It–that doesn't make sense...
Sweetie stared blankly at the filly's still body inside of the piano. She lay awkwardly, facing the side of the keyboard. Her hooves were swollen and red. Her body was cold and motionless. Her eyes were empty, not even containing the yellow tint of someone possessed. Sweetie noticed markings around her neck.
"It's your fault you know."
Sweetie turned her head on impulse to the sound of the new voice. Whom she saw was a purple scaled dragon, green bones sticking out along his head, back, and tail. It was Spike. At least, that's what he looked like. Sweetie stared at him. Her mind had stopped working at the sight of the filly. It didn't make sense. It just didn't.
--Logic is gone
"Do you want to know how she died?" Spike asked. Sweetie continued to stare at the dragon. He smiled, "She killed herself, Sweetie. The ghost inside of her made her hang herself." He proceeded to get on his tip-toes and cock his head down to the left, whilst pretending to hold something in his claws over the back of his neck, a rope perhaps.
Sweetie didn't respond to the dragon, not even when he gave that creepy laugh, suddenly a little too deep to be the same Spike she knew. All she did was listen, unable to move; her throat too dry to speak back. She felt dizzy but not enough to make her fall over again. It was a similar feeling, similar to what she felt when she lost track of reality.
--Logic left the mansion a few hours ago, sweetie pie
"I watched her do it, too, you know." Spike said. "Here, it's the rope she used." Spike tossed it in front of the filly. "Think of it as a souvenir."
"Sc–Scootaloo...killed...herself?" Sweetie managed to get out. She had a hard time believing the dragon's words. There was the filly, lying inside of the piano, right next to the GCD part. Sweetie didn't want to believe it, but there she was. Sweetie touched the deceased filly. She wasn't just cold; however, she was hard. She was like ice to the filly's touch. As she touched, a crack appeared on the filly's body. The crack spread until it covered the filly's entire body, and her body disintegrated.
"You let her stay trapped in that crypt, and you forced her to kill herself. Just because you wanted to be safe." Spike said.
"No, Scootaloo. No." Sweetie felt a tear run down her cheek. Did she really kill her friend? Was it really her fault?
"You've always been a mess-up, Sweetie. You've been just a big disappointment to all of your friends and yourself. You even managed to get Twi killed because of how stupid you’ve been.” he chuckled. “I mean, how stupid do you have to be to let Applebloom, a pony who obviously wasn’t safe, in your safe zone? Hell, you KNEW something was wrong. Didn't you? But, you didn’t want to believe it," he paused, “or maybe you did, but you just didn’t care.”
He tilted his head. “And Scootaloo, the little pony, you forced her into this dilemma. Dying from starvation in a crypt or dying over the course of a few minutes with–” he motioned an arm toward the rope “–that. But considering how lax you’ve been with this entire incident and how you’re just standing there, I’m sure you don’t care about that either.” He started to cackle.
For every “Ha” that came from the baby dragon’s mouth, Sweetie's head throbbed.
--He was right.
Something was wrong with Scootaloo, but there was nothing she could do, but was that really true? She cared about herself and getting away more than her friend- was that really true?
--It hurts. The truth hurts. The lies hurt. It hurts.
Sweetie wasn't sure from where the pain was coming. Was it the dragon's words? Was it the truth?
The world didn't seem real anymore. Ever-disconnected did her thoughts become. The world remained the same, but Sweetie’s mind was more and more lost with every word that came out of Spike’s mouth.
--Scootaloo’s dead. Ow.
Hahaha
--Ah.
Hahaha
--Scootaloo’s dead. Ow.
It seemed like a dream world to the filly.
--Dream. Ah.
--Nightmare.
Nightmare. Just a big nightmare to the little filly.
--Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Sssss.
--She’s not dead. She’s not dead.
Scootaloo, she couldn't be dead. It was impossible.
Spike stopped laughing abruptly. “But, it’s okay. Everyone here is dead already. Either that or on their way, right?” The dragon laughed at the filly. He paused before speaking again, "Don't you worry, Sweets. I know just what to do. It'll take all the pain away." Spike took a deep breath and blew a flame onto the stage. A patch of the wooden stage was now on fire with the dragons green flame, “Just let it eat you. I promise you won’t feel a thing.”
Sweetie simply stared off into the distance. Her mind desperately trying to put itself back together.
"See ya, Sweetie." Spike said as he hopped off the stage and walked out the theater.
The flame spread quickly across the stage, getting closer by the second. It was funny. Sweetie didn't hear the fire gnawing at the wood at that alarming rate. She didn't see the fire, bright enough to blind her as it was. But, she smelled the smoke. Her eyes contracted as fear and survival instinct took over her body.
Sweetie grabbed the spectral containment pack and slipped the piece on her back under the straps of her saddlebags. Sweetie looked around, searching desperately for some kind of exit. The way back to the exit to the theater, however, was blocked by increasingly large flames. She saw a rope, likely for production, leading up to the catwalk at the top of the stage. If she wasn’t trying not to die, she might have visualized how ponies would usually drop from above for a show. Sweetie dashed for the rope, escaping the flames as they consumed the piano. She looked up at the high catwalk. It was a long way up, but her survivor's instinct wouldn’t have it. She was going to climb it. She wasn't going to die here.
--It’s hot
Through adrenaline and fear, Sweetie found strength she didn't even know she had as she climbed the rope up to the catwalk. By now, the entire stage's floor was consumed in the green flame. Smoke began to float to the top, almost suffocating the filly, causing her to cough as she climbed. Finally, Sweetie managed to make it to the top of the rope and climbed onto the narrow catwalk. She looked around, desperate for a way out. It was only a matter of time before the fire spread up and burned down the catwalk if the smoke didn't kill her first.
--Hot and black.
Sweetie squinted through the smoke, trying to find a way out. Sweetie crawled along the catwalk, looking around, feeling around for something, anything.
--No air.
Sweetie took one of the paths on the catwalk, which branched in several directions over the stage. She couldn't see. The only sense of direction she had was the catwalk, and the direction it went. Finally, she hit an end, a wall. She felt around it to find it wasn't a normal wall. It was rough and metal and an air vent! It had to be an air vent just large enough for her to fit through, too. Sweetie tried to pull the cover off of the vent. It wouldn't budge. It was bolted with four screws.
