//------------------------------// // 9: Embrace // Story: Letters // by joe mother //------------------------------// LETTERS - CHAPTER NINE: EMBRACE When the hands grabbed her, she jumped back. The hands felt so familiar, even though they had never touched her before. The claws scraped along her skin and broke the skin, drawing blood. Horror and despair filled her body. The air was cold as the demon’s breath blew onto her ear. “Hello,” it whispered. “Have you come back to see me?” “No,” Pinkie whispered. “No.” “How were my letters?” Pinkie tried to back away, but the hand grabbed her tightly, and she yelped at the sharp pain. Her father was watching in shock, reliving every moment after his death in his head, remembering all the things that had happened to his daughter. “It’s funny to see you come running because of a few letters. You mortals are so easily fooled. You knew that your family was dead. How could skeletons send you anything?” “I didn’t know what to do,” she replied. “I just saw the letters and couldn’t believe what I saw.” “I am quite angry I let you go. I thought it was a good idea at the time; I thought I could chase you down in Ponyville, but the presence of the Elements of Harmony and their gems kept me out. I had to wait until I found a way to get you out here.” “How could it take so long to send a letter?” Pinkie asked, trying to sound silly. Being silly was all she had left to stave off the extreme panic rising within her. “I haven’t been around ponies for a long time... I had no way to learn about these things except by watching Ponyville from a distance and seeing what different things connected you to other towns. Finding a mailpony whose employer wouldn’t care about dropping unchecked letters into the system was quite hard. Writing the letter was rather difficult as well. There were at least 100 drafts.” Pinkie shuddered as the demon let go of her. She tried to turn and look at it but her head was kept staring straight ahead. Her legs began to shake. “Let’s see you suffer some more. I’ve gone too long without this.” Pinkie gasped as a blade went through her ribs from her back. Blood sprayed up into her throat and flew from her mouth and nose. She couldn’t catch her breath as she slipped onto the ground, the blade coming out as she fell. She laid for a second, trying to breath but failing. Her father was screaming, attempting to run to her but getting pinned through the limbs against the wall. Two sharp claws gripped under the skin on the back of her neck and lifted her up. She could almost hear her skin and fur ripping as she was lifted up to the roof of the basement. From her blurry eyes she saw a nail bed of shadow appear on the ground. She didn’t have time to scream as she was slammed into it. The demon laughed as she screamed, moving her up and down across the bed. The nails tore apart every inch of her body, going into her eyes and mouth, destroying her tongue and filling her mouth with blood. The demon lifted her up and chuckled at her mutilated corpse. Pinkie’s father was speechless as his daughter’s body hanging from the dark claws, blood dripping into the dirt and down the claws. “This is too fun...” He dropped Pinkie on the nail bed and went over to the father, who was motionless and stared blankly into space. The demon yanked him from the wall and smiled. “It’s time for you, now.” - - - - - - “Who are you?” Pinkie asked, staring straight into the face of the yellow pegasus who hid behind her mane and tried to back away. “I-I’m F-Flut-tershy...” the pegasus replied, shaking a little from the attention. “I’m Pinkie Pie!” the energetic filly said, hopping back. “Do you live here?” “I-I just came here...” the shy pony replied, retreating farther back into her mane. “My parents a-are animal k-keepers by the forest.” “Why do you stutter?” Pinkie asked tactlessly. “And you keep backing up. Why?” “I-I...” Fluttershy stammered. “I don’t r-really like talking to o-other p-ponies. I’m n-no good at t-that.” “Well, that’s not good!” Pinkie exclaimed, stomping her hoof. “We need to fix that!” “I-I’m not s-sure that’s a g-good idea...” Pinkie grabbed her hoof and pushed her mane off of her face, “Well, the first thing is it’s hard to get ponies to talk to you if your mane is all on your face!” “I d-don’t really–” “You need to be more confident when you talk! You sound really sad. Also, stuttering doesn’t help.” Fluttershy sighed and resigned to her fate. - - - - - - A purple outline formed in the darkness of Pinkie’s mind. It glowed and slowly filled in to form Twilight, who came up to her and grabbed her face. “I’m so sorry,” Pinkie whispered, a tear running down her cheek. “I didn’t think this would happen.” “I’m not here about that right now,” Twilight said, her voice bringing warmth into Pinkie’s body. “We have found the way to save you from the demon’s clutches.” “What?” Pinkie said, her eyes glowing. “How?” “The demon is tied down to the earth by a tablet in your house,” the lavender ghost said. “There’s a chest in your grain storage. It’s the thing that drove your father mad and allowed the demon to possess him. If you can destroy it, you will be free.” Pinkie opened her eyes and found herself stabbed onto the nail bed, her ears ravaged by the sound of her father screaming in agony. She looked over to see his bloody face being hit into the wall by the shadowy beast. Her heart raced and she needed to save him. It suddenly dropped him and turned around. “You’re awake at last! It’s time to play again!” Pinkie pushed herself up, her hooves protecting her well enough from the nails. “Fiesty? I can fix that.” Pinkie had nary a second to think about her plan before the black needles shot into her eyes and into her brain. Her body was set alight in pain, and she refused to scream. The determination she once had against this monster was coming back, and she could fight it. “Staying quiet, are we?” Pinkie grit her teeth and tried to picture any memory that would make her forget. - - - - - - “Who’s that?” Pinkie asked, pointing at the blue streak that sped across the sky. “Looks familiar.” “That’s Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said, shaking her head. “She’s a real waste of a future lady. She’s too... aggressive. Too tasteless. I don’t think she’s ever spent more than five minutes on her mane.” “I don’t spend any time on mine!” Pinkie laughed. “It just kinda does itself!” “I’ve noticed,” Rarity replied, sounding unhappy. “And I’m overall quite dissatisfied by my own mane in comparison. In looks, not quite, but in the time and energy department, yours is impossibly well-gifted.” “What can I say?” Pinkie strutted. Rarity rolled her eyes and giggled, “I sincerely hope that one day your mane just flops.”