//------------------------------//
// Chapter I - Arrival 
// Story: Memoria 
// by Takarashi282 
//------------------------------//

It was all so surreal. Being on the ground, limbs sprawled out under her, dizziness making the world spin before her eyes. As the dark tunnel drew away from the corners of her vision, she looked around, feeling like she was under sedation. She was floating in a pool of black... no, she was in a dark room, square and vacant, smoke-like wallpaper surrounding her at all sides, the soft bristles of the carpet below her brushing against her as if they were alive. 

Shaking the dizziness from her head, she gained the will to attempt to stand, her knees buckling below her, shaking as if she had a ton's weight on her back. Quaking on her hooves, she squinted and studied the room about her. She didn't miss much at first sight; it was the same old, but she did manage to notice a door to her right, a scrolling pattern carved into it, seeming waxed with age, the bronze doorknob showing a bit of rust.

As her mind started to clear from the sedative fog, she regained self-consciousness, but so slow that the buffer of thoughts started to make her head ache. I'm Pinkie Pie, was the only thing she could think of, staring at the doorknob almost longingly. I'm... I need to get out of here. 

Legs shaking underneath her, she wobbled toward the door, her dizziness becoming more intense with each passing step. Her hooves collided with the ground, the muffled but hollow clops being the only indicator of this happening. With each step she took, it felt like the vibrations from the collision were traveling up her legs, instead of the solidity she was used to. Within a long few seconds, she was right in front of the door, a sort of magnetism drawing her near to the bronze knob, all her weight going on her forelegs, though she didn't fall.

But as her mind had awoken even more, she felt a foreboding feeling. She didn't know why, but the gut feeling seemed to tell her to turn back, that she didn't want to meet what was on the other side. But what was on the other side drove her fragile curiosity to the max, and she twisted the knob, the jelly-like feeling coursing through that limb again. Cautiously, she let the door glide away from her hoof, the hinges squeaking slightly, revealing a long, dark hallway.

The warning bells were now ringing ferociously in her mind. You do not want to go there, said a voice in Pinkie's mind, light, but imperative. An ice cold fear gripped her now, against her will, and she turned back to the door from whence she came, it seeming so far away now. Her hoof hovered from the ground, ready to bolt at any moment, but she gently set it down on the carpet below, the gelatinous feeling coming once again. There's nothing for me to worry about, Pinkie Pie reassured herself, besides, I've got things to do in the room to the left.

This proposition shocked Pinkie Pie. She didn't know how, but she somehow knew where she was supposed to go. For what reason, she was not sure. Turning back around, she sneaked her way down the hall, darkness enveloping her even more as she entered the depths. Just like her gut instinct told her, she took a left down a narrow corridor with a pair of uneven steps leading to an elevated platform, where there stood yet another door, with the same design as the door to the room she'd just came from. 

Once again, the foreboding feeling took over again, making her feel so nervous that she was about to vomit. Don't. The simple word kicked her in the gut, leaving her immobile. But, for some reason, that thought didn't seem directly to her... like a friend talking to another over her shoulder. Don't go... the voice was softer now, more gentle, but with a tinge of sadness that overcame the panic in Pinkie's heart. She knew that the voice wasn't talking to her... there was no way. It was so passive that she could've sworn it was from somepony else. 

Taking in a deep breath, Pinkie coursed through the narrow hallway, the hollowed knocking sound her hooves produce starting to turn more creaky. It seemed like the floor was buckling beneath her as she hobbled to the door. The worst was the stairs, giving a sort of elastic feel to the foundation. But, for some reason, she didn't feel panicked by this at all. She knew the state of the place she was in was the least of her problems.

Holding her breath, anticipation boiling in her heart, Pinkie grabbed a hold of the doorknob and pulled the door toward her, the ginger movement not even making a creak on this one. The room was small, small enough that a couple paces inward would bring her to the opposite wall. Inside, to the right of the doorframe, a desk stood, dark wood warped and leaning to the left, the stout chair nearly engulfed by the brim of it. By a large, long-dead candle was a roll of parchment, edges torn and yellowed with age, ink fading into the surface. Pinkie stepped further into the room, and eyed the parchment carefully. For some reason, she felt comfortable around it, almost nostalgic. But as she inched closer to the parchment, she was able to make out one singular word, scratched all over the surface: 

"Why?"

