Sweetie's Mansion

by Moon Shooter

Chapter 15- The Trickster's Trap

"She got another..." A voice said. It sounded familiar... way too familiar.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't expect the filly to... she shouldn't even be alive by now." This voice also sounded familiar, but not as much as the first one.

"I guess she's just really lucky." This third voice... she'd had also heard it before.

"Hmph. Let me take her on. She won't stand a chance against me..."

"No. I can't allow her to capture you."

"Dear, please. I won't get captured."

"We're letting Pinkamina deal with the filly."

"That rule bending mare? I'm not even sure she's on our side anymore. She's just playing with her!"

"That may be true, but it is her nature. If anything, she'll keep the kid occupied until dawn. She has potential to stop our plans."

"Oh, I beg to differ... in fact, I think we could use that filly. Especially if she manages to capture Pinkamina... yes, she's already been quite useful already."

"Darling, what could you mean?"

"Oh, you'll see soon enough, my dear Rarity.".....

***

Sweetie woke up in darkness. She couldn't see anything. Everything around her was pitch black. She felt along her back. Her GCD was gone. So were her saddlebags and flashlight. It was the kennel all over again, and Sweetie was beginning to feel nervous.

"No... where did that dumb catcher go?" Sweetie asked herself. Her fear turned into anger. "If Pinkie stole it again I'll-"

"You'll what Jumpie." Pinkie said, appearing in front of Sweetie, nearly giving her a heart attack. She floated upside-down as she looked at the filly.

"D-don't do that! You know I hate that!" Sweetie said. Pinkie just giggled in response. "What did you do with my ghost capturer? Why did you steal it again?"

"Oh, stole is such a harsh word Jumpie. I prefer the word... misplaced. It sounds a little nicer, don'tcha think?"

"Where is it." Sweetie asked angrily.

"Aw cool your hooves Jumpie. You're not even awake yet and you're already getting all uppity. I'm just flying around in your little head right now."

"A-awake?" Sweetie said out loud. It was true... the filly did remember blacking out when she caught Rainbow Dash. She must have been so weak that the bolt this time came closer to taking her life than ever. She must have passed out... or worse.

"You’re on the brink of death Jumpie. Think of this little mind world as the bridge between being dead, and living." Pinkie said happily.

"Y-you mean I'm dead?" Sweetie said nervously.

"No you silly filly... at least not yet. If you were dead, I couldn't play with your head and do this!" Pinkie said doing a loop in the air. "Still though, you'd probably be dead if some pony didn't help you out... but that would be against the rules, right?" She giggled, then stopped as her face went serious, and she went right side up. She wasn't pleased about something.

"... is... is something wrong?" Sweetie asked apprehensively.

"Yeah, actually. I'm disappointed in you." Pinkie said. If was definitely something bad, if she managed to disappoint Pinkie of all mares. "You broke the rules, and now you're going to have to face some consequences..."

"Huh? How?! What?!" Sweetie asked.

Pinkie's face turned back to a smile and she giggled again. Sweetie looked at the mare nervously. Was she joking again?

"That's the great thing about surprises Jumpie. You never know until you right in front of it! I'll let you find out for yourself when you wake up... if you wake up." Pinkie's giggle turned into a cackling laugh as she faded from Sweetie's sight. "I'll see you at the courtyard Jumpie! Don't keep me waiting..." And then she was gone. Suddenly, Sweetie saw a light in the distance... wasn't there a saying "not" to go to the light when you’re told you're dead or dying? Was this that light?

Sweetie waited for a moment in her spot, before realizing that the light was coming toward her... it was coming fast too. There was no way she could outrun it, so she didn't even bother. She got up, and walked to the light. As she got closer to the light, she heard faded voices. Not like the ones she heard when she first "woke up" but they were more... familiar. Yes, she definitely knew these new mares.

Then, Sweetie was blinded in a bright light...

***

"I think she's waking up now." said a muffled voice.

"Really? Oh thank Celestia. That's wonderful news!" said another, much softer muffled voice.

Sweetie groaned from the light. "Mmmm... just five more minutes..." she mumbled, semi-consciously.

"You sure she's alright Twi?" said another muffled voice. "I mean... she looked pretty bad even before I fought her..."

"She's breathing, and she seems to be regaining consciousness. Let's just be patient with her." The voice sounded less muffled the more Sweetie climbed back into consciousness. The light around the filly as she opened her eyes began to fade, and become more adjusted to the new found light. Sweetie felt pain, but it wasn't as intense as the pain she felt back outside on the eating area. Her body felt tingly, as though magic were running through it as she lie there. As more magic flowed through her, the pain became less and less. She even felt a little stronger.

After a few minutes of lying there, Sweetie decided to try and get back up. Unlike other times, it only took one time for the filly to roll over onto her front, and get back up on all fours. Her vision returned and she was faced with three friendly mares, who all smiled at her. They were Fluttershy, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash... Twilight must have printed her out while she was unconscious. As Twilight saw the filly was up now, she seized the flow of magic going into Sweetie's body from her horn. Did she use some kind of healing spell on her while she was out?

Their faces had expressions of relief, but at the same time worry. No one spoke, for they just stared at each other. Finally, after a few moments of silence, Rainbow spoke up.

"Well... look who's back from the dead, eh?" She tried to joke. Twilight nudged Rainbow hard. "Ow."

"Sweetie are you alright? Is there anything we can do for you?" Fluttershy asked softly.

Sweetie took a moment before processing Fluttershy's words, and shaking her head. "No... my Celestia, how long was I out?"

"Well... you were brought here around 30 minutes ago... so I'd say around 45 or so minutes." Twilight said.

"Brought here huh?... Who..." Then something went off in the filly's head.

You broke the rules...

Pinkie's rules. They were that no pony could help her out in the mansion. If someone brought her back that must have meant...

"Y-you left the safe zone... didn't you?" Sweetie asked. "DIDN'T YOU?!" The mares were quite shocked at the filly's outburst, but they were somewhat expectant of it.

"Sweetie, calm down." Twilight said.

"Wait a sec... where's Applejack?" Sweetie asked.

They were all silent. Only Fluttershy was the one, to point over to the corner, where the corpse of Applejack lie.

"Oh no... Applejack no..." Sweetie went over to the mare in the corner to further investigate her, afraid at the same time of what she'd learn. Applejack was bruised all over her body, creating black and blue splotches all over her naturally orange coat. There were cuts on her that seemed to be recently closed, as they had redness around them, along with a few small drops of blood that seeped out of a few. Her eyes, which one of were black and swollen, were closed and still.

"She... she isn't..." Sweetie turned back.

"Sweetie... she's still alive if that's what you're asking, but she's been out since she bought you back here." Twilight explained.

"Well help her!" Sweetie said. "She's barely breathing as it is!"

"Sweetie, I've been doing everything I could, but I'm no medical pony. I can only do so much when it comes to healing magic..." Twilight said.

"And I can't really do anything to help her without medical equipment." Fluttershy said.

Sweetie went over to the spirit printer, where she saw her GCD and saddlebags lying in front of it. Rather than picking the two items up, she kicked the printer out of frustration.

"Sweetie-"

"I told you not to leave!" Sweetie screamed at the top of her lungs. Anger filled her eyes.

"Hey kid! Cool it already. They already know going to get you was a stupid idea, but they did it alright?" Rainbow said. "Screaming about it like a little foal isn't going to help anyone."

"Why did you have to leave..." Sweetie mumbled to herself. She broke the rules... and now the mares had made her job even harder, and she wouldn't even know how until it was too late. She'd probably end up like Applejack... was she worried about herself more than Applejack? Was that why she felt so angry?

Ya always were only concerned 'bout yahself...

Sweetie's head hurt again. What was happening to her? Somehow, the words of her possessed friends were getting to the filly.

No wonder Rarity didn' love ya...

Sweetie's head begun to throb worse, as she grabbed her skull with her hooves. Was she... starting to believe them? And if so, why?

"We... we had ta git ya Sweetie."

Sweetie turned to Applejack, who's green eyes were open, and looking at the filly.

"Applejack... you're alright..." Sweetie said. Applejack tried to get up, but immediately fell down onto the safe room floor, and cried out in pain. The three other mares didn't waste any time in picking her back up.

"Applejack, you need to rest. You’re not well..." Fluttershy said.

"Ya think ah don't know that?" Applejack asked. "B'sides. Sweetie'll listen ta me. Ain't that right little filly?"

Sweetie gave no response, though the mare did have a point. Something about Applejack, of all mares besides Rarity, she'd almost always lend an ear to, and may even heed to her advice.

"Alri' just set me down over 'ere." Applejack said pointing to a wall. The mares did what she said, as they put her against the wall. "Alri' Sweetie. What d' ya want ta know?"

"Why did you go after me?" Sweetie asked.

"Cause ah... well, we, knew ya were in trouble... 'cause we 'eard a noise from back in th' dining hall. Somethin' crashin' down."

"The walkway..." Sweetie thought. She should have figured an entire balcony walkway crashing down would spark some kind of curiosity in the mares as it was so close to their location.

"Ah volunteered ta go n' investigate. All ah found was a bunch a burnin' wood n' ember. Ah knew that it had somethin' ta do witcha, and ah had a feelin' Twi n' Shy 'ere wouldn't agree with me if ah told 'em ah was goin' ta search for ya... ya know, not because they didn' want ta, but cause a yer little Pinkie problem... so ah went bah mahself, w'thout no one knowin. If ya gonna yell at some mare Sweetie, yell at me."

Sweetie didn't say a word. She certainly wasn't going to yell at the orange mare... she was even beginning to feel bad about yelling at Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow. "Applejack... what happened to you?"

