//------------------------------// // Shattered Soul // Story: A curse in disguise // by Dream Quill //------------------------------// Everything was dark. Not just some sort of black as it would be at least any color. No. Everything around her was just dark. She floated through this nothingness which might was her dream but she was not sure. There was no need for the question what happened as she could remember just fine and thus decided not to wake up. Every single time she felt her consciousness returning to her she pushed it away for what she would find was far too cruel. If she would wake up there was no possibility that it would not be in a cell or even on the cold, rough surface of the moon. Maybe she was not even capable of waking up due to the fact that she was turned into stone just like Discord has been. Slowly but constantly the darkness was penetrated with voices. Muffled, but clearly not amused ones. It was nothing short of a deafening drone that vibrated through her very core. She felt her consciousness returning and tried to push it away once more but this time it was far too adamant, strengthened by the noise around her which only grew in volume till she thought her head was going to burst. ‘No… please… I don’t want to wake up. Leave me alone… please… I’ve done nothing wrong…’ Then there was the pain. Her whole existence flared with nothing but the everlasting burn of piercing unforgiving pain. She felt her body go rigid, shaking with spasms which only made the whole thing worse. The first thing she was able to hear clearly was the ridiculously fast beeping of her heart monitor, followed suit by her own shrill screech. Through the haze of tears in her eyes she could only make out colorful moving blobs around her. Last there were the voices around her most of them drowned by her screaming. But there were some shouts that she could hear but was completely unable to relate to any of the colorful blobs around her. “What is going on in here?!” “This is no more any of your business. It is under arrest by royal decree!” “What are you doing?! Did you really just cut off the painkillers?! Are you nuts?!” “Watch your tongue! It tried to escape not half an hour ago so it must be pretending!” Did she really was out just for half an hour? Felt like an eternity… “Are you deaf or something?! Are those screams not indication enough?!” “It’s a dragonequus! It would do anything to break free! Don’t be fooled by its behavior!” The lavender blob just by her side was shoved away which was accompanied by a surprised gasp. An unmistakably white blob with some pink on the top took its place and after what seemed to be another eternity she felt her body go limp once more as the pain was numbed. She just lay there and with the seconds passing by she felt less of her body. Until all she felt was this dull ache. Tears flowing free down the sides of her face as her eyes slid shut. She could feel herself sobbing although she not heard it. The voices around her were muffled again but she could barely understand them. “…resistance against the authorities!” The other voice seemed quit enraged, its pitch reaching a screech. “OUT! OUT OF MY HOSPITAL!” She could feel the movement around her more than she heard it. It should have concerned her that she could actually feel the ponies leaving her room but right at this moment there was only sorrow. Why did this happen to her? What did she do to deserve such a treatment? She felt betrayed. This contract was supposed to be her dream coming true, maybe even her wish. But instead? It was like hell and tartarus came together in an agreement to shatter her childish dreams and to torture her along the path in every way possible. As her sobs ceased she half expected to fall asleep again due to the fresh portion of painkillers in her veins. She was surprised that quite the opposite happened. The slight deafness in her ears disappeared and she felt her tears been dried. “There there… the bad ponies are gone. Everything will be alright.” Her body was lifted carefully and she felt a pair of hooves enclosing her in a tight but at the same time cautious hug. In her former life she was not one for such gestures, not because she did not want to but she felt like she was all too grown up to get hugged by another adult. How foolish she was… Hesitantly and with shaking forelegs she returned the hug as she felt a fresh wave of tears. She tried to fight them back but something inside of her just broke then and there and she buried her face in the shoulder of the white mare, crying her heart out. The presence of the other mare and her gentle strokes down her back succeeded in calming her down at last. The pony broke the hug just enough to look her in her bloodshot eyes. “Feeling better?” She just nodded and sniffed. “My name is Cecilia Adamantine Redheart, but as my profession is being a nurse everypony just calls me Nurse Redheart.” Redheart waited patiently for an answer from her and after a few more minutes she found enough strength to speak. “Janina. My name’s Janina.” The mare in front of her grimaced a bit. “Now that is some weird name.” She felt her ears fall flat against her skull which was some strange feeling by the way. “You think so? Well where I’m from it’s a common name for wo- mares.” Redheart tried to say her name a few