweets?" "You... do know how we're supposed to get down from here." Sweetie hoping if she stated it, it'd somehow end up being a fact. Instead the filly at the front turned fully back to her. There was a moment of silence as Applebloom and Sweetie stared at her, waiting for an answer. A bead of nervous sweat went down her neck. "Err... yeah, about that." "C'mon now, ya went through all this plannin' and ya didn't figure out how ta land?" "No, I did!" Scootaloo defended. "That was kind of what these ropes were for... Sweetie would yank that part and it would start going down. But uh-" "Ya thought we'da been able ta find some place ta land?" Applebloom asked, hints of annoyance in her tone. Scootaloo shrugged it off. "Hey. I forgot. What are you gonna do?" "C'mon Scootaloo!" "Alright, I'm thinking! I'm thinking!" Scootaloo said. Now she was beginning to panic. "Um... what if we got it going down just slightly? Just enough to skim the trees and slow down?" "Yeah, or get stopped suddenly and flung off the plane you dodo." Sweetie said. "We're going too fast! We have to keep this level or we'll just crash!" "I told you not to call me things I don't know!" Scootaloo said. "Dodo dodo dodo!" Sweetie taunted. The two of them argued and talked over each other pointlessly as Applebloom looked past Scootaloo into the distance. She saw something in the middle of a large clearing of the forest. Something she'd never seen before, and only heard of. After peering for a few moments, squinting to try and make out and assuring herself it was what she thought, she called her friends. "Uh girls?...HEY!" Applebloom said gaining both of their attention . "Look!" The fillies looked forward on their flight path. What they saw far off in the distance... was a large old looking estate. "Wait... isn't that the manor Rarity said she was invited to?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah, Dash said she was going to some mansion too." "Sis too... yeah, her 'n 'er friends." Applebloom recalled. "Sheesh... sure looks big. I bet you could see it all the way from Ponyville! Why hasn't anyone noticed it before?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie gave Scootaloo a puzzled look. Surprised that she was the one to remember something Scootaloo didn't. Especially since it was related to her own role model. "Don't you remember?" "Yeah, remember when they found that ol' pony Wanderin' round Everfree? Said he owned that mansion." Applebloom asked. A little less than two weeks ago, Rainbow, who had been assigned to start a light drizzle over the forest, noticed the mansion far off in the outskirts of Ponyville. No one had seen it before, and no one had heard of any recent construction out in Everfree of all places. The mansion's seemingly instantaneous appearance, despite the existence of magics that were designed to construct homes, was odd enough to eventually catch even the princesses’ ear within the first few days it was noticed. It was utterly unheard of for a house of that magnitude to spring up out of nowhere. About a day after the appearance of the mansion, Princesses Celestia and Luna had journeyed down from Canterlot to investigate the strange mansion. Naturally the Elements of Harmony: Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash (especially since she was the first one to spot the thing), were obligated to join them, in case this mansion turned out to be more than outrageous construction magic. Perhaps the work of another "Nightmare" or "Discord". However, before they could get halfway through the Everfree forest, the mares were met by the next best thing to the mansion: the owner, seeming to also be making his way to Ponyville. The owner called himself by the name "Specter Yield". He was an old, gaunt looking unicorn with a dark green coat and yellow eyes. His mane was well kept, and a solid shade of red. His cutie mark was just a strange brown splotch, as if someone has smeared chocolate over that part of his flank. Specter claimed to have his mansion "specially made", dodging adding any other details to an incredibly stumped Twilight who couldn't even fathom the amount of magical output to even put together the frame. Even if he, as he claimed, had ponies from a town far off known as Stabletown, to build his house in a hurry, she couldn't understand why the construction itself didn't cause an uproar. This however was the only explanation to which why no one knew of its construction and its sudden appearance. Speed and a questionable source of magic. Naturally, Twilight's suspicion was taken on by the others and there developed a fair amount of distrust of the stallion as they guided him back to Ponyville. Even Pinkie swore something was off, despite her sense reacting to everyone but the stallion. However, eventually, they put it to the side after noticing the earth stallion's old, and kind hearted personality and values. The kind of old guy that wouldn't hurt a fly, and couldn't even if he wanted to. Even the princesses decided to buy his story. Inevitably, Pinkie wasted no time in setting up a party for him, who was warmly welcomed into the Ponyville community. This is what happened according to both Applebloom's and Sweetie's stories, that seemed to agree with each other. "Oh yeah, now I remember." Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, our sis'... Rainbow... Pinkie, Fluttershy and Twilight went too ah think." Applebloom thought for a moment. "Ah yeah. Twi let Spike come ah think." "You would know that." Scootaloo teased. "What's that supposed ta mean?" Applebloom asked. "Um, I think we're getting off topic." Sweetie asked. "Sweetie's right. We gotta figure out a way ta get down without breakin' our necks." The three of them thought for a moment before Scootaloo spoke. "Well... you're right. If we're going to land, we either need something flat to glide down on, or we need to slow down and maybe get caught on one of those trees." Scootaloo concluded. "Alright, now how do we slow down?" "Uh... I don't know." she gave up. "Can't really think of anything besides waiting for the plane to glide down normally and hope for the best. Never seen a paper plane that flew forever. Heck, I can't believe this thing's flown as long as it has." Applebloom shook her head. "No good. We already been flyin' fer a while, and we still got a way down before we hit th' trees. Ah don't wanna be out 'ere when the sun goes down now. If we're gonna land, we better land soon" "I know, I know... hey, what about the mansion? We're headed the same way, maybe we could land on the roof?" Scootaloo tried. "And what happens if we miss? B'sides, ah think we'll be to low to hit the roof and just crash into the mansion!" "Damn..." Scootaloo cursed. "Well... I'm out of ideas." she sighed. "Probably should have looked harder for those parachutes..." "No kiddn'." Applebloom agreed. The situation looked completely hopeless on the tacky giant airplane. At least until a light bulb went off in Sweetie's head. "Wait girls... we do have a parachute! We have three!" The two of them looked back at Sweetie. "We do?" "Well... kinda." Sweetie explained. "I thought about it because of that paper boat actually. It made me think of a sail." "A sail?" Scootaloo asked. "Right. Um... a sail traps air to turn. Just like a parachute traps air to fall slower. Or slow down!" "And we... oh!" Applebloom began to see where Sweetie was going with her explanation. "Our capes!" "Oh yeah!" Sweetie grinned and nodded. The cutie mark crusader capes Sweetie had sewn herself with the CMC emblem on the side. This was one of the items they always carried on them. Both as a lucky charm, and a reminder that they are crusaders. It wasn't made to be a sail like Sweetie had thought of, but it should have been enough to slow the plane down to the point they could do something else. "Alri' then here's what we'll do. Ah think we can do with one. Ah'll get mine." "Careful." Sweetie warned. "I don't want you to fall." Applebloom nodded and put the rope in her mouth before letting the rope slip out her hooves. She then used her free hooves to move around in her bag past the other things she'd stuffed in there. Both Scootaloo and Sweetie looked at her intently. Seconds felt like minutes as they watched her. Eventually, Scootaloo asked "You found it ye-" However, before Scootaloo could finish her sentence, something smacked into her face. It was wet and shiny and went too fast to be fully examined. If anyone were able enough to examine it, they might compare it to snot. "a-" At the speed they were going, it was enough to knock her back, and force her to let go of the rope. She fell into Applebloom, who's items and self fell into Sweetie. Only Sweetie, who had been subconsciously and nervously had been playing with the rope in her hoof long enough for it to tie around it and help her keep her grip. Scootaloo held on to one of Applebloom's hind legs and Applebloom held on to one of Sweetie's hind legs, forming a chain between the fillies. They held on to each other for dear life, screaming in terror. The new weight on the back of the plane caused the plane nose to loop up, and send the nose higher. Eventually, the plane was pointing up vertically towards the sky. The paper plane started to slow, causing the fillies to cease screaming for a few moments as they were seemingly stuck in mid air when the plane came to a stop. "Uh oh." Scootaloo said as the plane turned downwards and began to fall to the ground and the fillies resumed screaming. Applebloom tried to keep herself together as she fell and screamed, trying to think of a way out of this grim situation. Now it was her turn for an idea to come to her. "Sweetie!" She called. "Ya need ta climb back up on the plane, ya hear?! Ya need ta pull the nose up so we don' crash!" Sweetie nodded, understanding Applebloom's plan. However, this plan wasn't exactly simple to execute. After all, she still had two fillies hanging on to her hind legs as they fell. Still, Sweetie had gravity and the light weight of the plane on her side. She had to try... it wasn't if things were going to be any better if she didn't. Sweetie attempted to reach out for the rope Applebloom used. She managed to grasp it and pull herself down closer to the nose. Despite all of the factors of physics on her side, the pull was difficult, being a filly, and an unfit one at that; she barely had the proper upper body strength to pull herself up. Thankfully, she managed to find the strength reach Applebloom's spot. Next, was Scootaloo's. "Ya can do it Sweetie!" Applebloom rooted from behind. "Go! Go!" Scootaloo cheered, feeling her grip loosen on Applebloom's leg. Sweetie was close. She was so close now. She just needed reach Scootaloo's spot at the front and they'd be saved. This was it. In the next few seconds, they was either going to live, or she would be making very close friends with the ground, followed by her maker. Now was make it or break it time. Now was the time to do or die. Sweetie reached as far as she could to the rope... but it was too far away. Her heart dropped as she tried reaching out as far as she could with her leg. But it wasn't long enough. The one rope that would save them was the one rope that was cut too short. "C'mon, C'MON." The ground was getting closer and closer by the second. There had to be something she could do to reach the rope. Sweetie tried again, this time, using telekinesis, the only magic she'd ever learned to stretch out the rope even further. She could hear some of it ripping out of the seams at the front as she tore it from the paper. Since she was still learning how to cast the simplest unicorn abilities, such a simple spell was draining to her. She could feel herself grow weaker, her grip loosening on Applebloom's rope. She remained strong, knowing her failure would result in her friends losing their lives. Sweetie shook her head, trying to remain conscious as she pushed out all of her magical energy, her very life force, to stretch the rope as far as she could to her hoof. Barely, she managed to get a hold of Scootaloo's rope. She began pulling herself in along with the rest of her friends, and makes it to the nose of the plane. "Pull up! Now!" Applebloom yelled. Sweetie yanked on the rope, jerking the plane into a 45 degree angle, still pointing down. Sweetie gives another good yank, leveling the plane out a little more. At this point, they were just above the trees of the forest thicket. "It's not enough! We're gonna crash!" Scootaloo said. She was right. Though they weren't going as directly down as vertical as before, they were still headed for the trees. If I can just get another good yank I can- Sweetie thought before the three fillies' faces were smothered with leaves and branches. The momentum of their sudden stop sent Sweetie and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders flying off the paper airplane, and into the forest. Sweetie let out one last yell before her world was consumed in darkness. [Continue] Author's Note There's a Fairly Odd Parents Reference in here that's also a famous pony meme. Can you find it?
Chapter 9- The Portrait of Yields [REBOOT]"I wonder if that dumb cat figured out he isn't getting fed tonight...?" Sweetie quietly sighed this to herself as she continued to head up the stairs. Sweetie kept her steps as silent as possible, knowing if Applebloom was anywhere near her, she would hear her hoof steps. At least that's what she resolved to do ten minutes ago. Eventually, she assumed since was surrounded by silence, and the fact that the stairwell was relatively warmer compared to other parts of the mansion, she could safely assume she was alone in the staircase. Sweetie's paranoia told her to keep her guard up in either case. After all, Applebloom could be at the top of the steps, just waiting to stick that rusty knife between her eyes. Sweetie shuddered at the thought. And these worries had been plaguing Sweetie every step she took up the steps. The worry that all Applebloom had to be doing was lurking in a shadow that Sweetie's flashlight wasn't pointing for her to pounce. And that would be that. --"Hahahahaha!" --Shink! Splorch! --"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Dreadful. Time and time again, Sweetie had been thinking about this, thanks to the absolute nothingness she had to keep her mind occupied. So eventually she resolved to soothe her worries with her own voice, thinking of things that wouldn't be immediately trying to kill her. "A-and what about everyone else?" She mumbled through her flashlight, clasped firmly in her teeth. Sweetie, for some reason felt better at the idea of whispering her thoughts to herself to at least break the silence. It contradicted her paranoia's logic to staying silent for the possible miniature assailants nearby. Still, she just couldn't stand it. In a way, the lack of sound was driving her mad. Just the sound of her voice, and the illusion that she wasn't alone was sufficient to keep her hooves under control and doing anything they might regret. Like speeding up the steps as fast as she could, eliminating all other caution she had. "I... I wonder if anyone noticed that we were all gone. A-and that the moon's gone too." Sweetie said. The moon. The disappearance of the moon was certainly something to worry about. Not only was there probably some celestial imbalance happening as she trudged through the mansion, but there was another implication that Sweetie didn't want to dwell on for too long. "I-I wonder-" Sweetie was interrupted by a roll of thunder from the top of the stairwell. It roared so loud and thunderous, that it made her jump to the point of almost falling back down the stairs. Thankfully, she caught herself at the third step. "Thunder... an opening?" Sweetie said. Sweetie was relieved that she wasn't in too low of a basement level. Sure, the time it took felt like she was climbing up the stairway to Heck, but at least she was almost to the top. She would hopefully be back on the main floor of the mansion. Sweetie looked up, and turned her flashlight off for a moment. To her surprise, there was a faint light emitting from the peak of the stairwell. "Light too?" After being in the dark for so long, the idea of somewhere with light almost seemed too good to be true. Sweetie walked faster at the idea of a light at the end of that tunnel. She couldn't be far now. Though, as she got closer to the top of the stairwell, Sweetie slowed down, remembering her previous paranoia and fear that Applebloom was just waiting for her just at the top. Once the hesitation was back in full swing, Sweetie slowed to a complete stop. She froze for a few fearful moments, straining to listening for even the slightest sound that wasn't something resembling that of rain beating against something. After hearing nothing but this she shook her head. Get it together Sweetie. You're not going to save anyone standing still. So, with a shake of the head, she pushed herself forward. Sweetie had concluded that even if she was, to Sweetie's misfortune at the top of the stairs, Sweetie couldn't run away from her forever. After all, she still needed to figure out how to save Applebloom to begin with. --Without killing her? Without killing her. --Good luck with that! Sweetie hadn't stopped brainstorming ways she could save her friend. Even though she didn't