Shades of Pink
Edited by: xXSwitchBrony1
From within the darkness of the abyss stood a tall creature. Cloaked in shadow, massing a whopping ten feet tall, it stood. With it's two misty white glowing eyes, it stared endlessly into the hole of darkness surrounding it. Using it's two long legs that supported itself, it slowly moved forward. Soon it came to a stop, pulling one of its arms up in front of it. Reaching out, it felt the wall that confines the creature to it's prison. It clenched it's fist tightly, anger building up within it. Using it's ethereal eyes, it quickly switched its gaze from the wall to something else.
Its’ normally white mist turned red as time itself started to speed up. Everything became hyper-realistic as it sprinted with untold speed at the new distraction. Closer it came as everything started to melt around it. The shadows grew deeper and darker, the hideous abomination getting taller and distorted the closer it came. Finally, it reached its destination, taking a deep breath as if to suck out any air that was left within the place. In a single motion, it roared like a thousand dragons. Its maw was horrible, thousands of teeth, row on row of them placed within the beast’s mouth. For what seemed like an eternity before the beast ended it's rampage, it rose to it's highest point. It opened it's mouth again, revealing those teeth in a horrible expression. It intends to swallow it's prey. It just so happens, that its prey is in fact, you.
You wake up from the nightmare, sweat all over your upper body. Using your foreleg, you wipe the sweat from your face, giving yourself a clear view of the world around you. Almost immediately you notice your location, as the memories come flooding back. You were staying at a hotel, somewhere south of Hoofbard. You gaze over to your left, noticing the bag on the table. Picking it up, you assume the amount just by the weight. Fifteen to Twenty remaining, not good.
You sigh, picking yourself up off your bed. You notice just how intense the nightmare really was as you feel your entire body shaking with its aftereffects. You chuckle to yourself, "It was just a dream, man. Calm down." You glance at the alarm clock, seeing the time. You sigh, realizing that it really isn’t worth going back to sleep. Glancing back at your bed, you notice the sheer amount of sweat in the sheets. "These dreams are getting worse." You remember back to home, where your parents had to clean your sheets every off day because of the amount of fluid being produced into them. "Sorry mom, sorry dad. Good thing I'm gone though, right?" You chuckle sadly, as you remember exactly why you left in the first place.
Trotting into the restroom, you clean yourself off with a quick shower. You wanted to take a long, relaxing shower, but you knew you had to leave very soon. Stepping into the shiny bathroom, you turn the nozzle with mist to the preferred heat setting. Cold showers were usually nice after nightmares, but this morning you wanted to start anew. You spend the next few minutes under the water, applying various soaps, and cleaning products the hotel provided for you. Finding yourself clean enough, you 'magically' turn off the water. Finding it hard to breath with the heat, you quickly sprint to the door, opening it with haste. Though, you probably shouldn't have done that to begin with.
Almost instantly, you regret the decision as the freezing cold air that sat in your room invades the warm sitting of the bathroom. You almost scream at the change in temperature, shutting the door quickly. Though, with the force of the door shutting, a fan of cold air is sent flying at you. You start to shiver as you cover yourself with the towel, nicely prepared for you on the seat of the toilet.
Drying yourself off, you creak the door open slowly this time, letting the cold air come with ease. You curse at yourself for being such a sensitive foal. With your fur dry and mane in a mess because you don't bother to comb it. After all, you never do anyways. You check back at your bed, noticing its messy state. Feeling kind, you make your sweaty bed, knowing they will change the sheets regardless.
From across the bed, near the door, sits a small box. You approach it, opening the locks. With ease, you discover the clothing within it. You smile weakly as you put your alabaster white cloak on yourself. With a perfect fit, you throw the hood over your face. The small hole near the edge is an exact fit for your horn. You feel slightly uncomfortable as your hair battles against the wool, though it isn't much of a bother. You yawn silently, looking straight into the mirror behind the box.
You see yourself, obsidian black fur with streaks of white down the sides of your limbs. The white connects like an outline of a skeleton, heading straight up the center and back of your neck to your mane. Though that is much hidden, you know it to be the same design of black, with a single white streak down the middle. The only things on your body that aren't black or white are your eyes, which are a deep, dark, brown. It's not like you don't like those two colors, they're your favorite!
You never understood why they always called you a dalmatian. You don't even look like one. You chuckle as you recall being made fun of in elementary for your colors. You turn your gaze from the mirror, straight to the door. You cough, snatching the last sack of bits you have before leaving the room. Casually directing yourself to the main entrance, you use the stairs to the bottom floor. You considered using the elevator but decided the more physical activity you received, the better.