"Well... ah knew ah had ta figure out how ta ya on th' next floor. Figured ya'd be on the seventh floor lil' Fluttershy said. Problem was, th' way ta th' foyer was blocked, so ah looked for a new way. Ah checked out the kitchen, and believe it or not, 'ere was a staircase ta th' led all th' way ta th' 4th floor. Ah took some hallway, tryin ta git to another staircase... dark as hay, it was, bu' ah managed ta see a little w'th some lighnin' help... then all of ah sudden, somethin' went across mah hoof, and somethin' else hard hit mah eye. It was still too dark ta really see it comin'. Gave me this 'ere." Applejack said, pointing to her black eye. "It was some kinda trap, I dunno. Ah figured some ghost must've set it up. Sweetie, the Mansion's filled with 'em now. Ya come across any yet?"

Sweetie shook her head. It must have been Pinkie who set them up, after she found out Applejack had broken the rules.

"There are all kinds a traps round 'ere. Ah found one when ah was on th' sixth floor, where it nearly carved me up lik' a turkey. Ah found another that almost crushed me lik' a pumpkin. Hay, one tried to break up the stairs under mah hooves lik' gram crackers. Ah'll tell ya, they're everywhere... n' ta top it all off, when ah was gittn' close ta ya, Pinkie decided ta pay me a littl' visit. She grabbed me up, and nearly froze me ta death... ah escaped though. Not sure how, but ah did, limpin away from 'er. That there ghost is crazy..."

You don't have to tell me. Sweetie thought.

"Ah found ya... but ah wasn't feelin' so hot, so ah hid wit' ya on mah back in ah little bathroom."

"That weird mirrored bathroom." Rainbow added.

"And... and you used my camera and the mirrors to get back?" Sweetie finished.

Applejack nodded. "Smart little filly. Yeah, Twi 'ere told me how ya were git'n back with that little thing us'n mirrors. Glad ya still had it on ya... doubt I woulda made it back w'thout it."

"You... shouldn't have gone after me." Sweetie thought. "You got really hurt out there-"

"Are you kidd'n Sweetie? Ah jus' got a scratch 'ere and there. Ah thought you were dead when ah found ya. Barely even breat'n when I saw ya lyin' there in there. Ahm not sure what woulda happened to ya if no one came for ya." Applejack responded. "Look, Sweetie... ah know ya ain't to fond a me comin, but ya can't do this bah yerself. Yer just a little-"

"I'm NOT a little filly!" Sweetie exclaimed. "And I have to do this by myself. It's the only way. Pinkie almost killed you... I have to play by the rules. If I don't, you'll all DIE! I have to do this by myself... I have to face Pinkie on my own... I have to..."

The room went silent. Sweetie felt dizzy again... she felt a little woosy from yelling and stumbled to the side.

"Sweetie... you're tired." Twilight concluded.

"What?" Sweetie said.

"Twi's right Sweetie. If you don't take a nap every now and again, you're not gonna even have a chance against Pinkie." Rainbow said. "Why don't you rest here before you go... and getting knocked out doesn't count. It only makes you more tired, trust me."

"I... I can't. I don't have any time to waste."

"Why?" Fluttershy asked.

Sweetie thought for a moment. She wasn't quite sure why she said that. The longer she was in the mansion, the more she kept thinking about time. She wasn't sure how much time she had left of it, and she wasn't sure what would happen once it was up. It was like time was important...

Morning...

"I... I don't know, but I know I can't waste it." Sweetie said. "It... it's something about morning..."

"Dawn?" Twilight asked. "What's happening at dawn?"

"I really want to know... but I think I know someone who might know the answer to that." Sweetie said.

Twilight seemed puzzled along with the rest of the mares. She couldn't imagine what the filly meant by "dawn"? Nothing abnormal was going to happen, besides the absence of the sun and moon. "Well... we can worry about the morning later. Right now, you need to rest." Twilight insisted.

"Yeah Sweetie. If ya ain't focused when ya fight Pinkie, ya won't have no chance." Applejack said.

Sweetie sighed. There was no arguing with the mares. Sweetie went over to her CMC blanket, and curled up inside of it. "Don't let me sleep too long. Ten minutes tops." She said... and she was asleep almost instantly.

***

The three fillies walked into the barn of Sweet Apple Acres. At the front of the pack was a very disappointed Applejack. Who wouldn't be angry if three little fillies tried to burn down a tree for most likely no good reason?

"Sit down." Applejack said to the three fillies, as she pointed three batches of hay. The three fillies obeyed the mare's order. The fillies took their spots, Scootaloo at the most right, Applebloom at the center, and Sweetie Belle on the left. Applejack glared at the fillies.

"Now, b'fore ah git into yer punishment, might ah ask what in sam-hay were ya thinkin?" Applejack asked.

The three fillies looked at each other, hoping one of the other would speak up for the group. As usual, Applebloom was the one to take the fall. She was always the one to take responsibility for the filly's actions, justified or otherwise. It was kind of an unspoken rule as her unspoken of leadership of the trio.

"Sis, it's mah fault..." Applebloom started. "Ah... ah wanted ta git rid o' that tree n' git that cat out a th' tree too... so..." Applebloom continued. Sweetie however wasn't completely listening to the filly as she spoke. All she looked at was the annoyance, irritation and anger in Applejack's eyes. She recalled something... Applebloom wasn't one to get in trouble with her big sis. Even so, with Applejack's mother and father gone, she was left in charge of her as a parental figure, much like Sweetie and Rarity... though their methods of punishment as parental figures were quite different. While Sweetie and Rarity only had a "slap on the wrist/ time out" punishment system, Applejack's involved a much more severe punishment; such ones including corporal punishment. Sweetie recalled around the time Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were first developing their Cuitie Mark Crusaders persona. She remembered something about Applebloom getting caught taking from the Apple family kitchen for their tree house. Sweetie wasn't sure what Applejack did to Applebloom, but she was in a terrible mood for the rest of the month, and it was just a little harder to get food for the clubhouse.

"Wait." Sweetie blurted out.

Every pony turned to Sweetie. She wasn't sure what she did... but she decided to keep going with it.

"It's... it's not really her fault AJ. It's... mine." Sweetie thought for a moment, then continued. She didn't want to lie to the mare... but stretching the truth didn't count.

"What are ya talkin 'bout filly?" Applejack asked.

"Well... Applebloom mentioned that she was going to cut the tree down eventually, and we needed to get Opal... who I chased her on accident, out of the tree. So... I thought it would be a good idea to burn it down. I mean, it would get rid of the tree, and Opal... well we thought she'd just jump out. We're sorry... but don't blame Applebloom or Scootaloo. I was the one who started it."

Applejack stared down the filly, trying to see if she was lying. Technically speaking however, she did say that it was a good idea... and everything else was the strait up truth. Applejack sighed.

"Ahm very disappointed in ya Sweetie. Ahm gonna have ta tell Rarity about this ya know." Applejack said.

Sweetie shakily nodded.

"Now y'all stay put. Yer not leavin this 'ere barn for the rest of the day. Got it?"

Scootaloo opened her mouth to say something, but Applebloom stopped her, as Applejack left the barn to tend to the filly's damages. When they were finally alone, Applebloom and Scootaloo turned to Sweetie.

"Ya know ya didn't have ta do that." Applebloom said.

"Well... that's what friends are for. I couldn't let Applebloom take all of the credit this time." Sweetie smiled. "Besides, I know how you get when you get in trouble with Applejack."

"Yeah. At least Rarity'll keep her flank intact. I doubt Applejack would let you off for... what's that thing called..." Scootaloo thought, looking for a word.

"I think it's called 'arson''" Sweetie said.

"What are you, a dictionary?" Scootaloo asked.

"Still, Thanks Sweetie." Applebloom...

***

Sweetie woke up from the memory. It was the first time in a while that she woke up without pain echoing through her body. She got up from the little sleeping mat she made from her cape, catching the mares attention.

"How long was I asleep?" Sweetie asked groggily.

"None of us were counting. I'd guess about... ten minutes." Rainbow responded.

"Sweetie, you could sleep for a little longer if you like..." Fluttershy said softly. Sweetie shook her head. She had a duty to fulfill.

"No. I gotta go now." Sweetie said as she stretched. She had to admit. The cat nap really made her feel better. At least her headache and irritability were gone...

Sweetie went for her saddlebags and her GCD. She was assisted in putting them on by Twilight, with her magic telekinesis. Once she was sure she had all of her equipment: camera, map, ghostbook, and journal; she mentioned to the mares held different information on the yields; Sweetie headed toward the door that lead out of the safe room.

"Hold up Sweetie." Rainbow said.

"What's wrong?" Sweetie asked.

Let me guess... "I'm sorry Sweetie for trying to kill you?" Sweetie thought. Sweetie expected another apology from the mare, not because she wanted one, but because it seemed to be the trend... but Rainbow had something else on her mind.

"Well, I know you're probably going to end up going against Scootaloo again, somewhere in the mansion." Rainbow said, "Do you know how to fight?"

"Huh?" Sweetie asked, somewhat caught off guard. "Well... I don't really fight Rainbow. I'm not a tough filly." Sweetie admitted. It wouldn't be the first time Sweetie was over powered by fillies just around her age range that night. "And I really don't want to fight Scootaloo or Applebloom, or even Spike."

"Look kid. I know you're not into fighting an all, but I've seen those fillies in action. They're gonna kill you if they get the chance... and from what I've seen from you, I'm almost sure you'd let them."

Sweetie didn't say anything, because Rainbow did have a point. She probably would have let Scootaloo kill her if her adrenaline wasn't pumping so much, and Scootaloo didn't put more effort into pinning her down. Sweetie probably wouldn't get such a chance like before to escape, so she'd have to defend herself from getting pinned down like that again... but the simple thought of hurting her friends, or any pony for that matter, made her shudder.

Rainbow saw the apprehensiveness of fighting in her eyes. "Sweetie. I know you don't want to, but if you're put into a corner, sometimes you just don't have a choice but to fight your way out... tell you what, I'll give you some tips on how to fight, without really hurting anyone." Rainbow said. "It'll at least keep them off of you, you know?"