know a thing about what she concluded to be some ghost possessing her, if there was one thing Sweetie had learned in the last couple hours, was there was always a way to save her friends. Even if it seemed impossible. Sweetie thought back to the battle with Fluttershy. Applebloom could have just let her die in that mirrored hallway. There was the hope that it was the real Applebloom. However something told Sweetie that she'd become possessed way before Sweetie arrived. After all, if that were true, the only way Applebloom could have been possessed was by leaving the safe room. Something neither Twilight, Applejack nor Fluttershy would have allowed. --But then again could she have left with posession? Sweetie found herself worrying now of the fate of her friends to be around such a violent ghost possessing her friend. Could that couple of seconds have been the real Applebloom? No. If Applebloom could resist the ghost inside of her then, she would have seen some of that when she fought her in the animal cage. It didn't make sense, and it made Sweetie's head throb slightly. Regardless, if there was one thing she was sure of, was that Applebloom wasn't dead. She was alive, and somewhere inside of that body. That's what kept her from breaking again. The hope that there was a way to save Applebloom. Somehow. "And... and what about Scootaloo?" Another thought that seemed bent on preying on her anxiety was the safety of her other friend. She was just as close to Sweetie as Applebloom and the idea of her having the same fate as the little applebucker made her just as queezy. Even more, she felt horrible about how little she'd thought of her compared to Applebloom. Sweetie remembered what the ghost in Applebloom had said. "...'course not. Yah always were concerned 'bout yerself. No wonder Rarity didn' love ya." Sweetie had only thought of her friends when they came up. Twilight when she happened to show up, Applejack when she saw her element on the door, Pinkie when she tasted the candy and really considered Applebloom when she was at her throat. --Ponies remember the funniest things at the funniest times! She wasn't sure for that moment if she really cared about her friends and whether or not Rarity really didn't- Sweetie shook her head at the idea. "Dumb brain, stop being dumb" She mumbled. Of course she cared about her friends and of course Rarity loved her. She was sure of that. It was just a ghost trying to mess with her head right? And besides, even so, her main focus had to be survival. If she died, she might have more time to think, but she wouldn't have any to save them. Still though, Scootaloo was just as much in danger as any other pony in the mansion. Sweetie wondered where she could have been. Was she a ghost now? Or was she possessed like Applebloom? Based on what Twilight said, it could be anything. Sweetie sighed. "Something tells me I'm gonna find out sooner or later..." And finally, there was Spike, another friend Sweetie neglected to think about. She never thought of Spike much on her spare time, and almost certainly not more than a friend, but she did however worry about him. Twilight said that he'd come to the mansion too, right? Twilight wasn't specific so she hated to assume something bad had happened to him. That said, she knew him being defenseless, lost and somewhere safe in the mansion was a little too optimistic. Sweetie couldn't help but wonder what his fate in the mansion came too as well. And worse, would he have powers like Applebloom had? Sweetie knew Applebloom was strong, but there was no way the normal Applebloom could have jumped that cage like that. Sweetie couldn't bear the thought of fighting a fire breathing dragon with super powers like that, but who knew. Maybe she'd get lucky and he'd just be a cold ghost she had to capture. --Already hoping your friends are dead? Dark! He he! Sweetie bit her lip. That was a terrible thing to hope and she knew it. Better than some alternatives, but still. Whatever the case, it looked as though this "ghostification" wasn't limited to ponies, as Sweetie saw with the dogs in the kennel below, and the mouse. So it was still a possibility. "Though, I dunno which would be worse. A ghost Spike or a posessed one..." Sweetie noted. She couldn't express how much she didn't want either. A memory came to Sweetie. It was a few months ago, back during the winter term of the school year. Sweetie had been assigned a book called "The Exorpony", which seemed to be about a little filly getting possessed by an evil spirit of an evil sorcerer unicorn. Despite being earth pony, she had telekinesis on themselves and those around them, the ability to take unreal amounts of damage, immeasurable strength, and hypnotize ponies into doing her will. Often making ponies do terrible things to each other. Especially their friends. The irony. The book ended on a creepy note as the filly's mother ended up having to use a priest to transport the spirit into the mother's body, and seal it within the confines of the which had more will power. Having the spirit within her mind to slowly drive her insane. It was one of the books she was unlucky enough to be assigned in Ms. Cherilee's class as they were studying the different genres of literature. How she had been among the ponies to get assigned the genre of "Horror" was beyond her. Despite the often dangerous and frightening scenarios she would storm through with her friends, she hated getting scared. Sweetie remembered many sleepless nights after reading that book. She recalled being fairly irritable and making pretty ill judgments from sheer exhaustion from being unable to sleep. Still, but it wasn't those nights that stood out to Sweetie. Rather the day she was getting the book. *** Sweetie entered the library, her head down. She seemed depressed, as if something had just recently gotten her down. Spike was the first to greet the filly. She also appeared incredibly aloof, seeming to be thinking about something on a far off planet. "Hey Sweetie!" Spike said happily. "What brings you here?" "Huh?" She looked up a him. "Oh, hey Spike. I'm uh..." Sweetie stopped for a moment, as if her loss in thought has caused her to forget her original reason for entering the establishment to begin with. Spike raised a brow. "Here to look for a book?" "Oh, right. Yeah." Sweetie said. "How did you know?" Spike gave Sweetie another look. Rather than answering her, he just looked around the room followed by a motion with his arm to highlight the thousands of books behind him. "Call it a lucky guess." "Heh... right. Library." Sweetie said. "Um... I'm actually looking for a book for class, called 'the Exorpony'. Have you heard of it?" Spike tilted his head. "Yeah. I know what you’re talking about but..." "But what?" "Heh. Never thought you of all ponies would be into horror." "I'm not. I said, it was for class." Sweetie sighed. "It's not like I'm looking forward to it." "Huh. I thought Chereliee made you all read less... I dunno, scary stuff." "Huh? Have you read it?" Spike shook his head. "Nah, sounds too creepy for me. Probably would give me nightmares for weeks." Sweetie blinked. "Eh heh... but if Cheerilee's making you read it, how bad could it be? Anyway, I'll go grab it for you. Wait here." Spike headed off, leaving her there in the doorway for a moment. She looked down at the ground as she waited, sinking back into her train of thought. "Sweetie?" Sweetie looked up to see Twilight in front of her. "Huh? Oh, hi Twilight..." Sweetie said, looking back down at the ground. "What are you doing just standing there like that?" Twilight asked. "I'm just err... getting a book for class. Spike is getting it I think. That's all." Twilight shook her head. "No I mean, like that... Sweetie, is everything okay?" Twilight asked. "Um... yeah. I guess." Sweetie said. She didn't see Twilight again, until she came over to the filly, gently nudging her head up to face her. "Sweetie. I can't read minds, but I do know when you're not acting yourself. Come on, tell me what's wrong." Twilight said. "I'm may not be your age, but I'm still your friend. You'll feel better if you talk about it." "It's just... well, I just had another argument with Rarity is all about..." Sweetie admitted. "All because I just messed up her newest dress and that suit. Ever since she got those jobs with those ponies and met... a-any way, Sapphire Shores, I think was one she's been working for, she's been really mean to me if I interrupted her while she worked." "Well Sweetie, Rarity does have a big responsibility with that pony and I'm sure-" "I know, but I still don't think it's fair! I had her first!" Sweetie exclaimed, taking Twilight aback. "S-sorry. I didn't mean to..." "...Sweetie?" Twilight asked seeing the filly go quiet. "Twilight... who do you think my sis loves more? Her job? Her own stuff? Him? Or me?" Sweetie asked. "You of course Sweetie!" Twilight said without hesitation. "You mean the world to her!" "You talk with Rarity a lot right? How many good things has she said about me?" Sweetie asked. "And how much has she talked about him?" "I-" Twilight paused. "I knew it." Sweetie said. "I'm just a bother and a pest to her." "No Sweetie. Rarity doesn't think that, or say anything bad about you." Twilight said. "Anytime she does talk about you, she always says how you're such a sweet filly... no pun intended... who always means well. Even if she does get herself in trouble frequently but still. And plus, you know how excited she's been recently. She hasn't gotten work like this in forever. And plus with him around..." "What?" "...nevermind." "...you really mean that? Your sure she isn't just sick of me?" Sweetie asked. "Of course. Would I lie to you?" Twilight asked smiling. "I guess not." Sweetie said. She gave a small smile back to the mare. Suddenly, Spike came back out from the back of the library. Something told Sweetie that he'd been listening in, but he made no indication of it. "Here ya go Sweetie. One Exerpony. No charge." Spike said. Sweetie smiled. "It's a library. Would I be paying for?" "Uh... those sewing book late fines?" Spike scratched his head. "Oh yeah, uh-" "He's joking. Don't worry about those... wait, what did you just check out?" Twilight asked. *** Sweetie couldn't remember what was in that book in detail, or at least nothing that she could use. Then again it was doubtful that she could get much useful information from a piece of fiction. After all, this was real as much as she hoped it wasn't. The only thing that she really attached that book to was a host of nightmares she complained about after the project was turned in, and that memory. She couldn't place why it stuck out now. Maybe it was just the fact that the normal mundane interactions of her life already seemed to be so distant and nostalgic. Still, of all the memories, even if it was nice, why did it come to her so suddenly? Was it just the book, and the hope to possibly exercise her friend? Or something else entirely? Sweetie found herself finally at the top of the stairway, to find the room had opened up considerably. Thankfully, it wasn't Applebloom who was waiting for her at the top of the steps. It had gone from a narrow stairwell, to a massive theater. Unlike the rest of the mansion, it was newer looking and well kept. The auditorium was filled with seats and was decorated with lit candles, magnified in light by lanterns. There was a stage at the very front of the theater with a grand piano sitting at its center. Everything looked as new and fancy in the room as the foyer did when Sweetie first entered the mansion. Someone should be here... An instinct in Sweetie's head told Sweetie that something was wrong with the room. Applebloom is supposed to be here, but she's not... Sweetie couldn't be there. At least she couldn't stay so out in the open where Applebloom could spot her easily. Sweetie knew by now to put faith in that feeling, as it had kept her alive so far. Sweetie moved to the back of the theater passing by the lit lanterns. They were just like the foyer, only the lanterns had made it much brighter, to accommodate for the larger space. Sweetie wondered again, why these were lit if ghosts preferred darkness? Them lighting them contradicted their existence. The same thing went for the foyer as Sweetie remembered back at the foyer when she fought the lickers. The lights went back on after she managed to catch all of the ghosts in the area, or at least there were no ghosts to begin with. It was peculiar. It was obvious that the ghosts were the ones to turn them out, so who could have turned them on? Sweetie assumed that candle light meant that there were no ghosts around. It made sense to stay in the room and investigate it a little longer, but with a possessed Applebloom on the prowl, someone who could probably walk out into the sun and not even be bothered, even this probably meant nothing. That room was one of the safest places at the moment from ghosts, but not from Applebloom. Sweetie exited into a dark lobby area. As Sweetie turned on her flashlight, she saw it was back to the same abandoned look of the mansion. Sweetie saw a ticket booth, with more sheets covering it. The floor was dusty and dirty, as Sweetie felt it like a thin layer of dry snow with every hoof step. The lobby was definitely a change from the auditorium. It was almost like the mansion couldn't make up its mind on whether it wanted to be new or old. The silence of the lobby was interrupted by another crash of thunder. This time, it was much louder and vivid than what Sweetie heard in the stairwell. Now, she could hear the sound of rain pounding against the mansion, and wind whirling in the air. She knew that she was getting close to some opening to the outside. Since Sweetie didn't have any idea where to go at this point, she decided to see where that opening was. Sweetie walked through a door in the lobby area that led to another hallway. On the right side of the hallway was a group of doors with stars on it. They made Sweetie think of dressing rooms, which made sense, considering she was right around a theater. Did that mean that Yield at one point had actual shows played in his mansion? Though that seemed incredibly impractical and impossible to Sweetie as she knew that the mansion had only been around a week, and even more she could have sworn that Specter said this mansion was only short term. Why would he need dresser rooms for plays if he wasn't going to stay long? Then again, the same could be said for other parts of the mansion Sweetie had seen. As well as the apparent shifts in age. The mansion was already strange to start with, but it seemed as Sweetie progressed, it kept getting stranger and stranger. On the left side of the hallway, rather than another set of doorways was a viewing window that stretched all the way down the hallway. Outside, Sweetie assumed was some kind of courtyard, though it was too dark out there to make out any real details. Except one. "What... what's that?" Outside, there was a circle of flaming torches, in the center of the area. The odd thing about it, was that through the buckets of rain that was coming down, and the whirling wind that made their flames whip around, it didn't show any signs of going out. It was almost as if the circle of torches was beckoning to the filly, calling her to meet them. "It might be a trap..." Sweetie admitted out loud. "But it might lead me to one of my friends..." With that conclusion, Sweetie pressed forward. Sweetie located a glass door that led out into the courtyard. At first, the door seemed locked, but Sweetie didn't see a key. She also didn't feel that chill of ghostly presence, so it wasn't like that any ghosts were keeping it closed. Sweetie rammed her small frame against the door, trying to open it. THUD! "Ow!" Sweetie fell down in pain as was knocked back by her own force. She must have hit a sensitive muscle as she went against the door. She might have given up after this if the door hasn't shook. It was less as though it were locked, but more as though it were being pushed shut. By the wind perhaps? "Can't let some stupid wind get the better of me." Sweetie got up and rammed the door a second time. Then finally a third before- WOOSH! She somehow managed to swing the door open, but only to be immediately pushed back by a torrent of rain and wind. It was strong enough to throw the unstable hoofed filly back against the other side of the hallway. She got up, covering her face against the water and wind that was hitting her face and eyes. Sweetie had seen the pegagus make some bad storms in her filly-hood, but never any this deadly and menacing. Not only was the mansion weird, but this storm was wrong as well. It was anything but normal. Were the pegasi really involved in the making of this storm? Who would do that, how, and most importantly, why? Through the rain, if she squinted Sweetie could still see the torches emitting their light. Sweetie knew it was a bad idea. Maybe even a terrible idea to go out there, but it was something about those torches seemed to call to her more than ever now. She couldn't just leave them be. Sweetie wouldn't want to remain out there for long though. She had to head back as soon as she found out those torche's purpose. With that, Sweetie firmly got on all fours, gripping the flashlight as tightly as she could with