Chapters First came cold, then darkness, then silence. Slowly, the unicorn opened her eyes. She was on a smooth stone floor. The cold had drained any sensation from her left side, rendering it completely numb.
Where was she? This certainly didn’t look familiar. She appeared to be in a room of some sort. With the lack of light, that was the best she could deduce. Maybe walking around would give her a clue. The instant she stood up, pain shot through her entire body.
Gently, she tapped on the floor. Hard and smooth. Time to shed some light on the situation. She concentrated. A glowing orb of yellow light appeared around the tip of her horn. Now she could see what was going on.
It looked like a room, a hall rather, so large that the spell lit only a small fraction of it. A feeling of abandonment filled the air. From what the unicorn could tell, this must have been a grand, possibly beautiful, place, but now was little more than an empty shell.
What the hay was she doing here? She didn't remember being invited to any grand events. And even if she had, it wouldn't be to an empty hall. The walls were as bare as the floor - no windows, doorways, or any sort of decoration for as far as the eye could see. No furniture either.
“Is anypony there?” she called. Her voice echoed off the hard surfaces, disappearing into the darkness.
So much for that. The only option left was to start searching for a door. Logic dictated that she should follow the wall. That way, she wouldn’t get lost or venture into any sort of danger, and would hopefully find an exit sooner or later. What concerned her the most was her consumption of magic. A simple light spell required a lot of energy, but there was no telling how long the unicorn would have to maintain it. The exit could be a few steps away, or it could be a thousand. There was simply no way of knowing until she was practically on top of it. Also, she had to keep in mind that there was no telling what awaited her beyond the hall.
Pressing a shoulder against the wall, she went forward. There was nothing to be afraid of, the unicorn kept repeating to herself. She should end the light spell now. She could recast it anytime. That way she would have enough magic stored for when she needed it. It was simple math, even a filly could see. And yet the thought of walking on in darkness terrified her to the core. Her mind tried to find an excuse, any excuse, to keep maintaining the light. There were none. Ultimately, what it came down to was a simple choice - walk in darkness now or later. And while walking in darkness now would be painful, staying in darkness, unable to cast a spell, was worse.
Taking a deep breath, the unicorn let go of her magic and let the darkness engulf her.
“I hope I’m not making a mistake here,” she said, hoping to hear a reply. Unsurprisingly, there was none.
For a few long seconds she stood there motionless, hesitating, wondering whether to recast the spell or not. Finally she made a step forward, then another, and another. The darkness made her steps sound louder, almost as if there was somepony else nearby. Was there? She stopped abruptly. The only sounds that remained were her breath and the pounding of her heart.
“Just an echo,” the unicorn said nervously. That didn’t make her feel even a bit better. If only she could remember how she got here. That would explain so much. But no matter how hard she tried, everything remained one huge blank. No memory of her home, her parents, or anything else related to her life. The only thing she could vaguely remember, before waking up, was… laughter?
Something sharp brushed against her shoulder.
"AH!" she shouted and instantly lit up her horn. This time it wasn't her imagination. Something had nicked her - something on the wall.
Moving a step back, she focused all light on the wall. There was a message there, carved into the stone of the wall in huge wavy letters. She had to take another few steps back to make the whole of it out.
"Old names no more," the message read. Slightly spooky, but not overly disturbing. Until she realized the fashion in which it had been made.
She felt sick to the core. Every single letter was lined with small, barely noticeable, bone fragments. These were no ordinary piece of bone. Some unicorn had burned its horn to a crisp to melt the words into the wall. Somepony had sacrificed their horn! What insanity could have forced them to do something so deranged? Without a horn, a unicorn was nothing. It couldn’t just become an earth pony, magic was the element that made it whole, its very life force! Even those incapable of anything but simple levitation wouldn't part with their horns! The experience was as horrible and painful as plucking the wings off a pegasus! And yet somepony had chosen to do just that, all to leave this message.
“Old names no more…” she repeated, despite the protest of her stomach. “Old names…”
She must have spent close to an hour trying to figure it out, when she got it. She couldn't remember her name! Since she woke up, there hadn’t been a reason to think about it. Without the message she might not have at all.
How was it possible for her to forget her own name?! That wasn’t natural! Nopony could forget their name. It was the same as losing a cutie mark. The unicorn froze. A horrible thought crossed her mind. Panicked, she looked at her flank.
"Please be there, please be there," she whispered, heart beating wildly.
Thankfully, it was there - a candle flame surrounded by the sun. That was a relief. Now if she could only figure out what it meant. Her memories related to her cutie mark had gone as well. Candlelight… Sun… was her special talent light making? That would terribly convenient, not to mention weird. Would anypony need a candle during the day? Then again, if that was her speciality, maybe she could light up the entire hall. Not a bad idea, but not particularly good either. There was nothing for her to light. No lamp, or torch, or any object whatsoever. She could probably make a floating flame, but that seemed unreliable. Or maybe...
The unicorn tapped the floor with her hoof. What if she had been looking at it all wrong? So far she had thought of the floor as her enemy, but what if she could transform it into an ally? Everything was all a matter of perspective. Making marble glow wasn't particularly difficult, it would only require more magic. Judging by the hall's size, she would have to push herself a bit, but once done it would keep on glowing for hours. Ideally, that should be more than enough to find her bearings and get out.
Taking a deep breath, the unicorn focused her magic on the floor. A radiant glow slowly poured from her horn onto the smooth surface. Very much like paint, gently pouring into a dish of water. In a matter of seconds a circle of light formed beneath her, expanding steadily. The experience felt surprisingly enjoyable, filling her with hope and confidence. Soon, however, fatigue and doubt started seeping in. For every foot the circle of light grew, the unicorn's strain increased twofold.
“I have to manage,” she encouraged herself. Already she had lit more of the hall than she had been through. A short distance away she could see the spot she had woken up on, the remnants of drool glistening slightly in the light.
“Just a little more…”
The lit area was large enough to hold a manor. The hall, however, had no intention of ending. Just how large was this place? The unicorn had seen lakes smaller than this!
“Just a little…” Sweat trickled down her forehead.
The pressure was unbearable. Her horn was white hot with magic. There was no telling how much more she could endure. Could the hall be infinite? With everything she had experienced in the last hour, the notion didn't seem too far fetched. There was so little she could make sense of. Giving up seemed quite tempting at the moment. However, if she did, all her progress so far would be erased. Magic didn’t allow the luxury of stopping half way. A spell could either be complete or fizzle out.
"Not yet!" The unicorn closed her eyes.
Gathering every ounce of strength available, she focused on the spell. Come Tartarus or high water she was not going to end up going insane in the darkness! No matter what it cost her, she would not!
The sound of crackling filled her ears. Not good! Her horn was burning up, incapable of enduring the strain. Any longer and the spells would poof away, leaving her with in the dark, with an extremely painful headache.
"Won't you end, you stupid floor!" the unicorn shouted. She wasn't going to last much longer. Fortunately, she didn't have to. A loud pop filled the room, indicating the completion of the spell. Finally, it was over.
“Thank Celestia,” the unicorn said, then dutifully collapsed on the floor. When she came to, she had no idea how much time had passed. It could have been minutes or hours. The floor was still glowing, so that was a good thing.