"Come on!" Sweetie, or perhaps her survivor’s instinct yelled in frustration at the vent, banging her hoof against it in frustration. The situation was hopeless. It was only a matter of time before she breathed enough smoke to pass out and fell to the bottom to be eaten by the hungry, hungry inferno.
She was already feeling lightheaded from a lack of oxygen. She was going to die if she didn't figure out how to get out of there fast.
--Suffocate. So hot.
Sweetie balanced her way back down the catwalk, careful not to lose her balance and fall into the blazing green fire below. She went down another branch of the catwalk at random, hoping to find a way to survive. That's all that mattered in the filly's head at the moment, survival. She didn't process why she wanted to survive. She didn't process how she was going to survive. She just wanted some way to survive.
Sweetie hit another dead end. This time, however, she didn't hit a wall or a sealed vent. Instead, she hit something sticking out of the wall. Through the smoke, she tried to tell what it was. It was some kind of box with a handle. Sweetie took the handle and opened the box. She sifted through the box, feeling different items inside. There was a wrench, a hook thing, and a screwdriver! It was a screwdriver! Could it possibly fit the vent she was locked out of?
Sweetie stuck the tool in her mouth and moved back up the catwalk. The heat was rising as the fire from the bottom moved up the walls and to the ceilings. She felt the catwalk becoming more and more unsteady as if it were ready to give under her weight. Sweetie was halfway when she heard something through the smoke over the fire crackle. It was the sound of metal bending. Melting from the incomprehensible heat.
--Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot!
Part of the catwalk was coming apart, and Sweetie felt it as it moved to the side. Sweetie nearly fell into the fire. Now, the filly knew to move faster. Sweetie reached the center of the catwalk and hoped the path she took next was the right one back to the vent. She would only have one shot at this.
Sweetie chose the center one and moved up it as fast as possible. She hit the wall. It was hot from gaining heat but not like a wall should. It was as though heat had conducted on it. It was the metal of the vent! She made it! Sweetie proceeded to remove the bolts on her escape, ignoring the fire behind her. She felt the flames getting closer and closer to her flank. Sweetie caught the bolts as they fell out of the vent just out of instinct. She wasn't sure why though, but somehow, she couldn't help it. Her body was running almost on autopilot. Finally, after the fourth bolt fell into the filly's hoof, the covering of the vent with it. Sweetie stuck the screw driver back in her saddlebags with the screws and hopped into the vent. The force of her hop caused the fragile catwalk to fall into the fire. Flames licked the filly's flank as she made it through just in time to escape the fire. She yelped in pain at her burnt plot. Still, smoke was filling the vent, and Sweetie still needed to get out of there quickly.
She moved as fast as she could through the small air vent into pitch darkness. She couldn't see anymore, but she was sure she had escaped the smoke after a few minutes. At least she got to a point where the black smog wasn’t filling her nostrils and lungs like a barbeque gone wrong.
Still, that didn't cause the filly to slow down. Survivor’s instinct had finally decided to take a break and go back to sleep in the back of Sweetie’s brain. Right now, she was just blindly moving. Pumped with adrenaline that caused the filly to lose control of her body, which must have still thought it was in escape mode. Finally, she was forced to a stop as she hit a wall in the metal air vent. The pain threw off the filly's instinctive side and brought back Sweetie, who cried there in the small area.
She didn't know why she was crying anymore. Too many things pressing down on her made it nearly impossible to discern which thing she was crying about now.
--Crybaby.
Was she still mourning the death of her friend?
--Crybaby.
Was she just still afraid for her life as she just escaped being burned alive?
--Crybaby.
Or was it just simple stress?
Sweetie whispered one thing as her sobs transitioned into small hiccups,
“I want to go home.” she wished pointlessly. And unsurprisingly, it wasn’t granted.
Sweetie lay in the air vent for who knew how long. She just wanted the nightmare to end. She just wanted to give up. She just wanted to stay in that vent where it was safe. She just wanted to be safe.
(But what about your friends?)
"My–my friends?" Sweetie asked herself.
(Don't they matter to you? What about your sister?)
"Rarity." Sweetie responded to her conscience.
(You can't give up now. You still need to help your friends. You can do it. Twilight believes in you. Your friends believe in you. You're their only hope. Don't let them down.)
"I can't. I can't." Sweetie said as tears stream down her cheeks once again. "Scootaloo's dead. She's–"
(That may be, but you can still save your other friends. You can still leave this mansion with the rest of them.)
"I can't." Sweetie repeated.
(You can, and you will. Just believe.)
"B–believe?" Sweetie asked.
(Believe you will save your friends. Believe you will see the end of this night. And, you will. Save Rarity. Don't let her down.)
"Save Rarity, my friends and escape." Sweetie said. Sweetie nodded to herself and wiped the tears from her face. Sweetie squeezed through the air vent and managed to reach in her saddlebags to take out her flashlight. Sweetie clicked it on and continued to navigate through the air vent. She would keep moving forward. She would keep trying to catch her friends, and she would see the end of the night
(or die trying.)
***
The air vent opened up into a larger area. It was just enough room for Sweetie to sit up on her flank and stretch out herself from being cramped in such a small area for such a long time. She assumed she'd been crawling for about thirty minutes or an hour. At least that’s what it felt like. Sweetie decided that here would be the best place to start putting together the ghost capture device. She took off the spectral containment pack first, followed by her own saddlebags. She dumped the contents onto the metal surface of the vent. She took inventory of what she had: the mansion map, the golden star box, her heart candy, the screwdriver, the ectotube and nozzle, and the cylindrical ghost processor. Sweetie checked her head to see if Applejack's hat was still firmly placed on her head. Sweetie wondered if it actually did bring her luck. After all, she just escaped a burning theater with virtually no conventional exits.
Sweetie put the other items to the side and laid in front of her the pieces to the GCD.
“Okay. Got all of the parts. Now what?”
There were only three parts, so it wasn't something that looked difficult to reconstruct. There were parts that needed to be screwed back in to each other; however, Sweetie did notice that some of the parts were missing screws. Thankfully, Sweetie kept the ones she used from the vent.
"Huh, who would've thought that these would come in handy so soon?" Sweetie said to herself as she held the four screws in her hoof. She was almost happy she wasn’t thinking normally. Normal Sweetie would have been more worried about getting her flank scorched than catching some stupid screws.
--Screw the screws!
