Six mares enter this mansion said to be haunted. What no pony knows is there are monsters that come out at night. They kill all inside. And once your inside, no matter what time of day it is, there's no escape.
Being rewritten from scratch.
Princess Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy are visiting an old mansion, its origins, and age both unknown. Over time, some creatures have made it into the mansion and began to trap all other creatures that enter, with no chance of ever leaving unless the three in charge allow them to leave. But only one pony's been allowed to, and everypony else had died without a trace. Or so it seems. No matter day or night it is, once you step inside, there's no leaving. And if you can't escape, you die to the hands of the monsters there, killing your friends and turning them against you, leaving them in a grotesque mess until every last pony is dead. As the six friends explore the mansion, nearly clueless, Rainbow finds a diary of a pony who had stayed for three nights before she died, along with two of her friends. As she reads the first few sentences of her first entree, they all realize this place isn't just any ordinary old mansion. They try to escape, but as the diary said, once you enter, there's no escape.
Three nights. Four left to die. Two of Equestria's first possible survivors in years. Who are they?
"Are you sure about this?" Pinkie Pie asked, staying down low, taking in every little detail she possibly could. The vibes she was getting from the forest around them were so bad, so gloomy, not even she could stay happy. Like a spell had been put on her. A stick snagged onto her hair, snapping off the tree and dripping a strange, purple syrup-like liquid onto her hair. "I've never been in a real haunted house. Especially not a mansion! I need to know more!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed, practically jumping with excitement.
"T-Twilight... I-I don't think this is a g-good id-d-idea." Fluttershy stammered, absolutely terrified. "Look," Rainbow Dash said, waving a hoof in front of her. "We all gave you a chance to stay home and you came along anyway." "I-I didn't want a-any pony getting hurt." She failed to make her voice sound steady and confident. "Well it's too late now." "Guys! It's right there!" Twilight squealed, pointing to it. Out of excitement, she teleported in front of the huge mansion, standing for 100 millennia. The windows were intact, though it seemed as if every room was an empty void. The door looked bright and new, stained glass clean and reflecting light that wasn't there as the door handle fell apart. The shingles broken and falling off the mansion. The paint peeled, the wood cracked and about to break. A window opened and the curtains flew out, flowing in wind that didn't exist.
"Oh my goodness. I've always wanted to go inside one of these!" "I don't know if it's just me, but I'm getting extremely bad vibes here," Rainbow said, backing up a bit. "Ah havta agree," Applejack added. Best not to compete over who's more scared. "It looks hideous!" Rarity cried. "It's been here for millennias! It's so old and fascinating." Twilight looked at the mansion in awe, practically bouncing in excitement. Pinkie Pie gulped and shivered. That was the kind of reaction she would have if the house was made of candy.
"I don't find anything fascinating about something so creepy," she commented. "Come on guys. It'll be fine. And we can stay for as long as we want!" Twilight said, opening the door. She put a hoof inside and gasped. "Wow." She trotted in and checked out the kitchen, as it was the closest room to the entrance. "This is amazing." Moving on to the living room, something next to her suddenly began to flash and chime. Fluttershy let out a frightened squeak and grabbed Rarity, practically tackling her to the ground. Rainbow Dash jerked back slightly while Pinkie Pie grabbed Rainbow's hooves, weighing the pegasus down.
"Oh, sweet Celestia. Thank goodness it's only one of those old motion detectors." Twilight said, letting out a sigh of relief. She picked it up with her magic, and it began to chime and flash even faster. Twilight turned it off and inspected it. "Interesting. I've always wanted to see one of these again," she said, taking a note. "Has anypony else seen something like this?" she asked, turning toward her friends. Everyone shook their heads and Rainbow Dash shook her hoof, motioning for Pinkie Pie to let go. Pinkie let out a nervous giggle and let go, dropping onto her flank.
"Well, this type is mostly used to detect the motion of ghosts and spirits. It's really sensitive and this type has about a 10 feet radius." Twilight explained. "I was unfortunate enough to accidentally step into its sensing perimeters and give us all a jump, or even a scare." "Me? Scared? Psh. It didn't scare or startle me at all." Rainbow Dash said. "We all saw you jump." Applejack said, rolling her eyes. Twilight turned the little device back on and it began to chime and flash again. She put it back on the table and moved away from its sensing perimeters. It stopped flashing and chiming. She walked over and examined the rest of the living room, making sure to stay away from the device.
"Guys! It's a bit! From the looks of it, it was probably from 40-50 years ago." Twilight said and took note of that, no one else seeming to care. She continued to look around, checking inside cabinets and drawers, in between couch cushions and under small places, taking notes here and there.
"Um... Twilight?" Rainbow Dash said, staring at what was inside the drawer she had opened. "What is it?" Twilight asked, not looking up from what she was doing. "I think I found a diary. It says 'Rosetta's Diary'." Rainbow said, carefully taking it out. She flipped to the first page with an actual entry and began reading, though it was slightly difficult. The writing was been aged and so were the pages. The ink was fading from the pages and some was smeared. Some were even impossible to read, and Dash had to guess what it said.
"I think I found out what the first dozen or so sentences say. But it's... Not good." Rainbow said. She had everypony's attention now. She took a deep breath and began to read. "Dear Diary. This mansion is not what it seems. This is more than just haunted. Rumor has it that spirits, ghosts, and monsters roam the place at night after the clock chimes. Blood is spilled. Screams travel through the hallways. Flesh and breaking bones can be heard. Remains are never found by those who enter, unaware of what happened, for you cannot see any that has happened to those who enter until the bell chimes. Only then can you see the crimson red and spirits. Even the screams and chaos of those that died here are sometimes heard. "The monsters that roam only kill in the dead of night, when no light from outside can be seen. Those who die leave behind roaming ghosts and spirits that leave to haunt somewhere else or even stay to help and cause more fear in the target(s). They all see by using fear and sound. Most of the monsters here are blind, but are more dangerous than anything else possible to ponykind in every way possible." Dash looked up, completely unaffected by this, as everyone was staring in horror. "And no one is ever seen going out ever again." She closed the book. "More dangerous than Nightmare Moon or Sombra? Highly unlikely."
No one heard her last comment as Twilight frantically looked around and turned towards the doorway. "We need to leave, quick to the dor!" she cried. All six ponies headed for the doorway, but the door suddenly vanished, cause everypony below to crash into each other or the wall. Rainbow Dash was able to stop in time and she looked around, taking in all of her surroundings and little details as quickly as possible, and remembered what the outside looked like. Finally, she realized where they were.
"Twilight? Do you realize this mansion has a name?" Rainbow asked, turning towards Twilight. Twi shook her head and was about to turn back around, but Rainbow Dash's question had caught her attention. "Why are you bringing this up now?" she asked, looking at Rainbow. "I'm bringing this up because I've heard of this place before. But the last time I ever heard of or seen this place was two years ago. This isn't only a haunted mansion. The diary told us all. But it didn't mention the name. Because all who come here will remember the name sooner or later. Only one will know in a whole group." "WHAT?!?! Why are you telling us now?!" Twilight shouted, pulling Rainbow Dash out of the air. Dash pushed her away and looked behind her. "I'll tell you guys later. First, we need to find if there's a way out of here." "At least tell me the name!" "The name? Ah... It's called... The Death Mansion of No Escape."
