//------------------------------// // Hotel Shops // Story: Apple Bloom's Mansion 3: The Hotel of Eternal Rest // by Lucar //------------------------------// With a ding, the door of the elevator opened, and the three fillies came out of it, entering the third floor of the hotel, the one with the shops. Immediately to their right was the revolving door leading to the shopping area. However, it was now locked, leaving them no choice but to take the path to their left, leading to the restrooms. Already, they saw that the alcove at the left of the elevator was actually a camouflaged paper covering bars with a chest on the other side. Seeing no way to enter this small secret room, Little Ghost took the magic pouch and passed the bars before opening the chest and taking all the bits in it. "Maybe I should keep the pouch," she said as she returned to her friends. "Okay, but where will ya put it? Ya don't have a belt," wondered Apple Bloom. "Maybe we will find something in the shops for her," said Sweetie Belle. "Ah yeah, there's an accessory shop," said Apple Bloom as she was reminded of this. "Until then, ya'd give the pouch back to me." Little Ghost nodded and gave her back the pouch. Then, as they went toward the restrooms, Little Ghost spotted something through a hole in the ceiling and went to investigate, discovering another secret room with a chest. They could enter this small room by walking on the ledge overlooking the elevator, but... "I found another chest in there. Should I go? Or do we wait to pass by the ledge above the elevator?" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at each other, then Apple Bloom answered. "Ya can go, it'd be okay! But if ya see Eternal Rest appear, then come back there immediately!" "Okay!" Once she was done with the chest, they advanced toward the restroom, and saw that the restroom for mares was condemned, leaving them no choice but to go to the restroom for stallions where they found the key of the revolving door in the toilet of one of the stalls. Apple Bloom shook the key to dry it while Sweetie Belle made a disgusted sound. "Ah know, Sweetie Belle, it's gross, but it's not the first time Ah found a key in a toilet." "Ah yeah, it was funny how you threw the toilet at Rainbow Dash," said Little Ghost with a giggle. «Wait. Ya threw a toilet at Rainbow?» asked Applejack. "It's the only way Ah found to stop her from catching me," replied Apple Bloom. This made Applejack laugh. The fillies returned to the revolving door and used the key to open it. They then passed the door, entering the shopping area. However, they saw that the shops were closed by a sliding barred gate, so they went toward the escalator to go to the second level of the mall, only to stop when they spotted a light. Hiding against the wall beside the escalator, they saw Cruller, the clumsy, overweight security guard who revealed to be a ghost (no surprise there), doing his patrol. Hanging from his uniform, they spotted one of the buttons of the elevator. As the purple unicorn ghost passed the stairs, the fillies silently climbed them, taking the occasion that he hadn't spotted them to try to surprise him from behind. However, by the time they climbed them, Cruller was already halfway down the hallway leading to his office. They moved after him and hid behind the walls at both sides of the entrance of the hallway, waiting for him to turn around. Instead, he turned to enter his office. Sweetie Belle came out from behind the wall and shouted, "Mister Cruller! Wait!" This made Cruller jump and drop his flashlight before he turned toward her. Seeing the filly skeleton, Cruller yelled in fear and flew through the door to his office in such a hurry that he dropped a key with a diamond-shaped head. He then closed the shutter of the window of his office. This made everypony laugh. «Oh that was perfect, Sweetie Belle!» shouted Spike. Little Ghost bumped the skeleton. "You are a real terror!" Sweetie Belle laughed sheepishly. "I... didn't mean to..." «Did ya forget he fainted last time he saw ya?» asked Applejack. "Erh... Yeah..." Apple Bloom still laughed a little. "At least ya made him drop a key. Come on, let's take it." As they took it, Little Ghost said, "A key with a diamond head?" in confusion. "Mmh... Doesn't one of the shops've a diamond symbol?" asked Apple Bloom. "Yes. I remember. It's the accessory shop, the left one at the second level," said Sweetie Belle. "But what will it open? The gate?" "Let's find out." The fillies went to the corresponding shop, but on the way, Little Ghost spotted and opened a chest on a path above the shops. Reaching the accessory shop, diamond symbols on the walls beside it, the fillies tried the key on the gate, but it didn't work. Little Ghost then pointed at the cash register. "Look. It has a lock shaped like a diamond." "But we can't enter," said Sweetie Belle. "I can." "Ah