The Game: Aether and Mind

My senses slowly came back, but at the same time, it felt like all my strength was siphoned from me by the darkness surrounding me, this warm, pulsating, and wet prison? I cannot put in words; my vocabulary and my choice of words was never something grand or supreme; short answers made you go far when you were a simple low-class worker, a living cog. I attempted to squirm and struggle, but it felt like I was in some kind of tight rubber prison, my bindings would not give in and the rumbling and shaking made me so sleepy and sick.

I faintly heard screams behind these walls, but I could barely not understand what they were saying, but from the sounds of it, they were scared and in panic, but about what?

I tried to open my eyes, but they remained closed as if they had been glued shut, my mouth wasn't responding, it felt so senseless and wrong, what was happening? My limbs felt so fragile and feeble, all muscles and strength stole by the unknown?

"..!" These voices again, I slowly began to understand them, and yet I didn't. The sounds sounded so alien, a gibberish with purpose and rules. In my head, as if a world-renown translator was sitting in my mind, I could understand them over the speech of those outsides. Even when their sentences were broken..

"....!!!" Screams? What was going on? The words from earlier echoed within me once again? What happened, did something go wrong? No, Game probably wouldn't fuck this up this badly, would he? No, I am probably just too blind to understand it.

I waited in the darkness, hoping to find an answer, and to my surprise, it came, though not in the way I expected. Even with my eyes closed, I could see a large slit suddenly open from the abyss surrounding me, and from it a dreadful chill steamed inwards; it felt so horrible, and yet, something was calling for me, but what, it couldn't be the afterlife, could it? I had not much time left to think, as the small slit became more abundant by the second, or perhaps I was coming closer, I couldn't tell. The screams became louder and louder, starting from a painful groaning to a sharp cry, these sounds followed me as I slowly slide out of the gooey prison and into the origin of the cold winds as painfully bright light.

"...?...!...!?" I could hear their words of concern, but what were they talking about, I did not know, but perhaps I could find out. My eyes that rested so heavily, I slowly pried them apart despite the burning pain of the bright light; it was a wasted effort, for I could make out only little from anything further away than arms reach. A blurry figure, like a big blob, took up most of my vision, if I knew any better, I might've said that some kind of animal rested before my, mangled and bloated. Colors of blond at the very crown and white in the center, speaks of black near the top, below what appeared to be eyes too large be realistic. How did things come to this, why was and all the way they were?

"-?" I heard a broken voice from behind. I attempted to turn my head, slowly, shiveringly in an attempt to stay awake while the cold gnawed down onto my bones. I gave up my futile attempts, every action sapped me of the adding strength I had. How did it come to this?

"...-?" A female voice asked, mature, borderline ancient in her tone while filled with hints of concern and suspicion. What were they talking about? Their voice only echoed through this chamber painfully, the bright light burned my eyes, and the cold cradled me off to a slumber I might never wake from, was this hell?

My head fell back into its original position, back onto the motionless body, still staring with open eyes at me, my vision and rotten fantasy not easying my terrific imagination in any way, but what eventually did was the turning of my world. Gradually an unknown force, bearing neither warmth nor cold, only a horrendous shine, directed my vision to another point, the face of the mysterious force—a Pony.

'Ponies...' thought with horror, scraps of memory stroked at my mind, reminding me once again of my choices prior, though leaving out the warning most crucial, before it dawned me. 'I'm a pony...' I thought with frozen form while staring with wide eyes at the horned pony, a unicorn. A sentient, miniature horse wearing a doctor's coat atop his green coat, a stereoscope around his neck, and a large, fluffy mane atop his head while all below his face and behind appeared to my indistinguishable.

"..." The doctor spoke with a slow, shivery shake, his lips moved, yet even my eyes barely tracked his mouth's movement, my ears faired only a little better. He stopped and tilted his head while drawing me in closer, his voice now full of concern. "..?..?" His words sounded so twisted while my ears bellowed out in pain awhile, a loud voice boomed through the room.

' I'm... Okay?' I questioned myself while staring into the eyes of the unicorn, a deep pit forming inside of me while staring at my own reflections, his broken concerns now sounding much more reasonable at a horrifying pace.

My form appeared twisted and rotten, borderline dead as rib and bone showed through paper thing skin and fly thicks fur while the little layer of meat appeared to be on the verge of falling apart. Pale skin, white fur so close to another in hue one might not see the difference, a mane short barely showing in silver color could not even hide the pathetic, blunt stump of a horn protruding through my forehead. I broke my vision away from the doctor's eyes in a sudden motion, it hurt my necks while fatigue already settled in from this little motion. I stared downward, attempting to hide the truth, only to be met with more of the daunting news once my appendages came insight, thin and weak, only another sting into the weak ego I once had, faith and hope were crushed long ago anyways, however there was yet one thing not bleak tainting my vision. A green aura grasping my form gently, twinkling, sizzling, while also emitting a gentle, but also rapidly annoying becoming sound.

