//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Psychosocial // Story: Madhouse // by Closer-To-The-Sun //------------------------------// The candle flickered as Yearling placed the final paper in the stack. It was over, she had finished the work. While her body was heavy, her mind pounding, and her soul exhausted, she has finished what was requested of her captor. Yearling looked at the stack of papers. This manuscript was something she had poured what little energy she had into, but was it enough to appease Snow Script? The thought alone sent a shiver down Yearling’s back. The aromatherapy candle was giving off a faint scent; almost enough to calm the pegasus, but it was not enough. Yearling knew what Snow was capable of and she feared what may happen next. Yearling called out, “Snow Script.” Her voice sounded tired, almost as if it was done with everything. As if she had been waiting outside the door, Snow appeared. The smile was on her face, the same smile she had when she had repeatedly abused Yearling. “What is it, Ms. Yearling?” As much as Yearling wanted to shout or swear at Snow, she didn’t. “I’m finished.” Snow’s face lit up, “What?” “I’m finished with the newest novel. Just as you asked.” With a jolt of energy, Snow began skipping around the room and then over toward the desk where Yearling was seated. “Oh, happy day! This is absolutely wonderful! I could just sing from the mountaintops! Is it everything I ever wanted?” “I sure hope so,” Yearling said with a bit of bitterness in her voice. Her expression was deadpan as she picked up the stack. Snow carefully reached out to grab the manuscript, “I get to….be the first living soul to experience the newest adventure of Daring Do….” Yearling quickly pulled it away from the pony’s reach. She looked at her, “Before, you read this, I want to ask you something.” “Of course, what is it?” Snow looked as if she was about to burst if she didn’t get her hooves on the papers. “Now that I wrote this, all of this just for you, are you going to let me go to a hospital?” Yearling’s voice was that of a parent lecturing a filly. “I’m going to let you go, of course. I did promise to take care of you.” The words were sincere and the smile earnest. Yearling could tell Snow Script was lying right to her face. Her cheerful smile was hiding the sinister intentions and the evil within. “Promise?” “Yes yes, now may I please read it?” Snow reached out for the stack of papers. Yearling stared straight into Snow’s deep blue eyes. “All of Daring Do’s newest and greatest adventure is right here in these pages. Where does she go next? What evil does she encounter? Will she survive? It’s all here.” Slowly, Snow Script reached for the papers. Pulling the paper away from her, Yearling hovered it over the candle’s flame. “Ms. Yearling, no! Be careful!” Snow Script’s face was one of sheer terror. The brown pegasus watched the dread overcome the pony. If she wasn’t so angry at her, perhaps she would have shown sympathy. After all, she was just a passionate fan. A demented fan with a sickness, but a passionate fan. But any sympathy and compassion Yearling had for Snow Script had been eroded as the savior turned into an angel of death. “You are a beast. No better than a savage criminal. You’ve trapped me here for far too long. And now the tables are turned, aren’t they?” Yearling gritted her teeth, slowly lowering the pages toward the flame. The white sheets started to heat up and slowly turn black. It didn’t take long for the pages to burn on their own. “Now Equestria will never know what happened.” “No! Ms. Yearling, you can’t!” Snow begged. “Why not?,” Yearling threw the burning manuscript on the floor at the pony’s hooves, “I’ve learned it from you.” Snow’s horror transformed into fury within an instant. She lunged at Yearling, wildly thrashing her hooves in hopes to strike the pony. Each attempted did land on Yearling, but she seemed to be able to bear or block it in some way or form. “How could you? How dare you?” she shouted at the top of her lungs, “How can you do this to me?” Quickly, she tried to stomp out the flames, only getting some. Yearling, who had been bearing the attacks, kicked Snow back with one of her limbs. Snow was hit back and allowed for Yearling to try and stand on her hind legs. However, her legs were unable to support her body, and she fell back down in her seat. Back on her hooves, Snow Script glared at Yearling. She repeated herself, “How can you do this to me, Ms. Yearling, after all I did for you? I saved you, I fed you, I nursed you back to health. We were going