The two mares hug themselves closely to you, trying to find the source of the giggling. Dark shadows flicker just out of sight. Was that a breath on your neck? Or was it just the wind? Twilight lights her horn and tries to illuminate the room as the outline of a filly darts out of sight. She focuses her beam on where the intruder was, only to find a doll in its place. Fluttershy shakes, whimpering to herself, as you swear that doll just moved.
“Wanna play?”
A gentle breeze rustles the curtains as golden rays enter the window of your room. You open your eyes to take in the calm serenity of a new day. Today is a day that you decided to take to relax and enjoy yourself. Life wasn’t stressful for you in the quiet town of Ponyville, but it’s still important that you take time to relax and enjoy the little things. You had the day off from work, no plans, and could do virtually anything you wanted.
But, you probably shouldn’t practice your golf shots at the weather ponies again. You’re lucky you were let off with a warning.
Leaping out of bed, you hum a tune to yourself as you prepare yourself for the day. What in the world what you will fill your day with? You could spend the day reading a book or practicing an instrument. Of course, there was also that new recipe you wanted to try. In the evening you could head down to the Ponyville Pub and chat it up with some of the hardworking stallions. They have some of the best stories you've heard since you came to town. Getting information on what appealed to the mares didn't hurt either.
Now, let’s be clear for a second. You aren't attracted to the horses, but female companionship was a necessity in order to stay sane in this world. Lucky enough, you are surrounded with plenty of friends that care about you and are happy to spend time with.
Turning off the shower, you step out into the foggy bathroom and crack the door a little bit. After wiping off the glaze of condensation from the mirror, you rub the stubble on your chin. Grabbing your supplies, you lather your face with some shaving cream and try to remove the unsightly hair from your face.
“Well this won’t do…” you mutter to yourself.
The shaving cream and razors are by no means perfect, but-
"Ah! Shit."
Blood trickles down your neck.
"Great," you mutter to yourself.
What were you thinking of? Eh. Probably didn’t matter.
After you finish up, you put some strategic toilet paper squares on your battle wounds, you don the designer robe that Rarity gave you for your birthday. The material was top notch, she made it special just for you, and it fit perfectly. You didn't even care that it was neon pink with a floral pattern and baby bunnies. It’s manly as hell. Don’t judge.
What would breakfast be today? Cereal? Oatmeal? Actually, eggs and toast sounds marvelous. You’ve earned it! Today’s your day off. Plus, it's not often that you get to spoil yourself.
Once you get yourself to the kitchen you prep a cup of coffee and get out everything for your special breakfast. Looking outside your window, you look outside to see the pear tree you planted. It looks like it may have ripe fruit next week. Of course, you will have to trade a few of your treats for some of Applejack's signature creations, especially if you get some of those apple fritters. A trail of drool nearly escapes your mouth as you imagine the aroma and flavor of the treat.
Once you’re knee deep into preparing your breakfast, you hear a knock on your door.
"Come on in!" you call out. “The door’s open!”
Crime is nearly non-existent in Ponyville, so none of the houses came with locks. At least, not standard.
"Something sure smells good in here!" you hear from a familiar voice.
"Yep. Just making some breakfast, Twilight. Want some?"
"Yes, please! I haven't been able to eat anything since Celestia's letter this morning. I came here right away after I read it,” Twilight says.
Two sets of hoofsteps make their way towards your kitchen, causing you to turn your head.
"Um, could I have some too? That is, if it's not too much trouble," asks the meek tone of Twilight’s friend.
Fluttershy. Great. Of any of the ponies she could bring, it had to be the pony that had a massive crush on you. She’s a fine mare, really, but her constant attempts to be your marefriend were getting on your nerves after awhile. You wouldn't mind if she just came out with it and asked to go on a date, but her current methods were just...
"Uh. Yeah. It's no big deal. Lemme just get some more in my pan," you say, not wanting to turn down the sudden guests.
As you cook your meal, Twilight begins conversation about a new book she's been reading with Fluttershy. Some brand new romance novel about a stallion and a mare finding love on a train called, ‘One-Way Ticket.’ It sounds like a comfy enough premise, but you aren’t sure if it’s something you’d be picking up any time soon. Romance isn’t quite your thing.
Once breakfast is ready, you serve breakfast to your guests. You do your best not to notice that Fluttershy has been staring at you quietly and has only been giving polite nods.
“Here, girls. Have some breakfast,” you say.
“Thanks!” Twilight says with a smile.
“T-thank you. H-handsome,” Fluttershy whispers, struggling to get out the last word.
You hit her head lightly with yesterday's newspaper. She recoils as if she were bludgeoned with a sledgehammer.
"Bad. No," you say.
"What did I do?" she asks, giving you wide puppy dog eyes and her ears turned down.
"You know what you did."
You sit down to enjoy your breakfast with a cup of coffee. Twilight sets down her utensils and levitates a piece of parchment in the air, turning her attention to you.
"Anyway, on to business. My letter from the Princess was a new assignment and I wanted to see if you would join us."
"Oh?" you ask in curiosity. "What's the assignment?"
"I'm supposed to form a small team to explore an abandoned house where a young filly went missing. I wanted to see if you were interested in helping."
Abandoned house exploring? Heck. That could be fun. There might even be free stuff. That’s your favorite kind of stuff.
"Sure! Why not! It sounds pretty awesome."
"Fantastic! Then the three of us will leave right after breakfast."
You lean back in surprise, staring at Twilight.
"Fluttershy is going?" you ask questioningly, looking at the scaredy-cat pony. “Her? Seriously?”
"Oh, um. Well I'm sure that you will protect me if I get too scared," she says gently.
You give her a flat look, then return to talk to the only other adult in the room.
“Well, yes,” Twilight responds. “If there’s some sort of animal that’s causing something strange, I’d like to have Fluttershy around to negotiate.”
You sigh to yourself and shake your head.
“Well, I guess it can’t be helped. Let’s wrap this up and get outta here.”
After cleaning up, you team begins their journey outside of Ponyville. As you begin to approach the abandoned house, the trail fades into the surrounding matted pale grass. A few sickly trees blot the landscape, as you turn to Twilight.
“Twilight, we’ve been walking for hours now. How much further do we have to go?” you ask.
“I don’t think it’s too much farther. This place isn’t considered any town on the Equestrian map. So after awhile we just have to… well, look.”
The breeze was noticeably stronger out in the open land than it was in town. The wind blows past your ears as your embrace yourself for warmth, the air blowing gusts of sound into your ear. You look around, following behind the two mares. The rural landscape was a rare sight for you from the typical scenery of Ponyville or even the occasional Canterlot trip. For some reason, you thought that most of Equestria must be some form of town, forest, city or even a desert. But this place simply had… nothing. Not the sort of emptiness that implies there’s not much to look at, but rather, that you knew something was missing.
Most of the grass was dead or was simply overtaken by weeds. Despite being the spring, leaves fell from the trees in a solitary, final dance. An unstained wooden fence stands dilapidated and slumped. A graying carriage shows its exposure to the elements near the fence's gate, which swings with the breeze. And just off in the distance, as a two story wooden house.
Fluttershy shivers while Twilight digs her nose into her instructions.
"I think this is the place," she says.
"A-are you sure? Maybe w-we should head back. I think Angel needs feeding," Fluttershy says.
"In that case, let's just get this over with,” you say. “The sooner we are done, the sooner we can head home. I don’t like this place."
"Y-yes, my love," Fluttershy stutters.
"You just lost hand-holding privileges," you say, trying to inject some humor into the situation. You follow Twilight trying not to look at Fluttershy's shocked face.
"I-I had those?!" she says.
"It’s a plan then," asserts Twilight. “We get in, we get out. Done.”
As you move closer you have the chance to better inspect the house. It was much bigger than it looked in the distance. The house had two levels, and what it lacked in height and width, it made up in length. Most of the paint has been eaten by the elements, and the house has a noticeable slant to it. There was no way that this place could be structurally stable.
What few windows weren't boarded up, were broken with their curtains flowing smoothly outside. Very few were on the bottom level, and the open windows upstairs only revealed emptiness on the inside. The rocking chair on the porch creaked back and forth with the wind. The hairs stand on the back of your neck, and goosebumps begin to form on your arm.
Fluttershy's eyes shrink to the size of needles and collapses, whimpering a sound akin to the bleat of a goat. You pick her up like dirty laundry and nod to Twilight.
"I don't wanna go!" Fluttershy says.
"We will be done before you know it, Fluttershy,” Twilight says. “Let’s just go inside and check it out.” Twilight leaps up the front steps of the building and opens the door to the house. "Hello? Is anypony here?"
Not a single sound comes from inside. You and Fluttershy follow Twilight into the abandoned residence. The boarded windows do little to let light in to the dim room.
"Hello? Is anypony here?" Twilight reiterates.
"Oh, would you look at that! Nopony is here. I guess that means we can all just go home," Fluttershy says.
You drop the yellow pony on the ground and she shrieks.
"Not until we search the entire house. Let’s check under and inside everything," orders Twilight.
"Got it. I don't want to be in here any longer than I have to," you reply.
Blankets cover the assorted antique furniture in the room, which have grayed with dust and age. Pulling off each cover breathes to life a massive cloud of dust, which promptly covers the matching sets of their ancient brethren.
"Annie? Are you here? My name is Twilight! We’re here to help you!" Twilight calls out again.
The only reply is the sound of teeth chattering.
"Fluttershy, stop it. We might not hear if there’s a reply," You hiss to her.
She muzzles herself the best she can with her hooves. A thud comes from the back of the house. The three of you instantly look down the dark hallway. You glance to Twilight who’s doing her best to keep her ears turned up. She stays frozen in place as you turn to each of the mares. Looks like you are the leader now.
“Oooohh!!! Mister spooky ghooossstttt! Come ooouuuttttt!” you chant.
Twilight shakes her head and manages to recompose herself, but Fluttershy is hardily amused.
“Please don’t actually come out, mister ghost pony. Please,” she mutters.
An eerie silence fills the room as nothing responds. You move slowly toward the shadowy hallway. Ducking quickly, a caramic plate flies down the hallway towards your face. It narrowly misses your face, and crashes to the ground.
"Hey!" you grunt.
Silence is the only answer.
"Come out of there, or we are coming down there," you shout.
"Anon, don't be so forceful. You might scare them," Twilight says.
Another plate flies down the hallway. Stepping aside, it smashes against Fluttershy who has checked out of reality.
"I take that back," Twilight says.
"Just light up the hallway, please?" you mutter, frustrated. “Alright kid. Enough’s enough. It’s time to go home to Mom and Dad.”
Twilight charges her horn, and lights the hallway with a beam of light. The hallway is completely empty. There are two open rooms on the left, a closed room and a boarded up window on the right, as well as a closed room at the end of the hallway.
"Stay back. I'll go down," you whisper.
Twilight nods to you as you inch your way towards the hallway. Your gut clenches and the air is dry and has the distinct taste of mold and rot. Every step you take makes the wooden floor under you sends a creak through the house. The wind rips against the house from outside, whispering a waft of air with every few steps. As you approach the first open door on the left, you stop and look back at the girls. Fluttershy looks breathless, and Twilight is doing her best to keep her cool.
If you break, these girls are going to lose it. Stay strong.
You take a deep breath and move into the open room.
"Annie? Are you in here? We’re here to help."
A clouded window dimly lights the room and illuminates the many boxes lined along the walls. Some of them are wide open, with their contents scattered around the room. An open box of fine china sits near the door. Whoever threw those plates at you had to be in here.
"Alright. I don't wanna play hide-and-seek today. So, if you’re hiding, it’s time to come out."
You hear a faint giggle from behind you. Turning around, you find only boxes. You wipe a bead of cold sweat off your face and continue into the room. Checking the open boxes, they contained fairly normal things belongings such as books, children's toys, glassware and clothing. In fact, as you look over the contents, there seemed to be lots of different things for younger ponies in here.
"Hey, Twilight. What was this place used for before it was abandoned?” you call out.
"I'm pretty sure it used to be an orphanage, but I couldn't find the reason why it was closed."
You open another box to find it full of porcelain pony dolls.
Nope.
You quickly close the box and take a deep breath.
"Well, there isn't anything in here, Twilight. Lemme open a window for some light and I'll check the next room."
"Good idea! We will try to get some of these boards down out here."
Making your way to the window, you try to open the window and push as hard as you can. But, try as you might, brute force won't pry this one open. You wipe a little of the clouded window to see outside. The small amount of cleaning immediately makes a noticeable difference in the room's lighting. Looking outside at the bottom of the windowsill, you notice that the window was nailed shut from the outside.
Whoever closed this never wanted it to be opened. They must have used the whole box of nails. You slowly back away, and make your way to the hallway. Something brushes your leg, making you jump. A small ball bounces away from you and you hear another giggle from out in the hall.
