"Here you go, Kenric," Nurse Redheart said as she handed a glass of water to the unicorn. He took it, and drank the entire thing in a single gulp. "Is that better?" He nodded, grateful. But he was bored of Nurse Redheart. She never did anything interesting, she just put on that fake smile and that sickly sweet voice that you would use with a misbehaving foal.
So that was it. She must be crazy, because she thinks that he is a misbehaving foal. But he is not, not in the least.
Kenric's face lit up the next instant. Why? Because his beloved waltzed through the door, wings tucked gently at her side. He always liked to see her, liked to talk to her.
"Hello, Kenric," she said softly as Nurse Redheart left the room, closing the door behind her and effectively trapping him with Oralie, not that he minded. He always secretly wished that this would happen more often.
Her hooves clicked on the floor as she moved towards him, her pale yellow mane swaying with each step. It nearly brushed the floor, and Kenric had insisted that she cut it. He would not stand to see such beauty touch the filthy ground. As the afternoon sunlight filtered through the window it caressed her mane, causing it to shimmer gold and sparkle with every movement.
"Hello, Oralie," he said back to her. Oralie always made things better, much better. Kenric shivered at the horrible memories that flowed through his mind. He saw himself, sitting in a cold stone cell, trapped in the darkness. But then, Oralie came. When he first saw her, she was beautiful, perfect, and amazing. She only grew more so with each passing day. He could tell, because she visited every day. She always managed to slip past the nurses, because each time she came, he had to explain to them who she was. They must be insane, he thought. Since they cannot see somepony who is obviously there.
Then again, perhaps they could not process her beauteous face, her glowing soul, her heart of gold. Perhaps the world could not handle her. Not yet.
"Are you thinking of Before?" she asked tenderly, wrapping her wings around him. She hugged him, and he enjoyed the feeling of being close to her, feeling the warmth that radiated from her. Feeling the love that simply flowed from her. And she loved him, that was all that mattered to Kenric. That he was loved, and well, and safe, and that Oralie was there. At each visit, he had to look at her. He almost didn't blink, for fear that she would be gone. Even Solaris' sun could not compare to her glow... or was it Celestia's? Time had taken it from him. Now, she was the only thing that kept him sane, and he was sure of that. It was the only thing he was sure of.
He savored their time together, and they would often pretend to be outside, running and jumping, happily going about life. Two lovers, under the stars. Two ponies, dreaming of the future underneath Luna's tender moon.
A knock came from the door, interrupting their moment. "Kenric? You have some friends visiting you." In walked three fillies, a white unicorn, a harvest gold earth pony, and a bright orange pegasus. They all had the same forced smile, just like Nurse Redheart. Kenric did not like it at all. It was like a hospital, and he did not like hospitals. They were always so sad, so filled with death, lost dreams, flowing with the energy of lives lost. The hospital nurses always wore that same fake smile, especially when they tell a patient they're going to be fine. But they won't be fine, because Death will always come to claim his prize, no matter what. No matter who you were, you would ultimately end up as a tombstone, a faded memory, a fleeting dream. Death would always win.
"Hello, Mr. Kenric! We brought you this card," said the three fillies in unison, still with the fake smiles plastered onto their faces, and fake voices filling their lungs. He took a piece of white paper, folded in half. It bore a yellow smiley face on the front, grinning cheerily. For a brief second, his muzzle twitched upwards. It was folded in half, which was strange. Why would you fold a paper in half, when you can use the whole thing? He opened it, out of curiosity.
Inside, a collection of notes read things like "Have a nice day!". It contained the signatures of many names, not all which Kenric was familiar with.
"That's very nice," Oralie whispered into his ear quietly. "Aren't you going to thank them?"
"I like it very much. Oralie does too."
"Who?" The three foals looked around the plain white room, confusion spreading across their faces.
"Oralie, the pegasus sitting next to me. Can't you see her?" he asked, once again left wondering. They looked at each other, and the earth pony shrugged.
