//------------------------------// // You Wake Up In a Room // Story: Tricks and Traps // by Samey90 //------------------------------// “Where am I? What am I doing here? Leave me alone!” “Shut up...” Scootaloo muttered, opening one eye. Her head was aching. Her joints were stiff and she realised that she’d probably spent a night lying on a cold floor. She couldn’t, however, recall why. The place she was in didn’t look like her home. She could hear some buzzing in her ears and any attempt to recall the past events was resulting in more pain. Scootaloo groaned. She looked around and, in a dim light, she saw a yellow filly, screaming and banging her hooves against a plastic wall. Gritting her teeth, Scootaloo got up on her hooves and walked to her. “What are you doing?” she asked. The filly gave her a brief look. Her large, purple eyes were wide open, but her pupils were narrow. “I... I’m scared...” she replied replied, trying to steady her breath. “Where are we?” “We’re at...” Scootaloo paused, looking around. The grayish walls and floor weren’t giving her any hints. There were some scratches on the wall next to the yellow filly, along with some inscription slightly above them. Scootaloo moved her face closer to it, but it didn’t help much. मृत्यु Scootaloo looked back at the filly. She had a feeling that she’d seen her before. The violet, braided mane seemed familiar, yet she couldn’t put her hoof on it. “Who are you?” “Boysenberry,” the filly replied, shuddering when her voice echoed through the corridor. “Did you write this?” Scootaloo asked, pointing at the inscription. “No,” Boysenberry replied. “Are those even letters?” “Listen, Boysenberry...” Scootaloo muttered, looking around. “I don’t know what it is and where we are, but I’m sure we’ll get out of here...” “Who’s there?” They jumped, startled, when they heard the voice, coming from the darker part of the room. “It’s me, Scootaloo... and Boysenberry,” Scootaloo replied. “Who are you?” “Scootaloo! It’s me, Pipsqueak. What’s going on?” “I have no idea!” Scootaloo heard Pipsqueak trotting to them. It quickly stopped, replaced by a muffled groan. “There’s somepony here!” Pipsqueak exclaimed. Scootaloo thought that she’d prefer him not doing this. Something about this place seemed off. For some reason, Scootaloo felt that it was better to be as quiet as possible. Feeling a chill running down her spine, Scootaloo trotted in the direction where she’d last heard Pipsqueak’s voice, but soon she also tripped. “What’s goin’ on?” a groggy yet familiar voice asked. “Apple Bloom?” Scootaloo asked. “What happened to us? Where are we?” “There’s somepony else here!” Boysenberry shouted. “It’s... It’s Diamond Tiara...” They heard a colt’s scream. Scootaloo froze, wondering how many ponies could be with them in that dimly-lit room. More and more voices were joining the chorus of frantic questions, screams, and chaotic conversations. Scootaloo sat with Apple Bloom and Boysenberry, who was still sweating, throwing nervous glances around. Soon, they were joined by Sweetie Belle, who yawned and scratched her mane. “Is it some prank?” she asked. “It looks like somepony locked us in some basement...” “Ah don’t like this prank,” Apple Bloom muttered. “How many of us are here anyway?” “Apple Bloom?” They heard another familiar voice behind them. “Babs?” Apple Bloom asked. “What are ya doin’ here?” “Stupid question, cuz...” Babs sighed. “Last thing I remember is sleepin’ in your room and now... What is this?” She looked at the ceiling, made of the same kind of old, grayish plastic as the walls. “Maybe it’s some army facility,” a fat, grey colt not far from them muttered. “A bunker or something...” “Maybe we were teleported here because it’s dangerous outside?” a grey pegasus filly whom Scootaloo recognised as Tornado Bolt asked. “Maybe dragons attacked Ponyville...” “Or maybe some villain foalnapped us!” a brown colt exclaimed. “Your sister will soon come to us, Sweetie...” “I hope so, Button...” Sweetie Belle said. “It’s scary in here...” She looked at the floor beneath her hooves. Scootaloo followed her gaze and saw another inscription there. मन लागिरहेको छ “Do you know what does it mean?” Scootaloo asked, pointing at