Ponytale

Our story begins with our protagonist, the human. Having come to the mountain for unknowable reasons, he's found a hole in the caverns at the top of Mount Horse. When investigating closer, he stumbled due to a vine he failed to notice and fell for what seemed an eternity, passing out in the process.
Before he had woken up, he'd been noticed by a small creature, one that disappeared as he began to stir.

Upon waking up, he is greeted with a view of the hole she fell through, light cast down upon his prone form like a spotlight. No vines were long enough to reach him, not to mention their probable weakness. He laid upon a bed of yellow flowers, in a neat pattern, too neat to be wildly growing ones. The surrounding area was barren of anything, however, besides a few supporting pillars. But there was a doorway. One that might lead out of this place. Maybe the caretaker of the flowers was nearby?

Sacred Chime groggily awoke, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He didn't remember how he got down here, but a quick glance up gave him a hint. He had lovely blonde hair to match his strangely green eyes, while he wore the standard attire of a striped pink sweater (which helped cushion the fall, most likely), a pink scarf and long, blue trousers. He realized that he didn't have his backpack and his peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich, and gave a moment to mourn his favorite lunch. He found his hand bell laying next to him, and picked it up.

Sacred Chime glanced around, before looking at the door. He clambered to his feet while clutching the bell tightly, wandering over to the door and cautiously going through it.

The room beyond the doorway was completely dark, save for a spot of light in the middle of it, where a small creature was watching straight at Chime.
"Howdy! I'm Peanut! Peanut the Breezie!" The small creature introduced itself. It had the look of a small blue horse with two antennae on it's head, a green poofy mane and bug wings on it's back.
"Hmm.. You're new to the Underground, aren'tcha? Golly, you must be so confused. Roga didn't tell you anything, did he? Somepony oughta teach you how things work around here!"
"I guess little old me will have to do. Ready? Here we go!"

Chime's features slowly faded away, leaving only his outlines visible to him apart from a red heart-shape where his actual heart would be. There were also some numbers with his name being visible next to something that read LV 1. Moving around would show Chime that the heart-shape followed him around. For all passersby it would look like a white box was drawn around Chime.
"See that there? That is your SOUL, the very culmination of your being. Your SOUL starts off weak, but it'll grow stronger if you gain lots of LV.
What's LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course! Increasing your LOVE also increase your HP, which stands for HAPPINESS POINTS. Also, don't mind the random capitalized words, that happens sometimes."
He then looked to the sides and smiled coyly before looking back.
"You want some LOVE, don't you? Don't worry, I'll share some with you!" Peanut followed this with a wink that seemed to leave a sparkle in the air for a moment while he stuck his tongue out.
"Down here, LOVE is shared through little white..." He looked slightly confused for a moment, looking up and down a bit.
"Friendliness pellets! That's what they were. Their name sounds sorta odd though. I dunno why they were named that, the king is a weirdo like that. Anyway, you ready? Move around, catch as many as you can!" Five pellets suddenly appeared around Peanut and slowly began to move towards Chime's SOUL.

Sacred Chime froze when he saw the breezie, staring at it like he saw a monster or something. "A flying horsebug? I must'ave hit my head or something..." He rang the bell a bit, blinking as everything suddenly went black and he seemed to be in some sort of box with the breezie facing him. "Er...those look like drugs. Peanut, you may be a horse bug thing, but I know a stranger when I see one!" He avoided the pellets as much as possible and began to ring the bell he was holding, shouting "STRANGER DANGER!"

Peanut blinked a few times as he watched Chime shout something about dangerous strangers.
"What are you talking about? I'm one of your new best friends! I'm trying to help you and you say I distribute drugs? That makes no sense." He then made a fresh batch of pellets and began to buzz his wings and flied up to Chime's shoulder.
"Sure, I don't know your name yet, but when's that ever stopped anyone? Here, let's try again!" He said before hopping back down and sending the pellets in Chime's direction.

