*Drip...*
*Crunch...*
*Drip...*
*Crunch...*
"How long has it been?" A voice both worn and weary ponders to itself as the sounds of its work echo in the dark around it, the sound emanating from the creature would feel like gravel to any being that might hear it.
"Almost a year now Mr. Butcher! Almost a year now since the young master gave us our wonderful purpose hehehee!" A voice both shrill and cheerful responded to the cleaver of flesh, it's grating laughter like an insect crawling into the ear with each step akin to the scratching of nails on darkened slate.
*Drip..*
*Crunch..*
"You shouldn't be here Mr. Baker, this is my domain and insects like you are quick to find their way inside of the grrrinderrr.." The word 'grinder' had its 'R's lengthened and growled like a hellish beast made of stone giving warning before the attack.
"Oh me oh me oh MY! Is that true Mr. Butcher? Well then I just guess we'll have to find someone else to make dinner then won't we-hehehee!" Again the bug was crawling inside the head with its insidious cackling, pressing it's bloated mass in the space between the brain and the skull.
*Drip..*
*Crunch!*
"Then we shall have to consume the little piggies rrraw!" The butcher hoarsely screamed like a boulder smashing bones as the knife it wielded sank deep into the wooden worktable. Mr. Baker squealed like a swine as the butcher tore out its own eye and pulled the baker from it's skull, the fat bug squirming in the butchers grip.
"B-b-but you need me-hehehee!" The baker's laughter rattled from its writhing body even as the butcher squeezed. "THE MASTER NEEDS MEEE..."
"The master needs only MY help you worm!" The butcher was furious at the infernal insect, yet still his grip loosened just a smidge and with that smidge the baker could try to squirm its way out.
"Oh but the Master must eat yes yes! The others must eat too-hohohoo!" The bug of a baker's snapped as it listed off the dishes it had made.
"Bone broth! So tasty and filling when otherwise we would have to gnaw for sooo LONG to get at the succulent marrow inside...
"Master does enjoy a good broth..." The butcher's grip loosened further and the baker was able to free an arm.
"Meat pie that could bring a tear to the eye and warm the Master's belly so he doesn't get too angry.."
"'The best pies in the Low n' Down' is what he says when you makes those pies he does.." The butcher's voice and mannerisms soften so 'Low n' Down' sounded like 'London'. Its grip loosens further and the baker is able to wiggle a leg as it continues.
"Blood. Pudding." The baker speaks these words with a great deal of finality as it frees another arm before the butcher squeezes once more.
"You've made your point you rotten little louse.." The butcher made as if to release the baker when it suddenly held the squirming creature to the table and wrenched the cleaver free. "However if I catch you in my workshop again then maybe I'll just learn how to cook.." After popping its still dislodged eye inside of its mouth with a slurp to clean it of the bakers filthy touch the butcher presses the eye back inside its head and throws the baker out.
"You'd have better luck getting Mr. Barrow to stop playing in the dirt hehehee!" The baker scurried away quickly before the butcher could turn its wrath upon it again.
Soon all the butcher was left with in its dank hole of a workshop was the scent of blood and meat cloying out almost everything else, but still the scent of the wet earth prevailed as the butcher turned and listened to the noises within the dirt-packed walls...
*Scritch... scritch...scritch...*
Mr. Barrow was busily burrowing within the walls until at last its long, spindly fingers pierced the wall like so many worms rising during a rainstorm. These fingers then pressed around the wall in confusion until one touched upon a splatter of blood from the butcher's work and promptly retreated into the earth once more. For a moment all was quiet until a slurping sound could be heard from within the wall along with a contented sigh.
"Ah-ah-ahhh... Mr. Butcher?" A voice that was dried and drawn out like a drought resounded from the earth as the fingers reemerged, now dancing as they sought out more blood to draw into the walls. The resonating voice was clicking, clacking, and cracking like a long dead tree bending over to grab something with its gnarled branches. "So s-s-sorry for intruding, I could feel something struggling this way so I came to... feel around."
"That rotten bug of a baker was crawling around where it shouldn't so I let it know what might happen should it do so again." The butcher peeled away the skin of his current project and began to wrench out the bone with a squelching sound, causing the exposed fingers to writhe in hunger.