It was nearly time. The sun was setting engulfing the mansion in darkness. The six mares had given up trying to escape after hours of searching around the areas they could go through without getting too far away from where they had entered. Of course, Rainbow Dash had refused to give up, but after another hour or so, even she had to rest.
"I don't think we're going to ever get out of here. We might die here." Twilight Sparkle said, plopping herself onto the old couch. It let out a squeal and some dust came off of it. "Alright. Rainbow Dash. I need you to tell me everything you know and why you didn't tell us before we came here or even entered."
Rainbow Dash sighed and rubbed her head. "Truth is, I didn't even remember this place existed until a few hours ago. The last time I heard anything true about this mansion was before we even met. Seven years ago. Of course, I wouldn't remember anything or even recognize this place. Of course, I've passed this place here and there, but the last time I ever did was about a year ago. And with all the recent activity, I obviously wouldn't have remembered anything."
"Only when I read that diary and was able to take in the surroundings and remember what it looked like from outside was I able to piece everything together and realized what mansion this was. I'm actually quite surprised you guys never heard those rumors."
"I'm surprised I didn't hear about this sooner," Twilight said. "That's because there are no records about this in history. Everything about this place was burned or destroyed. Even the ones who knew were killed. Only remaining things from those who ever entered are left in here."
"Then... how do you know so much?" "I was the only one who knew anything after that day. And by that, I mean I was SUPER LUCKY. No pony else knew anything after that night. And here's how anyone knew anything."
"In this place's entire history, only one has ever made it out. It may seem impossible, but it's true. It was about a year after you became an alicorn. The escapee, which no one knows the name of, wrote down everything he knew that night. The next day, he spread the news. Soon, half of Equestria, including the princesses knew about this. They were planning to burn this place down, but two days after the news was spread, something terrible happened."
"All who knew about anything about this was killed. Only important ponies and the princesses had their memory erased of this. That unfortunately includes you guys. And the escapee, from the looks of it when they found him, he was violently murdered. I was the only one who knew anything the next morning. Everything about the place outside of here was erased from existence. Except for one page. The next day, even that was gone. Only rumors and gossip run around now. So far, everyone is fine. I don't know where anything about this is in Equestria right now. I would spread the real news and everything, but I don't want anything bad to happen again. Like that one night..."
"If you're still alive to this day, you're one of the top ten of the luckiest ponies to ever live. Alive or dead. The list is including those in history. And you might be able to escape. But on your own without the rest of us." Twilight said, looking at some of her notes. "It's possible, but we'll never know until the time comes."
As the sun finally disappeared into the horizon, it got impossible dark inside the mansion. It was almost darker than the color black itself. A few moments later, a grandfather clock began to chime. Twilight and Rarity illuminated the room with their magic and the motion detector began to chime, the flashing growing viral.
"They're already coming out." Rainbow Dash said. "Stay close. We don't know if they'll do something to us." The six ponies got close together. Applejack got behind Twilight while Pinkie Pie hugged Rainbow tightly but she made sure to allow the pegasus to still breathe normally. Fluttershy curled up in between the group, making sure that everyone was pretty much surrounding her with barely any openings. A small wind started and Twilight looked around. She swore she saw something looking at her a second ago.
"I WANT TO GO HOME!!!" Fluttershy screamed, grabbing Rarity from behind and hugging her, leaning on Rainbow Dash as well. Rainbow Dash put a wing around Pinkie Pie and the other around Fluttershy, trying to comfort them both as much as possible.
"Stay close, everyone. We don't know what's going to happen." Twilight said. Everyone got even closer together. The wind calmed down ever so slightly but the motion detector began to freak out and everyone grew even more scared.
"There are probably hundreds of spirits wandering and watching us right now for that detector to be going so crazy," Twi said. She then realized the warmth from Applejack by her neck was gone. She turned her head to the side and looked at where AJ had been.
"Guys? Where's Applejack?" Twilight asked. Everyone else immediately turned to where AJ had been mere moments ago. Applejack had disappeared without a trace.
As it got closer to midnight, the wing grew stronger and weaker. The motion detector sped up and slowed down. There was no one pace either would go at. As 11:00 came around, Fluttershy had disappeared without anyone noticing.
"Where did she go?!" Rarity shrieked. Twilight quickly had Rarity quiet down, just in case. "Wherever she went, at least Applejack's over there." Rainbow Dash said, pointing to a figure ever so slightly illuminated by the frantic motion detector. Rainbow Dash carefully slipped Pinkie Pie off of her, who immediately grabbed her hooves. Rainbow Dash shook her off, clearly aware nopony else wanted her to walk over. Rainbow made sure to carefully approach the earth pony, but she began to notice scratches, scars, and a black liquid all over Applejack.
"Applejack? Are you-" Before Rainbow could finish her sentence, AJ lunged at Dash. The pegasus jumped backward and saw her friend as a grotesque mess in the light. Black tentacles waved around in her mouth, thick black ink and blood leaking out of her eyes and wounds dripping onto the ground. Half of the front of her mane had been torn off and her neck had flesh completely exposed, covered in more ink and blood. Rainbow Dash screamed ran away from Applejack.
"Run!" she yelled at the others. Everyone immediately jumped off of the couch and follow Rainbow Dash. Applejack growled and ran after them, teeth bared. "Guys! Over there!" Twilight exclaimed. Rainbow Dash spread her wings and launched herself backward slightly, allowing Twilight to take the lead. Twilight turned to the right and slammed a door open.
"Get inside now!" she shouted. Everyone immediately went into the hallway and as soon as everyone was in, she slammed the door shut. Applejack roared and bucked at the door, occasionally slamming herself onto it. Twilight blocked the door the best she could and ran after the others.
Rainbow Dash, who was at the front again, suddenly stopped, causing everyone else to crash and trip each other. As soon as Twilight made it over, Rainbow Dash grabbed her and shoved Twilight in front of her.
"I need to see who or what this is," Rainbow said, practically holding up the alicorn. Twilight lit up her horn and as soon as everyone saw who it was, Rainbow Dash dropped Twilight.
"F-FLUTTERSHY!!!" Rarity shrieked. She ran over and lit up her horn, looking over Fluttershy up and down. She went up to the rope on her neck and was about to untie the knot when the pegasus's ripped wings suddenly flared open and Fluttershy roared, lunging forward in the air. Rarity fell back and screamed. Fluttershy let out a blood-curling shriek and a few droplets of ink and blood flew out of her mouth, splattering the fashionista and everyone nearby with the two liquids.
