//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: Popcorn // by Popcorn Pony //------------------------------// Pocornia looked around the room. All was as she had left it, the couch, the table, the bookcase, her knick-knacks scattered about. All considered, the place looked good. But she had not returned to appreciate the decor. She was looking for her kitty. True, her pet spider was perfectly capable of taking care of itself, but she missed him. And all creatures needed love and friendship. "Kitty?" she called, stepping toward the kitchen. She assumed if he were hanging around anywhere it would probably be there, as it would have provided a steady source of water. Her kitchen faucet leaked, one of the little character flaws of her home she had yet to attend to. However, in this case, it was fine, as her kitty could have stood under it every now and then to refresh itself. Or just played at catching the drops. But when she reached the sink her spider wasn't there. Perhaps upstairs, in her room. A trip up yielding no additional results, she returned to the living room. Pocornia sighed. She had devoted much time and effort to restore her home but knew she couldn't stay within its walls much longer. She had to keep moving. Ponies were looking for her. He was looking for her, and her home was, of course, an obvious place to look. She stood for a moment, contemplating her next move. Then she heard a small squeal to her right. She looked, and there he was, the pet spider she called kitty. He was on top of the small half-table next to the wall near the hallway. "There you are!" She said, a large, almost uncontrollable smile decorating her face. She stepped into that direction, looking at her pet with wide eyes. "How have you been, you little scamp?" However, her pet did not react in typical form. It squealed at her again, in a manner she thought agitated. It raised one leg and pointed at the front door, again emitting a loud, urgent sound which she thought sounded like a shriek. She stopped, staring at him in bewilderment. He continued to point, his leg outstretched gesticulating emphatically. She looked at the door. There was a knock. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Songbird stepped into the hallway leading to her manager's office, her security in tow. They had followed the tracks back into town where her suspicions concerning who made them had been confirmed. Now she just had to figure out who best to inform. Gladmane and Filthy Rich, she thought, what an odd pair to have been visiting Pocornia's only she was sure they had not made the trip for a visit, but rather some other, far less amiable, intent. Shame she didn't get the opportunity to ask them in person. She had followed the tracks into town, the path eventually leading her to the hospital. Gladmane and Rich had been just outside the emergency room entrance, the former appearing as if seriously hurt in some fashion. With the general rush of ponies to attend him, she decided not to press the issue, as she concluded it would not have been productive for her to have made her presence known. She would get another chance, she rationalized, particularly after sharing her tale with Octavia. Or better yet Pocornia, she mused, if we could just find her. Songbird reached her manager's office door and found it open. She was waiting inside, wearing her standard black suit and bright red tie. As she entered, her demeanor instantly struck her as out of character. Typically she was always happy to see her, a warm, friendly smile plastered across her face. But not on this occasion. Her look was stern, She did not appear happy at all. "Ms.HarshWhinny." She said, closing the door as her security remained in the hall, "Everything alright?" Ms.Harshwhinny, a jack of all trades when it comes to management, stared at her for a moment. "Suppose you tell me," Her voice, sharp and assertive. Songbird stood for a moment, her mouth a bit agape. Ms.Harshwhinny tended to be abrasive, but something about her seemed off. "What is that supposed to mean?" Songbird replied, remaining where she was. There was tension in the air, she could feel it, almost feeling familiar. "Where have you been, Songbird?" Ms.Harshwhinny retorted. "Tell me honestly, where have you been that you felt the need to drag your security along with you?" Songbird huffed. "I take my security everywhere, you know that." "That isn't what I mean, and you know it." Harshwhinny shot back. "Where have you been?" Songbird paused for a moment to consider the situation. In her estimation, her manager already knew exactly where she had been, but probably...hopefully...not why. Ultimately it was her business, but given Harshwhinny's demeanor, she thought the downside not sufficient enough to withhold her response. However, she did so anyway. "I was looking for someone. A friend." "Pocornia." She said, almost having spat the name. "Isn't that right? You were looking for Pocornia." "So?" Songbird fired back. She stepped toward her, something she had never done before. This was wrong, Songbird knew. There was far too much anger in the air. She had her suspicions as to why. "Harshwhinny." Songbird said, her voice even, calm, "Have you had any visitors lately?" "This is not about me!" Harshwhinny answered, taking another step toward Songbird, her manner perhaps not as threatening, but definitely more purposeful. Whatever her hidden agenda may have been, Songbird thought, it was about to be revealed, although, she also knew in all probability it wasn't her agenda at all. She had played in this scene twice now prior. Ms.Harshwhinny glared at her. "You have commitments, Songbird, commitments to me, to your fans, to your backers. Those commitments cannot be summarily or wistfully dismissed just so you can go gallivanting about the countryside in the middle of the night when you should be concentrating on your responsibilities, preparing for your next appearance!" she paused, drawing a quick breath. "Whatever you are doing in regard to that pony has to stop, now! Do you understand me?" Songbird stared at her in near disbelief, a number of emotions coursing through her. Her initial reaction was to tell Ms.Harshwhinny what she could do with