'Is that magic, or Aether?' I wondered with fearsome calmness before I blinked a bit stronger. 'How was I this calm?' I wondered, yet again, I could feel the horror building up, yet whenever it attempting to get hold of myself, it reduced itself to levels I could handle, like water pressure on a sink. Game?

...

'Game!' I asked again, my voice bursting through my skull with painful force, inducing a headache that lasted as long as the moment did, but an answer came not. 'Game?' I asked while panic slowly rose, only to be suppressed again, the thought and realization about the stupidy of screaming in one's head made my situation not better. Why? Why were things the way they were?

"...? ?... -?..." Asked a female voice, I tilted my head slightly, only to be met with two vague silhouettes, though not blobs anymore, their facial features hidden from me, yet their voices were female, I believed. The pair, both unicorn if my paltry eyes failed me not, wore both nurses, clothing, I thought, however, they were different in coloration in borderline neon tones. One of them appeared to me as old, her posture cranky with a blue coat and a short, blond mane.

"-??" asked the other unicorn woman, her voice filled with confusion. I double took if my eyes had not played a joke on my expense as I eyed the pink unicorn with hair braided or simply kept long, I knew not. What I knew, however, was that this one seemed younger, by a great margin but no child either.

The doctor jerked slightly, his body freezing for a moment, daring to let me fall to the ground was it not for his quick reactions. His look hardened as he stared at me, but hints of anger could not be hidden as he pulled a clipboard closer to his face, even when I could not see it with my own eyes, the reflection told me enough. The doctor pulled most pages away until he reached one letter on which's top and bottom were remnants of wax left. A sigil, as well as a large signature at the bottom, adorned the parchment, I attempted to decipher the cryptic writing. However, it was too blurry for me to see, not that I would've been able to read it anyways. The doctor sighed deeply before throwing the wooden piece of equipment in the trash.

"....." The older nurse urged, straining the doctor's facial muscles as he stared onto with mixed emotions, I could only watch his face sink slightly. "... ... ..?" His jaw tightened, perhaps suppressing the urge to bear his teeth? "...-......-???"

"-?...?!?" The pink one gasped, leaving me with a stinging pain in my skull as she pushed me feeble resistance to sound. Her face was that of horror as she held one of her hoofs in front of her muzzle in a futile attempt to hide her emotions.

I slowly turned my head towards the blue unicorn who walked up to the pink one, in an effort to stay awake while I felt my organs become heavy, who knew that breathing would be so tiring.

I could not make out much of her words; it was all a mash of threats, insults, and jabs, both physical and vocal, while she tore into the unicorn named, who I presumed if my gibber-ish hearing was correct, bore the name of Gentle Touch. One little detail that was repeated again and again in her rant was 'Silver Soul's law' that she mentioned every time when she pointed at me, a law just for me?

"... -!" Gentle Touch spoke as she pointed her hoof at me, who shook his head to throw off the tendrils dragging me to sleep, even when it sounded alluring to escape this reality for just a few moments... just a few hours maybe, yes, a bit of silence.

"I'm sorry." The doctor whispered under his breath while giving me a sad look before it hardened, and he turned around.

'Excuse me?' I thought with renewed energy.

"...-..." The doctor informed them as he slowly strode towards those two women, his head hung high with a cold expression. "Miss Touch...."

Gentle Touch stared at the doctor for a moment, her mouth slightly agape as if she wanted to speak out something, though these ideas suffocated in her throat as she lowered her head and remained silent. The doctor nodded and turned around before speaking yet again.

"Miss Tough Love-" The Doctor announced, catching the attention of the old woman. "..."

"..!"

The doctor nodded as his eyes went back to me, it was a look I have seen not all too long ago, pain. His eyes diverted from mine with heavy motion and landed into a vial filled with a clear liquid alongside a syringe lying atop a pillow being held up by, who I presumed to be, Tough Love.

'Vacination? That's the whole drama about?' I thought with confusion, though lacking the strength to lift a brow, or rather there not being a brow at all. The syringe penetrated the cork with a sharp motion, a stab if you will, before rotating slowly while the doctor closed his eyes and mumbled something.

"...-...."

The vial turned and turned until a label came into view, its name I understood not, but the symbol right below I did—a crossed pony skull.

'H-hey, G-Game, buddy, I might need your help here.' I thought with great concern as the needle was removed from the bottle with a pop. 'Friend, amigo, you remember the promise that you'd support me, well, I-I might need some of that right now.' The needle came closer. 'Anyone?'

