The Participants
After having heard the Slender Pony story, the rooms inhabitants weren't exactly willing to read any more unnerving tales. They all agreed then and there that that was enough scary stories for the night.
"Don't worry everypony," Twilight said matter-of-factly as her magenta-colored magic levitated the creepypasta book up to its place on the bookshelves. "They are interesting stories, but everything in these creepypastas is made up. Now lets all just go to—"
A sudden whooshing sound from the other side of the room caused everypony to look around for the source as Twilight released her hold on the book in surprise, the tome falling to the floor.
"What in the world is that noise?" Rarity asked incredulously, looking more than a little concerned.
"Forget just the noise," Applejack pointed toward one of the bookshelves with a hoof, a sort of water-like ripple forming in front of it. "What the hay is that?!"
As the others looked in the direction that the farming pony was pointing, the mysterious rippling increased in pace before the wave-like form suddenly seemed to morph into a a darkened tunnel, the ripples tearing a hole in the fabric of their reality. A majority of the bookcase was now obscured by the appearance of the portal. The mysterious entryway could only really be described as a tunnel, with a dark purple, shimmering aura appearing to outline the edges of a pathway near the bottom, brief bursts of color appearing to flash to the sides. But what colors there were were dulled, and the pathway seemed to sway back and forth like the walls would collapse on any pony who tried to enter. And even the wispy path and flashes of muted color seemed to be smothered by darkness several feet in, a shadow that extended onward to who-knows-where.
The seven stared at it, dumbfounded at the rift's sudden appearance. After a stunned silence that hung in the room, Spike was the first one to speak.
"It's a... portal." he said, looking both wary and intrigued as he stepped a bit closer to the unusual entryway.
"Don't go near it, Spike." Twilight said firmly. Her eyes narrowed, intently gazing at the illuminated pathway, and how it seemed to simply fade into the shadows. "We don't know what it is."
Rainbow Dash snorted. "It's a pathway, obviously!"
"I meant what's it in it," the purple unicorn said in exasperation, rolling her eyes. "And why is it here?"
Fluttershy stayed back, but she was still perplexed by it as much as everypony else. "I don't like how dark it looks."
"And it looks all wavy!" Pinkie exclaimed. She subconsciously—or perhaps it was consciously, one could rarely tell with Pinkie—started swaying in rhythm of the pathway's back-and forth motion.
"Maybe Slender Pony's hiding in there!" Rainbow laughed.
"Rainbow, this is no time for—"
A noise from the gateway instantly stopped Twilight's scolding. It sounded like laughter. Faint, echoing laughter.
"... games," she finished quietly.
The laughter seemed to increase in volume.
"R-Rainbow," Rarity stammered, glancing over at the cyan pegasus. "Please tell me this is just... one of your pranks?" She looked around nervously at the expanse that surrounded them. "A really... ominous prank?"
"If this is a prank, it ain't funny," Applejack muttered in an irritated tone, looking in Rainbow's direction as well. "It's way too creepy."
But it was clear by the shocked look in Rainbow Dash's magenta eyes that this was definitely not a prank. She was just as confused as everypony else.
For a few tense moments, everything was quiet. But that silence was quickly broken as, almost in an instant, what looked like a myriad of large black tentacles shot out of the portal and quickly wrapped around the ponies and dragon.
"What the hay?!"
"Huh?!"
"AHH!"
"What's going on?!"
"What are these things?!"
"Help!"
They tried to kick, fly away, and blast magic energy to escape, but to no avail. The grip that the tentacles had on them was incredibly strong. Not enough to suffocate them, but somehow tight enough so they couldn't escape. They almost seemed to have a supernatural chill to them.
As if been reeled in on a fishing line, the seven were tugged into the portal, having barely enough time to see the light of the library disappear as the portal closed behind them, encasing them all in the misty darkness, the dark flashes of color and purple-bordered pathway their only source of illumination.
Everyone in the group screamed as they were forcibly tugged by the mysterious tendrils, only managing wide-eyed looks at each other in the occasional moments of visibility. Where was it they were being taken, and where had these tendril things come from? And why?
Though the group's terrifying ride didn't last long, when the end of the portal's pathway came into view, things only got worse.
A figure was looming at the end of the tunnel, seeming to stare directly at them. A earth pony with no mane who towered over them, sporting a black suit and a chalk-white face devoid of the features that a normal pony had. He was clearly the source of those tentacle-like appendages wrapped around them, as his long black tail was split into a myriad of tendrils that had reached out to grab them.
All seven of the group instantly knew who it was.
"SLENDER PONY!" Fluttershy shrieked, though not as loudly as she would have had she not been out of breath from screaming.
But seconds before reaching the end, Slender Pony moved out of the way, causing the seven captives to be pulled through and land on the cold stone floor with a thud, accompanied by the sound of the portal closing behind them. The tendrils restraining Twilight and her friends released their holds and formed back into Slender Pony's tail.
Everypony shakily rose to their hooves (or feet, in Spike's case), and managed a quick glance of their new surroundings. They had indeed landed on a hard stone surface, but it was as if there was a spotlight above that only shone on them. Everything else aside from the new arrivals and Slender Pony was shrouded in darkness.
Their attention was then fixed on the tall, thin stallion who had brought them to this place, the only other being with them in the concealing darkness. From the way Slender Pony was standing, they could now see his cutie mark, a sketchy black circle with an 'X' crossing through it.
