I don't know exactly where to begin. Everything that happened was so...traumatic. I never expected it to come out of a friendship. I braved the tests and that is why I am alive today. But, you probably want to hear how it all went down, eh? Well, here goes.
My name is Scootaloo. I never felt that I was very important in the run of things. I have a few friends from childhood. Well, actually, I can barely even call them that any more. Everything was fine until we began to sidle into adolescence. Then the friendship between me and my two best friends broke apart. Applebloom became very silent and avoided me most of the time. She never uttered more than a "Hi" or a "Have a nice day." Sweetie Bell began to always look at me funny, like everything I did was wrong. Damn, she was becoming like her sister. And in my opinion, I think she might have liked me but she was too afraid to tell me. She always seemed to be looking at me with not only scorn, but some weird kind of adoration mixed in. But, that doesn't matter that much. What matters is my friendship with Fluttershy. Now, don't go instantly thinking that this was nothing compared to what we faced once in a while. Trust me, it was worse. So, let me get down to explaining what led up to this Devil's Game.
When it all began, I was about fifteen. The times were rough and the ponies were rougher. Let's just say an event happened that caused friendship to deteriorate. Once upon a time, you would accidentally bump into somepony, and all that would come from it was a small exchange of "I'm sorry's." After this event though, pulling a stunt like that might just end up sending you to the infirmary. Long story short, ponies got pissed off much easier. Finding friends in this time was not easy, so when I lost both of my friends to their own wants, I felt very lonely. That is when I got to know Fluttershy.
I had been walking down the road, not paying any attention to my surroundings. That is when I bumped into Fluttershy. I tensed for a hit, but none came my way. Instead, she looked at me.
"I am so sorry. Are you okay?", she asked kindly. I hadn't expected such kindness.
"I am fine, but thanks for asking.", I replied. Fluttershy smiled very sweetly at me, then got back to what she was doing, which appeared to be buying fruit. As I walked past her on that day, I knew that there was still kindness in this world. That is what sparked our friendship. That one small event. From that point on, we saw each other every day, whispering Good Morning's to each other.
At first, and I hate to admit this, she was a wee bit annoying. And by wee, I mean quite a bit. She would sometimes call out my name from across a square. The looks I got from other ponies always made me uncomfortable. Also, she would always need my help at the most inconvenient times. But I soon got used to these inconveniences. Our friendship grew and grew. And for some weird reason, my parents thought I was too old to live in the house any more. So they literally kicked me out the front door. Now, Fluttershy was kind and she let me stay where she lived. We began to enjoy each others company. We began going out to parks and other places on our free time, enjoying life as it was meant to be enjoyed. One day, Twilight took a "picture" of us. She used her magic to store a mental image of us in her brain, then she transmitted that to a paper, producing a "photo." In it, my head was barley peeking over the frame and Fluttershy was leaning in as if to kiss my ear. That photo is the only thing left that reminds me of the time before IT happened.
One stormy night, I was alone in Fluttershy's house when I heard the door open and slam shut. Fluttershy zipped up the stairs and landed in front of me. Her hair was all over the place, and she had ugly, reddish-brown bags under her eyes. She seemed to be in some sort of panic, in the sense that she was talking to herself and kept rushing around the room. Then she stepped in front of me, blocking my exit.
"The unworthy shall not be allowed to live on the New World.", she panted excitedly. Then she flew down out the door, slamming it on her way out. I looked over at the picture of us. Fluttershy had knocked it over in her haste. I picked it up and put it back on the small cabinet. I had noticed the change in her lately. She seemed to have gotten more absorbed in herself. She had began muttering to herself in her sleep. Some thing about numbers and games. I thought that it was something personal, so I didn't bother to ask. I might have stopped everything if I had just taken the time to do so.
A few days after that small outburst, I was walking in the town. It was early, and there was not a soul to be seen. Suddenly, Fluttershy rocketed around the corner. She was a blur of yellow and black. She knocked me down and landed in front of me. She had black tattoos all over her body, depicting symbols and letters. Her eyes had taken on a reddish hue. She looked at me like I was her worst enemy.
"The tests are about to begin. Survive them, and you are worthy of the New World.", she said. It sounded as if there were two voices layered upon hers. One was deep and metallic, the other was high pitch and sharp. She lifted a hoof and pointed it at me. Then, my world went black.
When I awoke, I was tied down at all hooves to a gurney. It was tilted up to a point that I could see everything in about a one hundred and eighty degree angle. At least what the light above me lit up. It was quite dim, so that wasn't much. There was a metal medical bed to my left with another dim light over it. There was a tarp over it, so I couldn't see what was under it. The ropes that tied me down were old and weak. After a few minutes of struggling, I was able to break my front two hooves out of their holders. The bottom hooves were going to be a problem. I pushed against the chair, forcing all of the pressure onto the ropes around my bottom two hooves. When they finally snapped, I was thrown upward. Too much pressure apparently. The resounding thud as I hit the ground made the thing under the tarp stir. I walked over to it and pulled off the tarp. Under it was a creature I had never seen before. It was male by the looks. He had long brown wavy hair on a round head. He was wearing a shirt of sorts, more everyday than formal. He also had shorts to cover his bottom legs. He was barehoofed. But it wasn't hooves that were bare. They were flatter and longer. At the end of them were five appendages. The same went for the front hooves, except the appendages were longer. The light made him stir once more, but this time he slowly awoke. When his eyes had fully opened and he had registered his surroundings, he began to panic. He was bound by much tighter ropes, newer and tougher. He just couldn't break out of them.
"What the hell!? Where the Christ am I?", he shouted. He continued to struggle. That was when he noticed me. He instantly calmed, but he was obviously confused. "A pony? What the fuck?"
"Hello?", I asked. The thing recoiled.
