Sweetie's Mansion

by Moon Shooter

CHOICE11

Applebloom took a few more steps forward as Sweetie took a few back, unable to attack. Applebloom approached the knife in the middle of the cage. Once she reached it, she looked down at it, then back up at the Sweetie.

"Ya know... Ah never saw wha' the inside of a filly looked lik'." Applebloom picked up the knife and deviously. "Ah wonder what yers look like."

Applebloom took up the knife in her muzzle. Not like one might pick up a pencil, or a non-Equestrian eating utensil, but with the knife pointing out adjacent to her face. The sharp end pointed in the direction of Sweetie. She put it in this same position with the same grin on her face. Her eyes widened and Sweetie saw the murderous intent Applebloom charged at Sweetie.

"Ah!" Sweetie backed up and found her flank against the cold bars of the cage. Fear and panic filled her soul as she looked around trying to find a way out. There was none, or at least none that she could spot by the light that Pinkie had left for her. Sweetie saw that Applebloom was aiming for the neck as she came within a few feet of her. Sweetie managed to dodge the filly as she rammed into the bars of the cage.

"Applebloom! Stop! Please!"

Applebloom.

Sweetie had called her Applebloom. That's why she couldn't attack her. Deep in her heart, Sweetie felt herself connected to her, and Sweetie knew that she was in fact still in that body. The body that was trying to kill her, but as long as that Applebloom was still there, Sweetie couldn't attack her.

In short, Sweetie would either dodge have to figure out a way to dodge her for the rest of her life, find a way to escape or die when she got tired. Most likely the latter.

Applebloom laughed at Sweetie's plea through the knife as she ran for her again. Sweetie managed to dodge again.

"Stop! I don't want to fight you!"

Applebloom charged for the filly one more time, this time, head first. Sweetie wasn't as lucky as before as Applebloom rammed into her, knocking her onto the cold metal floor of the cage. Before Sweetie had a chance to get up, Applebloom got on top of her.

She spit the knife out of her muzzle into her hooves, grasping the blade's handle with extreme precision. She then brought it down on the little filly's neck.

--Aw. Don't tell me you die that fast.

If Sweetie didn't act fast enough, that would have been the end of her journey. She managed to catch the knife almost an inch from her throat. As Applebloom put more weight on it, Sweetie struggled to keep the sharp object from slicing through her. Applebloom was already stronger than Sweetie, thanks to the work she'd done on the farm (though at the same time, Sweetie couldn't help but find her a little stronger than she should have been), and had a little more muscle weight on her than Sweetie. She couldn't keep the knife off of her forever.

"Why don'tcha jus' give up Sweetie?" Applebloom asked. "Ya'll gonna die anyway."

"N- o... I..." Sweetie grunted words out as she tried to keep the knife from killing her. She would die if she didn't get Applebloom off of her in the next second.

"I... can't."

She would die.

"I...-"

Her friends would die again.

"Can't...-"

Rarity would stay dead.

"-NO!" Sweetie refused the impending reality, and managed to toss Applebloom to the side onto her back. Sweetie scrambled up to her hooves. Her eyes were much more adjusted to the world around her, so she gave another scan of the cage for a way out. To what she could see, there was no doorway to the cage.

T-that... that can't be right...

Sweetie swore there was something wrong here. She had to have gotten in here somehow. But if it wasn't through a door, then-

...I was dropped in here. Sweetie concluded.

--Like a baby in a crib!

She looked up in the direction of the flashlight shine. She saw a strip of light above her. Though it wasn't the entire light from the flashlight. It was almost as if the light wasn't hitting a ceiling, but something before that. It was the edge of the cage! It didn't have a roof to it.

However, she didn't have the time to try and climb out herself. If Sweetie just had a quick boost, she could escape.

Sweetie quickly formulated a plan in her head to escape. All she would have was a moment, and possibly only one chance, so she had to make it count. Next to Applebloom timing and balance were now also her adversaries. As Applebloom got back up, she ran to the wall of the bared cage where the flashlight was. Applebloom got up and charged at her once again. Sweetie, much more prepared than the times before, dodged and let her banging into the cage. Applebloom laughed as she shook her head and got up, showing no pain despite how hard she hit the bars.

Sweetie gritted her teeth, unable to imagine how much that should have hurt as she ran around Applebloom to a few feet behind her. Applebloom turned back around to charge at her again.

Now.

As Applebloom charged at Sweetie, Sweetie charged right back. This sudden burst offense surprised Applebloom but it didn't make her hesitate one bit. If anything, it only amused her further.

Once they were about a few hoof lengths away, Sweetie leaped as high as she could and landed on top of the filly's head. She then made another jump for the top of the cage. Barely but surely, she managed to hook her leg over the edge, and pulled herself up and over. She fell on the other side of the cage with a thud.