"Oh-oh-ohhh... That sounds like a rib does it not? Is it Mr. Butcher, p-p-please do tell me that it's a terrifically tasty treat for your dear friend Mr. Barrow..." The only sound that filled the dank pit then was a clicking noise that came from the wall as the fingers began to push further out of the wall, seeming to be so very endless compared to the butchers' fat, stubby sausages that gripped the bone.
"Just make sure that you get me those herbs I need for the meats and I'll make sure you get your reward." The butcher toyed with the curved bone as it teased the thing within the wall with the morsel.
"Yes yes, many good things growing here for me to find Mr. Butcher." The fingers reluctantly retreated into the recess before returning with a dirt-stained parcel that emitted a new smell that brought a horrid smile to the butchers' visage. "Yes-s-s Mr. Butcher, many fine things I find. Parsley, sage, rosemary, and even thyme!" The fingers then tightened around the package as one set reached for the bone.
"Enough here to have ourselves a right little fair if the Master so wished." The butcher pressed the bone into the reaching fingers and caught the parcel as the other fingers wrapped around the bone too. Then with a squeal the bone is dragged within the fetid earth until a loud cracking is heard followed by a sickening slurping sound that softly fades away from the butchers' shop.
"One year eh?" The butcher resumed its bloody work as it thought back upon the Master's past and what transpired that made him call the butcher, the baker, the barrow, and the others into his service.
*Drip..*
*CRUNCH!*
"One year since those fuckin ponies..."
A year prior...
I was working within the orchard as I had on many days since my arrival to this wonderous land of peaceful and vibrant creatures. The beings that I was helping today were called the Apples and big surprise they had an apple orchard that always needed more hooves or hands as it were in my case to help the family harvest it all. After picking the last apple from the tree I had been working on I swung myself down to the soft grass below to start the trek back to the barn with my load. Something that I was grateful for was that even though I was unable to buck the fruits from the trees I was able to gently pick them and avoid any major damage that could happen normally, thus even though my progress was slower than the others I was often assigned to the highest quality trees to get more of the primo apples intact.
"Howdy Howard, how are ya today?" An honest sounding orange mare spoke up behind me with a soft southern drawl that always made me relax just a bit more. "I see you've been busy with getting those there premium apples for Granny's next big jam project, no bad apples I hope?"
"Other than one that had a nibble taken out of it by some squirrel or something I can't say there are young Miss Apple." I nodded to the mare and slowly continued my journey as she followed alongside me. A few weeks ago I might still have flinched away or just stayed silent around the kindly mare, but I had overcome my initial fear of these strange quadrupeds and had even started to readily accept their friendship where I can.
"Oh darn, well it ain't too much of a loss though I might have to ask Fluttershy to see if she can keep her critters out of our better sections at the least. Also how many times do I have to tell you that you can just call me Applejack?" She nudged my side with her barrel with a playful smile as I continued our usual back and forth.
"Maybe just one more time Miss Apple, I do tend to slip into my granny's old lessons about how to talk to a proper lady." I nudge her barrel with my hip and match her grin with one of my own as she blushes a tad before shaking her head, the urge to remove her stetson and ruffle her mane rising at her adorable display. However before I can dismiss this thought myself a deep male voice cleared its throat a short ways ahead of us. "Greetings Mister Macintosh." I curtly reply in a neutral tone as I meet the disapproving gaze of the large red stallion before us.
"Oh come on now y'all is that anyway to greet each other? Y' should just make up already and try to be more cordial to each other." Applejack nodded her head as if to say that it was the most logical thing in the world for two creatures that had been at each others throats before should be such good friends.
Big Mac had been the one to find me, but it was not a very... polite introduction that we shared. I had been wandering the nearby woods and stumbled upon their orchard in a half-starved, half-delirious state. When he had found me eating his family's profit he had given me a swift buck to the ribs that I still felt the sting of even now, but I could tell by his lifted hindleg that he could feel the phantom pain of the bite that I had delivered to my attacker just as well as I.