"Did you girls hear that?" you call out.
"Hear what?" Fluttershy asks, concerned.
You pause, listening closely to the house around you, but the only sounds were the creaking of the house around you.
"Nothing, must have been my imagination."
Walking out into the hallway, you take one last look into the room. Wait, didn’t you close that doll box.
Forget it. No way that you are going back in there again.
Back in the hallway, you inch towards the closed door on the right. You put your hand on the doorknob and try to turn it. The knob resists your will as you grunt to yourself.
“Locked.”
An ear-splitting scream rings through the house. You sprint towards the girls. Fluttershy is pale and pointing towards you.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?"
Her eyes seem focused on something far away and words fail her.
"Fluttershy!"
You kneel down to her and hold your hand to her face. She's cold to the touch.
"I think we should get out of here. Something is wrong,” Twilight says.
"Don’t need to tell me twice."
You scoop up Fluttershy and head towards the open front door. The door slams shut in front of you and Twilight. There was no magic aura. The wind wasn't strong enough. The house groans from the sudden force.
Fluttershy quietly sobs to herself.
"No more... Please... No more. I just wanna go home."
You look to Twilight, who is staring wide eyed in disbelief. You put your hand on the handle, but the door won't open or budge. You set down Fluttershy and try to ram the door down. It only serves to make your shoulders hurt.
"Can your magic open it, Twilight?"
Her horn glows a bright violet as she closes her eyes and tries to concentrate.
“What’s up? What’s taking so long?” you ask.
"My magic isn't working on it and I can't teleport for some reason," she says desperately. "I-I don't understand why though. This has never happened before."
"I think we’re stuck. Unless we can get out of some of these windows, but one of them was nailed shut in the other room…. Most of them might be…”
You think to yourself about how to get out of this terrible place.
“I do remember seeing an open window on the way in. If I'm right, it should be towards the back of the house," Twilight suggests.
"Alright. Let’s find it and stick together," you suggest.
The three of you head back down the creaky hallway, illuminated by Twilight's magic. As you pass the locked door, Fluttershy pipes up.
"Um, D-Did you try this door?" she asks.
“Yeah, it was locked."
The sound of a squeaky door opening is heard from behind you. Fluttershy opened the door with ease, standing absolutely still.
“It… It was locked?” she asks.
You pat her head.
"I mean, uh. I totally forgot to open it. Nothing spooky there! Right?”
Opening the door she just opened, there appears to be a staircase to upstairs section of the house.
"Let's check this out when the lower floor is cleared," you suggest.
Moving down the hallway, you move to the next open door on the left. Edging into the room carefully, Twilight follows suit to illuminate the darkest room of the house so far. This room is a faded-yellowed pink, and is littered children's toys. Dolls and games line the walls which have patterns of rainbows and flowers drawn across them. A large, worn, circular rug fills most of the room.
Sitting on the center of the rug is a pale blue little filly with disheveled black hair. She's holding a teddy bear and staring directly at you with fear in her eyes. You get down on one knee to get on her eye level and slowly try to approach her. You try to put on the warmest voice possible.
"Hey there... What's your name?"
Her eyes dig deep into your soul and send a shiver down your spine.
"Do you want to go home?"
"Uhm." Twilight says, trying to form words.
The filly lifts her right hoof and points directly behind you. Curiosity gets the better of you, and you look over your left shoulder. All that’s behind you is the two girls.
"Who are you talking to?" Twilight asks.
Returning your gaze, all that remains in the middle of the room is the teddy bear. It's inside stuffing was ripped outside of it and scattered across the room. You stumble backwards. You hear another giggle from out in the hall.
"I.. I don't know."
"Are you feeling okay?" Fluttershy asks.
You take a deep breath, turn to the girls, and ask Twilight the question that has been on the tip of your tongue.
"Twilight... are there hauntings in Equestria?"
Twilight stutters, and then looks away, unsure of how to answer.
“That’s what I thought,” you mutter.
Fluttershy can't hold back the fear and tears anymore. You get down on the yellow pony's level.
"Fluttershy, I know this is really hard, but I'm going to need you to try and be strong for me. Okay?" You give her some ear scritches. “We’ll get through this. We just need find the window and climb out. So don’t panic."
Your calming words don't seem to be helping much, but her sobs begin to quiet. She meets your gaze with an exhausted look. Then she nods. You give her a warm smile then make your way to the boarded window and try your hardest to push the boards that were nailed from the outside. However you try, they won't budge.
"Can you do anything on these, Twilight?"
"Let me see what I can do,” she replies.
Her horn glows brightly and begins to light up the room more. You take a moment to look around the room while Twilight does her thing. There is a pile of stuffed animals that Fluttershy is looking at intently.
"I-I had a bunny doll... just like that one... when I was a filly."
You walk towards them and examine some of them. Many of them showed typical play wear, but most of them had their eyes ripped off. You dig deeper to the bottom of the pile of dolls when a sharp pain jolts into your hand. You lose your breath and fall to your knees.
"SHIT!"
Retracting your hand, blood flies across the room and drips to the floor. You see directly through a new hole in the middle of your palm, crimson red life dripping to the floor.
"What’s wrong? What happened!" inquires Twilight fearfully.
A puddle of blood stains the rug underneath you. Giggling rings through your head. The room spins around you.
Fluttershy shakes you.
“Get a hold of yourself!" she exclaims in a panic.
Then, everything returns to normal. Looking at your holeless hand, you’re now holding a small knife, covered in doll cotton. You drop the weapon as if it were on fire and back away from it slowly.
The two shocked mares slowly back away. The way they look at you, it's unclear what the reason for the fear in their eyes is. Is it due to the transpiring events? Or is it how the house treating you like the disemboweled toy in the center of the room.
It would be hard to blame them. What happened? Are these visions? Are you the only one having these visions? How are you going to know what’s real and what’s fake? You rub your hand where you felt yourself hemorrhage. The pain was so vivid and real. You felt your body being drained of energy and you felt cold from blood loss. How could something like that feel so… real?
Flexing your fingers, you move out to the hallway with Twilight and Fluttershy, whose gazes haven't left you.
"Are you sure you are okay?" Twilight asks you, watching you carefully.
Are you okay? Really? How long are you going to be able to keep all of the things that you were hearing and seeing quiet from them? The giggling that persistently followed you throughout the house, the young filly that was sitting in the middle of the room, and you still swear you closed that box of dolls. Nothing’s adding up. Not… to anything rational, that is.
It’s important to keep these mares calm and collected in this situation, but Twilight knows you well enough by now. She knows you’re hiding something from them. You’ll have to tell her eventually. Taking a deep breath of the cool, dry air you try to choose your words carefully. Turning your back to the girls, you face the room you were just in. In the center of the room, you see an outline etched in the small amount of faded light that comes from a window.
She lies on the floor where the teddy bear used to lay. The silence has a new friend. The sound of slow, uneven breathing.
"What’s that sound?" Twilight says.
"Shh." You put a finger up to the girls. "Do you see her?" you ask in a hushed tone.
"See what?" she returns in whisper.
"In the middle of that room, right now, there is... what looks like a little filly."
Her outline doesn't move nor change shape, but rather lies just beyond your recognition. Twilight takes two steps forward. Her outline disappears into the violet light. The sound of breathing fades into silence.
"I don't see anything..."
You sigh deeply.
"I've been seeing these young ponies scattered throughout the house ever since we arrived. I've been hearing them giggle at me whenever something weird has happened," you say.
Fluttershy slowly nods at you. Twilight stares at you worried, yet unsurprised. You remember your trip into the storage room and the ball that brushed up against you out of nowhere.
"I think... one of them even tried... to play with me."
Twilight nods.
"Fluttershy, what happened to you earlier?" Twilight asks.
Fluttershy looks at the worn floor.
"I-it was... h-horrible," she manages to stutter out.
You kneel down and stroke her mane. She looks up at you with a faint smile, and looks to Twilight, standing up straighter.
"There was this old mare." She pauses for a moment, to recollect all the details. "She was wearing a cooking apron and had... blood... all over it. She... pointed a knife at me... and told me... with a smile." Her voice begins to waiver, trying to recollect the traumatic event. A whimper escapes her mouth as her willpower begins to fade. "I'm first."
She looks into your eyes, her face filled with worry.
"We won't let that happen, Fluttershy," you say with the most convincing smile you can give.
"That’s right. Everything will be fine if we just stick together. Now let’s check the next room."
Straightening up, you turn to face the final door at the end of the hallway. You reach for the doorknob when the door opens itself slowly.
Slowly the new room begins to reveal itself to you, and it's full of bright beautiful sunshine flowing through the windows. Six desks sat in a grid on beautiful stained oak floors. Nopony was inside this room, but you hear voices in here. Footsteps are labored as you make this way into this warm, comfortable room.
Fresh flowers sit on a large desk in the middle of the room. A pitch-black chalkboard behind the desk explained how multiple digit multiplication worked. From the front of the room, you hear a soothing feminine voice speak.
"Now first class, you need to multiply the two right digits. So what is two times three?"
Filled with excited energy, you hear several young fillies add to chorus of beauty that surrounds you.
"Six!" the fillies announce to their teacher.
"Very good!"
You continue moving forward into the beautiful surroundings. The voice is bringing you one step closer to the source of peace and tranquility.
"What are you doing?" a voice calls out from far away, just out of ear shot.
Just a few more steps. Please. The petals of the fresh flowers waltz gracefully to the floor.
"Hey!"
The sun's rays begin to shift from a bright white to a dark violet.
"STOP!"
You freeze in your tracks, and blink. You stand at the edge of a massive gaping hole in the ground. All that lies at the bottom of this hole is unfathomable darkness. Just looking into it raises bile into your throat and your hair stands on end. Taking a few steps back, you appear to be in the center of the room that used to be a classroom.
Broken rusted desks were tossed about or shoved against walls, and the teacher's desk was nowhere to be seen. The once fine wood below was now curved, rough and splintered from age. Lying on the ground in scattered pieces all over the floor was the blackboard, and its original spot on the wall stood barren. The room was graced by the golden sunset that made its way through the open windows. The breeze from outside passed through this room with ease and blew the curtains from inside to outside.
"Sorry, Twilight," you mutter, trying to register your surroundings.
"Was it another... vision?" she asks.
"Yeah. This one was incredibly vivid."
After your initial shock, the contents of the room register in your brain. The open windows are in here, and the freedom that comes with them. The floor makes threatening cracks and pops as you walk across the fragile surface to the open windows. They seem to have just enough space to allow the three of you to climb out. With luck, you would be able to come back with someone more experienced in these matters. Or even better, never come back.
"Uhm," Fluttershy says, trying to get your attention.
You take a deep breath of fresh air to compose yourself. If it's keeping her calm, then might as well let her talk that way.
"I'm trying to get us out of here through these windows. What do you need?"
"Um... T-that's what she wants you to do," Fluttershy says.
You look at the yellow pegasus, who's pupils are needle sized, and focused on something behind you. Turning your head slowly, you try to see what Fluttershy sees. You turn to see nothing; only the emptiness of the room. Twilight turns her head between you too, confused why she is the only one who cannot see these phenomenons. Standing one foot from you is the only shot to reach Ponyville before night settles in.
You have to take this chance.
Slowly stepping forward to the window, its siren song calls to you. You slowly place your right hand on the bottom base of the window. Stopping, there is no reaction in the air around you and the window doesn't move.
"Please. Please stop..." Fluttershy says. “I don’t want you to get hurt…”
Slowly you move to place your other hand on the base of the window. Your senses are on edge, trying to sense anything around you. Then you feel it. A cold breath on your left hand. Recoiling your hands, you narrowly miss the window slam shut, spraying fine pieces of glass across the room. The rest of the windows slam shut in an orchestrated fashion and shoot their fragments across the floor. The golden light refracts onto the glass and projects into rainbow patters across the walls.
You give Twilight a hard stare.
"Well, it won't let us out," you mutter. “I’m not sure what I expected.”
Fluttershy begins to whimper. Twilight stands in place, thinking as hard as she could muster.
"There has got to be a way out of here,” the purple unicorn says.
"If the spirits know we find a way, they will probably just block it off."
You and Twilight reach the same conclusion at the same time.
"We have to release the spirits from the house to get out. Don't we?" you ask.
"It seems so," Twilight answers.
“Great. How do we even begin to do that?"
"Well... all the books I've ever read on haunting in Equestria were considered fiction. So… I don’t know."
"Great! Wonderful. Fucking fantastic." You run your hands through your hair in exasperation. "So we are stuck in here for forever."
"Well... there is one thing we could try. I just don't know if it will work," she says, looking to Flutteshy.
"We don't really have a choice. Let's hear it, bookworm."
She smiles at the dose of humor.
"We need to figure out why the spirit is here and cut the tie that binds her here. Once the ties are gone, then the spirit will be able to pass on to Tartarus."
