> Silent Ponyville 4
>  by SamRose
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“AAAAAAA!! It's so good to see you again Octi!” Pinkie cheerfully screamed, wrapping her hooves around the light gray mare.

“It's good to see you too Sis.” Octavia smiled, returning the hug. It really had been a while since the two of them had last seen each other. With Octavia's tour schedule and Pinkie's duties to Equestria, the last time they'd had a chance to see each other was when Pinkie unexpectedly visited during one of her tours.

“You must be so tired from your trip! Come on, let's go get you set up at my place, then we can get some food!” Pinkie cheerfully beamed and began bouncing her way down the busy street.

It was a sunny day in Ponyville, with only a few scant clouds hovering in the sky. Ponies were cheerfully going about their business, be it to see their friends and family, or simply to pick up things from the market. And even though Octavia was exhausted from the lack of sleep she'd been getting, the town radiated the same happiness she remembered from her own youthful days living there.

“Oh, oh!” Pinkie cheerfully bounced in place, before turning to Octavia with a bright grin. “I know a shortcut to get us there faster! Come on Octi, follow me!” With those words she bounded off into an alleyway on the side of the road, disappearing from sight.

“Pinkie?” Octavia spoke up confused. It wasn’t that unusual for Pinkie to run off on her own, but something about this felt weirder than normal. Unsure of what else to do, she followed her sister down into the alley. A few trash bags were placed against the wall, and a few pipes for infrastructure ran up the walls, but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

“Pinkie, wait for me!” Octavia called out, noticing Pinkie's bright pink tail whisking off around the corner at the end of the alleyway. She picked up her pace, trying not to lose track of her sister, and rounded the same corner. To her surprise, the alleyway kept going, making another sharp turn at the end of it. 

Her sister was now completely out of sight.

“Pinkie!” While it was true that Pinkie running off on her own was a normal occurrence, it was unusual for her to ignore Octavia like this. Usually if she called out, Pinkie would be right on top of her giving Octavia her full attention. Something wasn't right...

Octavia rounded the next corner and skidded to a stop, a chain link gate was open slightly ajar in the middle of the alleyway. This was getting ridiculous, what kind of alleyway system kept going on like this? It either needed to dead end at some point or exit out onto the next road.

“Pinkie, this isn't funny!” If this was one of her sister's pranks, she wasn’t enjoying it. Pushing the gate open, she continued to run deeper into the never ending hallway. A small enclave suddenly opened up in the middle of the alleyway and Octavia came to a screeching halt inside of it. 

On the ground was a pile of gore and viscera, sitting on top of a pool of blood. It looked fresh, as if the organs had just been dumped there a short while ago. Octavia took a step back, fear choking her voice at the sight. She looked around desperately, trying to find her sister and get out of this awful place.

“Pinkie?” Her shaky voice called out. “Pinkie!” She cried again. Her sister wasn't answering, had something happened to her? “Pinkie! Answer me!” Silence returned her. “Oh no... Oh no oh no oh no!”

Octavia ran deeper down into the alley. She had to find Pinkie, she had to know if she was alright. Even while running, the alleyway seemed to stretch farther and farther, as if it never ended. Her breathing grew ragged and panicked, desperately searching for her sister or an exit.

Her ear twitched as she slowed for a moment, looking up at the sky. A distant sound was echoing through the town. The faint cry of a siren warning the town of danger.

She gulped her fears down and continued forward, finding a much taller chain-link fence blocking her path this time. Her sister had run this way and it was only a one-way path, she had to have gone through here. Octavia bashed the gate open with her shoulder and rushed her way down the alley.

She came to an abrupt stop as the light around her began to dim. She looked up at the sky again, unable to see it anymore. It had become pitch black and she was drowned in darkness. The distant siren had finished wailing, and now everything was deathly silent.

“No, no no no no no no no!” Octavia desperately cried, reaching a hoof into the saddlebag she had brought with her. She desperately rummaged around for the tiny object she knew she had with her. Without being able to see it was difficult, but she got lucky and her hoof tapped against it. She quickly pulled it out and put pressure on the handle on the side.

A small flicker of light surrounded her as the flame came to life. It wasn't much, but her lighter had come through for her.

“Pinkie! Where are you!?” Octavia cried out again, still hearing nothing. As she moved forward, splotches of blood began to appear on the ground, staining the brown ground crimson. 

Was her sister hurt? Had something attacked her? Octavia had to know if she was alright!

Another turn into another stretch of alley, similar blood stains guiding her way. Another turn, frantic desperation fueled her search, needing to know if Pinkie was okay. The next turn for the alley was different; instead of the normal walls, a large chain link fence led her way. Some of the chains were splattered with blood, and she couldn't see anything through them, not even some semblance of ground.

“PINKIE!” Octavia shouted, panic filling her core. She ran down the hallway of twisting metal fences, larger and larger piles of blood staining the ground. This hallway was a straight path, leading into a dark abyss as she ran and ran.

She skidded to a halt, reaching a dead end in the hallway. She dropped the lighter, putting a hoof to her mouth as she cried out in horror.

Pinkie's body was strung up with barbed wire, her body bloodied and emaciated. Her front hooves were held up at her sides, while her hind legs were nailed together below. Blood pooled beneath her and various organs lay around the circular dead end. Pinkie had been hung up to be put on display, like her body was some kind of decoration.

There was no mistaking the sight. Pinkie was dead.

“No...” Octavia sobbed, stepping back from the grisly sight, unable to believe what she was seeing. “No... No this can't be happening!” She cried, unable to tear her eyes away from her sister's body. She collapsed to a sitting position, the tears flowing freely down her face as she stared in horror.

A sharp, metal scraping sound echoed in her ears, her eyes widening as she twirled around in fear. From the darkness were the sounds of heavy footsteps on metal and something being dragged behind them. Octavia stepped back, her entire body shaking in fear. Into the dwindling light of her lighter's flame, stepped a pony.

It stood on its hind legs, those legs covered in thick metal. Hanging around her hip and waist was a bloodied and torn white smock, a thick metal collar that was causing profuse bleeding was bolted into her neck, the same thick metal surrounded its front hooves, and its entire face was covered in a metal mask with no holes for the eyes or mouth, only ones for the curly pale-blonde locks that hung out of the sides. A large splotch of blood was where one of her eye should've been, and being dragged behind her was a gigantic inwardly curved scythe that was scraping against the ground.

“S-Stay back!” Octavia cried out, stepping back as far as she could until she bumped into her sister's dead body. That mare had to be the one that had killed her sister, the one that had to of warped and twisted everything to be like this!

The Masked Mare stepped closer, her deadly weapon continuing to scrape along the ground as she walked. She drew closer, and closer, and Octavia couldn't back up anymore. The barbed wire around her sister was digging into her flesh as she tried to escape this mad woman.

The Masked Mare stopped just a few steps away from Octavia, just pausing to stare at her for a moment. Octavia shuddered in fear, not knowing what was about to happen.

Then, the mare reached over and grabbed the scythe with both of her front hooves. Octavia's eyes widened in horror.

“No! NO! NO PLEASE!” Octavia begged for her life, screaming for help. The Masked Mare didn't even hesitate. She turned the blade ever so slightly, and swung with tremendous force.

“NO!” Octavia screamed, sitting up sharply in her seat. She looked around desperately for the Masked Mare and the scythe that she was certain had struck her, but she found nothing of the sort. No mare, no blood, no dark realm, and certainly not her sister's dead body.

She was back on the train, on the Ponyville Express heading towards the town. Even now she could hear the faint rumbling of the wheels as the large vehicle made its way along.

“A... A nightmare?” Octavia muttered in terror, bringing her hoof up to her face. She had been crying in her sleep again, the result of a horrible nightmare.

She quickly rubbed her face down and wrapped her arms around her shaking body. Just like the others, it had felt so real, so horrible. She hadn't even noticed she had fallen asleep, it had just... Happened.

Once her shaking calmed down, she tilted her head to look around. The train car was empty except for her, so no one had heard her pathetic scream from the nightmare. On one hoof she was thankful that no one had seen her pathetic display, but on the other she felt miserable knowing she was completely alone.

She reached a shaky hoof into her saddlebag and pulled out her carton of cigarettes. It was a terrible, filthy habit she had kicked a long time ago, but ever since the nightmares had been terrorizing her, she needed the pick me up. Two weeks of relentless nightmares, two weeks of being unable to properly sleep, two weeks of being unable to do anything but try not to fall asleep.

She took a deep drag on the death stick, letting it out slowly through the train's open window. The smoke helped calm her nerves, leaning back into the chair and resting her head against the window. She looked at the outside world, only seeing a cloud of fog surrounding the train. That was a little unusual, but she was distracted by something else at the moment.

The mare in the window that looked back at her looked awful. Darkened, heavy bags around her eyes, her eyes bloodshot from her crying, her hair was disheveled, and her coat was slightly more pale than usual. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought herself on her deathbed.

“Pinkie will know how to stop these...” Octavia whispered to herself, closing her eyes for a moment. “She has to... She has to be able to help me...”

Another long drag of her cigarette. She'd be in Ponyville soon.
> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Octavia took the last drag of her cigarette, letting the smoke out slowly. She sat in a derelict bathroom, just needing the fix at the moment. She didn't want anyone seeing her smoking if she could help it, which was why she had holed up in the bathroom.

Not that she had seen anyone when she exited the train, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

With the cigarette finished she tossed it into a corner where it instantly blended in with the rest of filthy bathroom. The place reeked from filth and trash as it was, so she didn't feel bad adding on top of it. It seemed that no one had cleaned the bathroom in some time, and that wasn't about to change today.

The faucet let out a squeaky groan and shuddered for a moment before fresh water finally came from the tap. She cupped her hooves together and splashed her face with the refreshing liquid. She then grabbed the sides of the sink, taking in a deep breath before looking up at herself in the mirror.

“You've certainly seen better days, haven't you old girl?” She let out a sigh as she began to try and straighten some of her hair with her damp hoof. She knew she looked a mess, but she at least wanted to look somewhat presentable when she saw her sister. After all, she hadn't exactly written ahead to warn Pinkie that she was coming.

The original plan had been to write Pinkie and say she was coming to visit, but Octavia never did end up writing that letter. Pinkie had no idea she was coming to visit, and Octavia intended to keep it that way until she was on her doorstep.

Once she was finally satisfied with her hair, she decide it was time leave the rancid bathroom behind.

The brisk air of Ponyville washed over her the moment she stepped back outside. She was at the Ponyville train station, having finally arrived after her long trip from Manehatten. The wind rustled her bangs and she brushed them out of her face as she looked around.

The train station was currently deserted, not a single pony was waiting to board the train, and she had been the only one to get off. However, that wasn't even the strangest thing happening at the moment.

The entire town was being blanketed in a thick fog, making it impossible to see anything not within a short walking distance. Even the buildings across the street from the train station couldn't be seen.

A groan of frustration escaped Octavia's lips, realizing that navigating the town was going to be so much harder now. It had been a long time since she last visited Ponyville, and she could barely remember the way to Pinkie's house as it was. Navigating through a town she couldn't remember was going to be hard enough, but adding the layer of fog on top of that was going to be nigh impossible.

“I guess Ponyville doesn't pay its weather Pegasi enough to deal with this sort of thing.” Octavia muttered under her breath as she dropped her saddlebags to the ground. She had packed light for her trip, not expecting to need many supplies with Pinkie taking care of her.

In her saddlebag was a map of Ponyville, a red marker, a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, a picture of her sisters, and a letter she had received shortly before taking this trip.

The map was what she needed right now. Unfolding it, Ponyville's layout sprawled out before her, showing her every major location in the small town. Before she had left, she had circled Sugarcube Corner so she wouldn't get lost on her way to her sister's apartment.

Years ago Octavia and her sister had moved to Ponyville to get away from life at the rock farm, and all the bad memories it contained. Their parents had been surprisingly understanding, and had suggested the small town as a safe place to move to. They knew a recently married couple known as Mr and Mrs Cake who would welcome them in with open hooves.

And so when Pinkie and Octavia had arrived, it was the Cakes who had given them a place to stay, as well as some work on the side for extra bits. Octavia had only stayed in Ponyville for that first year, before moving to Manehatten to start her own life anew. It had been a few months since she'd last seen her hyperactive sister, but she had mentioned that she was still living with the Cakes, and that she had upgraded from baker to 'Party Pony Extraordinaire'.

Octavia had no idea what such a job entailed, but if Pinkie was happy then it couldn't be anything terrible.

With her destination known, she traced her hoof along the road back to the train station to see the route she needed to take.

“Oh, that's not so bad,” Octavia mused to herself with a smile. “I just need to find the first house in this fog and make a right, then follow the road. ” Getting to Pinkie's would be easier than she thought, even with the fog obscuring her way.

With that bit of good news she folded the map back up and put it into the saddlebag. She paused for a moment when she saw that in getting the map out, the letter she had brought along had somehow fallen out.

She just stared at it, hesitating to pick it up. She had already read it so many times, but she was still having difficulties believing it. That letter was the entire reason she had made an unannounced trip to Ponyville. If it wasn't a trick or a cruel joke, then she needed to come here and find out for certain. She needed the element of surprise on her hooves to find out the truth, so she had decided against writing Pinkie that she was coming.

Acting as if the letter might bite her, Octavia carefully picked up the envelope and looked at it. In the corner, written in a practiced and beautiful cursive was the word 'Blinkie'. Octavia recognized the writing style, though it had been more than a few years since she'd last seen it.

Opening the envelope once again, she pulled out the letter contained within. For what had to be the hundredth time, she read the contents.


  

Under the rolling hills of the majestic city, lies a quiet little town.

A town where dreams can come true and ponies can live a happy, peaceful life.

The farm is so quiet, so lonely sometimes. Let's go somewhere else, and just get away for a bit.

So I'll be waiting for you there.

In that silent town of Ponyville.

-Bellamena

  


She read the words again. Then again. She read it ten more times before she folded the letter and put it back in the envelope.

She couldn't deny the evidence presented in the letter. It was written perfectly in her sister's hoofwriting. Did that mean that Bellamena really was writing to her from somewhere in this town? That couldn't be the case. Octavia refused to believe it was true.

Bellamena was dead. She had been dead for a long time now.

Shoving the letter back into her bag, she clipped it shut and saddled herself up once more. Pinkie should know where the letter came from, and Pinkie should know how to deal with the relentless nightmares.

As the eldest of the Pie sisters, Octavia hated the idea of relying on her younger sister for help. Octavia was the one who was supposed to take care of her, not the other way around. But Octavia could swallow her pride long enough to realize that Pinkie was an adult, the same as her, and that she was the most suited for helping out in her time of need.

And the sooner she found her, the sooner this would all be over.

Crossing the street from the train station, the first building of Ponyville came into view. It was a decrepit old building, falling apart at the seams. The windows were boarded up, cracks ran along the surfaces, and any paint had long since peeled away.

“Odd,” Octavia murmured to herself as the building came into view, “I know its been a while, but I don't remember there being any derelict buildings like this in Ponyville...”

It had to have easily been over a decade since she had last visited the city, but this building looked like it had been sitting there for far longer than that. She certainly would've remembered seeing one in this condition near the train station at least.

Pushing the thoughts aside, she circled around the building and started making her way down the street. It very well could just be that the building had been abandoned the moment she left, and given the stories Pinkie had told her about Nightmare Moon and Discord attacking the town, it was possible it was just a leftover of their destruction.

A short ways down the road, she noticed that the second building wasn't fairing much better. It too was derelict, boarded up, and abandoned. A cold breeze blew by, sending a shiver down Octavia's back. She continued her pace, seeing a third building in the same condition.

Octavia slowed down a little as her ears twitched and swiveled on her head. Something didn't feel right. She was certain the map was accurate, but something felt wrong about the town.

There weren't any sounds beyond her hoofsteps and the occasional breeze. Even in a dense fog, she should be able to hear the sounds of normal city life in the distance. There should be the scuffing of hooves, the echo of voices, a sense of life.

She raised one of her front hooves to her other leg and gently scuffed it, feeling a slight nip of pain.

“Well, it feels real.” Octavia's brow furrowed as she murmured to herself, “But I've had nightmares that felt real too...” A shiver ran down her spine at the thought of being trapped inside one of her awful dreams again. She'd already had one awful dream about Ponyville, she didn't need a second within a few hours of each other.

“If it's another dream, I just have to power through it. If it's not...” Octavia stopped to consider what an abandoned, forgotten Ponyville could possibly mean if what she was seeing wasn't a dream. She immediately shook that thought from her head.

She had no reason to believe that anything was wrong with Ponyville. Other than that there was a strange weather pattern that wasn't being taken care of, and the distinct lack of sound from ponies living their day to day lives, of course.

“They've probably just holed themselves up in their houses until the fog passes,” Octavia did her best to convince herself. “I'll just make my way to Sugarcube Corner, and everything will be fine.”

She continued her way down the street, following the path the map had laid out for her. It was still quite a walk to Sugarcube Corner, but it was a fairly direct path. She tried to ignore the buildings she was passing, but was unable to ignore the boarded up windows and doors of each one.

It really was as if the entire town had been abandoned. It was now just a shell of its former self. An actual ghost town.

There was no way that was possible. If Ponyville had been abandoned she would have heard about it in the papers, or at the very least in a letter from her sister. And even if it had been abandoned, it wouldn't explain the condition all of the buildings were in.

Something was wrong here. Something was very wrong.

“I've never seen you before.” Octavia jumped out of her skin as a voice suddenly spoke up from the fog. She whirled to face the voice and saw a tall pale wall standing between two buildings. She looked up and saw a small filly sitting atop the wall, looking at her with a curious tilt to her head. “Since I've never seen you before, that must mean you're new in town, right?”

Octavia's eyes widened as her jaw hung. Sitting on top of the wall was the spitting image of her long-gone sister.

“B-Bellamena?” Octavia said barely above a whisper, unable to believe what she was seeing.

“Bellamena?” The filly's face furrowed in confusion, “Whose Bellamena?”

Octavia blinked, not comprehending the young girl's words at first. She quickly shook her head, rubbed her eyes, and looked back up.

The filly sitting atop of the wall wasn't actually Bellamena, but in the fog she had mistaken her likeness. The filly atop the wall had light ashen gray hair, a dark gray coat, and emerald green eyes. Her mane was cut in a similar fashion to Bellamena's, and if the lighting was worse, she could pass as the deceased girl's double.

“I'm... I'm sorry, for a moment I mistook you for someone else.” Octavia shook her head, still clearing her thoughts. Looking back up at the filly she put a smile on her face, “I'm glad to see another pony though. This fog was starting to make me feel like I was alone in this town.”

“You are alone in town silly.” The filly giggled, “None of the other adults are here to play. It's just you and me.”

Octavia frowned. “Well... You're out in this fog, that means I'm not alone.” She tilted her head, “Where is everypony else? You're the first pony I've seen since I got into town.”

“I dunno. They probably locked themselves in their houses or something. Adults are boring that way and don't know how to have fun.” The filly shrugged, kicking her hooves against the wall as she sat. “I've got the town to myself, the whole place is my playground!” She stood up from her spot on the wall and began walking along its length.

“That's dangerous though, what if you got hurt? No one would be able to help you.” Octavia walked alongside the filly, making sure she didn't fall off the wall.

“I'll be fine, I've always been a tough filly.” The foal boasted, lifting her head up with a smile.

“...What's your name?” Octavia asked curiously. The filly let out an annoyed sigh at the question.

“My name is Droning Elegy. But everyone just calls me Ellie.” Ellie glared down at the adult pestering her, “What's yours then?”

“...Octavia.” The adult blinked still registering the filly's name. “That is... Quite the unusual name your parents gave you.”

“Don't remind me.” Ellie huffed as she came to a stop near the end of the wall. She turned to face Octavia, a bright smile suddenly on her face, “I just had a great idea though! Let's play a game!”

“A game?” Octavia shook her head, “No, I'm sorry, there is someone I'm in a hurry to find. With the fog being this bad, I'd rather get there as soon as possible.”

“See, this is why adults are no fun.” Scoffed the little filly. “Come on, let's play Hide and Seek! I'll hide, and you seek! It's fun, you'll see! Go ahead and start counting, I'll find a great hiding place!” Ellie then leapt from the wall and disappeared from sight.

“Ah, wait-!” Octavia tried to call out to her, but the filly was long gone. She stood there staring at the empty spot the filly had been standing, before letting out a sigh. “She'll realize I'm not coming eventually, I'm sure. Sorry Ellie.”

The filly would be alright, Octavia convinced herself of that. The filly seemed to know the town, and she had said herself that she was tough. Besides, the town was just covered in a thick fog. It wasn't as if some horrible monster was rampaging through the city.

Having met the filly did make Octavia feel better about the 'desolation aesthetic' the town currently seemed to have though. It was still bizarre that all of the buildings she passed were boarded up and run down, but she convinced herself it was just a bad part of town now.

After all, if a little filly could get around fine, there was nothing for her to be afraid.

Her hoofsteps echoed through the town with each step as she made progress. She guessed that she had to be at least halfway to Sugarcube Corner by now with how much distance she had traveled. At this pace it'd only be another few minutes before she was at her sister's front door.

That was, until her path was suddenly obstructed.

A large wall had been erected in the middle of the street, patched together with corrugated metal sheets against a chain link fence. Most of the metal looked old and rusted with age, several sheets of faded newspaper looked like they had been attached to the fence as well, but were no longer eligible.

Word articulation failed her. Why had a large fence been built in the middle of the road like this? Was there something on the other side that was being blocked off? Even then, a wall this large was incredibly unnecessary. A simple road block would've sufficed. On top of that, it was built into the sides of the buildings alongside the road, with no means of getting through or going around.

It was a pony-made dead end for no apparent reason.

“Well that's... Irritating.” She clicked her teeth at the roadblock. This put a big delay on her estimated arrival time as now she had to figure out a way around the wall. She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out the map and marker, and quickly drew a line on the map where the wall blocked her path. Next, she followed the roads looking for the next most direct path to Sugarcube Corner.

“Okay, I just need to head back, make a couple of rights at the intersections, and I'll be back on course.” With the new directions memorized she put the map away and started backtracking her steps. The nearest intersection was just a short ways past the wall Ellie had been on so she didn't expect to get lost.

When the wall came into view she slowed down to check if Ellie had returned or if she could hear the filly. Silence was all she heard, so she continued on. It seemed the filly had taken the chance to play Hide and Seek seriously and was likely holed up somewhere for now.

“At least she'll be safe there until she gets bored.” Octavia convinced herself. The intersection was just ahead, and right now she needed to focus on getting through the empty town.

The echo of her hoofsteps was digging under her skin again, reminding her of how alone she was in the empty town. She reminded herself that once she was at Sugarcube Corner with her sister she could put all this weirdness behind her and get on with why she had come here in the first place.

The intersection came into sight, but a strange smell hit her nose. Her nose crinkled at the smell, recognizing it but having a hard time placing it. It was something fresh, but it had been a while since she'd smelled it. She looked at the ground, towards the source of the smell, and her eyes widened.

There was blood on the ground. Fresh blood.

It looked as if somepony had been dragged across the road, in the direction that she was planning to go. The blood trail stopped after a few feet, as if the bleeding pony had been picked up at that point and carried away.

Suddenly, the sound of metal scraping against the ground struck her ears and her head snapped to the direction it was coming from. In the foggy distance she could see a pony-shaped creature walking away, each hoofstep scraping against the ground as it walked.

She only saw the figure for a second before it faded into the fog. A few seconds after that, even the sounds of scraping vanished.

Octavia stepped back in fear. The blood hadn't been there when she walked down this road. This had just happened. And whatever pony had walked away into the fog was likely the cause.

And it was headed in the direction she needed to go.

The correct answer was to leave town and come back when the fog had cleared. Something dangerous was clearly happening here and she had wandered into the middle of it unaware. Once this had all cleared up she would come back when it was safe.

Octavia was about to start running, when an image of the little filly she had just met minutes ago appeared in her mind.

What if this blood was hers? If she abandoned her now there was no way she'd be able to survive. If some monster had attacked her and dragged her off, there might still be a chance to save her. She couldn't abandon a filly in need. What if that filly had been one of her sisters?

Pinkie was still in town too. If she ran now, her sister would be at the mercy of whatever was going on. On top of that, if Bellamena really was somewhere in this town, she was in danger as well. She couldn't abandon the filly or her sisters.

Octavia swallowed the fear that had built in her throat. The blood was pointing in the direction the figure had walked off in, and she had to follow it.

The first step was the hardest, but once she was moving, she was following after the figure. Her nerves were on edge and her body was on high alert. She didn't know what to expect, and as far as she knew, anything could jump out of the woodwork.

Another breeze blew through the street, an ominous chill blowing against her fur. She wasn't sure, but it felt like the temperature was starting to fall dramatically. It was fall, but the wind was starting to make it feel like winter.

Octavia came to a stop at the next intersection and stared at the ground. Another streak of blood marked the ground, turning right at the intersection. It was the direction she had planned to go in her mind, as if the figure knew the direction she was heading and was going there first.

The idea made Octavia shudder. It was also possible that Octavia was being led into some kind of trap, but she had no way to know for sure. She didn't even know if the filly was actually hurt either, but if there was a chance to save her she had to try.

With another gulp to suppress her fears, she turned down the road the blood pointed to and made her way down it. This street was considerably smaller than the one she had been walking down. There was really only enough room for two ponies to walk by each other with a bit of breathing room. It felt cramped and claustrophobic. In the thick fog, it was an awful street.

The smell of blood hit her nose and she slowed her pace. On the ground there was a new trail, one that abruptly turned into a chest-high chain linked fence. There was a gate opened slightly ajar leading into a cramped plaza on the side of the road. In the plaza she could make out piles of garbage sitting next to the walls, several scraps of discarded rusty metal, and a large pool of blood in the middle.

Octavia placed her hoof against the gate, it loudly screeching in protest as she pushed it open. She winced at the sound, hoping it didn't draw unwanted attention. After a few seconds of silence, she entered the plaza and first examined the large pool of blood in the middle.

Much to Octavia's confusion, the way the blood was pooled implied that something had died in that spot and then been dragged out into the streets. The blood looked old, like it had been sitting there for some time, and there was only enough leftover to stain the ground red.

“I don't get it...” She murmured to herself, “The trails leading here were fresh... So shouldn't this be fresh too?” She was glad that it wasn't, but something wasn't adding up.

She then looked up from the pile of blood to the trash scattered about. She was looking for a possible hint or clue as to what happened here, anything that might explain the contradiction. Her eyes caught a glimpse of blue amongst the otherwise black and brown bags of trash that seemed out of place.

Walking over to the color, she noticed that it was part of a clasp that was attached to a worn out and torn apart saddlebag. When she got close enough, her eyes widened in shock as she recognized the clasp.

It was a blue balloon, in the same shape as her sister's cutiemark.

The bag now had her full attention as she grabbed it and pulled it close. The saddlebag had several bite marks on it and the material had been shredded. Several splotches of blood discolored the outside of the bag, as if the pony it belonged to had bled on it.

Octavia's heart sank at the implication. Had Pinkie been the pony attacked in this plaza? Was she okay? Was she injured? Was she...

Octavia shook her head, refusing to believe something even worse had happened to Pinkie. She had to be alright. Pinkie was one of the defenders of Equestria! She stared monsters in the face and blasted them into oblivion. It was possible she'd been hurt, but there was no way something had taken her life.

Just then, a sound sprung to life inside of Pinkie's saddle bag. A sharp, hissing, static ringing sound was emanating from within. She blinked in confusion, as she had expected the bag to be empty. She quickly opened the destroyed saddlebag and pulled out whatever was making the noise.

“What's this?” She asked confused. It was a small, rectangular device with a dial and an antenna sticking out of it. There was clearly a speaker port though, and it was ringing with a noisy static, as if something was interfering in it playing a song. Octavia had never seen a speaker so small before, and in her mind she imagined it to be like a miniature Phonograph.

She turned the knob, trying to turn the device off. The noise grew quieter or louder depending on how she turned the dial, but it refused to shut off.

“I guess this thing is broken...” Octavia furrowed her brow at it. It must have been destroyed when the bag got torn apart with it inside. She didn't know what it was, but it had been in Pinkie's bag so she thought it might be important.

Metal scraped against the ground as the chain link fence rattled. Octavia jumped in her skin, whirling around to face the gate of the plaza. Pressing against the gate door was a pony like figure, but not like any pony she had ever seen.

White, ashen skin was what she noticed first. It had no ears on its head and a cloth wrapped around its eyes. There was a large wound on its head, splitting its head open. A crisscross of stitches were attempting to keep the wound closed, but couldn't prevent the wound from gaping. Stitches also covered its mouth, sealing it shut, as well as held together an open wound on its chest. A brown bile was dripping from its gaping wounds, mouth, and even from under the cloth around its eyes.

Its head twitched constantly, giving it an unnatural shake as it looked straight at her. The figure began walking closer, the sound of metal scraping the concrete ground as it did. Its hind left leg was wrapped in a slab of rusted metal like a cast. Its mouth opened, letting out a gurgling hiss of a moan, the stitches stretching from the exertion.

“S-Stay back!” Octavia cried, backing up against the wall. The thing drew closer, each step causing the metal cast to scrape along the ground. She had no idea what it wanted with her, but she wanted nothing to do with it.

The figure came to a stop in the middle of the plaza, just a few short feet away from Octavia. Its head stopped twitching and raised up, its mouth opening wide as a gurgled screech rang out. A spray of brown bile spewed out from the creature's mouth.

Octavia just barely dived out of the way, her hooves flailing wildly to get her out of harm's way. Her hooves hit the ground askew, causing them to slip out from under her and making her body hitting the ground with a hard thud. Her head was ringing from the sudden impact, but she had enough of her senses to roll back onto her hooves. She looked at where the bile had landed, and her eyes went wide.

The trash bags were melting, hissing loudly from direct contact. Even the concrete it touched was loudly hissing, small stacks of steam rising from the spots.

The creature's bile was highly acidic.

The creature closed its mouth and its head hung limp for a moment, before it started twitching again. Its hooves began to move, and the scraping sound of metal returned, as the creature once more aimed itself at Octavia.

