This party seems to be fun, but I have a nagging sense that I am being watched. I seem to be the only one who has this feeling as everypony else seems to be enjoying the party. I should probably join them, I’m sure the feeling will fade eventually.
Chapter 7
My Items:
Dungeon/Playroom rod
1 large oil potion
4 oil jars
12 tinderboxes
4 laudanum bottles
Notebook
My Lantern
Hammer and chipper
As the elevator comes to a stop at the Main Hall, I dry my tears and open the brass gate. My heart may be broken but my will to live and escape is still strong. ‘If I escape, maybe I can warn the town about this house; maybe even Princess Celestia. Just so long as nopony has to suffer in this place again, I’ll be content.’ I walk through the door to the Machine Room and enter the room with the elevator terminal. I insert the rod into the slot with the blue square and head back for the elevator.
I peek outside the door to make sure the residents of the house are nowhere in sight. When I see the coast is clear, I trot back to the elevator. Once inside, I press the “Playroom” button and pull the lever to start my descent. The word “Playroom” puts me on edge for what to expect on the lowest level of the house. There is a Dungeon down there as well, according to the label of the rod, and that does not help calm my nerves at all.
The elevator finally stops at the bottom level and I am surprised to see the area looks older than the actual house itself. The basement is made up entirely of stone blocks, something I would expect to see more in the ruins of a castle than an old basement. There were torches lined up on the walls, emitting little light of the room. I could barely see an iron gate on the other side of the room thanks to the torches small area of light.
After taking a deep breath, I light my lantern and proceed forward. The gate is unlocked, allowing access to any pony who dared to enter this dark and eerie labyrinth. I proceed through the gate and turn right through the dark corridor. At the end of the corridor, I appear in a small room. There is a stone counter in the middle of the room with boxes and barrels stacked on top of it. There is another corridor straight ahead continuing deeper into the basement. There are barrels in the back and front left corners.
In the middle, however, is yet another disturbing part of this haunting tour; the corpse of a red earth pony mare lies in a dry crimson pool next to some writing on the wall. Walking closer to the wall, I see a message written in blood.
Beware the eye, it sees all.
Before I can question it, I hear a growling followed by hoof steps coming from the corridor I have yet to explore. I do not know what the source of this menacing growl is, but it sounds anything but friendly. I turn out the lantern and hide behind the barrels in the front left corner just in time for the source to enter the room. Whatever it is, it has the hoof steps of a pony, but the growl of a ferocious monster searching for its next meal.
My head starts to pound again and my chest starts burning as I hear the clops of hooves on stone circle around the counter. The sound stops as it comes towards the barrels I am hiding behind, causing me to lay on the brink of panic. I suddenly cover my mouth and freeze as I realize I have been breathing quite heavily. I then hear the sound of a heavy crystal material hit the stone floor and grind against the stone as it gets louder. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch something rolling behind the barrels and to my left. I turn my head to see a yellow, glowing, crystal dragon eye staring straight at me.
Suddenly the clops of hooves get quicker and louder as I hear the creature growl:
“One escaped!”
I immediately dash out of my hiding place and take a sharp right down the unexplored corridor right as the creature bursts through the barrels. It seems to pause for a moment to pick up the crystal eye, but immediately returns to chasing me. I my eyes quickly adjust to the darkness as I flee down the new corridor. The creature starts to gain distance as its sounds gradually become louder.
“Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!”
I can hear the monster growl these words as she gets closer. Suddenly, I spot a wooden door on my right; I burst through the door and slam it behind me. I take a quick look around to try and find a place to hide. On my left, I find two rows of stacked boxes. I know the door will not hold forever, but maybe I can make use of these boxes to make a hiding place. I quickly run over to the stacks and start rearranging the boxes to make a hiding place. A few seconds later, the door absorbs impact from the creature’s blows and the wood begins to splinter.
I put the last few remaining boxes over my head to make sure the eye cannot find me in my hiding place. Finally, the door breaks down, unable to take any more force from the creature. The creature begins its search for me as the clopping returns. This time, I cover my mouth to make sure I do not breathe too heavily again. After half a minute, the creature finally leaves as the sound of its hooves start to fade.
“The prisoner must not escape!”
I wait a few minutes after the sound disappears before coming out of my hiding place. I look around the room I am in to find myself in a small office. There is a desk to my left with two lit candles and a two diary pages of some sort.
