//------------------------------//
// An Unfamiliar Setting 
// Story: Let's Play a Game 
// by Zelda Spectrum 
//------------------------------//


Let’s Play a Game


(A/N) Hello, and welcome to 'Let's Play a Game'.  Soon, you will be waking up in a strange, unfamiliar place.  However, the memory of how you got there and who you are will fade.  There will not be a music system for this story; instead, there is a soundtrack provided for you in the comments below.  This soundtrack is completely optional, but it could add to the atmosphere if you prefer music. To fully enjoy the story, be sure to read it in the dark, and put on some headphones if you choose to listen to the soundtrack below.  Now, I must go.  It's time for you to wake up.  


Chapter 1


'Ugh, my head.  What happened?'  I wake up on the floor of some kind of bedroom.  My head is pounding and I feel weak.  I force my eyes open to see the pink fabric from the cover lying across the bed.  I bring a hoof up to my forehead to rub the pain away but instead, I come across a bump on my head.  'Ow!'  The pain is enough to convince me not to do that again.  Trying to put the pain aside, I look up to see I am in an unfamiliar place.  Something is wrong with me; I try to remember what happened and how I got here, but no matter how hard I try, I cannot remember!  Come to think of it, I do not remember who I am.  

I force myself up on all fours, but almost instantly I begin to lose my balance and run into the bed.  I decide to try something else.  Using my forelegs, I place them on top of the bed and pull myself up until I can stand on my hind legs.  Slowly, my strength returns to me and I can stand on all fours again.  Now I am able to get a better look at the room.  

The bed is a single pushed into the back left corner of the room.  The room itself is not very big, but it does have quite a bit of space.  It is dimly lit with only a few lit candles as a source of light.  Beside the bed is a small round table with a lit candle that has melted halfway.  Over in the back right corner facing the bed is a small dresser with three drawers and two small candles on top dripping with wax.  A few feet away from that is a bookcase that reaches to the ceiling and has shelves filled with different books.  In the far left is a door and it most likely leads out of this place.  Right next to it is a wooden desk with three small drawers, a small cabinet, and a wooden chair in front of it.  

On top of the desk is a pair of saddlebags and a single candle that is still lit.  I walk towards the mirror that hangs on the wall in front of me to get a good look at myself.  I am a midnight blue earth pony, nearly full-grown with teal eyes.  I have a long, dark-grey mane that is very messy considering I just came to.  Surprisingly, my flank is blank; I had hoped my cutie mark would be able to give me a clue, but it appears I don’t have one.  

Being in this dimly lit room gives me the nagging feeling that I am being watched.  I shake off the thought and proceed over to the desk to look at the saddlebags.  I suddenly take notice of a note that is sitting right next to the saddlebags under the light of the candle.  



Good morning my new best friend,

I’m guessing you’re wondering where you are.  Well you will find out soon enough.  Until then, I suggest you look around.  Who knows, maybe you will find something useful. As you see, I have placed a pair of saddlebags in your room.  There is a lantern inside.  In your room you will also find some oil, laudanum, and a few tinderboxes.  Use them well…You don’t want to end up losing yourself in the darkness.  Now, as to where you are, you are in my mommy’s house and we are all about to play “The Game.”  

“The Game” isn’t complicated, just think of it as hide and seek.  You hide and we seek.  You’ll see what I mean soon enough.  Here are the rules, and they’re not hard to follow.  Just stay alive.  The front door, the door that leads to your freedom, is locked.  The key, on the other hand, is hidden somewhere within the house.  If you can find the key and make it out of the house, you win!  But if one of us finds you first, we win!  Many others have not made it very far…So let’s see how you will do in “The Game”.  

Since our last friend didn’t even make it to the main hall, we are going to give you a sporting chance.  We will give you a fifteen minute head start, but do not waste our time.  If we happen to find you, we will show no mercy.  So, let’s begin.  Here is your first clue: That painting in the hallway has always been so mysterious to me…It always felt like I could see right through it.  

With a loving heart, 



I try to read more, but it seems as if the ink had been smudged, making it impossible to read any further.  

The feeling of being watched starts to return to me, but this time, I don’t bother to ignore it.  'So I’m pretty much trapped in this place with some crazy…things?!?'  I think to myself.  I open the saddlebags to find a lantern the note mentioned inside.  After checking it and finding it is full of oil, I put the lantern back in the saddlebags and throw on my back.  'If they are really giving me fifteen minutes, I might as well use them to get out of this Celestia-forsaken place.'  I search the desk drawers, cabinet, and the dresser to find five tinderboxes, two oil jars, and a bottle labeled “Laudanum Pain Reliever”.  

