Problems of a Dead World

Chapter 22: Voices

Kill her...

Maim her...

Kill the mare...

Kill her.

They want to... KILL her...

They're going to drink her blood... GRIND her bones...

KILL TWILIGHT SPARKLE.

Earl's eyes quickly snapped open and darted around the room nervously, his breathing heavy and exhausted. He quickly noticed the decor of the castle, specifically the decor of Twilight's room. His face was pale, his eyes bloodshot, and a weight was pressing down onto his chest. His view continued shifting throughout the room, searching for the voices he had just been hearing. After finding nothing, the grey unicorn took a final uneasy breath and used the back of his hoof to wipe a cold bead of sweat from his forehead. The weight still clung to his chest like a bag of bricks, causing him to glance down worriedly.

He was instantly relieved to find a familiar purple mare clinging to his chest tightly, along with the soft sensation of a blanket wrapped around the two. His chest was the only relatively warm part of his body due to the unicorn next to him, the rest was as cold as a stone in the night. Tears of sadness and relief filled his eyes as he leaned down and rubbed his face against the sleeping mare's forehead affectionately.

"I'll never let them get you... They'll never kill you..." he said quietly, shaking as the words left his lips.

Twilight shuffled under him slightly, eventually revealing two comforting irises and glancing to him behind the tired eyes.

"W-What...?" she asked absentmindedly, her voice cracking slightly.

Earl's bottom lipped quivered in fear of the voices he had just heard. He raised a shaky hoof to her cheek and ran it across the purple fur gently.

"N-Nothing... Go back to bed, sweetheart..." he said quietly.

Twilight nodded slightly and yawned, opening her mouth as wide as it could go, before burying her face in his chest again. He continued to stroke her mane lightly until she drifted off into sleep again, then wormed his way out of the bed without waking her up.

He groggily made his way to one of the windows on the opposite side of the room, his head hung low. A faint throbbing ran through the unicorn's brain with each heartbeat and hoof step.

Kill her...

THEY WANT TO KILL HER.

Earl...

They're going to kill her...

The grey unicorn shook his head savagely, trying to expel the voices from his mind as they raged on. The searing pain in his skull only worsened at the sharp movements of his neck, along with the voices. They continued screaming at him. Telling him over and over again of Twilight's demise. His breathing became quick and shallow again, worried thoughts creeping into his mind at the mention of Twilight's name.

All of his thoughts stopped however, as there was a gentle knock at the door of Twilight's room. Earl flinched drastically and stumbled a few steps backward, eyeing the door as terrified heartbeats continued rocking his chest. Another light knock sounded at the door, causing Earl to stumble again. After a deep breath, the grey unicorn slowly made his way to the door.

Kill her... They'll kill her...

He opened the door cautiously, revealing a suited unicorn on the other side, his coat a light brown, and his mane a darker shade than his coat. He was carrying a small box on his back.

"Ah, hello, terribly sorry if I woke you." the brown unicorn said in a fancy, high-class tone of voice.

Earl shook his head hesitantly, eyeing the unicorn closely and worriedly.

"N-No... You're fine..." Earl replied in a nervous tone.

"Right... Well I have Ms. Sparkle's requested clothing for the day's events." the unicorn said, levitating the box from behind his back, and in front of Earl.

The grey unicorn nodded slowly and took the box in his own grasp of levitation.

"Shall I bring another assortment for you, sir?" the suited unicorn asked.

"Yeah... That would be great..." Earl replied, still staring worriedly at the suited unicorn.

The unicorn nodded and trotted off down the hallway.

Earl eyed the box in his grasp for a few moments, then peeked out of the door in both directions, unsure of what he was searching for. His breathing still remained heavy, as well as his heart beating savagely. After shutting the door, he slowly trotted back into the room, eyeing the box with two terrified pupils. Continuing into the room fully, he set the box down on the bed next to the sleeping Twilight, then walked to the opposite side of the room.

The nervous pony continued eyeing the box for the next hour, examining it's every detail. It was a small wooden box, seemingly big enough to have what was said inside. But Earl didn't trust it.

Earl...

The unicorn's breathing stopped.

They want to kill her...

Earl couldn't take it anymore. He swiftly made his way over to the bed, careful not to make any noise and wake the sleeping mare across the room. Upon reaching the box, he grabbed it and retreated back to his previous spot. With a deep breath, he lifted the lid off of the box and tossed it to the floor. Sure enough, inside of the box was a black dress, which looked to be made of silk. Earl blinked in disbelief. There was nothing life threatening, nothing dangerous, it was just a dress.

Something more...

The grey unicorn nodded and narrowed his eyebrows.

"Something more..." he whispered to himself.

Without hesitation, Earl reached inside of the wooden box and pulled out the dress. Still, it was just a dress. Nothing special about it. Just a hoof-stitched, silk, black dress.

Earl looked between the dress and the box wildly for a moment before a confused expression came across his face. He then lowered his hooves and let the dress rest on the ground gently, bringing one hoof to his temple and rubbing circles on it.

"What the fuck is going on...?"

* * *

After another hour, Twilight slowly opened her eyes. Morning tiredness clung to the awaking unicorn for several moments, which blurred her vision and caused her to yawn loudly. When her vision finally cleared, she noticed a long, black, silk dress waiting for her on the other side of the bed. Slightly confused, she looked to the other side of the room, where Earl was staring out of the window.

"Good morning..." she said quietly, her voice choked slightly.

Earl flinched again and instantly turned to her, a terrified expression on his face. He calmed however, when he saw Twilight smiling weakly at him.

"M-Morning..." he mumbled, almost inaudibly.

Twilight ran her hoof along the silky fabric of the dress beside her.

"Thank you, for getting this for me." she said.

Earl smiled and made his way over to the bed, and sat down next to the dress.

"It was the guy... He came to the door and..." Earl said quietly, trailing off.

Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"Are you OK?" she asked worriedly.

Earl snapped his head upwards and looked to her. his eyes wide.

"Huh?" he asked absentmindedly.

"I asked if you were alright..."

His expression was quickly replaced by a comforting smile.

"Yeah. Just fine, how'd you sleep?" he said, almost too fast for Twilight to comprehend.

Luckily, hanging out with Pinkie had taught her to understand even the fastest of speaking. She nodded and shrugged.

"I slept well... Just... Today is going to be rough." she said, aiming her head to the floor.

Earl frowned and raised a hoof to her shoulder, and rubbed her coat gently.

"I'll be there with you every step of the way." he said softly.

Twilight smiled slightly, her eyes still glued to the floor.

"I still can't believe I said all of those things to you..." she said quietly, her voice choked.

The grey unicorn shook his head and tightened his grip on her shoulder slightly.

"Don't be. You were upset. It's fine." he said.

The purple unicorn nodded.

"I'm going to... Get ready." she said, looking back up and to him.

Earl nodded and retracted his hoof as Twilight got up from the bed, retrieved her dress, and left into one of the various rooms connected to her private quarters. The grey unicorn watched her walk off, a smile on his face. But It quickly turned to a frown after she left his view.

They'll Kill her...

Maim her...