The ghost hunters went to the elevator of the second floor and placed the two buttons they received when they captured the Steward. They then pressed the button B1, returning to the basement where they brought Twilight and Spike back to the caravan where they were joined by Polterpup. Once there, while Little Ghost kept hold of Spike and Applejack watched Twilight, Apple Bloom searched around until she found a round object with a button and a spike at the top. With it, she approached Spike and pointed the spike at him.
"This may hurt a little," she warned before she pressed the button.
A beam came out of the gadget and entered Spike, and the dragon struggled for a few seconds, holding his head, before he stopped moving. He then groaned, rubbing his head.
"Ugh... What happened? Why do I feel like somepony is using my head as a drum?"
"Sorry Spike, we never used the Dehypnotist before, so we're discovering the secondary effects. But as Smart Spirit thought, it simply gives a big migraine," answered Apple Bloom. "You can drop him, Little Ghost."
"Okay." She did so.
"Give it a few minutes and it'd disappear," said Apple Bloom to Spike before she pointed the gadget at Twilight and pressed the button again. Like with Spike, a beam hit the mare, and she struggled before she stopped moving.
Before long, both Twilight and Spike recovered enough that Apple Bloom was able to tell them everything that happened while she put the Dehypnotist in her belt for very possible further use. She and the others also stocked the ghosts they captured. Not sure where to place Eternal Rest's servants, they decided to put them in the yellow crystal. Since Eternal Rest was working for Thanatos, some of them may be controlled, and Eternal Rest herself seemed powerful enough to force the weaker ghosts to work for her.
Once they were done, Twilight said, "I will help. I can't face the ghosts, but I can do like back in Evershade Valley."
"Thanks, but..." Apple Bloom's expression became one of worry. "If ghosts come here, how will ya defend yerself? Magic works against them, but..."
"Ah'll remain with her," said Applejack before she sighed. "Ah'd have preferred remaining with ya, but Twilight and Spike would be too vulnerable. Somepony must remain there to keep guard against the ghosts."
Apple Bloom nodded, smiling. "Don't worry, sis. Ah went through Evershade Valley. This hotel'll be nothing, especially with the help of Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost." The three fillies formed a group hug while facing Applejack at this.
"Ooh yes. Alone, no ghost was able to stop you, so with two friends? Eternal Rest is doomed," said Spike with a smirk.
He was clearly worried for everypony, especially for Rarity, but he knew he could count on Apple Bloom to... Well... At least bring back their ghosts at worst. Deep down, he was hoping that they could be saved alive, but with Thanatos involved, he knew that anything was possible, and Apple Bloom couldn't do much about it except trying to capture the villains to make sure that they would never kill somepony again. Thanatos was still out of her reach, but she should be able to capture Eternal Rest. The Poltergusts were more powerful than when she fought Little Ghost, she shouldn't be able to escape.
Apple Bloom equipped herself with the same camera headband that she used back in Evershade Valley so everyone remaining in the caravan will be able to follow them.
"So, if I understand," started Twilight. "You will have to explore the floors one by one in search of the elevator buttons to eventually reach the floor where Eternal Rest will probably be waiting for you. Each button will probably be guarded by a guardian under Eternal Rest's orders."
"And most of them probably won't be as weak and easy to catch as that Steward guy," said Applejack. "Some of them may even be as powerful as those Shadows you fought back in the valley."
"No matter, we'll defeat them," said Apple Bloom.
"Any ghost that gets in our way will get SHLURP!" said Sweetie Belle.
"Make sure to not work down to the bone," said Spike
Sweetie Belle groaned, but couldn't stop a giggle. "I should have seen the skeleton jokes coming. They're just too humerus to pass through, right?"
Spike laughed while everypony else groaned, excepted Little Ghost who laughed too.
"Anyway..." said Twilight. "Still be careful while you explore the hotel. This is Eternal Rest's hotel. Who knows what traps she prepared for you. This hotel alone may be more dangerous than any of the manors of Evershade Valley, and is much bigger than anything you explored before."
"Twilight's right," said Applejack. "Don't be reckless because it's yer third rodeo and ya've help. It goes to you too, Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost."
The three fillies nodded.
Once Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Little Ghost were out of the caravan with Polterpup, the dog running ahead to the first floor, Sweetie Belle asked, "Do we go to the fifth floor now that we can go here?"
"Not right now," answered Apple Bloom. "We will return first to the ballroom to see if we can explore the second floor and find anything else here."
"Right, but I wouldn't be surprised if the door between the ballroom and the rest is locked," said Little Ghost.
"Me too, but just in case, it's better to check," replied Apple Bloom.
So, using the staircase, they returned to the Grand Lobby where they found Polterpup biting the tail of one of those blue ghosts; the ghost spinning around to try to get rid of the dog to no avail under the mockeries of five other blue ghosts. One of them was even filming the show.
