The Pit

Chapter 9 - The Butcher

He continued walking toward me, his blade dragging against the ground, “Please tell me your name. I want to know the meat I’ll be hanging later.”

I looked at Misty behind the crazed pony. She was crying. A little filly didn’t need to be in a place like this. A little filly shouldn’t ever be in a place like The Pit! She needs to be in a place like... Equestria.

Thoughts of that place flooded back, but there is no time to think of them now. I needed to save Misty, but I couldn’t just run past him. I’d just turn into one of The Butcher’s “friends”.

I turned around and ran out the door. Luckily I heard him chase after me. I’m glad he didn’t just turn back to Misty.

I began to run up the stairs, but I tripped and fell. Turning myself onto my back, I saw Crimson Tear smiling walking slowly above me. I tried to get up onto my back hooves, but I saw his blade coming down upon my head.

I moved out of the way and his blade crashed into the stairs. I quickly slid down the stairs in between his back hooves, getting back up and making my way to Misty.

I heard Crimson Tear running after me and I dared not to turn around. I made it to Misty, but I knew I wouldn’t have time to untie her. I had to take care of The Butcher first.

When I turned around, I saw the blade slicing toward me. I tried to dodge, but it was too quick. I felt the blade pierced into my side, causing me to fall down in pain.

I gripped my side and looked up, seeing the crazed pony smile above me, “So it seems the pony wants to save the little filly.”

I began to crawl away but his blade stopped me, “NO! I will not allow it! You will be my new friend and so will the filly. We’ll have fun, I promise.”

Friend? What is this pony talking about?!

I looked down at my side. It wasn’t a fatal gash, thankfully, but it was bleeding a lot. I saw a trail of blood left from when I was crawling. That made me kind of nauseous. I started to feel cold. Maybe this was a fatal wound. Maybe this is my time to... die.

Crimson Tear lifted his blade above his head, “We’ll be the best of friends!”

No. I can’t give up this easily.

I kicked my hoof, tripping him and making him drop his blade. Once he fell, I quickly got up and tried to pick up the blade, but he already had it in his grasp. I stomped on his hoof while he was still on the ground to make him drop it again.

I reached down to grab it, but the pain of my side pulled me down to my knees. I felt blood gush out and I began to feel colder. This pain was unbearable.

I felt Crimson Tear punch me in the back of the head, causing me to fall onto the ground and turn onto my back. I saw the pony breathing in deeply and holding the hoof I stomped on.

He grabbed my leg and started to take me away to an empty hook, “It seems like you’re about ready to hang. You look pale. Oh so pale. Like the moon.”

He turned around while continuing to drag me and smiled, “Oh yes. Your blood trail. You’re losing quite a bit of your fluids, aren’t you?”

I looked at the trail of my blood. He was right. I was losing a lot and I was getting pale. I looked at Misty and saw her crying. I looked back at Crimson Tear and saw him messing with the empty hooks.

He looked down at me, “Welcome to your new home, friend.”

He lifted me up and stood me in between the hooks. He thought I was too weak to fight back, so he just let go of me and grabbed one of the hooks. I grabbed the other one quickly, jamming it into his eye. Making sure it stuck in. I could feel the blood on my hoof seeping out of his head.

He stepped back and blood streamed down his face, “I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!”

I jumped on top of Crimson Tear making the hook rip out of his eye and creating a scratch up his head. I decided to stand back up and just leave him while I went to get his blade.

I ran to the blade and heard him get back up. I got to it, picked it up, and when I turned around, I saw Crimson Tear running toward me, “You piece of shit!”

I held up the blade just in time for him to run into it, “DIE YOU BASTARD!”

The Butcher stumbled back. The blade was pierced into his stomach. He looked around the room at all the dead ponies, “Goodbye, friends. I have to go. I’m sorry.”

Crimson Tear fell down to his knees, then onto his side. A puddle of blood formed around him. I stood there looking at him while breathing in deeply. I turned back around to Misty and began to take her out of her bindings.

Once I did, Misty hugged me tightly, “DIGI! I was so scared!”

I hugged her back and picked her up. I made sure she didn’t see the dead pony. I didn’t want her to, but I saw him.

More blood was leaking out of him. His red coat faded. I killed him...

I killed a pony... and I’m happy? No... relieved.

I had to hold my side again. The pain was too much. I forgot about it while attacking Crimson Tear. Adrenaline I guess.

I walked out the door and shut it. Leaving the dead pony inside. I wanted him out of my mind. How could anypony do something like that? I looked at Misty and smiled. At least I got got her out of there.

