//------------------------------// // Chapter One: Waking Up // Story: Home is Where the Swords Are // by NekoAbunai //------------------------------// "...no relatives..." "...Sash Dance and Indigo Smite..." "...terrible thing to happen..." A soft pillow greeted me from sleep, its cool cloth pulling me from unconsciousness and into a world of headaches. I opened up my eyes, blinking away the pain of the suddenly bright light. Groaning I sat up, holding hoof to my head as I did. I swiveled my head around to take in my surroundings and decide on my next course of action. Unfamiliar white walls surrounded me in a weird bed. A machine sat next to me letting out beeps at a seemingly specific rate. Tied to the my hoof was a little wire that led up to the beeping machine. I listened to the beeps, mesmerized by the sound and drawn in by the black screen and the little green lines forming a mountain and valley with each second. My ears swiveled to the door, my attention flicking to the source of a quiet click. A stallion with tan fur and a white outfit walked in the room, smiling as he saw me sitting up and looking at him. "Hello, I'm Doctor Stable," the unicorn said, lighting his horn to float a clipboard at the end of my bed to under his nose. "I see you've woken up, little miss." He read over the papers on the board. "Now, to test for any signs of concussion, I'd like to ask you a few questions." I nodded at him, waiting for his inquiry. "What is your name?" "Bright Bounce," I said in a scratchy voice. Surprised by the sound, I placed a hoof on my neck as my face contorted to confusion as to why my voice was so hoarse. "How old are you, Miss Bright Bounce?" "Eight years old." "How many hooves am I holding up?" "Two." I shivered as I felt magic swim over me, opening my eyes to see the doctor writing on the clipboard. A sharp prick of pain in my head made me place a hoof to my temple, massaging the spot to alleviate the pain. Doctor Stable sighed after a moment, looking up and placing the clipboard back. "I would like to announce to you that you are devoid of concussions, Bright Bounce. But I'm afraid I'll have to ask you some questions pertaining to how you came to become injured." I blinked and looked at my hooves. A few bandages covered what felt like minor cuts and my mind was fuzzy. I thought back, trying to make something of the blurred images. The beeping on the machine beside me increased in frequency of its sounds as I recalled my sister. "Sash!" My hooves slammed against the bed and I looked up at Doctor Stable. "Where's Sash? Why am I here? Where is she?" The stallion's mouth twitched before he pushed his glasses up his snout. I searched his face desperately, trying to find any sign as to if he knew where my sister was. I was met with a practiced mask of neutrality and a bit of sympathy shining in his eyes. Coughing into his hoof, the stallion said, "Ma'am, a magical signal was sent up near to where you were found. A trading caravan was passing by and, well." Doctor Stable pulled up a chair and sat down while a creeping sense of fear and despair floated over me. "They found you, lying in a pool of blood next to two swords." He put his hooves together, rubbing them as he prepared his next line. He looked up at the ceiling. "It has been determined the pool of blood was not made by you." I let out a shaky breath. "So, if there wasn't... My sister next to me, maybe she walked away...?" Hope rose in my chest, only to slowly die down as the doctor gave a sympathetic smile. "There was unfortunately too much blood for her to have gone far, Bright," he said, placing a hoof on my hind hoof in pity. Patting my hoof as tears ran down my cheeks, he stood up again and opened the door with his magic. "Unfortunately, there is an inquiry that the Royal Guard is going to conduct and, as you are the only living relative of the pony who was signing up for the Guard, you will be asked a few questions about Sash Dance." I looked up to see an earth pony with golden armor entering the room. His coat was white and his eyes were blue, as anypony who was in the Royal Guard looked like. The stallion stopped at the end of the bed, turning in a militant fashion to face me. "Bright Bounce," a gruff voice grunted out as the stallion raised a hoof in salute. "I am a representative of the Canterlot Royal Guard. My name is Light Lance and I am here to ask some questions about what happened to both Private Bright Bounce and the dishonorably discharged Indigo Smite." Hearing that name sent shivers up my spines as I could see his cold, uncaring eyes staring in my direction. He didn't look into my eyes when he gazed at me; he looked into my fear and my soul. His black eyes coldly had examined me, judging my ability, taking note of my weaknesses, and leaving a quivering fear when his eyes moved on. Closing my eyes, I saw those eyes, but instead of the lifeless black void one could see when he examined his surroundings, my pain had brought a pleased smile to his eyes. Malicious glee danced in those black pupils while he ran magic through my head, coiling around everything it touched and burned those parts of my psyche with acid. My heart pounded as dozens of scenarios played out in memories that were not my own. A monster bathed in blood and pain, smiling as a pony in military fatigues writhed around, holding his head while the dark blue magic killed him over and over in his mind. I felt the monster's magic slowly drain from his point of view, my blood going cold as I felt a spell deposit memories of previous victims. The stallion on the ground screamed in fear and agony, a symphony to the creature's ears. I knew the stallion watched each torture, witnessing the ponies in the memories clutching their head before meeting a painful demise. A family of five cowered in a corner, watching with tiny pupils as the father of the family stood up, smiling an unnatural, forced smile while blue magic flowed through each ear. The pony took a step forward, picked up a knife and- "Ma'am!" A hoof on my shoulder shook me from those thoughts. The Doctor was lighting a spell, sending a wave of magic over me and taking note of what magic lingered on me. The hoof on my shoulder was from Light Lance, his blue eyes wide in concern. I touched a hoof to my cheek, bringing it back wet with salty tears. I looked at my light blue hoof in wonderment. It was clearly cleaned lately, but the yellow patch of fur on my hoof was tinged a darker color than I remember. The stallion from those memories... He must have loved his family much more than I could ever know, but the monster... The monster named Indigo Smite made ponies do far worse... Could my hooves have been