//------------------------------//
// You Have Nothing to Fear... 
// Story: Rainbow Dash's Awesome Nightmare Night Haunted House Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Adventure 
// by TheDriderPony 
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"Sure, I'll take a couple. Thanks." Even if you're full now you can always enjoy or share them later. You grab a hoofful of Silver Coins and put them in your Inventory.

"Before you go, two last things. First, a bit of advice. Skip the room to the left of this one. It's a nasty trap and nothing good comes from it. Second." She passes you a golden key with a skull-shaped handle and a ruby in one eye. "If you ever feel like dropping back in for a visit, this'll help you find your way."

"Cool, thanks!" You make a note of her advice and slip the key into your Inventory. "I'll see you all later then."

"So long, Dash! Good luck with your adventure!"

"Farewell, dear friend. May fortune smile upon you until such time that fate deigns us to meet again. And—"

"And remember, so long as you keep the spirit of Halloween in your heart, you can always find your way back."

With a smile and a wave, you step back out into the dreary hallway and close the door behind you.

[It's important to take breaks and let your mind heal. Subtract three (-3) from your Fear Meter.]





You leave the rest area with a lighter step than you entered with.

The tall portraits on the walls don't feel nearly as sinister now. In fact, they look a little silly with their old-timey clothes and expressions like they just got stuck with a pin. You laugh a little at one, remembering Pinkie's old policy of giggling at ghosties.

Your new friends certainly are some oddball characters, but you can't help but like them for their sheer genuineness. It makes you sad as you remember that they're just magical projections and not real ponies. You'll have to ask Starlight if they're based on ponies she actually knows; if so, you'd like to meet the real ones.

...Then again, all you have is Starlight's word that there are "no actors" and that it's "all illusions". They ate, they drank, they had long and complicated histories. Maybe Starlight lied. Wouldn't that be a clever way to catch you off guard?

But it'd be rude to go back now and ask them to break character for you.

As you leave and reflect on their final words, a question bubbles to the surface of your thoughts. "Wait a minute. 'Keep the spirit of Halloween in my heart'? What the heck is Halloween?"