//------------------------------// // Zone l: Hide And Seek // Story: The Red Ring... // by Roost2100 //------------------------------// Twilight’s eyes fluttered open as she awoke, rubbing her head with a hoof. She got up on her hooves slowly and looked around, trying to remember what happened. “What the hay?... Where am I?” she asked out loud before looking up to see her friends and Spike around her to see if she was okay. “Twilight you're alive!” Pinkie said before hugging her. “Twilight, do you know where those things dragged us to?” Spike asked as he looked around. Orange sky, dried green grass, dead palm trees and flowers, it looked like a wasteland. The others agreed with Spike, a chill running down their spines. “So how do you think we can find a way out?” Applejack asked Twilight. “Unfortunately, I don’t. Star Swirl’s notes never said anything about how to get out of here, just that we’d be tested on something. It wasn’t specific on what though,” Twilight answered, pulling herself back together once Pinkie got off her. Rainbow Dash was a bit annoyed, “I hope these ‘tests’ are easy and quick, ‘cause now I am going to be late for my rounds with the Wonderbolts…” she muttered angrily, getting a look from Twilight. Pinkie started to walk away to see what she could find as the others discussed what was going on. As she moved forward, the scenery around her seemed to worsen as the trees and flowers continued to wither the further she went, a cloud of fog looming overhead. Even she could tell something was wrong with this place, and her happy-go-lucky self was oddly not present as her ears fell flat against her head. Without paying attention to what was in front of her because of the fog, she suddenly stepped into a puddle of warm liquid. “Huh?” she exclaimed, “What did I just step in?” She brought a hoof to her face, not being able to see it due to the fog that was now starting to thicken the further she walked. She felt a sense of unease overcome her as she spoke nervously, “Wow it sure is getting... foggy, hehe...” Then she realized the girls didn’t follow her, and felt alone in this strange place. She called out to the others, hoping to find them in this fog. After a few seconds of shouting, she came across a shadowy figure who seemed to be leaning against a tree. Gaining a small bit of hope, she called out to the figure, “Oh, thank Celestia I found somepony in this fog. Can you help me find my friends? I got a little sidetracked and wandered away from them.” She got no response. “Hello?” she called again, still getting no response. She slowly started walking up to the figure, its features becoming more clear. When she got close enough, the figure revealed black eyes with small red pupils. It smiled wickedly at her, and she screamed in fear before an unknown force made her fall unconscious. Meanwhile, with the rest of the mane 6 and Spike, they were unaware of Pinkie’s departure as they continued to argue. “Yeah, but if we do that we’re just going to-” Rarity said, being cut off suddenly by a blood-curdling scream. Twilight instantly looked around the group and realized Pinkie was missing, then figured out who the scream belonged to. “PINKIE’S IN TROUBLE!” she shouted. “Well, let’s go find her then!” Dash urged, flying in the direction of the scream. The further they went, they began to see puddles of blood and dead animals everywhere. Fluttershy could only tear up slightly as she passed the bodies, feeling so sorry for them. When they reached Pinkie, they found her unconscious on the ground. Twilight walked up to her to make sure she was okay. “What the hay is going on?” Applejack asked aloud, wondering why she screamed in the first place. Before they could do anything, Spike spotted a figure next to Pinkie and told the others. “Uh, guys. Who’s that?” he asked, pointing to the shadowy figure. “Most likely the guy behind this…” Dash said through gritted teeth before shouting at the figure, “Who are you, and what did you do to our friend?!” She got no response. “Oh, you’re asking for it!” she seethed, spreading her wings as she pounced at the figure. “Rainbow, no!” Twilight shouted. However, the figure disappeared and Dash slid on the ground, grunting in