"Just like the story," Spike said in a hushed whisper. Though he knew with a sinking feeling that this was no story, it was real. As impossible as it seemed, it was real.
Twilight immediately charged up her magic, eager to fight, but at the same time trembling as she stared into the blank white face of this urban legend turned real. She was trembling not only from having the wind knocked out of her from the sudden pulling and landing, but because of the creature standing before them. After everything she had just said, assuring everypony else that Slender Pony wasn't real, here he was... right in front of them...
"Why did you bring us here?!" Twilight demanded, stepping closer despite her nervousness and charging up her magic still further.
She hadn't really expected Slender Pony to answer, but nopony expected to hear two voices that seemed to echo around them, the source seeming to be from somewhere above.
"Because we needed to get some new participants for our game."
The seven of them instantly looked upward toward the source of the voices, but not before noticing Slender Pony suddenly fade away.
"Hey!" Spike exclaimed in shock. "Wh-Where'd Slender Pony go?!"
"Oh, don't worry," one of the two former voices said—a mare. "He's up here, with us!"
"Who are you?" Twilight called out, squinting to see in the clouded darkness.
"Don't worry, said the second of the two voices, a stallion this time. "We'll introduce ourselves to you very soon!"
Suddenly the black, misty-like atmosphere overhead faded away to reveal the larger expanse, a little of the darkness on their level fading away as well. It didn't completely reveal the area they were in, but they could see one part of their floor and the area above—enough to gain a gauge on their surroundings.
"Woah..." Pinkie Pie said when the view began to clear, her blue eyes wide. "It's huuuuuge!"
From what they could see, the area they were in was a circular arena that branched off into different pathways, almost every corner showing a variety of portals much like the one that they had just come through. As they looked upward, it they could see that there were separate, circular levels with passageways just like those of the floor they were now on.
"Wait a minute..." Twilight tilted her head, her eyes clearly expression her utter confusion. "It looks like each of those floors are bigger than the preceding one. Unless there's quite a bit more on these floors that we're not seeing as far as floor length goes, technically a structure wouldn't be able to support itself properly like this." She frowned. "It doesn't make any sense."
"Like I said once before, Twilight Sparkle," a familiar voice said, "what fun is there in making sense?"
The group whirled around at the voice, visibly shocked as more of the black smoke cleared, revealing the spirit of chaos himself, Discord. Rather than wearing a smile as they suspected he would, the draconequus looked rather irritated, his arms crossed.
"Discord!" Rainbow Dash shouted, eyes narrowed, looking like she was going to charge straight at him if he tried anything funny.
"Yes, it's me." The draconequus's expression wasn't lit up with the mischievous glint that it had the last time they had encountered him, but rather looked unusually perplexed.
"But we turned you into stone last time we saw you!" Rarity said, both fearful and confused. It was clear that everypony else was thinking the same thing. "How in Equestria are you out again?"
To everyone's surprise, Discord put his front paw and claw in the air in a sort of "I don't know" shrug, and his red eyes revealed genuine puzzlement in their gaze. "I have no idea, my little ponies - I was there, in the Canterlot Gardens, minding my own 'turned-into-stone' business." His voice was understandably bitter. "Then suddenly a dark portal opens up and I'm whisked away by these black tentacle things-"
"That's exactly what happened to us!" Twilight blurted out. The others looked just as surprised - none of them could accuse Discord of lying if he was describing the exact same thing.
"You shouldn't interrupt, Twilight Sparkle," the spirit of chaos said in a distinctly irritated tone. "Anyway, so the moment I'm grabbed by those tentacles and dragged through the portal, I lost my form of being encased in stone." He stopped hovering in the air and landed on the ground with a sigh. "Ordinarily that would have been great—free to roam the land and cause chaos once again! But something about it held me there, and it neutralized my powers of teleportation. And next thing I know, I'm thrown into this place with all these others. And now you're here." Discord looked pensive. "And if I'm right, I think you seven are the last ones."
"Hold it," Applejack said, arching her brow. "Others? Last ones?" Who are you talking about?"
Discord sighed. "Oh, what, do you think we're the only ones here?"
As Discord spoke, the mist began to clear away, and another figure appeared beside him.
"Chrysalis?!"
The changeling queen sighed, mouth twisted into an irritated snarl. "Yes, yes, I got here the same way that you all did." She pointed at Discord. "We were just discussing our situation a short while before you all arrived."
"Is..." Fluttershy gulped, looking around at the mist that concealed most of the area. "Is anypony else here?"
"Considering that we're here against all odds, I'd say it's pretty likely," the changeling queen muttered irritably, glancing upward as if searching for her unseen captors.
As if responding to Chrysalis's statement, the black smog began to fade a little more, just enough to see a few more of the ponies that were present. Applejack's expression changed into one of horror.
"Big Macintosh?! A-Apple Bloom?!" The farming pony stammered for words, as she saw her two siblings looking frightened, confused, and surprised to see Applejack. "You're here too?!"
"Eeeyup," the large red pony said sadly.
"Applejack!" Apple Bloom cried out.
"I thought y'all were havin' a sleepover with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle!"
"We were," the voice of Rarity's younger sister replied before the mist cleared to reveal her and Scootaloo, looking equally as scared as Apple Bloom.