Sacred Chime glared at Peanut as it moved over to him. If looks could kill, Chime's would have started world war three. He took a swing at the breezie with the bell, making a loud ringing sound. He then saw more of the pellets, and made extra sure to avoid the pellets even faster than before. "I don't. Want. Any."

Peanut had stopped when he realized the look Chime had given him was not a look of acceptance, heck, not even of annoyance. He was about to turn when he was hit by the bell, on the head. Somehow it made half his body sink into the ground beneath him. He then finished his turning motion, this time much slower and with a look of annoyance on his face.
"Is this a joke!? Are you braindead!? I'm not trying to hurt you! RUN. INTO. THE. BULLETS!"
He then stood there, watching at the dialogue box that was clearly visible, before sheepishly popping from the ground, going over to the box and drawing rabidly on the part that said bullets, then wrote a little something just below it: "Friendliness pellets!" Before 5 more pellets went towards Chime while Peanut went back to his original spot.

Sacred Chime simply stuck out his tongue at the breezie as it moved back to its spot. "Not braindead. I'm just smarter than you, dummy!" Then he saw the breezie say 'bullets'. "HEY! DON'T CHANGE THAT! Are you braindead? You're trying to hurt me! I know what a bullet is, you dummy!" He dodged with vigor this time, avoiding all five bullets.

The moment Chime said he knew what a bullet is, Peanut's expression changed. Given the state of the small horsebug-thing, it was actually rather terrifying to see a dread expression.
"So you know what's going on here. Roga must have told you. Figures, he finally gives me a meaningful role and then the player knows what to do. You were just toying with me. You just wanted to see me waste my time."
Suddenly Chime was surrounded by a ton of bullets.
"Die."
The bullets began closing in slowly as Peanut laughed maniacally, but just as the bullets were about to hit Chime, they disappeared. Peanut's expression became one of confusion as he looked at the human from various angles while not moving from his spot.
"Dafu-" Peanut couldn't finish his sentence as he was launched by a spring-loaded board which was conveniently situated below him, yelling in panic as he was. His wings tried to buzz in an effort to stop his upward momentum, but Chime could clearly see that Peanut had hit the ceiling rather hard. If he had been closer, Chime would see that there was a slight indent in the roof.

The human would see a horse-shaped figure slowly walk into view, taking one of it's forehooves off of a switch which most likely activated that trap. It was creamy yellow in color, with a light blue mane that was curly, but not the natural kind of curly.
"What a pathetic creature, torturing a small youth like that." It said in a clearly female voice, giving a look of apology, as if saying she was sorry for not getting rid of the breezie sooner.

Sacred Chime looked around at the bullets that appeared. He was terrified. Even though the breezie was little, it could sure create a lot of those bullets. This was not good. "Wait, who's Ro-" And then he was cut off by the breezie getting flung away, making probably the funniest noise as he flew and hit the ceiling. He then turned towards the new pony-creature, tilting his head slightly. "Er...he was kind of a bully...I almost had him with that bell hit..."

The mare frowned a bit at the mention of Chime hitting the breezie and shook her head slightly.
"Violence only leads to more violence and no resolution is ever truly gained. But I should not judge."
She then looked at the tile where the springboard was, still flopping around a bit. Her face then lightened up a bit as she twisted her mouth into a small "o" shape.
"Oh! I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Twinkle Star. I'm the caretaker of the RUINS. I pass through this place every day to see if someone has fallen down. You're one of the lucky ones... Most don't survive the fall." She looked at the ground sadly. "In fact, you're the first human to make it this far in a long time." She sighed, as if she felt responsible for not being around to catch whoever else had fallen. She then shook her head slightly, as if to clear away those sad memories.
"Come, I will guide you through the ruins. It's full of puzzles and traps, you'll need a guide in order to avoid the fate that breezie was given, or worse." She said as she turned towards a corridor which had a door heading left, starting to walk down it.

Sacred Chime shrugged. "Where I come from..." He looked up...then stopped talking for a second. He realized he really didn't know where he came from. Or, at least, couldn't remember. "Reacting to...violence with violence is called 'self-defense'..." He blinked as Twinkle Star as she first introduced herself and the pointed out how most people don't survive the fall. "Well...then I guess I'm really lucky then, right?" His facial expression changed to a big smile, as if he'd just won the lottery or something like that. "And hey, your name is a lot like mine, Ms. Star. I'm Sacred Chime. Pleased to meet you!"