pain. Then a wave of fatigue washed over her and the others, and they too, fell unconscious. When everyone woke up, they were greeted with the smell of smoke. They all jolted awake and noticed they were surrounded by flames. “Why is everything on fire?!” Twilight asked aloud. “I think I can answer that,” a deep, menacing voice from behind said. They turned to see the same figure from earlier, but the light from the fire illuminated its entire form. He was a dark blue creature standing on two legs, adorning red shoes with a single white strap around them held together by a golden buckle. He had a tan stomach and arms, and gloves on each hand. However, the fingertips were ripped to reveal sharp claws underneath, and the gloves were bloody. His black eyes were menacing as he stared at the group with those red pupils, blood leaking from them. His teeth were razor sharp as he smiled devilishly, and what seemed like quills jutted from the back of his head and shoulders, making it more menacing. He chuckled deeply as he began to speak, “Ah… finally, you’re all awake. Now we can begin.” Dash glared at him before shouting, “Who are you, and why are you doing this!” “My name is X, but you all can call me Sonic.EXE. You all signed yourself up for this by charging up that ring and passing it around to one another.” Dash was about to protest before she was stopped by Twilight, her whispering that talking back at this guy might not be the best idea. EXE continued speaking, “To pass, you must win 2 or 3 of my games. If you pass, I’ll return you to your world. If you don’t, I doubt you’ll be leaving this realm, alive.” Everyone stared at EXE with fear or determination. They all mentally took note of this as he continued to speak. “With that out of the way, let’s begin. This first game is Hide and Seek.” Applejack gave him a deadpanned look, “Hide and Seek? Really? We’re playin’ a game for little youngins?” EXE ignored her question, “The rules are simple: You seven hide, I seek. If I find you, you won’t be happy with the results. However, no cheating. If I catch you cheating, let’s say that it’s a surprise for now.” He waved his finger at the group. Clearly, this guy was extremely powerful, but how powerful they weren’t sure of yet. Then, EXE began to count down, and each of them looked at each other and back to EXE. They nodded to each other, silently agreeing to split up, and ran in different directions as they all tried to find a place to hide. They knew they had to win at least 2 of these games to return home. Rainbow hid in the clouds, thinking she was smart. Pinkie hid in a bush somewhere nearby. Rarity hid in a cave with Spike, safe from the raging flames. Applejack took Fluttershy with her to a hole in the ground that looked like it belonged to a Maulwurf. Twilight hid in this area that looked like a shrine for something she didn’t know about. EXE finished counting down and called out to everyone, announcing he was on the hunt. Dash was beginning to feel a bit too cocky, “Ha! This has got to be the best spot. He said not to cheat, but he never said anything about using our own unique abilities,” she taunted, flapping her wings as she mentioned them. She knew without a doubt this would work, so she decided to take a quick nap. She closed her eyes and fell asleep for a few minutes, and when she woke up, she realized she no longer was on the cloud and was in a different location as before. It was pitch black save from some pink and blue crystals illuminating her surroundings. The walls were yellow, some blocks having the faces of owls. “What the?! How did I get here?” she exclaimed. She then felt a wave of pain come from her sides, and let out a grunt. She looked back to see what the pain was coming from. With the little light she had, she saw her wings were ripped off, and her face went pale in response. Panic surged through her. “WHAT HAPPENED TO MY WINGS?!” she shouted, her voice cracking from fear. She then was grabbed from behind, and without any time to react, she was lifted off the ground and flew at fast speeds. She struggled as they flew, but she couldn’t get her attacker to let go. When they stopped, she heard a voice above her. “Found you, cheater…” She screamed as she