it. The grey colt looked at it. “I’ve never heard of any language like that... Maybe those are some symbols?” As he said it, they heard some strange sound from behind the wall; like a droning buzz of some machinery. A cold wind ruffled their manes. Somewhere behind the wall, a screeching could be heard, like some rusty bearing coming back to life. Apple Bloom cleared her throat, trying to remain calm. “Okay... How many of us is here? Can y’all say your names?” “Truffle Shuffle,” the grey colt said. “Pipsqueak.” “Featherweight.” Scootaloo started to count. Except of them, Boysenberry, Button, Truffle Shuffle, Babs, Pipsqueak, and Featherweight, there were eleven more ponies in the room. Snips, Snails, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, Rumble, Zippoorwhill, Dinky Doo, Tootsie Flute, Shady Daze, Tornado Bolt, and Ruby Pinch. “Twenty,” Babs muttered and hid her face in her hooves. “Why’d somepony lock the twenty of us in here?” Nopony replied. The droning noise was now quieter, yet they could still hear it; or rather, they could sense it somewhere at the edge of their perception. “Okay,” Diamond Tiara said, standing in the middle of the group. “That’s not important now. We have to get out of here.” “But how?” Snips asked. “There’s no door in here…” “There has to be some exit…” Silver Spoon muttered. “Can’t you feel the wind?” Several ponies nodded. They looked in the direction of the air current and saw a small opening in the wall. Shady Daze approached it and leaned against the wall. He almost fell down when a panel moved, revealing a narrow, faintly-lit corridor. The wind became a bit weaker, but still it was enough to chill them to the bone. “Told you,” Silver Spoon said. “What if it’s a trap?” Tootsie Flute asked, watching the corridor unsurely. Unlike the room they were in, the walls were made of concrete rather than grayish plastic panels. At first they could find the source of light; Truffle Shuffle stepped forward and examined the nearby wall. It was covered in something that looked like soot and there were some holes in it, as if somepony banged their hooves against it a long time ago. Among those dents, they could still see remains of another inscription. छली प्रकाश “I don’t think it’s a trap,” Truffle Shuffle said. “It seems like some kind of a fluorescent lichen growing here...” “What if it’s poisonous?” Boysenberry asked, shuddering. “Oh, come on...” Ruby Pinch rolled her eyes. “It’s just a moss.” “Technically, it’s a lichen,” Truffle Shuffle corrected. Ruby Pinch glared at him angrily. “What’s the difference?” she spat. “It grows on walls. It shines. I ain’t need to know nothing more about it.” Babs approached her. “Chill out, kids. We have to go, not watch the local flora.” “You’re not gonna command me, mud pony...” Ruby paused when nine earth ponies glared at her angrily. “It’s funny, you know?” Diamond Tiara smirked. “I always thought your mother was a mud pony. At least judging by how often she lies in her own vomit... And I wonder... Where’s your dignified unicorn father?” Ruby’s face went red. “Fuck off,” she muttered, staring unblinkingly into Diamond Tiara’s eyes. “Oh, what a clever answer.” Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. “Truly, there’s unicorn’s blood in your veins...” Ruby darted forward only to be caught by Tornado Bolt and Zippoorwhill, who pulled her away from Silver Spoon. Babs watched the scene with a smug grin, her eyes half-closed. “Are ya done?” she asked. “Because I don’t wanna waste any more time here, with some ancient scribbles and you nutjobs.” “Exactly.” Apple Bloom stood beside her cousin. “The sooner we get outta here the better.” Everypony agreed. Tornado Bolt and Zippoorwhill released Ruby from their grasp. She glared at Silver Spoon angrily before Button Mash walked between them, parting them. The sound of their hoofsteps echoed through the corridor. Scootaloo looked around, but the walls everywhere looked the same; there wasn’t a single crack in the concrete that’d differ one wall from another. From time to time her eyes were finding something that looked like another inscription, but when she examined it, it was usually some play of light or a scratch on the wall. Soon, she