//------------------------------//
// Is This Real? 
// Story: The White Mare with the Red Eyes 
// by flawlessvictory20 
//------------------------------//

After you gorged yourself on the dinner buffet from the main hall, you decided to walk around the resort to try and settle your food. You eventually found yourself at the large water fountain. As you gazed you at the night's sky, a calm breeze caressed your being.

"Sweet Celestia, I needed this vacation," you hummed.

You found yourself lost in the beauty of the celestial constellation. But even in this moment of serene bliss, you felt your mind drift back to what happened earlier that. You could still feel the frigid temperature surround your being as well. But the thing that stuck with you the most was the cold hoof you felt touch your face. It was as if the very warmth was drained from you by that single touch.

‘Just what was that,' you pondered.
"A bit for your thoughts?" spoke a melodious voice.

You to where the voice came from and saw Ready Made approached you.
"Oh, hello Ms. Made," you greeted.

"Please, just called me Ready," she smiled as she sat down next to you. "So is there something on your mind?"
"You could say that. Hey, can I ask you something?"
"But of course."

You looked down to you hooves as you began.

"Well, this may sound weird but on the way to my room Flambé and I walked down this hallway. And I swear to as we walked down it, the temperature seemed to drop to a freezing level," you stated.
"Oh, is that so? I'll be sure to have our maintenance ponies check what's causing that sudden change," she replied taking out her notepad to write down your concern.
"Well that's not all," you continued. "I also felt a cold hoof touch my face too. The touch nearly chilled me to my core. But when I look to see who it was all I saw was a door."
"Oh…a…door you say?" she spoke with a subtle quiver in her voice.
"Yeah, it looked different from the other rooms. It was all cracked and had an old doorknob. It didn't even have a room number in it."
"Oh that's just our storage room," she quickly replied.
"Storage room?" you questioned. "That's a weird place to put it."
"Yes, I've telling management that for years," she laughed.

But you noticed her laugh seemed nervous and somewhat. You shrugged it off and turned to her.

"But if it's the storeroom, why isn't label as such? What if somepony stumbles in there by accident?" you inquired.
"Oh, we don't worry about that. The door is always locked," she assured.
"Oh, I see…"

She placed a hoof on your shoulder.

"Don't let this matter bug you," she spoke. "You've come here to enjoy yourself time here. So just put this incident behind you."
"I suppose you're right…"
"Well, I have to get back to work. I wish you a pleasant night," she bowed.
"You as well Ready," you nodded in return.

As she walked away, you still felt unease in your stomach.

‘It couldn't be something that simple,' you internally debated. ‘But she's right. I should just focus on enjoying myself.'

You sigh and look up at the beautiful night letting the cool breeze take away your cares.



Later that night, as you slept, in your dream you found yourself standing outside in the hallway.

"Huh? Why am I in the hallway?"

As you looked around, you noticed that something was off. Though the lighting in the room was dimmer, however; you could tell the wallpaper was distinctly different from your room. It was a design that was popular a few years ago. But before you could ponder it further, you heard a blood-curdling screaming coming from down the hall. With a quickened pace you ran to locate the source. You soon found yourself in the hallway from before. It was then you hear a mare cry out for help.

"HELP! SOMEPONY! HELP ME PLEASE!,"  the mare cried out terror lace in her voice.

Your hooves moved on their own as you quickly found yourself in front of the same door, but instead of it being worn and cracked like before but instead new and untouched by age. You took note of room# (which was (148-B) before you banged on the door. You heard the mare and a stallion in a heated vocal confrontation.

"Ma'am! Ma'am, I wanna help try to open the door," you pleaded.

As you tried the doorknob, you could hear the mare and a stallion in the midst struggle. You could tell she was fighting with all she had to get you the door. With no luck with the door, you decided to break it down. Just as you about to ram the door both ponies fell silent, and you heard a body hit the floor. Your blood ran cold as you fear the worse.

"Ma'am! Ma'am are you okay?" you called out as you rammed the door.
There was no response.
"Ma'am, are you there? Hello, is anyone there?"  you spoke before you rammed the door.

After the fourth attempt, you knew the door wasn't going to budge.  You saw that the door had a classic lock which meant you could peer into the room. To your horror, you saw a body slumped on the floor was a small puddle blood began to stain the carpet.   The mere sight of the blood as it spread across the floor you felt the color leave your face.

"NO!" you screamed as you furiously pounded on the door.

You awake from your dream rattled and in a cold sweat.  You looked around your room to see it was morning. You looked down and saw your hooves were shaking. You've never before have had such a vivid dream, let alone one about witnessing a pony's murder. You made your way to the bathroom sink to splash your face and try to regain your composure. As the water was running, you try to process what you just witnessed. A mare was murder in her very room.

‘But why? Who were they? What were they arguing over? And what of the stallion that committed the murder?'
Your thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.
‘Who in the hay could that be this early?'

When you went to open the door, you were greeted by Ready.

"Oh, hello there Ready. What brings you here?"

She began to speak but stopped herself, as if she was trying to find the right words to say.

"Is something the wrong?"
"I'm sorry to bother you so early in the morning, but it seems we've received complaints from the other guest about screaming coming from your room," she stated with a concerned look on her face. "Is everything okay?"
"Well, to be honest no," you replied. "Is just had a horrible nightmare!"
"A nightmare?"
"Yes, that room I told you about. I saw a murder take place in there. An innocent life was taken in that room!"

You saw her eyes slightly widened before returning to a calm state.

"But it was merely a dream. No need to need to work yourself up over it," she spoke.
"But…but it felt so real. I saw her lifeless body on the floor.  The blood was slowly seeping out of her body," you recalled with vivid detail.

She merely shook her head and sighed.

"I see now what the problem is."
"What?"
"Well, simply put you don't want to relax. I've seen it many times before," she began. "You've let yourself become such a workaholic that you don't know how to enjoy your vacation. Your mind is trying to make up reasons for you to leave."

You were at a loss for words.  You remembered that all the countless hours you put in just to get this time off.  Could it be that you've conditioned yourself to want only to work?

‘But…that can't be true…I've wanted this for months now…' you tried to reason. ‘Maybe it was just my imagination getting the better of me…'
"If I can make a suggestion," she spoke up before she levitated a voucher for the on-site spa. "I suggest you take this and relax at our world-class spa. It will make your stress and worry melt away."

You took the voucher with a smile.

"Thanks, Ready. And I try to keep it down from now on," you said.
"Excellent sir," she spoke before a brief bow.

Just as you were about to close the door, she stopped it from closing.

"Hmm, did you need something else, Ready?" you asked.
"It's about the storeroom…" she spoke, but the melodious tone seemed to cease for a moment. "For your benefit, I'd suggest staying away from the storeroom or trying to look inside of it. Okay?"

Something about her demeanor changed. Though she presented it as a friendly suggestion, you could tell from her stoic gaze that it was a subtle threat.

"But why exactl–"

She leaned in closer to you, and you felt the foreboding aura that emanated from her eyes. There was no denying that her next words were indeed going to be a threat.

"Again… For your own benefit, I'd suggest staying away from the storeroom or trying look inside of it. Are we clear?"
"Crystal…" you gulped.

The calm disposition and pleasant smile returned.

"Good, I hope you have a wonderful day," she bowed as she left.

‘Okay…that just happened…' you noted. ‘Why is she adamant about that room?'

You push those thoughts to the back of your mind and freshen up to tackle the day.