the ones to...? I pushed out of bed in a panic, rushing over to a door labeled "restroom", startling the white earth pony as I took off toward the door. A blast of pain interrupted my dash, staring from a point on my back concealed with bandages. I hissed through my teeth as the crippling pain shot through me, my spine whining at the sudden movement and leaving me on the ground. Hooves clopped loudly on the cold, tiled floor, making me look as Doctor Stable and Light Lance came to my aid. I whimpered as the two came to a stop and white hooves slid under my barrel to pull me up. My head pounded as the hooves tightened and shifted. The stallions were talking, but their speech came out as garbled mumbling. I looked confusedly at them, their concern shining through their eyes as questions poured from their mouths. My head pounded, fear and confusion coursing through me as the headache continued, I closed my eyes, trying to block out the now-painful light of the hospital room. I barely registered the magic floating me back to the bed, but the headache increased in pain as Doctor Stable's magic carried me. The cool pillow cradled my head as I kicked my legs. I heard the machine next to me beep loudly and quickly. I covered my ears to block out the annoying sound, but my bandaged hooves barely blocked out any sound. I felt yet another magic scan run over me, this time pausing on my head. The deep mumbles of the ponies in the room bounded back to the two stallions in the room in conversation. I cracked open my eyes, looking through slits at Light Lance chewing on his lip and Doctor Stable writing on the clipboard in a feverish fashion. The tan unicorn seemed to be rattling off some words that made Light Lance confused. The unicorn looked up and said something to the white pony, sending him rushing out and back with a mare with a cross on her hat. They were all talking at once, their voices slipping into my ears and increasing the headache. The earth pony was standing off to the side listening intently as the doctor explained something to the nurse. The beeps from the machine behind me kept on raising my headache pain with each beep. The green lines sent uncontrolled annoyance lancing up my chest, its sound making my head pound angrily. My gaze shifted to the mare who trotted up to me. A gentle smile and soft eyes pulled my attention from the exceedingly painful torture device to my side. She lit her horn in a pink light, levitating a needle up to me. The sharp tip glinted as a little bit of fluid escaped the needle, sending a little fear into the mix of emotions running rampant in my head. I backed away from the approaching needle, taking my hooves away from my ears to help push away from the nice mare with the scary pointy medicine. The beeping machine piped up and picked up speed, much to my chagrin. My ears flattened as the mare frowned and floated the needle closer and the beeping kept screeching out to the world its terrible song. The stallions at the end of the bed yammered on, the tan one watching the machine beeping and the white one looking at me in concern. my eyes were trained on the sharp object aimed for my hoof and the nurse trying to make a gentle smile despite me pushing sheets in front of me. My head felt like it was splitting, the unfamiliar memories, the pain from today, and this extreme pressure near the front of my head. At the forefront of the chaos, stirring of something or somethings added to my skull splitting headache. The needle floated closer as my back slid against the bedside table, sending little shocks of pain as the hard wood jammed against my injured back. I cried out a little, barely a whimper due to my scratchy throat, and the pressure in my head responded. It felt like two entities recoiling from the pain, each one full of confusion and surprise. A gentle, warm sensation radiated from one and a cooler, harsher feeling pulsed from the other. The nurse said something, making my eyes flick to her as I tried to understand. She rolled her eyes and her horn pulsed a little more, its pink light softly grabbing my hoof and holding it out for the needle. My heart beat in tune with the beeps from the annoying machine, sending the presences in my head rolling around in an emotion I couldn't decipher. The needle floated above my hoof as the pink magic held my hoof still in a firm grasp. I whimpered in fear, as the nurse tried to murmur gentle words to soothe me. My head was in chaos, the beeping from the machine was driving me nuts, and Doctor Stable looked like he was trying to say something or give some information. I closed my eyes tightly, my hoof held still as the tip of the needle pressed against my fur. My heart pounded in my ears almost as loud as my head pounded in pain. Somepony, I thought to myself. Please make it stop. The two presences responded immediately, the pressure lifting, but still there as the cold entity filled with annoyance directed at something. I was pulled from my thoughts as the needle pierced my skin. A sudden crash resounded in the room, bringing back clarity to my thoughts as the beeping machine beside me fell silent. I opened my eyes, finding myself staring into the wide eyes of the nurse. She stared at something beside me with surprise in her eyes. I turned a little, but couldn't fully look behind me due to my hoof being grasped by the surprised nurse. I could see the two stallions at the end of my bed, eyes transfixed on where the beeping machine was and was mercifully silent. The white stallion had grabbed a sword on his side and stepped in front of Doctor Stable, placing himself between the quiet machine and the tan unicorn. I followed their gaze as best I could, barely seeing something out of the corner of my eye. A hilt of a blade was in the corner of my vision, its steel glinting in the white light. It had a black grip on it, the leather pristine aside from one or two bite marks. The guard of the sword had a piece of string with the words 'EVIDENCE' on a label. I felt satisfaction from the cold presence, seemingly pleased at the death of the machine and end to the noise. A cool feeling and pain spread from my hoof, bringing me back to look at the nurse. She had taken the opportunity to give me a shot while I was distracted. The two presences in my head growled at the smile of the nurse. To me, it appeared to be a gentle smile, a motherly gesture as I felt the world slip away. But the dark presence saw it as a smug gesture. I heard the screech of metal on metal as I sunk into the covers. My eyes closing to slits, I saw the glint of a blade as it passed by me, pointed at the nurse. Blackness closed in on me as I heard a scream from my left.