her heated assertions and walk out. Or, barring that, call her bluff and tell her she would take personal time off, all for reasons crafted at her expense. But Songbird hesitated, attempting to form a more reasoned, less instinctual response. Probably the wisest course of action, she thought, and the most effective, given the wider truth now crystallizing around her. He had been here. She knew it. She felt it. Her manager was now another in a seemingly never-ending line of pawns manipulated to do his bidding. The Dark Pony, as Octavia had called him, the same they had encountered in Phillydelphia. She had to find out just who he was, and what he wanted with Pocornia. Her resolve to accomplish that task hardened. Consequently, at the moment, there was only one course of action. She nodded her head. "Okay, Harshwhinny." she said, rather meekly, "You're right." she watched her reaction and saw the expected. Her shoulders sagged in relief, her air of force seeming to evaporate. "I will stay here and do my thing. Pocornia can fend for herself." Songbird added. Ms.Harshwhinnny let out a long drawn out sigh while wiping her brow. "Thank you." Was all she said. They stood in silence for a moment, allowing the air back into the room. Then Songbird locked eyes with Ms.Harshwhinny, unable to help herself. "But one more thing, Harshwhinny," she said, her voice conveying just a hint of her true emotions in play. "Yell at me like that one more time, and I will take that tie of yours and shove it right..." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Octavia sat on the side of the bed, looking down at her friend. Photo Finish lay there, an emotional wreck, sobs mixed with heated crying, tears pouring out of her like water. Almost the entire trip home had been like this, Octavia attempting to hold her friend together as they navigated the early morning light to return to Photo's home. Her friend had immediately collapsed into her bed and had been there ever since. "Octavia?" she wailed, "Octavia?" she sniffed, tears running down her face. "I'm here, Photo." Octavia replied, "It's alright. I'm here." Photo shook her head. "No, it's not alwight..." she burst into another bout of uncontrollable crying. Octavia just sat, waiting patiently. She reached out to gently stroke Photo's head. Her friend shook her head again, sniffling, rubbing her nose. "It's not alwight Octavia, it's not." She lay for a moment, her eyes staring into the depths of some void, some madness only Photo could see. Octavia hoped nothing stared back. Her friend seemed to harden for a moment, to gain a bit of control. She looked up. "I can't do thwis anymore, Octavia, I can't." She looked off into the void again. "I want to help Pocornia, I really do. But I can't...fight this thing..." she moaned in plaintiff turmoil, more tears springing forth. Again she looked up at Octavia, her eyes widened and wild. When she spoke her voice was more solid, steely and strong. A voice driven by fear, if not terror. "He killed him!" She nearly shouted. "You saw! you were there! he killed him!" "Photo, it wasn't real, I told you..." "No! no, Octavia no!" she fell back to the bed, whatever resolve now as instantly gone as it had arrived. She began to cry again, her voice a high pitched wail. "I can't do thwis anymore!" Her tears fell like rain. "I caaaaan't..." Octavia stroked Photo's head, comforting her friend. She sighed, knowing there was only one act she could perform in response to Photo's plight, only one thing she could say...which would matter. "It's alright, Photo, you don't have to." Octavia looked at her sobbing friend. The sight rendered her only more resolute. This was truly her fight now. "Don't worry, Photo, don't worry." she said, still stroking her friend's head softly. "I will take care of it." "Reawly?" she heard her friend ask, her voice still a plaintiff wail. Octavia nodded. "Yes, really." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Werewolf sat on a stump in the middle of a clearing surrounded by a half-ring of trees. The dark of night smothered all. His brethren lay about him, their eyes, black marbles in appearance, staring about as their chest heaved rhythmically up and down. They were impatient, he thought. He didn't blame them. As he sat The Werewolf stared. Any onlooker would have thought he stared at nothing, but that wasn't so. It was there, straight ahead, an object he couldn't see but knew to be present. The barrier. Although he couldn't see it he could feel its pulse, the energies which separated one world from the other clearly palatable. The clearing around him seemed to hum in response to those energies, the noise expressed as a low buzzing sound intermingled with that of a chime. It reminded him of a swarm of angry insects, only not as pronounced. Just enough to make one aware, he thought. That, and the slight tingling of his skin. Perhaps that was why his brethren remained so animated, so intent on expending their energy in pursuit of...something, anything. He knew it wouldn't be much longer before she came. He knew she would penetrate the barrier. He knew the trials and tribulations which would present themselves, the torment she would suffer, the goal she had to achieve, and what the pursuit of that goal would cost her. He knew she probably wouldn't survive. But he also knew it was neccesary. All of it. he traveled his gaze again over his panting and hopeful brethren. They waited as he did, for all the pieces to align and begin the most deadly game. They waited for the calamitous events to come. But they would not wait for very much longer. "Soon, my brothers," he said to them, soothingly. "Soon." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The graveyard was quiet. But then it was always quiet. Darkness surrounded the area, broken only by the ever-present iridescent glow softly illuminating the headstones. Silent sentinels, ever watchful, but seeing nothing. The Toad sat before a freshly dug grave, perfectly proportioned but void of occupancy. A new headstone sat opposite him. Dark lettering adorned the slab but as yet formed no words or name. Instead, they danced about, moving to and fro daring anyone to decipher them. But the toad had no need to. He knew who the grave was for. "I have always known you were coming." He said. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Princess Luna woke from her slumber. She rose and walked to her balcony to again gaze out over the city below. The sun was just beginning to break over the horizon. In her sleep, she had not been dreaming. She was the dream. In it, she had traveled to a far place, to an existence long forgotten. But not by all, for he had been there. An event had occurred, violent, tragic, rending, devastating. But her vision had been incomplete, leaving her unsure of exactly what she had witnessed. However, the journey ultimately led her to what she interpreted as a focal point, as the focal point. the visions and images of the dreamworld swirled about it, screaming their dismay. They demanded her attention. A pony, she thought, a simple pony harboring a dark secret. But that secret had been seized upon, and if not countered, could potentially destroy the peace and tranquility of all Equestria. She had to encounter him again as she had once previously. Whether in the Dreamworld or the physical world no longer mattered. She had to know what he knew and answer the question of how it had come to this. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Dark Pony sat atop the hill overlooking the small structure in the lowland below. He stared at it, studied it as if attempting to discern some message buried within its body. It angered him. Home, he thought, that was the troubling message. The structure reeked of home, an aspect of life he had once enjoyed, but doubted he would ever relish again. Perhaps, he thought, if the events to come played out according to his plan. She was there. He had seen her return to the sight and go inside. A cloud passed overhead, casting him in shadow. He smiled at that. For in the darkness, he ruled all within it. His smile faded, a look of grim determination replacing it. The pieces were in position, he thought, the players aligned. He nodded his head. It was time. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There was a knock. Pocornia looked at her kitty, still shrieking as it gesticulated toward the door. she guessed he was telling her to answer it. She stepped over and pulled the door open. It was Fluttershy, a worried look on her face as she stood on the porch. "Pocornia?" "Hey, Fluttershy!" Pocornia smiled as she pushed the door all the way open, relief at seeing a friend rushing through. "Come on in, please!" Fluttershy did so, stepping to the middle of the room. Pocornia closed the door and turned to her. "How have you been?" she asked, as if this occasion were no different than a chance meeting on the street. Fluttershy, howeverdid not feel so spontaneous. Se had come here with a purpose far beyond simple cordiality. "No, Pocornia, the question is how are you?" Pocornia shrugged her shoulders. She turned her head and noticed her kitty was gone. "I'm okay, I guess." She returned her gaze to meet Fluttershy's. Her friend looked awfully worried, she thought, sure, there was a lot going on, but Pocornia didn't believe Fluttershy knew much about it. In the past, they had mostly talked about other stuff. "What's wrong, Fluttershy?" A look of bewilderment temporarily crossed Fluttershy's face. "I'm asking a question better asked of you." They stared at each other for a moment then Fluttershy decided to get to the point. "A lot of ponies are worried about you, Pocornia. A bunch of us have been looking for you. Octavia, Songbird, Photo Finish, me..Where have you been hiding?" "Hiding?" Pocornia replied. She was about to refute the claim but was correct, she had been hading. She had been running like an escaped fugitive, desperately, trying to distance herself from the violent act she committed upon Sapphire Shores. "I...I, um..." Pocornia stuttered. Fluttershy watched Pocornia, an unexpected series of emotions making themselves known through her facial expressions. Guilt, shame, remorse, hopelessness. She had never before seen a normally content looking pony become so sad so fast. "I hate myself..." Pocornia whimpered. Fluttershy recoiled a bit, empathically raising a hoof to her chest. "I thought if I could be alone, I could fix everything." Pocornia attested, holding her head. "I hate myself so much!" "Why, what did you break?" Fluttershy asked. "I did something bad!" Pocornia answered. "that's why I should be alone..." an indefinable voice whispered a message into Fluttershy's ear, she looked around yet saw nopony then looked at Pocornia. "You are not alone, Pocornia, you never have been. You have friends to help, who want to help." Pocornia looked up, for the first time in a long time, she felt like she could tell the truth, facing the music that came with it. But something had begun to stir. The room near-instantly became incredibly cold. Pocornia could see both her's and Fluttershy's. breath hanging in the air. Time seemed to protract the vapor moving in slow motion. Fluttershy was blinking her eyes, but the movement took forever. The darkness which followed descended from above with the same prolonged movement, yet sinister, alive with an inevitable finality. She felt arms, tendrils, begin to wrap around her. Fluttershy began to grow small in her vision, the room vanishing. There was a sudden wrenching, a tearing as if she were being ripped from the very fabric of the reality of her hearth and home, from existence itself. She was sinking down a dark tunnel, swallowed whole, into an abyss. Terrified, she screamed, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Her scream echoing within the nothingness around her. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fluttershy stood alone, still in Pocornia's living room, completely at a loss to explain what had just occurred. One moment they had been talking then she had blinked and Pocornia was gone. "Pocornia?" She looked around but saw no sign of her friend. Something was horribly wrong, she turned after hearing a shrieking sound, only barely audible as if something small was the source. She followed the sound to a small half-table sitting next to a wall. Pocornia's spider was there. It was screaming at her...