For Whom The Bell Tolls

Chapter 3: A Monster?

Everything was dark. The once warm presence of friends and energy gone without a trace. It was terrifying to the young man. Everything that he once knew had fleeted away like the toll of a bell after a minute or two. Or maybe this was too much like a life he had once known. Either way Quasimodo knew that this was potentially the biggest challenge since Frollo and he refused to let this hurt him.

        “What happened to him?” a faint voice asked far from where Quasi thought he was.

        “Questions later, right now he has to be healed!” another faint, yet obviously male, voice said.

        “B-B-But just look at that thing!” it sounded like several people spoke this time.

        “That’s an order!” this voice was female.

        Everything went silent again.

        Black to white. The light in his eyes began to burn. Quasi began to wonder if the darkness was truly a bad thing. There were no voices this time, but something told the hunchback that he was not alone, wherever he was. It wasn’t comforting either, it felt like when Frollo looked at him, even at the judge's best of times, an uncomfortable dagger-like stare focused solely on him.

        His body felt numb. The only part of him that carried any weight was his head. Other than that his body felt like it was floating in the air. His chest began feeling particularly weightless like something was sucked out of it. None of this made sense to the barely conscious man. The last thing he remembered was helping repair the church. Then, then there were bells. He started to move up the wall, towards the bells. After that, there was something in the bell tower. And then darkness.

‘I need to get up.’ Quasi thought trying to sit his body up. He felt something keeping him down, though. It’s pressure changing, meaning it wasn’t an inanimate harness. That didn’t matter. All he knew was that he had to escape any way he could, unless he would suffer the wrath similar to before.

In a moment, he used the adrenaline-fueled fear coursing through his veins adding to his already sublime strength. His arms were first to rise. Faint yelps of surprise slid into Quasi’s ears, but he couldn’t understand them. Then his torso had to follow, he shot up like water from a geyser. Several forces acted on his body once again, but they were like children powerless to stop a juggernaut. His feet hit the floor. Quasimodo shot off in a direction that lead to an unknown destination.

A hard wall greeted his head. Quasi tried again, but all he found was a wall. Third time was the charm however as he made his way through a doorway. The various medical personnel that littered the floor looked on in horror at the monster that was just released.

        “What do you mean you lost him!?!” Phoebus seethed.

        “H-he was too strong! He overpowered us!” a pony dressed in a surgeon's outfit shook as he answered the captains question. Phoebus tried to storm out the door, but he was stopped by several doctor ponies begging him to reconsider.

        “He’s scared out of his mind! He needs his us,  please let us through!.” Esmeralda spoke a mixture of sadness and rage infecting her voice.

It took several minutes, but the couple was eventually calmed. The human couple looked around aimless at where they should target their anger. Unable to protect their friend, unable to save him now, all these feelings culminated into a dangerous brew of fear and helplessness. Shining Armor and Cadence still remained in the lobby, a look of embarrassment they were unable to shake.

“We will find it and return it--” Cadence tried to help Esmeralda and Phoebus with words of encouragement, but she was quickly silenced.

“Quit referring to Quasi as ‘it’! He is a man just like myself and you won’t refer to him as anything less.” Phoebus said with disdain.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend. . Although I’m still a little confused how that thing could be considered anything more than a creature.” Cadence whispered the second part to herself, but it still caught the ear of one gypsy.

“He’s the best family and friend we could ever ask for. He’s stuck by us in our time of need, always pulling through for us. He’s saved me, he’s saved Phoebus, and we happily show him that love back. And while I'd rather try to find a peaceful solution, my husband's idea of kicking some ass is starting to sound really good!" Esmeralda said never breaking eye contact with Cadence. Said pony took a deep breath.

“I understand that you have a deep appreciation for, Quasimodo, is it? He did save you, but he’s more troll-like than anything. How can that be considered family when you are so obviously different?” Cadence asked with a tone that told volumes of her frustration.

Esmeralda looked at her with disgust and turned away. After reflection, Cadence realized she deserved the reaction she got.

Cadence looked away and at her husband who comforted her with a hoof around her neck. The Canterlot Captain felt the sorrow radiating from his wife, and couldn’t help but squeeze a little bit tighter. His thoughts began to fog. Shining couldn’t be certain whether or not he was wrong when he attacked Quasimodo for the first time. Maybe all the creatures he met in that strange world held a natural violent nature this.

‘No, if somepony attacked my friends, I would be pretty angry too.’ Shining thought to himself.

“What will happen to him if you guys look for him?” Esmeralda asked quietly.