was dropped into a deep pool of bloody water, and A gloved hand came out and dragged her in deeper like a Giant Squid. Dash tried her best to break through, but it wouldn’t budge. Once EXE could no longer sense her life force, he muttered something before teleporting away. “You’re too slow, want to try again?” Pinkie had started to get bored of hiding in a bush. EXE had passed by a few times, but never spotted her. "Why is it so boring to be a hider…” she whispered to herself out loud, “Maybe the cupcake I brought might help." Digging into her curly mane, she pulled out a cupcake she’d been saving for the unexpected trip "It may not be a cake, but this will have to do. Good thing I love cupcakes," she said before eating the cupcake in one bite, "Mmm, that hit the spot." When she poked her head out to see if she was still in the clear, she spotted a chocolate cake only a few meters away from her. Her mouth watered and her stomach started to rumble at the sight of it. Realizing it could be a trap, she shook her head and whispered, "Bad tummy, no cake right now, we are playing hide and seek and we don't want to be found.” Then she started to have a small conflict with herself, “But it's right there…Maybe just a liiiiitttle tiny bite,” she then slapped herself in the face, “No! Bad Pinkie! No cake right now! You’ve already had the cupcake, and that should be enough." Meanwhile, with Fluttershy and Applejack, Fluttershy was scared out of her wits while Applejack comforted her, keeping an eye out for trouble in the process. "Okay Fluttershy, so far we're safe. How ya holding up?" Applejack asked softly while covering the hole back up after checking if they were safe. "A-Applejack,” Fluttershy whimpered, “What do you think is going to happen to us if we get caught?" Applejack chuckled, "Yeah right, this is a foals game. Besides, it's not like we’re gonna die or something. We just gotta win 2 games, then we can leave." she answered, reassuring her that everything will be fine. "Maybe you’re right. I just hope we do win this." Applejack smiled softly, "That's the spirit sugarcube, now all we do now is play the waiting game," she said before smirking. Meanwhile, Rarity and Spike were in the cave, looking for gems while hiding from EXE. "Spike, have you found anything yet?" Rarity asked Spike had been looking for a while, not finding a single gem. He did find some shards, but they wouldn't impress Rarity, even though they were in the middle of a game of hide and seek. However, that didn’t mean they couldn’t capitalize on new gems for her fashion line if they ever got back to Equestria. He looked back at Rarity who was using her magic to look for gems in the walls Rarity sighed contently, "Just like back home. Besides, it’s not like that ‘Sonic.EXE’ guy will find us in here.” "Woah!” Spike commented, finding a large green gem, “Rarity is gonna love this!" He called out to Rarity, asking for her help to pull out the gem. Meanwhile, with Twilight at the old shrine, she was examining it while keeping her eye out for EXE. "Wow, this is something I've never seen before..." She commented, knowing she won’t get caught anytime soon. "No!... But it's right there-NO! I won’t be tricked by that cake!” Pinkie could not make up her mind. She struggled against her instinct to run up to the cake and take a bite, knowing it was a trap. Suddenly, she heard footsteps closing in and she shrunk back into the bush. She knew it was EXE, so she watched him carefully as he spoke. "So many souls to play with, so little time…" he then stopped mid-step when he saw the cake and smiled devilishly, "Maybe this might lighten the mood a little…" He materialized a fork out of thin air and was about to poke it into the cake when Pinkie couldn’t hold back any longer and sprinted out of the bush. “THAT’S MY CAKE!!!" she shouted, taking a huge bite out of the cake. She knew she was found, but she didn’t care. After gobbling up the entire cake, she made a small comment, "Worth it!" She giggled briefly, not even caring that EXE was watching her until she felt her stomach begin to churn. She groaned, bringing a hoof to her midsection. “Maybe I ate that a little too fast…” Then she felt her mouth begin to foam. Her eyes