"How do we find out what is keeping the spirit here?" Fluttershy asks.
"That... I'm not sure about,” Twilight says. “I suppose we have to explore the house and make an educated guess."
You pace the room, looking down at the fine bits of glass as the sun sinks further into the sky.
"Well, we better look upstairs then," you say. “We don’t have any time to waste.”
The three of you exit the room and move towards the stairs.
"So let's review. We established that this was an orphanage. We have seen a mean old mare, and at least one filly." Twilight begins to ascend the fragile, narrow stairs, while thinking aloud to herself. Fluttershy follows her, while you bring up the rear. You can't help but look over your shoulders, feeling a set of eyes on your back. "Then maybe the spirit of the old mare is holding the children back from passing on."
"Or the reverse," you add.
A group of giggles can be heard upstairs. Reaching the top of the stairs, there are four doors on the north side of the hallway without the stairs and two on the south side, where the stairs are. The stair-door is in the middle of the hallway with an even number of doors on both sides. Moving into the right side of the hallway, you move to the source of the giggling. Looking to your companions, you nod at them, and open the door slowly.
Slowly peeking in, you see six young fillies quickly float to six little beds and disappear. You open the door fully, and slowly enter the room.
"Hello? Is anyone here?" you ask.
The room doesn't move, but you feel several sets of eyes on you. You look at the girls who are nervous, but egging you on.
"We just want to play," you say doubting yourself.
The room replies with silence, but the air shifts uneasily.
"You want to play?" says a voice from a corner of the room.
The sound makes you jump, and Fluttershy stifles a small yelp.
"We like to play games..." says another voice airily.
"What game would you like to play?" says another excited voice.
"How about the 'everyone is able to see each other' game," you suggest.
"You mean hide and seek? I love that game!" says a disembodied voice.
"Jenny, you are doing a terrible job of being scary," says another voice.
"Why do we have to be scary all the time? I just wanna have fun!"
"Because being scary is fun!"
Six young filly spirits, all with pale blue skin and no cutie marks, begin to appear in the center of the room, all arguing with each other.
"Uh... girls?" Twilight says.
Their argument intensifies as you tip toe towards them.
"Girls?" you ask.
One of the fillies begin jumping up and down while another begins to scream.
"GIRLS!"
All six stare at you with intensity in their eyes.
"WHAT!" they yell with a force that shakes the whole house.
You lose your balance, but try to keep your calm. Keep it up. Treat them just like you would the crusaders and everything should be fine.
"Uhm, hi. My name is Anon, and this is Fluttershy and Twilight."
They continue to stare at you with black, soulless voids for eyes. The frozen paleness of their skin detracts away from the holes in their faces. You take a few deep breaths before continuing on, trying to shake away shivers from your spine.
"We are trying to find a way to get out of here... but another spirit keeps trying to keep us in here. Some older lady spirit," you say.
"Oh, that must be Gertrude. She’s really mean to everyone," one of the fillies says.
"Maybe she wants to kill you too!" another suggests.
You look to your friends for guidance. Twilight moves besides you and puts on the practiced, careful tone of a teacher.
"We want to help you girls get out of here too, but we need to know how we can help you move on. We think that if you girls aren't here anymore, she won't stay either. Then, the three of us can leave."
The girls look around, unsure of how to answer. One of the spirits steps forward from the other five and speaks up.
"We’re too scared to go. Gertrude would always beat us if we tried to leave."
Fluttershy's fear turns to compassion as she joins you and Twilight.
"You poor little things..." she says gently.
"Don't worry, lady! It used to really hurt a lot, but it doesn't hurt anymore! We’re all better now."
Her hoof comes to her mouth, unsure of what to say.
"She can't make you girls stay here anymore. So why don't you girls pass on?" you ask.
"We don't want to leave each other. It’s… scary."
You run your hands through your hair. Even fillies were hard to deal with even when they weren't living.
"How about this... we play a game of hide and seek... and if we find you, you move to the other side?" you ask.
The fillies all look at each other and discuss among themselves. One of the six pulls away from the group and addresses you directly.
"On one condition."
"Okay. What is it?” you ask.
"If you lose, you stay here with us and keep playing."
"Oh. Well that doesn't sound so ba-"
"Forever," she says.
How did you know that was coming? Children always did have a knack for melodrama. But if the three of you have any hope for actual escape, it seems you don’t have much of a choice.
"Okay. That’s fine, but you have to be visible and you can only hide on this floor, or the ground floor," you say.
The fillies talk among themselves again.
"Okay! We’re too scared to go in the basement anyway," their leader says.
"Then, let's start," you say.
"All of you close your eyes and count to twenty!" their leader commands. Then the ghost fillies disappear into thin air.
You turn to the Twilight and Fluttershy.
"Well, it’s the only lead we have so far,” you say. “Here goes nothing."
"Let's get counting then. Everypony, eyes closed. We have to play by their rules," orders Twilight.
"B-but... Then we wouldn't see if something is coming into the room," Fluttershy complains.
You place a hand on Fluttershy's mane and try to give her a look of reassurance.
"The sooner we get this done, the sooner we get out. Eyes on the prize, Fluttershy."
She smiles and nods to you.
"I'll start the countdown. Don’t open your eyes for any reason," Twilight says.
Yet your vision does not fail you. The room is devoid of your pony friends, and a mare with a long silver mane stands in front of you. Her gray coat seems to radiate hatred as a feeling of unease enters the room. Her features move and twitch erratically. One of her eyes rolls to the back of her head.
"One," you hear Twilight say from all around you.
Time feels as if it's slowing down.
"You can't run," says the mare in front of you, her voice twisted and distorted.
You try to open your mouth, but words stay in the back of your throat. Burning sensations run through your body as you command it to move, but you find yourself paralyzed.
"You’re mine now," The mare says to you, as she slowly walks across the room.
Each step of her hoof leaves echoes resonating through the room.
"Two."
Fighting through the pain, your legs move backwards, matching the speed of the oncoming mare.
"If you want your friends to stay alive, you have to play my game."
Words continue to fail you.
"Three."
Maybe it can hear your thoughts.
"What kind of game?" you think to the apparition.
She snickers at you as you stumble your footing. A shooting pain runs up your right leg as you fumble for balance.
"It's simple... Easy, in fact," the mare smiles, looking upon you like a piece of meat.
"Four."
"I haven't felt a stallion's touch in decades..."
You hit the wall, and you can see a malevolent smile stretch across her face.
"Five."
"You are going to be all mine."
She disappears in front of you. Silence envelops the stale air as you scan around you for any sight of her. You feel something behind you, causing you to bolt around to see the empty wall.
"Six."
Control over your body becomes even more difficult as you begin to lift into the air. Fighting the external force feels useless as more pain flows through you.
"Seven."
Air flies through your body as you are thrown on one of the undersized beds. The covers rip into several pieces and bind you to the bedposts.
"Eight."
The mare floats above you, with her hair covering all but the lustful smile on her face.
"I'm going to enjoy this... very much." She says menacingly, floating down on top of your body.
She takes a moment to take a deep whiff of your hair before she nibbles your ear.
"Nine."
You turn your head to look away from your oppressor. Every move you made as well as every action she did to you sends sharp juts of pain through your body. She grabs your face with one hoof and forces her tongue into your mouth.
"Ten."
The sensations of pain weren't what caused you to gag and choke. It was the dry, moldy texture of decaying flesh performing a slow dance in your mouth. She slowly moves a hoof down and tears your shirt off you in one strong motion.
"Eleven."
You feel her tongue move like sandpaper down your chest towards your manhood, while massaging your groin with a hoof. Slowly she undoes your pants, and pulls everything down, as if trying to enjoy a present on Christmas Day.
"Twelve."
"Stop... Please..." you beg.
An invisible force punches you in the face, causing blood to join your saliva.
"Thirteen."
She raises herself above your crotch and lets out a short triumphant giggle. A cold, slimey sensation envelops your member as she plunges down on you.
"Fourteen."
You've never felt something like this before. The texture makes you want to throw up, but pain is beginning to overwhelm the feeling of disgust. Her body feels as cold as ice.
"Fifteen."
Your body begins to respond purely on instinct. Her motions become faster as she lets out more tiny moans.
“Sixteen."
You feel yourself beginning to near climax, as your body tightens up. The pain is unbearable as you feel as if you were on fire. She leans into your body and bites into your neck, blood flowing freely down your chest.
"Seventeen."
"Oh god, no..." you mutter.
"Yes... give me all of it."
Fire flows through your veins as you pump your seed into her. Her iciness begins to melt some as she bites a chunk of flesh from your neck.
"Eighteen."
"Mmmmm."
She continues to pump you for the rest of your juices and licks the flowing blood from the pulsing hole in your neck.
"Nineteen."
Her hair parts in front of you, revealing two deep black bleeding eyes that pierce directly into your soul.
"None of you will leave alive."
"Twenty!"
Your eyes shoot open, and you gasp for breath. The two ponies scan the room just as you are right now. Nothing seems to be different. You turn around; so that the ponies can't see you check your pants. Everything… seems normal.
A feminine giggle rings through your ears.
"Hey… you okay?" Twilight asks you in a worried tone.
You turn to face the ponies and nod as confidently as you can. It must have just been another vision. It was all in your head. It must be. It had to be.
"Uhm…" Fluttershy says, pointing a hoof towards you.
"Yeah, Fluttershy?"
"Y-your neck... it's bleeding," she says.
Reaching your hand to your neck, you pull away traces of blood. You feel bile rise in your stomach as you turn away from them. You take deep, careful breaths, trying not to think of the images that flashed before your eyes.
"We will just have to have it looked at when we get out of here," you say shakily.
Exiting the room, you take one last look back at the bed where your hallucination took you. It seems completely normal, with the exception of a few drops of blood near the pillows. You immediately look away and close the door behind you.
Entering the hallway. two closed doors directly in front of you. You look two the girls, who look back at you with the same in decision.
“Well, which do we check first? We’re going to have to check the whole house anyway.”
“I’m not sure,” Twilight says.
“A-as long as I don’t have to go in first...” Fluttershy says.
You sigh and turn back to the two in front of you. You pull a bit out of your pocket and hold it for them to see.
"Heads we take the right one, Tails we take the left one. Sound fair?"
The two don’t reply, which you assume is the best answer you’re going to get. You flip the bit into the air, and it falls to the ground. The bit spins on the ground for a while, and shows heads.
Then flips and shows tails. A giggle rings through the house.
“Heads!” the three of you say in unison.
You grab the handle of the right door and pull. The door resists your command. You turn to the girls and shake your head. Fluttershy whimpers. It seems like there’s no other choice. You move to the left door and reach to grab the knob.
The door opens about an inch and slams, the sound echoing throughout the hallway.
You take a deep breath and shake your head.
“Get it together.”
You grab the handle and rip the door open. Opening the door reveals a fairly large bathroom with a tile floor. Stains of time run down the walls and the grout in the tiles have aged to a dark grey. The lime-green tile has evolved to a putrid forest pine. The mirrors have clouded themselves with tarnish and limescale found it’s home in every sink. To call it a state of disrepair did not do the room justice.
The three of you make your way into the room, looking for the filly as well as trying to keep away from any danger within. The room has three showers, three sinks and mirrors, and a few toilet stalls that are closed tight. Twilight makes her horn brighter as she moves to check the toilet stalls.
You move to the mirrors to assess the damage on your neck. You try to wipe away the age as best as you can, pulling your hand away slowly. Thankfully, the only person in the mirror was yourself, with a red stain beginning to collect on your shirt. The bleeding wasn't terrible, but it really stung.
You pull away your shirt to take a closer look at your wound. The clear, definite shape of teeth lined the base of your neckline, but it seemed the worst of the bleeding has stopped. Whatever bit you, didn’t want you dead. Not yet anyway.
"Did you have another vision?" inquires the timid yellow pegasus, who stood behind you.
You jump, but only because you didn’t see the little pony in the mirror. You turn to her, looking away from your reflection.
"Yeah…" you answer, watching Twilight open each stall in turn.
"Did… did it hurt you? Was that where the bite came from?” she asks, already knowing the answer.
You confirm her suspicions. She tugs on your pant leg, indicating for you to get down on her level. After kneeling down, she wraps her hooves around you and gives you a deep hug. A small part inside of you is taken aback. You don’t return the gesture at first, but the gravity of the situation around you begins to set in.
Something in this house wants you dead. Or, to do something worse than giving you death. You may never leave here. You might have to watch Twilight and Fluttershy butchered in front of your own eyes. Or worse, these visions could force you to do it to them. You wrap your arms around her, pulling her close.
“We’ll get through this,” Fluttershy says. “I know I’m not the only one that’s scared.”
The weight of the vision crashes down as small tears fall onto her pink mane, although you make your best effort not to make a sound. You are not safe. You cannot break. You must be strong. For your friends.
