//------------------------------// // Chapter 26: Message // Story: What is a Tatzlpony? // by Skylight77 //------------------------------// Ring. Ring. Ring. All she could hear was that silent ringing in her ears. Eventually, it cleared up after lasting a good few seconds. Something else was echoing. It wasn’t her own heartbeat, which she could practically hear. The echo… sounded like voices, voices that were nearby. From the echoing, it sounded like they were in a building. She must’ve been in there too. She opened her eyes with a moan when she heard those voices. They were too garbled to make out. Her vision was also blurred and blacked out, making it difficult to understand anything. All she noticed was that the garbled voices seemed to stop. Up ahead, she could see a silhouette and a shadow. It looked like they were talking and just recently stopped. As she saw them, her vision and hearing cleared up slightly. It looked like the silhouette had turned their eyes toward her. But then it turned its eyes back to the shadow. She could hear their voice. ”You must leave now,” the voice said. It sounded like a mare’s voice, but she couldn’t tell who the shadow was. All she knew was that it left on her word. But it almost seemed like the shadow was hesitant to leave. The mare looked at her and started walking closer. It was then that she realized, she couldn’t feel much of her body at all. She couldn’t move her mouth. It had been taped shut, not that she had any energy to speak anyway. There wasn’t even energy in her legs or wings. Thinking was also a challenge. What could she even remember? Her name was Rainbow Dash. That much she could remember. Could she remember what just happened? The answer was ‘no’ for the time being as the silhouette came close enough to her. She couldn’t make out her colors, but she could see the color of her eyes. They were red… a deep clear red with what looked like small cracks near them, like they had suffered a number of strains. Most of her face could be seen too. It wasn’t anypony she recognized, but the pony was a unicorn, with her horn still glowing. “Embrace the lives of the lost,” she said. Rainbow could remember those words now. But what did she mean by them? For some reason, Rainbow regained feelings in her hooves. She felt compelled to lift herself from her lying position. So she did. Slowly her hooves picked themselves up. It was odd. Clearly, this pony was the reason why she was here, but she didn’t feel compelled to leave. A sudden rattle gave her one reason. While her hooves weren’t restricted, she felt her hind leg wrapped in a brace. There was a chain attached to that brace, preventing her from going anywhere, not that she could find the energy to attempt an escape. Why was escape in her mind anyway? “It seems my spell’s effect is still lingering,” the mare said. "You are not fully awake yet, but you should hear me." It was odd. There was no tone in her voice. No emotion. Just calm and clear. She moved her glowing horn closer towards Rainbow. Her eyes and horn seemed to be searching along her body. Certain parts of Rainbow’s body lit up as her horn touched. Not really touched, but rather they tapped close to Rainbow’s body like there was a magic bubble covering it. “My…” she continued. “Your physical form is well developed. Strong… healthy… You must do a lot of exercising.” She moved to look at the sides of Rainbow’s body, letting her horn brighten up more spots. Rainbow followed her with her eyes, but not her head. “Oh… but your body… also shows signs of agony. Many scars still visible. Some on your legs, some on your face, some on your wings.” The mare’s horn stopped glowing. “All of them minor, but there’s a large one at the base of your right wing that’s not so minor. It looks like it was broken at one point.” She started walking back to the front of Rainbow. “Do you still feel it?” A moment of silence came. Rainbow couldn’t respond due to the tape on her mouth. Even without the tape, she didn't have the energy to. “These scars are old. But they always remain, invisible to the naked eye. And while they may linger on, the pain doesn’t.” Her eyes looked directly into Rainbow’s. “Have you ever wondered how it would feel like… if that pain you suffered never went away?” If Rainbow could gasp, she would in a soft way. Curiosity filled her eyes as she was intent on listening. “After suffering a harsh injury or a devastating illness, all you want is for the pain to vanish. You sleep, you dream, you forget. For that moment, the pain is gone. But when you awaken, it returns.” She closed her eyes. “Sleep long enough, that pain doesn’t return. When that happens, what is that feeling you get? Relief? Pleasure? Like you’re at the top of the world?” The mare’s eyes opened and seemed