I walked up the steps and saw Mr. Chyne running down them toward me, “Misty! You’re safe!”

I handed him Misty and continued to walk up the steps while holding my side. I needed help. The pain started to come at me full force.

Mr. Chyne finally seemed to notice my wound and the pain I was in, “Digi! What happened?! We need to quickly get you help,” the stallion helped me walk toward the exit, “I would believe your home would be a good place to take you. Hospitals aren’t very... trustworthy here.”

I just continued to walk with the help of Mr. Chyne. I could feel myself beginning to pass out. I couldn’t just pass out now, though. I had to at least make it to my apartment. I didn’t want Mr. Chyne to go through all that trouble.

It was a few minutes of walking, but we made it to the apartment complex. I looked at Mr. Chyne, “Thank you for taking me back.”

Mr. Chyne looked back at me, “No. I’m the one who should be thanking you for saving my Misty,” he looked down at my side, “I am so very sorry that you got hurt.”

I looked forward and just focused on walking down the hallway toward my apartment, “It’s nothing compared to the pain I would have felt if Misty died.”

When we entered the doorway of my apartment, I couldn’t stand any longer. The pain was too much. I fell to the ground and passed out.

Chapter 10 - Mr. Chyne

A few hours passed it seems when I finally woke up. As I opened my eyes, feeling the crust break, I saw Mr. Chyne sitting next to me.

I quickly sat up to see where Misty was, but I was pulled back down by the pain. I looked at my side under the covers and saw it was stitched. Mr. Chyne put his hoof on my shoulder, “You should rest, Digi. You’ve got quite the wound.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but my throat was too dry. Mr. Chyne passed me water and smiled, “Drink this. Misty is fine. She’s helping your wife bake a cake.”

After I drank some of the water, I laughed and looked at Mr. Chyne, “She isn’t my wife.”

Mr. Chyne looked into the kitchen, “Oh. It just seemed... nevermind. I have decided I need to answer a few of your questions. I pulled you into this, so you deserve to know.”

Is he talking about the reason he wears that mask and sneaks around at night? I laid back down in my bed and listened to him. He sighed, “I’ve killed many ponies, Digi.”

He killed before? Well, I do remember that letter said he killed Crimson Tear’s brother. He continued to speak, “I’ve killed ponies who aren’t good. Murderers, thieves, and others alike. Ponies who sicken me. The scum on the side of an already green pond. I clear the water. Do you understand, Digi?”

I looked at him, “You protect other ponies from the bad ones?”

He chuckled, “Yes. The reason for this is-”

Mr. Chyne was interrupted by a flour covered Misty running into the room, “The pie is done!”

He smiled, “I’ll tell you more later, Digi. For now we should eat and you should rest. Here. I’ll help you to the table.”

Mr. Chyne pulled a wheelchair out from the corner of the room. Once he did, I sat in it and he pushed me into the kitchen where I saw Misty standing up on a chair and Vanilla setting down an apple pie onto the table.

It smelled delicious. When I got to the table, Vanilla sat beside me and held my hoof, “Are you ok, darling?”

I looked at her and smiled, “I’ll be fine. I just need to heal.”

She sighed and kissed me. She then began to cut the pie and give pieces to all of us. It not only smelled delicious, but it tasted delicious, too.

Once we were done eating, I was taken back to my bed and put into it. Vanilla laid down with me and offered Mr. Chyne and Misty to stay as guests. Mr. Chyne agreed and went off to the guest room to get ready for bed.

Vanilla rolled over to look at me while I could only move my head to look at her. She smiled and sighed, “Why did you get yourself hurt, honey?”

I looked back up, “I had to save Misty. If that meant getting hurt, so be it.”

She sighed and kissed me on the cheek, “I want you to be careful. I promised you that I would.”

I turned my head to her, “Ok. I’ll try and be more careful.”

She smiled, “Good. How is your cut?”

She took the covers off to see my wound. It wasn’t bleeding anymore, but it was still red and my coat was still pale around it, “I hope it heals well, but judging by your past and how well you coped with everything, I’d say you’ll be fine.”

She laid back down and pulled the covers over us again. I hope she was right. I hope it healed well.

After a while, Vanilla and I fell asleep.

*~*~*

When I woke up, Vanilla was already out of bed and in the kitchen. Mr. Chyne and Misty seemed like they were, too. I stood up and began to walk into the kitchen. I was still in pain, but it seemed like I could walk.

When I got into the kitchen, Vanilla quickly rushed to me and help me walk to the table, “What are you doing, Digi?!”

I sat down, “I can walk now. It’s ok. I’m feeling better.”

