Chapter warning. This story is generally soft and squishy and I love it. This chapter has blood and an injury. This is a warning.
Comforting walked right up to the house. She had brought nobody with her. That was intentional. She would walk right in there and figure it out! It wouldn't be so bad... right? She reached up for the handle and, with a creak, she pushed it open. "Hello?"
But only silence responded to her call. "Not here to make any trouble, promise." She stepped in out of the comforting light of day, into the dark interior that only grew darker with every step. "You've scared a lot of kids..." Could whatever it was hear her? Comforting had no way to be sure it could, if there even was a force to hear it in the first place.
Comforting pressed forward into the gloom. Right! Light! She fished out her phone, even its screen harshly glaring as she swiped and pulled to find the flashlight button. Click! Suddenly, it was lit around her. "Not like a video game at all." There was no specific beam where it was lit and everything else was dark. The light shed by her phone made everything around her a bit brighter, while sending out a conical beam of even brighter light.
"This isn't so bad..." But then, why was her voice wavering? Get it together! She wasn't a little girl. Well, alright, she was one of those, but she'd seen scarier! She'd literally died before. What could that house have to spook her? Everything was fine! Perfectly fine...
She couldn't see that line she had been following, but she remembered what door it was. Rushing up to it, she reached for the handle and gave it a twist, or tried. The knob rattled in her hand, refusing to turn more than a little in either direction. "Oh..." Shoot. Locked?
Comforting had many skills, picking a lock not being one of them... She reached for a solution, but her pockets had nothing but the container of already-devoured gum. She had to throw that out... Chaos magic wasn't going to solve it for her. She was there to relearn how to get things done with her own hands!
She screamed. It felt like the proper reaction to the sudden bang that echoed around her. The front door had slapped shut, sealing her in the house. She had her phone out, so she wasn't in the dark, even if it felt mighty gloomy all around her. "I'm not here to make trouble, promise..."
Maybe she should have just closed the door herself? That would have been polite, right? She shivered as she backed away from the locked door. "There has to be another way..." She panned the phone around slowly, trying to make sense of things.
Her light reflected off something, a shiny spark. She rushed over to it in an almost frantic scramble. It was a mirror, or bits of a mirror. Like someone had thrown it against a wall and its remnants were there, fallen to the ground, reflecting the light of her phone. "Oh..." That didn't... seem useful?
Still, she could see fragments scattered about. She crouched down and slowly settled each piece back into the mirror. That went there, this.. slotted there. The mirror was mostly intact, just a few had come free. She wiggled into place with the clink of glass on glass. "And..." The last was hard to get into place, jamming against the other pieces. She angled it and muttered in concentration as she tried to-- "Ow!"
Glass was sharp. Broken glass was the worst variety when it came to that. It had just pressed right into her thumb. From touching it to being inside her finger, it had all happened in a flash. A dull ache radiated from the injury, and it just kept getting worse as red dripped free of her. She had hurt herself, and not mildly. "Ow... Ow! Stupid..." That had been dumb, she scolded herself, but the pain kept ramping up.
"Ow..." Her vision blurred. It kept hurting more and more, and she was crying, and it was getting hard to focus on much of anything but how much that was hurting. She dropped the dangerous glass to the ground and shoved her thumb into her mouth, but sucking on it just made a lance of purest white pain shoot through her. She cut that out, but kept the thumb in her mouth, having no better place for it.
Chocked sobs forced their way free of her. She was messing up. She was messing everything up! The coppery taste of blood was filling her mouth, and too dang quickly. She'd bleed to death, thumb in her mouth, in some creepy old house. The thought of it brought more tears to her eyes. Fluttershy would be beside herself. Twilight would blame herself for allowing the trip at all, and she'd die, again, maybe forever, for being a super dummy.
Calm! She had... to be calm... First step, she had to get help. She tucked her phone half in a pocket, allowing the light to shine freely as she hurried as best she could. Each movement seemed to jostle things, making it hurt more in little spikes of sharp pain. Comforting hurried to the front door... And there was no knob. She patted it down, as if the knob had just misplaced itself and she'd find it with a little work, but no, there just wasn't a knob to find, just the empty spot where a knob belonged.