With that, Rainbow gave Sweetie a brief lesson on combat. The mare basically told her about single hoof blocking, for when Sweetie is on her hooves, double hoof blocking, when she's on her back and needs to block, and light side jabbing. It wasn't in depth, as Sweetie didn't have time to waste. The lesson lasted about 15 minutes, as the other mares watched as Sweetie learned the basics of hoof to hoof combat. Sweetie didn't show much progress by the end, as she practice spared with Rainbow... but she did improve by a bit.

Apart of Rainbow was a little disappointed in the filly's lack of progress, but she was pleased she got a little better in the small window of time. "Good enough." she sighed. After a moment of silence, Sweetie spoke to the mare.

"...you too huh?" Sweetie said finally. During the brief fighting lesson, Sweetie noticed that just like the other mares in the room, her cutie mark was missing. Rainbow followed Sweetie's eyes to her own flank, and sighed again.

"Yeah... but Twi's got it under control, right?" Rainbow said.

"Huh?" Twilight said. She seemed to have been deep in thought during the minutes that passed by. "Oh, right... yeah, I'm sure I'll figure out what happened... oh, and Sweetie?"

"Yes Twilight?" Sweetie asked.

"I... I don't want to rush you... but please hurry back with Pinkie."

"Of course!" Sweetie thought for a moment, before hearing the worry in Twilight's voice. It was... different somehow. "Why? Is there something wrong?"

"I just remembered something... I think our talents are fading."

All three of the mares in the room looked at Twilight at the new news. Applejack just faintly looked up at Twilight, also visibly shocked by the development.

"What do you mean Twilight?" Fluttershy asked.

"I mean, I could be wrong... Celestia I hope I'm wrong... but there's another reason why I didn't heal Applejack completely." Twilight explained. "I... I think my magic talents are leaving me, and I'm trying to figure out if the same could happen to everyone else."

"That's crazy Twi! You told me we couldn't loose our talents because they were apart of us!" Rainbow argued.

"I know what I said, and I know it's crazy... but the point is, I could be losing my control over magic, and without that..."

"...ya can't brin' any ponies out of th' portraits." Applejack concluded.

Twilight nodded her head and bowed it. "Sweetie... I know we've asked a lot of you already... but..."

Sweetie understood. She walked to the door, as Twilight used her magic to open it. "I'll be back within the hour guys. Don't worry." Sweetie assured. "I'll have caught Pinkie and brought her back before you knew it."

"You got this Sweetie." Rainbow said.

"Thanks." Sweetie said, before the filly left the safe room, and the door shut. The mares heard her hoof steps outside fade away... and then she was gone. Rainbow went over to one of the walls and punched it angrily.

"Why?!" She said angrily. "Why can't we do anything?!" The idea of letting the weak filly back out into the mansion alone ate her up since Twilight resurrected her from the portrait. Rainbow wasn't sure which stung more: being unable to assist Sweetie, maybe even take her place, or feeling so weak and helpless in their situation. "Why can't we help her?!"

"Rainbow... we can only do what we can." Fluttershy said, trying to calm Rainbow. Fluttershy tried to put a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder, however Rainbow shook her off.

"Rainbow-" Fluttershy said.

"I tried to kill her, and all she did was save me. I haven't gotten anything to give back to her but some fighting tips she can barely even use... why can't I do more?"

"Rainbow." Applejack called from the corner. "Maybe ya can't do ev'ry thin' ta help... but ya can do what ya can. Sweetie's doin' far more than a filly shou' and ya see what it's doin' ta her head... ya can't beat yahself over thin's lik' that. The filly needs all th' support she can git now... It's all we can give her... and each other. Now ain't th' time ta be worryin about how much help who can give who, ya hear. All we can do, is what we can." Applejack said.

"I just wish I could do more." Rainbow said.

"We all do." Applejack said.

The safe room was then silent for a long time, before Twilight went to see if she couldn't help out Applejack's wounds any more...

***

Alright... I'm headed for the courtyard. Pinkie said she'd be there... hopefully it's not another one of her tricks... Sweetie thought. Sweetie made it to the top of the stairs and headed out the door that led to the dining hall. Alright, now all that's left is to get to the foyer and find a hall to the-

Sweetie stopped, as she was given a rude reminder of the current situation. She saw the glowing pieces of ember wood from the walkway she escaped from Spike on. Some of the embers glowed green from the dragon's flames, while others glowed orange from pure heat. It was like some kind of crude artistic light show in the debris that ultimately blocked Sweetie's path to the foyer. The filly was blocked off from the hub she'd used to get around the mansion. According to her map, it should have had hallways that led to all parts of the mansion... now she'd have to figure out another way to get to the courtyard.

Then, Sweetie remembered something Applejack mentioned. She said something about a staircase that led to the fourth floor in the kitchen. Sweetie took out her map to confirm this. Sure enough, a door showed up in the kitchen on the map with red ink. Next to it, written in the same color was the number four, next to an arrow that pointed up. According to the map, that was the only other exit from the dining hall that wasn't blocked by the hot orange and green debris.

Sweetie put her map back into her saddlebags and walked to the entrance of the kitchen on the other side of the dining hall. She stood in front, then hesitated. The last time she'd entered that room, she was put under the influence of the mansion and Twilight's mind dive. The last thing Sweetie needed was to be manipulated again... but Twilight was caught right? That meant that the kitchen was safe, right?

Sweetie opened the door, and went into the kitchen. The lack of chill in the kitchen from before invited the filly to venture further in. The kitchen was the same as when she first entered, with shelves along the walls and center of the obnoxiously long kitchen. The kitchen looked as old and forgotten as she remembered, complimenting the rest of the mansion with the white sheets that blanketed some of the shelving. As Sweetie walked further and further into the kitchen, she found herself frequently checking her map to see how much longer she had before she'd reach the staircase. Once she was halfway there, the filly smelled something... something rotten. She followed it to one of the stoves. On top was a cookie tray, with apples... were these the apples that Sweetie saw earlier? What she remembered as freshly made, and pleasant to the eye, now looked mushy and sickening. Did Twilight make her see the rotten apples as Pinkie's Sweetie Apple Surprise?

Glad I didn't eat those... Sweetie thought as she continued to walk.

Finally, Sweetie made it to the stairway, which escalated behind a door. Sweetie opened the door and shined her flashlight into the thick darkness of the staircase. It was very narrow, possibly one stairway that was only used for emergencies. The walls were very close together, making the stairway a claustrophobic pony's worst nightmare. The thickness and chill of the darkness didn't help in the slightest. Sweetie couldn't help but get a bad feeling from the staircase, and knowing to heed to her gut's warnings, she proceed up the steps with caution.

The climb started slow and steady, however as Sweetie climbed, she felt less of a need to be cautious and picked up the pace. It wasn't as if being any slower was going to help her, right? She figured she was about halfway up the stairs after a while. By now, the filly was starting to feel the cramped staircase start to get to her. Maybe she was starting to get a little claustrophobic herself. As she continued to push herself up the stairs, she hit a step. All of the steps she hit so far let out a creek, which the filly had grown used to by now... but not this one. This one let out a click, as though something had been switched.

Suddenly, Sweetie heard something at the top of the stairs fall. Next, she heard the sound of it banging down the stairs, headed straight for her. Sweetie didn't know what it was, but she didn't need to, in order to hightail her flank back down the stairs. As she ran, she missed a step and tumbled down a few steps, dropping her flashlight on a step. The filly didn't dare stop for the light source as she sped back down the stairs. She ran down, tumbling over several times in the darkness only to miraculously regain her hoof traction on the steps to continue running. It was amazing that Applejack's hat remained on her head when she flipped down the stairs like some circus performer. The thing falling from the top of the stairs was faster than her, and she doubted she'd be able to beat it. She ran, her heart beating as the thing came closer. She wasn't sure how close she was to the bottom of the steps. It almost felt like there was no end to the steps without her light. She just kept running, hoping she'd eventually hit level ground.

Finally, the steps stopped, and Sweetie assumed she was back in the kitchen. She got out of the way of the path of the hallway, as she heard the thing crash down. It was the sound of wood and various pieces of metal hitting one of the counters in the kitchen. The filly panted for breath, as she saw her flashlight lazily roll down the stairs into the kitchen. She picked it up and shined it where she heard the sound come from. What she saw, were pieces of what she assumed to be a wooden broken barrel. Sticking out of the pieces of wood, and the pieces of barrel that were still intact were knives. If the filly hadn't made it down in time, the barrel would have rolled over her, and ripped her up.

This must be one of the traps Applejack was talking about. I gotta be more careful. There's bound to be more somewhere around here. Sweetie thought. ... wait a sec... didn't Applejack come through here already? She didn't mention a trap like this... was this just set up? Did... did Pinkie set this trap up for me to fall into? Sweetie shook her head. Applejack must have missed the trap, maybe climbed over the step that triggered it. The pink mare wasn't trying to kill her yet... right?

Sweetie climbed back up the stairs, this time her caution with her the whole time. Finally, she made it to the top, and entered a new hallway.

Ok... where do I go from here? Sweetie took out her map and checked her location. According to it, she was around the center of the mansion. To her left would be a dead end, giving her no other immediate directional options but right. If she followed the hallway there, she would eventually find a staircase to the foyer, and the other floors of the mansion. If she kept going, she'd find herself in a hallway that had rooms stretching around the perimeter of the mansion. She could probably find a way to the courtyard that way, but the filly figured it would be easier to take a foyer route.

Sweetie walked down the hallway, thinking about how she could possibly catch Pinkie Pie. The book said she'd need to want to be captured... but how do you convince a ghost to want to be captured? Maybe... maybe she could get Pinkie in the same way she got Rainbow Dash, using memories to strengthen her will? It probably wouldn't be so easy. Sweetie couldn't think of what she could show Pinkie to wake her up... after all, neither Applejack's hat, nor herself had sparked anything visible in the mare's mind. She was also sure that none of her possessed friends would have an effect on her either. There had to be a way though... there always was a way.