Vanilla sighed and placed breakfast in front of us. As we ate, no pony really spoke, and once we were done, I went straight back to bed. I hope this monotonous lifestyle ends soon.

Once I was back in bed, Vanilla had to go out and get groceries and Misty went with her to help. Mr. Chyne stayed to look after me, but I also knew he wanted to talk more.

Mr. Chyne sat next to me, “So, I believe we were discussing the reason for why I kill evil ponies?”

I nodded and he continued, “It began with my father. He was lost in a drunken state. Never sober. Always hating me and my mother.”

Mr. Chyne stood up and began walking around, “He would always abuse my mother, and when I stepped in the way, he would turn his hoof to me. As the years passed, his abusive nature only increased. My mother only stayed for me. She loved me very much.”

He shed a tear, “One day, I woke up to only find my father and some of his friends sitting in the living room. This unsettled me. I asked him where mother was, and he just laughed. He told me to check the bedroom, so I did.”

He gulped and started to cry, “I saw her, sprawled across the blood drenched bed. She was cut open and shaved, her eyes gouged out, and she looked like she had been gang raped. The worst part... it was my sixth birthday. A bow was on her head, my cake stuffed in her body, and her blood spelled out “Happy Birthday, Fucker!” on the wall.”

The stallion turned back to me and tried to regain his composure, but couldn’t, “I went back out into the living room. Anger swelled up into my heart. Hatred for the evil. I wanted them to feel how I felt, and that was dead. When I walked back into that room, my father and his friends all said “Happy Birthday! Hope you liked the cake and the present!”, I looked at them with anger in my eyes. They asked me what was wrong.”

Mr. Chyne turned around and punched the wall, “At that moment, it was the first time I actually yelled at my father. His friends stood up to leave, and my dad stood up to beat me. He tried to punch me, but this time I got out of the way. I hurried to one of the empty bottles he had and broke it. I lost control. The hate and the anger just took me over, and I jumped onto one of my fathers friends, thrusting the bottle into his head and making sure he died.”

He turned back around, “I looked at the rest of his friends. They were stopped in their tracks. I made sure they didn’t leave. I tore them apart with my own hooves. You would be amazed how much strength you get when there’s enough anger in you.”

The stallion looked at the wall, “Once I turned back to my dad, I saw him cowering, sliding away from me toward a fireplace. He begged for mercy. So I asked him if he gave my mother any mercy. He just began to cry... I walked up to him. “I thought so.” I said, and then I picked up the fire poker and bashed his face in. Over and over again. As I felt his warm blood splash against me, I knew I was transformed into a new pony. Tick Tock, the little colt who was afraid to stand up for what was right died that day, along with his mother, and Mr. Chyne rose from the ashes.”

He looked at me, “I left for another place that day. I knew I couldn’t stay after what I had done. And that place was The Pit. More evil found me here, and now I hunt it out and kill it. Evil just like Crimson Tear. Just like my father.”

Mr. Chyne sat next to me again, “And that is why, Digi. Because nopony should go through what I went through.”

I understood. Ponies are capable of very evil things... Crimson Tear and Mr. Chyne’s father only prove this. I nodded at Mr. Chyne.

He smiled, put his hoof on my shoulder and got up, “You should rest, Digi. I’ll wake you when Vanilla gets back.”

I wasn’t going to argue. I knew I needed to sleep. I was still in pain, no matter how much I wanted it to end. So I closed my eyes and drifted off.

Chapter 11 - A question

Vanilla shook me awake. I rubbed my eyes and looked at her while yawning and smiling, “Hello, Vanilla.”

She smiled back and helped me into the kitchen, “It’s time to eat. Mr. Chyne said you’ve slept all day.”

Did I? I looked out the window and saw it was dark out. I scratched my head, “I guess I did.”

We all sat down and ate dinner. It was fruit salad. It wasn’t as good as the baked things Vanilla made, but it was fine. No one really talked that much while we ate. Vanilla offered Mr. Chyne to stay the night again and he agreed once more. I didn’t mind. I’m pretty sure he just wanted me to get well.

After we ate, Mr. Chyne sent Misty off to bed because he wanted to talk to Vanilla and I. I sat at the table with Vanilla waiting for him to get back. Neither one of us knew what this was about.

He walked back into the kitchen and sat down, “I have a favor to ask you both.”

I nodded and Vanilla held my hoof while she looked at Mr. Chyne, “What is the favor?”

He looked down to think and then looked back at us, “I would like you two to look after Misty.”

My eyes widened and Vanilla laughed lightly, “I don’t know if we can take care of a filly, Mr. Chyne. We’re not exactly at a stage to do that.”

