Crawling back out of the vent leading up to the maze, I knew there was only one other place this switch could go. I went back into Applejack’s cell room and connected the lever, giving it a pull. Knowing switches, this one would also lower a barred gate. Now, from this point forward, it was purely a blind run. But I did recall another place where a gate was closed off, and that was in the hallway opposite of the one I was in. So I backtracked to the previous hallway and back over to the door leading to a new room. But it was still blocked off. Then, I remembered something. There was a barred gate in the second room I went into.
I quickly bolted back down, near the very first room I woke up in, and pulled the stack of boxes back. YES! It was open! Crawling through, there was another switch, but it didn’t have a lever on it.
“Damn it….where’s THIS one..”
“Where do you think you are going?!”
I didn’t even turn around. Not because I was afraid. But because I knew she wouldn’t want me looking at her before she was beaten at her own game. “Forward, obviously. Forward to victory.”
“You may think you can win, but you forget – games are meant for winning and losing. They’re not meant to be one’s demise. There’s only two things that’ll be left behind when I win. You, and the terrible nightmares you’ve tried to give me.”
“We will see about that won’t we?”
“Clearly. Now, get lost. You don’t wanna be looked at moments before losing your own game. I'm merely sparing you humiliation for the moment."
“Ooh so you think I’m that easy to get rid of then? Well, too bad! I’m always here because you are in my domain!”
“I said get lost. It won’t be long before we meet again.”
“Fine have it your way!!” Her voice echoed and faded into the background.
That’s when Twilight’s voice came to me again, ‘Here’s a little hint from me – you were just shy of this lever’s location...’
“Just shy…?” What on Earth could that...wait. ‘Just shy.’ If I had to guess, it was near Fluttershy’s cell, since shy’s in her name. I headed out of the room, down the halls, and all the way back to the room I found Fluttershy’s hidden room in. The boxes hadn’t been moved back, so I could push through with ease. Once back at her cell, I looked around. “Now...where could the lever be...” And then, after a bit of searching, it hit me – I’d told myself that the boxes with Pinkamena’s face on them couldn’t be moved...but the ones without them could! I looked closer, and among the groups of Pinkamena boxes was a normal box. Yes! This had to lead somewhere! Pushing it out of the way, and pulling another box inside the ‘area’ out, I could see the faint glare of a lever on the ground. I was making such good progress! I didn’t waste any time getting back to the previous room (you know how the details go, halls and boxes and shit), and approaching the switch, connecting the lever to it. Now, I had to remember...was there another barred gate?
..Yes. Yes, there was. Back at the previous barred gate I thought would open. I pulled the switch, and again hurried down the hall, and up to the gate. It was open! I was getting good at this! Heading through, it lead me down a flight of stairs, and into a room with, surprise, surprise, more boxes. And...more crying. There wasn’t much else to the room other than a doorway in the corner. Continuing on, it led me to another small room with a box, connecting to another hallway. What was the point of these random small rooms? Ignoring that, I actually found Rarity behind a cell at the end of the hallway.
“Oh, dear, she got you, too?” I asked her.
Rarity was trying to answer back while looking at me, “..ye.. rlin’” (yes darling...she did to me too.” She looked worse for wear, not only was her cage filled with mud on the ground but there was a strange smell coming out of it. Her jaw was broken in half with blood running down her chin. Both of her eyes were swollen up almost covering her entire face. Her mane and tail were almost gone, save for a few strands of it left. The right foreleg and hind leg were bent at a weird angle, but thankfully no bones were sticking out.
I turned to the corner, seeing a door at the end of the dimly lit hallway. ‘This is it.’ Twilight’s voice spoke again, sounding determined and fearless. ‘She’s just behind that door. Don’t let her intimidate you. She feeds on fear and fright. Stay strong and brave, and you can beat her.’
Taking a deep breath, I stepped through the hall, each step I took leaving an echo behind. I wasn’t afraid anymore. I knew I could win...I knew she couldn’t truly beat me. I knew….I could save them. I slowly opened the door, revealing Pinkamena sitting on the floor, facing away from me. There was a lever sitting on the ground in front of me, and in front of her.
“So you have made it this far..well, good for you!” She was giggling and crying a bit while moving the knife in a slow motion.
“We both know how this game ends, Pinkamena. It’s inevitable.”
“Well then, here is your chance to escape, but how far will you go?”
“As far as I need to, obviously.”
“Well then, you see the lever, now try and take it!”
The moment was intense, and full of suspense. We locked eyes without moving or looking away. I felt like a deer in front of headlights. We both knew she wouldn’t move UNTIL I took the lever. So I approached it, yet seeing her not move. But I didn't yet take it. I had to be ready.
“This was fun, Pinkamena, but the party’s over.” Any moment now...I slowly reached out for it. The moment I touched it, I knew she'd get up.
“Allow me to *see myself out!*” I grabbed the lever, turned on one foot, and bolted like crazy.