stopped caring about them. After all, she couldn’t read them, even if she could find them. “Creepy,” Sweetie Belle muttered, shivering. “I hope Rarity is okay...” “Yeah,” Button Mash said, looking at the wall. “Mom is probably worried sick... By the way, you know what that reminds me of?” “If ya say that some game with monsters, Ah’ll buck ya to your mom and back,” Apple Bloom said. “This place is scary enough without ya tellin’ us about monsters...” “Hey, I didn’t say anything!” Button exclaimed. Several foals looked at him. “To think about it...” Zippoorwhill said. “Why do you all whisper?” Scootaloo looked at her, noticing that, while there were five pegasi in their group, Zippoorwhill was the only one to fly instead of walking. “I don’t know,” she replied. “I guess it’s because this place looks...” “Scary,” Dinky interrupted her. “The scribblings, the sounds, that moss...” “Lichen,” Truffle Shuffle muttered. Dinky ignored him. “I don’t like this light. And I want to see mommy again... I... I have a feeling like those walls were leaning towards us...” Boysenberry wept, shuddering. Dinky looked at her and saw that she sat on the ground, her eyes closed. “What’s going on?” “I... I’m afraid of...” Boysenberry’s whisper was barely audible. She cowered on the floor, resting her body against the wall. “Claustrophobia?” Truffle Shuffle shook his head. “We really need to get out of here. She can’t stay in that place...” “Yeah, and you talking about it will definitely help her,” Featherweight said with a sigh. He went to Boysenberry and helped her up. She opened her eyes and walked forward slowly like a sleepwalker, barely paying attention to her surroundings. “Anypony else’s gonna cry for their mommy?” Ruby asked. “Because I’m getting sick of it, you know...” “Nopony asks you for an opinion,” Sweetie Belle muttered. Ruby was about to say something nasty, when Tootsie Flute, who walked in the front of the group, suddenly stopped and raised her hoof, silencing them. “Y’know... I don’t wanna make it worse, but... Can ya be silent for a while?” Everypony stopped talking; some of them held their breaths. “Am I da only one who ‘ears dat?” Tootsie Flute asked. “It’s like a... heart...” Snips whispered, looking at the floor. “A really big heart...” Now they heard that too: a rhythmic beating somewhere deep below them, causing the floor to resonate slightly. There was also rustling of some fluid coming from the walls, as if there were pipes behind them. The sound wasn’t continuous; it was stopping and starting again in the same rhythm as the ominous heartbeat. Pipsqueak shuddered when he felt cold breeze ruffling his fur. The breeze ceased, but soon started again, coming from the opposite direction. Another pause, and the cold wind blown again from the same direction as before. “Is this corridor... breathing?” he asked. “I don’t think so.” Scootaloo’s voice was unnaturally high. “I mean... It’s our imagination... right?” “Twenty ponies imaginin’ the same thing?” Babs asked. “That’s not normal and remember that I live in Manehattan...” Snails looked at Babs as if he saw her for the first time in his life. “Exactly, why are you the only one here not from Ponyville?” “No idea,” Babs replied, glaring at Snails coldly. “I was visitin’ Apple Bloom... Maybe that’s why I’m here?” “Ya’re talkin’, da corridor’s still breafin’...” Tootsie Flute muttered. “I ain’t no gonna stay ‘ere any longer.” She trotted forward. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon followed her. Dinky and Featherweight were walking with Boysenberry who was still looking at the floor beneath her hooves, her face pale. Babs shrugged and trotted behind them, accompanied by Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Button Mash. Ruby Pinch sighed and went down the corridor next to Truffle Shuffle, who kept trying to talk to her. Zippoorwhill soon flew at the front of the group, this time in the company of Rumble and Tornado Bolt. Snips and Snails were the rearguard, with Pipsqueak and Shady Daze in front of them. They walked for a few hours, stopping from time to time to rest. It never lasted long; their hoofsteps were the only thing preventing them from thinking about the mysterious