The syringe fell to the ground, and I was suddenly jerked away from the doctor, whose face was painted with a look of pain the moment his magic's color was mixed with a blue hue. I strong limb suddenly enveloped my stores, pink in color and warm in nature.

"Miss Gentle Touch!." The doctor demanded as he threw his hoof out, slapping the ground underneath. I heard his entire sentence, he screamed, it hurt so much in my head. Please, silence him. Urgh...

"...-...-!!" She declared as she moved me closer to her chest, fluff.

"!?!" The old mare asked with surprise and hints of anger, while the doctor turned his face away, taking a deep breath.

"...-...-...-!!!" The said with confidence as she looked those opposing her in the eyes if she had gone insane or not, I did not know. She didn't look all too exhausted or anything that matter, although it seemed like she was pregnant also, motherly instincts perhaps? I could also be wrong, and she was just fat, everything appeared to me so blurry, not even sparing any emotions was within my mental budget.

"....-!" Tough Love, her actual name, attempted to voice her disproval of Gentle Touch's decision but was shut up by the doctor.

"............" Doctor Goodwill said as he moved closer to the mare, holding me, who, in return, took a step backward. The doctor stopped his advance and talked again, his tone a bit lighter while he almost urged her to do the opposite of his bidding. "...-......-...-...-...-...-...- -..." His tone sank into softness at the end.

I sank deeper into the fur as now Gentle Touch joined with harsh tones of her own, only fueling my torment evermore. "...--...-, --...-..." Gentle spoke angrily while tightening her grip with every word, yet it made my position only more comfortable, knowing that I was not alone, or rather, her fur silenced the cries of anger.

The blue nurse gave her a stern look, borderline glaring into her soul, but the determined expression of Soft Touch did not falter. In the end, it was Goodwill who gave in first with a sigh of defeat, or perhaps, relive.

"-...-..." The mare nodded, my fur-covered body pressing against hers, it was calming and warm, relaxing even. "............-?"

She nodded her head, no longer looking at others anymore, and instead focused on me, gently stroking my boney stomach. I don't know what was happening, or what the future would entail, but if I had to guess, I'd be going to her home.

Tough Love whispered something sternly while staring at me with a hardened expression. If Gentle heard it or not, I knew not.

"............." She said as she turned around, grasping a blanked near her and wrapping the soft material around my little form, I had gotten used to the cold so fast that now the warmth felt soothing beyond belive. "..... Doctor Goodwill, miss Tough Love." She spoke before opening the door, coating the grip with her magic before opening it and walking out of it.

In the last few moments, before she closed the door, I could make out a hear a few more empty words of the children's murder duo.

".........!"

"......................"

I am pretty sure she heard whatever they were talking about, given how slow much she slowed down her speed and then increased it after exiting the room.

After Gentle Touch had left the hospital, she immediately pressed my form against hers hard, it was nowhere near enough to crush me, but it denied me all vision of the location outside of the place that almost became my grave. Still, it was only a matter of time into I would see it anyways, and it seems like patience would be needed in masses.

We reached her home not much later, from the sounds I heard and motions I could sense, the little feeling I had at the very least, made it clear that she lived in some kind of apartment, a nice and fancy one for earth's standards with a real wooden floor! After entering the home, shortly having to create space between us to pull a pair of keys out of her saddles bags, she embraced me in a hug again. In other words, she even denied me a closer look at her, or rather, now our new home, before putting me in some kind of crib. The moment our physical contact was cut, a warm blanket ensnared me, pinning me down and forcing my vision upwards. A broad, tearful smile looked down at me; she couldn't help herself but rub her huge nose against mine one more time before leaving the room.

...

I took a deep breath while pressing everything I had against the mental restrictions. 'What the hell happened with my life...' I thought while staring at the ceiling with a deep pit forming within my stomach, all the while the warmth attempted to steal my conscience away. 'From a human, to horse, from earth to storeroom and celestial beings... Now I am looking like a dead horse fetus... In a world of ponies... And was nearly killed.' I took deep breaths while suppressing the urge to scream, blowing my worries into the world in a feeble attempt to retain the few strings that kept my mind together.

'Where are you, Game?'

My eyes shot wide open as I felt an alien, yet familiar sensation invades my body from my very core, coursing through my flesh and bone with its warm, soothing tendrils as I felt the discomfort subside, my heavy organs grew lighter, breathing easier and my heart's burden to keep this broken form alive less hard. The world was in seconds becoming sharper, both in visions and tone, while I felt a new strength course through my form.

Notifications appeared in my vision.

Syncresising with Host.

The Game returned.