//------------------------------// // Darkness // Story: Dread Night // by The Casual Bro //------------------------------// It was dark Inside the room. A little too dark for any normal pony to see clearly, though the mare within the room had become accustomed to the darkness. She was unfortunately use to it, for that was all she could grasp on that night. That terrible, terrible night. She would constantly remind herself of what had happened exactly during the crisis. Blood. Screaming. Panic. Running. And then there was the occasional monstrous voices that inevitably followed her every step. Never slowing, never stopping, and always pursuing her to the end. She tried to clear her mind, to drown out the horrifying memory from that night, but it always came back, haunting her, usually resulting in her mild panic attacks, and ending with her crying her heart out. It seemed to become less frequent than before, but eventually it would assault her mind once more, with every attack making her spasms become increasingly violent. She wanted it to end, but her memories were merciless, making every attempt to shatter what was left of her sanity. but she was a strong, durable mare. She had to be Hours went by, as she continued to stare at the pitch black void that had consumed the very room she resides in. There was nopony in the room with her, she knew that quite well. It didn't stop her from seeing glistening, bloody eyes from staring back at her, watching her every movement and waiting for the right moment to strike. As much terror as she has been through, she would much rather be killed right there and right now, than to see the insidious silhouette standing there; watching her. It was terrifying, having watching eyes staring at her for Celestia knows how long, and not being able to do a thing about it. She just wanted it to end. But it wouldn't. The darkness was a cruel and unmerciful mistress to her. Then a door, across the dark room where the mare laid, began to crack open. She flinched a little, and slowly crawled toward the corner nearest to her. She had been in the shadowy room for some time, that she had completely forgotten that a door existed. She didn't know what to expect, and as the door opened wider, her shivering began to increase. The door was a quarter ways, and her shivering amplified significantly. It was now halfway open, and the shaking was tenfold. Three quarters.... Four quarters... She immediately curled and hid herself way, embracing for what was to come. But it never came, and for the duration of the occurrence, she hesitated to lift her hoof from her face. As she inched her limb from her muzzle, she caught the silhouette of two ponies trotting toward her, most likely stallions by the look of their size, bulk, and other masculine features. she couldn't make that assumption yet with the darkness masking a majority of the two stallions' figures. That was when a Third equine figure popped in. Stumbling toward the middle of the darkened room with what appears to be a ladder and two sleek tubes, the half-clumsy stallion precariously placed the ladder right in the middle of the room, and ascended up to a clear panel. He then unscrewed two other tubes from the sockets, all without dropping the fresh looking bulbs, and replaced them into their rightful places, resulting in a light which eliminated all the darkness that once devoured every nook and cranny of the place. The mare immediately revolted from the sudden light that might as well burned her eyes out of their sockets. After her recovery, she glanced all around the room, attempting to gain her bearings. She realized that being in the dark for far too long had made her forget she was in an mental facility, within solitary confinement. most of her room was covered in cushion, basically to keep the violent from being more violent, or to keep the insane from becoming violent. the cushions on one of the walls seemed to be in tattered condition, if her panic attacks proved to be the reason for that condition. She then remembered her panic attacks being the reason that she was in solitary confinement to begin with. She pushed that thought away, and shifted her complete attention to the stallions standing in front of her, one of them holding a clip board in front of him with his telekinesis. "Room 514 Patient #320009 Pegasus mare, Mayflower i presume?" the Unicorn said as he flipped through the pages to locate the mare's information amongst a whole collage of patient names. The mare hesitated to give an answer, but then regained her once chipper mood, relieved that it wasn't the monster that haunted her. "Um... yes sir." "Patient diagnosed with severe schizophrenia and was assigned to level 3 for considerable treatment, correct?" the stallion read as his eyes scanned along Mayflower's information. "Yes sir." "and was later taken to solitary confinement after a severe panic attack injured three other patients after being exposed to the dark, correct?" the unicorn read as his eyes finished scanning Mayflower's information. Not the one to point out the obvious, and no wanting to play twenty questions with two security guards, she answered swiftly with as much emphasis and composure as she can. "Yes sir, that is the correct information." "Well, at least now we got your lights replaced. You know, perhaps you should let somepony know when your lights have died, especially when dealing with your condition." "Well, maybe i would, if this room wasn't sound-proof, had a 5-inch steel wall for a door, and is only equipped with a one-way communicator, which by the way is busted." Mayflower indicated toward the device on the other side of the wall she is pointing at. The stallion winced at that last issue. "Good point. uh... we'll get you a new communicator for this room, and this time we'll make it a two-way communication." The security guard cleared his throat. "Anyways, we're here to inform you that you have an appointment with a..." he retrieved a slip of paper from his uniform."... Dr. Zephyr." "Do I now?" "He wants to interview you about... you know... your thoughts." At an instant, all of the horrifying memories came to her, but went away just as quickly as it came. It terrified her to even remember what had happened that night, but she had to share it. She had to, if it meant taking away the nightmare for good. Even though the light had distinguished the ghoulish dark, and coziness began to settle all around her, she couldn't dwell in the room any longer than she had too. "Are you ready to go?" the officer said as he gestured at the open door. She would not give no for an answer. she stood up on all four of her legs, with a quick stretch to get rid of the ache and soreness from not moving a lot, and made her way toward the door, being flanked by both guards as they left the room.