Mr. Chyne looked at the wall to think and turned back to us, “That may be, but she almost died because of me the other night. If it wasn’t for Digi, she wouldn’t be here. I lead a dangerous life and I don’t want her to get harmed because of it. I believe you two would make for better guardians.”

I coughed, “But she’s your daughter, Mr. Chyne. We can’t just take her from you.”

He looked at me, “You won’t take her from me. I’m giving her to you so that this won’t happen to her again. Please.”

Mr. Chyne began to tear up slightly. I looked at Vanilla and she sighed, “Ok. We’ll look after her, but we’ll need some help. We aren’t exactly swimming in the bits.”

Mr. Chyne placed a bag on the table, “Inside there are five hundred bits. That should be enough to keep you going until you find another job.”

I looked inside the bag, and he was telling the truth. I had never seen so many bits. Mr. Chyne began to speak again, “Digi, I know you will be able to keep her happy. She really enjoyed it when you looked after her,” he turned to Vanilla, “and I think you would make for an excellent mother, Vanilla.”

She looked surprised at this statement. I’m sure no pony ever told her she’d be a good mother, let alone excellent. I turned to her and held her hoof, looking into her eyes, “I think you would be, Vanilla.”

I smiled and she blushed. I turned back to Mr. Chyne and nodded, “We’ll look after her.”

He smiled, “Thank you both so much. I’ll be leaving in the morning. I will tell Misty what will happen. I’m sure she’ll understand.”

Mr. Chyne left for the guest room and Vanilla helped me to bed. She snuggled up to me, “So you think I’ll be a good mother?”

I looked up at the ceiling, “No.”

I turned to her and saw she was frowning, “I think you’ll make an excellent mother.”

She looked back at me, her smile returned. She kissed me, “I don’t know, though. Will she like me? Will she look up to me?!”

She sat up in bed and put her hooves on her head, “I need to shape up! I need to act better. She might look up to me!”

I tugged Vanilla back so she’d lay down. I hugged her and kissed her on her cheek, “Everything will be fine. I can already tell she likes you.”

She sighed, “Ok. If you say so. Where will she sleep?”

I looked at the guest room and smiled. She looked and chuckled, “Oh. Right.”

Vanilla was cute. She was worried about looking after Misty. She was gonna be a mother.

Wait... that means I’ll be a... father.

I turned to Vanilla and kissed her. I began to snuggle up to her, “I love you so much.”

Vanilla blushed, “I-I love you, too, Digi. Why are you saying that right now?”

“I’m going to be a father!”

She laughed and cuddled with me, “Yes. You’re going to be a father.”

I couldn’t help but smile. Pretty soon, Vanilla and I fell asleep.

*~*~*

I woke up to see Misty standing on the side of the bed. She was poking me, “Digi. Are you up?”

I looked around. It was still night. I yawned, “Yeah. I’m up. Why aren’t you with your dad?”

She sighed, “He told me what’s going to happen. I wanted to come see how you felt about it.”

I looked at her, “I’m fine with it. What do you think about it?”

She crawled up on the bed and laid next to me, “I guess it could be fun,” she sighed, “but I’ll miss my daddy.”

I hugged her, “Maybe he’ll come to visit you sometimes. Just because he’s leaving you here with us doesn’t mean he’ll never come back.”

Misty smiled and hugged me back, “I guess you’re right. Thank you, Digi.”

She crawled out of the bed and went back into the guest room. I laid back down and closed my eyes, but I couldn’t fall back asleep. I was kind of excited I guess. I liked the idea of looking after Misty.

It took a few more minutes, but I eventually drifted off once again. Mr. Chyne was going to leave in the morning.

Chapter 12 - Fatherhood

It was early morning when I woke up. We all ate breakfast together and Mr. Chyne said his goodbyes. When we all went out of the apartment complex to see Mr. Chyne off, he pulled me over to tell me something. He wanted to say it without anyone else hearing for some reason.

We stood in an alley way. My wound was healing up nicely. I could actually stand for longer periods of time now. Mr. Chyne looked at me with a serious expression, “I don’t know if you realized, Digi, but The Pit isn’t normal.”

I scratched my head, “Yeah. I kind of noticed that.”

He grabbed my shoulders, “I don’t think you understand, Digi. This place is connected to another.”

I turned my head, “What?”

He turned around, “I wanted to tell you before I left. Another plane of existence is connected to The Pit. It leaks out into this place. That other plane is evil.”

He turned back to me, “I trust you do not understand, but you must believe me. I don’t know much about this, but I do know someone who does. I’ll send him your way. He calls himself “The Revenant” for some reason. He hunts down the things that leak over into this world.”

