After an amazing day of shopping, working and spending time together, the girls decided to head home. It was the night before Halloween.
"Boy howdy, am I bushed." Applejack said, wiping her forehead.
"Me too." said the other girls, equally and happily exhausted from the days outings. They had finished their shifts at the mall, gotten a meal and desserts, and were now trudging home. But unfortunately, they looked up and saw that ominous storm clouds had begun to gather. Soon, what started as a trickle became a downpour, and soon the girls were huddling together under a bus stop canopy.
"I don't think it ever has rained like this before." Sunset said warily. "This storm seems almost unnatural."
"Well, whatever it is, we need to find a place to stay for the night. Theres a flash flood warning for our area, and we won't make it home without being soaked to the bone." Rainbow said gloomily, while looking at her phone.
"That simply won't do, darling." Rarity said. "I just got my hair done and i don't want it to be ruined!" Her friends rolled their eyes in adoration. Rarity was the queen of drama in every way.
"I think i have enough saved for a night. Is there any place we can stay Rainbow? This nights on me." Sunset proclaimed. Everyone 'aww'ed in thankfulness and gave a huge group hug.
"Not any one close by. I cant believe virtually every hotel here is booked. This must be a really strange happening on the night before Halloween." Rainbow said in frustration.
"What about that one?" Pinkie said pointing out into the rain. They followed her finger and were staring at an imposing and ominous sight.
Rising above the glow of the street lights stood an eerie hotel, its flickering lights reading: 'CANTERLOT TOWER' while it also looked to be missing a section of its front. To top it off, a huge scar of what appeared to be scorch marks streaked across the front.
"What is THAT place?" Twilight asked, staring at the monstrous building stretching into the night sky, with lightning periodically illuminating its silhouette.
"I...have NO idea." Sunset said.
"Im looking it up, and its totally blank on the internet. Its like it doesn't exist!" Rainbow stated.
"Well, maybe we can ask somebody about it. maybe we can stay there for the night." Fluttershy suggested.
"I don't know, theres something unnatural about that place, i can just feel it." Applejack stated.
A man in a raincoat dashed by and sat down to wait for the rain to stop.
"Excuse me, sir?" Twilight inquired. He turned to look at her.
"Yes?"
"Do you know anything about that hotel? We need a place to stay for the night." She said pointing to the ominous tower. He looked at Twilight and her friends as though they were mutated monsters.
"THAT place...? Are you all crazy? I wouldn't be caught dead in that wreck!"
"Darling, seriously." Rarity cooed. "It cant be all bad."
"Haven't you heard the story behind that place? On a stormy Halloween night, many, many years ago, five people stepped into one of the main elevators, and were never seen again. Witnesses say lightning struck, causing the entire front wing to vanish, along with the elevator and the people inside! Its been abandoned since. You want to stay at that hotel, nice knowing you all, however briefly. Hope you all emerge alive!" He then immediately turned away and started texting on his phone.
"Well...thanks for the advice!" Pinkie beamed, causing her friends to raise their eyebrows.
"I guess we have no choice." Sunset said. "If theres no other place nearby, we have to stay."
"Besides, theres no such thing as ghosts." Twilight added. They all then dashed through the rain and to the hotel's wrought iron gates. Lamps adorning the side cast an elegant and eerie glow. However, they saw a lock and chain around the gates.
"Well, the guy said this place has been abandoned." Applejack noted. Rarity all the while held her diamond studded umbrella over everyone. Suddenly, the lock broke, the chain rattled to the ground, and the gates slowly swung open. The girls looked at each other nervously.
"Maybe this isn't such a good idea." Sunset said. Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck a tree a few feet away, causing the girls, especially Rarity, to scream loudly.
"Bad idea or not, I am not staying outside in this storm!" Rarity shouted, her friends silently agreeing as they ran through the ornate gardens and run down signs and overgrown arches. They came to the lobby doors, and they swung open to reveal a bellhop staring vacantly and spookily grinning right at all of them.
"Good evening, my ladies. Perfect night to drop in, may i presume?" He said. The girls took a moment to observe the lobby. It seemed like only a short time ago, it had been hustling and bustling but now with card games, tea sets, books and whatnot left about, but now cobwebs and dust covered everything. The owl sculpture in the center was most unusual, its bronze eyes seeming to be staring straight at the girls.
"If this place has been abandoned, why are you here sir?" Twilight asked.
"Im saying this with love, but this place is a pigsty." Rarity complained.
