Dread Nightby The Casual BroChaptersDarknessWake-up CallA Burden To ShareDarknessIt was dark Inside the room. A little too dark for any normal pony to see clearly, though the mare within the room had become accustomed to the darkness. She was unfortunately use to it, for that was all she could grasp on that night. That terrible, terrible night. She would constantly remind herself of what had happened exactly during the crisis. Blood. Screaming. Panic. Running. And then there was the occasional monstrous voices that inevitably followed her every step. Never slowing, never stopping, and always pursuing her to the end. She tried to clear her mind, to drown out the horrifying memory from that night, but it always came back, haunting her, usually resulting in her mild panic attacks, and ending with her crying her heart out. It seemed to become less frequent than before, but eventually it would assault her mind once more, with every attack making her spasms become increasingly violent. She wanted it to end, but her memories were merciless, making every attempt to shatter what was left of her sanity. but she was a strong, durable mare. She had to be Hours went by, as she continued to stare at the pitch black void that had consumed the very room she resides in. There was nopony in the room with her, she knew that quite well. It didn't stop her from seeing glistening, bloody eyes from staring back at her, watching her every movement and waiting for the right moment to strike. As much terror as she has been through, she would much rather be killed right there and right now, than to see the insidious silhouette standing there; watching her. It was terrifying, having watching eyes staring at her for Celestia knows how long, and not being able to do a thing about it. She just wanted it to end. But it wouldn't. The darkness was a cruel and unmerciful mistress to her. Then a door, across the dark room where the mare laid, began to crack open. She flinched a little, and slowly crawled toward the corner nearest to her. She had been in the shadowy room for some time, that she had completely forgotten that a door existed. She didn't know what to expect, and as the door opened wider, her shivering began to increase. The door was a quarter ways, and her shivering amplified significantly. It was now halfway open, and the shaking was tenfold. Three quarters.... Four quarters... She immediately curled and hid herself way, embracing for what was to come. But it never came, and for the duration of the occurrence, she hesitated to lift her hoof from her face. As she inched her limb from her muzzle, she caught the silhouette of two ponies trotting toward her, most likely stallions by the look of their size, bulk, and other masculine features. she couldn't make that assumption yet with the darkness masking a majority of the two stallions' figures. That was when a Third equine figure popped in. Stumbling toward the middle of the darkened room with what appears to be a ladder and two sleek tubes, the half-clumsy stallion precariously placed the ladder right in the middle of the room, and ascended up to a clear panel. He then unscrewed two other tubes from the sockets, all without dropping the fresh looking bulbs, and replaced them into their rightful places, resulting in a light which eliminated all the darkness that once devoured every nook and cranny of the place. The mare immediately revolted from the sudden light that might as well burned her eyes out of their sockets. After her recovery, she glanced all around the room, attempting to gain her bearings. She realized that being in the dark for far too long had made her forget she was in an mental facility, within solitary confinement. most of her room was covered in cushion, basically to keep the violent from being more violent, or to keep the insane from becoming violent. the cushions on one of the walls seemed to be in tattered condition, if her panic attacks proved to be the reason for that condition. She then remembered her panic attacks being the reason that she was in solitary confinement to begin with. She pushed that thought away, and shifted her complete attention to the stallions standing in front of her, one of them holding a clip board in front of him with his telekinesis. "Room 514 Patient #320009 Pegasus mare, Mayflower i presume?" the Unicorn said as he flipped through the pages to locate the mare's information amongst a whole collage of patient names. The mare hesitated to give an answer, but then regained her once chipper mood, relieved that it wasn't the monster that haunted her. "Um... yes sir." "Patient diagnosed with severe schizophrenia and was assigned to level 3 for considerable treatment, correct?" the stallion read as his eyes scanned along Mayflower's information. "Yes sir." "and was later taken to solitary confinement after a severe panic attack injured three other patients after being exposed to the dark, correct?" the unicorn read as his eyes finished scanning Mayflower's information. Not the one to point out the obvious, and no wanting to play twenty questions with two security guards, she answered swiftly with as much emphasis and composure as she can. "Yes sir, that is the correct information." "Well, at least now we got your lights replaced. You know, perhaps you should let somepony know when your lights have died, especially when dealing with your condition." "Well, maybe i would, if this room wasn't sound-proof, had a 5-inch steel wall for a door, and is only equipped with a one-way communicator, which by the way is busted." Mayflower indicated toward the device on the other side of the wall she is pointing at. The stallion winced at that last issue. "Good point. uh... we'll get you a new communicator for this room, and this time we'll make it a two-way communication." The security guard cleared his throat. "Anyways, we're here to inform you that you have an appointment with a..." he retrieved a slip of paper from his uniform."