Thirsty
or
The Curious Case of Berryshine Punch
as told by Dr. Stable from Canterlot.
Magic often works in mysterious ways. Even those who are familiar with it are not fully aware of the consequences of even the simplest of spells. The forces of nature are powerful and those who try to fight them must be aware of the fact that they may wake up something that is beyond their comprehension.
Where to begin? You’ve probably read in the newspapers about the Sleepless Killer. This name was given by the reporters to a little filly who, struck by some incurable disease, murdered seven of her classmates before finally being caught. It’s been three years since she was locked in the secure unit of the mental hospital for foals in Trottingham, where the caring personnel do everything to bring her back to society.
Three years ago, everyone knew the names of her victims. Pipsqueak, Ruby Pinch, Alula, Twist, Zippoorwhill, Ginger Snap and Silver Spoon – newspapers were repeating them over and over. Little was, however, known about the families of those who were killed. Ponyville is a small town and many citizens are closely related. Soon, the town was full of mothers who lost their children, mares and stallions who lost their siblings and cousins… Of them all, only Berry Punch gained some notoriety after, struck by withdrawal-fueled grief, she’d killed Vinyl Scratch, blaming her for her daughter’s death.
It all started a year ago when I, a humble doctor from a small town, moved to Canterlot with my newly-wed wife, Octavia Melody. Berry Punch was also there, serving a life sentence in the Canterlot Correctional Facility for Mares. The causes of those events are not exactly known. Princess Twilight Sparkle, what’s understandable, doesn’t want to talk about that. What I know about it, I learned from the Princess’ friend, Pinkamena Diane Pie. Ms. Pie stated that on a particulary warm July day a year ago, Berry Punch’s best – and probably only – friend, the dentist from Ponyville called Minuette visited her old classmate, Twilight Sparkle, in her castle. Ms. Pie doesn’t remember the whole conversation exactly, claiming to be distracted by a particularly shiny crystal in the wall, but the fragments she managed to recall allowed me to reconstruct it.
“I’ve received a letter from Berry,” said Minuette, levitating a cup of tea. “She’s getting worse…”
Twilight Sparkle looked at her carefully, trying to guess what Minuette meant. Finally, she asked her for that.
“It’s not about Ruby or Vinyl,” Minuette said. “It’s been two years… I’d say she came to terms with that. But, as usual with Berry, it’s about vodka.”
“Of course,” Twilight muttered. “But… they can’t drink in prison, right?”
Minuette chuckled. “Please…” she said. “Berry told me that she drank anything she could get… They either smuggle it in–” She made a wide gesture showing exactly where. “–or made by some bored inmate with the distillation equipment. Once she almost died because of that… They even wrote a letter to me – you know, in case she dies, I’m supposed to prepare the funeral. But she made it. The doctors were surprised that she still has her own liver, but she made it.”
Twilight Sparkle nodded.
“She wants to stop,” Minuette said. “She tries and tries, but she can’t.”
“Well,” Twilight said. “From what I know, it’s very hard to give up alcohol. And even if she does, she has to watch out…”
“The thing is, she’s unable to do that.” Minuette took a sip of her tea and shook her head. “She wants me to ask you if there’s a spell…”
Twilight furrowed her eyebrows. “There is a spell,” she said. “But I can’t do that. It’s the same spell I used when I wanted to get rid of the parasprites… You remember how it ended…”
“But it was long time ago!” Minuette exclaimed. “You surely know what went wrong and how to avoid that…”
Twilight blushed. “Yes, I got better in casting it,” she said. “But still, I can’t do that. Berry’s free will…”
“Her free will is what's killing her!” Minuette shouted. She stood up, her eyes focused on the Princess. “Oh… sorry… But, Twilight, you must understand…”
“I won’t do that,” Twilight replied. “You can do that yourself, if that’s Berry’s will, but I won’t help you.”
“Fine.” Minuette sat down. “I’ll surely try.”
When I asked her about that, Pinkie Pie mentioned that since that visit, Minuette was different. She neglected her work and grew even more reclusive than usual. The fact that many ponies still couldn’t forgive her that she’d been helping Berry Punch during her trial probably had something to do with that.
Maybe two months after after Minuette’s meeting with Twilight Sparkle, I met her in Canterlot. I was just picking groceries on the market, when I heard her calling my name.