"Thanks... Shy," you answer. “I really needed that."
You lean away to look into her caring cyan eyes. You never really thought she was a bad pony. She cares about you. Maybe, after all of this is over-
A whispy face suddenly flies down between the two of you.
"BOO!"
Both you and Fluttershy jump inside your skin and fall backwards. The ghostly filly doubles over in taught laughter.
"Haha! I scared you two to death!"
Twilight turns to the little filly.
"Yeah, but we found you! Which means you have to pass on for us."
The little filly’s eyes open, realizing that her prank just outed her. She places a ghostly hoof to her chin and thinks about this for a moment.
"Why?" she asks. The question takes the three of you aback for a second. "Why do I want to be in the afterlife? What could possibly be there for me? My friends are here. As long as we stay away from Gertrude, then we can live here."
Twilight looks to you, unsure of how to answer. Surprisingly, Fluttershy is the one to answer.
"M-my momma told me when I was a little filly, that when somepony passes on, that there is a wonderful place that we go to that has all of our friends and family waiting for us. Everypony we ever lost in our life that we hold closely in our hearts, they are there. Happy. Waiting patiently for when we have a chance to be therewith them."
The filly looks down to the floor in silence. The room goes quiet as Fluttershy’s words hang in the air. The room begins to warm as the filly looks back up at the yellow pegasus.
"Even our animal friends?" she mutters. "Does... does that mean I get to see mommy again?"
Twilight's hoof comes to her mouth. The realization hits you too. These children might have never seen their parents before. Or if they have, they hadn’t seen them in a lifetime. Quite literally a life time.
Tears well in Fluttershy's eyes as she nods to the little filly.
"Especially our animal friends. They are waiting with their favorite toys so you can play together. Just like old times. And soon, the rest of your friends will be there too, and you will be able to play every day."
The little filly smiles, as she looks towards the door of the bathroom. The doorframe begins to emit a faint bright light as the whispy figure turns to face it.
"Mommy?" she asks to an unseen figure.
“Is that you, my child?” a gentle voice calls from the other side of the door.
She takes a few small steps towards the door, as the pale filly's voice begins to crack. Turning to the three of you, she is wearing the biggest smile you've ever seen. Her skin begins to transition to a much more colorful tan, and her mane becomes as red and vibrant as velvet. Tears fall from her eyes, as she opens her mouth. Words don’t come at first as she begins to laugh.
"I’m… not sure why I was so scared before,” the filly whispers.
“Run along,” Fluttershy says to her. “They’ve been waiting a long time.”
The filly’s ears perk and her tail wags as she turns to the door and takes a few muted steps towards the light. Then, she turns back to the three of you.
“Thank you... for helping me. I didn’t know… this was what I always wanted," she says.
A tall mare stands at the door shadowed by the light, standing behind the filly.
"Come along, dear. Everypony’s waiting. Your father is making your favorite."
The filly looks to the door and back to Fluttershy. She simply smiles and nods to the little filly.
"Have fun little one," Fluttershy responds.
She turns to you and Twilight.
"Please. Help my friends. Gertrude was so mean to us. I want them to be able to feel this happy too. I think… I think we can all finally be happy."
The filly turns towards the door and trots into the light, as the door slowly closes behind her. Your hearts are warm, knowing that the little filly is in a better place. Silence fills the air as the room feels a little warmer around you. It’s you that breaks the quiet first.
"Well. That's one down. Time for the other five," you mutter.
"Do you think they will all be like that?" Twilight asks you.
You wonder for a moment.
"I don't know. But, honestly, a small part of me hopes so."
The three of you walk out of the room and back into the hallway, as you brush a few silver hairs off your shirt. You shake your head, hoping it was just your imagination.
"Maybe we should try to leave the doors that we've explored open... just so we know where we have been,” you say.
"Probably not a bad idea..." says Twilight, deciding not to close the door as the three of you enter the hallway.
After what was just witnessed, everyone seems to be in fairly high spirits. Twilight could be onto something, if you clear the house of the other spirits, maybe Gertrude won't have a reason to stay. Then, you’ll be able to leave.
Stretching your arms in the hallway, you do note that the house feels a little bit warmer and a little less oppressive. This doesn't stop you from keeping your guard up as you make your way across the hallway to the next closed door. The one that was previously locked.
The sun had completely set, but an overcast hid the light of the moon, leaving the house in a deep pitch black. Twilight’s horn is the sole source of light in the house, making the tight doorways and halls feel like cages. The areas unlit by magic seemed to expand into endless voids of space.
The blackness in this house didn't just feel like being in the dark. If it were that, you could handle it. Being surrounded in this darkness felt like you were being watched by a predator ready to strike. Looking at the girls, you nod to them.
"Be ready for anything," you say, grabbing the previously locked door.
You pull and the door opens, letting the glow from Twilight's horn fill the room. The light only reveals little bits of the room at a time. This room also had a tiled floor, and seemed to be one of the dirtiest rooms in the house yet. A strange odor filled the room as you sneak your way inside with Fluttershy and Twilight in tow.
"What's that smell?" you say to no one in-particular.
You hear the girls make their way in too, judging by the sound of hoofsteps on tile. As Twilight makes her way into the room, more fixtures begin to take shape. An oven, a sink with dirty dishes, and counter tops begin to take shape. A large brown stain tints the color of the tiles within a few feet of the sink. On the counter top, remains of what may have once been food is stuck to the surface. Around the food is many different forms of cutting trays, utensils, and cooking supplies.
However, what grabs your eye is a large, rusted butcher knife, resting in a charred circle on the counter. You stroll over to it and examine it carefully. You notice a slight gleam on the blade and lean towards it. Was that something on the other side of the blade? How would you know?
You pick up the knife.
And the rust seems to fall away like pencil shavings on loose leaf. The knife glows in your hand, the silver radiance giving light to the room. It’s light. The blade is sharp and balanced. The knife brings a smile to your face. You raise your eyes to the sunlight that streams in through a nearby window.
A young filly cleans the dishes at the sink. She's vibrant for being an orphan, and she seems to be reading while she works. You listen as she struggles to read, your hand falling limply to your side.
"As Daring Doo trec... trekked through the t-tropical jungle"
That's when she entered the room. You recognized Gertrude by her long silver mane. She holds a baseball bat in her mouth as she approaches her. The filly doesn’t hear her hoofsteps as she draws nearer.
"... the wet heat s-sapped her energy and sl... slowed her every step."
You can't let this happen. Holding the knife firmly in your hand, you charge towards her
"If only she could escape this oppon... oppressive atmosphere…
"Don't you touch her!" you scream at Gertrude.
An invisible force forces you to stop as you swing your weapon at the mare.
"and fly up into the cool blue sky."
The bat rises in the air as you scream. You watch helplessly as the bat came down full force on the filly's head. The filly falls off her stepstool, and onto the ground, where she lays lifeless. Blood sprays on your face. The droplets spatter across your face and warm you from the cold.. You drop the knife. Darkness floods the room again, as your eyes try to adjust to the violet magic around you.
Fluttershy is collapsed in front of you, shaking. He holds her hooves over her head as you look down to the knife on the ground.
"Is it... over?" Fluttershy asks.
"I... think so," Twilight says.
Silence fills the room as you rub your hand on your cheek. It comes back dry.
“I… I’m sorry,” you say.
"What was it this time?" Fluttershy asks.
You take a deep breath, trying to compose yourself.
"It was Gertude, and she was attacking this little filly."
You lean down to help Fluttershy up, but she slowly gets up on her own, watching you carefully.
"She was reading a book... I think it was a Daring Doo book, while she was doing dishes. Then, she just came in with a bat, and the filly didn't even see it coming."
The gravity of what you just saw begins to weigh down on you. You fall to your knees, remembering how she looked on the floor. Her eyes stared off at something that you couldn't see. Something that wasn't in the room. Covering your face in your hands, you feel a hoof being put on your shoulder.
"It's okay.…"
You nod your head.
"It doesn't hurt anymore."
You open your eyes again, and turn to see another faded filly standing behind you. Giving her a light smile, a thought occurs to you.
"Why did you stop hiding?" you ask,
"I was in the knife, but I wanted you to see something first before I came out," the pale filly says. “I didn’t want… I didn’t want to be forgotten.
She looks down at the ground, and kicks the tiles with a ghostly hoof.
"I didn't think what I would show you would make you try to hurt somepony... I'm sorry."
Fluttershy steps forward.
"It's okay. Really! I-I'll be fine."
The filly continues staring at the ground.
"Do you want to know what I did to make her do that?" she asks you.
You try to place a hand on her back, forgetting for a moment that she’s a spirit. But, to your surprisey, her form is solid, despite it's looks.
"Gertrude always hated it when I read. We always had to be absolutely quiet whenever we weren't in class. Then later on, we weren't even allowed to do that. So, a lot of us began to have trouble reading, since we couldn't sound out the words."
Twilight slowly makes her way over to the filly and sits down.
"So, whenever I would do dishes, I would try to read out loud, hoping that the sound of the water would hide my reading.”
Fluttershy nudges you, and hands you what looks to be an old dusty book.
"I always loved reading, so I tried to read whenever I got the chance, and even began to take some risks. One day I got caught, and she warned me that I was only allowed to read in class."
Twilight's eyes are locked on the filly, the filly begins to talk directly to Twilight.
"But... I just couldn't stop.... I just couldn't."
"You needed to know how it ended...." says Twilight understandingly.
The filly begins to slowly sob. You wipe the dust off of the book. Daring Doo, and the Quest for the Sapphire Statue. You hand the book to Twilight, knowing that this is her territory.
"Now tell me... where did you last leave off?" Twilight says.
The filly’s eyes glowed with excitement as Twilight opened the dusty book.
“Do you… Do you really want to read with me?” the filly asks.
“Of course,” Twilight says. “Anything for a filly that is just as in love with reading as I was.”
“It was page 57. I think,” the filly says, sitting next to Twilight.
Time passes as you sit in the room with Twilight, Fluttershy and the little filly, listening to Twilight read. The book isn't massive, but for a beginner reader, it could definitely be difficult. Twilight knew just all of the points to change her voice to make things sound more dramatic. She even gave the characters different voices. The little filly ate it up and listens with rapt attention.
"And so, with Ahuizotl defeated and the Sapphire Statue secured, the world was safe and sound once again. Thanks to Daring Doo!" Twilight said with one final crescendo.
Twilight closes the book and gives the filly a deep smile.
"That was amazing! Is there more? I need to know what happens next!" your ghostly friend says.
"Of course there is! This book is a classic," Twilight answers.
"But how will I read them?" the filly asks.
The three of you pause. Twilight is the first to speak up.
"Well... maybe, you will be able to find them... up there," Twilight says, motioning to the sky with a hoof. “I know I would want something nice to read. When it all ends... anyway.”
"Does that mean I’ll be able to read and I won't be hit for it?"
Twilight nods with a gentle smile.
"I can promise, nothing will ever hit you."
The kitchen door opens slowly, bathing the room in white light. A yellowish mare with dark hair walks out of the doorway, and moves beside Twilight and the filly. The new mare kneels down to meet her at eye level, and gives her a wide smile.
"Hey there, kiddo. What's your name?" the mystery mare says.
Twilight's eyes and mouth widen a little bit, looking to the filly.
"My name is Melody... What's your name?" she asks.
"My name’s Daring... and I was told that you are a pretty cool little filly."
Her eyes widen, and the color slowly returns to the filly's coat. She looks to Twilight in disbelief. Twilight nods to her in approval.
"D-Daring... Doo?" Melody asks.
Daring Doo smiles down at her.
"The one and only!"
Her hair slowly begins to turn into a beautiful shade of yellow.
"But I thought that you were only in the book…" she says.
"That doesn't mean I'm not real, kiddo. I'm right here. Inside you."
Daring takes her hoof, and points it to the filly's head. Her eyes light up as she begins to believe what she is seeing.
“So then! Do you wanna stay here, or do you wanna find out what happens next?"
Daring takes her signature hat and puts it on Melody's head as she wipes tears out of her eyes.
"Yes... Yes! Let's go on an adventure!"
Daring takes Melody and puts her on her back. The filly looks to the three of you with a wide smile.
"Thank you, Twilight... Anon... Fluttershy. I hope you can find my friends. Please help them... and listen to them."
You nod to her, as the door slowly closes behind Melody as she begins a chapter of a brand new adventure.
Consider Pausing The Music Please
The three of you rise to your feet, with a feeling of warmth in your hearts. Whatever force was helping you with these fillies tonight, really knew what it was doing. The three of you make your way into the hallway, but you feel a warm breath on the back of your neck. You turn around, but find nothing.
A whisper fills your ears.
"If you fight it, you will regret it."
A shiver runs up your spine as you move quickly to rejoin the others.