After a while, Sweetie was beginning to get close to the stairway. As she did, she noticed something as she shined her light on the ground. It was a shiny thread, next to a small mallet. The edge of the mallet's face was stained red with droplets of blood. Was this what hit Applejack in the darkness? Ouch... Sweetie said covering one eye. She couldn't imagine how painful it must have been for that to have been delivered to a pony's eye. Sweetie shined her light forward, following the thread to a spring mechanism sticking out of the floor in the center of the hallway. It sat to its side, the spring released, rendering the device useless. Least I don't have to worry about a trap like that. Sweetie hoped. As much as she hated to think that way, she hoped Applejack had already set off the rest of the traps along her route.

Sweetie continued down the hallway until she reached the new stairwell that connected the fourth floor to the other parts of the mansion... but something stopped Sweetie from descending down to the foyer. The stairs were gone.

"You've gotta be kidding me..." Sweetie said as she shined her light around the doorway to the staircase. The planks that made up the main foundation of the stairs were along the sides of the wall, hanging by some chain that Sweetie assumed to have pulled them out. The other parts of the stairs were probably debris lying at the bottom of the stairwell. Was this another trap set by Pinkie? One that Applejack set of and miraculously escaped? It seemed possible, as any pony that was on the stairs at the time they broke would have fallen 4 stories, or more if the stairwell led to the basement, to their death. Sweetie backed up from the stairwell doorway, and put her flank up against the wall. She bowed her head and sighed. Guess I'm not going that way. Gotta be another way around to the courtyard...

Sweetie took out her map and checked her location. She still had the path around the perimeter of the mansion. It was longer path, but it would take her around to another staircase, down a few floors, through a few hallways, and eventually she'd find her way to the theater lobby. It was a bit of a hassle, but it would get her where she needed to go. All she could hope was that there weren't any ghosts along the way. Sweetie assumed she was finished with traps, as Pinkie probably set them up for any mare who tried to go after the filly on her hunt for Rainbow Dash. Pinkie wouldn't have made any traps off that path. She didn't want to kill the filly yet... right? That was the only other reasoning the filly could use to convince herself to continue walking down the pitch black hallway.

After a while, the filly made it down to the end of the hallway, and turned left, which according to the map, would eventually take her down the staircase she was looking for. She turned... but something new stopped her. It wasn't anything she saw, or heard, but what she smelled and felt. Once she was in the new hallway, she smelled something funny in the air... vaguely familiar that reminded Sweetie of Rarity. She also felt something wet on the floor, as though some of the rain had gotten in. Out of curiosity, and against better judgment, Sweetie bent down to taste the substance on the floor. Once Sweetie stuck her tongue on the ground, it quickly shot back into her mouth, disgusted by the taste of the substance... but she was sure of what it was. Alcohol.

Sweetie, being such a young filly, wasn't nearly old enough to drink, but that didn't stop her from once trying the beverage. Rarity always had a stock of some of Canterlot's finest wines, for every time she was visited by celebrity ponies to look at her dresses and designs. Sweetie remembered her curiosity getting the best of her as she tried the drink against Rarity's wishes. At the time, all she knew was that it was supposedly like grape juice, so her and her friends gave it a try. They all rejected the drink's bitter taste and were scolded on having it. To this day, Sweetie could never figure out how mares and stallions could stomach the beverage. The stuff she tasted on the floor was exactly like that, only it didn't have the same vague sweetness of wine. It was strait alcohol... why in hay was it poured on the ground like now?

The filly kept moving forward, careful not to let herself slip on the liquid... then a realization struck the filly. This was alcohol... what did alcohol do besides taste bad? She remembered something she learned in Cheerelee's chemist's class. Something about alcohol and fire... it was flammable. Sweetie made her realization a little too late, as she felt her horn cross a thin thread and heard a click.

From both in front and behind the filly, she heard the sounds of matches being struck. She didn't look back as she watched the match in front of her strike in the darkness. Time seemed to slow down for a few moments, as the filly watched as the lit match fell to the ground. The fear she felt during those few seconds made her almost forget to clench her teeth to keep the flashlight in her mouth.

The match hit the ground and the hallway was set ablaze. Sweetie turned around to see that the path behind her was also now blocked by a wall of flames. She was trapped between the two fires as they closed in towards her. Sweetie panicked, knowing she needed to find a way out of the hall before she was cooked herself. The fact her hooves were soaked with the flammable substance didn't help. Sweetie looked desperately around as the hallway filled with smoke. She then noticed a door at to her right. She went for the knob. Please for the love of Celestia, be open! The knob turned, and she escaped into the room, before slamming it shut.

Sweetie panted for breath in the dark room, as she heard the fire crackle and grow in the hallway. "Of course... It's never that easy..." It's now Sweetie comes to a new realization. She was safe now... but she was also trapped. The only exit to the rest of the room... was the hallway that was on fire, and she couldn't risk going back out there... especially with her alcohol soggy hooves. Great... now where do I go?

Lightning flashes in the room, illuminating it for a moment. The first thing Sweetie notices is what's around the room. It's another bed room, but it's not like the others that looked to be Madame's... these walls were green with a blue carpet. The bed was obnoxiously large... probably one of the largest one's she's seen in the mansion. Could this be one of Specter's rooms? At the edge of the bed, Sweetie saw a journal page. She picked it up and started to read. It was dated a little earlier than the other writings... it seemed to be written earlier than the others.

November 2nd 845 A.C

Ms. Daisy... my little Sunflower and I have been dating for a few months now. At this point, I'm almost ready to ask her to marry... but there's just one thing I'm concerned about, and that's her meticulous curiosity. I've managed to keep her ignorant of the parts of the mansion I want to keep from her, but she always has questions... Like for example, our cutie marks. Today, she asked me about mine... I suppose now that we're getting used to each other's company, the shyness stages are long gone letting us dive into each other's personal matters... she claimed she couldn't tell what it was for the life of her, as she shouldn't have been able to. That led to her even asking about my profession, and how I've managed to gain my excessive fortune. Hmph... I've always side stepped the question which has sparked much suspicion in her. She's even come up with her own theories, like I was a part of some pony mob conspiracy... at least that's what Spiffy told me she'd discussed with the stallion. The mare is incredibly smart... even the blinding love we share can't shroud her suspicions of me. I haven't touched any of her journal pages, as we've agreed on, but I'm almost positive that she's starting to doubt me... so to end it, I had to tell her a bit of a lie... at least I'm sure she thinks it's a lie, but I suppose it's not completely true to begin with. When she asked about my cutie mark, I sat her down, with Spiffy for back up. I told her I lost it. I've told her my family owned a place in the wilderness catacombs outside of Stabletown where they tested different magical spells... and I told her that one spell went wrong and POOF... no more cutie mark. Spiffy was the only one to confirm this lie as truth for Sunflower... but she's smarter than that. She knew I wasn't completely beyond lying to her, and that Spiffy, my most loyal companion, would back up such a lie. I knew she wanted the real story... but I couldn't tell her yet... so I asked her about her cutie mark. I must have still had a piece of that paranoia of doing something to make the mare hate me, because for all the time I've been with her, I've barely given her flank a second glance. It was a flame... so I asked her about it. She said it was her talent as candle lighter at her grandmother's floral shop down on Rudder Street around the Stabletown town square... the funny thing was, that she didn't get her cutie mark by exactly lighting a few candles... quite the opposite actually... but then again, cutie mark stories are rarely that simple. No, she said that she started a fire by mistake as a filly... almost burned down the entire block, she said. I remember hearing about that little fiasco, but never paid much attention to it because of how quickly it was resolved... thanks to her. They didn't know what it was, but when the fire fighter ponies came, and they couldn't tame the flames... when the little filly came along, with her little bucket and pale, she seemed to put out more fires than them. From what she said, it was a real phenomenon... as though the flames would obey her, and only her. To be honest, I questioned if she had some psychokinetic abilities. She giggled, showing that I was on her good side again. She said she used some ponies thought the same thing, but secretively, she learned a few spells to manipulate flames. Still though, it's amazing that a little filly could pull of such a feat with simple fire spells. She said that once the flames died down enough for the fire fighters to take care of the rest, she found her cutie mark on the side of her flank. Though the rest of her family had some kind of flower cutie mark, she stood out with her little flame. Some of her family looked at the mare in awe for standing out, while others looked at her in disappointment, wondering if she was going to be able to carry on the Daisy florist name. The only one who was unchanged by this new development was her grandmother, who suffered from dementia and barely remembered who the filly was. She became like an only real family member to the filly... the story vaguely reminded me of Spiffy and I... after that, I'm sure we're done talking about cutie marks. I think she's finally gotten over not knowing my profession... at least I hope she has, for her own good.

So... he lost his cutie mark? Sweetie remembered meeting the stallion earlier that night, and the brown splotch she saw where his cutie mark was supposed to be. But... that mark... shouldn't it be blank like my friends? What the hay is going on... and Madame's power... Sweetie seemed to have more and more questions for the ghost mare who seemed to be on her side. Rather than getting any answers, she was just getting more and more confused than before. Nothing was making sense... who the hay was Specter anyway?

Sweetie placed her newest page inside of the journal, and turned her attention to the other item that had gained her interest. She shined her light at the window into the outside darkness. Could it be her ticket out of the room? It was one of those windows that opened up like a door on the left and right. Outside of the window, Sweetie's light shined on a few old withed flowers that sat on the perch sticking out. Worth a look...

Sweetie tried to open the window, but it seemed to be locked. Thankfully, she didn't need another key to open it. She turned a lock next to a small knob at the center of the window door. She opened it up, and carefully climbed up and out onto the perch. From what she could tell, the rain and wind had died down significantly. All she felt was a light mist of water in the air, and the air moved a little short from still. The thunder boomed faintly in the distance as the storm was continuing to die. Mistakenly, she pushed over a flower pot, which fell over the perch. She listened for a few seconds before she finally heard it hit the ground in the darkness.