She wasn't going to sit around long enough for it to spew more of its acid at her. She shoved Pinkie's broken device into her saddlebag and rushed forth in desperation. She slammed her body against the figure, causing it to shriek and stumble in confusion, and in that moment she dashed through the open gate.

As she raced away, the sound of the ringing device in her bag finally fell silent. She ran to the end of the road and slowed to a walk, before stopping and taking in several deep breathes.

“What in the name of Celestia was that?” Octavia asked herself, turning to look in the direction she had come from. She had no reason to believe the creature wouldn't come after her, but with that heavy metal cast on its leg it wouldn't catch up anytime soon.

“It really wasn't my imagination. Something awful has happened to Ponyville.” She sat for a moment as she put a hoof to her head in realization. There were monsters hiding in the fog. Strange pony-looking monsters that spewed acid. That had to be the reason she hadn't met anyone but the filly. If the citizens hadn't evacuated they'd logically be holed up in their homes.

That likely meant that Pinkie was fighting the creatures as well. As a defender of Equestria this was the sort of thing she handled with her friends.

But that meant her sister was in danger. Pinkie could be seriously hurt, or worse. And if Bellamena really was somewhere in this town...

Octavia took a deep breath and gently slapped her hooves against her cheeks. She needed to calm down and focus. It was also possible that Pinkie wasn't in danger. Either way, Octavia couldn't leave until she knew for certain what was going on. Whether she needed to help Pinkie, Bellamena, or Ellie, there was currently only one way to help anyone.

She had to get to Sugarcube Corner as quickly as possible.

The narrow road she was on emptied out onto one of Ponyville's main streets, and following it would lead her to the corner where Sugarcube Corner sat.

She stuck her head out from end of the street and looked around, though in the thick fog it was a futile gesture as she couldn't see further than five feet. She was going to have to at least cross the street, as her destination was on the corner of that side of the road.

If she wanted to find out what happened to her sister, and the town, she was going to have to take the risk of walking out in the open fog. There was no telling if there would be more acid spitting monsters or if she'd wander into something more dangerous. And the longer she waited, the more likely that something would find her anyway.

Octavia darted across the street as quickly as she could, hugging the dilapidated building once she had crossed. Nothing seemed to have noticed her, so she made her way down the street at a brisk pace. As long as she kept her pace up, she'd make it to her destination in no time.

That was, until her bag began to make that horrendous static ringing noise again. Octavia froze in place and turned to stare at her saddlebag, glaring at the noisy device inside. If she was going to avoid those creatures in the fog, she needed to be stealthy, and that wasn't going to happen with that thing making such a racket. Even if it was something that belonged to her sister, she was considering tossing it away.

The sound of metal scrapping against the floor broke her thoughts though, her head snapping to the road in front of her. Silhouetted in the fog was another pony-shaped figure, the same as she had seen before. Its head was twitching sporadically, and it was making its way towards her.

Octavia took a step back, her heart hammering against her chest as she watched it drawing closer. It had to be drawn by the ringing from her bag, that was the only explanation, right? The road was wide enough for her to avoid the monster, but if the miniature phonograph was drawing attention from the monsters, it was more trouble than it was worth.

“Sorry Pinkie...” Octavia muttered quietly as she pulled the device out. It had probably been something important to her, but as long as it was making noise it was only causing trouble. The twitching creature was drawing closer, and she could already see it clearly now.

With a grunt of effort, she tossed the miniature phonograph in the creature's direction. It wizzed by its head, before hitting the ground and skidding to a stop. The device continued to loudly ring behind the acidic monster, but it didn't even so much as twitch in the phonographs direction.

“W-What?” Octavia said in stunned disbelief. The creature was still drawing closer to her, the noise of the phonograph hadn't even distracted it.

Its head lifted up as it loudly gurgled, before spewing its acidic bile straight at her. Octavia was able to regain her senses at the last second, jumping out of the way in time as the vile mixture splashed at the ground where she had been standing. The hissing sound of melting road reminded her of what would happen to her if any of that touched her.

“You... You vile, filthy Spitter!” Octavia yelled in anger, rushing forward and slamming against the Spitter. It jostled in place, letting out a gurgled groan of confusion as Octavia took the opportunity to run past it. As she ran, she made sure to swipe up the phonograph that laid on the road and put as much distance between her and the Spitter as she could.

The moment the Spitter disappeared back into the fog, the hissing ring of the phonograph quieted down. Octavia didn't stop running until she was certain she had put a good distance between her and the Spitter. She took several, panting breathes as she looked behind her, making sure it really was gone. Once she was certain, she looked down at the phonograph in her hoof, noting how silent it was now.

“You...” She murmured, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “You warn me about the monsters... Don't you?” It had sprung to life both times one of those creatures had come close to her, and then immediately went silent once she had gotten away from them. That had to mean that it wasn't actually broken at all, it was working as intended.

This wasn't something she could throw away.

“I'm sorry for doubting you Pinkie...” Octavia murmured solemnly as she tucked the device back into her saddle bag. Though that left a bigger question in her mind, one that was starting to haunt her the more time passed.

What had happened to her sister?

With worry in her heart, she raced off down the street, needing to get to Sugarcube Corner as quickly as possible.


    

O   O
O

    


The roof was caving in, the walls were crumbling apart, the windows were boarded up, and it looked like no one had been inside in years, but Sugarcube Corner still looked much the same as how she remembered it. She hadn't lived there for very long, but there was no forgetting living in a place that looked like a giant gingerbread house.

“This is where Pinkie lives... Though it doesn't look like she's been around recently.” Octavia furrowed her brow in worry. It was possible that Pinkie and the cakes had boarded up the place and holed up inside, though there were no boards blocking the door.

Stepping up to the door she looked around her, looking for anything that might be moving. With the coast clear she raised her hoof and knocked on the door.

She paused a moment for a reaction, but only the silence returned. She knocked again and waited, but nothing stirred. No one was coming to answer the door, which meant one of two things. No one was home to answer, or no one wanted to risk opening the door.

Octavia put her hoof to the knob and tried opening it, expecting it to be locked. She was surprised then, when the door quietly creaked open, free for anyone to enter.

“Guess that debunks the 'holing up' theory...” She murmured to herself as she stepped inside. The inside of Sugarcube Corner was extremely dark, the boarded up windows only offering a shaft of light with the door offering the most of it.

“Hello?” Octavia called out into the derelict building, hoping that somepony was around. “Pinkie? Are you here?” She waited, but no response came. Either Pinkie didn't hear her, or no one was here.

A shiver of anxiety ran down her spine, realizing that she was still alone.

“Well, maybe there's some clues around...” Octavia muttered to herself. She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out her lighter, bringing the flame to life. The flame didn't penetrate the darkness far, mostly only illuminating anything directly near her. She could see a layer of dust had formed on the floor from disuse, another sign that no one had been there in a long time.

The first place she checked was the front counter of the store, looking to see if maybe a note or a newspaper had been left behind. To her surprise, on top of the counter was a lantern, conveniently placed for her needs. Unlike everything else in this place it was still in fairly good condition, there was even a knob for lighting it. Wondering if it still worked, she reached up and turned the dial on the lantern.

A satisfying yellow flame sprung up in the center, illuminating most of the room in an instant.

“A stroke of good luck.” Octavia mused, putting her lighter away. She grabbed the handle of the lantern in her teeth and turned around to take a better look at the store now that it wasn't cast in darkness.

Other than the dust that coated everything, Sugarcube Corner looked almost exactly as it had when she had left it all those years ago. The tables were still in the positions she remembered, the barren shelves would normally have been displaying the impressive baked and candied goods on sale, and even the old shabby rugs still lay on top of the wooden floor. If it was cleaned up a little and the exterior fixed, it looked like it could open for business tomorrow.

“Strange... It looks like the place was just abandoned...” Octavia noted, looking around at everything. “'Just how long have the monsters been around town? The ponies here obviously didn't just evacuate, they tried to wait out the storm...”

The last actual letter from Pinkie she had received had been a month ago. It was possible that the town had been like this for a month, but certainly she would have heard about it in the newspapers or something. The ponies would've contacted the outside world for help, called upon the Princess, the Royal Army, anything to deal with this if the Elements of Harmony couldn't handle it.

Unless... The ponies couldn't contact the outside world... And the only reason they couldn't have would be if they were...

“Stop it Octavia.” She quietly cursed herself. “You have no reason to believe anything has happened to anypony, you're only scaring yourself.” It wasn't a sound argument, but it didn't need to be. She was simply trying to keep herself calm. She didn't want to believe that anything had happened to her younger sister, not unless she had more solid proof.

She'd already lost one sister, she didn't want to lose another.

Turning her lantern, she spotted the stairs behind the counter. Old, familiar stairs that led to the upstairs bedrooms of the house. Each step creaked under her hooves, but she quickly made her way up. The first thing Octavia noticed in the hallway was that the doors were boarded up from the outside, as if they were trying to keep something locked inside of the rooms. She stopped outside of Mr. and Mrs. Cake's room, or at least where it had been when she was a child, and stared at it with worry.

What possible reason could there be to bar entry from the outside? Had something happened to the cakes? Had they...

Octavia gently shook her head, ridding herself of her thoughts. She took a deep breath and calmed her nerves. She was here for a reason, to find out what happened to Pinkie, or anypony for that matter, and she needed to check Pinkie's room.

Down the hallway was one last door, the very door she needed, and to her fortune it wasn't boarded up like the others. When they were fillies, the two of them had shared this room until Octavia moved out on her own. Pinkie mentioned that she had never moved out, so that door had to still lead to her room.

The door opened with a loud creak, revealing the stairwell that led up to the loft. The stairs were just as creaky and noisy as the downstairs ones, but she soon arrived at the floor's landing. Plenty of light filtered into the room, the windows not being boarded up and blocking the light like the downstairs ones. Octavia turned off the lantern and put it away in her saddlebag, before properly taking a look around.

Deflated balloons, fallen streamers, and confetti paper littered the floor. Pinkie's bed was a disheveled mess with pillows and blankets on the floor beside it, a sofa and dresser were visible next to the bed, chips and holes were in the walls, and several broken pieces of furniture rested around the room.

It hadn't changed much from when they were fillies, though anything still useable had been upgraded to be suitable for adult ponies.

“Leave it to my sister to leave a mess.” Octavia mirthlessly chuckled. It was Obvious Pinkie wasn't here, but there was something more to it than that. As she stepped into the room, she couldn't help but notice that the layer of dust that had been present all over the interior of Sugarcube Corner was missing from Pinkie's room. At most it looked like Pinkie hadn't been around for a few days, not months or years like downstairs. Outside of the mess, it looked like she could return at any moment.

Octavia shifted through the mess, looking around the room for a clue, any clue that would tell her where her sister went. She hoped she wouldn't have to dig through the trash and broken furniture to find any hints, but she was willing to do so if she had to.

The light in the room glinted off of something, and her eyes turned to look at the table beside Pinkie's bed. Stepping closer to it, the objects in question became clear. There was an ornate silver key on the table, laying on top of a piece of paper that looked like a note. With hope in her heart Octavia picked up the piece of paper first, quickly reading the note in the hope of finding a clue.



“I really enjoyed our last few sessions together, you make things so much easier for me to bear. I know you've heard me say it again and again, but you make the stress in my life just melt away. Things have been so incredibly stressful for me as of late though, I really could use your services again.

So, since I just earned my annual bonus from my job, I was thinking we could spend time together. And, since I've got so much extra, I was kind of hoping we could spend some extra time together. Maybe we could even finally do that thing I've always wanted to do with you. I never had the money for it before, but I do now!

I'll wait for you in our usual spot at the park. I included the key so you can come inside right away! I'll see you soon!”



The note was... Not, what Octavia had been expecting. At first it made her think of an obsessive creep that was bugging her sister, but then it spoke of them having met up multiple times before, and for a fee. It seemed as if Pinkie wouldn't meet up with this person unless they had the money to 'pay' for her services.

...Octavia didn't want to think what that could mean. It certainly didn't sound like the kind of thing the Pinkie she knew would do. It sounded more like a back alley deal for 'services' that would happen in Manehatten rather than in a wholesome little town like Ponyville.

In fact, it was entirely possible this letter wasn't even addressed to Pinkie at all! There was no name listed for the sender or the receiver, but the letter and the key mentioned in it were in Pinkie's room, so it was safe to assume she had been the one meant to receive it.

Either way, it was the first clue she had about ponies still being in the town. It was likely the note had been written before the monsters arrived, but since Pinkie wasn't here, it was her only clue as to her current whereabouts.

Pulling out her map of the town, she uncapped her marker and circled the area of it labeled 'Ponyville Park'. She followed the roads from Sugarcube Corner looking for the fastest route between them, taking a moment to memorize the path. With a new plan of action, she folded up the map and put it away.

As she finished tucking the map safely into her bag, the phonograph began to ring, causing Octavia to jump in surprise. Her head snapped up, looking back and forth in the room at what was causing the sound. Had one of the Spitters entered Sugarcube Corner and was waiting for her downstairs? Or was it something else-

Her pupils shrunk as her eyes locked onto a metal mask staring at her from outside the window. An eyeless metal mask staring at her, from a third story window with no balcony.

Blood smeared the muzzle of the mask, while bolts were roughly buried just above its eyes that kept the mask in place. Several painful looking scars stuck out from under the metal plating, a stark contrast to its furless white skin, and its long neck was covered in barbed wire. All Octavia could see was the head and neck peering at her through the window, and it was staring right at her. Its head ever so slightly tilted in curiosity.

She fall back, scrambling against the floor until her back hit the bed, her heart pounding against her chest as she stared at the creature. The phonograph's ring warned her that this monster was dangerous, that she shouldn't get near it. Even with a wall and window separating them, it was a threat to her.

Then, just as quickly as it had shown up, it turned and left the window. After a few seconds, the ringing of her phonograph died off, returning silence to the room. Octavia's breathing was still panicked, her heart thudding against her chest.

“What... What was that?” Octavia stammered out, still processing just what she had seen. It was different from a Spitter, it was tall enough to look into a third story window, and it had noticed she was there. It knew where she was.

Octavia had felt safe within the confines of Sugarcube Corner, but now that feeling of safety was gone.

There was nowhere in this town that was safe from the monsters outside.
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Octavia couldn't see any giant monster roaming the fog, but then again, she could barely see anything that wasn't two feet in front of her face. The very thought that something huge could be towering over her at any moment chilled her to the core.

But staying in one place was not the safer option, so Octavia was hurrying through the streets, hoping to avoid the monsters that lurked in the fog. The street on the way to the park was thankfully wide open, giving her plenty of room to escape.

The few Spitters she had encountered were dodged easily enough, but if she were to somehow find herself being cornered by them in an alleyway...

Octavia shook the thought from her head, focusing on moving ahead. There were a lot of things that could go wrong, but it wouldn't do her any good to focus on them. As long as she avoided the monsters, she'd be alright.

That was, until she came skidding to a halt in front of another dead end in the middle of the street. She stared up at the large fence built into the middle of the road, built almost exactly the same way as the last one. There was no way around it, and the thick corrugated metal made sure even if she tried she would never make it through.

“Dammit all...” Octavia cursed under her breath, looking around the fence. She could double-back and try to find another road, but then she might get cornered by one of the Spitters again like before. Maybe there was a faster way around, like through one of the buildings the fence was built into.

Checking the left side of the fence yielded no results, as all she saw was a large square building that was boarded up with no visible front door. She could try and check the entire length of the building, but that’d just be as much effort as doubling back at this point.

So with the left side ruled out, she checked the building on the right.

This building proved to be far more promising, as it was clearly a residential house that the blockade had been built into. It was out of place though, seeing as the street she had been running down was one of Ponyville’s shopping districts. She pushed those thoughts aside since the layout of the town had obviously changed drastically in a short period of time.

She checked to see if there was a path around the house that might be useful, but that turned out to be a dead end. A cement wall had been erected between the house and the building next to it, preventing anyone from going around it.  

The front door to the house was on this side of the blockade at least, so with her options being to check the door or turn back, she walked up to the door and tried the handle.

The door let out a loud creak as it slowly opened before jamming in place. It took an extra good shove of her shoulder to get the door to properly open all the way, seeing as its hinges had long since rusted over.

The inside of the house was dark, but there was some light filtering in through barred up windows. The front door of the house deposited her into the dilapidated living room, where an aging torn up couch sat in front of a dusty coffee table. Interestingly, a teapot and two tea cups were set up on the table, though no liquid had been poured.

From the living room extended two hallways and an open doorway that looked like it led into the kitchen. Stepping further into the house, and closing the rusted door behind her for good measure, she looked down the hallways of the living room.

The scant light didn't stretch far, but she could see at least three doors down the right hallway, and two down the other much shorter hallway. The air was thick and musty, a clear sign no one had lived there in years. Much like the other buildings, it must've been abandoned when the monsters overtook the town.

The important part was whether or not the house had a way of getting through to the other side of the fence. Other than the living room, the kitchen was the most well lit area of the house, so she decided to check it out first.

The kitchen contained the usual assortment of appliances that were all rusted over with age, a table large enough to fit four comfortably, and several cabinets that Octavia suspected were either empty or not worth looking through.

What did catch her attention was a big red door that looked like an exit out onto a backyard or porch that was in just the right spot to exit out onto the other side of the fence. It seemed that the fence had been built around the house and not through it.

“Fortunate for me I suppose.” Octavia commented to herself, walking up to the door and taking a look at it. There were three thick padlocks on the door, locking the door tight from the inside. She furrowed her brow and grabbed one of the locks, giving it a tough pull to see if it was loose. It jiggled against the metal holding it in place, but it seemed to be firmly locked.

“One blockade is replaced with another it seems.” She said with a sigh of frustration. “At least it looks like I could maybe open this one.”

Her attention turned to a piece of paper that had been pinned to the wall next to the door, noticing that something was written on it. The message was terribly messy, written with hoofwriting that was hard to decipher at first. After a bit of careful study, she had an idea of what it said.


  

The bright light of the night shines high in the sky
Over the head of the lonely mare
That's holding a weapon to her heart

  


“What in Equestria does that mean?” Octavia's brow furrowed in confusion. There was an arrow on the paper pointing towards the door, so the natural conclusion was that it had something to do with opening the door. So the note was likely a riddle, and that if she solved it, the door would open.

“Well, I guess I have two options then.” She murmured to herself. “I can figure out how to open this door, or I can go back outside and find another way around.”

So either search a house that had so far proven to be safe, or go back outside into the nightmarish monster-filled fog.

“It's hardly a decision really.” With a shake of her head she turned around and made her way back into the living room. There were two hallways for her to search, one that went deeper into the house and she'd have to pull out her lantern to see in, or one that was relatively short and had two doors she could clearly see.

Without a second thought she made her way down the short hallway. The doors were on either side of the hallway, one to her left and one to her right. The one door on the right had been sealed up, boarded up with thick planks of wood and at least two different chains. Whoever had barricaded the room off had clearly wanted nopony to see what was inside of it. So with her only option clear, she entered the left door.

At first Octavia couldn't tell what the room's purpose was, seeing as it looked like a tornado had struck it. Clothes were tossed around everywhere, furniture lay broken against the walls, blankets and pillows were tossed to the ground without care, and torn picture frames hung from the wall. What might have once been a respectable bedroom now looked like a hoarder's nest.

“What on earth happened here?” Navigating the room was tricky, since she wasn't sure where it was safe for her to step. Once she found her footing she drew closer to the bed, noticing two things on it. The first was an old blood stain that was fairly large and in the spot where a pony's head would normally rest. The other was a note, the top left corner of the page stained with the crimson liquid. She carefully picked up the paper and read what it said.


  

The man's wife came home early.
The man was not alone.
The wife screamed loudly.
The other woman quickly fled.

  


“Oh.” Octavia murmured in realization, looking back around the room and then at the bloodstain. “That would certainly explain the state of this room... And even the bloodshed.” As much as Octavia abhorred violence, she could at least understand why some ponies resorted to it.

Was that all the room had to offer though? Octavia felt like she was missing something important, perhaps something tied to the note. One riddle had led to another, but she wasn't any closer to opening the door.

Scanning the room once more, her eyes fell onto the only part of the room that hadn't been destroyed in the chaos. It was a desk, pressed up against the wall, with a box on top of it. Being careful of her step, she made her way to the desk and looked it over. The box was actually a small chest, with a lock on one side and a series of four buttons on the top. The buttons were colored red, green, yellow, and blue with a simplified pony face drawn on each one. The red button had an angry face, the green one had a normal smiling face, the yellow one had a face of fear, and the blue one looked like it was yelling.

Octavia blinked at the buttons, then back at the note on the bed.

“It couldn't be that simple, could it?” With the note in mind, she pushed down the green button first, followed by the red one, the blue one, and finally the yellow one.

The box let out a click, telling Octavia it was now unlocked. Apparently, opening the box had been that simple. Pushing the box open, she was greeted with an antique key that had a moon emblazoned on it.

“...You know what? I'm not going to question it.” Octavia decided. There was a door in her way and she now had a key that could potentially get her through it. That was good enough for her.

Quickly putting the key in her bag, she navigated her way through the messy room and back into the hallway. She stopped, suddenly smelling the strong scent of iron in the air. She turned her head and a scream caught in her throat.

A fresh coat of blood had been splattered against the hallway wall. It was so fresh that it was still dripping. There was no way she had missed that on the way in.

She rushed out of the hallway and looked around frantically in the living room for somepony that had been hurt, or one of those monsters from outside. However, nothing else about the house was out of place, only the fresh blood in the hallway.

“What the hell is going on here...” Octavia cursed under breath, no longer feeling safe in the house. The phonograph in her bag hadn't made any sound. It didn’t seem like there was a monster in the house with her, but it was also possible that the phonograph wouldn’t warn her about every monster she encountered.

“Okay... Okay, let's just... Let's just try the door again and keep moving Octavia. The less time we spend here, the better.” She was unnerved to say the least. It was one thing when it was simply avoiding monsters out on the street, it was another to have the world messing with her head like this.

She'd had enough of that from her nightmares.

The kitchen door came into sight as she rushed through the house, eager to get out as quickly as possible. She pulled out the key and grabbed the top-most padlock on the door, trying out the moon key on it. The padlock clicked open, now able to be freed from the door. A bit of hope filled her heart at the progress. She reached up to grab the key and try it out on the next lock, hoping it might open the door completely.

Both the key and the lock disintegrated into a pile of ash before her. She stared at the empty space in disbelief, uncertain of what exactly had just happened. Then she began to swell with anger, her body shaking as she grit her teeth. She let out an angry cry, as she swiveled her body around and struck at the door with her hind legs. A loud wooden thud echoed through the house from her exertion.

“So that's their game is it...” Octavia growled under her breath. “A riddle to open the door, and riddles to find the keys. All while exploring a house that feigns safety. The first one was easy just so that I could learn this little lesson.” She turned and trotted her way back into the living room. “Well, I'm not going to play their game, whoever they are. I'm sure there's another way to get to the park. It might take a little longer, but it's better than being stuck in this place.”

She made her way to the front door, twisting the handle and expecting it to open like it had before.

A defiant, jammed locking sound came from the door instead.

“What...? ...No. No, no, no, you were JUST open!” Octavia cried out in panic, wrapping her hooves around the handle and trying to force it open. No matter how she twisted or pulled, the only thing she heard was that lock defying her exit each time.

“Let! Me! Out!” Octavia punctuated each word by slamming her shoulder against the door, a futile effort that only made her muscles ache. She let out another frustrated, angry cry and kicked this door with her hind legs. The door let out a wooden thud, but remained untouched despite the abuse.

Octavia stepped away from the door, her breath growing shaky from her panic. She was trapped there.

“Okay, okay... Just... Just keep calm Octavia. Don't panic, just keep calm...” She covered her face in her hooves, repeating the words to herself. If she panicked, nothing good could happen. She had to calm down and think things through.

She wasn't permanently trapped in the house, she just had to find the other two keys and unlock the back door. Sure, the house had a coat of fresh blood in one of its hallways, but she hadn't actually encountered a monster yet. The world was just screwing with her, and she'd experienced that, and worse, in her nightmares.

“Okay... Calm...” Octavia repeated her mantra one more time. She wasn't tranquil, but she had calmed down enough to think clearly.

The next two keys had to be in the house somewhere. She had already checked one room, and there were three doors left to check. She got back on her hooves and walked towards the darker of the two hallways. She pulled out her lantern and turned the dial, the flame coming to life. With light to guide her way, she made her way deeper into the house.

There were three doors in this hallway, one almost immediately to her left, one in the middle to her right, and one at the very end. If there was a monster in the house she didn't want to be cornered by it in the hallway, so checking each door as she went made the most sense. With that plan in mind, she checked the first door and found it opened with only a slight creak.

It was another bedroom, though this one was far less chaotic than the last one. A bed was against the middle of the wall, a vanity to its left, a dresser to its right, a bedside table, and by the door was a desk with a lamp. She could also see a small closet and a personal bathroom aligned to the right wall. There was no blood staining anything visible in the room this time, though she didn't expect that to last.

There was something about the bedroom that seemed awfully familiar, but she couldn't place her hoof on it. Rather than dwell on it though, she moved to the first thing her eyes caught sight of. There were two things that were on the bed, the first was a black jacket, and the other was a note.

Figuring it was the riddle for the next key, she walked straight to the note and read it.


  

A dark and empty room.
The light suddenly turns on.
A thick coat is tossed aside.
A mare collapses on her bed.
Yet another night alone.

  


“Alright then, now I just have to find the box the key is hiding in.” She muttered to herself, expecting this puzzle to be the same as the last. She set to work looking for a box with buttons on it, assuming it'd have been in plain sight. Nothing was on the vanity or desk, nor in the small bathroom or closet. Once the obvious locations failed her, she checked underneath the furniture, her search bearing no results.

Her brow furrowed in confusion now. She looked back at the note, noting that its format was similar to the last one, but there was no box to open. She scratched her head as she racked her brain for an answer, but the solution to this riddle was being stubborn.

It was then that her eyes wandered over to the jacket on the bed. It was the only other thing in the entire room that was out of place, as it was the only article of clothing there. She picked it up, feeling the faux-leather material in her hooves. It was designed with fall weather in mind; not too thick but not too thin.

The last room's puzzle had told the story of the room, so this one did the same, right? But the pieces were in the wrong location...

Octavia turned her head to the desk, seeing that the lamp on it was turned off. She hadn't even checked it, having assumed it wouldn't work. She looked at the jacket, then the bed, and back to the note.

“Is that really what it wants me to do?” It seemed ridiculous, but she had nothing to lose from trying it.

Walking over to the desk she tapped the switch on the light, and to her surprise it turned on, illuminating that part of the room. With the lamp being such a success, she turned around and tossed the jacket onto the floor, as if she had just gotten home and wanted to relax. She then placed her lantern by the side of the bed, before flopping over on top of it. The motions felt familiar, as when she had first moved to Manehattan she had been so exhausted from her jobs that she would often just walk into her apartment like this and collapse.

She took a deep breath, letting it out in a slow sigh. The bed was actually more comfortable than she had expected. If it wasn't for the risk of imminent death running around outside, she would've been tempted to take a nap. She fluttered her eyes open, looking out into the room, wondering just what it was she was doing.

She then blinked, seeing something glint at her from under the vanity. She lifted herself up, looking incredulously at the glint. She quickly got off the bed, ducking down and looking under the piece of furniture. Sitting there was another antique key, this one emblazoned with a mare's face on it.

“But I looked here! You can't just...!” Octavia stopped herself from yelling at the world. She just let out a frustrated huff of annoyance and tucked the key into her bag. “Whatever, I have the second key now. So that means I just need to find one more, right?”

The world didn't respond, though she was fairly certain she already knew the answer.

She had the key, so she no longer needed to stay in this room. Picking up her lantern she made her way back into the hallway.

The walls of the hallway had several inch thick scratch marks running along the wall, as if a wild animal had run through and tore into the drywall. She looked to her left and right, making sure she was still alone in the house.

“They're just trying to scare you Octavia.” She said, keeping herself calm. “Just ignore them and move on.” Her mantra was doing the trick for now, as long as she kept her head level, she could keep her sanity.

The next door came up on her right, directly in the middle of the hallway. There was a fifty-fifty chance the key was in this room or the one down the hall, so she'd search this one first and move on if she had to. Her hoof pressed against the handle, opening the door with a quiet creak.

The phonograph instantly let out its shrill ringing, as a hoof shot out at her from the open crack of the door.

Octavia screamed, her lantern falling to the ground as she jumped back, her hoof still gripping tight to the door. A horrendous feminine scream erupted from behind the door as the wood slammed against the flailing black hoof. A monster had been hidden in the room, waiting for her to open the door. Two inches of wood and her firm grip was the only thing that was stopping it from ripping into her face. She refused to let go of the handle, keeping the monster's hoof trapped against the door frame.

The door jerked back, the monster trying to forcibly open it as the hoof continued to flail near her face. Octavia let out another terrified cry as she slammed the door down on the hoof, the monster letting out its own pained screams. She slammed the door again and again, letting out a terrified cry with each slam.

The creature flailed in pain, blood starting to coat the door's edge with each slam. Octavia refused to relent, pressing one of her back hooves against the wall as she tried to force the door shut on the creature. One last loud scream of pain erupted from within the room as the the door was yanked open just enough for the creature to pull its arm back in, before it slammed shut in her face.

The sound of the door being locked echoed through the hallway as her phonograph died down just as quickly as it had started up. Octavia stood in place, panting heavily, still holding the door shut, refusing to let go.

She waited several minutes, before her shaky hooves let go of the door. She sat down, staring at it, her body still recovering from the terrifying ordeal. What would have happened if it had managed to grab hold of her? What if she had let go of the door in her surprise and it had gotten out? What if it decided to stop hiding and it came back out to attack her?

She wrapped her hooves around her body, rocking gently in the hallway as she repeatedly whispered to herself.

“It's okay Octavia... You're okay Octavia... It's okay... You're okay...”

It was several minutes more before her shivering finally stopped. She took several deep, shaky breaths, calming her beating heart.

“You'll be okay Octavia... You always come out okay in the end...”