her teeth and mouth. She started to push through into the storm. It was a battle of forces. An anti-tug of war as Sweetie kept moving against the wind and the storm beat the filly back. It seemed to be growing more and more intense as she made her way forward. She fought the storm with every amount of energy she had, determined to see what was so peculiar about those torches. Though, in retrospect, all that could have been keeping them up was some decent oil. Who knew, maybe someone like Pinkie had set it up in order to lure the filly out here, and trap her in this storm that was near suicidal to be in the midst of. The thought that her newest goal was another trap almost made the filly turn back, but she kept going. She came out knowing it could be a trap so it wasn't as though she was unprepared for that. And besides, even if it was a trap, Sweetie was almost there. Water filled her mane and her vision was blurred by the wind and rain. By now, her perception of the torches was just a yellow blob that she could barely see through her squinted eyes. She couldn't see anything. So how could she have expected the ground to give way under her? "Wha-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" A hole. Sweetie had fallen into a hole, which was surrounded by the torches. The hole dropped the filly about 30 to 40 feet. As she fell, she didn't think anything more. Then again, how could she think? What could she think? There was nothing she could do. After all, once she hit the ground, she'd be dead, and she was pretty sure it wasn't a dream this time. So it was a trap then? Sweetie had fallen in to a hole for a trap? Probably the most primitive one in the book, and this would be the thing to kill her. Of all the things that she was threatened with that night, that she had survived, she was going to be bested by a hole in the ground. Sweetie felt anger for herself well up inside of her in those seconds. Frustration that she could have been so stupid and careless. Sweetie opened her mouth, letting the flashlight fall out of it. She shut her eyes and let out a scream, not out of fear exactly, but partially out of frustration as she came closer to the end of the hole. But something caught her. Rather, some pony caught her. Two hooves had caught the filly and were now cradling her in them. "...a filly?" a voice said. It was the same ghost like misty echo Sweetie had heard before. The same sound that horrified her so much. Sweetie opened her eyes to find herself staring into the eyes of a ghost. Sweetie assumed it was a mare, from her voice, and the vivid eye lashes on her face. Her coat was yellow, but not as pale a yellow as the foal ghost. She was transparent, but she didn't have the dead feeling about her, aside from her transparency and chill. Her eyes had pupils, and almost looked alive. The mare wore an old, yet incredibly beautiful purple dress. Sweetie didn't have the energy scream at first, but the mare knew saw the fear well up in the filly's eyes. "Don't be afraid." she said softly. "I'm not here to hurt you..." Sweetie processed the words through her brain for a moment. Yeah, not here to hurt me my flank. She thought. For obvious reasons though Sweetie wouldn't say that, with the mare literally having her live in her hooves. The last time she'd come in contact with a "sincere" looking ghost, she was paralyzed, freezing to death in a mirrored hallway. "Please... say something. I... know my appearance is menacing but-" the mare said. "L-..." Sweetie started. "What was that?" She knew it was probably futile to try, but since her options were already limited, she had to try. "L... let me go!" Sweetie yelled at the mare. The mare blinked. Sweetie didn't wait for another response before attempting to escape the mare's forelegs to no avail. The mare frowned. She floated down to the very bottom of the crypt that had opened up from the hole. She gently let the filly down. Sweetie looked at the mare, puzzled. They both stared at each other curiously, as if each had their own slew of questions to ask for the other. Finally, Sweetie spoke. "W...where's my flashlight?" The mare waved her hand, and a torch lit the darkness, revealing the her flashlight. It must have hit the ground hard enough to turn it off. Keeping her eyes on the mare, Sweetie cautiously made her way over and picked up her flashlight, putting it back in her mouth. It tasted of dirt and metal now, in her mouth, so she took it out, and attempted to wipe it off with her own dirty coat. And with a good shake, it turned back on. She shined it on the mare. As she had come to assume with these special, non-generic looking ghosts, handled light differently than regular ghosts as she didn't hear a "ding!". After a moment of letting the realization sink in, of both her inaffect to light and the fact she wasn't being attacked, the mare spoke. "Filly?" "W-what? What do you want from me?" Sweetie asked, looking up at the mare. She shook her head. "No need to be so rude. I understand your fear but... I... I just want to know your name." she said. Sweetie was skeptical on wither or not to trust this mare. Her paranoia said no. Her brain said no. Though, her heart said on the other hand said to give her a chance. Still though, she'd already listened to her heart that night, and it almost got her killed. Twice. "You first." Sweetie said suspiciously. The mare smiled at Sweetie's paranoia, as though she went from seeing it as disappointing, to cute. "You may call me Madame. Madame Yield." she smiled. Sweetie stepped back at the sound of that last name, but Madame held her hoof up. "Wait! I'm not like the others. I'm not here to kill you or steal your spirit." she said. "Liar!" Sweetie said. "Your... your that evil pony's wife! A-aren't you." She smiled. As though someone were telling some kind of joke. "Specter isn't evil honey." "Shut up!" Sweetie yelled. "He turned my friends into ghosts, and turned my other friend against me to kill me!" "I'm.... I'm quite aware of that. I suppose that would be problematic towards proving my case." Madame said. "I've been watching you. Or rather, hearing about you. The one. I just... never expected you to be a filly." "What are you talking about?" Sweetie asked. "I've been observing your progress. You've caused quite a stir within the mansion Miss..." Madame trailed off. "... B-elle. Sweetie Belle." Sweetie said. "Sweetie Belle. What a beautiful name." Madame smiled. "W... what do you mean I've..." Sweetie asked. "The ghosts have been talking about a hunter moving around the mansion. Someone running around the mansion catching ghosts and taking them to Celestia knows where. Well..." She smiled and shook her head, as though she thought of something, but decided against saying it. "In a way, your kind of the boogieman to some of them." A hunter huh? Never thought they were scared of little old me... Sweetie thought. "A-and you've been watching me?" Sweetie asked. "In a way, yes." Madame said. "I've been listening through my... er, sources. My ability to move around the mansion is limited for a few reasons." "Huh? Like what?" Again, she shook her head. "That's not important. You caught two of the most powerful ghosts in the mansion in less than two hours. I was impressed after you managed to catch the first one and I supposed it was determined. From then on, I've devoted any power I had to assisting you." Sweetie remembered the candles. "Was that you? Were you the one who lit the candles in the foyer and the auditorium?" Madame nodded. "It was the only thing I could manage to help you with from where I was. I apologize that I couldn't do more, but my power is becoming more and more limited. Still however, I thought that being able to be sure wither or not a ghost was in a room was somewhat useful." "So... you've been helping me then?" Sweetie asked for confirmation. "Yes." she said back. "Why?" Sweetie asked. "Why help me? Why not try and kill me like every pony else?" "Because-" She paused again. It was obvious she was choosing her words carefully. "...I have no quarrel with you... and young filly, as much as it pains me to admit, you’re the only hope anyone this mansion has now." "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "What do you mean?" "I mean that we're running out of time. I'm not sure what will happen once everything is finally complete." Madame said. "And... and I'm not sure there's anyone still in this mansion that’s alive or not possessed by a spirit. I remember having an orange filly run through here a while ago... but I'm not quite sure what her fate was." "Y-you saw Scootaloo?" Sweetie stuttered. "Yes, I believe that's what she called herself." Madame said. "She came through here, and I only asked her to locate the hunter that managed to catch all of those spirits. I doubted she could find the pieces to return to you, so I didn't mention them. The hunter, you, was who she was to be looking for. Then again, I suppose I heavily implied that it was some mare, rather than somepony such as yourself." "Where did she go?" Sweetie asked. "She went to the end of this crypt... and if she managed to get through safely, she should have found herself in the church area of the mansion." A church? Seriously? What doesn't this mansion have? Sweetie thought. "H-how long ago was that?" Sweetie asked. "I'm sorry... but it was around the time you were being mentally manipulated." Madame said. "Mentally what now?" Sweetie asked. "You were being manipulated by the Portrait of Magic when you entered the kitchen to confront the Portrait of Laughter." Madame explained. "That magical ghost mare's power increased to the point of you going completely insane for a moment, after her other part was rejoined with her." Insane? Did that mean that she was only imagining Sugarcube Corner? And what did Madame mean by 'other part'? "H-her other part?" Sweetie asked. Sweetie remembered Twilight telling the filly that the ghost got most of her spirit, but not the whole. "Y-you mean... that Twilight's been-" "Transformed into another ghost." Madame said sadly. Sweetie stepped back. That couldn't be true. If Twilight was a ghost now then how the hay was she going to save her friends without her magic? Without Twilight, she only would have two halves of friends, and the rest would be ghosts. "No... how am I supposed to save them now?" Sweetie said to herself. "Hm?" "I...can't bring them back to life without Twilight. How am I supposed to save them without her?" "Oh... the portraits..." Madame closed her eyes and nodded. "Yes, you still can. You just have to do it." "M-me?" Sweetie said. "Yes, you. You’re a unicorn, right?" Madame said. "You can use magic." "N...no. I can't." Sweetie said. "I can do some simple stuff... but I'm no Twilight. I can barely stay awake using the easiest levitation." "I figured you were inexperienced. It shows in your methods of capture. Otherwise, I'd expect you to use more complex light spells in your hunt. My abilities would be fairly useless. That's just as well. As long as you can use some. As a unicorn, you simply need to be able to except and output magic through your horn." Madame explained. "Especially in this case. The only issue is that for someone like you, a large amount is needed." "B... but-" Sweetie started. "Hold on a moment. I'll be right back." the mare said, floating off into the darkness. After a few minutes of waiting in the torchlight, Sweetie was once again greeted by her ghostlyness. "Here we are." In here hooves, was a small yellow box in the shape of a star. It shone in the torchlight and against Sweetie's flashlight magnificently. Madame gave it to her. "What's this?" Sweetie asked. "Inside of that box is an unstable charm. It allows whoever it is cast on to have their magic abilities considerably magnified. Almost to the strength of an alicorn." Madame said. "A-an alicorn?" Sweetie asked. "Y-you mean like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?" "Yes, but only for a short period of time. Less than a minute I'd guess." the ghost mare said. "I'm not sure, it could even be as low as a couple seconds... still, that would be plenty of time for your purposes. All you'd have to do was charge the painting of your choice with enough magic, and you can materialize your friend through the paint. That's what you've been doing right?" "You mean the spirit printer?" Sweetie asked. "Whatever you want to call it." Madame said. "So... all I'd have to do is catch Twilight, and turn her back into a normal mare?" This seemed like an incredibly attractive plan when she started to think about it. If this were true, then maybe she could save her age as well! After all, Applejack looked like her old self, so maybe Twilight would be young again too! Then a realization dawned on her as Sweetie looked down. "But... I don't have my ghost catcher. It was taken-" "By the Portrait of Laughter, I know." Madame finished. "But she doesn't have it anymore does she?" "I didn't see it on her the last time I saw her down in the kennel." Sweetie said. "Just like I heard then... most of your supplies have been split up." Madame said. "Taken apart to different parts of the mansion." "W-what?" Sweetie asked. "Don't worry. I don't think it's as far as you'd think. In fact, you could probably pick up each piece on your hunt for the Portrait of Magic...who should be around the library area. In fact, I know where some of your items are already." Madame said. "And even better, you won't have to wander around the mansion to find these places." Madame revealed Sweetie's saddlebags and Applejack's hat. "M-my saddlebags! Applejack's hat! You found them!" Sweetie said happily. "They were tossed down here. I believe some ghosts were trying to dispatch of it quickly, too lazy to see if anyone was even down here. Even if they suspected I was at the moment, I doubt they would have even figured I would be down here to catch them." Sweetie was handed the saddlebags. "Not everything is in here... but your map appears to be in here at least." Madame said. "You won't be wandering the mansion halls blindly at least." "Thank you!" Sweetie said smiling. "I love to see children smiling. Even in times like these." There was still hope. Sweetie was happier than she'd been all night. There was real hope left. All she had to do now, was go after it. "Miss Belle..." Madame said. "Could... could I ask you for a favor?" "Y-yeah?" Sweetie asked. "If you manage to retrieve all of the parts to your ghost capture device... could you catch three ponies for me?" Sweetie gave her a strange look. It seemed like a strange request to ask something that Sweetie would likely have to do anyway. "...who?" "My two children and our butler. All of them are the same color as I. Perhaps wearing different clothing, but..." She said. "It's extremely important that if you happen to find them all." Sweetie hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "If I come across them... I'll catch them... are they... are they your family?" "Yes, my two children are and... yes I suppose he is too..." Nothing but the sound of rain above filled the crypt for a few more minutes. "...right. I've marked the places on your map." she said breaking the silence. Sweetie put her saddlebags on, and placed the starred box inside with the map. "Now the first place you need to go is deeper in the crypt. You need to go down that way in order to exit into the church anyway. Inside of that crypt should be the... I believe they called it a cylindrical ghost processor... just look for a cylinder. Second, somewhere in the dressing hall should be the ectotube and nozzle. You know, the hose. And finally... and I'm not sure if it's still there anymore but... in the theater should be the spectral containment pack, the main body of it all." Sweetie nodded. "...well... that's everything I can do for you Sweetie." she said. "It's up to you now." "I know..." Sweetie said. "The crypt exit is down that way. Careful though. It's a bit of a maze in there. The map doesn't seem to work in there either, so you're going to have to do without it just a little longer... though if you keep your wits about you, and keep your eyes open, you should be able to get through there with the processor. Ok?" Sweetie nodded and headed in the direction the mare had pointed her in, then stopped. She realized she had so many questions unanswered. Like she'd said Specter wasn't evil... then what was he? And who was that ghost mare really? Why wasn't she under Specter's... or whoever's control like everyone else? And what did she mean by 'we're running out of time?'. Sweetie turned back around to see that the mare was gone. Sweetie was alone again, with only the faint glow of the torch she'd lit to keep her company. Sweetie activated her flashlight, and turned back around to face the crypt exit. She took a deep breath. Time to go. [Continue]