Twilight returns to her serious attitude and nods her head. The door knob feels cold in your hand, and a bad vibe tugs at the hair behind your neck. You rip the door open to find a closet filled with boxes and boxes of items.
"Twilight, could you give us a little more light?” you ask.
"Well... I can focus it, but we shouldn’t do it for long. Just… well. Just in case."
The light behind Twilight begins to fade as a cone of light fills the tiny room. You step into the closet as the violet light fills the room. Different boxes of food, cleaning supplies, kitchen necessities, and dining utensils fill the closet, but there isn't really anything of note in here.
"Well, that's disappointing," you mutter.
Stepping out of the closet, the hallway feels much colder and the darkness feels thicker.
"Twilight, you can change your light back…"
"Okay, just a second."
The light begins to slowly return to it's normal glow. You begin to be able to see your hands again, but you notice that there now is only two of you.
Shit.
"Fluttershy! Where are you?!" you call out to the house.
Looking up and down the hallway reveals no answers. You make your way to the unexplored section of the hallway when you see a slightly open door, and a light moan.
Looking at Twilight, you see the worry in her eyes. Nodding, you enter the room slowly. Twilight tries to follow from behind, but the door slams shut once you enter. Turning around, you try to open it, but it won't budge.
Placing your back against the door, you turn to face the pitch-black. A candle lights itself from the center of the room. Then, four more from the corners spring to life. One at a time, tiny candles across the whole room grow a flame to light the ornate master bedroom.
The bed is lined with curtains, and a large rug covers the floor. Weapons and blunt objects line the walls, each with their own picture of a little filly. Next to a wooden bat, you see a picture of Melody. Near a small knife, sat a picture of the filly from the bathroom. Beside each filly is a picture of the scene of their death. A filly with a crack in her skill, blood spilling onto the floor, where Melody’s picture is.
You look away, for fear the bubbling in your stomach would rise to meet the outside world. Hate and anger flows through your veins as a light illuminates the scene inside of the curtains. Two ponies seem to be locked in a loving embrace, but one of them is fighting to get away. Muffled screams come from the kicking behind the curtains, mixed with squeaks from the mattress and stifled moans. A flapping of wings bring bring a gust of air as you move to the bed, but the light disappears and the fabric stops moving.
The bed stops moving. The room goes quiet. You place a hand on the fabric.
“Fluttershy?” you ask.
The light on the other side of the curtain returns. A pegasus straightens it's wings and lays down on the bed. You open the curtain, Fluttershy lays sprawled out on the bed, giving you bedroom eyes.
“Now this… I could certainly grow accustomed to...” says a twisted voice from Fluttershy’s mouth.
"Get out of her," you command.
She sits up on the bed and brings a hoof to your face.
"But then... we couldn't have any fun now could we," she says lovingly. “Or would you prefer...”
Fluttershy clears her throat and throws a lock of hair in front of her face.
“I-If I spoke like this…” Gertrude says in a flawless imitation of Fluttershy’s voice.
"This is sick,” you mutter to her. “Fuck you.”
She grabs a knife from under a pillow and holds it to her neck. You freeze.
"Oh, so now I have your attention. I'll live, but she might not be so lucky now would she?"
The room fills with silence.
"Why don’t we have a little fun?" Gertrude says.
You begrudgingly crawl onto the bed, and shut the curtain as the impostor pats the spot next to her.
"Now hold on. Don't you move a muscle…" she says.
She slowly lifts your shirt off of you, and kisses your chest inch by inch.
Her body is cold, too cold for something living. This is wrong. It may look like Fluttershy, but she’s being used. Can Fluttershy see this? Is she experiencing this through Gertrude’s actions? Can’t she fight this?
Gertrude her way down to your pants. She rubs her hoof on your limp member through your pants.
"Aww... not enjoying yourself? Maybe I can get some help from my guest…" Gertrude says, clearing her throat. "O-oh... Anon... I love you soo much…"
The sound of Fluttershy's voice rings bells in your ears.
Snap out of it! You have to keep perspective. This isn't Fluttershy.
She unzips your pants and pulls them down to reveal your hardening staff.
"O-oh... m-my... it's so big…"
You look away as she wraps her lips around your member. Feeling her tongue wrapping around you sends guilty signals of pleasure through your body.
Stay focused!
If you could just get the knife away from her, maybe you can try and get her out of Fluttershy. She takes a hoof to begin rubbing your shaft while she pays attention to your head.
Suddenly you get an idea.
"Oh... yeah! I'm almost there... oh Shy.…"
You aren't sure if the imposter's face began to turn red, or if it was the true host, but her attention begins to focus on the task at hand.
"Cum for me, Anon... Cum for momma!"
Beginning to fake the beginning of your orgasm, you arch your back. Then with all your might, push forward to headbutt Gertrude.
Stars fill your vision as you try to wrestle the knife out of the dazed pegasus's hoof. You grab it by the blade, blood spilling onto the mattress, but take it from her.
Cutting a hole in the curtain, you jump out of the bed and stab the weapon as deep into the wall as possible. As you turn around, you see a yellow blur just before you are tackled to the ground. Gertrude must have underestimated your strength without her magic, as you easily overpower her and put her in a choke hold. You watch as she strains to breathe underneath you.
"That's right. Kill me. Kill your friend," she chokes. “Just a few more seconds...”
You wait until she begins to stop fighting. Fluttershy's eyes redialate. As she her head falls to the side. You leap to your feet and immediately begin chest compressions. You take a deep breath, and do everything you can to blow the fresh air back into her lungs.
Flutter coughs and gasps for air, then rolls across the floor. Twilight bashes through the door, blowing out all the candles.
"What happened?!” she says. “All I heard was screaming.”
You look down at your naked form, and pull your pants up.
"She possessed Fluttershy," you say. “Then, well. Things got weird.”
Twilight turns her gaze to Fluttershy, who is staring at the floor.
"How do we know if this is Fluttershy?" Twilight asks.
"She is."
Your attention turns to a little filly standing in a corner of the room.
"I-I don't see Gertrude in her anymore."
You walk over to Fluttershy as Twilight goes to take care of the filly. Getting on her level, you bring your hands to her face. You speak to her in the softest voice you can muster.
"Are you okay?"
She pushes her face away from your hands, leaving them wet with tears. Her sobs are starting to become more audible. You cradle her in your arms.
"Shhh.... it's okay."
"I couldn’t fight it... I swear. I tried so hard."
"I know, Shy. I know.…"
She cries into your shirt as you gently stroke her mane. Her warmth was gradually returning, which you guess was a good sign. Eventually the sobs begin to die down.
"Hey guys,” Twilight says. “You should come over here…"
You nod to Twilight.
"Are you going to be alright, Fluttershy?"
She pulls herself away from your chest and gives you a shaky nod. The two of you walk over to the little filly.
"I hope you didn't have to watch everything that just happened…" you say.
She nods her head fearfully.
"I'm really sorry then," you say.
"It's okay. It's not the first time I was forced to watch something like that."
Your words begin to fail you, as the inevitable question of which part she referred to sits behind your lips.
"Did... did she..." stutters out Fluttershy.
"Every night. It wasn't always the same stallion."
The filly looks to the ground.
"Sometimes, after they were done with her... they would ask if... if… to me..."
She bursts into ghostly tears. Fluttershy wraps a hoof around the little filly.
"I'm... I'm so sorry."
"She made me swear not to tell the others... or it would happen to them too... I couldn't let that happen to them."
A roaring flame emanates from the pit of your stomach. Getting rid of Gertrude was no longer optional to you. She had to pay for her actions.
"Was there anyone who helped you feel better? After…"
The little filly's sniffles lessened.
"There was one friend... other than the girls... who would help me when those bad things happened."
She looked up into Fluttershy's eyes.
"There was this puppy... he hid underneath the porch and I would feed him scraps of dinner that I would hide for him.”
Fluttershy nods at her.
"But when she found out. She... She made me watch her do it."
She bursts into tears anew. You stand up and walk over to the door. Looking up at the ceiling, and take a deep breath. After two times, you just gotta believe this will work. Just have faith.
You open the door, filling the room with white light. The filly doesn't even seem to notice with her eyes shut. Running in the distance, you see a small hound running towards the door.
"I would do anything just to see him again."
As he closes the distance, you see the joyful look on the little hound as a small tennis ball is held in his mouth.
"Just one last time. I've never felt so alone…"
The little pup slows down as he gets nearer to the room.
"He would always make me smile... even after she hit me too hard, or I started to bleed."
Fluttershy holds her, tears forming in her eyes, already predicting what was going to happen.
"Sometimes that's all I needed to make my day a little bit better."
The puppy enters the room, and walks right up to the little filly, with his tail wagging as hard as its little body could muster. It smiles the biggest smile the animal could as it gave a small yip.
The filly opens her eyes with wide shock. The hound trots up to her and licks her hoof, which was slowly beginning to turn pink. She nearly collapses and picks the dog up in her hooves to cradle it. Her face was being littered with sloppy, happy kisses, wiping up the salty tears.
"I've missed you so much, Buddy."
The smile on this filly's face would have to measured in miles. She gasps loudly.
"Is that your ball?!" she says in over-excitement.
The hound barks excitedly and squirms out of her arms to hand it to her. She takes the ball in her hoof and runs to the middle of the room.
"You want the ball boy? You want the ball?"
The dog leaps about through the air, and yips at her. She laughs and throws the ball out through the door.
"Let's go get it!"
The hound sprints to the door, but waits for her. The little filly looks to Fluttershy and smiles.
"Thank you…"
Fluttershy wipes tears from her eyes.
"Go have fun you two."
She smiles, and looks to Buddy.
"Let's go boy!"
The two of them run through the door, as it slowly closes behind them.
Sleep clings to your eyelids as your group leaves the bedroom.
"Half way there, guys. Just a matter of time," you say.
Fluttershy wipes tears from her eyes once the three of you reconvene in the hallway.
"You gonna be okay, Fluttershy?" you ask.
"Y-yeah. It's just... animal reunions make me cry every time."
A part of you wasn’t sure what you were expecting. It checks out. Twilight turns to Fluttershy with excitement written on her face.
"I know some good books that you might love then. I'll pass them onto you when we get out of here," she says.
The three of you give a light laugh. That's a first for today. In fact, things are finally beginning to feel a little less spooky in the house. The frigid air doesn't have quite the same bite to it. The darkness didn't seem quite so thick. The light from Twilight's horn was beginning to light the whole hallway. Was Gertrude’s power weakening?
"Only one room left up here. Let's check it out," you suggest.
Hitting the next door at the end of the hallway. Turning the knob, you open the entrance to the room. Light from Twilight's horn instantly begins to fill the void, revealing it’s contents. One long table sits in the center of a room under a large ornate red rug covered in a thick coat of dust. The chairs are pushed in and pristine, and the table is set for an exquisite dinner. The three of you file into the room to examine it a bit more closely. Cabinets line the walls, each with clouded windows displaying ancient pieces of fine china.
You find a book of matches sitting at the edge of the table.
"Finally. A non-magic source of light. Maybe there are some candles or something."
Taking a match, you strike it against the side of the box.
The fire from the match radiates out through the room lighting each of the candles on the table. Gentle orange light from a majestic sunset graces the room through the windows. Triangles of sandwiches with the crusts cut off materialize along with a wide array of carrots, celery and other vegetables. The five of the girls sit at the table all silent, munching on their dinner.
One place at the table is empty, but food has been put on their plate. Occasionally, one will look up at another, then return their gaze to their meal. One of the fillies cough, grabbing all of their attention. They turn their eyes to the door, as if waiting for something.
A tense moment of silence passes.
"Uh... what's up?" you ask.
None of the ponies acknowledge your words. Looking at your hands, you find yourself slightly transparent. This must be another vision, but it seems like you’re becoming more resilient. At least you can tell you are in one now. The five fillies relax a little bit as nothing happens.
"This is really good, Melody," one of the fillies says.
"Thanks," Melody replies quietly.
"Uh... thanks for... cutting off the crusts," pipes up a little filly that you haven't met yet.
Melody smiles.
"Of course, Summer. I know you don't like them. Rose, be sure to give those crusts to Buddy."
Rose, the filly from the bedroom, nods with a smile. A loud noise from the hallway draws your attention. Instantly, all of the fillies are face forward, sitting up straight at their place. The door slams open, causing the cabinets to shake. The sound of loud wailing and crying fills the room as Gertrude drags a filly in by their hair.
"This is unacceptable! Are you trying to test me, child? Do you think that I don’t know what you’re trying to do? Slack off on the job and see if you can get away with it? You’ll get the closet for this one."
The filly tries to choke out words among her sobs.
"B-but I've been cleaning all day! All day! I'm sorry I haven't cleaned the bathroom yet!"
