//------------------------------//
// The Hose 
// Story: The Pinkie Games 
// by King of Madness 
//------------------------------//

As Sunset slowly awoke, she felt her arms aching. She tried to stretch only to find that her arms were stuck above her head. She blinked her eyes open and took in the room she was in. The room was lit by four dim light bulbs that illuminated the room in an eerie way. Directly in front on her, about five feet away, there was what appeared to be a water hose propped up by black... prop ups. It was bigger than a yard hose, but smaller than a fireman's hose... and it was pointed right at her. To the left of the hose, there was a TV on top of a small black table. She looked up to find her arms chained above her, dungeon-style, from a contraption about ten feet above her.

Sunset quickly tried to assess the situation. The last thing she remembered before passing  out was... "Pinkie?!" Sunset called out.

Right after she called out, the TV flashed on, showing a cute but at the same time creepy puppet that resembled Pinkie's pony counterpart. "Hello, Sunset." The puppet said in a demon-like voice. Hearing such a voice come from a pink party pony puppet was uncanny and silly at the same time; Sunset really wasn't sure if she should have been scared or amused. "I want to play a game."

"Pinkie, what are you doing?" Sunset asked in annoyance. "And where are the others?"

"You want answers? You'll have to beat the game. Now listen, there is a button that will unlock your shackles and allow you the leave to the next room... but there's a catch. The button is on top of the mechanism above you. The only way to get to it is to climb... and every time you hit the floor, that hose in front of you will squirt you with water. Like this."

The hose fired a blast of water right into Sunset's face.

The bacon-haired girl kicked and squirmed as she was blasted. Once it was over, she spat out the water in her mouth and glared at the puppet.

"Let the games begin. Good luck." The TV flashed and turned into a picture of a kitten trying to climb onto a bed with the words 'You Can Do It!" on the bottom of the screen.

Sunset sighed and got up. Knowing she had no choice but to play Pinkie's game, she pushed her hair out her face and looked up at the contraption above her. Despite knowing she couldn't reach it, she foolishly decided to jump. Right after her feet returned to the floor, another blast of water hit her right in the butt. Caught off guard, Sunset face planted into the wall and fell on her knees, getting her back and hair soaked in the process.

Once the hose stopped, Sunset rubbed her face and took a deep breath. "'Every time I hit the ground'... Right." Glancing back at the hose before looking to the device above her, Sunset pondered how to get to it. When she lifted her arm to slick hair back, she took notice of the chain and how it connected to the device. The solution was clear: She had to climb. She took the two chains in her hands and brought them together. She gave them a yank to make sure it was sturdy and took another deep breath before putting her foot on the wall.

With some hesitation, she lifted her other foot up onto a wall. "Heh, this isn't so hard." She stated before lifting her other foot and slipping. She fell on her butt and got another blast of water. As she got up and rubbed her sore backside, she took notice of the wet footprints on the wall. It then dawned on Sunset that the real reason Pinkie Pie had given her a 'demonstration' was so her boot would already be slick and make it harder for her to climb.

Gritting her teeth, Sunset got the chains together once more and got back to climbing. Despite how slippery her boots were, Sunset remained steady, not wanting to fall and get even more drenched. As she got closer and closer to her goal, she could feel her confidence building... until she slipped and fell on her back. Apparently, The Hose had a target seeker because, despite Sunset being flat on her back, she still got blasted.

Sunset slowly sat up and crossed her legs under her. When she had been Princess Celestia's student, the princess had taught her ways of remaining calm in infuriating situations. At the time, she hadn't taken it to heart, but now that she was a different person, she could put those lessons to use. She put her hands in her lap, closed her eyes, and softly hummed to herself. After a while of meditating, she took a deep breath and opened her eyes. She got up, stretched, and got ready to try again. She almost started jumping as she readied herself, but remembered the consequences for doing so before she could make that mistake.

She once again brought the chains together and put her foot on the wall. One slick foot after the other, Sunset slowly and steadily climbed up to the box. She paused each time to keep herself steady and got closer and closer to the device. However, once she was only a two feet away, she slipped. But this time, she had managed to hang on to the chains. She wrapped her legs around the chain and pulled herself up to the device. Once she had reached the black box-like contraption, she raised her hand and hit the top of it, hoping that she would hit the button. She did.

With a click, the shackles fell off her wrists. Sunset sighed with relief... and then lost her grip. She fumbled at the chain and slowed her fall, but landed hard on the ground regardless, earning her another blast of water.

The TV flashed back to Pinkie's puppet. "Well done, Sunset. I was starting to get worried, but you pulled through! Now, you may-"

Sunset grabbed the TV and smashed it screen first on top of the hose, destroying both objects. She sighed with relief before the door on the other side of the room opened. She rolled her eyes and walked to the door. "Well, at least I won't have to shower tonight." She walked through the door, which shut and locked behind her