"A talking pony! Holy crap!", he screamed. Then he relaxed and began to laugh heartily. "Okay guys. The joke is over. You can come out now."
I looked around. What friends. Did he actually think this was a joke?
"Uh, Sir? I don't think this is a joke.", I said sternly.
"Are you kidding me? Don't try to be sarcastic. Talking ponies don't even exist. Even if they did they wouldn't be so...sooo...neon.", the thing chuckled.
What was he talking about, talking ponies didn't exist. Had he never seen my kind before? Better yet, was he even from my world?
"Sir, this isn't a joke. We are definitely trapped here. Would your friends really tie you down and lock you in a dark room with a talking pony that 'doesn't exist?'", I asked. The thing looked at me funny. Several times he looked like he was going to say something, but shut his mouth. Finally he did speak.
"Now that I think of it. No. Well, shit!", he said, scowling.
"Now, would you like me to help you get out of the ropes, or are you going to keep failing at struggling?", I asked, mockery in my voice. He nodded to me. He looked somewhat surprised when I was able to manipulate the rope. When the first rope was untied, I helped him with second rope. He rubbed the part just behind his front two hoof things. He then untied his bottom hoof-things. He stood up and walked shakily on the bottom to hoof-things. After he gained his balance, he began to feel along the wall.
"Aha!", he shouted when he found a lantern on the wall. He took it and lit it using a match that he produced from one of his pockets. The flame was intense, lighting up what looked like to be most of the room. It was made of smooth stone and seemed wet. It was then that I noticed that the air smelled like the sea. The thing sat down and crossed his legs. He just stared at me and seemed to marvel at the fact that he was seeing something that wasn't supposed to be there. "So, what is your name miss?", he asked kindly after some time.
"My name is Scootaloo.", I responded. He chuckled heartily once more.
"Well isn't that a name!? The names Carter. Nice to meet you Scootaloo.", he said kindly. He held out one of those hoof-things. When I stared at it like he was holding out poison, he looked at me kind of funnily.
"Do you not know what a hand-shake is? You just take my hand and shake it. It is a formal way of greeting.", he explained.
"Oh.", I laughed. I took his hand and shook it. This thing was interesting. It was capable of speech, it walked on two legs, and it didn't seem to know what Scootaloo was. Well, he did know, it was just that he didn't understand how she was capable of speech.
"There has got to be a way out of here.", Carter said, getting up. He began to once more feel along the wall. Soon he came across a part of the wall that pushed inward. He pushed it in and a door opened slowly behind us. As it slid open, light poured in, as did the smell of the sea. The light blinded us at first, but soon we grew used to it. Carter walked out the door. I followed close behind. The sight was beautiful! We were on an island obviously. But, the water was crystal clear. Trees and flowing grass covered the expanse of the island. The sky was blue and the a soft breeze rustled through my mane and Carter's hair. The room we had came from was situated on hill, offering us a view of almost the entire island. There was a long drop off in front of us. Buildings ranging from small shacks to large three to four story buildings dotted the island. With the breeze blowing and the crystal clear weather, it was perfect weather to fly. I spread my wings and jumped off the cliff. I almost instantly caught a thermal, sending me high up into the air. Flying always seemed to calm me down, especially in times of confusion like this. After a few minutes, a landed next to a now gaping Carter.
"What the fuck!?", he asked. I knew that he was talking about my wings. It was obvious.
"Yeah, I have wings. So what. They are not going to serve us any good. I have no idea where the hell we are. I can't just fly home, can I?", I said mockingly.
"You...well...I...no. But still! Wings! You can fly! Humans have dreamed of flight for so long. The closest we have got to flight are planes. And that is not even us flying!", Carter said excitedly. "You could revolutionize flight! You could do so much for us!" I read him like an open book.
"After killing and dissecting me?", I asked sarcastically.
"Well...yes. But that is something to discuss another day. Right now we need to figure out where the hell we are.", Carter muttered. That is when we heard Fluttershy. My sweet Fluttershy. What had happened to my only friend?
"Good job! You got out of the first room! Welcome to hell you two. You are free for now, but the games have just begun! Prepare yourself! Death is around every corner. Watch out for him, for he will spring at the chance to take you from your body. As for getting off the island, good luck with that. Scootaloo, we are hundreds of miles from home. Carter, you are not even on Earth anymore. So don't think about going home to your girlfriend Sadie anytime soon.", Fluttershy trilled happily. I noticed that her voice was in my head. Something to note.
"How do you know me!? How do you know about Sadie!?", Carter asked angrily.
"Oh, I know everything about you. But, I will let Scootaloo figure those things about you. For now, I have other games to start and monitor. You be good! I have my eyes on you two. Welcome to the games!", Fluttershy trilled. Then I felt her presence leave my head. She was gone.
"I need rest. I desperately need some time to think.", Carter said, annoyance and anger in his voice. We both turned. We were shocked to see the room we had come from was gone. In its place was a small shack. We walked inside. Their were two beds, a few jugs of water, and some meat and fruit laid out upon a table. Carter slipped off his shirt and collapsed onto one of the beds. He was out almost instantly. I climbed into the other and discovered that I felt tired.
"Sleep well.", Fluttershy soothed, just before I fell asleep. Then my eyes closed, and I was asleep on the bed, dreaming of horrors and demons.
Hello everyone! This is the new story I will be working on along side No Way Out. Expect the chapters to stay within 2000-5000 words. There are gruesome scenes later on, so prepare yourself.
By the way, this is in no way linked to No Way Out. So don't get confused.
Sorry about the delay on No Way Out. I am working on two chapters for it. I am working as fast as I can. Be patient. Expect them to be out by mid-February. This time I promise I will be on time. I am so sorry for the delay!