Memories From A Tormented Past
This story takes place during Season 4
Zachary has been enjoying his new life in Equestria. Ever since they find out the truth about Zachary, they've started taking care of him. He lived with Twilight Sparkle, the pony who discovered him outside her LIbrary. He went to school and usually would hang out with the CMC'S. He would also talk with them after school. Diamond Tiara, along with her friend Silver Soon haven't been bothering them ever since he ran off into the Everfree forest. Though he didn't care that much, considering the way she had been acting before.
He also has been hanging out with the Mane Six. They would often come over to the Library and Zachary learned more about them. He learned how much Rainbow Dash loved the Daring Do books, he learned that Pinkie Pie was raised on a rock farm, along with other commonly known facts about them.
Him talking with them would always make happy. He did feel like he truly belonged, even if he wasn't a pony. They also felt like he belonged with them, though they still couldn't help but feel like something was still wrong with Zachary. It was subtle but still noticeable. Whenever they tried to ask him if anything was wrong, he would always say no. He was lying. They could tell, but they thought to wait for him to get comfortable talking about it. Hopefully, he would tell them soon, but they didn't know what was coming. What was about to happen would change Zachary forever.
It was early in Luna's night, everypony was inside their homes. This includes Twilight Sparkle, along with Zachary Baker and Spike the Dragon. They were all having a reading time of sorts. Twilight was studying things that she wanted to study, her being Twilight and all. Spike was reading a Power Pony comic, one of the newer ones, and Zachary was reading a book he found, which was about a famous author getting into an accident, then a crazy fan starts taking care of him. It was interesting and sounded familiar to him, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
The silence of reading was interrupted by the sound of someone's stomach growling. Twilight stopped for a second, realizing it came from her.
"I guess that was from me." She said, looking at both of them. "Are you guys hungry?" Both Spike and Zachary nodded.
"Yeah, I'm really hungry actually," Spike replied. Twilight let out a smile towards them.
"Alright, let's gut dinner started then," She said, walking into the kitchen. Zachary put down the book he was reading to follow her and Spike through the kitchen when he felt something... off. He would get that feeling often, but it would only happen after he had a nightmare. He hoped the nightmares would go away after he was adopted, but they would always persist. They would usually have him back at his old home, with his father, and he would always do something horrible to him.
He would always wake up in a cold sweat, but after realizing it was only a dream, he would just go back to bed, with that dark feeling in his chest. This time, a nightmare didn't cause it. He remembered what his father said in his dream the night before he got adopted.
"I W I L L M A K E S U R E Y O U N E V E R F O R G E T!!"
Zachary sighed as he rubbed the side of his head. He didn't want to remember him, but it's just like he said in the dream. He would never forget his father.
Why does this have to happen to me...? He wondered. My father was horrible, but he's not around anymore, so then... He stopped for a second, looking down at his feet. Why can't I forget him? Zachary didn't want to think about it any longer, as he entered the kitchen.
After a few moments, their dinner was finally completed. They were all having sandwiches, as they didn't have anything else they could really make at the moment. They sat at the table, already halfway through their meals, when Twilight decided to start a conversation.
"So, Zachary..." She started, getting his and Spikes attention. "Are you absolutely sure that everything's alright? It seems like something is bothering you a lot." Zachary took a bit of his sandwich, trying to not make eye contact with her.
"No, everything's fine..." He replied. The way he said it got both Twilight's and Spike's attention. When he said it, he sounded sorrowful.
"Are you sure?" Spike said with concern. "I mean-"
"No really, I'm fine. Don't worry about me." Zachary cut him off. However, they could tell that he was still lying.
"Zachary, you know that you can tell us," Twilight said. "We won't judge you or anything, but we know that-"
"I know I can tell you if I have a problem." Zachary interrupted her. "But I'm telling you, there's nothing wrong. Please believe me." Twilight just looked at him with unease, but let out a sigh.
"Alright, if you say so..." She replied. "Just please tell me if there is anything wrong, alright?" Zachary nodded, as they all continued their meals.
After they ate, they wet back to reading, before they all got tired, so they went to bed. Zachary was just plain tired from all that reading, so it didn't take long to fall asleep in the new bed he got from Twilight. It was hard to get the bed in their room, due to the lack of space, but they managed.
Not surprisingly, Zachary was going to have another nightmare that night. Though, this one felt different to him. After he was adopted, all his nightmares were vivid and blurred. It didn't feel like he was actually there. This time, he could see everything in clear detail, his surroundings once again looked like his house, but more clear. He could smell a horrid smell, he could feel a slight breeze against his face.
He wasn't alone in the room, as usual. His father was there, though this time he had something in his right hand. The large blade of a knife.
"Look at that, you're back here again." His father said. He sounded like he was drunk, which is something Zachary would always fear.