... Dr. Zephyr." "Do I now?" "He wants to interview you about... you know... your thoughts." At an instant, all of the horrifying memories came to her, but went away just as quickly as it came. It terrified her to even remember what had happened that night, but she had to share it. She had to, if it meant taking away the nightmare for good. Even though the light had distinguished the ghoulish dark, and coziness began to settle all around her, she couldn't dwell in the room any longer than she had too. "Are you ready to go?" the officer said as he gestured at the open door. She would not give no for an answer. she stood up on all four of her legs, with a quick stretch to get rid of the ache and soreness from not moving a lot, and made her way toward the door, being flanked by both guards as they left the room. Wake-up CallHigh above the peaceful land of Equestria, the moon casts its ethereal glow all across the land, all the way from the desolated boarders of the Badlands, to the icy slopes of the Frozen North, illuminating every town and city far and wide. The only city to have negated the eerie glow of the massive rock was Manehattan, for every building wasn't without lighting, and thus casts its own glow in the night. At night, the bustling city is filled with an enormous crowd of ponies enjoying themselves to their full extent, either by shopping, drinking the night away at the local pub, or simply walking the streets talking amongst one another. Flocks of ponies trotted merrily along the walkways, while others prefer taking wagons and carts along the roads stretching far through the metropolis. It was a Invigorating sight to behold, one that can be seen for miles away, luring all walking lifeforms into its captivating presence, allowing any and all creatures to join in the city of progress. Then as the moon began to descend into another part of the world, the commotion from Manehattan began to die out, making way for the ponies who sought to enjoy the daytime with enough sleep to push on through their errands. The city began to turn calm as the sun was rising, peacefully waking up the ponies from their slumber. All except one A long distance from the province of Manehattan stood a lone cabin on top of a foothill overlooking the city. Fields of dewy grass and violets surrounded the building, Pine and oak trees scattered all around the setting, expanding all across the distant mountains in great, big patches, and only one dirt trail leading straight toward the road to the city itself. Within the cabin rested a mare on top of her bed, her room scattered with masses of paper, maps, folders, and assorted utensils laying all over the floors and walls. The sun was rising, shining its glorious light through the open window, and straight into the mare's face. She reacted with much disdain by throwing her blanket over her head, wanting to go back to sleep. She creaked open one of her eyes, only to find the glow resting on her cover. It wasn't bright, but it bothered her nonetheless. Finally, she kicked off the blanket, the sun revealing her white coat and burgundy mane. She got off of the bed, stretching first, then made her way to the window, where she precariously grabbed a dangling cord with her teeth and pulled, producing a row of plastic blinds that had finally shut out the sunlight. She stood there for a few seconds, then proceeded to plop back onto the bed, in an attempt to get a few more hours of sleep. Then the abrupt ringing sound of her alarm clock began. With a low groan, she reached out for the alarm clock, missing a few times, and knocking it off the nightstand, nearly breaking it. There was a moment of silence before she sighed in comfort as she draped her blanket over herself once again, and snuggled deep in its warm embrace. Not even ten seconds go by, and the alarm goes off again. "Oh, come on!" Mayflower whined, almost acting like a foal who didn't have something its way. Once again, she launched herself out of bed with her blanket wrapped around her and decided to stomp on the screeching device instead of turning it off the normal way. She raised her left forelimb and was about to slam it down with tremendous force.... when she noticed the time. Just inches away from destroying the machine, Mayflower quickly picked up the alarm clock to examine the time presented on the face. From what she could tell with her still groggy eyes, the minute and hour hands were pointing at a time that she regretted waking up in; a time which made her grogginess go away in an instant. "Ten-thirty?!" She exclaimed breathlessly. "Mother of Celestia, I'M LATE!" Without skipping a beat, the panicking mare shot through her room, scavenging through her mess for the papers and maps that she needed, while at the same time gathering any essential tools and equipment she could get. As soon as she collected all of her belongings, she sped out of her room, and through the small hallway leading to the kitchen. She nearly crashed into the counter as she slid around the corner, but managed to keep her balance, passed the door leading to her living room, and galloped straight through the front door.... .... And into somepony. It took a few seconds to collect herself from her mild headache, but when she came to, she was looking at a dazed gray Pegasus, who was laying there with a mass of letters dispersed all around the mail-mare, along with Mayflower's papers. "Oh, I'm so, so sorry! I did not mean to run into you!" Mayflower said as she helped the bewildered mare up. "It's Okay," Ditzy Do said, recovering from the impact. Shaking her head, Ditzy fumble through her mail bag until she produced two letters in her hooves. one of them was embroidered around the edges, with a seal containing a company logo on the middle of the seal. "Here's your mail, ma'am. That one is an important notice from Canterlot." Mayflower did a double-take on the envelope before she thanked the mail-mare. When Ditzy flew away to continue her duties, Mayflower gathered all of the documents she dropped, and quickly trotted back into her cabin. She went toward the living room, where she decided to sit on her sofa and open the letter from there. She opened the Canterlot envelope with her teeth and began to examine its contents. It was a letter from her boss. Curious on why her boss would be sending her mail at this time, she began to read it: Dear Mayflower, I understand that you may have some outstanding information regarding the geography of the Badlands, and I would be most interested in taking a look at your work. Unfortunately, I will be taking a trip to Las Pegasus for a family visit, so there will be no work for you today. I will be expecting your data to be up to date next week. Sorry for the inconvenience. With regards, Bedrock Canterlot Explorer's League Mayflower sighed with relief as she realized that her boss would be out for the whole week, meaning that she too would