//------------------------------// // Just an Old Tale. Right? // Story: A Play // by Di-o-S //------------------------------// Getting off the train, you breathe in the fresh air of the cloudy day. The train was stuffy, and you are glad to feel the wind again. You turn back, looking at the conductor. He was an earthpony and he wore blue overalls splotched with coal dust, and a worn blue and white cap. "Could you wait here?" you ask, not wanting to walk the long way home. "If you think I'm going to wait here, for free, then I don't know what to tell you," the conductor responded biting his lip nervously. "Not that I'd stay here for any amount of bits, that is." "So, you believe all that stuff they tell you?" you ask chuckling. The conductor snorted, forgetting his fear. "No, but I believe in the wind. And while it flows true out there, it doesn't here. Take my word or don't: there's a bad air about this place, and I'm not going to be around to witness it!" and with that, he shut the door. In a few seconds, the train went speeding back to Canterlot. You give a sigh at the long walk home. "Ponies are too superstitious these days," you say, looking around for anything of interest. You notice the missing ambiance of the chirping birds and grumbling animals. It was silent enough to hear your hooves against the old weathered wood and the whispers of the wind. You survey the town before entering. "I can start at- what's the name of it again?" you pull an old map of Ponyville out from your saddlebags. Placing it on the ground, you look at it. After a minute or two of searching, you find it. "Ah, there you are, Sugar Cube Corner." Waypoint in mind you tuck the map neatly back into your saddlebags and start on your way. Your hooves echo on the faded, cracked cobblestone. The dreary buildings around you sigh as if they are holding an unseen weight. Suddenly, an unknown object bounced away with a clink. It hits a wall before stopping. Walking closer to it, you see that it's a badge of some sort; it glinted dully in the cloudy afternoon. You pick it up, momentarily forgetting the place you were going to. The badge was a dull golden color. Engraved on its surface is a pegasus, who had a determined look. Turning the strange badge around, you look for a mark of ownership. The backside, however, is blank, not a mark or scratch to be found. Taking out your notebook, you quickly jot down a sentence or two about the badge. Putting the badge, and notebook, in your saddlebags; you continue. As you turn a corner, you see it: Sugar Cube Corner. The building itself stood out. The walls were made up of lined dark wood with light wood filling them. The roof looked more akin to something you would find on a gingerbread house; painted a dark brown with circular outlines and light brown spots, surrounded by a curly white icing. If the paint wasn't chipped, you might have thought of Sugar Cube Corner as a nice place. A tower protruded from the middle, it had a cupcake at the top, with pink icing and three candles. The windows had cracks and dust on their once smooth, glossy surfaces. Flower beds sat to the left of the stairs, the flowers that they contain are withered. Despite the dread, you hold on to the belief the there is nothing here but you, yet doubt lurks behind that belief; eating away at it. Warily, you walk up to the door. The surface of the door was beaten, and the pink paint, nearly stripped from it. Opening the door, you enter, shutting it behind you. Tables and chairs are set aside for customers on the left and right sides of the room, a counter was in the middle near to the back wall, it contained treats of all kinds: colorful cupcakes, sugar cookies, and tiny chocolate cakes. A dusty piece of glass stood in front of the baked delights, not that they would taste good if you snagged one or two. Walking behind the counter reveals a cellar door, stairs leading to the upstairs, and a door to the kitchen. You try to open the nearest door first, the cellar door, but before you are able to pull it open, someone else pulls the door shut. A lock is slid into place. "Hello?" You ask. "Why did you lock the door?" you receive no answer besides the sound of somepony retreating down creaky wooden steps. Turning, you head toward the kitchen. The kitchen, admittedly, is nothing special; only untouched. Supplies were left set out near a stove, based on the empty cupcake tray you can guess what they were going to make. The cabinets only contained dust and expired food. The only place left to check was upstairs. The stairs groaned and shifted under your weight: they were old, but you hoped they wouldn't break. The stairs complained about every step you took, but they didn't collapse. Reaching the top you feel relieved; if only the mystery of Ponyville had been solved and written down as another piece of history. Oh well, you're here now, might as well continue. There are three doors in a small hallway, you pick the one furthest from the stairs with the mindset of working your way