A Phantom Pain

CHAPTER ONE: A PHANTOM PAIN

Phantom pain (definition): Sensations described as perception an individual experiences relating to a limb or an organ that is no longer physically a part of the body.

A grey pony awoken to the sight of a barren, hollow white cave. She was lying under the light from the ceiling above. The ground was cool, but not freezing. The light was warm, but not comforting. Looking to her surroundings, the grey mare was lost and confused. Who was she? What was she doing here?

“Hello!” She shouted, echoing throughout the cave.

Getting up from the ground on all four legs, she quickly travelled around, looking for somewhere to go. It didn’t matter where. She walked for an hour, moving through the dimly lit tunnels and chambers. Isolation. Emptiness. Nothingness.

Before she was about to stop and rest, she saw a figure in the distance. A shock of panic erupted.

“Who are you!” She yelled back.

Cuffing her mouth with her hooves, the grey pony was scared and frightened. Far away, the stranger approached her slowly. Fear of this stranger made her panic. Where could she go? What if it followed her?

I have no mouth and I have to scream. The grey pony thought.

She closed her eyes, hoping that the stranger far away would disappear. Whimpering and shaking, she covered her closed eyes with her hooves laying down on the ground.

The cadence of the strangers footsteps grew louder in sound, which could only mean it was getting closer. A cold sweat rolled down her goosebumps, chattering teeth rattled in her mouth. Why did she have to call it over?

Poke.

“AAAHHH!” She screamed for dear life. Her voice crackling into frequencies only dogs could hear. A roaring boom exploded inside the stranger’s eardrums, they almost bled from the trauma. It cover her mouth.

“SHH! Calm down! I’m not going to hurt you.” He said.

A colt’s voice. She didn’t know him, but travelling alone inside the caves for an hour, she felt safer. As her eyes opened, the image of a Tungsten grey colt appeared.

Blinkie Pie? She thought.

“Might I ask your name, young mare?” he asked.

The question interrupted her thought. Blinkie Pie? Who was that?

“Uh…my name?” She asked.

“Yes your name. I need to confirm who you are.” He said.

The grey pony thought long and hard about the question. It was a simple answer. Nothing to it, just state your name. But for the life of whoever she was, she just couldn’t find anything to reply with.

“I don’t know.” she said.

“I thought so. This is very bad news.” He said.

The dark grey colt was stoic. His expression was the most blank face possible. There was no emotion, no life to his demeanour. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought he was a lifeless, plastic mannequin. But make no mistake, there was sentience behind those eyes. He was self-aware, looking straight into the young mare’s eyes.

What he said finally clicked, “What? What do you mean bad news?”

“I’m afraid the process has begun to take effect on you.” He explained, “You don’t remember who you are do you? Or how you came to be in this cave?”

Slowly shaking her head no he sighed, chest and shoulder caving slightly.

“This is bad news because you may very well begin to die.” He said.

This caught her immediate attention, panic resurfacing on her face.

“What? Die?”

“Yes. You see you don’t belong here. Your an original, not a place for some pony like you to be inside the Mirror’s pocket dimension. The magic of the Mirror will try to claim you as itself. Like a water drop into a pond, you will lose all individuality. You have to leave this pond immediately!” He said.

“But how? I’m been walking through these caves for an hour, and your the first pony I’ve meet. Besides, I didn’t see any exits,” she said.

“Not good. It means Mirage has starting taking a liking to you.”

“Mirage? Like an imaginary image?” she asked.

“Mirage is another pony like me, but she is more vicious than Amnesia, who apparently stole your memories. We need to find her.” He said.

Mirage? Amnesia? What funny names for ponies. She thought.

“Who are we looking for? Mirage or Amnesia?” she asked.

“We are looking for Amnesia, the Memory Thief.” He said.

The two ponies wondering deeper and deeper into the caves of the Mirror Pond. The grey mare was not sure who she was looking for, or what Amnesia looked like. A few minutes into the search, some pony caught her attention in the corner of her vision.

Inkie Pie? She thought. Is that you?

“Look, who’s that over there?” she asked.

The dark grey colt turned around, looking into the direction she was pointing at. Nothing. No pony.

“It’s a trick. It’s Mirage playing tricks on you.” He said.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Amnesia must have shared a personal memory of yours with Mirage. Now they’re playing mind games with you to slowly start deluding you next. You need to be careful. Mirage is a dangerous mare.” He said.

The grey mare stopped. She had enough.

“Who are you? What am I doing here? Who am I?” she asked, “Or what do those two ponies want with me?”

He stopped in his tracks. She had to find out sooner or later.

“My name is Phantom Pain. I am a phantom pony like Mirage and Amnesia. We are stewards of the Mirror Pond,” he turned to face her, “Your name is Pinkamena Diane Pie. You are not grey, but a bright pink pony with a fluffy mane. Silent Neutral has stolen both your colours and Cutie Mark and Amnesia has stolen your memories. All that’s left is your sanity. If that happens you’ll die of starvation or thirst.”

She look horrified at the mere mention of it.

“Why would they want to do that to me?” The grey mare named Pinkie Pie asked.

“It is because you are an original. You have real memories, real personality, real emotions. Unlike the Pushers who project, the Pullers extract from ponies their specific traits. Amnesia extracts memories from minds. Silent Neutral, he extracts emotions and passions. He steals your ambition and dreams.”

“You will become a revenant will no name, no self, and no thoughts forever and for all time,” Mirage said.

The grey Pinkie Pie and Phantom Pain turned around. It was a grey pony with a shiny silver mane. It was Mirage.