Her head hurt like a tree trunk during apple bucking season. She definitely hoped she wouldn't have to cast any other spells of that magnitude anytime soon. Now to figure out how to get out of here.
The hall was a dome, and it was enormous! Once, it must have been a ballroom of sorts. Majestic reliefs covered the upper part of the dome, peaked with a huge crystal chandelier that hung from the middle. Three small balconies overlooked the vastness, each with a white velvet banner hanging above. The symbols embroidered upon them were mostly illegible, dark strings torn off violently, leaving holes on the white surface. Of the remaining points of interest in the hall were a series of empty frames under the balconies, and a massive double door located directly across. That was all! No tables, chairs, candelabras, not even a carpet.
“At least it's not a difficult choice," the unicorn said, and went forward.
The door revealed further questions. For one thing, its entire surface was covered in several layers of damage - hoof marks, claw marks, horn marks, fire marks, even the spidery form of electrical burns spread across it. Whoever had been kept here, had desperately tried to escape. That meant two things: the unicorn wasn't the first to be trapped here, and everypony before her had either escaped or been dragged out posthumously.
The unicorn swallowed heavily. There was no telling what was expecting her beyond the door, but it didn't seem overly friendly. Taking a few steps back, she pressed the handle with her magic. Hardly had she done so when both halves of the door swung off their hinges and crashed loudly to the floor. Had she been a step closer, she would have been crushed!
“I… I…” she stuttered, eyes glued on the door. What sort of place was this?! She would have screamed, if the shock hadn't completely petrified her. Moments passed before she regained control of her body. Reluctantly, she looked up at the doorway. An instant later she wished she hadn't. A grey brick wall blocked the exit. There was no getting out through there. Scorched on the bricks another message stared at her.
“Nothing is what it seems”
Panic filled the unicorn. She hadn't got here by accident. Something had brought her to this dome, leaving her to die here, alone, abandoned in darkness! Who could hate her so much? Who could she have wronged so badly as to deserve this?
"What do you want of me?" she shouted, tears filling her eyes. "What have I done to deserve this?"
No answer. Dozens of questions raced through the unicorn's head. How many had been imprisoned before her? How long had it taken for them to be driven insane? Two messages meant two unicorns, and the marks on the doors indicated there had been others. It was a matter of time before she shared their fate. When that happened, what would she leave behind? A broken door? Nothing? Or would she burn her horn to leave a message of her own? At least that way she would leave a testament that she had ever existed.
Wiping away her tears, she looked at the brick wall. If she were an earth pony she could try to break it with her hooves. If she were a pegasus, she wouldn't even bother - it would be foal's play to fly to one of the balconies and escape from there. As a unicorn, she was stuck. Of course, she could try to teleport, in theory at least. The spell was ridiculously complicated, requiring years of careful study.
Panic became depression, then gradually turned to indifference. She might as well accept her fate to die here. She was neither strong, nor particularly crafty. If she had any useful skills, they had gone together with her memories. The most she could aim for was to burn off her horn in an attempt to melt a hole in the brick wall.
“Don’t leave yourself behind,” a faint whisper reached her ears. It was the first voice besides her own she had heard in this desolate place. Fearing it to be a trick of the mind, she held her breath and waited.
“Don’t leave yourself behind,” the whisper came again.
There was no denying it now. Somepony else was here! Somepony helping her! That meant there was a way to escape. All she had to do was find it.
“Everything starts with a single first step,” she said confidently. The phrase sounded familiar. Maybe it was part of her past?
The answer had to be connected to the balconies. There were three of them, all at the same height, all nearly identical. One of them had to hold be her way out. But which one to choose? Normally she would go for the middle one. That was the obvious choice. Here, however, nothing was what it seemed. She had a greater chance choosing the least likely - the one to the left. All that remained was to teleport there. Funny how she remembered there was such a spell. Apparently her memory loss was limited to places, ponies and events. Her knowledge and experience was still intact, if buried deep down in her mind.
"Teleportation is one of the pinnacles of magic," she recited. Saying her thoughts out loud had a positive effect. Of all the unicorns, maybe a dozen were able to pull it off successfully. When mastered it would allow the caster to appear in any place she could see, or had had been before. For the moment, the unicorn would settle with reaching the balcony.
“Here goes nothing,” she said, and started concentrating.
A flash of yellow light surrounded her, followed by a whooshing sound. Suddenly her surroundings changed. Much to her astonishment, she was no longer on the floor, but rather a few feet above the balcony itself.
“Whoa!” she screamed, landing on her feet.
A single attempt got her here? That couldn't be right. There was no way she could be that lucky. Teleporting was reserved for unicorns extremely gifted in the arts of magic. For her to manage on the first go, she must have been well versed indeed.
A gifted unicorn... She left the notion sink in. Being gifted was good. It meant she could rely on her spells to get her out of a mess. If nothing else, she could always teleport to safety.
The hall looked quite different from the balcony. Even now, completely empty and badly lit by a glowing floor, it projected a feeling of refined beauty. The unicorn could only imagine what it had to be like, packed with elegant mares and stallions, dancing under the glow of the crystal chandelier. Home to banquets and nobility, now the place of nothingness.
“Don’t leave yourself behind,” the whisper sounded again. It was coming from the small doorway at the end of the balcony.
“Can you hear me?” the unicorn shouted, her voice echoing in the hall. “I won’t hurt you!” Not thinking, she ran forward straight through the doorway and down a dark stairwell. “I’m just so lost and need your help!”
A new darkness surrounded her, softened only by a distant light further down the stairs.
“Don’t leave yourself behind…” the voice seemed only steps away. A mare, it sounded like a mare. Dry and a bit raspy, but there could be no mistake.
“I won’t,” the unicorn said, as a feeling of joy propelled her down the stairs. “And thank you!”
There were so many questions she had. Hay, there were so many things she wanted to say. Silly, stupid things that would make her feel like a pony again, not some lost forgotten prisoner, struggling to escape a living nightmare.
The hallway beyond the stairwell was clearly visible, and it was beautiful. Rich carpets covered the floor, intricate tapestries decorated the walls, small tables with silver lightning sticks illuminated everything. All the lovely colours rushed into her eyes. After the bleak hall she had been in, this seemed like a dream beyond compare.
“Hey,” she jumped out eagerly. “I am so glad to…” her voice trailed off.
Nothing could have prepared her for what was in store. The beauty she thought she had seen, the grandeur and majesty, the colours and hope, were a mere bubble extending a few steps from the stairwell entrance. Beyond that, filled with skeletal remains, lay a crumbling corridor, scorched black with cinders. Whatever joy had once resided here had long been swept away, replaced by something horrid. And the bodies... There had to be hundreds! Unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies, all burned to a crisp, piled along the corridor as far as the eye could see.
“Don’t leave yourself behind.” A single record player stood ten steps away, ceaselessly spinning a broken record. On the wall behind it, burned through cloth and stone, a new message awaited the unicorn, far more chilling that those before.
“The other side” it read in large misshapen letters.