In a cold deep voice she was saying, “Where do you think you are going?! You promised!!!!” She got up, shaking in anger with her knife in between her mouth. Her body glowed pink and she bolted out the door, disappearing in the light while laughing.
“Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit!” I somehow felt like I knew where I was going. Then, once again, I could hear Twilight’s voice. ‘Keep going! I’ll slow her down! And don’t worry about your friends; I’ve set them free, and my friends, too! They’re all waiting on you!’
Running back, I found the gate had been closed, so I quickly pulled the switch, hearing Pinkamena’s hoofsteps grow closer. As I ran down the hall, the doors flew open behind me, possibly to slow Pinkamena down.
She ran into the door, and her head slammed into it creating a dent of her head on the other side. She pulled her head out from the dent and said “No door will ever hold me back!!” Her knife was glowing red as she took the knife out of her mouth. She stood up on her hind legs as she grabbed the knife with both of her hooves, and cut the door in half leaving a red hot glow as she was running out the open door.
I turned a corner, running as fast as I humanly could. I could hear Pinkamena behind me, along with more doors flying open.
“Get back here!!” Her eyes flashed red as she was galloping faster then applejack would ever run in her life.
I could see a light flowing from one of the halls. Turning in that direction, I could see it in the distance – it looked like a glowing hole that would possibly take me out of the game. “There he is!” I heard Twilight’s voice call, but from down the hall. I could see her standing there. “All of you, into the hole! HURRY!”
“Oh no you are not going to escape!!” Pinkamena’s form started to shift into a bipedal demon. Her eyes turned dark red, her coat turned black with claws on her hooves. The tail and ears thinned out while her body stretched out to make her as tall as celestia is. Dark shadows formed behind her and blood splattered the walls behind her.
This was it, now or never! Once everyone was in, I leapt for the portal. For a few moments, I wasn’t sure if we were going to make it. But then..I felt it. Twilight pulled me in faster with her magic, being as smart as she was, pulling me through. “GAME OVER, PINKAMENA!” I shouted, as I vanished into the portal, with bright light surrounding me, before being thrown out of the game, and onto the safety of my bed. Looking around, everyone and everypony seemed to be fine. No cuts, no scratches, no broken bones….even Terry was back! I looked at the screen, thankful to be on the other side of it.
"COME BACK IN HERE!! Im not through with you yet!" She was pounding and scratching the screen while still in her demon form.
“Party’s over, Pinkstuff.” I replied, getting up. “I feel bad that she’s all alone in there now, but….she really ought to calm down….for a good, long time.” I closed the computer’s lid, picked it up, and began heading out of the room. “Meet me in the backyard in five.”
A low crying was inside the computer. "I...I have nothing.. I didnt mean to hurt my friends.. its not my fault, Discord corrupted us before turning us against each other! I have no friends, no goals.. whats the point of it now?"
“When you’ve thought about what you’ve done and actually prove you’re a good pony, you can come back out.”
He hears a clank - obviously she threw the knife down. "Fine.. I was going to kill myself anyways, cant help it someone just coded me to be evil.. I had a life before this."
“Hmmm….I might have an idea. But you have to promise not to turn anyone else into cupcakes or dead meat. We all have lives, too.”
"I promise, besides its no fun in the real world if they can’t come back right?"
“Well, the game’s only coded for the Sweet Shoppe and the dungeon. Not to mention the Shoppe doesn’t have much in it. But this world is so much bigger and...better in its own way. Plus they have libraries for pretty much anything. Wink wink.” I knew that was Twilight’s trigger word for excitement.
She let out an excited gasp. "A LIBRARY?! How big is it?!"
"From big to small. Books on.....just about everything here, so a lot more knowledge is possible. Over a thousand libraries, honestly."
"Over a th---th--thous......eergh..." Her eyes rolled back into her head as she fainted.
Plugging the computer back up and opening it, I went into the game’s files, looking for Pinkamena’s file. But there was no direct file referencing her. “It’s not here. Pinkie, do you know exactly what file belongs to you that I can modify?”
"level 0 looks good"
“Level 0...got it..”
Right clicking on the file, I opened it up with notepad. Among the lines and lines of code, I brought up the ‘find’ option, and searched up ‘Pinkie’. No search results. I searched up ‘Pinkamena’, and one result came up. It looked like it was the model used in the main part of the game. I deleted ‘Pinkamena’ and replaced it with ‘Pinkie’, clicking ‘Save’. “Alright, that’ll do it.”
"I never got a chance to find out in the coding process, unless the file was transfered to a friend or put in the usb drive into a television screen."
“Well, how did you get out into my room before?”
"Through the computer though that was when.. i was her, but it seems i can only go through the television now considering the computer screen is restricting me from getting out."
I grabbed the computer, moved it near the TV, and plugged in an HDMI cable. “Alright, try now.” I switched to the channel the screen was on.
Her hoof started pushing through the screen, sparks started to fly everywhere as she pulled herself out halfway through and was panting out of breath."Ca.. can you help me out the rest of the way?"