You trot into the main lobby, noticing the deserted atmosphere. That is, of course, once you remember that it is 4:30 in the morning. As you head for the door, you notice the sleeping mare at the front counter. You gave her one quick glance, taking all important information. Mare, maybe around her twenties, if not teens. Yellow mane, pink fur, nicely combed. Status: Asleep. You catch one last thing. Directly next to her was a book, a very large one to be exact. Feeling kind, you decide to give your magic a little practice. You whisper a few words under your breath, conjuring up a spell you invented. Your weak smile turns into a sly grin as the book is enveloped in a white mist with small black sparks flying off in random directions. You lift the book a good distance above her. Deciding this is a good enough height, you stop the book in mid air. The mist disappears as the book continues to levitate in the air. You open the main entrance, feeling the cold morning air hit your warm body. You ignore it, counting slowly to yourself. Three, two. Your grin growing from ear to ear. One. You hear a shriek of a mare being woken up by a book slamming into the desk she had made her bed. You laugh, picking up your speed to escape the potential possibility that the angry mare went after you.
After sprinting for a few minutes, you slow down to catch your breath. Worth it. You think, catching several snickers from your mischievous deeds. Realizing that you had sprinted off in a random direction, you completely forget that you have no idea where you are. Just for the moment you wish you were a pegasus. Just so you could at least know where you were. You shake your head, admitting you wouldn't give up magic for anything. Getting back into reality, you take the moment to scan your location.
Looking around, you see that you are still on a road. All around you trees filter the sides, blocking the way for any sunlight to enter. Only then did you realize how dark it really was. Instinctively you light up your horn, the white aura adding to the effect of providing light. You sigh, realizing that you are lost. Luckily, you have something to help you. Your magic of course. You search the deep tome of knowledge known as your brain, you chant the words to a spell silently. Earning a small spark of light from the space in front of you. The light is weak, though you can tell it is growing. Soon enough, it grows to the size of a normal sprite.
With the form of a small elemental, it dances around the space, it's flame flickering brightly. You chuckle at the sprite, wondering how such child-like attributes could exist in a magical entity. Show me the way...You start, gaining the attention of the sprite. You gaze down the dark road.
The sprite nods with glee, flying down the dark road. You say nothing and just follow it. The ethereal leads you down the dark path for who knows how long. You lost count many...hours ago? Several moments pass before you notice something ahead. Slowing your pace, you acknowledge it to be a cave. A very large one at that. Realizing that this could be the cave of some sort of animal you glance at the fairy, hoping it doesn't...But it does. You cringe as the sprite dances gleefully into the cave, without any kind of worry.
You shake your head, sighing, as you walk into the cave. The sprite moves on a few feet ahead of you, taking a sharp turn that you didn't even know was there. You notice a faint glow up ahead, as you can see another turn. Soft, glowing blue light reflects on the walls of rock. In a split second you immediately consider what could possibly be around the corner. You knew that the sprite you summoned was in fact a living creature. Though it couldn't be destroyed through physical terms, magic is a whole different story. You attempt to warn the sprite but miss as the sprite moves into the room.
Worry builds up in your stomach as you contemplate the possibilities. Stupid spirits.. You think. You approach the turn, just barely poking your head out to see the surprise behind it. Exactly what you thought. What stood before you was a massive, MASSIVE, Ursa Major. You feel your whole body lock up at the sight of one of these beauties, though very dangerous. It always fascinated you how these creatures came to be. They are literally made of extremely small suns and stars. Using magic through genetic makeup, these stars connect themselves to send various magical atoms between the space to form a sort of, ethereal flesh. What made them decide to take on the form of a bear, you haven't the slightest, but does that honestly even matter?
You glance over to the head, which is nicely rested between the paws of the entity. Much to your good fortune, it is asleep. Due to being of a partially existent form, the beast is able to be seen through. Yet you aren't surprised as you see the giggling sprite behind the beast. You grit your teeth as you realize what you must do. You cringe, and groan as you conjure the spell which you loath. C'as mu spiritis. The instant you finish, your whole body flashes, as you feel your flesh being...Removed.
You quickly move directly through the beast, passing through it's astral form. You reach the sprite in a few seconds, quickly moving past it, just to get away from the cursed beast. You see the end of the cavern ahead, with light peaking through the small spaces. Cringing, you feel the sensation again, this time in reverse. You feel your body stitch itself together, forming the very physical form you previously possessed. You hated that spell. With haste, disregarding possible dangers, you quickly enter the light. You hear the sound of rushing water as you close your eyes to avoid the sunlight invading your line of sight. Suddenly, you feel weightless. Though it didn't take much time to register why.