times then shook her head. “No, this won’t do. It just… I mean really no offense but it just sounds plain weird.” She thought for a bit while she was laid back in her bed. She only knew one other name for a dragonequus and ‘Discord’ won’t do either, so there was only one possibility left. The name that the fandom made up for his female version. Just as Redheart was about to leave her room she spoke up again. “Eris. Just call me Eris.” The white mare stopped in the door and turned her face to Eris, smiling. “Now that is a cute name. I suggest you catch up on some sleep. You are still recovering after all.” She proceeded to leave the room but was detained once more as her ears caught a barely audible whisper. “Nurse Redheart?” “Yes darling?” “Won’t you get in trouble for throwing the guards out and acting contrary to the royal decree?” There was silence for the briefest of moments before Eris could hear a slight sigh. “I swore an oath. To help those in need and to protect them from anypony who would bring harm to them. You seemed to be quite in need of help if you ask me.” A smile crept to her face the first time since she woke up in this world. “Thank you, for everything. And I’m sorry for all the trouble that I maybe will cause.” “Don’t be.” She stared at her form underneath the blanket which was obviously put on her again and the smile faded. “How can you even be so kind to a monstrosity like me…?” She could hear the frown in Redhearts voice. “Don’t you say something like that ever again. You are a beautiful young dragonequus mare and although I have to admit that I never saw another female one you look quite cute. At least your body is way less mixed up like Discords and your fur has a really stunning shade of auburn.” An embarrassed blush heated her cheeks and she shyly looked away. She could not take it being complimented by others, she never could. Her ears swiveled in the direction of the door as it caught a genuine and hearty laugh. “Wow now that’s a sight. At least we can be sure that you are not suffering from anemia.” Although she felt her blush growing deeper she joined in and laughed and it felt wonderful. Did laughing always felt so… right? On very few occasions in her past it really did and she always treasured these memories like they were her most valuable possession. But in the back of her mind she knew. She won’t be under Redhearts protection forever. Eventually she would recover and had to leave hospital walking right into the waiting shackles of her highness’ royal guard and her all too eager protégé. A series of firm knocks broke the silence in the room. Eris did not even have noticed that Redheart had left. Maybe she drifted off at some point. Out of sheer habit she answered before thinking. “Come in!” When the door swung wide open to reveal a slightly fuming lavender unicorn she instantly cursed herself silently for being careless. In a childish (or foalish?) attempt she hid under her blanket and began to shiver. Heavy hooffalls could be heard from an obviously stomping Twilight Sparkle and in the next moment the blanket was pulled away from her head. She raised her arms in a defensive way and pleaded desperately. “Please don’t hurt me.” She sniffled quietly because her eyes brimmed with tears of fear. But the awaited assault, physically or mentally, did not come. For some long moments there was nothing but her quiet sniffling. She did not dare to lower her arms so she could see Twilights face. Until there could be heard the sound of a rear slumping down on the ground, that is. Curiosity got the best of her and cautiously she let her arms drop on the bed. Right in front of her sat the unicorn staring dumbfounded at her. “You are terrified of me.” It was not a question but a simple statement. Realization obviously had hit the mare straight in the face and what it showed her was noticeable not to her liking. But what happened next was not what Eris expected. Anger flashed in purple eyes and the unicorn stood tall again, glaring daggers at her. “What is this? Are you trying to play tricks on me? Dagonequi are one of the most powerful creatures amongst the multipotens belua(1). You cannot fool me!” All she got from her outburst was the sight of a supposed-to-be heartless monster sobbing pitifully in its pillow. “B-but…” Suddenly the tear soaked face of what she thought was everything near a demons shoot up and looked desperately at her. “Do you think I chose to be one?!” At that she had to admit that she might have chosen to be one for she did not know in the slightest what the contract with Discord included. She lowered her head in defeat, again felling her ears falling flat against her skull. Her voice was but a whisper. “Do you think I wanted to be one…?” Twilight stopped at this and for the first time looked the dagonequus in its eyes. They carried an unspoken pain she never saw. The eyes are windows showing ones soul. And what the unicorn saw in this grayish green orbs was nothing short of a shattered soul tortured by dolors unimagined, scarcely healed and then shattered again. In this very moment… Twilight did not see the monstrosity but the distressed, broken dragonequus mare which she almost dragged out of the hospital despite knowing that it will cause her even more pain. She lowered her head in shame. “I’m sorry…”