Sweetie only had four, and the GCD was missing about six. Two were missing in the place where the cylindrical ghost processor went, and all four were missing in the place where the ectotube connected to. Sweetie got to work. She put the spirit containment pack in front of her and placed the cylinder on top in the hollow it supposedly went in. She screwed the first two screws into place that were already on the cylinder. She added her two new screws, which fit perfectly. The processor was successfully reattached to the pack. Now, came the nozzle and tube.
Sweetie examined the part. It was now that she noticed signs that were on the base of the GCD by the switch. There were three of them. The first one was an arrow that pointed down toward the tube. Sweetie assumed that that was the suction function. Next was the arrow pointing away from the tube. Sweetie assumed that it was the function that allowed her to blow like when she used it against Applejack. Finally, there was a green splotch. Sweetie found this sign newer looking than the others. Also, she could have sworn the switch only had two positions the last time she used it. Sweetie then remembered the ghost book had said something about a”'new feature.” She decided she would try it on the next ghost she confronted.
Sweetie then attached the hose to the cylindrical ghost processor where a hole was located, surrounded by four more holes where screws most likely went. She screwed the two screws she had left in place. It wasn't firm, but Sweetie assumed that it would be enough for the machine to function somewhat properly. She could at least use it until she found some more screws.
Once the tube was on the GCD, it lit up again. The red lights flashed on top.
"Rebooting... Rebooting... Ghost Capture 3000 functioning. Warning! Ectotube is incorrectly configured. Please repair in order to have full functionality." the GCD said. Sweetie smiled. It wasn't a pony, and it certainly wasn't alive, but it felt good to hear the disembodied voice of her GCD.
A voice that wasn’t her own. And arguably like one of a friend she hadn't heard from in way too long. Or expected to see again for that matter.
The warning worried her a little, but she twisted the ectotube connection the GCD warned her about. It wiggled a little but not enough in which it would keep the device from sucking any worse. Sweetie supposed she would deal with it if it, at some point, became a problem.
"Ok, that's working. That's good." Sweetie said to herself, putting her saddlebags on, followed by the GCD. "Now, where am I?" According to the map, she was right next to a hallway that would lead her to the library on the second floor of the mansion. Her destination was just a few doors down. Perfect.
Finally, things were
--Not dead.
looking up for
--Dead.
Sweetie.
--That is the question.
She might just be able to catch another of her friends after all.
She shook her head. She had to remain strong. Despite what Spike said and despite what she had seen, she refused to believe that her friend was dead. This mansion was wrong. Logic was wrong. To the point Sweetie couldn’t trust her eyes anymore. Not completely. Not without doubts. She might have been deluding herself. Maybe she was deluding herself. Maybe she was crazy. But she knew she wouldn’t move any further if she accepted Scootaloo’s fate.
And besides. Even if she did die. Sweetie’s fault or otherwise. She could just recapture her. Right?
--Soon!
Sweetie placed everything around her back into her bag. She shined her flashlight around the larger vent to find her exit and bolted. She used her screwdriver to open the vent and got it to fall to the hallway floor below. Sweetie jumped out of the vent and into a new hallway. Suddenly, she felt dizziness take her over again, causing her to collapse to the ground.
"Ugh." Sweetie moaned. "Why do I keep getting so dizzy?" She shook her head, trying to regain her equilibrium, but it didn't work this time. This dizziness was far worse than she experienced any other time that night. It was much stronger and disorienting.
--Closing in on target~ Stay Frosty Jumpie!
Sweetie felt the world starting to spin around her again. She leaned against the wall of the hallway, trying to keep herself up. The world stopped feeling real just like when she saw Scootaloo's body or when she found herself in Sugarcube Corner. The world didn't feel real as if it were some kind of dream sequence.
--Ddddddddiiiiiiiiiiiivvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeee...
Down the hallway, Sweetie sees another ghost, the ghost with a white coat and purple mane.
"Rarity." Sweetie mumbled. Sweetie stumbled down the hallway to the specter version of her sister. Sweetie's mind was blank and wasn't working again. She was trapped in another trance as she moved toward her sister, passing the entrance to the library.
Rarity beckoned to the filly as she got closer, sweetly smiling at the filly. Once Sweetie was close, Rarity exited to a door to her right. Sweetie followed, repeating her name under her breath. She followed her up stairs. Sweetie didn't know where she was going, but her brain couldn't process any reason. Right now, she was just following her sister on a subconscious whim.
Finally, Sweetie reached the top of the stairs and entered a new hallway, identical to the one she was just in. The hallway seemed endless in its darkness. Far down the hallway, Sweetie could see Rarity, lying in the middle of it.
--She's hurt Sweetie. You should go make sure she's ok.
"Rarity...gotta...make sure...she's ok." Sweetie said, moving in the direction of the mare's location. The walls around the filly seemed to melt. Any paintings or artwork on the walls drooped down in a wet mess. Sweetie didn't care, however. She was almost to where her sister was. She felt something crack under her feet, something sharp, but she didn't look down to see what it was. All she cared about was helping her sister just–
Lightning flashed, illuminating the world around the filly. Everything changed, back to normal. Nothing felt dreamlike, and her equilibrium was back. She was standing on broken glass, spread around the floor. What was in front of her was no longer her sister. No, she was standing in front of a broken window, looking out in front of the mansion and the rest of the forest. Rain lightly went through her mane and coat as the wind blew towards her. If Sweetie had just taken a couple more steps forward, she would have walked out of the window and fallen to her death. After that realization, she took a few steps back. What had just happened? Then, Sweetie remembered the words of Madame:
You were being manipulated by the Portrait of Magic. Twilight Sparkle, it made sense, now. Twilight's ghost had been manipulating her all night. She must have been in her head, creating illusions, like Sugarcube Corner or Rarity or even Scootaloo's dead body. She remembered having a similar dizzy sensation back in the theater. Did that mean that her friend wasn't really dead? Could it have all just been one big mind trick?
Sweetie felt relief at the thought she still might be able to save all of her friends, but then she remembered, she would still have to face Twilight, who almost convinced her to jump out of a five story window. How would she be able to fight someone who could manipulate her mind? Another flash of lightning occurred outside. Then, the lightbulb went off over Sweetie's head. Sweetie managed to break free of the mare's magical mental grip when the lightning flashed. Maybe, she could use it against Twilight? That was her advantage and her only chance at fighting the ghost mare. It was worth a shot.
