First Night
Twilight eyed the door of room Three One Seven hesitantly, one hoof resting on the handle with an uneasy and hesitant look on her face. It had been maybe an hour since she had recounted her story at the campfire in the water park, and after that, Sweet Breeze had busted out a bag of marshmallows and some improvised sticks. Nopony had expected this, but nopony, even Rust Bucket, complained. Even Kale Sow had taken part in the surprise dessert, though as always, her expression had remained solemn and reserved, and her input to any and all conversation had remained minimal at most. The group had then started chatting amongst themselves idly, mostly answering some more of Twilight’s questions about The Hotel and what they knew about it, which was admittedly not a lot. They also spent some time recounting some of the events that had transpired during their time here, but Twilight found herself unable to really retain a good recollection of the stories due to numerous things. Between how tired she was and the fact that she was still trying to really wrap her head around everything that had happened in the last seven hours, she eventually excused herself from the campfire and made her way back to the room she had woken up in.
She had taken her time on the way over, just taking in her new surroundings and contemplating them. Now that she really took the time, she realized that the place was absolutely gorgeous. She remembered thinking that Rarity would absolutely love the designs of the place, even if she would likely be repulsed by the fact that it was more or less a prison.
Now, though, she looked at the door leading to the room she had awoken in, biting her lower lip and shifting her hooves occasionally with deep-seeded discomfort. She really didn’t want to sleep in that bed; all of her instincts and every one of the neurons in her brain were shouting at her to try the front door again, or look for another way out; but everypony had already made it perfectly clear that there were no ways out that were within her immediate power to find. She sighed and gently turned the handle of her door, pushing it open, while mentally resolving that she wouldn’t give up. She’d go back to the library tomorrow and do some research, try to learn new spells, maybe something to help her learn more about this place, if nothing else. The door creaked softly as it swung out of her way, revealing that the room on the other side was just as she had left it, save for being smothered in a thick darkness due to the hour and lack of illumination from beyond the window. With a quick flick of her magic, Twilight hit the light switch, and the room was illuminated by warm, golden light from the chandelier over the bed.
“Excuse me.”
“GYAH!” Twilight jumped in surprise as the voice of Kale Sow spoke up from directly next to her. She turned and groaned at the green mare. “Kale! Ugh, don’t do that! You almost gave me a heart attack!”
Kale shrugged absently. “That’s nothing new, really.”
Twilight tilted her head. “Wait… what?”
“Forget it. Look, I want to talk to you before you go to bed,” Kale said simply, putting on a firm frown. Twilight paused and studied Kale critically. She seemed to be determined like she had a goal and was determined to see it through… a near one-eighty shift in demeanor from the almost silent, brooding green pony on the other side of the campfire.
“Uh, what about?” Twilight asked curiously all the same, not one to dismiss the approach.
Kale lowered her eyes and sighed. “Look… Twilight, right?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Okay, Twilight…” Kale ran a hoof over her face in mild frustration, as if he was having a hard time getting her thoughts in order. “...You… I… ugh, it’s been so long since I really tried to talk to somepony like this...”
Twilight’s ears lowered a bit, and her eyes shined with sympathy. “Take as long as you need. I’m listening.”
Kale grimaced before standing upright. “...They’re right, you know. About me almost never showing my face… I don’t want you to think that they’re playing it up, or exaggerating it for some reason. They’re not. And…” she looked away and leaned against the frame of the door. “...That is one of the things I’m most ashamed of about my time here. Rust Bucket… Sweet Breeze… All of them… I’ve hidden away from them, tried to forget they exist, tried to make them forget that I exist...”
Twilight noticed that Kale was starting to tremble, just slightly, and went to interrupt her, but Kale kept going.
“We’re all stuck here. We’re never going to get out, I know that now… a big part of why I’m so secluded is that… for a long time… I didn’t believe that” she looked into Twilight’s eyes again. “It does damage, Twilight. Telling myself that I could get out someday broke me in more ways than I ever tried to count… Every day, I woke up and told myself ‘just one more look. I’ll find something.’ I’d go and I’d look for a way out, a way home, and every single time, I came up empty-hooved. Those repeated failures… like I said, they broke me.