"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity shrieked, tears pricking at her eyes as she saw that her sister had been dragged into this terrible place. "No!"
Wide-eyed, the young fillies attempted to run over and join their sisters, but suddenly were knocked back by an invisible force.
"Ow!"
"What the hay?"
Applejack's eyes widened. "What in tarnation is going on?!"
"I can't get over to you!" Apple Bloom called, steadying herself.
Scootaloo trotted over to where her friends had rebounded from and knocked on the seemingly empty space with a hoof. "It's like there's an invisible wall or something!"
As Rarity looked closer, she could see that there seemed to be a faint shimmering from where Scootaloo had hit the barrier. "It's a magical barrier that's separating us."
"I'm guessing that's all just a sick practice by our 'hosts', whoever they are," Chrysalis muttered.
But the introductions weren't finished quite yet as the disappearing mist brought more ponies into visibility.
"Hi guys," another voice said as Derpy came into view, with a familiar brown pony standing next to her. Somehow Derpy managed to sound less worried then she looked.
"Derpy? Doctor?"
"Yep," the Doctor sighed. "It seems we've found ourselves in the same sort of... unusual circumstances."
Derpy managed a smile. "Good to see you guys!" The moment the words were out of her mouth, the gray pegasus instantly tried to correct herself. "...I-I mean, I would say that it's good to see you because we're not alone, but it's not because we're.... wherever this is." She glanced at her friend. "Uh, Doctor, where are we?"
The Doctor sighed. "Honestly, Derpy, I'm just as stumped as you are."
"Did you do something that caused a rift in time and space again, Doctor?" the gray pegasus said half-accussingly, brow arched in a questioning gesture. "The tail of that tall pony thing looked almost like a flying tentacle-y version of the Vashta-"
"Trust me," Doctor said, "whatever the rift was that brought us here, it wasn't my fault!" He looked thoughtful. "Though come to think of it, I'm sure I've seen that pony-like creature somewhere before..."
"He's in a story," Derpy pointed out. "Slender Pony."
"Oh. Well, they do say that stories have their basis in fact..." Doctor's eyes turned slightly upward in thought. "I wonder though, if 'Slender Pony' is now confirmed to be real, then where did he come from?"
Derpy shrugged.
Pinkie finally voiced the question that was on all their minds as she raised her two front hooves: "Wait a minute, how many of us are here?!"
"From that smokey stuff, I'm guessing a lot..." Derpy said hesitantly, turning her mismatched eyes in the direction of the black smog that shielded a large portion of the supposed circular arena.
As the smoke cleared completely, there were murmurs of surprise and horror as everypony could finally see each other at last.
"Oh dear..." Doctor said quietly, glancing worriedly at all those present in the arena.
In another small group cut off by an invisible barrier, there were a few ponies that were easily recognizable to Twilight and her friends - the schoolteacher, Cheerilee, and two of the CMC's classmates, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. The musical ponies, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia were there, as were Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon... and the zebra who lived in the Everfree Forest, Zecora.
"At last, that mist is starting to clear," Zecora said, relief briefly written on her face as more of the assembled came into view. "But there are far more than I originally feared."
"Zecora!" Twilight exclaimed. "Did... did you come here the same way we did? The portal and Slender Pony?"
The zebra sighed, speaking in her traditional rhyming pattern. "When Slender Pony appeared and came for me, there was no time for me to flee." She glanced in the direction where Slender Pony had once been. "I tried to fight and escape its hold... but it seemed to entrap me in an unearthly cold."
"That's how it was with us too..." Rarity said, shuddering a little at the memory. It was if those tentacles had frozen them, leaving them unable to escape.
A glance around soon revealed that Gilda and Trixie were present as well, with the griffon looking like she wanted to beat up whoever had brought them there. Knowing Gilda, she'd have the full capability to do so if she wished.
Pinkie stared, her expression displaying an annoyed frown at the memories that surfaced. "Those meanies are here too?"
Luckily for Pinkie, neither Gilda nor Trixie seemed to hear her comment, as they were debating with each other.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie demands that you release her!" the blue unicorn shouted upward, hoping somepony would hear. "This is unacceptable!"
"Shut it," Gilda snapped. "I don't think whoever brought us here is gonna listen to some stuck-up pony who talks about herself like that—"
Trixie whirled around at the griffon, glaring. "I'm not all too fond of your tone night now."
"I'll talk in whatever tone I want," Gilda shot back.
As the black smog began to fade faster, the others could see two familiar businessponies and a certain minotaur.
"I must say Flim," Flam commented to his brother. "This is quite a predicament we've found ourselves in."
"Couldn't agree more, Flam," Flim said. "That was probably just about the scariest thing I've ever experienced in my life.
"And ol' Iron Will has a feeling it's gonna get worse," Iron Will pointed out with an irritated tone, looking around for any sign of their captors. "I've never talked about preparing for this in any of my seminars." He frowned. "When we get out of here, maybe I should cover that..."
"I'm not sure how well other ponies would take 'Supernatural Survival Guide' very seriously," Flam said doubtfully.
Iron Will frowned at him, snorting slightly.
As the smoke began to clear still further, another voice spoke out of the gloom. "Twilight... oh no... you're here too...."
Twiight gasped at the voice, stunned. She knew that voice so well, had practically grown up with the being it belonged to... "No... it can't be..."