Stifling some laughs, the ghost hunters approached the ghosts from behind and managed to get the five laughing ghosts into their vortexes and to rapidly capture them. The last ghost stopped spinning and tried to attack them despite Polterpup still biting his tail, but Apple Bloom slammed the two ghosts she had on him. While this happened, Sweetie Belle discovered something: she was a lightweight, making her easy to be dragged around with two ghosts trapped in her vortex, so she was forced to cling to one of the tables until the ghosts were captured. The last one quickly followed.
"Thank ya, Puppy!" shouted Apple Bloom.
"Bark! Bark!" Polterpup licked her before disappearing into one of the walls.
The fillies then climbed the stairs and entered the ballroom where they encountered three more blue ghosts waiting with chairs in their hooves, ready to swing them at the fillies if they came too close. The fillies didn't have to worry, though, and quickly captured them before Apple bloom went to test the door at the left.
"Locked."
"Like we thought."
"So we go to the fifth floor?"
"Eeyup!"
So they went to the elevator and used it to go to the fifth floor. On the way, a blue ghost entered it, ambushing the fillies, but Little Ghost managed to capture him before he could attack them. The elevator then reached the fifth floor, the floor where their rooms were located, and they began to explore.
They wanted to start first by their room, the 503, and finish with Rainbow Dash's room, the 508, at the opposite side of the floor. However, the doors from rooms 501 to 503 were still gone, so the fillies had to use the Dark Light Devices to make them reappear. They also had to fight a couple of blue maid ghosts armed with feather dusters at the same time. However, they discovered not much in the rooms themselves, except a secret room with a treasure chest full of bits under the drain of the bathroom of room 502.
«There was a treasure chest under Rarity's bathroom? When I will tell her that...» said Spike at this moment.
«She'll faint! That's sure» said Applejack laughing.
The balcony of room 503 gave a good view of the valley behind the hotel, with the lake in the middle, but the fillies didn't remain there too long to admire, finding nothing. Returning to the intersection in front of the elevator, they then went the other way, starting by exploring an area down some stairs in front of a door leading to another, smaller laundry room. However, the door revealed to be locked. One of the windows in this area was also broken and barren (which wasn't the case before, probably thanks to the illusion), and there was a hole in a wall through which they could see the laundry room, and some ghosts playing in it, including one with a key. They could also see another treasure chest through a hole in the opposite wall.
"What do you think this key will open?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"I saw the number 508 on it, so it's certainly the key to the room 508," said Little Ghost.
"So room 508'll be locked. Whatever we're searching for will be in there," said Apple Bloom.
"But the laundry room is locked too," said Sweetie Belle.
"Then we explore the remaining rooms in search of the key," said Apple Bloom.
"You know I could simply pass the wall, capture those ghosts, and take the key, right?" asked Little Ghost.
"But again, we'd avoid separating, or who knows what Eternal Rest'll do. She'd come to capture ya while ya're alone."
"Right..."
So they followed the hallway. Contrary to before where it was a straight line, there, it turned to the left, passing beside the elevator. On the way, they approached a cleaning cart that suddenly moved, following the hallway as it turned to the right, making Sweetie Belle jump, but not Apple Bloom and Little Ghost.
"Don't worry, Sweetie, ya'll get used to it," said Apple Bloom.
They went after the cleaning cart, which exploded when they approached, three blue ghosts in maid outfits bursting out of it to attack them, only for the fillies to activate the Poltergusts, capturing them.
They then visited the rooms from 504 to 507 one by one, only to find nothing except some more blue maid ghosts (and some without the maid outfit), and some secret rooms under some of the bathrooms, finding more bits and some gems. But no key.
They exited the room 507 in thought. "We searched everywhere. Where could it be?" wondered Apple Bloom.
«If it's not in one of the rooms, then it must be in a secret passage», said Twilight.
"That's what Ah thought, but we didn't find any secret passages in the rooms, except the secret ones under the bathrooms..." replied Apple Bloom.
"Maybe one of those gargoyles?" wondered Little Ghost as she started to touch said gargoyles present in the hallway, trying to move them, or parts of them.
Following her example, the two others began to look around. After some searching, they discovered behind a loose paper wall a secret door leading to the elevator shaft, but beside some mice and spiders (making Sweetie Belle jump on Apple Bloom), as well as some bits in a few boxes, there was no key. After more research, they went to the area in front of the laundry room, and Little Ghost thought about something. She looked through the bars of the barren window, then turned back toward Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.
"Hey! There's a small path leading to a hole in the wall over there!"
"What?" Apple Bloom bucked the bars, destroying them, and looked through the window to see that she was right. There was a ledge forming a rather narrow path, damaged in some place, leading to a hole further to the left. This same ledge also went to the right, around the corner of the building.
Little Ghost went to the corner and looked. "There's another chest!"
"Wait fer us!" shouted Apple Bloom as she carefully walked on the ledge, followed by Sweetie Belle who did the error to look down.
"Eep!"
«Ah really hoped ya wouldn't've to do that kind of stuff in this hotel,» said Applejack.
"Ya should know better by now," replied Apple Bloom.
