Just Smile

Chapter Five

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.”
-Robert Frost

Time was nonexistent. There was no way to tell an hour from a minute down in the sunless, skyless cave. As far as Pinkie knew, it was always night. But the night there was a starless one, a moonless and lifeless one. The figure in the corner moved again but the earth pony still had not quite worked up the courage to look.

She stared at the lamp, watching the candle inside burn down. Watching the wax melt and peel as the flame ate away at the wick. Her head hurt, and that was to say the least. The blood had dried but there was a rather nasty lump there now, bruised and tender.

“You have to make him happy,” came a feeble voice from across the room. Pinkie blinked, looking over at the shadowy figure in the corner. “He won't get mad if you make happy.”

She tilted her head, taking a few steps closer to the source of the voice. “Make him happy? How?”

The figure sat up then, turning two pale, rose-coloured eyes on her. “You need to use your special talent.”

Pinkie tilted her head. “But I'm a party-er. He didn't seem to want to party.”

The figure sighed softly, lowering her head. “He doesn't want you to decorate. So long as you change nothing, he'll be okay.”

“If he wants to be happy, why does he stay in such a gloomy place?” Pinkie asked.

“I don't know,” came the weary reply. She sounded exhausted, weak.

Pinkie moved in a little closer, close enough to finally see the figure properly. She was a pegasus, light gold in colour with a long, wavy red mane, scruffy, as though it hadn't been brushed in days. She looked dirty and on her head was a similar bump to the one Pinkie was given, though slightly more healed. Her wings were ragged, some feathers torn and her hooves were scuffed. She looked thin, like she hadn't eaten much in a while. Her cutie mark was of a rose and a pen making an “X” on her flank.

“I'm a poet,” she told Pinkie before she could ask. “The rose is one of the most poetic things there are, symbolizing everything from love to life to- to death.”

The pink pony just gazed at her a moment, her glum expression, her half-open, weary eyes. After a long while of simply looking, it dawned on Pinkie -this was the first mare. She remembered hearing from some ponies that the first mare had been a poet who worked for no profit. “Shouldn't there be another mare here?”

The gold pegasus flinched a bit at that. “She wouldn't stop shivering. Poor thing was so afraid. He was yelling at her, telling her to stop being a coward, saying she would need to be punished. Then he unlocked her chain and dragged her out the door. I-I haven't seen her since.”

There was a long pause. Both mares sat quietly, heads down, trying to think of nothing. Not think of what would happen if they displeased their captor. Not think of how many more mares he would take. Not think of what was in the piles of dirt along the walls.

After a while, Pinkie broke the silence. “What's your name?” she asked, looking up and meeting the young mare's eyes.

She looked quizzical a moment, but kept her gaze steady. “Golden Rose,” she said softly.

“I'm Pinkie Pie! And you know what, it's not so bad in here. Minus the gloom and dirt and evil captor... it's alright.”

“Alright? How could you possibly think it's alright?”

“Well...” Pinkie scanned the room, trying to find something she could turn around, something she could make better. With a slight grin, she grabbed her chain, turning it like a skipping rope, slowly at first, then faster, gaining momentum. She jumped in and skipped with it, giggling as she did so. “Come on! Try it!”

Golden Rose looked horrified, glancing quickly around the room as though expecting the Lurker to appear at any moment and take them away. “Are you insane? What are you doing?”

“I'm skipping,” Pinkie replied with a laugh.

“I can see that but... how can you be laughing at a time like this?” Golden stepped a little closer to her, curious, watching as Pinkie jumped.

“Well, what would you rather do? Everything'll seem better if you take what you're afraid of, and make it fun!” The laughing earth pony continued to skip, going faster now, her mane bouncing up and down, her hooves pounding the dirt, causing it to fly up in puffs. Pinkie didn't care. She was doing what she did best; having fun.

Golden Rose seemed cautious, looking around the room, at Pinkie, at her own chain, at the door. After a long pause, she sighed and picked up her chain, giving the bubbly pony a tiny smile.