To everyone's shock, even the royals of Canterlot—Blueblood (Rarity glared at seeing him), Shining, Cadance, Luna and Celestia - had somehow gotten dragged into this same large convergence. Celestia had been the one who had spoken.
"No!"
They can't be here... not them, not them!
Dismayed that the Princesses and her family were present in this horror-place, unwilling to believe it, Twilight hurried over to reach them, to see if they were real yet praying that they weren't...
And she smacked straight into the barrier that separated them, sending her reeling as she attempted to regain her focus.
"We were hoping that thing wouldn't have gotten you too," Cadance sighed. "I... I kept trying to reassure Shining that you'd be fine..."
"Are you okay, Twily?" Shining clearly looked worried for his younger sister, dismayed that she was even here in the first place.
"Physically, yes..." Twilight murmured with a melancholy sigh. She couldn't ignore the truth anymore - they were trapped in this nightmare world just as much as she was.
"We have to find some way out of this." Stamping her hoof, Luna turned her head upwards and called out in her Royal Canterlot Voice. "I DEMAND THAT YOU RELEASE US AT ONCE!"
Everypony cringed slightly at the volume.
"And I thought you were loud and demanding," Gilda muttered to the unicorn beside her, earning a glare from Trixie.
While there was no verbal response to Luna, the magical barriers separating them vanished, and everypony was able to converge in a single group. Amidst all the chatter, the populace were all discussing the same question: "What are we doing here?!"
"Where are we, Applejack?" Apple Bloom inquired, trembling from fear and coming close to her sister.
"I don't know," Applejack admitted, looking utterly miserable at the realization that her siblings and so many others had somehow arrived at the same place she and her friends had.
"I think we owe you all an explanation."
Everyone present looked upward at the voice, and they finally got a view of their hosts. On a platform that seemed to defy the laws of gravity, Slender Pony stared down at them, joined by three others.
The two taller ones easily stood out—a stallion and mare who seemed to glow with color, every part of them glimmering in every color in the spectrum. It was almost as if one was looking at them through a sort of prism, as their coloring seemed to mostly be of a crystaline blue-white, but it was often overtaken by the ever-changing flashes of color. There was another strange aspect of them as well—in an almost wraith-like appearance, the dim formations of wings and a horn could sometimes be seen, in that same unusual color scheme as the rest of their bodies. But like their colors, the horns and wings were never constant—one instant one would be there, then in a flash they were gone. As if they were primarily earth ponies, and the extra features were merely a trick of the light, an illusion they created. It was quite unnerving for the group to see these wraith-like ponies glancing down at them.
The smallest of the group was a white colt with a stringy black mane and tail, grinning down with a disturbingly wide smile and black-rimmed eyes. As the group carefully watched him, he didn't blink. Could he even blink? Either way, the sadistic way his eyes seemed to glint and his carved-in smile was terrifying. It was as if he wore that constant expression trying to scare other ponies on purpose.
"Now, introductions," the prism-like stallion said, for he had been the one who had spoken earlier. "You all know Slender Pony, since he brought you here. But I," he put a hoof to his chest, "am Lightning Prism."
"And I'm Crescent Beam," the mare followed in turn.
The pair now spoke in unison. "But you can call us the Iridescents."
"And this," Crescent gestured to the young colt beside her. "Is Jeff."
"Well, thanks for the intro," the colt said with his ever-present smile. "Finally there's gonna be carnage!"
"Carnage?!"
"What kind of colt feels happy at the idea of ponies getting brutally injured?!" Cheerilee exclaimed, staring up in disbelief at the demented young pony.
"Apparently that sick twisted pony," Gilda muttered. "That's horror story stuff!"
"You should know that how I got this way could be considered a horror story." Jeff's brow furrowed in anger as he brandished his knife. "Next one of you to insult me gets a knife to their throat!"
Celestia stepped forward, her eyes staring at Jeff with a challenging gaze. "You, young colt, shouldn't even dare to hurt these ponies, or you'll have to answer to me."
Jeff laughed mockingly. "I'd like to see ya try, Princess! I could tear you apart if I wanted to!"
"Now Jeff," Lightning Prism chided with a stern glance, "the carnage will have to wait. We're only on the first level, remember?"
Jeff slumped down slightly, the expression on his face a mixture of anger and resentment. Everypony could tell that the eternally-smiling, eyelid-less pony would quite happily murder any one of them if he got the chance.
"Hey, lame-o," Gilda snapped. "Don't think some little colt like you is gonna go and try to threaten me!"
She started to fly up toward him, but stopped when, to everypony's surprise, Jeff pulled out a sharp knife and aimed it directly at the gryphon. Gilda's eyes widened, both from the shock of hitting another invisible barrier and the surprise of the colt threatening to use a knife on her.
Jeff laughed. "You wanna bet on that?" he taunted in a sing-song voice. "I've had enough practice to get a good aim."
A tangible chill shot through several members of the group. Jeff spoke about stabbing somepony else with a knife like it was all a game to him. And he was just a colt, probably only a few years older than Apple Bloom.
Gilda looked up at the four in rage. "You are one sick little scumbag of a colt." Everyone could tell by her voice that by "sick", the griffon meant "demented" rather than "cool".
