Chapter 0 - The Daughter

~Story of the Blanks~
Relics of the Past
by TheRainbowBlitz

Chapter 0 – The Daughter

Run... I have to run! I have been running for hours now and my lungs are near their breaking point....

I can still hear their voices, their hooves crushing on the ground behind me, chasing me like death itself.

My head aches and my sight gets blurred with every minute, it won’t take any longer now and I'll collapse... and once they get me... no, I better try not to think about it. I have to try to concentrate as best as I can, focusing on survival and escaping. It's dark... so dark. Luna’s sacred moon is gone, and with it all the light that led my way. Running blindly through this passage drives me insane, exhausted, hungry... my stamina runs out with every step. It's getting colder, darker, even the trees seems to get closer to each other, blocking my way, talking to me with a soft whisper.

“Run... run... run...“ they say.

Suddenly, my legs give out, and I stop running. I'm falling down into the muddy ground. Because of the enormous running speed I had, the smashing impact becomes as painful as a giant rock falling down on me. A loud sound of thick, breaking branches is echoing through the small forest passage and paralyzes me for a few seconds. My right leg hurts, it's twitching and hard to move... is it broken? Great Celestia... what shall I do now? I don’t want to die, but even nature seems to want me dead... but why? Wait, I can see a small cabin not far from me! I'm trying to stand up, limping over to the cabin. Every step is like a sharp knife, curving inside of my bone. Tears of pain and fear are rolling over my cheeks and I'm starting to think about my mother who left me, the only one in my village who really loved me... at least, that’s what I thought. Why mommy, why?

I collapse again, and again, and again. Blood and dirt are becoming a muddy scab on my leg,
it burns like fire, leading to more tears, while the bone itself continues to crack and slip further out of the wound. Finally I arrive at the old wooden door of the cabin. I go through the heavy
door and immediately search for something that I can use to block it.

There! A big wooden beam is leaning against the window, perfectly to block the door
from the inside. It's quite heavy, but somehow I'm able to drag it in front of the door. It's not much, but I guess I'm safe now. It's still dark, but at least my leg stopped hurting... maybe it's already numb because of the pain, but that’s okay as long as I can escape from this village. I sit down for a moment to prick up my ears, trying to hear them... seconds are drifting away as slow as hours,
hours becoming days, days becoming weeks. I’m looking down at my right leg... the once white shin is now outside of the flesh, still bleeding and slightly burning. I try to push the bone back inside. Unimaginable pain runs through my leg, my body, my mind. Big tears of pain are landing on the dirty floor, the picture of my mother, holding me tightly in her arms in front of my eyes.

I'm still pressing against the bone as hard as I can, but it won’t budge... I give up.

I fall back down to the ground, watching against the empty dark ceiling. I'm at the end of my strength now, I pray for Celestia, pray for help... but nopony hears me.

Even if I survive this and make it out of this cursed forest... I WILL die of starvation,
depletion or blood poisoning which is probably spreading inside of me.

Still laying on the ground, I try to look around to find some kind of weapon to defend myself,
just in case they’ll find me. There isn’t much inside of this room, only a empty bookshelf, an old table and a chimney. It's so cold, my leg vibrates and cracks every time I move it, my body is weak and it’s getting ready to die... but I can't... not now... I want to live! I want to have friends... a family! “Hyaa!” I see a shadow rushing over the window, they’ve found me! No! No, please NO!

I'm ronning under the table, trying to hold my breath, to pray and to remember the good days
when everything was alright. The sweet candies, the funny days playing in the sun, the...

Suddenly the door got smashed, the wooden beam I used to block it was easily crushed into two pieces. Dust is flying through the entire room, taking my sight. But I still can see their silhouettes through the dusty cloud... neighbors, former friends, they're standing in front of the table, spreading through the entire room, searching for their victim... for me. I try to be as quiet as I can while watching them.

“Come out dear, we just want to help you. It wont hurt I'll promise!”

“We will free you, free every pony in this world.”

“Don’t be afraid kid, your mommy is already waiting for you.”

Mommy? So she didn’t leave me after all, they...