"Looks like a long fall..." Sweetie gulped. She shook the fear from her body and looked around. Was there anything she could use to get around here? She shined her light to the left and saw that there were thick plants, vines and weeds growing along the side of the mansion. Maybe she could climb along the vegetation to the next window?

No... that's stupid! Sweetie thought. It was too risky. All she would need is to grab a bad root, or vine, and she'd fall to her death... but as she looked back into the room, she saw her options were weighing thin. The fire was starting to burn down the door, and eventually into the room. It was spreading rapidly, and Sweetie realized she didn't have much of a choice anymore. Sweetie shined her light back onto the vines, and took a deep breath. She clenched the flashlight in her maw firmly between her upper and lower teeth, and reached for one of the ivy green vines. She yanked on it to test its strength. It wasn't comfortably strong, but it seemed like it would hold the filly's weight. She took a hold firmly on the vine, and swung herself onto the wall. She used all of her legs to stay hooked on the wall, as she wasn't a pony trained in climbing anything like this. She tried to raise her confidence by remembering how she managed to climb out of the fire in the theater... but that only reminded her how flammable she was now. And plus, that was a rope she could shimmy up... not a near flat surface like the vines growing.

Sweetie took another deep breath through the flashlight, and started to move along the wall. Her hooves moved along the walls, as she started to gain a little speed to her climb. She was getting better and better the farther she went, and was beginning to feel a little more confident that she'd make it out of this alive. Finally, the vines stopped. This must have been the window to the next room. She carefully placed her hind legs onto the window perch, and eventually her fore legs. She tried to open the window... but there was a problem.,, two actually. The first problem was that the fire was still at that part of the hallway, as she saw the fire burning through that door as well. She couldn't use the room to escape even if she wanted to. The second problem was that the window was locked.

Great... just great... Sweetie thought. It was now Sweetie had come to a new realization: the window she first came out of was originally locked... did that mean that the other windows were also locked too? Had Sweetie just locked herself out of the mansion? Sweetie thought of going back to the window and waiting for the fire to die back down, but she knew she didn't have time. It wasn't just that gut feeling either, but if Twilight was right, she would need to get her friends caught before her powers became too weak. She had to keep moving forward. There had to be another way back into the mansion...

Sweetie continued her climb along the wall, resisting the urge to look down into the darkness. She clenched her flashlight tighter and tighter, afraid of being stuck, defenseless in the darkness if she were to drop it. Sweetie must have crossed seven or eight windows as she climbed. Finally, she was starting to get tired as she started to feel the burn in her filly muscles. On her ninth window, she decided to take a rest. The filly sat on the perch taking breaths, wondering how much longer she had to keep going. She checked the window she was sitting against. Of course, it was also locked, and the fire was still burning through the door... but it seemed a little fainter. Did that mean she was closing in on where the fire stopped? Sweetie supposed it wouldn't matter if she couldn't get into one of the rooms in the first place.

Sweetie went into her saddlebags for her map and decided to check out her location. She wondered how far down the hall she was... she shined her light on the piece of parchment... it had a big question mark on it. Sweetie was a little annoyed with the map, but supposed that the outside of the mansion was just another place she couldn't use the map.

She was about to put her map back into her saddlebags, when suddenly, the map was snatched from her hands. Something zoomed past her, nearly scaring the filly off of the ledge. Sweetie dropped her flashlight out of her maw, but caught it with her hoof by the end.

"Who-" Sweetie called out into the darkness.

"Well if it isn't my favorite little loser... Dumb Belle." came the familiar voice of a griffon.

Gilda... Sweetie thought. She shined her light around in the darkness, desperately trying to find out where the voice was coming from. Lightning flashed, and Sweetie saw the griffon, hovering about 10 yards from the filly. She must have thawed like Pinkie said she would.

"W-what do you want Gilda?" Sweetie asked the griffon, shining her light in the direction she saw the griffon when the light flashed.

"What do you think? To finish what I started, are you that dull?" Gilda asked.

"Why do you want me dead so badly?"

"What's it to you?" Gilda asked.

"W-well, if you're going to kill me, at least tell me why. I mean, you're not dead... or possessed, right?"

Gilda laughed. "I'm too cool to be touched by one of those stupid specters."

"Then why?"

"At first, it was Specter's order." Gilda said. She then grinned at the filly. "But since you tried to turn me into a grifcickle, I think this little kill will be just for fun. Just for me."

She's taking orders from Specter? Why? She doesn't seem like the type, so what for? What's the connection? Sweetie thought. Sweetie watched as she saw statues start to float up... but they weren't just griffons this time. Accompanied by them was the statue of a dragon, with the same menacing yellow eyes as the other statues. It was a grown dragon, unlike Spike, having a longer, much more snake like body. Sweetie briefly thought of a similar dragon that plagued Ponyville...

Sweetie didn't hesitate any longer to start climbing for her life. She jumped onto the wall, just as a griffon tried to ram into her, and ended up crashing into the window. The dragon however, rather than trying to grab or fly into the filly, it shot a fire ball, much like Spike's only orange. The first shot missed the filly, but still did damage. The vines along the wall started to catch on fire, and burn in all directions, including the direction of Sweetie. She felt the vines weakening as the knots that kept the vines firm begun to thin out. None the less, she kept her climb up, not daring to slow down for any cautions. She hoped to at least make it to the next window perch which felt like it was miles away in the intensified situation...

Finally, one of the vines Sweetie was on gave, falling from the wall. Sweetie screamed, as she thought she was going to fall to her death... but she held on firm to the loose vine, as it hung lazily from the rest of the vegetation network. She pulled herself back onto the wall of vines and continued her climb. She wasn't sure how much longer she'd last. A second griffon crashed right next to her, barely hitting and crushing the filly. The shock wave of the impact shook her off of the wall, and she fell for a moment before grabbing onto the vine wall before she fell too far.

C'mon Sweetie! Keep going! Keep going! Sweetie said to herself as she climbed back up higher on the wall to her original path and kept going. By now, the wall was lit up by the dragon's flames, the orange tongues of the fire barely missing the filly. Sweetie's muscles ached from the climbing, and was sure they'd give out if she didn't rest them anytime soon. The situation seemed hopeless. She was surrounded, and had no way of escaping Gilda and her army of statues. Finally however, Sweetie made it to the next window perch, which she virtually dropped onto, nearly breaking the platform with her sudden weight and impact. As she sat on the perch, she wanted to keep going, but her muscles wouldn't respond... then, out of the darkness, a griffon statue crashed into her. "AH!" Sweetie yelled out in pain. It hit her with so much force; the statue sent her crashing through the window and into the room.

Glass shards lied around the filly, along with stone fragments of the broken statue. The statue hit the filly, but it didn't have a good aim or hold on her. It pushed her through the window, but also slipped under her and went straight for the wall at the back of the room. If the griffon had crashed into Sweetie any higher on her body, she would have been in more pieces than the statue. Even so, the stone griffon did its damage, as Sweetie moaned in pain on the ground around the shards.

Get up... Get up... Sweetie coached herself. She moaned in pain as she got back up onto her hooves. She looked at the exit of the room... it wasn't flaming, which meant that the fire must have stopped further back down the hallway. All things considered... that worked out better than I thought... she thought optimistically. Her optimism quickly diminished when she heard the angry screeching caw of Gilda. She may have made it into the room, but she still had a crazy bird on her flank. Sweetie made for the door and exited into the hallway, slamming the door behind her.

From what Sweetie remembered from the map, she figured that this was the corner hallway that turned down closer to the courtyard. To her left, she could see the fire still burning brightly, but spreading slower without the aid of more alcohol. To her front, she saw the next hallway. More traps? Come on! Sweetie thought. The new hallway was filled with various bear traps, randomly scattered down the hallway. Sweetie knew that one wrong step, and she could lose a leg. She had to be careful... she looked back as she heard the sound of the griffon, and her gang of statues enter the room. She knew she didn't exactly have the luxury to be slow and careful at this point. Sweetie saw a lock button on the knob of the door and pressed it. That would hold her pursuers for a couple minutes, if she was lucky. With that, Sweetie proceeded to move down the bear trapped hallway.

Sweetie shined her light at the ground, making sure to step in between the bear traps, and not on the mechanisms that would activate them. Where the hay did she get these things anyway? Sweetie wondered, both fearful and slightly annoyed with the number of bear traps. Sweetie barely made it a few yards down the hallway before she started to hear Gilda trying to bust down the door.

"You think this can hold me Dumb Belle? You don't know what kind of awesome you're dealing with here." Gilda said from behind the door.

I don't have time for these traps! She's going to bust through that door any second now! Sweetie wasn't going to make it through the hallway in time. She had to find somewhere to hide. The closest door she saw was one with the little etching of a ghost on it. Sweetie moved past the bear traps guarding the door, and silently slipped inside. As she did, she heard Gilda and her statues finally break down the door.

"Huh... that dweebish ghost Pinkie must have set these up... but where the heck did Dumb Belle go? Search every room! She couldn't have gotten far!" Gilda ordered her statues. Sweetie wasn't out of the heat yet. She still had to hide in the room. Sweetie desperately shined her light around the room, and saw a closet at the back. Sweetie moved back silently to the closet, and hid inside, closing the door to a crack. She then turned her light out, causing her to be once again surrounded in darkness.

"Find her! Find her and kill her!" Gilda said.

It was silent for a few minutes. Sweetie didn't hear anything outside, nor did she expect to. She could see them hovering above traps, rather than trying to traverse them like her to look for the filly. She only wished she could tell where the hay they-

The door slammed open, making the filly jump and almost blowing her cover. She saw two yellow eyes in the darkness, and small flames flailing up briefly below the eyes. Sweetie assumed that it was the dragon. She held her breath, knowing the dragon's ear could probably pick up on her light breaths. It looked around the room, every move it made giving off the sound of stone against stone. It seemed to sense her presence, but couldn't decide where the filly was.

