Tangled up in Ponytails

Chapter 3: Eye in the Sky

"It's ok, everypony that ends up here has a breakdown, especially what she's been through. Just relax, the operation was successful,so she should be waking up soon." I heard a male voice say,"that being said, she won't be able to see till her nervous system gets acclimated to the new prosthetics. You'll have to take care of her till then Virtuous, I'm sure I can work double time with the rigging to make sure she gets the care she needs." I heard a sigh come from a female.

"At least we got you on here, now I can keep our jobs and keep an eye on her. Still though, she blocked my thoughts somehow, not even alicorns have that ability. She's not just a simple bat pony, this one, I think she's descended from the original Nightbringer. That's the only way she could have blocked me." The mare said, slightly concerned.

"Then it's even better news, she'll be just fine in the end if that's the case. Just give her some time, and watch her. If she's a Nightbringer, then that would explain why she got exiled in such a manner. The question is, why would they continue to go after her, knowing what she could be capable of?" He said, puzzled and confused. "I guess we'll find out soon enough. Remember, 3 day travel to Night sky, then we get our job. I hope it's nothing too massive, there's a cute mare back home waiting for me." He chuckled and left, and I fell back asleep, never having truly woken up.

I had a dreamless sleep, but it felt as though I was sleeping for eternity.

“Hey Compass, wake up,” said a young voice.

I open my eyes only to see blackness.

“Huh, what where am I,” I asked, and heard Virtuous voice."You're on the ship, it's been about 2 days now. We are currently on the dark sky sea. Don't worry, Butterscotch is ok, and so are you." She said, and the sound of the sea and creaking of the ship confirmed it.

“Why is it so dark,” I asked, trying to find my bearings. I felt her grab me when I started to wobble to the side. She then said,"it's not dark. How much do you remember?"

“I remember our fun time but nothing else did you fuck me into a coma,”she chuckled and said,"I wish it was that. Trust me, I wish it was. Can you feel your eyes?" She asked me. The question was strange and seemed to have come from nowhere.

“Uh… I don’t know, I never thought about it like that,” I said, confused what she was asking me. I then took and held my hoof up to my eye, and instead of what I thought I'd feel, I felt cold orbs instead.

“What the buck?” I asked, as I kept feeling my eyes. The cold orbs felt hard and smooth against my hooves. Instead of feeling pain from touching my eyes, I instead felt pressure on my eye sockets. That's when I started to piece things together.

“I had another breakdown didn’t I?” I asked. Virtuous then put her leg around me and said,"yeah, but you're fine now, right?"

“I don’t know, I have had these for years. It normally results with me cutting myself,” I told her, quite shocked I did what I thought I’d never do.

I sat there thinking what could have brought me to do that. I hardly remembered what happened that night, The last thing I remember was her breath on my nethers than blackness. Now I am missing my eyes. Was it another dream… Or my memories. Either way, my eyes were gone, and they were replaced with something else. Whatever it was was allowing me to regain my sight. For some odd reason I was starting to see light and shadows.

“Hey Virtuous are you using magic on me? I am starting to see things.” I asked, somewhat hopeful. She the replied with,"no, it appears as if your neural system is starting to acclimate to the prosthetics

“I have Cybernetics?” I asked, once again feeling my eyes. She then said, "in a manner, yes. These are special runic eyes that are, in a manner, using the same cybernetics that you're probably used to, but they also use magic and moonstone to provide sight, in full color." She then scratched her head,"to tell the truth, I don't fully understand it myself."

“Please tell me I’ll still have my Night vision,”I asked, hesitant for her answer." "Yes, you'll have that and more." She replied.

“More?” I said questionaly. "If the eyes take properly, the moonstone and runes will give you aura sight as well as the ability to see underwater without goggles." She replied bluntly.

“Are there any other things I should Know like can I tell if someone is hostile towards me, or a compass that would be quite nice or some other tech that helps me use them?” She scratched her head and said,"not sure, moonstone is rather significant, so I'm not sure."

“Is there anyone I can ask?” I asked. "Yeah, that would be Mechnight. He's kinda of a loner though, the one that put in your eyes is named DR. Phoenix.

I tried to focus my eyes but as I did so I got an error message pop up.

“I think I am going to need help anyway. I don’t know how to focus on something. Could you go and get Mechnight for me?”

Virtuous obeys my command like she usually does and went to go fetch this guy that can tell me stuff about my eyes. A few moments later a semi-foul smelling and grumbling creature walked through the door.

He smelled like blood, like he just got done with a surgery. His eyes were crossed and he had a cutie mark of prosthetics.

“U-Uh Hi Ms Star, You wanted to know about the eyes you have?" A female voice from behind the foul smelling stallion said. The stallion turned around, and in a very gruff accent that spoke of harsh winters, said,"I don't understand how they couldn't be working, unless you installed them wrong Kirin."