“We will get i-him back, I promise,” Cadence said determined, but she laid a gentle comforting hoof on the small of Esmeralda’s back, who recoiled slightly.

“I can’t stand this! I’m going to find Quasi myself!” Phoebus declared but was quickly stopped by Shining Armor.

“And where would you begin to look? You don’t know the first thing about the Crystal Empire. Let us try and find him. If you both get lost that means it’ll just take longer for you to reunite. I know your emotions must be telling you otherwise, but this is when you need to listen to reason.” Shining’s eyes never broke from Phoebus who turned away, and shouted in frustration.

        Everything was so bright. Light reflected with the intensity of the sun itself into the eyes of the hunchback, causing an even more chaotic run. Shouts, that was the next thing he noticed. Unlike the ones in the room he was trapped in before, these were much more profound. They were everywhere, coming from everyone. Familiar critiques of his looks also made their way into his ears. Quasi thought that he was over that stage in his life, but those words still stung him deep.

        The lights began to dim. His vision started to return. Around him large pillars of crystals stood, they were quite mesmerizing. He couldn’t gawk though, he had to escape, he had to find his friends. A feeling in his heart keep his direction steady and true. Quasimodo’s adrenaline keep his feet moving without any inhibiting factors. Faces of ponies started to become clear, and they all reminded Quasi of the people at the festival of fools a few years back, before Clopin explained why Quasi should be king.

        A stinging pain infected his mind. All of the self-doubt/loathing Quasi has conquered since meeting Esmeralda and Phoebus. His speed slowly decreased into a gingerly walk. Looking around, the faces of disgust, disdain, fear, all of these emotions painted the entire picture for Quasimodo.

        Instinctively Quasi lifted his enormous hands over his face. His eyes peeked through his fingers, eager to see if the move created a change in the social dynamic, even though he knew the answer deep down. Still fear, still disdain, poking and prodding at his mind.

‘Why now? I thought all of this was over. I just want those looks to go away.’ Quasi solemnly thought.

Then a few ponies, shinier than the ones he saw before, took Quasimodo’s attention away from his predicament .

“Halt, creature. What business have you in the Crystal Empire?” a royal guard asked.

“I’m not a creature!” Quasi shouted, the anger in his voice surprised even him.

“I think it’s dangerous captain what should we do?!?” a royal guard stallion asked, aiming his spear at Quasi. The rest of the unit followed suit.

        “I have no idea what that thing is, but it can’t be good.” the royal guard pony said. “Colts, try and take it alive. If it starts getting out of control kill it quickly.”

“Stay away, I don’t want to hurt you.”

The guards didn’t heed his words. One charged quickly, his spear pulled back, and his head aiming for the hunchbacks chest. Quasi stopped the charge with both arms gripping the stallion's head. With little effort Quasi lifted the pony above his head and flung him into a wall. The pony promptly lost consciousness.

“I won't stand for this! Everypony, charge!” the captain yelled, aiming his spear at Quasi. The rest of his unit following suit. Quasi panicked as a line of spiky death awaited him. It didn’t take much effort for Quasi to go airborne. Like a spring, Quasi assumed a  crouched position and took to the air. His body lifted completely above the wall of equines that blocked his path. The guards were frozen in an awed stupor, just watching as the hunchback got closer to exiting the empire.

“Stop him!”

“W-Why couldn’t it be summer?” Quasi shivered.

The hunchback pondered as he trudged through the harsh winterland. Frozen particles of water drenched the green-clad man. Nevertheless he continued on. In the distance a faint form of architecture. He quickened the pace. It looked plain as opposed to what he had previously seen in the previous kingdom. A voice suddenly sounded off behind Quasimodo.

“It’s over there, hurry up!”

A sudden blast of magical energy shot by Quasi’s head.

Quasi began to run.

He had to find some sort of cover. The distance to the building grew shorter and shorter. The fearful man finally got close enough to make out where he was seeking refuge. It was a small building with an odd contraption laid out behind it, vague but big enough to find a hiding spot. Quasi approached the contraption not unlike he does Notre Dame. He grabbed what ever he could on the sides and began to climb. In no time at all he reached the top of the contraption.

“I wonder if there’s a way I could--WOOAH!” Quasi exclaimed as the very ground beneath him began to move. Quasi’s large arms halted his impact. The hunchback had little time to think as the ground started to pick up speed. On instinct Quasi grabbed the ledge in front of him. Quasi took several deep breaths as it got harder and harder to hang on. Quasi’s indomitable heart wouldn’t give in though and he held on, awaiting the unknown destination the ground wished for him to visit.