"Yeah, my pigs couldn't make this place any more dirtier, even if they lived here." AJ agreed.
"HI, Im Pinkie Pie! Do you like parties? Do you like confetti? Or party cannons? Oh i should have brought mine!" Pinkie beamed in the mans face without breathing.
"Pleased to meet you, miss." the bellhop stated without changing his expression in the slightest. Ignoring the dust, Rarity spoke.
"Darling, could you by chance happen to have a room available? The storm is wretched outside and we need to stay the night or until the storms over. At least i hope it isn't as dirty as it is down here." Rarity inquired.
"Let me check. Follow me. " He walked over to the reception desk, pulled out a book covered with cobwebs and dust, opened it without brushing it off, and ran his finger down a list.
"It seems you're in luck. We have rooms to spare!" He said with a quiet laugh. The girls were a little unnerved, but they gained their composure. "As far as price goes, you are the first guests in 80 years, so we've decided the stay is on us."
"Who's 'we'?" Rainbow asked while narrowing her eyes.
"Thats for me to know, and you to find out, young lady."
"Well, at least the gentleman was kind enough to allow us to stay for free." Rarity stated.
"So what exactly happened here?" Sunset asked.
"Its good so see a young mind so inquisitive, and all answers will be given in due time. Unfortunately your rooms on floor 13 are not fully ready, so please enjoy yourselves in the library." He led them to a pair of doors by the desk.
"You have a library?!" Twilight yelled.
"Indeed we do, and please look around. We hope you find something amusing." He said with a final creepy grin and the doors shut behind him. The girls looked at the strange artifacts on the shelves and tables as well as taking in the view of the rainstorm still going on outside.
"Im saying this with love, but this place is a pigsty." Rarity complained.
"Yeah, my pigs couldn't make this place any more dirtier, even if they lived here." AJ agreed.
Suddenly the lights went out with a lightning flash and a vintage television flickered to life. An eerie voice rang out:
“You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension. A dimension of sound. A dimension of sight. A dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You’ve just crossed over into…The Twilight Zone.
Canterlot, 1939. Amid the glitz and the glitter of a bustling, young movie town at the height of its golden age, The Canterlot Tower Hotel was a star in its own right; a beacon for the show business elite. Now, something is about to happen that will change all that. The time is now on an evening very much like the one we have just witnessed.
Tonight’s story on the 5th dimension is somewhat unique and calls for a different kind of introduction. This, as you may recognize, is a maintenance service elevator still in operation, waiting for you. We invite you, if you dare, to step aboard because in tonight’s episode, you are the star. And this elevator travels directly to…the 5th dimension.”
The lights came back on as the TV shut off.
"So the man in the rain was telling the truth!" Rainbow said in shock.
Another door in the back opened and the same bellhop came in.
"My ladies, your rooms are now ready. Please follow me." The girls followed him to the boiler room, where rusty pipes and machinery were eerily lit and glowed a strange orange color. They came to a stop in front of a rusty pair of elevator doors. A caged equally rusty motor was next to it, that suddenly sprang to life as the girls neared it.
"This elevator will take you to your room on 13. Please stay inside the elevator at all times."
"How could we leave it when its moving, darling?" Rarity inquired.
"You may want to leave it." The bellhop said blankly. The doors slowly opened to reveal a rusty maintenance cage. there were stability handles on either side, with dimly lit lights outside.
"Why do i have this feeling that we're on some sort of thrill ride?" Applejack said quietly.
"Enjoy yourselves ladies." He then closed the doors. "While you can." The elevator lights suddenly went out and it started to rise rather quickly. The voice spoke again
“You are the passengers on a most uncommon elevator about to ascend into your very own episode of… The 5th Dimension. The elevator stopped in front of a long, dimly lit hotel guest corridor with a window at the end. Lightning flashed outside, and the ghostly residents materialized almost as if from a tv screen. They turned to the elevator and started beckoning the girls to join them in the afterlife.
"No....thank you?" Fluttershy said quietly. Lightning flashed again, the ghosts vanished in a burst of electricity which played across the walls and ceilings. Fluttershy started whimpering quietly, causing Sunset to comfort her. Suddenly, the corridor faded into a field of stars, with only the window remaining. It then started to morph into a more eerie white window, which then shattered.
"Ok, im starting wonder if we've been duped." Sunset said nervously. "This place is crazy!"