You open your eyes with shock as you notice you are falling with intense speed. Looking down, you see the end of the water. You remember the saying that you should always check behind a waterfall for a cave. It seems you just came out of one of those. Still falling, fear slightly diminishes as you hit the water...Hard. So hard it knocks you out.
The next thing you feel is warmth. Though you aren't sure what you felt before, as all that matters now was warmth. You're barely are able to open your eyes, as a dim light raids them. It stings for a second before it sets. Slowly, but surely, you open your eyes fully to scan the area around you. A small hut of some sort, various artifacts and fetishes cover the walls. A burning fire in the center, a pot over top it. You notice a sort of thick aura around the pot, learning that something must be cooking.
You take a look back at your body, which is under a number of blankets. You assumed something must have found you, taken pity, and helped you. While it was quite nice of them, you didn't know whether it was a pony or something else that perhaps enjoyed eating ponies. You cringe, deciding you didn't want to find out.
You glance to your left, seeing a door. Fire burns within your soul as you climb out of bed. Then it hits. The massive headache you apparently received hits you like a train. You nearly fall to your hooves, but you push yourself through the pain to the door. Reaching the door, you try to open it with your hooves. Magic was out of the question with the headache.
"Just where do you think you are going?" A voice says from behind you. You lock up. "With those injuries, you won't get far without pulling." You slowly turn around to meet your fate, taking a hard defensive stance. Then you drop it at the sight of a pony. No, make that a zebra. Wait, a zebra? Her stripes are just as her kind describes, and her accent certainly sounds like it. You ponder to yourself why a zebra is in Equestria, though you quickly shake it off. It isn't important right now.
You ask her where you are, and she, in turn, laughs. "Home." She says, this time not rhyming. You wonder why. Then you consider that if she says a single verse, then she has no reason to rhyme. Taking in the information that this...hut was in fact her home, you ask her why she took you in. "To help of course, I couldn't leave anypony to die or worse!" She stated, taking a swig of the contents within the pot.
"Ah! It is ready, come hither, take a sample already." She motioned for you to come over. You were questioning this mare, but you did as she asked. You rarely hear of any pony-kind practicing cannibalism. You approach the pot, taking notice of the contents. For the first time in your life, you actually thank yourself for not being able to smell things, as you’re sure it would be quite disgusting. Though taking a look back at the mare, she certainly seems to enjoy it.
You take a small sample of the potion, feeling almost better instantly. The headache which was previously blocking your magic was removed. Literally, in almost ten whole seconds it was gone. You were so surprised you asked her if you could take some with you. Though she shook her head, "It is the potion you sought, however I'm afraid it does not like to leave the pot." Confused, you forcefully take some potion in a small container only to have it disintegrate instantly. She chuckles lightly at your confused face.
Suddenly, you feel full of energy. You ask her where Ponyville is and she asks why. You tell her it isn't important, and she gives you the directions. "If it is directions you lack, follow the road until you reach Fluttershy's shack." She says, a smile on her face. Feeling thankful, you reach into your backpack and pull out five bits. You plant them on the ground, sprinting out the door without further questions.
Fluttershy? The element of kindness? She can't be serious! You think, sprinting down the path. You think back at how long you've been traveling. Three weeks. Three weeks of torturous adventures like the ones today. Surely enough, the forest ends as you step out into a vast field of sunlight and grass. You nearly lose your breath at the beauty of the sight. Just up ahead you can see a small shack, surrounded by various small buildings. Chicken coops, they were called?
Shrugging off the small details, you see structures up ahead. Just beyond the hills you see several buildings, hay tops with one giant tree in the center of it all. Glee fills your soul as you finally realize you’ve reached your destination.
Ponyville.
You were being perfectly honest when you said you had no idea where to go. You came here for a purpose, one in mind, but to reach this purpose you would need to know where to go about the village. You were always a quiet pony, mostly keeping to yourself in public areas, so asking for directions was a challenge. It's not that you were afraid of somepony, it's just the whole 'new' aspect you were afraid of.
It wasn't long until you found yourself wandering around Ponyville. It was a very awkward experience for you. You knew that the village had a limited population of around a hundred or so. So, it was only natural to assume that everypony knew each other. This didn't really sit well with you. You were currently trotting by a store that you assumed sold couches. You gave an odd glance to the store name before continuing down the path. Ahead you could see the most...sugary building ever? You really couldn't put it in words. The small, what you assumed to be a bakery, as small pastry products resided in the windows, had a familiar feeling to it.