"Y'all should just shake and make up." Applejack carried on, not noticing the fierce stare that passed between myself and her older brother as we both turned to her and answered her together.
"Nope." Though as soon as we heard the other speaking the same words at the same time we both returned to trying to impale the other with naught but our eyes. Applejack simply rolled her eyes and dragged me past her sibling and onward towards the house so I could deliver my last bushel of the day to Granny Smith.
I was the first to break our stare as I focused on getting the job done and receiving my pay for the day as slowly a small smile returned to my lips. For even though I had already worked off any debt I had to the Apples I greatly enjoyed both working for them and their general company aside from my red rival. I loved helping Granny Smith make the baked goods and she had even said that if I wasn't so different she'd have expected somepony to snatch up such a good house-stallion like me. That had brought me a great deal of laughter that day and even a small chuckle when I'd think back on it from time to time. Applebloom had even become almost like my own little sister in my opinion as I'd help keep an eye on her and her friends during some of my time off as a favor to them. Last but not least was Applejack herself for she was... a dear friend at the very least.
"Howard? Earth pony to Howard, are ya okay there?" I come back to my senses to realize that she had been waving her hoof in front of my face with a look on concern.
"Oh sorry Miss Apple I was lost in-"
"I told ya to call me Applejack." She grumbled with a light scrunch of her face.
"Applejack... Sorry but I was lost in my thoughts for a bit there." Her name felt weird on my lips and gave me a funny feeling in my gut that I couldn't quite place. Shaking my head to rid myself of these intrusive thoughts I carried on, "So what were you saying?"
"I was saying that you and Mac should really try to patch things up." At my deadpan stare she hurriedly continued before I could say my piece on what I thought about her brother. "Now I know the two of you had a terrible introduction but that don't mean you have to be like that forever! Big Mac said he was going to this local place to drink a tad and blow off some steam later today and I think it'd be a great chance for you to make the first move on fixin this whole mess. Please... as a favor for me?"
I stare into her puppy dog eyes for a full minute before my defenses fall and I have to look away. "Alright fine..." I can practically hear her start to smile widely and I can definitely hear it as she wraps her hooves around me from behind.
"Oh thank ya sugarcube! I just know that this will be a great chance for the both of-"
"But!" I quickly interrupt her. "If it doesn't work because he doesn't put any effort forward don't blame me for it okay?" I loosen her grip after setting down my bushel and turn to face her as I pull her into a hug. "I will try though AJ... for you."
"Pinkie Promise?" She looks up to me.
"Pinkie Promise." I return her gaze and seal the promise just like Pinkie Pie showed me.
After we broke our embrace I bring the bushel of apples to Granny and collect my pay for the day before leaving for town. On my way out I hardly notice the livid expression of Macintosh as I leave the farm and make my way to the library and procced to knock upon the door.
"Coming!" A small boyish voice from somewhere inside answers me as I calmly wait for one of the few friends I've made since coming here to open the door. The longer it takes for him to open the door though, the more I feel the stares of the townsponies burrowing into my back. I knew that most half viewed me as a monster or worse, the bandage and stories that Mac had to share with those in town did nothing to help the fact that I was an omnivorous alien who stood taller than all but their rulers.
"Howard come on in bro!" The small purple drake smiled up at me and my worry melted away as I entered the living building. "So what brings you by, are you wanting to read that comic I showed you the other day?"
"No Spike I'm here to see Twilight about getting more of that medicine she suggested I take." I take out the near empty pill bottle out of my jacket and shake it for emphasis.
"Howard!" Speak of the devil and she shall come as I feel the bottle levitated out of my grip and I turn to see the purple alicorn examining how many I had taken since my last refill. "How are you feeling on the current dosage? Any anomalous magical events or abnormal thoughts lately?"
"No Twilight, the medicine is keeping everything normal just like you said it would. I just wanted to make sure that I could get a refill now incase anything were to happen to call you away." I give her a soft smile and pointed look to remind her about how worried I had gotten the last time she disappeared without warning when we had a scheduled appointment.
Twilight laughed nervously and looked rightfully embarrassed as she went about swapping my old case with a new one. "Well that's partially why I wanted to try this newer version of the medication since you should only need one every two days incase of an emergency."