“And so, after Rust Bucket showed up and we got to know each other a little... I hid. I locked myself away and didn’t show my face for long stretches. And my hiding left a bitter taste in the mouths of everypony else that has come here. The few times I came out of my room to eat or stretch my legs, they only saw a broken, somber and reclusive mare who had no hope, and no passion left in her soul…” Kale slowly reached a hoof up to her chest and took a deep breath. “And while they are absolutely right, that does not mean that it’s fair of me to make their time here worse by… being so…” she shook her head and put her hoof back on the ground. “...by being Kale Sow, the three hundred year old recluse who hides away in room Three Fifteen.”
Twilight blinked and shifted a little uneasily, not quite sure what to make of Kale Sow’s long-winded exposition. She looked down a little before speaking. “Not to be rude, but why are you telling me this?”
Kale didn’t answer straight away, instead stepping around Twilight and stopping by her side. “I went to the assembly at that campfire tonight because… for once… just for one stupid time… I didn’t want to leave the new pony with a rotten taste in their mouth every time they saw me… So I showed up, I participated… and I’m going to tell you this right now,” she looked sideways at Twilight and, for the first time since they had met, a small ghost of a smile appeared on Kale Sow’s face. “The others that we’re trapped with? They’re good ponies… Let them make your time here worth something, okay?”
“What about you?” Twilight asked, shifting to look into Kale’s eyes directly. “Why don’t you let them in? I mean, it sounds like you could really use a few friends… but you’re shutting them out.”
Kale sighed and shook her head. “...I’d love to, really… But I don’t think that’s a good idea… I… Don’t want to get into it.”
Twilight shifted slightly, contemplating the other mare’s words. Eventually, though, she put on a small smile of her own and gave a slow nod. “Alright. I’ll keep your advice in mind, Kale. I still plan on looking for a way out, but if I can’t… well, I’ll make the most of it.”
Kale’s smile returned, though smaller than before. “Heh… I figured you’d say that. Optimistic on arrival…” she turned and resumed her journey down the hall to her room. “Just be careful what you’re optimistic about, alright?”
Twilight said nothing, simply watching as Kale trotted away down the hall. Then, with her thoughts swimming, she stepped into her own room and closed the door behind her. For several seconds, she just inspected her surroundings, not entirely sure if she wanted to go to bed just yet. After all, Kale’s little ‘confession’ had left her mind far more active then before. Her eyes settled on the desk, and a thought occurred to her. She made her way over and began to pull open the drawers with her magic. A happy ‘aha!’ escaped her mouth when she found a small stack of parchment situated next to an inkwell and quill contained within.
Eager at the possibility that sending a message to Spike might be able to bypass this Hotel’s walls due to just how unconventional and customized of a spell as it was, she quickly set about writing down a message.
Spike,
It’s me, Twilight. I’m writing you to let you know that I’m okay. I don’t know if this letter will actually be able to get to you, though. I’m trapped inside of some kind of magical Hotel, and it seems to exist in it’s own little pocket dimension. I don’t know what this place is or why it exists at all, but I plan on figuring it out and getting home to you as soon as I possibly can.
How are the girls? Are they doing alright? I know that the last time I saw them they looked like they were scared and shocked by what the Elements were doing. Let them know I’m not hurt, okay?
I’ll write again soon; assuming this letter actually reaches you. I don’t know for sure if it will, again, due to the fact that there doesn’t seem to be a conventional way in or out of this Hotel. We’ll see, I suppose… if it does reach you, though, write me back, okay?
Yours,
Twilight Sparkle.
She scrutinized the letter one more time to ensure it said what she wanted it to say, then rolled it up into a scroll before lifted it up and put the sending spell into motion. The scroll was smothered in grey smoke and green sparks and, for several seconds, Twilight’s eyes lit up with the hope that it would actually send.
Then the smoke and sparks faded away, and the scroll dropped back down onto the desk, unsent and now slightly charred. Twilight looked on at the scroll for several moments, and a heavy sigh escaped her lips. “Of course not…” she muttered before rising from her chair and turning around for the bed.
She almost jumped out of her skin for the second time when she saw somepony else standing there, a stallion. He was a pale brown color with a messy, dirty blond mane that hung in messy spikes in front of his narrow, grayish-blue eyes. A small smile appeared on his face, his eyes narrowed just slightly with scrutiny.