I looked through blurry eyes trying to see what was going on. The mad pony or whatever he was seemed like he was going to break a blood vessel in his head.

“Um what's going on?” I asked, still confused as a filly with learning disabilities might be.

"Well, you say you have issue when trying to focus eyes right?" The stallion asked.

“Uh, Yeah?”

"Well, I'm trying to figure out why. My tech is superior in every way, yet here you are with issue, so the question is, could it be just a bad installer?" He said, his insinuation clear and blunt, like his english. You could hear an angry snort behind him.

“No, They are installed properly, every wire is in the proper place according to your book, So if there is a mistake it's yours,’ She giggled as the stallion's blood veins popped from his head.

"You even made sure that you didn't touch the small tab near the sight cord?" He said. He breathed furiously.

“Yeah I followed everything in your book as the instructions said. I am good at instructions, it's one of my many talents.”she said with a slight bit of amusement.

"Ah, so if I did this, it would fix it?" He said before applying a slight bit of pressure to my eye sockets...almost instantly, my blurry sight cleared up. It kinda hurt though, and it caused my nose to drip afterwards.

Soon after A menu appeared in my sight, it had a few boxes for choices, and one that said calibrate.

“Um what now, how do I make them work?” I asked.

"Do you see a set of words, including one that says calibrate?" He said.

I looked at the boxes and said, “yes.”

"Ok,now what you need to do is look at the box, and stare at it for a moment. It will autocorrect the issue with focusing

“But I can see fine now, well except for the boxes being in the way,” I said, kinda confused.

"What's going on, is that the eyes weren't set right. They will revert to blur if you don't calibrate. Trust me.

“Ok,” i stared at the box and soon after another menu appeared

There were now Boxes that said, new user, slight adjustment, troubleshooting. The next question was then answered by,"now go to New user, cause that's what I put for full calibration to irritate any thief that would try to steal and use my tech" he Said with a hearty laugh.

I look at the box, for a few new items in my vision to appear. One was a small pony with a health bar beside it, another was a compass, there was a detailed picture of what was behind me. Suddenly, I felt a small jolt in my eye sockets for a moment that made my nose really drip. Six more boxes appeared in my vision. The boxes stated what type of setup I want.

“Um What setup should I go for.” I asked, clueless as to what each one did. He simply stated,"the best would be the top one, Its at the top because it's the best one. It's also the one that is great for any trained soldier, health bars, injury reports, standard knowledge. Anyway, after all that, you should start seeing better.” He smiled afterwards, smugly.

I saw a blip appear by his form, and a box appeared near him that said aroused. I chuckled slightly at it, causing him to take notice and ask,"what, what is it?"

I quickly say, “Nothing,” and he gives me a stern look and the box said annoyed,”ah, wait, there is that feature, can't change it now, not that I mind it. Eh, what could go wrong with that info." He said, smiling somewhat mischievous.

Phoenix then jumped in and said, enough stroking your ego, time for her to get some more rest.

“But mama, I am not tired,” I said sarcastically, only to be met with the look of pure viciousness as she held a needle,"I can fix that." The box next to her said joking. I didn't get it.

Virtuous comes back in the room, “I’d suggest giving her the meds, Or i think we might have a mess, It’s getting close to her bedtime and the little filly needs her sleep," she said as a package magically appears. It was a brown box without any instructions or anything that gave any directions. But I still knew what was inside if what she told me she bought was true. I blush looking at the succubus, and as I do so a cold wetness forms on my neck. Phoenix was wiping me with an alcohol wipe and was about to stab me with the needle.

What have I gotten myself into… I think to myself, and I thought, well, could be worse. Then I get told,"oh before I give this, you may experience some twisted and erotic dreams." Phoenix said right before plunging the needle into my neck. I cried out as a sharp pain lanced threw my neck and a cold fluid entered my body.

*********************

In the dream world

"Compass, Compass," I heard a familiar voice crying out my name, It sounded like my Friend Valentine, But when she came into view part of her face was missing and flanks branded over with the same brand that marks mine. "There you are Compass, I have been waiting for you. Why did you leave anyway? You know what Rose Bud has done right?" She said to me. Her voice was calm yet cold, and she began to approach me. She continued to talk as she did, "she's mad, she's insane, what she did to you is nothing compared to what she's about to do to us. She's marked us, cut us, broken us. She singled me and Moon out and sent us away, I don't know why she has. All I know is that it started with you. She hasn't hurt Moon though, and she's done so with a reason."

I began to walk backwards away from her, breathing shallow and panicky as she continued to approach me."that being said, I don't know how long I'll be around. I can't protect Moon, and as it stands, she's in danger, because of you." Her leg began to separate from her body, and she stopped walking towards me when it happened,"so this is what it feels like, to be digested alive.."she said before laughing maniacally.