be off work for the time being, paid of course. She dropped the letter on the floor next to her coffee table, and slumped onto the couch, where she began relaxing. She stared at the ceiling for several minutes, wondering what she was going to do for the rest of the week since she isn't going to work for what may seem like a long time to her. Then she glanced at the other envelope. She grabbed the second packet in the crook of her hooves, and saw that this too had the Canterlot embroidering as well. The only difference was this one had a frilly ribbon wrapped on the corner of the envelope. Mayflower ripped the envelope open in one motion, and extracted the letter from within. She unfolded the letter, and began to read it: Dear Mayflower, I know it has been a while since we last spoke to each other, but I have been so busy with my career, that I have had little time to mingle with all of my friends. But now that I'm having a small break from Interior designing, I have decided to host a party so that all of my old friends (including you!), along with my new friends and co-workers, can hang out. And the best part about it: It's in the same city you live in! Isn't that exciting? I'll be in town tomorrow if you want to hang out before the main event. See you soon! Love, Garnish Well, looks like I don't need a plan at all now, Mayflower thought to herself before she dropped the letter onto the ground. She smiled to herself, knowing that she would get to see her best friend once again. Even though they both work at Canterlot, both of their occupations were completely separate from each other. In a now cheerful mood, she hopped off the couch, and trotted back toward her room, hoping to get more rest, when she inadvertently tripped on a discarded umbrella, and landed on her face. "This is not going to be my day," Mayflower whined, flapping her wings in disgruntled anger as she dragged herself toward her room, where she finally crawled into her bed and slept. Author's Note Stay tuned for the next chapter to come, eventually. And i mean it. With finals coming around, all i can do is be honest with myself, and all of you. A Burden To ShareIf the room that Mayflower was just escorted out of was a nightmare for her, then the long walk through the hallways was less than forgiving. The hallways were dank and murky, lined with rows of reinforced steel doors along each wall, making the place feel more like an asylum than a mental institution. There were lights which lit up parts of the damp corridor throughout the hallway, but other than that the rest of the halls were obscured by dim shadows. As she and the two security guards made their way through the corridor, she gave a cautious glance at every shadow they pass, praying to herself that nothing would jump out at her. She was still seeing those terrifying eyes, belonging to a grotesque abomination that would always stare at her. Watching her every move. Preying on her. And it seemed persistent, for she couldn't look at a single shadow without seeing the eyes glaring back at her. Even a simply small patch of dusk seemed to bore a twisted body that could pounce at her at any second. She became frantic, quickening her pace much to the two guards' disapproval, for she needed to get away from the shadowy figure. She had to escape, but there was just too much darkness beyond the halls. She began to panic, hyperventilating tremendously, And was about to scream.... Until one of the guards, an earth pony, caught her and slowed her to a stop. fidgeting and squirming from the guard's grip, Mayflower made every attempt to free herself from his grip, but to no avail. Frantic whining and moaning ensued as the earth pony kept his grip on the mare. "Please, ma'am, calm down." the earth pony pleaded as he held onto the mare. "Please..." Eventually, Mayflower had calmed down, relaxing her muscles ever so slowly, but not opening her eyes one bit to avoid seeing the monster. After a few more seconds, she slowly opened eyes, and her eyes met the reassuring gaze of the Stallions. "Everything is going to be fine, Ma'am. Nopony is going to hurt you, and nopony is here to harm you. It is just you, me, and Mr. Brandy." he said, gesturing to the unicorn guard standing just a few feet away. The earth pony sat there with the frightened mare, comforting her to the best of his abilities. after a few moments, he sat the mare up to her haunches, comforting her even further. "Now, do you feel fine, hmm? Do you feel like you can press forward? It took a few seconds for the mare to reply, but she nodded, and slowly got back on her hooves. The three ponies marched onward toward their destination. The trip seemed to drag on for longer than she anticipated. The hallways were becoming longer and more tedious as the three continued to tread through the corridor. throughout their walk, Mayflower couldn't help herself with looking at the shadows, locating where the gloomy eyes were. Ironically, she didn't want to see those eyes, but that didn't stop her from looking at every crevice she came upon. Realizing that she was being hysterical again, she finally ignored the imaginary glare which lurked from the dark, in hopes of pushing away the nightmare that pursued her. These thoughts never went away. They never go away. She then distracted herself from these thoughts by making conversation, hopefully making time fly by in the process. she looked behind her, gazing at the earth pony guard that had soothed her during her episode. "So, um... Stryker..." she said, reading his name tag perched on his security vest. "You look like you're new here. How long have you been working here?" "Me? Well, I'm not exactly new to this institution. On the contrary, I Worked here for well over six years, working security details for each floor, including yours." Mayflower remembered when she was walking toward her bedroom on level three when there was a temporary power outage at the time. "Man, for a mare of your stature, you sure did cause a lot of mayhem with those three ponies you beat up." Stryker said with an amused look on his face, which was quickly cleared when he was struck in the back of the head by Brandy. "Ow!" " What nimrod was trying to say, was that whatever it was that you saw must have terrified you enough to cause harm to those ponies." the unicorn reassured. Mayflower winced at that. She remembered when she flipped out at the bystanders, all because of the light going