Just when the filly was sure the stone dragon would float over to the closet, open it, and light her like a candle, it floated out. It left the door ajar which allowed Sweetie to hear what was going on outside in the hallway. She heard the light sound of wings flapping, and more stone. The minutes that crawled by as Sweetie stayed hidden in the closet felt like an eternity, but Sweetie wouldn't move until she was sure that she was safe. Finally, her freedom to leave came with the harsh sounding voice of the griffon.

"Regroup you slackers!" Gilda called out to the statues. Sweetie heard as the clunky statues moved to where Gilda's voice was coming from. "She must have gotten farther down the hall than we thought... doesn't matter though. She isn't gonna get far without this." Sweetie then heard the sound of paper being ripped up. It had to have been her map... now how was she supposed to find the courtyard? Let alone anywhere else around the mansion. "Split up to the rest of the mansions. If you find her, catch her, or kill her. Don't mess this up." The statues flew off into several directions, followed by Gilda, who let out a screech before leaving the area. Then, it was silent again. Sweetie sighed... another close call.

Sweetie came out of the closet and shined her flashlight around. It was yet another bedroom, with similar furniture and color patterns as the ones she'd been in previously... the only difference however, was that the already large bed was a little bit bigger than the king she saw in the other room. She wondered why...

Sweetie's attention turned to a music box that sat on top of the wooden dresser. It depicted who Sweetie assumed to be Specter and Madame. They were close together on the stand of the music box, kissing. Specter wore a tuxedo, and Madame wore a white dress... was this some kind of wedding gift? At the base of the music box was a small note, hand written.

To the lovely couple of Yields,

Remember to go back to a time of happier days. Those memories will last you a lifetime...
Sincerely,
-----------------

The name's ink was smudged out. Sweetie wondered why? Out of curiosity of what the tune was, Sweetie decided to wind up the music box... but there was a problem. It wouldn't turn. No matter how hard Sweetie turned to the right, she couldn't seem to get the music box key to twist.

"Come on, you dumb box..." Sweetie said. Then she had an idea... what if she turned it backwards? As Sweetie turned the key counter-clockwise, she heard the clicking inside of the music box winding. When it winded completely, she let go to listen to the tune. It didn't make any sense. The music box just seemed to be playing random notes that didn't sound good... but they also sounded a little warped... as if the music box were being played backwards.

Once the tune stopped, the music box key shot out of the player, and hit Sweetie right between the eyes.

"OW!" Sweetie yelped. She rubbed the spot where the key hit painfully, and looked down at the shiny metal music key. Should she pick it up? "...why not?" Sweetie figured as she picked up the key and placed into a pouch in her saddlebags. Since there wasn't anything left of interest in the room, she saw her only option was to head back out into the hallway to at least try and guess her way to the courtyard. As she was about to leave, she heard something.

It was the music box... it was starting to play again, but this time, it was easier to see a tune inside of the notes played. Suddenly, Sweetie's environment seemed to go a shade lighter. It was disorienting, but Sweetie managed to keep her head.

Sweetie turned around to see if anything else in the room had changed... and sure enough there were now two glowing ponies, mare and a stallion lying together in the bed. It didn't take long for Sweetie to realize that they were Specter and Madame... and Sweetie couldn't put her finger on it, but something about all of this seemed familiar.

The mare and stallion opened their eyes, and got out of the bed. Rather than walking normally toward the filly, they started to walk backwards together, back into the hallway. Realizing they wouldn't answer the filly if she tried to get their attention, Sweetie followed them back into the hallway. When she came out, the bear traps were still there, but the rest of the hallway had changed completely. It was fully lit, and showed every detail of the new, well-kept mansion. The walls were tan, with a wooden baseboard. The candles illuminated the hall, making it much easier to see without her flashlight, which she put away. Sweetie knew better than to question the mansion anymore, and focused on getting around the bear traps to continue following the apparitions she was seeing.

Thankfully, the two ponies kept together and moved extremely slowly, allowing Sweetie to follow while staying careful. The two seemed solely focused on each other, lost as they looked lovingly into each other's colored eyes, not really caring where they were going... or where they were coming from? Sweetie wondered... could they be moving backwards because they were rewinding like the music box?

She finally made it past all of the bear traps and found them heading down a flight of stairs. Sweetie followed them, carefully taking each step, hoping not to set of anymore traps that Pinkie may have set on her route. Sweetie wondered why Pinkie would try to in the first place... she did want her alive, right? Then again, this was Pinkie... who knew what went on in her mind... or what she had in store for Sweetie at the courtyard.

Sweetie made it down to the bottom of the staircase, which she counted to be the first floor. Where in hay were these love doves leading her? She continued to follow the two down a network of hallways Sweetie would have never been able to navigate herself... until finally she found herself in the theater lobby. At this point however, Sweetie felt a little numb in the brain from staring at the two for so long. It was like they'd caught the filly in some kind of hypnotic spell, as she felt compelled to follow the two all the way to their destination.

Sweetie followed the Specter and Madame apparitions into the grand, beautiful theater, newer than she'd left it. On the stage was the stage set up of a tomb, along with some props scattered along the stage. Sweetie recognized it as the last scene from the play Redneck&Junebug, where the two lovers die in a horrible tragedy in order to keep their love... suddenly, Sweetie had a hunch of what was happening. She had seen this before... or rather, she'd read it before, in the journal. The music box must have triggered another apparition, like the one she experienced in the chest room.

The mare and stallion sat down in their seats, and Madame put her head against Specter's chest, as they embraced in a hug. Madame then looked up awkwardly at Specter, and engaged him in a kiss.

Light flashed in Sweetie's eyes, and she was suddenly surrounded in darkness... no, not just darkness, there was smoke. She didn't know it until now, but she was breathing in smoke. The filly coughed, as she bolted out of the theater to escape the dark cloud. Sweetie fell to the theater lobby floor, coughing and gasping for air. She lied there for a couple moments, until she was able to get herself back together and onto her hooves. She'd once again, almost killed herself.

Huh... if that's what smoking's all about... no way I'm ever trying a cigarette... Sweetie thought, as she let out another coughing fit. She sniffed, as she took out her flashlight, turning it back on, and placing it back into her mouth. Ok... I guess that works... if this is the lobby, then the courtyard should be... that way. Sweetie headed for the door that lead to the dressing room, and would eventually lead over to the courtyard.

It was almost time to face Pinkie Pie.

***

Sweetie entered the dressing room, which seemed just a little darker than she'd left it. The door of the hallway was still open after she'd gone to locate the second GCD part. She was reminded of how the GCD made a fuss about the ectotube being out of place, but it had yet to do malfunction in anyway. Maybe she didn't have to worry about it...

The puddle of water from the door she'd left open to the outside had let the hallway flood slightly. The flooding however, must have stopped a while ago, around the time the rain stopped. Still, the water remaining was enough to wash the filly's hooves, taking away the alcoholic liquid that saturated them. There was one thing that bothered the filly... the torches from outside. They weren't lit anymore, making the courtyard pitch black... even without the torches, something felt odd about this particular blackness. Sweetie went to the door to the courtyard. It was then she heard the dreaded giggle of Pinkie.

"Pinkie?" Sweetie called out into the darkness. "Pinkie, is that you?"

As a part of her expected, all she received in response was Pinkie's giggle. There was only one way the filly would find out. Sweetie got that bad gut feeling as she shined her flashlight out into the darkness... that if she went out there, chances were she wasn't going to come back. She still had no idea how she was going to catch Pinkie, but the only way she was going to figure it out... was to try.

Sweetie pushed herself out into the darkness of the courtyard. Her hooves found themselves walking across damp grass... but the grass seemed to turn dry under the filly's feet... soon they started to crumble under her feet, and she was walking on dirt now.

"What the hay..." Sweetie said to herself, right before her flashlight went out. Sweetie started to panic as she was trapped in the darkness. She couldn't see anything, and her flashlight seemed to be useless now. Sweetie wanted to run back for the dressing room, but the cold fear of the darkness kept her anchored to her spot.

"Jumpie!" Pinkie chirped as she appeared, glowing in the darkness. "So glad you could come to play with us!"

"U-us? What do you mean 'us'" Sweetie asked apprehensively.

"Aw, c'mon Sweets. Wouldn't be too fun of a game if there were only two ponies." the voice Sweetie recognized to be Scootaloo.

"Yeah Sweetie. Ya don't think ah'd miss out on this do ya?" The second voice... no doubt it was Applebloom.

"Honestly, Sweetie. I really hope you didn't think that it would be just as easy as going in to catch Pinkie and being done." The third voice was Spike's.

"W-what are you gonna do? Kill me?" Sweetie asked in the darkness.

"Oh Sweetie. Spike's right. It isn't that simple. Games need rules. That's what makes them fun. Do you want to know the rules to this game?" Pinkie asked.

"...what?" Sweetie asked. Not like I have a choice.

"That's right Sweetie." Pinkie said. "Now, the rules are kind of like hide and seek."

"Oh! Ah love this game!" Applebloom chirped.

"Now now Ca- er... Applebloom. Stay focused." Spike told Applebloom.

"Alri' Sp...ike." Applebloom responded. Sweetie noted how in her excitement, she nearly pronounced Spike's name wrong.

"The first rule is simple." Pinkie explained "My friends here will count to 30, and come kill you. If you die... well, you lose. In that time, I'd hide if I were you, but of course you'll hide! That's the name of the game! I just wanted to remind you, know how you hate to follow directions."

But Applejack going after me wasn't my fault. Sweetie thought.

"Don't worry Jumpie. I hate following directions too, but I just suggest you follow them just this once. I'm not sure dying your way is nearly as fun as mine. The second rule..." Pinkie continued. "... is that you can't kill your friends."