What was this place? Had she died and gone to Tartarus? What was with all the dead ponies? How long before she joined them? Without food or water she could last for about a week, but without a reason to live - no more than a few hours. This terrifying place had taken care of that quite well! There literally was nothing to look forward to. Darkness behind her, death and scorched decay in front. The best she could do was to remain in the "happy bubble." At least there she would pass away comfortably, not like the ones before her. She at least would die in the light, listening to music. In the end what else could she hope for?
“Remember all the bubbles of joy we made,” she recited with a forced smile.
Using a bit of magic, the unicorn carefully pulled the record player towards her. It seemed in surprisingly good condition - no nicks or scratches that she could see, just a fine layer of dust keeping the needle from playing the record in full.
"Let's get a better look at you," she said, magicking the record out and cleaning it with her tail.
It seemed quite old. Probably something of the last century. The name “Amnesia Corners” was written on the label with bright orange letters. Underneath was a list of the contents - five songs:
Old names no more
Nothing is what it seems
Don’t leave yourself behind
The other side
Pick a name
The unicorn blinked. The song titles were familiar, they had been staring her since the moment she had woken up in the hall! No way this was a coincidence. All the messages were there - the one on the wall, the one on the bricks behind the door, the song on the record, the writing on the tapestry. Just one was missing - the final one.
Pick a name. That made as little sense as anything else in here, but it showed one thing - there was more to come. The whole place was like one giant riddle, nudging her to keep on going or give up and die. The unicorn was ashamed to admit, but it had almost worked. Pure luck made her move the record player closer. Had she not, she wouldn’t have seen the disc’s label. She would have never made the connection, and she would have chosen to die in the bubble of safety surrounding her. Come to think of it, was this a safety bubble at all?
Steadily, she made her way to the edge of the carpet, then took one step forward. A loud pop echoed, erasing the gruesomeness around her. Just as she suspected! This was an illusion bubble. There never was a fire or bodies. The hallway was as vibrant and preserved as the time it had been built.
Cautiously, she slid a hoof over the nearest tapestry, just to be sure. It was rough and dusty, but unmistakably real. So this is what "the other side" meant. Very clever. Now what was left was for her to find the final message. It wasn't here, and a glance to the other side of the hallway revealed it not to be there either.
"So this is your game," she said. Every message seemed to prepare her for something. The first had taught her to make a new start, the second - not to take anything for granted, the third - not to give up. From then on things were a bit tricky. Possibly the fourth invited her to accept the new, and the last to accept what she is? To be honest that made no sense. Or maybe she was still looking at things the wrong way?
"Nothing is what it seems," she said, then ripped the nearby tapestry off the wall.
There was a lot of resistance, followed by a loud tearing sound. Instead of falling to the ground, the tapestry flew off like a scroll grabbed by a hurricane. There, on the wall underneath, was the last message scribbled in horrible writing. That was not all. The entire wall below was covered in names, neatly arranged in tidy columns. So this is what "Pick a name" meant, and from what she could tell others had followed the advice. A large number of the names were crossed out.
The unicorn felt her heart race. There really were others, there had to be! Some of them had to be alive! Maybe they could tell her what was going on. Maybe they would help her get out. She hoped so, at least. For the moment, however, she had to pick a name.
“Let’s see what you’ve left me,” she mused.
Most of the good ones were taken. Of the remaining, she instantly discarded half. Of those that were left three caught her eye: Liquid Ice, Shatterwind, and Candlelight. Shatterwind sounded more suited for a pegasus stallion. Liquid Ice had the distinct feeling of a crystal pony. The last seemed appropriate - fairly neutral and also matching her cutie mark.
“Candlelight,” she tested the word. It had a nice ring to it. “I am Candlelight!” she repeated loudly. A split second later, a sharp sensation of pain shot through her body. Then darkness engulfed her once more...
Author's Note
Safe for work, without anything too grotesque. Any comments and questions much appreciated. :)
Likely to be updates a few times per month.
Special thanks to Scathecraw for editing.
Next chapter: Don't Trust Mirrors
"Are you sure?" a voice whispered.
"You can't have one without the other," came the response.
"But what if they notice?"
"Don't overthink it. Nopony will notice. Everything will be fine."
"I don't want to lose you..."
"Just remember all the bubbles of fun we made."
Candlelight woke up violently. She wanted to cling on to the dream. It had given her all answers, all memories, reminded her of things to come and how to prepare for them. Every second awake was destroying it. Even now she had forgotten most of it, left only with a sense of urgency, an unclear notion that something needed to be finished. That too faded away, leaving only a burning sensation on her skin. The other thing she quickly discovered was that she was tied up.
"Hump ih ghnng ohn heehrh?" She tried to speak, but a gag prevented her from forming coherent words. It tasted of rust and salt.
Candlelight's first reaction was to try to break free. A futile effort. Struggling only made the ropes bite deeper into her skin, and magic was not an option at present. Every attempt at spell casting was followed by a piercing headache. Defeated, she relaxed. Time would be better spent examining her surroundings. From what she could tell, she was in a store room of sorts. Old wooden crates rose in front of her, boxing her into a sliver of space against the wall. A smell of mould, dust and sawdust irritated her nostrils to the point of sneezing.
An interesting place to end up. Last she remembered, she had been picking a name in the corridor with the record player. Something had knocked her out right after.
"She's awake," a mare's voice said.
Candlelight tried to lift her head to glance in its direction. With some difficulty, she managed to reach a position in which she could see the other pony from the corner of her eye. The mare who spoke was a white pegasus, or had been, once. Dirt covered a majority of her mane and body, with a few spots of dried blood around one wing. No way to see her cutie mark from this angle, but a pair of metal rimmed saddlebags was clearly visible.
"If you make a noise, or try to use magic, I'll kill you," the pegasus said as she approached. The manner in which she said it was frighteningly calm, less a threat than a casual statement. Candlelight shivered. She didn't want to think how many times the pegasus had made good on her promise.
A wing grabbed Candlelight, lifting her in the air, while the other took a knife out of the white mare's saddlebags. With surprising speed and almost surgical precision, the pegasus sliced through the rope. That felt much better. If it wasn't for the knife, Candlelight could hug her.
"When have you eaten last?" the pegasus asked, putting her down.
Removing the rag from her mouth, Candlelight glanced at the knife. The pegasus was still holding it, and that made her uneasy.
"It's alright to talk," the other said. "Just quietly."
Not very reassuring. Candlelight hadn't imagined her first meeting with other ponies to end up this way. She knew it wouldn't be hugs and kisses, not in a place like this, but still... Waking up, gagged and tied, to a pegasus with a knife definitely wasn't what she had in mind.
"I don't remember," she answered. "I... I don't feel hungry."
"Voiceless," the pegasus shouted to something behind her. "Bring some food. We have a waker."
So the quiet rule only applied to captives.
"You're very strong," Candlelight dared to voice an opinion. Hardly the most intelligent conversation starter. Given more time she could probably come up with something better, but for the moment this had to do.
The pegasus stared at her. For the first time a twinkle resembling curiosity glimmered in her eyes. The question had obviously surprised her.
"I suppose," she said putting the knife back in her saddlebag. "What name did you choose?"
"Eh?"