“Minuette!” I exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m going to visit Berry,” she replied. When I’m trying to recall that day, I have a feeling that she seemed excited. I remember that it surprised me – she isn’t a kind of pony who likes to express her feelings.
“How’s she?” I asked.
“Much better, I think,” she replied. “And soon she’ll be even better.”
“Are they going to release her?” I asked. From what I knew, Berry wasn’t a good prisoner. Several times, the guards had to drop her at the hospital I work – either because of the alcohol poisoning or because of the wound acquired during fights with other inmates.
“No… but she’ll be better,” Minuette said, shifting her legs nervously.
“If you say so… Listen, maybe you’d visit me later? I live–”
“Thanks, but… better not. I’m not sure how Octavia would react…” Minuette replied.
I forgot to mention: my wife never liked Minuette much and since that incident with Vinyl, she hates her with passion. Probably even more than Berry Punch.
Anyway, I went home and almost forgot about the meeting. I ate dinner with Octavia and I just wanted to take a quick nap, when someone knocked at the door.
“I’ll open, honey,” I said to Octavia and I trotted to the hall.
To my surprise, when I opened the door, I saw one of the fellow doctors from the hospital I work, Dr. Ventricle. He was sweaty, as if he ran all the way from the hospital.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“We just got the patient…” He panted. “Minuette… She says that she knows you…”
I froze. I’d never suspect that Minuette could do something like that. She really thought that she’d help Berry Punch escape? And what would they do later? Hide somewhere?
Quickly, I grabbed my saddlebags and, apologising to Octavia, I ran out of my flat. We found a taxi and rode to the hospital. On the way, Ventricle explained the details to me.
“She lost much blood, but she’s okay…” he said. “It seems that someth– somepony tried to bite off her leg…”
“Bite off?” I asked. “Those prison guards…”
“It wasn’t a guard…” For a moment I thought that Ventricle wanted to chuckle. “It was the prisoner…”
“What?” There were many things one could think about Berry Punch, but she’d never try to bite her best friend. Though, on the other hoof, no one ever suspected that she’d be able to kill Vinyl Scratch.
“She had a visitor… They tried some kind of magic,” Ventricle explained. “At first it seemed that everything went right, but then she suddenly tackled Minuette and tried to bite her neck. When the guards tried to catch her, she attacked them too. Then she… she bent the metal door as if it was made of cardboard…” he shuddered and looked around.
“Are you trying to tell me that she ran away?” I exclaimed.
“Yes,” he replied. “The guards are looking for her.”
Our carriage stopped in front of the hospital. I rushed upstairs.
Minuette was in her bed. Her left hoof was covered in dressing, but I could see that a large chunk of flesh was missing. She was conscious, though she was a bit sleepy – a side effect of painkillers and blood loss.
“Minuette!” I exclaimed. “For Celestia’s sake… What happened to Berry?”
“I failed…” she whispered weakly. “I tried to… cure her… from alcoholism… She…” Minuette coughed. “Something happened to her…” She coughed again and panted heavily.
“She shouldn’t talk too much,” Ventricle said.
I stayed with Minuette till the evening, but she didn’t say much more. When she fell asleep, I went back home. I was told that the guards were still looking for Berry, so I carefully watched my surroundings.
Unlike some other towns in Equestria, Canterlot is quite safe after the sunset. It’s not Manehattan, torn by the fights between gangs consisting of underage colts or even fillies. Of course, it’s not like there’s no crime here. It exists – but since it’s usually committed by the rich ponies, it’s often called “diplomacy”, “business”, or “an effect of being eccentric”. There’s lots of guards in the streets – most of them work in the palace, but after they finish their duties they often wander around the town.
It was the guards’ reaction I noticed first – instead of trotting lazily to the nearest pub, they were running somewhere, seemingly panicked. I thought about Berry and decided to follow them.
When I first came to Canterlot, I thought that whoever designed this town probably had claustrophobia. All the streets, even the smallest nooks are wide and well-lit. I was in one of such nooks, eerie light of the moon casting bizarre shadows on the walls. A large group of ponies were standing there, surrounding something, or someone lying on the street.
“Excuse me!” I exclaimed. “I’m a doctor!”
The crowd immediately moved to the sides, letting me pass. I saw a white unicorn lying on her side and panting heavily. When I trotted closer to her, I saw two large gashes on her side. They looked awfully similar to Minuette’s wounds.