Applejack immediately threw herself onto the door as hard as she could and broke it open. She lunged at the group and everyone jumped out of the way. Twilight blasted AJ backward with her magic and Rainbow Dash pushed Fluttershy out of the way, causing the hanging pegasus to let out an ear-piercing wail. The rest of the group ran after Rainbow Dash and Applejack quickly got up before taking off after them. As she hit Fluttershy to get through, she got her mane slightly tangled and pulled more of it off, but it caused the rope to snap. Fluttershy landed on her back and she hastily got up and ran after the others as well.
"Guys! Hurry! They're both after us now!" Twilight cried. Fluttershy lunged forward but her rope snagged onto something. It jerked her backward and she fell onto her back. She attempted to get up, but she failed to. She let out a howl of anger and Applejack immediately locked her target onto Twilight. When the four ponies split up, she followed Twilight. AJ lunged at the alicorn but she teleported to Rarity, the closest one to where she was.
"Do you think Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie will be alright?" Rarity asked. "As long as they stick together. Hopefully, we'll meet somewhere."
"Pinkie? Do you think we lost her?" Rainbow Dash asked, slowing down her pace a bit. "My Pinkie sense is telling me she's really close!" Pinkie Pie said, also slowing down to match Dash's pace. "Can your sense tell where she is exactly?" "Nope! But I know she's somewhere behind us." "Then just keep run-" A screech from behind cut Rainbow Dash off and the two ponies immediately sped up again. Rainbow looked over her shoulder and saw Applejack only about two yards away from them.
"Pinkie! Try to get on me or at least hold on really tightly to my tail!" Dash said, spreading her wings. Pinkie got behind Dash and quickly got on, making enough room for Rainbow Dash's wings. Rainbow looked at AJ one more time before taking off down the hallway. AJ let out a screech before speeding herself up. But even at full speed, she was unable to catch up to the speeding pegasus. Dash quickly looked for a way to hide and speedily got inside a nearby room.
"Rainbow? Pinkie?" someone whispered in the darkness. "It's us, Twilight and Rarity. We're okay. Are you guys?" "I-I think so." Rainbow Dash whispered back. Pinkie Pie slipped herself off of Dash's back and as soon as she got off, they heard hoofsteps outside. No pony dared to move or speak. They heard sniffing and hoofsteps running away.
"That was close," Twilight whispered as quietly as possible but still allowing the others to hear. Rainbow Dash quietly snuck over to the door and opened it. She carefully scanned the area to make sure the coast was clear. One she was sure it was, she snuck out of the room while the other three were distracted. She got out and quietly shut the door. She looked around for a clock. The closest one read 3:33 AM.
Aw man. An hour and 27 minutes left of this shit. Rainbow Dash thought. She heard Pinkie Pie shriek and cry, "WHERE'S RAINBOW DASH!?!?" Rainbow was about to go back inside but she heard someone creeping down the corner. She spread her wings and flew up to the closest, thickest beam there was. Dash carefully hid in the shadows, making sure she couldn't be seen from below. She watched as Fluttershy came into view, the rope on her neck noticeably tighter. Rainbow Dash watched as the pegasus below prowled around, obviously catching the scent of all four ponies. She burst the door open and everypony inside screamed.
They all ran out of the room and Rainbow Dash covered her ears as Fluttershy let out a scream. She ran after the three ponies and Rainbow Dash immediately followed behind, dodging all the obstacles in her path. She kept an eye on the trio and the monster that used to be Fluttershy. When Fluttershy's weak spots were nearly all exposed, Rainbow Dash lunged at Fluttershy from above, delivering a strong blow to most of the exposed areas. Fluttershy howled and attempted to get up but found her front left hoof and back right hoof unable to move. Fluttershy growled and attempted to bite Dash, but failed to do so.
"Go while I distract her!" Rainbow Dash shouted to the others, holding Fluttershy's head down on its side with her hoof. Twilight Sparkle and Rarity continued to run but Pinkie Pie looked at Rainbow Dash. She knew the pegasus wouldn't be able to hold down that monster for long. She hesitated for a bit more before running after Twilight and Rarity.
As the trio ran down the hallways, screams echoed around them. Twilight knocked aside a random desk in the middle of the hallway and gasped in more air. She and the others knew they would never make it out, but they had to survive as long as they could. Applejack jumped in from of Twilight and the alicorn leaped over her. While she was distracted, the other two went around. AJ growled and sprinted after them. Twilight opened a door and immediately stopped. The other two did as well and was about to usher Twilight in when Applejack skidded to a halt, yelped, and ran away. Rarity looked at Applejack, confused, and Twilight inspected the room from the doorway. Twilight realized that it was completely quiet now aside from the howling of the wind.
"It's so quiet now... And this looks like a whole other dimension," she said. Pinkie Pie put a hoof on her shoulder and shook her head. Twilight sighed and closed the door, turning to her right and walking away. Rarity looked at Pinkie Pie and Pinkie sighed. She motioned to Rarity that they would have no idea what would happen if it was actually a different dimension. Rarity looked away and followed Twilight. Pinkie Pie quickly followed as Twilight went up a flight of stairs.
When she reached the top, Twilight saw a wall that looked awfully suspicious. She inspected it but didn't understand how it was suspicious. She looked around, trying to find something to help her inspect the wall further. She found a weird-looking contraption with a see-through screen with a slight yellow tint and light bulb surrounding the outside of the about one and a half-inch thick wood frame. Twilight turned towards the wall, holding the contraption up. She immediately saw something in dripping, aged invisible ink. Some were extremely old, some looked pretty recent.
"What is this?" Twilight questioned. She turned around and walked over to a spot where she could see the whole wall. She held it back up so she could see what was on the wall. Hundreds of drawings, arrows, writing, and things Twilight couldn't make out was on the wall. Twilight lowered the contraption and inspected it.
"Have either of you seen this before?" she asked, turning towards Pinkie Pie and Rarity. They both shook their heads and Twilight looked at the contraption one more time before putting it down.
"I wonder what happened here..." Twilight said, putting a hoof on the wall. She knew she couldn't see what she was touching that was drawn or written on the wall. She backed up back to where she had put the contraption and someone grabbed it from behind Twilight, startling her.
"I see you found a seeing tool to see the invisible ink." Rainbow Dash said, picking up the contraption. She looked through it at the wall Twilight had been looking at and made out more than Twilight had.
"It says Flower Rose and Exploration Searcher died here." Rainbow Dash said, reading the rest of the text on the wall. "Exploration Searcher?" Twilight asked, trying to remember who that was. She knew she knew somepony with that name.
"Loves exploring, adventures, seeks any chance to go out into the wild and unknown? A unicorn? Grey skin and pink hair with yellow stripes in it? That's her." Rainbow Dash said, pressing a button to make the seeing tool turn into a stick as wide as the handle and she tucked it safely and securely under her wing. Twilight looked back at the wall and heard a growl. She turned around and saw a huge, black beast with large, sharp teeth and no eyes. It was three times Twilight's size and it was dripping the same black ink from Applejack and Fluttershy.