As she approached the corner, Little Ghost decided that she could open the chest without risk. So she took the pouch from her friend, opened the chest, and placed in the pouch all the bits that were in it. Once she was done, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle carefully turned around and went toward the hole in the wale, having to walk along the wall when they reached the damaged part.
They then passed through the hole, entering a small passage leading to a ladder. Climbing it, they found the chest they saw earlier when they looked in the laundry room, and in it, they found a key.
"Finally!" shouted Sweetie Belle.
They took the key and went back down the ladder, only to discover that the passage was now absolutely filled with big, black spiders. Sweetie Belle immediately screamed in both fear and disgust, and blew air with her Poltergust at the spiders, sending them flying away. Apple Bloom helped her, and they sent the spiders beyond the ledge, making all of them fall to their death. Sweetie Belle sighed in relief.
"Ya know, Sweetie, ya'll have to get used to spiders and mice. We'll certainly see more of them in this hotel. Besides, ya're a skeleton, what could they do to ya? Ya'd be more scared of dogs."
"But... But..."
"Just, next time ya see a mouse or spider, repeat to yerself that they can't do anything to ya, that ya're safe." She put a leg around her friend's neck. "And remember. Little Ghost and Ah are with ya. Spiders and mice'll be a nuisance at worst. Same for bats, crows, and whatever other small critters we'll encounter."
"Uh... I will try..."
Then they returned to the locked door and opened it, entering the laundry room. The blue ghosts they saw earlier were still there, but this time, they were prepared to attack the fillies immediately as they entered. Little Ghost and Sweetie Belle each took a punch on the head, causing Sweetie to lose hers, while Apple Bloom simply lowered her head and countered by trapping the ghost who attacked her and by slamming him on the others. This let time for Little Ghost and Sweetie Belle to recover, and the two of them made the ghosts pay for what they did. Sweetie Belle even throwing her head to stop a ghost from attacking Little Ghost from behind. One of them eventually dropped the key to room 508.
"Nice throw!" said Little Ghost to Sweetie Belle once it was over.
"Thanks. My father loves hoofball, so when I was still searching my Cutie Mark, he made me learn how to throw balls."
«Erh... Ya don't throw balls that strongly in hoofball,» said Applejack.
"Yeah... I wasn't really good at throwing balls hoofball-style... Daddy understood it when I threw the ball too hard at him for the... Uh... Hundredth time, I think."
"Well, fer once, ya being bad at something'll help us," said Apple Bloom with a laugh, making Sweetie pout (not physically. Skeletons can't pout).
They then went to room 508, Rainbow Dash's room, and used the key to open it. In it, they found the ghost of a purple pegasus mare, a maid, who looked bored as she swept her feather duster again and again on the same spot on the foot of the bed. Apple Bloom immediately recognized her as the maid she saw back when she entered the hotel, in the second level of the Grand Lobby. When the mare looked toward them and understood who they were, she panicked.
"Oh no! You're here!" She looked around, wondering what to do. "I don't stand a chance against you! But I can't give you the button or the mistress will be mad at me! And I don't want to join her collection!"
Before any of the fillies could ask what she was talking about (a ghost can't be turned into a statue, right?), the mare flew away, passing through a wall. The fillies looked at each other.
"What do we do?" asked Sweetie Belle.
Apple Bloom sighed. "We run after her and, if she doesn't want to give us the button, we capture her."
"But she doesn't seem... bad. She seems to be scared of Eternal Rest."
"But if we can't convince her, then we will have no choice," said Little Ghost. "Look at it this way. If she's scared of Eternal Rest doing something to her and works only by fear, then she will be safe if we capture her, and we will free her once Eternal Rest is captured."
"That's true. I still feel bad that we may have to capture her. I remember what it's like to be captured, and it's not a nice feeling."
At this, they exited the room and searched room by room for the maid. They found her in the room 505, and they tried to convince her to give them the button, but they barely started to talk that the maid escaped. They sighed, exited the room, and found the maid in the room 507 (two blue ghost maids were encountered on the way). There again, the maid tried to escape, but then Polterpup suddenly came out of the wall, scaring her. This gave the fillies the occasion to trap the maid in their three vortexes. The mare managed to sweep Apple Bloom's muzzle with her feather duster, making her sneeze and release her, but thanks to Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost, she wasn't able to escape.
"No! Please!" she pleaded.
"Sorry miss, but we must save our friends!" said Apple Bloom as she reactivated her Poltergust.
"Don't worry, you will be safe from Eternal Rest!"
"You will never defeat her! She will kill you and take me back and add me to her collection!"
"What collection?" asked Apple Bloom.
But before the maid could answer, she was sucked in Apple Bloom's Poltergust, dropping the button to the third floor.
As she took the button, Apple bloom wondered what was that collection. "What'd Eternal Rest do to ghosts?"
"Who knows? When ghosts are powerful, they can do a lot of things, even to other ghosts," said Little Ghost in worry.
"We could ask the next ghost we encounter, if they don't run away," said Sweetie Belle.
"Yes. We'll do that."