Grabbing onto both hooves, I could only hope that I was strong enough to pull her out...considering a pony’s body is like a marshmallow, most claim. “Three…...two……...one!” I pulled as hard as I could, not realizing how strong the screen was.
Pinkie's legs pulls back a bit, like a sling shot and lets go making her body shoot forward out of the screen.
Twilight (who I had forgotten woke up), thought quickly, holding Pinkie still in her magical aura, before lowing her onto the ground. “That was close. You almost hurt yourself. Now...it should be made clear you owe us an apology, Pinkie.”
"I.. I do, I'm sorry everyone, I know some of you may not ever forgive me for what happened.. but I had no controll of it. Remember, girls, when Discord made us the opposite of our elements and turned us against each other? Well, it was like that.." She lowered her head in shame, tears started to fall onto the floor while her whole body was shaking.
“You’re not to blame, Pinkie. The person who made it wanted to make a game to scare people. But it wasn’t his fault, either. Sometimes we wind up creating things that are worse than many imagine. But we’ll need to make sure Pinkamena never returns again.”
I turned to Sabrina and Terrison. “You two ought to get home. Your parents might be worried sick.”
“Yeah.. you are right, but still it hurts so much knowing all of us were effected” She gets up and stands drying her tears away.
“I might have an idea. You’re connected to the game, so...If we remove the game from my PC without deleting it, your memories of your deeds will vanish.”
“There is but one way to do so.” I opened a drawer and got out a small USB, and plugged it in, CTRL + X’d the game, and pasted the files onto the USB, letting them transfer.
Shortly after, the files were moved onto the USB, and I unplugged it. “That ought to do it. Your memories should be gone. Now, do you remember the last half hour?”
“Uhh only when you wanted me to get out of the computer screen for some reason... actually why was I in the computer? Were you watching another episode that you wished for us to come alive?!”
“….yyyyyyes. That was it. To make my life….not...boring. It came from a source that doesn’t affect the show because I am clever.”
“Now, a very simple rule to follow is, you mustn’t let anyone outside the house see you. Lord knows WHAT chaos will ensue if anyone finds out I’ve brought six pastel ponies into my home.”
“Okie dokie lokie then! Well now that we are here... yawns why don’t we get some sleep or eat and sleep.. or sleep while eating in bed Oo wait I call the fridge as my bed!! I always wanted to visit your world since you been seeing us this whole time, do fridges work like beds here?”
“Erm...why don’t you take the pullout couch….bed? The fridge is….it’s not the BEEEST kind of bed...you’d freeze.”
“Aww don’t worry I would only get out a few hours before I freeze.. ah well”
“Now, I do have some leftover tubs of icecream if anyone prefers those.”
Pinkie was gone in a poof of dust, down the stairs. “Well, at least she’s happy. I have plenty of backups in the freezer in case I run out so I don’t have to run out to buy it.”
“I found the freezer!”
"....Shit."
“Well, there’s also a backup freezer in the shed outside the house...but she won't find that, either.”
“She can’t even go outside, anyway.”
"Well, I happen to own some black stealth clothes....as does Pinkie. That and...she's very good at finding things." Twilight added.
“Now, we ought to get some rest. There’s actually...actually, there’s two spare bedrooms, which should fit all six of you per room.”
“If anyone wants to have a sleeping place in my room, don’t be afraid to ask. I know it feels safer being with someone you trust.”
“Dibs on the couch!!”
“Well, the couch does fold out into a makeshift bed. Does that count?”
"Sure thing! I can sleep anywhere :D"
“Judging by what Pinkie said about our show – surprising we have one, I must add, I thought we were just another normal life – you likely know she isn’t kidding. She’s TRAINED herself to nap anywhere.”
Pinkie jumps on the couch and beings snoring.
“Well...that was fast. Where does everyone else want to sleep?”
Everyone chatters at once, Rainbow Dash agrees to sleep with Pinkie while the rest would take the spare bedrooms.
“Alright,” I concluded with a yawn. “If anypony needs me, you know where to find me...”
Once everypony got comfortable, I went back into my own room, and turned off the lights. I was glad I could finally put all this mess behind me..
Finally….it was over….
EPILOGUE
Pinkie woke up from her sleep and looked around. Seeing as how everyone was sleeping, she pulled out Loyal’s laptop from her mane, having stolen it earlier that night when no one was looking, and two ear plugs. She grabbed the ear plugs and placed them inside Rainbow Dash’s ears so she wouldn’t wake up. Quietly she trotted to the back door and opened it to go outside, quickly and quietly, shutting the door behind her. Using the stealth clothes she found from underneath the couch, she put it on and walked out into the night and into the forest far from the house. Once the house was out of view, she grabbed a mallet and started smashing the laptop to pieces. “There, that should get rid of all the evidence of the game!”
For a split second we could hear Pinkamena inside Pinkie’s mind, laughing and plotting her revenge. Pinkie Pie buried the laptop and headed back to the yard, but not without going to the shed and grabbing a late ice cream snack that she heard Loyal talk about.
It seemed her game was not truly over….
TO BE CONTINUED