This feeling seemed to calm you down a bit, as you felt a bit comfortable to enter it. A small bell of the door obviously signaled the enter of a customer. You came inside, taking notice of all the colorful decor around the room. You swore your eyesight failed you as a pink blur spurred past you at a speed you thought impossible. Even with such reflexes you never expected the pink blur to materialize behind you. You jump back at the shock to reveal a small pink mare.
You quickly observe her features, seeing much more pink than you desired. Literally, her whole body was pink. That including her mane, though a little darker pink. She reminded you of a candy of some sort, though you couldn't remember what it was called. Her eyes are what took the mass pink-age from your mind. She had deep blue eyes, light in color, probably to show her playful attitude. This much you assumed, considering her recent display of energy.
Though it wasn't important at the time, you take your hood off, realizing you were inside somepony’s home. Where were your manners? You look back at her eyes, smiling kindly. You had no idea why she was just staring at you, nor why she wouldn't speak. Maybe she was mute? You decided to depart on that theory, giving her a simple greeting. She...'squees' in response? Then immediately jumps into the air, doing various flips in impossible standpoints. She, to say the least, confuses you.
"Ohmygoshohmygosh!" She screams, covers her mouth, then uncovers it to speak at a lower volume. Though not the speed. "Areyounewwhatisyournamehowaredoingwhatareyoudoinghereinpony-" You simply had enough, putting a hoof to her mouth. She pipes down instantly, sinking back into her normal state. You assumed that saying nothing was her 'normal' state. Actually, no, you hoped it was. You smile gently, telling her your name, and why you were here.
"You need directions?! Well why didn't you say so!" She gleefully disappears only to reappear a few literal seconds later with stacks upon stacks of maps and paper. You sigh out loud, explaining to her you needed directions around town. She 'oohs' and sticks the horde of paper in her back...pocket? You could not explain what happened, but if your father taught you anything, it was to never question the unquestionable.
"Hmm...Oh I know! How about a tour? Great, come with me!" She said, giving you barely any time to reconsider as she grabs your hoof, pulling you out the door against your will. Though she was very random, something about this mare brought a warm feeling to your heart. You start to laugh silently, enough for her to hear you. "Tours are funny, aren't they? I love them so much!" She gleefully explains, much to your amusement.
Much to your surprise, she quickly grabs your hoof, pulling you off down the road to start her little tour. She basically gave you all the information you needed about the town market, town hall, and occasional festivals. You were surprised, to say the least, of how many feasts per month they held. What was it? Twelve? You shrug off the silly idea, as you approach the market again with the pink mare. During the tour she told you her name, Pinkie Pie. It really didn't surprise you why she was named Pinkie, nor Pie.
Approaching the stalls, you managed to catch glimpse of one pony in particular out of the several shopping. Ironically, you were heading right towards her. Keep in mind, Pinkie was steering you like a carriage, so it's not like you had control anyways. The mare ahead, with her colors shining brightly in the sunlight, you quickly notice her profession. Apples. Something around to do with apples. Your favorite fruit.
You quickly notice an uneasy feeling swoop through the air. You don't know what to think of it, as the mare pulling you ahead, was gleefully singing to herself, not really paying much attention to her surroundings. Her happiness made you smile, though the feeling never went away. It was only then when you noticed why. Somewhere around you, something was making a swooshing sound. You look around frantically, searching for the source of the sound. You know something is wrong.
The orange, apple selling mare, with fear in her eyes, dropped the apples she had in her mouth, screaming. "Pinkie! Watch out!" You, without thinking, instinctively pulled yourself free from her grip. Using the assumedly very small amount of time you have left, you leap ahead, pushing the pink mare from her spot. She flies off into the forward distance, a good ten or so feet, satisfying you, until you heard, and felt a loud snap.
The pain shoots up your whole body, almost making you throw up. You knew it was your legs, though you didn't what caused it. The pain was so excruciating, you nearly just wanted to die, but you knew you had more important things to worry about. Using whatever strength you had left, you claw yourself forward from under whatever landed on you. Even the slightest movement threw shots of intense, white hot pain up your body, but you continued to ignore it. None of that was your concern. The pink mare was.
You continued to claw yourself forward until you finally lost the strength to continue. You slumped to the ground, ready to die. You mumble various curses against Celestia as your start to lose it. The grip around your conscious ability was nearly gone, as your eyes slowly started to shut. You glance back at the object which killed you, and it was so ironic. A piano. You didn't have the strength the laugh, but you did inside.
How ironic. It's like my whole life is a cartoon. You think to yourself, one last time. The last thing you hear is a shriek of a familiar mare, and hooves of something heavy and strong heading toward you. Truthfully, you didn't want to die. So please, you hoped, that they would save you.
