//------------------------------// // B is for Box (Revised) // Story: The ABCs of Harmonic Death // by Vertigo22 //------------------------------// It was a warm summer evening in Mareami, and Silver, a unicorn named for the color of her coat, lay in her bed reading a book. The moonlight from outside glistened on a diamond necklace she wore around her neck—the same necklace that gave her her cutie mark, which bore a resemblance to the jewelry she wore. Crash! Silver jumped as the sound of something crashing through a downstairs window disturbed her peace and quiet. What in Celestia’s name was that? she thought. Ever so slowly, Silver put the book down and got out of her bed. She opened her bedroom down and poked her head out into the hallway. Silence. Silver raised an eyebrow. “Is somepony down there?” She called out—against her better judgement. “Hello?” Once again, silence. Might as well see what’s down here, she thought as she stepped out of her room and quickly made her way downstairs. On her living room floor was a crudely wrapped brown package, several parts of which were torn. Using her magic, Silver levitated the broken glass into a nearby garbage bin. Nothing can be worth having to repair a broken window, she thought. Especially not in Mareami. She sighed and levitated the package over to herself and opened it. Inside was a wooden box. It looked hoofmade, and had golden lining on its edges. At the top of the box was an engraved heart with the mark of the two sisters. Silver looked at the box for a few moments. “Well, there’s usually something inside every box,” she said as she found a small keyhole. “I didn’t see a key inside that package,” she said to herself. Silver put a hoof to her chin and tapped it. Let’s see, she thought. Maybe… a hair clip! With a smile, Silver ran to her room and found a small hair clip. This should do the trick, she thought. Running back downstairs, Silver walked up to the box again. She levitated the hair clip into the lock. “Open sesame!” she said with a smile. To her surprise, the box didn’t open. “Stubborn little guy, are we?” The box said nothing back. “I need to get out more often,” she said to herself. “At least then, ponies would be around to listen to me.” Silver let out a yawn. “Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. I haven’t even bothered to wonder where this thing came from,” she said to herself. “This thing looks so… normal.” Silver shrugged and carried the box to a nearby closet. She placed it on a shelf, levitated some plastic and duct tape out, and covered the window. “I’ll get that window repaired tomorrow.” With that, she walked back upstairs and walked back into her bedroom. Maybe somepony at the local jewelry store will know what the box is, she thought as she shut her bedroom door. Heck, maybe one of them made it. With a small smile, Silver drifted off the sleep. ~~~ “Free me. Please,” a voice cried out in anguish. Silver shot up in her bed. “Who said that?” she asked. “Show yourself!” “Free me from this nightmare,” the voice cried out, now closer. Silver frantically looked around her room. “I don’t care about what you want! I want to know who’s speaking now!” Suddenly, Silver’s bedroom door swung open. A grey pegasus slowly staggered towards her. It bore a look of agony. Numerous slash and burn marks covered its frail body. Both of its wings were broken, and all of its feathers were missing. “FREE ME…” Silver, paralyzed with fear, opened her mouth and tried to scream, but nothing came out. The pegasus drew closer and closer. It stared at Silver with pleading eyes. “Don’t make me go back to that place!” It cried out. “G-go back where?” Silver asked. That… box. “W-wait, you mean the box I found?” Silver asked. Suddenly, a low growl came from outside the doorway, and an invisible force yanked the pegasus back. “No! Please! I don’t want to go back!” it cried out as it was dragged backwards. The pegasus frantically tried to grab a hold of something. “Please, free me from this nightmare!” Silver watched in horror as the pegasus disappeared from her bedroom, a look of terror and despair on its face. Crash! ~~~ Silver’s eyes shot open. She sat upright—her heart racing—and frantically looked around her room. The glow of the moon light illuminated Silver’s room. Her door was wide open, and the odor of something burning filled her unusually warm room. Silver got out of bed and walked into her hallway. She illuminated her horn and walked towards her staircase. It’s like there’s a roaring fire all around me, she thought as she walked down her stairs. Even the hottest of days here aren’t this hot. Downstairs, Silver walked into her living room. The closet door had been blown off its hinges, and the box lay on the floor. The carpet around where it sat was burnt, and the stench of smoldering carpet filled the air. Silver walked up to the box and glanced down at it. What in Celestia’s name do you hold? she wondered as her magic surrounded the box. Please, let me out! a stallion cried out. Silver dropped the box and held her head as dozens of voices filled her head, each echoing inside of it. The pain never ceases… please, free me! a colt’s voice yelled Silver fell to her floor and slammed her hooves against head. “Get out of my head!” she yelled. “Please!” What did I do to deserve this?! A mare wailed, her voice raspy and dry. Tears rolled down Silver’s face as she violently shook her head. “ENOUGH!” she cried out. Don’t open the box! You will know only suffering and agony! a filly yelled. Silver slowly stood up. Tears