August 17, 4 A.H,
It has been four years since the royal sisters defeated Discord and took their place to rule over us. However, Celestia is a tyrant; and her younger sister saw this. Celestia only wished for everypony to praise the sun and shun the moon. When the younger sister saw this, she rebelled against her elder sister and became our beloved queen, Nightmare Moon. She took refuge here in Everfree City where she could rest and organize her plans to defeat that tyrant! At first I was a little reluctant to follow her, but after she gave Everfree City her blessing, my eyes were open to the truth.
She turned the city into a forest to mask our whereabouts and strike down any of Celestia’s forces. Queen Nightmare Moon even gave me the honor of holding the basement of my house as a prison and torture chamber for Celestia’s soldiers. My friend Ember Mane had lost her sight when our Queen bestowed her blessing, but her highness gave her a crystal eye to see and gave her the honorable role of patrolling the prison and hunting down any prisoners that try to escape.
My daughters and I are happier than we have ever been now that we serve Queen Nightmare Moon. We now see through the lies of Celestia and we will do our part to end her reign and bring about nighttime eternal. I just wish my husband and son were here to enjoy this.
November 1, 7 A.H,
A terrible catastrophe has occurred this day; we have lost the war! Celestia proved to be more powerful and persistent. I guess I should expect no less from an evil ruler who will conquer anything in her way. Our beloved ruler has been banished to the moon and her followers have been destroyed. Luckily, she is not aware of our house and the prison below, so we will continue to serve Queen Nightmare Moon’s purpose. Unfortunately, we are running short on prisoners and soon, the fun I have been having with my daughters will come to an end.
If we are to continue our role, we will have to keep a low profile and keep our work under the radar. We cannot just waltz out of Everfree and take away Celestia’s blind subjects, as our Queen’s blessing has made some rather obvious changes to our physical bodies that will cause us to stand out. I have seen a few strangers wander aimlessly through the forest, and we are currently dealing with them as I write. It seems we will have to settle for these unfortunate and mindless souls, for we shall serve Nightmare Moon until the end of time.
I lay the diary pages down and process what I have just read. ‘Nightmare Moon ‘blessed’ this house? No wonder the residents of this house are out to kill me.’ I quickly search the drawers to find two laudanum bottles and a mysterious blue drink. I put them in my saddlebags and start towards the doorway. I light my lantern and look both ways to make sure the ‘Hunter’ is gone. After I see it is nowhere in sight, I turn to my right and continue down the corridor.
After half a minute of walking, I come to a three-way section. The left and right contain jail cells and the foul aurora of dead ponies. Since there is nowhere else to go, I decided to start by heading to the left. The torches mounted on the wall give off limited light, but not enough to see inside the jail cells in case there is anything important hidden inside one of them. After sixteen cells, eight on both the left and right walls of the corridor, I see a flight of stairs leading up to a higher level.
Climbing up the stairs, I see even more cells down the long corridor. ‘Good night, this really was a war prison.’ I walk down looking at sixteen more cells to find nothing but empty cells or cells with dead ponies. In the middle of the corridor to my left, is metal door marked “Playroom”. I shudder at the thought of what could possibly take place in there. I walk past the door for now to continue searching the cells. After searching six, my lantern goes out once again. I stop to refill the lantern with the four oil jars I have left, minus the large oil potion. When I light my lantern again, I notice a piece of paper lying on the ground next to one of the cells.
Anna Belle,
We have got trouble. One of the prisoners escaped! He is the “leaf boy” you thought was so cute; the pegasus with the ‘big head’ from the party. When I came downstairs to check on him and get the Brass Bull ready for him, his cell was empty. Ember Mane says she has not caught any pony trying to break out, so we are in a pickle. If you see him, do not hesitate to strike him down. If he gets out of the house, he could tell any pony about our secret. Do not mention this to mommy; you know how angry she gets when a prisoner tries to escape.
‘Leaf boy?’ I ponder, ‘A pegasus one of the residents calls leaf boy…leaves are green, and the only pegasus at the party who was green was…’ an idea strikes me, ‘Did Cloud Runner escape?!’ My thoughts are interrupted as a familiar growling sound returns from the staircase in front of me. I turn off my lantern and hide in the back corner of one of the empty cells so the Hunter will not see me hiding. My heart beats like a drum as the growling and hoof steps come closer. I cover my mouth to avoid any audible heavy breaths to give me away. I hear it pass me as it continues to patrol the prison.
Eventually, the growling begins to fade until it was no longer audible. I wait a while to make sure it is gone. Opening the cell, I decide it is unwise to venture back downstairs. With that thought in mind, I trot back over to the metal door and, reluctantly, enter the Playroom.
End of Chapter 7