Another pony started to push himself through the crowd. “Fleur!” he called. I recognised his voice. It was Fancy Pants, Fleur’s husband.
“She’ll be okay,” I told him. I tried to heal her wounds with my magic – the effect wasn’t spectacular, but at least I stopped the bleeding and waited till the paramedics arrived in place and took Fleur to the hospital. Fancy Pants went with her, leaving me alone with a crowd of ponies. All of them are the same – nothing attracts them more than death and suffering.
I still remember the atmosphere in Ponyville when the foals started to disappear. How they started to accuse each other. It’s been three years since those events, but my faith in ponykind is still strained since then. Octavia keeps telling me to cheer up, but I just can’t.
Octavia! I rushed to my home, hoping that she was okay. Berry, or whatever took over her body, didn’t think rationally and attacked whoever happened to be nearby, but she could always wander that far…
I ran upstairs and heard somepony crying. Quickly, I pushed the door open and, to my relief, I saw Octavia and her bandmate, Beauty Brass, sitting on the couch. They were crying in each other’s hooves, but physically they seemed okay.
“What happened?” I asked, trotting to them.
“It’s Frederic…” Beauty Brass replied. “He’s dead… It l-looked like s-something bit him…”
I felt that my hooves could no longer support my weight. I sat on my haunches, lowering my head.
For the next couple of days, I walked out of home only to go to work. I didn’t want to leave Octavia alone. She was shocked when I told her what happened to Berry Punch and that she was still free. She even asked Beauty Brass to stay in our house, in case of another attack. Beauty Brass agreed – she lived alone in a small house on the Canterlot outskirts and after Frederic’s death she was afraid that she’d be next.
I was just preparing to go home after work when someone knocked at the door of my office.
“Come in!” I said. The door opened and I saw one of my friends, called Dusk Dancer.
Dusk Dancer also used to live in Ponyville. She moved out more or less at the same time as Octavia and I. In fact, I wasn’t surprised at all by that. I’d also move out if I learned that someone wanted to burn down my house only because I was a bat pony. Now she lived in the caves under Canterlot, along with many other bat ponies.
Many ponies, when they think of Canterlot, imagine the Princesses and lots of noble, stuck-up unicorns. Little they know that the capital is also the second, after Hollow Shades, biggest enclave of bat ponies. Most of them are Luna’s guards, their partners, and children. They don’t like to interact with other ponies, which, I guess, is the source of many stereotypes.
“Hello, doctor,” Dusk Dancer said. “May I talk to you for a minute?”
“Of course,” I replied. “What’s going on?”
“There are… rumours,” she said, shifting her legs nervously. “They say that something attacks ponies and draws their blood…”
Indeed, since Berry Punch had escaped from prison, several more ponies were admitted to a hospital. Two of them died of blood loss; one was practically torn apart. It didn’t take long, before the ponies started to talk. Some of them were already pointing at the entrance to the caves where Dusk Dancer and the others of her kind lived.
I looked at her, not sure where she was going.
“I… We think we may find the culprit,” Dusk Dancer said. “But from what I’ve heard, she’s under the influence of some spell… We need someone to help us.”
“Well,” I replied. “I don’t know much about the nature of that spell. Perhaps Minuette could…” I paused. Minuette was still in the hospital, barely able to walk a few steps. “I think you should ask Princess Twilight Sparkle for help.”
“We’re planning to do that,” Dusk Dancer said. “But still, it’s dangerous. We’ll need a doctor…”
My heart still trembles and my hooves shake when I try to describe what happened to us in the caves deep beneath Canterlot. We went there a couple of days later. There were five of us: Twilight Sparkle, who, hearing about Minuette’s failed spell, immediately arrived to Canterlot, three bat ponies: Dusk Dancer, Schwalbe, and Crescent, and, of course, me.
Of the three bat ponies, Schwalbe probably fit the best that old opinion about bat ponies being silent, rude creatures who occasionally attack other ponies and drink their blood. I don’t know if she really drank blood, but she looked like she did. Black coat, dark blue mane styled in a mohawk, and, on the top of it all, a necklace made of something that looked awfully like changelings’ fangs – in other words, a really pleasant companion. I was told that she was a guard – the large scar on her wing seemed to confirm that. She barely talked, and even if she did, she usually spoke in Pferdisch, even though she seemed to understand us.