Sweetie moaned in pain, not expecting to fall from such a height, but managed to get up without anything broken.

"Hah... hah..." Sweetie gasped for breath, not realizing how long she hadn't been forgetting to take healthy breaths. But she was alright. She was still alive and the one on the otherside of the bars was-

"Hahahahahahahahaha!"

Sweetie picked up her flashlight and shined it into the cage at the deranged yellow eyed filly.

"C'mon... don'cha care about me?" she tilted her head to the side. "Why y'all tryin' yer dangdest ta get away from me? Ah thought we were friends."

Sweetie wanted to say something along the lines of "You're not Applebloom", though her breathing wouldn't let her get the words out.

"Cause ya know... ya never know when yer best friend could lose it." she put the knife in one of her hooves and held it to her neck. "And do somethin' she regrets, huh?"

"No!" Sweetie gasped out. "Please!" She didn't notice them innitially it, but a few tears had already begun streaming down Sweetie's face as she came to the final realization.

That was Applebloom's body.

--Well now it's Applebloom's.

The red mane, the yellowish coat, and the beating heart inside was Applebloom's. That's the message she was getting across. Whatever was inside of Applebloom's body wasn't Applebloom, but that body was hers. And if it died-

Applebloom dropped the Applebloom laughed at Sweetie.

"Yer a fun filly ya know? Most entertainin' friend ever." Applebloom picked up the knife and put the handle back in her mouth. "But I ain't gonna kill mahself just yet ya hear. Ah wanna watch ya go first."

With unimaginable agility, Applebloom jumped to the top of the cage and balanced on the edge.

The movement was so quick and nimble, Sweetie could neither awe in amazement, gasp in horror, or even think. All she could do is respond to her instincts.

--Run.

Sweetie ran as fast as she could away from her possessed friend. Like a cat jumping down from a high perch, Applebloom jumped down from the cage and ran to pursue her prey.

Sweetie found herself in a narrowing hallway again, only this time thankfully, it wasn't closing in on her. It turned from a larger room to a smaller one with smaller caged most likely meant for dogs. For some reason, it reminded Sweetie of a kennel. What the hay was a kennel doing in a mansion?

Though right now, that didn't matter, as Sweetie heard Applebloom approaching. Sweetie had to hide before Applebloom found her and gutted her with the knife. Desperate, she resolved to take refuge inside of one of the cages. She turned her flashlight off and it was dark again. Still Sweetie couldn't help but instinctively shut her eyes and cover her head as she she held her breath.

She heard the hoof-steps.

Clip... clop... clip...clop...

"Sweetie..."

Clip... clop... clip... clop...

They were close. So close. So very very close.

Thump thump. Thump thump.

Sweetie's heart beat so loud that she was sure that Applebloom could hear it. She'd even stopped calling her name.

--Maybe because she doesn't have to anymore.

Clip... clop... clip... clop...

Thump thump. Thump thump.

Shut up. Shut up, shut up, shut up! Sweetie screamed in her mind, begging her heart to be quiet. It only beat harder.

Thump thump. Thump thump.

Clip... clop... clip-

The hoof-steps stopped.

Sweetie didn't know where they stopped in the darkness, but all she knew was that they were close. Applebloom was standing somewhere in the darkness. She dared not breath now, lest Applebloom be close enough to hear it in the dead silence of the kennel area.

Sweetie dared not open her eyes in the darkness, fearing that she would only find two glowing yellow eyes staring directly at her.

Sweetie's lungs were screaming at her to breath. Sweetie screamed right back in her head for them to wait just a little longer, or they wouldn't be breathing ever again.

She was running out of air.

She would have to breath.

Sweetie needed to breath.

She needed to breath.

She needed to breath!

Sweetie gasped for-

CRASH!

air.

A large crashing sound filled the kennel just as Sweetie took in a gasp of air. Applebloom must have bucked one of the cages to scare her, or perhaps test if she was truly in the area. Sweetie hoped the crash had masked her breath.

She sat there in the darkness as it became silent once again. Had Applebloom heard the gasp?

Sweetie still refused to open her eyes to check.

"Hahahaha... hahahahahahahahaha!" the laughter began again. The sound wasn't in her direction, but rather it sounded like it was away from her. The hoof-steps started up again.

Clip... clop... clip... clop...

Clip... clop... clip... clop...

Clip... clop... clip... clop...

Clip... clop... clip...clop...

Clip... clop... clip...clop...

They began moving away from her location, getting quieter and quieter until it was silent once more.

--Safe.

Applebloom was gone for now, likely looking for her in the area ahead.

--Safe.

Or perhaps she'd figured wherever she was she wouldn't get very far without her GCD.

--Safe.

Still. Sweetie had escaped for now. She was safe. She was alive. She was-

"Oh Celestia." She sobbed.

-doomed anyway.