"The names on the wall," the pegasus clarified. "You did choose one, right?"
Something about the question made Candlelight feel uneasy. It was almost as if she was in the presence of a predator ready to pounce on her at the slightest provocation.
"Candlelight," she answered cautiously.
"Good," relief was felt in the other's voice. "Did you cross it out?" Candlelight shook her head. "We'll go do it after you've eaten."
"And your name?"
No answer. The conversation was alarmingly one sided. On both occasions when something related to the pegasus was asked, the other had openly avoided it. Was there something that Candlelight was missing?
"We'll talk more once you've eaten."
With that the conversation ended. The pegasus deemed it unnecessary to ask any more questions and Candlelight didn't dare speak uninvited. The notion of insanity came to mind. There was already ample proof that ponies lost it after spending a while here. The messages were a perfect example. So far, the white pegasus had been quite calm. Overly calm, in fact. There was no telling what would make her snap. If it came to a conflict between Candlelight and her, there was no question what the outcome would be.
A crate slid noisily from behind the pegasus. Moments later, another pony appeared. Candlelight moved to the side in an attempt to get a better look, but the white pegasus extended a wing, blocking her view. The crate screeched forward, pushed by the mysterious arrival. In it was a bowl of unclear liquid, something that would pass for a bun, a water flask, and three carrots that had seen better days.
"Eat," the pegasus ordered. "No magic."
An uncomfortable request, but Candlelight couldn't refuse. Pulling the crate with a hoof she then proceeded to bite the bun.
"Water first," the other said, a trace of eagerness in her voice.
The unicorn obeyed. It took her a few moments to get the cap off the flask. Usually she would rely on her magic for finer tasks. This obsession of her captor, her forbiddance of magic, proved quite bothersome. The cap gone, she took a few sips. The water tasted stagnant and slightly bitter. Candlelight's immediate reaction was to spit it out. The intense stare with which the pegasus was watching her, however, made her reconsider. Against her better judgement, Candlelight swallowed it. Strangely enough, despite the taste, she did appreciate the drink. It was as if she had been parched for so long she had forgotten. Eagerly, she took another gulp. The bitterness was gone, leaving just a slight aftertaste.
"You can stop now," the white pegasus said relief apparent in her voice and folding in her wing. "The other stuff tastes better."
Quite the change in behaviour. Taking off her saddle bags, the pegasus sat on the floor, exhaling deeply. Next to her, the mysterious pony finally approached. It was a pegasus stallion. Older than a colt, younger that a full adult, he was the complete opposite of the pegasus mare. Black mane, indigo body, he could well pass for her shadow. Another curious observation was the complete lack of wounds, scars or even patches of dirt on him. Apparently, looks mattered for some ponies, even in this insane place.
"This is Voiceless Silhouette," the white pegasus introduced him. "I'm Clouded Judgement."
Dreadful names. Certainly not the ones Candlelight would pick. To each their own, apparently. She wasn't here to judge. Her stomach gurgled. Ashamed, the unicorn looked away, then at the food.
"It's ok to use some magic," Clouded said. "Just no large spells."
That was a relief. Famished, Candlelight levitated the bowl to her lips and took a sip. It was good! Better than good! A distant spark of recollection suggested that she had once enjoyed this taste. The bun was quite pleasant as well. When they said the food was better than the water, they weren't kidding!
"I passed the test?" Candlelight asked between a few bites.
"So far." There was bitterness in Clouded's words.
"What was the test?"
The pegasus arched a brow. For a few moments she just sat there, speechless, then allowed herself a laugh. It wasn't much of a laugh, rather a cough and a smile, but apparently more than she was used to.
"You're one broken filly, you know that? You see a pegasus with a knife and all you think of is how strong I am?"
"Well, no pony has lifted me with one wing before," Candlelight said defensively.
"I guess."
Now it was Candlelight's turn to chuckle. Losing the knife and the threats, Clouded didn't seem half bad. Looked like they would get along quite well. The stallion, on the other hoof, hadn't said a word. He just stood there, looking at them with his piercing cold eyes, as if he were a statue. A perfect bundle of emotionless. Impossible to say what he was thinking. As if to confirm this notion, Voiceless nudged the other pegasus with a wing. She didn't seem to like it, but didn't react either.
"Where did you wake up?" Clouded asked, any trace of joy gone after the nudge.
"Some giant ball room," Candlelight chewed on the carrots. They were a bit rubbery, but still delicious. "That thing was enormous. At first I thought I was going to die there in the dark."
"Unicorn dome," Clouded nodded. Seeing Candlelight's confused expression, she went on to clarify a bit. "It's the place from where unicorns come. One of them at least. Didn't you notice the statues on the ceiling? All unicorns."
To be honest, Candlelight had no memory of that. There were statues, and they were of the equine variety, but she hadn't paid too much attention to specifics. What she found more interesting was the use of "unicorns", as in plural. That meant there had been others.
"Were there any mirrors?" Clouded pushed on.
"Hmm, I don't think so. There were several mirror frames, but all of them..."
A loud screeching sound caused Candlelight to stop mid sentence. This was the first time she had heard anything of the sort, and it definitely didn't seem friendly. Judging by the others' reactions, she was right to think so.
"Don't make a sound," Clouded whispered to Candlelight, as she took a knife in each wing. "And whatever you do, no magic."
The unicorn nodded. Another screech came, this time closer. Whatever was causing the horrible sound was getting nearer. The urge to teleport was overwhelming, despite Clouded's warning. So far, the pegasus seemed to know what was going on, but could she be trusted? Looking at it objectively, she had told Candlelight next to nothing. Did she have the unicorn's best intentions at heart, or was it all an act? After all, one of the messages warned that nothing here was what it seemed.
A third screech! It sounded like glass being torn apart. Candlelight was already preparing to cast a teleportation spell, when Voiceless rose in the air, his wings moving soundlessly. Was this normal? Candlelight certainly didn't know pegasi were capable of silent flight. No flapping, rustling of feathers, no breathing even. It was more like a shadow moving up a wall.
"Is..." she began, but Clouded quickly placed a hoof over her mouth. They had to be quiet.
Voiceless flew over the crates, disappearing from view. Moments later the screeching sounds increased, accompanied by a series of maneraising shatterings. It was as if thousands of windows smashed into each other over and over again.
Candlelight closed her eyes. Only the reassuring hoof on her shoulder kept her from attempting a teleport. Those dreadful sounds! Hearing them felt like something had clawed its way inside her mouth and down her throat. When the terror stopped and silence finally returned, it felt like a blessing.
"They are gone," Clouded reassured her. "You can relax now."
"What are they?" Candlelight asked as she opened her eyes, still trembling.
"Mirror images."
"Mirror images?"
The look of disappointment on the pegasus' face was unrivaled. Slowly, she moved a step away, knives still in wings, and gestured at Candlelight to finish her food. Clearly the question had upset her.
"Don't trust mirrors," the pegasus said. "Didn't you read the writing on the wall?"
"I did," the unicorn replied glancing at the food. She no longer felt hungry. Of the five messages she found there wasn't any related to mirrors. "Will Voiceless be alright?"
"Not to worry. He's mirror-touched. Images can't harm him."
