Let's Play a Game

by Zelda Spectrum

Storage, Main Hall, and Machine Room

That pegasus was stupendous when he showed off his tricks. Though he was very headstrong, we always stuck together and we promised to never betray one another. I could tell this was the start of a beautiful friendship.

Chapter 2

My Items:
0 oil jars
6 tinderboxes
0 laudanum bottles
My Lantern

When I go through the door, I am relieved to find myself in a hallway that is has more light and color than the previous. The wall is a pink color with a trim of polished wood close to the floor. The carpet is a crimson color with a bronze diamond pattern on its interior. There is a small chandler hanging from the ceiling giving light to the hallway. There are four wooden doors in the room; two in the middle of the hallway, and two at the end. Also at the end on the hall is a small round table with a candlestick, a note, and a key on top of it. I walk over to the table and read the note as I pick up the key.

Here is another key for you. This one opens the door to one of our storage rooms. The way into the Main Hall rests inside the chest that is stored in that room; but I’m afraid I lost the key some time ago and I can’t remember what I did with it. Unless you are completely hollow, I’m sure you will find a way to open the chest.

I take notice of how the word ‘hollow’ is underlined on the note. 'I bet it’s some kind of hint. I’ll have to remember that for later.' I put the note in my saddlebag and try out the key on both doors on my left and right. I first attempt to unlock the one on my left, but the key does not fit. Next, I try the door on the right side of the table; the key fits, but the lock refuses to turn. I backtrack down the hall and try the door on my right. The key fits and the lock opens with a click.

Opening the door, immediately take notice of, not the shelves of useless junk, but of the sunrise taking place outside the window. 'Jeez, how long was I out?' I close the door behind me and walk over to the window. I see the area is covered with lots of trees indicating that this house is located somewhere in a forest. Up in the sky, the sun is slowly rising into an orange horizon. It is as if Celestia herself got up early just to paint this beautiful picture in the sky. As I stare at the environmental beauty, another memory seems to worm its way into my head.

-----

I walked away from a school building with Cloud Runner as we both seem to have been smiling with victory. “So what did you make on the art test?” I asked him. He turned his head to me, still as joyous as can be.

“I got an 87 on the test!” he said with pride.

“See? I knew you could do it!” I told him with an encouraging tone.

“Yeah, I’m awesome like that.” He boasted. I gave him a smirk as we continue towards a town. “So what did you get on the test?”

“95.”

“Heh, somehow that doesn’t surprise me.” His smile did not disappear; instead he gave me an understanding look. “So, ya wanna come by my house and hang out?”

“I’d love to, but I can’t.” I replied as my smile started to disappear, “It’s Thursday, and I have family commitment.”

“Well somepony doesn’t seem too happy about it.” Cloud Runner said raising an eyebrow “Is it really THAT bad?”

“You have no idea.” I groaned, “The whole family spends the majority of the afternoon doing some quote-on-quote, ‘family bonding’, but in reality, it’s just us playing a bunch of games that I have not found the least bit fun since I was twelve.”

“Jeez, that’s rough.”

“No kidding. Charades has gotten so monotonously predictable, Go Fish has never been fun since I never win a single game, and if I have to play another round of that board game, ‘Knights of Everfree City’, I’m going to lose it!”

“Oh, speaking of Everfree,” Cloud Runner said, quickly changing the subject, “I heard some ponies talking about something in the Everfree Forest at lunch today. They say there is an old, seemingly abandoned house somewhere in the forest next to Ponyville; it’s supposed to be haunted.”

“Honestly Cloud Runner, you don’t actually believe those rumors do you?” I asked with a bemused look on my face.

“Nah, I just think they sound cool.”

“So, what exactly is supposed to be in this house?” I pretended to sound interested.

“No pony knows,” Cloud Runner said with a creepy voice, “ya know why?”

“Here we go.”

“’Cause every pony that has gone in; has never…come…OUT!” He jumped into the air and hovered over me with forelegs over his head and wearing a menacing grin.

“I figured as much.” I said showing no sign of fear. Cloud Runner landed the ground and the smile ran away from his face.

“Man, you’re no fun to scare.”

“A lot of ponies tell me that.” We stopped in front of a two-story house not too far from the Golden Oaks Library. I let out an exaggerated sigh.

“Well, duty calls. I’ll see ya tomorrow Cloud Runner.”

“Later Moon Seed.” The pegasus replied before taking off into the air. I turned around and trotted into the house, not looking forward to the event to come.

-----

The memory fades as both the sunrise, and the forest come back into view. 'Moon Seed, is that my name? And why does this ‘Everfree Forest’ place sound so familiar?' I suddenly pull myself back into reality as I realize I have been staring out the window for a few minutes. 'Not again,' I say in my head, 'if this keeps up, I’ll run out of time before I can get to the main hall.'

I turn around and pull out the note again, reading the clue. I look between the shelves and immediately see a chest on my right. I walk over to it and find that, just like the clue says, it is locked. Looking back at the clue, I am drawn back to the sentence that reads: Unless you are completely hollow, I’m sure you will find a way to open the chest. I look around at the shelves; there are three on each side of the room, spaced evenly, and each shelf is filled with discarded junk.