She needed a smoke, though there was no way she was having a cigarette in the middle of the hallway. Or anywhere inside of this house for that matter. She'd get somewhere actually safe first, then she could indulge her addiction.

Grabbing hold of her lantern, she stepped away from the hallway door slowly. She didn't know if the door would suddenly burst open, but she didn't want to risk a sneak attack from it. Once she was halfway between it and the next door, she finally turned around and rushed to the last door in the hallway. She put a shaky hoof to its handle and prepared to slam it shut if something was hiding behind it again.

It creaked open and her phonograph remained silent. She pushed it open inch by inch until she could make her way in, then closed the door behind her. It was a relief that she couldn't spot any monsters in this room, though her nerves were still on edge.

This room wasn't a bedroom this time, but rather a storage room. White boxes were stacked up all around the small square room, though more noticeably were the four boxes scattered around the room. There was yet another piece of paper sitting in the middle of the room, waiting for her to come read it.

Stepping up to the note, she placed the lantern down and read what it had to say.


  

A butcher prepares for work.
He opens his supplies.
He is shocked.
His meat has rotted overnight.
He stabs the rotten meat in anger.

  


“Ugh.” Octavia blanched at the imagery. A butcher was a fairly rare occupation, though a necessary one for all the carnivorous animals that ponies kept as pets. They kept mostly to fish and poultry, but as a vegetarian species the imagery still made her feel queasy.

She turned her head to the closed boxes, a pit dropping into her stomach. She had a feeling she wasn't going to like what she was about to see. Cautiously walking up to the box closest to her, she pressed her hooves and pulled open the lid.

She blanched again, pulling her head away from the sight of the chicken corpses lying in the box. She closed the box, not wanting to smell the awful odor of their bodies. They weren't rotten, but she never could stand the sight of dead animals.

“The key is in one of these boxes, isn't it...” She shuddered at the thought. Maybe she'd get lucky and the key was just sticking out for her to grab. Hoping that might be the case she moved on to the next box and opened it up.

Decapitated fish heads stared back up at her, as if the moment they had died was frozen on their faces.

Octavia shut the box faster than the last one. The fish smell was horrendous, but she could tell it wasn't rancid. She wasn't sure how all of this meat had been preserved so well in this room-temperature space, but she didn't feel much like questioning it right now. She stepped over to the third box and flipped open its lid.

She instantly gagged on the smell of rotting meat, the pungent odor hitting her like a truck. She turned her head and wretched, covering her mouth and nose as her eyes watered from the foul stench. She grimaced, swallowed her nerves, and peeked into the box.

The meat in the box was a type of red meat she hadn't seen before, with several parts of it discolored gray, green, and brown from the serious state of decay it was in. Mixed amongst the rotten meat was the glint of metal, one that clearly belonged to the next key she needed.

A disgusted groan escaped her lips, realizing she didn't have much of a choice but to get it out. Her other option was to stay trapped in the house until she either starved to death, or the monster in that room got to her. So with a heavy gulp, she closed her eyes and reached down into the rotten meat.

Gelatinous, slimy filth crawled against her fur, causing her to violently shudder. She whimpered in disgust as her hoof dug down in the middle, just feeling out for where the metal key was. She pried one of her eyes open, looking down into the box to make sure she was grabbing the right thing. The key was still slightly buried, so she dug her hoof deeper, the squelch of the meat echoing in the room.

Her hoof brushed against the key and relief swelled over her as she gripped it, pulling it free from its awful hiding place.

The key was immediately dropped onto the store room's floor as she shook her hoof, trying to rid it of the disgusting meat. 

“Ewwwww, ew ew ew!” She scraped her hoof against the floor and the side of the open box, getting as much of it off as she could. If the water was still running in the kitchen she desperately needed to wash her hoof off.

“Ugh... Now that that completely awful experience is over, I can get out of here.” She picked up the still tainted key, taking a moment to look at it closer. This one had a knife emblazoned on it.

Refusing to put it in her bag so as to not get its disgusting filth on her other things, she decided to just carry it back to the kitchen. Picking the lantern up with her mouth, she made her way to the door and was about to open it when she froze.

What if the creature had exited the room and was waiting for her in the hallway? She didn't want to be trapped in the storage room, but she wouldn't know unless she opened the door. She swallowed a lump of fear in her throat and slowly creaked the door open and listened carefully for any ringing from her phonograph. When it was opened just a crack and her bag was still silent, she tilted her head around the door and looked out into the hallway.

She could see straight through to the living room, there was no monster blocking her path.

A relieved sigh escaped her lips as she pulled the door open the rest of the way. The light of her lantern lit the walls now, revealing a black ooze that was dripping down them. Her nose scrunched at the sight, hearing the sound of the tar-like goo sloshing towards the ground.

She moved quickly through the hallway, pausing only outside of the door in the middle of the hallway, unsure if it was still locked or not. A strong scent hit her nose and she looked down at the floor, noticing that a pool of blood was spilling out from underneath the door.

Wanting nothing more to do with it, she galloped past the door and exited back into the living room. The living room had also fallen prey to the cruelty of this world. The couch was ripped apart, blood had splattered against the coffee table and cups, and the carpet was starting to rot over with mold.

Another gag escaped Octavia as she rushed into the kitchen. It wasn't faring any better than the rest of the house. Blood caked the walls and the counters, deep scratch marks were buried into everything, and the door she needed had a streak of blood running diagonally across it.

Rushing up to it she grabbed the top most remaining lock and tried pressing the knife key into it. The lock refused the key no matter how she inserted it. Her brow furrowed and she let the lock go, grabbing the next one and trying the key in it instead.

The key fit like a glove this time, unlocking the door with a satisfying click. A quick pull and the lock came free of the door, then vanished in a puff of ash. Just one more lock and she'd be free. The last key was quickly fished out of her saddlebag and placed into the final lock. Another click and the lock fell from its slot, just before vanishing into a cloud of ash.

Finally free of the locks the kitchen door opened with ease, opening up to the outside world. Octavia instantly rushed out to greet it. She came to a stop just outside the door however, when she realized that it was pitch black outside.

Night had fallen, and neither the moon nor the stars could be seen in the sky.

“Wha-, how long was I in there!?” Octavia's confusion was understandable, for it hadn't felt like she had spent half a day searching for keys. However, the house had become more twisted as she found each key, so perhaps it had some kind of temporal effect as well? That only furthered the proof that she needed to get to the park as quickly as possible.

It was then that her ears twitched, hearing the sound of something heavily breathing against the darkness of the night. Dirt shifted against the ground, heavy fluids sloshed around underneath skin, and a groaning wail echoed around her. She shifted her head to her left, her eyes widening in fear as a creature slowly became visible within the light of her lantern.

The upper half of a pony stood before her, standing as tall as the house. Its entire body was colored a sickly brown and it looked as if it was rotting away while alive. Its two front legs were disproportionately long in comparison to its body and each of its hooves had large metal shoes bolted onto them. Its head lacked ears, and its eyes were wrapped in a thick white cloth, blood pouring down from where its eyes would be. Its mouth was sealed with stitches, and a large gash down its chest was barely being held together by them as well. Its muscles seemed to twitch and convulse under its skin as the creature awakened, tilting i's head up to look straight at Octavia.

The huge creature opened its mouth as best it could, tearing its skin against the stitches as it let out a screeching cry.

Octavia turned around and ran straight back to the door she had just come through, grabbing the handle and desperately twisting it to let her back in. The door was jammed shut, refusing to let her back inside.

“OPEN! OPEN YOU STUPID DOOR OPEN!” Her screeching, terrified wails echoed around her as she slammed her hoof into the door.

A hideous, huge crack of wood echoed out into the night as the giant monster’s heavy hoof slammed Octavia directly against the door. It had smashed her so violently that the door had buckled and broke underneath the impact.

The giant hoof pulled back, Octavia's body slumping against the door as she twitched in pain. It was suddenly difficult to breath as her entire body screamed in pain. She could feel something wet trickling down her forehead and onto the ground.

Her blood?

...She was bleeding?

The creature cried out again and her mind snapped awake. Her legs were shaky but she managed to stand on them, running from the spot she had been lying on just in time to avoid the massive hoof that came crashing down.

She ran, looking for a way out, a way to escape. She came to a skidding halt as a large fence blocked her path. The wall of the house was to her right, the broken door behind her, and to her left was the giant monster blocking her way out.

She would have to get through the giant creature if she wanted to escape.

The Blocker let out another wailing screech, its hoof lifting into the air to slam down on her again. She just barely jumped out of the way, the ground caving in from the impact of the Blocker's hoof. Her legs wobbled, feeling the wind and debris rush past her from the sheer impact. She had gotten lucky surviving the impact against the door, she couldn't guarantee that with a second.

Octavia snapped her head towards its main body, watching as it pulled its hoof back towards itself. It seemed there was a delay between each strike, it needed time to pull its leg back before it could strike again.

If there was a way past it, she'd have to go for it at the right moment.

She looked around, spotting her lantern near the middle of the arena. It seemed that when she had been struck the first time it had rolled there on its own. It was conveniently lighting up the arena for her.

She dug her hind legs into the dirt, crouching low as she watched the Blocker's second leg raise into the air. Just as it came down she bolted forward, managing to escape the attack by inches. She ran straight at the creature, then to its side, looking for a way around it.

Its fat body was pressed up directly against the fence behind it. Even if she could squeeze her way around to the side she wouldn't be able to fit through any door. However, something in the corner under the creature's arm did catch her eye.

It was a red gasoline canister, just sitting there as if out of place.

Without a second thought she grabbed hold of the canister, not sure what to do with it just yet. Another loud screech echoed in the air as Octavia felt a sudden pull from behind her. A fearful, surprised scream escaped her throat as the metal hoof of the monster had grabbed her tail and lifted her up into the air. She flailed her hind legs in desperation, feeling the immense pain as her tail hairs strained to hold up her body.

The Blocker then pulled its hoof back, before flicking her rather suddenly across the arena and away from him. She slammed into the house wall with a hard thud, air escaping her lungs as her body came crashing down to earth.

She coughed and sputtered, feeling the pain beginning to swell around her back and legs. She opened her eyes with a wince, breathing heavily as she stared up at the monster. It was staring right back at her. A gurgling growl escaped its throat as it watched her, taunting her.

Her hooves unfurled from the gas canister, having held on to it for dear life as she had been tossed like a ragdoll. She jiggled it a little, checking to see if any gas was in it.

It was full. It was VERY full. She could feel the gasoline sloshing around inside it, waiting to be used.

She had a way through now.

The Blocker wailed as it readied another attack, intending to crush her on the spot. Octavia grabbed the handle of the gas tank with her mouth and sprung forward, the hoof crashing down where she had been laying. With her front hooves she quickly grabbed the tip of the canister and twisted it hard, the black cap unscrewing with a bit of effort. The pungent odor of gasoline filled her nose as she turned, glaring at the creature.

She raced forward as the Blocker's arm was being retracted to attack. She flung her head to one side, a splash of gasoline escaping out and splashing against its body. The Blocker let out a pained cry as some of it landed into its gaping stitched wound. She grabbed the canister with her hooves and splashed it again, this time hitting some of the ground as well as the creature's body. With the preparations set up, she let out a desperate cry as she slammed the rest of the open container directly into the open wound.

An even louder pained cry rang out into the night sky this time, just as Octavia felt the pain of her tail being grabbed once more. She let out another fearful scream as she flailed in the air, trying to get the creature to let go. The flick came faster this time, her body slamming roughly into the house again.

She hit the ground hard and crumpled into a ball, holding onto her chest and stomach, feeling her body trembling. Was she bleeding? She wasn't sure anymore. Her vision was starting to go blurry from the pain, she couldn't tell if she had a concussion or not.

Her saddle bag pressed smartly against her side, reminding her of what she needed to do. She rolled onto her stomach, breathing heavily as the blurry sight of the Blocker came into view. It gurgled a cry as it tilted its head at her, pulling its leg back, getting ready to strike again. She didn't break eye contact as she put her hoof inside of her saddle bag, quickly rummaging around for what she need.

The Blocker pulled its arm back all the way, lifting its arm in preparation to attack. Her hoof found what it was looking for and firmly pulled it out.

With a push of the lever, her lighter lit up with a gentle flame. She tossed the lighter, praying to Celestia that she’d hit her target.

Flames erupted from the middle of the arena, quickly rushing down the trail she had set, straight onto the Blocker's body. The Blocker let out a wailing shriek as its head began to twitch rapidly, the flames spreading across its body instantly. Its legs flailed around the yard, slamming down into the ground repeatedly, unable to put itself out. The fire spread up into the creature's wounds, and directly into the gasoline tank, just as Octavia had hoped.

A large explosion erupted from the back yard, flames spewing up into the sky. The creature let out one final wailing cry as it collapsed in the yard, its entire body being engulfed in the flames.

Octavia found herself sitting against the house, leaning her back against the wall as she watched the fire burn. She grunted in pain, her mind still hazy from being tossed around like that. She lifted her hoof and felt it hit something lying next to her. She turned her head and saw that her lighter had been blown back to her, none the worse for wear. She counted her fortunes for that as she picked it up, a new idea forming in her head.

From inside her saddlebags she pulled out her carton of cigarettes and counted her remaining stock. She had three sticks left, not nearly enough.

Popping one out, she grabbed it with her mouth before putting the pack away and lighting the end of it with her lighter. She inhaled deeply, letting the smoke fill her lungs before letting it out slowly.

At least the fire was strangely comforting.
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cool, refreshing water splashed against her face, as her mind finally escaped the hazy fog that had surrounded it.
 
The fire had burned the monster into nothing more than a pile of ash, leaving behind a burnt hole in the fence it had been pressed up against. With the path clear she had managed to wander her way through the darkness all the way to the park, and that's how Octavia found herself on the shore of Ponyville's Crystal Lake.
 
She dipped her hooves under the cool water again, enjoying just how much it helped her relax. Another splash to her face and she felt her faculties returning to her.
 
There was a dull ache spreading throughout her body and she could feel every bruise forming under her coat. She hadn't lost much blood, her injuries had mostly just been cuts from where her skin had split open from the impacts, but they had since closed up on their own. With the help of the lake water she was able to wash off what blood she could see.
 
Everything was still completely pitch black, and her lantern did a poor job of illuminating anything not within five feet of her. She at least knew she was at the park, but that was only because she had passed a sign saying as much on her way in. From there, her hooves had guided her as if on instinct to the lake, as it seemed she still had some memories of Ponyville's layout from all those years ago.
 
“So now, I just need to find some place that would be opened with a key...” She murmured, reaching into her saddlebag to grab hold of her map. She grabbed the first paper like thing her hooves touched and pulled it out.
 
Octavia stared at Bellamena's letter, having pulled it out by mistake. She gently held the letter in both of her hooves, staring at it in thought.
 
She had come to Ponyville as a surprise because of this letter, because of some long distant hope that perhaps Bellamena was somewhere in this town. She had come in search of a sister that had been dead for many, many years. It was impossible for her to be alive.
 
And yet she couldn't deny the letter she was holding. It was exactly the kind of letter Bellamena would have sent. In her exact hoof writing. In this exact style. And no one but those who had lived on the rock farm would have even known about the nickname 'Blinkie'.
 
“Are you really here Bellamena? Somewhere in this Celestia forsaken town?” Octavia whispered to herself, her emotions welling within her throat. She knew her sister had to be dead. Her grave sat back at the farm, same as it always had.
 
Pinkie had to know something about this letter, Octavia was sure of it. But if she did... What would that even mean?
 
Was Bellamena actually still alive and Pinkie was hiding that fact? Would her sister really have hidden something that important from her?
 
“I’d forgotten about her because I didn’t want to remember. And that’s a terrible thing for an older sister to do. So from now on, I promise to visit her once a year.”
 
Pinkie's voice echoed in her mind. It had only been a few months since that day, when Pinkie had appeared suddenly and whisked her back to the farm to see their sister. Pinkie was certain that Bellamena was dead too, which meant there was no way she was hiding that fact.
 
Putting the letter away, she actually pulled out the map this time and checked the immediate area. She was quickly able to discern where Crystal Lake was on the map, as well as the road she had taken to get there.
 
“Here.” She pointed at a building that sat to the left of the lake. “Crystal Shores Resort. It's the only building in the park, so the letter must have been referring to it.”
 
With her destination confirmed, she put her map away and made her way to the other side of the lake.
 
 
    

O   O
O

    
 
 
Crystal Shores Resort, just like the rest of the town, had seen better days. What had once been a nice hotel was now run down and falling apart. The floor boards noisily creaked as Octavia walked up to the front door, making her wonder if it was even strong enough to support her anymore. But, with the hotel being the only place in the park that would realistically need a key, and was a good 'meeting' place like the letter suggested, she pushed open the front door and entered the decrepit building.
 
She was met with stale, musty air as she entered, though that wasn't the surprising part. Several lanterns had been lit around the lobby of the hotel, illuminating the immediate area. There was a faded red rug lying in the middle, while broken and tossed aside lobby chairs lined the edges of the room. She could see the check-in counter at the end, and looking up she could see a second floor balcony that lead deeper into the hotel.
 
“Oh, THERE you are!” A familiar filly's voice spoke from above in annoyance.
 
“Ellie!” Octavia cried out in surprise, seeing the dark gray filly sitting on the balcony. She was looking down at her through the poles of the railing. “Oh thank Celestia you're okay! I thought something might have happened to you!”
 
“Yeah right, like I believe that.” The filly rolled her eyes. “You didn't even TRY to find me! You just left me alone and went off to do... I don't know, boring ADULT stuff!” The filly huffed, turning her head away.
 
“Ellie, listen to me! It's not safe here! The town is crawling with monsters! You need to get out of this town as soon as possible!” Octavia's voice grew desperate, fearing for the child's safety.
 
“Oh yeah? Well if it's so dangerous out there, why are YOU still here?” Ellie asked defiantly.
 
Octavia paused, not having expected that question. Her ears fell flat as she lowered her head, realizing that she did have the option to leave, and that she had almost taken it. But in the end she had stayed. She had put herself in danger and gotten hurt for it. So why was it that she was staying?
 
“I'm... Looking for my sisters.” Octavia looked back up, her voice growing more somber. “They're in this town somewhere, and I can't leave without them. One would be a young mare, just becoming an adult, with an ash colored mane and a blue-gray coat named Bellamena Pie. The other is a mare covered from head to hoof in pink named Pinkie Pie. Have you seen them?”
 
“Can't say I know who 'Bellamena' is, but everyone in town knows Pinkie Pie. I haven't seen her today though.” Ellie shrugged while standing up, starting to walk along the balcony. “But if the town was in so much danger, why would they still be here? The facts just don't add up.” She stopped, turning to Octavia and pointing down at her. “The only conclusion I've come to, is that you're a weirdo!”
 
“Ellie! This is serious!” Octavia stomped her hoof, getting frustrated at the filly's dismissive attitude. “I have to find my sisters, they're too important to me for me to just leave them, but you need to get out of here! Your family must be worried about you! Please, you have to escape before it's too late!”
 
“Let me think about it.” Ellie spoke in an annoying, childish way as she tapped a hoof against her chin. “Tell you what, I'll think about leaving... But only if you catch me!” Ellie childishly giggled, running off into the darkness of the upper floors hallways.
 
“Ellie!” Octavia cried again, unable to stop the foal from running off on her own. “Dammit to Celestia, THIS ISN'T A GAME!” She yelled out into the darkness, only hearing the faint echo of her voice before everything fell silent again. Her teeth ground in anger, letting out a growl of frustration before slamming her hooves against the ground. She took several deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down.
 
“That girl is going to get herself killed and there's nothing I'm going to be able to do about it...” She muttered bitterly under her breath. She had come here to search for clues on Pinkie Pie's whereabouts, but now she had to add hunting down a troublesome foal onto that list.
 
With Ellie gone, she looked around the room once more, getting her bearings for where she was. Around her she could spot four hallways, though three of them had long since caved in and were no longer accessible. The one hallway that was open looked like it lead further into the hotel, likely to where the rooms were kept.
 
Just behind the service desk however, was a door that looked incredibly out of place in the room. Octavia stepped closer to the desk to get a better look at it, before blinking in surprise.
 
It was an ornate, brick-red stone door, though no handle was visible. Instead, in the center of the door was a large clock that had several orbs drawn around it. They appeared to be three suns, one red, one yellow, one blue, and three moons, one white, one green, and one red. On each side of the clock was a picture of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna respectively. The Princesses were drawn with their bodies encircling a hole on each side in which something could be placed.
 
“Well, I can tell just by looking at this door that it's quite locked.” Octavia pulled back from the desk. “And no visible keyholes, so the silver key doesn't open it. I'll just move on.”
 
The hallway that hadn't collapsed in looked fairly normal, save for the layer of dust caked onto everything. A shallow green carpeting lined the floor against half-beige half-green walls. Turning the corner led to a pitch-black hallway which caused her to pull her lantern back out in order to see. Hotel rooms were laid out on each side of the hall, with the odd numbered rooms starting at her left and the even rooms starting at her right.
 
The first door she checked had a broken lock on it, the door jingling noisily as she tried the handle. While annoying, it at least told her that nothing could come in or out of the door, which meant that anything she was looking for wasn't inside.
 
The first door that opened for her was Room 103, which opened with a quiet creak. She had braced herself for anything that might jump out at her, but the only thing that greeted her was a fairly normal hotel room. It had a bathroom by the front door, two beds in the middle, and a closed curtain covering a large window.
 
Stepping in further, several more details became apparent. The bed sheets were displaced and ruffled, with the pillows tossed around the room without care. Several stains lined the sheets, floor, and even the walls, though she couldn't immediately tell what the stains were from.
 
Given how unclean she knew hotel rooms could be though, she didn't want to even shudder at a guess.
 
The most surprising thing that stood out though was a small pile of bits that sat on the bedside table. Walking up to the table she examined the bits curiously. They were just sitting there, as if they had been left as payment for something that no one had collected. For a reason she couldn't explain, the bits made her feel incredibly uncomfortable, gnawing a pit into her stomach.
 
Money was money though, and she figured it was possible she might need them at some point. She picked up the small amount of bits and put them in her saddlebag. Underneath the pile of currency was a torn piece of paper that had something written on it.
 
 
    

Who will be born again tonight?
Who will be born again tonight?

    
 
 
It was clearly the bottom portion of a postcard, and she could clearly see that more text had been written where the paper had been torn apart.
 
“Looks like another riddle, though only a portion of it.” She spoke to herself, flipping the card around and seeing part of a lake on the other side. “If it's like the other one, it'll probably help me open some door I need to get through. Guess I'll hold on to it just in case I find the other pieces then.”
 
With the bits and paper tucked away she couldn't see anything else of use in the room so she made her way back out into the hall.
 
The next room that opened for her was Room 106, leading to a room whose layout was pretty much the same as 103's but minus the window.
 
In this room the beds were completely different from the last one. One bed was just stripped bare, leaving nothing but the mattresses and the frame. The other still had sheets and pillows, but cotton and fluff had been tossed everywhere in the room as the bed had been wildly and viciously stabbed with a bladed weapon. Deep gashes were visible across the bed and the bed sheets had been reduced to rags. Whoever had last been in this room had destroyed the bed for some reason.
 
The sight was disconcerting to her, but without the tenant in sight she was at least somewhat at ease. Stepping further into the room she decided to check the bedside table to see if this one had any clues.
 
On the table was a gemstone, one that looked out of place in the destroyed room. It was a beautifully crafted green gem in the shape of an eye. It was ornate and regal, as if it belonged to royalty, and it was just sitting there in the middle of a filthy hotel bedroom.
 
“How did you get in here?” Octavia murmured, picking up the gem and examining it in her light. Just looking at it was a little unsettling, as the gemstone looked like it was staring directly into her soul. With that creepy thought pushed out of her head she gently placed it in her saddlebag with her other items. She then turned to find another torn piece of paper that had been hiding underneath the gem.
 
 
    

Cleanses the sinful and make them anew

    
 
 
It was another piece of the post card, though this one didn't evenly line up with the part she had. That meant at the very least there was a part that went between them, and a part that went above this piece. So she still had to find at least two more pieces of the riddle.
 
With everything of value found in the room, she quickly made her way back out into the decrepit halls of Crystal Shores Resort. She had now checked every room in that hallway and was ready to move on to the next.
 
Her progress was blocked, however, by several large, thick metal poles that had been erected at the intersection of the hallways. With her lantern held out she could see Room 107 just behind the bars, the depths of the hotel were now completely inaccessible to her. She reached out her other free hoof and tugged on the bars, learning that they were rooted very firmly in place.
 
“Well, someone doesn't want me going this way, clearly.” Octavia's brow furrowed at the sight. It seemed that no matter where she went there was going to be some kind of blockade in her way.
 
To her left was a stairwell that had collapsed and was no longer usable, which left her only unexplored option the hallway to her right that extended further into the hotel.
 
With her choice made for her, she made her way down the accessible path. At the middle of the hallway her lamp lit up a sign that was hanging from the ceiling that was pointing in two directions. To her left was a doorway that lead to the Pool, and to her right was a door that led to the Ballroom. She turned and walked over to the Ballroom's double doors and tried to open them, but only got the same broken lock sound as before.
 
The pool doors in comparison were made of glass, but had visible steel bars on the outside that prevented them from being usable. Next to the doors was a perfectly normal vending machine, pressed up against the wall, looking like it still worked. In the decaying and monster filled world, it seemed almost out of place.
 
The glass window on the vending machine showed it was mostly empty, except for a single slot in the middle that contained a yellow eye-shaped gem, just like the one she had found in the room. She had to blink at that, staring at the beautiful and ornate gemstone that was stuck in the middle of a normal vending machine. And being sold for four bits nonetheless.
 
“Wait...” Octavia's brow furrowed as she reached into her saddlebag and pulled out the bits from the first room she had visited. Four golden bits were splayed out in her hoof, waiting to be used.
 
“...Well, what else am I going to use them for?” She asked herself with a shrug, before sticking the coins into the machine. Each rattled inside of it with a click, indicating they had been accepted. Once the last coin was in she pressed 'C3' on the keypad and watched the machine.
 
The gears inside of it began to whir to life, the wire around the gemstone swirling around as it pushed the item forward to be dropped down into the slot below. The gem was pushed forward just enough to suddenly dangle from its spot in the machine, but not actually fall down just as the gears died down.
 
“...Seriously?” Octavia stared at the machine unamused. The gem was just hanging there now, as if taunting her. There was only one possible solution at a time like this.
 
She lifted her hoof and slammed it against the side of the machine. With a hard enough strike she saw the gem wiggle inside the slot. She grabbed the machine and let out a frustrated cry as she shook the machine hard. The gem inside wobbled just enough that it finally came loose and crashed down into the tray below.
 
“That was entirely far too much effort.” Octavia grumbled as she pushed open the slot on the vending machine to receive her trinket. To her surprise though her hoof came back with two items. One was the gemstone in question, but the other was a bottle that actually looked like it belonged in the vending machine.
 
“Health Drink?” She murmured aloud reading the label. The flair text on the bottle went on to describe its abilities as a 'painkiller' and to 'mend fresh wounds', as if it was some kind of miracle drink that would fix what ails you. Octavia was certainly still very stiff and sore from the heavy bruising she had taken, but she was far from drinking a random concoction she had found in a decaying vending machine.
 
“Suppose I'll hold on to it it just in case, why not?” With the two new items fitting comfortably in her bag she made her way down the rest of the hallway.
 
The hallway ended in another intersection, the same as the other. To her left was another hallway blocked off with a series of metal bars, in front of her was a stairwell that actually looked useable this time, and to her right were more rooms for her to check.
 
“Guess I'll finish checking the first floor before I make my way upstairs.” She decided, heading down into the hallway of doors first. The first door she checked, Room 113, was unlike most of the doors she had checked so far. The lock wasn't busted, but neither did it open for her. It was just normally locked.
 
She let out a scoff of frustration and was about to move on, when realization struck her. She reached into her saddlebag and quickly pulled out the silver key she had gotten from Pinkie's room and tried it in the lock. Although the key fit in the door, it didn't turn at all. She tried several times, before giving up in realization that the key wasn't for that particular room.
 
“It would be helpful if this key had a room number on it.” Octavia glared at the key in annoyance before stuffing it back into her saddlebag. “Maybe I'll stumble upon the key for this door later.” She hoped she didn't have to do a lot of backtracking in this place, but she was starting to get the sinking suspicion that she wasn't going to be so fortunate.
 
Room 115 proved to be more fruitful as it opened on the first try. This room, however, was far more decorated than any of the other rooms had been.
 
Balloons and streamers were scattered around the room with confetti spread out around the floor and beds. If she had to guess, this room had once been host to her party loving sister and then never cleaned. It was a sight that brought back nostalgia. She could still remember sharing a room with Pinkie the first time they had come to Ponyville.
 
 
    

O   O
O

    
 
 
“PONYVILLE! We're really in Ponyville!” A filly Pinkie bounced into the hotel room in excitement. She rushed around the room in pure joy before claiming one of the two beds as her own. She reached into her little saddlebag and tossed a flurry of confetti into the air.
 
“Well I'm glad you're excited sis.” A younger Octavia smiled, placing her own saddlebag down by the other bed. “Just keep in mind that moving to a new city is a big deal. There's a lot that needs to be done. Paperwork to sign, living arrangements to set up, you name it.”
 
“Oh, I'm not worried about all that.” Pinkie smiled brightly as she bounced on her bed. “After all I have the world's biggest, bestest sister here to help me through all of it! And I just know that we're going to be so happy that we're going to stay together forever!”
 
Octavia hesitated, grimacing at the prospect. “...I dunno Pinkamena, I haven't really decided if Ponyville is where I want to live yet.”
 
Pinkie's bouncing stopped, the young filly turning to look at Octavia with wide eyes, tears starting to brim over. “Y-You don't want to live in Ponyville with me?”
 
“It's not that!” Octavia quickly replied, not wanting her sister to burst out into tears. “It's just... I don't even know what my special talent is yet, you know? What if I'm an airship engineer, or an architectural designer, or a gemstone refiner? There's the possibility that whatever my cutie mark is, it'll take me elsewhere.”
 