I drink the bottle immediately as my head is still pounding.  The elixir immediately begins to take effect as my headache diminishes until it is completely gone.  'Wow, fast acting stuff!'  I discard the empty bottle and head out the door.  

The door leads out into a long hallway that is not any brighter than the room I just came out of; lit by a few selected candles hanging from the wall.  I take out the lantern and immediately turn it on.  I cringe at the taste of that handle, resisting the urge to spit it out.  'Yuck!  This thing tastes terrible!  And what is that smell?!'  I can’t explain it, but there is a foul stench in the air.  I force myself to at least TRY to put up with the stench so I can move on.  

Looking at the hallway, now easier to see, I take notice of the few armored statues and many paintings lined up on both sides to make it look symmetrical.  The walls are a light tan and the floor seems to squeak under pressure.  Right next to me is a wooden door.  I try to open it, but the door appears to be locked.  

I take another look at the clue from the bottom of the note.  “That painting in the hallway has always been so mysterious to me…” I read quietly to myself, “It always felt like I could see right through it.”  I look back up to see there are at least ten paintings on each side, none of which are the same.  'Great, what the hay is that supposed to mean?'  I start to slowly trot down the hallway looking at various paintings looking for something to give me a hint as to what the clue was telling me.  

I take note of the paintings on the walls as I pass them.  The third painting on my left has a dark yellow mare in a red dress and blue robe holding a small, tan foal.  'Well, I can’t see through Madonna and Child'.  The fourth painting on my right has two rectangles on each side.  The one on the right is green, while the other one on the left is sky blue.  'There’s nothing special about Mother E.'  Looking back to my left, I see a painting that looks hastily painted making it hard to tell what exactly the artwork is displaying.  'Nothing suspicious on Abstract Painting either; why is this one even here anyway?'  

Wait a minute…how do I know these paintings, and why do they feel so familiar?  Before I can attempt to answer, a vision comes swirling into my head.  

-------------

I was looking at a piece of paper with words on it with a picture below them with a pencil in my mouth.  It has been the fifth week my senior year of high school and the teacher paired us up in groups of two to work on the study guide for an upcoming test.  Since I did not really talk to anyone in class, let alone know them, the teacher picked out a partner for me.  

“So what is this ‘painting’ supposed to be again?”  I looked up to see a green pegasus colt with a dark green mane staring quizzically at a piece of paper that looks similar to mine.  We were sitting at a picnic table in a park looking over the sheet of paper.  I laid the pencil down and read off the words on my sheet as a response.  

“The title is called Abstract Painting, the name of the artist is Gerard Richter, and its medium is oil on canvas.”  

The pegasus in front of me let out a defeated sigh.  “I’m never going to get this memorized in time for the test,” the pegasus mumbles, still audible to me, “we only have three more days until the test and I haven’t memorized a single term or painting!  I’m doomed!”  

I could not help but feel sympathetic for the colt as he slammed his forehead into the table.  “Would you like my advice?” I asked.  The colt looked up with sad eyes and nodded in response.  “What I usually do is look over the terms and paintings a few times, and then test myself.  What you can do is cover up the answers and try to guess them; afterwards, reveal yourself the answer and see if you got it right.  For the paintings, see if you can find a way to clue yourself on what the painting is and try to remember a part of the artist’s name that you are most familiar with.  Just keep practicing and you’ll get it in no time.”  

A smile starts to form on the colt’s face.  “Thank you, I think I’ll try that.”  I offered him a smile as a way to say ‘You’re welcome’.  “You seem to be really good at this art stuff; I mean, we just got the study guide four days ago and you've practically memorized the whole thing.  Are you some kind of artist?”  

“I am actually,” I replied, “but I don’t know what kind of artist I want to be.  I guess that’s why I’m still a ‘blank flank’.”  I looked down at my midnight blue coat to see there was no cutie mark on my flank.  “It’s kind of embarrassing.”  

“Hey, don’t worry about it;” the pegasus said with encouragement, “I didn’t get my cutie mark until last year.”  He got up and turned a bit to the side to reveal his cutie mark.  It was a white cloud with a yellow lightning bolt.  “So, I feel your pain.”  There was a moment of awkward silence.  “Would you like me to help you try and find your cutie mark after the test?” he offered.  