The comfortable nostalgia soured into great unease. What is this letter talking about? she asked herself, cocking an eyebrow. Along with the unease, she felt that she knew. She knew she knew, but she couldn't recall what she knew. It was like she was back in school for a moment after a long summer break, staring at the review papers, the answer on the tip of her tongue when it just wouldn't come. 

That's when her ear twitched. The hairs stood on the back of her neck as she whipped her head to the door frame. What was that? she thought, heart hammering up in her throat. The noise—a hollowed clumping sound—emitted from the shadows of the hall, panning slowly from her left ear closer to her right. Pinkie Pie didn't waste any time; she slammed the door in front of her, not caring for a single second if she was heard. She ripped the small chair from under the desk and crowded herself under it, not daring to breathe.

The sound panned at a quicker pace, nearly parallel to her. It stopped for a moment, and Pinkie swore she could hear a rushed intake of air, like sniffing, and the thumpings continued, crescendoing as the noise started to pan once again to her right ear. What ever it was, it was coming down the hallway leading into this room.

As the sounds got closer, Pinkie Pie's head started to reel. She caught her head in her hooves, trying to ward off the dizziness and pain once again. But that was when a memory popped through the dark muck in her mind with such force she nearly jumped right into the desktop. 

Giggle at the ghosties, it said. The voice was cheery and affable, almost too much so. In this setting, it was downright unsettling. But, there was familiarity behind it, almost as if she'd be a hypocrite if she didn't use this tactic. Pinkie Pie took a deep breath and forced herself to laugh. It started small, then like a weak spark to wood, died within an instant when there was a slam on the door, with enough force to crack the frame, a strange maroon light seeping through the crack. Pinkie Pie jumped, hitting her head against the desktop. The pain increasing, she squished into the wall, kicking her legs against the soft black carpet. 

There was another set of sniffs, so evenly spaced out it seemed mechanical. Behind the door, another noise came, like a dark growl as the clumping noise continued once again, this time panning to her left ear, the maroon light swiping off the floor. It's... going away? Pinkie Pie thought, still stiffened up against the wall below the desk. When the noise started disappearing to her left, she unlocked her joints, starting to sprawl on the floor, laughing out of relief, a hoarse, airy laugh. It took another couple minutes until she dared move again, and even more time to even walk to the door. The damage done to the door was major. A nearly straight line down the center buckled and splintered out, a crack wide enough to see down the hall. Pinkie Pie blinked. If I hide in here again, I can kiss my luck goodbye, she thought, heart sinking. 

With a slow and sneaking movement, Pinkie batted the door open, the door nearly fallen off its hinges as it turned open. When she stepped out of the room, she heard something crinkle under her hooves. Lifting up her foreleg in alert, she studied the ground. Floating on the bristles of the carpet was a letter, not parchment this time, but paper. The handwriting looked elegant, something that triggered a sense of familiarity, but she couldn't pinpoint what the memory was. Curious, she bent down to the ground, squinting to try to read the text.


Pinkie,
You haven't been sending me letters lately. What's the matter? I know that there has been stuff going on that you've been busy with, but even then, this seems unusual. But I guess I have nothing to worry about, right?

In any case, I got the job! Igneous Park is now open, and I get to be a tour guide! My main job will be explaining the dating on the rocks and how they relate to Equestria's history. Though they are going to put me in rigorous voice training. They say I'm too monotone. I see where they are coming from.

But that's all I've got for you, really. So I guess I will talk to you later. Just, in case if anything is getting you down, Pinkie Pie, don't submit. I do not want to lose another sister, all right? 

Love you,
Maud


Pinkie Pie raised an eyebrow. "I don't want to lose another sister"? she thought. This letter, this Maud... who is this pony?