out. She though herself to be somewhat hysterical sometimes, not knowing whether it was truly the darkness that scared her the most, or the monster dwelling in it. when she took a quick look at one of many dark patches scattered along the hallway, she saw the bloody eyes once more. she began rubbing her eyes, and quickly opened them, revealing to be only a dark patch among the bunch. "I'd rather not talk about it." she concluded. It took another few minutes, but the three finally made it to their destination. What stood before them was yet another steel door, though this time it wasn't reinforced like the rest of the cells on this level. the door did, however, posses a locking mechanism, accessible by a keypad. "Here, let me get that real quick." Brandy said as he trotted ahead. he walked leisurely toward the keypad, and punched in the code. Just like that, the mechanism emitted a beeping sound, indicating that access was granted. The unicorn opened the door, gesturing for the mare to come inside, which she did. Mayflower had to shield her eyes, for the room she entered was unusually bright. She fluttered her eyes rapidly, trying to adjust to the bright lighting before she goes blind. after a few seconds, she opened her eyes fully. she was met with a rather plain room, covered in pearly white tiles with the occasional row of green tiles decorating each wall and the edges and corners of the room. It didn't seem any different from the rest of the Facility, save for its cleanliness. In the middle of the room was two chairs, one wooden chair with a few pillows placed on the seat, and a stool, currently occupied by an elderly stallion. The two security guards ushered her toward the wooden chair, where she can make herself comfortable, and stood attention next to the stallion. Stryker was the one to speak. "Here is Ms. Mayflower as you requested, Dr. Zephyr. Is there anything else we can do for you two?" he asked. "No thank you, young man. That'll be all." the doctor replied back with a gingerly tone. With that, both officers made their way toward their post, leaving Dr. Zephyr and Mayflower alone in the spotless room. Zephyr shifted his gaze from the departing guards back to Mayflower, and smiled. "Now, I do hope you can forgive the lighting in this room. It may have been too much lighting for this occasion, but I felt it was needed, regarding your current status." "Oh no, it's no trouble at all, doctor." she replied back with a smile, glad to see the lengths that he went through to get rid of the dark for her. He smiled back, and pulled out a notebook and quill from underneath his stool as he was getting ready to Analyze her. "Ok then, lets get started then, shall we. Now, i understand that you were transferred in level three containment as part of your treatment?" "That is correct." "But then why are you within level five containment now?" Mayflower forced herself to remember what had happened on that floor. Then she answered, "It was bedtime, and all the patients were ordered to return to their cells. I made my way to my cell, along with a group of other ponies I have yet to recognize. That was when the power went out." She paused for a brief moment, not wanting to recall the illusion that she saw. "And then i saw that... that... thing..." "What was it?" "A corpse. A mangled, horrid, disgusting corpse. It had bloody eyes..." She bit her lip, trying not to cry. "... Very bloody eyes. and its muzzle was unnaturally split apart..." "You mean as if the muzzle was... broken?" "Yes, broken! Only, not broken. As soon as it went dark, I saw it galloping toward me. I tried to get away, I really did, but..." "But what?" "Well that was all i remember before i found myself locked on this floor, though some of the physicians kept telling me about that event." Mayflower concluded, rubbing both her front hooves to relax herself. As Zephyr quickly jotted down his notes, he responded, "Yes, the three ponies you miraculously didn't kill during your panic attack: two Pegasi with broken wings, and an earth pony with a mild concussion." Mayflower wasn't proud of what she did. She couldn't help it. She didn't want the trotting abomination to snag her away, and feast on her entrails. It was a sickening thought to have, especially when she was trying to pry her mind from re-experiencing that horrid nightmare. As she completely regained her composure, Zephyr had finished with what he needed to write down. "Now if my understanding is correct, you were the one who scheduled this meeting so that you may have the opportunity to share your story, correct?" That much was true. The only reason why she would have made this appointment was to hopefully gain some closure on the incident. At first, she was very hesitant to recount every detail that occurred on that night, for it already haunted her as is, but she needed to do this. She needed to get rid of these nightmares once and for all. She wanted to leave the past behind her, and to forget the monster that has followed her ever since she laid her eyes upon it. She wanted to forget it all. She wanted to forget. But that won't be easy. She had to do this, otherwise the whole meeting would have been pointless. Taking a deep, she responded, "Yes, Dr. Zephyr, that is correct." Even with the straight face that she pulled off, Zephyr could easily tell that she was starting to doubt her decision. With gentle movement, he grasped onto one of her hooves and caressed it, lulling her with his soothing motion. "Mayflower, I know it is going to be tough having to share memories you have been trying so hard to leave behind, and I will not force you to do so, but if you believe that this will help get rid of the nightmares that haunt you, then I will be here with you every step of the way. Now, are you sure this is really what you want to do?" he asked. It took Her awhile to answer that question, too long to be deemed necessary. But the stallion seemed to be patient. taking the time to recollect every single terrifying memory of that night, she finally gathered enough courage to give an answer. "Yes, Doctor..." She was hesitant, but resolute, for she had to do this. "... I'm ready." "Excellent." Zephyr said with an encouraging smile. He reclaimed his notebook and quill back into his hooves, and flipped through the book to an open page, where he can start recording the information. "Now, lets start from the beginning, shall we?" Mayflower took a deep breath, and began telling her story.