suppose we've no choice," said Apple Bloom. "Be careful in there." "I will be. Don't worry." Apple Bloom gave Little Ghost the key, and the filly ghost passed the gate and went to the cash register. The key worked and opened it, and Little Ghost found a key with a heart-shaped head in it. Before she could take it, a blue ghost came out of the cash register with the key and tried to punch her. Little Ghost quickly reacted and flew backward to avoid the punch before she activated her Poltergust and began to slam the ghost around on the glass cases and shelves, vandalizing the shop. She was having the time of her unlife doing this. More blue ghosts came to help their friend, a couple of them even tried to attack Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle from behind, but they clearly underestimated the fillies and they were all rapidly captured. When all the ghosts were captured, Little Ghost took a belt among the accessories now spread on the floor, then took the bits in the cash registers and the dropped heart key before leaving the shop. "I didn't know it was so fun vandalizing shops. I better understand poltergeists." "Don't make it a habit!" warned Sweetie Belle. "What she says," said Apple Bloom while she gave the magic pouch to Little Ghost for her to put in her new belt. "But as long as we're in this hotel, ya can do whatever ya want, like ya said in the basement. And there're still three shops to vandalize." "Yay!" The heart key led to the clothing store, first level, right shop, and Little Ghost had to go alone again. "I don't know if it's a good idea to vandalize this one. Rarity would freak out if she learns about this," said Sweetie Belle. "It won't be a problem if she doesn't know," replied Little Ghost with a laugh. «Ah'm sure Rainbow would agree with ya,» said Applejack, laughing too. But before vandalizing the shop, she went to the cash register to get the key, only for the key, possessing a spade head, to float out of it and to pass through the front wall. "Hey!" she yelled. However, rather than charging after the key without thinking, she spotted a button and pressed it, causing the same wall to move and revealing a small secret room with a lot of bits piled. Before taking the bits, Little Ghost searched around for the key, and eventually forced what looked like a foal version of the blue ghosts to come out of behind a small chest followed by a dozen others. They all charged after Little Ghost, ready to punch her, but the filly flew away, forcing all the little ghosts to fly after her. Once they were all behind her, Little Ghost turned around and caught all of them, the little ghosts revealing to be very easy to capture. A second wave of little blue ghosts helped by normal ones then came, and Little Ghost captured the little ones first before going after the big ones, using them like in the other shop to destroy this one. By slamming a ghost on one of the mannequins, she caused a mirror to spin, revealing another secret room with a chest right under the escalators. Then, she pulled a rope, revealing the changing room with another ghost posing in front of a mirror, somehow not perturbed by what happened in the shop. Such vanity... The ghost captured and the shop in ruin with not a bit left to take. Little Ghost exited it, and the fillies went to the next shop: the gift shop. Second level, right shop. A shop full of plushies, saddlebags, and other goodies. However, the cash register wasn't there. Little Ghost huffed. The ghosts thought they were smart? She used the DLD, and the cash register reappeared. She then opened it and got a key with a clover head. Half a dozen blue ghosts then appeared around her with over a dozen smaller ones. The bigger ones all took a goody among the hardest ones, ready to throw them at her. Little Ghost immediately caught one of the big ones and spun, slamming him against most of the other ghosts. She then constantly moved to avoid objects thrown and punches while capturing the ghosts by small groups, slamming the big ones on the others. In the end, despite their number and their not so surprise attack, Little Ghost got all of them without too much problems. Once she got the key, she explored the coffee shop linked to the gift shop, finding a few more bits on a table before joining her friends. Together, they went to the last shop: the barbershop. First level, left shop. However, as they approached the escalators, the mall suddenly shook, and the escalators activated as they heard a deep laugh. «What was that?» asked Twilight. "Ah don't know," answered Apple Bloom. "It certainly wasn't one of those blue ghosts, or Cruller. Keep yer eyes open, girls." "I can't close mine, I don't even have eyes," pointed out Sweetie Belle. "I don't need to blink," also said Little Ghost. Apple Bloom huffed. They used the escalator moving down and went to the barbershop, Little Ghost going