There was that mirror connection again. Mirrors, images, mirror-touched. They seemed like pretty important things, as far as the Clouded was concerned. Problem was, they didn't mean hay to Candlelight. Were they good or bad, or maybe both?
"Tell me about mirrors," she ventured. "What are they?"
"You sure are a waker," Clouded snorted. "What exactly have you been doing so far?"
"Magic," the unicorn replied angrily. She knew the notion made the pegasus uncomfortable. The ruffled feathers proved she was right. "Look, I know I'm new. I don't know what a waker is, although I assume it means a recent arrival. I have no idea what this place is, what I’m doing here, anything related to my past, and I certainly don't know what is so frightening about mirrors and magic. What I know is that neither of us will get anywhere if we don't find a way to help each other. That's the only chance we have to escape."
"You want to escape?" Disbelief mixed with mockery. "You seriously want to escape?"
"And you don't?"
"You can bet your horn, I don't! How many rooms have you seen so far? Five? Less? Everypony who tries to escape pays a price. If they persist they are never seen again, and I don't mean in a good way. I've been here thirty one chimes, and I've seen enough to know there is no escape! All we can do is find a good room and keep away from mirrors."
"So you won't tell me why?"
For a long moment the two started at each other, neither willing to stand down. Clouded had her weapons, but Candlelight had magic. Granted, there wasn't any spell she could use in the situation. Light, teleportation and levitation were all she could remember. Attempting anything else in these circumstances was suicide.
"Alright," Clouded conceded, putting away her knives. "But you share as well."
"Only after you tell me about the mirrors," the unicorn said adamantly.
"You are a handful," the pegasus sighed. "It was the first message I saw upon awakening. I wasn't in the unicorn dome, like you. I awoke somewhere different. The place was deserted, or so I thought. Long rows of tables, old chairs scattered all over the floor. I gather it must have been a banquet hall once. No windows, just hundreds of torches all over the walls."
Quite different from Candlelight's waking place. Creepy, but it had light, at least.
"There was a door, but it was nailed shut. Somepony had gone through a lot of trouble to make damn sure nothing could get inside. At first I thought it was a good thing. That way, at least, I knew I would be safe. Then it started to get to me," she shivered as she said that. "The lack of space. The hall was so small, I could barely stretch my wings, and the ceiling," she waved a hoof, "a jump would make you bump into it!"
"So you got out?" Candlelight asked eagerly. The way the pegasus explained things were captivating. A far cry from her usual single sentence remarks.
"Tried to. Several times. I flew over every inch of the room, tapped on every floor tile, pulled every torch. Nothing. The only thing I found were two messages, both hooved into the tables. The first one was 'don't trust mirrors'. The second..."
"Old names no more," Candlelight finished the sentence for her.
"Yes," Clouded said. "Both didn't make sense at the time. There were no mirrors in the hall, and I certainly couldn’t understand what the other message meant. Until I tried to remember my own name. I couldn't remember anything of my life before waking up, in fact. At the time it seemed terrifying. Now I am glad. This way I have nothing to compare this place with."
A sound argument. How would Candlelight react if she could remember the image of the sun? Not pictures, like the one on her cutie mark, the real, unadulterated, larger than life appearance! How fast would she lose her sanity if she knew she would never see it again?
"So I sat at one one of the tables and waited," Clouded continued. "It was depressing. So depressing that I started to sing." Candlelight gave her a weird look. "I like singing. And there wasn't much else I could do. I imagined singing myself to sleep and never waking up, when Voiceless crashed in."
"Crashed in?" The unicorn blinked.
"The idiot had heard my singing and had been kicking on the other side of the door ever since," she smiled as she said that. "I had so given up on life that I hadn't even noticed. Then he took me to the corridor of names. I picked Clouded Judgement."
"That's it?" Candlelight sounded disappointed. "What about the other messages? What about the mirror images?"
"We share, remember?" The pegasus reminded. "What messages did you come across?"
"Just the five," Candlelight was quick to answer. She was so eager to hear more that she didn't even think. "Old names no more, nothing is what it seems, don't leave yourself behind, the other side, and pick a name. The same that were on the record."
"Record?" It was Clouded's turn to be puzzled.
"The one in the record player, near where you found me. It kept repeating 'don't leave yourself behind.'"
"There was no record player. Just you unconscious on the floor. At first we thought you were a mirror image. That's why we tied you up."
"And what was a mirror image again?" Candlelight asked again. Clearly the point was not lost on the pegasus.
"There is one thing you need to remember," Clouded began slowly. "Mirrors are not your friends. If they see you they can make a mirror image of you. Think of it as a close to perfect copy, whose only purpose is to kill anypony it sees. They have no will, no brain, and until recently, no voice. When it sees you a mirror image tries to get close by mimicking normal behaviour. You can tell most of them apart by just waving. When they wave back they will do so in mirror fashion."
"So that's why you wanted to see me drink water!" Candlelight exclaimed.
"The older images have become quite good mimicking ponies, yet they could never taste. If you had pretended to like the water..." there was an uncomfortable pause. "Nowadays mirror images rely on strength and fear. They roam the rooms and hallways, hunting. Think of them as living glass - if you get too close, you get cut."
Candlelight wanted to ask more. There were too many gaps in the story for her to see the whole picture. Before she could, however, Voiceless appeared. He was just as silent as before, landing a few steps away from the two. A single cold glance in Candlelight's direction said it all - any questions could wait.
"We have to change rooms," Clouded said quietly. "Finish your food. We'll find you some gear. And please, no magic. It attracts them."
Candlelight nodded and looked at the crate with food on the floor. It would be an effort to finish it right now, but there was no telling when her next decent meal would be. With a sigh, she got to it. Meanwhile, the two pegasi moved past the wall of crates to the centre of the room. Everywhere around them were stacks of wooden boxes, forming a miniature maze.
"She has seen the record," Clouded Judgement said in a hushed voice. "She is curious."
The dark pegasus stallion turned towards her.
"Don't worry, I only told her about the mirrors," she was quick to add. "I didn't tell her about us. I didn't tell her about the other message."
Finding the answer agreeable, Voiceless turned away. Taking a few steps forward he pulled out one of the boxes and opened it. Inside were two saddlebags and a series of wooden planks. Hooved on each plank was a message. The top one read "don't trust unicorns, don't trust Twilight Sparkle."
Author's Note
Next chapter: 10 of 7
10 of 7
Candlelight didn't appreciate the saddlebags. They were necessary, useful even, yet she couldn't get used to the sensation. It didn't make things easier that the damned things weighed a ton. Food, utensils, and half a dozen other things - all things she might need. Of course, none of the were weapons. The pagasi apparently didn't trust her enough for that. The arrangement was that If push came to shove, Candlelight could use magic, but only as a very last resort. Somehow, however, that didn't make her feel all that safer.
"Clouded," the unicorn whispered, as they walked along the hallway. "How many rooms are there?"
"Too many," the other answered curtly. Clearly she wasn't big on conversations.
"And that would be?" Candlelight persisted.
"You talk to much," Clouded Judgement said with an icy tone. "Don't talk in hallways."