DarknessIt was dark Inside the room. A little too dark for any normal pony to see clearly, though the mare within the room had become accustomed to the darkness. She was unfortunately use to it, for that was all she could grasp on that night. That terrible, terrible night. She would constantly remind herself of what had happened exactly during the crisis. Blood. Screaming. Panic. Running. And then there was the occasional monstrous voices that inevitably followed her every step. Never slowing, never stopping, and always pursuing her to the end. She tried to clear her mind, to drown out the horrifying memory from that night, but it always came back, haunting her, usually resulting in her mild panic attacks, and ending with her crying her heart out. It seemed to become less frequent than before, but eventually it would assault her mind once more, with every attack making her spasms become increasingly violent. She wanted it to end, but her memories were merciless, making every attempt to shatter what was left of her sanity. but she was a strong, durable mare. She had to be Hours went by, as she continued to stare at the pitch black void that had consumed the very room she resides in. There was nopony in the room with her, she knew that quite well. It didn't stop her from seeing glistening, bloody eyes from staring back at her, watching her every movement and waiting for the right moment to strike. As much terror as she has been through, she would much rather be killed right there and right now, than to see the insidious silhouette standing there; watching her. It was terrifying, having watching eyes staring at her for Celestia knows how long, and not being able to do a thing about it. She just wanted it to end. But it wouldn't. The darkness was a cruel and unmerciful mistress to her. Then a door, across the dark room where the mare laid, began to crack open. She flinched a little, and slowly crawled toward the corner nearest to her. She had been in the shadowy room for some time, that she had completely forgotten that a door existed. She didn't know what to expect, and as the door opened wider, her shivering began to increase. The door was a quarter ways, and her shivering amplified significantly. It was now halfway open, and the shaking was tenfold. Three quarters.... Four quarters... She immediately curled and hid herself way, embracing for what was to come. But it never came, and for the duration of the occurrence, she hesitated to lift her hoof from her face. As she inched her limb from her muzzle, she caught the silhouette of two ponies trotting toward her, most likely stallions by the look of their size, bulk, and other masculine features. she couldn't make that assumption yet with the darkness masking a majority of the two stallions' figures. That was when a Third equine figure popped in. Stumbling toward the middle of the darkened room with what appears to be a ladder and two sleek tubes, the half-clumsy stallion precariously placed the ladder right in the middle of the room, and ascended up to a clear panel. He then unscrewed two other tubes from the sockets, all without dropping the fresh looking bulbs, and replaced them into their rightful places, resulting in a light which eliminated all the darkness that once devoured every nook and cranny of the place. The mare immediately revolted from the sudden light that might as well burned her eyes out of their sockets. After her recovery, she glanced all around the room, attempting to gain her bearings. She realized that being in the dark for far too long had made her forget she was in an mental facility, within solitary confinement. most of her room was covered in cushion, basically to keep the violent from being more violent, or to keep the insane from becoming violent. the cushions on one of the walls seemed to be in tattered condition, if her panic attacks proved to be the reason for that condition. She then remembered her panic attacks being the reason that she was in solitary confinement to begin with. She pushed that thought away, and shifted her complete attention to the stallions standing in front of her, one of them holding a clip board in front of him with his telekinesis. "Room 514 Patient #320009 Pegasus mare, Mayflower i presume?" the Unicorn said as he flipped through the pages to locate the mare's information amongst a whole collage of patient names. The mare hesitated to give an answer, but then regained her once chipper mood, relieved that it wasn't the monster that haunted her. "Um... yes sir." "Patient diagnosed with severe schizophrenia and was assigned to level 3 for considerable treatment, correct?" the stallion read as his eyes scanned along Mayflower's information. "Yes sir." "and was later taken to solitary confinement after a severe panic attack injured three other patients after being exposed to the dark, correct?" the unicorn read as his eyes finished scanning Mayflower's information. Not the one to point out the obvious, and no wanting to play twenty questions with two security guards, she answered swiftly with as much emphasis and composure as she can. "Yes sir, that is the correct information." "Well, at least now we got your lights replaced. You know, perhaps you should let somepony know when your lights have died, especially when dealing with your condition." "Well, maybe i would, if this room wasn't sound-proof, had a 5-inch steel wall for a door, and is only equipped with a one-way communicator, which by the way is busted." Mayflower indicated toward the device on the other side of the wall she is pointing at. The stallion winced at that last issue. "Good point. uh... we'll get you a new communicator for this room, and this time we'll make it a two-way communication." The security guard cleared his throat. "Anyways, we're here to inform you that you have an appointment with a..." he retrieved a slip of paper from his uniform."... Dr. Zephyr." "Do I now?" "He wants to interview you about... you know... your thoughts." At an instant, all of the horrifying memories came to her, but went away just as quickly as it came. It terrified her to even remember what had happened that night, but she had to share it. She had to, if it meant taking away the nightmare for good. Even though the light had distinguished the ghoulish dark, and coziness began to settle all around her, she couldn't dwell in the room any longer than she had too. "Are you ready to go?" the officer said as he gestured at the open door. She would not give no for an answer. she stood up on all four of her legs, with a quick stretch to get rid of the ache and soreness from not moving a lot, and made her way toward the door, being flanked by both guards as they left the room.