Chapter 20- The Intermission InterceptionA-Am I dead? Busby thought as he lie face down on a surprisingly soft surface. His mind was a blur of what had just occurred in the last 10 minutes. Finally, the memories of the chariot came back to him. Riding next to Waite, they were overlooking the Everfree forest, scanning for the mansion they hoped the princess might be holed up in. He then remembered Paita saying something about her wings, before the chariot nose-dived into the trees. At least that was the general memory. Busby didn't have the best one, especially upon waking up with a headache like his. Busby's head wasn't the only thing that ached. Pain shot through his entire body, reminding him of the crash. He remembered thinking he was dead on impact... thankfully the pain reminded him this was not the case. As the stallion felt himself more and more coming to, he moaned in his anguish, hoping that nothing was broken. There was also the matter of the soft surface he was laying on. Rather than being cold and hard as the ground tended to be, it was warm and moved steadily. Busby opened his eyes to see what he was lying on. He found himself staring into the face of a female moon guard. Paita had yet to regain consciousness herself. If it weren't for the steady rise and fall of her chest Busby felt against his own body, or the breaths of warm air on his face, he might have assumed she was gone. After a few seconds of staring at the mare's face, she started regaining her own consciousness. Before either of them had fully regained their heads, they found themselves staring into each others eyes. However the moment lasted but a few seconds, as Paita's soft eyes turned back into their normal hard glare. "You've got 3 seconds to get off me rookie." She spat. Busby simply smiled. "I was beginning to think you were enjoying this P-" he started before she brought her hoof around, hitting him along the side of the head. "Gah!" He yelled, falling onto his back to the side of the mare. "What was that for?!" "Try that again Buster. Next time, I'm not going to be so merciful." She said scornfully, squinting her eyes in annoyance. That was merciful? She hits like a damned buffalo! Busby thought, holding the side of his head. Paita rolled over onto her front and got up. She groaned in pain, much like Busby did upon his awakening. As Busby took his eyes off of the mare, he began to examine the rest of his surroundings. In front of him, the first thing that caught his eye was the chariot. The main body of the chariot had dug into the ground from the crash while other decorative pieces had been ripped off. Busby noticed some pieces of gold glimmering in the moonlight in the trees. The reins the pegasi used to pull the chart where either ripped off or completely bent out of shape. In short, the chariot was a complete wreck, with not a single part completely intact. At one of the two reins, there was Duarte, who was still attached to it. He looked to be alive, and regaining consciousness as well as he seemed to be trying to open his own eyes. On the inside, Black lay on top of Waite as Talon slinked over the edge of the chariot. Each of them made subtle movements indicating they were also still kicking. Busby sighed in relief, as dealing with dead ponies wasn't on his agenda for today. Busby flipped over onto his own legs. He nearly collapsed as pain shot through his right foreleg. He hissed painfully, as he forced his leg straight. It didn't feel broken, but it still hurt like hay. The stallion figured he must have twisted a muscle or something. Lucky he had his armor or else the damage to his leg, along with the rest of his body, might have been far worse. Busby limped over to Duarte as the stallion's eyes snapped open. Wide awake and alert, his eyes quickly scanned the area before stopping on Busby. "And here, I thought I'd be the last one to wake up." Busby said. "There's a first time for everything, I suppose, rookie." Duarte said. Even though I figured out all of that back there, he still calls me a rookie, huh? Busby thought. "Unhook me from this thing." Duarte asked. "It's too broken for me to do it myself." Busby followed his superior's order by releasing the braces that bound Duarte to the chariot reins. The stallion leader gave another good look around the area. He looked up at the trees through where they'd crashed. Finally, he looked back at Busby. "Go wake them up. I'll be right back." he said before running off into the woods. "Wait! I don't-" But before Busby could get the stallion to stop, he had disappeared into the woods. Never listen to the rookie. I really don't think it's a good idea for us to be separated now... There was something else that bugged Busby at this point. Though Duarte was a pegasus, he didn't fly off into the woods, or even over it, which would have probably have been quicker to do whatever he was up to. Busby considered asking Paita what was up with flying, but decided against it. He figured she wouldn't want to speak to him after that awkward awakening. Busby supposed he could wait until he got back... Out of nowhere, a paranoid thought came to him... If he came back... Busby shook his head and went over to Black, Talon and Waite. "Rise and Shine." Busby said. "I hate shining." Black mumbled. "Five more minutes mom..." Waite mumbled as well. At least they were sleeping soundly. Wish I could say the same. Busby thought, being reminded of his aches. "C'mon, get up, or I'm going to have Duarte on my flank again." "And why would we care exactly?" Black asked, finally waking up. "Hey, get off of me!" Waite said to Black. The two separated as they got out of the chariot. Black proceeded to wake Talon, who awoke with the same laziness as the others. "Hey, where's Knighty?" Waite asked. "Duarte? He went off into the woods to do... something, I don't know. He just ran off." "Where?" "Like he'd tell a rookie like me." Busby sighed looking off into the direction he’d run. "So what do we do now? You’re second in command of the platoon, right?" Busby figured from the freer spirit the stallion seemed to have around Duarte. "I'm not the one to call the shots on that one. Even though I am, Black here's the highest ranking one here." Waite explained. "So, what's your shot Black?" Black shrugged. "Duarte wouldn't run off for no reason and not come back to the same spot without saying something. Even to a rookie. It's best to just wait here until he comes back." And so they did. Without some means of keeping time, and an unclear look at the movement of the moon, no pony was quite tell how much time had passed. It was as though time was standing still, even though it felt like an eternity as they waited for Duarte. While they waited, Busby did his best to keep out of the direct line of sight of Paita, who glared at him. What? Is she angry at me all over a little embrace? Guess she doesn't like getting touched that much. Busby thought. He considered apologizing to the mare, but figured... or rather knew that would only make things worse. Though he couldn't see himself being best friends with the mare by the end of the night, he didn't want there to be bad blood between him and another fellow guard either on his first day. Sure, Moon guards weren't always completely friendly with each other, though Busby was getting an impression of hatred from the mare. Was it something he did? Or was it simply something in the mare that Busby would never understand... After a while, Waite had enough waiting. "Where the hay is he? He's never gone this long." "Maybe he got lost?" Busby considered. Black shook his head. "Duarte’s been running guard missions all around. Especially in Everfree, I doubt he'd get lost so easily." "Especially since he seemed to know where he was going." Paita mentioned. "So what? Do you think something happened to him?" Busby asked. "It's possible. And if Duarte had his sword on him-" "Which he did." Paita added. "-then he could have protected himself from anything that tried to attack him." Talon said, "... but he's a pegasus. How good can he be with a blade?" "Duarte’s one of the best muzzle weapon fighters in his rank. Second to Shining who prefers it to using his own horn." "Who?" Busby asked. "That's not important. What is important is that Duarte can handle himself in a fight. If he were attacked, he'd be fine." "Then what then? If he isn't lost, and he wasn't attacked then?" Waite asked. "It's not like he could have fallen anywhere. He can fly!" "...no." Paita said. "Our wings aren't working right. That's why we fell into this mess. See?" Paita extended her wings, as they turned backwards in an awkward direction. "What happened?" Busby asked. "If I knew I would say so Buster. You’re not a smart stallion to not figure that out." Paita said coldly. "So he could have fallen somewhere then?" Talon considered. Waite shook his head. "I didn't see any cliffs or valleys for miles from where we were flying... maybe he's still busy." "May-" Talon started to say, before a laugh cut through the air. It was a creepy laugh, lasting for only a moment, but enough to drive every pony silent. Even Paita's cold look was replaced with of minor fear. "What the hay was that?!" Paita exclaimed. Every pony remained silent for a few more moments, listening for any more laughter. There was none. "Must have been one of the Everfree creatures." Waite said. "I heard that some of them were dangerous." Talon said. "They are." Black said. "Look, we can't wait around here any longer. We've got to move. Duarte or not. There's only one path, so if he does come back, he can just follow the trail." "Do we even know where we're going?" Busby asked. Every pony looked at each other. They knew their destination was the mansion that hopefully held the princesses... but no pony had seen it. Waite tried reassuring the group. "Look. Maybe it's not that far. Maybe it was just too dark for us to see it... at least we know we're going in the right direction of the thing." "...maybe." Paita said coldly. "What?" "Think about it. The only reason we're out here is because Buster here assumed some unrelated fillies-" "Hold up! They're the sisters of the elements!" "And even if they were? Who's to say that they are with the elements? Or even the princesses?" Busby had to admit, his hypothesis was a bit sketchy, if not disjointed. "Well... I did say 'what if'. But I'm sure that the mansion must be in this direction, along with the fillies." "Or, maybe they crashed somewhere like us, and didn't find the mansion along their path." Paita argued. "Look! Both of you. We aren't going to get anything done bickering like school ponies." Waite said. "Maybe Paita's right and Bubbled bucked up. Maybe Bubble lucked up and is right. We won't find out if we don’t move." Paita glared at Waite, then at Busby, then stormed off into the direction the path was stretching into. Talon and Black looked at each other before following the mare. "I thought Black was supposed to keep her under control. She's really got some anger management issues. Especially towards me." Busby said. "I'm sure she'll come around to you. Hey." Waite said. "Who knows, she might have a little crush on you." "For my sake, I hope not." Busby sighed. "There's only so much pain my face can take." "C'mon. They're leaving us." Waite said heading forward. "Wait." Busby said. "I feel like we're forgetting something... oh yeah." Busby went back over to the chariot and took a box out of it. "If we're dealing with something crazy, we'd better remember to bring the Elements, right?" Waite nodded in agreement. With that, Busby started limping forward as Waite noticed immediately. "You alright Bubble?" "Yeah... think I twisted my leg." "Can you move any faster?" "I'll keep up. I won't run anywhere, but I'll walk fast enough. Don't worry about me." "Alright. Do you want me to carry the Elements then? If your leg isn't right, you'd better have less weight on you." Waite said as he continued to head forward. "Here." Busby said walking up beside Waite and using his weak magic to levitate the box onto Waite's back. "Let's get going." Waite said. "Threat or not, Black isn't afraid to leave us behind.” With a nod, the two sun guards did their best to catch up to the Moon guards. They walked for a while, along the seemingly endless path that ran through the Everfree forest. "Ground sure is dry for a storm like that huh?" Busby said, trying to create conversation in the silence. "Yeah. Back in grade school, I remember being taught about how Everfree trees tend to suck up a lot of water when they’re dying." "You think the trees are dying?" Busby asked. "They look fine to me." "I didn't say they were. Just what I was told." Waite said. He thought for a moment. "Though, if a bunch of trees did die, I guess it'd be hard to tell right away. Give it a day or two and they'd start turning colors and eventually withering away... at least once they were out of water." "Huh. that's kinda..." It wasn't long before Busby stopped again. "Bubble?" Waite asked. "Oh, what is it now? The rookie's scared again?" I don't ever recall being any more scared than you were. Busby thought. "No... something's wrong here." "What?" Talon asked. "I... I'm not sure." "We don't have time for this." Black argued. "No, no. I think Bubble's on to something." Waite said, drawing his sword into his muzzle. It stuck out to the side as the handle was clenched in between his teeth. "We're being watched. I can feel it." he said through the handle. "Watched? By what?" Talon asked, drawing his own sword. "By one of the Everfree creatures?" "Never heard of any that were smart enough to hunt in this part of Everfree." Black argued, drawing his own sword. "We can't be watched." "But there also aren't any creatures in Everfree that have an instinct to laugh at you." Paita said, drawing her sword. "Maybe it's another pony... or that thing that was laughing at us." Why am I the only one without a weapon? Busby thought. Every guard pushed their flanks together, creating a perimeter around them, for anything that tried to attack them from any direction. It was an awkward circle, considering the Moon guards weren't used to creating perimeters, or any kind of formations with the Suns. None the less, they all kept vigilant to attack anything that tried to jump out at them. The only one who was different was Busby, standing in a much fearful manner, praying to Celestia nothing would try and attack his defenseless plot. Out of nowhere, a pony jumped from the trees, and to his luck, at Busby. "BOO!" the blue spandexed pony yelled. Busby screamed and jumped back, breaking the loose perimeter the five of them had created, knocking them all over like domino. "For guards, you sure scare easily." Spitfire laughed, holding out a hoof to Busby. Still in somewhat of a daze, Busby took the hoof as Spitfire helped him up. "That was awesome Spits." Soarin said, coming from behind, followed by Echo. Finally, Duarte came into sight. "Spitfire, what was that?!" he said angrily. She shrugged. "Just a little fun to lighten the mood." Nearly scaring me to death is your idea of 'lightening the mood'? Busby thought. "Now's not the time or the place." Duarte argued. "Actually, considering how creepy this place is, it seems like the perfect place and time." Spitfire said. "So that's where you went Knighty!" Waite smiled. Duarte glared at Waite, eliminating his grin. "I-I mean Duarte. I knew we were forgetting about something" "You forgot about the Wonderbolts? You’re starting to sound like Buster over there." Paita said. "I figured out where the Wonderbolts might have crashed." Duarte explained. "If I was right, they would have landed somewhere pretty far off... so, I went off to see if I could find them and guide them back to the chariot." "So, what are you doing here now?" Black asked. "I should ask you the same thing. I suppose that it was for the best, now that we're back together." Duarte sighed. "Once I found them, and got them back on their feet-" "Actually, we were already up when you arrived." Soarin corrected. "Right, right. Anyway, once we started heading back, Soarin here got a chill. Then Spitfire and Echo too. Finally, I started feeling cold, as we all started to hear laughter." "Hey, we heard some laughing back at the chariot." Busby mentioned. Duarte ignored Busby. "We tried to escape it... but every time we moved, and heard the laughter get louder, it got colder... near freezing actually." "We even got some frost on our suits to prove it." Soarin said, showing the blue frost on his back. "It was real creepy. Even Echo said so, and she rarely talks." Echo nodded in confirmation. "The only way we were able to escape was in the moonlight... and even there it was cold as hay." Spitfire said. "Eventually, we got away from it... and happened to come across you. I took point to... let you know we were here." "Stalking and scaring us?" Busby said. "You've got a funny method of taking point Spitfire." "So what are you five up to?" Spitfire asked. "Before you broke us up, we were headed in a blind direction to nowhere, thanks to Buster over there." Paita said. "C'mon, give the guy a chance." Spitfire defended. "I'll bet you he's right." Oh no, Spitfire. What are you getting me into? Busby thought. "You're seriously betting he of all ponies is right? You’re talking about the pony that ignorantly let the princesses walk off to a mansion who-knows-where, and you’re going to pretend he could be right?" Spitfire shrugged. "Sure. For every one wrong, there's another right. 