Pressure! Right... She had to apply pressure. That was a memory making itself clear. She drew the thumb free hesitantly and paused, shaking hand hovering in the air. How? Only one thought really came to mind. She grabbed it with her other hand and curled her fingers around the thumb, squee-- It was not a word that got free of her. It was a wail of horrible pain. But it was that to live. She didn't want to... She had to! She kept the pressure up, vision almost entirely occluded by the pain as she looked around for a way out. Windows, they had those, but they were caked with dirt and shut. Locked? Only one way to find out.
A pity both of her hands were busy... "Dad?" Could he hear her? They were a world apart, but then, he was Discord. "I really messed up... Please, if you can hear me." But nothing seemed to be happening other than the injury she was holding together as best she could still being a problem. "Anyone..." She sank to her knees with a whimper. "Anyone at all..."
She heard a step! It wasn't a shoe-covered step, or a naked human foot step. It had claws, tacking on the wood of the floor. Had she somehow drawn a wolf to her injury? Did that town have wolves?! "Calm down," she muttered to herself, shaking like a leaf. "Calm down..."
The steps were coming from above her, heavy thumps, little clicks. A bear? What sort of animal would make those noises? Whatever it was, it was awake, and moving. She might be devoured, alive, or bleed to death. Both? Both was not off the table of options. "Phone!" She kept blurting words. It was about the only way to think through it all. "Phone..." She grabbed awkwardly for her phone with the fingers of the same hand with the injured thumb. With some effort, she unlocked it and quickly tapped and slid her way to the contacts. "Yes..."
There was Sunset, about her only contact. Not the only, but one of an elite few. She pressed it firmly.
It didn't ring. It picked up, instantly. "Hello, you've reached Sunset Shimmer--" Comforting kicked the phone with white hot fury and frustration. It was no time for voice mail!
Wait... "I need that." She followed after it. This wasn't hard. It was about the only real source of light around in the gloom. She fished it out from behind the couch she had kicked it and got it back in her pocket with a miserable sigh. Wait, she didn't hear the steps anymore. Had the animal gone away? Or at least fell asleep? She couldn't know...
"Window." She raised her hand to it, using the same fingers to hook into it and feel around. "Latch latch latch..." She ran along the corner slowly, feeling for one, at least until she bumped into something that wasn't wood or metal.
It was another set of fingers. She yelped in terror, hopping back.
The hand was there... looking? at her. It had no eyes, but its attention seemed impossible to deny. "Hello?" Sure, it was a severed hand, but it wasn't jumping to strangle her... "Sorry if I'm intruding."
It took its first two fingers and tapped them with its thumb. It made other strange gestures. "I... Are you... talking?" Was that sign language? A pity she didn't know that, but still, it was talking! She thought? She couldn't be sure. "This is a long shot, but I cut myself." She held up the thumb, still held firmly with her other hand. "It hurts, a lot... and this can't be safe... Do you know how to deal with it?" She was asking random hands for medical advice... She didn't see a lot of other options.
It ran off. Running is a generous statement for something without any legs, but its fingers made great makeshift legs and it scampered out of sight down the hallway, zooming out of sight all too quickly. "Um..." She could wait for it, or try to follow it... Moving brought pain. She sank to the floor instead with a tired whimper. "Please be a nice hand..."
Comforting took a slow breath, forcing it. "Have to calm down..." Maybe one of her other friends? She awkardly flopped her phone to the ground and got to tapping. Red splashed on it. She retightened her grip, but the damage was done. The phone turned off. "Waterproof my a... Ugh..." She tapped anxiously at the power button, but no, the phone seemed dead.
Thump-click, thump-click. Those heavy clawed steps had picked up. They were coming down stairs? It was getting closer. Comforting clenched inwards, curling in place. "Don't eat me..."
The slow steps reached the bottom? It was at her level. She could hear it slowly approaching, through the dark hallways. With her phone busted, it was dark, way too dark. She could only hear the clicking, drawing closer.
"You are hurt," noted a female voice. "Badly."