She throws the little one at a cabinet and she hits her head, glass shattering onto the rug below. A plate falls out of the cabinet and breaks on one of her back legs, covering the floor with pieces of razor sharp porcelain. None of the girls even look up. Terror and fear written across their faces, as they stare at the floor. The littlest one, Summer, has her eyes closed and is biting her lip.
One of them isn't terrified of being next though. She rises to her hooves. She stares directly at her plate, and is filled with rage.
"Leave her alone!"
Gertrude looks at the angry filly, who stands up on her seat.
"Robin, don't do this," whispers Rose.
"She's been working hard all day! She hasn't even eaten anything. Let her take a little break."
Gertrude furrows her brow, then smiles malevolently.
"I see," she replies. She moves around the table to stand face to face with the filly. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind helping this slacker with the rest of the house then."
The filly nods, but refuses to break eye contact with Gertrude. She moves around the table and examines the empty seat at the table, and picks up the plate of food.
"Well doesn’t this look nice…" Gertrude drops the contents of the plate on her body, covering her in food. "Eat up."
The old mare leaves the room without another word. The rest of the group sits in silence as the little filly lies on the floor covered in food and tears, the only sound breaking the silence being the filly’s tiny whimpers. Robin gets off her chair and approaches her.
"Are you okay, Glitter?"
Glitter continues to sob. Robin begins to help clean the food off of Glitter and picks up the worst pieces of broken porcelain on the floor. A burning feeling in your hand causes you to drop your match.
Please stop your music.
When it hits the floor, the room returns to it's darker state, and dust retakes it's rightful home on the house's belongings.
"Look at this place," says a gentle voice. Your attention is drawn to a filly, whose hoof is running along the table. "This probably would’ve been at least six hours in the closet. Maybe more."
“You’re... Glitter. Right?" you ask.
She nods with a tired expression.
"I wanted you to see that. Just so you could see what it was like every single day here."
You pull out one of the chairs and sit next to her.
"I can't even imagine what you girls had to go through on a normal basis," you say.
She sighs and looks to you.
"Wanna know what the worst part was?"
Fluttershy and Twilight move closer to the filly and sit in front of her. She has all of your undivided attention.
"I worked hard every single day for Gertrude. For some reason she just didn't like me. I tried my best to meet her expectations, but I just never could."
Glitter sits down on the floor.
"Every night I would go to bed sore, hungry, and tired. Most of the time later than everyone else. There was so many things that she wanted done. I almost never got enough sleep, so when Gertrude taught her lessons I would sometimes fall asleep. Then there would be more chores and more…"
She looks at the floor.
"The worst part about all of this is, when I was in my final moments, I was just so happy. I would finally be able to relax. I would finally be able to rest for just a few moments."
Twilight strokes the filly's mane.
"Yet. I'm still so tired. All the time. I don't have a body anymore, but everything still hurts. I just wanted somepony to be proud of me." She looks over her front hooves carefully. "I've seen the door several times, so I know what you are doing for the rest of my friends."
You look to the girls.
"I just couldn't leave them,” she continues. “Some part of me thought that if I stayed, maybe then Gertrude wouldn't hurt or bother anyone else."
"That's really selfless of you, Glitter. But you might be surprised," you say. She looks up at you questioningly. "We've already helped Melody, Rose, and another filly go through the door. I think Gertrude is getting weaker."
Glitter thinks this over for a moment.
"So if everypony goes through the door, then she won't have any power anymore?"
"We think so," says Twilight. “We want to set you all free.”
Glitter walks to the door and opens it all by herself. White light fills the dining room. It seems to be a simple child's bedroom, filled with toys and a small pink bed. As she walks in she smiles widely.
"My old room… from my old home. It's just like I remembered before the accident."
You walk to the doorway and stand against the door to prevent it from closing. Every second of this beautiful moment is precious to you. Posters line the walls and school books sit on the wooden desk in the corner. She trots directly to the desk, where a picture of her family is sitting. The color slowly begins to return to her body.
"Mom... Dad... Little brother…"
She smiles, caressing the picture carefully. Outside the windows in the room you see a beautiful sight of Ponyville in the summer. Children are outside playing catch and tag on the crisp green grass. You even manage to see the filly from the bathroom outside. Glitter looks out the window and recognizes her as well. She gasps and opens the window wide.
"Joy! Melody! Rose!" she calls to the girls.
The fillies stop and wave to their friend.
"Glimmer! Come out here and play with us! It’s fantastic here!"
"You bet!" she calls to her friends.
She slams the window shut and gallops towards the door.
"Thank you... so much," she says. “I hope this is what you three need to escape...”
The three of you laugh and smile to the filly.
"I thought you were tired," you say to her.
She looks outside and then back to you.
"You know… I was. But now I'm not. I feel happy."
“Well then. I won’t stay in your way,” you say. “Have fun. Be safe. We’ll help the rest of your friends join you."
“Thank you,” she says, as you close the door. “I’ll never forget you.”
The door closes tightly, returning the dining room to the dark.
“Well, the top floor is clear. I suppose the only thing left to do is to recheck downstairs," you say to the girls as you re-enter the dark hallway.
You pat the box of matches in your pocket for safe keeping. At this point, who knows what will come in handy? Who knows if Gertrude could possess Twilight next. Or, maybe even something entirely new could come out to try and kill the three of you. Whatever it could be, it has you on guard. Especially since Gertrude shown herself or made any moves against you guys in the last hour. The three of you make your way down the creaky hallway towards the stairs.
Once you hit the door, you’re overtaken by a sense of vertigo. The dark stairway seems to go down for miles. You take a deep breath, knowing they weren’t this steep last time. This has to be in your head. Just relax. Taking point, you descent the stairs one step at a time.
"Alright, so downstairs we have the entrance room, storage room, the room none of us like, and the classroom," Twilight says.
A sudden pressure on your back shoves you forward. You grab the walls for support and miss a step. Your breath is taken away as you regain your footing. Twilight and Fluttershy jump from your sudden reaction.
"Y-you okay?" asks Fluttershy.
"Yeah. I must have, uh. Been a bit of a clutz."
You take the rest of the stairs much more carefully, focusing on your footing and holding the wall with a hand. When you reach the bottom of the stairs, you turn to the girls.
"Which of the terrible rooms should we check out first?"
Twilight thinks to herself for a moment and responds.
"Why don't we check out the storage room? Seems like it would be a really good hiding spot."
The thought of the open box of dolls enters your mind.
"If we have to," you sigh.
You walk towards the open door, clenching your fists. This was one of the last places you wanted to check. Something wasn’t right about the contents of that room, and you could feel it. The hair stands on the back of your neck as you walk towards the opening. A sharp pain from your foot stops you. Looking down, a porcelain pony doll lies shattered on the wood floor. The head shattered into millions of pieces, and only it's eyes remained intact, looking back at you.
You push the pieces to the side of the hallway with your foot, trying to get the image of those piercing eyes out of your head. Moving into the storage room, you freeze in your tracks. Hundreds of piercing eyes are illuminated by Twilight's horn from the dolls that are scattered across the entire room.
Fluttershy turns around and stands in the hallway.
“Well, I’m sure the two of you can handle this just fine. I’ll stay out here and, uhm, keep watch,” she says.
Twilight walks into the room as if it were any other room in the house.
"These... weren't all like this before," you mutter.
Fluttershy begins to shiver while Twilight begins moving boxes trying to find the filly.
"The sooner we get done, the sooner we get to leave. Isn't that what you've been saying?" says Twilight. “Let’s just finish this so we can get out of here.”
Taking a deep breath, you steel yourself and begin to look through the boxes again. The timid yellow pegasus moves into the room and stands close to you. To be honest, you couldn’t blame her. Standing in the hallway, all alone, might have been worse than just helping out.
Some of the boxes had their original contents disturbed, but it seemed like most of them were the same as when you were in before. It just seemed more surreal now that hundreds of tiny eyes were focused on you. Watching you as you moved from box to box. Twilight became overly interested in a box of books and wasn't looking quite as hard as she probably should have been. You sit down on a searched box and sigh.
"Don't think anything is in here," you tell them.
The door slams shut.
"Ooowwww," the filly says.
The three of you turn, and a little filly is rubbing her head.
"Dang it, you found me. I bet I was the first one, too," She looks to the floor utterly defeated. "I was so close too. I almost managed sneak out of the door, but I even messed that up."
You turn to the little filly.
"Hey now, don't be so hard on yourself. You’re Summer right?" you ask.
She looks up at you, surprised.
"H-how do you know my name?"
"Your friends told me. The ones we already found."
Summer smiles and looks away.
"They are all so nice to me. I really don't deserve such nice friends."
You look to Fluttershy, who is visibly concerned for the little filly.
"Hey now... that's not the right way to think at all. Why do you think you don't deserve them?" Fluttershy asks.
Summer sits on the floor and picks up one of the porcelain dolls.
"That's easy... Because all of this is my fault."
"Now that can't be true at all-" Twilight says.
"IT IS!" The filly screams, turning to Twilight with fire in her eyes. She looks to the floor and sits on the ground. “It’s my fault that all of this happened. That we’re all dead. That you’re being haunted. Everything is my fault. I tried to help Melody with her cooking, and she just gets hurt! I try to help Glitter with the cleaning and she gets locked in the closet! I try to get school help from Robin... and... and-- "
Summer tears up and looks at the floor.
"... I blew up the classroom on accident because I can't do anything right. I was just trying to work on the science project." Words fail you as you try to console the crying filly. "When she saw the big hole. She just went to her room, and didn't come out for hours. When she did come out, I was the first one. I was locked in the closet with this thing in my chest... It hurt so much."
She curls into a ball on the floor. You take a step closer, reaching out your hand.
"Summer... you don't have to say anymore if you don't want to," you say.
She shakes her head and continues.
"The worst part was, when I left my body... I tried to do everything I could to stop her, but I didn't know how to control things. When she got to Melody, it was all over too fast for me to do anything…"
Fluttershy wraps herself around the little spirit in an attempt to console her.
"She forced Glitter to drink some of the cleaning fluid and locked her in the closet on top of my body. Joy was stabbed in the shower so many times that I lost count. Rose was beaten until she stopped moving. I... couldn't save them…"
Summer sinks deeper and deeper into her sobs.
"None of that was as bad as what happened to Robin…"
Twilight is stroking the filly's mane, trying to console her.
"Shhhhh. It's all over now," Fluttershy says.
The three of you sit together, taking care of the poor little spirit.
"I could have saved them," Summer cries.
"It's not your fault, Summer," Twilight says.
"I'm a failure."
"You aren't a failure, sweetie," chimes in Fluttershy.
Summer dries her eyes begins to quietly calm down.
"W-where are they now?” she asks. “My friends? Where are they?”
You look at the door and Summer seems to understand.
"I remember Glitter talking about this place once."
Summer moves away from Fluttershy's warm embrace and looks at the door with a worried look. She reaches up with a shaky hoof, to open the door, but pulls it away.
"I... I can't. I never told any of them…"
She turns away.
"What if they don't forgive me? Do I deserve this? Maybe I shouldn’t. I should just stay here, miserable as a punishment to myself,” Summer says.
"They will, Summer. You have nothing to feel sorry for," says a new voice.
From the back of the room the final filly, Robin, steps into Twilight's light.
"I know they will. This isn't your fault," she says. “I never blamed you and I still don’t. And if you really need to hear it, I forgive you.”
Summer looks up at Robin.
"Are you sure?" she says. “I-I… should have told you.”
Robin smiles down at her.
"Of course, Summer. The six of us are sisters, and there is no way we could be mad at our little sister. We love you," she says.
Summer sniffs, feeling more tears coming on. She nearly tackles Robin with a massive hug.
"Now now, no more tears... we got to go see everyone else," the final filly says. Summer walks up to the door, but stops to look at Robin. Robin nods to her. "It's your door to open, not mine."
Summer raises a shaky hoof to the door knob. The room slowly fills with white light, as the rest of the girls stand on the other side.
"Summer!" exclaims Melody
"Summer, we've been waiting for you!" says Glitter.
"Come on slow poke! Let's have some fun." chimes Joy. Rose stands off to the side with a wide smile. Summer's face lights up, as her coat begins to turn a more natural shade of blue.
She turns to Robin.
"Are you coming with me?"
Robin shakes her head.
"I’ll be there soon. I promise."
Summer looks to you, Twilight and Fluttershy.
"Thank you so much for helping us, all of us. I can't wait to see you all again some day. Just be sure to take your time!" she says.
Summer trots into the white light, when Robin calls out to her.
"Hey! Don't forget this!"
She picks up the ball from the back of the room, the one that bounced into your earlier, and throws it to the girls.
"Thanks, Robin!" Summer cheers.
"You are the best, Robin!" Melody calls.
"See you soon!" Rose shouts.
"Bye guys…" Robin says back weakly.