Rainbow Dash stared up boldly, trying to be brave despite her unease. "Well we can break that barrier!"
All of the members of the group who possessed wings attempted to charge at the barrier, joined by the magical energy of the unicorns and alicorns in attendance.
"Not so fast!" Cresent Beam announced, pressing a button on the platform with a click.
Instantly, an ethereal bolt of light jolted through the lower level, instantly causing all of the ponies with wings to fall to the ground, and the magic from those with horns to sputter out and fade.
"Huh?!
"What?!"
"How'd that happen?!" Rainbow gasped.
Twilight attempted to charge up her magic, but all she could produce was a few small sparks. "Wha- I can't use my magic!"
Chrysalis attempted to change her form, but though the signature green flames appeared around her, her appearance was just the same as before. "What is the meaning of this?!"
"Just as planned!" Lightning said proudly. "It's all part of our rules. In order to go through our games, you need to have limited flying and limited magic.
Discord looked absolutely indignant. "Hey!" He glared at the four, hovering a bit off the ground. "Stop stealing my rules!" He pointed at the ponies who had wielded the Elements of Harmony. "I had them go through that same sort of thing! Quit copying my tactics!"
"We haven't neutralized your abilities completely," Lightning Prism said with a wave of his hoof, staring right down at Discord. "We've simply made it so that those who can fly can, at most, hover about a foot, and magic spells can be used just enough to see by if you need light in a dark area."
Crescent Beam smiled, one front hoof on the other as she counted off the list. "No teleporting, no blasting away enemies, no flying over obstacles - you are all going through these games as equally as possible."
Twilight glared up at them. "What do you mean by 'games'?"
"Look around and above you!"
Everyony fell silent as they took in the pathways and portals around them, glancing upward at the circular layers above them, the various paths seeming to change almost as rapidly as the Iridescents' colors.
Scootaloo was the first to break the silence. "And?"
"You're a bold little filly." Lightning smirked, his muti-colored eyes seeming to brighten. "Anyway, every portal here projects a pony into a world of the 'creepypastas'."
Twilight and her friends all looked nervously at each other.
"Hold on a minute," Vinyl said, puzzled. "You mean that creepy urban legend stuff?"
"Exactly." Lightning then nodded to Crescent, allowing her to continue the explanation.
"These creepypastas, you see, aren't just stories—as the appearance of Slender Pony and Jeff here should make you well aware of. So we figured that we'd bring a few of you here to experience them, as a test for us."
"A survival test," Jeff clarified, his smile seeming to grow wider.
Crescent continued. "The point is, there are 8 floors here, which we call Levels, and in each Level there are many portals to these creepypasta worlds, as you can see here." She paused, giving the participants time to look around at the portals on their level, which seemed to fade in and out. "You need to survive each creepypasta that you go through, which we can either have you go through alone or with another pony or two. Eventually, if one or a group of you are lucky, until one of you ends up finding a gateway within that world that will lead you to a small forest. There, you will be able to find one of the Slender Notes, which are necessary to proceed to the next Level."
Lightning took over the explanation. "Once a Slender Note is found, everypony who is still left will be transported to the next Level, where the stories will become harder to survive, or at the very least come out unharmed from."
"So we have to go through these tons of stories that could hurt or kill us, just to find a bunch of silly old notes?!" Diamond Tiara shouted. She looked as if somepony had demanded her to play hide and seek in a dumpster as big as her house, filled with year-old rotten garbage and a tub of quicksand that could suck her in if she got too close, all for the purpose of find a needle that wasn't worth a bit.
"Those Notes are more important than you think, young filly," Lightning Prism explained with a stern frown, eyes glimmering, "but... yes. Think of it as a scavenger hunt of sorts."
Yes... a scavenger hunt...we've had our share of those... After briefly glancing upward for a moment, thinking about their "scavenger hunt", Crescent Beam continued for her irritated partner. "In addition, the more Levels you traverse, the greater the chance of one or more of you getting Slender Sickness."
Cadance tilted her head, curiosity outmatching her fear. "What's Slender Sickness?"
Silver Spoon turned her gaze toward Slender Pony. "Does that mean we'll start to look like him? All faceless and stuff?"
Slender Pony turned his head, and the assembled had a feeling that he was glaring down in disapproval at Silver Spoon's comment.
"No," Lightning said. "We'll explain it in greater detail when one of you gets it.... best to keep it a surprise." The shimmering pony laughed, a low chuckle that sounded as cold as winter ice.
With that, Slender Pony vanished, leaving his space on the platform empty.
Pinkie blinked her eyes, making sure she had seen correctly as she twisted her head to look around. "Where'd Slender Pony go?"
"Oh, don't worry," Jeff said, eyes shining. "He'll be around."
"I'm not sure I like the sound of Slendy coming back..." Pinkie said quietly, her blue eyes holding a glimmer of nervousness even as she laughed a little.
Crescent Beam picked up from where her companion left off. "Seeing as there are 8 Levels, the goal is to find all 8 Slender Notes."
"And what happens when we find all 8 notes?" Celestia asked, standing tall and looking sternly at their hosts. "Then you'll let us go?"
"If you manage to find all 8 and survive, then you all get to go back home," Crescent finished. "... Those of you that live through it all, anyway."
That single sentence unnerved everypony in the large room.