back. The door opens silently, and you are met with a child's room. Empty bookshelves were off to the right, and an open box labeled "toys" was next to it. The floor was carpeted, and the ceiling had stars that faintly glowed. The window was open and the dust around it seemed disturbed. Near the center of the room is a crib, big enough for two foals. Dust covered everything, and a strange air was about, it seemed sad; forlorn. You were about to leave when two voices spoke. "I don't think they understand yet," a fillies voice whispered. "It's alright, they still have time," a colt responded. "Yes, Act I hasn't ended just yet," the filly told the colt. "'Yet', but it will. The question is, will the time given be used to it's fullest?" With that, the two voices resided, leaving you in the silence. You stay your ground until your nerves are steeled enough to continue, ready to bolt at the slightest sound. The room remains silent, but you feel as if lidless eyes are watching. Leaving the room, you shakily shut the door behind you. Moving on to the next door you hope for better. Quickly opening the door, you enter. Sliding down against the door, you close your eyes, and rethink your decision about coming here. It's bliss, sitting there, unburdened and peaceful. Opening your eyes, you are met with blue irises that are uncomfortably close. Not knowing what to do, you freeze. The irises gradually back up revealing a pink mare: her mane and tail, while in another time might have been poofy, was now disheveled with hair sticking up at random. "Who..." You try to ask. The mare shushes you. "Shut up!" she hissed. "Their listening." Her eyes zipped around the room, scrutinizing every corner. There was a bed, a couple empty shelves, and a closet. Various types of clothes and party stuff were strewn about the floor, looking a little out of place. You oblige to the strange mares request and stay quiet. Turning around, she goes to her closet and starts to rummage through it. Finding what she was looking for, she walked back to you. Putting a strange hat on your head, that was made of metal and had wires poking out of it, she allowed you to talk: "You can talk now. But be quick! These won't work after a bit." She said with a similar hat on herself. Putting her strange antics to the side, you decide to finish your first question. "Who are you?" You ask, wanting to call her something other than "strange mare". "I'm Pinkie Pie, but you can call me just Pinkie if you want," Pinkie Pie said with a ghost of a smile. For a moment, you could see a glimpse of what Pinkie used to be: a very happy pony who had nothing but well-wishes for others, but it was merely an echo of a mare long gone. "Alright Pinkie, what happened here?" You ask curiously. Pinkie was startled by the nature of the question. "I told them. I did. I told them!" Pinkie Pie told me, her smile gone. "Crazy they called me! If only they had listened. Then they could have called me whatever they wanted as long as they were safe and happy. Happy, happy, happy, and far away from this place." "What are-" Before you could finish, Pinkie cuts you off. "'Far away'," Pinkie Pie whispered, looking up at you with wide eyes. " You! You're here now! You have to leave before you end up like them." "I. -Wait! -What are you...?" Pinkie cuts you off once more. "I can get you out, as long as they haven't noticed yet," Pinkie said, urgently pushing me out the door. No matter how many protests you give, Pinkie ignores them, forcing you out. "You don't understand!" Pinkie Pie shouted, frustration laced in her voice. "You have to leave! Now!" Immediately afterward, she put her hoof over her mouth and listened intently. "Okay that was close, but-" Pinkie Pie was interrupted by falling to the ground, for at first seemed like no reason until she started to slide backward. Advancing you attempt to stop the backward movement, but an unseen force pushes you back dangerously close to the stairs. "Leave! Don't try to save me! Go!" Pinkie Pie ordered. With brief hesitation, you run down the stairs, but before getting out of earshot, you hear Pinkie Pie shout after you. "Tell everypony to stay away. For their own sake!" Slamming the door behind you, you head toward the train station. The train itself wasn't there, but you could follow the tracks to Canterlot. The clip-clop of your hooves running on the cobblestone creates a harsh break in the silence. Looking from side to side, you see eyes peeking out from boarded up windows and cracks in doorways. Your pace increases as the train station came into sight, but no matter how fast you are or how much you wish to leave, the train station just seems to move further and further away. You feel dread because if Pinkie Pie spoke true, you were trapped here. Taking out your map you find the place you were going to visit next. The unnamed cloud house. The fastest way to get to it was straight through Ponyville, and with dread, you start walking back toward the place that Pinkie had told you to run from.