“I... I suppose that's true.” Pinkie lowered her head, her hoof brushing against the bed forlornly. “But... You're going to be around until then, aren't you?” Those big blue eyes looked up at Octavia pleadingly.
 
“O-Of course sis.” Octavia hesitantly smile, walking up to Pinkie and gently placing her hoof against her sister's leg. “I'll always be here for you when you need me. That won't change, I promise.”
 
Pinkie rushed forward and wrapped her legs around Octavia, her small body shaking as she let her tears fall. Octavia just wrapped her own hooves around her sister, and held her in that delicate hug.
 
 
    

O   O
O

    
 
 
“Oh Pinkie...” Octavia muttered quietly, staring at the room nostalgically. She remembered their trip fondly, and the room gave her a warm, welcoming feeling. She found that she rather liked the room.
 
And then it was ruined by the sharp moan of a mare in ecstasy, muffled through the wall. Immediately following the moan started a rhythmic thumping that left little question as to what was going on on the other side.
 
“Oh for the love of Celestia...” Octavia growled in annoyance at the sounds. “Honestly, how can ponies do such a thing at a time like this?” It was certainly the last thing she had expected to hear in this decrepit hell hole, let alone from within a room that reminded her so much of her sister. The obnoxiousness of it all made her want to go chew the ponies out.
 
“...Wait! Other ponies!” The realization that she wasn't alone struck her like a brick. She rushed up to the wall separating them and slammed her hoof against it, trying to get their attention. “Hello! Hello can you hear me!?” The muffled mare only let out another moan in response, either as an answer to her question or in defiance of it. “HEY! You have to listen to me! The town is in danger! The streets are crawling with monsters and everyone else has left! CAN YOU STOP ROCKING THE BED FOR TWO SECONDS!?”
 
It seemed that no matter how much she yelled or knocked, the couple in the other room refused to stop.
 
“FINE THEN! Get killed by monsters, see if I care!” Octavia was fuming. She hated being ignored like that, especially when she was just trying to help somepony. Those two being in there at least explained why Room 113 had been locked at least. Without the key to their room she had no way of getting their attention.
 
“Stupid, situation unaware imbeciles.” She growled under her breath, turning back to the messy room. She'd just have to ignore them, as difficult as that was going to be.
 
Stepping up to the bedside table she found another jewel laying on top of yet another piece of postcard. This jewel looked much more familiar to her, as it was in the shape of one of the balloons on Pinkie's cutie mark. It was a lustrous red color and looked even more pristine than the eye had. Much like the rest of the room, just looking at it made her think of her sister.
 
She then picked up the torn piece of paper and read it.
 
 
    

Shining brightly in the night sky
Waiting for the souls

    
 
 
Judging from the way it was torn, it went between the two pieces she had found earlier. That left at least one more piece before the riddle was complete.
 
The other mare let out another sharp moan, causing Octavia's eye to twitch. She put everything away in her bag and marched out of the room, frustrated, angry, and wanting to take it out on that other mare. Banging on the wall hadn't worked, but maybe banging on their door would? She figured it might be worth a shot.
 
Once back in the empty hallway she made her way up to Room 113 and lifted her hoof, ready to slam it down and give them a piece of her mind. Just as she was about to knock, her phonograph began loudly ringing.
 
Her heart instantly fell as she whirled around, frantically looking around the hallway for the source of the ringing. Something dangerous was nearby and she didn't want to stick around for it to show up. The couple were locked in their room, they'd be fine, but she needed to get to safety. Uncertain of where to run, she ran back towards the main hallway in hopes of escaping the monster.
 
The phonograph erupted louder as she came to a screeching halt at the intersection, the light of her lantern filtering through the metal bars blocking her path. Standing just behind them was a freakishly tall stallion, his head going so high as to almost touch the ceiling.
 
From the top of its legs, up its body, and around its neck was thick barbed wire that looked like it was digging into the creature's furless white skin. Its two front legs had thick metal wrapped around them, and just barely in the light of her lantern was the same blood smeared mask she had seen outside of Pinkie's window.
 
It was the same monster as back then, and it had followed her straight to this hotel.
 
The creature that stood even taller than Celestia looked as if it was staring right at her, tilting its head ever so slightly in curiosity at Octavia.
 
Just the sight of the creature filled Octavia with panic, causing her legs to sprint away without realizing where she was going. Her hooves quickly met stairs as she raced up to the second floor, trying to put as much distance between her and the creature as possible.
 
The ringing of her phonograph grew quieter at the top of the stairs, giving her a moment to catch her breath. She looked back down the stairs she had climbed, trying to see if it had possibly followed her.
 
Though now that she realized it, the creature was far too large to fit through the gaps in the bars. She would've barely been able to fit her hoof between the bars, let alone a monster that size getting through them. She simply panicked upon seeing the creature and had run on instinct. Maybe it wasn't even the same monster from Sugarcube Corner as well, seeing as that monster wasn't nearly tall enough to poke its head into a third story window.
 
She let out a sigh of relief and turned around, only for the phonograph to flare back up with his hysterical ringing. The sickly, squelching sound of muscles and saliva hit the air as a new monster walked into the light of her lantern.
 
It was a sickly gray abomination, as if a pony had been cut in half and a large bulbous tumor had take the place of its upper half. The skin was shriveled and clung strangely to the body as it sauntered towards her, its pace slowed by the thick metal wrapped around both of its legs. As it drew closer, a long, sharpened tongue escaped from a 'mouth' out its front, the appendage dripping with thick saliva and twitching in the air, as if tasting it.
 
Octavia took a step back in disgust, revolted by the creature. The stairs behind her led back to that masked stallion, and metal bars blocked her path to her right, so she took the only path not obstructed and ran down the hallway to her left. The creature squelched as its head turned to follow her, its tongue slamming against the floor before immediately giving chase.
 
Her hoof desperately reached out for the first door that came to sight, the door to Room 213, and prayed it would open. It let out a loud click as it opened and she rushed inside, before slamming it shut behind her. Not a second later the creature's tongue slammed heavily against the door, the wood audibly cracking from the force of the impact. Octavia slammed her shoulder against the door and braced, gritting her teeth as she prayed for it to go away.
 
The tongue slammed against the door again, the entire structure shaking hard against the impact. She dug her hooves in and held firm, the door surviving a third strike from the powerful appendage.
 
The third hit seemed to give the creature pause, as she could hear its tongue slithering against the door. After a moment's pause she heard a muffled slurp, as if the creature had withdrawn its tongue, and the muffled heavy thuds of its footsteps walking away. She refused to move from her position of bracing the door, even after her phonograph had gone silent, until she was absolutely certain it was safe.
 
When she did finally feel safe, she let go of the door and backed away from it, watching to see if it burst open suddenly. When it didn't, she turned around to look at the room she had entered for the first time.
 
It was very different from all of the other hotel rooms she had entered up until this point. There wasn't a single piece of furniture in sight, or even any carpeting to speak of. It was an open room with a hardwood floor that was waiting to be renovated. On closer inspection there were several dark stains littering the floor and walls, though their origins were unknown. The only other thing in the room was what appeared to be a hatch in the center of the room that was tied shut with a piece of rope.
 
“That's odd...” Octavia murmured inspecting the hatch. She pressed her hoof against the rope, noting that it was wrapped tightly to the handle and a loop in the hardwood floor. Testing the handle proved that the door was not budging so long as the rope was there. “It looks like this hatch would open up to Room 113, though I'd need to find something that could cut this rope...”
 
She wasn't entirely certain why there was a door leading into that room here, or if bothering the couple really was worth her time at this point. She was certainly desperate not to be alone though, and if there were other ponies here she could suffer through some awkwardness if it meant they could travel together. Safety in numbers and all.
 
The room yielded nothing else of interest, so she made her way back to the door and pressed her ear against it. She couldn't hear anything but the sound of her own breathing, so she opened the door carefully to make sure the coast was clear. She could see the gashes on the door where the monster had struck it, but the hallway was otherwise empty.
 
Unsure of when the danger would return she sped up her search, quickly finding Room 218 to be the next accessible door. Upon entering 218, Octavia's nose immediately wrinkled as a foul odor filled the air. She gagged as she brought her hoof up to her face, the unmistakable scent of blood in the room.
 
Her phonograph was silent as she stepped further inside, the sight now matching the smell. There was blood splattered over almost the entire second bed in the room, looking as if someone had been brutally murdered on the spot. No body or organs, just the remains of a grisly scene. The other bed was, in stark contrast, made up as if fresh and new, with barely a wrinkle out of place.
 
“What in Equestria happened in this place?” Each room was worst than the last and she couldn't make heads or tails of it all.
 
Swallowing her nerves she walked over to the bedside table, where all the other clues had been. Sure enough, she found what she was looking for. This time however, she only found a piece of the torn post card. It looked like the top-most piece of the post card, and with all the pieces together she could now read the full riddle.
 
 
    

Red moon, red moon...
Cleanses the sinful and make them anew
Shining brightly in the night sky
Waiting for the souls
Who will be born again tonight?
Who will be born again tonight?

    
 
 
Octavia read the lines in order over in her head, not quite understanding what it meant. They had to mean something, but for the life of her she couldn't figure it out. Was doing all of this really getting her closer to finding her sisters? Or to what had happened in this town?
 
She had no answers to her questions, so she just pocketed the last bit of note and made her way out of the blood soaked room.
 
Her phonograph erupted into a roar of static ringing, as a muffled screech pierced her ears. The squelch of muscle and mucus ripped through the air as something struck the side of her body in an instant. Octavia screamed in pain as her body was flung from the impact, her back crashing hard into the carpet as her body rolled to a stop. Her hooves quickly wrapped around her torso, hissing through her teeth at the pain that was now assaulting her ribs.
 
Her eyes shot open as she turned her head, seeing the licking creature standing beside the door, its tongue flailing in the air as it loudly screeched. Its tongue slammed hard against the floor before it began to run straight in her direction.
 
She scrambled to her hooves, ignoring the fire now burning in her chest as she ran, hearing the monster's tongue impact on the floor of where she had just been laying. The pain in her chest roared at her, just loud enough to dull out the creature's cries as she put distance between them.
 
She came to a stop as she hit a railing, suddenly able to see down to the first floor. She was now on the balcony that Ellie had been on earlier. The little filly had to be nearby!
 
Octavia spun her head around, looking at the hallway she had just come from and seeing the creature stumbling its way towards her. It was by no means fast, but she couldn't just stand there and let it approach. She grit her teeth and sprinted away, running around the length of the railing to get to the other side. The Licker stopped at the railing itself, letting out a screech as its tongue tasted the wood blocking its path.
 
She stared at it, watching as the Licker pressed its head against the railing, trying to figure out what was stopping it from getting to her. It seemed it wasn't smart enough to realize that there was a hole leading to the first floor standing between them, and she thanked her blessings for that.
 
Running ahead, she made another turn and found herself in a new hallway full of hotel rooms to check. Her phonograph also died down, indicating she had put enough distance between herself and the monster that it likely wasn't going to chase her anymore.
 
Her hoof pressed against the newly forming bruise on her ribs, wincing at the pain from it. The tongue hit way harder than she thought possible, but it didn't feel like anything was broken.
 
“I've got to be more careful...” She sucked in a breath as she walked forward, trying not to agitate the wound anymore than needed.
 
In this hallway, the first door that was unlocked was Room 202. However, when she opened it, the door only opened partially, being stopped short by the chain lock. From within the darkness of the room she could hear a mare crying, a gentle sob as if somepony was trying to hide away from the world. Sobs from a pained soul who had lost all hope in the world.
 
“Hello? Is somepony in there?” Octavia called out, hoping that this time somepony would acknowledge her. The mare in the dark room gave no response, only continuing to wallow in her own pity. “Hey! If you can hear me say something!” She called out again desperately, just wanting some kind of response. Unfortunately, the mare seemed intent on not giving her one, just continuing to cry. “Excuse me but there are monsters roaming the halls out here! You need to get somewhere safe! Away from this crazy place!”
 
The mare refused to answer at all, causing Octavia to let out a frustrated sigh. She closed the door, feeling her frustration and anger starting to boil over again. Yet another pony that was completely ignoring her in a situation where they needed to come together for safety.
 
“What is wrong with everypony here?” It seemed the whole world was falling into insanity and she was the only sane one left.
 
Room 205 was the only other door in the hallway that opened, leading to a room that stopped Octavia dead in her tracks.
 
The entire room was made of concrete. Floor, walls, ceiling, everything. Four torches were lit in each corner of the room, and in the center stood a large statue of Celestia, her wings spread out and curled up around an altar that sat beneath her muzzle. On the altar was the carcass of a long since deceased pony, their blood having pooled and dripped down the sides of the altar of which they had been laid upon.
 
“Sweet Celestia, what happened here?” She brought her hoof up to her muzzle, gagging at the rotting scent of decay in the air. She swallowed hard and stepped closer, trying to examine what had gone on in this room for clues.
 
The body of the pony that had been sacrificed was far too decayed to be identified, but if she had to guess it once had black hair that flowed over the back edge of the altar when it had been scarified. Its skin was now a sickly grayish-green and wrinkled all over. There were no obvious wounds that she could see, but its blood was everywhere. There was also a plague on the altar that had been stained with the pony's blood that contained an epitaph.
 
 
    

Only the All-Seeing Eyes of our Grand Matriarch may pass Judgment on thy soul

    
 
 
“All-Seeing Eyes?” Octavia murmured reading the epitaph. She looked up at the statue of Celestia, seeing that where her eyes should be were instead slight depressions in the same shape as the gems she had found. “It couldn't be...”
 
Quickly reaching into her saddlebag she pulled out the green and yellow gemstones that she had found on her way through the hotel. Being careful to not touch the body, she leaned over the statue and placed each gemstone into the hole they fit. Once both had been placed she stepped back, waiting to see if anything happened.
 
Stone scraping against stone suddenly came from the statue, a shrill grinding as if something was opening within it. She watched as Celestia's head began to move ever so slightly, as if she was opening her muzzle.
 
The sharp sound of metal sinking into flesh suddenly pierced the air, as a knife fell from the monarch's mouth and slammed straight into the pony's chest.
 
The room fell silent, the process having apparently finished. Octavia blinked, staring at the butcher's knife that now stood straight from the pony's chest.
 
“Well that was gruesome.” Octavia grimaced. “Some ponies must be really twisted to come up with such a thing.” Though it seemed all was not lost as the universe had given her something she could use. Walking up to it she gingerly reached her hoof out, wrapped it around the handle, and pulled it from the body.
 
The knife appeared to be in good condition and had been sharp enough to pierce the carcass's flesh with ease. It was definitely an aged knife, she could see scratches marring its surface from years of use. With this she could cut through the rope that had tied down that hatch into Room 113.
 
That, and she could defend herself from the Licker and the Masked Stallion if it came to that.
 
“Room 213 is a straight shot down the main hallway from here.” Octavia murmured to herself thinking about the hotel’s layout. “If I run straight there I should be able to avoid any more harm.” The throb from her ribs reminded her of how hard the Lickers could hit, but with how slow they were they would be easy enough to stay away from.
 
With goal in mind she made her way towards the hallway door and held the knife in her mouth. She cracked the door open, checking to see if the Licker patrolling the hall was waiting to ambush her again. When her phonograph remained silent, she took her queue and booked it out of the room, rushing down the main hallway as quickly as she could.
 
Speeding her way down she kept her eyes peeled, fully expecting something to pop out in front of her. Her hooves echoed loudly in her head with each thud against the carpet, hoping she'd make it there safely.
 
The hallway with room Room 213 quickly came into view, her slowing just enough to turn the corner quickly. Her phonograph erupted into ringing as she heard the familiar squelch of the Licker heading towards her from the other end of the hallway. She wasted no time, rushing straight up to the door to Room 213 and pushing it open and slamming it closed behind her.
 
She braced against the door again, her phonograph growing quieter in the room but waited for it to go silent. She listened to the Licker slink around out in the hallway before it walked away. She let out a sigh of relief as her phonograph went silent.
 
The tied down hatch was waiting for her the same as it had been when she had first arrived in the room. Taking the knife out of her mouth she slid the sharp end under the rope and quickly began to slice. The rope was tough and it took some doing, but it began to come undone, splitting apart with each stroke. It didn't take long before the rope finally snapped, freeing the hatch from the ring holding it down. She quickly pulled the rest of the rope free before grabbing the handle and pulling the hatch open.
 
Room 113 was completely pitch black and silent.
 
“Hello?” Octavia called out, poking her lantern down the hole trying to get a better view. “Is anyone there?” Her lantern illuminated part of the room, but not enough for her to get a good view of it. She tried to adjust it to get a look at the bed, when the lantern suddenly slipped from her hooves.
 
“Shit!” She cursed under her breath, watching the lantern strike the edge of the bed before rolling towards a corner of the room. Now she was stuck in the darkness of both rooms unless she jumped down after it.
 
“I suppose I was planning to go down there anyway...” She reasoned with herself, feeling a chill down her spine. She didn't like how quiet the room was now that it was open. If the couple was still in the room they should've spoken up by now, but they were deadly silent.
 
Taking a deep breath to steel her nerves, she clamped the knife in her mouth again and jumped down into the room, managing to land with a graceful but loud thud. She sharply winced as all of the bruises from her previous fights yelled at her at once over what a bad idea that was. She breathed in sharply through her nose to regulate the pain, before turning to go pick up her lantern.
 
Her phonograph burst to life, the shrill ringing striking her ears as her eyes shot open wide. She twirled around on the spot, backing up slowly as the sound of squelching hit her ears. At the edge of the lantern's light came the form of a Licker, its tongue sliding out of its mouth.
 
The thick appendage shot forward like a bolt of lightning, suddenly smacking hard against her neck and wrapping itself around it. Octavia shrieked, the knife falling from her mouth before the tongue tightened and pulled, lifting her up into the air. She desperately clawed at the appendage constricting her airway, desperate to breathe.
 
The creature screeched loudly as her body was suddenly tossed around like a rag doll, being slammed hard against the room's wall. All the air escaped her body as she fell to the ground, the tongue letting go of her neck. She coughed and hacked, her hooves grasping at her throat from the pain.
 
The Licker's tongue struck at her again, smacking her hard against her face as it began to wriggle down her body. She could feel every inch of its stick saliva coating her fur as it slid down her barrel and stomach, wrapping around her hip as if it was tasting her. She began to scream in pain as the lingering saliva started to burn at her skin, the very liquid eating away at her. The Licker drew closer, cornering her with its entire body as it continued to 'taste' her, loudly squelching and squealing through the entire process.
 
Octavia grit her teeth, hissing at the pain covering her body. She squinted her eyes open, seeing the knife lying just barely within reach. She lifted her hind hoof and pressed down on it, able to pull it closer towards her. The Licker screeched at his, slamming her head against the wall, eliciting another cry of pain from Octavia.
 
She shuddered and did her best to flick the knife towards her with her hind hoof. The knife sailed cleanly along the carpet, striking close to the wall behind her. The monstrous tongue was sliding down between her thighs, causing her to scream again as she finally managed to grab hold of the knife.
 
With a loud cry, Octavia swung the knife hard into its head, the weapon easily striking her target. It let out a horrific pained screech as it swiftly pulled back, its tongue leaving her body as it thrashed in pain. She was far from done with it though, as she let out another enraged scream, tackling it to the ground as she pulled the knife out of its head.
 
Each stab was filled with an intense fury as she roared and screamed at the creature, cursing it, demanding it die with each violent stab. She kept stabbing even after it had stopped thrashing, even after the phonograph had gone silent, and even after the creature had bled enough to stop splattering blood against her coat.
 
One final stab pierced the creature's skin as she hung her head, breathing heavily as the pain and adrenaline finally began to subside. Her entire body shuddered, recoiling from the pain and trauma of what had just happened. She lifted her head up just enough to stare at the corpse beneath her, the Licker's tongue long since detached and curled up on the floor by its head. Its body was mutilated beyond recognition from her assault.
 
She finally got off of the creature, stepping away from it, still panting heavily. She looked down at the knife in her hooves, seeing it still dripping with blood. She saw the blood splattered against her coat, and then saw the burnt fur that followed the trail from the Licker's tongue
 
She shuddered, feeling utterly disgusting with that creatures vile fluids all over her. With her body aching, she put away her knife and finally picked up her lantern to look at the room.
 
A mare's body lay on the bed, her black hair scattered out amongst her bloodied carcass. There was so much blood covering her that identifying her was impossible.
 
“...I'm so sorry...” Octavia hung her head solemnly. There was nothing she could do for the mare.
 
The light of her lantern glinted off of something on the bedside table next to the mare's corpse. On her shaky legs she made her way over to it, lifting the lantern up enough to get a good look at it.
 
It was an old, rusty blue jewel in the shape of a contrabass.
 
She stuffed the jewel away into her saddlebag and glanced around the room one last time. With nothing else in the room, she wandered over to the door and unlocked it.
 
“Well... That's everything...” Octavia murmured quietly out in the hallway. “I checked every room I could, and not only did the key not open any of them, I couldn't find Ellie...” All she had managed to find was a postcard with a riddle on it, and a weapon to defend herself from the monsters.
 
She limped her way down the hall, back to the front lobby as she tried to think of what she had done wrong. She had only wanted to see her sisters... She had only wanted to protect that little filly... She had only wanted the company of another pony...
 
Where had she gone wrong?
 
Octavia's breath hitched in her throat as she shook her head, trying not to let the tears spill out. She just wanted to be done with this place if it had nothing to offer her in the way of answers.
 
She came to a stop in the lobby, turning her head towards the reception desk and the strange door that was placed behind it. She stared at it for a few moments, before it clicked in her head.
 
“A red moon...” One of the moon's on the door was red. That must have been what the riddle was talking about! With some hope returning to her, she moved to the door as quickly as she could and examined it in closer detail.
 
The images of Luna and Celestia were drawn with their bodies wrapping around two holes on the door, that just happened to be in shapes she recognized. She reached into her bag and pulled out the balloon and contrabass jewels, placing the red balloon into Celestia's hole and the contrabass into Luna's.
 
When the second jewel had been fitted inside, the door began to move, stone grinding on stone as the clock on the door extended out. It came to a stop a few inches out, looking as if she could turn the pictures and dials.
 
“The red moon is shining brightly...” Octavia murmured, staring at the dials. She pressed her hooves against the pictures and turned them until the red moon was the top-most picture. “So what's the time?” She wracked her brain, thinking the riddle over. “I guess it would shine brightest at midnight?” She was uncertain if that was the true answer, but it was worth a shot. She grabbed the dials on the clock and turned them until they pointed at midnight.
 
Octavia jumped in her skin as a clock chimed out loudly, ringing at her having successfully solved the puzzle. The dials moved back into the door as the clock continued to chime, the door loudly sliding up and into the ceiling as it opened.
 
The clocked finished chiming once it had chimed for the twelfth time and the room fell silent.
 
“Seems the way has opened up for me.” She murmured, furrowing her brow as she stared ahead. “Where does this lead though...” Lifting her lantern she entered the new room that had opened up. Her ear flicked as she heard something out in the distance, tilting her head to listen.
 
It was a siren, blaring out across Ponyville in warning. In warning to what though? The town was already infested with monsters.
 
She turned her head back to the room she had entered, seeing just a small square room made of cement all around. The bodies of two ponies wrapped in cloth hung from hooks in the corners, pools of blood sitting beneath them and a wooden door placed between them.
 
Above the door were the words written in blood,
 
 
    

Who will be born again tonight?

    
 
 
A shudder ran down Octavia's spine as an ominous feeling crept over her. She pushed forward, grabbing the handle of the door, and entered the next room.
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

According to the hotel map, she had entered into the Ballroom, where many grand events had likely taken place long ago. The floor, walls, and ceiling were made of cement, aged and stained from wear. She grimaced as she saw roaches scurry away from the light of her lantern, hiding in the darkness of the room. The air was stale, with a hint of rusted iron lingering in it.

Stepping further into the room, she came to a stop near the middle, her lantern illuminating a large red circle drawn on the ground.

The red circle held an intricate design, consisting of a large outer ring that contained runic symbols and writing, while three smaller circles sat in the middle. The symbols had clearly been drawn with blood, and while it looked arcane, Octavia couldn't for the life of her decipher it's meaning. As an earth pony, magic had always been beyond her.

“Alright, I'm in the Ballroom... Now what?” She asked herself, looking around the empty room. There was furniture wrapped up in white cloth around the edges of the room, but that was it. There were no clues, no riddles, nor anything for her to pick up.

It was just an empty room.

“So... Wait. Was all of that for nothing!? The riddles, the gems, the monsters, just... It all led to an empty room!?” Octavia grit her teeth as she felt her anger bubbling. The world wasn't just leading her around in circles now, it was actively wasting her time. “NGH! I hate this place!”

With nothing else to do, she decided she'd at least check out the hallways on the other side of the room to see if anything had changed before she left the hotel.

When she stepped through the door and her hoof touched down on metal grating, she realized something had changed.

A bottomless pit was now visible through the ringlets in the ground, the walls had been replaced with rusted sheets of metal, the ceiling was cement, and everything looked like it had been stained with blood.

“W-What...” Octavia gasped in shock at the sight, looking around, unable to believe what she was seeing. The world had changed in the blink of an eye. “What's going on!? The ballroom should exit out into the hallway! This should be somewhere I've already been, not... Not THIS!”

She looked around desperately for a clue as to what had happened. Panic was starting to set in and her heart was thumping loudly against her chest. It was then that she noticed on the ceiling was a sign with two arrows. One was pointing at the door she had just left saying 'Ballroom', the other pointing across from it that said 'Pool'.

This was the same hallway as before, but it had been transformed. Something had changed it into this nightmare of metal and blood.

“I-I have to get out of here.” Octavia stepped back, the panic fully taking over. “This- This place isn't safe! I have to go!” She flipped on her heels and tried to push the door she had just walked out of open, desperate to leave the hotel.

The door was jammed shut, refusing to let her in. Her eyes widened in horror as she stepped back from it, each of her steps causing the metal grating to creak loudly. She fell to a sitting position, staring in disbelief.

“Okay... Okay, calm down Octavia...” Octavia lifted her hooves and hugged herself, her body shaking from the panic. “T-There has to be a reason for this... There, there has to...” She shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut as she held herself. “You just... You just have to find a way out. You'll be okay. You'll be okay...”

She took several deep breaths, taking control of her panic and calming it down. The fear she felt was still there, but she was at least able to function again.

“You're accustomed to hardships Octavia, you can make it through this.” She shook her head, taking one more deep breath before standing back up. “This is no different from when you moved to Manehatten. Just handle everything one hoof at a time...”

Stepping forward, she found that the path to the pool that had been previously blocked off was now completely open. She swallowed her nerves and stepped into the dark pool area, instantly feeling the cool chill of the night air rushing down on her. This area at least had solid cement for ground, which instantly felt safer to walk on.

Her lantern then illuminated the empty pool that sat in the middle of the courtyard. What had likely once been pool chairs were scattered around it, now just rusted metal meshes of their former selves. The pool itself had a splatter of blood down towards the deep end, right in front of what looked like a giant mural.

Stepping in from the shallow end, she walked the length of the pool and held her lantern up to examine the image.

It was a picture of a female pony, faceless, with a book open as if she was reading aloud. Golden lines stretched out from underneath her to a large, thin rectangular dent in the wall, that looked like something was supposed to placed in it. Possible multiple somethings.

Just looking at it made her realize what it meant.

“Search the area, find the clues, solve the riddle... I'm sensing a pattern here.” Octavia grumbled, turning around and making her way back. “But what is it all for?” She wasn't sure if she was making any progress on finding Pinkie or Bellamena. She wasn't even sure if she could save Ellie at this point.

She was doing everything in her power just to survive, and that was going to have to be enough.

Octavia hesitated a moment, staring down at where the metal grating met the solid concrete. Being able to see through it and not see any bottom was incredibly unnerving. If the metal couldn't hold her weight or if it broke for any reason, she would be sent tumbling down into that abyss. And Celestia knew how long it would be before she died from hitting the bottom, if she even ever did.

One hoof hesitantly tested the strength of the metal, then another, then another. One in front of the other she began to make her way through the transformed hotel, the metal grating seeming to hold her weight. She just had to pray that it stayed that way.

At the end of the hallway the path opened up to her right, with the bars that had previously blocked her path now to her left. Her path to the front lobby of the hotel was now blocked off, and the inaccessible area from before was now open.

“No easy way out of this it seems...” She murmured quietly, turning to continue down the dark hallway.

What would have once been Room 107 appeared to her left, though the door had been replaced with a thick slab of metal. The door lacked any kind of handle and had been welded to the metal frame around it. A single look at it told her there was no way she was getting inside. At least she could tell from a glance the room was blocked off, rather than having to test each door one by one.

She stepped further down the hall, approaching the next room when she was stopped by the hiss of her phonograph. In the dark ahead of her she could hear a familiar squelching sound and hoofsteps clanging against metal growing closer. A Licker was heading straight for her.

Not wanting to confront another of those hideous abominations so soon, she quickly swiveled her lantern around to take a look at Room 108's door. Though this one was also a thick slab of metal, it had a clearly marked handle and looked like it might open.

She ran up to the door and tried the handle, giving it a shove and finding that it did open up for her. The door let out a loud, rattling creak as it opened, and the Licker let out its own screech at the noise before picking up its pace.

She shoved her shoulder against the door, quickly sealing it shut behind her as the noise of her phonograph instantly died. She pressed her ear against the door to see if she could hear the Licker, but it seemed nothing could get through the thick metal door. Since her phonograph was silent she assumed she was out of harm's way.

With that comfort in mind she turned around and lifted the lantern up to look at the room she just entered, and grimaced at the sight.

It looked like some kind of torture room; chains and shackles were hooked up to the walls, whips and rods were hung up, butcher hooks hung from the corners, and a flat bed covered in blood with straps sat in the middle of the room. It was a gruesome room meant only to harm other ponies.

“What kind of a madman creates such a place...” Octavia said with disgust, pushing down bile she felt rising in the back of her throat. Something glinted from the light of her lantern, and she stepped closer to the table to investigate.