Sweetie covered her head in the darkness, and begun to cry. One of her best friends, and closest ponies in the world had just tried to murder her. It didn't particularly matter that it wasn't her, but even the thought she was being puppeted to do such a horrid thing like murder was where Sweetie finally reached her breaking point. It didn't help that she was the pony in question she was trying to murder.

Sweetie was cold. The chill of the darkness caused the filly to shiver between sobs as tears rolled down her cheeks. The trail of moisture each tear left created a particularly cold spot where it felt like some freezing wing were digging into her face.

Sweetie was lost. She had no idea of where she was, or how to get back to the safety of the safe zone, now that her map and camera was gone.

Sweetie was defenseless. Her GCD was gone, and possibly destroyed somewhere, which not only ruined her protection, but it eliminated her ability to catch the rest of her friends. She wouldn't even know how to defend herself without the ghost book either.

Sweetie was-

"I'm scared... I'm so scared... someone... help..."

She was scared.

"I'm not brave... I'm not brave..." She whispered in the darkness. She didn't know why she was muttering that. Perhaps she was hopping some guardian angel would come down and save her from this nightmare. Someone would take pity on her and take her far away from this dreadfully chilly, terribly dark and depressing place.

Perhaps back in the library, where she could cuddle up with a book to distract her from the horrors she'd already ensued.

Perhaps back in the Sugarcube corner where she could wet her dry tongue with some of the sweet drinks Pinkie probably prepared for the coming morning.

Perhaps to the Applefarm, which always tended to have a warm atmosphere even on the coldest of days.

Or for that matter, Fluttershy's house, where she could start up a fire and cuddle up with the little woodland creatures she'd likely keep around the house.

Or for that matter, the Carousel Boutique where she could slip into the bed and cuddle up with Rarity.

"Rarity..." she continued to cry.

To be honest, she was just as content with just lying there in the darkness. Lying there and just wish all of the horror away where she doesn't have to endure anything else. No more fear. No more sadness. No more depression. No more death.

She felt trapped, not because she was in a cage, but there seemed-

--The Carousel Boutique

No. There was no escape.

--Slip into the bed

Sweetie wanted to just give up...

--Cuddle up with-

"N...no..." Sweetie said to herself. "I'm... I'm not brave... but... but I'm not a quitter." She forced herself to crawl out of the dog's cage as she coached herself. "I... I have to save my friends... somehow... I have to... I... I'm not going to die here."

She got out of the cage still shivering, and waited a few moments to make sure it was truly quiet before activating her flashlight. Sweetie took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, and turned to face the way she'd heard Applebloom walk. Chances were, that was the exit since more likely than not, the other direction only held the cage and another dead end. Sweetie pushed herself forward into the darkness, the light shining the way to her path.

"I can't give up. I have to try..." she muttered. "for Applebloom... for Scootlaloo... for my friends... and for Rarity...

***

As Sweetie moved forward, the room opened up again thankfully. She was sure if she stayed in there, she'd become a borderline claustrophobic. Now, there were stacks upon stacks of the same dog cages. They were evenly placed around the room, but poorly stacked as though the slightest shake would topple them over. They sagged to the side, either from the poor stacking, or simple age and deterioration of the cages. Some had sheets over them, while others, their sheets had fallen somewhere down the bottom of the stacks cages. The area became so big, Sweetie almost compared it to a bit of a warehouse.

"How... big is this place?" Sweetie mumbled. She actually began to wonder if she was still in the mansion at all.

Suddenly, Sweetie froze in more ways than one. She stopped dead in her tracks as she felt the chill of a ghost nearby. She had a bad feeling that there would be more than one. She got behind a stack of cages, careful not to touch it, topple them, and blow her cover. To ensure she stayed concealed, she shut out her flashlight. She popped her head around the corner to see two ghosts patrolling the area. From Sweetie's position, she swore they resembled dogs, further supporting that these cages were in fact, for dogs. She got her head back around, pressing her flank against the cages harder than she desired to. Thankfully, the cages didn't topple. In fact they barely even moved, as though they'd been glued one on top of the other.

I've gotta stay hidden... Sweetie thought. Can't let them see me...

Sweetie couldn't afford to turn her flashlight back on now, unless they found her. Even then, there was no telling how many there were, so she couldn't risk using her flashlight in combat without her GCD. She popped her head back out slightly, as the dog turned around. She silently ran for another set of cages she saw in its glow.

So far, so good... no wait, no!

She saw the K-9 turn back around headed in her direction. Sweetie quickly rounded the cage to the opposite side of where the dog was looking. It stopped however. Sweetie held her breath.

The ghost dog sniffed the air suspiciously. It knew something was different.