"Y-yes?" It was talking. That was good, right? wait... "Do you have a dog, miss?"
"Yes and no." Thump, click, drawing closer. "Yes... and no... How did you hurt yourself?"
Comforting pointed off in the dark. "There was a broken mirror. I was fixing it... That was dumb."
"Very foolish," agreed the unseen female. "Why?"
"I..." Why had she done it? "I was intruding... It felt like a nice thing to do..."
"Very nice. Very foolish." Her face became visible as she leaned in. A woman, a normal woman! "I'm unsure if you want my help."
"If you can help, please?" Comforting raised her still bleeding thumb, clutched as best as she could. "Wow that... looks bad. Nnng..." A little whimper rose from her, fresh tears. She didn't want to die like that. "I'm sorry..."
"Very sorry." She reached a hand. That hand was too familiar. It was that hand, but clearly attached to her as she took hold of Comforting gently. She had two of them, but clearly favored the one that had been scampering about. "Very serious... May I pick you up? You are in grave danger."
"Go--!" Her statement was cut off, being picked up into the air and pressed against something warm and fuzzy. She squinted against the dark as she was carried off. The thing holding her had the hands of a human, the face of a human, but the torso? It was like a werewolf had her in her grasp. The tap-clicking was its feet, echoing beneath them as they pushed deeper into the house. "Um, thank you..."
I like this story. Nice fluffy thing it is. But I don't get why nobody gets curious who Comforting is and why she is in human world. Nobody asks about her parents either. Specially if they know she comes from the same place as Sunset. Is nobody curious?
Poor Comforting, a broken mirror is so sharp that it can even cut you without you knowing exactly what happened at first. But at least she has help now, even if it is from at least one of the beings that is haunting the house.
11479063
You confused me. She was identified as an orphan, like, last chapter? And why shouldn't a human be in human world?
11479073
She isn't though. She has a mother and a father she refers to on regular basis. Comforting also prided herself in not lying to her friends so far. Why omit that fact at all then? Nobody told her not to tell the humans anything about where she is from and at least the school knows there is a pony world beyond the mirror. (If you follow the EQG show.) Maybe I'm just a little weird about it since I'm adopted myself. If someone asks me who my parents are, there is only one clear answer for me.
11479082
'why wouldn't she' is a silly question when, without question, we know she didn't. She did not speak of her pony origins. So far as they know, she's a human, or maybe a potential demon like Sunset? But sure seems human.
But if we want to know why, it isn't... a hard look. If she came out and said, "Look at me, I'm actually a pony!" Well, that defines her, above anything else. All further interactions will be with Comforting, the Pony. She does not want that. She wants to be a person first, without that huge prejudicing factor slotted in.
11479089
I get that. What I don't get why nobody gets curious why a apparently 7-8 year old girl lives with another teen, who her parents are and why she is here in the first place. One person ( and not even an adult) asked and she lied. Being an orphan implies she has no parents, when in reality, she has. Also its a sudden shift in tone, because so far she defined herself as a pony, then a spirit and liked it.
Looks like Celestia found a new bakery, because the plot is thickening!
I'll see myself out, alright?! I know where the door is. Hopefully this one still has a knob....
11479113
She loves being a pony. She is proud of being a pony.
In ponyland. She is not in ponyland. In humanland, declaring she is a pony is a quick way to make everything awkward and I'm legit confused why this is a controversial take, or somehow befouls her general love of pony, which has not changed, even a little.
Here is the orphan discovery. Comforting never lies. The topic moves right past it before she says a thing. The super creepy house took precedent over stopping it all to give a detailed explanation of her very strange background to a bunch of teens that didn't ask and wouldn't get half of it.
11479125
That's called a lie by omission.
And its not really controversial, more like I feels there are some logical steps missing. Could also be just me, like I said.
11479128
Sunset Shimmer. Everything you said applies to her. Every word of it. Reconcile that please. How does she even make a living to keep on living on her own? Just the way this world works. She isn't declaring herself a pony to everyone either. She's a horrible liar (of omission), constantly.
11479122
No promises.
Comforting's origin is not a subject of this chapter, her serious, painful injury and the fear that it is causing her is.