In the center of the pile of blood was a tile with a beautiful picture drawn on it. Picking it up to take a better look, she saw that the picture was rather intimidating. It depicted a white pony looming over a cage in which a much younger pink pony had been locked inside, while an oven was cooking behind him.

“...It looks like it's the right size to fit into the mural...” She spoke hesitantly, not wanting to keep the scary looking tile. She just had to trust her instincts on this one, quickly pocketing the tile into her saddlebag. “The sooner I get out of here, the better.”

With the torture room offering no other clues in her search, she went back to the metal door and gulped down her apprehension. She grabbed the handle and pulled it open with a bit of effort, the door loudly creaking as it opened. Her phonograph was silent for the moment and she stuck her head out to ensure the coast was clear. The Licker was nowhere in sight, so she closed the door behind her and continued her way down the hall.

Turning another corner and passing by two more closed doors, she came to a stop in front of a door that stood out in the metallic hell.

It was a wooden door, with fancy engravings carved into it like some sort of ViP room. The door had a golden faceplate on it that had rusted with age, labeling the door 'Room S102'. It was the nicest door she had seen since she'd entered Ponyville that day, so it had to mean something.

She stepped up to the door and tried to open it, finding the door was locked tight. Octavia furrowed her brow at the door, wondering if she had to wander around until she found the key. Given her track record she would likely have to, but it was at least worth trying the key she had.

Pulling out the silver key, she placed it in the door's lock and turned it. The door let out a click, opening up for her as the key vanished into a pile of ash.

“Oh!” Octavia said in surprise, not having expected that to work. “So this is the room? I wasn't actually expecting to find it... Here...” She turned her head to look back at the hall of metal, rust, and blood that somehow was dangling precariously over a bottomless pit. A beautiful ornate door like this just didn't fit in with this hell of a landscape.

Taking a deep breath to steel herself for anything, she pushed the door open and walked inside.

The inside of the room was surprisingly okay, given the nature of where she was. It was once a fancy hotel room, with beautiful drapes lining the windows and walls, a gorgeous bed made of fine silks and plush pillows, several soft sofas and chairs around a small table, and even a small kitchen area for brewing tea or snacks. All of it had worn down with age, covered in a coat of dust and scratches. Most of it looked unusable now, any metal having rusted over, or the cushions having lost their lift.

The room also stank of stale blood, a scent she was starting to get used to. Her eyes wandered over towards the bed, instantly spotting the source of the smell. A Licker was dead on the sheets, its tongue hanging over the edge of the bed, laying in a pool of its long-since rotted blood.

“At least it's not a threat...” She murmured to herself, though she still didn't feel very comfortable around it. She stepped towards the body first, lifting her lantern to look at it. The creature was paler than its other counterparts, likely due to the severe blood loss it had suffered from. There was a long gash that ran from between its legs and up to its bulbous head that had clearly been the cause of its demise. A folded letter was placed just underneath its head

She carefully grabbed the letter and pulled it out from under the body, watching it carefully for movement. When it remained still, she took several steps back before looking at the envelope in her hoof. It had a bit more weight to it than she expected a simple letter to have, so she quickly tore it open and pulled out the letter.



Hey darling! I'm so glad we got to spend such a wonderful day together! You really were such a sweetheart! I know that thing you wanted was a little more expensive than usual, but I do so hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! Our time together always seems so short, but I'm glad I was able to take all of your stresses away~

I hope I'll get to see you again soon sweetie~ And if you ever need a helping hoof to ease those troubles of yours, you know where to find me~

Yours truly,
Pinks~



The letter had been finished with an exaggerated kiss in bright pink lipstick. This was clearly a response letter to the stallion that had been so desperate for her sister's attention, and this letter...

She didn't want to believe it was written by her sister, but... The hoof writing matched. A little more flowery than what her sister would write, but it had all the same trappings. Is' dotted with circles, that way she curved her Ss', the spacing, everything about it.

And of course, the name signed at the bottom and the pink lipstick...

Octavia felt her stomach churn at the thought of her sister doing something like this, of her being involved in this! Pinkie was a sweet, gentle, and caring soul who loved everyone around her! She wasn't some two-bit floozy who went around using her body for- for THIS!

The letter crumpled in her hoof. This was completely unacceptable! She wasn't going to stand for this! She was going to get to the bottom of this and find out who was tarnishing her sister's good name!

Pinkie Pie was the sweetest, kindest, most loving pony she had ever known, and she would let no one destroy her reputation!

“...Huh?” Octavia blinked in surprise, reaching a hoof up to her face. She wiped away a tear that had fallen, staring at her hoof in confusion. “...What?… Why am I...” She shook her head and wiped her face again, brushing the tears away. She didn't have time for this. She had to find her sister.

Tossing the letter away she checked the envelope once again, reaching in and pulling out two things. The first was a rather plain looking bronze key, the other was a business card.

“The Satin Saddle, hm?” Octavia glowered at the business card. It had a silhouette of a mare posed provocatively next to the name, with curvy little lines all over it. “If I make it out of here I have some questions for them.” She stuffed the key and business car away in her saddlebag and made her way for the door.

There was a fire burning inside of her now. She wasn't going to let this world stop her from finding her sister.

The hallway was still empty so she continued on her path with purpose in her step. The hallway came to an end this time, though metal bars blocked her path going right, and the only way forward was the stairwell that led up to the second floor.

The stairs let out loud, creaking groans with each hoof step, as if they were threatening to break under her weight. Each step was just a sheet of metal precariously attached to the walls, and through the cracks of each step she could see down into the infinite abyss.

It didn't take long to reach the top of the stair, stepping onto the second floor of the hotel. Despite the fact that she knew the first floor was below her, she couldn't see it through the grating that still made up the floor.

“...Perhaps it's not as bottomless as I thought.” She murmured under her breath. “Though I'm not sure if that's better or worse...”

Room S203 was the first door to her right at the top of the stairs, and its door was... Remarkably normal. It wasn't a slab of metal or an ornately decorated door like the last one. It was just an ordinary wooden door, just like one she would find in her apartment building.

Curiously drawn to it, she stepped up and pushed it open, walking into the new room. She stopped with a gasp at what she saw.


    

O   O
O

    


“So, this will be your place.” A gruff older stallion said, pulling a string to turn on the light. The tiny little apartment was barely anything to speak of. The living room, bedroom, and kitchen were all smashed together into a single living space. Only the bathroom had the decency of being its own room, and even that barely had room for the shower and toilet inside of it. “Rents cheap, but rent is still rent. Given how pathetic your deposit was, I take it you don't have any steady work yet.”

“N-No sir, not yet.” A much younger Octavia muttered, feeling the old stallion's intimidation. “But I plan to start job-hunting right away! I'll have your first rent payment at the start of the month, no problem!”

“You better.” He said with a grunt turning for the door. “I got too many ponies trying to be freeloaders as it is. If you don't got the money then I'm kicking you out.”

“O-Of course! I won't let you down!” Octavia blurted out just as the older stallion closed the door behind him. Octavia was now all alone.

She turned around back to face it, looking at the cramped, dingy little apartment that was apparently hers now.

“Alright Octavia, this is it. This is your chance at starting a new life.” She affirmed to herself, nodding with a hopeful smile. “Manehatten, the city that never sleeps. I'll make my talent shine bright here! This town won't know what hit it!” It was a prideful boast to be sure, but one that failed to hide the nervousness and anxiety that filled the young pony's heart.


    

O   O
O

    


“This is... My old apartment...” It had seen better days, but the layout was exactly the same. A small, one-room, economically designed apartment that had everything crammed together into one tiny space. All of the furniture was torn to shreds and scattered everywhere, dust and grime covered the walls and counters, and stains mired everything.

But she could never forget the sight of the first place she had ever lived away from home.

“What... What's this doing here?” She gaped in confusion, stepping further into the room and looking around with her light. She spotted an old torn up concert poster she had put up as inspiration, that bad stain from where she had spilled coffee, the dent in the wall from where she had run into it, and even the position of the furniture had been where she left it.

There was no doubt in her mind that this was her old apartment.

“How... How is this even possible?” Confusion and worry filled her, until her hoof stepped on something that crinkled. She turned and lifted her hoof, looking down to see one of Pinkie's old letters laying on the ground, next to what appeared to be another one of the tiles.

She took a step back before picking up the crumpled paper from her careless hooves and read it.



Hey Sis! I JUST got your letter from Manehatten and I HAD to write back RIGHT AWAY! I know your special talent sent you to that city, but I miss you already! Everything feels so lonely without you around, but I'm going to be a big girl, just like you told me to be!

But when do you think I'll be able to visit you? I want to see where you'll be living from now on! I want to throw you a big surprise party there too! It's not exactly a proper home until you've had a 'Congratulations on your New Home' Pinkie Party there, right? I certainly couldn't imagine living somewhere that I hadn't thrown a party at yet!

I know you could do it though... I miss you so so so so SO MUCH! You HAVE to let me visit soon! And make it a Pinkie Promise! And when we do meet up again, I promise I will have so many amazing stories to tell you! I'll make a lot of new friends, so I won't miss you as much, and I'll work super hard for the Cakes so you don't have to worry about sending me money!

I just... I miss you Octavia. Please write back to me soon! I want to write a letter to you everyday so that you know I love you as much as you love me!

Your bestest sister in the whole wide world!
Pinkie



Octavia felt something sharp tug at her heart reading the old letter again. She had almost forgotten about the constant letters Pinkie would send her back during those days, back when Manehatten had been so terrifying. They had been a source of comfort, to know that what she was doing was the right thing, that she would make it through her Manehatten days alright.

She folded the letter up carefully, not wanting to damage the precious memory any more than she had, before slipping it into her saddlebag. “I will find you Pinkie. I promise you, I will.”

Picking up the tile next she examined it curiously. She could see on it two young ponies, a pink one and a gray-blue one, with an older dark-gray pony walking away from them in the background. The three of them appeared to be in some kind of wooded area, though the two younger ponies looked as if they were lost.

She clearly didn't have enough pieces to understand how they went together yet, so she slipped the tile into her pack before giving her old apartment another look over.

“Is this is what happened to it after I left?” She wondered to herself. “It's been so long since I've been here...”

Though despite how many memories the apartment held, she needed to keep moving on if she wanted to find her sister. Certain she had found everything of value she made her way back out into the hall.

The loud ringing of her phonograph broke out the moment her hoofs touched metal, her head whirling to see a Licker approaching from the edge of her light. It loudly squelched as its muscles moved around its bulbous head, its tongue quickly sliding out.

Octavia's eyes widened in shock, quickly stepping back to put distance between her and the creature. The Licker's tongue fully extended from its mouth, flicking through the air, looking for its prey.

Pinkie flashed in her mind, her innocent younger sister, her smile so bright. She imagined her sister trapped in this town, cornered by one of these creatures, just like she had been. She saw its tongue slithering across Pinkie's body while she cried out in pain. She saw Pinkie's blood being splattered against the wall, as this creature had its way with her.

Anger replaced rationality, rage consumed her instincts. She was not going to let this world have its way with her sister!

The Licker screeched loudly, its tongue flailing wildly as it found its prey. Octavia rushed forward, quickly drawing the knife to bear down on the creature. The fleshy tongue came crashing down against the metal grating as Octavia just barely dodged it, letting out a battle cry as she slammed the knife down into the Licker's head.

A piercing screech filled the hall as the Licker flailed its body. The thick tongue flicked through the air with incredible speed, slamming into her chest with a powerful thud. The air instantly escaped her body as she was tossed through the air, slamming into the hallway wall.

Pain soared through her body as she held herself up against the wall, so much so that even breathing caused her agony, with each heavy breath ripping through her lungs like a knife. She grit her teeth and glared death at the monster, watching its body slosh around as it turned to face her.

Octavia refused to let it have its way, and pushed off the wall with a fierce cry, rushing straight at the creature again. The tongue came crashing down, this time striking her back with its full unrelenting force. Octavia screamed from the pain, but used the moment against the creature. Her hoof rushed up and wrapped around its neck, while the other came up, grabbed the knife, and stabbed it back into the creature.

The knife let out a sickening squelch as it pierced the monster's flesh, it echoing alongside the loud scream from the Licker, and a cry from Octavia. Blood splattered everywhere with each stab, staining the metal a richer red. The creature began to stumble and the tongue grew slow, until finally the creature's body fell with a thud.

Octavia panted heavily, crouched low over the creature's body. She slowly withdrew the blade, watching as the color drained from its body and the blood dripped through the grating.

The Licker was dead. The second one she had killed.

She put the knife away in her bag and stepped away, only for her chest roar in pain. She cried out, collapsing on her sides, holding onto her chest, feeling like every breath might be her last. Her body shuddered from the pain as her breathing grew ragged and shallow, trying desperately to figure out what was wrong. There was so much pain, she couldn't handle it!

A fire was ripping through her and she needed to stop it. She reached a hoof desperately into her bag, looking for anything that might stop the pain. Her hoof landed on the bottle she had gotten from the vending machine and quickly pulled it out. If this 'Health Drink' really did what it claimed to do, then she needed it right now.

She ripped the cap off with her teeth before chugging the contents down hungrily. The taste of bitter herbs with a hint of strawberry began to wash over her mouth as she swallowed every last drop. When the bottle was empty she pulled her lips off with a loud gasp and shuddered, tossing the empty bottle aside and waited for the effects to kick in.

It would be several seconds before a gentle warmth filled her lungs. Her breathing grew steady and the pain began to fade from her mind. She could still feel it there, but it seemed the drink wasn't lying about being a pain killer. Some of her strength was even returning, as she was able to push herself to stand. Her body gently shook, but the pain was at least tolerable now.

“Bastard....” Octavia hissed, glancing over at the dead monster with a glare. She spat at the creature in disgust, then picked up her lantern and continued her way down the hall.

She focused on keeping her breathing steady as she walked, passing by another sealed door before coming upon room S201. This door was made of the same thick metal as Room 108, so she figured nothing happy could be behind it. Pressing her hooves against the door she shoved it open, the door loudly screeching in protest to her arrival.

Something in the room skittered across the darkness, causing Octavia to jump. She lifted her lantern quickly, looking around for what had just moved.

The room's walls and floor were made with thick metal, while what had to be broken furniture covered in stained white tarps were placed all around the room. It looked as if long ago someone had wanted to move into this room, but something had gone terribly wrong and rather than throw everything out they had just wrapped it up in the sheets.

A faint whimper escaped from one of the darker corners of the room and she swiveled the lantern in its direction. “Who's there!?” Octavia called out.

“GO AWAY!” A little filly's voice cried, immediately dashing out of the corner she had been hiding from to another. The filly's familiar coat and mane passed through her lantern as she rushed behind a piece of furniture.

“Ellie!” Octavia cried out in elated surprise. “Oh thank Celestia you're alright! I've been looking everywhere for you!” Ellie's tiny head half poked out from behind one of the broken pieces of furniture, glaring at Octavia.

“Liar!” Ellie accused. “You haven't been looking for me at all! You just stumbled in here on accident!”

“I-I didn't know where you were! I had no choice but to check all of the rooms, you could have been anywhere!” Octavia stepped forward, trying to explain herself. “I swear, I've been looking for you! It's dangerous for a filly to be wandering here alone! There are monsters wandering the halls out there! I need to get you out of here before something bad happens to you!”

“My mom told me never to talk to strangers, and you're being really strange right now!” Ellie glowered, still refusing to come out. “I haven't seen a single monster! How do I know YOU'RE not the monster!”

Octavia let out a groan of frustration at this filly. “Aren't we past the whole 'not talking to strangers' speech at this point? This is our third time meeting! And of course I'm not a monster! Monsters want to hurt innocent fillies like you, and I don't want that at all!”

“I don't believe you!” Ellie declared, ducking behind the cloth, disappearing from sight. “Prove you're not a monster then!”

“Prove it!?” Octavia balked at idea. “How am I supposed to prove that?”

“That's for you to figure out! I'm not traveling with any monsters!” Ellie let out a huff of annoyance from her hiding spot, her mind seemingly made up. Octavia let out a groan of frustration, taking a hoof and running it down her face. She didn't have time to play games with Ellie, not if she was going to get her out of this hotel and to safety. What in Equestria could she do to convince Ellie that she wasn't a monster?

“You've got a really beautiful voice sis. How come you don't sing more?”

Octavia's eyes slowly widened as the words of her youngest sister crossed her mind. That was right, long ago she had done something special for her sisters. Closing her eyes, she took in a soft breath, and began to sing.


“In a dream so long ago,


of flowers in warm moonlight,


foals would play the day away,


in perfect harmony.



A land so rich and beautiful,


was very far away.


Those who got to see its grace,


were those truly blessed.



Fields of gray and rock and dirt,


stretch beyond that dream.


To those who fall and lose their dreams,


they come to call this home.”


Her voice grew quiet as the last note of the song lingered in the air. It had been so long since she had last sung the piece, having long since given up on adding her voice to her music. Her passion was to the classical pieces that she performed, and adding her voice to them had never felt right.

The sound of cloth shifting caught Octavia's ear and she lifted her head to look up at Ellie who was now standing out in the open. Her brow was furrowed, as if she was confused in thought, but she had come out of her hiding spot. Octavia couldn't help but offer her a gentle smile.

“Was that satisfactory?” Octavia asked curiously.

“...You've got a nice voice...” Ellie murmured, seeming to be thinking about it deeply. “...Alright fine, I'll go with you. But don't start acting weird okay!” She huffed, stepping up closer to Octavia. “Adults always act weird around kids and I hate it!”

“I'll do my best Ellie, though your safety will be my top priority. If I tell you stay behind me or get to safety, you listen to me, alright?” Octavia stated firmly, making sure Ellie understood the severity of the situation.

“Ugh, already acting weird.” Ellie huffed. “I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself!”

“I'm being serious Ellie. It's not that I doubt your ability to take care of yourself, but I don't want you to get hurt either. So just do as I say until we get out of here, okay?” Octavia reaffirmed her position to the filly.

“Fine, fine. Just lead the way already.” Ellie rolled her eyes, growing impatient with her adult companion.

“Thank you, that's all I ask.” Octavia said with a relieved sigh, turning back towards the door. “It's safer for us to stick together, so let's head out.”

With Ellie in tow, Octavia pushed the door open and re-entered the metal hallway. She quickly glanced around for danger before making her way down the walkway. Ellie stuck to her side as they wandered through the hallway, the sound of their hooves loudly echoing against the metal.

A cold draft wafted through the hall as Octavia paused, turning to look to her left. The metal wall broke off, revealing the large dark hole that seemed to lead into the abyss. The tear into the open expanse extended out along the rest of the hallway, giving the hallway a soft breeze.

“Do you think anyone would care if we went swimming?” Ellie asked curiously, sticking her head out over the edge of the walkway down into the abyss. Octavia couldn't see anything past the pitch black abyss, but one story down she would be looking at the pool area of the hotel.

“Well, even if no one cared, there's no water in the pool at the moment.” Octavia said with a shake of her head, reaching out to the little filly and pulled her back a little. “Also don't stand so close to the edge, it'd be dangerous if you fell off.”

“I wasn't going to fall! Even I know better than that.” Ellie scoffed with a roll of her eyes, before continuing forward. Octavia just shook her head and quickly followed after the young filly, not Letting her out of sight.

The door to room 209 came into view and Octavia came to a stop in front of the door as Ellie kept walking.

“Ellie, wait.” Octavia spoke up, causing the filly to turn her head confused. “I'm still looking for my sisters and I found a note that said they might be here. I need to check the rooms for clues that might lead to them.”

“Ugh, fine. I guess I'll just follow you wherever you go.” Ellie was clearly annoyed, but complacent as she turned around and walked back up to Octavia's side. Octavia gave her a nod and a smile before grabbing the metallic handle of the door and pushing it open.

The room was smaller than the others had been, with aged wood making up the floor and walls. There was a torn apart small metal bed pressed against the wall, a broken dresser on the other, a small toilet next to it, and between them on the other wall was a large window covered in bars.

The room felt strangely familiar to Octavia. On one hoof it felt like it was supposed to be someone's personal bedroom, with the aged wood and the bed and dresser. On the other, the toilet and the metal bars made it feel like a jail cell. It was as if the two rooms had been merged into one.

“Hmm, I don't see anypony.” Ellie said, giving a quick look around the empty room.

“Seems that way. I'd still like to search it real quick, as somepony may have left a clue.” Octavia explained, stepping further into the room.

“Fiiiiiiine.” Ellie exasperated, moving over to the bed and hopping on top of it. She let out a childish sigh and flopped over on it, staring up at the ceiling while she waited for Octavia to finish up her boring adult stuff.

With there being nothing obvious near the bed Octavia turned her attention towards the dresser. There was nothing on top, so she grabbed hold of the top drawer and pulled it open. Inside she found one of the square tiles just like the others she had found. This one depicted an older gray mare closer to the front, who looked clearly angry and agitated at two younger ponies playing behind her. It was the same pink and gray-blue fillies as before.

Having found what she was looking for, she quickly stuffed it into her saddlebag and gave the room a once-over. She couldn't shake the feeling that the room was familiar, but with nothing springing to mind, all she could do was head on out.

“Did you find what you were looking for?” Ellie asked curiously, having noticed Octavia put something away into her bag.

“I did, and it should hopefully help lead me to my sisters.” Octavia said with a nod, making her way out of the room. “Let's keep moving.”

The empty hallway felt colder now, the night's chilly air washing through the open half of the hallway. It made Octavia feel uneasy, this whole world did, but the chill of the air only made everything feel more ominous.

They passed by another sealed door, and were approaching the next room when Octavia's phonograph began to ring. She froze on the spot, her eyes widening as she heard the familiar sloshing begin to approach the two of them. Her heart jumped into her throat and her eyes snapped down to Ellie, who was just continuing forward, unaware of the danger that was heading straight for them.

“H-Hey!” Ellie cried out in surprise as Octavia rushed forward, scooping the little filly up into her hooves. She rushed forward just far enough to reach the door to Room 207 and slammed her shoulder against it. The door gave way with a loud clang as they stumbled inside. The Licker let out a loud screech in response to the loud crash, only fueling Octavia's adrenaline. She rammed her shoulder against the door again, slamming the heavy metallic door shut.

She pressed herself against the door hard, ensuring it would stay closed if the monster tried to force its way inside. Her phonograph had died down the moment she closed the door, but with Ellie there she wasn't going to take the risk if she didn't have to.

“HEY! LET GO OF ME!” Ellie thrashed violently against Octavia's grip on her. One of the little filly's flailing limbs struck against a tender spot on Octavia's chest, causing the mare to his in pain and let go of the filly. Octavia quickly wrapped her hooves around her torso, wincing as she watched Ellie bounce to the center of the room, turning to glare at her.

“What was that about!?” Ellie yelled, glaring at Octavia. “You said you wouldn't be weird!” Ellie stomped her hoof, huffing in anger.

“I'm sorry! But there was a monster right in front of us!” Octavia shook her head, still reeling from having her chest kicked. “I had to get us out of danger and fast!”

“Monster? I didn't see any monster!” Ellie huffed, stomping her hoof. “You're just making things up!”

“Didn't you hear it? It knew we ran in here and cried out at us!” Octavia pointed at the door in disbelief. “If I hadn't brought us in here it would've attacked us!”

“Liar! This is why I don't like adults! They're nothing but liars!” Ellie growled.

Octavia opened her mouth to respond, but stopped when she noticed the room they had entered. It was a fairly large room with cement for the walls and floor, but it was littered with large gray rocks everywhere. In the corners they were stacked up high and spilled out towards the center. Ellie blinked and turned around to look at the room as well, the two of them staring at the strangeness of it.

For Octavia though, the shape of the rocks only brought back memories.


    

O   O
O

    


The heavy rock fell into place with a heavy thud, finally at its destination. Octavia leaned against it, breathing heavily as her mane fell in front of her face. Her fur was coated in a layer of sweat and the muscles in her limbs were burning hot. Harvest day was fast approaching for the farm, and that meant there was still so much work left to be done. Most of the rocks needed to be rotated across the field, while others needed to be placed into their final position.

The biggest of the rocks to be harvested all needed to be placed into their final positions before the end of the week, so that they can finish their development and be sold for a profit. It was hard, back-breaking work, but if the farm was to stay afloat it needed to be done.

“Excellent work Inkantessa.” The gruff older stallion spoke up, stepping over to her. Octavia lifted her head just enough to see him through a part in her bangs, giving her father a weary smile.

“Thank you Father.” Octavia said with a gentle shake of her mane, pushing herself off the rock to stand on her hooves again.

“The harvest is turning out well so far, if we can move just a few more of these today we'll be ahead of schedule.” Her father said, turning to the large rock and gently tapping it with his hoof. He gave it a nod and turned back to her. “The next rocks I need you to move will be the three large rocks over in the west field and take them to the east field. After that we can call it a day for today and get some dinner.”

“Yes Father.” She spoke with exhaustion not looking forward to dinner. You could only eat Rock Soup so many times before you started to crave something else.

Their conversation was interrupted by the laughter of foals, the two of them turning to look towards the noise. Pinkamena and Bellamena were out in the fields playing some kind of game together, chasing each other around the fields without a care in the world.

“Well, those two certainly look like they're having fun.” Their father said, looking at his two youngest daughters with a loving smile.

Octavia couldn't help but stare at them, at the way the two of them played so care-freely, the way they didn't care at all that Harvest Day was fast approaching. They had time to play even though there was so much hard work to be done. Even though she had to work until she was about to pass out, and they just got to frolic and play in the fields.

“Alright, back to work Inkantessa. The rocks won't turn themselves.” Her father said stoically, turning to head back to his section of the field.

“...Yes Father...” Octavia murmured in return, tearing her eyes away from her sisters to stare at the ground. She grit her teeth and ground her hooves into the dirt, before slowly making her way towards the next set of rocks she had to turn.


    

O   O
O

    


“Who likes rocks this much?” Ellie asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Octavia opened her mouth to speak, before closing it again and shaking her head. Why had she remembered that memory just then? Why was she remembering home right now? There were far more important things to be dealing with.

“Hey, isn't this one of those things you were looking for?” Ellie spoke up again, holding up one of the square plates that had been resting in the middle of the room. Octavia blinked in surprise looking at it, before quickly nodding her head.

“Y-Yes, I was looking for those, thank you.” She gave her thanks quickly before walking over and taking the square tile from the filly. This tile depicted the pink and blue-gray filly standing in front of a house with its door open, and a white stallion was greeting them at his front door. She tucked the piece into her bag, wondering just how many more pieces she was going to have to find.

“So we found what we needed in here right? We can go now?” Ellie asked with a tilt of her head, growing impatient.

“I don't know if that monster is still out in the hallway...” Octavia murmured, turning back to look at the door. “I'll check to see if it's safe.”

She rested her hoof against the handle of the heavy metal door and took a deep breath, calming herself before pulling it open. With the door open a crack she peaked out enough to listen and only heard the silent breeze of the chilly air.

“It seems to have moved on, we should be able to keep searching now.” Octavia said in relief, opening the heavy metal door the rest of the way. She wasn't sure which direction the Licker had wandered off, but as long as it wasn't in their path they should be alright.

Ellie followed behind, though not nearly as closely this time. The hallway made another turn and the two of them followed it, coming to stop at the next door they found. It was two metal doors with no numbering over the door, and a heavy bloodstain splashed between them. It wasn't a door to a hotel room like the others, causing Octavia to swallow some of the tension in her throat.

“Stay close to me Ellie.” Octavia ordered, bringing her hoof up to the door. The little filly scampered behind the older pony, and watch as the door was noisily pushed open.

The sounds of hissing steam echoed around the room as a sudden rush of warmth escaped through the door. Octavia winced as the door opened completely and her lantern lit up the room, revealing a room full of huge, twisting, turning pipes that all connected to a gigantic boiler on other end of the room. The pipes rattled and creaked loudly, steam occasionally escaping from where the pipes were connected. The faces on the boiler were jumping back and forth, with the pressures varying wildly from the lack of maintenance.

“Well this place has seen better days...” Octavia murmured as she stepped in closer, Ellie following behind. The metal door swung close behind them and instantly the room started to warm up from the heat of the steam escaping the pipes.

“It's so hot in here!” Ellie complained. “Do we have to stay here?”

“It'll only be for a moment Ellie, I promise.” Octavia reassured the young pony, before walking up to the machine. It was clearly going haywire, with the pressure constantly rising and then immediately falling, the steam bursting out anytime it rose too high. It caused the room to feel like a spa and sweat was already starting to trickle down her neck from it.

Her ear twitched at a unique sound though, as if something was rattling around inside of the machine. Something must've broken loose and was causing the machine to go crazy, which would explain the fluctuating dials. There were a few crank handles on the boiler that likely indicated how much water was to flow into the machine, how much steam was to be released, and how hot to make the water.

Getting the machine to stop seemed simple enough, her father had taught her how to take care of one back when she still lived on the farm. She gripped one of the handles and began to turn it, the wheel noisily grinding metal as it spun.

The hissing of the boiler began to quiet down with each passing second, the dials on the machine calming down and the needle settling at the 'no-pressure' end of the meter. She kept turning until the machine was just buzzing with a gentle hum. It was calmed, but it wasn't off, she would need to finish turning the other handles to do that. She wrapped her hooves around the next one and began to crank that one next.

CLANG

Octavia stared in horror as the wheel had completely snapped off of the machine, now resting in her hooves as the snapped end jiggled inside the machine. Suddenly the machine roared back to life, steam hissing loudly as the meters rocketed up to maximum pressure. The machine started to inflate and grow, screws popping out as boiling hot steam began to spew from every crack and escape point they could find.

“WHAT DID YOU DO!?” Ellie screamed, backing away from the roaring machine.

There was no time to try and stop the machine from bursting, when the handle snapped any device regulating the pressures inside the boiler had snapped as well. Octavia turned on her heels and ran straight for Ellie, wrapping the filly with her hooves and covering the young ones body with her own.

An explosion of steam and heat burst from the boiler as the boiling hot steam flooded the room in an instance. Octavia screamed in pain as the heated water burned her flesh and fur, scalding her from head to hoof. The agonizing burning felt like it lasted forever, before the heat in the steam finally began to dissipate. She panted heavily, sucking the heated fumes of water into her lungs with each breath, trying to shake off the pain from the burns.