100 bits if I'm right." She gave "Ladies, we don't have the time to come up with bets in a time of-" "Deal. If there's no mansion at the end of this trail, you owe me." Paita said. "It'd also be fun to see Buster's face when he's wrong." She forgot to mention what Duarte would do to me too. "And if he's right?" Spitfire asked. "Then what." "...what do you think Busby?" Spitfire asked. "Huh?" Busby asked. "Uh... a hug-" "Never." Paita said flatly. "How about friendship then?" Busby asked. "Or at least some respect." "Deal." Paita said. "Maybe I'll go out somewhere with that hundred bit's Ms. Spitfire." "We'll see about that." Spitfire smirked. "We're losing moonlight ponies! Let’s go." Duarte said, heading forward, along with every pony else except Spitfire and Busby who hung back. "What the hay was that all about? She's probably going to hate me more." Busby said. "I'm sorry, but if you haven't noticed, I'm trying to stay off that crazy mare's enemy list." "Don't worry. By the end of all of this, something tells me she'll be all over you." Spitfire said, heading forward. "Wait, do you mean the Fancy Pants good kind of way or the Blueblood bad kind of way?" Busby called, limping as fast as he could to catch up to the group. As he did, he couldn't shake that same feeling that somewhere... some pony or something was still watching them... *** Specter looked out of one of the mansion windows at the front of the mansion and the Everfree forest. He was alone for the moment... no ghost, griffon, or pony to see him now. He didn't grin, smile, or even smirk. Instead he looked out the window introspectively. It had been years... and now he was finally going to finish this little errand he'd been forced into... all he could think of was irony. That he was trading and fixing one sin by with another. "Yo, Specter." Gilda said from behind. Specter didn't bother to look at the griffon. "What is it Ms. Gilda?" Specter asked. "I did what you asked with the mares. They're in the tea room. Tied up and all." "Good, good." Specter said. "The fillies too?" "Every pony except the dragon. Just like you said." Gilda said. "Look, is this gonna be much longer? I mean, I'm getting tired of waiting around here." "Patience Ms. Gilda, we have all night." Specter said. "Or, morning, if you want to get technical." "How much longer?" Gilda hissed. "I'd watch my tone if I were you Ms. Gilda. I could always retract our little deal. We could always use another ghostly hand around here." Gilda stood there, silently waiting for the stallion to say something. Finally he sighed. "Do you remember that little plan I told you about? The four part plan?" "What of it?" Gilda asked. "What of it?" Specter laughed. "This is the whole thing, griffon. This is part three. We're almost done. Once it's finished, you'll get your payment, along with your little bonus of the Rainbow mare." "Fine. Just don't take long. When can we get this third part done?" "Slow down, griffon." Specter said, finally looking back at Gilda. "We've still got the matter of our newest guests. Did you oversee our Princess Luna casting the spell?" "...yeah. I watched her as she took that flying chariot out of the sky. The ponies flying alongside with it." "Good. They shouldn't be able to fly for the rest of the night then." Specter said. "If that's true, then they should be in trapped along the path, until we're ready for them." "Then what now?" "Then they're coming of course. I'm going to head down to the dining hall to make the preparations. You wait with the mares for about 15 minutes before securing Luna and bringing Celestia in. To be sure, check for the signal. Before we can continue with our little plan..." Specter grinned. "It's time our newest member of our little team 'welcomed' our guarding guests. Wouldn't you agree?" *** The guards walked for a while. They walked until finally, they came to a dead end. It was a rock faced edge, keeping the group from progressing any further. "Well... what do you make of that." Waite said, scratching the back of his head. Spitfire remained silent, as Paita laughed. "I told you the he was wrong. I guess that's what you get for trusting a rookie." "...this isn't right." Soarin said. "What?" Busby asked, turning to the stallion. "What are you talking about?" "Well, think about it... I don't think any filly would be crazy enough to head off of the path of the Everfree forest, right?" Soarin asked. "We're talking about three fillies, who supposedly flew an oversized paper airplane over a forest." Black said. "I think their sanity is a little out of the question." "C'mon. No pony's gonna head blindly off of the path of the Everfree." Soarin argued. "Then they headed back." "That's where you’re wrong." Spitfire chimed in. "If they were headed back, either we would have seen them already, or they'd be back in Ponyville." "So what? You think some pony just dropped this stone face on the path?" "I don't know. All I know is that this doesn't make sense." Soarin said. "Maybe one of the Everfree creatures got them then." Paita shrugged. "Or maybe that laughing thing, I don't know. All I know is that you," Paita said, pointing at Busby. "Are an idiot, and you," Paita said, pointing to Spitfire, "Owe me some bits." "Look. All of you." Duarte said. "We need to head back. At least try and find our way back to Ponyville. Hopefully we can make up for lost time by the Rookie's second mistake tonight." Back to square one I suppose. Busby thought sadly. "Now let’s..." Duarte trailed off as he turned away from the rock face in its opposite direction. Every pony turned to see what had stopped him... the path had changed. For behind them was no longer the path of which they came... no, that had disappeared. It was replaced with a new path, which led to a gate. Behind that gate was a graveyard, dead trees and a great big manor, looming over all of them. "...you were saying about that bet Paita?" Spitfire said, snapping out of her stupor at the mansion. "What the hay is going on here?!" Paita exclaimed. "This is... strange." Waite said. "One second, we're walking in a dark creepy looking wood... and a whole mansion manages to sneak up behind us." Black said. "Hey! That rock face is gone!" Talon said, looking back. As he'd said, the rock face had disappeared, showing a new path, likely leading way they supposedly came. "Ok seriously, what the hay is this. This isn't natural." Talon said. "...it's just as I feared." Duarte said. "What? What is it?" Black asked. "We're dealing with a real threat here. I'm no magician or magical expert, but some kind of spell just took us to this mansion, I'm sure of it." Spitfire concluded. "A strong one too. One that's almost... god like." Duarte said. Oh no. A god? Someone like Nightmare or Discord? Is that what we're really dealing with?! Is this for real?! Busby exclaimed in his own mind. Fear and panic filled his eyes, at the realization of the danger they could all be in. Apart of him wanted to run off in the opposite direction of the mansion... As every pony's tension rose, Echo was the only one to proceed forward. She opened the gate and motioned for everyone to join her. "She's right. There's no time to waste panicking here in front of this mansion. The princesses could be in grave danger." Duarte said. "Come on." Duarte charged forward, taking point, closely followed by Echo and the rest of the ponies. "This is insanity. Do we even have any idea how to fight a god? Let alone anything that can manipulate reality like that." Busby said. Waite shook his head. "You know guards are mostly trained to defend against stuff like raids or attempts at overthrowing. We haven't got a clue... but you know what we do have?" Waite motioned his head to the box on his back. "If at least the mares are in there, we can use the Elements to fight whatever. They've already used it... what, twice to defeat an alicorn and a draconquus. All we need to do is give it to them." "But who knows what's between us and them! Who knows if they're even..." Busby trailed off. He knew the worst thing to do at this point was think negatively. He was sure it was even making his leg hurt worse with the extra stress. "We've got three of the best fliers and 6 highly trained guards on our side. We'll be fine getting to them." Waite reassured. I'm not entirely sure about that 'highly trained' part though. I barely remember half of my training. "Sheesh. Creepy forest, and now a creepy mansion. Who the hay puts grave stones in front of a house." Spitfire asked. "It's not that bad. It kind of reminds me of Nightmare Night actually." Talon mentioned. "Hey, maybe whoever owns this place is trying to set up for Nightmare Night." Busby tried to say positively. "Yeah, and that reality shift back there was a big scare for some rigged haunted mansion." Paita said sarcastically. "Please. No pony's going to try and set up for Nightmare Night so many months in advance. It's just stupid." "She's right dude." Soarin said. "Really, we're just dealing with some messed up Goth pony who likes to live in creepy mansions and dig corpses out of the ground." Soarin pointed over to the holes in front of the grave stones. "I'd hate to see what's in this place." "Hope any pony's in there. All the windows are black. In a mansion so big, you'd expect them to forget to turn off a light somewhere." Black said. It wasn't long before the group reached the door. "...Every pony prepare yourselves for anything. We don't know what we're dealing with so stay as alert as possible." "I really don't want to know what's behind that door." Busby mumbled. In the silence, Duarte heard. "Well, you’re about to find out rookie." he said as he proceeded to knock on the door. "Look at it this way Bubble." Waite said. "If there is something godlike behind there, you'll have one hay of a story to tell about your first day on the job." "If I can tell it. I don't even have a weapon." "You'll be fine. Who knows? Maybe you will luck out and won't need it." Waite said, preparing to unsheathe his sword to whatever came from the door. Though he tried to keep a relaxed demeanor, it was easy to tell he was as nervous and scared as every pony else. Even Paita's knees shook a little. Knock knock knock There was no answer. Duarte looked back at the prepared guards, nervous to attempt another knock. Bang! bang! bang! Duarte hit the door as hard as he could, making sure that whoever was inside heard him. "Duarte?" Waite asked. "You know there's a door bell over there, right?" The stallion looked over at the door bell. As he went to reach it, he stopped. He then put his ear to the door... he heard hoof steps coming toward it. "Some pony’s coming." Duarte said. "Get ready." Duarte unsheathed his own sword, preparing to attack, or defend from whatever opened the door. The hoof steps stopped. The door creaked open, allowing a small bit of light outside. Where the hay is that light coming from? Busby thought. Finally, after seconds that felt like minutes to the anxious guards, a pony popped her head out from the crack in the door, peaking at the guards. Seeing their sharp objects, ready to swing at her, she yelped in fear and retreated back into the mansion before any pony could get a good look at her. "Wait!" Busby called to the pony. "Put your weapons down! It's just a little filly." Duarte ordered. The guards did as they were ordered. The guards waited outside of the door. Just when they thought they'd scared the filly off for good, she poked her head back out, only half way this time. "A-are you g-going to hurt me?" she asked apprehensively. "What? What makes you think we'd want to do that little filly?" Duarte asked kindly. Gee, I don't know. Maybe because of the sword you were about to decapitate her with a few seconds ago? Busby examined the little filly. She had a puffy mulberry mane, and a white coat. Her eyes were green, sweet, yet fearful at the same time. On top of her head was a beaten up rancher's hat... What was a filly doing with such a dirty looking piece of head wear on her head? "Don't worry." Busby assured. "We're not here to hurt you. We're the good guys." "A-are they good ponies too?" the filly asked. Busby looked back at the Moon guards. "Yeah. Well... most of them are." Paita glared at Busby. "...I'm not supposed to let strangers in." the filly said. "You can trust us." Waite said. The filly was still hesitant. "Hey, would you mind telling us your name?" Spitfire asked. "M-me?" Spitfire chuckled kindly. "Yes you." "My... my name's Sweetie Belle." she said shyly. "What a... wait a second." Busby said. "W-what? Is there something wrong?" "Your that filly who released Discord, right?" Busby said. The filly's head sunk further back into the mansion, fear in her eyes. "W-what are you talking about that mean dragon snake thing for?" "Actually, it was a draconquus." Busby corrected. "Dracumkuis?" Sweetie tried. Isn't that cute. She can't even pronounce it. Busby thought. "You’re not helping Bubble." Waite said. Sweetie giggled. "That's a funny name." Oh yeah? And your name sounds like something my grand mare would call me. "Actually, my name's Busby." Busby corrected. "Ignore Waite here, or whatever the mean bat lady in the back says." Paita rushed up to hit Busby. "H-hold up Paita! You don't want to hit me in front of her, it'll be a bad- GAH!" the stallion said as the face, square in the muzzle. "In the same spot too why?!" "You ponies are weird..." Sweetie said. She opened the door a little wider, seeming to feel a bit more comfortable with the visitors. "Anyway, call me Paita, filly." Paita said. Sweetie stared at the mare for a few seconds. "What?" "Huh? Nothing, nothing." Sweetie said, snapping out of her trance. "Then quit staring at me for Celestia's sake." Paita said crossing her eyes. Sweetie stood back from the mare, fearfully. As one of the guards was about to speak for the mare, she regained herself. "Sorry little filly. I get like that when I'm around idiotic stallions like him." Paita said, motioning her head over to Busby. "Are my ears playing tricks, or did Paita just say sorry- DAH!" Busby said as Paita gave him another swing at the muzzle, knocking him down to the ground, causing him to clutch his muzzle, groan and roll in pain. "I-is he gonna be alright?" Sweetie asked concerned. "He'll be fine. Dumb ponies don't feel pain." "Anyway, I'm Black." Black said, stepping forward. "And this is-" "Talon." Talon said, giving a short wave. "And I'm-" Spitfire started. She was interrupted by Sweetie. "You’re Ms. Spitfire! Rainbow talks about you all the time!" Sweetie exclaimed. "S-sorry. I didn't mean to-" "It's fine." Spitfire smiled. "It's always nice to see non-pegasi taking interest in the Wonderbolts." "Does she talk about me?" Soarin asked. Sweetie thought. "Sometimes... but she really likes to talk about Ms. Spitfire or Ms. Echo." "Figures." Echo said, as Spitfire rolled her eyes smiling. Soarin looked somewhat disappointed though. "What's wrong?" Sweetie asked. "Nothing." Spitfire chuckled. "Guess some pony figured he isn't going to get any mares tonight." "...I don't get it." Sweetie said. "And finally," Duarte interrupted. "My name is Duarte. Leader of my platoon of Sun guards... and more recently the Moons too, since he's not doing his job." "You’re doing fine. You've got this all covered." Black waved off. "In any case, We're looking for some pony." "The princesses?" Sweetie guessed. Duarte raised an eye brow. "Actually, yes. How did you figure." "I-I just guessed. You’re the royal guard, right? Aren't you supposed to be protecting them?" "...sounds as logical as anything else, I suppose." Duarte said. "What are you doing here Sweetie?" Waite asked. "Shouldn't you be home or something?" Sweetie shook her head. "Me and my friends decided to stay with my sister and her friends and the princesses here tonight, with the princesses, since we couldn't really leave during the storm." "Why did you come here, I mean." Waite asked. Busby finally got up onto his for hooves. "O-oh. I came here with my sis." A light bulb went off in Busby's head. "...wait a second. You’re lying." "O-oh, I am?" Sweetie said. Busby thought he imagined it, but he could have sworn he saw the filly twitch once. "Yeah, you didn't follow your sister. You took a paper plane here." "I did? Oh yeah! I did! Me and my friends crashed..." she thought for a moment, reaching back into her memory. She seemed to be straining for a second... as though she were trying to force her way to the memory. "And... I woke up, ran away from a scary laughing monster, and made it to the mansion here to meet my sister and friends. Been here all night." "Why'd you lie like that?" Busby asked. "I'm sorry. I guess I made a mistake. I-It won't happen again. Both Paita and Busby saw this as somewhat suspicious... of course neither consulted each other on the issue of Sweetie's mistake. "As I was saying Sweetie, we've come for the Princesses. May we come in." Sweetie thought for a moment. "Mr. Specter... he doesn't really like surprise visitors." "This is important. We must know that the Princesses are safe." Duarte said. "You can trust us. I'm sure you host... what was it, Specter? I'm sure he wouldn't mind us coming in on such important business. We won't be long, if he truly can't keep us." "Really hoping he can. It's a long walk back to Ponyville." Waite said. "We'd be lucky to make it there by late morning." "Ok... I guess you can come in." Sweetie said, widening the door enough to let the guards inside. A few guards walked in. After a moment, even Paita walked in, keeping an eye on the shy little filly. Only Busby remained outside for the moment. "Is there something wrong, Mr. Busby?" "...nothing. Do