maze and the strange noises coming from behind the walls. During one of those stops, a sudden squeal, like the sound of a knife scratching the glass, caused them to run away from that place in a hurry. The narrow and tortuous corridor led them deeper underground. After a few turns, they completely lost orientation; none of them could say how to get back to the room with plastic walls, even though the road wasn’t complicated. Listening to the noises behind them, Scootaloo started to wonder if going back was even possible. The light was getting dimmer. Soon, the unicorns lit their horns. Motley hues of their magic were casting eerie shadows on the walls. Scootaloo looked at them and shuddered, not sure if they all belonged to ponies. She looked at her companions unsurely, but it seemed that no one was missing. She was not the only one. All the conversations died down. Only occasional whispers were breaking the silence. Pipsqueak was constantly looking behind, into the darkness. Even though nopony was saying anything, it was clear what they were thinking about. Who built that maze and why? How did they end up there? Tootsie Flute tripped and Diamond Tiara nearly bumped into her. Zippoorwhill landed next to them and rubbed her wings. Tornado Bolt and Rumble had given up flying long time ago. “I’m hungry,” Truffle Shuffle muttered. He sat on the ground, as close to the circle of a faint light of Ruby’s magic as possible. “Who’d think?” Silver Spoon said. “Next time I wake up in such a place I’ll remember to take some food with me...” She rubbed her grumbling stomach. “How do you think, how far we’re from the exit?” Tornado Bolt asked, massaging her stiff wing. “I hope we get out before we starve...” “I don’t think we’re going towards exit...” Truffle Shuffle said. Several ponies looked at him, their eyes wide. “Unless we’re high above the ground...” “What if we’re at the bottom of the sea?” Dinky asked. She couldn’t help but look into the darkness in front of them; the shadows were moving on the walls and she was sure it wasn’t all their shadows, or some flickering of the light of her horn. Something was there, watching them. “No way,” Apple Bloom replied. “It’s far too dry in here... And how’d they build it?” “With magic,” Shady Daze observed. “This place seems... alive.” Even though most of them had managed to tune the sinister heartbeat out, now they heard it again. The rustling behind the wall was even louder than before. There was some additional note to it; a faint echo of something elastic moving slightly up and down. It felt like the invisible pipes weren’t made of metal; the sound was almost organic. The foals walked closer to each other, trying to stay as far from the walls as it was possible. “Is somepony still walkin’?” Tootsie Flute asked. However, whatever was waddling down the corridor, it wasn’t a pony. The sound resembled wet duck feet walking on the concrete, in a rhythm different than any duck’s; the creature was bigger and probably had more than two legs. Suddenly the sound ceased, but soon started again, quickened and slowly dying down in the distance, before the sound of locking metal door, complete with a screech of iron rubbing against iron. “I’d rather not go there,” Sweetie Belle muttered. Button Mash nodded, barely visible in flickering light of Tootsie’s horn. Tootsie was the only one who was still able to maintain her magic, but it was clear that it couldn’t last long. “So, what are we gonna do now?” Ruby asked. “Sleep,” Babs commanded. “You and you.” She pointed at Rumble and Featherweight. “Ya will guard us for a few hours, then somepony will change ya.” She looked at the faces of sleepy, tired foals. “We all need some sleep.” “Yeah, and we won’t see that spider-duck thingy coming again...” Rumble muttered. “That’s why ya’ll stay awake,” Babs said, lying on the floor next to Apple Bloom. “In case of any ducks comin’ here, you’ll ask them what they want.” Tootsie Flute’s magic finally gave up and soon everything disappeared in darkness. Rumble looked in Featherweight’s general direction and sighed. “What did we get ourselves into?” he asked. “I don’t know,” Featherweight replied. “But I’d prefer to get out of here quickly...”