Wake-up CallHigh above the peaceful land of Equestria, the moon casts its ethereal glow all across the land, all the way from the desolated boarders of the Badlands, to the icy slopes of the Frozen North, illuminating every town and city far and wide. The only city to have negated the eerie glow of the massive rock was Manehattan, for every building wasn't without lighting, and thus casts its own glow in the night. At night, the bustling city is filled with an enormous crowd of ponies enjoying themselves to their full extent, either by shopping, drinking the night away at the local pub, or simply walking the streets talking amongst one another. Flocks of ponies trotted merrily along the walkways, while others prefer taking wagons and carts along the roads stretching far through the metropolis. It was a Invigorating sight to behold, one that can be seen for miles away, luring all walking lifeforms into its captivating presence, allowing any and all creatures to join in the city of progress. Then as the moon began to descend into another part of the world, the commotion from Manehattan began to die out, making way for the ponies who sought to enjoy the daytime with enough sleep to push on through their errands. The city began to turn calm as the sun was rising, peacefully waking up the ponies from their slumber. All except one A long distance from the province of Manehattan stood a lone cabin on top of a foothill overlooking the city. Fields of dewy grass and violets surrounded the building, Pine and oak trees scattered all around the setting, expanding all across the distant mountains in great, big patches, and only one dirt trail leading straight toward the road to the city itself. Within the cabin rested a mare on top of her bed, her room scattered with masses of paper, maps, folders, and assorted utensils laying all over the floors and walls. The sun was rising, shining its glorious light through the open window, and straight into the mare's face. She reacted with much disdain by throwing her blanket over her head, wanting to go back to sleep. She creaked open one of her eyes, only to find the glow resting on her cover. It wasn't bright, but it bothered her nonetheless. Finally, she kicked off the blanket, the sun revealing her white coat and burgundy mane. She got off of the bed, stretching first, then made her way to the window, where she precariously grabbed a dangling cord with her teeth and pulled, producing a row of plastic blinds that had finally shut out the sunlight. She stood there for a few seconds, then proceeded to plop back onto the bed, in an attempt to get a few more hours of sleep. Then the abrupt ringing sound of her alarm clock began. With a low groan, she reached out for the alarm clock, missing a few times, and knocking it off the nightstand, nearly breaking it. There was a moment of silence before she sighed in comfort as she draped her blanket over herself once again, and snuggled deep in its warm embrace. Not even ten seconds go by, and the alarm goes off again. "Oh, come on!" Mayflower whined, almost acting like a foal who didn't have something its way. Once again, she launched herself out of bed with her blanket wrapped around her and decided to stomp on the screeching device instead of turning it off the normal way. She raised her left forelimb and was about to slam it down with tremendous force.... when she noticed the time. Just inches away from destroying the machine, Mayflower quickly picked up the alarm clock to examine the time presented on the face. From what she could tell with her still groggy eyes, the minute and hour hands were pointing at a time that she regretted waking up in; a time which made her grogginess go away in an instant. "Ten-thirty?!" She exclaimed breathlessly. "Mother of Celestia, I'M LATE!" Without skipping a beat, the panicking mare shot through her room, scavenging through her mess for the papers and maps that she needed, while at the same time gathering any essential tools and equipment she could get. As soon as she collected all of her belongings, she sped out of her room, and through the small hallway leading to the kitchen. She nearly crashed into the counter as she slid around the corner, but managed to keep her balance, passed the door leading to her living room, and galloped straight through the front door.... .... And into somepony. It took a few seconds to collect herself from her mild headache, but when she came to, she was looking at a dazed gray Pegasus, who was laying there with a mass of letters dispersed all around the mail-mare, along with Mayflower's papers. "Oh, I'm so, so sorry! I did not mean to run into you!" Mayflower said as she helped the bewildered mare up. "It's Okay," Ditzy Do said, recovering from the impact. Shaking her head, Ditzy fumble through her mail bag until she produced two letters in her hooves. one of them was embroidered around the edges, with a seal containing a company logo on the middle of the seal. "Here's your mail, ma'am. That one is an important notice from Canterlot." Mayflower did a double-take on the envelope before she thanked the mail-mare. When Ditzy flew away to continue her duties, Mayflower gathered all of the documents she dropped, and quickly trotted back into her cabin. She went toward the living room, where she decided to sit on her sofa and open the letter from there. She opened the Canterlot envelope with her teeth and began to examine its contents. It was a letter from her boss. Curious on why her boss would be sending her mail at this time, she began to read it: Dear Mayflower, I understand that you may have some outstanding information regarding the geography of the Badlands, and I would be most interested in taking a look at your work. Unfortunately, I will be taking a trip to Las Pegasus for a family visit, so there will be no work for you today. I will be expecting your data to be up to date next week. Sorry for the inconvenience. With regards, Bedrock Canterlot Explorer's League Mayflower sighed with relief as she realized that her boss would be out for the whole week, meaning that she too would be off work for the time being, paid