you mind if I ask you something?" Busby asked. The stallion was somewhat surprised that Duarte didn't ask about this. "Have you experienced any weird... reality shifts lately?" Sweetie stared down the stallion, as though she were trying to read his mind. Finally, she shook her head. "Nope. It's been really peaceful in the mansion. Nothing bad happens in here." "...ok." Busby smiled. He knew it was strange, but something inside of him screamed 'bad' about the mansion he was walking into, as Sweetie closed the doors of the mansion with a slam... *** The inside of the mansion was much more welcoming than the front. As they moved through the foyer, and examined the art and decor, it seemed like the guards had taken a step back in time. It was a drastic change from the old broken looking mansion they'd seen from outside. It almost seemed unnatural... Though no guard really paid it any mind, but mainly focused on following the filly. "Mr. Specter said to bring any pony that came to the dining hall." Sweetie explained as they walked. "Did he now? What is he doing down there at such a late hour. Better yet, what are you doing here at such a late hour young filly?" Duarte asked. "Me?" Sweetie thought for a moment. "I was... asleep before you guys showed up. I had the room closest to the door... I think I was the only one to hear it. Up there." Sweetie pointed up the staircase to the left door. "And this 'Specter'?" Black asked. Sweetie giggled. "The mares really got him tired after our party. He's probably still asleep." "Ah. So you’re the only one awake then?" Waite asked. Sweetie nodded. "I can get him for you when your all sat down and relaxed." Sweetie offered. "That'll be fine." Duarte smiled. Busby stared up at the staircase. He wasn't sure why, but something was screaming at him that what the filly was saying was wrong. That she was lying... he wasn't sure however where the idea came from. It was a paranoid gut feeling and nothing more. At least that's what he kept trying to convince himself ever since the moment the reality shift happened. Something was- Suddenly, pain shot through Busby's leg, harder than before, as he took his next step. He collapsed by the fountain at the center of the foyer. Every pony looked back at the stallions, who lie on the ground at the back of the pack. Concerned, Sweetie rushed over to Busby. "Mr. Bubble!" she asked. "I told you, it's Busby." he groaned through the pain. His face was level with the ground... but as it was, he noticed something. The ground wasn't quite level. No, there were bumps in the ground. Mounds of something Busby couldn't quite identify... "C'mon you." Waite said, helping Busby up. He leaned against the fountain to keep the weight off of his leg. "What happened? A-are you ok?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah... I'm fine. We just had a bad crash in the woods and I kind of twisted something." Busby explained. "That’s putting it a little lightly, don't you think Bubble?" Waite asked. "Are you sure you’re going to be able to walk on that thing by yourself?" "I think so." Busby said. "You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up with you all." He said, waving his free hoof for them to move to wherever. "Ok, Mr. Bub... Busby." Sweetie said. "We're going to be in that dining hall through that door. Okay?" "Thanks." Busby smiled. At least some pony got my name right… The filly smiled back before turning back around to lead the other guards and Wonderbolts through the door. Busby's smile faded as his eyes drifted to the left door, and then the three other doors at the top of the stairs. There was something foreboding about the doors... Busby wondered What could be behind those doors that make my stomach turn so badly...? *** Applebloom's head hurt. It was dark where she was... dark and frightening. She moaned in pain, trying to force herself to open her eyes, even though she knew she'd likely not be able to see anything once she did. All she knew was that she was in a dark room... and she was tied to another pony about her size... why in the hay was she tied up like an Appoloosa Aero Hog... It wasn't long however before she remembered what had just happened, where she was, and who was with her... they were ambushed. All of them, ambushed by waves of inescapable ghosts. Did... did that mean she was dead? No, that wouldn't explain why she was tied up. She was trapped though, that was all that was certain. "Hey..." Applebloom called weakly into the darkness. "Any pony in 'ere?" Applebloom heard the pony she was tied to groan as well. "Wha... what the hay... where am I? What going on?" Scootaloo said. Applebloom felt it around the rope tied to her torso and hooves, as Scootaloo thrashed around to release herself from bondage. "It ain't no use Scoots. We're trapped." "Applebloom? What happened?" Scootaloo asked. "Them ghosts happened. Remember? After Pinkie lost Sweets?" Applebloom reminded. "Sweetie..." Scootaloo said. "Sweetie! You in here?!" Rather than a reply from their friend, there was more groaning from some ponies in the darkness. "Ugh... my head." Rainbow said. "Rainbow?" Scootaloo called. "Scootaloo? Where are ya?" "Over here!" Scootaloo yelled. "Where here!" Rainbow asked. "Here!" Scootaloo called. "Ah don't think tha's gonna help much. Are ya'll tied up lik' us?" Applejack called. "Yeah sis! Can ya git out?" Applebloom asked. "Ahm tied down good!" Applejack responded. "Same here!" Twilight called. "Me too!" Pinkie called. "Wait a sec, where's Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked. "I-I'm here..." she said shyly. "Now, is tha' everyone?" Applejack asked. "Wait, where's Spike?" Twilight asked. "Spike, ya in here?" Applebloom asked. There was no response. "He must still be with Sweetie after they ran off." Scootaloo said. "Ran off? What are you talking about?" Rainbow asked. "You left the safe room? What were you thinking?!" "Sorry Dash." Scootaloo said. "Now don't be hard on th' filly. Wouldn'ta done 'erself much good stayin' anyway." Applejack explained. "Why, after Pinkie left with 'em, Specter pulled a fast one on us n' shut down th' entire safe room!" "Shut it down?" Twilight asked. "Yeah. That humming nose stopped and the room went dark before..." Fluttershy trailed off, reluctant to remember the horror and fear she felt in those couple of seconds. "Hay, if it wasn't fo' mah injuries, we'dah done better stickin' tagether." Applejack said. "Not like it would have done much good anyway. We were ambushed by-" "Gilda!" Rainbow said angrily. "That rotten feather brain trapped us and threw a bunch of ghosts at us! I can't believe we fell for it too!" "We got trapped by a bunch of ghosts too Dashie." Pinkie explained. "Right after Sweetie ran off." "Why? Why would they... especially Spike, run off like that?" Twilight asked. Pinkie shook her head in the darkness. "I was just telling her about something I remembered and she just... ran off. I tried to stop her but..." the sadness and guilt was evident in her voice. Even in the darkness, they could feel her face tearing up again. "...I'm sure she's fine." Rainbow consoled. "She's turned into a real tough filly. Her and Spike's probably planning some daring rescue somewhere in the mansion." "I sure hope so..." Twilight said. "Me too." Applebloom agreed. "Don't you worry. They're not." came a third voice. It wasn't the voice of a pony, however, it was one of a pony. It was- "Gilda! Where are you?!" Rainbow exclaimed. The candles in the room lit up to reveal the details of their entrapment. Though the two fillies were tied to each other, each of the mares themselves were tied down firmly to one of the tea tables of. There was nothing really worth mentioning about the room besides the small shrived vegetation that grew though the floor, the generic portraits along the wall, and the large grandfather clock which said 4:13 on it. Against the wall was Gilda, who tossed Sweetie's flashlight up in the air, and caught it again. By the exit to the right of her lay Spike, fast asleep and hugging the GCD and Sweetie's saddlebags to his chest. "Nice to see you too Rainbow." she grinned. "It's been too long." "What the hay are you doing?!" "Right now? Just chilling until the old stallion finishes what he's doing." she said lazily. "You don't have any idea how boring it's gotten around here." "No, I mean what is all of this?!" Rainbow said angrily. Unable to keep still at the sight of the griffon, she struggled to free herself from her bonds as she talked. No progress to do so was made. "Why the hay are you trying to kill us? What the hay are you working with Specter for?" Gilda shrugged. "What's it to you?" "Everything!" Rainbow argued. "Look, I know your aren't Ms. Delightful, but last I checked, I would have never seen you trying to murder little fillies!" "Oh, c'mon Dash." Gilda rolled her eyes. "Murder's such a stupid way to put it. I prefer the term... transformation into ghostlyhood... or whatever Specter called it, I dunno." "I don't care what you, or that insane stallion call it." Rainbow said. "When I get out of here, I'm gonna-" "What? Beat me up? Pfft, please. Even with your cutie mark, I'd probably kick your flank. And since you don't and you’re a little... tied up at the moment, we both know that's not gonna happen." Rainbow sighed. Though she couldn't be sure if her fighting ability, toughness and speed had been lost with her cutie mark, she wasn't going to do anything to her tied up like this. Rainbow looked over at Pinkie, who gave her a look. Though Pinkie could fight, it was also a last resort. The face Pinkie gave Rainbow was one that told her to calm down, and try to reason with the griffon. After all, at one point, the two were friends... right? "Look, Gilda." Rainbow sighed. "I don't know how your tied up into all of this, but you've got to listen. Specter's trying to do something bad." "Oh really? Like what?" Gilda said. It was one of those tones of voice that said she'd play along, but she couldn't give one. "He... might be trying to resurrect Discord." Twilight blurted out. "Who the hay's Discord." she asked. "You’re not serious are you?" Rainbow asked. "Discord? God of Chaos? Bringer of Despair? The guy who nearly turned all of Ponyville into a giant mushroom trip?" "I don't know anything about your dumb old town. I don’t live anywhere near it anyway." Gilda responded. "Of course you wouldn't know." Twilight mumbled. "You could read the newspaper for that… emphasis on read." "Well, he's bad news. And if you keep helping Specter-" "He'll be on our side." Gilda said, cutting Rainbow off. "Huh?" "Damn. IF you're right, Specter's gonna have a god on his side. Three gods on his side. On my side. And if he's as bad a dude as you're talking about... Hay, we could probably take over the whole country with them all. And for a whole eternity too..." "What was that last part?" Pinkie asked. "None of your business you pink pain." Gilda said. "Ya don't know nothin 'bout 'im griffon." Applejack said. "Oh really?" "Yeah..." Fluttershy tried to help. She didn't dare speak to the griffon at the same volume as her friends, afraid of what she might say to her. "Y-you can't control him. He does things to you s-so... so he con-t-trol's y-" "Oh shut up Fluttercry." Gilda ordered. Fluttershy looked down at the ground, away from the griffon. "Hey!" Rainbow said angrily. "Specter's had it all planned out so far. I bet he's got some crazy plan to take control of him. Besides, we managed to take control of that Princess whatserface." "...Luna?" Pinkie confirmed. Gilda nodded. "Not only have we got her spirit under wraps, we've turned her into my own little temporary lap dog." "Temporary?" Rainbow asked. Gilda grinned. "You'll figure it out soon enough." "A-and lap dog? What do you mean by that?" Twilight asked. "Simple. Not only have we got her to attack Sweetie, but we've also got control of her magic." "How? You can't just... control an alicorn like that." Gilda shrugged. "Some voodoo Specter's got, I dunno. But what I do know is magic is ours. We even got her to take down a guard's chariot that was flying here half an hour ago." "A guard's chariot?" Pinkie asked. "That means someone's coming to rescue us!" "I wouldn't count on it." both Rainbow and Gilda said at the same time. "Rainbow?" Applejack asked. "Go on Dash, tell 'em." Gilda said. Rainbow sighed. "Well... I'ma be honest. Royal guards aren't worth the armor they're dressed with." "Aw come on Dashie. You don't know that. How do you know they won't find us and save us?" "C'mon, when is the last time you've seen a royal guard fight?" Rainbow asked. "They just try to scare you with that stone faced thing. I bet they can't fight for nothing." "I wouldn't call them un-combat worthy Rainbow... but against the ghosts, they won't last very long." Twilight said sadly. "But they're probably smart enough to run from them. They might have a chance." "They're not that smart. They aren't gonna last 10 seconds against a ghost, let alone, a mansion of them." "Took the words right out of my mouth Rainbow." Gilda said. "As we speak, your guards are getting let right into a trap by Sweetie and Specter." "S-sweetie?" Scootaloo shuddered. Gilda gave one last grin. "Oh yeah, she's playing on a whole different team now, filly." *** Sweetie had finally finished seating the guards. They all sat at the end of the grand table, by the kitchen door. "Um... You can take your armor off you know. Isn't it a little... heavy?" she asked, touching Waite's armor curiously. "Us guards are used to it." Waite explained. "We're much more comfortable keeping it on." "If you insist." Sweetie smiled. "I just wanted to make sure you were as at home as possible." "That's very kind of you little filly." Duarte smiled back. "But we're fine. Just get us our host. We'd like to have a word with him." "O-of course!" Sweetie said. "I'll be right back." She ran through one of the doors that led to the kitchen. "Cute kid." Spitfire commented. "Yeah... Kind of weird she went in there though." Black said. "You'd think that lead to the kitchen." "Maybe there's some kind of short cut through there." Waite considered. "Or maybe she's doing something besides fetching Specter for us." Paita said. "I'm telling you. I don't trust this mansion one bit. I got a bad feeling about it." "I never thought saw you to be the paranoid type Paita." Talon said. "She's probably just as creeped out as I am by the mansion." Soarin suggested. "Am I right?" "Yeah, I guess it is kind of creepy..." Paita agreed. "Mansions always did that to me since I was a filly... bit of a phobia of mine." "But you do have a point. Something's going on around here, and if it has anything to do with the mansion, I'd also find it peculiar the filly hasn't noticed anything out of the ordinary." Duarte said. "Well, if there's anyone who'd know better, it's Specter. It's his mansion, right?" Spitfire asked. Duarte nodded in agreement. With that, the guards and Wonderbolts waited. They waited a good 10 minutes before finally, some pony came back through the kitchen. Not Sweetie though... instead, it was a green coated stallion with a red mane. "You must be Specter." Duarte said, getting up to greet the stallion. Specter smiled and motioned for him to remain seated. "That I am. Specter Yield, owner of this little mansion I have. "Calling this mansion little is kind of undermining, don't you think?" Waite asked. Specter chuckled. "With claustrophobia like mine, there's no such thing as too big." He took a seat at the end of the table on the same side as the guards. "Where's Sweetie?" Spitfire asked. "Didn't she go to get you?" "Ah, yes, Ms. Belle. Once she woke me up, I asked her to make us something to eat." he smiled. "I never like to let my guests go hungry." "She can cook?" "Oh yes Ms. Spitfire. She is a filly of many talents. And a kind heart to boot." "What? How do you-" "Know your name?" Specter asked. "Simply because you and your Wonderbolts are all Ms. Dash wanted to talk about. Spitfire, Soarin and Echo, if I'm right. I can still hear her excited voice echoing in my head for every time she mentioned you earlier tonight." Specter turned to the guards. "And you must be the highly trained, sophisticated, and skilled Canterlot Royal Guard, am I correct?" Every one of the guards nodded. "I thought so. Ms. Sparkle and the princesses mentioned you frequently." Specter said. "Not... specifically, of course. Would you mind introducing yourselves?" Each of the guards did as Specter asked. "Well, it's a pleasure meeting you all." Specter smiled. "Likewise, Yield." Waite nodded. "Now that introductions are out of the way, I wanted to-" Duarte started. Before he could finish, Sweetie came back through the door, balancing three food trays, at least twice her size, on her back. On top of that, was a large wine glass, bobbing from side to side as she walked. "Dinner is served." She said happily as she walked over. "Whoa! How are you balancing all of that on your back?" Soarin asked. "I'm stronger than I look Mr. Soarin" Sweetie chirped as she walked. Once she was close enough to the table, she bucked the food onto the table in front of the ponies with extreme professionalism. Though no other pony gave the swift action a second thought, Paita couldn't help but find it peculiar such a small filly could have such precision and strength. "Ah, another