to wander around fantasizing. “That feeling… I always wonder how it feels like. To be freed from the shackles of pain. To be recovered after being sick. To awaken one day no longer feeling weak and helpless.” It was creepy, yet also somewhat depressing that her tone didn’t change from her rant. Although it also sounded like she was somewhat struggling to keep that toneless tone. The mare turned her eyes back to Rainbow. “The only thing worse than feeling so much pain… is knowing that you’re unwillingly spreading it to others.” Rainbow wasn’t sure how to respond, not that she could. For some reason, none of what this mare was saying was feeling threatening. All she felt was pity. “Am I wrong?” she asked as if Rainbow Dash could answer. “Would you really feel worse that way?” Silence followed before she took a few steps forward. “Maybe some ponies would. Maybe some ponies would gladly see others in pain. Relieved to be freed from their pain. Sacrifice other lives to save themselves.” Rainbow Dash blinked as she felt her stomach go hollow. Something about those words dug deep in her mind. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling. She didn’t notice it until the mare did, but her eyes were slightly twitching. The mare seemed to respond to that by releasing a long but soft ‘huh’. “Curious…” she stepped back and went silent again. The strange hollowness in Rainbow’s stomach went away. She seemed to just be lost in thought. It was strange that even now, her horn was still glowing, not even a sign that she was tired yet, or what she was using it for. And then, her eyes closed as she shook her head with a moan. “You know… I don’t even know why I’m telling you all this. Chances are… you won’t even remember any of it.” Her eyes wandered. “Hmm…” Silence came for a couple seconds. “Maybe I just wanted to talk to somepony. I don’t know… Ever since he…” For some reason, she cut herself off. There was a shake to her head. “Nevermind…” She took a deep breath through her nose and let it out through her mouth. “Today is forgotten. But tomorrow will remember. Everyday… I wonder if tomorrow will ever happen… that what happens today… will be forgotten when tomorrow comes. Much like what will happen to you.” A low growl sounded somewhere. Rainbow’s eyes grew. She wasn’t sure if it was a response to either the mare’s words or the growl. “Sounds like the beast awakens.” the mare said. She picked herself up and continued. “Its tomorrow is now today, but its pain still lingers. All that pain… you may wish to forget it, wish to recover from it and forget it ever happened. But tomorrow will come and the pain is still remembered. For some, that pain came not from themselves, but to others. They never had a choice. They were resented for it even having no choice, much like a predator bringing pain to its prey.” Inching herself closer, she spoke in Rainbow’s ear. “The pain vanishes, but there's no tomorrow for them, is there?” For some reason, Rainbow couldn’t feel the mare’s breath, despite giving her quite a chill. The mare backed up and now looked closely at Rainbow’s eyes. “A new hope blossoms for them today. But what will happen to them?” Every time she asked something, she seemed to ask it as if expecting an answer. She sighed. “I was never good at making choices. Now I no longer have one. I lost that privilege long ago. My hope. My freedom.” There was a pause. “Him...” Rainbow found herself breathing harder the more this mare spoke. All these words felt so familiar, but her conscience just couldn’t focus on why that was. The voice, the growl, this room… she felt like she heard them before. Her thoughts broke when something came out of the mare’s mane. She pointed her horn towards Rainbow’s forehead, bringing the object with her. Seeing this object made Rainbow’s eyes shrink. It looked like a syringe. “Your pain will only be felt for a moment. After that, you won’t remember it happening.” Her horn started glowing brighter, bringing the syringe closer towards the left side of Rainbow’s neck. “But my pain, you will only begin to feel, begin to understand. The others… theirs will depend on you. Their sake… depends on you.” Rainbow was starting to shake. What was that syringe for? Why couldn’t she find the will to resist? “Listen to your instincts. Listen… to their plea.” The mare jabbed the syringe to Rainbow’s neck swiftly, making Rainbow’s eyes snap closed while the mare’s horn glowed brighter. “You will be its messenger. And you will be their new beginning.” Rainbow suddenly snapped her eyes back open. For some reason, she didn’t feel any pain. Looking towards the syringe, it was clearly being jabbed into her neck. The mare in front of her held a serious face while she held the syringe steady. She was casting