Val, Please you're scaring me, If you need help, there is a portal in the forest, there are nice ponies there, I am on a ship sailing to Dark sky city, and please Bring Moon with you. I miss her tremendously,” I Rambled trying to stay away from the decaying pony,”I wish I could've done that, but thankfully I'm not with her...or she isn't here with me. Either way, I don't know where she is, Compass, all I know, is that I am happy to see you one last time." She said as she faded away. "If You want to get out alive, run for your life."

“Val!” I yelled hoping she'd not be gone, but only heard silence. Black darkness was all that surrounded me, until I saw a shimmer of light in the distance.

I Started to run for the light as my time started to seem like it was running out of sand. I began to feel warmth and moisture around me, as well as something soft and squishy beneath my hooves. A burning sensation started spreading thru my body, It felt as if it was stripping the flesh from my bones. I began to panic as the soft squishy feeling began to spread to a feeling of being wrapped up in something's flesh. I got squeezed tight, my body feeling weak and I started slipping and I tried to make my way out but the light was gone. All that I could see was yellow fluid and darkness. Suddenly I saw some light illuminate the dark area around me, and I saw immediately what was going on, red flesh, slick mucus, and dripping gastric juices from the walls and ceiling, all pooling into the fluid beneath me.

I began to walk through the gross passageway, nearly slipping in a brown substance that looked like digested food of some kind. I stared at it, almost immediately regretting it as a unicorn's skull emerged from the gastric soup. It then spoke to me in Valentine's voice, “RUN!”

It didn't take me long to heed the words, and I started to run to where-ever I could. The flesh around me began to squelch and groan, and I heard the fluid bubble underneath me. Behind me, I heard the stomach walls begin to close in and mechanically work to help the fluid dissolve it's victims, making it all the more imperative that I had to run. Muscles tensed up with every step I took, and the fluid got more and more aggressive, making the already bitter smelling air worse as bile churned.

I took a step slipping down a passageway and into a broth like fluid, everywhere that it touched burned and fur began to fall from the afflicted areas. I tried to get up and found more pain on my front leg, pulling up my leg to find that my hoof had softened so much that it had fallen off, leaving behind only the flesh that it was attached to. The stomach walls were still closing in. A voice began to talk,echoing around me,"well, you've gotten pretty far, it's rather nice to have eaten someone who has that much fight, but I'm afraid it's all for not. Soon you'll just be nutrients for my next stallion to work off. It's been fun, and it's gonna be even better here soon." I feel my breathing getting heavier and the darkness takes over again. Then I was blinded by the light and all I could hear was screaming. The question is why does it sound like my own?

“That's when I hear, “Luna Damn it, can someone calm her down,” said a voice I didn’t recognize.

“Come on Aurora, why don’t you calm her down,” I heard the voice of the kirin respond.

I tried to stop screaming but it was like I wasn't in control of my body. It seemed as though I would never stop when a pink pony with a purple mane came in the room and stuffed an apple in my mouth.

“Relax Compass It was only a dream, Now would you be so kind and stop screaming,” She said, annoyed at me for some reason.

I took a bite of the apple and the part that wasn’t in my mouth fell to the bed I was laying on. The sweet taste of the juice and texture of fruit immediately stopped the trembling and screaming, but the dream still continued to play in my head. It was if it was on autoplay, making me feel and see everything, even while I was awake. Then I heard one more set of hooves, and suddenly, the horrible visions left me, leaving me only to see Featherlight in front of me, warmth coming from him. It felt like every ounce of terror and cold left me. "You're fine now, it's over, it's over."

I whimpered a bit trying to get the images out of my mind and soon had something warm cuddled me.

“Mama are you ok you scared me,” Said Butterscotch who was under my bat wing.

I look down at her, wishing she didn’t see me like this. The fear in her eyes was apparent and probably mirrored my own. The others around me staired, making me uncomfortable, at least till Featherlight gave a gaze of his own."That's enough excitement for one night, go to bed all of you. As for your Compass, do you think Virtuous can watch the little one, or do you believe that she can handle the contents of what you saw?”

Butterscotch stayed in the bed with me as she looked at me giving me a confused look.

“As much as I love her cuddles, I think it's best for her to not hear this,” I said as he picked her up in his wing. He then took her to wherever Virtuous was and came back without the cute little filly.

"I'm sorry for your loss, and, I'm sorry that you had to see that." He said, a true sense of sorrow in his voice. "I could sense what you had seen, as well as the nature of the dream, it's part of my nature, to find bad dreams and devour the fear from them. So I know what happened, and I also can tell you, our future job just got more complicated."

“Are you telling me you want to help me with finding my love?” I asked, confused. What he said next however, almost broke me." I hope you mean Moon song, because your friend Valentine...is dead." He spoke softly, and with more meaning than I could ever fathom. He turned his head slightly when he said those last two words.

