Sweetie's Mansion

by Moon Shooter

Chapter 24: The Faker in the Fabric Factory (Part 1)

It was time for Celestia to make her move.

And no. Even after nearly an hour of pondering it, she still did not approve of Sweetie's plan. Even though in concept, the idea made sense, Sweetie was still playing right into Specter's hooves. (laugh! everything's funny!)Though what could she do at the time? It wasn't like she could convince Sweetie to not play into his hooves in a timely manner. Staying in that one spot of the mansion for too long, likely while trying to fight and detain her non-lethally would have attracted even more attention to her free will. In a way, Sweetie used the situation so Celestia couldn't do anything but accept and follow through with the plan.

It was embarrassing enough the two thousand-year-old alicorn had been forced to listen to a disrespectful school-age pony. The fact that she didn't approve of the plan in the first place didn't exactly help either.

Still, the most she could do then was follow through on her end, and hope that it would work. It would have been pointless to rush directly after Specter if everyone else wasn't already safe.

It had already been over half an hour since she spoke with the three fillies. She wandered an extra (creep! be scary!) fifteen minutes to make sure that Sweetie was in whatever position she needed to get to. She supposed it was fine enough to go along with the plan, as in either case this gave her ample time to finish charging the spell in her ghostly horn she would use to defeat Specter.

It was a one-shot, complex binding spell with a magical architecture designed so once it was cast, it could not be reversed. Sure she had plenty of other spells in her mental arsenal, and would probably have plenty of magic after the spell was cast. Still, she had to plan to beat him (kill! make more!) as quickly and efficiently as possible for if he knew he was in danger before she actually won, Specter might find a way to weigh down his control over her and she would lose her chance.

She reviewed the effects of the spell in her head. Once the concentrated binding field was cast, Specter would start by losing all ability to reproduce magic outside of his own supply. Theoretically, as the spell grew, it would leach out and scatter his remaining magical energy and leave him as powerless as an earth pony. Perhaps even less as by the end of about five to ten minutes, he would be sucked dry.

With the situation as it was, Celestia didn't see as much value in Sweetie's plan with all of the conditions it entailed. The plan wasn't what she needed, but rather for Specter to be as isolated as possible. She might have tried sooner, however the spell was designed to be unstable and to work quickly. Doing so around the Elements or anyone else for that matter could have potentially diluted the effects of the spell. Not to mention that the spell took a great deal of effort to create in the small time it took to create it. In one confrontation, she would need it to work immediately or she wouldn’t have time to create it again.

Now, she could sense Specter somewhere deep in the bowls (possess! the world is your body!) of the mansion, doing something with only a few ghosts patrolling in his area. Whatever Specter had put inside of her had attached the two of them on a nearly telepathic level. In turn, his influence was always being imposed on her body. Aside from the laughter, she seemed to be able to resist it. Though, as the minutes rolled by, it became harder and harder to do so.

Of course, she knew what Specter had put in her. Even the mansion didn't have everything new under the sun, as she recognized the artifact to be a greatly strengthened version of "Mother's Influence". A commercial rune used to keep tabs on children to train "good little fillies and gentlecolts" around a thousand years ago. Of course shortly after they sold, they were banned due to its general magical instability, as well as the numerous moral cases of not only controlling the young, but the psychological effects on even adult ponies.

The fact that Specter had one of these as well as the materials necessary to create candy hearts she had seen served only to reminded her how old and rich Specter was.

Regardless, by knowing what it was, she knew how to counteract its effects enough to fake her own location and actions when need be. If she approached him correctly, the stallion wouldn't see her coming.

A map of the mansion's basic design was also imposed into her mind, making traversing the mansion very simple. She knew where to find Specter and how to get there in minutes. She was ready to face the final confrontation with Specter.

This horrible night was almost over.

(Ha ha ha ha ha!)

Once she was sure she had convinced Specter that she was patrolling the kitchen area, she flew down the nearest hallway. As a ghost, she didn't need explicit numbers or directions, as her sense of direction was now based on instinct. The doors, the halls, and the staircases that she traversed all seemed to also have little lines leading her right to wherever (smile! grin wider! wider!) she thought of going. Just by following them, she would eventually meet the location she imagined.

She of course knew of mental and physical locator spells that could duplicate this effect, but she couldn't help being astounded at this sight she obtained as a ghost. With most spells, a physical object, representation of the location, or the visitation of the place in the past was necessary. To only function on thought alone (be crazy! be insane!) she couldn't help finding intriguing. Then again, experience told her that this was anything but a normal mansion. Perhaps the vision was only attributed to the manor and nothing more.

Celestia pondered this and more as the few minutes of flying seemed to pass by in slow motion. She wasn't scared. Of course she wasn't scared, she couldn't afford to be. She was the princess of a now potentially endangered land. She had to focus on how the plan would work. She felt in control enough where even if Specter tried to control her before she could cast the spell, she would have just enough willpower to bind him and eventually free herself.

Her plan's biggest hole was if Specter somehow knew of her encounter with Sweetie.

She shook her head. If Specter knew, then she'd feel his influence, the voices in her head telling her (don't think! grin! laugh! kill!) the values of an insane ghost's mind, crank up to impossible volumes. She would surely be pulled into the mind of a ghost in a matter of moments. But she still had her free will. She still had control. So long as voices remained at the level they were, they only served as an annoyance.