Sweetie looked out at the forest. She couldn’t have been in the mansion for more than a few hours, but she was already forgetting what it was like back outside. Back in Ponyville, back in the Boutique, back where her nice warm bed was, where Rarity would tuck her in every night. Sweetie shook her head, careful not to get too caught up in her homesickness. She still had a job to do. She still had to catch her sister and friends.
Sweetie's attention turned to the front yard of the mansion, and she was shocked to what she saw. The first things she noticed were the holes in the ground where the graves were. It was as if some of the ponies underground had just climbed out. Sweetie knew that couldn't be good. The next thing she noticed were the statues along the path that led to the mansion. They were also missing or at least the griffon statues were gone. The dragon ones, thankfully, were still there as still as ever. Something told Sweetie that she was going to have to face a new enemy soon. She wished she still had her ghost book, so she would be ready for the incoming threat.
Sweetie checked her map to find that there was another entrance to the library on her floor. Sweetie didn't see any reason to go back downstairs if the entrance was also on that floor. She headed back down the hallway to the entrance, the light shining her way forward.
As Sweetie moved forward, something stopped her again. It was a chill, the chill that meant a ghost was nearby. Sweetie's guard went up as she prepared her GCD. Sweetie proceeded cautiously down the hallway, her flashlight ready for anything that might pop out.
The next sound she heard wasn't a laugh but a growl. It was the sound something Sweetie imagined a dog might make. Was it one of those ghost dogs from the basement? How the hay did it get up here? Sweetie didn't see anything in front of her, but she could hear the growling getting louder and louder then it hit her. She wasn't seeing any ghost dog because it wasn't in front of her but behind her.
“...stupid.” Sweetie thought.
Sweetie whirled around only to be tackled by a fierce glowing red ghost dog. Her flashlight was knocked out of her muzzle. Sweetie fell to the ground. Unlike the last time she she was pounced at, she wasn’t as lucky. It managed to put its full weight on top of the filly. This type of ghost, was slightly more tangible, but still she could feel it slowly phasing through her body as it weighed her down, chilling her to the bone. It tried to bite her face off, but as it did, Sweetie held it back by holding its muzzle away from her face.
“Get...”
The dog didn’t hear her as it continued to bark furiously at her.
WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!
It snapped at her face, seeming to slip it’s cold snout further through Sweetie’s hooves.
--Pain. So Cold. Pain. So Cold. Ah!
“Get...!”
WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!
It even managed to snap at her snout a little bit, nipping and scratching her with it’s teeth. Though whether or not it was the sharpness of the teeth, or the sheer amount of cold in them that cut her snout remained to be seen.
--So cold. Sharp cold. Dying cold. Dead-
"GET. OFF. of. ME!" Sweetie said, holding back the ghost dog. She managed to toss the it to its side. She scrambled up and went for her flashlight. She took it up with her hooves and shined it at the ghost dog.
Ding!
The ghost dog howled as Sweetie activated her GCD.
"15,14,13-" the GCD said.
Sweetie quickly got back into the swing of using the GCD as the ghost dog dragged her around the hallway. She remembered her "yank" technique.
"11, 10, yank, 98765, 4, 3, yank 210. Magic depleted. Capturing ghost.” the GCD said.
The ghost dog howled as it was dragged inside of the nozzle through the hose, through the ghost processor, and eventually into the GCD spirit containment pack. It felt good to the filly to be able to catch ghosts again, not only the satisfaction of catching one but also the security that she could fight back again.
Sweetie continued to move forward to the entrance of the library. Finally, she found it as she stood in front of a large door with a fancy picture of a book over it. This must have been it. The door was slightly ajar, confirming that someone besides her must have been in there and most likely was still there. Without further hesitation, Sweetie pushed the heavy door wider, so she could fit through. Another flash of lightning illuminated the library for a split second. Something was wrong.
What Sweetie expected to see when she entered the library was quite different from what she did see.
No, based on what she’d already witnessed in the mansion (one tends to have one’s expectations raised when you find a theatre and a church in someone’s god damned house), she hadn't expect something as small as Twilight's library. That said, she was really hoping this one would at least consist of a floor to stand on.
Of course, the library was dark. From what Sweetie could tell, she was on some kind of balcony in the shape of half a circle. A banister surrounding it so no one would make the deadly mistake of falling off the edge to what could be quite the nasty fall. It stood just above what seemed to be infinite rows of book cases, evenly placed along the immense library. Her light didn’t seem to reach the bottom of the chasms of bookcases. Sweetie almost questioned if there was even a bottom to begin with. In contrast, there seemed to at least be a ceiling, which book cases that were against the wall alongside the balcony appeared to stretch toward.
“Luna...” Sweetie mumbled. “Twilight would have a field day in here. What kind of pony has so many books in their…” then she remembered where she was, and realized if she noted all of the nonsensical things about this mansion, she wouldn’t get anywhere.
Either way, she figured she must have been at least 3-4 stories up from the first floor. Even if there was something of a bottom, falling would without a doubt kill her.
Sweetie shined her light around the balcony to see that there was nothing. There was no ladder or staircase to lead her back down to the first floor or even further up to the another one. The balcony was almost completely cut off, save for the bookshelves.
“What's the point of having this here anyway?” Sweetie thought to herself, breaking quickly breaking her “no-nonsense mindset” by questioning the pointless balcony. Suddenly, she heard something slam behind her. She whirled around to find the door she'd just come through had shut. Sweetie moved over there and yanked on its handle to no avail. It was shut tight. There was no way back.
"Come on! Open!" Sweetie yelled at the door. The door continued to stubbornly stay shut. Sweetie then felt a cold chill across her coat. It was official. She was definitely not alone in that library. Sweetie backed away from the door as though the door were the source of the chill. "No, there's got to be some way out of here. Think Sweetie!" Sweetie remembered her map. Maybe, she could find some new exit to the library.
The filly took the enchanted piece of parchment out of her saddlebags and placed it on the floor of the balcony. She shined her light on it. "C'mon. Show me a way out." Sweetie whispered to the map. It zoomed onto the library. In the corner of the map, written in fancy cursive, it said that she was on the fifth floor. The map then started to show walls of the library in red ink. Could they be possible exits? Once all of the red lines showed, the map begun to write numbers next to each of the exits except one. It seemed that at the far side of the library was another exit, written in the normal black ink that said '5'. That must have meant that there was an exit on the other side of her floor. All Sweetie had to do, now, was get to it.