Another rule. They just kept coming up. Candlelight didn't know who she should be more frightened of - mirror images or her new... friends? Could she even call them that? She had met them less than a few hours ago, and already they creeped her out. Companions was a much better word to describe them. That or fellow prisoners. Would be nice if she could rely on them.
They continued along the hallway until it split in two. There Voiceless stopped. Thinking nothing of it, Candlelight went on as only to have her path blocked by Clouded's wing. What was that about? She turned towards the pegasus.
"Why did we stop?" she whispered. Clouded didn't budge a muscle, instead focusing on the wall straight ahead. Candlelight looked at it. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Just a plain wall that didn't even have a painting hung on it. From there the corridor went left and right, like the arms of a infinite letter T.
Diverting her attention, the unicorn started examining the corridors. Both were nearly identical to the one that had led the ponies here - red carpets, paintings, brightly lit candelabras to the sides. The only difference, a Candlelight could see from this angle, were the painting frames. On one side they were wooden, while another had them made of metal.
"Metal frames," Candlelight pointed.
"Ex-mirrors," Cloudless said, a hint of approval.
For a moment it seemed as if she would elaborate, though that didn't last. A single look from Voiceless was enough to close her mouth, any remnants of positiveness towards Candlelight vanishing like a flame in a draft.
This was not the first time this happened. Ever since they had left the room, the dark indigo pegasus had made certain that any attempt at conversations would be quickly squelched. Whatever the relations between the pegasi were, It was clear Voiceless was in charge. As such, maybe it would be better for Candlelight to address him instead.
"Voiceless," the unicorn said clearly.
He didn't react, letting the word slide by as it was meant for some else. Candlelight, however, was not willing to give up just yet.
"I need to know what you are doing," she went. "I must be worth something to you or you wouldn't have let me join. If that is to remain I need to learn things. That way I'll increase my chances of survival, and yours as well. Otherwise I might as well cast the strongest spell I know and be done with it."
A knife suddenly appeared in Clouded's wing. It had happened so fast, that Candlelight hadn't noticed until it was there. Had the pegasus wanted to kill her, it would have been over already. The fact she was still breathing proved two things - Voiceless indeed was in charge, and for some uncertain reason he needed her alive.
Slowly the indigo pegasus turned around and looked her in the eye. This was the first time she had got to see his face up close. Eyes lacking any emotion stared back at candlelight. It was as if she was standing in front of an inanimate object, a sophisticated machine wearing the skin of a pony. What exactly had Voiceless experienced after waking up to become like this? Candelight dearly hoped the same would befall her.
Slowly the colt moved a wing towards the tip of her horn. His feathers seemed frighteningly sharp and flawless. A hair's length away, they stopped, as if hesitating whether or not to continue.
"He's searching for messages," Clouded said breaking the tension. The knife previously in her wing had disappeared. "The rooms remain the same, but the hallways always change."
Snorting, Voiceless pulled back his wing violently and returned to examining the wall. For some reason Candlelight felt relief.
"You mean if we go back to where you found me the illusion spell will still be there?" she asked after a moment.
"They always put in new traps," Clouded shook her head. "We never know what or where, so we look for clues. When we find an unmarked trap, we leave a message for other wakers to see. That way they at least stand a chance."
"You wrote the messages on the wall?" the unicorn asked. That seemed up characteristically nice of the two. To be honest, it also seemed extremely difficult to believe.
"A few. Not the big ones, though. Those have always been here."
Another thing Candlelight had difficulty believing. Surely the had to be somepony to write them. The more she thought about it, the more illogical it seemed their captors would waste time scribbling on the walls.
"What are ex-mirrors?" she asked all of a sudden.
Clouded's expression darkened. "You don't need to know," she hissed, ending the conversation.
There was no telling what clues Voiceless saw, or did he find any at all. At one point he just turned and went down one of the corridors without hesitation. Candlelight still didn't like the idea of following him blindly, but she did. There wasn't much choice in the matter. The hallway in question was with the one with normal painting frames. In itself it seemed quite harmless, but she could help but notice that both pegasi were on edge.
After a while they came to small door on the side. Here, for the first time, Candlelight saw a warning message. "Live mirror inside" it read.
The unicorn paused for a moment. The message was quite different from the ones she had seen. It wasn't vague enough and the writing style was significantly different. This specific one looked to have been made by a sharp object, possibly a knife of some sort.
"Don't," Clouded warned.
"Eh?" Candlelight blinked.
"Don't open the door. I've seen what happens," a note of anger mixed with sadness came through in her words. "Just walk on. We'll reach a new room soon."
Candlelight nodded, but did make a note to inquire about it later. She had far too many questions and not enough answers.
"This new room," she began, trying to sound as casual as possible, "have you been there?"
"No. We lost the last safe room when we found you."
Was that an accusation, Candlelight couldn't tell. Part of her urged her to remain quiet. Another, the stronger, persisted to keep at it. After all there was always the teleportation spell.
"Tell me about t he rooms you know," she said.
"Always with the questions," Clouded snorted. "That's dangerous. But good," the last was added in whisper, as if the pegasus was afraid to admit it to anypony, including herself. "There are three main rooms I know of. We call them the Unicorn Dome, the Pegasi Cell and the Pony Pool."
"The Pony Pool?" Candlelight asked surprised.
"None of us have seen it, but that's what we believe it must be like. These are the rooms we wake up in. Each plays on our fears. My room was like a cell, yours - a giant dome of darkness. For the earth ponies it must be a pool."
"No one told you?"
Clouded looked at her, then slowly shook her head. She didn't say anything, but the response was written all over her face.
"You have never seen an earth pony," Candlelight whispered, dawning on the realization. "All this time you have been with unicorns and pegasi, but never earth ponies." A scary thought. Certainly there had been traces of such. Or had there really?
"How do you know there are earth ponies at all?" she inquired.
"Mirror images," came the answer.
Apart from the three main rooms, Clouded spoke of several more. According to her there were seven in total: the Storeroom - where Candlelight had been tied up, the Hall of Mirrors, the Music Room, the Broken Library, the Statue Ward, the Empty, and the Carpet Chamber. Each sounded special, and if the Unicorn Dome was to be any indication, probably represented a worldly itself. However, Candlelight couldn't shake the feeling there were other rooms she was not told about. Apparently for now, she would have to settle for seven.
As they walked, Clouded went into some detail, just enough to quench Candlelight's desire for answers. The Hall of Mirrors and the Empty, she wouldn't comment on. The most the unicorn could out of her, was that she hoped never to near them again.
The Music Room was what it sounded like - an large room full of old music instruments. From what Candlelight could understand, most of them were broken beyond repair. For a moment she wondered whether the record player hadn't come from that place. It was the closes explanation she could think of. Apparently the room had been a safe haven for quite some time before the mirror images had found it, forcing the pegasi to find another. If what Clouded said was true, this had been their first encounter with mirror images outside of the halls. She never did say, however, whether there had been other ponies with them.
By the way in which, thee Statue Ward was describing bed, it was clear Clouded shared no love of it either. In her words it was "a creepy place full of life size pony statues, though mostly unicorns". Quite useful in barricading the entrance, but lacking in terms of food. The pegasi had used to frequent it quite often, especially when in need of tools, though that had ceased once they had discovered the Storeroom. Candlelight inquired whether that was where Clouded had learned to use blades, but got no answer. Apparently, it was another topic the pegasus didn't want to talk about.
