Pinkie Explores the Dark

by David Silver

4 - Mane Solution

You set your rump on the floor and reach up into the frizzy mess that is your mane. It's especially messy at the moment, what with all the soot and stuff smudged all over and into it. You feel some toys and unfilled balloons in there. Maybe you could play with the colt with those?

You shake your head and reach deeper, rooting around until you find something way more useful!

You pull out your party popgun! One day you hope to have a full-sized cannon, 'cause boy would that be awesome! But mom said you couldn't have anything that big, loud, and dangerous. It'd have to wait until you were a grown mare. For now, you have this popgun. It was like a little watergun, but it shoots out streamers and things to make a place festive in a hurry!

Taking stock of your inventory, you find you have: A length of twine, a party popgun, some deflated balloons, and assorted toys.

You feel ready!

"What is that?" It was the filly. You feel her poke at your popgun even though you can't see her. "Is that a weapon?"

A weapon?! "Nuh uh. It's to make a place all cheerful and ready for a party."

"Party?" The voice seems to be moving around you. Ghosts could do that, right? You hear no hooves on the floor, just her circling voice. "I've never had one of those."

You feel your heart strain. Poor thing. You only recently learned the wonders of a good party. Imagining a life back in the dull days before them... "I'm so sorry! We need to have a big party, you and your brother. Maybe even your big meanie mom if we can make her stop being a big mean--"

"No!" She shoves you from the left and knocks you right on the floor. "Don't bring her here. I don't want to see her."

You quickly bounce back to your hooves. "It can--"

The furnace flares to life, flames licking out of its still open grill. "She burned me to death! Did you forget that little part?"

You still can't see the filly, ghost or not. "Don't you want--"

"I want her to curl up and die."

Oh... That doesn't sound like much fun at all. "What if she said sorry?"

The voice grows dark and growly. "She can come say so to my face..." The grill on the front swings open as flames rush out. "I'll accept then, not before." The flames die down, becoming dark again. "Look, filly, you seem alright. Drop it before she does something just as bad to you."

You don't want that, no. But you also don't want a sad ghost filly. "Isn't there something I can do?"

"You're too..." The voice trails off. "Please, just get out of here. I don't want you to join us. Thank you, now go."

There doesn't seem to be any getting through to her, yet. Later! "Alright if I look around?"

"Yeah, sure. Just stay away from the furnace." The grill on the furnace closes shut and clicks into place.

That leaves you free to wander the basement. Maybe there's another lantern? No such luck. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you make a little light?"

She sighs, but the fires do roar to a gentle life, giving some light across the room.

Able to see, you begin to root around in the boxes and crates. Oh! More toys?! You didn't expect those.

"I remember those," whispers the filly in a tiny voice. "Bring me the doll."

There are a few dolls in there, but when you held up the right one, she gasps. You look it over. It's like a pony with a big goofy smile, googly eyes, and it has a magic wand attached to its right forehoof. It's adorably silly. With a smile, you bounce over to the furnace and hold it up. "Here!"

The filly appears, fading in from nothing as she reaches for the doll. You see no reason to keep it from her and she is soon holding it tight and close. "I thought mother would throw you away forever..." Whatever power allows a ghost to touch things runs out and the doll thumps to the ground as it falls right through the filly. She stares at it as if it has betrayed her.

You pick up the doll gently. "Well she didn't, so that's good right? You have your friend back."

She gives a queer kind of smile. "It needs to die to be with me. Can you put it in the furnace?"

You're not sure if you should or not. "It's your friend. Do you want them to be hurt like you were?"

That makes her flinch. "N-no! I'm not like her... Take it... Take it and... love it, please. Love it like I would."

She fades away.

You tuck the doll into your hair, adding to your inventory.

Author's Note:

https://www.poll-maker.com/results946904x57BD05d5-40#tab-2

You're quite certain, you need to check your hair for clues. After that? Well, you're undecided. Check out the basement, or go looking for that colt? Hmmm. Who's to say you can't do both?

---

Inventory: Filly's Doll, Twine, Assorted Toys and unfilled Balloons, party popgun

You still want to cheer up her... brother? Shall we get on that?

1) Yes
2) Wait, not done exploring this basement.
3) Maybe we should put that doll in the furnace.

Comments

[Tangerine Blast]

2

(This is very adorable with just enough edge. I'm loving it.)

[No one is home]

3) That little filly needs a ghost doll. Then 1) Time to get back to the brother.

[tsaukpaetra]

2, 1. If something of the filly's was here, maybe something for the colt?
Too bad she can't inhabit the doll, personal artifacts are usually good for that kind of thing.
We wonder how big this family was, not only is there a basement, but an upper floor as well. It seems odd to have both for this timeframe.
Keep going! ;)

[No one is home]

7855402 To quote Wed 13, "this house of horrors has 13 doors..." (note: I don't actually know that...)

[Prismfire Productions]

I sense one hell of a Pinkie-style "Home Alone" trap

[David Silver]

7855724 Have you a vote?

[Prismfire Productions]

7855740

search the Basement first

[Silver Inkwell]

Explore the Basement.