Sweetie looked over the balcony banister. She saw there was a bookcase top that was just within a jump's length. Sweetie figured that she could use the bookshelves as her bridge to the other side. She had no choice but to brave the bookshelves now. At least it was better than standing there, waiting for a ghost to swoop down and attack her. She put her map back into her saddlebags and climbed onto the banister and balanced there for a moment before making the jump to the top of the bookcase. Sweetie didn't land stably as she almost fell over the side of the bookcase. Sweetie looked down to the floor. Her flashlight light couldn't reach the bottom. Sweetie knew that if she fell from this height, she wasn't going to get back up. Sweetie gulped at the reminder that one bad step would lead to her death.
Sweetie took a deep breath. "Don't look down, just forward. Don't look down." She said to herself as she started to walk through the darkness. The library was so thickly dark; if it wasn't for her flashlight illuminating her path along the bookcase, she might have thought she was slipping out of reality again. Sweetie kept her guard up as she hopped to the next bookcase. It was cold, and she knew that if Pinkie was telling the truth, then Twilight had to be somewhere around here. Sweetie remembered Twilight was alive at one point; her spirit split into two. Until Madame mentioned it, a second Twilight had never occurred to her. Now that Twilight was joined with her other half and if she was able to mess with Sweetie when she wasn't at full power in the kitchen, who knew how strong she could be now?
Sweetie saw another flash of lightning outside. She stopped and brought her attention to the window far off on a wall in the massive library; its curtains going up along its sides, allowing the lightning to enter the library. Suddenly, a roar of thunder, louder than Sweetie thought possible, came from the heavens. It was so strong that it caused the mansion to shake a little bit. The vibration caused Sweetie to lose her balance, and she felt herself fall over the side of the bookcase. She thought she was dead the moment she fell, but then her hoof grabbed something. Instinctively, she took a hold of the wooden plank that brushed across her hoof, catching herself before she fell. She pulled herself in, hugging the wooden plank with her foreleg. Sweetie confirmed it to be some kind of ladder. It felt weak, and from the emptiness under Sweetie's hind leg, it seemed to be broken. It didn't have a way down for her, but it certainly saved her life.
Sweetie sighed in relief and then noticed something glowing in the darkness along the bookcase next to the ladder. With her flashlight miraculously still clamped firmly between her teeth, she shined her light at the spot. It was a book as Sweetie expected, but the spine of that book that red and yellow spine. Could it be–
Sweetie, still holding on tight to the broken ladder, reached for the book. It was simply too far away, however, for the filly to reach for it; then, she got an idea. Sweetie took the nozzle of her GCD and aimed precisely at the book she needed. It slid out of the bookshelf and hit her GCD nozzle. It stuck there much like the apple did when she sucked it in. Sweetie let go of the GCD vacuum button and caught the book before it fell off into the dark bottom of the library. She identified it and confirmed it to be her ghost notebook! Sweetie grinned in delight.
I guess it would make sense my book would be in a library. she thinks, not caring about the fact that it shouldn’t.
She almost thought it was a good thing she almost got herself killed. Otherwise, she would have just walked over the thing.
As she put her ghost notebook back into her saddlebags, she noticed something else. The other books, around where the ghost book was previously, began to glow. Did she just set off some kind of trap?
"Ah… that’s not good." Sweetie said to herself. She didn't waste any more time on the ladder. She put her hind leg on the next plank of the ladder and started to climb back up to the top of the book case. Once there, she looked back down, going against her judgement. What she saw was light emitting from a whole section of books around the ghost book's spot. Books started to float out of their shelves and, eventually, to the side of the bookshelf of Sweetie. They opened their purple covers and started to fly after her. "No, no, no!" she said as she broke into a run across the bookshelf. She hopped to the next bookshelf just a little higher than the one she was on previously. She was barely able to keep her balance.
The books were gaining on her, determined to knock her off of the bookcase. Sweetie was scared and felt helpless, but then, she remembered. She didn't have to keep running now. She had the GCD.
Once a little distance was built between Sweetie and the books, she turned around and pointed her flashlight at the hostile transparent novels.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
The books light shield was broken. Sweetie then activated her GCD as it begun to vacuum the ghosts into the pack. The strange thing, however, something that surprised Sweetie, was that the GCD didn't just start sucking up one ghost, but it started sucking up two! Sweetie didn't question how or why.
"0. Capturing ghosts." The GCD said.
The first two books went inside of the GCD without a fight.
"Capture successful. Warning. Ghost Capture Device at 50 percent" the GCD said.
Sweetie ignored the voice as she continued to suck up the ghost books flying at her.
"0. Capturing ghosts. Two more ghosts were forced into the GCD again without a fight. Sweetie assumed by the amount of magic inside of them that they were one of the weaker ghosts. Still, there were about four still flying at her. The GCD continued to suck up books; however, this time, rather than sucking two, it sucked one. As it entered the GCD, the device beeped. This was followed by the lights on the back of the GCD blinking red, and the nozzle button to pop back up. When Sweetie tried to push it, it wouldn't budge.
"Ghost Capture Device at Full Capacity. Please expel ghosts in order to gain back functionality"
"Come on! Work!" Sweetie yelled at the machine. Sweetie then ducked from the incoming books as they flew over her head. Despite the small size of the ghosts, the chill they gave was overwhelming to the filly as though she'd just gone outside on a freezing winter day. They flew behind her for a minute before turning back around and flying back at the filly again. "Stupid vacuum! How do you take ghosts back out anyway?!"
Then, Sweetie remembered “The new function.” Sweetie remembered from the mirrored hallway that the ghost book said the GCD had a function that actually fired ghosts back at them. Could she use that to fight? And, possibly, empty her GCD?
Sweetie switched the GCD nozzle switch to the green sludge icon.
"Spectral Throwback activated." the GCD said.
The button released, giving Sweetie the ability to press it again. She pointed her nozzle at the books and hit the button. Purple sludge fired out of the nozzle at such an incredible velocity that it sent the filly back a step. The purple sludge hit two of the books and knocked them out of the air and down into the darkness of the library. Sweetie fired again, this time, only hitting one of the books. The recoil of the nozzle was ruining Sweetie's aim, but it was still working. Sweetie aimed one more time at the remaining book. She hit it directly, causing it to fly back a little before falling into the darkness. Sweetie held up her GCD with both of her hooves until she was certain that the books weren't coming back up.