“Let. Go. Of. ME!” Ellie cried, pushing away from Octavia and finally breaking free of the older pony's grip. Octavia didn't have the strength to struggle, just shuddering as she leaned over, letting Ellie escape towards the door. The young filly swiftly pulled the door open and rushed out into the hallway, the steam rushing out behind her.

Water dripped from Octavia's mane and fur as she took in her heavy breaths, just trying to recover. She had known what she was doing, so why had it ended so badly? The handle had been sturdy enough when she had grabbed it, and even then it shouldn't have exploded when it snapped, so why had it...

Her eyes spotted something lying right next to her, something that hadn't been there before. It was another one of the square tiles, this one depicting a small pink pony running from a burning building. She lifted her hoof, wincing in pain and picked up the tile before putting it away in her saddlebag.

A loud, piercing scream rang out from the hallway, causing Octavia to snap her head up instantly. Ellie had just screamed, she was in danger!

“ELLIE!” Octavia cried out, quickly getting to her hooves and rushing forward, bursting her way through the double doors and back into the hallway. She skidded to a halt just short of the ledge, looking around left and right desperately for the little filly.

“Wha-AAAAAAAAAAAAA-!” Something struck Octavia from behind, lurching her forward. Her hooves slipped from the hallway, her screams echoing around her as she fell through the darkness.

Her body landed hard with a crunch as sticks and leaves broke her fall. Her eyes opened wide as she stared up at where she had fallen, seeing Ellie sticking her head out from over the ledge of where Octavia had just fallen.

“I told you not to be weird! And all you've done is be weird! This is why I hate adults!” Ellie angrily huffed, and pulled her head back before the sound of her hooves could be heard running off.

“ELLIE! WAIT!” Octavia cried, reaching her hoof out to try and stop the filly, but her hoofsteps vanished into the darkness. Octavia stared in disbelief, unable to believe that Ellie had really pushed her off of the second floor. She groaned as the twigs and leaves were starting to dig into her sensitive flesh and rolled off of the bush, landing on her hooves.

She had landed back on the first floor, right next to the empty pool. She shook her body of some of the excess water, shuddering as pinpricks of pain cascaded over her. Every part of her body was aching and the fire in her lungs had reignited. Each breath was like swallowing needles, but she couldn't stop now.

She considered trying to track down Ellie for a moment, but realized that not only was she in no state to chase after the filly but that she had no idea where she had gone.

“I'm just going to have to trust her that she really can take care of herself...” Octavia murmured to herself, giving her head a shake before turning to look at the pool. It was the same as it was when she had found it, though now she had the tiles that fit into the mural. She made her way to the deep where the mural stood and fished out the five tile pieces she had found while traveling through the hotel.

The image of the mural depicted a mare telling a story, so that had to mean the tiles were meant to go in order. Each of the tiles did show a progression of events, so she used her best judgment and started placing them in the order that seemed to make sense to her.

There was just enough room in the mural for the fifth tile to click into place. Once the final tile was in place she stepped back and waited for a moment to see what would happen. It was then that she heard a gentle mare's voice speak up, as if reading a story to her children.


    

“Once upon a time there was a young Mother with two children.


The Mother despised the two children, as they had ruined her life.



One day she grew tired of caring for them, and planned a trip into the woods.


She took them deep into the woods, and then abandoned them to their fates.



Lost and scared, the children wandered the woods aimlessly,


until they found a kind stallion that took them to his house.



However, he was not as kind as he claimed, for he was actually a monster.


He locked one into a cage, and cooked the other in his oven.



The stallion got careless when he went to cook the second child.


He found himself in the oven, while they ran away.”

    


A chill ran down Octavia's spine as the voice faded. It was... A story that sounded all too familiar. Part of it was obviously a retelling of an old fairy tale passed down to young foals as a warning to not trust strangers...

...And the other part was a reflection of her sister's past...

“What was that supposed to accomplish?” She murmured, noticing that nothing had changed with the mural. No door opened up nor did it drop any item for her to pick up. As far as she could tell, the whole point of collecting the tiles had just been to listen to the story.

She let out a sigh of frustration before turning around to make her way out of the pool, before freezing without having taken a single step. The bottom of the pool had completely disappeared, an infinite abyss expanding out before her.

“What happened to the floor!?” She cried out as she immediately recoiled, pressing herself against the mural. There was only a small strip of floor left, barely enough for her to stand. She turned and reached up for the edges of the pool, trying to grab them to lift herself out. Her hooves were woefully out of reach however, and even jumping wouldn't get her high enough. The deep end of the pool was just too far up for her to get out.

“Oh no! Oh no oh no, what do I do!?” Octavia began to panic, twirling around in place. She was stuck! Her only options were to wait for someone to come rescue her, stay there until she starved, or risk jumping into the abyss. Something in her mind told her there was no way the first option was happening, she didn't have the patience for the second option, and that meant...

She sat on the thin bit of floor and stared down at the infinite abyss, feeling dread churning in her stomach. It really was the only option that made sense, but she didn't like it one bit. It would've been better if the floor had just crumbled with her on top so she would've just fallen and gotten it over with.

Instead the world had to be cruel and was forcing her to jump. She swallowed the nervous tension in her throat and stood up, staring down at the infinite abyss that threatened to swallow her whole.

“This is a stupid idea, this is probably the stupidest idea I've ever had.” Octavia said with a shudder, her hooves moving awkwardly on spot. She grit her teeth, closed her eyes, and jumped forward with some effort.

Wind and darkness rushed up around her, as she disappeared into the inky abyss.


    

O   O
O

    


Water washed up against her hips, slowly waking her. She didn't even know when she had lost consciousness, just that the world was coming back to her. She lifted her front hooves, realizing that her front half was laying in a pool of inch high water, and her back legs had fallen into a deeper trench. She let out a groan of pain and effort as she hoisted herself onto the platform, before looking around.

It was a square, metal cage with the bars shooting up into the infinite darkness above her. She couldn't see where they stopped, nor could she see anything beyond the bars. Behind her was a ramp leading down, with a grate covering what looked like the source of the water. Outside of the bars she could see a veritable ocean surrounding her, the rest shrouded in darkness.

A metallic grinding caught her ears and she swiveled her head to the bars on the opposite side of the cage from her. The bars were moving up, creating a pony-sized doorway that looked like they were forming an exit. She froze after her first step towards it when she heard the sound of metal scraping against metal. A sound she had heard somewhere before.

From out of the darkness came a creature she remembered, one she had seen in her nightmares.

A mare, standing on her hind legs covered in thick metal, a bloodied and torn white smock around her hips, a metal collar boring into her neck, and a thick metal mask covering her head framed by her curly pale-blonde locks.

Dragged behind her was that gigantic, inwardly curved scythe, and the memory of it what it could do.

“No! No what are YOU doing here!?” Octavia cried out in panic, stepping back as her hoof slipped into the deeper water. She looked back for a second, before snapping back to the Masked Mare that now stood before her. The bars that had opened up to let her in now closed shut behind her.

The two of them were trapped together in that cage.

Metal hoofsteps echoed around Octavia, as the Masked Mare began to make her way towards her. Metal and water sloshed about as the scythe was dragged along the ground, her purpose and intent clear. She was headed straight for Octavia.

“No! NO STAY BACK!” Octavia screamed, her hooves picking up and rushing across the cage in an attempt to keep the distance between them. The Masked Mare simply turned and followed Octavia, drawing closer with each step. Octavia rushed into a corner of the room, coming to a stop with nowhere to run. She looked desperately around the arena, but there were no gaps in the bars, no space to keep distance between herself and the mare.

She turned around, eyes widening in horror as the Masked Mare placed both hooves on the handle of the scythe, turning it to face her. Octavia screamed, ducking down at the last moment as the scythe came slicing at her, avoiding decapitation by inches.

She screamed in sputtering, panicked cries as her hooves tried to find traction with the metallic ground, the water sloshing so strongly that it made it difficulty to carry herself away. She ran past the mare, just hoping to put some distance between the two of them.

Pain erupted from the base of her tail as it was suddenly caught, her hooves slipping and her upper body crashing down hard against the floor. Her eyes opened in panic and turned around, seeing that the Masked Mare had stepped on her tail as she had run past, catching her on the spot.

The Mare's mask tilted, the blood splatter in the shape of an eye turning to gaze at her prey. The Mare tilted her scythe once more, lifting it up and slamming the blunt end down against Octavia's side.

A scream of pain escaped Octavia, as she instantly curled up from the horrific pain. Her breathing was on fire and her mind was reeling from the trauma. Her hooves wrapped around her body as her entire being shook, unable to comprehend what was going on anymore.

The Masked Mare's heavy footsteps drew closer, Octavia's eyes widening the moment she noticed the Mare was standing over her, her presence bearing down. Her hooves scrambled to get away, but were to slow to stop the Mare's next attack. Thick, heavy metal rushed forward and slammed into Octavia's chest, all of the air escaping her lungs instantly. The Masked Mare had kicked Octavia, sending her tumbling across the arena and skidding to a halt.

Octavia's mind was spinning, her eyes unable to keep focus on the enemy that stood before her. Blood dripped from her mouth with each panicked, burning breath, and her entire body felt like it was succumbing to shock. She could barely process the pain, let alone what was happening.

The Masked Mare was approaching again, she knew that much. If she laid there, she'd be killed. That monster would tear her down without hesitation, she would put an end to everything. She'd never know what happened to Pinkie, to Bellamena, to Ellie, to this town, or even herself. She would be cut down, and then everyone she ever cared about would be next.

She grit her teeth, pushing the pain and terror into the back of her mind as best she could, standing up despite the shaking and weakness. She pulled out her knife, the only defense she had. She brought it up, facing the Masked Mare growling in anger. The Mare seemed undisturbed by the display, and continued to walk forward.

Octavia let out a battle cry, rushing forward with what strength she had, lifting the knife up and swinging it down hard against the Masked Mare. Her hoof slammed hard against metal, and Octavia screamed in pain, the knife falling from her grip. She looked up in terror, seeing that the Masked Mare had simply raised one of her hooves and caught Octavia's attack.

The grip tightened against her foreleg and Octavia screamed again, wrenching at her hoof and trying to break it free from the Mare's grasp. The Mare simply tilted her head, looking at Octavia as if she was a curiosity, as if she was wondering what the pony had been thinking.

Metal scraping against metal echoed in Octavia's ears as the scythe was pulled forward. Octavia felt tears rolling down her cheek as she screamed, watching as the scythe was brought up and curled around her body. The Masked Mare looked at Octavia, watching the pony squirm and flail as they tried to escape the grip that had trapped her.

The tip of the scythe came down against Octavia's back and was dragged down slowly across it. Octavia's scream pierced the air as the searing sensation of her flesh being cut open flashed hot across her mind. Blood trickled out of the open wound and the slow, torturous pain continued as she was sliced all the way down to her flank.

The last inch was punctuated by the scythe flicking, sending the blood it had pooled flying as Octavia writhed in pain, crying out for the torturous pain to end. The Masked Mare pulled Octavia's arm back, before swinging it forward and letting go of the struggling mare. The force of the toss sent Octavia flying, the pain skyrocketing through her body.

Octavia laid there, curled up in the water, sobbing from the pain. Every fiber of her being was crying out in pain and she couldn't even stand anymore. The metal crashing of the Mare's metal shoes echoed around her as they drew closer. She was barely able to comprehend it, she just wanted it all to end.

Octavia weakly lifted her head, looking up at the Mare that stood over her, her presence bearing down. The weak pony could only shake, tears continuing to stream as she hiccuped and sobbed.

“Please...” Octavia begged, squeezing her eyes shut, “Please... I just... I just wanted to see my sisters...” She lowered her head, squeezing her hooves around herself tighter. If the Masked Mare heard her, it made no reaction. The scrape of metal was the only response Octavia received, as the Mare grabbed the scythe with both hooves once more, readying to strike.

Octavia squeezed her eyes shut, curling up into her ball as tightly as she could, and awaited for death to come.

She waited, but the strike never came. Hesitantly, she opened one of her eyes and looked up at the imposing Mare.

The Masked Mare wasn't looking at her anymore. It was looking off into the distance, as if distracted by something. And that was when she heard it herself.

A siren, blaring ever so quietly in the distance. The Masked Mare seemed to be listening to intently, as if it was the most important thing in the world.

After a moment, the mare turned and began to walk away. Octavia couldn't believe what she was seeing, but the Masked Mare was actually retreating. A wave of realization about how close to death she had just been washed over her, and her entire body began to shake.

Water splashed against her back and suddenly her pain was on the front of her mind again. The cold water was overpowering her and the sound of it rushing around her caught her attention. The water level was rising, and fast!

Octavia felt her panic return as she struggled to slosh against the rising waters, but in a matter of seconds it had overwhelmed her. The water rushed up and past her head, rising higher and higher until she couldn't even see the surface anymore.

Air escaped from her lungs as suddenly everything was swirling around her. She couldn't breath, she couldn't see anything, she just flailed her hooves, begging and pleading for air, for it to just all end.

Air suddenly filled her lungs as she let out a sharp gasp, her head surfacing from the water. Her hooves flailed so desperately they must've brought her to the surface. Her eyes looked around frantically and spotted a shoreline not but a yard or two away. She swam as quickly and desperately as she could in the direction of land.

Her hooves felt dirt and gravel under the water as she reached the shore, rushing as quickly as she could out of the water and onto dry land, collapsing with a heavy thud into the dirt as the energy in her body left her. She only just now realized how freezing cold the water had been, though the air wasn't much better.

She panted heavily, her mind reeling from everything that had just happened. Had she really escaped from that awful hell? Had she escaped that sadistic mare with her life? How had she ended up on the shore? So many questions filled her mind, trying desperately to distract herself from the pain.

“Hey, is someone there?” A familiar voice called out from above her. Octavia's eyes shot open, lifting her head and looking up.

Standing by a railing that overlooked the lake was a pink mare, with straight dark-pink hair and shimmering blue eyes. She wore a red leather jacket, heavy red eye-shadow, and a red pearl earring, but that voice and that face... Octavia wouldn't confuse them for anyone else in the world.

“...Octavia?” Pinkie Pie's eyes widened in shock at the sight of her injured, waterlogged sister.
> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“It's alright Octi, I got you.” The lake water sloshed about as Pinkie helped Octavia onto the shore. “Come on, the street's not far, just walk slowly.” Pinkie wrapped Octavia's arm around her shoulders to help her sister walk, ignoring the cold water that soaked her in return.

“P-Pinkie...” Octavia muttered through quivering lips, her breath visible in the cold air.

“Octi, you're freezing! How long were you in that water for?! You're losing too much body heat, we have to get you inside, now!” Pinkie's words were urgent, as she could feel just how cold Octavia was. Octavia struggled to find the words, unable to believe what was happening.

She had found her sister, she had found Pinkie! But her body was freezing, her mind still recovering from the cold, and from the hellish battle she had just endured. Everything still ached from being tossed around and sliced open, and her mind was a hazy fog. She only just barely felt the warmth of Pinkie's body against her.

“Just stay awake for me Octi, I know a place nearby where you can warm up!” Pinkie insisted, trying to keep Octavia awake. The gray mare had felt her eyes drooping; her adrenaline had worn out and she felt herself slipping out of consciousness. However, the jostle of Pinkie's body and the insistence of her voice was the motivation she needed to keep herself awake.

As her hooves numbly walked alongside her sister, she couldn't help but notice that her surroundings seemed... Whiter than before. They were quickly approaching the place that Pinkie had insisted they could warm up in, and before the creaky metallic doors opened, Octavia swore she saw something small and white float across her vision.


    

O   O
O

    


“Here you go Octi, drink up.” Pinkie said, offering a comforting smile and a cup of warm cocoa to the gray mare who was now wrapped up in several warm blankets and sitting on a rather comfortable silk pillow.

“Oh, uh... Thank you, Pinkie...” Octavia said, reaching a still shivering hoof out to take the mug before looking down at it. It was exactly as she remembered her sister making it; whipped cream to the point of hiding the cocoa and decorated in multi-colored sprinkles. The warmth of the mug in her hooves felt wonderful on their own, so without hesitation she brought the cup to her lips and took a sip.

After everything she'd been through over the last two weeks, and the horrors she'd been a part of that day, the drink was like heaven itself going down her throat. The drink immediately brought warmth back to her chest and face, and the chocolatey sweetness brought sanity back to her mind. It was a drink that was sent from the heavens to deliver her from her torment, and her sister was the angel that had given it to her.

“Oh sweet Celestia...” Octavia exhaled softly, just letting the warmth of the drink bathe over her. It was such a simple thing but it meant the world to her. She opened her eyes to look at her sister, the pink mare sitting on her own cushion just a few feet away. As Octavia licked her lips of the cream that no doubt had stuck to them, she couldn't help but take in how Pinkie looked.

It was just so vastly different from anything Octavia was used to seeing her sister wear. It was Pinkie, so of course she had worn various outfits for various parties before. Octavia had seen clown outfits, outfits themed by the decade, and even formal wear for 'fancier' parties Pinkie had thrown. But this outfit felt...

None of the words that came to mind were words she ever thought she would think about Pinkie.

Seductive? Sultry? Sexy? ...Slutty?

A skin-tight red leather jacket that matched her heavy eye-shadow and earrings. Her hair was straight and covered half her face, giving her eyes a smokey, seductive look to them. Around her waist and flank was a thin, flimsy, see-through pink skirt that did nothing but accentuate her curves and bring about teasing imagery about her back end. On top of that, each hind leg was wrapped with fishnet stockings that stopped just short of her rump, framing it and giving it a bit more push to make it look more 'plush'.

In every sense of the word, it looked like Pinkie was dressed to seduce, and that it didn't matter who she seduced.

“So... Octi... What were you doing in the lake like that? And where'd you get that huge gash on your back?” Octavia's thoughts slammed into a wall the moment she heard Pinkie's worried tone. She looked up at her sister, who despite the new look, was giving her a look that expressed genuine worry and care.

Octavia mentally kicked herself for having thought of her sister so crassly. There was likely an explanation for Pinkie's current look. After all, her hair didn't go flat unless she was upset about something.

“I, um...” Octavia muttered, trying to put her words together. “I'm... Not even really sure how to explain. I don't know if I even CAN explain! I just...” She shook her head quickly. “Pinkie, what's going on with the town? Where IS everypony? Why is there fog everywhere? Why are there monsters walking the streets?!”

“...Monsters?” Pinkie asked confused, tilting her head. “I don't know what you mean by 'Monsters'... But as far as the fog goes, it's a weather screw-up, from what I've heard. Apparently there was an accident at the cloud-making factory and the resulting spill of their experimental clouds ended up covering the whole town. Apparently the pegasi are having difficulty clearing it, but they expect that it should vanish on its own within a day or two.” Pinkie shook her head. “It's a little annoying, but nothing we can't deal with. As for where everypony is...” She gently shrugged. “I assume they're just hiding in their houses. No point in going outside if you can't see five hooves in front of your own face.”

Octavia could only stare in bewilderment at her sister's answer. It seemed far too mundane an answer for everything she had experienced that day. There was no way she had imagined it all either. The Spitters, the Lickers, that Masked Mare, she hadn't just imagined all of it!

“Octi? You're shaking...” Pinkie asked worriedly. Octavia's eyes widened in surprise as she looked down at the mug she was holding, noticing the shuddering of her own body. She gingerly placed the cup down, before wrapping herself tighter into the bundle of blankets.

“T-There really aren't monsters out there?” She asked quietly, fearfully, afraid of the answer to the question. “I-It's just a weather accident? Nothing more?”

“Are you seeing monsters Octi?” Pinkie asked, getting up from her pillow and drawing closer to her terrified sister. “It's okay to tell me what you've seen, I promise! I only want to help.” Pinkie lifted her hoof up and placed it against Octavia's cheek, lifting the mare's face to look up at her.

Octavia's tired eyes beheld Pinkie's cheerful smile. Even through the make-up and the sultry gaze, Octavia couldn't help but see the kind, happy sister that she had always known and loved. It didn't matter why she looked the way she did, she would always be Pinkie Pie.

She opened her mouth to speak, to answer, wanting to express all the troubles she had faced in such a short time... But her mouth fell back closed. Shades of magenta hair filled the edges of her vision, flat, silky smooth hair that was normally a bright, vibrant pink and as curly as it was poofy.

Her sister was dealing with her own worries, her own troubles, and as the older sister it was her job to help Pinkie feel better. It was her sworn obligation as the eldest of the Pie sisters to be the responsible one, to be mature enough to handle her own problems, so that her sisters could look up to her and depend on her.

Octavia swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, and gave her sister an answer that she was willing to believe herself.

“I... I've been having nightmares, Pinkie...” Octavia closed her eyes, leaning against Pinkie's hoof. “Awful, horrible, relentless nightmares. I haven't been able to sleep because of them. I tried changing my diet, relaxing before bed, I even tried one of your 'home remedies' involving a handstand in a shower, and so far nothing has really worked...” She gently shook her head before opening her eyes again. “I came to Ponyville because I remembered that you had been suffering from terrible nightmares as well, and that you'd solved them.” Octavia sat up a little, gripping the blankets tighter as she looked away from Pinkie.

“They've also caused me to sleep walk... A-And I think that's how I ended up in the water. It was... It was a nightmare of a terrible, awful cage made out of steel and blood and... A monster attacked me in it. I-I must've fallen asleep on the way here and... Walked right into the lake.” Octavia tried to chuckle softly at the silly imagery, almost willing to believe the story herself. “That was silly of me... But now that you're here, we can get rid of my nightmares. I just need to use the same solution as you, and I'll be alright.”

“Are you sure that's all?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head questioningly.

“I-I am...” Octavia stammered back. Pinkie just stared at her for a moment, before offering a soft smile.

“Alright, I believe you Octi.” Her sister offered lovingly, pulling Octi into a hug. “I'm sorry you've been having such awful nightmares sis, but I'm here for you now. We'll go see Twilight right away, and she'll help you get rid of those nasty nightmares in no time at all.”

Octavia felt a weight on her chest grow lighter at Pinkie's words. For the first time in a long while, a genuine smile appeared on her face. She leaned into the hug and gently squeezed her sister back in return.

“Thank you Pinkie... Forgive me for being such a burden on you.”

“Oh don't be silly. What else are sister's for?” Pinkie said happily, giving Octavia one last squeeze before pulling back from the hug. “Though you still need to warm up first and finish your cocoa, and I need to go get this place ready to open as well. Aaaand probably leave a note for the person coming in after me as to why I'm not here. My big sister comes first after all.” Pinkie softly chuckled.

“Huh?” Octavia blinked in confusion. “Ready to open? You work here?”

“Well yeah, how else do you think I got in?” Pinkie chuckled, before moving across the room. “Let me just go get things set up, then we can head off to Twilight's.” With that, Pinkie left the room, leaving Octavia on her own.

Now that Pinkie had mentioned it, she really hadn't paid any attention to where it was that Pinkie had dragged her to. Her eyes scanned the room and took notice of the particular decor of the room, most notably that there were several vanities set up across the room, each with a small velvet pillow before it and their mirrors individually decorated. Each station had several drawers with hints of clothing sticking out, and several assortments of makeup on top of them. In another corner of the room there was a clothing rack that contained all sorts of clothing very similar to the type Pinkie was wearing, and some even more revealing than that.

“Is this... Some kind of performance theater?” Octavia murmured out loud, looking at the décor and trying to figure out where she was exactly. She couldn't put her hoof on it, but she got the feeling this wasn't a very... 'High Class' establishment, for lack of better words. She might've been able to shake the feeling that something was off if it was just the vanities, but the type of clothing they had hanging from the rack...

Octavia shook her head and picked up her mug of cocoa, quickly draining it of its contents. While she would have normally been content to sit there and enjoy the warm drink, she had a sinking feeling in her gut that something wasn't right. With her drink gone she shed the blankets and grabbed her saddle bag.

Stepping out of the room she felt anxiety hit her throat as she entered a fairly dark hallway. She had no idea where she was, and the last few hours of her life had taught her to be wary of new locations.

There were a couple of doors lining the halls, with one end of the hallway leading to a turn that exited out onto the main-floor. The door she had just stepped out had the words 'Dressing Room – Employees Only' on it. At the other end of the hallway was a large 'exit' sign which had been the way they came in, so Pinkie must've gone the other way.

Moving down the hall didn't give her any more comfort. The doors she passed were labeled things such as 'VIP – Shower Room' and 'VIP – Velvet Room'. There were several variations of those 'VIP' rooms, which caused Octavia to gulp down a lump in her throat.

“No... No this couldn't be... Pinkie would never...” Octavia's steps sped up, quickly reaching the end of the hallway, pushing through a door of string beads that spilled out into the main room, before she stopped in her tracks.

It was a large, open area with seats set up around a main stage. The stage was long with a circle end and a pole sticking out of it into the ceiling. The chairs were all turned to face the stage, especially the center, with smaller tables and seat set ups spaced out around the room as well. There was a bar with a locked up liquor cabinet, an area with a DJ's booth, and hallways that led to private dance areas.

No matter what way Octavia looked at it, she couldn't see anything but a strip club.

Octavia jumped in her skin as music started playing across the club. It was a slow, jazzy song that was meant to be played in time with one of the female performers on stage. Next the lights began to flicker and strobe, changing colors, and moving about in short circles, before returning to normal. The music quieted down and Pinkie walked out from behind the DJ's booth, before looking up in surprise to see her sister.

“Oh! I wasn't expecting you to come out here...” Pinkie chuckled softly, almost embarrassed. “I wasn't going to take long to make sure everything was in order, honest. You could've just waited for me...”

“Pinkie... This is...” Octavia was at a loss of words. “This is where you work?”

“Um... Yeah, I kinda do.” Pinkie softly chuckled, embarrassment clearly in her voice. “Sorry I never told you... It's not exactly a place you're proud to tell your family about, you know?”

Octavia felt numb. She couldn't believe what her sister was saying. This wasn't like Pinkie, this wasn't like her at all! She wasn't... She wasn't like this!

“B-But... But you said you were a 'Party Pony Extraordinaire'! That's not what this is at all!” Octavia shook her head, still refusing to believe what her sister was saying. “You plan and throw parties! People pay you to help them throw parties!” Something clicked in Octavia's head, and her mouth curved into a desperate, worried smile. “Th-That's what this is, right? The club just asked you to help them set up for their performances! That's kind of like a party, right?”

Pinkie's expression fell a little, though her smile didn't fade. She turned, looking away from her older sister, but Octavia couldn't tell if it was out of shame or something else. The low jazz swaying in the background was slowing down as the last song was coming to an end, fading out as Pinkie made her way up to the stage. She hopped up onto it and walked over to the pole, looking up at it.

When the song ended, Pinkie stood up, wrapping a hoof around the pole and resting her forehead against it. Octavia wasn't even sure what she was seeing, but then the next song began to play. A low, thumping pop song began to waft through the room, and Pinkie's eyes slowly opened in rhythm to the song.

Her head flew back, letting her hair cascade against her back, as her eyes gave a sultry look over to Octavia. Her hips cocked forward, then back, and forward again as her leg lifted up to wrap around the pole. In beat with the music she began to dance with the pole, jutting, gyrating, spinning, swishing her hair back and forth so perfectly, and always extending those sultry eyes.

Octavia couldn't take her eyes off the performance, her eyes widening in shock at the display. Pinkie wasn't just good on the pole, she was amazing. When the beat would shift so too would her form, when there was a lull in the song she would drag out her action. Her eyes were smokey and hot, enhanced by the crimson eye shadow. Despite the shock even Octavia could feel her temperature rising from the display, unable to pull away from Pinkie's erotic display.

Pinkie's jacket slipped down her shoulders and she closed her eyes, silently moaning as if the act was pleasurable. Octavia couldn't help but swallow, her body beginning to shake as she watched. The world felt warm and everything was spinning. Was this really her sister? Was this really what she did for a living? Had she really been so blind to this every time she had visited?

The song felt painstakingly long, but finally the display was coming to an end as the song winded down. Pinkie gave one last twirl on the pole, before cascading her hair with a flick of her head, and gave Octavia one last sultry look as the music ended.

Octavia's mouth hung open in shock, her lips quivering, trying to say something, anything to what she had just seen. At some point she had fallen into a sitting position and her vision had grown blurry. Her head fell forward, too ashamed to continue staring at her sister. She stared at where her hooves met the ground, emotions welling up, the confused turmoil in her head leaving her shocked and dazed.

“And that's why I hadn't really told you...” Pinkie spoke up, hoping off the stage, though her voice no longer had that happy chirp to it. “I figured you'd react this way.”

“But WHY Pinkie!?” Octavia begged, lifting her head up to look at her sister. Tears were welling in her eyes, threatening to spill over. “Is someone blackmailing you? Are you being threatened? Do you need the money that badly? I thought- I thought I was working so hard for you to NOT have to sell your body like this!”

Pinkie looked away from Octavia, her bangs covering her face, though Octavia could swear she heard her sister's teeth clench.

“Have you ever considered that I enjoy it?” Pinkie asked, a quiet anger building in the back of her voice. “That maybe I like entertaining ponies? That I like it when they look at me like that? That it makes me happy to know I've made their night better?”

Octavia's eyes widened in shock, her mouth dropping open again. What could she say? What was there to say? She felt a tear streak down her cheek as she lowered her head. “I just... I just wanted what was best for you...”

“I'm not a CHILD anymore Octi!” Pinkie yelled, slamming her hoof on the ground as she glared at her older sister. “If I want to be a stripper, then I have every right to be one! It's my choice!”

Octavia just went silent, staring at the ground as her tears fell. She was a failure, wasn't she? She was a failure of an older sister. Pinkie was right, but somehow, she couldn't help but blame herself too. Maybe if she'd been there for Pinkie she wouldn't have turned out like this. Maybe if she had stayed in Ponyville then she could've helped Pinkie see another way.

Maybe she should've just trusted Pinkie to begin with. That knowledge just made it worse...

Pinkie hesitated on her spot, lowering her head. “Octi... Look... I'm sorry I snapped at you. I never wanted you to find out like this.” Pinkie’s voice was solemn as she turned around, walking away from Octavia. “I'm almost done setting up though, just... Wait a moment more, then we can head to Twilight's.”