She was getting close.

(Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!)

Specter...

What were his motives? She was sure that his intentions were anything but good, but his motives were still even more of a mystery. What could they have been, she wondered.

So far, she had assumed that his intentions were to revive Discord and create an Eclipse. The former making less sense than the latter.

Surely, in whatever time period he was born or lived, he would have learned the true insanity of Discord, if reviving him from his stone prison back was indeed his plan.

If he was also trying to make an eclipse (something Celestia was fairly certain of) at least that held some personal gain. Gaining specific control of Luna and herself meant having control of the moon, the sun, and in turn a collection of celestial magicks including the Eclipse, the most malicious and life-changing of spells.

Though, what he would cast was still open for debate. Eclipses could do anything between casting spells to effect the world as a whole to potentially opening portals to neighboring dimensions.

Though she hadn't tried it yet, it was written in legend that a pony, a phantasmic beast even more powerful than herself, could potentially open up a portal to heaven when the sun and moon aligned.

And then there was Sweetie and the horror he'd forced her to endure. Pointless horror...

Regardless, if Specter was trying to do something big, the eclipse made sense. But Discord didn't no matter how hard she tried to make him. It wasn't as though he could have been ignorant of Discord's chaotic and uncontrollable mind. It wasn't as though he worshiped him either. She recalled at one point finding a church in the mansion, suggesting he was once a worshiper of Celestia (something she held indifference for, knowing there were plenty of ponies living much farther from Canterlot who truly viewed the princess’ power as that of a god). Even if he changed, he couldn't have been ignorant to whom Discord really was . He had to know something of the royal hierarchy, and Discord's philosophy of an "imperfect" anarchic government. And the two results of him attempting enacting such a law on the world. Both in Ponyville and Canterlot.

A glimpse of his ideal world.

If Specter had the sense to set the traps it took to kill her and the elements, surely he had to know that involving himself even remotely around Discord would result in his demise. Right?

What are you trying to do, Specter Yield? she wondered.

Though whatever it was, she wouldn't let him do it. As she stood in front of a mirror in the mirrored hall, she sensed him somewhere on the other side of wherever it lead. Once she was through, it would only be a matter of time before everything would be over.

***

"Hey. Paita." Busby shook the mare to rouse her. "C'mon you, wake up."

Paita moaned. She felt like she had been run over by a taxi. Her armor felt heavier than normal, though she supposed that was just from her muscles still a beat behind her mind in her awakening. She looked up at Busby, who smiled a content smile to see that she was still alive. Paita didn't return the same kindness.

"Get off of me Buster." Though, instead of smacking him like she wanted to do, she ended up just waving him off as he took a step back. Once she was up, she blinked a few times to readjust her vision. When she looked around the room, she found that the candles along the walls and on every other table seemed to still be lit. They looked dimmer than she remembered, but it was still more comforting than only having the moonlight.

Or worse, total darkness.

"I think this belongs to you." Busby stated as he levitated Paita’s sword toward and then in front of her. Upon seeing it, she snatched it out of his telekinetic grasp. Busby's smile faltered. "Well, you're welcome."

"Who said you could touch my blade?" Paita snapped.

"They did." Busby pointed to the mares standing behind him. It looked like he had only just recently freed them from their bonds, as they were still stretching from being tied to one position for so long. At least Applejack was, while Fluttershy appeared to be examining the door and Twilight just stared up at the ceiling aimlessly.

Applejack was the first to notice that Paita was awake.

"Mornin' sunshine." Applejack said, as lightheartedly as she could. "Enjoy your nap?"

Paita didn't respond as she turned her attention back to Busby.

"Where's that filly?" Paita asked.

"I don't know," Busby shrugged. "I woke up just like you. I didn't want to ask anything that might... you know, bring up unpleasant memories until you were here."

"Idiot." Paita walked past.

"Wow, you're pissy when you wake up," Busby commented.

"I got my flank kicked by a little girl, of course I'm pissed," Paita hissed back.

"Hey, if it makes you feel better, so did I."

Paita ignored him as she walked around to Applejack. "Element of..." she started, before leaning to the side to see her flank.

Applejack blinked. "You know, if ya wanted a view, ya could just ask."

"No, it's just... what happened to your mark?" she asked, seriously puzzled now. "I can't tell which element you are."

"Beats us," Applejack shrugged. "But if it helps, ya don't need none of that professional stuff. Ya can call us by our names. Ahm-"

"Element of Honesty." Paita cut her off. "I remember your image from the windows in Canterlot's throne room."

"Ah said ya don't gotta-"

"Listen, as much as I'd like to chat, Element, this is a crisis and we need to move as fast as possible," Paita went on, completely ignoring Applejack. "If you don't know anything, just keep quiet while I gather information on the current situation. Got it?"

Applejack just blinked as Paita wandered over to Fluttershy. Busby then confronted Applejack.

"I am so, sorry," Busby said lowly so Paita couldn't hear. "But trust me, she's just as scared as everyone else here."

"Ah didn't get the impression, if I'll be honest." Applejack said. "She ain't always like this, is she?"

"Eh... you get used to it, I swear," Busby shrugged. "She's nice once you get to know her." He held out his hoof and smiled again. "Busby. Busby Sword."