As she listened for any other sounds of ghosts or flapping books, the filly sighed. She was safe for the moment as she only heard the sound of rain pounding against the window of the library. Even so, instinct told the filly that that safety wouldn't last long. Sweetie decided that now that she was safe, it would be a good time to check out the ghost book. Maybe, she could find something useful inside.
Sweetie opened up the notebook, shining her light inside, and flipped through the pages that she'd already seen. Finally, she came to a new entry. It was a picture of the GCD nozzle.
Dual Capture
Info: Oh boy, another upgrade. Late as usual, I see. Something you probably could have used earlier; this new feature allows two ghosts to be captured at the same time rather than one. As you can imagine, this is extremely useful when facing more than one ghost you need to catch. As a wise something or other said, two vacuums are always better than one.
Earlier, I didn't even have the GCD! Sweetie thought. How the hay would she have known. She thought the book was way too critical. She felt even worse after realizing she was getting offended by a book. She turned the page, seeing a familiar face. It was a picture of Pinkie Pie.
Portrait of Laughter
Gender: Female
Bio: The Portrait of Laughter, not sure how you plan on getting this ghost, but anyway, this ghost is one of the more difficult to capture of the Portraits of Harmony, yet she is also one of the only ghosts that won't try to kill you right away. This is for several reasons. The main reason, however, is because she takes joy in playing with her victims. She might work with other ghosts to mentally torture their victims, or she might just do it herself. The second reason is, well, this isn't going to be to your liking, you can't catch her. First off, she has the ability to process thoughts by simply reading them. Secondly, she has an extra sense, augmented by the ghostification process that allows her to predict her victim's every move. For example, when they will shine their flashlight. Even if you manage to shine a light on the Portrait's magic shield, it won't work or at least not with conventional flashlights. The only way that this Portrait can be captured is if she wants to be. Note: However, though this doesn’t help you, she does enjoy a good laugh. Maybe you could figure out how to use that? Either way, if I were you, I wouldn't mess with that crazy mare.
Main Weakness: Laughter?
The ghost book had just stated what she feared. Unless Sweetie could predict Pinkie's moves, she wouldn't have any hope of catching her. And what was this about “reading” thoughts? And to top it all off, the book said that she would have to want to be captured if she had any hope. This discouraged the filly as she flipped to the next page. This one, however, wasn't on a ghost. It was on possession.
Ghost Possession
Info: So, you've come across a possessed pony, huh? It was only a matter of time, especially in cases of fillies and other children. Ghosts may possess any pony, but they crave possession of younger, or generally more active ponies, given their longer lifespan, and general quality, given they are still growing. Portraits are also usually the ones that enjoy possessing these younger creatures. Unfortunately, the only way to release any creature from possession without the proper exorcism tools is death as the ghost will be released from its shell. Obviously, this will also kill the pony the body originally belonged to. Unlike the other ghosts in the mansion, this death is permanent. The only other way to release the ghost is if you can convince it to leave the body but good luck with that kid. Bodies aren't that easy to come by in such a secluded mansion of dead ponies.
"K-kill my friends?" Sweetie said out loud, cold mist seeping from her mouth as the temperature started to drop further. "T-that can't be the only way. C'mon book! There's got to be another way!" Sweetie sighed. She supposed that she'd have to figure out how to cross that bridge when she came to it. She flipped to the next page, which had a picture of a glowing red ghost dog.
K-9 Ghost
Common Gender: Female
These ghost dogs are simply pets of the mansion that were unlucky enough to have their spirits stolen by the ghosts. They are fast and will charge at you if given the chance. They also have the ability not only to smell normal bodily functions such as sweat, but also they can smell the hormone released in the brain that causes fear and adrenaline. In a nutshell, they can smell when you're scared. In addition, being dogs, they have a keen sense of hearing as well. One wrong move, they'll know your exact location. Though these dogs are strong, they are distracted easily as dogs tend to be. Try throwing a bone, a stick, or a ball to distract them for a moment if you find yourself pinned down. If you absolutely need to capture one, the normal light and suck technique will work fine, but I wouldn't try it unless they were traveling alone instead of a pack.
Main Weakness: Light, Doggy Pleasures
Sweetie flipped to the next page again, seeing that there was nothing particularly useful on the ghost dogs. The next picture showed a photo of Madame.
Madame Yield
Gender: Female
Bio: What is she doing–… right. In any case, this is one of the Portraits of Yield. I didn't know that there were any still wandering around the mansion anymore. The Portraits of Yield are the closest family members to the one who owns the mansion, Specter Yield. I don't really have any information beyond that and what you know, kid. All I know is that she's the wife of Mr. Yield and has the ability to activate lights like candles, torches, and lanterns. Strangely enough, it seems as though she, unlike any other ghosts in the mansion, has her own thought process. She also appears to be on your side; if she is, good for you, but if I were you, I wouldn't put too much trust in that ghost mare.
After everything Sweetie had been through that night so far, she wasn't sure if it was a good idea to trust Madame herself, but the ghost mare hadn't led her astray, yet. The next page showed a picture of the butler ghosts: inside of them was the skeleton of a pony.
Spectral Skeletal Armor (SSA)
Info: This is mostly used with ghost butlers, given skeletons of most grave sites on the property are compatible with their own ghostly bodies. This isn't like possession, mostly, because the pony is already dead. The SSA is used to allow ghosts to remain in their current form even if they are touched by light. Even worse, the Ghost Capture Device will not be able to suck up the ghost it has a hold of now that they are weighed down by the armor. However, if you can manage to destroy the skeletal armor inside, they will return to being normal ghosts. Try using the Spectral Throwback on them or any other function you forget to try out.
"Finally. Something useful." Sweetie said to herself. There was one more entry. Sweetie flipped the page to find the picture of the books.
Ghost Novels
Info: These are basically one of the inanimate objects that have been ghostified. There isn't much to say about them besides that their only attack is flying through its victims, chilling them to the bone. They are extremely weak so much so that light destroys the little magic inside of them, causing for a quick vacuum. They do, however, like to travel in fairly large packs, so you'll want to make sure your device is as empty as possible when confronting a group. Though you don't have to worry about possessed or ghostified inanimate objects unless there is an incredibly strong ghost around them–oh wait, you're going after her, aren't you? You're doomed then.