It was difficult to tell whether or not it smelled the sweat beading down Sweetie's body, or the very essence of the fear she was emitting. It growled, and barked, alerting the other dog of a possible intruder. Sweetie didn't think. When she heard that dog's bark she bolted in the directions the cages spanned to. She didn't get more than a few feet before the dog turned around and saw the little filly fleeing into the darkness. It barked at her, and raced after her.

Sweetie wasn't the fastest pony, but surprisingly, she seemed to keep a good distance from the two dogs that were chasing her. A distance that definitely showed signs of closing, but enough were she could keep her distance for a little while. If she'd ran from the dogs at a little later, they might have caught up to her. However, with the distance she held now she felt like she would somehow make it out of this predicament.

That hope was quickly dashed when suddenly, her hoof tripped over something round and rubber.

"Oh-"

She didn't know how to react. All she knew was that in the coming seconds, she was about to be killed. All because of something horrendously stupid.

A ball.

It was a ball the dogs must have been using as a chew toy or a play thing. Sweetie fell onto her face, as the ball rolled right in front of it. Sweetie tried to scramble back up, but even she wasn't crazy enough to believe she'd actually get away. She was tackled down, by another dog. Sweetie didn't however let it get on her fully. Her reaction time was at its peak due to the amount of adrenaline coursing through her veins. She used the dog’s momentum to throw it off of her.

Sweetie got up and glanced over at the dog she somehow tossed to the side.

And ponies ask why I'm a more of a cat pony.

Still, Sweetie took note at how much more tangible they were when they attacked her. Perhaps that was something worth noting.

Sweetie ran sub-consciously grabbing the ball in her mouth as she racing to a new hiding spot behind another group of cages. Miraculously, the dogs lost sight of her, but they knew she was still around. They could still smell her.

Sweetie once again, found herself holding her breath, hoping that the dogs wouldn't find her new hiding spot. Still, it was only a matter of time before they did once again and if they got to her again, she probably wouldn't be as lucky as she just was.

Thankfully, Sweetie had a good feeling that she was getting close to the exit. After all, this room could only be so big, right?

But at the same time, she felt the air getting colder and colder, telling her she didn't have much time. There were more dogs approaching from somewhere. She couldn't risk another mess up like that, for she doubted she'd escape a second time if she was seen again. Sweetie spat out the ball in her mouth and held it in her two hooves. It was too dark to see the full details of the ball, but Sweetie knew, from the familiar rubber texture, and the bit of magic marker sticking out of the etched on letters of the ball, that it was her CMC ball. Did that mean that her other items could be close by?

That could come later though. For now she needed to figure out how to escape. Could she perhaps make a distraction using her ball?

Sweetie looked outside of her cover, and saw that her suspicions had been realized. At least three more dogs than before had revealed themselves. One of the ghost dogs was far off, by one of the stacks of cages. She aimed the ball and threw it with all of her might at the cage. Any dogs that were in the area perked up their ears at the sound. All of them ran for the cages to investigate the sound. Sweetie, still keeping her eyes on the dogs, sneaked off in the direction she hoped to be the exit.

To her relief, Sweetie found herself in front of a large double metal door. Sweetie creaked it open, and slipped through, closing it behind her. She leaned against the door and sighed.

"Alright... out of the dog house..."

She was more than relieved that at least she made it out alive. She felt slightly disappointed that she couldn't have escaped with her ball, but she could easily get a new one once she got out of there.

Sweetie, at the thought of her friends, once again felt depressed. She didn't cry, as she had used up her recent supply after escaping Applebloom.

Once she regained herself, remembering that feeling bad for herself for too long would only get herself killed, she thought about escaping. She never thought she'd be able to cross another ghost again without her GCD, but she'd just gotten out of a room full of them. Maybe there was still hope.

"Yeah... maybe I can still get through this." She just had to find her GCD, as long as Pinkie didn't really 'throw it away'. It was still the only way to truly save her friends. Hay, if she could find the ghost book, maybe it could tell her how to release Applebloom from whatever had possessed her.

Sweetie smiled. Things were horrible, but there was still some hope left. Hope that would keep her alive.

Sweetie got up and activated her flashlight. She found herself in front of a spiraling stairwell, heading up. Sweetie knew that Applebloom had possibly gone through here too, so she still had to remain cautious. She began to slowly ascend the stairway, bracing herself for whatever the mansion would throw at her next.

---

[Continue]

Comments

[Neko1Inu2Kitsune3]

Uh, just so you know, the Continue button at the bottom currently leads to the Game-Over choice for the same scenario (choice 10)

[Jdts7]

"I'm scared... I'm so scared... someone... help..."

.....some....ONE?!?!?!?

....it might have happened before already i just thought i'd point it out sorry

[Majora God of Chaos]

3490247
Well, she could be asking for help from anyone, not just a pony. They've used -one as a suffix in the show before, usually when referring to other races ("Griffon the Brush-off" and "The Cutie Pox" stand out in my mind as two that did) but it could also be a simple mistake, too.