The remaining two rooms were described as "harmless but useless". The Broken Library had nothing but empty shelves, and the Crpet Camber was just that - a smallish room full of various carpets. Too heavy to move or even unroll by two ponies, they carpets left there to rot. What Candlelight found most concerning, however, were not the rooms, but the absolute lack of curiosity on the part of the pegasi. Were it up to her she would rush back and carefully search through each and very room until she was absolutely sure she had found everything there was finding. Her companions seemed merely contempt with just surviving. It was as if they had made a pact with this place - they wouldn't go around poking it, and in return it would let them live a bit longer. The problem was, things didn't work that way. Even ignoring the deadly traps and mirror images, there was the matter of food, but more than that - there was the desire of freedom, of control over one's own destiny. How could anypony choose to forsake that?
After walking for a substantial amount of time, Voiceless finally stopped. That seemed his way of saying it was time for a break. And when it was a time for break, it was time for food.
"You'll have to eat fast," Clouded said as she took out some provisions from her saddlebag. "It's not safe to eat in the hallway."
"You told me the mirror images don't eat," Candlelight grabbed the piece of bread offered to her. It would have been easier to levitate it, but no magic was said to be unsafe in hallways.
"There are other things beside mirror images," the white pegasus whispered. "Eat."
The food was filling, but not satisfying. Not exactly stale, but not fresh either. Candlelight forced the last few bites down her throat, chucking them down with a few gulps of water. She certainly hoped they would eat better once they got to a room.
"He's not hungry?" Candlelight gestured at Voiceless.
"He doesn't eat," Clouded devoured her ration. Unlike the unicorn, she didn't seem to be overly picky. "He's mirror-touched."
"Ooh," Candlelight nodded, as if that explained anything.
"Don't ask," the pegasus said before Candlelight could even form the question. "Not yet."
"Why are we still in the hallway?" the unicorn decided to try different approach. "We passed a dozen doors. Only two of them had warnings."
"Voiceless knows best. When he finds one, he finds one. Until then, we walk. Now, please stop talking."
Please? That could be considered a minor victory. Candlelight fought the urge to move the conversation to a more personal level. For one thing she didn't want Clouded to get defensive once more, for another - Voiceless was listening. Hopefully they would get to be alone sometime soon, though.
Break over, the walking continued. More paintings, more candelabra, the occasional door they would pass... Whatever the size of this place was, it had to be enormous. If the rooms and hallways were any indication, it had to enough to house a dozen cities within its walls. But even then, there was space missing. Even if Candlelight were to assume there were more rooms than doors, it still didn't make much sense. Nothing here did! The space between doors at times reached several funded steps. That meant the room had to be the size of a field.
"Clouded, do you know anything about the people who build this place?" she asked. "Or when?" In truth she wanted to ask "why". That was the real question. Everything else was just a step to get there.
"We call them the Architects," the pegasus replied, much to Candlelight's surprise. "It is believed they created everything you see. My mentor had doubts. He believed in something quite different..."
The next hour continued in silence. At one point, Voiceless finally stopped. He had founds door worthy of his attention and started examining it carefully. It was very different to the ones the group had passed so far. It was massive - two marble columns rising on either side of a double wooden door. Merely looking at it, made Candlelight feel intimidated. There seemed to be a certain coldness emanating from the room, something she couldn't quite describe. Also there was the message burned into the wall above - "Luna lies", written in nearly perfect block letters.
"What do you think it means?" she whispered to Clouded.
"Probably what is says," the white pegasi replied coldly. "There are a lot of those. Somepony definitely has it for Luna."
"Do you think she is the one who put us here?"
"You never know," the way Clouded spoke it was clear she felt uncomfortable about something. "Charred Fire seemed to believe so. He suspected we might be trapped in a dream," for a moment a slight smile appeared on Clouded's face. It was a sad smile, a smile of longing.
"Charred Fire?" Candlelight directed the conversation in that direction. "Who was he?"
"Somepony I used to know," the pegasus sighed. "He found me and Voiceless, told us everything about this place. The leader of our first group. He knew everything that had to be done, how to do it. Before he went insane..."
A sudden scraping noise interrupted her. Voiceless had opened the door.
"Come," Clouded moved forward. "And be ready for everything."
The one thing Candlelight could think about, while following the pegasi in the room, was her teleport spell. If things became complicated that's what she was going to use. Or maybe she could teleport them as well? It was an option, as long as she had the strength... and was sure they wouldn't kill her afterwards.
Giant apparatus rose on all sides - silent gearwork contraptions that made little sense. One, the largest, seemed to be a planetary model of sorts. Orbs of various sizes and colours hung from steel rails orbiting a giant central spire, tens of feet high. There were dozens! What was the purpose of this? A chart of the night sky, a work of art, or something else completely different. Candlelight had absolutely no idea what to think of it.
"Bring in one of the candelabras," Clouded ordered, as she flew up to get a better view of the room.
"But the room is already lit," the unicorn protested.
"Nothing is as it seems," came the reply.
So much for taking a break. Candlelight went back in the hallway and grabbed the nearest candelabra in sight. The thing was heavy. Using magic she could levitate it without problem. Using hooves, however proved a different matter. Even with the carpet, pushing was a nightmare. Most the unicorn could do was move it a few steps forward, before pausing for some rest. A slow and laborious process. Things got even worse upon returning to the room. No carpet anymore, the metal legs screeched as they were dragged along the marble floor.
"What, what..." Candlelight tried to ask, as she breath,essay pushed the candelabra towards the central apparatus. "What now?"
No answer.
"Look," the unicorn said, slightly annoyed. "Just tell me why you hate unicorns! Do that and I won't bother you again until we sleep. Otherwise, I might as well continue on my own!"
It was an empty threat, but it did seem to put the unicorns on edge. The indigo unicorn flew down slowly, his hooves touching the floor with a slight metallic sound. Utter hatred emanated from his eyes.
"Voiceless," the other pegasi said. "I'll handle it. You check the hallway, please."
No reaction. It was as if he had gone into a trance. Slowly he started to walk towards Candlelight, each step leaving a mark in the marble.
"Voiceless!" clouded shouted. "Please!"
For a split second the sound seemed to reach him. Pausing, he looked at his companion.
"I will take care of this!" she was almost shouting. "Go check the hallway!"
The seconds stretched as Voiceless considered his next action. Candlelight had already prepared to cast hew spell. Should he make one more step forward, she would teleport out of the room. Fortunately for her, it never came to that. The indigo Pegasus snorted, then leaped in the air furiously flying out of the room.
"Thanks," Candlelight exhaled in relief. "For a moment..."
A sharp wing-smack cut her sentence short.
"Never do that again!" Clouded shouted. "Do you know how close you were to dying? If you think magic can save you from Voiceless, then maybe you do deserve to die!"
Candlelight looked at her, confused, a hoof on her cheek.