widened, realizing she should’ve resisted the cake in the first place. She began to cough violently, falling to her side as the effects of the poisoned cake took hold. As her vision blurred, she reached a hoof up to EXE, "H-h-help…" she choked out. EXE watched her die slowly and smiled wickedly, "Found you, maybe lay off the sweets next time," he muttered as he watched the life drain from Pinkie’s body. “Looks like this party has met its end.” Applejack and Fluttershy had been hiding for a while, not knowing there were only 5 players left. When Applejack poked her head out again, she and Fluttershy heard Pinkie softly cry out for help nearby. Fluttershy started to panic at this point, hating the fact that she was right. "A-Ap-Applejack, Pinkie is in trouble. Do you think she's okay?!" Fluttershy shakily asked, looking at Applejack, her face pale. Applejack cleared her throat a little bit as sweat rolled down her forehead, trying to come up with something not to make Fluttershy panic more, "Uuuh… Maybe she's just lost something or... or just lost a cupcake or something," They then heard footsteps coming close to where their hiding spot was. Applejack covered her mouth and Fluttershy's, laying down as they watched EXE’s shadow walk past them. They both let out a sigh of relief. Though, EXE heard it immediately, not knowing where it came from. So he decided to keep that area in mind, moving on to looking for everyone else. Meanwhile, in the cave, Rarity and Spike were trying to pull the big green gem that was stuck into the cave walls. “Wow! This thing is sure in there tight!” Spike said, trying his best to pull it out. “You’re right! We’ve almost got it though, just one more tug!” Rarity replied. They pull as hard as they can on it one more time, and the gem popped out of the rock walls of the cave. They both exclaimed in excitement as they set the gem in Rarity’s saddlebag. “Thank you Spikey Wikey,” Rarity said, making Spike blush, “Now I have something to add to a new dress I’ve been working on back home!” She then looked back where the gem used to be, spotting another gem that was behind the first one. Rarity decided to reach in with her hoof, but she suddenly felt a hand wrap around her hoof and began dragging her into the rock wall, that seemed to have become a liquid. “Found you both,” they heard EXE say coldly. She screamed as Spike tried to pull her back, but it was no use as the two of them got sucked inside of the rock walls of the cave. “I can’t risk any of you finding those powerful gems.” Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Applejack were starting to get a little bit hungry. They wished they brought something with them like Pinkie did. “Applejack... how much longer are we going to have to hide?” Fluttershy asked, hoping that this would end soon as she began to feel paranoid again. “I’m... I’m not sure, sugarcube. We’ve been here for over an hour now... I’m sure at least one of the others has been found.” Applejack answered. They wait it out more, and it did not take long to hear footsteps outside again. Applejack narrowed her eyes and got to the ground. Fluttershy shrunk in place, whimpering. Then she felt something grab her wing, making her squeak in fright. Applejack turned around to make sure she was alright, but Fluttershy wasn’t there. Her eyes widened. Where did she go? Applejack began to panic slightly before hearing Fluttershy scream outside. ”APPLEJACK, SOMEPONY, HELP!” Applejack jumped out of the hiding spot, not caring if she was in the open. She looked around, making sure her friend was not hurt. She then sees EXE holding Fluttershy in one hand, her being squeezed and played around like she is a stress toy, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Found you two,” he said coldly. Applejack growled, “YOU LET HER GO RIGHT NOW OR I’LL MAKE YA” she demanded, stomping her front hoofs down. EXE looked at her and smiled wickedly. He teleports Fluttershy away before Applejack heard her let out a scream. Applejack went pale. This guy was even more sadistic than she thought. Then she realized he might’ve done the same to the others who were found. She saw EXE reappear in front of her, holding Fluttershy’s head in his hand, and