Fluttershy was touching the closed slabs of metal when Paita approached her. She didn't seem to notice her yet.

"Element of Kind-" Paita asked.

"Eep!" Fluttershy jumped at the name. The high pitch of her voice managed to even make Paita jump back herself. Fluttershy's eyes relaxed when she saw it was just the mare. Even if she did look slightly sinister with that Nightguard armor, and those bright eyes of hers.

"S-sorry. I'm just a little jumpy after..." She trailed off.

Didn't notice, Paita thought sourly.

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves before speaking again in that soft tone of hers. "...how can I help you?”

"I'm trying to gather information." Paita said. "First, what happened to your cutie marks?"

Fluttershy looked to Applejack and then to Twilight before looking back at Paita. "Oh... I don't know. We don't know. We just... when we came back to life, they were gone!"

"Came back to life... you died?" Paita asked. She figured it sounded strange to ask such a question, but after seeing ghosts, and the princess as she was, it didn't seem as strange a question after all.

Unsurprisingly, Fluttershy nodded. "Sweetie saved us."

"Sweetie... that kid that led us into the mansion, and nearly got you all killed?" Paita asked.

"Oh no!" Fluttershy shook her head. "N-o that wasn't Sweetie, that was... a ghost possessing her."

"Possession." Paita laughed to herself. "This just keeps getting better and better."

"But she is better now!" Fluttershy assured. "She beat the ghost possessing her and... she left."

"Left?" Paita repeated. "How?"

Fluttershy nodded. "She um... used your sword to pry the door open and leave."

"Where did she go?"

"To get everyone that's missing," Twilight intruded, walking up to the two of them.

"Element of Magic." Paita acknowledged. She seemed to show a little more respect for Twilight, with the knowledge she was both of the princesses’ prized pupil. Moreover, with as much knowledge as she had and as many secret magical scrolls she had access to, surely she knew what was going on here more than anyone else.

"Sweetie Belle is Rarity's younger sister." Twilight said almost mechanically. "The Element of Generosity."

Twilight went on to recap the situation at hand from the beginning: how Sweetie had been using the GCD to capture them and bring them back to life, how she had technically died from taking Spiffy out of her body, how Specter had done something to Sweetie to revive her, and her reckless decision to go after Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow and Spike despite everything it suggested. By the end of her explanation, Applejack and Busby had joined the circle to listen in.

"Essentially,” Twilight sighed. "With Celestia out there, Sweetie doesn't have a chance. If Specter wants to kill her, he can do it whenever. And the fact that he hasn't, or us for that matter, well... that's something to worry about for all of our sake."

"So what you're saying is, because we're the only ones still alive right now, we can't make a move and not expect to be running along Specter's little game?" Paita concluded.

"Yes." Twilight nodded. She seemed expressionless, likely still depressed from Celestia's recent change.

There was a silence among them before Busby spoke up.

"Maybe not." Busby considered. The four mares looked at him. "I mean... think about it. They couldn't have expected us."

"What are you going on about Buster?" Paita asked. "Of course they expected us. They were waiting for us."

"Of course they were waiting for us!" Busby agreed, still sure of himself. "Eight of Equestria's royal ponies disappeared. Of course Specter knew some ponies would be after him before the night was through, but to me it sounds like everyone's been pretty specific to his plan. There's got to be at least a few hundred guards for both day and night, so there's no way he could have assumed that the six of us would have come along. Maybe the Wonderbolts, but we're just two unlucky ponies who got assigned to this place and managed to survive."

"Wrong." Twilight said. "Even if you two were random, it doesn't mean Specter can’t adapt. We all can agree that Sweetie, a totally random pony who just came here by sheer luck, or lack thereof, is central to Specter's plan. Who's to say he didn't pick a place in his model for a few guards?"

"We got lucky. I'm sure we did." Busby assured. "Because the others... if they're not still wandering around the mansion, I'm pretty sure they're... they're dead. And we're still alive. This place it's... it's like a giant game. Specter likes games and puzzles, he must! The mansion's filled with them! Solve a puzzle, get a prize of not getting your head chopped off. That's how it works here."

"So...?"

"So, survival is probably just another game to him. How long will our luck hold out?" Busby then made an exaggerated movement with his right hoof. "Take a spin and find out! But we're not apart of a plan, or a model or whatever. We're just bystanders, and with us, you might be able to break out too!"

"...ahm sorry, Busby." Applejack shook her head. "That don't seem right." Silently, the others agreed.

Deflated, he sighed. "Well we haven't done anything yet that could be apart of whatever he's doing. We've still got our marks, and our sanity. And if we stay here, aren't we just going to die anyway? He's betting on us staying put. These warm candles are probably here to encourage it. It can't hurt to try and go out to do something."

"...he's right." Fluttershy spoke up. "If we stay here, the lights are going to go out eventually and..."

"Exactly." Busby nodded. "Which is why we should go."

"And wander the mansion looking for what?" Paita asked. "You don't even know what we're going out for."

"I don't know. That Sweetie Belle?" Busby suggested. "She's probably not possessed, and could probably use our help. Or hay, find Specter? You caught him once, didn't you?"

"Well, we don't know where Sweetie went, exactly." Twilight said. "And even if we did know where to find Specter, walking right up to him hasn't proved to be the best plan."