"Why would I do that! I'm not a killer!" Sweetie exclaimed.

"Oh quiet you." Pinkie said. "Let me finish... you also can't seriously injure your friends either. I know you're at least not beyond that."

Sweetie kept quiet. It was true, she'd head-butted Applebloom and managed to draw blood from Scootaloo's muzzle. She supposed that was what Pinkie was talking about. Something still felt ill in Sweetie, realizing she was capable of that.

"Finally, the last rule is... me!" Pinkie said happily. "If you can catch me... the game is over, and you win! Doesn't that sound fun?"

"Yeah, but good luck catchin' that mare Sweets. She's a wild one." Scootaloo added.

"Are you ready Sweetie?" Pinkie asked.

".... let's just get this over with." Sweetie said. "Just... turn my light back on."

"Oh. I'll do one better." Pinkie said happily. "Spike, if you please."

A green fireball shot up into the air, and changed from its light green, to a devilish pink. It hit the sky with a bang, like a firework, illuminating the sky, and lighting up the area. Streaks of white went through the sky, like some wild wind storm in the sky... but that wasn't what horrified Sweetie the most. What scared the filly, was that the courtyard was gone... it had changed into a place with a bunch of game booths, rides, and other complexes.

"What the hay... Pinkie what is this?!" Sweetie asked.

The children started to count.

One... two... three...

Pinkie started to float up in the air.

"Will Sweetie be able to catch the strongest ghost she's encountered so far?"

"PINKIE!"

Four... Five... Six...

"Will she survive the rest of her stay in Yield Manor?"

Seven... Eight... Nine... Ten...

"Stay tuned... and find out next chapter of... Sweetie's Mansion..."

Comments

[EverSoNitro]

Wow, I suppose that CarnEvil prediction I made last chapter was on the right track, huh?

[Levimos]

Oh gosh ._. shiz just got real... oh.. i like the luigi's mansion them and all.. but if i randomly heard it from a music box that refused to play in the first place.. i would freak out..

[Wild Wisp]

WOW, this is amazing, also i just figured out alto about this story in, fact i know 3 things. 1. what happened to the mane 6 cutie marks/powers and where they went. 2. where the "3" ghosts madame asked sweetie to catch are. 3 (this is just a theory not positive) Specters plan and how sweetie is involved.

I'm not going to say what they are incase i spoil it, BUT if you're that curries i'll send you a note (maybe).

-WW

[Moon Shooter]

I've thought about adding some music to segments of the story, and the music box was an experiment to see how that went. If you like it, and think I should add more? Let me know... also let me know if I shouldn't (or even use some different game/music music)....

[Dee Bee Doo-wop Cooper]

Well that was fun, can't wait for more.

286721 if you would send me your theory's I would be very interested, I have a few of my own and would love to see what somepony else is thinking.

[EverSoNitro]

287202
I think it's an interesting idea, I know I'm planning on putting a soundtrack together for Mario and Luigi: Of Ponies and Plumbers, and I think a story like this definitely suits have music at certain points.
And I wouldn't be afraid to use stuff from other games and stuff in the story (example: if Sweetie ends up on a ferris wheel or something next chapter you could have her hear "Big Bunyan Ride" from CarnEvil playing over some speakers. (I know that's like the third time I've mentioned the game but bear with me on this.)

[Moon Shooter]

290093 I've never played the game but it seems to have a lot in common with this chapter....

[EverSoNitro]

290795
To be perfectly honest, if you don't like stupidly gory railgun shooters I wouldn't recommend playing it. Probably the only thing I actually like about the game is the premise and the fact that when it came time for a Christmas-themed boss, they actually used Krampus instead of an evil Santa.

[Moon Shooter]

297556 I'll admit, I did go a little overboard with AJ in her ghost form, but the sittuation is kind of grim. I'll also admit I originally wanted a lighter tone, but that didn't work out for the story I had in mind... maybe once it's over, and I do a continuation or sequel to the story, maybe I'll try and focus on a lighter tone.297589.... buck. I'll fix that.297598 Just wait and see

[Charge73]

It took me 2 and 1/2 days to finish (due to work) Im really gripped keep it up.

[punisher143]

img.ponibooru.org/_images/b8c78025bc63a6d9c802be965c5e319a/49599%20-%20season_2%20twilight_sparkle%20yes.png
LET'S GET TO READING!

[Moon Shooter]

355826 Holi crap it did get on EqD...

[Relevant Heavy Metal]

I Ain't Superstitious - Megadeth

[Nazkan]

Congratulations on getting EQ, mate. Good job.

[smartz118]

Still got to make sure you edit the "your" into "you're" in your previous chapters, but all in all this is pretty good.

[111111111x111111111]

This is absolutely awesome!

[Ponyman130]

Oh come on. After reading this story non-stop I end with Pinkie's capture.... Reallllly love your story and will look forward to reading the next chapter.

Congrats on making it on EQD! That's where I found this story!

[inactivenow]

This is absolutely amazing; i wonder why i didnt register on Fimfiction earlier so i could check and comment on your story (and some other stories) Ugh, lazy me.

[Gamaliel]

my inbox lied to me.

[Moon Shooter]

364862 Yeah... that's kind of my fault. I was working on the story and bucked up and hit the publish button instead of the edit button . I snatched it back, hoping that no one would see it... I'm sorry ... but the good news is, after the pre-reader finishes likely tomorrow, once I finish the part, I can get it out by Tues... still though, sorry...

[SwiperTheFox]

Got to say that I started this out positive, thinking that this would be close in tone to the original game, and then things got more and more dark, grim, and depressing... It's been Silent Hill territory. Death, debilitating diseases, rape (or what's essentially a close analog for rape), mind control, parental abandonment, and the like? Holy cheese and crackers!

sadpanda.us/images/888633-62KTAEQ.png

This is a really great concept, but I have to admit that I kind of feel... used, kind of if that's the right word. Like picking up a Beatles album and finding out that's it's a Slayer cd inside. It's not a bad story (besides the grammar type problems that have been pointed out by other people before such as flipping from past tense [was, ran] to present tense [is, run]), I just think that you need to revise the tags and the synopsis to indicate that this is a hard PG-13 rather than a PG or G thing. I guess this story got under my skin a lot too... because it plays with my absolute worst fear, running through my entire life-- abandonment and rejection by my step-family... so I probably find this a lot more disturbing than the next reader.

Anyways... One little constructive criticism thing: In parts, Sweetie's speech seems to indicate that her normal parents are dead. Then, she contradicts herself and says that her parents are fine, just too busy to spend much time with her. Are you laying emphasis that her parents really are dead, but Sweetie is in denial about that? Like in Silent Hill 2 how the protagonist is in denial about his wife's death? If not, then I'd go ahead and revise some of the early chapters to make this clear.

[Moon Shooter]

367196 As I've mentioned before, I was originally trying for a lighter tone, but that plan simply crashed and burned in a fire of dark flames... (and chances are, if I were to make a sequel I would focus on a lighter, more Luigi's Mansion tone... I know, ironic, right?)... mostly because I wanted there to be a little more story to her... well, story, rather than her just running into the mansion, capturing the ghosts, and walking out without a second thought of the mansion. I wanted it to have an emotional touch on her, rather than it being something that she just forgot the next day... I wanted her to have a night she'd never forget... though I completely agree with you, the tags could use a dark tab... but I also plan to attempt to salvage what's left of the story in attempt for a lighter theme to hopefully please the readers I... as you put it, used. The contradictions, I'll have to look into, because I wasn't aiming for Sweetie's parents to be dead (but I won't deny I was playing Silent Hill 3 when I wasn't playing Luigi's Mansion during my writing sessions but don't worry, I finished it, so any influence it had on my writing is out.) or any pony for that matter... yet . Still though, I believe I know what your talking about as for those contradictions. As they are pointed out to me, I realize how out of place they are. (though you did bring up Silent Hill 2... I hope you weren't suggesting that I was gearing toward Sweetie killing her own parents! I mean, I'm good for a dark story, but this is still Luigi's Mansion :P, not the Pit! I don't mean to be spoilery, but that's not happening.)The errors are, well... errors. Something I thought I had beaten, but apperently I still missed a few... or many. Either way, I still plan to run through my story again... eventually . The getting under your skin part... unintended, but I'm not apologizing for that. If you feel anything for Sweetie, that's what I was aiming for from the beginning. Likely why I went down the path of darkness to begin with. I hope this stuff doesn't keep you from reading, but I will say that Sweetie won't hit rock bottom... or will she... sorry... but I really appreciate your input... wow, I spent a long time on this comment. I need some sleep ...

[SwiperTheFox]

367382
I'll read dark things. I just feel like... well... Have you ever seen those "screamers" online? Where you play a game or read a little thing or stare at a picture, but then some image jumps out at you with scary noises? This story sort of felt like a screamer. At first, it's a goofy little CMC thing about an airplane. Then, suddenly, you have thinly veiled rape in the vein of Silence of the Lambs where a big strong pony shoves his hoof inside the mouth of a little girl in order to insert a... Wow. WOW.

I mean, it's not like I'm on a moral high horse here. I've read Cupcakes. I've even (note: upon request, not because I like this material that much) written Princess Luna kidnapping and then murdering her sister over romantic jealousy. I just... feel like there needs to be big "Warning: Has X (or implied X)" signs to let people know things.

Myself, I had: (Warning: The ending that you have chosen involves explicit sexual activity as well as graphic descriptions of gore.) in my A Nightly Romance story.

That way, when people started reading the { Blood spurted out of the wing all across Luna's apron. She stared down, and then she bit her lip. She shoved the knife in deeper. } they knew it was coming.