“FOUND YOU!” Hooves are grasping me from behind, pulling me out from underneath the table,
I scream, cry... but it surely won't help me anymore.

“NO! NO PLEASE STOP! IT WASN'T MY FAULT! I DIDN'T WANT TO...”

“It's okay little one, don’t be afraid. We know it's not your fault. It's a curse my poor girl. But don’t worry sweetie, we will free you.” My throat is dry, my heart hurts, my eyes are tired and burning because of the tears. Two ponies are holding me tight, I can't move a hoof. The other ponies are standing in a circle around me, one of them is searching for something inside of her bag.

“Please... don’t.... I don’t want to die... I don’t...”

“Turn her around and press her against the ground!“ She pulls a long sharp knife out of her bag, her red eyes staring into mine, burning my soul from the inside. Not even the pony of death itself could have such horrible eyes.

“NO! NO PLEASE! NOOOO!” They turn me around, pressing their hooves at my back. I can't breath, my heart is crying, my mind is flipping and my screams are shrilling through the room.

“Don’t worry, it will only hurt for a little moment.”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PLEHEHEHEHEEEEAS!”

My flank is burning, I can feel the knife wandering through my flesh. The pain is impossible to describe, my muscles won't react anymore, but I still try to struggle, to escape. I can see my blood floating over the ground. I'm still screaming as loud as I can... but the pain just won't stop.

Then finally after several minutes of blind pain, it's stopping.

“Here you go dear.” She throws something on the ground right next to me. It's a big piece of my flank along with my cutie mark on it. Muscle strings and fur are floating away with my blood which is covering the floor. My mind is dead... I'm crying, that’s all I can do now, no struggling nor screaming anymore.

“Only one more left to go.” So it starts again, now with the other side of my flank, but this time it doesn't hurt anymore. I can only hear myself talking.

“... plea... se... don’t... don’t... ple...” I don't want to scream anymore... don't want to talk... nor to live... I'm accepting my fate, preparing myself for the end. The next piece lands on the ground next to me... my beautiful cutie mark... gone forever...

“That’s all my dear, it wasn’t so bad at all, right? You're a big Pony now, don’t cry.
So... now that your curse is gone, do you want to see your mommy again?”

M... mommy? I try to remember, her face, her voice... I want to cuddle mommy, where is she?

“Hey little one, do you want to see your mommy?”

“... yes... please... mommy.” My body is numb, mommy please take me into your arms,
heal me... please, make it stop....

“As you wish... light the chimney.” What? I can see two of the ponies, they're walking to the chimney and putting on a big warm fire. The warmth feels so good, it feels like love.

“Don’t worry little one, your journey and your fear will end now.” They pull me to the flames, to my mommy. She will take my pain away... finally.

“May your soul find re-”

“NO!” A familiar voice appeared from behind. Everypony is looking around, I can hear somepony screaming... what's going on?

“YOU DIRTY LITTLE WITCH! I WILL KILL YOU, I WILL KILL YOU ALL!” I can still hear screams of pain, crushing wood. It sounds like a fight, but who would rescue me? The two ponies who grabbed me earlier disappeared. Soon after... everything became quiet again, but what happened?

“... I’m sorry... Ruby... honey...” That voice again... is it...

“M- mommy?” I try to turn my head with the last remaining bit of my strength. The dark ponies are laying on the floor, their bodies covered in blood... no signs of life anywhere. In the corner of the room lays another pony, a normal looking pony... she looks like...

“YOU... you dirty... daughter of the devil! I swear... I will... BURN YOUR CURSED SOUL!”

The dark pony who cut out my flanks appeared in front of me, strongly bleeding and breathing.
She grabs me and throw me into the fire.

I can feel the fire... the warmth. I can feel how my fur is burning, I can smell my flesh burning from my bones. My eyes are melting... and with it the last bit of light, the last sight of my collapsed and dying murderer... and the pony who tried to save me.

But it doesn’t matter anymore. My journey is over, and with it, all my fears, my pain,
my nightmares... and my dreams.

“... I forgive you mommy... I forgive you...“