Octavia didn't lift her head, just staring at the ground. Her mind felt numb, as the tears silently fell from her face.

She'd failed as a sister, she'd failed as a daughter. Pinkie was free to make her own decisions as an adult, but it didn't stop Octavia from feeling so wretched inside.

She wasn't sure how long she stared at her hooves for.

Long enough for her tears to dry up at least.

Long enough for Pinkie to tap her on the shoulder.

“Hey, I'm all done now.” Her sister tried to give a smile of comfort, but even Octavia could tell things were going to be awkward for a while. She finally sniffed and wiped her face, shaking it a little before nodding her head.

“R-Right... Let's get to Twilight's...” She was able to murmur.

Pinkie's smile picked up a little at that and the two of them made their way towards the front entrance of the club. Pinkie stepped out first, and the moment she did a blast of cold air struck Octavia's face. Utterly confused, she walked out behind Pinkie, only to stare completely dumbfounded at the sight before her.

It was snowing in Ponyville. The ground was covered in a layer of frozen water, and it seemed that the fog had only gotten worse as a result.

“Come on, Twilight's is this way.” Pinkie nodded her head before walking off. Octavia snapped out of her thoughts and quickly caught up with her sister, feeling her body starting to shiver. She hadn't packed for the cold weather at all, and Pinkie at least had her jacket to keep her warm.

“Pinkie, why is there snow? It's the middle of fall!”

“Fall?” Pinkie asked, turning to her sister confused. “Are you sure you didn't hit your head? It's the first snowfall of winter, on schedule as intended.”

Octavia opened her mouth to protest, but quietly closed it as her eyes wandered up towards the snow. White specks of flaky snow continued to gently rain down from the heavens, and Pinkie wasn't disturbed by it at all.

For a moment she wondered if she really was that screwed up in the head, if she had imagined everything that had happened. The pain in her limbs and back told her otherwise, but nothing made sense anymore.

The more they walked, the more Octavia expected one of the monsters to appear from around a bend or a corner, or to be wandering the middle of the street. Silence was the only answer her anxiety got, and the more she looked around, the less she saw.

“Pinkie, are you sure everypony is just locked inside their homes?” Octavia asked, hoping the answer would calm her nerves.

“I guess so. I mean I can't blame them, not only can you not see where you're going but now its cold too. Better to bundle up and ride the fog out, am I right?” Pinkie chuckled with her usual kindness and charm.

It was an attitude that could convince Octavia of anything. She swallowed the anxiety in her throat and silently followed along.

The silence of their walk was only broken by the crunching of snow under their hooves. Octavia hated the silence, but wasn't sure what to say.

“S-So... Pinkie...” Octavia spoke up, unsure of how to broach the subject, but desperately wanted anything other than the silence. “How did you... You know... Get started doing...” Octavia tried to find the words to say the job, but they got caught in her throat.

“...Are you sure you want to talk about it?” Pinkie looked back at her sister.

“I um...” Octavia swallowed nerves building in her throat, “I guess I just wonder... How you came to know you liked it, I guess? I... I would feel better knowing it really was something you enjoyed and chose to do as opposed to... It being something you had to do.”

Pinkie looked at Octavia for a moment before turning away and going quiet. The crunching of snow seemed louder than ever as Octavia waited for a response.

“I'm... Sure you've noticed this Octavia, you're a beautiful mare.” She glanced back at her older sister. “The look stallion's give you when they see a mare they like and want to be with?”

“Y-Yes... I've had my fair share of suitors.” Octavia milled over the words. “Not all of them the most upstanding or reputable of ponies either, but that's mainly why I never really picked up dating. No one's ever particularly caught my eye.”

“Heh, high standards I suppose.” Pinkie shook her head a little. “I'm sure you'd make some stallion very happy Octavia.”

“I... Don't know about that.” Octavia chewed her lip nervously. “But, what's that got to do with your job?”

“Well, as you know, I spent most of my early years throwing parties and making friends. As you can imagine, I was very popular.” Pinkie chuckled a little. “And when you're a cute, popular mare... Stallions notice you.” Pinkie paused as she spoke the next sentence slowly. “They ask you out, they take you on dates, they try to make you their girl, they have sex with you. That's what guys do after all. They see a girl, they want to have their way with her.”

A knot formed in Octavia's chest, not liking where this conversation was going.

“And in a way... I kind of liked the attention, you know?” Pinkie laughed a hollow laugh. “But again and again they wanted me all to themselves, to hog me, to claim me. They said they loved me, when all they were doing was thinking with their second heads. And if I had said 'I love you' to one, and not the other, wouldn't that have hurt so many others? So many boys wanted me, but to pick one would be to make all the others sad.

“So... I never settled. That didn't make the guys any happier though. For a while they tossed around nasty words, some even calling me the town slut. And it hurt but... It was kind of true too.” Pinkie shook her head.

“So, rather than let it destroy me, I decided that I liked it and ran with it. If I was going to be a slut anyway, I was going to enjoy it. The attention, the desires, the sex, all of it. Once I'd made my decision, I walked into the Satin Saddle and demanded they hire me as a dancer.” This time Pinkie genuinely laughed.

“One of the prettiest mares in all of Ponyville walked into a strip club and told the owner she wanted to dance for him. Can you imagine the joy on his face Octi? I should've taken a picture.” Another giggle from the pink mare.

“I can... Only imagine, Pinkie.” Octavia tried to chuckle herself, though it still felt weird to accept it as real.

“So they had me learn the trade. How to serve the guests, how to dance the pole, how private dances worked, the whole thing. And the more I did it... The more I loved it.” Octavia could hear the chipperness in Pinkie's voice now. “I set my own terms Octi. They come to see me, I entice them, make them happy, and then my job is done. They can't touch me unless I want them to. I spread happiness to all those guys who want me, and they all get a fair share of me, because now it's my job. I'm in control of my body and who touches it.

“I'm in complete control.”

Pinkie's last words on the subject hung heavy in the air. Octavia had long since lost her voice, knots forming in her throat at anything she might have tried to say. She just followed Pinkie along quietly, letting the things her sister had said settle in.

She didn't have long to let the conversation simmer though, before Pinkie chirped up happily again.

“Oh! Twilight's house is right up ahead!” Her sister picked up the pace, almost vanishing into the fog.

“Ah! Pinkie! Don't go too far ahead!” Octavia called out, picking up her own pace to keep up with her energetic sister. In short order, a familiar oak tree that sat in the middle of the town appeared through the snow and the fog. Octavia remembered it from when she used to live here, it was the public library of the town. And if she remembered correctly from Pinkie's letters, Twilight had moved in, turning the library into a home.

“Twilight! Are you home?” Pinkie called out, knocking loudly on the door.

Silence returned them. Something felt wrong about the silence, Octavia could feel it.

“Twilight? Hellooooo?” Pinkie called out again, knocking a little harder this time. The door creaked, opening a little from the knocking. “Huh? She left the door open?”

“I-It is a public library, right?” Octavia swallowed her anxiety again, her ears perking up to try and hear any sounds, particularly of the static kind. “Maybe someone just didn't close it properly from their visit?”

“I guess so...” Pinkie sounded unconvinced. “I'm going to check and see if Twilight's inside.”

With that Pinkie pushed the door open again, calling out into the library as she hopped inside. Octavia followed along, closing the door behind her.

The first floor of the library was just as she remembered it, walls of books with a stairway that led deeper inside. It hadn't changed at all since the last time she'd visited.

“Twilight!” Pinkie called out, her voice echoing throughout the empty building which caused a chill to run down Octavia's back. Like the rest of the town, it was too quiet. “Huh... That's weird... It's a little early for her and Spike to be out and about. Where'd they get off to?”

While Pinkie made her way up the stairs Octavia made her way to the center table. The way the town was covered in fog, the way not even a mouse stirred, it made Octavia believe she was still in the hellish landscape of her nightmares. But without the monsters around, and Pinkie actually with her, was that true? Had that hell actually been real?

Octavia came to a stop in front of the table, noticing just how much dust had collected on it, as if no one had been there in ages. She ran her hoof against it, wiping a line of dust clean from the table and looking at her hoof. Judging from the pile up, the library could've been abandoned for years.

She was starting to get the sinking feeling that everything really had been real. And that maybe Pinkie was just...

Her thoughts stopped as her eyes wandered across a book that lay on the table. Curious, she walked over to it and wiped the dust off the cover, reading the title.

“Dreams, a Psychological Understanding?” Octavia read the words out loud, having done so unconsciously. Why did the book sound familiar? She could've sworn she'd never heard of this book before in her life, and yet something about it was calling to her.

Her hoof reached out for the cover, ready to open the book.

“I can't find her anywhere!” Pinkie called out, coming down from the stairs and catching Octavia's attention. “Not even a note on where they might have gone! I wonder what's going... Oh? Did you find something?”

Pinkie quickly stepped over, looking at the book on the table, her eyes widening in surprise.

“Oh! You found the book!” Pinkie said with a smile. “Remember? In my letter I mentioned Twilight used a book to help me! This was that book!”

“This one?” Octavia furrowed her brow at the book. Something felt off about it, her memory fuzzy and a slight headache forming in her forehead just looking at it. Was there something about this book? She lifted her hoof and placed it on the cover, flipping it open.

CRACK

Octavia and Pinkie jumped in their skins, a loud crash echoing from the door. Immediately the phonograph in Octavia's bag began to ring wildly and Octavia's heart sunk.

Another thunderous crack echoed out through the library and the front door showed hideous, visible cracks from the strain. It wasn't going to hold.

“Pinkie! RUN!” Octavia screamed, followed by the sound of the door crashing down.

Through the dust of the door breaking bore a large head slithering into the room, a metallic mask attached to the face of a pony with no ears and an impossibly long neck that was wrapped in barbed wire. The scarred, tanned mess of a leathery hide it called a body rubbed up against the roof of the doorway it had beaten down, cracking it with the mere size of its presence.

Octavia had seen this monster before, staring at her through Pinkie's window and again looming over her in the apartment. Now it was unrestrained, freed of any boundaries blocking its way to her. A tall, masked stallion.

Its heavy iron-covered legs slammed down into the library, cracking the floor with each step. Its body rubbed against the doorway, cracking from the sheer weight and the pressure. The whole building seemed to shake from its entrance, and finally when it had slipped all the way inside the doorway caved in, crashing down into a pile of debris that blocked the only way in and out.

“W-What is that thing!?” Pinkie cried out in terrified panic, backing away, uncertain of what to do.

“I said RUN PINKIE!” Octavia shouted again, rushing up to her sister and giving her a hurried shove. Pinkie stumbled a moment, staring at her sister bewildered before noticing Octavia motioning to the stairs. Pinkie quickly caught on and turned around, racing back up the stairs as fast as she could.

The elder sibling was not far behind, having paused only briefly to stare at the creature in horror. Her hooves slammed against the staircase, watching Pinkie's tail disappear into the second floor as she desperately tried to follow suit.

A hiss and a crash roared through the library as the monster's head barreled into the staircase, causing Octavia to let out a horrified scream. She tripped on her own hooves trying to stop, tumbling off the side and back down to the first floor with a hard thud. She felt wood and debris crash down around her, most of it pelting her coat.

Her mind was spinning as she lifted her head, looking up to see the long-necked monster pulling its head out from the top of the staircase. The entrance to the second floor had collapsed in as well, and now she was trapped on the first floor with it.

Just her and the monster.

She was grateful Pinkie had managed to get away, but that still left her in mortal peril. She stumbled as best she could, her hooves threatening to slip out from under her, as she quickly clambered over the debris and to the other side of the room.

The wail of the phonograph hammered into her ears as she turned around, facing the creature as it turned to stare at her. Her breathing was heavy and her heart was thundering in her chest. The creature looked like it was slow and lumbering, but it had surprising speed when it wanted. She bit down on her lip, hard enough to draw blood, trying not to let her panic and terror control her thoughts and actions.

The monsters were real. This whole horrid town was real.

Then she'd killed monsters before. She just had to fight.

She reached into her bag, intending to pull out her knife to fight back. Her hoof paused, then scrambled through the pack and her eyes went wide with realization.

She'd dropped the knife in the last fight. It had gotten washed away when the cage filled with water.

She was defenseless.

Her eyes snapped forward in realization that the monster was barreling down upon her. Her hooves finally reacted to her thoughts and she barely managed to avoid its head slamming down on where she had been standing, a loud crack echoing through the room as dust was flung up into the air.

She rushed her way around the room, as the creature lifted and turned its head to face Octavia once more. She stepped back, feeling the wall stop her and winced in realization that she was once again caged with something horrible. Only this time she wasn't sure she was able to fight her way out of this.

The creature was huge, far too huge for her to realistically harm it with her bare hooves. Not to mention all of its legs were wrapped in thick and heavy metal! What was she supposed to do against something that towered so far above her!?

The huge neck was twisting in her direction, she had but moments to move again. Her mind raced with options, thinking about what she could possibly do. Bait it into hurting itself? Find some kind of opening or weak spot? Make it break a hole in the wall for her to escape through?

She kicked off her back hooves and raced across the room as the head came crashing down where she had been standing. The bookshelf that had been directly behind her shattered into a shower of splinters and dusts, books flying in every direction as they scattered across the library.

Octavia panted heavily as she watched the creature, it pulling its head out of the debris and turning to look at her. It could track her easily and it didn't show an ounce of exhaustion. She could keep dodging, but that would only do her well for so long, at some point she was going to run out of steam!

No, she needed a plan, she needed to think of something, she had to-

“LEAVE MY SISTER ALONE!” Pinkie screamed out, jumping out from somewhere Octavia couldn't see and landing on the monsters head. Octavia stared up in horror as her sister wrestled with the creature's face, all the while it thrashed and in silent protest at her.

“PINKIE!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” Octavia screamed in return. She was certain Pinkie had gotten away, was somewhere safe away from the monster! Now she had flung herself face first into danger!

“Saving you! What does it look like!?” Pinkie grunted, trying not to be flung away from the tremendous force. Her hind leg kicked against its neck, scraping against the barbed wire digging into its flesh. She let out a cry of pain as the sharp metal cut into her leg, blood spilling out down onto its neck.

The creature shuddered at the contact with the blood, calming its thrashing and coming to a stand still. Octavia stared frozen in place, as Pinkie hesitantly looked down at the creature.

“Look, I don't know what you are or where you came from...” Pinkie spoke calmly, trying to reason with the creature, “but if you leave right now, no one has to get hurt, okay?”

Silence filled the library at Pinkie's question, Octavia couldn't even hear her heart beat. The creature wasn't moving, and Pinkie looked just as confused about the situation as Octavia was. Several moments passed, and with the creature not moving, Pinkie opened her mouth to speak again.

Its neck snapped violently, twisting and cracking as it went flying back into the wall.

“PINKIE!!” Octavia screamed in horror as Pinkie was crushed against the wall, air escaping her lungs. Pinkie’s eyes went wide in shock, her blood splattering against the wall that cracked from the impact. The creature moved its head forward, and Pinkie's body slowly peeled from the wall, crashing down to the floor.

Octavia's hooves moved to her mouth, unable to believe what had just happened. She couldn't move, her whole body was shaking. Her shaking breath caught in her throat when she saw her sister move, twitching against the ground and groaning, trying to push herself up.

The creature turned to look at Pinkie, its entire body turning to face her.

“NO!!” Octavia screamed, “YOU LEAVE HER ALONE!” Scrambling to her hooves she grabbed a fallen piece of lumber from the debris and rushed straight for the creature, slamming it straight into one of the metallic slabs it called legs. The wood shattered, splintering into pieces that flew off in every direction. The creature's leg moved, kicking back and striking Octavia hard in the chest.

Her breath left her as her chest felt like it was caving in, her body slamming into the wall. Pain seared her mind as she hit the ground with a thump, her hoof clutched against her chest as she gasped for air.

Her vision was blurring but she forced her head up, her eyes focusing on Pinkie. The Pink mare looked up in return, looking at Octavia. The two stared at each other as the monster loomed over Pinkie. There was nothing either of them could do, and Pinkie just gave Octavia sad smile, before mouthing the words ‘I’m sorry’.

Everything fell silent as the monster's heavy hoof came crashing down on top of Pinkie. Blood splattered out from underneath, coating the library floor crimson.

Octavia’s eyes widened as everything froze around her.

Pinkie was dead. She had just watched her sister be crushed to death by a monster.

The world felt numb. She could barely register the tears streaming down her face, or the heavy thuds of the monster now turning its attention upon her.

She didn't move, or even flinch, when its head came down to face level with her. The faceless, metal mask with a blood splatter against its mouth stared straight into her soul.

A dull thud struck her, and at first she didn't know what had happened. Then her head slowly looked down, and saw a fleshy tendril, the same color as the monster's flesh, sticking through her chest.

Her hoof moved slowly, lifting up to try and touch it, before the appendage was pulled out.

Blood spewed out everywhere, a large hole now in the middle of her chest, having pierced straight through her heart. All control of her body was lost and she crumpled over, staring up at the masked creature.

The appendage slither back over to its body, as it tilted its head to look down at her.

That was the last thing she saw as her vision faded to black, her life escaping her.
> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Little Octavia sighed, staring up at a wooden ceiling despondently. One of her hind legs was gently swinging back and forth on the couch, as her head rested against someone’s lap. For the life of her she couldn’t remember who it was she was resting against, but they felt familiar… Warm even.

Their voice responded to her sigh, but it was a distorted, eerie mess of vocals. She couldn’t hear their voice anymore, yet she somehow knew exactly what they were saying.

“I’m just… Sad.” Octavia murmured, sighing again and rolling over onto her side. “I don’t wanna go back home. I hate it there.”

The voice spoke again, that same garbled gibberish as before.

“Yeah, well, I don’t care! I don’t like how they treat me! I just… I just wanna stay here forever!”

Another response, though this one elicited anger in the young filly. She rolled onto her back and pointed up at the face she could not see.

“No! No parties! I am SICK of parties!”


    

O   O
O

    


Octavia woke with a sharp gasp, pain racking her chest. She doubled over coughing, bringing her hoof to her mouth as her insides rattled violently. It was several moments before her coughing subsided and her breathing began to calm, though the pain still lingered. When things finally settled enough she pulled her hoof back and saw that she had coughed up blood.

She groaned loudly, pushing herself up off the cold cement floor. Her head was spinning as she focused her eyes on the dimly lit room, trying to figure out where she was. As the details started to fall into place, she felt her heart sink.

It was the small, square, concrete room from her nightmares. The room she always found herself in again and again and again.

Had everything been a dream then? Were the last few hours nothing but a vivid hallucination? Was she trapped in her own head once again?

She tried to move her body and a sharp pain made her collapsed, her chest convulsing with coughs once more. Her pain echoed in the tiny room, each violent cough seeming louder than it actually was.

When her fit had finally calmed down, she groaned and lifted her head, looking down at her body. In the center of her chest, where the tendril had pierced her, was freshly recovered scar tissue. Touching her chest with her hoof, she could feel the ridges of the healed skin underneath her coat. Turning to look at the rest of her body, she saw that every wound that had been inflicted on her had received the same treatment, every single one had scarred over.

The pain she felt, the scars on her body, the sinking realization in her gut...

Everything she had experienced today had been real. 

She really was trapped in this nightmarish hell.

But if that was true...

“...Then where am I?” Octavia muttered out loud.

Something shifted in the corner of the room and she let out a yelp, fumbling against the ground until she was scooting away from it, staring into the dark corner, panting heavily.

Her eyes took a moment to adjust, but when they did her eyes went wide. There was a dead body in the corner of the room, back pressed against the wall, gnarled black hair hanging down from its head and covering its body. It was laying in a pool of long-since dried blood, and its body was a faded white-gray.

A cockroach moved around the body, stopping to flick its antennas about, before scuttling away and vanishing.

A hoof shot to Octavia's mouth in horror as her back hit the wall, trying to put as much distance as she could between her and the body in the tiny room. The fear, the dread, the anxiety, the reality of everything she had seen and felt being real crashed down upon her all at once. She had never escaped her nightmares, they had simply bled into reality.

“No... No, no, no, no!” Octavia shuddered, lowering her head and pressing it between her hooves. Her body was wracked with fear, quaking at her very core. All of this pain and torment was far, far too much, and she wasn’t even being given the courtesy of death. She was forced to survive and endure this continued torment.

“No… No please…” Octavia stuttered, her sobs echoing out around her, “Please… No more… I’m sorry…”

Hitched sobs continued to below from Octavia, as she laid curled up on the cold cement floor. She had never wanted any of this, she had never meant for any of this to happen. She had just…

She let out a long whine, lifting her head up enough to slam it down against the ground, the fresh pain rattling her senses. She shuddered and sniffed, rubbing at her face as her sobs began to calm down.

“It’s… It’s going to be okay Octavia…” She muttered to herself, curling up tighter into her ball. “It’ll be okay. You’re okay. Just… Just stay calm Octavia…” She muttered to herself, repeating the words again and again. “You’re okay Octavia, you’ll be okay. You’ll be okay… You’ll be okay…”

Again and again she repeated to herself. It’ll be okay. You’ll be okay. She needed to reassure herself again, and again, and again.

It was so hard to believe the words coming out of her own mouth, to actually believe that everything was going to be okay. After all the hardships, after all the pain, after the nightmares she had faced, how could anything be okay? 

But she repeated the words again and again, just as she always had. When everything was going wrong, when everything hurt, when the world was putting her down, she repeated the mantra that had gotten her through so many awful times before.

With one last hiccup and another rub at her face, Octavia placed a hoof on the floor and slowly managed to stand herself up. Her legs were wobbly and pain still echoed throughout her body, but she couldn’t stay in that room.

She refused to stay in the place of her nightmares.

Shifting around, she spotted a small wooden table in the opposite corner of the room from the body, with her saddlebag on top of it. She was about to question how they got there, before shaking her head at the thought. There was no point in questioning it at this point.

She walked over to the table and reached a hoof out to retrieve the saddlebag.

“I watched…” A deep, distorted voice spoke up from within the bag, causing Octavia to flinch and pull her hoof back. “I could do nothing but watch. When everything was over, I saw myself through the gap. The only me, is me… Are you sure the only you, is you?”

Octavia paused for a moment, staring at the bag, before letting out a sullen sigh, her ears flattening against her head and looking away.

“...No. I’m not certain that the only me... Is me.” She spoke softly. She reached out for the bag and opened it up, pulling out the tiny phonograph and listening it spark to life.

“The gap in the door…” The phonograph staticed, “It’s a separate reality. Can you make it through that realm? Can you learn the truth that you’ve locked away?”

“...I’ve not much choice in the matter, do I?” Octavia muttered, staring at the device as it continued to crackle. The voice, so familiar from her dreams, from the nightmares she had experienced again and again. She never knew where the voice had come from before, always too afraid to look inside the bags the voice had spoken from.

“...Who are you?”

“...You already know the answer to that question.” The voice spoke, growing more distorted before finally cutting off. The phonograph was silent, and Octavia had a feeling it wasn’t about to spark back up any time soon.

With a saddened sigh she put the phonograph away and checked what else remained inside. The only thing left was an envelope with a piece of paper inside of it. She pulled it out and opened the letter, expecting to find something written inside of it, but found the paper completely blank.

A blank letter inside of a blank envelope.

She put everything away and attached the saddle to her back once more. With everything in place she stepped up to the wooden door that was attached to the square cement room, took a deep breath, and pushed it open.

Octavia’s eyes widened as she saw where she was, having expected anywhere but here.

Lockers lined the hallways that lead to classrooms, before opening up to a main auditorium. Signs hung on the walls pointing out the directions to the gym, nurse’s office, Principal’s office, and the other numerous classrooms that filled out the building.

It was Ponyville Elementary, just as she remembered it back from her days of attending alongside Pinkie.

“It… It can’t be…” Octavia muttered quietly, stepping forward as the wooden door closed behind her. She glanced around, nostalgia hitting her at her core. How many years had it been since she’d stepped inside these halls? Much like everything else in town, it was decayed and rusted, with layers of dust covering everything, but she remembered so much of it so easily.

She could practically still hear the laughter of foals playing in the halls, the sound of teachers giving lessons in their classes, the shuffle of papers and saddlebags all around them, the constant gossip and rumors that children would share amongst each other. 

She could still remember Pinkie looking so frightened just to be there, encouraged only by the fact that she had her older sister there to protect her.

Octavia’s hooves felt like they had moved on their own and she soon found herself standing in front of the Principal’s Office. Without even thinking about it, she lifted her hoof and pushed the door open.

“Well Ms. Pinkamena Diane Pie, we recognize that you have been homeschooled for most of your life, but upon testing you on the Ponyville Standardized Test your score was not high enough to acknowledge a graduate level pony. So we are requiring you to take at least one year of public school here in Ponyville.”

Octavia stared in shock as the ghostly image of the Mayor spoke from behind the desk. In front of her on the chairs were the ghostly images of herself and Pinkie as fillies, listening to the older mare explain everything to them. In stunned disbelief, Octavia slowly walked around the images, getting a better look at the scene as it played out.

“W-What?! I have to go to school!?” The phantom Pinkie deflated in her chair, pouting loudly as she stomped her hooves against the seat. “But learning was so booooooring!”

“Now, now Sis,” The phantom Octavia spoke, her older self turning to look at the filly, “it won’t be that bad. Just… Think of all the new friends you’ll be able to make! You’ll have a lot more ponies to invite to your parties.”

Octavia stared at her younger self, seeing the exhaustion wracked within her features. There were some clearly visible bags under her eyes, her hair wasn’t nearly as kempt as she normally would have kept it, and her voice was clearly haggered with stress and exhaustion. 

And yet, she never spoke up about any of her own issues that she was dealing with. Taking care of her sister meant everything to her in that moment.

“But… But…!” Pinkie responded, looking up at her sister pleadingly. The younger filly was clearly oblivious to how tired her older sibling was, only worried about her own issues involving the school.

“...Tell you what.” Filly Octavia spoke slowly, forcing a comforting smile on her face. “If it’s alright with the mayor, I’ll… I’ll go to school with you. How does that sound?”

Octavia stared at the face of her younger self, seeing… No, feeling, just how much she didn’t want to do that. How much she was against the idea of going to a public school when her own test scores had meant she was more than smart enough to have graduated and moved on. How desperately she just wanted to be done with it all…

...And she was putting all of those feelings aside for her younger sister.

“I don’t see why not.” The Mayor spoke with a smile, nodding her head as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Never once questioning why an older sister would go to her sister’s Elementary school for comfort.

“Really!?” Pinkie practically sprung up from her seat in excitement and joy. “Oh my gosh, you’re the bestest big sister ever!” The young filly sprang from her chair and hugged the older one, squeezing her as tight as she could with a big bright smile on her face. Octavia wrapped her own arms around her sister and smiled, though she looked down at the ground with a distant, tired look in her eyes.

“Anything for you sis…”

And with those words, the phantoms evaporated into the air, as if carried off by the wind. The room returned to silence as Octavia just… Stared at the scene that had played before her, a lump in her throat as she felt the burning sensation of tears at her eyes.

She wiped at her face, swallowing the lump in her throat as she looked away. She remembered that scene, she remembered that day. She remembered how tired she had felt, from the move, to getting Pinkie accustomed to the town, to ensuring that she would have a normal life growing up…

“That was… So many years ago now.” Octavia spoke, shaking her head at the memory. “What’s the point in feeling sorry for myself when I was younger… I became who I am, and there’s nothing that can change that.”

She stepped up to the desk and saw a square blue tile laying on top of it, with a fish engraved onto it. Knowing how this sort of thing went at this point she quickly pocketed the tile. With the room otherwise empty she made her way back out into the school hall.

“Do you make a habit of visiting schools for foals?” A familiar filly’s voice spoke up. Octavia turned her head in surprise, seeing Ellie standing in the hallway, leaning against the lockers and looking at Octavia with a bored look on her face.

“...Not particularly.” Octavia sighed, shaking her head. “More often than not, I seem to find myself in places like this against my will.”

“Sounds pretty normal to me.” Ellie said with a huff, pushing off from the lockers and walking off deeper into the school. “I don’t think anyone wants to come here willingly.”

Octavia had a small chuckle at that as she followed after the filly.

“I don’t know. From what I hear from Pinkie, Twilight always enjoyed her time at school.” She shook her head at that. “If only we were all that lucky…”

Octavia walked down the school halls quietly, following after the little filly. Neither of them really spoke, just a silent trail that felt so familiarly walked. It wasn’t too long before Ellie turned towards a classroom, pushing the door open and stepping inside.

Octavia stopped and glanced at the room number, realizing it was her old homeroom from back when she attended. Stepping into the room, she was hit with a wave of emotions.

“Octi!!” Filly Pinkie’s voice called out, the phantom image of the young girl rushing across the classroom. “Octi, wake up!” Pinkie demanded, rushing up to Octavia’s old school desk. Slumped over in her chair was filly Octavia, clearly having been fast asleep when the younger filly shook her.

“Ugh… Huh?” Her filly self sniffed, rubbing at her tired eyes before turning to look at Pinkie. “O-Oh, hey Sis…”

“Octi, you promised to take me party shopping after school today!” The hyperactive younger sister said bouncing in place. “Stop sleeping already and come on!”

“Oh, is… Is school over?” Her younger self yawned, shaking her head softly. “I’m sorry Pinkie, I just… Lost track of time.”

“You’re always sleeping these days Octi, why is that?” Pinkie asked with a tilt of her head.

Octavia felt a tug in her chest, remembering the reasons. The stress over moving to the new town, the stress of keeping her sister happy, the stress of the nightmares that had been keeping her from proper rest, the stress of working any time her sister wasn’t looking to scrounge up some extra bits, the stress of spending those hard earned bits on all of the food and supplies her younger sister needed for all of her parties, and the stress of still being stuck in a school for foals…

“Guess I’ve just been feeling fairly lazy lately.” The filly chuckled, deflecting Pinkie’s worries. The bags under her eyes seemed even heavier for the lie. “Come on, let’s head to the party store.”

“YAY! Party store! Party store!” Pinkie bounced with her usual excitedness, long since forgetting any worries she had about her sister’s well being. Filly Octavia let out a sigh and followed Pinkie out of the classroom, their phantoms vanishing into the air and leaving a green tile on Octavia’s old desk.