He began to walk out of the alleyway while I followed, “Digi. Make sure Misty stays safe. If you can, get her off of this island.”

I looked at him, “You mean get her to Equestria?”

He paused and looked at me, “I haven’t heard of that place in quite some time... Don’t speak of it here. Some ponies don’t take kindly to remember what they lost.”

I walked back to Vanilla and Misty. Mr. Chyne hugged Misty and walked off. While we watched him walk down the street, Vanilla asked me, “What did he tell you?”

I looked at her, “He just told me to make sure Misty keeps safe.”

We walked back up to the apartment. After a little while, there was a knock on the door.

I didn’t know who it would be. Vanilla opened the door and Deep Blue waited on the other side. I haven’t seen that pony in quite some time. I kind of missed him.

He walked inside, “So how are ya’, Digi?”

I sat up in bed. He saw my wound and ran up to me, “What happened, boi o?! What did I tell you about picking your battles wisely?”

I chuckled, “Yeah. I know. But the little filly was in danger.”

I pointed at Misty and Blue looked at her. He smiled, “So she was?”

He laughed lightly and knelt down next to the little filly, “Are you ok? What’s your name?”

Misty looked at Blue and hid her face slightly. She was a little shy, “M-my name is Misty Eyes.”

Blue laughed, “That’s a lovely name. My name’s Deep Blue, and I look after Digi over there.”

I laughed and Misty scratched her head, “You look after Digi? I didn’t know he needed somepony to look after him.”

Blue stood back up, “Oh yes. Especially Digi. He’s not very smart, you know,” he chuckled, “but he’s a good pony. Very strong willed.”

Misty giggled and ran into the kitchen with Vanilla. Blue chuckled and scratched his head while he came over to sit on the bed next to me. I looked at him, “So I’m not very smart, huh?”

He laughed, “Well... maybe sometimes.”

I laid back down, “So it’s nice to see you again.”

“It’s nice to see you, too, Digi, but I wasn’t expecting to see you like this.”

I looked at him, “Oh. Yeah. I wasn’t going to let Misty get hurt, though.”

“Yes. I understand. Just try to be more careful,” he chuckled, “so how have you and Vanilla been?”

I blushed, “We’ve been good.”

He laughed and stood up, “That’s good. So you two are looking after that filly now?”

“Yeah. She’s very sweet.”

“She seems like it. I’m sure you two will do a good job,” Blue walked toward the door, “I have to go. It was nice to come and visit you again. I should do it more often. Goodbye, Digi.”

He walked out the door, “Goodbye, Blue!”

Vanilla walked out of the kitchen while stirring batter, “Did Blue leave?”

I looked at Vanilla, “Yeah. He said he was busy. What are you making?”

She walked back into the kitchen, “Misty and I are making cake.”

I laid back down. I couldn’t help but think about what Mr. Chyne said. What did he mean? Connected?

I began to smell the cake in the oven. It smelled delicious.

Wait... So nopony wanted to hear about Equestria here? They didn’t want to remember?

They chose to forget. Why would they choose that? Why would you want to forget about a place like Equestria?

I got out of bed and walked into the kitchen. I didn’t want to sleep right now. I sat down at the table and Vanilla walked over to me, “Are you ok, honey?”

I looked at Vanilla, “Yeah. I just got some things on my mind. How is the cake coming along?”

She smiled, “It’s cooking right now,” she looked at Misty, “Misty is quite the little helper.”

Misty smiled and I smiled back, “Well that’s good. I’m glad you two are having fun.”

We continued to talk until the cake was done. It was strawberry with lemon icing, and tasted delicious. When we were done, Misty went into the guest room to go to bed. Me and Vanilla laid down and she cuddled with me, “So what did you have on your mind?”

I looked up at the ceiling, “We need to get Misty out of this place.”

She paused for a second, “Do you mean,” she paused again, “try to take her to Equestria?”

I smiled and looked at her, “Yes. She shouldn’t be here. This isn’t a place for a filly.”

She sighed and laid her head on my chest, “I guess you’re right. For right now we should sleep, though, honey.”

I chuckled, “Ok. Goodnight, Vanilla.”

She sighed and smiled, “Goodnight, Digi.”

*~*~*

It’s been a few weeks now. My wound has healed enough for me to go out. It’s still sore, though. I’m going to find out what Mr. Chyne meant. I’m going to end this connection. I’m going to find a way to get Misty to Equestria.

I’m going to stop this evil that is leaking out, but first, I have to find this “Revenant”.