The House Of Pain

I felt so agitated like having a panic attack, something I've experienced before.

"What's the matter, sweetheart?" said Blak hugging me.

"I don't think we should go to the basement, let's go somewhere else, yeah that's it!" I said nervously.

"Shhh...just breathe in and out slowly. Do you want to unearth the truth or not?"

"Yes but don't you think you would rather tell me what you saw? It was her, wasn't it, wasn't it?!"

"No," he answered in a very cutting tone; then came a notable silence. I think he did it on purpose so I could relax.

"Listen, she has been very kind to me, she was just doing her job and she happened to be good at it!"

"I understand you but Emily's not the problem..."

"You don't mean, the other thing you saw?"

"Since they can't see or hear us there's no point in being afraid. Tell me, Love; what are you truly afraid of?"

"Why do you ask me that?"

"Tell me!"

The way his tone of voice shifted was surprising "A lot of things! But mostly of losing the ones I care about. I lost my dad when I was very little and I wasn't ready for such a harsh experience."

"No one is."

"Yeah but let me finish; I believe everything makes sense now. I couldn't stop my father from drowning and for sure I can't bring back that poor girl but one thing that we can do is to know what really happened. No one cares about the past and won't talk about the incidents in the House of Pain anymore but as long as I live here I will face the demons which Madeleine go crazy."

"Right..."

"Let's go!"

The wooden stairs that lead to the basement creaked so much we had to be careful where we stepped.

What was my recreational room now looked like another a working room. We walked through it and the tiled floor and somewhat filthy. A figure of a tall mare whose face was covered in a veil appeared and she had a child, probably a colt about seven years old suspended in mid-air. I couldn't give any more details for the darkness was too deep

"The only way out is down..." she said.

Then the child looked at me and spoke in a lower voice, "Please kill me...kill me."

I regained consciousness and found myself back in the room with the others. They stared back at me because I stood pale and shocked.

"Are you alright, Dear?" asked Rosie May looking worried.

"Marelyn, answer us!" cried Mamma Lyon.

It took me some minutes to start talking, "There was...one of them, Healers who performed black magic on one innocent pony. I think that's the most obscure thing I saw.

"What kind of dark magic was it?" said Mamma.

"I wouldn't know and I couldn't see much. It was like a dream. I'm not even sure how to describe it but Blak was there."

"Yes, I was," he continued.

"But we couldn't alter anything or interact with them, they were just memories."

"Yes, of course because they were a reflection of the past," said the hipogriff.

"Except for the child; he asked to be killed or being redeemed from something," I said.

"That's it!" said Mamma. "They used forbidden healing spells to keep them alive when they were already marked by Death and that's where you come in."

"Where?" I said.

"You must deliver that innocent one from where he was sent and cross to the other side."

"Me, how? I don't have any powers!"

"Honestly considering what you've been through these past two years I think you're more than ready, my boy."

"What do you mean?"

"You know well what I mean; you are one of those who are the link between the land of the living and the dead. You must deliver them to erase the damage the unicorns caused."

"What about Emily, didn't she suffer too?"

"She's not important now."

I stood silent for I felt that old buzzard had slowly talked into doing something I'd never imagined. It was surreal, like I wasn't there at all yet at the same time I had to end this.

"If you ever want to sleep well again you must do it."

"How?"

"Please stay seated," she said softly.

An anger possessed me and began to say in an automatic mode things which made no sense now yet they felt strong, very strong.

"This is my house and these are my rules and I say we go back for Emily; I wish to know how she died! She needs me and I need her..."

"I think I better leave now," said Rosie May, "it's getting late, you know and I need begin my labors very early..."

"Remain seated!" shouted Mamma fiercely. "Marelyn, listen you can't save her..."

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"It's alright, calm down," said Blak. "We are only here to help you conquer your fears..."

"You're all against me and forcing me to do things when all I want is to protect the ones that matter."

"She is dead, do you understand?" said the hipogriff. "There is no force which can bring her back."

"How do you even know this?" I cried.

"Because my kind was there!"

There was a notable silence in the room and it made me feel more tense.

"It was the gryphons who did it; they came up with all those wild stories. They created the movement of the Decay which was to represent the decay of the Healers, of those unicorn witches."

"Why do you tell us this now and not before we went down there?" asked Blak.

"Marelyn has to swallow the truth slowly; if I was to give you any more details it wouldn't do any good now wouldn't it?"

"So you know how Emily was killed?" I continued.

"She wasn't killed if that's what you're thinking. When Ann Marie encouraged her sisters to support her cause the Healers became divided. Emily saw in horror how that boy was rescued from dying from an incurable disease..."

"With all due respect, Mamma but how can that be horrible?" Blak interrupted.

"He was going to die anyway. Although some could think that's a good thing it actually wasn't. The colt lived and the parents were very glad their had their proud son back and yet..."

"Yet what?" I asked.

"The rest of the town called it witchcraft and that it would mean disaster for they feared the Void would awaken. Back in those days gryphons had a higher authority in these lands and sought to arrest the Healers, all but one... Emily."

"What did she do?"

"She simply wanted to cooperate and dialogue with the gryphons and all the other equine for she believed in the balance that nature has."

"So?"

"Science was becoming a new thing. Lots of creatures were getting better through new methods so the authorities impulsed this new way of life. They offered them a solution; if they wanted to stay in town they would have to refuse to stop using magic for healing."

"Wait! That heated discussion they had; she tried to convince them."

"But of course Ann Marie declined. She was growing more possessed by the Void. When the authorities fought to destroy them since they left them no better choice."

"Goodness!" cried Rosie May.

"Their magic weakened using the pamphlets they distributed among the townspeople. The less they believed in them the better. Lies, nothing but lies.

Pray for the decay,

for the witches' fray,

Pray for those

who oppose

the righteous way!

They were all burned in this house but no one knows what became of Emily or the colt. Their bodies were never found not even Ann Marie so they assumed they were dead."

"But their spirits are still here," said Blak softly, "they never left."

"And I STILL want to find out where that nice unicorn went!" I shouted.

"Deliver the child and then you will get rid of both of those Healers so this place can be pure. You are an agent of Death."

"What's that supposed to mean then?"

"It means that you must undo what that evil unicorn did; become Death!"

The mark upon my flank wasn't just am interesting picture; it was the role I would play that night.

Blak gave me a sad look for he was not aware of what could happen next. He took my hoof and held it tightly.

"Relax; at least I'm not dying."