"Alright... so the frontal assault won't work." Busby said. "...well maybe we should find a safe spot. Somewhere to hole up until something comes up. The princesses have been missing for at least 16 hours now, so it can't be impossible."

"It's... been that long?" Fluttershy asked.

"Probably longer." Paita added. "We're probably way past dawn by now. I imagine the country's panicking now that the sun hasn't come up yet. Maybe the whole world if the sun's just sitting somewhere in the sky."

There was a brief silence.

"Well... ah don't think we got a safe point anymore." Applejack went on. "We had a room that seemed ta work, but Specter shut it down."

"What room?"

"Safe room with hummin' walls and-"

"A machine and a few mirrors against the walls?" Busby finished.

"You were there?" Fluttershy asked.

"We fixed it." Busby said proudly. "At least the walls were humming when we left. If that place is safe, we should head there."

"...that room is down on an isolated floor." Twilight still didn't seem to be all for the plan. "Applejack and Fluttershy know better than either of us. Specter can turn that room on and off whenever he wants. It's a fishnet designed to lure us there, and kill us all in one fell swoop."

Busby narrowed his eyes. "And here's any different?"

"Why are you so insistent on doing anything?" Twilight asked, getting louder to the point even Applejack shrunk slightly. The bitterness showing in full. "We should stay here where we know it'll be safe. How do you know he didn't want you both to survive, and activate the safe room?"

"You're talking like we can't make a-"

"Because we can't make a move." Twilight said, her voice cracking slightly. She sighed. "I'm a mare of science, and I take things for certainty. And yes, all night has been about taking uncertain risks. But look where we are. My teacher's gone, and so are half of my friends and three little fillies are on a suicidal mission to fix something that wasn't designed to be fixed. We need to take what we know into account. I know that right now, this is the safest place we have. We can crack that door, stick to the center of the room away from any walls, and then we run if anyone or anything blows out the candles. We need to take what we know, and use it to survive as long as possible."

There was another silence. It seemed to be between Twilight and Busby now.

Then, Busby looked at Twilight as intensely as he knew how. "Do you know what I know?"

"What?"

"That you don't have a whole bunch of magic inside of you to use." Busby said. This caught everyone's attention as they looked at the stallion.

"...how do you know that?" Twilight asked.

Busby didn't answer.

Twilight took a few steps closer to him, until they were less than half a foot from touching each other's faces. "Who are you and how do you know that?"

"I'm..." Busby's eyes did not match his tone as he seemed to nervously stutter out the next few words, not expecting her to be so close. "I a-am a guard appointed to protect Princess Celestia, as well as Princess Luna and the Elements of Harmony. And... now, when you can't even protect yourself, that's just what I'm going to do."

Busby's horn glowed faintly for a moment as one of the tips of the candles lit up before going out.

"Hey!" Applejack said. "What the hay did you do that for?"

"We need to go back to the safe room. If we don't, somepony will die." Busby said.

"So you're going to turn out the lights if we don't do what you say?" Twilight glared at the stallion.

"Buster, what the hay are you-"

"Paita, you can hit me later, but right now, shut up." Busby snapped. She could tell that he was more afraid of what would happen than even what Paita would probably do to him. He believed what he said. So she humored him and stood down.

"You're bluffing. You wouldn't-"

Before Twilight could finish, Busby put out another candle followed by another one after that.

"Twilight Sparkle. Element of… whatever, I failed that part of the test. I am scared. Okay?" He went on, stressing every word. "I am very, very, very scared right now. And I do stupid things when I'm scared. So if you don't want me to do something really stupid, you're with us on this." Busby said as though Fluttershy, Applejack and Paita had already decided to side with him. “Because even if you won’t admit it, you’re wrong.”

There was another silence.

"Twilight, ah don't think he's bluffin'." Applejack said. "Ah know you don't want to but-'

"We're going to need your sword." Twilight cut her off. "And we're probably going to need even more force, and hope those doors even open wide enough for us to get through." What she decided against adding was "or for your sake, hope they don't".

"Alright. You guys open up the door then." Busby nodded, sighing in satisfaction. "Paita, could you give them your sword? I need to talk to you about something in private." To his surprise, she did so without remark.

"Ya sure keepin' secrets is good, right about now?"

"We're just going to talk about our next course of action once we're sure you're safe." Busby lied. "We've still have a job to do and we still need to figure out how to do it."

Applejack could tell he was lying but said nothing of it. Whether he was enemy or friend, she doubted it would be smart to voice her suspicions publicly. While the three of them began prying on the door, Paita and Busby walked over to the other side of the tea room, where Paita promptly kicked Busby in one of the forelegs.

"Ah." he moaned. "Why can't you pick one place to inflict pain on me? I was getting used to my face hurting."

"What the hay was that?" Paita asked harshly. "What was that stunt you just pulled?"

Busby straightened his face. "We needed to get out of here, and I'm sure if I didn't convince Twilight especially, neither Applejack nor Fluttershy would have agreed to go. Especially with what happened after they split up the last time. You didn't see it in their eyes?"

"But why?" Paita asked. "What was with that change?"

"I told you. Somepony will die if we stay here."

"And how did you know that? How did you know that Twilight didn't have any magic to reverse your little candle act?" Paita asked.