"Any glaring side effects that I should know about Twilight?" I look at the newer bottle with a trace amount of suspicion. "I don't want my hair to turn pink again like last time."
"Well there shouldn't be anything major, just a possibility of emotional stimuli being stronger for the first day or two." She nods with confidence that nothing could be wrong with her latest alchemical creation.
"Down the hatch I guess..." I tentatively swallow one of the new pills dry and shudder at the taste before looking in a nearby mirror to check myself over. "Well nothing turned pink yet and I don't feel that much different."
"Good, now while I would normally like to check up with you a bit more me and Spike have an errand to run in Canterlot tonight so we need to start heading out. I hope we can chat over some lunch in a day or two though and send a letter immediately if something goes wrong okay?" She and Spike both give me a quick hug before I leave them to pack up whatever they'll need for the short trip.
It wasn't too terribly long after I left the library that I ended up standing outside of a local bar breathing deeply as I tried and failed to calm myself. "Come on Howard you can do this, you just have to put that stuff behind you and make peace for AJ. Do it for Aj..." I slap my face lightly to focus my thoughts and slowly enter the bar the noise instantly dropping till I could hear a stallion near the door swallow the drink he had in his mouth. "H-howdy y'all..." Oh no, I was so nervous my old drawl came out and from the way Macintosh's eyes narrowed he must have thought that I was trying to make fun of his family or something.
"What do you want carnivore?" A pegasus near Mac said, speaking the last word like some sort of slur. Normally I couldn't be bothered by some no name trying to insult me but for some reason I felt heat rising to my face.
"I came to talk to Macintosh, not you bird boy." I quickly tried to calm myself again as I moved to their table after waving to the barkeep for a drink and sat down across from the ponies that had my ire tonight. "I promised Applej-"
*Thud*
"Don't." This was the only thing to come out of Big Mac's mouth after he slammed his hoof against the table.
I looked at him with exasperation and rolled my eyes before leaning forward. "So what now I'm not allowed to say her name? Is that it?"
"Eeyup." Mac said simply as he took a drink from the bottle that was sitting on his table and from the looks of things it wasn't his first.
Rubbing my temple with my fingers I sigh in exasperation before trying again. "Look I'm only doing this for her and I realize that I could have started this conversation better. I walk in on your night out and insult one of what I assume is a buddy of yours, but listen here okay? I'm doing this for her got it? Not for me and not for you, because for all I care we could keep hating each other till the stars burn out. She does care though about both of us and I'm not going to hurt her because of our petty little feud. We don't have to like each other but we need to stop this okay?" I look to him and try to get my point across as calmly as I can.
"Nope." He takes another drink.
"Wha-what do you mean 'Nope?' Aren't you going to make peace so we can both get on with our lives?" I angrily take a swig of the brew the barkeep had brought me and felt the familiar burn of strong whiskey sliding down my throat before returning my gaze to Mac.
"Nope." He takes another swig from his own drink before elaborating. "You should just leave me and my family alone. Leave Ponyville for that matter too."
I stare at the now obviously hammered stallion in shock, not because that's the most words I'd ever heard him say at once no. It was because he was so stubborn in his hatred of me that he couldn't see how he was going to hurt his sister if she had heard what he said. "Do you have any idea of how idi-" I stop myself and breath before continuing, "of how stubborn you are being. We had our fight and we both came out with our wounds, why can't you leave it at that so we can get on with our lives?"
"Cause I don't want a carnivore like you around my family, let alone trying to bump flanks with my sister and leave." At first I couldn't tell how he could be so mad about us bumping hips when we were walking earlier until my eyes narrowed at his accusation. To give myself something to do other than tearing his head off I drank more of the whiskey in front of me and focused on the nice burning sensation in my throat as I drained a decent portion of it.
"Mac... That mare is literally one of my best friends in this whole right now and you are her brother. While that compounds how incredibly furious I am right now because again, she is your sister. I am willing to forgive you for suggesting that I would do that then leave her high and dry, just as I'm willing to forgive you and your friend for repeatedly calling me a carnivore when I'm an omnivore that hasn't had a speck of meat since I've arrived. All you have to do is apologize and we can settle this thing." My voice and body are shaking with absolute fury both at these two and myself for not already putting them through a wall, but thanks to this all being for Aj I'm able to restrain myself.