Chime hadn't seen it, but Twinkle's expression had shifted slightly when she heard him say that it was self-defence. However, it had quickly turned back to a cheery one as she heard him calling himself really lucky. "Likewise, Sacred! But perhaps you could just call me Twinkle. You're making me feel old!" She giggled. True, she was still rather young, but already there were slight hints of creases on her brow. She was clearly older than one would first expect. At least, if her lifespan was similar to that of a regular horse.

The pair came to a room with two sets of stairs on either side of the opposite end of the room, with both stairs leading to a platform above, with a doorway just after it. In the middle of the room, between the stairs, there were leaves on the ground, with a light shining from above.
Unbeknownst to the mare, Chime would see something shimmering beneath the leaves, something only he could see. Maybe if he were to wipe away the leaves then maybe he could see it clearer?

Sacred Chime softly rang the bell he was carrying as he walked with Twinkle, chuckling at her as she called herself old. "Nah, you don't strike me as old, Twinkle. Maybe wise beyond your years? Experienced? Worldly? Well traveled?" He hummed to himself as he tried to think of more words, before something caught his eye. It was something in the leaves. Something shimmering. He rang the bell a little louder. "Hey, Twinkle? Can we stop for a second? I think see something." He moved over to the leaves, crouching down and sifting through them.

Twinkle raised her eyebrow questioningly and went next to Chime in order to see if there was indeed something in the leaves. As much as she looked though, even with the constant moving of leaves, there was nothing that caught her attention.

As Chime kept wiping away the leaves, he felt determined to find whatever it was that hid in the leaves. It was as if finding this mystery object would give him the means of getting out of here.
Unfortunately, no such luck would be bestowed upon him. There would be no saviour for him here.
He would have to SAVE himself. But to do that, he would need to get out of the ruins, and the pegasus mare was his only option.
"Sorry Chime, but I can't find this thing that you say you saw. But we should keep moving - it's starting to get late." The mare in question said, starting to go up the stairs and through the door into the next room, which would contain the first puzzle of the ruins.

Sacred Chime sighed and shrugged, getting up from the leaves and turning to Twinkle. "Oh well, I couldn't find it at all. I guess I'm seeing things...probably from the fall." He got up and walked up the stairs to meet up with the pony. He gave the bell an occasional ring at different tones, trying to remember a tune.

Twinkle frowned a bit as Chime mentioned the fall. Perhaps hallucinations were not the only thing that might have been caused by it...
"Well, we'll know for sure once we get to my home. The traps around the RUINS do get dangerous so please stay close to me."

30 minutes later

After many puzzles and traps, as well as a time where Chime had to wait for Twinkle for a bit, the pair had made it to a to a clearing with a dead tree and a building behind it.
"Here we are. Home." Twinkle said as she skipped ahead, humming a little tune as she opened the door and held it open. While she had Chime wait back in the ruins, she went to fetch some ingredients. She wasn't expecting guests so this was on a rather short notice, but she managed to find what she needed.
"Sorry about the mess. I wasn't expecting any guests but I hope you find the place comfy enough."
In truth, the building was rather tidy, all things considered. Compared to the ruins the pair had just travelled, one might have thought that this place was as well kept as a top-tier hospital.

"How about I show you the guest room before I make us something to eat? It's right here." She said before leading Chime down the right corridor, until they stopped on the first door on the left.
"It will take a while and all of this must have been exhausting, why don't you rest a bit? Nothing comes here, even if I try to invite them. The creatures in the ruins... They fear me for some reason." She said as she splayed her ears back and hung her head low for a moment before she raised it back up and went past Chime to go towards the kitchen.

