//------------------------------// // Aftermath // Story: Truth or Dare? // by Super Spike //------------------------------// Gold Watch woke up in a dark room. There were no doors or windows. There were no lights. Just pure darkness. "Hello?!" he shouted. "Is anypony here?!" No answer came. "How did I get here?" Gold Watch asked himself. "You got here because you're not finished," a voice sounded. "What?! No! I beat the game! It's over!" "No! It's just beginning..." "You're lying! You told me that there were five rounds and I beat the whole game!" "But now you have to complete five more rounds. This time, you're on your own." "This doesn't make any sense!" "The game's not over. Time to play truth or dare." All of a sudden, Gold Watch saw six kittens approach towards him. They were his friends: Silver Spoon, Button Mash, Dinky Hooves, Twist, Rumble, and Pipsqueak. He then saw a seventh one walk towards him in the middle of the group. It was his sister, Diamond Tiara. "Time to play truth or dare," she said. "Time to play truth or dare," the other kittens said. The seven kittens then started chanting, 'Time to play truth or dare', repeatedly. Gold Watch ran as fast as he could, only to crash into a solid wall. He then banged on it several times. "HELP!" he screamed. "SOMEPONY! I'M TRAPPED!" Cheerilee then walked through the wall. "Miss Cheerilee, I'm so glad that you're here," Gold Watch said frantically. "Please help me!" "Time to play truth or dare," Cheerilee said. "Time to play truth or dare." Cheerilee then turned into a cat and the kittens walked closer towards Gold Watch and then jumped onto him. "Time's up!" the voice rang out. "NO!" he screamed as he felt his ear change into cat ears and his cheeks growing whiskers. "SOMEPONY SAVE ME!" The transformation then accelerated. His nose and muzzle reshaped into that of a cat's. Then his nose and mouth fused together and his teeth became fangs. Finally, his hooves reshaped into paws, his back snapped, and his legs reshaped into that of a cat's. "You're now one of us," the kittens chanted as Gold Watch shrank until he was the size of a kitten. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" he screamed. * * * * Gold Watch screamed as he woke up, this time for real. Upon waking up, he saw that he wasn't in a dark room. Instead, he was in a hospital room. He then looked at his hooves and saw that there were bandages wrapped all over them, as well as on many areas on his body. He then saw that he wasn't wearing a dress, hoofies, or even a bow. Instead, he was wearing a green hospital gown. He wasn't on the ground, but rather in a hospital bed. He saw an IV injected into his left foreleg and a heart rate monitor beeping. "It was all only a dream," he sighed in relief. "I'm not in a dark room. I'm not a kitten. I survived." He then felt something moving and turned around to see what it was. It was his tail. It was sewn back on and so was his cutie mark, which was sewn back on with stitches. "My tail," he said happily. "My cutie mark! I'm so glad to have them back." All of a sudden, two ponies walked inside. They were his parents, Filthy Rich and Spoiled Rich. The moment they saw him, they ran up to him and hugged him hard. "You're alive, son!" Filthy Rich shouted excitedly. "I'm so glad that you're safe," Spoiled Rich said heartwarmingly as she kissed him several times on her son's cheeks. I don't know what I would do without you!" "Thanks, Mommy and Daddy," Gold Watch said in a muffled voice. Diamond Tiara then walked into the room, jumped onto the bed, and nuzzled her brother. "Thanks guys," Gold Watch said as he teared up. "But I still lost. I couldn't save Diamond Tiara and I couldn't save my friends either. It's all my fault." "Don't blame yourself," Filthy said. "You have nothing to be ashamed about. Cheerilee told us everything: the house being real, having to go back to finish it or suffering the consequences, and sharing the dares." "You mean, you're not mad?" Gold Watch asked. "Of course not," Spoiled said. "We would've been if we didn't know and all of you were just being dumb enough to go back there after learning about how dangerous it is. But after learning the truth, we understood and hoped that you would all make it out." "But only I did," Gold Watch sobbed. "Nopony else made it. I tried protecting my friends, but I failed." "No," Filthy said. "You didn't fail. You showed that you weren't a coward." "I'm not?" Gold Watch responded. "But I always get so worried about everything. I didn't even want to go into the haunted house because of what the article stated. Rumble told me that he went to a lot of haunted houses before and none of them were real. I figured that he was right. I trusted him and I was wrong. It was all real! If I had known it was, I would've never gone there in the first place!" "But you helped your friends," Filthy said. "If you didn't, your sister and your friends could've been dead. That counts as something." "But they didn't make it," Gold Watch responded. "Now they're cats for the rest of their lives. Only I made it out. I tried to save my friends, but I couldn't!" "Don't beat yourself up," Spoiled said. "You didn't know." "I know, but I should've," Gold Watch exclaimed. "I would cut off whatever is necessary to save my friends, no matter how much it could hurt." "That's what makes a good friend," Filthy stated. "Trying your best to help others." "Thanks, Mommy and Daddy," Gold Watch said happily. Spoiled Rich was shocked upon hearing what her son had just said. Did he just call me, Mommy? she thought. After a few more seconds of hugging, it ended with Nurse Redheart walking into the room. "You have more visitors," she stated. "They all seem eager to see you." Cheerilee then walked inside along with seven cats: Silver Spoon, Button Mash, Cream Heart, Dinky Hooves, Twist, Rumble, and Pipsqueak. Twist and Rumble jumped onto the bed and nuzzled their heads onto Gold Watch. "We're so glad that you're safe," Cheerilee said happily. "We hope that you get well soon." "Thanks, Miss Cheerilee," Gold Watch said. "Thanks for saving me, too." "Of course," Cheerilee said. "No matter what happens, we all still support you." "Thanks," Gold Watch said as he smiled. "But what about the haunted house?" "The haunted house is being looked at by the officials," Cheerilee stated. "Hopefully, they'll be able to figure out why the house is enchanted and try to get rid of it to make it into a normal house. If they can't, then they'll have to tear it down and build a new one." "That's good to know," Gold Watch said happily. "Thanks again for saving me and taking me to the hospital." "No problem," Cheerilee said. "I'm glad to help you with whatever problems you're going through." She then turned to the cats. "Now then, I think that it is time to get these kitties home. See you when you get out of the hospital, Gold Watch." All of the cats followed Cheerilee out of the hospital room. Afterwards, Filthy and Spoiled turned back to their son. "The doctor said that you should rest for a while," Filthy stated. "The bleach that you poured on yourself made you suffer from third-degree burns. You were in a coma for a week." "How much longer will I need to be in the hospital for?" Gold Watch asked. "Likely for another week," Filthy stated. "The burns were terrible. So you need to rest while they heal." "I understand," Gold Watch responded. "We love you, son," Spoiled said happily. "No matter what. I may have been hard on you at times. But I love you and I want you to be safe." "Thanks, Mommy and Daddy," Gold Watch responded. "I love you both." "Meow?" Diamond responded, worried that she was being left out. "You too, Diamond Tiara," Gold Watch responded as he hugged his sister. "I could never forget you, my sister." "Meow!" Diamond responded both happily and excitingly.