of course. She dropped the letter on the floor next to her coffee table, and slumped onto the couch, where she began relaxing. She stared at the ceiling for several minutes, wondering what she was going to do for the rest of the week since she isn't going to work for what may seem like a long time to her. Then she glanced at the other envelope. She grabbed the second packet in the crook of her hooves, and saw that this too had the Canterlot embroidering as well. The only difference was this one had a frilly ribbon wrapped on the corner of the envelope. Mayflower ripped the envelope open in one motion, and extracted the letter from within. She unfolded the letter, and began to read it: Dear Mayflower, I know it has been a while since we last spoke to each other, but I have been so busy with my career, that I have had little time to mingle with all of my friends. But now that I'm having a small break from Interior designing, I have decided to host a party so that all of my old friends (including you!), along with my new friends and co-workers, can hang out. And the best part about it: It's in the same city you live in! Isn't that exciting? I'll be in town tomorrow if you want to hang out before the main event. See you soon! Love, Garnish Well, looks like I don't need a plan at all now, Mayflower thought to herself before she dropped the letter onto the ground. She smiled to herself, knowing that she would get to see her best friend once again. Even though they both work at Canterlot, both of their occupations were completely separate from each other. In a now cheerful mood, she hopped off the couch, and trotted back toward her room, hoping to get more rest, when she inadvertently tripped on a discarded umbrella, and landed on her face. "This is not going to be my day," Mayflower whined, flapping her wings in disgruntled anger as she dragged herself toward her room, where she finally crawled into her bed and slept. Author's Note Stay tuned for the next chapter to come, eventually. And i mean it. With finals coming around, all i can do is be honest with myself, and all of you.
A Burden To ShareIf the room that Mayflower was just escorted out of was a nightmare for her, then the long walk through the hallways was less than forgiving. The hallways were dank and murky, lined with rows of reinforced steel doors along each wall, making the place feel more like an asylum than a mental institution. There were lights which lit up parts of the damp corridor throughout the hallway, but other than that the rest of the halls were obscured by dim shadows. As she and the two security guards made their way through the corridor, she gave a cautious glance at every shadow they pass, praying to herself that nothing would jump out at her. She was still seeing those terrifying eyes, belonging to a grotesque abomination that would always stare at her. Watching her every move. Preying on her. And it seemed persistent, for she couldn't look at a single shadow without seeing the eyes glaring back at her. Even a simply small patch of dusk seemed to bore a twisted body that could pounce at her at any second. She became frantic, quickening her pace much to the two guards' disapproval, for she needed to get away from the shadowy figure. She had to escape, but there was just too much darkness beyond the halls. She began to panic, hyperventilating tremendously, And was about to scream.... Until one of the guards, an earth pony, caught her and slowed her to a stop. fidgeting and squirming from the guard's grip, Mayflower made every attempt to free herself from his grip, but to no avail. Frantic whining and moaning ensued as the earth pony kept his grip on the mare. "Please, ma'am, calm down." the earth pony pleaded as he held onto the mare. "Please..." Eventually, Mayflower had calmed down, relaxing her muscles ever so slowly, but not opening her eyes one bit to avoid seeing the monster. After a few more seconds, she slowly opened eyes, and her eyes met the reassuring gaze of the Stallions. "Everything is going to be fine, Ma'am. Nopony is going to hurt you, and nopony is here to harm you. It is just you, me, and Mr. Brandy." he said, gesturing to the unicorn guard standing just a few feet away. The earth pony sat there with the frightened mare, comforting her to the best of his abilities. after a few moments, he sat the mare up to her haunches, comforting her even further. "Now, do you feel fine, hmm? Do you feel like you can press forward? It took a few seconds for the mare to reply, but she nodded, and slowly got back on her hooves. The three ponies marched onward toward their destination. The trip seemed to drag on for longer than she anticipated. The hallways were becoming longer and more tedious as the three continued to tread through the corridor. throughout their walk, Mayflower couldn't help herself with looking at the shadows, locating where the gloomy eyes were. Ironically, she didn't want to see those eyes, but that didn't stop her from looking at every crevice she came upon. Realizing that she was being hysterical again, she finally ignored the imaginary glare which lurked from the dark, in hopes of pushing away the nightmare that pursued her. These thoughts never went away. They never go away. She then distracted herself from these thoughts by making conversation, hopefully making time fly by in the process. she looked behind her, gazing at the earth pony guard that had soothed her during her episode. "So, um... Stryker..." she said, reading his name tag perched on his security vest. "You look like you're new here. How long have you been working here?" "Me? Well, I'm not exactly new to this institution. On the contrary, I Worked here for well over six years, working security details for each floor, including yours." Mayflower remembered when she was walking toward her bedroom on level three when there was a temporary power outage at the time. "Man, for a mare of your stature, you sure did cause a lot of mayhem with those three ponies you beat up." Stryker said with an amused look on his face, which was quickly cleared when he was struck in the back of the head by Brandy. "Ow!" " What nimrod was trying to say, was that whatever it was that you saw must have terrified you enough to cause harm to those ponies." the unicorn reassured. Mayflower winced at that. She remembered when she flipped out at the bystanders, all because of the light going out. She though herself to be