fantastic meal from our little filly guest." Specter smiled. "Well done Ms. Belle." Sweetie simply smiled in return. With that, she took a seat next to Paita. For some reason though... Paita couldn't help but get a strange chill as the filly sat next to her. "Now please... help yourselves." Specter said. Paita looked at Sweetie, then back at Specter, then at the foods of salads, steamed vegetables and cooked fruits on the large dishes. "Is this... good?" she asked apprehensively. "It's not poisoned." Sweetie said smiling. "I promise." Waite was the first to dive into the dish, followed by the rest of the guards... *** Busby limped up the staircase to the doors of the second floor. It was painful, and in all honesty, he wasn't sure why he was going through so much effort to make it to the top. In hind sight, it didn't seem worth it. He was never one to leave his comfort zone, when he didn't have to. Though he couldn't help that something important was behind one of the three doors at the top of the staircase. The mystery was maddening to the stallion. He had to do a little of his own exploring before heading back down to the dining hall. Maybe he'd find something in the process? Busby stood in front of the right most door, and stared at it. A chill went down his spine as he did. A sudden fear tried to keep him from reaching for the knob, but in calling it irrational, he resisted the urge to go back down to the first floor. Besides, the last thing he needed was to put more weight on his leg, traveling on more stairs. C'mon Busby. Don't be a scardycolt. Busby coached himself. It's just a door, right. Just a door... Busby opened the door, revealing the dark hallway. Just a door leading to a creepy hallway. Busby thought. Taking a deep breath, he headed through into the hallway. Once he was through, the door closed behind him with a slam. Busby jumped, as he whirled around to see himself stuck inside. When Busby tried to open the door, it wouldn't budge. What the hay is this?! The rookie guard was trapped in the hallway. Ok, calm down... looks like the only way is forward. Here we go... With every ounce of the little bravery and courage he had, Busby began limping down the dark hallway. He found himself humming to himself... he didn't know the tune, or where it came from. He just started humming it subconsciously... maybe it was some tune that he heard the guards humming earlier that night? Though, he couldn't remember for the life of him who. The hallway was dimly lit by moonlight coming from an unidentifiable area. Maybe if he kept traveling down the hallway, he'd locate some kind of window? The stallion figured that would be his newest goal... in the dark hallway, something told him that light was extremely important... or maybe it was the sheer desire to have some type of 'nightlight' in the hallway. And what better nightlight than a giant orb in the sky? After a while, Busby saw fit to check out the many doors in the hallway as he walked. Most of which turned out to be some kind of bedroom, and occasionally a bathroom or a closet. All of which however... were empty. No pony to be found. In a mansion so big and quiet, Busby didn't expect every single room to be filled with a pony, however he did find it rather strange that he'd yet to find any pony. Between the number of ponies needed to take care of the mansion, and the guests of the housewarming, including the Mane 6 & Princesses, he'd expect there to find someone... instead, the mansion had an abandoned, empty look to it, with dusty sheets covering every piece of furniture he'd seen so far. First a weird reality shift, then a locked door... and now this giant mansion doesn't even have any ponies? This isn't good... where is every pony? Busby thought. Suddenly a chill went down his spine as he heard something laugh. It immediately reminded him of the monster they'd heard in the woods. Busby stopped cold and gulped. He turned around to find himself face to face with a red glowing pony with an extremely long tongue. Boo. Busby screamed as he found strength he didn't even know he had to start running away. With a high pitched laugh, the red glowing ghost pony gave chase to the scared guard stallion... *** "Now then..." Specter asked, once every pony had finished their meal. "What can I do for you fine ponies this fine morning." He put his hooved together on the table, and looked at the guards and Wonderbolts with a certain attentiveness to his face. "We wanted to ask you a few things. Regarding the safety of our beloved princesses... and this mansion in general." Duarte said. "Yes?" he asked. "Your mansion... is there anything special about it?" "Besides the simple fact it's my home, no." Specter said. "Is there something you found peculiar about it." "Yeah actually." Paita said annoyed. "Your mansion just threw us in front of it!" "I beg your pardon ma’am?" Specter asked. "What are you talking about?" "Paita. Calm yourself." Black said. "But as she said, the mansion did have some weird reality shift that put us right at your door step. Do you know anything about it?" Specter closed his eyes for a moment, deep in thought. "There's nothing that the mansion does that can do that but... OH! It must have been Ms. Luna." "T-the Princess?" Talon asked. Specter smiled. "She is quite the prankster that mare. And she certainly knows how to use it for such grand pranks... maybe she happened to see you heading up, and decided to have a little fun with you?" "That does sound like her..." Talon said. The other guards nodded in agreement, except for Paita, who simply stared suspiciously at Specter. "That leads me to the second question: the princesses." Duarte said. Specter raised an eyebrow. "What about them? Has something come up that desires their attention?" "Not exactly. We came to... well... are they alright?" Waite asked. Specter seemed shocked. "B-but of course!" He looked up to the sturdy looking balcony over the dining hall. "If I'm right, they should be safe and sound up in their rooms. I’d believed ponies such as yourself would have known about her being here. Didn’t she receive an invitation?" Duarte shook his head. "If they did, I wasn’t aware of it. In either case, I would imagine the princesses would be up by now. The sun is to be up in just a few hours." "Perhaps, but I don't know anything about the princess's sleeping habits." he smiled. "Who knows? As you said, they could be up and about as we speak." "Can we see them then?" Spitfire asked. "I'm not keeping you from doing so, am I?" Specter smiled. "You can head through the kitchen to get to them." "...you’re not serious, are you?" Black asked. "The kitchen you said?" Specter nodded. "I don't believe you." Paita said flatly. "Huh?" Sweetie asked. "Why? I got Mr. Specter though there." Specter nodded. "There's a staircase that leads up to the next floor through there. From there, Celestia's and Luna's room is just across the hallway." "Why would you need something like that?" Waite asked. Specter shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I didn't design it." "This is stupid. There's no staircase through there." Paita said. "What's really in there." "My, Ms. Paita. I'm starting to get the impression you don't trust me." Specter said smugly. "Like hay I don't trust you! I don't trust this whole place!" Paita said sitting up in her chair. Agitated suspicion was blazing in her eyes. "Paita. Shush." Duarte commanded. "None of us." Paita said. "None of us are going in there, until you tell us what the hay is really up here." "I wasn't aware you were the leader of your little unit. Hm?" Specter said, glancing over to Duarte. "Paita, control yourself already. Mr. Specter hasn't given us any reason to distrust him." Paita laughed. "Are you kidding me? This guy's been sending bad signals the second we met him! And now he's trying to make us believe that everything that just happened was just a prank by the princess! This guy's beyond untrustworthy. For all we know, he's trying to throw us into some kind of trap!" Echo got up, and every pony watched as he headed into the kitchen. Specter chuckled. "Well, Paita... it seems that some pony thinks otherwise." "I can't believe she just walked in there like that..." Paita said. "Of course she did! She's calm enough to realize there's nothing to be worried about. Honestly, you're just being paranoid." Paita put both hooves on the table and extended her numb wings. "Say that again to my face." "Luna Paita! Calm down!" Talon insisted. "Please Ms. Paita. You wouldn't hurt an old stallion, would you?" "I'm not biased to it." Paita said, sinking back into her seat. Specter shook his head. "...I'm sorry. That was impolite of me to call you such a thing as 'paranoid'. I'm sure my mansion can be quite... menacing at times, but I assure you. There's nothing in here for you to worry about. Nothing at all." They waited for a while... it wasn't long however, before the other guards began joining in Paita's suspicion. In the silence that took over the dining hall, they soon realized how they hadn't heard anything from Echo. "Where'd she go?" Waite asked. "Yeah, it's been 20 minutes already." Talon agreed. "Maybe she's still headed there." Sweetie considered. "Mr. Specter's mansion is kind of big." "Bull! That's bull and you know it!" Paita said glaring at the filly. "Hate to admit it, but Paita's right." Spitfire said, looking at the door with her own suspicion. "If the princess's room is as close as you claim... she'd be back by now." "Well, maybe she's just speaking with the princesses?" Sweetie said. Sweetie found herself staring at Paita again. This time, in her paranoia, she didn't hold back. Paita got up and lifted the filly out of her chair by her shoulder blades. "YOU! You know what's in there. Stop lying to us!" Paita yelled at the filly. "Hey! Let go of me!" Sweetie cried. "Ms. Paita!" Specter commanded, sitting up in the chair. "Let go of that filly this instant!" "Yeah Paita! She didn't do anything." Spitfire said. "Are you serious?! This filly's probably in on whatever he's planning!" Paita said, glaring at Sweetie. She was the only one in the room, who didn't see a scared little pony... but something much more sinister. "Put her down now." Soarin commanded. He and Spitfire got up, prepared to take Sweetie from her grip by force. After glancing at every guard who looked at her in the same glaring manner as the two Wonderbolts, she finally dropped the filly to the ground. Sweetie scrambled up, tears running down her face, before she ran fearfully into the kitchen. "Kid! Wait!" Spitfire called, running after Sweetie. Spitfire and Soarin ran for Sweetie, into the kitchen... time passed and neither of them came back. Paita gave a nervous laugh. "See?! Now they're gone too!" "Oh hush you." Specter said harshly. "They're probably chasing the little filly you were so unnecessarily cruel too!" "Shut up you!" Paita said, drawing her sword to her muzzle. Quickly, before any guard could legitimately react, she circled around to Specter and put it to her neck. "Whoa!" Talon said, drawing his own sword, along with the rest of the guard. "Paita! Sheath your sword this instant!" Duarte commanded. "I'd listen to your superior Ms. Paita." Specter said, seemingly indifferent to her advance. The eyes he gave her were almost as though it didn't matter to him if the angry mare decapitated him then and there. "Don't even try to tell me what to do, Yield." Paita said angrily. He smiled smugly. "You wouldn't want to go to jail for the murder of a stallion because of your paranoia, only supported by the fact that his mansion was a little ugly, now would you?" Paita didn't respond. Specter gently pushed the sword away from his neck and got down from his chair. "If you really believe that I'm some kind of evil stallion, then you have no more business here." "Hey wait!" Waite called. Specter didn't say anything. He simply waved to the guards as he walked back through the kitchen, the door shutting behind him. Every guard looked at each other, before getting up and heading to the kitchen door. "You’re not seriously following him are you? It's probably a-" "Paita." Duarte said firmly. Somehow, it was enough to shut the mare up. "I'm not sure what has triggered your behavior for tonight. You act as though there is something wrong here, when besides that reality shift outside, nothing has happened out of the ordinary." "And that's not enough?" Paita asked. "The Wonderbolts-" "Somewhere, certainly. Lost, possibly. Maybe the kitchen. Maybe somewhere else." Durate nodded. "Possibly in danger, but also possibly not. This mansion is large, and likely easy to get lost in with a turn or two. But regardless, that escalation was unnecessary and unprofessional." "But be's-" "Quiet Rookie," Black said harshly. Paita shut up again. The terminology of 'rookie' visually stung her. "This is your first field mission, isn't it?" Paita didn't answer. It was true, she'd been accepted into her guarding unit barely over a month ago. Since guards rarely saw any action, thanks to the princesses, and general calmness between nearby towns, this was truly her first mission… just like Busby. "Act like it then." Black said. "I... Something's wrong with this mansion and-" "Hey, if there is? Then we've got to deal with it either way, right?" Waite said. "We'd might as well find out. If I didn't value my life, I'd pounce on the fact you're scared." "Scared?" Paita laughed. "I don't get scared." "Then let's face what your paranoia is talking about then." Talon said, heading for the door. "I'm NOT paranoid." She said flatly. As the rest of the guards headed through the door, Paita stayed still. She wasn't completely sure why though... Maybe a part of her was scared. Or at the very least, nervous. She shook her head. She wasn't nervous or scared. Not like Busby was, anyway... right? As the door closed, the mare headed through the door... but she didn't find herself in a kitchen as she walked though. Instead, she was in a dark hallway, dimly moonlit by a window at its end. "This doesn't look like a kitchen..." she said to herself. Suddenly, the light of the dining hall behind her went out. When she whirled around, she found not the table where her and her fellow guards had previously sat, but a simple bedroom. Though she wasn't sure what was going on, she was sure she was right now. This wasn't either of the princess's doing. Something was seriously messed up about the mansion she was likely trapped in now... *** "What the hay?" Waite said, looking around at the new area he was in. "This place doesn't feel kitchen-y." Talon said. "Oh, you’re right. It isn't a kitchen." Sweetie said, from somewhere the other side of the large dark room. "My bad." "Sweetie? Sweetie Belle, is that you?" Black asked, calling out to the filly. "Yuh huh! I'm over here!" Sweetie said. "But, really, it's not that important where I am. Especially not anymore." "What are you talking about young filly?" Duarte called. "And why is it so dark in here?" "Oh, the darkness? See, that's the thing. We don't really like light too much." Sweetie explained. "What?" Talon asked. "I mean, the moonlight's tolerable, and even some light sunlight is bearable, but let me tell ya, we hate it all the same." Sweetie said. Her eyes showed up in the darkness... though, they weren't green like normal. Instead, they were now a sickly yellow color. "S-sweetie Belle?" Black called. "But now... in the basement, where we've been getting ready for the main event... now this is some good darkness." "Basement? What are you talking about? We can't-" "Oh, believe me, Royal Guard... anything is possible in here." Sweetie said. Her voice changed a little bit. Her normal voice was there... yet it was twisted, and mixed with the voice of another. Something of a fancy Canterlot accent. The sound of opening doors filled the room. Red K-9 ghosts began creeping out the stacks of cages that revealed themselves in their eerie glow. Sweetie's yellow glowing eyes were starting to get closer to the group of guards. "Duarte. You think this would be a good time to retreat?" Black suggested. "There are a lot of those... things!" Duarte turned around... but not to find a door. Instead, he saw a mirror, balancing on its side. When he touched it to see if it opened like some kind of door, it simply fell over and shattered into pieces. The way they'd come was nonexistent now. The ghost dogs barked and laughed at the guards in their fear. "What the hay is this?!" Duarte said, turning back to the ghosts that were getting closer to them. "Guards! To arms! We're going to have to fight our way out of this!" Sweetie laughed. "Oh, I can assure you... there's no point, Mr. Duarte. Goodbye." The tens of K-9 ghosts then charged at the guards, who began swinging violently at the ghosts they couldn't even touch. There was some screaming that echoed throughout the kennel basement trap... but it was only minutes before the entire basement went silent. *** Gilda opened her eyes after a while of waiting in the tea room. Every few minutes, she'd check the clock to see if it was time. The clock now said 6:30am... that was probably the time Specter had mentioned to her. For conformation, she turned back on the flashlight she had in her hands. Once she did, she saw how it flickered briefly before going solid. Chances were, that