something, something that felt all too familiar. Rainbow gasped internally. Now she understood what was going on. About as soon as she realized, the mare’s eyes grew wide. The syringe was pulled away. A loud and stuttered gasp escaped the mare, a gasp with a tone. It echoed in Rainbow's ear. Another gasp came shortly after the first. Then there was a third, which sounded like she was about to cry and could no longer breathe in air. Rainbow could see what was happening, despite her head lowered with her eyes closed. The mare’s eyes, the cracks in them formed bigger while her magic lost grip on the syringe. Her chest was puffed out unwillingly. Something bumped within her chest. It sounded like a heartbeat, a heartbeat that echoed with a force similar to a bell chime. Two more followed, each one more scary than the last. When the syringe clanged on the floor... “AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” The mare’s horn flashed uncontrollably brighter, engulfing both her and Rainbow. It was a blinding light, but Rainbow felt nothing, despite seeing both the mare and herself suffer. A magical shockwave blasted from the mare’s horn, turning her screaming into an even louder yelping scream as her body was thrown away from Rainbow. Many magical sparks resonated all over the building. Rainbow was screaming as well. She felt the brace holding her hind leg get blasted off. Her body felt like it was changing shape. If she could feel pain right now, she was probably experiencing a lot of it. When the mare’s body impacted the wall, a massive roar from a monster sounded while the wall shattered. Behind that wall, a bright light came. Another roar came as that light started sucking reality in. Rainbow was finding herself being sucked in as well, with no way to resist its grasp. It was startling, and she found herself yelping when her body was pulled full force towards the light. But what scared her was the sound of another roar. In the middle of that light was the silhouette of a huge beast. She couldn’t recognize it. It sounded like it was angry and in pain. When the light engulfed her, it was all over. She knew that everything she just saw wasn’t actually happening. It was all just a dream. No… It was a memory. ______________________________________________________________________________ Rainbow Dash opened her eyes to the sound of a panicked voice. Whoever it belonged to was making a lot of rustles using branches and leaves. It was garbled and her vision blurred. Blinking her eyes a few times cleared her vision, but she was still woozy. She saw bars in her vision. Oddly enough, the bars seemed to be made from logs and sticks from the forest. Despite what they were made from, it was clear what she was in. Rainbow was in a cage. She had to get out. When she tried lifting herself up, she found herself wobbly and dizzy. The panicked voices she was hearing was starting to clear up. It was huffing and panting frantically. “I c-can’t hear t-them! Where are the-e-ey?!” It sounded like X’s voices. That’s right… X was trying to capture her, trying to take her away from Fluttershy. Where was Fluttershy now? What happened to her? Thinking about her suddenly made her stomach hollow. Something must've happened while she was knocked out and she had to find out what. She... her stomach for some reason... really wanted to see Fluttershy again. With a grunt, she forced herself to run towards the bars, slamming her body against it. A gasp sounded nearby. The bang against the bars left Rainbow woozier than before. She just couldn’t find her strength. Somepony flew down near the cage shuffling through some bags. It must’ve been X. After rubbing her face, she moaned groggily and opened her eyes. The next thing she saw was a blue electrical device coming straight for her forehead. A painful bright zap came. All she could do was scream in agony. She blacked out again. ______________________________________________________________________________ Meanwhile, in another clearing, somepony laid on the grass motionless. It was barren, save for a single red and black rattlesnake. The snake slithered along her body, gazing at her beautiful yet motionless form. There was a pair of bite marks on her right side just above her wing. This bite mark came from the fangs of this rattlesnake. The snake continued slithering along her body, moving towards her face. As it moved, it hissed with its tongue, testing her motion while its body coiled around hers. Her face was just as beautiful as the rest of her body. When it moved along her long pink mane, it was like sleeping in a mother’s warm embrace. Whoever this pony was, the snake was mildly attracted to her. It wrapped and embraced its body around her, looking into her closed, motionless eyes. So… peaceful.