Having said that, there are several at Equestria High that know where Comforting comes from. That includes Sunset, Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, and the Mane Six.
I would think that another reason that Comforting hasn't told her freshman friends is that she is uncertain how much they know about Equestria. Also, telling them, even out of class, might prove to be as big a distraction as if she performed magic in front of them in class. It would always be in their minds.
Having cut myself on the fingerpad with sheet metal (ye olde flashlight innards can be quite dangerous with those metal sliders) at about 7, I have an idea what's going through her head, or at least the child side of her mind. Bloody and not stopping quickly like a normal cut was certainly scaring the heck out of me, thinking I was going to bleed out and reporting to my parents I did something "so stupid" added shame and embarrassment to the fear racing away with me.
A bit of gauze and pressure from tightly wrapped bandage tape did the trick, as well as my parents to calm me down. (Back then, unless it was broken or obviously needing stitches, you didn't go to the hospital and there was no such thing as Health Stop places). I suppose this helped when I later gashed my leg open (could see the fat and muscle) as a barely-teenager and I just walked home and calmly asked Mom to go to the hospital. I was lucky it wasn't bleeding too much so a dishcloth worked just fine. Didn't hurt, which was weird, but that needle to numb it before sutures was agony. Heh.
11479259
You get that hurt, natural painkillers enter the scene. Glad you made it...
Or did you?
What? What's happening?
11479275
Comforting got hurt in the creepy house.
11479274
Not sure but it was on the inside of the upper thigh so I guess I just missed all the nerves. Most are in the fingertips so that's why it hurts so much more there when you get static shock versus the back of the wrist or arm. I have years of experience discharging myself from non-painful areas (surprised all the hair on the back of my arm hasn't been burned off) while at work because the carts I push around generate static like rolling Van De Graf generators... And if I save it up on dry days I can actually get a bolt to go through the bottom of my shoe into the metal strip in the floor. (Happened once and left my sole painfully numb for a moment, ow)
11479750
And this is why phrasing and context are important.
This felt like a very relatable and realistic portrayal of a panic attack when you feel like you are absolutely going to die. Especially the "desperately calling out for help, regardless of whether or not anyone can hear, part."
Things fortunately seem to be looking up for Comforting at least a bit. It'll be interesting to learn more about the mystery of who actually lives in this house, especially with the clues given so far.
11480799
It was an episode with a different mouthfeel than most, for sure. I was worried it would come across unfavorably, especially to those who wanted more spun sugar.
Werewolf… human… hmmm
11480938
It was very surprising, but I feel like it fits in well, in context. In hindsight, I think it's because it fits what's been happening to Comforting, many times, since the beginning...seemingly meeting a frightening, untimely end, but always being rescued in some way.
11482721
She gives unconditionally. Karma says she creates the environment for that goodness to reflect back on her.
Have you... never cut your thumb before? She is overacting sooo much. She is no danger of dying from blood loss, and unless their is glass in the wound somehow, it wouldn't be causing so much pain still. I've slice my finger so deep that the scare wraps around the finger only the bone kept it from cutting off. I was never worried about bleeding to death. Applied immediate pressure, went to the bathroom room, cleaned and wraped it tight in gauze. A sock would do too. Did that when i kicked the aquarium when I wasn't even in school. Hobled into the bathroom, so i wouldn't get blood on the carpet and dealt with it...
11499132
In earth humans(which they are not), you are correct in the lack of major arteries or veins in the fingers, but that's where your analysis breaks down. Even in an earth human, there are major arties just next door. A sliced thumb can smash down right into a major artery in the hand itself.
Note, in the scene, that her mouth filled with blood. Not slowly. This is a sign that an artery was damaged. That doesn't happen if blood is seeping out of capillaries.
Glad you got through alright though. Comforting needed medical care. Don't assume any random person gashing their finger is alright if it keeps bleeding, with pressure, for longer than a few minutes. Goes for most cuts, really.
The injury's way worse than it reasonably should be, and also it's pretty easy to avoid cutting yourself with glass if you're careful, but still an intriguing chapter.