Nightmare Fuel Anypony?

by SolongStarbird

Hotel Alicornia

He had flown out of Las Pegasus at dusk, and now he stood here, on a dark desert road, with little energy to call his own. He hadn't been thinking clearly, and now he was probably going to die.
At the edge of his sight, he saw lights. No. There was no way he had flown in a circle back to the city. Had he?
As he warily trotted closer, he found that it was not Las Pegasus, but simply a building of decent size... in the middle of nowhere. As he drew towards the gates of the beacon, he was greeted by a unicorn mare. His first thought beyond being grateful was that she was cute... really cute. She led him inside, hovering a lamp with her magic. Upon first glances, it had the appearance of a normal, old hotel. The lost pegasus thought to himself... This may as well be heaven. As they walked past pony after somber pony, he had second thoughts. Or maybe it's hell?
She stepped onto the elevator, and he with her. Elevator music played, only this elevator music had lyrics: "Welcome the Hotel Alicornia! Such a lovely place... Such a lovely face..."
Such a lovely face...
He was staring at his guide again.
"Yes?"
He snapped out of it. "What?"
"Yes, what is it?"
He scrambled to regain composure.
"Well, I was wondering what your name might be."
"Cali."
"Nice to meet you Cali."
The elevator sang on: "Plenty of room at the Hotel Alicornia! Any time of year... You can find it here..."
The elevator opened up to a hallway of doors. As they passed the doors, many of them would open and a stallion would poke his head out the door to greet Cali. As they neared the end of the hall, she turned around and acknowledged them. "Hey boys!"
"Who are they?"
"Oh, just friends."
Sure. Just friends. The pegasus decided that he didn't like these stallions so much. They were competition. Cali showed him to his room at the end of the hallway. It was a basic room, with a window overlooking a courtyard and one thing to make it stand out: a glass ceiling.
As Cali left the room and shut the door, he went over the window and looked outside. Another large group of stallions was dancing out in the courtyard. It was strange how they danced... Having nothing better to do, he sat and watched until Cali stepped out into the courtyard and started dancing with them. Not wanting to watch her have fun without him, he turned to the bed and saw the room service phone. He picked it up and ordered some wine.
The door opened a short time later, and an attendant poured him a glass. As he left, he said, "It's good having someone like you here. We haven't had this spirit in a long time."

As he drank, he decided to turn on the radio. That same elevator music came on again: "They livin' it up at the Hotel Alicornia! What a nice surprise... Bring your alibis..."

He went to change the station... It was on every station.

Pieces of thought flew together. He had to get out of here! He went to open the door, but it felt as if it were fused to the wall. He ran to the window and bucked it, but it stood its ground as pain shot up his legs. Feeling an intense panic now, the pegasus shot up towards the glass ceiling. He heard the shatter, but instead of feeling the warm desert wind, he felt the ground on his back and glass falling on his face. He opened his eyes, and saw that the glass had shattered to reveal a ceiling of mirrors.

He stood up, and was startled to see Cali standing at the now open door. She had a glass of pink champagne and the saddest look on her face.

"We are all just prisoners here, of our own device..."

"W-What?"

Without another word, she took his hoof and led him to the elevator, which once again went up, this time to stop at the top floor. She lead him to the only door, which was labeled: "Master's Chambers."

"What's going on?"

She turned to him. "It's time for the feast."

She opened the door, and he was greeted to the noise of a riot at a long table. Everypony sat at the table, stabbing at a massive beast, who thrashed in pain and screeched in anger.

He pulled away from Cali's grasp and ran for the elevator. She turned to chase him, so he ditched the elevator and flew down the stairs. He could her the sound of her teleporting down the stairs and yelling, "Stop! You can't go!"

Ignoring her, he flew straight into the lobby, where he was met by the night guard.

Gasping, he addressed the guard, "I need to leave."

The guard turned to him as Cali reached the bottom of the stairs, and they replied in unison, "We are programmed to receive. You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave."

Author's Note:

Based on the song Hotel California by The Eagles.