"Run!" Twilight cried. The group ran and the beast roared, running after them. It somehow ran through the walls and doors of the mansion, nearly killing the four ponies. Rainbow Dash saw a clock at one point that read 4:59 AM.
"Keep running! Just a minute left of this!" she shouted to the others. Fluttershy jumped in front of the group and Applejack leaped at them from the side. Rainbow Dash fell back, startled at how Fluttershy was somehow still alive even with so much exposed flesh and bone. Twilight put up a shield and Applejack leaped off the top of it, pushed off a wall, and hit the shield hard enough to put a small crack on it. Twilight focused on keeping the magic shield up while trying to repair the crack. Rarity joined in, trying to make the shield stronger. She was no expert at magic, but she tried her best. The beast roared and was about to beat the shield down when a grandfather clock chimed, announcing it was officially 5:00. The beast looked to its right and turned around, running away. Fluttershy and Applejack yelped and scrambled over each other to get away in the next minute. Rarity and Twilight looked, unsure, and put down the shield.
"I wonder why they're running away." Rarity said. "It's better than getting the rest of us killed!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Well, we still have to get through this again tonight. So don't get your hopes up too high." Twilight said. Everypony nodded and Rainbow Dash took out the seeing tool and opened it up. She immediately saw they were all standing on something.
"Guys... we're standing on a pentagram," Rainbow said, staring down at the big circle with a star in it. Everypony immediately got off, but Rainbow Dash put the seer(seeing tool) away and continued to stare at where the edge of the pentagram would be. She spread her wings, grabbing the seeing tool, and flapped them, causing dust to fly off the ground. Twilight protected herself and the other two from the dust. She put it down as soon as the dust cleared and clear on the ground was the pentagram in crimson red blood.
"Rainbow Dash... you might want to get off..." Twilight said. She noticed that they were all looking at it from an upside-down position.
"OKAY YEAH, YOU DEFINITELY SHOULD." Twilight yelped. Rainbow Dash backflipped off of it and tucked the seeing tool back under her wing in the process.
"Well, let's go find somewhere to rest. We'll be dealing with this again at around 8 tonight." Dash said, plucking out a random feather in her hair. Rainbow looked at the pentagram and the group walked away to find the most comfortable place possible in the mansion to rest up.
As the sun began to set once again, the four remaining ponies woke up, preparing themselves for the upcoming night.
"Do you think we're going to lose anypony tonight?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking for the seeing tool.
"Hopefully not. And are you looking for this?" Twilight Sparkle said, holding up the seeing tool. Rainbow Dash grabbed it and opened it up, looking around for anything. She hadn't had a chance to check before resting. She saw a few things, even words on the ground saying "safe house".
"Well, we better stick together. But not too closely. That's how Fluttershy and Applejack were caught somehow." Twilight said, leaning over Rainbow Dash's shoulder to see what she was looking at. Rarity looked at herself in a nearby cracked mirror and sighed.
"I would be more concerned about my hair and makeup if we weren't here and there weren't monsters trying to kill us or even turn us into them." she said, running a hoof down her frazzled and messy mane.
"Well, we have to deal with this. Possibly forever if we're caught." Twilight said, practicing a few harmless spells in the room.
20 minutes later...
As the sun disappeared into the horizon once again, the grandfather clock chimed. The wind seemed louder and wilder than yesterday. No one could hear the motion detector. Because it wasn't chiming.
"Do you think it's a good idea to stay here? I mean, it says safe house in invisible ink EVERYWHERE in this room." Rainbow Dash said, taking out the seeing tool and showing everypony what she meant.
"Can't they just come in?" Pinkie Pie asked, grabbing a snack from out of her hair.
"Safe houses are the safest place in any place with monsters." Rainbow Dash said, putting the seeing tool away. "And right now isn't the time to be eating a snack," she said, pointing to the bag Pinkie was holding.
Pinkie Pie shrugged and continued eating. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and walked over to the door. She put her hoof on the handle and Twilight immediately stopped her. Rainbow Dash jerked her hoof up, flinging Twilights off of hers. Twilight shook her head no and Rainbow Dash glared at her. Rainbow Dash opened the door and Twilight used her magic to close it. Rainbow Dash aggressively spread her wings and growled. This actually startled Twilight, for the growl was very unpony like. Twilight jumped back, unsure of what to do, and Rainbow Dash reopened the door, leaving the room.
"Did anypony else notice how that growl sounded?" Twilight asked, watching Rainbow Dash as she flew away.
"It sounded quite off coming from a pony." Rarity said, brushing off some crumbs that had gotten on her from Pinkie Pie's chips.
"I know. And it didn't sound like any growl I've ever heard. I found that oddly weird and the fact Rainbow Dash would just run away." "Darling. I know you're concerned, but she's the only one who might make it. The rest of us... are goners." Rarity said, trying to untangle a knot in her hair. "You're right. But we can't lose anyone else." "Twilight. We know you're concerned, but we can't just go out there on a major chase again. My hooves are still tired and hurting. Aren't yours?" Twilight sighed and finally realized that. She sat down and closed the door, trying not to think about the worst.
"COME GET ME BITCHES!!!" Rainbow Dash yelled, taunting Fluttershy and Applejack. They both sprinted after her and Rainbow Dash flew in front of them, going backward.
"Hey there!" she said. Applejack pounced at her and Rainbow Dash flew back up, looking forward again. There was a broken beam ahead and she took the chance to give herself a little boost. Her front hooves latched onto the top of the beam and Rainbow Dash flung herself forward, launching herself further down the hallway. She took a sharp right turn and quickly hid in the shadows above, landing on a high beam with more than enough room for her. Fluttershy and Applejack growled, wondering where Rainbow had gone. Fluttershy ran ahead while Applejack searched around below.
As soon as Fluttershy was out of sight, Rainbow smiled and lunged down at Applejack. She tackled the earth pony to the ground and furiously snapped one of her hooves. Applejack howled and attempted to buck the pegasus off of her but Rainbow Dash backflipped off of her, spreading her wings in the process. She grinned and crouched down, ready to defend herself. Applejack got back up and growled. She ran over with a big limp in her steps, her broken hoof slowing her down. She jumped up, her fine hoof stretched out. Rainbow Dash flew above her and went down, her back hooves connecting with Applejack's spine, throwing the earth pony to the ground with enough force that should've shattered her spine, but it just barely made a crack.
Applejack howled and Fluttershy immediately jumped around the corner, tackling Rainbow Dash to the ground. Rainbow slipped out from under her, giving her a hard kick to the face afterward. While Fluttershy was busy, Rainbow Dash leaped onto her back and flung the pegasus across the room. Rainbow felt something drip onto her back and she looked up.
"Oh shit," she said. The monster dropped down from the ceiling and roared in her face, splattering ink and blood onto her face. Rainbow Dash covered herself with her wings and as soon as the monster was done, she flew above, him, hiding in the shadows. Fluttershy and Applejack got up, growling. Rainbow Dash flew away and back to the safehouse. she opened the door and heard Rarity yelp, followed by something dropping.