Doomed, huh? Sweetie thought. Is Twilight really that strong?
"Oh, a Ghost Encyclopedia. Nice choice." a voice said behind her. “Though, I do hope you plan on returning it on time.”
Sweetie whirled around on top of the bookcase to see a ghostly purple mare floating above her.
“You wouldn’t want to pay the late fees. Would you?”
"T–Twilight?" Sweetie asked.
"So nice to see you, Sweetie. Glad to see you're still alive." She said, grinning at the filly. It wasn't nearly as strong as Fluttershy, but it seemed as though Twilight looking at her was giving her a bad chill down her spine.
Sweetie stood, frozen with fear on the bookshelf as they shared stares with each other. Finally, Sweetie decided to speak.
"T–Twilight. W–were you the one who made me see Scootaloo?" Sweetie asked. Sweetie just wanted to know. She doubted that she'd tell the truth. She was so sure she would lie, and yet-
"Maybe." She said smiling. "You really should have seen that hopeless look on your face when you saw her in that piano!"
So–so Scootaloo isn't dead? Sweetie thought hopefully.
"And yet... That filly might still be dead though." Twilight added. "She's still possessed, you know, and she can still die. I have to remember to suggest that to her when I get the chance.” Her grin seemed to get wider at the thought. “Oh wouldn’t that make a great story Sweetie? Perhaps it will be in the history books. The tragedy of Scootaloo. The orphan who killed herself because her friend was too scared to help.” she paused, before looking at the book Sweetie was holding. “You read that in the book right?"
"Uh, y–yeah." Sweetie answered.
"Did you read anything about me?" Twilight asked. This was the first time Sweetie had seen the mare, so nothing would be written in the book until now. And she knew that. Sweetie remained silent.
"Oh, oh well. I guess I can read it myself after I'm done with you." Twilight said. Her ghostly horn started to glow brighter than the rest of her body. "Oh Sweetie, I couldn’t begin to tell you the spells I’ve seen since this ghostification. Just by being here, it’s a buffet of magic, don’t you feel it?”
I’m feeling something, but it’s not magical.
“...you know, now that you mention that the Scootaloo thing, It probably won’t hurt to tell you about the interesting little illusion spell recently. It's called 'Mind Dive', and works best if you're close like we are now. Let me demonstrate it for you."
Sweetie's flashlight flickered out as Twilight approached.
--Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiivvvvvveeeeeeee
Before she could say or think anything, Sweetie started to feel dizzy again as Twilight used her magic to prying-
--Creeeeeeeeeek
-into the filly's mind. Sweetie tried to keep her balance, knowing that she couldn't afford to fall now. Sweetie felt reality starting to fade around her in the darkness. She felt like she was floating even though she was sure she was still on the bookcase.
--Creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!
But was she really on the book case?
--Creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!
Maybe she should move a few steps to the left-
--Creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek
just to make sure.
She tried to back away from the ghost mare along the bookcase. Her mind was beginning to succumb to the control of the ghost mare. She felt it harder and harder to resist the idea of just jumping off the bookcase to her death.
Sweetie saw another flash of lightning flash through the library, releasing the filly from Twilight's control. The brief light also drove Twilight back a couple feet. Sweetie took this moment to close up her ghost book, stuff it into her saddlebags and run across the bookcase. She shook her flashlight furiously, getting little bits of light from it as she ran as it flickered on and off. Sweetie remained balanced as she ran across the bookcase top.
Twilight wailed behind Sweetie as she ran. The next thing she heard was a laugh followed by some type of magical sound. Sweetie remembered hearing that sound before. It was the sound of a unicorn preparing or charging a spell, and Sweetie could only imagine that that spell could be for her. Sweetie didn't dare stop to look back at the mare as she charged her spell. Sweetie saw another bookshelf across from her that she could jump to. As she jumped, she heard some kind of explosion. Out of the corner of Sweetie's eye, she saw that Twilight had fired some kind of lightning bolt at her. If she had remained on that bookshelf any longer, she would just be a pile of ashes right now.
Sweetie wouldn't be able to run from the ghost mare much longer. If she hit the other side of the library before she caught her, she would be cornered. She had to catch her and soon. Sweetie tried to come up with some kind of plan, but the filly found it hard to think while keeping her footing as she ran across the bookcase.
Sweetie could feel Twilight in her head again.
Sweetie Belle Sweetie heard a voice in her head. It was Rarity. Sweetie tried to ignore the voice.
Stop fighting. We can be together, you and I. We can end this nightmare just stop running.
"Get out of my head!" Sweetie yelled. She then heard another charging sound.
Relax, Sweetie. I'm here for you. Don't run. Don't you love your sister?
"You’re not my sister!" Sweetie said as she continued to run, jumping to another bookshelf, dodging another magic bolt.
Is that how you speak to your big sister? Hmph. You were always a whiny little filly. I could never bear you in the Boutique. I thank Celestia for those–what do you call them? Cutie Mark Crusaders?
Purple glowing books started to fly out of their shelves. They flew at Sweetie who ducked just in time before they could ram into her. She didn't waste time to get up and keep running.
If it wasn't for them getting you out of my hair, who knows what kind of horrible things I might have done to myself?
"Where's lightning when you need it?!" Sweetie asked out loud.
"Lightning?" Twilight said. "Ah, of course. So that's how you've been breaking free. Why don't we just fix that?"
"Oh, no." Sweetie said. She had just exposed her only real weapon against her magic mind spell. Twilight used her telekinesis to close the curtains of the large library window just before a flash of lightning could come through. She laughed, "That's better."
--Dddddiiiiiiiiiiiivvvvvvveeeeeee...
Being trapped in Twilight's mind spell was causing the filly to fall back into the loss of reality. Her will was slowly deteriorating as Rarity spoke in the filly's head.
I probably would have hung myself if you were always around. All you were was a giant bother just a big annoyance. All you know how to do is ruin everything. Do you have any idea how many dresses you've ruined? How many mannequins and equipment you've broken. Sometimes, I wish mom and dad would just take you already.
"Get out of my head." Sweetie said weakly. She slowed to a walk. She felt like collapsing. She had to break free. Somehow, she had to get that curtain open. She wondered.
Sweetie reached into her bag, ignorant of the fact that Twilight was hovering right above her.
