//------------------------------// // She Heard Laughter // Story: Believing Stories // by TypewriterError //------------------------------// “I never imagined it would work like this...” Sombra said with amazement in his voice. Celeste collapsed onto her side; a whimper lurking behind her lips. Her cheek pressed into the cushioning beneath her face as she closed her eyes to the intrusive light of the room.   “What’s happening?”   “Terrifying... isn’t it?” he spat. Celeste kept her eyes tightly shut. “Do you have any idea what it would be like to live in your world? A world where you planned everything? How does it feel to be ruled by someone else’s plan, Celestia?”   Her eyes opened and revolved to look up at him as he squatted next to her. He was almost spitting in her face with each word.   “It’s not fun is it?”   “Please, let me go.”   “Oh, I have no control over whether or not you’re locked up here. That’s their decision.”   “Please, I don’t even—“   “Of course you don’t know what’s going on, you ridiculous excuse for a princess! I must say, I had no idea what this would bring out in you...”   Celeste fervently pulled at the sleeves restricting her movements; her eyes damped the fabric of her cell floor underneath her cheek.   “What about the album?”   “The... what?”   “Stop! You know what I mean! You’re in my mind and you know exactly what I mean! You’re just—“   His laugh cut her off.   “Dear Princess Celestia. You really want to be human don’t you?”   “Stop calling me Celestia.”   “Oh, I’ll never do that. But I will stop calling you a princess.”   “My name is Celeste—“   “I wonder how many times you have to repeat that to yourself to continue believing it.”   “Just leave me alone! You’re nothing more than a hallucination!”   “Celeste?” came a muffled voice from the door. “Celeste, what’s going on in there?”   Sombra watched, almost gleefully, as Celeste pushed herself against the wall and away from Dr. Cruebel’s voice. He stood and followed her casually.   “Dr. Cruebel, let me out of here!”   “I had no idea it would do this to you.” Sombra voice was soft, dangerous. “I had no idea they’d put you here. I’m just glad they gave me a chance to express my true feelings for you...”   His foot swung at Celeste’s abdomen and she cried out, feeling the kick in her empty stomach.   “Celeste?”   “Still believe I’m a hallucination?” he almost laughed before kicking her again, just where her arms didn’t cover. Tears obscured her vision as she felt herself about to vomit.   The door opened and Dr. Cruebel entered.   “Celeste?”   Sombra backed away.   “What’s going on?” Celeste choked as soon as she could breathe. The edges of her vision were black and white static.   “I heard you talking,” Dr. Cruebel explained.   “You might as well tell her, Dr. Cruebel.”   “Please tell me you hear him,” she begged.   Dr. Cruebel’s jaw clenched. He slipped his hand into his pocket.   “Do you think you can handle being out of your jacket now?”   “Wasn’t I just put in here?” she asked.   “You were brought here yesterday. The sedative wore off awhile ago. I guess you just needed sleep. How are you feeling?”   “She’s a nightmare,” Sombra interjected. “Though she doesn’t look half bad for a lunatic.”   Celeste had never noticed just how skinny Dr. Cruebel was. He was definitely more muscular than her, but compared to Sombra there was no question of who outweighed the other in brute strength. She thought of that while Sombra stood next to Dr. Cruebel as if daring him to acknowledge his presence.   “Please tell me you see him.”   “See who, Celeste?” He advanced towards her, taking the keys for the straightjacket lock out of his coat pocket.   “Sombra. He’s right here. I keep seeing him. How can you not hear him?”   “Oh, how romantic, a damsel in distress.” Sombra laughed.   “I’m going to let you out of the straightjacket. I’ll bring you back to your room and we can talk about your little outburst from before.”   “Dr. Cruebel, listen to me!”   “I am listening to you. Trust me, getting you out of this straightjacket will help.”   “But Sombra—“   “I won’t let Sombra hurt you when I’m here.”   Celeste stared at him, speechless. Sombra scoffed as Dr. Cruebel unbuckled Celeste’s arms and unzipped the back of the jacket to let her stretch.   “You couldn’t protect your own daughter. What makes you think you could...” His voice trailed off. Celeste looked up from Dr. Cruebel’s averted gaze to Sombra. He was giving her the oddest look. His eyes were fixed on her face as if he had just realized something. Something stopped him.   “Come on,” Dr. Cruebel quipped, taking a hold of Celeste’s elbow and helping her stand.   “Sombra?” Celeste asked.   “There is no one here. Let’s go.”   “How is that even possible?” Sombra said more to himself, following them.   “Alice!” Dr. Cruebel called. Her head poked inside the room.   “Please take Celeste back to her room. I need to grab the jacket. I’ll see her in a little while. Try to keep her calm.”   “Discord! I’m talking to you! How is that even possible?” Sombra shouted.   “He noticed something about my face...” Celeste whispered as Nurse Alice began to pull her away. The door to the padded room slammed shut. Celeste tried to pull away but she was soon back in her original room. The view from the window was exactly the same.   “I have to take care of something,” Nurse Alice mumbled quickly and rushed before Celeste’s cries of ‘Wait!’ could be acknowledged.   Celeste sat on her bed, shaking. What she would give for a mirror right now. Just a mirror to try and see what it was Sombra saw in her face. Perhaps even the window could show it. She crossed to it and looked hard at what she could see of herself. She saw the most basic reflection but no matter how much she searched she couldn’t see what had surprised him.   