Crescent was the only stallion in the company. He was also the oldest – his mane was grey and he wasn’t as fast as Dusk Dancer or Schwalbe, but he could still see better in darkness than both of them, not to mention Twilight or me. He was carrying a net in his saddlebags, hoping to catch Berry and let Twilight cast a spell.
The system of caves underneath Canterlot consists of miles of caves, abandoned mines and narrow corridors, carved in the mountain by ponies, diamond dogs and who knows what else creatures. We left the noisy, well-lit part inhabited by the bat ponies and soon we were in some wide hall where the only source of light were some crystals stuck in the walls. Crescent stopped and looked at the floor.
“Tracks,” he said in a raspy voice, pointing at the rusty rails and rotten wooden ties. “We’re in an old mine.”
“Do you think she might be here?” Twilight Sparkle asked, watching the mine unsurely. I shuddered – it was cold there, but I felt that it wasn’t because of that.
Schwalbe stood in front of our group and sniffed the air. Then she said something in a guttural growl. I managed to catch a word “blut” repeated a few times.
“She says that the whole place reeks of blood of that colt,” Dusk Dancer said. “Berry was here, but it was some time ago.”
“So where is she now?” Twilight Sparkle asked.
Schwalbe looked at her and pointed into the darkness in front of us. “Dorthin,” she said.
We trotted forward. I lit my horn, but it didn’t help much. I could only guess where the rest of my companions were.
We left the mine behind. Now we were in some narrow corridor going deeper and deeper into the mountain. It weren’t ponies who built it. I doubt that Berry had gone that far, but Schwalbe is apparently sure of that.
The corridor ends and we enter a small cave. I look around, stunned. There are rotten remains of furniture there, as well as some books. The paper was almost completely destroyed; only leather covers survived.
“It’s early Equestrian,” Twilight Sparkle said, levitating a book and reading its title. In a dim light from our horns I saw that she shuddered. “I don’t like it…” she muttered and put the book back on the floor.
“Can you hear that?” Dusk Dancer asked. At first I thought that she referred to some ultrasounds, heard only by bat ponies, but then I heard that too – a silent howling, just barely caught by my ears. Whatever Berry had awoken in this dungeon, I didn’t want to meet it personally.
Twilight Sparkle probably shared my concerns. “A-are you sure she’s somewhere there?” she asked.
Schwalbe only nodded and we trotted further. There was another entrance to the cave, leading deeper underground. I looked at it and realised that we were close – a large stain of fresh blood was smeared on the wall.
The howling grew stronger. I couldn’t forget Twilight Sparkle’s expression when she saw an ancient book. What creatures could make sounds like that? And who and why furnished that cave? Was it an office? A library full of some forbidden books? A laboratory?
I heard a scream. Well, “heard” is a bad word. It pierced me like some kind of a blade from ancient times, before the tribes had united. Dusk Dancer cowered on the ground, putting her forelegs on her ears. Twilight lowered her head, aiming her horn into darkness. Even Schwalbe shuddered visibly and backpedalled.
The scream ended, but it was still echoing through the caves.
“W-what was that?” Crescent asked, rising from the ground.
“I don’t know, but I don’t like it,” I replied. “I’m afraid that whatever it was, it got Berry… How do you think, Princess?”
“I think we need to check it…” Twilight said. “If there’s still a chance…”
Schwalbe said something angrily, and circled her hoof around her ear.
“She said that she wants to get out of here with her…” Dusk Dancer looked at Twilight hesitated. “With her flank unscratched.”
Twilight opened her mouth to reply, but then another sinister scream tore the silence, piercing through our ears and resonating in our bones. One thing was sure: none of the creatures known to this world could make a sound like that. This time, the whole our group fell to the ground, trying to shrink; to cower somewhere in a fetal position, unseen by the otherworldly abomination.
“It’s too late.”
I looked around, trying to find the source of that strange, monotone voice. It seemed familiar, however…
“It’s too late. I’m already dead.”
“Berry!” I heard Twilight’s scream next to me. I looked in the direction she was staring and saw her.