"It's okay. it's just me." Rainbow said, walking in and closing the door. Twilight immediately grabbed her by the shoulders and flung her to the ground.
"WHAT were you THINKING?!?! Running off when ANYTHING could hurt you?!?!" Twilight yelled. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and got out from under Twi, using an old nearby comb to get as much of the ink, dust, and blood off of her as she could.
"Look. I'm fine. I've been in worse situations." Rainbow Dash said. It was half true, but it was also kind of a lie.
"I DON'T CARE!!! I'M NOT LOSING ANYPONY ELSE!!!" Twilight screamed. Pinkie Pie and Rarity huddled together. Rainbow Dash let in a sharp breath through clenched teeth and turned to Twilight.
"I'm pretty sure NONE of us wants to lose anypony else." Dash Said, trying to stay calm.
"Then WHY DID YOU LEAVE, JUST TO LEAVE YOURSELF VULNERABLE?!?!" "If I was vulnerable, I would be DEAD. I wouldn't be here. We wouldn't be here if I hadn't distracted Fluttershy." She paused for a moment. "Twilight... WE WOULDN'T EVEN BE HERE IF YOU WEREN'T SO DAMN FASCINATED BY A 'HAUNTED MANSION' THAT YOU WOULD'VE HEARD RUMORS OF IF YOU WERE OUTSIDE MORE." Twilight flinched at how loud and furious Rainbow Dash's tone was. Rainbow Dash closed her wings and flicked a blob of the ink off of her before going into the room next door, cursing at Twilight under her breath. Twilight watched her, clearly upset.
"I-I..." Twilight turned around and sat down. Rarity and Pinkie Pie walked over and hugged Twilight.
"I'm sorry..." Twi said, burying her face in her hooves.
"Darling. You have nothing to be sorry about. She's just mad." Rarity said, wiping a tear that had began to roll down Twilight's cheek.
"But-" "Stop making excuses to make yourself guilty." Twilight breathed in and sighed. She nodded and looked behind at the door to the next room.
"Come on. Just wait. We'll have to leave again eventually." Rarity said. Rainbow Dash peeked out from the doorway and sighed.
"Look. If you seriously are that unhappy, we can just GO RISK IT AGAIN right now. Plus, there's a limited amount of time you can stay in a safe house before they're allowed to enter. Five minutes left. So we'll have to leave anyway." Twilight looked up at a nearby table. 4:57 is what it read. She looked at a clock that read 12:20 AM. Twilight sighed and got up.
"Alright. Let's get ready to leave again," she said, avoiding Rainbow Dash's gaze. Rainbow huffed and slammed the door, leaning against the door.
"I guess she's still mad." she heard Rarity say from the other room. Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves and waited, watching as the clock slowly ticked by.
It had been five minutes. Rainbow Dash got up and opened the door. The group was waiting for her.
"Let's go," Rainbow said. Twilight opened the door and walked out.
"Alright. Be cautious. Anything could happen." Twilight said. At that moment, Rainbow Dash leaped in front of the group and shoved someone aside, backhanding(backhoofing?) the other. Twilight grabbed Pinkie Pie's hoof and ran, Rarity following behind. Rainbow Dash launched herself after the group.
"Who knew Fluttershy and Applejack would be here already?" Rainbow Dash said, dodging a beam in her path. The black, inky monster suddenly appeared in front of the group seemingly out of nowhere, and lunged at them. They immediately tried to run in the opposite direction, but it managed to grab Rarity. Twilight attempted to blast it, but it barely did any damage and served to just make it angrier. Rainbow Dash flew near the ceiling and grabbed onto the next beam ahead and swung on top of it.
She watched the ink creature run by and once it passed, she flew down behind and attempted to grab Rarity, but as soon as the creature saw her, it attempted to hit her. It missed, but a blob of ink was flung onto her left wing. The huge ink blob that covered almost half of her left wing made it hard to fly and she faltered. Using her other wing and what she could, she grabbed a broken beam on a wall and tried to climb it. As soon as she was high enough, she leaped off of it, grabbing onto the nearest beam on the ceiling. Rainbow Dash got on top of it and cleaned off her wing. The monster ran away in the direction it came from, Rarity screaming. Rainbow Dash quickly got as much ink as she could off and flew after the other two.
"Twilight! Pinkie Pie!" she called. Pinkie popped her head out from a door and Rainbow flew over, quickly going inside.
"Why did you risk your life again!?!?" Twilight whisper-screamed.
"I'd rather risk my life than lose anyone else's!" Rainbow Dash whisper-exclaimed.
"You have to live to tell the tale!" "Live to tell the tale?" "Yes! You must live to tell Equestria about this!" "And risk having the chaos that day happen again? No!" "If that does happen, burn down the place yourself." "And have everyone think I'm a psychopath from burning down some of the forest as well. Good idea." "It's better than anyone else dying here." "You would rather have everyone think I'm a psychopath for thinking this place killed ponies? That there were monsters? For thinking that they converted others into monsters or spirits? For thinking that burning down a mansion like this would be for their own good? You would rather have that, than having this place remain?" "I..." "Twilight. I appreciate your concern an all, but you can't always save everyone." "You're right. But if you ever make it out, at least bring all the records of the past as proof." "Uh-huh. And if it gets destroyed, no one will know crap about this place when they enter." "Just that one diary back at the entrance." "Fine." There was a rumbling outside and someone bucked the door down.
"Oh shit." Rainbow Dash said. Right outside the door was Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, and the monster.
As the four began to close in, the trio backed up, trying to avoid every attack that was directed to any of them. Twilight attempted to hit them with blasts of magic, but only half of the blast dealt damage. The other half didn't do anything or was deflected, nearly hitting one of them. As the trio was cornered, Rainbow Dash looked down at her left hoof and sighed. On her hoof was an engraved cross. It was slightly glowing and illuminated a little area around it. It did this every time a threat was either nearby or when something from hell had escaped. It began to glow brighter as the three monstrous ponies and creature closed in.
Rainbow Dash used her other hoof and covered it up, knowing it was probably a bad idea because of the other symbol on her right hoof. As Applejack was about to attack, Twilight and Pinkie Pie jumped out of the way and Rainbow Dash dodged the attack, sliding underneath the earth pony. She pulled herself upright and leaped onto the monster's back, leaping out of the room. It turned around and Rainbow Dash pulled herself up onto a low beam, making sure to leave herself exposed to the faint light that was coming from a single candle nearby. It growled and attempted to attack Rainbow Dash, but Rainbow leaped to the next closest beam. Fluttershy quickly climbed up a broken beam and lunged Rainbow. She pushed Fluttershy down to the floor, causing the other pegasus to hit the monster and Dash balanced herself with her wings before she fell. What she didn't notice was the small burn mark she had somehow made on Fluttershy.