“Wha… who are you?” Twilight asked, still shocked by the new face. He didn’t answer, simply leaning back and grinning at her with eyes that shimmered with a cool, calculating curiosity.
Twilight blinked.
And the stallion was gone.
“Huh?” Twilight blinked again, then looked around her room in confusion, looking for the mysterious pony. But he was gone, vanished from sight. An uncomfortable chill ran up and down her spine, making her coat stand on end. The look he had been giving her… it was chilling, now that she imagined it again. “Who… was that?” Twilight parroted her earlier question, her mind now reeling with new questions. However, when nothing presented itself for several seconds, Twilight eventually conceded that whoever she had seen was not coming back.
With a slight tremor in her steps, Twilight trotted over to the bed and pulled the blankets back before sitting on the mattress. She looked around for several minutes, just thinking about her situation, the ponies she was trapped with and, above all, her friends…
“Girls…” she whispered, reaching a hoof up to her chest. “Spike… Princess Celestia…” a few tears began to well up in her eyes. Already… already she missed them. The last looks on their faces before she had appeared in that strange void with Princess Celestia… she so badly wanted to go to them, to tell them that she was okay, that they could go back to life as normal. But as of now, there was no way for her to do that...
Wiping one of her forehooves over her eyes to get rid of the tears, Twilight settled under the covers and turned off the lights with a quick burst of her magic, plunging the room into near-perfect darkness. She sniffled, closed her eyes and tried to relax.
It didn’t come easy, but eventually, sleep came to her. Her dreams, sadly, were just as empty as the void outside the Hotel...
Stats
Page generated in 0.036 seconds
Total duration
755 users online
708,972 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Something is providing food... meaning a matter or energy stream is entering the hotel from somewhere external.
Logic always wins against horror. Those who fear are lost, those who know not fear find the way.
8877725
>Trying to apply logic and science to an MLP with a heavy emphasis on magic and the unknown.
derpicdn.net/img/2013/1/5/203131/full.gif
8879635 It's a story. There must be an internal logic to the events, otherwise it's just nonsensical gibberish.
8881745
Oh, there is. But you're trying to apply science, which is the funny part.
8881752 Then where is the food coming from? The energy must either come from somewhere, or the energy that goes into it is being created in a totally sealed pocket universe, and if energy is being created, then the power of this place or the one who made it is nigh-limitless... in which case our protagonists really have no chance.
It then tends to hint that they are stuck in a god-child's 'fish bowl', which is a terrible, inescapable Twilight Zone fate for the ponies.
8881752
In other words (in the words of Yoda), "You must unlearn what you have learned."
8881783
What did Skijarama say about applying science? I mean, haven't you considered the possibility that maybe the pocket dimension is capable of recycling energy? I mean, obviously time doesn't work the same in this dimension. So why would other physics work the same?
8886515
Plus, I just have a habit of taking people's expectations and screwing with them. I may be wrong about that though, so I shall defer to your judgement, as you have read some of my stuff in the past: Do I have a habit of defying expectations? Or am I predictable?
8886515 I have already considered recycling energy, but in that case they're most likely utterly trapped and the story is a hopeless one. They have, in that case, no reasonable way of learning anything unless their captor decides to grant them exposition. Which, after 300 years of nothing showing so much as a hint it exists, if we are to believe the first mare, seems exceedingly doubtful and incredulous a development other than for the story to throw the otherwise helpless characters a bone.
I do not happen to believe Victim #1, for reasons that this sort of trap has been used in popular fiction several times and the first 'victim' usually ends up being the one who created the trap, for various reasons and motives. In any case, hers is the most unverifiable story as she has no one to back it up and no physical evidence for it. You could subvert the trope by making one of the others be the 'villain' who just tossed him or herself in at random and made up a fake history, but then there are no clues or hints to even begin with and you end up with a Liar Revealed situation which will have to rely on contrived circumstances such as goofs by this previously flawless actor and manipulator with immense power.
8886558
I'm not sure if I've read enough of your stories to make an adequate assessment on that. But I do think that I shouldn't make expectations for this story simply because I just don't know what to expect. I feel like you defy expectations, but not by subverting expectations. If option A were the expected, and option B were subverted expectations, I think you find a way to choose option C.
