Chapter 1: He Who Seeks Knowledge, Seeks Sorrow

Phobia
Chapter 1

120 miles north of The Sweet Apple Acres was a hill and upon it stood The Wingblade Residence. Back in the days, when the grass was still green and lush, back when flowers bloomed in the meadows and trees sway in the wind, the mansion was full of life. It had this large backyard that seemed to stretch on forever. The trees were trimmed and cut decoratively, and regularly. As for the mansion itself, there was movement everywhere, like it was a giant beehive. Servants, maids or even the Wingblades themselves could be seen anywhere in the mansion. Upon them shone a thousand chandeliers that had been line with the most expensive of crystal that was available in the 16th century. In short, The Wingblade Mansion was full of life.

But now, after 5 centuries of neglect, it has become nothing more than a dream. The once lively mansion is now in ruin. The grass that once served as a decoration and where the outdoor parties once stood is now overgrown. The stained glass pictures that decorated the many rooms of the mansion are now shattered, cracked or destroyed. The entire perimeter of it is deserted. Nobody knew what happened to the residents of the mansion. It is like they were there one day and gone the next, and nobody can remember them.

Everyone was afraid to go near the castle, let alone step on the very dirt road that leads to it. Some say that the castle has a curse. Others say the ghosts live inside it. Other than the rumors that surrounded its dark past, rumors that have no concrete evidence and only supported by fear and superstitions, nothing else was known about it. But there was one, rather four who were determined to find out.

“This is crazy.” Sombra said as he, Discord, Shining Armor and Thunderlane walked along the dirt road of Wingblade Mansion.
They had snuck passed Applejack and Big Macintosh as they finished their last round of apple bucking, careful not to be seen by them. They ran along the hundreds of apple trees that lined the apple orchard and finally, unto the aforementioned dirt path and hopefully, into the mansion itself.

Shining Armor adjusted his backpack, containing food, lamps, flashlights, sleeping bags (in case of anyone even dares to fall asleep) and a machete, to get past the overgrown grass as well as defending themselves to whatever lies within the mansion.

“Of course it’s crazy. That’s why we’re doing it.” He said. Sombra sighed but kept his mouth shut. He adjusted his backpack his own pack of foods, water and his late dad’s bowie knife which was the length of half of his thigh. His dad had passed it to him the day before he died, said jokingly that his soul will be possessing it when he passed away, to which Sombra chuckled nervously, knowing full well that it was near. Discord walked up to him and patted his shoulder.

“Lighten up, man.” He said. “It’s just some old castle, nothing scary within. You don’t believe in ghosts, right?”

“I don’t.” He said stiffly.

“Then nothing’s in there. No ghosts or monsters or stuff like that.” Discord chuckled.

“You forgot demons!” Thunderlane laughed.

“Shut up, Lane. You’re scaring the kid.” Discord scolded him. Unlike Thunderlane, who is your normal jackass who plays on other people’s misery, Discord was kind. Mischievous most of the time but he’s really kind to his friends.

Unlike his friends (except Shining Armor), he was born in the upper part of Canterlot, where most of the country’s snobbiest population has to offer lives. There, he was ridiculed for being an orphan and for his eye; one was smaller than the other. Then it all changed when he met the royal sisters, Celestia and Luna, at a playground. They immediately became close friends and they would meet up at the same playground every day. Although he couldn’t remember it, he got a place at the palace and met Shining Armor, brother of Twilight Sparkle. They became best friends and shared many memories together.

Right now, they were on vacation from school and Shining’s parents decided that they stay in Ponyville. They invited Discord who agreed without hesitation, and which ultimately led up to this moment: walking towards the Wingblade Mansion.

Discord smiled at the chain of events that led him here and meet his current friends. His reverie was then broken by a smack to the back of his head.

“YO! Discord, ya alright?” Thunderlane waved his arms in front of his face.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just kinda zoned out for a while.” He chuckled.

“Figured.” Thunderlane returned his gaze forward. The group then arrived at the overgrown grass. The grass was at least 5 inches taller than them and is blocking their way. Armor dropped his bag and opened it. Seconds later, he withdrew his machete and proceeded to hack their way through the grass.