"Giving up already?" Twilight laughed. "I don't blame you. I'd give up too if I knew how much my brother hated me."
Sweetie found what she was looking for and pulled it out of her saddlebags. It was the metal screwdriver. Sweetie only had one, so she would only have one shot at her plan. She stuck in into the nozzle opening of the GCD. It was a perfect fit.
Several purple books hovered behind Twilight ready to attack.
"But I suppose like a good book, all things must end, including you, Sweetie." Twilight said.
Sweetie switched her GCD to the blow arrow on the nozzle. She pointed it in the darkness, trying to remember where the window was.
"Goodnight Sweetie–" Twilight started to say, but the loud bang that the GCD made interrupted her.
CRASH
In the darkness, Sweetie heard the sound of glass breaking. It was the window. Wind and rain entered the hole in the window where it was shattered, causing the curtains to flutter up, exposing the window again. A flash of lightning went through the library once more, releasing Sweetie from Twilight's hold.
Though the filly lost her screwdriver, she regained her will. With Sweetie's brain fully functioning again, her perception of the world returned to normal; she remembered something. Sweetie remembered using the Spectral Throwback. She didn't even need to use the flashlight to take the book ghosts down. Could she use it on Twilight?
As Twilight howled angrily, Sweetie aimed at the books behind Twilight as the books charged. She switched her GCD nozzle to the goo icon and shot the purple slime out of it. She hit a large group of books. She shot again, taking out another group of books. Sweetie jumped to the side to another bookcase as she shot another magic bolt.
"Stay STILL!" Twilight yelled at the filly.
"Dive in this." Sweetie said as she aimed her GCD at Twilight. It hit her directly, causing her to spiral back but not enough to take her down completely. Suddenly, Sweetie noticed her flashlight flicker on in her muzzle. Twilight was weakened. Now was her chance. Sweetie jumped back over the bookshelf and ran over to the ghost mare. She shined her light on the ghost mare.
Ding!
"What?!" Twilight yelled.
"Gotcha!" Sweetie said as she switched her nozzle back to suck and hit the button. Twilight was caught in the suction. Twilight wailed as she tried to escape Sweetie's grasp. Sweetie was dragged along the bookcase, determined not to let go.
"30, 29, 28, 27, 26" The GCD counted down.
It wasn't long before Twilight decided to change direction. She started now to move across the several bookcases that went along the library. Sweetie managed to jump each one as she was dragged along. The mare was getting desperate to escape the filly.
"15, 14, 13, 12" The GCD continued.
"That's it!" Twilight yelled. Her horn charged as she looked back at the filly, who was still holding on to her as though her life depended on it. She was about to fire a bolt at Sweetie. Sweetie used her hind legs to move herself to the left on one of her jumps, letting her narrowly dodging the bolt and almost missing a jump and hitting the face of the bookcase.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0. Magic depleted. Capturing ghost. The GCD said.
Wait a sec. What happens when I catch a Portrait again? Oh, no. Sweetie thought as she shut her eyes, knowing what was going to happen next. A purple lightning bolt came from Twilight to the nozzle of the GCD. Sweetie felt the electricity travel around her small filly body. Twilight gave one final screech, a high pitched wail, as she was finally sucked into the GCD. There were now three green lights on Sweetie's GCD.
Sweetie collapsed to the bookcase top, her flashlight nearly falling out of her mouth. The capture of the Portrait ghost had once again drained her completely. She lay there for a moment, catching her breath, trying to remain conscious.
The next thing Sweetie heard was a giggle, echoing behind the sound of rain, thunder, and wind that was also in the library.
"Oh, boy." Sweetie mumbled.
"Don't tell me you’re not happy to see me." Pinkie said, appearing over the filly on the bookcase.
"What? You? No of course not." Sweetie mumbled sarcastically.
"That was really entertaining, though." Pinkie said, appearing over the filly. "I knew you could do it. I knew I asked the right filly for the job. As a reward, here, take this thing I found."
Pinkie took out of nowhere a heart candy. Without permission from the filly, Pinkie stuck it in Sweetie’s mouth. Sweetie started to suck on it, feeling it heal her.
"Why–why are you helping me?" Sweetie asked. "Aren't you supposed to be trying to kill me?"
“You want me to?”
“No!”
“You suuuuuuure?”
“J-ust tell me why you’re-”
She giggled. "I can't have fun doing that unless you capture those two ghosties I asked you to. One down, two to go, Jumpie! You ready for number two?"
"...sure." Sweetie said, getting back up.
"Hey. I also got something else for you." Pinkie said. Again, out of nowhere, she took out another item. It was Sweetie's camera.
"My camera!" Sweetie said.
"Yeah, I decided to keep it on me, kind of like a trophy if you managed to beat Twilight?" Pinkie said. She held it out to the filly. Sweetie reached out to take it, but Pinkie snatched it back.
"Hey!" Sweetie said.
"Hold on. Don't be a grumpy Jumpie. I just need you to make me a promise." Pinkie said.
"What?" Sweetie asked.
"I know about your pony ghostie thingymawhat’sit. I know you're gonna try and bring Twilight back, but I don't want to see her, or anyone else out here catching ghosts."
"H-huh?" Sweetie asked.
Another giggle. "I want you. I want to see what you're made of. If I see someone besides you catching ghosties, well, I'm not sure I'd like that very much." Pinkie said cheerfully. “And I don’t like to ‘not like’ anything! I don’t think you’d want me to either.”
"R-right..." Sweetie said. Sweetie couldn't afford to anger Pinkie. She was one of the most powerful ghosts she'd come across so far. If she could keep her happy, then, she had a better chance of survival. Who knew what she might try to do to her friends if she didn't comply?
"The narrator’s right, Sweetie." Pinkie smiled. "So, what do you say?"
"Fine. I won't let them try and catch any ghosts." Sweetie said.
"Hmmm, I don't believe you." Pinkie said, winking. "You promise?" Sweetie knew what the mare was trying to say.
She sighed, "Cross my heart and hope to fly; stick a cupcake in my eye."
"That a girl." Pinkie said, handing Sweetie the camera.
Sweetie took the camera before the pink ghost mare faded away into the darkness. Suddenly, candles in the room lit up. It was official. There were no ghosts left in the area. Sweetie sighed. She went in the direction of the next door to look for a mirror.
It was time to get back to resurrecting her friends.
[Continue]