8887263
You're assuming there's a captor in the first place. I'm not saying there is, but you are making an assumption that I wouldn't make. How do you know that it's not the hotel itself that's doing this? Is there a reason to assume there's a mind behind this? Also, how do we know that they are intentionally being held prisoner? Just because the way out isn't obvious, it doesn't mean there's not a way out. Common sense would say that the way out would be the doors or windows. But I don't think common sense applies in this place. Common sense would say that time works in a linear path. But there's a pony there that arrived before Twilight who is from Twilight's future.
Taking the concept of non-linear time into consideration, the first pony who arrived may not be the first pony chosen in linear time. In other words, the first victim may not be the first victim. Just like how Twilight being the last victim is technically not the last victim. And again, this is assuming one of them is the captor. If there is a pony that can be connected to the title "captor", it's probably that pony that Twilight saw at the end of chapter 5.
The fact of the matter is that you're coming up with assumptions when you don't have enough data to properly make one. If you are right, then it's nothing more than a lucky guess. And considering that pony at the end of chapter 5, I'd make the assumption that the data leads away from one of the six as being the culprit.
Also, there's a difference between subverting expectations, and just not following expectations.
8892075
Wait, what?
8892645
The Crystal pony. Didn't he say that it has been several years (as in double digits) that the Crystal Empire reappeared? Like he wasn't even born until after it's return. And I think he was talking about how he was told stories about how Twilight saved the Crystal Empire. I could be wrong about my memory though.
But then again, perhaps that crystal pony is the one responsible for all of this. After all, there seems to be something strange about how he's from Twilight's future...and the fact that he's mentioning Twilight saving the Crystal Empire when the stories should be talking about Spike saving the Crystal Empire...
8892841
Er, no... He was there when Twi, Spike and them all saved the Empire, not all that much younger than his physical body is now. Nowhere did he say he was born years after. When he said 'it's been years, my memory is faded' he was referring to the 30+ years he has been in the hotel. Before he wound up in the Hotel, it hasn't been all that long. I plan on going into the topic of where and when everypony is from in a future chapter.
8892075 That would make the hotel the captor, wouldn't it?
No matter how you try to frame it, something with a mind and a deliberate intent is doing this. In magical worlds, objects can have minds, or be inhabited by vengeful spirits.
There was "Monster House" only 12 years ago, after all.
Ghost or living object, there's still a will directing it.
8892957
Okay, my mistake. I knew there was something off about how time works in that pocket dimension. But I guess I just forget the details about him.
8893240
I'm not saying your assumptions are wrong. I'm just saying that they are JUST ASSUMPTIONS. You're claim that there must be a mind or a will behind this is a non-sequitur. You can't jump to a conclusion if you don't have enough data. Basically, I can think of 3 times Star Trek TNG did similar concepts. And each one was different. And only one of them actually had that "liar revealed" trope you mentioned. And if there is a mind behind this, calling them a "captor" implies malicious intent. And none of those three Star Trek scenarios I mentioned falls under malicious intent...well, I suppose one of them could be considered malicious acts...but not malicious intent.
And like I was saying, I'm not saying you're wrong. You could very well be right. But if you are right, it's just a lucky guess, seeing as there's not enough data to reasonably reach a conclusion.
8898150 I can think of two of the Star Trek TNG episodes: Riker's 'child' who turned out to be an alien (which actually is a form of Liar Revealed, since he'd constructed the fake simulation to keep from being lonely), and the episode where Picard and some other aliens wake up in a sealed room and one of them is one of their captors (a more classic Liar Revealed).
There were several other 'trap' type situations (the strange energy cloud trap with the callous entity Nagilum experimenting with the crew is another) most of which involved some entity behind it. The only one I can recall that didn't have any mind directing the 'trap' was Beverly Crusher being stuck in the collapsing warp bubble which constructed an 'echo' of the universe based on Beverley's memories that faded progressively quickly as it imploded. That doesn't appear to be the case in this story, since more ponies are gradually showing up.
8898791
I had forgotten about the ones with Riker's "child" and Beverly. But yeah, I was thinking of the one with Picard, Nagilum, and if you remember, there was an episode that took place on an alien planet that created an environment based on someone's book. Essentially, the environment was a hotel and casino.