"There's no guarantee on survival," Jeff pointed out with a tone that was far too happy for anypony's comfort. "Except perhaps on this first Level, unless you really mess up." The young colt scoffed.
The fact that they were about guaranteed to survive on at least this first level only alleviated everypony's fears very slightly. At the very least, they wouldn't step through one of these portals and instantly die.
"No need to worry," Crescent assured them. "We'll have a little more to explain when you get to Level 2, at least."
"You'd better," Shining said with a glare, determined to do whatever it took to stop them and get out of there.
The Iridescents smirked at the defiance of the participants below them. "Oh trust us, this will be fun. But, for now, participants..."
The Levels above the crowd were suddenly obscured by the black smog that had surrounded them before, leaving the participants on the Level 1, the various portals opening and closing around them.
They didn't notice the eyes of the Iridescents glance briefly at each other before they turned their heads down to the participants.
"Let the games begin."
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Alright everyone - this is where you come in.
There are a LOT of creepypastas out there, and considering how the 8 different levels increase in difficulty, I am willing to hear suggestions for Level 1 at the moment - creepypastas that are for the most part harmless, other than being scary. After all, nopony wants to lose a life on Level 1.
Also, if you happen to have more specific suggestions - as in, which character(s) to go in a specific one, just post away. If there's any specific one that multiple people agree on (and/or one I really like), that wouldn't contradict an overarching plot I have here, I just might go along with it.
So, yup, hope you liked the chapter!
Suggestion: He who walks behind the rows, should be a level, extremely creepy stuff that. Or no, that one about the train station that brings you to different dimensions and you get "stuck" forever riding them. I'm not too sure about there names, but I'm pretty sure you can get a plot device out of either suggestion. Maybe include some SCP elements. However, that was a tangent from the get go; my suggestion for level one is that thing that's trapped inside the glass that just stares at you (smiling) , again I don't know there names only the nightmares they've given me. This is entertaining, please continue!
THIS WAS EFFING EPIC! The way you introduced everypony was amazing! Congrats on that one! I especially like how you portrayed Chrysalis and Discord, among the other background ponies.
As far as a CP for level one would go...if the floors aren't dedicated to specific types of stories, and instead just difficulty...
"Upstairs" would be a good choice. Simple, creepy, and no harm to anypony. It could be very easily modified to fit whomever enters its portal. Just a thought!
1052148 Well, at least I have "He who walks behind the rows" as a title, and I might be able to find the others if I try looking those specifics up or something. Thanks for the suggestions!
1052161 Thanks! I wanted to make sure I introduced everypony adequately enough, and I'm glad I seemed to do that justice!
And as for why I decided to go with difficulty, I figured that it would seem a bit more orderly that way, and there are such a variety of creepypastas that it would be hard to fit into neat little orders like that. 
And thanks for the creepypasta link!
Mixed ideas concerning this new chapter.
On the plus side, I am greatly happy that you decided to incorporate just about everyone that has a name and significant presence within the series into this. It bears similarity to the beginning of "Total Magic Pony Island" (a story done by Tailslover13, if you don't know). Makes it all the more nerve-wracking about who's going to get offed and who doesn't, since I've grown to like nearly all of them. Though it's not eye-candy, it is well-written - which is an automatic plus from the get-go. But on the negative side, I can't help but feel the ponies just give off too much of an innocent aura around them. Their reaction to Jeff saying "carnage" was very humorous as well as somewhat embarrassing.
That particular colt doesn't have eyelids and is standing right beside other freaks of nature without a care in the world! Obviously there's something wrong with that, you morons!
Sorry to say, I haven't been reading up on creepypastas well enough to give a potential idea. But I am hoping that whatever you'll choose will turn out for the best. Best of luck to you on that department.
So, that's it for my review of this chapter. Can't wait for more!
I dunno. It felt rushed to have all of these characters introduced so quickly. Still, I look forward to the next chapters, and the "games" the Iridescents have planned.
1052501 Note to self: try to focus a bit more on the characters there. That's the downside of writing a 5000 word chapter - it gets so long that you want to make sure you don't bore people, but you lose a bit of characterization through rushing it.
But too late to change it a bit now, since people have already read it...
... You know what, it's early as far as story update time, I'm gonna improve on it a bit anyway!
1052566 *
for rushing* I didn't want to make the chapter too long but I wanted to introduce everypony... *sighs, then goes to edit it a bit*
Hopefully I'll be able to do a lot better on the chapters after that, not so much introductions and explaining.
Beautiful, Shadowed. I suggest Herobrine stalking everyone for Round One, so as not to be too heavy. Stealing and hiding the Slender Notes now and then, making false passage ways, and rigging traps and contraptions. Here's the link to Herobrine on the Minecraft Wikia, Because I was too scared to go on creepypasta wiki x.x
I can't wait for more, you do not know HOW many times I've looked for an update!
Thank you so much for a new chapter!
Here's some Spikes:
1052632 Thanks!
Aha, so you mean Herobrine being a bit of a meta example and throwing them off... interesting sort of idea... Perhaps whoever it is could go through his creepypasta world, and then even after they leave he starts messing with them... 
Very good so far. The only complaint I have so far is that Jeff the Killer doesn't really seem to act very insane, and I would suggest making his craziness a bit more on the creepy side.
WIth that said, I would say that the best creepypasta to use for level one would be Candle Cove, seeing as it isn't particularly deadly at all.