"You know exactly why." Busby said. He then got close to her and whispered. "These mares have nothing but bad experiences with ghosts. They'd trust us even less if they knew I was in contact with one. Let alone what she wanted us to do by whatever means necessary. Madame is the one who wanted us getting out of here. She says it's important we go somewhere else safe, now."

"No... to me it sounds like she's saying she just wants us to go outside." Paita said bitterly.

"Maybe." Busby said. "...but I trust her."

"Why?"

"I don't know." Busby said honestly. "I really don't know, but I don't just don’t think she's trying to trick us here. She... says she wants to show us something."

"Show us what? Damn it Buster what is she-"

Then Busby's eyes lit up as he looked at Paita. "She says that we might not be as defenseless as we think."

***

Applebloom had no idea how long she had been sobbing there on that cold floor in the dark. Even though it was pitch black, she swore her vision was still blurry from her tears in her eyes as she lie there. Alone and afraid, she felt a puddle of something around her head. In the blackness, she couldn't tell if it was blood or tears. Every so often she would hear giggles in the distance. Other times, she might hear a thud of something falling on metal.

But otherwise, with the sound of machinery gone now, the place was silent. She felt as though she were trapped there. Unable to move in a black nothingness. She was truly in a living purgatory as all she could do there was wait do die. Whether it would be by the hands of a ghost, or just by sheer malnutrition remained to be seen.

Or maybe it would be Sweetie, to come back to finish what she started.

The thought of Sweetie only made her sob harder. Sure, coupled with the fact that Scootaloo was likely dead she couldn't hold herself together knowing there was absolutely nothing she could do about it.

"WHERE IS SHE?!"

Especially now she didn't believe that she was her. It wasn't as though Applebloom didn't understand at least a part of what was wrong with her. The stress of the whole situation had been put on Sweetie's back for the entire night. She was the one who had saved her, Scootaloo, and the rest of her friends. Who knew what she had gone through, what kinds of things she saw, what kind of tortures she endured up to this point.

More than any pony, mare or filly, deserved to experience.

Sweetie had snapped, that much was clear. The magnitude of her mental instability finally broke through when she saw Applebloom strewn on the floor as she was introducing her hoof to Applebloom’s gut. Again and again, she realized that Sweetie's mind was ruined as she could no longer see her as her friend but as a thing. An element of the mansion, no doubt designed to make her fail in saving her sister, Rarity.

Only by some luck, perhaps a hallucination of the mansion that she must have heard-

"What are you both talking about, listen! That's Rarity!"

-somepony. Perhaps her sister, diving into her fragile mind somehow, that took attention off of her before she could really hurt her.

But then again, would it have mattered now? She was paralyzed and useless. Alone with nothing but her thoughts. To do nothing but cry.

And even then, those tears would run out eventually.

...

And quickly they did. She didn't know how much time had passed, but eventually, she lost the ability to cry. The tears dried on her face and made it, the only thing she swore she could move, feel sticky.

Then she saw it.

Once Applebloom's eyes were clear, she saw something in the distance. She didn't know how far it was, but she saw something faintly glow some distance away. It was certainly too small to be a ghost, and it didn't glow nearly bright enough. Surely it was something she would have only been able to spy if all of the lights were out.

Then it occurred to her what it might be. A candy heart perhaps? If it was, where did it come from? Did Sweetie drop it on her way out, or was it something Gilda had on her person? Something she had dropped when Sweetie stabbed her?

She didn't know, but if it was, she didn't care. She saw what it did to save Sweetie, perhaps it could fix her too?

Her mind was set. She had to get to it somehow.

Applebloom took a deep breath, and focused. Was she really completely paralyzed? She could breath, and her heart hadn't stopped. Maybe if she tried harder, she could move something. Anything that could get her closer to the little red dot in the darkness. She tried using her right leg.

"C'mon..." Applebloom groaned softly as she tried to feel the leg. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't feel it. It was as though it wasn't even there.

She then tried moving her left leg, the one that she assumed her body was on top of. She couldn't tell, she couldn't feel it either.

When she tried to move it, the results were just as fruitless. Applebloom felt a shudder in the stability of her own mentality, but there was still one other thing she wanted to try.

She could still move her neck and head, that much was certain. She'd also assumed her leg was weighed down by her body. Though she couldn't move forward with her head, she wondered if she could just roll herself over enough to get to use that leg. She turned her head and tried to move her head up and push her body over on her snout.

For the first time, there was nothing. She couldn't turn her body. At this point however, Applebloom was intent on her plan. It was all she had.

For the second time, however, when she turned her head, she didn't get her body to move, but she did get something much better. So much better. She felt that leg under the weight of her body. Without a moment of hesitation, she used the waking muscle to pull her leg out. Once it was, she felt a sharp shot of pain that caused her to cry out.

Funnily enough, she laughed once she did, as she had never in her life been happier to feel such intense pain. At least for the few seconds it lasted as once her leg was out, she couldn't feel it again.

Still, it was nothing short of a miracle for her.

This time however, Applebloom understood. When she turned her head, she must have given some kind of stray connection to the rest of her body. She knew what she had to do.

Applebloom turned her head again. She had to do so a few times before finally being able to feel her leg again. It hurt so much. Oh did it hurt. But Applebloom endured as she used her one usable leg to pull herself forward toward the candy heart. She didn't move her neck back, knowing she might not get so lucky again.