'Hmm, maybe I have to find something hollow in order to open the chest.' With that thought, I begin to scan the shelves searching for anything hollow I can use to pick the lock. I manage to find two oil jars, five tinderboxes, and three laudanum bottles, but nothing comes close to resemble anything hollow.

After double checking the shelves of useless items, I am still unable to find anything. Facing the window, I feel myself starting to shake as confusion and anger well up inside me. I release my anger by driving my hoof into the side of the second shelf to the left. As soon as I do, a hollow needle rolls off the bottom shelf and onto the floor. I stare at the needle with my mouth agape. 'How did I miss that?!'

Letting out a grunt, I pick up the needle and hurry over to the chest. I begin to fiddle around with the lock until I hear a click. I quickly open the chest to find another oil jar, two tinderboxes, a key, and a note. After putting it all in my saddlebags are read the note at the bottom of the chest.

Well done, you’re smarter than we thought! This key unlocks the door to the Main Hall, but don’t celebrate just yet. The front door is still locked, and we are just getting started. Outside, there are multiple doors on the first and second floors that lead to different areas of the house. Each one has a clue waiting for you, but you may need to go to other areas first in order to answer the clues. Oh, and just so you know, my family is very good at hide and seek, so you better be on your guard.

Love,

Once again, the ink seems to be smudged at the bottom. I give up trying to read it again. I stuff the note in my saddlebag and head back out into the hall. First, I try the door in front of me, but the key does not fit. I head back to the round table and try the door on the left; it does not fit here either. Finally I turn around and use the key to the right of the table. I turn the lock and it clicks open.

I walk out the door to see I am in a giant room with the same decorations and a big staircase in the middle. In front of the staircase, are two double doors surprisingly made of metal. I immediately assume this is the main entrance as I gallop over to them. Trying to open the doors, I find they are indeed locked. Turning around, I see four crimson doors with metal tags on them.

I take a quick trot to the right wall and look at the doors. The far right door, the door close to the entrance, reads ‘Laboratory’. The one in the middle reads ‘Kitchen’. As I pass the wooden door on the far left, the door leading to the hall I just came out of, I notice it reads ‘Storage and Guest Room C’. 'THAT was a Guest Room?' I think, It didn’t seem very welcoming.'

I trot over to the left wall and start reading the tags, beginning to the door farthest from the entrance; this one reads ‘Master Chambers’. 'Hmm, I’ll bet they have the key hidden in here somewhere, but maybe I should check the rest of this area before deciding where to go.' With that thought, I walk over past the door on the left wall that is closer to the entrance that reads ‘Wine Cellar’.

I trot up the stairs to see there is not much up here. The familiar odor of a dead corpse hits my nostrils again as I start to believe coming up here was not a good idea. There is an elevator shaft straight ahead of me with the elevator sitting idly, waiting patiently to be used. It has two brass gates in front of it that act as doors for the elevator. Right next to it, on the wall to my left, is a metal door that reads ‘Machine Room’. Directly to my left is a polished wooden door that reads ‘Guest Room A’. Directly to my right, is a room left wide open with the door broken off its hinges.

My curiosity gets the better of me as I walk into the room on top of the door that reads ‘Guest Room B’. There is a wooden desk in front of me that is the same as the one from my guest room. There is a wooden closet to up against the right wall, not far from the desk. There is a dresser on my left next to the doorway that is also similar to the one from my guest room.
I catch a trail of crimson on the floor out of the corner of my eye. My eyes follow the trail to the bed in the middle of the room where I find…Oh Celestia! Another one! There is another body of a pony resting on top of the bed. This one is a royal blue pegasus mare with a jet-black mane. Fear begins to creep up on me again as a look at the withering corpse. Shaking my head and trying to ignore it, I walk over to the desk to see if I can find anything. There, I find a note with very few words written.

Your fifteen minutes are up, new friend. Ready or not, here we come. Do try to make this fun for us.

As soon as I read these last few words, I hear the sound of a giggling filly approach the room. Fear overtakes me as I frantically look around the room looking for a place to hide. I hurry over to the closet, throw open the doors, and hide inside with the doors closed. Luckily it is empty, so I have plenty of breathing room. As the giggling approaches I can also hear the sound of a heavy metal object scraping across the ground. I manage to keep my breathing under control despite my heart rapidly pounding like a drum.

I hear the sounds get louder as that…THING, enters the room. As she enters the room, she stops giggling for a while and she starts singing what sounds like a lullaby that sends a horrible chill down my spine.

"‘Round we go,

The world is spinning.

When it stops,

It’s just beginning.

Sun comes up,

We laugh and we cry.

Sun goes down,

And then we all die."