1052687 Yes! That would be such an awesome thing. If by 'his world' you mean Minecraft, I have ideas for that, but it is your story.
)
I'm also watching you! (In that FIMfiction way cuz GOD that sounded weird
Tell me, do you remember that thing under your bed, the thing in your closet? The movement in the corner of your eye when you were walking home during the night?The thing that was standing behind you, but when you turned around there was nothing there?
You know what I'm talking about. Well let me tell you, there WAS something there. One or many of them.
The Shadows. Beings with no body or appearence. Always hiding.
But year, after year you felt them less and less. Why? Because time toughened you, made you stronger, and caused your mind to become stable.
That's what made them disappear. Your mind. It didn't believe in supernatural things anymore. And that's what they need. A bit of belief, a moment of weakness.
That is all what they need to come back.
You might not break, or become weak, but they are still there.
Waiting.
Watching.
Hoping.
1052857 Well, I did add a bit more of Jeff just a bit ago, when I edited the chapter a bit ago, but trust me, his craziness will come out quite a bit later...
1052869 I''ll keep that in mind. :)
1052958 Woah... did you make that up?! Because that sounds EPIC!
1051980 lost silver can be one and ben drowned can be another
1053924 Well, the player character does kind of "die" at the end of Lost Silver, so I might save that one for later in the Levels, but good suggestion for both of the for use in the fic overall!
After just hearing Mr CreepyPasta's Jeff vs. Jane, I was surprised to log on and find this updated. It is almost as if it was timed like that on purpose.
So far, digging the 'Slender Notes' reference. I get up to seven, then BAM! Face full of Slendy!
Would be kinda funny of Vinyl and Octavia ended up in Lavender Town and hear the original music that was said to cause people to kill themselves. The ironic/dark funny because of the two going nuts because of music.
And then there's the 'haha' funny of Vinyl dubstepping it or something.
Jeff.
creepypasta.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/liars.jpg
Yes please.
I'm not sure for what level this would be, or if it even counts, but the Horrifying House Guest? Maybe Luna Game or Squidward's Suicide?
Edit: Well, how about...
Russian Sleep Experiment
Wong Chong Dong ghost... or however you say its Korean name (It's a Korean scare comic).
SMILE.pny
Creepy Silver
1054324
Forget sleep. Who needs it?
1054335
Sleep? What's that?
My best reccomendation for floor 1: Smile.jpg.
A mansion with all the walls looking like this:
(IT IS UNKNOWN IF THIS IMAGE CAUSES MENTAL DEFECTS. VIEW AT YOUR OWN RISK!)
images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb57886/creepypasta/images/d/da/Smiledog_enhanced.jpg
Perhaps replace it with Winona...?
Of course, Cupcakes HAS to come in at some point...
Love me some caniballistic baked goods!
Edit: Didn't read description. I feel rather ridiculous.
1054405
Words can not express how much I find that mental image amusing.
1054324 WTF IS THAT
1054521
Jeff's video. Why do you ask?
1054272 Ah, now there's an idea!
...Though maybe a filly or two would end up there with them since it's said that LT only affected young children... 
...You know, I wonder if anyone will ever do "Lavender Town Music - Vinyl Dubstep Edition", because that would be an awesome track to listen to if done right! 
)
(And glad you dig the Slender Notes reference
1054324 I see you like thefact that I included Jeff as a major character.
I couldn't help it - he's such a crazy young psychopath and his story is one of my favorites! 
1054335 Rest assured there are quite a few of those I'll definitely be including!
(by Creepy Silver you mean Lost Silver, right?)
1054405 The walls in Smile.jpg look like that?! Woah, I only knew about the smiledog thing (and that pic is FREAKY - red smiledog always scared the crap out of me and that husky picture was always shrouded in darkness, but then I saw the husky picture in that quality...)... I shall take that aspect into potential consideration! And Winona being included? Interesting..
.1054423 Sorry, but as I stated in the description, the likes of Cupcakes and Rainbow Factory will not be included. Why? Because while they may be scary fanfics, they don't have that kind of "urban legend" aspect that creepypastas traditionally have. So I don't know why it's really considered a creepypasta by some.
The final level should be related to the Russian sleep experiment.
Also, include the blind maiden!
1054684 Good point. I completely forgot that part with LV.
Speaking of kids stuff, I wonder what would happen with an encounter with Happy Appy.... Would they be scared, or try to eat him?
Oh, I think I know what'll happen with the Slender Sickness thing. Don't really wanna say so I don't (possibly) spoil anything, but Entry #61 made my mind take a guess.
1054684
Yeah, I read that about three years ago. Forgot the title.
1053504 Thanks, that was just a try at creepy stuff. I actually might write that down and make it bigger.
1054933 Considering that creepy smile on his face, I'm not sure if they'd try to eat him... then they'd run like heck later, probably...
Also by "Entry #61", do you mean Marble Hornets? Because I haven't watched that much (only a little of the first one). If you want, you could send me your guess in a PM - then I might get a potential idea and it wouldn't be potentially spoiled for everyone else.
1055006 Lost Silver is awesome.
1055092 Mind if I maybe twist that up a bit and use it?
1055866 You don't know what it is? Well... Here you go.
READ AT OWN RISK! It's relatively long and one of the more disturbing ones...