Still, she cried out in pain for every tug on her likely broken leg. She pulled herself further and further, feeling like she was only going inches every time the pain climaxed. It was so intense she was sure she would pass out, yet something kept her awake. She knew if she gave up at that point, something awful would happen to her friend.

She was sure that she was the only thing that could bring Sweetie back to reality.

It was a grueling amount of time. The time it took felt like hours, she was sure. The distance she traveled felt like it was getting smaller and smaller every tug she could.

But eventually, she made it, as her head hit something just as her face came in front of the candy heart. It held a warm glow that she swore she would have never felt again. She threw her head forward and stuck it in her mouth, before swallowing it whole. Momentarily, she thought she would choke on the candy, but it quickly melted and went down into her stomach.

Once again, in the darkness she lay for about a minute with nothing happening. No matter how much she rotated her head around, her leg wouldn't move. When she was sure the thing wasn't working, she felt something funny in the back of her neck. It was followed by a pressure in the same spot before transitioning into an intense shock of pain shooting throughout her spine.

The pain she was so happy to feel was quickly outstaying its welcome.

She didn't scream, however. She found she couldn't as her entire body was consumed in the same pain as so many bones and so many nerves were reconstructed and reconnected. For the three minutes it took for it to finish, Applebloom felt like 30 more had passed for each passing moment. Her ears seemed to almost ring with that pain, so intense that she could barely even scream. The clicks in her body felt so unnatural, for a moment, she swore that they were delocating more joints than the hearts were fixing.

Which is why she was more than relieved it was over when it finally stopped.

She laid there for another time, breathing deeply and tirelessly from the experience. Eventually, she got up. Her body hurt more than she wanted it to, and it seemed like the hearts even had their limits to what they could fix as Applebloom still couldn't feel certain parts of her body. Every move she made her skin feel tight as though bending a leg too far in the wrong direction would break her skin.

But she could move, and that was all that mattered.

However, the problem still remained that not only was she unsure of where Sweetie had gone, but she also had no light whatsoever to see with; Let alone protect herself from any ghosts that may have come after her. As she tried take a step forward, she felt something by one of her legs.

It couldn't be. Sweetie's flashlight? No, Applebloom was sure she had taken that with her. And quite frankly even if Sweetie did have any more candy hearts left, she doubted she would just leave it behind for her to pick up either. It had to have been GIlda's, she figured. If it was, this one might have still worked. To test the theory, she picked it up and turned it on. And to her relief, her eyes were blinded for a moment by a magnificent white light.

She shined the light around, and much to her own relief, the arena-like boiler room hadn't changed since the lights went out. Of course, it looked creepier and even more lifeless than before. Even the smoke had seemed to stop accumulating, as she noted that she didn't even hear anything burning in the tank Spike had blown up (something she appreciated as she probably would have choked to death by now). But at least it was familiar. She pointed her flashlight to where she remembered Sweetie had walked off to. When she did, she was horrified to see there was nothing but a wall. In fact, all around the room, the craters that had been there before were now nothing but indentations of the portals that were once there. Though, on this one in particular, it was so smooth and shiny, she could almost see her reflection in the wall.

She walked over to the one Sweetie had gone through and put her ear to the wall.

Nothing. No machines or Sweetie sounds.

She tried hitting it with a painful leg, with no results.

Either she was truly trapped in the room, or she wouldn't be able to go that way. She followed the same example for the other craters.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

There was absolutely nothing. This room was truly cut off from anything, and designed to leave anyone trapped in here to die. Defeated, Applebloom leaned against the wall, tired. The candy heart may have given her legs back, but they apparently hadn't given her any energy. With her remaining power, she just lied there and thought.

She couldn't accept there was no way out. She was still in the mansion, surely. Not some kind of limbo, or some alternate dimension, so there had to be some kind of structure that had an exit. Even if it wasn't designed to.

Or maybe it wasn't designed to be obvious.

She recalled Scootaloo, who she believed Sweetie when she said that she had just made a mistake. There was a way to get from point A to point B, but it was anything but conventional. There was a structure that led to this place, so there had to be a structure to lead out.

There had to be some kind of puzzle that led out. Otherwise, even Specter would find himself trapped, wouldn't he?

She considered what she had to work with. There were the tanks. Then there were the spear guns and lanterns on the second level. The tanks, she assumed didn't have anything, so her next best guess had to have been the lanterns on the second level. Once she found the energy to do so, Applebloom got up again and moved to one of the other tanks and jumped up as high as she could only to hit its face and fall back down onto her flank.

She moaned on the ground in pain, wishing she had Applejack's or Rainbow's mark to help her get higher.

Once she got up, she knew she would have to try much harder to get on top of the tank, and ultimately to the top level to investigate the tanks. With this, she got back as far as she could before running for the tank as fast as her drained body would take her. Before jumping for the tank again, this time, she attempted to scramble a slight wall climb to get slightly higher on the tank. Thankfully, she did manage to get over the edge. From there, it took another great deal of effort to get herself on top of the tank.

After another rest, she climbed up to the top. And then began working her way around to the lanterns to see if they did anything. To each of them, she twisted, touched, and pulled on them to no end. She went around to each lantern, and of course nothing happened.

She continued to think, considering everything she knew.