And I wouldn't call Nagilum "callous". It was just different and curious. Nagilum wasn't even a humanoid. But the point is that not all stories like this have a "liar revealed" trope.
8900460 The hotel and casino one was an interesting take on the 'trap' scenario, in that it was constructed by the strange alien forms on that planet to keep a stranded astronaut alive... even if it had to rely on an infodump (his journal) to explain things (a necessity with the limits of a one-episode run time). But even there, a conscious mind/minds had constructed the location with a distinct and specific purpose.
This story is highly unlikely a similar case, as ponies are being actively snatched up, which suggests a sinister intent.
8900629
All of this discussion about Star Trek episodes... that I haven't seen.
pbs.twimg.com/media/DJ8nCA2VAAAqd2H.jpg
8901205 I am 10,000 years older than sand. I have seen all things.
I recall a time when TV only had 5 channels...
8901857
That's cool. I don't use network television. I have Netflix, my PS4, YouTube, and that's all I need.
8900629
Assuming it's sinister intent is a narrow minded view.
Where's Discord when you need him? Oh, he's eat my left sock as a part of a laundry sandwich.
8886558
Your unpredictablity is predictable.
8902477 Something is grabbing random ponies and throwing them in a hotel that can't be escaped, all with no expressed purpose.
That tends to suggest one of only two possibilities: 1. Malfunctioning magical artifact or 2. Deliberate, sinister intent.
#1 would lead to a ST: TNG "Relics"-style plotline in which the hotel is akin to a trans-spatial Dyson Sphere and interprets certain magical signatures as the code to enter... and they'd find Starswirl in stasis inside a teleportation crystal... and he'd sound just like Scotty.
8902326 I don't watch network TV these days. Most of it is utter crap.
But back in the olden days, when cell phones weighed enough to give you a hernia from picking them up too quickly...
floristseo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/old-cellphone.jpg
... we only had network TV, UHF, and one or two PBS stations at most.
I remember the earliest days of Nickelodeon, when my grandparents were the very first people in the area to get cable. Ah, "David the Gnome" and "You Can't Do That on Television". Glorious.
8903152
1) We don't know that the ponies that were "grabbed" are random.
2) We don't know that the hotel can't be escaped. We only know that there's no obvious escape. I believe the author said that using logic wouldn't work.
3) We don't know what the reason for them being taken is.
4) Your claim that it can only be one of two things is a false dichotomy based on an argument from ignorance.
5) The fact that we don't know what the reason for them being taken is why we can't yet know that the intent is sinister. Because there simply isn't enough information.
8904392
8903152
I feel as though the following gif encapsulates your guys' comment chain perfectly...
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/690/640/c64.gif
Going in circles and accomplishing nothing.
8904392 #4 With the evidence presented thus far, come up with a third option.
Sometimes there are only two obvious choices.
8904433
And the circle just keeps going.
8904436 "Which came first, the phoenix or the flame?" "I think, the answer is that a circle has no beginning." "Well reasoned."
And then Alondro found the Diadem of Ravenclaw.
8904433
The issue isn't whether I can come up with alternatives or not. The issue is just how specific your assumptions are, considering the lack of information. That's the point I'm trying to make. In order to come up with the very specific conclusions you have, you'd need much more information than you actually have so far.
And the only reason we're going in circles is because you're ignoring whenever I point out that we don't have enough information.
As for a third option, perhaps those specific ponies are required to complete an important task, and that there was no other way for whoever brought them together to do so. Is my idea farfetched? Perhaps. But based on what information we have so far, it's just as valid as your assumptions.
8905309
8905309
Which would mean they were chosen by something with a clear intent. But if a task is their purpose, why have they been given no information whatsoever in all this time? Denying those ostensibly required for something important any information related to the something is directly counter-productive. That notion really doesn't fit the information we have.
8905309
8907355
As you seem to be missing my hints...
You two can stop at any time. As amazing as this train-wreck of a time-looped comment chain is to observe, I feel like you've both said what you're going to say, and rephrasing it and recycling it is only really serving to clog my inbox and this comments section.
I'm going to call this guy The Architect.