rolled down her face. “I won’t, just leave me alone!” Slowly, the voices faded away. Silver held her head as it throbbed in agony. I must be losing it, she thought as she staggered into her kitchen. Hearing voices, seeing ghosts or something in my dreams. Silver levitated a bottle down from a cabinet and popped the cap off. At least there aren’t any bugs in my advil. Silver walked back into her living room. she flopped onto her couch and closed her eyes. Before long, she fell asleep. --- Oh, my head, Silver thought as she awoke the next morning. It feels like Celestia slammed an icicle through my skull. Slowly, she stood up and made her way into her kitchen. Maybe it’ll work this time, she thought as she took two advil. Whatever, I should just shower and then go out to the jewelry store. I’ll eat when this damned headache goes away. Silver made her way upstairs and walked into her bathroom. A quick shower should help a bit, she thought as she turned her shower on, which caused steam to fill the room. Silver stepped into her shower and quickly let out a content sigh as the warm water hit her body. “Ahhh… peace,” she said as she levitated a bar of soap to herself, and whistled a nameless tune as she washed up. Thud. Thud. Thud. “Huh?” Silver wondered aloud as she turned her attention to her bathroom door. Creeeeeak The bathroom slowly opened. Silver’s heart raced. Fear coursed through her. Her horn lit up as she faced her shower door. “Silver…” A mare’s soft voice filled the air. Silver wiped away some condensation on the door and covered her mouth with her hoof. A few feet from the shower door stood a heavily scarred and burnt mare. Her eyes glowed a bright yellow, and her face bore an expression of sadness and anguish. “Silveeeer…” the mare said, her voice full of pain. “W-What do you want?” Wham! The mare lunged forward and slammed her two, charred hooves onto the screen to the door. “Save us, Silver,” the mare begged, its pleading eyes unblinking. “Please…” BAM The ghostly mare anxiously looked around. “No, please!” she begged, a look of terror on her face. A loud growl came from outside of Silver’s bathroom. A dark shadow formed near the doorway as the mare was violently yanked backwards by an unseen force. Bam! Silver watched as the door slammed shut, and a cry of agony came from outside, followed by another loud growl. Then, silence. Silver’s heart raced. “What… what in Celestia’s name?” She asked herself as she shut the water off and opened the shower door. The smell of burnt flesh and sulfur assaulted Silver’s senses. Her bathroom mat had been burnt, as had the tiles nearest to the door. Silver gagged violently. She ran to the door and opened it. Her bedroom was a mess. Two long claw marks stretched from the middle of the room towards her bedroom door. The odor of burnt flesh and sulfur was even stronger in the bedroom. Numerous portions of the carpet were burnt, and the outline of two enormous hoofprints were burnt at the entrance of the bedroom. Silver coughed and ran out her bedroom door. A line of the carpet was seared away, as though something was dragged along it. Silver raced down stairs and opened her front door. She ran outside and gasped for air. Her heart raced as she struggled to regain her senses. She turned around and looked inside her house, and noticed that the carpet on the stairway that lead upstairs had been burnt heavily, and it looked as though something had clawed wildly at it, as though it had tried to prevent someone from escaping. “Howdy, Silver,” a nearby stallion said as he walked down the sidewalk. “How goes it this morning?” Silver jumped at the sudden greeting. She turned around to see a brown coated unicorn stallion with a lock for a cutie mark. “Oh, hello Lock Picker,” Silver said softly. “What are you doing up so early?’ “I was on my way to the market when I saw you run out of your house,” Lock Picker he said as he looked over Silver. “What the hell happened to your house!?” Silver shook the water off of her coat and sighed. “A box was thrown into my house the other night,” she said. “Ever since then, I’ve seen these ghostly ponies. They look like they’ve been tortured, and keep begging me to free them.” “Uhh… come again?” Lock asked, a dumbfounded look on his face. “I… there are ghosts…” Silver let out a heavy sigh and shook her head. I’ll explain later. For now, maybe you can help me.” Lock Picker raised an eyebrow. “What do you want me to do?” Silver sighed and said, “I want you to try to open it.” “You claim there are tortured spirits, and you want me to open it?” Lock asked with a slight frown. “And you aren’t concerned that you’ll, I dunno, unleash some sort of chaotic horror unto Equestria? Personally, I think we’ve had more than enough of those as of late.” “Well, I want you to at least see why I can’t seem to open it,” Silver said. “I tried a hairpin and even my magic, but it filled my head with voices,” she said. “I can still hear them echoing,” she said as she shivered. “Uh-huh…” Lock Picker thought to himself for a few seconds before he said, “Alright, fine. I’ll look at this just to satisfy my curiosity.” “Fine,” Silver said. She walked back inside, Lock Picker right behind her, and shut the front door. “Sweet Celestia!” Lock Picker said as he lay his eyes on the living room. “What in the world happened here?” A line of carpet had been heavily burnt, as had the curtains where the window had been shattered. A few enormous hoofprints were embedded into the carpet, and they went to and from the box,which still lay on the