She watched as Twilight and Pinkie ran away, Rarity and Applejack following not far behind. she looked back down at Fluttershy, who was trying to get off the monster. It flung her off and Dash quickly got away before it could attack her again. As soon as she caught up with the four ponies, she tackled Rarity and bit down onto her neck, somehow flinging the unicorn away and ripping off some of her flesh. Rainbow spit it out and landed in front of Applejack, leaping at her and causing them both to tumble a few feet across the ground. Rainbow quickly checked if the seeing tool was still strapped down under her wing.
She checked the symbol on her hoof and it was still glowing. It rarely did this while she was trying to fight someone. She quickly shrugged it off, for nothing bad had ever happened during this. She pinned Applejack down and immediately could smell something burning. She removed her left hoof and yelped, falling off of Applejack. Applejack got back up, trying to avoid putting any weight onto her broken hoof. She looked down at her other hoof and screeched out. The edges of her skin and the exposed flesh inside were quickly burning away. She quickly ran away and Rainbow Dash looked down at the bottom of her left hoof and sighed.
"Sweet Celestia," she muttered, getting up. She blew off some of the ash on her hoof before running after Twilight and Pinkie.
"TWILIGHT! PINKIE!" Rainbow Dash called, trotting through the halls of the mansion, trying to find her friends. As soon as she put her right hoof down after a few more steps, the symbol engraved on that hoof began to glow a faint red. Rainbow noticed this and looked down at the ground, lifting her hoof. She wiped some of the dust off the floor but there was nothing there. She grabbed the seeing tool and opened it up, looking at the floor. As soon as she registered what was in invisible ink, she flinched.
As soon as she finished reading it, the first four words disappeared, replaced by 𝓣𝔀𝓲𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓢𝓹𝓪𝓻𝓴𝓵𝓮. Rainbow Dash quickly put the seeing tool away and ran off, desperate to find Pinkie Pie.
I hope she's okay. Rainbow thought.
"DASHIE!!!" Pinkie screamed, panic shining clearly through her voice as she ran around the floor of the mansion. As she turned a corner, she crashed into the rainbow maned pegasus. Pinkie Pie quickly got up and squealed.
"Pinkie, calm down! You almost gave me a heart attack!" "Calm down? I don't want you to die too!"
There was a growl behind Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash lightly threw Pinkie off of her to the side. Rainbow Dash quickly got in front of Pinkie and growled at the monster. It reached out to grab Rainbow Dash, but Rainbow quickly leaped up the monster, her left hoof slightly burning the ink. But somehow, the ink slightly burned but didn't fully catch fire. Rainbow quickly jumped off and waved a hoof in the air ever so slightly. Almost immediately, a sword appeared in her hoof. Rainbow Dash held it sideways in front of her, ready to attack when necessary. The sword began to glow ever so slightly.
The monster turned around and attempted to reach out again. Rainbow Dash quickly moved out of the way, slicing the hand right off, the sword leaving behind a rainbow and inky looking trail. The monster looked at it and growled. Rainbow Dash looked at the hand, slightly disgusted, and flew back in front of Pinkie Pie, making sure she didn't get hurt. Dash heard something coming from behind and leaped over Pinkie, slicing whoever had been coming from behind. Rainbow Dash saw it was Applejack and the earth pony screamed with fury. Rainbow quickly held the sword in her mouth, grabbing Pinkie and running away. As they reached an intersection, Fluttershy tackled Rainbow to the ground. Rainbow quickly turned her head to the side, the tip of her sword leaving a scar on Fluttershy's face. Rainbow shoved her off of her and threw her to the ground, her left hoof burning a small patch of Fluttershy's skin.
Fluttershy whined and tried to free herself, but Rainbow pinned her down. She sighed and got off of Fluttershy. Flutters quickly got up, but before she could run, Dash pierced the sword right through her heart. Fluttershy howled before dropping to the floor, convulsing a bit before she finally stopped moving.
"I would regret this, but the real Fluttershy would never try to kill her friends." Rainbow Dash said, tossing the sword into the air. It disintegrated into rainbow-colored flower petals and she turned towards Pinkie, who had turned away from the scene. Rainbow Dash walked over and put a hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder.
"Come on. Let's go before they come back."
"Are you sure this will work?" "If you're so unsure, then why are we doing this?" "If you're so sure, then why are you asking me that? "Whatever." "Why are we doing this?" "You idiot it's because no one should ever exit and tell the tale. Our souls are somehow connected to this place and if anything happens, we are going to DIE." "That's not what I mean." "Then what do you mean?" "Why didn't we just leave these six alone?" "We thrive on this place and the life of others. but for this whole life thing to work, we must have them die twice, for it makes it stronger. The mansion alone will not work. It also helps the mansion keep anyone from escaping. Understand now?" "Yes. But I have one more question... why did we let that one pony escape?"
As the two mares walked through the halls, Rainbow Dash was on high alert while Pinkie nervously followed next to her. Occasionally, Rainbow would take out the seeing tool, checking for any secret messages, maps, drawings, really, anything. She has a feeling that there would be something to help them out. She also had to pull it out so she could see, as some areas didn't have candles that were lit, leaving the two in black darkness. The hallways were eerily quiet, aside from their echoing hoofsteps and the faint whistling of the wind blowing throughout the place. Every little sound that wasn't either of those, Rainbow would immediately look around for any threats.
"Dashie...?" Pinkie said, nearly jumping out of her skin as she accidentally stepped on a branch. "Sh... I think I hear something." The two ponies stopped and listened for any sounds. There was a faint growl and a blur of purple tackled the two ponies. On instinct, Rainbow Dash bucked them off and threw them to the floor, pinning them down. A look of shock appeared on her face when she saw who it was.
"TWILIGHT!?" Rainbow cried. The alicorn hissed at Dash and threw her off, lunging at the pegasus. She dodged as Twilight landed behind her, and she turned towards Dash, baring her teeth. Applejack jumped out of the shadows and threw Rainbow into a wall and Rarity furiously ripped a small chunk of flesh off of Rainbow's neck. Rainbow punched Rarity in the face, kicking down Applejack, and jumped in front of Pinkie. All three ponies hissed at them. Pinkie and Rainbow looked behind them as they heard a low growling from behind them.
The monstrous creature was standing there, watching and reaching out to grab Pinkie. The earth pony screamed. It snatched her off the ground and threw her into a wall. Rainbow waved her hoof in the air and summoned her sword again. It looked at Rainbow and grabbed Pinkie again, throwing her at Dash. Rainbow quickly moved her sword out of the way and caught the pink pony on her back. She got Pinkie back onto her hooves and made sure she was okay before turning back to it.
"Why are you trying so hard to protect me?" Pinkie asked. "I'm not losing anypony else. We're the only two elements left alive." Rainbow replied as she turned around and swung her sword at Applejack as she charged. The sword cut through the flesh on AJ’s face and the earth pony screeched. The other two lunged at Pinkie as soon as Rainbow Dash was snatched up. Rainbow held a firm grip on her sword, and with her free wing, she grabbed it and stabbed it into the hand of the huge beast.