"Oh, yeah! She's beautiful," lied the unicorn filly smoothly. He could tell it was a lie. She couldn't see her. He turned to Oralie, making sure she was still there. She was, and she was still beautiful, with her perfect curves, her luscious mane and tail, and her deep blue eyes. He could stare into them all day, it was like looking into the depths of the ocean, and it was revealing it's darkest secrets and desires to him. Her hopes and dreams, her deepest wishes bubbled up to the surface like sea foam.
"Thank you," he said, flashing his eyes to Nurse Redheart to take them away so he could once again be alone with his beloved Oralie. She saw, and led them away so the couple may be in peace.
He was surprised by Oralie, but in a good way. She always surprised him in a good way. The mare grabbed his face tenderly with her hooves, and kissed him passionately. They stayed this way for about ten seconds, then pulled away. But while ten seconds was quite a fair bit of time, it was always too soon. Too soon for Oralie to leave, too soon for her taste to vanish from his mouth. But she had to leave, she said. She was needed elsewhere, she said.
"I'll see you soon," she said, waving goodbye with a single hoof. And as soon as they had been together, he was alone once more. He did not like to be apart from Oralie. When she was away, everything was upside down. Everything went dark again, and he became lost in the tangled void.
And so, he fell into the black.
~~~===++(-----)++===~~~
Oralie danced into Kenric's room, and he smiled in sheer delight. She had come back! She laughed at his expression, and came to sit by him on his soft feather bed. However, before she could sit down, he got up and kneeled down in front of her, as much her servant as her lover.
"Uh, Oralie..." he began softly, whispering as she did. "I know it's not much, and I'm not much, and I don't have a ring..." She laughed, and he got his bearings again. He didn't want to dissapoint her, he did not like to do that. "But will you marry me, Oralie?"
As soon as he had finished each syllable, she nearly shouted "Yes!" He was ecstatic, overwhelmed by joy and love. He knew he needed her in his life, forever. They would never part like all those other silly ponies. They had been made for each other, like two pieces of a puzzle. The Universe had brought them together, and that's how they would stay, forever. They would be together, forever.
He came out of his kneel, and stood up to kiss her tenderly. They hugged, the lovers' embrace holding for a minute before they separated. Her wings unfolded, the angelic feathers lightly brushing every inch of his fur as she grasped him again, and she kissed him once more, and he kissed back.
"Hem, hem." Nurse Redheart was at the door, interrupting their moment, disturbing the balance. All too soon, as always, she pulled apart from him and backed away so the nurse could give him his medicine. He swallowed it quickly, and she backed out of the room. He was grateful towards the nurse. She always knew when he wanted to be alone with Oralie. As soon as he heard the heavy metal door close with a click of a lock, he grabbed Oralie and resumed. But, she pulled away again. Why so soon? he asked himself. Did I do something wrong?
"Maybe we should just talk for now," she said, biting her lip and looking down. "Where shall we go today?"
"How about under the shade of a tall oak, resting and staring at the clouds?" he suggested.
"That might be nice." They journeyed to the realm of Dream, and there they stayed. They laughed and ran, as the summer breeze blew Oralie's mane into fantastic patterns, waving through the wind like the world's most beautiful kite. Jasmine blew through the air, and the soft grass held them gently. They lay on their backs in the warmth of Celestia's sun, gazing upon the clouds as they twisted into shapes.
"There's a bunny." Oralie pointed to an especially fluffy cloud, drifting upon the wind's gentle wings. Of course, the wind's were not nearly as gentle as Oralie's. No, not even every mare in Equestria could compare with his fiancee. She was more perfect than Celestia and Luna themselves, combined into one! Surely, every stallion would vie for her love and compassion, and yet, she had chosen him. e had chosen her. They were one, blowing with the breeze and letting themselves fall into a gentle sleep, a tender embrace once more. They cared for each other, and nothing would ever change that. Kenric would not let it, not in the least.