Robin slowly closes the door, leaving you all in darkness. She sighs, then looks down to the floor. You take a step back, examining the final filly in the house. This is it. You won. This means you should be able to escape soon.
But then, why is Robin so sad? Why don’t you feel any more sure of your freedom then when you started?
"Well, uh. Yeah. Wasn’t that how it works?" you say.
She nods and heads into the hallway and the three of you follow her. As she heads into the play room, the door closes behind the three of you.
“Thank you, all of you. But, I don’t think anypony else is going to be able to leave,” Robin says.
You take a step back, examining Robin as she sits in front of the torn open teddy bear.
“What? Why?!”
Robin smiles and shakes her head.
“Twilight Sparkle, the smartest unicorn in Ponyville. Anonymous, the Human. Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness. The three in the nearest town that could help my friends pass on to somewhere safer,” Robin says gently.
Twilight takes a step forward as Fluttershy moves behind you.
“Your names and words of your deeds traveled on the wind to my ears. Gertrude was about to claim another life. I couldn’t allow that to happen. I had a letter sent, in a means that would gather your attention. I just hoped you could help everypony pass on. But… I’m getting tired. I’ve been using everything in my power to hold Gertrude back from hurting anypony tonight. If I left now… I don’t know what would happen to you three if she were at full strength.”
Robin reaches a hoof to the bear, but it phases through.
“So, you’re saying...” Twilight says.
“I… I tricked you,” Robin says. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t think of any other way. I've been trying to get all of them to go through their doors, but a few couldn't see them or didn't want to. So, thank you, all of you. For protecting them. You’ve helped my sisters in a way I never could.”
You take a step forward and kneel down to the filly.
“I understand if you hate me… I know don’t deserve your forgiveness. If I really try, I can help the three of you get out of here, then it’ll just be me facing Gertrude. I might be even able to help the filly in the basement.”
“That’s not okay,” you say. “You’re getting out of here, too. No one is getting left behind,” you say to her.
Robin looks up at you curiously.
“W-wait, what?” she says.
“We’re not leaving until all the fillies pass on. We’ll deal with Gertrude,” you say. “It was the plan before and it’s the plan now.”
Robin traces a hoof on the ground, staring at the bear.
“I’m… still sorry,” she says.
“We forgive you,” Twilight says, approaching the filly. “But… how can we help you pass on now? You’re the only filly left.”
Robin smiles, then looks up to the three of you.
"This is the only place that I can see my door," she says. “This is the place where I was killed.”
"So you have seen your door before?" you ask.
"Yeah... I couldn't leave the girls though. I'm like a big sister to all of them. I stood up for them. I fought back."
You nod.
"Sort of like Glitter then..." says Twilight.
"Not really," she says. “I would try to hit back at Gertrude when she struck us. I’m the reason why Gertrude is… well, a ghost. And, since I fought then, I want to help you before I join them."
"How?" asks Twilight.
"Well, there’s a filly here. She wandered in a few days ago and Gertrude has her in a trance."
"That's Annie," exclaims Twilight. "Is she safe?"
"Yes, she's sleeping at the bottom of the hole as Gertrude's hostage."
"Then, what do we do? How can we get everypony out of here?" Twilight asks.
"That's the problem... I don't know," says Robin sadly. "I've been thinking so hard, but I don't know how you can do it. After I leave, Gertrude will be at full power and I have no idea what will happen."
You stand up.
"Well then, I know what we have to do. We’ll have to bargain with her."
The three ponies look at you questioningly.
"You won't like it, but it will work. Let's just get this over with so we can get home."
Twilight stands up, furious.
"No! We've done all of this as a team so far, so we will do this as a team. What’s the plan? What could we possibly bargain?"
You sigh and shake your head.
"Twilight, this is the only way. I had a feeling it would end this way once we started this."
"W-will anypony get hurt?" Fluttershy asks.
A lump forms in your throat. You know exactly what she means. You close your eyes.
"Everyone will be fine, Fluttershy. If this goes right, you’ll all get out safe."
She looks directly into your eyes.
"Will you be alright?"
You look into her worried eyes.
"I'll be fine," you mutter.
She doesn't break her gaze. Twilight looks at Fluttershy, then Robin stands up.
"Well, it sounds like this is my time to go," the filly says.
Robin walks over to the door, and raises her hoof to the handle. White light fills the room one more time as the rest of the girls are playing catch, a dog runs from filly to filly, following the ball.
"Hey girls."
"Robin!" the girls all chime in unison.
Robin turns to you three and smiles.
"Thank you... so much. I swear I will find a way to repay you three. Good luck."
The three of you nod.
"Have fun, girls," Twilight calls to them.
"Bye bye!" says Fluttershy excitedly.
Twilight simply waves with a smile, as the door slowly closes for the last time.
You take a deep breath and run a hand through your hair. This is crazy. You're crazy. But it would save the lives of your friends. And the life of the filly in the basement. That's worth it, isn't it?
It has to be.
"We are only going to get one shot, so let's make it count," you say, not looking Twilight or Fluttershy in the eyes.
Your feet are automatic as you walk towards the classroom. Twilight and Fluttershy keep your pace as you push the door open. The classroom is empty, the shards of glass on the floor undisturbed from when you last exited.
The paint on the walls peels off like dead flesh and flies into the air like burning paper. The room's temperature plummets and your breath comes out in the form of misty, white vapors. The clapping of hooves fills the room.
"Congratulations. You showed the little brats to the other side. I bet you feel like you accomplished something special. Don't you?"
Where was her voice coming from? You search the room, but find no sign of Gertrude. Fluttershy breathes heavily, her body viciously shaking. Twilight wraps a hoof around her. The yellow pegasus coughs and loses her balance.
"Fluttershy, are you okay?" asks Twilight.
Her coughs become louder and more pronounced as she begins to cough out a black liquid onto the floor. Then, in a strong burst, it pours out in a steady stream. Fluttershy goes white as the black mass writes on the ground like a pile of maggots within a decaying corpse. The steam ceases and she collapses on the ground, motionless. The liquid slithers across the floor to the other side of the massive hole in the floor.
It bubbles and boils, expanding and contracting on the floor. First it forms a body, then hooves, then a head, then finally grows the long, silver mane of Gertrude. Her body seemed just as real as yours or Twilights, having a physical form to her deep black eyes and sharp, jagged teeth. The sun begins to rise from outside, providing a minimal amount of crimson red light for the room. Twilight charges her horn for a magic strike.
"Now, now, now. We can't have that," she mutters.
Gertrude raises a hoof, and Twilight is sent flying through the classroom door.
"Twilight!" you call out, turning to your friend.
The front door opens wide and the purple unicorn flies through it, landing roughly on the yellow grass outside. The door slams shut as you return your attention to the spirit.
"You've came all this way, yet still I have the upper hand," the poltergeist mocks. "It's almost pathetic."
A small white filly is raised up out of the hole and hangs in mid-air.
"Were you looking for this little one? She has been crying for days. She'll probably dehydrate soon. Isn't that a shame?"
"What do you want?" you growl.
"You know exactly what I want," she says coolly.
"Let the filly and the pegasus go. I'll stay."
Fluttershy slowly starts getting to her feet, her underside covered in cuts and broken glass.
"Anon... no..." says Fluttershy weakly.
"It's what has to be done," you mutter, not turning to her. "She wants a host. And I'm the one she wants."
Gertrude smiles and licks her lips.
"Then it shall be done."
You take a step forward.
"One more thing…" she says with a smile.
A tingling sensation envelops your feet, and then unbearable pain shoots through your legs. Looking down, your shoes have vanished, giving your feet zero protection from the jagged shards of glass from earlier. She smiles a malevolent smile and swings her hostage like a pendulum.
"Just come to me, and she is free."
You take another step, as the unbearable pain racks your senses. Blood marks your footsteps as you cross the floor one step at a time. Tears collect in your eyes and you clench your teeth. This was the only way to make sure that everyone got out safe. You didn't belong in Equestria anyway. It all made sense. Fluttershy tried to raise herself to her hooves, struggling to keep her balance. She looked on helplessly, watching her love endure terrible pain to ensure that she and Annie got out safe.
"Yes... that's it... almost there," Gertrude toys with you. "Don't you want to save their lives? Don't you want to be the hero?"
When you reach her, you drop to your knees, unable to take the pain anymore.
"Good boy."
Gertrude takes the little filly and places her on Fluttershy's back. The front door swings wide open. Twilight tries to charge in, but is blocked by an invisible force.
"No!" Twilight screams.
You look up at the unicorn with a feeling of helplessness. It had to end this way.
"Just go, Fluttershy."
"No! We can't leave you," she calls back.
"JUST GO!"
Fluttershy walks towards the door, but stops to turn back.
"Anon, I-"
With a wave of Gertrude's hoof, Fluttershy is pushed out the door to the classroom, and it is slammed shut behind her.
"Oh, what a shame. I'm sure she didn't have anything important to say," Gertrude says. "Now then, it's time for some fun... And trust me, I'm going to enjoy every second of this…"
The red light from the rising sun spills into the room, mixing hues with the blood that covers the ground. She raises you up into the air and slams you down on the teacher's desk. Your head cracks against the wood and your vision goes white. A ringing fills your ears as she grabs a shard of glass from your foot and twists it.
"I'm going to make you suffer, the same way that the world made me suffer."
You grit your teeth, not trying to give her the satisfaction of your screams.
"This world is not fair. I'm only giving you what we all deserve. You might even thank me one day. There are no happy endings."
She pulls the shard of glass from your foot and moves to your side, angling the shard over your heart.
"You're mine."
The door to the hallway bursts off the hinges and flies into Gertrude. She's taken by surprise and it hits her head on. White light pierces the red and fills the entire room. The walls become solid white marble and the windows disappear. All that remains is the hole in the center of the room, filled with a dark, swirling substance that twisted and turned. The six fillies, bathed in white light burst from the doorway. Behind them stood twelve fully grown stallions and mares.
"Gertrude!" Robin cries, stepping forward. "We would like to have a word with you."
The six fillies charge at Gertrude and jump on her.
"You little brats! Get off of me!"
She punches Summer in the face and throws Glitter on the ground.
"How dare you treat our children this way!" says a feminine voice from the adults.
Twelve adult ponies stand in the doorway and gallop into the room. A few of the males pick up Gertrude and hold her steady.
"Get her, Papa!" exclaims Summer.
Joy's mother walks up to Gertrude and gives her a deadly stare.
"How dare you hurt our children? How dare you cut their lives short out of your own selfishness?"
"No... Don't!" Getrude screams.
"There's a special place for ponies like you," Joy's mother growls.
The fathers, shrouded in white, slowly drag her to the black pit in the middle of the room.
"Please! NO! Anywhere but there!" Gertrude screams.
"You brought this on yourself," another mother says.
With a strong throw, she's thrown into the endless void and is enveloped by the substance. The black muck pulls at her flesh and breaks bone as she cries for help. Her piercing scream fills the room until she is pulled under the waves of liquid, a sole hoof reaching out for help.
"Have fun in Tartarus," mutters one of the fathers.
Another one of them spits into the black void. The parents exit one by one back into the afterlife, and each of the fillies come up to hug you. The pain and burning in your feet slowly fade away as your wounds mend themselves.
"Thank you, girls. Thank you," you choke out.
"Thank you? You helped us!" Summer says.
You return their hug and the girls smile and laugh. Sitting up, you smile at Robin, who returns just as strong of a smile.
"I told you that I would make it up to you," Robin says.
"Yeah. Yeah you did."
Standing back up, you walk with the fillies towards the door.
“I’m… I’m sure it must be a shock," the nurse says.
The words weigh on you like a ton of bricks. Your world comes crashing around you with a simple sentence. It couldn't be. Would somepony jump out from behind a curtain and say it's all a joke? It would be the cruelest joke imaginable, but at least it wouldn't mean...
Was there anything else to aim for? What would Oak think? Would he still stay with a mare that was...
You stare at your hooves, tears dampening the fur on your legs. You feel numb. Your muscles are mechanical. A ringing fills your ears.
"I... I think I misunderstood what you just said. What did you say?" you say, the words coming out of your throat in a desperate plea for help.
"You aren't able to have foals. You are infertile," the nurse says.
Your face finds comfort in your hooves. Your hooves find comfort in your mane. Yet, you can’t find yourself. You are long gone. The body you’re in is defective. Improper. Shameful. It’s all your fault.
"I-I'm sorry. There isn't anything that can be done... Maybe you can consider adoption. There are dozens of li-"
"What is my husband going to say? We've been trying for years,” you whisper.
The nurse remains quiet.
"We wanted to have a little one for so long… And now...” your voice trails off, words failing you. You sit up straight, tears running down your cheek. "There has to be another way. Some way to have our own little child. Some way... Anyway,"
The mare shifts in her seat uncomfortably.