“One question, Armor.” Sombra asked him.

“What?” He said, hacking through a thick huddle of grass.

“How did you get a machete? Is it legal?”

“The machete was dad’s, I sneaked it out when while they’re sleeping, just before we met up. And it’s legal as long as you don’t endanger someone with it.” He smirked.

“If we’re going to face anything in there,” Discord pointed to the dark silhouette that was their destination, “is it okay that we, ya know, hurt them?”

“If they only attack us first. And also, provoking them to attack us won’t count either. We’re just going there to investigate.” Shining cleared.

“Why are we going to investigate there anyway? That’s private property!” Sombra reasoned.

“Then who owns it?” Thunderlane countered. Sombra appeared to be deep in thought, but then, “The Wingblades!”

“They had been gone for more than half a millennium, bro! That’s why we need to know what the hell is going on inside there.” Shining Armor said.

“What if we could never come back, Armor? What do you think they’re going to do?!” Sombra said. “What will happen to Twilight or your parents? What will the parents of them,” he pointed to Discord and Thunderlane, “going to do? They might die because you led us in there!”

“I don’t have any parents.” Discord said.

“Mom doesn’t care about me.” Thunderlane supplied.

“Ugh, c’mon guys!” Sombra yelled, but they only continued onwards.

“If you don’t wanna go, then go home.” Shining Armor suggested. Sombra swore and ran up to them. Soon, they reached a giant metal gate that leads into the mansion itself.

“Okay! Seems like we’re all set. Let’s crack this gate open.” Shining Armor dropped his bag and withdrew a pair of bolt cutters. He cut the heavy chains that were holding the massive gates closed. A few seconds later, the gates swung open on their own, as if it was beckoning the four oblivious friends to what lies beyond it.

Shining Armor smiled as he put back the bolt cutters back into his bag. “C’mon, let’s go!” He waved his friends over.

While the others ran up to Armor, Sombra chose to stay behind the pack. He didn’t want to be here, but at the same time, he did, as if there was a something pulling, exploiting his hunger for knowledge, begging him to stay and investigate. He swore under his breath and ran to catch up with the others.

They stood at the gates of the mansion. A winding stone path lay ahead, pointing to which way was the entrance to the mansion itself. Somewhere along the middle of the path, it branches off to 3 separate directions. The left one to what use to be the garden, the middle one was to the mansion itself and lastly, the right one leads to an archway. If one were to descend to the right one, he would soon find himself lost to the giant hedge maze, one which had blocked out the sun, making traversing it more difficult. The four friends continued to middle path, talking about what they think lays beyond it.

“Blood, corpses and ripped organs from their bodies.”

“Ugh, that’s gross Shining.” remarked Sombra.

“I’m just stating my opinion. How ‘bout you Discord, what do you think is inside the mansion?”

“Nothing. I don’t want to think about what may lay inside that. I don’t wanna bring bad luck.” He said.

“Seriously?” Thunderlane raised an eyebrow. “You’re that superstitious? I mean c’mon, that crap isn’t even real, man. Lighten up!”

“I don’t know, Lane. Something just doesn’t feel right. I feel that something’s gonna happen.” Discord sighed.

“I’d agree on that.” Shining Armor looked up to the sprawling mansion. Giant spires protruded from the triangular roof. Thousands of windows, shattered or not, lined the walls. The balcony hanging above the porch where the four friends are standing, l00ked like it could go down anytime, blocking their only way out.

“Man, I think that this entire shithole is going to collapse. We should get out of here. This is a really bad idea.” Sombra said as they walked closer to the door. The doors were massive, almost half a story of a building. Carvings from another age lined the surface of it, and seemed to be glowing in some otherworldly light. The four friends pushed the doors and it opened easily, creaking softly. As they stepped into the mansion itself, there was no light can be seen; only darkness. The windows served no use, as the light from the moon cannot penetrate the odd windows.

“Sombra, flashlights.” Shining Armor said.

“I thought you had the flashlight.”

“Two lights are better than one.” He said. Sombra dropped his bag and withdrew an electronic lamp. He switched it on and the gigantic lobby was bathed in light.

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