'Is that a filly?!' I suppress my urge to scream, 'Dear Luna, what kind of freaks live in this house?!' I hear it dragging the metal object all around the room, but I dare not peek out of my hiding place as it might see me if I do. After a while, I hear it leave the room and I listen to the sound of the metal object banging down the stairs. I then hear the faint sound of a metal door opening and closing downstairs.

I take a peak to make sure it is really gone. After hearing nothing for a couple of minutes, I move out of my hiding place. 'Dear Luna! What WAS that thing?!' I catch my breath as I investigate the room. The room does not contain much, all I find are a couple more tinderboxes to add to my fast-growing collection.

I walk out of the room and proceed to check the room across from me. The room is identical to ‘Guest Room B’, except the layout is mirrored and there is no corpse on the bed. I search the room for anything useful and hope I do not find any more tinderboxes. Sure enough, I find an oil jar, a bottle of laudanum, and more tinderboxes, three to be exact. I place my saddlebags on the desk of the room and double-check my items.

3 oil jars
16 tinderboxes
4 laudanum bottles
My Lantern

I see a notebook and a pencil both sitting idly on the desk next to my saddlebags. I open the notebook to see what is inside to find the pages are empty. I decide to put the notebook to good use and throw it in my saddlebags, along with the pencil, as I put them on my back. Exiting the room, I walk over to the elevator to investigate the machine. However, I stop in my tracks as I find the brass gate of the elevator is locked. I decide to trek into the ‘Machine Room’ and see if I can find a way to open the gates to the elevator.

As I enter the ‘Machine Room’, I notice the climate is a bit on the cool side. I do not hear any machines running at all, telling me the ‘Machine Room’ is not being used. I am in a very small wooden corridor that is lit by candles mounted on the wall. There is a wooden door on the right a few steps ahead of me, and another on the left at the end of the corridor.

I walk through the door on my right to find a small room with gears and pipes hanging on the left wall leading up to a machine terminal in the middle of the wall in straight ahead. There is a bookcase on the right, and a chest right next to it. My attention is first drawn, not to the terminal, but to the bookcase instead. 'Hmm, something about this bookcase seems a bit odd. Is this even real wood?' I give the wooden bookcase a few knock and I hear the sound echo. 'Funny, that sounded hollow.' I attempt to move the bookcase, but it does not budge. I look at the books, but I cannot make heads or tails with them.

I try to move the books off the case only to find they are stuck in place. While trying to move different books, my left fore-hoof accidently pulls down a book from the case, causing it to slowly move open. I step back as soon as I see it start to move. The bookcase reveals a very small, hidden room with only a box with a candle on it. There is a button on the wall next to the entrance of the hidden room. I assume that button closes this thing back up. I walk back in front of the bookshelf and attempt to remember which one I pulled. I feel around with my fore-hoof until I pull down a green book.

The bookcase slowly begins to close when I pull the book. Immediately after it closes, I pull out the notebook and pencil and make a quick note.

Secret room behind bookcase in Machine Room. To open, pull down the third book (green) on the fourth shelf from the floor.

Afterwards, I put both the pencil and notebook back in my saddlebag and open the chest to find a large oil jar. I look at the terminal to see it has three circular slots. Above the slots are three shapes all with different colors on their borders. On the left is a pink triangle, a yellow square sits in the middle, and a blue circle marks the right. I do not know what these are for, so I decide to check out the next room. I travel out the door and to my right to the end of the small hallway.

Inside is a long table, a machine in the right corner, and a large pile of coal in front of it along with a shovel. I walk over to the table and see a note as well as a key marked with the tag ‘Elevator Key’. I throw the key into my saddlebags and begin to read the note.

The elevator only has a few requirements to operate:

1.) Check the coal burner constantly. The elevator can only operate if there is coal present in the burner.

2.) Check the Elevator Rod System Terminal. Each rod has a specific slot to access to certain levels of the mansion. The elevator cannot operate without these rods, even if coal is present in the coal burner.

I jot down a note in my notebook to help me remember what I need to look for, should I forget again.

Rods needed for elevator terminal to function.

After putting the notebook back in my saddlebags, I open the hatch to the coal burner, take the shovel in my fore-hooves, and start to shovel coal into the burner. I keep shoveling until the coal is beginning to overflow from the burner. I then close the hatch and pull the lever to start up the machine. The room comes to life as I hear the gears in the previous room turning and the burner starting to ignite and burn the coal.

I decide to head back out into the Main Hall and start searching for the missing rods. As I come back into the main hall, I tread down the stairs very carefully out of fear I might run into that “thing” again. After seeing the coast is clear, I start to look around at the doors deciding where to go. 'If those strange beings took out the rods to the elevator, they would have to hide them in a secure place.' I walk over to the door that reads ‘Main Chambers’ and, after a deep breath, push the door open and begin my search for the missing rods and the key to my freedom.

End of Chapter 2

Comments

[That_One_Pegasister]

ummm...... TOES?!? LOL!

[Zelda Spectrum]

3550645 Fixed!
I can't believe I didn't think about that! Not my best choice of words.

[ThePinkDerpFace]

Scarier than amnesia if turned imto game.