The wall blocking her way to Sweetie was shiny.

(Like a mirror.)

Something faint resurfaced in Applebloom's memory. A hall of mirrors, and the sound of it breaking over and over again. It was disconnected, but it still gave her an idea. She looked up at one of the lanterns and used the handle of the flashlight to break the lantern. After a few strikes, she heard the glass shatter, followed by the sound of something cracking in the room. She was honestly surprised that this unconventional idea was actually working.

She couldn't help but wonder why. Then again, to do that would mean to question a wealth of other things about the mansion that didn't make sense.

Assuming it was in turn breaking the barrier keeping her from Sweetie, Applebloom went around breaking each and every lantern she could find until finally-

CRASH!

Something broke down in the pitch black arena that made Applebloom jump and nearly fall off the side to break her neck again. She shined her light down and true enough, a large gaping hole was where she was. She almost thought it looked much less inviting than the crater that came before it. The leftover shards that hadn't completely broke made it resemble more of a mouth with jagged teeth than a crater that led into an even deeper tunnel.

Applebloom didn't want to go in there.

The same feeling she got before heading into the tunnels before came again. She did not like what she found here: a broken neck, and a broken friend. But something told her what she had found so far wouldn't even compare to what was at the end of that mouth, in the belly of the beast.

When she hopped down back to the first level, she found herself staring into the mouth for a few minutes. She was sure of it, she felt it in her bones that something awful was in there. Something of pain. Something of terror. Something of sadness. Something that would be worse than being left here, for dead, by her own fellow crusader.

But her fellow crusader was inside of that mouth, and she was in deep trouble. She was not mentally well. Not at all. Applebloom had no choice. She had to go inside and save Sweetie Belle before she did something drastic.

Something desperate.

So, careful not to cut herself on the shards of glass, Applebloom walked over and into the mouth she'd created, and Sweetie had gone into. As she made her way down, the flashlight did not flicker, but rather wavered in intensity. For some reason, this felt even more disconcerting than it flickering on and off on its own. As she went further, the sound of the machines were coming again. But there was something odd about them. Along with the sounds of clunking and occasionally whistling machinery, some had a particular rhythm as though they were rapping along something. There had to be hundreds, if not thousands of these types of machines as they had to have been the dominant type she was hearing.

Even more notably, was what she was walking on. The floor had become gradually softer as though something had started rising above it. It felt like satin, or silk, or something. She wasn't sure. Whatever it was, it did not try to engulf her or bind her down. It didn't even come up more than a millimeter off the ground, and yet it was still so soft. So warm. So smooth. Apart of Applebloom wanted to just lie down, even if just for a moment to cuddle up into whatever she was walking on and fall asleep.

It was truly difficult for her to resist. Because above all, this material felt familiar somehow. Not personally to her, but rather-

An opening. Applebloom spied a dimly lit opening and finally, she walked through.

And when she did, Applebloom nearly dropped her flashlight into the abyss below, as for when she looked into what had opened up, she wouldn't have believed anyone if they told her she was still in the mansion.

She had seen things, but this was wrong. Because where she stood was impossible to her more than anything else.

The sun appeared to be up, casting rays of dawn through the vents and windows along the metal walls. Something pulsed for a split second upon her entering. Something blanketing the walls and windows that Applebloom couldn't deny. Machines were haphazardly placed all over the place both outside and inside of the catwalk that seemed to stretch infinitely deeper into the area. They moved and functioned like any other machine should've, however they didn't appear to have any purpose. All they seemed to do was fill this place with the smell of heat and coal.

This factory.

Applebloom didn't bother looking behind her. She knew the way she'd come was probably gone. Or maybe she just didn't want the urge to just run from this place as fast as possible to get to her friend.

Because this was apparently the entrance to this place.

This factory.

For when Applebloom looked forward at the first set of bars along the catwalk she stood on, there was a sign as though to emphasize where she was now.

STABLETOWN COAL FACTORY, it said in big bold letters.

Property of G[Specter Yield]

KEEP OUT

Author's Note:

Special thanks to Justanotherbrony for editing this part of the chapter.

Comments

[Moon Shooter]

Okay, here's the deal:

The reason why this is chapter is tacked on with a Merge Chapter thing is because I want to put a fair attempt in making more "frequent" updates (yes, two to three weeks is the new "frequent" for me) and I'll be sort of chunking them, and merging the chapters into one big super chapter as I create more parts. You'll see what I mean, but I figure it'll be easier on the readers who are already here and know the plot up to this point, as well as for the editors in terms of editing and myself for more frequent self gratification to keep up with my own story.

I will say however that I'm going to attempt to have this chapter finished by Halloween, or attempt to have a special Halloween update that I can only hope you'll enjoy for... reasons .

[APB]

5037785
IT CONTINUES TO BE ALIVE!

[lunarstallion]

I love it.

[Razalon The Lizardman]

I'd say they've found Rarity's ghost's lair now.

[Jinex11]

WOW im just seeing these huge chapters i think i will be up for awhile

[DualSoul1423]

Well, well well.
I remember you. I checked this story for...
Shameless Self-Promotion Bureau I believe?
I'm happy to see you have found glory. I do believe I owe you an in-depth read.
Have a 'stache.