only her head. Her body was nowhere to be seen. “I’ve let her go, just like you’d asked,” EXE said before laughing. He then threw Fluttershy’s severed head to the frightened Applejack. How could he do this? How many of the others had he done this to? Filled with grief and rage, she charged at him, letting out a battle cry. EXE shook his head as he teleported away from the attack, leaving Applejack to kick empty air. She then turned around saw him there, laughing at her before running to try again, but failing again. This continued for a few seconds, EXE taunting her and making her more enraged. When EXE had enough, Applejack was about to land a hit when EXE suddenly turned into Apple Bloom. Applejack stopped herself, not wanting to hurt her sister. She fell to her knees, tired of being taunted by this demon. Accepting her fate, she looked to EXE with small tears in her eyes. “What are you going to do to me…?” Applejack asked, her voice cracking with emotion. EXE smiled wickedly as he slashed her torso, gutting her out until there was nothing left. “You should’ve stayed quiet.” Twilight continued to examine the shrine. As she examined it, she came across an inscription that seemed to hint at seven powerful gems called the Chaos Emeralds. “Are they like the Elements of Harmony? One being inhabiting a certain trait? Or are they something completely different?” she asked herself. Then she noticed one of the gem inscriptions begin to glow, indicating what she assumes is that one these “emeralds” had been found. She hoped it wasn’t EXE, knowing with villains like him, powerful items like these don’t belong in their possession. Suddenly, she began to hear what sounded like singing. Knowing EXE was close, she hid behind a pillar nearby and waited for him to hopefully leave. As time went on, she started to get nervous, realizing that he knew she was here. All she could do now was try and get out of there before she meets her end. She silently moved away from the shrine so as to not alert EXE. Though, as she keeps moving, a soft tune began to play, and a few seconds later, she hears EXE’s voice sing along. Sweat formed on her brow and her ears fell flat to her head. "I've always been here I'm chasing you down Though I'm not running I'll be all around. You can't escape me Just know that I'll be waiting for you at the bottom... Everyday I prowl these lands waiting for an unfortunate soul. The way I say goes into play, for I've found my prey today. Unstoppable, I'm in control, There's hope that faded long ago. You had your one shot at life, You threw away! You tell me I'm responsible but you had faltered, Dwell within my realm, Don't blame me when it goes to hell, Don't go feeling overwhelmed, It's time for your final farewell. With the power I possess, I can stir up all your distress, Oh I once was silent, growing violent Times will change but I will not..." Ḩ̵̰̙̣͉́̾̉͝A̶̛͎̮̗͉̭̗̒̆͑̽̏̄͂͆͝H̵̗͓̳͚̱̱̲̀̆͜͜A̴̖̳̟̩͈̗͐̄H̵̩̱̀̇̾Ä̸͈̈̀́̔̃H̷͎̠͛͊́̌̓̈́̚̚A̶̦̥̰̺̱̲͐͂̌Ḥ̷̻̰͈̭͐̋̾́͋͆̕͝ͅAH̷̫̳̠̬̟̗͊̄͋͌̏̇̓͝Ǎ̶̼͇̫̙͎̞̹̂̈́͜H̵̥͓̭͍͗̉̽͜Ä̴̢̦͕̮̯͍̮̟͛̽̀̆͜͠H̵̢̺̮͓͔͎̟̾̄̎ͅĄ̷̲͚̺̲̹̹̳̗̾͌H̷̬̊̍̊͘͝À̵̼̈́͐͗͐̾͂̑́͝Ḣ̸͍̹͔͑̓̚Ă̶͓̱͇̘̜̭͖̋̓̍̅̇͗̈͝ͅH̵̛͎͇̪̗̟͗̿̿̏̈́͂AḨ̷̳͙̹̺̝͛͐̓̑̕Ą̸̲͉̞͖͙̰̦͙̹̉̈́͂̋̀̋͛͌̾Ĥ̵̗̜̫̦̰͋͑̽̉̔͜A̴̼̔̔Ĥ̵̡̆̇̂͒̽͛Ą̵̡̢̠̝̙̱̣͍̝͌͛͠Ḩ̴̢͓̝̟͕̤̤̱͕̏͋̌̎̂AH̸͔͙̟̭̬̆̇̍̿̑̈̚͜ͅA̸̧̫̣̹͚̯͂͌̋̉̓̏̏̕͝Ḧ̴͖̥́̽̏̋̏͒̄͊͠͝ͅĄ̸̢̯̤̮̫̘̺̜̈́͐́̽̉͝Á̵̡̮̣̳̩̮̦̂̈́Á̴̡̙̬̟̍̓͑̀̉͊̀̋̄A̶̛͙͎͖͔̱̙̅̊̄̚̚A̸̛̖͎͍͇͉̤͛̒͜͝Ạ̴̧̝̗͙̯̽̽̇̋̏͝͝ As EXE was singing, Images of her friends began to appear, and her face went pale. They were all dead. Rainbow had her wings ripped off, and had drowned in bloody water. Pinkie had foam around her mouth, showing she had been poisoned. Rarity and Spike were impaled by spikes. Fluttershy was decapitated. Applejack had her guts ripped from her body. Twilight’s eyes shrunk to pinpricks. All her friends were killed in brutal ways. She was all alone. Tears welled in her eyes as she walked, blurring her vision. She then trips and falls over, EXE appearing right in front of her. “Found you, princess,” he said coldly. Before Twilight could scream, he thrust his hand forward into her chest. Twilight coughed up blood as a result. Then with a forceful tug, EXE ripped her heart out, and Twilight’s body fell to the ground. “I win round one. Ready for round 2, ponies…?”