When the pair rose up out of their slumber, it was time for Oralie to go. Kenric still did not understand why she had to go, but he let her. He did not want to keep her from anything that she was needed at. So he let her walk away, to a far off place or down the street, he didn't know. He only wished for her to come back.
As soon as she was gone, he sat on the bed and traced the wavy folds of the sheets where she had lain. It still smelled of her-- sweet, unimaginably desirable. He could not bear to be apart from this smell, so he slept on the patch of scent she had left behind, rather than a pillow.
As his sleep and dreams consumed his conciousness, soon, the sun consumed his sleep and dreams.
~~~===++(-----)++===~~~
Nurse Redheart walked into Kenric's room, carrying his breakfast tray. Today, it was oatmeal and orange juice. Yesterday it had been toast and hay with water. It was still very early, and Kenric was still asleep. Should he have been awake, Nurse Redheart would've asked if Oralie were here. It seemed to entertain him to talk about his imaginary marefriend.
She set the tray down on a small table next to the bed where his sleeping form lay. It was his birthday, and as such, the kitchen staff had sent along a single red rose. No doubt he would give it to Oralie.
Kenric had once been very well-known, and you couldn't walk anywhere without seeing a picture or poster bearing the handsome unicorn's face upon it. Redheart had never known what he was famous for. She'd never bothered to ask, and she might never do so. It wasn't her business, and she didn't have to know.
She saw, in his window, the card those three nice little fillies had given him. It was lying there, forgotten. She silently walked over to it, straightened it, and walked out again. Kenric didn't need her, so she went on to the net patient, going about her daily rounds.
~~~===++(-----)++===~~~
Kenric awoke to Oralie stroking his sleeping face tenderly. While her scent was quite nice to be near, it was no Oralie. He'd much rather have Oralie herself than a single reminder.
"You were shivering, so I put my wing around you," she explained in a hushed tone. "I hope you don't mind." He didn't, and he loved the feel of her feathers, her fur, her small breaths. They were part of her, and Kenric liked that. He sat up, and the pair kissed, if only for a brief moment. Her muzzle was soft, and warm, and delicate. He wanted to continue, but she pulled away, always too soon.
"Eat your breakfast, then we can continue." He hastily grabbed the spoon on his tray and began to shovel oatmeal in his mouth, so as to finish as quickly as possible. She laughed, and it reminded Kenric of bells, such a pure sound, ringing throughout. He laughed alongside her, still eating quite fast.
"Now can we finish?" he asked as soon as the bowl was empty. His cheeks were puffed out, filled with oatmeal.
"Swallow," she commanded. He did, then drank some of his orange juice. Oralie wiped away his OJ mustache, then promptly kissed him. "Kenric, I have to tell you something." That was it. To him, it felt like he had been punched in the stomach. He could feel the tears in his eyes, already forming.
"What?" he gasped between shudders.
"I can't marry you."
"W-what? W-why n-not?" He was bawling now. Here was the mare of his dreams, his would-be fiancee, telling him she couldn't commit to a marriage. That was when he snapped. He broke into a fit of sadness and desperation, shuddering and shivering as the tears rolled down his cheeks. He screamed, thrashing and kicking at anything and everything.
"I'm just your imagination," she said through his cries. "I'm not even here." He still screamed and kicked, but she dissolved.
The door burst open, and Nurse Redheart dug a huge needle filled with some sort of bluish liquid into his left shoulder, right above his elbow joint. It hurt, but Kenric didn't care. He looked around one last time, frantically searching for his beloved. Nurse Redheart injected the fluid into his veins, and almost instantly, he fell into the darkness of sleep. In his dreams, she was there. The last place she would ever be.
~~~===++(-----)++===~~~
Kenric awoke to darkness. Outside, Celestia's sun shone brightly, not a cloud in the sky to obscure it. But this wasn't physical darkness, no. This was internal darkness. Oralie did not come to see him all throughout his day, nor would she ever again. Kenric had finally learned the truth.
He really was insane. He truly was stir-crazy, loony, bonkers, nuts.
And so began his descent into madness.