“Sure,” I answer, “I’d like that.”  

“You know, I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.” said the green pegasus, “I’m Cloud Runner; what’s your name?”  

He offered out a hoof.  I gave him a hoof shake as I reply.  

“My name is---”

-------------

I snap back to reality as I suddenly trip over something.  I must have been subconsciously walking while that vision danced in my head.  Was it a memory perhaps?  I seem to recognize the name ‘Cloud Runner’, but I still can’t remember much.  I get back on my hooves and turn around to see what I have tripped over.  

I immediately wish I had not done so, as the sight is so horrifying to me that my legs start to feel weak again and I nearly drop my lantern.  It is the corpse of a white earth pony with a blonde mane.  Most of its torso is caked in blood and it is lying in a big, dry, crimson pool.  

'THAT’S what was causing this horrid stench?!  Dear Celestia, what is this place?!'  I try to get a hold of myself as I take notice of a piece of paper sticking out of the saddlebags hanging on the dead corpse.  Reluctantly and carefully, I reach over the corpse and grab the paper.  I step away from the corpse and open the piece of paper to find it is a note similar to mine, but it does not offer the same chance of grace my note gave me.  This poor soul must have been the ‘friend’ that did not make it to the main hall in my note.  

I turn it over to see markings on the back.  There are two columns of ten circles.  I then notice that some of the circles are crossed out at the bottom.  The bottom two have been crossed out on the left column, and five have been crossed out on the right column.  I look up to see I have reached the end of the hallway.  I look down at the diagram again.  

O						O
O						O
O						O
O						O
O						O
O						O
O						O
O						O
O						O
O						O

'I guess these circles are the paintings in this room.' I think to myself, 'and the circles that are crossed out are the ones that have already been checked.'  I decide to start scanning the painting from the end of the hall back down.  Unfortunately, none of the paintings I look at resemble the clue and I start to get a little nervous.  

Suddenly, on the painting to my right (fifth circle on the left column of the diagram), I come across a painting of a bronze stallion with a silver, curly mane, a mustache, and a white cap.  I am able to identify this one as the Self Portrait of Rembrandt van Rijn, but something about this painting seems different.  Upon closer inspection, I see it is not a painting on canvas at all, but a picture on some kind of net material strung up on a frame.  Getting close enough to it, I am able to see gap behind the “painting” and a key resting in it along with two tinderboxes and a note.  

I take the “painting” of the wall and discard it to my right.  I do not care if it is damaged or not since it was not real to begin with.  I put the two tinderboxes in my saddlebag and proceed to read the note when suddenly, my lantern goes out.  The nervous rush comes back to me; I didn't realize I had left my lantern on for so long.  How long have I even been down here?!  Without hesitation, I pull a tinderbox out of my saddlebag and open it to reveal a flint and steel.  

My eyes have started to adjust to the darkness, but that doesn’t mean I can read in the dark.  I take the steel in one hoof and put the flint on top of the steel with the other.  I bring them both close to the candle mounted next to gap and quickly swipe the flint across the steel a few times until the friction creates a spark.  The candle immediately lights when the spark comes into contact; it is not very much light, but it will have to do.  

I then remember the two jars of oil I picked up and proceed to refill the lantern.  The jars do not completely fill the lantern, but they do fill it halfway.  Afterwards, I take the note from the gap and hold it to the candle.  The note reads: 



Very clever, you are a smart one aren’t you?  This key unlocks the door to upstairs and it will allow you to progress further into the house.  I will give you this one chance to quit “The Game” if you are not up for it.  If you do not want to play, just wait in your room until one of us comes to get you; we promise to make your death quick and painless.  However, if you proceed through that door, you will officially be playing, and I will not guarantee a death so painless.  If you still wish to play, go upstairs to receive your next clue.  



These words send a chill down my spine.  'Wait for “them” to kill me, or run into one of them and get killed…'The chances of survival seem very slim for me, but after a few seconds of pondering, I pick up the key and proceed to the locked door.  'No matter how small the chance of survival may be, I’ll take it if it means getting out of here.'  

I use the key to turn the lock and the door opens with a click.  I open the door to see a dimly lit staircase that pauses to cut a sharp right.  I ascend the staircase to meet a red metal door with a fancy diamond pattern in bronze and two candles mounted to its left and right.  I pull the door open and proceed into the next area of the house.  


End of Chapter 1