He had called Dr. Cruebel Discord. So had she when she first woke up here. But, he was Dr. Cruebel. But Sombra had to be real. Her stomach still groaned at the thought of his kick. This would normally be the time he would show up and provide the other half of her thought process.   She moved to her bed and sat down. Pulling the blankets around her shoulders. She wasn’t cold but the blankets still helped her to think. It calmed her. Perhaps it would be nice to not have Sombra interrupting every thought in her head.   Her family was dead. She should know that. How could she have thought they were alive? She rubbed her eyes, trying to scratch the drug film over them that tired tears weren’t washing away. A she sat she recalled, with acute embarrassment, how she attacked Dr. Cruebel.   Why wasn’t Sombra talking in her ear now? Where was his boasting in her mind? He was a figment of her imagination. Dr. Cruebel never saw him.   Why did Dr. Cruebel stay in the room? Why close the door just to get a straightjacket?   “Celeste?” She looked up at Dr. Cruebel. He had entered while her mind was locked inside itself.   “Yes?”   “Are you feeling alright?”   She shifted, the warmth of the blanket seeping into her shoulders. Should she just lie and say she was alright? Or was there really nothing to worry about? The mattress sunk next to her under the weight of Dr. Cruebel as he sat down.   “Are you cold?” he asked, rubbing her back gently.   “I don’t know.”   “You were talking to Sombra again.”   “I know.”   “Do you find it hard to control him?” When she hesitated he leaned a little towards her. “It’s ok if you do.”   “I do. It’s like he used to just argue my thoughts back to me. This time he was actually there.”   “Celeste, your mind is not stable right now—“   “Why can I feel him? Can my mind tell me I’m holding him and that he’s holding me?” Her eyes were almost accusing him.   “Holding?” he asked, taking his hand from her back.   “Once,” she said as she turned her face away, “I was really frustrated and... I held him and ask him to hold me back... I was just scared about something. It was stupid.”   When she turned back to Dr. Cruebel, his eyes were set on the floor.   “Have you kissed him too?”   “What? No.”   “Has he tried to kiss you?”   “No. Dr. Cruebel, what is going on? One moment you sound like I’m making Sombra up and the next you’re almost...”   “Almost what?”   “Protective? Worried?”   “I just... I don’t want you to run away with your hallucinations.”   “Dr. Cruebel. Look me in the face and tell me that Sombra isn’t real.”   His face turned towards hers. His expression was so guarded she couldn’t read it. Once again his hand lifted to rub her back, pausing as he locked his eyes with hers.   “Sombra isn’t real. You don’t need to be scared of him. I won’t let him hurt you. You don’t need to look to him to feel safe. Do you understand?”   Celeste nodded. It felt easier to believe when he said it like that. He continued to gently rub her back across the shoulder blades.   “May I look through the album a little more?”   “I’ll take some pages out to show you next time. It’s an album with all of my patients’ photographs that their families give me. Although I must say, your aunt probably filled up at least half of it with you.” He laughed and Celeste smiled crookedly.   “When do you think I can see it?”   “Soon. Tomorrow maybe. It’s almost time for dinner actually. You’ve been sleeping for awhile,” he said, rising after giving her a soft pat on the back.   “Is Sarah coming?”   Dr. Cruebel crossed to the door, not looking back.   “Sarah’s not well right now. I don’t want her getting you sick too...”   The door’s slam reverberated throughout the room. Celeste hugged her knees, feeling the rumble in her stomach. Her head still felt stuffed and heavy. She was going to trust Dr. Cruebel again. She had a choice and Dr. Cruebel had promised to protect her. He cared about her. What had Sombra offered? A kingdom? His kingdom. He would never keep her as a queen even if he were successful.   Why was she thinking this? Shouldn’t her choice depend on what was true? What she knew the facts to be? She drew her feet up to rest on the ledge of mattress in front of her. After all this time she still didn’t want to say what was true and what wasn’t? Could it be her choice? What if she could control that much of her destiny?   The door opened and she instinctively rose, pushing her blanket off, and crossed towards the table. It would be Nurse Alice as always. Nurse Alice and her usual snide expression.   “Princess Celestia?”   Her feet stopped. Her breath caught. She slowly turned her head towards the door. A girl about Sarah’s age peeked in at her, wearing hospital clothes similar to her own. The girl’s straight bangs were a valance above her wide eyes as she stepped into the room, her hand trailing on the doorknob.   Celeste was going to trust Dr. Cruebel.   “I got out. I knew you had to be close by. I felt it!” the girl excitedly stammered.   She had to trust Dr. Cruebel. She was Celeste Marlowe.   “Princess Celestia? It’s me!” The girl’s eyes pleaded through tears. “It’s me. Luna sent me. I got through. Princess Celestia, I’m here to take you home!”   She had to trust Dr. Cruebel. She was Celeste Marlowe.   “Princess Celestia? Why... Why are you looking at me like that? I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner...” she apologized, placing her hands on Celeste’s crossed arms   She had to trust.   She had to trust...   Her arms slipped out of Twilight’s grasp as she crumpled to the stone cold floor. Darkness rolled over her mind like the rumble of thunder. She heard Sombra's laughter inside her head.