"Have you considered having another mare carry your child?" she asks. “It’s rare… but sometimes couples will do that when… they don’t have another choice.”
You pause and then look back down to your hooves. Silence fills the room. The thought of Oak being with another mare made you physically shake. The doctor doesn't need to know the suspicions that you've had lately, but if you suggest that to him... aren't you encouraging what you fear the most?
"Is it our only option?" you ask shakily, praying she says no.
"There is always adoption... but it may be the only way if you're concerned about the child being biological," she says.
Drying your tears and trying to stay strong, you sit up straight.
"Then there’s no other choice," you answer
The nurse rises from her seat as you get to your hooves.
"I really am sorry," she says.
Each step you take towards the door feels like a step into a jagged shard of broken glass. You place your hoof on the knob and pause.
“So am I,” you reply.
Opening the door, you leave a part of yourself behind that you will never get back.
You sit at home, waiting for Oak to return. The box of tissues ran out a long time ago. You've resorted to a dishrag. It sat in your lap; a shadow of it's former self. Rung. Torn. Broken.
Like you.
He's late coming home from work today. Again.
It's already dark out. Dinner has been sitting on the table for an hour and has grown cold. You didn't even bother turning on any of the lights. Right now, you didn't even want to move from where you sat, let alone turn a light on. You were too worried about what he was going to say. Too worried about where he may be. What he may be doing. Who-
Stop it. He wouldn't.
You bury your face in the rag again.
He said he would be home today. He wanted to hear what the doctor said.
Doesn't he care?
That's when you hear soft hoofsteps trotting up to your front door. You hear the door open and close.
"Are you here, honey?" he calls out.
"Yeah... In here," you manage to choke out.
He walks in, turning on lights as he enters.
"Oh honey, you look like a mess." He trots over and holds you in his hooves. "What happened today? Still no luck with jobs in Ponyville?"
You remain silent in his arms as he strokes your mane.
"I wasn't looking for jobs today," you answer flatly.
"Oh... yeah... I knew that. It was... the doctor!" he says.
"Yeah."
"Well? What did he say?"
"I…"
Then, the words didn't come. Only a break in your voice. A stabbing feeling in your throat. The feeling of being thrown down a flight of stairs. The insides of your body felt as if they were ripped out of you like stuffing from a doll.
"Shhhhh. It's okay... It's okay," he says. "I'm here for you."
Oak continues to stroke your mane. For now, his hooves were your fortress... your castle. The perfect place to hide away from the world and just cry. He begins to hum a little song. A song that you've heard him hum your entire marriage, but brings a little bit of warmth to your soul.
"I'm not going anywhere. We can work through this," he says.
You can tell him about having the foal with another mare later. All that matters right now is being in his arms. Being with the only person left who you truly feel loves you. That little bit of warmth inside that shields you from the cold, dark world of reality. That's all that matters.
It's been one year since that he left you for the mare that was carrying your child. You were sent to a therapist to try and get a hold of yourself. Those pills help take the edge off, but doesn't take away the pain of living. Life is harder and harder every single day, like shard of glass that dig deeper with every step.
A shadow of your former self sits on a park bench on the edge of Ponyville. The orange and yellow leaves fall slowly from the trees in the frigid air. The grass begins to yellow and the playing children talk about their excitement for Nightmare Night. Your therapist advised that you shouldn't watch the children play. That it would just hurt you and dig the wounds deeper. But, it's one of the few things you have left that makes you smile. Even if it's a bittersweet feeling, if it makes you smile, isn't it worth feeling?
Even if it's just to feel anything at all?
You usually brought a first-aid kit with you, just in case one of them gets hurt. Or snacks if they got hungry. Eventually you began to pick up on their names. The colt that sat alone on the swings was Chase. The two fillies that played in the sandbox were Lorelei and Azure. Parents at first thought it was odd that you would go to watch the children everyday, but eventually they thought of you as a silent guardian. Free babysitting, some of them whispered.
You just enjoyed imagining, just for a moment, that one would trot up and ask you to play. Just for a moment, that one would call you Mommy.
You dab your eyes with a handkerchief. That wasn't a safe thought. Stop it.
A new filly trots over and begins to play with Lorelei and Azure. Your squint your eyes to get a better look. She looks to have a beautiful dark-brown mane and soft blue eyes. Her light brown fur blended in with the beautiful fall colors surrounding her. If it were up to you, her name would have been 'Autumn'.
"Here, Fall! You play with this one," Azure says.
A sigh escapes your lips. You could always dream. Your eyes trace their way to your lap and you examine your hooves.
"Where did I go wrong?" you whisper to yourself. "What did I do to deserve this?" You turn your hooves and examine how unkempt they are. "Did I love him too much? Did I trust him too much?"
Sighing deeply, you bury your face into your hooves. A light and innocent feminine voice cuts through the cold air.
"Excuse me, lady."
You look up to see who it is. It's the new filly. Fall. How long were you hiding your face from the world?
"Y-yes, my child? Is everything okay?"
Her smile warms you in a way that you haven't felt in a year. She nods her head.
"Yeah, but you don't look very okay. You've been sitting like that for a while... Was somepony being mean to you?" she asks.
Your face begins to hurt around your mouth a little. It's not quite so hard to recompose your sadness around her.
"No. I think... I'm okay."
Her smile grows even wider and reveals her pearly whites.
"My name is Fall! Do you wanna play with me and my friends?"
Your heart stops a little bit. Tears of joy begin to form in your eyes. You open your mouth, but such a simple innocent act of kindness has rendered you speechless. A nod is the best you can do to answer the filly's question.
"Okay! Follow me! We're going to play catch!"
With a giggle, she trots off towards the girls. Slowly, you rise to your hooves and step onto the crisp grass. Is this a dream? Your legs move forward, but you feel completely weightless. The smile on your face hurts, but your feel too warm to notice the chilly air filling your lungs. Just as Fall is about to enter the sandbox, her attention is torn away from her friends.
Who is she waving at?
You look where she is waving.
Him.
"Daddy!" she calls.
You freeze in place. The voices of all the other laughing children is filtered away by your ears.
"Hey there baby girl! Did you have fun today?" he asks his daughter.
"Yeah! I made friends with that lady over there."
"Oh? Who is-"
You would never believe that a conversation could happen with a single instant of eye-contact, but you believe now. His eyes tell you everything.
Disgust. Spite. Disappointment. Regret.
"You don't want to be friends with her, Fall," he says.
"Why, Daddy?"
"That lady is very sick. We will find a new playground for you to go to from now on. I don't want you to ever be around her. Do you understand?"
"But daddy, I thought we need to be nice to sick people!" she asks him.
"Not this one, sweetheart. Let's go."
He pushes her away from the playground, but she turns her face to you. Her beautiful emerald eyes that once looked at you with hopes of a friend now stare you down as if you were terminally ill.
That was your baby girl.
She was supposed to be yours.
The children that day would swear that it was a beautiful sunny day. Yet all you see is rain. That had to be why the ground was so wet. He took this moment away from you.
You don't notice it, but your legs begin to shake. You grind your teeth.
He took her away from you.
He took away everything in your life that held meaning.
You stop.
The answer is clear.
It was sitting in front of you the entire time and you never even noticed it. Like a present on Hearth's Warming Eve.
All you had to do was take her back.
It was so simple.
All you had to do, was take away everything that he held dear.
The plan was set. Everything was ready. Listening to Fall's at the playground told you when your baby would sleepover at Azure's house.
Which means they would be all alone.
You stand outside the home where you used to live with him.
Your home.
The one that you paid for until you were fired. It never belonged to him. No. Not him. Not that monster.
A pony would never destroy your life the same way he did to you.
Not him. It.
It doesn't deserve to be acknowledged as a stallion. You walk up to the door slowly, savoring every step. This was an once-in-a-lifetime event. It's your duty to enjoy every second. Calmly, you knock on the door three times.
The whore answers the door.
"Hello?" she asks. She gasps when she recognizes you.
Instantly you jam the knife in her ribs and cover her mouth with a hoof.
"Shhhhh."
She tries to scream, but you bring your knife over her throat. Blood slowly spills out onto the tiled entryway to your home. You close the door and lock it.
Leaning down to her, you look her directly in the eyes. She begins to try to breathe, but only gurgling sounds come from her throat.
"Shhhh. Don't worry... I'll take good care of my baby…"
You reclaim your blood-soaked knife.
It's voice rings out from the kitchen.
"Who is it sweetie? Dinner is almost done! It's your favorite!"
You step over the crying pony, who is quickly becoming pale, and make your way towards the kitchen. As you enter, it hums the same song that it hummed to you so very long ago. A foul taste lingers in the back of your throat.
Slowly, you walk behind it with a smile pasted on your face. It picks up the boiling pot and turns to face you.
The cooking pot that you inherited from your grandmother.
The pot hits the ground so hard that the floor tiles break and food covers the pristine floor. The floor who's tiles that you chose. For a single moment, all you feel is pure hatred.
You quickly lunge at him and your vision goes red. Your face feels extremely hot and then everything goes fuzzy.
The next thing you remember is showering in your apartment. Taking a shower to get the blood out of your fur. There were no witnesses. They never connected you as a suspect. Vengeance... tastes sweet.
Fall was sent to Sunny Homes Orphanage that was just on the outside of Ponyville. It was a little out in the country, so the children had wide open spaces to play in the summer. The facility was one of the best that Equestria had to offer.
She only deserved the best.
Thats why you stood outside it today, in the best clothing you had. You see her playing outside with some of the other fillies. There was a sadness that was seated deep within Fall and you could see it. Even if nopony else could.
A true mother always can.
Under your breath, you mutter to yourself.
"Don't worry, baby... Mommy's here."
Equestria mandated that to adopt a child you either had to be a blood relative or have a spouse. That's why you held the help wanted ad in your hooves and you walked through the play yard without looking at your little girl. It one of the hardest things you ever had to do. Calmly, you knock three times.
An older pony opens the door and invites you inside for your interview. The poor mare needed to retire and pass on the orphanage to somepony else. With so many references to parents of the children at the playground, your credentials were too good not to admire. She reads over your resume carefully.
"It looks like you have a lot of experience with children... and experience in first aid. You are also very highly recommended throughout Ponyville."
You nod to her.
"Then just answer me one question then. Why do you want the job?"
You smile. The answer comes out just like you practiced.
"Well. Sadly, I am not meant to have any of my own foals. I want to work here in the orphanage so that I can take care of all of these poor young souls. Then they would have a new mother that would love and cherish them until it's time to let them go."
The old mare smiles at you and looks through the papers one last time.
"Well... It looks like everything here is in order. You are hired. Sunny Homes is yours... Miss…"
"Gertrude. Just call me, Gertrude."
Winter came. Spring followed. Summer after spring. Yet for you, Fall will never leave.
The other children knew that you played favorites with her, but you didn't care. You had your baby and that's all that mattered. When parents would come to adopt, you kept Fall in the back to study or clean. Except for today.
The couple lived in Trottingham and came to visit due to the Orphanage's high reputation. You lined up the children just like you would any other day. They began to survey the children and ask them questions.
Some would show off talents and tell them their favorite games. A few of the orphans would give the visitors arts and crafts as a way to try and warm their heart. That was when Fall curiously peeked herself out of the classroom and the couple saw her beautiful blue eyes.
"Who is that little girl," the husband questions curiously.
The wife gets down on the little filly's level.
"What's your name, sweetie?"
She slowly walks down the hallway, trying not to look at the stare of disappointment and worry written across your face.
"F-fall."
"That's a beautiful name." replies the mare with a smile.
The filly looks to the ground and searches her head for the words that the other orphans taught her. Fall had been waiting so long for a moment like this. Remembering what to say, she gazed her blue eyes deep into the mare.
In that room, the will of two grown mares broke into two. The hours passed like seconds. Like some form of movie that you couldn't control. The adoption process felt like some terrible nightmare.
You knew that you would just wake up at any second.
Any second now, it would be morning.
You would wake up to your little girl sleeping next to you again. It didn't sink in that she was gone until their carriage was beyond the horizon, and the dust was beginning to settle. They took her away from you.
She was gone. Again.
Why does everypony keep taking away the things you love most?
It's not fair.
Losing your composure, it begins to rain again. You look to all of the poor orphaned foals and the building that stood before you. Trottingham was only a few days away. You could try again.
Maybe you could have her back. Yeah.
She would be yours again.
As you walk to the gate, guilt overcomes you. You can't abandon the children. They needed you. They needed a mother.
But they aren't yours. They aren't Fall. They aren't your Autumn.
You re-entered the house with tears staining your face and locked yourself in the master bedroom. You couldn't be their mother and Fall was gone. Without a fortress to hide behind and without a reason to keep going, you wept.
What was the point anymore?
On that day, Sunny Homes began to change. A darkness shrouded the building that sat at the edge of town.