"You've had a nice chomp of Big Mac's leg though back when you first met didn't ya? How long before you take a nice big chunk out of good ol Applejack huh? Probably only way you'll get a taste of her." The pegasus besides Macintosh cackles and his spittle clings to my face as I feel like it's starting to boil off of me as the bottle I hold begins to crack.
"Don't pluck him like a chicken, don't pluck him like a chicken..." I mutter to myself in a desperate effort to stop the red from completely filling my vision, only partially succeeding at not being overwhelmed by the pounding of the drums within my mind. Each pulse of my quickening heart bringing me closer and closer to ripping off his wings. "Don't pluck him like a chicken, don't pluck the overly annoying squawking bird-brained little sh-"
"Heck I bet little Applebloom wouldn't be more than a morsel for a monster like you." At this Macintosh looks as if he's about ready to smack his friend too, but he doesn't get the chance as a half-full bottle of whiskey shatters over the winged pony's face. In that instant I can only feel the impact that my hand makes on his face as I break his nose within seconds before Big Mac tackles me to begin pounding my own face and the ponies around us try to pull us off of each other. I push against the barkeep who was pulling me from behind and hear a lamp shatter on the floor behind the bar which causes him to release me as I barrel into Big Mac and throw him into the wall where he falls limp.
"What have you done..." One of the gathered ponies say as they look at the blood slowly coming from Macintosh's head, his unconscious body lying limply against the wall as I felt time slowing to a near halt.
"He was right, you are a monster!" Another says as they start throwing their drinks at me, unaware that they are fueling the fire behind the bar until the barkeep yells out, "Fire! Everypony out!" The smoke filled my lungs as the heat spread, I turned to leave before thinking about the other two...
I don't recall much after dragging the two unconscious ponies from the building aside from the pain of a rock being thrown into my head before I sprinted to Sweet Apple Acres. Everything had gone wrong and I had to find the one pony who could tell me truthfully what to do. I needed Applejack.
It was with the smell of blood, alcohol, and smoke that I arrived at the barn whilst shouting for her. I couldn't hear her words as everything was buzzing in my ears but she quickly approached me with a look of fear as I fell to my knees and tried to say something.
"Ev-everything went wr-wrong... I t-tried to fix things, b-but everything i-is-" That was all I was able to get out before she wrapped me in a hug and hushed me.
"Shh, everything's gonna be okay Howie. Just take some deep breaths... Now what in tarnation happened at th-" She trails off and I look at her to find her gazing in confusion behind me until she yells out, "Macintosh no!"
Before I have a chance to register what she said I'm on the ground again, my skull bouncing of the earth as a hoof is pressed to my throat. All I see is a deranged looking Big Mac with dried blood on his face as spots dance across my vision while Applejack tries to pull him off of me. Then my hand finds purchase on a stone and I swing it into the side of his face with a sickening crunch. I don't even really know what I'm doing anymore as I straddle him and prepare to hit him again before a pair of hooves wrench me backwards and I find myself in a headlock.
"Please both of you stop this!" She screams as her legs squeeze against the already bruised portion of my throat that her brother had stepped on hard. I barely hear her there and it seems Macintosh doesn't either as he slowly rises and marches towards me before turning as if to buck me full force. I already feel my ribs breaking just like last time when I see him doing this, I already feel his hoof suffocating me as his sister accidentally chocks me by trying to drag me away from him. All this compounds into such a sense of dread and immanent death that I don't even notice that I'm digging my teeth into Applejack until she stops her first bout of screaming.
"What have you done..." I look up to see Big Macintosh holding Applejack with hate in his eyes as I feel a strange warmth around my mouth and a trembling in my body. Then I see how afraid AJ is with blood flowing from her leg... how she's looking at me like I'm about to tear out her throat.