alone again. And again, the cash register wasn't there, so she used the DLD, getting a key with a star head. Surprisingly, however, no ghosts came to attack her. She still explored, and vandalized the shop, finding more bits here and there before exiting it. But as the fillies began to climb the escalator moving up, the escalators suddenly stopped. They looked down in confusion. "Probably that ghost who laughed earlier," said Apple Bloom. "I think we should hurry to climb. I have a bad feeling," said Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom nodded, and the two fillies climbed the stairs only for them to restart. However, both escalators were now moving down and, worse, gaining speed. Before Little Ghost could help, both fillies fell and were sent back to the bottom very rapidly, Sweetie Belle's bones spreading on the floor as a result. "So this is what it feels like?" she asked, annoyed, before she slowly began to reform. "I definitively don't want this to happen again. It's too weird." As she reformed, a big red ghost looking like the red ghosts from Evershade Valley, but bigger and with a rectangular-like body, came out of the escalators. "Oh oh. Watch out, girls! Even you may feel the punches of this one!" warned Apple Bloom. "He could crush my bones!" shouted Sweetie Belle in panic. From the escalator, the red ghost charged toward Apple Bloom, and the filly jumped out of the way. Seeing that she avoided him, the ghost turned to the nearest filly, Little Ghost, and tried to punch her. Little Ghost avoided the punch and activated the Poltergust, but somehow, the ghost's big and rectangular body blocked the vortex, and the ghost wasn't sucked up. Behind him, however, Sweetie Belle activated also her Poltergust and managed to catch one of the two tails of the ghost (something very rare among ghosts!), beginning to suck him up. The ghost immediately began to move around to escape, easily dragging Sweetie Belle as if she was weighing nothing, the filly yelling in fear. "Help!" she screamed. Apple Bloom was able to catch the second tail, and with her help, the ghost couldn't move that much. "At three, Sweetie Belle! One! Two! Three!" shouted Apple Bloom, and at her signal, the two fillies pulled and slammed the ghost. "Three!" They slammed him again. "Three!" Another slam! All the while, Little Ghost kept her Poltergust activated. It wasn't much, but it helped to weaken the ghost. Eventually, the ghost was captured, and the escalators began to work normally again. The three fillies bumped a hoof together with a "Yay!" «Wowee! This one was hard!» said Applejack. «He could even resist the Poltergust if attacked from the front!» said Twilight. "Yeah, this one's very different from the others," said Apple Bloom. "And there're probably more ghosts like him in the Spiritual World, or with other unique specificities. It... worries me a little, if we end up attacking Thanatos' castle one day." "Let's not think of what will be encountered in the castle, but what we will encounter in this hotel. If Eternal Rest has ghosts like this one, then who knows what else she has?" said Little Ghost. "Good point," said Apple Bloom. "At least, despite their slightly different body, this red ghost we captured seems to be a cousin of the Reds from Evershade Valley and seems to act similarly like them. We aren't too much in unknown territory. And we can use our number against them. Next time we encounter one, if there are more of them, one of us will gain their attention, and the two others will get them from behind. Just avoid remaining in front of them." "Wow. A ghost that forces us to use strategy? That's a first." "This will make things harder," said Sweetie Belle. "But together, this won't be a problem," said Apple Bloom. "And Cruller shouldn't be one, too." "Unless he decides to run away like the maid, and with how scared he was, this could be the case." "Right..." They climbed the escalator and went toward Cruller's office. Back at its door, they used the star key on the star lock and opened it. They found Cruller curled on the chair behind his desk, and when he saw them entering, he screamed and suddenly jerked, causing his chair to topple with him. "Alright, Mister Cruller. Don't try anything against us, and we won't do anything against ya. We're just here for the button ya possess," said Apple Bloom. Cruller's head poked from behind the desk, looking at them. "I-I-I-I can't... I'm sorry, but the mistress told me to not give the button." Cruller then looked to his left, at the adjacent room containing the lost and found objects also locked by a barren gate like the shops, then rolled from behind the desk through the gate, (getting stuck mid-roll... Poor guy...) before getting up and taking a proud pose. "Now you can't do anything to me!" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle groaned, and Little Ghost facehoofed before she passed through the gate too. "You forgot I'm a ghost too," she said, making Cruller panic. "Come on, Cruller. Last warning. Give the button, or I will be forced to capture you." Cruller shook in fear, but eventually, he gulped, took a big breath, and moved a shaky hoof toward the button. "I'm sorry, little one..." He suddenly grabbed some device in his belt and fired a stream of energy at Little Ghost. The energy hit her, and the filly ghost was sent on the floor screaming pain. "...but the mistress is much scarier than you..." "Little Ghost!" yelled Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle through the gate. "What was that?!" asked the skeleton. "Oh, uh..." Cruller looked at the device, which looked like a small cannon. "I'm not sure. All I know is that it's a recent invention that came from the mistress' boss. It's some kind of portable cannon that can fire a weird energy that can hurt ghosts. Useful when we can't fire lightning bolts like the mistress can do." He looked back at Little Ghost. "I'm sorry, little one. I don't like hurting other ponies, especially foals (even if you're probably older than you look), but I don't want to join the mistress' collection." "What is this collection?!" asked Apple Bloom. "Don't tell me she can trap ghosts in stone, too!" "In a way, she can, but not in the same way that she does with the bodies of living ponies," answered Cruller with a gulp. "She can forcefully bind a ghost to something, anything, be it a statue, a corpse, or her favorite, a doll. When you are a ghost and you end up at her mercy, there are three possibilities for you. Either you work for her freely, you work for her hypnotized, or she binds you in a doll for her to play for eternity. And by 'play', I mean 'torture'. And if I let you have the button..." He gulped again, shaking more, on the verge of crying. "She has a room with over one hundred dolls up there in her floor... I don't want to become one of those dolls... I'm sorry..." He pointed the cannon at Little Ghost who just recovered. "Now I must capture you... But... If you run away... Maybe..." Little Ghost looked back at him, a little weak. "We can't. We must save our friends she captured." At her answer, Cruller's expression became determined while remaining scared, and he fired. Little Ghost flew to the side, avoiding the energy, then approached Cruller and activated her Poltergust. Cruller was trapped, but despite being sucked up, he resisted, still facing the filly, and continued to fire at her, forcing her to move. Because of this, Cruller was eventually able to escape, and while he continued to fire at her, he rolled toward a really big cardboard box. He emptied it, then placed it in front of him like a shield with his head poking from the side to look so he could continue to target her with his cannon. If it was like with the red ghost, then the box would shield him from the Poltergust's vortex, which forced the filly ghost to find something to either destroy the box or move behind him. Continuing to fly around to avoid the streams of energy fired by the cannon, she eventually went toward a trash can in the room. She took it, then threw it at Cruller. This wasn't enough to destroy the cardboard box (too far, not strong enough), but it still destabilized Cruller, and Little Ghost quickly used it to fly behind him and catch him. Like before, the security guard resisted and fired at her, but this time, he wasn't able to escape, becoming too weakened. Cruller tried to grab something, anything to avoid being sucked up, but he found nothing and he disappeared into the Poltergust with a terrified scream, and the button to the second floor dropped along with a key and the cannon. Little Ghost grabbed all of them and joined Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. "What Mister Cruller said..." started Sweetie Belle. "One more reason to stop Eternal Rest," said Apple Bloom. "Ah don't want to think what she's doing to Scootaloo now, and the others." «This mare's the most despicable thing Ah ever heard of,» said Applejack. «No punishment'll be good enough.» «Agreed,» said Twilight. «Oh... I hope everypony is alright...» In the fifteenth floor of the hotel, Eternal Rest was sitting on a rocking chair, rocking back and forth. Peacefully, smiling, she was sewing a doll while singing. "My little dolly. My little dolly, I can't wait to play with you." All around her, on the floor, or on shelves, some even hanging from the ceiling, were dolls. Hundreds of dolls. Mainly ponies, but also of some griffons, zebras, and other creatures. Of all sizes. Of all colors. Old and young. They were all turned toward Eternal Rest, smiling. None of them moved. They didn't dare moving. "My little dolly. My little dolly." Her smile became a smirk as she looked at the yellow, pink-haired doll that was almost finished. "I'll never leave you."