//------------------------------// // Session 22 - Away We Go // Story: Red Eye // by Fonypan //------------------------------// Red Eye passed through the door of her blood-stained hovel. What was said at Twilight Sparkle’s funeral hung heavily in her mind. Rarity’s words were particularly cutting. She pulled her phylactery case from its shelf and placed it upon the floor. For a long time, Red Eye stared at the box. Her eye traced along the wood grain, happy for a distraction from her miserable thoughts. The numbing reprieve couldn’t last, though. The barbs of her recent experience began to sting again, just seconds later. It was all drops in the bucket compared to what Red Eye had already been through, but the cumulative effect was more than she could bear. Red Eye glanced at her mirror in the corner. Her own horrific visage was thrown back at her. Even with the canvas patches, she was clearly not a regular pony. “You’re dead,” said Red Eye. “You’re dead, and nothing will change that. Your friends just want to mourn you in peace. I-it’s time to go…” Having steeled her resolve, Red Eye opened her phylactery case and removed the glass globe inside. She placed the sphere on the floor and rest her hoof upon it. For several minutes, she remained motionless. Her courage faltered with the feel of smooth glass beneath her hoof, and the knowledge that crushing it would end her curse. “Come on, you can do this!” Flashbacks of Forgotten’s gruesome death surfaced. The incredible suffering she had endured in her final moments only strengthened Red Eye’s doubts. She put more pressure on the glass sphere, but began to quiver. Forgotten’s final shriek of ultimate suffering echoed through Red Eye’s mind. In the end, fear outweighed despair. Red Eye returned her phylactery to its case and slammed the lid shut. The frustration from her most recent failure did nothing to help her already turbulent emotions. She threw herself to the floor and began to sob uncontrollably. Late that night, Timpani let herself in unannounced. Her saddlebags were packed full, nearly bursting. A bruise was beginning to form on the side of her head. Red Eye had finally stopped crying, but hadn’t moved since she flopped down. She didn’t even look up when Timpani entered. “Come on, we’re leaving,” said Timpani. “What do you mean?” said Red Eye. “I’m running away from home. Your cabin is too easy to find, so we have to go somewhere else.” “This is a bad idea. Just go home, Timpani. Your mother is better to you than you realize. I’m clearly a bad influence, so just pretend you never met me.” “No! I don’t like the way my mom talks to you, but what aunt Rarity said today was especially unacceptable! I can’t let them talk to my friend like that.” Red Eye finally looked up, and gasped when she saw Timpani’s bruise. “Did Sweetie Belle hit you?” “What? Oh! No, it’s just dark outside. I banged my head on something on the way here. But that’s not important! There’s a new life waiting for us, somewhere. Let’s get out of Ponyville and find it!” “No. There isn’t a life for me, anywhere. New or otherwise. I’m dead. Go home and live your life. Enjoy your youth while you can. Leave me to rot, alone. In time, you’ll realize that your aunt was right.” “She was right about one thing; Fluttershy died a long time ago. So, stop being Fluttershy! Be Red Eye! Make a new mare of yourself! New name, new home, new friends!” “I don’t know…” “What do you have to lose?” “Not a thing. I’m more worried about you.” “What do you mean?” “You can’t just drop out of school, abandon your family, and run off to another town to live with a gross freak. That isn't a reasonable goal for a filly to have.” “You aren’t a freak! I think you’re cool! I know we can find a place that will accept you if we try! There’s got to be someplace in Equestria where ponies won’t judge you for your looks. I'll enroll in school as soon as we find our new home, I promise!” “You aren’t going to give up on this, are you?” Timpani giggled and gave Red Eye a hug. “Nope! It’ll be great, trust me. You can be Red Eye, and I’ll be Stitch!” “Wait, why are you changing your name?” “I don’t know. Doesn’t it sound cool?” “I like the name you have.” “Okay, fine, whatever. Point is, I know that if we look, we’ll find a place.” Timpani released Red Eye and began to sing. “Where you can be you, and I can be me. How great it will be, when we can be we—“ “Timpani, stop. I’ve heard far too much singing in my time.” “What? B-but I spent like eight entire minutes coming up with all the words!” The sight of a quivering lip broke the soggy lump of flesh that was once Red Eye’s heart. “Oh, um. What I meant was, why don’t we wait on the song until we get to our new home? You don’t want to be here singing when your mother comes looking, do you? You said yourself that my cabin is easy to find.” “You mean you’ll go?” “Well, I can’t let you run away from home by yourself, can I? That’d make me a bad friend and a bad grown-up. If anypony asks, I’m just your adult supervision.” “Great! I’ll help you pack!”