The Metmorphosis
B e g i n n i n g s
by
Nightjar
inspired by Franz Kafka
Third Chapter
A whimper, not his. He hadn't hit the bed as he had wished and the impact had sent a sharp pain through his spine. Similar to this thud, he heard another one right where the door had to be. Concerned, he ignored the soreness of his back and jumped to his hooves to see to the pony who had just fallen unconscious. It was his mother. Deeply worried, he lowered his head and nuzzled the cheek of Dawn Breeze to wake her. He wanted to tell her that he was alright and that she didn't need to worry. Oh, yeah, I can't talk. Forgot about that. Then something else dawned on him. She wasn't afraid of me hurting myself but of me hurting her! Me falling down in front of her must have seemed like an ambush or something.
"Mum, I would never try to hurt you." No he hadn't forgotten his inability to communicate again. He just had to say something.
"I know, dear", Dawn answered. Taken off-guard, he winced a little.
"Y-you understand me?!" Infinite glee swam through his voice.
"Of course, Vigilant. Why wouldn't I..?" That was when she opened her eyes and looked into two steel blue ponds with softly gleaming black surroundings. And huge white fangs. Her face betrayed her intention to scream and it came. High-pitched and quickly fading into wheezing. Her asthma took it's toll on her.
Pure panic came over him. He didn't know what to do to stop it. It had never been this bad and if anypony else knew it only would be Pearl. Where were they all? Didn't they hear the scream?!
"Help! Anypony! Please Help!" The door to the living room opened and Cracker Barrel rushed through it. Hope rose in Vigils heart as he saw his father. He looked down at his mother and reassured her that she was going to get help.
Cracker Barrel took a run and shortly before he would have dashed into his son he turned and bucked as hard as he could. Vigilant flew through the air into a far corner of his room. Instinctively he jumped up but collapsed again as great pain struck through his left leg. He looked at it and a moan of pain escaped his compressed lips as he saw a bend where none should have been. He looked at the door where his father gave Dawn Breeze several medications. It caught him a glare full of disbelieve, concern, sorrow, anxiety and hatred. He thinks I caused it on purpose, he stated mentally, his thoughs empty of emotion.
Is he right?
»ʔ҉ʕ«
The warmth of the sun felt good on his face and the ponies in the street below the apartment were beaming and enjoyed the first morning after Winter Wrap Up.
He frowned. Vigilant hadn't been outside for months and even his window had been sealed. The door was long since repaired and his leg has healed rather quickly, though it still ached terribly and looked kind of wrong. His back also hurt like hell and it felt like he was carrying his own bodyweight on strong cables which cut between his dorsal vertebrae into his intervertebral discs, though he didn't know if he even had that kind of anatomy anymore.
His family had been able to manage to live with him. Or better: without him. They had gotten jobs on their own and had rented out one half of the flat to some distant relatives of some noble house. They were very distant ones but still snooty enough to let everypony know.
The window was his only …well…window to the outer world and so very often he occupied himself by staring out of it for hours on end.
I’m hungry, I am so hungry. The foggy strings he has gotten earlier from his family had dissipated. He couldn't even think clearly. He shuffled in circles. Physically and mentally. His head was lowered and his eyes unfocused.
Hooves. Walk. Pain. Shoulder. Family. Hunger. Food. Street. Window. Apartment. Family. Hunger.
They had abandoned him, forgotten about him and now lived without him.
»ʔ҉ʕ«
Darkness. Warm, breathing darkness embraced him. The calm blanket of woven shadows draped over him felt divine. He felt like floating, while his muscles were in a state of utter relaxation. He dove deeper and deeper into the flowing, living gloom. Suddenly there was a spark, short-lived but bright. There! Another one! He followed the sparks, curious of what had caused them. The next one lingered a few seconds longer. Then a firework broke loose startling him. It was breathtaking. He suddenly realized that there was also sound. He floated forward appreciating such beauty. The melody drew him to its source. Then it stopped. He opened his eyes.
He was standing in the living room. Pearl held her violin in her magic and her parents sat next to her. The two subtenants sat with their backs towards him. Odd. They looked so tall. He looked down. Oh. I’m laying on the floor. I must have crawled my way here.
“Celestia help us”, he heard the whispering of an unfamiliar voice. As he raised his head he saw the two lodgers staring at him. He struggled to get onto his hooves. Then there came the screams. He turned around, not listening to the shouting behind him and limped back into his room towards the window.
Something struck his mind. Not a real thought yet he took action in effectuating it. He concentrated his last resources of strength and hit the window.
The glass shattered. They had only sealed the lock. He climbed onto the sill and looked over the city. It was late in the night and the lights were spread like stars illuminating the opposite of the sky.
He began to think. He thought of his name but couldn't remember it. He thought of his family and saw nothing. He thought of his purpose and saw none. He thought of something good. He saw sparks and heard a melody. They were right in-front of him, just out of reach, a way leading towards them. He stepped forward.
»ʔ҉ʕ«
Darkness. Warm, breathing darkness embraced him. The calm blanket of woven shadows draped over him felt divine. He felt like floating, while his muscles were in a state of utter relaxation. He dove deeper and deeper into the flowing, living gloom.