"No... nononononono...." I stumble away from my sin as my body starts to carry me away from all of the pain both physical and psychological whilst my mind starts to shut down. Why was she bleeding? Why was she looking at me like that? I couldn't have done that to her... could I? All around me as I sprint through the perfect rows of trees I hear their voices...
"Monster..." A look of fear.
"Carnivore..." A stone hitting my flesh.
"What have you done..." Applejack bleeding from my teeth.
Finally I awaken from my stupor to find that the trees aren't perfect anymore, they are of many different sorts and spaced unevenly... I had fled to the place where monster dwell. The Everfree Forest... I belonged here didn't I? I hurt ponies, "I hurt Applejack..." my voice barely a whisper as I turn to see smoke rising from Ponyville and I taste something around the edge of my mouth. I realize that I still have the wet blood of my best friend around my mouth and that I was unconsciously tasting it as I watched her hometown burn...
"What have I done..." I whisper to myself as I think about all that would await my return... I did not think that I would be killed nor did I fear that option. I thought of the stares that only a few had thrown my way now being the standard that all would gaze at me with. Of how my friends would look at me now... Would all of them look at me with those same fearful eyes that Applejack had? What would happen to me in punishment did not concern me, only the fact that whatever they would subject me to would never be enough for what I had done. For what I had become... So I turned my back upon the rising smoke and gazed into the dark woods when I realized... I must find my judgement here. Because this is where monsters belonged.
Author's Note
Well I do hope that you enjoyed this little foray into a new piece I came up with. I don't know how far it will go or how long following chapters will be as this one is already almost a third the length of my longest story. As always I appreciate any feedback you may have as long as y'know it's at least a bit constructive.
*Huff...*
I can't let them find me,
*Huff...*
I have stay away,
*Huff...*
"What is happening to me?" I feel my skin surround my exhausted muscles and aching bones like a ill-fitted suit while my hair felt like needles stuck into my skull. I resisted the urge to tear out my hair and wrench my own skin from my body as I kept pumping my legs further and further away from Ponyville, the smell of smoke and the shouting of those who came after me being my only guide as they allowed me to steer away from whence I came.
"Howard!" I heard a raspy female voice calling from the distance above the treetops. From the sound of the voice and how rapidly it seemed to be approaching I knew that it was Rainbow Dash, I had seen enough of her performances to know that I couldn't outrun this pursuer...
"I need to hide." My voice rasps out as I desperately search for somewhere to stow away, but anywhere that could hide me from her aerial vantage would leave me exposed to the ground party that was sure to be following after. I sprint harder as I try to buy more time for myself as I stick to the shade and shadows of the forest. Eventually I have to catch myself before I fall face first into a puddle of muddy earth, but then I had an the beginnings of an idea as I began to calm down. "What is happening to my head... I'm not thinking straight right now, maybe I shoul-"
"Howard!" My thoughts are interrupted by the swiftly approaching Rainbow Dash, the panic rising again to cloud my mind as I re-entered fight or flight mode and carried on with my panicked self's plan. Diving headfirst into the mud I coated myself as best I could in a short time before rolling into some nearby leaves and continued to roll into a nearby bush. I barely came to a halt when I heard the flapping of wings and panting of lungs as a rainbow maned pony flew into view carrying a small but focused light.
"C'mon Howard where are you..." I hear her mumble to herself as her grip on the light tightens. I held my breath as her light began to move over the shrubs and bushes in the area until it rested for a moment upon mine. Thankfully the mud had gotten rid of any glint from my clothing that may have reflected from the light and the leaves stuck to my body helped me fade into the bush instead of sticking out like a ball of mud in a rose garden. Soon enough her light moved on and after less than a minute so did she, shouting my name as she flew away into the distance...
"She looked so scared... am I really that much of a monster to her already?" I start to shiver though not from any chill in the air.
Of course you are, after all now we know what they taste like! She probably thinks you're going to burst from a bush any second and take a bite out of her precious little wings hehehee...
I try to rid myself of these intrusive thoughts but I can't stop shaking as the voice continues in my mind, tormenting me with its horrendous words and foul laughter.
Why shouldn't you wonder about the tastes? It's not like you're being a cannibal after all. Not too much fat on that one though, might have to make a soup to get the real flavor out hahahaa...