It roared in pain, and it severely hurt Dash's ears, but she managed to get it in a position so she could hold the sword in her mouth and slashed the monster's hand the best she could. The beast immediately dropped Dash and held it's hand for a few seconds before it let go, it's hand looking completely unharmed. It growled at her, and Rainbow looked at how Pinkie was doing. She was trying her best to try to hold back the three monster ponies, but she was struggling too. Dash quickly ran at the monster, flew up, dragged her sword down its back, and leaped off of the beast halfway. It roared in agony. That would keep it distracted for a bit, and Rainbow lunged at the three ponies attacking Pinkie.
She swung her sword at them to get them to back up. The three ponies did that, but Twilight leaped over Dash to tackle Pinkie. With quick moves, Rainbow managed to stab her sword through Twilight’s chest and threw her to the ground, withdrawing it in the process and glared at the other two remaining ones.
"Twilight's down. Who's next?" she said. "RAINBOW THE BEAST IS GONNA COME FOR US!!!" Pinkie Pie screamed. Rainbow looked over and saw the beast about to charge at them. Rainbow charged at it and began to attack the beast.
"RUN, PINKIE!!"
Pinkie hesitated for a moment before running away, Rarity and Applejack following behind her. Rainbow Dash leaped onto the closest beam there was and stabbed her sword through the back of the beast's head. She quickly withdrew it and launched herself after Pinkie, the sword leaving behind a rainbow trail.
"PINKIE! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Rainbow's voice echoed down the halls. She sighed and looked around the hallway she was in. Taking out the seeing tool, she looked around. immediately, all she saw was complete and utter chaos. Everything was layered over one another, the ink dripping, and scribbled out. It was impossible to make out a picture, let alone a word. She put it away and saw a strand of hot pink hair on the ground.
"She must've been here at one point." Rainbow thought. She sped up her pace and turned a few corners before she saw Pinkie on the ground, knocked out. "PINKIE!!!" She cried. Running over, she carefully shook Pinkie until she slowly opened her eyes. "D-Dashie?" Pinkie whispered, her voice raspy. "You're alive!" "H-huh? Are we still in the mansion? Why is it so dark?" "I just found you here. I think this is one of the darker hallways of the mansion. I don't mean to rush you, but c'mon. We can't stay here." Pinkie carefully got up before she cried in pain and collapsed to the floor. "Ow... I think I broke one of my back hooves..." She said. Rainbow Dash looked and sure enough, one of her hooves was twisted unnaturally, a bone slightly poking out of her flesh.
"I'll carry you out of here. Then-" "Dash... Just go without me." "What?! Pinkie, are you crazy!?" "I already am. But you have to leave without me." "There's no way I'm leaving you here. You're the last one of the elements besides me, and I'm-" Rainbow Dash was cut off as a shriek followed by an ear-shattering roar echoed down the halls, seemingly from every direction. Dash quickly got Pinkie on her back and ran down the right hall, unsure if she should've been going that way. Pinkie sighed and hugged Dash's neck. Of course Rainbow was too loyal to leave her behind. Rainbow continued running until she hit a dead end. She looked around and listened carefully for any sounds before opening the door next to her and walking in. There were a bed and a table. On top were a few bandage wraps, which still looked pretty fresh.
"Someone must've been here recently. These bandages are still fresh." She said. She carefully put Pinkie on the floor and grabbed them off the table.
"Dash, you don't have to." Pinkie said as Rainbow wrapped up her leg. "I'm not about to leave a friend behind. I already lost four, I'm not about to lose another one." Dash said. Pinkie let out a small whimper as Dash lifted her leg. "Oh. Sorry." "Dash, you-" "Twilight would like us two to survive if we can. Plus, I'm the element of loyalty. Why would I just leave somepony behind because of a broken hoof?" Pinkie sighed and let Rainbow continue wrapping up her leg. It was true, and she was too stubborn anyway. What use would it be to try and convince her to continue without her if it's not a dire situation? It took a bit, but once Pinkie's hoof was all wrapped, Rainbow Dash put the bandages back on the table and helped Pinkie up.
"I'll only let you try and walk when we don't have to run," Rainbow said. She opened the door next to the bed, which led to another hallway. She took out the seeing glass and looked around. The hallway in front of them was completely free of words, scribbles, and drawings. Rainbow Dash tapped it before looking through it again. Nothing. Looked in the room they were in. Oh, it was working alright. Has really nothing happened to anypony in this hallway? Rainbow Dash put it away and walked out, Pinkie limping out behind.
It was eerily silent aside from the clopping of their hooves echoing off the walls of the hall. No wind. No Dripping. Nothing. Just clopping and the sound of their heartbeats. Rainbow Dash looked around and listened carefully on high alert. Anything could happen at any moment, and it was way too silent here. Until they began to hear a faint drip, drop down the hall. There was a pail bucket, holding blood, ink, and water in it, which had begun to spill out because of how much liquid it was in. That was it. Nothing special. Aside from the fact that the pail looked fresh and new. Rainbow Dash began to suspect that they weren't the only ones in the mansion. Fresh bandage wraps, a fresh pail bucket, and the unknown scream in the hallway.
"Dashie? Is it just me, or is there a light coming through that door?" Pinkie Pie asked, pointing at the door in front of them. Rainbow looked at it and cautiously approached it. Every other door they had passed was darkness. She stood in front of it, inspecting it. She took out the seeing tool.
“What…?” Pinkie limped over and looked at what it said.
“I can’t read that…”
Rainbow Dash tucked the seeing glass back under her wing and turned around.
“We shouldn’t go in.”
She began to walk away, but Pinkie stayed and stared at the door.
“You coming?”
No response.
“Pinkie?”
Rainbow stopped and turned around.
“Pinkie Pie?”
No response.
“Pinkie, are you-” “Something’s telling me I should open the door.” “Are you crazy? Anything could be behind that door!” “Yeah, but-” “If you’re going to open that door and walk into whatever’s on the other side, you’re insane.” “You’re more insane if you walk through with me.” “Are you telling me you’re going to-”
Pinkie Pie yanked at the doorknob and flung the door open. A bright flash of light lit up almost the entire hallway down. Rainbow covered her eyes. After a few seconds, she peeked out from under her hooves. Pinkie was standing there, unaffected, looking at what was inside. Rainbow shook her head and walked up next to Pinkie.
“I see light...” Pinkie said, still staring. “Yes, just light, what’s so interesting about it?” “Look closer.”
Rainbow squinted her eyes and saw three ghost-like pony figures. One a dark sky blue, the other a magenta.
“Who are those two…?” “Not two.”
Rainbow blinked a few times before she saw a third one, white, and barely visible through the light.
“Who... Are they?”
Pinkie put a hoof into the room, but there was no floor. Rainbow sighed and carefully pushed Pinkie back, closing the door.
“Let’s go. We have no business here.”