[Cuber Snuggles]

Ugh, I don't know! I think I'll pass on this decision.

[Daremo]

your main - your mane
messy at that moment - messy at the moment
cause boy - 'cause boy
you had this popgun - you have this popgun
but it shot out - but it shoots out
baloons, assorted toys. - balloons, and assorted toys
You heard - You hear
You'd only recently - You only recently
front swings as - front swings open/wide/wide open as
flames rushed out - flames rush out
flames dies down - flames die down
she gasped - she gasps
You looked it over - You look it over
It was like - It's like
it had a magic wand - it has a magic wand
she reached for - she reaches for
You saw no reason - You see no reason
she was soon - She is soon
things ran out - things runs out
doll thumped to - dolls thumps to
She stared at it - She stares at it
it had betrayed - it has betrayed
That made her flinch - That makes her flinch

---

1

If the filly (whose name we have not asked yet) is this sad and alone, then imagine what her brother must be feeling after sending us down here. Let's make our way back up and talk to him now. I mean, he's that much closer to that mean old mare, so he must really be feeling sad and alone.

---

Urp... breakfast is the most important meal of the day...

Even in the darkest of places, Pinkie shines with a light that won't be suppressed. That could be of great benefit, and it could also attract unwanted attention from the dire mother.

Pretty easy call this time, we've made some progress with the filly, but if we continue to push she could get irritated and it seems to me that an irritated ghost may go all poltergeist, not to mention that it would undo all the good we've done so far. Note for the future - I wonder if ghost fillies can live in dolls so that they can be loved and cherished too. Of course, haunted dolls can be scary in their own right, but I get the sense that if anyone could make a happy haunted doll, it would be Pinkie.

[RadicalDishonesty]

7856991
I like your reasoning and I will be appropriating it for my vote for 1.

Let this filly be alone for now. Pinkie knows where to find her.

On another note, you have stumbled onto a very interesting scenario. We need not even the CYOA formula for this: a young Pinkie encountering genuinely traumatised ghosts and trying to cheer them up is a fantastic idea.

[nekoparalover]

2

[David Silver]

7856991 I am clearly not so good at present tense, sheesh. Typos tossed into the furnace. I hope that doesn't bother the filly too much.

[Daremo]

7857493
Now she can play with the typos for all eternity!

[Daremo]

7857493
Also, have you seen my typo catch for chapter 3?

[Maxemilien]

3) Maybe we should put that doll in the furnace.
Just because I have a feeling we will get an [un]-expected reaction.

[Daremo]

7860338
I figure it's best not to metagame it too much. My approach here is to take everything at face value and play nice until there's a reason to do otherwise.

What do we know so far?

The foals seem a little off, but they're also ghosts, and to take them at their words they didn't live or die under happy circumstances. Nothing that they've done has been outright evil or malicious on its face, and speculation is just chasing out tails.

For instance, if we start to second guess things, then it's possible the colt thought that the sister would kill us and pretended to be fearful for our safety and sent us to our death for reasons unknown. It's possible that the little filly would be in Tartarus if she were not bound to the furnace, and orchestrated her brother's death to get back at the mother for playing favorites. Although we have only her word that the mother favored the colt.

BUT!

We've seen no evidence that the mother plays favorites. She's threatened the colt as much as she's threatened the filly, and she certainly doesn't seem positively inclined towards us. so I can easily see that they are two frightened ghosts that never had any kindness in their lives and don't know how to deal with someone that genuinely cares about their plight. Any joy is greeted with caution and suspicion.

There are still other mysteries as well, such as whatever was going on with the portraits. In fact, one wonders why the mother didn't comment on that at all. She had to have walked past it to get to the kitchen, right? Again, one could speculate that it's something the colt has been responsible for in the past, or possibly because everything reset? Until we revisit the foyer, we'll never know for certain.

So sure, we can try to be cautious, but we're playing Pinkie Pie and she doesn't do cautious if it means making causing someone else to feel bad or not helping someone that is already down. She's as close to fearless as anypony that comes to mind. Fear isn't anything to be afraid of. In fact, her actions tend to remind us that it can be fun to be scared. Not that Pinkie is without fear, just that her fears are more focused on abandonment and isolation. Which means she's not going to willingly leave these foals feeling that way if there's anything at all she can do about it. Pinkie Pie's goal in life is to make others happy. If they don't know how to achieve that on their own, well that's what Pinkie's there for!

[Andy Ray]

Taking stock if your inventory, you find you have...

"...stock of your..."