"Shut up... Shut up.. SHUT UP!" I croak out of my desiccated throat as I bring my forehead to bear against the trunk of a nearby tree to dislodge the insidious thoughts and their hellish laughter. I feel something start to trickle down my face as my thoughts are halted by the sound of Rainbow stopping and shouting.
"Howard?! Is that you?" I hear her wings rapidly flapping back towards my position, the camouflage unlikely to hold up to a more detailed search if she thought I was here. Thankfully I noticed what looked like cave on the other side of the foliage I had rolled into with only a small boulder to block the way. When I started to push against the stone I had expected to feel a great strain in my arms and legs to push it... I didn't feel anything as I slowly moved it aside and as I swiftly moved inside I heard a crunching noise as my movement was halted. Gazing back I found my little and ring fingers of my left hand caught between the wall and the stone.
"Why doesn't this hurt? Why can't I feel anything?" I could feel almost a dull tugging as I pulled against the stone to dislodge myself but otherwise I couldn't feel anything but a pressure in my mind as the voice returned...
Why oh why indeed, well don't you know? Monsters don't feel anything now do they hehehee!
It was louder this time... I had to get away from it... I pulled harder and harder until something gave and I was rushing into the dark. I only felt the wall I slammed into as one might feel an insect hitting the chest, the darkness and lack of tactile sense disorienting me until I noticed a light glow in the distance. As I crawled towards the light I heard and felt more voices, more laughter, more squirming inside of my head. Accompanying the voices, I soon saw shapes and figures reaching for me in the darkness that was suffocating me. It was like they wished to pull me deeper into the void surrounding me.
Crawl, crawl, crawl! Hahahaa! Monsters don't walk on two legs and the ponies walk on four... Maybe that means monsters like you should only ever crawl like you are now hehehee!
I dragged myself further and further into the cave as I desperately tried to find the source of the glow, hoping beyond hope that the voices would cease if I just got to the light until finally I rounded the corner and found the light. A few bioluminescent plants and fungi were grouped in a patch by a small pool, but I noticed that they seemed unhealthy and almost flickering like a dying candle. Sure enough though I was rid of the laughter as I crawled to the edge of the pool and drank deeply of the water as I thought about how these voices could have been appearing. The lack of pain and strange properties of what has surrounded me for the duration of my stay in the woods brought me back to a shaking noise I heard from my pocket which I found to be the pill case Twilight had given me earlier.
"Anomalies left and right maybe? Does that mean she got the dosage wrong? Instead of two days per pill maybe I only get half a day..." I felt the echoes of laughter bounce inside of my mind and I remove the lid to spill uncounted pills into my
numb hand as I quickly tossed them into my mouth finding them already slick with something as I swallowed. Looking down I began to realize that I had torn off some of the skin from my hand when I was stuck before, my fear increasing exponentially as I stare at the bleeding flesh that I cannot feel.
"Fun..." Turning around I look for the source of the voice
"P-Pinkie Pie?" The name tumbles out of my mouth with a mixture of surprise and trepidation as I quickly turn my head back to the entrance to see if she had somehow found me, but instead only the darkness which I had escaped welcomed my gaze. "I guess I'm still hearing things for now, after all... why would she want to be around a monster like me?"
"Monster? Monster!" Again I hear her upbeat voice even as she calls me a monster, but this time I realized that it was coming from the mirrored pool itself. As I turn to gaze at the pool and flinch back as I see her reflection in the shimmering waters even as I know I should only see my own. She stares at me as another Pinkie Pie appears... then another, and another, and another until I lose count of them all.
"Pinkie Pie what's going on, are you even really here?" I shake my head in disbelief as I lean into the pond to figure out why why there's so many of her there. Then like a bunch of parrots teaching each other a new word the word 'monster' spread from Pinkie to Pinkie until they were practically screaming it at me as I shook on the ground looking into the pool.
"Please stop..." I whisper as they start up their seemingly song like chant.
"Monster! Monster! Look everypony it's a monster!" The cacophony of pink ponies laughed at me.
"P-please..." I say a little louder, but the party of Pinkies does little to show that they even heard me as they continue to get louder and louder until finally I force myself up to my knees are throw a rock in anger.