[SwiperTheFox]

367382
I think trying to lighten the story from where it is right now would be a mistake. If the whole middle is dark, then I think that a satisfying ending (not the same thing as a 'happy' ending) would also have to be dark. Or else the story would just fail. Look at Silence of the Lambs, Manhunter, Seven, and other movies... the bad guy gets lead to the brain. Or how Silent Hill 2 ended with (hopeful/optimistic ending) James murdering the evil 'Mary', the personification of the evil inside of him, and the Pyramid Heads killing themselves, meaning that James is forgiven and can move on. Of course, all that doesn't apply too directly to this story, but the emotions from the viewer/reader are the same.

I guess not to bring in spoilers too much here, but where this feels like it's going to me is that Mr. Yield is holding back (the same way that Starling knew Lecter held things back from her?) He let her in to the house. He let her move about. He let Pinkie toy with Sweetie, rather than being more lethal about it. He ordered the possession of the other CMC rather than just kill them. He's letting his wife do things behind the scenes. I'm guessing that whatever 'final boss' happens in the end... it involves more of Mr. Yield defeating himself. Or maybe the same kind of good Yield versus bad Yield separation happens like in SH2? Or something like that. I guess I'm beating around the bush, but it feels like-- in the end-- somepony, someone, and/or something is going to need to die and die in a dark, disturbing way for this whole story to work.

[Mazamis]

Buck pre readers I want this story now.

SPOILER*********
SPOILER*********
SPOILER*********
SPOILER*********
SPOILER*********
So I'm assuming the ghost possessing spike apple bloom and Scootaloo are the three ghost Madame wanted Sweete to catch, marbles candy and the butler?

[Moon Shooter]

367672 I disagree about the lightening of a mood being past this story. The story itself, as you mentioned, did have a light to it... then I put it out abruptly, okay that's a given. Still though, I believe the story could have really lit a dim light, or even a fairly bright light to it at some point (which could also be put out again...). Tell you what, tell me if you truly still believe that this story was past redemption after... say the next few chapters. See what you think it is then.368526 Oh, it's going to be a little more complicated than that.

[Moon Shooter]

367531... why rape though? Sure, it's weird... ok, really weird, but that's the point. It was supposed to be strange but... dear Celestia, you don't think I was trying to make an inuendo on rape for the poor filly, I hope. Besides, it was just a hoof. There is nothing I can think of off the top of my head that is sexual about that... unless I try really hard to think about it out of context, which I won't talk about in this comment. As for the warning, I don't think it's necessary either. It's not like there's mature themes such as "sex" "murder"(suggested, but no one's died-died yet), or really anything graphic at all besides a few points Sweetie is in intense pain (which, so far, hasn't been the worst. She's gotten better from, and coped with it up to this point). In other words, Dark tab, likely. Rape... WTF did you get that. Warnings... useful, but unnecessary unless it's a mature story. No, it might not be E, but it's certainly not M, and to be honest, I'd call this somewhere between E+10 and T. I'd give you some emoticons, but my thingamerbob where that sh** is is gone. Sadfluttershy.jpg

[ThunderBlaze]

This story is just perfect. Read the whole thing in one sitting and was wondering if I could make cover art for it.

[Moon Shooter]

370609 One sitting I wish I had that kind of focus... As for the cover art... I do, actually have someone who was supposed to do some, but I haven't heard from them in two, going on three weeks. Let's see what you have. If anything, I bet it'll be posted on EqD as Fan art maybe :P let me know what you think. You could also head over to my Art for Fanfiction group. It's pretty saxy too.

[Moon Shooter]

370876 You have no idea how much I know that . It's really a bad habit of mine... something that really needs to get fixed. BTW, mind if I ask a quick question: did you check out any of the audio ques (music)? If so, what's your opinion on them?

[Moon Shooter]

358118 BTW, I've been meaning to ask, what are you talking about? Your comment confused my brain

[SwiperTheFox]

368821
Ratings are pretty much crap to me, but I guess I'd go for a hard T. Well... if I wrote a non-MLP story about a human guy named say, Max,(*) where Max were to sneak up to a stranger's kid as she's sleeping in her bed all of a sudden, hold her down as she's crying with her heart racing, grip his fingers into a little bundle, and then start shoving that slowly into her mouth as she squirms-- compelling his fingers deeper and deeper as she screams 'no'... I mean. Damn. And that's what happened to Sweetie (except she's a pony and not human). Similar kind of thing with the 'murdering'... it's implied and it's already ambigious from the get-go whether or not Sweetie can trust what her eyes tell her. Still, it's dark.

I don't know. I'm not going to argue with you. Totally. Just saying that this story feels way darker than I first thought, but that's okay. It can stay dark and come out as a pretty compelling story as long as the ending reveals make sense to what's came before. But I'd hate to see a melodramatic flip from dark to light, though, since that would feel cheesy and overly forced, I think.

I hope you don't think that I dislike the story so far. It's pretty solid. I guess I'd rate it in the B+ or 4/5 range. Just trying to be constructive and helpful in terms of criticism.

(*) No offense to anyone named Max! I just picked that name at random!

[Mazamis]

371390 I saw you say something about pre readers and I thought screw that pre readers just talks more time for a story to update and I want this story now, regardless of grammer mistakes or anything of that sort. It's like when you find a good book finish it, and find out the sequeal comes out in a year, you don't want to wait that long, of course it isn't going to be a year for you to update ( I hope )

[Mazamis]

371390 oh also I went to read through the whole thing in one sitting but I was taken from my computer and I didn't have Internet. I have no regrets. I read 1-5 before I was taken away and I finished the rest when I got back. I like how it has the lugi mansion idea but it isn't word for word, like tell the story but replace lugi with Sweete. I like how it is... Dont change at all

[rikke]

Awesome story, bro
Can't wait for 16th chapter

[Mazamis]

is it sad that i check my mail every hour to see if theres a update.
i want it nowwwwwwwwwww

[InarJollyhound]

383288 I second this!
WE NEED MOAAAAAÀAAAAR

[SwiperTheFox]

Hey guys!

Check out this free download of spooky places type music: http://www.silenthillmemories.net/music/liminality_en.htm

It works freaking great with this story!

[ThunderBlaze]

371390 Check Sweeties Mansion on EqD, I forgot to actually send the pic in instead of using it as desktop wallpaper.

[Moon Shooter]

393195 T-that was you?! That's SAXY! I'll be sure to post your pic here once I'm finished the chapter (which is waaay to long in my opinion )

[Moon Shooter]

286272 Y U So Psychic!?!

[Digit]

SPLENDID!
Also, the way you make applejack's accent sound li' 'is, it's really hard to understand what she's saying, let alone the fact that some of the words she's saying almost aren't even real words. You should just die down the thickness of her accent a bit, m'kay?

[Moon Shooter]

722206 In this chapter in particular, or all of them in general?

[Digit]

722279
All of them. Don't feel as if you need to change them right now, but I thought I could give a bit of a heads up.

[Toonwriter]

All righty! Time to play a little game! I hope Sweetie wins! In fact, I also hope Sweetie not only frees Pinkie Pie, but Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Spike as well!

Curse that Gilda for tearing Sweetie's map!

[Slireon]

Kay', Now I seriously hate you.

Fine, I want to say that this is, maybeh, one of the best crossovers I've ever read. But I'm not very fond to them, so...
Worse, I said "Last chapter and bed" and, ta dah. Cliffhanger.
The fic has a great pacing, and a great suspense element, even greater than, I don't know, SAW movies. You just outdone yourself. Now, excuse, I must go to my cousin's house to borrow my Luigi's Mansion, Thank you very much.

Wait, just mentioned the SAW movies and Pinkie wants to play a Game. Aww, Crap, I just noticed how Grim this game's gonna be.
For that, I moustache you.

[Borg]

Psst. Sweetie. You've still got a candy in your saddlebags, don't you? I'm pretty sure this is the part where you give it to AJ, even if you are rather peeved that she left the room.
And while I'm giving hints, might I suggest checking your GCD upgrade outside of battle for once?

No. I gotta go now.

No, read.
Reeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad.
You don't want the owl to eat you, do you?

Question: once Sweetie captures Pinkie, what'll be keeping her in the ghost-hunting business? She's having enough trouble getting the others to stay in the safe room when it's an order from an insane party ghost.

but how do you convince a ghost to want to be captured?

Win.
The game'll be rigged, of course, but Pinkie will almost certainly tell you what your win condition is (the game should be a lot less fun if you don't have any idea of your goal), and if you're lucky there won't be any secret rules about what you're not allowed to do. Then you'll know all the rules, since obviously Pinkie is allowed to do anything she wants to, and she wins when you die.
Worst case, though, you're going to be playing Mao. In that case, I'd suggest finding something to pray to, since your odds or surviving will be worse than a windigo at an orgy.
Sorry, that was uncouth. And I'm not sure if it's true . . . I don't think I even know anybody who would be any help for fact-checking that either. On either end of the statement, really. Let's go with . . . playing Mao with Pinkie's ghost would be worse than drinking a love poison in the middle of the changeling kingdom.

She was reminded of how the GCD made a fuss about the ectotube being out of place, but it had yet to do malfunction in anyway. Maybe she didn't have to worry about it...

You just had to mention it, didn't you. Now you're screwed.
Stop complaining, it wasn't that bad. Oh, you disagree, do you? Fine then, you'll have to live with the consequences.

"Now now Ca- er... Applebloom. Stay focused." Spike told Applebloom.
"Alri' Sp...ike." Applebloom responded.

Well, there goes your theory that Spiffy was trying to help you, most likely.
And you, Moon Shooter. Yeah, I'm talking to you again. Are you calling Scoots coltish?
Because if so, you're totally right.

Incidentally, hello Topeka!

[prizmatiq]

2423910

Question: once Sweetie captures Pinkie, what'll be keeping her in the ghost-hunting business?

Capturing all her friends and making it out alive, or something like that. Maybe Rarity. But Rarity seems like a major asshole in this story.

[applebuckingAJ]

2423910this was ages ago but...
When she said sp-
It could have been Spector, don't ya think?

[Arcanum -Phantasy]

3429719
I'm guessing Spiffy.