“Were you a good student when you were in school?” Ellie’s voice spoke up, Octavia turning her head to find the little filly rummaging through one of the desks, clearly looking for something. 

“...One of the best.” Octavia let out a single, dry laugh at that. “Slept through all my classes but aced everything anyway.” Because she had been older than all of her classmates and had already learned all of the materials they taught.

It wasn’t something she was proud of.

“Were you one of those nerdy know-it-alls who rubbed it in everyone’s faces?” Ellie asked in annoyance, clearly disliking those types of ponies.

“...No, I never tried to be.” Octavia sighed. “I kept to myself and hated every moment of it.” And hated everyone as well.

“I guess that doesn’t make you completely bad then.” Ellie said simply, finding the things she was looking for; a blank sheet of paper and a box of crayons. Having claimed what she came into the room to get she hopped down from her desk and made her way out of the room. Octavia watched her curiously before turning to look back at her old desk, stepping up to it.

Examining it, she found that the green tile had the carving of a cat on it. With nothing else to do she tucked the tile away into her saddlebag before quickly exiting the room. 

Her eyes looked down the hall and saw the edge of Ellie’s tail turn off into the cafeteria. Following the filly she began to hear the echo of voices bouncing off the walls in the distance. The closer to the cafeteria she got, the louder they became, as if the cafeteria was filled with the young occupants it normally would be when it was time for lunch.

Looking around the corner Octavia half expected to find the cafeteria bustling with young foals given the sound, but her eyes only fell upon a single, phantom image of her younger self sitting at one of the tables. The young Octavia was by herself, eating a simple lettuce and cucumber sandwich all by herself.

Suddenly, something struck the back of the filly’s head, causing her to nearly choke on the bite she had just taken. After a rough swallow, she lifted her hoof up to her head and flicked away a spitwad that had been lodged into her hair. She turned around and growled, three more phantom foals emerging, all who were about Pinkie’s age.

“Ooooh, get something stuck in your hair?” One of them callously laughed.

“You really should be more careful, you never know what might be flying around here!” Another of the three laughed.

The third put a straw in their mouth, before spitting a fresh spitwad straight at Octavia’s head. Octavia flinched upon being struck, letting off a deep growl as she brushed the spitwad out of her hair. 

With anger boiling in her blood she got up from her seat and walked over to the three foals, glaring hate down upon them.

“You three are asking for trouble, aren’t you?” Filly Octavia hissed between grit teeth. Rather than be intimidated, the three foals merely laughed at her display.

“Oh noooo, is the older kid mad at us?” The first foal laughed.

“What is she gonna do? Bully us?” The second foal dramatically placed their hooves against their face as they mockingly spoke. “I can’t handle three foals teasing me! I better attack them!”

“I will inform the faculty about your behavior.” Octavia snarled, knowing full well she couldn’t lift a hoof against them physically. This threat, however, only seemed to make the three foals laugh harder.

“Oooooh noooooooo, the older kid is gonna tell the teacher on us!” The third foal mocked. “She simply couldn’t just IGNORE us! She should be the more mature one about this whole situation!”

Octavia went to open her mouth to retaliate, when something was slammed against the top of her head and suddenly her entire head was soaked. From the immediate smell and taste that passed by her lips, she’d just had an apple juice carton dunked on her head.

This, of course, was hilarious to the three foals who began to run away.

“Don’t take it too personally Octi!” The first foal called out as they ran, “Foals will be foals after all!”

Filly Octavia stood there, anger boiling up inside of her until it faded and she hung her head. She felt it, the shame, the humiliation, the bitterness, the anger… The sinking resignation that not only had she willingly signed up for this, but it was what she deserved.

There would be no reporting the foals that day, or the next day, or the day after that. She would simply take it, each humiliation after the other, until the long year was finally over with and she could escape that hellish establishment.

The phantom of Octavia finally faded away, and on the lunch table where her younger self had been eating was a red tile with a snake carved onto its surface.

Octavia just stared in silence at where the images had been, having forgotten just how awful the bullying back then had been. And the kids had been right, she was the older one, she was supposed to brush off the things children do and just move on with her day. Especially since she wasn’t going to be in school for nearly as long as Pinkie would be. 

It had been so long ago that she really had just… Forgotten all about it and pushed everything aside. After all, who could still be upset about the dumb things that happened at school after all these years?

“Do you ever draw?” Ellie’s voice broke the silence. Octavia lifted her head up, spotting the filly just a table away. Ellie had a crayon in her mouth, doodling away at her sheet of paper as if nothing else in the whole world mattered.

“...I haven’t since I was a foal myself.” Octavia spoke somberly, walking over to Ellie’s table. “I would doodle in the margins of my worksheets sometimes, but once I got my cutie mark…”

“A lot of adults seem to be like that.” Ellie spoke, putting down one crayon and picking up another. “They get older and they stop doing fun things. If that’s what it means to become an adult, I don’t ever want to grow up.”

Octavia’s instinct was to say ‘It isn’t all bad’, but for some reason the words got stuck in her throat.

“I guess I can’t argue with that…” She morosely murmured. She stepped over to where the red tile lay on the table and picked it up, actually taking a moment to examine it this time. 

Each of the tiles had a bit of weight to them, and the detail on the carvings was rather astonishing. She could feel the small bumps and grooves that textured the animal on the surface, and it almost felt like there was a hint of warmth to them. Almost as if the tiles themselves were alive.

She put the third tile away and lifted her head in time to see Ellie hopping off from her seat, leaving the paper and crayons behind as she walked away. Curious as to what Ellie had been drawing Octavia walked over to the sheet of paper and glanced down at it.

Depicted on the drawing was a happy little family of four. A Mother, a Father, and two sisters, one colored in pink, and the other colored in grey. The picture was wholly familiar, yet so foreign at the same time. She wondered to herself if perhaps the buildings in the background were meant to be a farm…

Octavia shook her head before following after Ellie. Back in the Hallway Octavia looked around, before spotting the familiar silver hairs of Ellie’s tail slipping through yet another classroom door. Without hesitation she walked up to the door, only to stop once she read the name of the classroom.

“The Music Room…”

It was a room that Octavia had become all too familiar with during her stay in Ponyville. After all, it was the very room where she had earned her cutie mark.

As if on cue, a haunting melody began to play from within the room. A melody that Octavia was all too familiar with.

Lifting her hoof to the handle, she pushed the door open and found the phantom of her younger self near the back of the room, holding on to a smaller practice cello meant for foals. She was gently strumming along the strings as her younger sister sat just feet away, enraptured by the performance. 

Octavia merely watched as well, stepping into the center of the room and taking a seat for the solo concert. There was an odd feeling to watching your younger self play right before your eyes, but Octavia could feel the swell of nostalgia and pride in her chest from the performance. It was a near and dear piece to her heart, a Beethooven classic.

The performance slowed down as the song neared its end, the final chord hanging in the air before the bow fell from the instrument. Pinkie instantly replaced the slow melody with the clapping of hooves, cheering on her sister for a wonderful performance.

“Gosh Octi, you’re amazing!” Pinkie said once her clapping had ending, bouncing up onto her hooves. “Music really is your super special talent~!”

“So it is.” Filly Octavia said with a sad smile, gently putting the instrument down. “Though, it’s exactly that reason that I needed to talk to you Pinkie.”

“Oh? Talk to me about what?” Her sister asked curiously, suddenly perking up with a bounce. “Oh! Oh-oh-oh! Is it that you’re going to play the songs at my parties personally! Because that would be super duper AMAZING!”

Filly Octavia winced at the declaration, and older Octavia remembered the feelings. The guilt at knowing that wasn’t the case, the reality that she didn’t want to play music for Pinkie’s parties, the sinking dread that she had attended nearly every single party Pinkie had thrown since they had moved to Ponyville and she was… So tired of parties...

“N-No… Not quite Pinkie…” Her younger self spoke up, waving her hoof in a way to tell Pinkie to calm down. Her younger sister seemed to get the hint and stopped bouncing in place, tilting her head confused. “You see Pinkie… I have my special talent now, it’s creating music. I’m quite good at it and… And I need to nurture that talent.”

“Okay…” Pinkie responded, suddenly not liking where this conversation was going.

“So… As a result, I’ve been doing a lot of research on the matter and…” Filly Octavia took a deep breath to steel her nerves. “For that reason, I’m planning on moving to Manehatten once the school year lets out.”

“...W-What!? You’re leaving me?” Pinkie asked bewildered, shock and hurt apparent in her voice. “B-But… But I thought we were going to live here together forever!”

“Pinkie…” Her younger self spoke softly, already feeling the pain of breaking her younger sister’s heart like this. “I told you when we moved here before, didn’t I? That I didn’t know if Ponyville was where I wanted to live…” She turned around, looking out the window towards what had once been a bright and sunshiny day.

“Now that I know what it is I’m good at, what it is I want to do with my life… Ponyville just isn’t the town that can support me or my dreams.” Filly Octavia sighed, turning to look back at Pinkie. “I did promise that I would at least stay here until I knew what I wanted to do, and I know what it is I want to do now. You have a stable place to live, you’ve got ponies and friends that care about you, and you’ll most likely have a job you love once school lets out too.

“But me? I wasn’t meant to stay here, especially not in this school, and not even this town. Manehatten has amazing art programs, and so many jobs for musicians. They foster talent and improve creativity, and there are so many opportunities there… If I don’t start now, it’ll only be harder for me when I get older. You understand, don’t you?”

The sad look on Pinkie’s face spoke volumes. Her quivering lips and tears about ready to burst made Octavia fear that maybe her sister wasn’t going to approve, that she was going to beg and plead for her older sister to stay… And Octavia wasn’t sure if she’d have it in her heart to keep turning down her sister if she truly begged with her whole heart.

But Pinkie didn’t say any words like that. Instead, she jumped forward, wrapping her hooves around the older filly and buried her face into her chest.

“You at least won’t forget about me, right?” Pinkie whimpered, trying to suppress her sobs as the tears began to flow down her cheeks.

“No, of course not sis. I could never forget about you.” Octavia returned, wrapping her own hooves around her sister in return. “You can write to me as much as you like, and I promise I’ll return every letter you send.”

Pinkie nodded at that, squeezing a little tighter.

“I… I don’t want you to go Octi…” Pinkie muttered, Octavia’s heart nearly freezing at hearing those words. “But… But if this is really what you want, I won’t stop you. You deserve to be happy too sis…”

Octavia felt her eyes begin to water and burn at those words, leaning forward to bury her face in her sister’s mane and squeeze her a little tighter back. The two sat there in a sad embrace, before the image of the phantoms faded in the air as well.

On the ground where the two sisters had been hugging was a pink tile with a bird engraved onto it.

“It never gets any easier, does it?” Ellie’s voice spoke up, Octavia turning her head to see the filly looking over the rusted and dusty instruments that lay scattered about the rooms. “Saying goodbye to family… Friends…”

“You have to have friends first to say goodbye to them.” Octavia sighed, shaking her head. “Family is even harder to say goodbye to because of that…”

“How have you done it?” Ellie asked, a tilt to her head. “How have you said goodbye?”

Octavia was silent for a minute. Staring at the tile of the bird. An image of freedom, of taking flight, of going anywhere you wanted… And of being able to fly away from danger. Of being able to escape from your hardships on gentle wings.

Or it could just as easily represent that you were destined for a cage. A cage to be toyed with as a pet for those who were bigger than you.

“I haven’t.” Octavia said simply, walking up to the tile and picking it up. 

She never said goodbye, not properly anyway. The words may have escaped her mouth, but that was exactly what it meant.

Escape.

Escape from her troubles. Escape from her responsibilities. Escape from her life.

Octavia was a runner. She always had been, and she always would be…

Her ears perked up as she heard the wail of a distant siren, lifting her head to look up at the dusty window and into the pitch black sky outside. The siren grew in intensity from somewhere far away, echoing all around her and piercing into the very folds of reality around her.

The room itself began to peel away. The ground, the walls, the ceilings, and all the objects in the room, peeling away as if it was old, dried up paint being picked up by the wind. Chipped away bit by bit, floating into the air and disintegrating into nothing, revealing what had always been hiding just underneath the very walls of that school…

A cage. A cage for a bird desperate to escape.

The rusted, bloody steel of that nightmarish world surrounded her once again. The floor gave way to rusted chain link fence and bloodied hooks hung from the ceilings. Distorted and ugly party decorations loosely hung from the walls, as if thrown up there without a care in the world. The rancid scent of blood and decat once more filled the air.

“You can try to run, if you think it’ll make a difference…” Ellie’s voice echoed from somewhere far away, from a realm that was not the one Octavia stood in. “But if you do, you’re likely to just end up hurting yourself again...”

The siren finally died down and once more the looming sense of dread weighed heavily on Octavia’s shoulders. 

“I suppose it never ends.” Octavia murmured with a shudder. Knowing full well that only more torment awaited her, she turned around to face the cold, rusted steel door that had replaced the old wooden one. She took a deep breath, let out a shuddering breath, then pushed the door open and stepped out into the hallway.
> In Summary
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As a forward note: If anyone would like to make an attempt at writing out the following chapters themselves, they are more than free to do so. And heck, if I like them enough, I’ll post them as the official chapters with full credits back to your other works as well.

I’m posting this synopsis of the story of what I had planned due to the fact that I can already tell with the direction my motivation and energy is going that I’m not going to be coming back to this story in the capacity it currently is designed. I have so many other stories to work on and finish, and while this was the last flicker of interest I had in the ‘Silent Ponyville universe’, I at least tried to make something great again.

So what follows is the full, unmarked spoilers of what I had originally intended. Feel free to read up on them if you so desire, or feel free to wait for someone to actually write the story. Either way, I’m sorry I couldn’t finish the story as intended, but I hope that you’ll enjoy whatever else I work on in the future. At the very least, I know I will actually finish those projects.



Spoilers start here



Chapter 7 Synopsis

Octavia would enter the Otherworld version of the school, where she would be tormented by monsters that represented the bullies she faced while in Ponyville. I had designed creatures similar to the Silent Hill 1 Grey Children/Mumbler, but was never fully satisfied with them.

Originally this chapter wasn’t even supposed to be split from Chapter 6, as this wasn’t going to be a very long section of the Otherworld. It was going to reflect Pinkie’s own experiences with the school when she went into the Otherworld.

Namely, Octavia was going to be chased by the Masked Stallion that had appeared in the previous stories, and the monsters were going to hurl themselves at it to try and stop him, but he would simply kill them easily. Octavia would then find herself trapped in the same boss arena that she had when she faced Slender Pony, and Octavia would engage in battle with him.

Octavia would rush around the room, avoiding being crushed and stabbed by the tongue again, and would eventually find a rusted pipe to defend herself with. She wouldn’t be able to pierce the thick metal around his legs, until the Masked Stallion would pin Octavia to the wall with his head.

In a desperate final struggle, she would slam the pipe again and again against the metal mask, causing the mask to actual start to shatter and break. One final slam of the pipe would break open the mask, revealing who the monster had always been. Slender Pony, but wrapped in metal and barbed wire.

The revelation would not only shock Octavia, but his mental presence would ravish her mind. She would scream out in pain, holding her head, and it would split open from merely being in the presence of the creature, before she fell over dead at the end of the chapter.



Chapter 8 Synopsis

Octavia would wake up once more in the PT styled room, vomiting over being forced to resurrect once again. She would feel like truly broken mare at this point, ranting at the world about what it wanted from her. 

This constant resurrecting is a reflection of her will to live, to continue to go on no matter how awful things in her life became. Octavia has felt like she has died many times over in her life already, only to start again and try to do better next time. This room is the reflection of her true self, trapping herself in here only to start again with each ‘life’.

I likely would’ve put more imagery in this room as well. Have it decaying more, likely having another one of her dead bodies here, maybe even have it speak up to her like the bag did. Cockroaches would become more common, that sort of thing.

Octavia would repeat her mantra again, the one that’s been cropping up repeatedly in the story, about telling herself that everything will be okay and that she will be okay. Every time she’s started a ‘new life’, it's what she would tell herself. She’s alive, and she’ll be okay, she just has to move forward.

Octavia would eventually leave the room again, and find herself in the strip club where Pinkia works again, only this time everything is still fallen to the Otherworld. There likely would’ve been a short puzzle sequence to get through to the backroom, where Octavia would have found Pinkia trapped in a cage.

Pinkia would be acting very different from Pinkie at this point. She’d be scared of the Otherworld, but not in the same way Octavia is. Pinkia is aware of how terrible everything is, but it’s something she’s just always sort of had to accept, that’s why she tried putting a smile on everyone’s faces. The world the way it is now, it’s not different from the real world around them, it’s just stopped hiding it now.

The next part of the story would likely be going around the strip club solving short puzzles to open Pinkia’s cage, possibly having Licker’s roaming the area as well. Puzzles would be reflective of Octavia’s own time as a sex worker and would require her to do things similar to what she had done back then, keeping with the theme of the majority of the puzzles in the story.

Once Pinkia is free, Octavia tries to get them to safety, only for the Masked Mare to break through, tossing a body of a dead licker in intimidation.

The girls would flee from the Masked Mare, desperately trying to escape as she chased them down seemingly longer and more narrow hallways, following fairly closely to the scene from Silent Hill 2 where Pyramid Head chases James and Maria.

I was never 100% sure how I wanted this scene to end, be it the same way James and Maria ended, though I always figured Pinkia would try and sacrifice herself to save Octavia. Possibly by shoving Octavia out of harms way and into a pit of darkness or a locked room or something while Pinkia is killed by the Masked Mare.



Chapter 9 Synopsis

Intended to be the final chapter, so it was gonna be a doozy, though you could possibly split this into 2 chapters.

Octavia would awaken, possibly in the final version of the PT room if she died, or maybe even woke up there from falling in a pit, or was trapped there after the last room. It’d be one last round of symbolism, with Octavia being sick of that place and finally wanting to leave it behind, indicating that its time for her to finally accept her fate and move ahead in her life.

It would exit out into the dark forest that once surrounded her childhood home, leading down a trail path that would lead to the cabin in the woods that the Colt had once called home. Inside everything would be worn down, dusty, covered in cobwebs and the like, clearly no one had been there for a long time.

Octavia would have faint recollections of this place, while also realizing she had hoped she would never remember this place.

Octavia would have her own unique way of viewing the memories of her past play out. She would speak up, recount the start of the stories. Starting with sitting on the couch, covering her face, and recounting how she found this cabin while exploring the woods once.

She’d then hear the door open, turn around, and see the little filly version of herself walk in, and then the Colt would walk in and greet her.

Several scenes around the first house would play out, filling in the audience of what happened back in her younger days.

As it turns out, Octavia knew about the Colt in the forest and had even befriended the man. However, she had grown to hate parties because of her sister, and actually had come here to get away from them. The Colt is surprisingly understanding, and lets her spend time there, the two of them bonding without ‘partying’. Octavia realizes that she can’t let the Colt know about Pinkie, because if he found out her sister loves partying as much as he does, she would lose her only ‘happy place’ in this world.

At home she’s overworked by her parents, expected to be the best and pushed to know more. She’s their best farm worker, their best student, the eldest daughter held to be the perfect child, the example for the others. And she hated it. And she resented Pinkie for being able to get away with being so carefree and happy, as if she could solve all the problems in life with just a smile.

However, one day, Octavia finds out what the Colt’s ‘parties’ entail. She went to the cabin and didn't see him, but heard a sound come from the basement. She opened the door and saw him finishing up a party with another young pony, and she didn’t even know how to react. Part of her broke in that moment and realized, if this is what the Colt thought a party was, then she could finally get rid of one of the biggest problems in her life, by introducing him to her party loving sister.

The memories would fade for the time as Octavia realized just how much of a monster she herself was as well. It wasn’t just the Colt, she had been part of the problem as well.

Octavia walks upstairs and opens one of the doors, revealing a room that looks much the same as her bedroom from when she was a child. She remembers the room, and sees a flashback of her childhood.

She remembers being happy that her plan was working, and that soon Pinkie would be gone forever. However, her parents ask concerned that Pinkie AND Bellamena are missing. And in that moment Octavia realizes her mistake, because she didn’t want Bellamena to die. She rushes out of the house, not knowing what else to do, but to inform the police about what was about to happen.

When the memory fades, Droning Elegy is in the room, sitting on Octavia’s bed and looking out the window. She asks why she did it, with Octavia not having a clear answer. She had just wanted life to get easier, and in that moment, she thought she had found a way. She remembered that she had been falling in love with the Colt, and it warped her mind. She didn’t want to lose him, and then she could make Pinkie go away forever too.

But then Bellamena had gotten involved. She actually loved Bellamena, and memories of their younger sibling had gotten blurry with her being gone, but Bellamena had actually tried to help Octavia be happier by calming her down when Pinkie and their parents were being too much, and just wanted their older sister to be happy in a way that was different from Pinkie.

Droning Elegy’s voice changes, and Octavia turns back to see her filly self sitting on the bed, speaking up. She says that, once Octavia realized what she had done and she had been the reason Bellamena died, she spent the rest of her life trying to make Pinkie happy.

Moving away from the farm, joining her in school, even moving to the big city to send Pinkie money, all of it had been done as penance for getting Bellamena killed.

Octavia, not having any answer for the filly, turns and leaves the room, looking at the next door and opening it.

It’s her apartment from Manehatten again, though clearly more wrecked. It flashes back to a scene of Octavia laying sprawled out on her bed, clearly having just been ‘used and abused’, a stallion grunting as he leaves a bunch of bits by her bedside table and walking out.

Octavia lays there wheezing for a bit, silently crying as she wonders why she’s doing this. She hates herself, she feels like dying, and wants all of this pain to end. Her body is beat up and bruised, and she’s thinking about possibly ending it all.

As she goes to shower, she stops and sees a new letter from Pinkie waiting for her. She carefully opens it, and reads the content of Pinkie being overjoyed at the fact that she had made some new friends in Ponyville. She was so completely happy, and missed her big sister, and couldn’t wait for her to visit again to meet all her wonderful new friends!

Octavia is reminded of why she’s doing all of this, as the memory fades away.

Pinkia is in the room, sitting and looking around at it all. She asks Octavia if this was really worth it. The self sacrifice, the cost of her dignity, her failed attempts at moving out on her own. She had lied to Pinkie time and time again that she was doing well, and things were going fine, but she got fired from her first job and was going to be failing rent. With nothing left, she whored herself out, all just to send money back to the sister whose life she had destroyed. Octavia spent her life destroying it just to try and make up for the life she had destroyed.

Octavia says she has no excuses for what she did, but she couldn’t think of anything else she could have done. What she did was unforgivable, and it had all been out of jealousy, out of annoyance, out of rage. What else was she supposed to do?

When she looks back, she sees a beaten and bruised teenage Octavia sitting where Pinkia had been. Her teenage self says that it’s not a question they can answer like this, is it? After all, if they knew what could have been different, they wouldn’t be here at all.

Octavia goes quiet but leaves the room, entering a third and seeing the roof of a building. 

The memory plays out in front of her, Octavia standing on the edge of her apartment, tears streaking down her face as she holds on to her cello. She starts playing a song, the song she intended to be her final song before jumping, not able to handle life anymore.

However, when the song finishes she is surprised to hear clapping, realizing she has an audience. She looks down and sees one of the members of her future band clapping, and saying they loved her music. They say that they would really love to hear another song if they’d be willing to play again.

Octavia is a little reluctant, but begins to play again, and slowly but surely, not wanting to jump anymore, but rather, just wanting to play music for her audience.

The memory fades and Octavia remembers that was the first time she truly remembered her life turning around. She found musicians who enjoyed her music, something she thought no one would ever do. She had failed so many musical auditions in Manehatten she thought her dream was dead. And then they gave her a chance, and finally…

Finally she could just start to live her own life.

With the memory faded, she starts to feel like, there possibly is a glimmer of hope for her future. She enters the next room, and its actually a happy memory.

Her and her bandmates together, playing, laughing, singing, enjoying life together. She remembers she was finally able to make enough money to stop whoring herself out. She had the opportunity to get further in life, her sister was happy, and finally, she was happy with her own life too. This guilt that had been eating up at her for years and years was finally starting to feel like it was fading.

As the memory fades, Octavia realizes what she needs to do.

She heads down the final hallway and pushes the door open, exiting out into an open arena surrounded by an abyss, the walkway behind her collapsing. And standing before her is the Masked Mare and Masked Stallion.

The Masked Stallion leans down and lovingly rubs up against the Masked Mare, a loving gesture as the Masked Mare pets his neck with her hoof. Then, the Masked Mare takes her scythe and decapitates the Masked Stallion, standing over his body. Octavia watches all of this bewildered, before the Masked Mare turns around to look at Octavia.

She reaches up for her mask, undoing the straps near the back of it, and finally letting the mask drop to reveal it was Octavia underneath it.

Evil Octavia says this is what she always wanted to be, a destroyer of lives. She destroyed Pinkie’s life, Bellamena’s life, the Colt’s life, and finally her own. 

Octavia admits that she’s right, she is the reason all these lives have been ruined, and she’s been running from that fact for so long, but it’s time for her to stop. She’s going to put an end to it all, and this is the last time she’ll destroy anyone’s life again.

The two of them fight, Evil Octavia likely having some banter and having the upperhand given her armor and strength, but eventually Octavia would manage to rush her and get Evil Octavia pinned to the ground. The arena has been slowly crumbling away the entire time they’ve been fighting

Evil Octavia says that being rid of her won’t undo the things Octavia’s done, and that killing her is only killing herself. Octavia already knows this, and plunges a knife down into Evil Octavia’s heart.

Evil Octavia dies as the world crumbles out from underneath them. Octavia is ready to let the darkness swallow her whole, thinking it’s the only thing she has left to do to atone for everything.

Octavia starts to fall, but is surprised when she’s caught. She looks up in shock to find Pinkie hanging out of a shining white door, holding on to her sister. Pinkie begs Octavia not to fall, and Octavia cries back that she doesn’t have a choice. She ruined everything, and the only thing left is for her to accept what’s coming.

Pinkie explains that this isn’t the way to apologize, to fix things. Octavia never needed to destroy her own life, she just needed to talk to her.

Octavia is scared, but Pinkie reassures her that everything will be alright. Swallowing her fears, Octavia accepts Pinkie’s help, and is pulled up and out of the darkness and through the door of light.



Endings

I had 3 endings originally planned out, but if anyone wanted to write more endings I’d be fine with that.



Ending 1 - Death

In this ending, Octavia dies at any point in the story and her body is discovered on the train car to Ponyville, seemingly having died in her sleep.

The story fast forwards to her funeral service, where Pinkie is distraught. This would end with Pinkie receiving one final letter from Octavia, saying that she intended to come visit Pinkie in Ponyville, and that the two of them would finally catch up after everything that had happened.



Ending 2 - UFO

Was going to be a sequel to the other two UFO endings in the series. A silly comic about Octavia being abducted by Pinkie and the Greys and joining the cast on their adventure. Probably make a meta joke about Twilight being there even though SP3 didn’t get a proper UFO ending. Also I likely would’ve stylized it more closely to how Silent Hill 3 did their UFO ending.



Ending 3 - I’ll see you soon

The true canonical ending to the story.

Octavia wakes up on the train car to Ponyville, finding Magus v. Darkarts sitting across from her. He asks her if she had a restful sleep, but Octavia doesn’t remember falling asleep. He says they’d been having a short conversation about Nightmares and he knew a spell that might help her get some sleep. She thinks that’s a little odd, but ultimately thanks the man for his help.

The train comes to a stop and he waves her goodbye as Octavia steps off the train. Octavia hadn’t informed her sister that she was coming, so she heads straight to Sugarcube Corner to find Pinkie.

Pinkie is elated to see her sister and wants to do so much catching up, but Octavia says they need to talk first, and though Pinkie is confused, she understands.

Octavia confesses everything to Pinkie, how she met the Colt, how she knew he was bad, how upset she was that she tried to hand her over to him, and everything that happened to her in Manehatten trying to repent for what she did.

Octavia says she wouldn’t be surprised if Pinkie never wanted to see her again, and that she was sorry she hid this from her for so long. Pinkie is quiet for a moment before wrapping her sister in a hug, and saying that its okay. She didn’t realize how hard her sister had it, or had awful she had been as a child, and that now that the air was cleared between them, they could go back to being real sisters now.

Octavia would like that, and the two of them cry together, finally being able to overcome their horrible pasts together and becoming a true family again.

The two of them plan to spend the rest of the day together, and that they’ll make it up to Bellamena somehow as well someday.

The story ends with Bellemana’s full letter, which reads:


Dear Octavia,



Under the rolling hills of the majestic city, lies a quiet little town.



A town where dreams can come true and ponies can live a happy, peaceful life. 



The farm is so quiet, so lonely sometimes. Let's go somewhere else, and just get away for a bit.



So I'll be waiting for you there.



In that silent town of Ponyville.



It really is a lovely place, though I've only been there once before.



Dad took me there on a business trip, and I fell in love right away.



I've dreamt about going back since then, maybe even living there one day!



That's why I organized this whole trip. What better place to celebrate your birthday, sis?



I know what you're probably thinking too, that Pinkie helped me out with this party.



Well, I know how you've really been feeling...



That you haven't exactly been having fun at Pinkie's parties lately.



You put on a big smile and you stick through it, but I can see what Pinkie can't.



You're getting tired of them. 



You want to be a good sister, but Pinkie is so energetic that she stresses you out.



So that's why I did all of this planning on my own sis!



Just for you.



I know Pinkie will be sad that she'll be missing out on the celebration...



But, for your birthday, I wanted it to be about you, and for you to have fun.



A small, quiet town where you can relax and do whatever you want to do.



I'm sure Pinkie will throw another party for you when we get back, but this trip? 



This is all about you.



I left this letter with Mom and Dad for you to give you soon.



They gave me their blessing, so now I just have to set up for it!



I'm going to head out first and make sure everything is ready, and then they'll give you this letter.



More than anything Octavia, I just want you to know...



You're a wonderful Sister. 



Never forget that.



I'll see you soon.



-Love, Bellamena