*Snap!*
"Oh n-no.." I turn to see that I had snapped almost half of the remaining bioluminescent plants in half whilst the rest had begun to close themselves like the leaves of the mimosa humble plant when touched. I could feel the pressure in my head again, I knew that if I didn't hurry the laughter would come back. That horrible laughter that felt like someone was scratching the inside of my head with a rusted fork, and with it the ones I had seen in the darkness.
"Please! I didn't mean to- Woah!" I scream in surprise as I trip upon my own numb limbs as I try to rise and begin to fall into the mirror-like pool as time itself seems to slow down. I see myself as I move towards the still surface of the water and though I know it will shift around me it looks almost as if it will shatter into a hundred fragments and dice me into thin pieces once I hit it. Though... if the water is so still than why does my reflection seem warped and... wrong? What I see gazing back at me is insectoid and smiling like a Cheshire cat, almost reaching out to pull me in. Then the water that I had drunk from the pool rewet the blood of my friend as I felt it slip into my mouth once more.
"I'm nothing but a bloody butcher aren't I..." I feel the anger and rage of that evening boiling inside, only for it to be directed back at myself as I think about how wrong it all went. That's when the reflection changes once more, the insectoid being looking furious as it dissipates and a rough, scarred... thing meets my gaze while folding its arms to its chest. This is the visage that greets me as I slam into the mirrored pool as I thrash around to try and resurface, but with my lack of tactile sense combined with the darkness that has engulfed the cave I cannot find the right way as flounder.
I'm going to die down here.
That's the last thought that rushes through my mind before I see a new glow emanating from somewhere ahead. The color seems different than the cave but the red hue I see must be from the blood in the water so I thrash my way towards it as I swim further and further. After what seems like minutes of me desperately trying to follow the light I realize that what surrounds me is no longer the dirt and sediment of the pool, rather it's stone and the stone is very close around me. I had somehow followed the strange light deeper underwater instead of going back to the surface.
I have to go back now, I might not even be able to make it given I can't feel if my lungs are burning right now.
As I try to swim back from whence I came though I see that I'm instead still moving towards the light. That dull, pulsing light the same color of dried blood seemed to be dragging me further with little care as to which direction I wanted to go so I swam towards it once more.
If something is pulling me than that means a current right? And a current means this goes somewhere.
I push towards the light with all the strength I can muster but I know that sooner or later my muscles will stop having enough oxygen to push me forward. A strange thrumming noise surrounded me as I desperately pushed forward to
reach the light, it was almost like being surrounded by the vibrations of an small explosion except this was near constant and repeating. As the water thrummed I felt the liquid around me seem to thicken until the progress I made felt like I was having to push through something almost solid. Thankfully I don't have to wait too long before the light seems to dissipate and I break the surface of water once more, the viscosity returning to normal once I took my first breath of air.
"Why do I feel so warm now?" I ponder to myself as the craziness of the day starts to finally catch up to me and I feel myself drawn to sleep underneath the dark pillar near the edge of this new pool that I emerged from. Strangely enough with the small ambient scarlet light in this new cave the water slowly running down my body almost looks like fresh blood...
"I just need to rest for a while... Then I'll figure out what I need to do." After using a few small shreds of cloth to bind any visible wounds that I could find I fold up my jacket into a makeshift cushion for my head to lay upon and run my hand across the surface of the shadowy pillar. "What the..."
I recoil back for a moment and place my hand upon myself and then the floor, still unable to feel anything from either. Then I carefully touch the pillar and feel a pulsing warmth emanating from it. "Must be some sort of natural heat vent." I muse to myself as the remaining shreds of my rational mind try to make something up. Whatever the reason for the warmth it can keep me from freezing tonight and that's what matters right now... I can worry about why the stone felt as soft as silk in the coming morning. I start to curl up on myself as I lay beneath the pillar, my mind and body slowing down as I'm pulled into a deep and dreamless slumber.
Author's Note
Decided to make this one a 2.5k instead of trying to push for a full 5k this time around, I do hope that you enjoy this chapter and leave any questions or comments below.