I looked to where he was looking and my wing blades were folded on a chare. The logo of the factory was sanded off and now has Valentines Cutie mark painted in the place of it. "These wings once had the logo of malice and terror on them, and I figured that if you had something that reminded you of something to live for. That being said, it appears as if terror and malice have tried to break even that. What you saw in your dream, that was something that she has given you to try to break you." He said, hints of anger began to come through,"it makes me sick, creatures like that."

“Thanks, It’s alway good to know what you're fighting for, am I right?” I said.

He looked at me and smiled,"yeah, it's true, I was sure that you were gonna break down the moment you found out that she had died. Still, how are you holding up?c

“I don’t know, I feel like crap and knowing my friend died the same way that i could have in my dream is dramatising.” I responded. He looked at me and said,"yeah I get that, death by being digested by a dark succubus isn't exactly the best feeling in the world, even if it's slow, about a day's worth of suffering."

“Is this why Virtuouse is watching over me, to protect me from this monster?” He looked at me and said,"yes, that's one reason, the other is to help with quality of life while you're with us, which will be for a while." A smile happened to pop up on his face. “Say maybe you'll find love in her, or some one on the ship,” He said, as he left the room and for me to dive into my thoughts.

"Yeah, guess it would be nice to search for someone new… But what if we find Moon Song and she still wants to have a relationship then what do I do." I asked. He smiled and chuckled,"well then, there's always space on this ship for one more, that being said, can't have any slackers. Have a lot of hard work for you when you're able to start."

"Yeah, I am looking forward to that, I need to get more fit after sitting in this bed for so long.” I said as the thought ran through my head. He nodded and left to the wheel, and sat next to a succubus who was strange and somewhat different. She had a sort of leather armor that was black and not so form fitting. There was something ethereal about her, with her lavender glowing eyes and faint wisps of darkness flowing off her. She stood proudly at Featherlight's side. She had her face covered, but her ears were prominent and pointed. She had claws always showing and her leathery whiplike tail moved like a cat's. She was somehow beautiful in a way.

I stared at her stuplified and thought about what Featherlight said. He told me there was work to do so I should stop staring at her and get to work. He looked up and pointed at the moon, saying,"the eye is open, the moon is full, tonight we will be safe." He said with a smile, he then looked at me and said,"you can go to bed anyway, I forgot to say, unless you don't mind keeping course." With a hopeful look, he held the wheel with one hoof.

I walked to the deck where Virtuous was helping Butterscotch swob the deck. "How did the talk go with Featherlight?" Virtuous asked as soon as she looked at me.

"Uh good i guess… Apparently he has the same ability as you to read minds so I didn’t say much,” I said. Virtuous then tilted her head and said,"it's less reading your mind, and more sensing your emotions and seeing your dreams, if that makes sense." She looked at Butterscotch and continued,"it is how nightmares and NightStallions feed without actually needing to eat. That being said, dreams can only subsist them for so long, a month at most."

“Oh, your one smart filly,” I said happily.

She looks at me and say’s “Not as smart as I should be, I guess that's what happens when you don’t go to school" she said, as I picked her up and said, “Oh don’t say that about yourself sweetie, your a cute young filly who has a lot going for herself.” I said scolding her but also trying to make her feel better.

Virtuous then chuckled,"well, at least that hasn't changed much, though, I have to ask, how were you able to stop me from seeing your thoughts?" She asked me.

“Its something I have always been able to do… I lock my thoughts from myself so I stop thinking about it…” I said, looking away. She put a claw underneath my chin gently and lifted my head to look at her. She wore a warm smile,"nothing to be ashamed of my dear, just something that intrigued me, that's all. Never know, it may be useful one day."

“Useful it is…” Said Featherlight as he came out on deck. "But, it can also be harmful, the past does need to be dealt with eventually, but only when one is ready. Sometimes, it's the only way to find the strength you need to win the fight." He said, and finished with,"speaking of, sleep also helps."

“Yeah I guess I should try for more sleep even though I kinda just woke up…” I said as I walked back to my room.

Butterscotch followed me in for some reason.

“U-um, Can I sleep with you… I don’t like s-sleeping alone…” She stuttered out. She looked terrified, and Virtuous looked over and shrugged, saying she was fine with it.

“Sure sweetie, why not.” I said, as I picked her up and wiped away the sadness on her face. I sat her on the bed and with Virtuous’s help we were soon ready for bed.

She then looked at the two of us and said,"well, you two are so cute! I'd make some one off saying about how cute you two are, but I'm sure that Compass wouldn't like it. I'll go do some stuff topside, it's really hard to sleep for me tonight, I'll see you tomorrow morning." She said, making sure that the lantern light was not too bright as she left.

I kissed Butterscotch on the head and to which she giggled.

“Good Night,” I said I I dived into a dreamless sleep for the first time in my life.