was the signal Specter had mentioned. It was time to get started. The griffon got up from the wall she'd waited against and headed for the door, where Spike lay. Rainbow looked up at Gilda. "What are you up to?" Rainbow asked. "Getting your lazy dragon thing to wake up." "He's not a thing." Twilight spat. "Hey. Get up." Gilda said, lightly kicking Spike to the side. Spike moaned. "Five more minutes Twi. I don't want to go to school..." "Ugh... what was it that butler said to say... oh yeah. Sweetie want's you." Spike grumbled. "Sweetie? What is it?" he opened his eyes, causing both Twilight and Applebloom to gasp. They were dilated and empty... it was almost like the Spike she knew wasn't there. "Spike? Spike?!" Twilight called. "Sweetie said not to listen to her." Gilda said calmly. "Sweetie says she loves you. She doesn't." "I love you too Sweetie..." Spike mumbled in a monotone. "Spik' what the hay's wrong with ya? Spike?!" Applebloom tried. "Don't listen to her either. Don’t listen to any other pony besides Sweetie. You hate them. You hate her. Just as much as you love Sweetie." "I love Sweetie, and only Sweetie... I love you Sweetie..." Spike mumbled. "Do you want to make Sweetie really happy?" Gilda asked. "I want to make Sweetie happy..." Spike mumbled. "Keep an eye on them. Don't listen or talk to them. Then Sweetie will be here." "Sweetie will be here... don't talk... eyes..." Spike mumbled. "And why don't you give that to Sweetie for a gift? She's probably like that." Gilda said, pointing to the GCD Spike was still holding. "I'll give it to her... as confession to my love." "Whatever floats your boat dragon. Just keep it on you till Sweetie gets here." Gilda said. "I think that takes care of that." "What the hay'd you do to him?!" Twilight asked. Gilda shrugged. "I dunno. Ask Spiffy when he gets around here." "And what about you?" Rainbow asked. "Where are you going?" Gilda grinned. "To get the only reason you're all are still alive to begin with." With that, she exited the room, leaving Spike to stare at all of his friends, blankly as they yell at him, trying to get him to snap out of his Sweetie triggered trance... *** Once Sweetie was out of the kennel, she exited the burnt theater and started to make her way back to the foyer. A smile of satisfaction was on her face... though, she couldn't help but think something was out of place. She'd gotten all of the guards... right? Of course, she did. They all found their way through the door, into the kennel... though there was that nagging feeling she couldn't shake. She supposed it would be relieved once she reached the tea room after the rendezvous with Specter. Sweetie found her way to the dressing room, and picked a random door to take. Once she opened it, she found it lead to the foyer. Expecting such, it didn't appear to be any surprise to her. Once she entered the once again, abandoned looking foyer, the door disappeared behind her. "Master Yield?" Sweetie called. "I'm here." Specter said, revealing himself from behind the fountain. "I imagine things went well?" Sweetie chuckled. "I haven't had that much fun since my first days of ghost hood. It's fine scaring one little filly over and over again, but it's much more rewarding to scare multiple grown stallions. Guards, no less." "I'm glad you had fun," Specter said. "Are they in route?" "They're being taken to the tea room as we speak." Sweetie explained. "By the Wonderbolts." "Good, good." Specter said. "Once they're there, and Gilda's fetched her, we can run the exercise to break Celestia's will. Then her power will be ours." Sweetie didn't say anything. She wouldn't say anything to insult her old friend's logic... though with just one look into her yellow eyes, he knew what was wrong with what he'd said. "Come, my dear friend. Let's head over there now." Specter said. "I've got a few things I wanted to speak with you about." "Of course, Master," Sweetie said, following Specter through the door to the right of the staircase. "...I... noticed you didn't eat anything, Master Yield." Sweetie said. Specter shook his head. "No... that impact to the head must have destroyed those nerves. Reminds me of how fragile my body is nowadays." Specter explained. He chuckled. "I think the part of my brain that controlled my apatite caved in as a result. You on the other hand, ate several plates!" Sweetie smiled. "What can I say? The filly was starving, and I can't move around very well in a hungry body. I'm surprised how she managed to get so far with nothing more than a few pieces of candy and an apple slice." "I suppose the filly simply has that incredible will power." "Like you?" "... Spiffy." Specter said. "Hm?" Sweetie said. "The filly... she's still in there, correct?" "Naturally." Sweetie said. "But do you have control over her?" Specter asked. "Well... no, of course I don't. I wasn't gifted with the same power as you..." Sweetie said. "But Sweetie isn't getting out, I can assure you. I have her completely under my spell. Between her hypnotized spirit, and the chains I have her under, she isn't escaping." "But she has an incredible amount of willpower. Especially when sub-consciously reminded of Ms. Rarity." Specter said. "You witnessed it when she went up against the Portrait of Kindness. Or during the mind dives. She managed to resist or break free when even vaguely reminded of her sister. And even more, there are the Elements' cutie marks stuck to her spirit." "She can't escape..." Sweetie said calmly. "Even if she did break out of the dark realm I've imprisoned her in... I've got a new world she has no chance of escape. And with a mind like her's she'd barely last 20 minutes before succumbing to its charms. After all, no pony has ever escaped possession by themselves, or with sheer willpower. Especially from me." "Except me," Specter said. "And I'll never understand how..." Sweetie said. "If you’re careless, you just might find out tonight then." *** After hiding in one of the bedrooms for Celestia knew how long, Busby was finally feeling brave enough to venture back out into the hallway. The ghost that was chasing him earlier was likely gone by now. The laughter was gone and the intensity of the chill had left a while ago. Still, it took some true willpower for the stallion to force himself out from under the bed he'd stuffed himself and over to the door. As he got back onto his leg, the consequence of his panicked run became evident. The pressure he'd put on his leg the entire run, and was suppressed by the adrenaline rush, stung him, and made walking near impossible. The only thing that managed to numb the pain somewhat was his own racing mind. W-what the hay was that thing? A ghost? Busby thought. This must be one of those haunted mansions I read about! B-but I thought they only fiction! They aren't real! Ghosts aren't real! Once Busby reached the door, he put his ear to the door he'd slammed shut on during his escape. He didn't hear anything outside... it was clear. Busby clenched his teeth together to stop them from chattering nervously and shakily put his hoof to the doorknob. He turned the knob and opened the door, and entered the hallway. O-ok... that window... m-maybe I can get out through there? Busby thought optimistically, looking out at the end of the hallway. There, he saw the window, and the only light source of the hallway. With his objective set, he set forth to head to the window. As he did, he nervously looked around, expecting some ghost to pop out at him to scare him, grab him, or do some other unspeakable act. He'd already felt the lash of the licker ghost he'd encountered and wasn't looking forward to a second one... or something worse. Thankfully, nothing jumped out at the stallion. He made it to the window safe and sound... but something was terribly wrong. As he looked out the window, it didn't look like he was 2 stories up... it looked more like he was about 7 or 8 stories up, as the trees on the ground looked incredibly minuscule. It didn't make sense, he'd only gone up one flight of stairs. How in the hay did he get so high without realizing? Though one thing was for sure, unless he had an extremely long rope, he wasn't going anywhere through there... at least not without wings, or breaking his neck. Busby put his head to the window in disappointment. Hay of a first day. I thought guards didn't see any action? Ghosts... haunted mansions... traps... what's next? Suddenly, something in Busby's gut told him to duck suddenly. He wasn't sure if it was an instinct, the paranoia, or the sound of slicing air at his right ear. He just ducked, barely dodging a swinging sword. "Gah! What the-" Busby swung around to find Paita, armed with her sword. "Busby?" Paita said through her sword. "Luna, Paita! You almost took my head off!" "Hmph," she said looking off to the side. "It's not like anything's in there anyway." "Paita, listen. Something's seriously wrong with this mansion. It's-" "A giant trap of nonsensical, dark hallways?" "...I was going to say haunted by ghosts, but that's a little new." "Ghosts?" Paita said raising an eyebrow. "You sure that brain damage of yours isn't making you see things? There's-" "No such thing, I know, I know," Busby said shaking his head. "But they're here, and they're dangerous as hay." Busby looked at the sword in her muzzle. "And I doubt swinging that thing at every living thing you see is going to help survive them." "I'll be the judge of that," Paita said, crossing her eyebrows. "Besides. I thought you were that Specter character." A guard in golden armor looks like that old stallion? Yeah, I'm not sure if I'm the one with brain damage lady. Busby thought. "What happened to every pony else?" "... I don't know." Paita said, looking down. "I... I think they might be dead." D-dead? Busby thought. "Y-you’re not serious, are you?" Paita shook her head, regaining her composure. "I'm not sure. They followed Specter somewhere, and I haven't seen them since. I was only lucky enough not to have been taken wherever they were..." "Paita, look," Busby said. "I'm going to be honest. You don't like me, and I can accept that. But if we're going to survive and stop whatever the hay is going on here, we need to work together." Paita scoffed. "Me? Work with you? Ha! I can brave this mansion on my own." "No you can't," Busby said flatly. "No pony can. Not without some help. Those things... you can't touch them. Especially not with a blade like yours. At least, I doubt it. The only way we're going to have any chance at survival is if we watch each other's backs." "Hmph." Paita said, looking away from Busby. "You said you'd at least try and respect me if I was right about the mansion. So pay up. Just have my back until we get out of here. You watch my flank, I'll watch yours." Paita raised an eyebrow. "... If I catch you actually staring at my-" "It was a figure of speech, geez." Busby moaned. "Ok... so what do you think the next course of action should be?" "... something tells me this is a job for the elements. Whenever things stir up like this in Equestria, those artifacts always seem to be somewhat important." "So we need to find them then?" Busby asked. Paita nodded. "Do you know where they might be?" "Hm... the last pony I gave it to was... uh oh." "Let me guess. One of your guards?" "Yeah. Waite." Busby said sheepishly. "Said I didn't need the extra pressure on my leg." Paita rolled her eyes. "Great. We've lost the elements." "Hold your horses, I don't think it's totally lost." Busby said. "I mean... dead or not... hopefully not, Waite's got to be somewhere. If he is, he'll have the elements... at least he'll be a lead to them anyway." "Alright. We'd better get looking for them." Paita said. "But first, we've got to figure out how to get off of this floor," Busby said. "... you can't fly yet, can you?" Paita looked at her wings and extended them awkwardly. "No. They're still not working right." "Then I guess our only option is to wander the floor until we find the exit. Maybe some kind of staircase" Busby sighed. "You ready?" "More than I'll ever be Buster." Paita sighed back. With that, the two nervous guards began walking through the maze-like hallway... *** Specter stopped in front of his study. Sweetie did the same. "Master Yield?" Sweetie asked. "Is there something the matter?" Specter didn't look back at Sweetie, but merely stared at the door to his study. "No... nothing's the matter." "Are you sure? You do seem troubled." "Maybe a bit... but not for reasons you aren't already aware of in any case." "... is there anything I can do for you?" "No, Spiffy. Nothing you can do for me now... I just need some time in my study is all. Alone." Specter explained. "I will join you later once the gears have begun turning. I'll need to be present for once we have broken Celestia's willpower. Besides... it's been a while since I've observed a good... incentiv-isor." "Only this time, you'll be on the other side of the spectrum hm?" Sweetie asked. "Hopefully," Specter said. "...but, there's one thing I want to ask of you." "But of course." Sweetie said. "I want you to... do you remember that little yellow filly? The friend of the orange one and Sweetie?" "Yes, I believe her name is Applebloom. What about her?" Sweetie asked. "Especially her... if she appears to be any type of problem... I want you to finish her." "M-master Yield?" Sweetie asked. "I never knew you to deliberately ask for me to... end a life." "Why? You act as though you're beyond that." "No, no. Of course I can but... is there any reason in particular? I-If I may be so curious to ask." Sweetie said. "... the rules have changed." Specter said. "Because Ms. Applebloom... of every pony she's come face to face has had some of the most mental impact on the filly... she must be the one. The same rules apply for every pony else of course... but especially her." Sweetie wanted to investigate further on Specter's strange request, though she wasn't used to delving deeper than needed into the issues of Specter's plans. He always had a reason... and Sweetie knew it was more complicated than the simple rules of the game. There was something else going on. Some mediator he wasn't thinking of. Not that it mattered. She trusted Specter with all her heart. Or at least, she didn't have much choice. Those were the rules. Sweetie nodded. "Of course. If it comes to it, it shall be done." Sweetie said. Specter entered his study, leaving the filly to head to the tea room. If it comes to it... Applebloom will die... *** Mmmm.... my head... Sweetie thought. Do not worry little filly. You're safe here... I... I am? Sweetie asked. Of course... I would never lie to you. In the darkness, the voice was comforting to the filly. It was pleasant, calm, and hypnotic. Could it have been Rarity? Was that why she had the instinct to trust it so? She couldn't think straight. The only thing she could think about was how serene the voice sounded. Sweetie believed the voice... but something told her she shouldn't have. Shh... you can trust me. Just trust me, and every pony will be fine... just relax... Something sparked in Sweetie. Her friends... Rarity... weren't they in danger? Yeah! They were! Why was she lying in darkness when her friends were in trouble?! Sweetie Belle... shh... it was all a dream. Your friends are safe... it's fine... relax... Was the voice right? Was it all just a dream? Just a big nightmare? No... no, no no no no. It wasn't a dream. It was too vivid to be a dream. It wasn't a dream... it wasn't even as pleasant as a nightmare. It was real. "Stop..." Sweetie mumbled. Sleep Sweetie Belle... Sleep... "Stop... no... Rarity..." Sweetie said again. It's fine... relax... "Stop... Stop! STOP!" Sweetie yelled. Becoming more conscious of herself and her surroundings she started trashing around. She was chained down to something. It's fine... relax Sweetie... Something got on top of Sweetie. It hugged around her abdomen. Sweetie looked up, to find it was Rarity, smiling sweetly. Sweetie, however, wasn't naive enough to see it as the loving sister she knew. She saw in her eyes death... "You’re NOT MY SISTER!" It's fine Sweetie Belle... it's just a dream... Dream... Sweetie thought. "No! You WON'T TRICK ME AGAIN!" Sweetie said, trashing even more violently to get free of the mare and her bonds. It's a dream... it can't be real. Sweetie thought. "It's not! I won't believe it!" Sweetie yelled. It was as though Sweetie was having a battle with herself. One part of her knew that the world she was in wasn't real, and another wanted to truly believe the dark fantasy she was in. It's fine... relax... it's fine... relax... "NOOO!" Sweetie yelled. The cutie marks on her body started to glow white, and suddenly, there was a giant explosion of light, throwing Rarity off of the filly and destroying her bonds. She was free. Sweetie scrambled up and ran through the darkness. She saw a light at the end of the dark tunnel she was in. She was almost there... almost there... Finally, the filly broke light and hit the dirt. "Oof!" Sweetie said as her mouth was suddenly filled with dirt. "Mmm..." she groaned getting up on her feet... though once she looked up, she found herself not in the mansion or Ponyville... but it was definitely somewhere familiar. Something about the trail she stood on that felt like she lived there, yet it felt completely foreign. Where am I?