"You think we saved you because we enjoy it? Because we need you?" the Pegasus laughed. "Well, we don't! We gave up trying to escape ten chimes ago! Now we only want to survive as long as we can. Get it through your thick skull! Death is the only escape here! It's all a matter of time. Whether they'll get you today, tomorrow, or a hundred chimes from now, it doesn't matter. Everything you have to look forward to is survive as long as possible and die painlessly!"
Candlelight was shocked. A few hours ago she desperately wanted to get Clouded to talk. All that time plotting how to get under her skin, how to trick her into showing even the slightest emotion. Now, she regretted it bitterly. If that was the truth the pegasus lived by, it was horrifying. It was the same as being in a pit of darkness, hoping that talking to the nothing would keep insanity at bay a bit longer.
"Clouded," Candlelight began uncertainly. The pegasus stood there, feathers ruffled.
"You want to know why we hate unicorns?" Clouded asked anger in her voice. "We hate them because they let us down! Charred let us down! He was a unicorn, the greatest fools like us had the fortune to meet in this forsaken place! He wasn't the first one we came across. There were others - walkers more clueless than us, loners who would kill us if we approached, marauders who saw us as pleasure toys to be used then thrown away, even eaters who survived on pony flesh!"
Candlelight's eyes opened wide with horror.
"You think being along is bad?" Clouded laughed bitterly. "If you come across the wrong pony it could become worse. Charred wanted to change things. He believed in forming a group in which everypony was welcome. He helped us see the traps so the hall wouldn't claim us. We absolutely adored him!" she hit kicked the floor with her back hoof. "Nothing could stand up to us, nothing! Because of our number even mirror images didn't dare approach. The Empty was out base. Some would remain there, while others went through the corridors searching for anything useful - food, gear, messages..."
Messages? So there were more, as Candlelight had suspected. Somehow they were part of the puzzle. Charred probably had thought so as well.
"We had everything we wanted," the pegasus went on. "We could have formed a community, have children, and call this place our home. And why not? Old names no more! None of us knew anything about our past. We might as well start anew here."
"And then he betrayed you?" Candlelight suggested.
"No," the other said through her teeth in depressed rage. "He betrayed himself! Even when we first met him, he was wanted to find a way out. He believed there was something beyond the walls, a place the Architects had not created. As time went by, his condition became worse - he started thinking too much. All because of two messages."
Candlelight swallowed expectantly.
"'Luna lies' and 'ten of seven'."
"Ten of seven?" The unicorn blinked. "What does it mean?"
"Insanity, that's what it means!" Clouded was shouting now. "Charred was constantly coming up with theories. He tried to use mathematics to find a meaning, he then started writing the symbols in reverse... even considered looking in a mirror! Those two messages drove him insane!" she paused, only to take a breath. "At first it was small things - he would forget to eat, call us by the wrong name, repeat the same sentence several times in a row. Then he'd stop sleeping. He somehow got the idea that we were all in a dream. Started saying that if he wished something hard enough he'll get it."
That was uncanny. Candlelight had thought the same thing not too long ago. It did stand to reason. And if all this was a dream, it had to obey her will. Maybe that's how she learned to teleport, how she heard the record player, how she had found companions. Clouded and Voiceless were quite harsh to her, but despite all their threats, they hadn't harmed her. Threatened, yes, but never harmed. Could it be they were just fragments of her dream?
"Do you have a book," Candlelight asked suddenly, as a horrifying thought came to mind.
"What?" the pegasus blinked, losing her chain of through.
"A book," the unicorn repeated eagerly. "Any book, as long as it has over five pages."
"No... Why.."
"The knife then," Candlelight urged. "I want you to stab me with it."
The pegasus gave her a long stern look. Candlelight thought she might protest, try to talk her out of it, but she didn't. Instead the pegasus slowly went to her saddlebags and took a knife with her wing.
"Ready?" she asked, surprisingly calm. No trace of her outburst just seconds ago.
"Yes," Candlelight said way too eagerly. "Just let me close my eyes. And don't tell me where you'll do it."
"You know," Clouded jabbed the unicorn above the cutie mark, "Charred said the exact same thing once."
The pain was very real, to the extent that Candlelight instinctively jumped to the side. Horrified, she looked at her left flank. Just a scratch was visible. Thankfully, Clouded hadn't gone overboard.
"I thought..." The unicorn began' gently touching her wound with a hoof. It stung.
"That we're trapped in a dream?" the pegasus frowned. "That's why we hate unicorns. So convinced they are right that they stop thinking. Was this the first time you experienced pain here?"
Candlelight winced. She had acted like a fool! Of course this wasn't the first time she had felt pain. She had scarred her shoulder in the first room, shortly after waking up. And while pain wasn't a guarantee this wasn't a dream, it was pretty compelling evidence to the fact. To ask to be stabbed just to test a point was crazy, it was thoughtless. Charred must have done something similar, with a more tragic outcome. No wonder the pegasi hater unicorns! To see a pony they believed to be their savior, ask them to kill him just to prove a crazy theory, was more than anypony could take. In their minds he had become a traitor, along with his entire race.
"Sorry," she apologized, for him as well as herself. "I won't do that again, ever."
"I know," Clouded put the knife away. "He would have liked you. You're curious. Charred liked curious. And that's exactly why you must stay as far away from Voiceless," she moved closer, so as to whisper in Candlelight's ear. "You remind him too much of Charred. And as much Ashe wants to adore you, he wants to kill you."
So this was how things stood. Not good, to be honest, but at least Candlelight had clarity. She would have preferred to find a way that would put her in Voiceless' good graces, but that was unlikely. At least Cloudless seemed more or less on her side.
"Will Voiceless be mad at you for telling me this?" she asked.
"A bit. But only at you."
"That's reassuring," Candlelight attempted to force a laugh. If nothing else, she had to give the impression of bring strong. "Hopefully next time..."
Boing! A dull metallic sound filled the room. Instantly a pale yellow aura wrapped her horn. Clouded didn't hesitate either, knives now visible in both wings. Quietly the two ponies moved back to back, scanning the room for any source of danger. Another boing followed, then another. The source of the sound remained elusive, coming from several directions at once.
"This is impossible," the unicorn whispered. There was no was the sound could be coming from everywhere! Unless if what they were hearing wasn't the actual sound...
Candlelight looked at the giant apparatus above her. The lifeless mass of metal stood there, cold and imposing as when they had still arrived. It's sheer size was such that if it were to attack there was nothing they could do. For once, Candlelight regretted that Voiceless wasn't with them.
Another boing. This time, however, the unicorn saw it. One of the spheres on the device vibrated ever so slightly. Whatever the source of the noise, it was inside. Candlelight didn't pause to think. Her horn shone bright with magic, as she teleported the whole giant orb a few feet to the left, then released it, letting it fall. Subject to gravity, the large mass flew down, promptly smashing in the marble floor. Sirup-like liquid splashed everywhere.
"What the buck?" Clouded whispered staring in front of her.
On the floor, at the very spot the sphere had broken to pieces, lied a pony. It didn't have wings or a horn. Seeing them the pony smiled for a moment, whispered something unintelligible, then collapsed.
"Well, Clouded," Candlelight said cautiously, her horn still glowing. "I think we found the pony pool..."