1054684
Of course I miss the post saying that.
Regardless, I am fully prepared for the slaughter of our magical pony friends!
...Not that I would have any experience in murdering friends. I'm totally not a crazed killer! Not at all!
1055866 1056259
Actually, I don't know what it is either. I'm not sure how I managed to miss it.
More disturbing? Ooh... "CHALLENGE" ACCEPTED!
1056259 Sure. Just as soon as I get to a computer I'll write it normally.
1057209 Ah, that's okay! I put it in the description instead of in a post so there wouldn't be a bunch of requests to do fanfics that aren't creepypastas. ...But I think I can say that Jeff would agree with you (and that last part sounds almost like something Jeff would say if he denied killing anypony)
1057234 Well, now you won't miss it!
And yeah, I found it and Squidward's Suicide to be the most gory creepypastas I've read so far, though TRSE more so than SS. 
Though I first heard SS on Neopets Neoboards when we were talking about scary stories, and during the time when someone was posting Squidward's Suicide people were like "I will never watch Spongebob again!" and "I will never look at Squidward the same!"
.... Come to think of it, I think that was my first creepypasta experience ever (that or Pokemon creepy/Ghost/Cursed Black, I forget which)
1057341
Thank you!
Ugh all of those creepy pictures in the comments makes me not wanna comment anymoar
!
...
->
(not as to reference Cupcakes)
I'll manage.
Anyway, reading it over again, I think a few things might happen:
- Unlikely duos and friendships.
- TONS of jump-scares to the ponies.
- Since level 1 isn't going to be too bad, maybe a spirit that screws with their mind, like the amnesia monster (Ik, it's not a creepypasta) to cause emotional distress, awkwardness, and weak spots to emerge
- Maybe an appearance by Pinkamena...?
I can't wait to see how this goes!
1054272
.
I've never cared to actually LISTEN or LOOK UP Lavender Town so IDK what it is really, but that may be a good idea for the music ponies
BUT REALLY,
Vinyl is best pony.
1057835 Jump-scares - one of my worst enemies,and will be so for the ponies as well.
And spirit that screws with their minds, I might be able to find osmething like that. 
Pinkamena is when Pinkie's depressed... if one of her close friends dies... well...
1057858 Lavender Town is basically the original version of the music from Lavender Town in Pokemon Red and Green, that was said in the creepypasta to cause quite a few young children to commit suicide... like, say... around the ages of the fillies that are now draggedinto the story...
1059174 I've never played Silent Hill, but I know it's supposed to be scary... I can understand why you wouldn't wan to read TRSE... but I likely will include it in pony form later.
1059329 PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE include BEN DROWNED, Candle Cove or Herobrine.
Also, some more good Creepy you should consider adding:
The Rake
Squidward's Suicide
WHO WAS PHONE ( funny creepytroll) http://www.creepypasta.com/tag/who-was-phone/
Bloody Mary/Candlejack : http://www.creepypasta.com/tag/candlejack/
Dead Bart (A classic)
Also, a list of creepy places:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g3-aLhRvx0
1061015 Oh don't worry, the way things are going, I intend to have all three of those requests appear in some form or another!
And thanks for those other suggestions as well! Including "WHO WAS PHONE" would be, well... anticlimactic for whoever was involved, since nothing happens... Then again, it would be kind of funny, though considering I'm devoting one chapter to each creepypasta go-through, that chapter would be pretty dang short.
1061019 And oooh, thanks for that vid of creepy places! They may not be creepypastas, but they could still be useful...
Thanks!
1061015 YESYESYESYES HEROBRINE! I really like the fact I'm not the only man who wants Herobrine!
1061353 Yeah, plenty of other people wanted Herobrine, and I have a little interesting idea for him...
1058132 Well, in Party of One, it kinda looked like she was going insane / mentally astry / emotionally unstable, but eh, what do I know?
1061388 Well, true, she was depressed at first, and then she started going all mentally unstable... the right blend of trauma could cause her to go through that kind of mental state again...
Right now I am at some sort of hospital. No, not a hospital. A nuthouse. A nuthouse that has the same security level as a prison. A goddamn federal prison.
Why am I here? Killing, rape, stealing. And that is only the beginning of a long, long list.
But there is another reason too. Seven reasons to be precise. And they are standing right across the room. Am I mad at them?
Of course I am, I would like to make them eat their own guts if I weren't tied up.
But in the same time, they did me a great favor. They opened my eyes. Allowed me to see the world, how it is. They showed me that there is no taboo, only the ignorance of people.
They are named after the seven sins. Each of them explained their sin to me.
why is lust bad? I am only obeying my instincts.
Gluttony is nothing more then satisfying my hunger.
Greed. Is it bad to want more?
Envy. Jealousy is only a feeling that appers if you need something, not want it.
Sloth. Sometimes you have to relax and enjoy life without doing anything.
Wrath. Anger is simply a natural part of our lives.
Pride.I simply am proud of what I am.
.
.
.
.
.I hear the doctor coming. Interesting, what will he think about the knife I stole? I hope the pretty nurse is coming too.
0-0-0-0
Give this philosophy of life to one of the participants.
I haz been watchin too much FMA
1067806 Dang it Thor, how do you come up with such epic things?!
1069455 The gate that was keeping my twisted imagination locked away was opened by your fic.
Do you want another one?