Sacred Chime was a tad winded from all the moving around puzzles and such in the ruins, doing many tasks from talking to and petting a dummy to talking to some monsters. When Twinkle said 'Home', Sacred let out a sigh of relief. He looked around at the super clean house as Twinkle apologized over nothing. "Er...please....it's fine...It's amazing." He followed her down the corridor, looking around the guest room as she opened the door. "You know...I could use a rest..." He shut the door when Twinkle left, taking off his sweater and setting it aside as he lay in the bed, slowly falling asleep.

Twinkle had made it to the kitchen and quickly got to work - she just happened to have the base of a pie ready to be filled and the human's arrival called for something other than a daffodil and daisy pie with hay. Instead, she opted for a leek and lettuce pie with a thin tofu crust on top. Eventually the pie was finished and, having noticed that Chime had not woken up, took a piece once it had cooled and snuck it to the room, leaving it on the dresser.

With that being completed, Twinkle could finally relax a bit. She went to a large chair and, taking a book from a bookshelf behind it, laid it down on a reading chair. The book happened to cover over a hundred uses for hay.

Sacred Chime yawned, smelling something good near his bed and pulling back the covers. He rubbed his eyes and stepped out of the bed, throwing on his sweater and shoes before walking over to the pie and smelling it. It was a vegetable pie, and he wasn't used to such things. He was more used to meat pies but decided to munch on the pie anyways as he left the room and began to walk downstairs.

Twinkle heard the door to the guest room being opened and looked over to the hallway from which Chime appeared.
"Ah, Chime! I trust you had a good sleep? I wasn't sure what kind of pie you'd like so I decided to play it safe and make something I know humans have been known to eat. Was my first time making a pie without hay in it, too." She giggled as she looked back down at the book for a moment.
"Speaking of which, did you know that in the olden times hay bales were used as seats when chairs broke? Some even managed to make replacement chairs out of them!"
She was not sure if he'd notice, but she was trying to avoid the subject that Chime would most likely have in mind. That subject being "Where's the path to the surface?"
It was a path she didn't want to send another human on...

"Ah yes, I had I a great nap. Completely refreshing. And the pie was delicious, almost reminded me of....quiche? Yeah, quiche." Sacred Chime stretched a bit, yawning slightly. "Actually yes, I did. Something....about farms...I can't seem to remember." He shrugged. "May I please have another slice of pie, Twinkle? One for the road, as I'm planning on heading out, exploring and maybe even going spelunking or something! We can't waste the day all cooped up in here." He seemed rather enthusiastic to leave or go exploring already.

"You mean back in the ruins? But it's dangerous in th-" Twinkle froze mid-sentence as she realized what Chime was talking about. She was like that for a few seconds before she rose from her chair and walked past Chime.
"Please wait here. There's some pie in the kitchen if you feel like it." She didn't look at him when she said it, instead walking to the entrance and down the stairs that most likely led to a basement of some sort. Perhaps Chime could follow her, see what startled her so much?
Surely there was an exit to these ruins somewhere, right?
"I must make sure. I can't bear another human on my conscience. He's claimed enough already." Twinkle said as she descended the stairs, her face unreadable.
"It's for Chime's own good." She sighed as she went to do what needed to be done, before stopping to contemplate.

Sacred Chime tilted his head slightly at Twinkle's reaction and decided to go into the kitchen. He grabbed a slice of pie, wrapping it up in any plastic wrap he could find. He then would chase Twinkle down, and would stop when she stopped. "Hey, what's wrong? Did I say or do something wrong? Talk to me, Twinkle. We can work it out, especially if I'm the problem."

Twinkle shivered a bit as she heard Chime come after him, knowing what this was rapidly leading up to. She did her absolute best to not shed tears.
"It's not you, Chime... It's not safe outside the ruins. Letting you leave is just not possible. If I do, he'll kill you. Sugary..."

She then took a running start before she started to speed up with her wings. She rapidly disappeared around a corner, but she was still very close, as Chime could hear her hooves being placed back on the ground.
"Has it truly come to this? Other times I just let them go... But now... I just can't."
She dug up something that seemed to have been tucked beneath her wings in a way that she could fly while still keeping them in place.
"What should I do, father?"