At first, Berry looked normal. Then I realised that technically I shouldn’t see her in the darkness. I looked around, trying to find a source of that bizarre, pale green light that suddenly filled the whole cave and realised that it was Berry herself. Her fur had lost its shine; it looked like she was dead for at least a few hours. I heard Dusk Dancer hyperventilating and I saw that she was lying close to Berry, looking directly into her eyes – they looked like abysmal, corpse-like holes at first sight, but when I looked into them I saw some kind of otherworldly spark in them; as if something was keeping her alive.
“What happened to you?” Crescent asked, backpedalling slowly.
“It was here before the Princesses were born,” Berry replied. I sensed some baleful note in her voice, even though it was as mechanical as before. “It lurked here, in the shadows… Hungry, thirsty, unfed for eons…”
Twilight Sparkle stood up, shivering slightly. “And then you appeared,” she said. “Running away from the ponies chasing you, with your stomach full of blood…”
Berry nodded. “It can’t get out of here yet,” she said. “At first it was just Minuette’s spell, then it started to make me drink blood for it too… It gets stronger, but it still needs to sleep. That’s why I can talk to you.” She moved closer to us and I saw that flesh under her skin was slowly decomposing. A wave of some appalling odour filled my nostrils. I could hear Schwalbe cursing in her language upon seeing that rapid decay.
“W-what can we do to help you?” Twilight asked.
“Nothing can be done,” Berry said. “I’m already dead. There’s only one way…”
I closed my eyes. I knew what she had in mind.
“You need to completely destroy my body,” Berry said calmly. “Collapse this corridor on whatever remains of it. It can’t feed anymore or it’ll crawl out of here one day…”
“NO!” Twilight exclaimed. “There has to be some other way…”
“There’s none,” Berry replied and raised her hoof. Some flesh fell off the bone and hit the ground in complete silence. Dusk Dancer made a gagging sound. “Please, do that for me. It’ll wake up soon and do the same thing to you… You’ll have to feed it forever…”
“I can’t do that…” Twilight whispered, tears flowing from her eyes. The bat ponies and I were slowly crawling as far from Berry as we could. The ominous howling began to ring in our ears again.
“Please…” Berry said. “It’s the only way… At least I’ll see Ruby again…”
Twilight looked at her unsurely. Probably she also heard the excruciating howling getting louder and realised that we didn’t have much time. She turned to me and the bat ponies. “Go away,” she said. “I’ll join you later.”
“If it wakes up…” I muttered.
“I said, go away!” Twilight cried. “I-it’s a P-princess’ order… I… I need to do that alone…”
Schwalbe asked for something in her language.
“No, Schwalbe,” Crescent said. “She’s right. We need to get out of here…”
We turned back, trying to not look at Twilight and galloped up the tunnel. The bat ponies spread their wings and began to fly, while I ran as fast as I’d never did before. We went through the mysterious room, not looking back and we heard a sound of magical explosion, followed by the rattling of rocks. We stopped for a moment.
“Do you think she…?” Dusk Dancer asked.
“No,” I replied. For a moment we just stood there, looking at each other, waiting for someone to say something. Then we trotted forward, as far as we could from that cursed place.
We reached the caves inhabited by bat ponies and collapsed, panting heavily. We were just lying there, unable to say anything. It took me a year before I finally get over that enough to write this testimony.
A few minutes later, Twilight Sparkle teleported to us. She was silent; her coat was covered in dust and only two trails of tears on her face were showing her feelings. “Let’s go,” she said.
We stood up slowly and trotted, limping, to our houses. None of us ever told anyone about what we’d seen down there. I’ve heard that Twilight started to look through the old history books to find out who and why summoned that unearthly creature to Equestria, but she found nothing. Maybe she just didn’t want to find it.
Now, a year after those events, bat ponies started to talk about expansion. They feel that the caves got too crowded for them and want to dig deeper into the ground. That’s the reason why I write about the final fate of Berryshine Punch – as a warning for those who, led by curiosity, want to go further into the unknown, not caring about fellow ponies. Crescent, who is still my great friend, tries to convince his brothers and sisters that, instead of going deeper into the caves, they should turn their eyes at the surface and the ponies who are afraid of them – simply because they don’t know them.
From what I know, they often laugh at him, but he managed to convince some of them that instead of reaching into the unknown, they should first get to know a fellow pony. I hope that this work will also help us all to understand that.
Author's Note
I swear, I have no idea when it got Lovecraftian...