"Yeah..." Zachary replied. "What are you going to do with me this time? Beat me? Throw a beer bottle at me? Slash my face?" The smell was becoming worse and worse, as his father got closer to him. However, Zachary didn't move, because no matter how scary his father was, he knew that whatever he would do wouldn't hurt him physically.
"Oh, I'm going to do something much worse." His father said, grabbing his shirt and pulling him off the ground. Zachary didn't have time to say anything as he felt pain in his side. Pain in a dream. There was nothing that hurt more than what he felt at that moment. How could he feel it? This was only just a dream, right? He looked down and saw the blade was halfway in the side of his torso
"Ack..." Zachary said. He could feel some blood dripping out of his wound and some even coming out of his mouth.
"Aw, does it hurt?" His father replied, driving the knife in deeper. "You deserve this. I'm having so much fun giving you this pain." Zachary yelped, tears forming in his eyes as he was chocking on his own blood. Then he realized that his father wasn't holding him anymore, but he was holding onto him. His father smiled at his work.
"Welcome to town." Was the last thing he said, before shoving him off. He felt like he was falling, darkness was all around him. This had to be a dream, right? When would he wake up? As he fell, he was becoming more convinced that this wasn't just a dream
This just felt too real.
Memories From A Tormented Past
The next morning, Twilight felt the sunlight shine through her window and onto her back, as she slowly awoke. She let out a small yawn, as she got up from the bed. There was the familiar smell of cooking downstairs. Twilight could feel a slight rumble coming from her stomach. She turned towards the bed.
"Zachary, do you want-" She cut herself off when she noticed that he was still asleep. While looking at him, she noticed that he had bags under his eyes, which she hadn't noticed the previous night.
"That's odd... Maybe he's just tired?" Twilight thought out loud, though something was telling her that was wrong. "... I guess I can let him sleep for a few more minutes..." She said. With a tired sigh, she went downstairs to get some breakfast. "Don't worry, I'll save a plate for you, Zachary..." Twilight though, as she entered the kitchen. She didn't know what Zachary had dreamed of last night.
Meanwhile, there was a certain filly walking around town. Thoughts were roaming in her head as to the human child. That filly was Diamond Tiria. She looked back at everything she had ever done. To ponies, the CMC'S, to even Zachary, but her mind was mostly on him. How was he not afraid of her? How could he just stand up to her like that? More importantly, why was this bothering her so much? He was just another citizen, she shouldn't care, as she had other ponies to mess with. Though, whenever she thought about it, she would always feel something. Guilt.
"Why should I feel guilty for them?" Diamond asked herself. "Mother always said I should be better than them and not to be friends with a blank flank, but..." Diamond stopped herself, putting one of her forehooves up to her head in frustration. She didn't know what to do. Should she try to apologize and make up for her mistakes?
I'm so much better than those lame CMC'S or Zachary, but at the same time, maybe I shouldn't bully them? Diamond Tiara thought. All of this is starting to hurt my head. Why does Zachary not care when I bully him? Why does he stand up for the CMC'S? Diamond then realized something.
Because that's what friends do. She thought. They always look out for each other, no matter what. Is that why I can't manipulate Zachary into being afraid of me...? She let out a sigh, looking around the town. She saw that The Golden Oaks Library was close to her. I should go find out the reason now, I guess. With that mindset, she headed for the small Library.
In the library, Twilight had just finished eating the breakfast Spike gave to her. She was about to go upstairs to wake Zachary up when she heard a soft knocking at her front door.
"Spike, could you get that for me?" She asked, starting to trot upstairs. Spike did as Twilight asked him, and answered it.
"Hello, is there something I can help you wi-" He cut himself off once he saw who it was.
"Hi, is Zachary here...?" Diamond asked, feeling something that was unexpected in her chest. She felt uneasy.
"Yeah..." Spike replied. "Though, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't want to see you, considering the things you've said to him." Diamond as a response, let out a sigh.
"I know, but I think I'm starting to regret that." She said. "Plus, I did tell you where he went after he ran off, so that has to mean something, right?" She was right about that, Spike knew that.
"I guess, but you were still pretty horrible to him." He replied. "I mean, he didn't let it get to him, but that still doesn't excuse it."
"I know, but-" Diamond was cut off by Twilight's frantic voice.
"Spike, come up here, I need your help!" Spike, being cut off guard by this, didn't even say anything to Diamond, he just ran up the stairs. As soon as he got up to her, he saw her nudging Zachary's body, which looked extremely pale. He wasn't waking up, in fact, he was barely breathing. Twilight's expression was one of horror and panic.
"What's going on?!" Spike asked, looking at Twilight with shock.
"Zachary won't wake up!" Twilight shouted. Spike could tell by her voice that she was panicking. "We need to get him to the hospital or something!"