somewhat hysterical sometimes, not knowing whether it was truly the darkness that scared her the most, or the monster dwelling in it. when she took a quick look at one of many dark patches scattered along the hallway, she saw the bloody eyes once more. she began rubbing her eyes, and quickly opened them, revealing to be only a dark patch among the bunch. "I'd rather not talk about it." she concluded. It took another few minutes, but the three finally made it to their destination. What stood before them was yet another steel door, though this time it wasn't reinforced like the rest of the cells on this level. the door did, however, posses a locking mechanism, accessible by a keypad. "Here, let me get that real quick." Brandy said as he trotted ahead. he walked leisurely toward the keypad, and punched in the code. Just like that, the mechanism emitted a beeping sound, indicating that access was granted. The unicorn opened the door, gesturing for the mare to come inside, which she did. Mayflower had to shield her eyes, for the room she entered was unusually bright. She fluttered her eyes rapidly, trying to adjust to the bright lighting before she goes blind. after a few seconds, she opened her eyes fully. she was met with a rather plain room, covered in pearly white tiles with the occasional row of green tiles decorating each wall and the edges and corners of the room. It didn't seem any different from the rest of the Facility, save for its cleanliness. In the middle of the room was two chairs, one wooden chair with a few pillows placed on the seat, and a stool, currently occupied by an elderly stallion. The two security guards ushered her toward the wooden chair, where she can make herself comfortable, and stood attention next to the stallion. Stryker was the one to speak. "Here is Ms. Mayflower as you requested, Dr. Zephyr. Is there anything else we can do for you two?" he asked. "No thank you, young man. That'll be all." the doctor replied back with a gingerly tone. With that, both officers made their way toward their post, leaving Dr. Zephyr and Mayflower alone in the spotless room. Zephyr shifted his gaze from the departing guards back to Mayflower, and smiled. "Now, I do hope you can forgive the lighting in this room. It may have been too much lighting for this occasion, but I felt it was needed, regarding your current status." "Oh no, it's no trouble at all, doctor." she replied back with a smile, glad to see the lengths that he went through to get rid of the dark for her. He smiled back, and pulled out a notebook and quill from underneath his stool as he was getting ready to Analyze her. "Ok then, lets get started then, shall we. Now, i understand that you were transferred in level three containment as part of your treatment?" "That is correct." "But then why are you within level five containment now?" Mayflower forced herself to remember what had happened on that floor. Then she answered, "It was bedtime, and all the patients were ordered to return to their cells. I made my way to my cell, along with a group of other ponies I have yet to recognize. That was when the power went out." She paused for a brief moment, not wanting to recall the illusion that she saw. "And then i saw that... that... thing..." "What was it?" "A corpse. A mangled, horrid, disgusting corpse. It had bloody eyes..." She bit her lip, trying not to cry. "... Very bloody eyes. and its muzzle was unnaturally split apart..." "You mean as if the muzzle was... broken?" "Yes, broken! Only, not broken. As soon as it went dark, I saw it galloping toward me. I tried to get away, I really did, but..." "But what?" "Well that was all i remember before i found myself locked on this floor, though some of the physicians kept telling me about that event." Mayflower concluded, rubbing both her front hooves to relax herself. As Zephyr quickly jotted down his notes, he responded, "Yes, the three ponies you miraculously didn't kill during your panic attack: two Pegasi with broken wings, and an earth pony with a mild concussion." Mayflower wasn't proud of what she did. She couldn't help it. She didn't want the trotting abomination to snag her away, and feast on her entrails. It was a sickening thought to have, especially when she was trying to pry her mind from re-experiencing that horrid nightmare. As she completely regained her composure, Zephyr had finished with what he needed to write down. "Now if my understanding is correct, you were the one who scheduled this meeting so that you may have the opportunity to share your story, correct?" That much was true. The only reason why she would have made this appointment was to hopefully gain some closure on the incident. At first, she was very hesitant to recount every detail that occurred on that night, for it already haunted her as is, but she needed to do this. She needed to get rid of these nightmares once and for all. She wanted to leave the past behind her, and to forget the monster that has followed her ever since she laid her eyes upon it. She wanted to forget it all. She wanted to forget. But that won't be easy. She had to do this, otherwise the whole meeting would have been pointless. Taking a deep, she responded, "Yes, Dr. Zephyr, that is correct." Even with the straight face that she pulled off, Zephyr could easily tell that she was starting to doubt her decision. With gentle movement, he grasped onto one of her hooves and caressed it, lulling her with his soothing motion. "Mayflower, I know it is going to be tough having to share memories you have been trying so hard to leave behind, and I will not force you to do so, but if you believe that this will help get rid of the nightmares that haunt you, then I will be here with you every step of the way. Now, are you sure this is really what you want to do?" he asked. It took Her awhile to answer that question, too long to be deemed necessary. But the stallion seemed to be patient. taking the time to recollect every single terrifying memory of that night, she finally gathered enough courage to give an answer. "Yes, Doctor..." She was hesitant, but resolute, for she had to do this. "... I'm ready." "Excellent." Zephyr said with an encouraging smile. He reclaimed his notebook and quill back into his hooves, and flipped through the book to an open page, where he can start recording the information. "Now, lets start from the beginning, shall we?" Mayflower took a deep breath, and began telling her story.