to be together forever….” Tears started to form in her eyes, but her words were angry, “but I guess you are no better than the rest of them. I guess….I’m just going to have to make sure you never leave.” Snow leaped at Yearling again. In a single, sudden move, the pegasus grabbed the typewriter and with all of her strength hurled it at Snow Script. The typewriter made contact and struck the pony against her head. Her body fell down to the floor and appeared to be lifeless. With it all appearing to be over, Yearling looked around the room as she panted. Blood was coming from Snow’s head, right where the typewriter hit. She then looked to see that the manuscript was still burning on the carpet. If it were to keep burning, it surely would take the house. Carefully, Yearling got down on the floor and dragged herself along the floor. Her hind limbs were unable to support her weight, and she knew better than to trot in her medicated state. With a sigh, Yearling looked over Snow’s facedown body, “You tried to break me, you held me captive, and you were clearly had some deep issues. But despite all of that….I feel that perhaps we could have been friends under better circumstances.” A hoof moved from the white pony and gripped onto one of Yearling’s front legs. The head raised up, revealing a face that Yearling had never seen. It was some otherworldly rage. Blood was running down over half of the face, drenching both her coat and the carpet below her. Yearling was at a lost for words, “H-How in Equetria….” “I’m going to kill you….you bitch!” the body howled. The voice might have been coming from Snow Script’s body, but it sounded like nothing that could ever come from her. She broke her hoof free from Snow, quickly pulling herself away from the white pony. Yearling felt one of her hooves get hot. She looked down to see the still flaming manuscript. While it hurt her, she grabbed the pages and went back up to Snow. Pushing her down, Yearling pinned Snow Script to the floor. She shouted as the pony struggled below her, “You want the new novel so bad? Here! Eat it! Eat all of it until you choke!” Yearling started to shove the pages into Snow’s mouth. A few of the pages were still burning, scorching both Yearling and Snow Script. The white mare tried to speak, but her words were muffled by the burning papers in her mouth. Her struggling was becoming weaker. Yearling continued the act, “What was that? I can’t hear you!” Finally, Snow’s body fell lifeless once again. The flames were all extinguished and Yearling was all but exhausted. Almost all of her life was gone from her body. She barely had enough energy to roll over off from Snow’s body and on to the floor. “I have to get help….I have to get out of this bedlam,” Yearling told herself. She breathed heavily, trying to get air in her body as fast as she could. “I need to get help….” Rolling onto her stomach, Yearling started to crawl to the door. At the threshold, she felt something tug on her left hind leg. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Snow Script was still alive and still moving. The bottom of her face was burnt and the blood seemed to stain just about every part of her body from her mane to her hooves. “I’m not done with you! I’m not done with you!” she shrieked loudly at the top of her lungs. Using every bit of strength that she had, Yearling bucked Snow away and crawled faster through the door. She quickly pulled herself through the hallway. She didn’t know if she was being followed, but Yearling didn’t take the chance to check. She pulled herself through the first door she found and closed it behind her. Her prayers were answered, there was a lock to the door. She quickly locked it and leaned against the door, using all her weight to keep the door shut. A huge force hit the door, trying to break in. It was more than enough to knock Yearling down from her defensive position, but not enough to open the door. There was a loud angry screech that Yearling couldn’t make out. She didn’t want to figure it out, her heart was pounding to loudly for her to listen to anything. The thuds against the door continued, but the door still held. Suddenly, it became quiet. Yearling was panting and weighed her options. She didn’t want to open the door to find her captor waiting for her. But, she realized where she was; the bathroom. Without a second thought, she raided the medicine cabinet. Quickly, she found the pills she was looking for. She opened the container and swallowed all of the codeine that she could. Yearling passed out, her body drained of any and all energy.