"I know right?" Twilight added. "All laws of physics and reality seem to vanish here." The doors of the elevator closed again and it started to rise further.
One stormy night long ago, five people stepped through the door of an elevator and into a nightmare.
That door is opening once again, and this time it’s opening for you.“
The elevator stopped to a long attic-like corridor, and astonishingly, it moved forward, out of the shaft entirely, through the hallway.
"An elevator that moves out of its shaft? Now I've seen everything!" Applejack stated. "And I've seen a lot of things in life!" The lights went out and macabre sights such as formulas, an eyeball, clock and more illuminated the spaces on either side. They came to a field of stars that condensed together and two light beams shot vertically and separated horizontally, as if forming elevator doors. The elevator entered pitch blackness as the voice delivered its climatic narration:
“You are about to discover what lies beyond the fifth dimension, beyond the deepest, darkest corner of the imagination… in the Tower of Terror. “
There was a crack of electricity as the elevator jolted and then shot straight up like a rocket. All the way up to the top floors where elevator doors opened to reveal a view of Canterlot City.
"Hey, i can see our houses from-." Pinkie started, but then she was cut off when they heard cables snapping.
"Oh, for goodness SAKE!!!" Rarity screamed as the elevator plummeted down seemingly being pulled by an unknown force. The elevator stopped just before it crashed, showing the five ghosts again in front of the elevator. They then shot up again, and immediately fell down again. All the while, only Sunset and Rainbow managed to keep a brave face as they hoped for a miracle from the continuous drops and rises.
After what seemed like an eternity, the elevator fell for a final time and then started moving backward into a long passageway, finally stoping in front of another pair of real elevator doors. The voice spoke for a final time:
“A warm welcome back to those of you who made it and a friendly word of warning; something you won’t find in any guidebook. The next time you check into a deserted hotel on the dark side of Canterlot, make sure you know just what kind of vacancy you’re filling. Or you may find yourself a permanent resident of… The Twilight Zone”
"Well, i am giving this place a zero in the review book. I dont know where to start in complaints. And thats saying something, because i know a thing or two about complaining!" Rarity fumed.
The doors opened to reveal the bellhop for a final time.
"I trust your stay has been a memorable one, ladies."
"Yeah, if you count almost getting killed as memorable!" Applejack shouted in his face as they let go of the handrails, their shaking hands finding their feel again.
"What kind of sick joint is this?!" Rainbow added as they stormed out of the elevator.
"Okay, were you trying to get us killed?" Sunset said through gritted teeth.
"Perhaps it would be better for them to explain."
"Who?" Fluttershy squeaked.
"Follow me." He said. They reluctantly followed him to the hotel gift shop. There, standing right amongst items and stands, were the ghosts themselves. The little girl noticed them.
"Hey, everybody, its those girls who freed us!" The ghosts looked up and moved through racks and items and came together in front of the girls. The actor spoke up.
"From all of us to all of you all. Thank you. By your braving what we endured on this night 80 years ago, we are now freed from the curse that has bound us to never leave these haunted floors. Only if a living soul were brave enough to venture in and take the journey could the curse be broken. Thank you all."
Rarity was frightened but when she noticed the actress's outfit, she forgot about her fear, and immediately voiced her opinion. "Darling, you look simply divine. The style, the grace, the elegance, you have just given me an idea for a new halloween lineup!"
"Thank you, Miss, though it hasn't been easy keeping this outfit clean all these years."
"Oh i can only imagine!" Rarity said.
After they mingled with each other, Twilight interviewing ghosts for the first time, Pinkie playing with the girl, Applejack discussing hard work with the ghost bellhop and many others, the real bellhop spoke up.
"The storm has stopped, you are now free to leave, all of you. It was a pleasure being your bellhop tonight. The Canterlot Tower Hotel can rest assured its final guests left satisfied. Once again thank you, my ladies, and farewell." He faded away himself and the ghosts flickered and then faded away as well, leaving the girls alone.
"Well, its only been an hour or two. Lets get home." Sunset said. The girls followed her outside to discover a starry night sky, and the floodwaters had disappeared from the ground. As they walked home, they turned around one last time to look at the old Tower. A final, strange clap of thunder and lightning sounded, and the Tower crumbled. With the curse lifted the Tower was satisfied that its first permanent guests left satisfied with their stay.
"Well one things for sure." Twilight said definitely. "This is one Halloween eve that won't drop out of memory." Her friends laughed at her statement and continued their walk home.