________________________________________________________________________

Rainbow was out searching again. She didn't bother to find ponies to help her, they were all too afraid to go out, or so it seemed as she hadn't seen anypony out that day at all. Cowards. Won't even go out to look for their missing friends, their missing family members! She was so angry, but it wasn't at them. They had a right to be scared and so did she but she couldn't be scared. Not when Pinkie needed her. She'd been looking all morning, even skipped breakfast to spend more time out. She hadn't stopped by to see her friends either. No time, no time.

The forest all looked the same to her now. The same dark, musky grass, the same tall, looming trees, the same plants, same mice, same everything. Every cave she checked was empty, every tunnel lead to nowhere, every niche, every ledge, every hole in every tree. She'd checked it all and still the forest stretched on. She'd been flying for hours but she didn't feel tired, she just felt angry. Such a burning, consuming anger eating away at her from the inside out. Because it was her fault that Pinkie went out. She should have been watching her, should have stayed up to make sure everypony was safe. It was her fault her friend got taken away and anything that happened to her while she was gone would be Rainbow's fault too.

For in her mind, it was all her. Always her. Her own fault that Pinkie wasn't safe at home right now. She should have known. She should have done something.

Loyalty is a fierce thing. Rainbow knew she had to find Pinkie, she couldn't let her stay wherever it was the Lurker, or whoever it was, took her. She had to find her. There was no question in it, no other options. Just find her. Find her and everything would be okay. She was loosing focus in flying, her mind drifting, thoughts colliding-

-Suddenly, a branch jumped up from nowhere. Rainbow tried to duck but it struck her in the head, knocking her out of flight. She tumbled. Down and down, breaking more branches on her way to the ground. She landed hard, with a sickening crack!

Everything went black.

________________________________________________________________________

“Stop crying!” Lurker boomed, shoving the whimpering mare to the ground and striking her across the head. “I hate crying. Cowards and foals cry! What are you? Are you a coward? Because you're certainly not a foal!” He stood over her, wings outstretched. His cloak made him seem like a monstrous shadow-beast come from out of the dark to feed.

The mare was shivering, huddled into a ball and sobbing quietly. “I c-can't..., can't stop-”

“Yes you can!” Lurker snapped, stomping his hoof down next to her. “Stop now and I won't punish you. Stop now and you can go back in with the others.”

The mare held her breath, forcing herself to stop, closing her eyes tight, making sure no tears could get through. She shook a bit and let her breath out slowly, forcing herself to stay calm.

Lurker smiled. “There, much better. Now stand up and face me.”

She did as she was told, getting to her wobbly limbs, her head swimming.

“Look at me,” he hissed, a pair of pale grey eyes blazing from under his hood.

The mare took a shaky breath and looked up, holding his gaze.

“There. Now isn't facing your fears much better than cowering? Now you can be happy. Now you can make me happy.”

The mare took a deep breath before she worked up the courage to say, “m-make you happy?”

Lurker nodded. “It is, after all, why you are here. You make ponies happy. I've seen you. Make me happy and no more harm will come.”

“B-but I don't know how-”

“Yes you do!” Lurker stomped his hoof down again, eyes hard and fierce. “You can make others smile. So make me smile, make me feel good.”

“You have to be good to feel good,” muttered the mare, getting a little too bold.

The Lurker let out a growl, raising his hoof again and stomping down on her leg. There was a satisfying crunch, followed by a loud yelp. The mare bit back her tears.

“I am good! He's the one who's bad. Him. So much hurt, so much-” He blinked suddenly, as if he'd just blanked out. He turned sharply to the whimpering mare. “Get back in the dark room. Back in the dark. Won't find you in the dark.” He grabbed her mane and dragged her with his teeth.

She didn't struggle.

He blew out the candle lighting the hallway they were in, plunging the two in darkness. He dragged her to the door, throwing it open and tossing her inside, not bothering to look back before he slammed the door shut again. He didn't like punishing them, not at all, but it had to be done. Had to. Because if he didn't....

He wanted happiness so badly, wanted to feel true joy. He didn't want to hurt them-

-But weakness should always be punished.