Rainbow Grabbed Pinkie’s hoof and tugged at her. Pinkie Pie sighed and followed Dash.
The two mares were still walking through the halls, trying to find somewhere to rest. It had been almost 20 minutes, and surprisingly they haven’t been attacked.
It was only 2 AM. But felt like the sun should’ve risen by now.
“Daaaaaash… Can we stop?” Pinkie Pie complained. The usual optimistic, bouncy, humorous energyless pink party pony had disappeared, replaced by a tired pony losing hope every step she took.
“If you want to risk death, sure. I don’t want you to die too, but if you really want to, we can rest right now.” Rainbow replied without looking back. It was like she was tireless. Her ego was gone, and she had become a protective, high-alert, risky pegasus.
Pinkie Pie weakly smiled and shook her head.
“Even if I stopped to take a break right here in the middle of the hallway, you wouldn’t leave me behind.”
They both stopped walking and stood there in silence. The small breeze stopped, and the candles in the hallway all lit up. The first hallway they’ve seen here untouched and completely lit by the glow of the candles above the doors that stretched down the long hallway, too long for what it looked like outside. An untouched white tile with a red carpet laid on top flawlessly, fresh candles and white doors with a yellow swirl lining the outside. Rainbow Dash looked behind her. Pinkie Pie was still there, standing and staring off into the endless hallway. The hallway behind them stretched as far as the eye could see, but she swore they has taken a right turn a minute ago. Taking out the seeing glass, she saw nothing grotesque, in utter chaos, or any words marking the death of someone. All she saw were words of optimism, drawings of dreams, drawings that seemed like fillies had drawn it, and a map of the current floor of the mansion with text next to it. The words said, “You are here.” with an arrow pointing to the wall of the hallway in the diagram. There wasa turn, but looking back at the hallway they came from, there was nothing. There was especially no endless hallway, as the diagram showed.
Rainbow Dash sighed and put the tool back.
“I guess we can stay here until you’re ready to move again.”
Pinkie let out a sigh of relief and popped her flank on the ground. A small yelp of pain came out of her mouth as she did so.
“Be careful, your back hoof is still broken. If we ever escape, we need a doctor to take care of that.” “If? But what if we don’t? What if we die here? What if I become one of them? What if you become one of them? What if-” “Pinkamena. Diane. Pie.”
Pinkie immediately looked up and her left ear twitched, her hair slightly deflating.
“We’re going to make it out. We’re not gonna die, okay? Stop saying that. Stop making up what-ifs. I just want to get out of here with you. I don’t want to get out alone. I’d rather die alone than survive alone. I don’t want anything else to happen to you. You’re staying with me, and I’m staying with you. We’re staying together for as long as we need. You want this to just be a terrible nightmare and wake up from it, knowing everything will be okay just as much as I do, but this is all real.”
Rainbow Dash continued to stand there while Pinkie Pie sat there, staring at her. A light breeze began to blow again and a few candles were put out, revealing the intersections of the hallway that had been hidden in the light. Rainbow Dash walked over next to Pinkie and sat down next to her.
It had been five minutes of nothing but a light breeze, the clopping of their hooves echoing down the halls, the creaking of the beams above giving way, and the faint dripping sound of liquid falling from the ceiling and into the puddle below. They hadn’t heard a single growl, roar, scream of terror, nothing. The halls were covered in invisible ink, all chaotic and incomprehensible. The floor was tearing, and so were the walls. The carpet was a ragged mess, and the doors were worn out. The paint fell from the ceiling, and the beams didn’t stop creaking. They sounded like they should’ve given way a long time ago, yet they still had enough strength to hold up. Just like the last two alive in this horrid place.
Soon, the creaking stopped. The dripping stopped. The breeze stopped. Only the clopping of one pair of hooves echoed in complete darkness.
“Pinkie?”
No response.
“Pinkie Pie?”
Nothing.
“Pinkie, are you there?”
Still nothing. Only the sound of her voice reflecting off the walls and down the halls. She took out the seeing tool to see if she could try and see Pinkie that way. Maybe some hint of where she had gone. But there was also nothing.
“PINKIE PIE?!?”
A scream echoed down the hall behind her, just barely audible. Rainbow’s ear twitched and she launched herself into the air, speeding to the source of the scream. But as she got to where she thought was where the source of the scream was, there was nothing. Just more hallways. Another scream rang out, coming from all directions. Dash looked around, everything around dimly lit by the few burning candles.
“Hello?”
The scream faded, and it was silent. She could only hear her voice faintly echoing through the mansion. Nothing else. The silence uneased her and put her on edge. She slightly twitched and slowly walked down the hall. She saw nothing but chaos through the seeing glass, like almost every other hallway. She tucked the seeing glass under her wing and continued walking, but the walking soon turned into speed walking. The next thing she knew, she was running through the halls. She had no idea where she was going, but she had to find Pinkie Pie, or at least somepony if there was anyone else there. All Rainbow knew was that she wasn’t leaving this place alone.
She soon skidded to a halt and looked above her. A light breeze blew through her mane and down the hall. It had been almost three days since they had arrived, but now, only she walked down this hall. Maybe she was the only one who remained. Maybe. Maybe Pinkie was still alive. But why would she leave? How did she even get away without a sound? Wasn’t one of her hooves broken? She couldn’t have left so suddenly whether she wanted to or not. Rainbow Dash continued to walk down the halls in her quest to find her pink companion. She heard a voice behind her, but she knew it had to be nothing once again. After all, every sound had to be a false alarm now, right?
The only sound echoing throughout the mansion was the sound of the light breeze, the crunch of a leaf being crushed beneath a hoof, and a small whimper of pain. No one around, no one to help, no one would hear her if she screamed. A defenseless and weak pony, walking alone in the darkness down halls upon halls of nothing but wind and leaves.
Pinkie Pie didn’t know why or how she had been separated from Rainbow Dash. She had been following close behind, making sure she didn’t get too far, and now here she was. Wandering aimlessly down the halls of this mansion.
“Gah!”
She tripped over her hoof and fell, but not onto the floor. She felt herself falling, falling. Pinkie tried to grasp at something, anything, but there was nothing. It was like she was falling into the void.
Moments later, she felt herself land on something. Something fluffy. She looked around and saw that she was in a bright, colorful room. Curious, she carefully got up and put a hoof down. The floor was soft, like a furry carpet. She couldn’t quite tell, as it was a cloud white. She was about to walk around when she realized something; was she dead? She wasn’t dead, right? Right?
She began to panic, but it was hard for her to think about Dash with everything she loved around her. Fluffy soft cushions, trays of sweets on tables, balloons everywhere. It was like her dream room. It was tempting, but she didn’t know how she had gotten here. Trying something in this room could be risky. Pinkie Pie looked around for something, anything to get her out, but it seemed like there was nothing.
Nothing.
Was she stuck here forever?
No, that couldn’t be. Was she even in the mansion anymore?
She couldn’t stay here. She had to find a way out. She had to find Rainbow Dash.