[Red Bomber]

Looks our protagonists has switched and the only heroes we can count on now to give everyone hope is Bubsy, Paita, and Applebloom. I hope Applebloom will bring Sweetie to her senses when she finds her and maybe even find Scootaloo on the way to her.

[Divine Path]

I...don't believe that pun in the chapter title was intentional.

I imagine the reunion will be painful. Well then! It seems Applebloom will be an occasional protagonist during the "merge chapters." Presumably, so will everyone else.
Including the missing Scootaloo.

Wandering lost still within these halls,
stumbling and faltering as another joy vanishes from sight,
within these halls;
so broken the light,
so foolish the hope,
it seems.

Dream further of a reality so near the past,
let the terror no longer consume you this cursed night.

Awaiting further releases.

[ExplorerofEquestria]

I'm beginning to suspect that that Specter's goal is time travel. It would explain why we've seen so many bits of his past and, let's say, the time he felt most alive. It would also explain why Madame is so quietly insistent that all of his irredeemable acts don't make him evil () - she thinks they'll all be undone in the new timeline, and has deluded herself into thinking that means they don't matter.

[Uzume Tennouboshi]

Well, Busby certainly grew a spine. And I'd say he has the right idea. Doing something your enemy doesn't expect, even if the reason they wouldn't expect it is because of how reckless it is, will leave them unsure of what you'll do next.

Nice to see Applebloom understands that Sweetie wasn't herself, and that anyone else in her horseshoes would have probably snapped just like she did. And it certainly was convenient that she found that candy heart just lying there.

[Arzoo]

It feels like the lengths gone to keep the mane 6 out of the spotlight are practically incoherent. She leaves them tied up but takes her two friends with her!? Obviously her sanity is suspect and bad decisions/logic make sense from her, but everyone agreed to her idiocy. Like she's generating a moron aura or something.

[Moon Shooter]

5183953 Fair enough. Eventually I'll go back and edit it out, but rest assured, I'll stop with doing choice chapters... in that fashion. We'll see if I stop completely in regards to the next update. Or at least after I get an opinion from my editor of the product I'll be producing. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what I was thinking at the time besides the obvious "Hur dur, remind everyone the story is alive by doing something I thought would be cool despite realizing it would be poorly executed."

5185355 Another thing I have to edit. I defend that coloring the text was a good idea, but I also agree that coloring it that particular shade of yellow to be an awful idea. That said, this was before I even knew there was a color coding option. But again, I hear you and agree.

5205764 I'm just responding to these as they come up, so bare with me. The idea was that they didn't exactly have a choice but to let her go. Again, they were tied up and without any ability to stop her. Not to mention that Applebloom and Scootaloo both had people out in the mansion that almost equated to Sweetie's Rarity. They would support them going out because
A) It's better for Sweetie to go in a group than alone again in her mental state.
B) They knew that so long as they were defenseless as they were, Sweetie would be the girl's best bet of remaining safe even in the hallways of the mansion just because she was the one with the GCD.
C) They were so mentally drained they would likely agree to anything.
Also, it's important Sweetie went out when she did, because if either Busby or Paita woke up, both of whom were unbound, she would likely never get another chance to go at her sister herself. Because I want you to keep in mind, for some reason she wants to go after her sister on her own. I won't say why, but to go into that territory, would mean spoiler zone you may or maynot even care about at this point.

Also, sorry I sound so defensive over this. I just woke up, gimme a break ;~;

5214992 Would it justify it if I said that I wrote about 200,000 of this garbage when I was an impatient 14 year old oppose to a impatient 17 year old?

5216944 I must not have written that she used the wall lantern's flame, opening the window to it and lighting the bomb that way. Oops.

[Alex Warlorn]

Do you have an ending planned?

[6flyer]

I gotta say, I really like this story, but these chapters are just so draining. It seems like nothing ever goes right for ANYBODY.

[Killerpokeball97]

*wipes a tear from my eye* Sweetie belle, what did Spector do to you?

This story is flawless, aside from a few spelling errors and a few plotholes. The character development you gave sweetie belle in this story just astounding, NOW she's gone and Applebloom has to find her, I REALLY hope she finds her because I don't think my heart can break anymore than it already is.

Heck this story was so great me and a friend made a RP out of it with our OWN OC's. I REALLY hope you will be updating alot now, I tend to get anxious and shaky. PLEASE tell me Spector is going to get what's coming to him in the end. I'm all for cutting the villain some slack but HIM? what he's doing is inexcusable!

It's mainly because of this story that Sweetie belle is my BEST pony it was ORIGINALLY Pinkie pie, but Sweetie belle just took the best spot.

[Wiriamuzu]

I think I'll go completely insane before Sweetie does if I gotta wait too long for new chapters!

[Black Hoof]

5531865
Last one was in october. At least it isn't several years of waiting like some other stories.

[Wiriamuzu]

5532298 I'll be here then... beating my head against a wall. And the last two chapters had so many cliffhangers that's its crazy!

[JustAnotherRandomFan]

Does Rarity come to her senses, or will she still be an idiot?

[Alex Warlorn]

Too bad this story seems frozen.

[Cracked Egg]

This is dead.

[Moon Shooter]

6336063 Not quite.

[Cracked Egg]

6791555

I hope not.

[KiKo4]

( finally catches up)
AW CLIIIIF HANGER ( like all the chapters, I coulnt stop reading