"What happened that day?" A question that has haunted the residents of Ponyville for months at this point...
It was the 28th of August, and the time was 18:09 PM. Applejack was cleaning up after her little sister Applebloom's birthday party. Applebloom had already gone back to their ranch with her Granny and her Brother, as she was feeling tired, though Applejack decided to stay and help her friends clean up the place. The place they had chosen to hold the party was owned by one of Applejack's friends, Pinkie Pie, who let them host the party there for free, as a "Friends Discount". It had everything a Pony could want for a party, from an arcade filled with the all newest games on the market, a large ballpit, filled with multicolored balls, and even a small stage for porformers to showcase their acts to the guests. There was also a second, much larger stage, but this one was covered by red curtains, with a sign on the front saying "Coming Soon!". She was just finishing tidying up the tables, when the Pink Pony herself, Pinkie Pie, walked in. She looked excited to see Applejack.
"Hey Applejack!" said Pinkie Pie, with a smile across her face.
"Oh hi Pinkie!" said Applejack, "What is it ya wanna talk 'bout?", she asked.
"It's about that project i'm working on!" Pinkie said, "I want you to come and see it!" she added.
"Ya mean, the one ya asked us permission for? The "Ponytronics" project or whatever you called it?" Applejack asked. She remembered that Pinkie had asked their permission to make characters based on herself and their other friends to entertain the customers of the establishment, She remembered being somewhat hesitant, but eventually allowed her to do it. She wondered if it had something to do with it.
"Yes! And i want you to take a look at it!", Pinkie said, excitedly.
"Well Pinkie, i'm kinda busy cleanin up the place..." Applejack replied looking at the few tables that still needed to be cleaned.
"Aww come on AJ, i promise it'll be quick!" Pinkie Pie said, with a dissapointed tone to her voice, "Pleeeeeease?", she pleaded with a somewhat exaggerated pouty face.
"Alright Pinkie, i'll come see your project." the Cowpony conceded. "Just please be quick about it..."
Pinkie Pie's face immediatly lit up with excitement "Great!" she loudly spoke. "Follow me, AJ! I'll show you were they are!"
Applejack followed Pinkie Pie into the hallway that led to the kitchen. On the right there was a wooden door that led to another hallway, which had an exit door at the end of it, and another wooden door to the left. This one had a sign on top labeled "Storage Room".
"They're inside this room, come on! Let's go in!" Pinkie said, unable to hold her excitement.
"Alright Pinkie, i got it.", Applejack replied.
Pinkie opened the door to let Applejack in, who entered first. Pinkie went in second, and closed the door behind her, the door shut with a noticeable "Click!" sound.
Little did the two of them know, the moment that they passed through that door, their lives would never be the same ever again...
"She fell for it... What a fool." a mysterious voice said to itself... "Now... where's that knife?"
One Year later
September had now come, and after a long search, they still could not find those 5 missing mares. After word got out that the Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle, had allegedly gone missing after exiting Pinkie's Fun Palace, along with four of her friends, a massive search party was organized. It started out small, just the Ponyville Police Department, but when they couldn't find anthing, they were forced to ask for backup from Celestia's Royal Guard, from Canterlot, and when they couldn't find anything either, they allowed volunteers to aid in the search. Even after that however, nothing could be found. Not a single shred of evidence, no clues, nothing, even after analyzing Security Footage. It was as if they disappeared into thin air. Eventually the search had to be called off, but that didn't stop other Ponies from looking for them. From trained professionals, to amateurs that were doing it to give closure to the families, and anypony in between. But again, no one could find anything.
September 1st, 10:05
Guarding Grape, 24 years old, was in his office looking at corkboard on the wall. On the corkboard, there were Missing Posters for the five missing mares, aswell as a photo of Pinkie's Fun Palace itself. They were pinned to the board, and connected with a red tape all leading to a Question Mark. For the past two days, he had been analyzing his notes on the case, trying to find some sort of answer as to what happened, but he ran into the same problem as everyone else.
"Ugh... Dammit!", He said to himself, frustrated. "Why is this case so difficult to solve?! I have studied the case for weeks now, but nothing seems to make sense! How could five Ponies disappear into thin air like this?! It's no wonder that even the Royal Guard, the most trained and specialized investigators in Equestria could solve this... This case is a litteral nightmare to wrap your head around!"
"*Sigh*", he sighed to himself, before exiting the office. "I need to take a break before i get another headache..."
After exiting the office, he went to his living room, where he sat down on his green-colored couch.
"Maybe reading the news could calm me down...", he said to himself, before taking a look at the Newspaper. He gazed at the Newspaper, looking at the news, nothing unusual there. That was, until he reached the Advertisements section, where an Ad caught his attention.
"Now Hiring! Pinkie's Fun Palace is looking for a new employee for the Nightguard Position! Employee must monitor the building from 12 AM to 6 AM. Call 1-555-PINKIEPIE to schedule a job interview today! Starting sallary is $100.00"
"Now Hiring?" Grape said, intrigued. "They're looking for a new security guard? "...Monitor the building from 12 AM to 6 AM...", hmmm... interesting..."
Suddenly, an idea came to his head. "Wait... Hold on...", he said, before grabbing the telephone on the small shelf on the side of his couch, and dialing the number.
"Hello?", he asked, "Is this Pinkie's Fun Palace? Yes? Good, I'd like to schedule a job interview. Yeah, for the night guard position... Alright, i'll be there at after lunch, Ok? Bye, see ya."
14:10 PM
Pinkie's Fun Palace wasn't very hard to miss. The hot pink building sticking out like a sore hoof. The inside of the building was also pink, though it was a much lighter, more pleasant shade. The inside was filled with customers of all ages. While most ponies, particularly the colts and fillies, simply came for the arcade, there were some ponies at the tables, either eating food such as pizzas and cakes, or simply talking to eachother. In the Manager's Office, Guarding Grape was conversing with Pinkie Pie, owner and manager of the establishment. She was taking a look at his Resume.
"So your resume says you worked as a security guard before, but eventually you were laid off because the store you worked at closed?"
"Yeah, that's right. Bankruptcy if i recall..." , Grape replied, looking to the side. So... Uhhh... Did i get the job? Cause i reeealy need it. I don't really have a lot to do...
At this remark, Pinkie raised an eyebrow. "Hmmmm...", she said, seeming to be in deep thought... "Sure! You can have the job!", she said, suddenly.
"Really? Uhh... Thanks!"
"Just sign this contract, and the job is yours.", she said, handing Grape a contract.
"Ok then.". Grape then signed his name in the contract. "So, uhhh... when can I start?"
"You can actually start today, Mr. Grape!", Pinkie said enthusiastically. "Your shift starts at 12 AM, so you have to be here at around 11:50 PM at the least."
"Got it! Well, I'll be going now!", Grape said, getting up from the armchair he was sitting in. "See ya Pinkie! Or should i say, Boss?"
"Heehee! See ya!"
Guarding Grape opened the door to the Manager's Office, and left, the door clicking behind him. As he left however, Pinkie started to sweat. The look of happiness in her face suddenly changing to one of pure fear and dread. He was here, and he wanted to talk...
"Did you tell him about our little secret? Be honest now..."
"No, no I didn't..."
"Good. Because you know what I'll do to you if you tell ANYONE about it. Do you?"
"Y-Yes... Please... Please don''t hurt me...", Pinkie said, feeling a shadowy hand slowly scratch her hair...
Oh... Don't worry, I won't hurt you, Miss Pie..., the mysterious voice said, reassuringly...
"Unless you don't do as i say..."