"Would they know what to do, though?" Spike asked. "Zachary's a human. The hospital might not know what to do to help him. Maybe you could-" Spike was cut off when both he and Twilight saw something dark appear on Zachary's forehead.
"What is that?!" Twilight asked, looking at the darkness forming at Zachary's forehead. "Is that some sort of... Magic?" It appeared to be that way, but this particular magic hasn't been seen by anypony in Equestria.
"Do you want me to write a letter to Princess Celestia?" Spike asked. Twilight looked at him, still trying to calm down. In a shaky voice, she replied.
"Y-yes... Maybe she'll know what's happening to Zachary." Spike nodded, as he went to get a piece of paper, along with quill and ink.
I hope Zachary's alright... He thought to himself, as he got the materials. But what could be causing this to happen to him. Whilst Spike had done that, Diamond was just waiting at the front door for him to come back, though she eventually just decided to leave and to come back later, not hearing what happened upstairs before that.
Zachary groaned as he opened his eyes. His vision was blurry, but from what he could make out, the sky was grey. He didn't know where he was, or how he got here, but all he knew is that it was cold. Once his vision was no longer a blurred mess, he could see that he was surrounded by a thick fog.
"Where am I...?" He groaned as he got up. He shivered. Whilst there was barely any wind, it was still cold whenever it blew against his skin. He looked all around, and he saw that he was on a road, with huge cracks in it, as if It hasn't been used in years. He seemed to be on some sort of bridge, but both ends of it were blocked by barricades. The only way to get off the bridge seemed to be a staircase that was on the right side of it.
"Hm, what's this?" He asked, seeing an envelope in front of him. The name on it was blurred to a point of not being readable. There was no indication of where it came from, but there was something inside. A map.
"A map...? Does it tell me where I'm at?" Zachary wondered. There was a name in large words on the corner of the map, which was hard to read, but he could still make it out.
"Silent Hill...? Is that where am at?" He questioned. He recognized the fog from one of his earlier nightmares, but he wasn't in the same location. "Maybe there's a town somewhere nearby I can go to...? Then again, this is probably just another dream... Still, it wouldn't hurt to look around" The only way off the bridge Zachary saw on the side of it.
"Well, here I go..." He said as he descended down the staircase. He soon found himself on a path, going down it only seemed to make the fog worse than what it already was, making his surroundings even harder to make out.
I wonder if this is a dream or not. Zachary thought to himself. The last thing I remember was my father stabbing me, then I fell... But I don't feel pain, nor am I bleeding... That last dream felt so real... He cringed at the thoughts of getting stabbed with such a large blade. Hopefully if this is a dream, I'll wake up soon. Maybe- His thoughts were cut off when he heard something behind him. It sounded like heavy footsteps, and they were coming his way. He swiftly turned around.
"What was that?! Who's there?!" Zachary shouted though he didn't see anything, due to the fog obscuring his vision. He felt a cold shiver travel up his spine as he heard another noise, though he didn't know what direction this one came from.
"Ah!" He let out a little shriek as he heard the noise right beside him. This caused his mind to go into a panicked state, as he began to run further down the path.
"I don't know what's wrong with him, but he won't wake up!!!" Twilight shouted in a panic towards Celestia and Luna. As soon as they got the letter, they decided to come right away, while Spike offered to go get some food since they were running low. Celestia decided to bring Luna along so she could see inside his dreams.
"Not only that, but there's also some sort of dark light o his forehead" Twilight continued. "Maybe this has something to do with magic, but I don't know how to solve it. I looked at all of my books, no solutions whats-" Celestia put a hoof up to her mouth, she had a gentle, reassuring smile on her face.
"Twilight, I'm sure he's fine," Celestia started. "Whatever's happening could possibly be linked to his dreams. You did say he was having nightmare's, right?" Twilight nodded. "Well, Luna hasn't been able to see any of his dreams, nightmares can have a great effect on somepony's mind, including a child's one, if not dealt with properly." She stopped to take a breath, before continuing. "Maybe this is why he's in this coma. Luna will be able to see what he's dreaming if she's up close." Luna nodded.
"Worry not, Twilight Sparkle," Luna said. "If it is some sort of nightmare causing this, then I can fix it." Twilight gave Luna a grateful smile, as she nodded. Luna gave a reassuring smile back.
"Alright, for your safety, I would advise that you stand back," Luna said. The two other ponies did as they were told, as she put her horn on the child's forehead. Using her magic, she made some sort of bubble float above the child's head, allowing them to see what he's dreaming. The first thing they saw was Zachary running inside a town, covered in fog. Luna smiled, knowing that it worked.
"Alright then," She said. "Let's see if the nightmares are the cause of this."
Author's Note
5UP3RN0V4 gave me the idea for Diamond Tiria becoming curious as to why Zachary never cared about her bullying.
Also, some of my other fanfics "might" have a connection with this story