floor and at which a line of the burnt carpet ended. The carpet that surrounded it, however, was scorched away entirely, the wood underneath it being scarred by whatever had burnt the other things. Behind it, the wall was cracked, as though something had struck it with immense force, and several claw marks covered it, each one several inches deep. Lock Picker’s eyes widened in awe. “What in the world?” he said softly. “I… I don’t…” Lock Picker walked up to one of the hoofprints—which looked to be three times the size of his own—and raised a hoof over one. “Oh, sweet Celestia!” he screamed as he fell backwards. “That’s hotter than a broiler!” Silver ran up to her friend’s side, only to flinch at the increasing heat in her living room. She grabbed Lock Breaker by the mane and pulled him backwards into the hall. “Are you hurt?” she asked as she rested him up against a wall. Lock Breaker looked at his right hoof. “Yeah, but not too terribly,” he said, surprised. “I’m honestly shocked I still have it, though. That was brutally hot.” Silver shook her head. “What do I do?” she asked as she sat down in her stomach and buried her face between her forelegs. “Well, you could always ask one of the princesses to investigate it,” Lock said. “It’s a long shot, but I bet princess Twilight would be interested. Or, you could try to bury it, bash it with a giant hammer, set it ablaze—though I feel it’d just consume that.” Silver raised her head. “Do you really think that princess Twilight would come down to Mareami just to investigate some creepy old box?” she asked. “I mean, this is something more along the lines of the supernatural, not friendship or science related.” “I don’t see why she’d ignore this,” Lock Breaker replied. “For all we know, whatever’s in it could be a great to threat Equestria.” He stood up and stretched out. “Besides, whoever threw it into your house clearly didn’t want it anymore for a reason.” “I guess it’s worth a shot,” Silver said as she sat up. She looked at the room that she once considered her living room and let out a sad sigh. “I just want this nightmare to end.” Lock Picker walked over to Silver and gave her a comforting hug. “Look, if it’ll make you feel any better, what if I stay with you?” he asked. “At least then, if anything happens, I can back up your statements.” Silver looked up at her friend and smiled. “I’d love that,” she said. As she went to hug him again, a loud bang came from her kitchen, followed by the sound of pots and pans being thrown around. The duo broke away from their embrace ran into the kitchen in time to a large pot get thrown in their direction. “Holy crap!” Lock Picker said as he and Silver ducked down. The pot crashed into the wall behind them, which was followed by a low growl. “I, uh, don’t suppose it’s too late to maybe go somewhere that’s not being inhabited by something really pissed off—and no doubt really big.” “Yeah, that sounds like a wonderful idea “ Silver said. “How about your place?” “Sounds like a plan,” Lock replied. Silver nodded and galloped towards the front door—Lock Picker following close behind. The two ran Lock’s house and entered, both out of breath and feeling like they’d gone out of their minds. “So… what now?” Lock asked as he slouched against a wall. “You going to burn your house down? Bury it? Notify the police that you’ve just been evicted by an evil five inch by five inch wooden box?” “No, I’ll try to get rid of the damn thing,” Silver said. “Maybe the local library has something on the history of this thing.” Lock tilted his head. “Silver, don’t you think it’d be better to, I dunno, break it?” Silver shot her friend a glare. “Ah, yes, let me try to break the thing that filled my head with the voices of the damned,” she said sardonically. “Using a bat or hammer surely wouldn’t do something terrible—like cause the instrument to burst into flames and turn me into a unicorn bonfire!” “Okay, you’ve made your point,” Lock said with a glare of his own. “Let’s go to the library before I go open that damned thing.” “Do that,” Silver said as she stood up and exited the house, “and I’m going to stuff you inside it.” “How would you do that exactly?” Lock asked as he stood up and followed his friend; locking the door behind him. “I’d find a way!” Silver said as she galloped to her house. As quickly as possible, she ran up to her room and grabbed a purse. Okay, wallet, library card, house keys… She turned around and made her way back outside, “Here I thought the box was calling you,” Lock said with a smirk. “Enough joking,” Silver growled as she locked her front door. “Let’s just go before I forcibly pry that stupid box open and burn it.” Lock nodded and the duo made their way to the library. --- Hours. It had been hours since the two friends had arrived at the library. They’d gone through dozens of books of all sizes, reading page after page about all sorts of ghosts, demons, and ancient spirits. “Have you found anything?” Lock asked in a hush—but still audibly frustrated—tone. “I… think so,” Silver said as she moved over towards Lock, and away from the small fortress of books she’d made. “It says here there was once a demon that Celestia and Luna’s parents feared greatly—one that feasted on the souls of those foolish enough to try and summon him from Tartarus. “But one day, using every ounce of their magic, the princesses’ parents banished the demon to an enchanted box, but in the process unwittingly trapped the demons many victims in there with it for all eternity. Nonetheless, they buried the box in an undisclosed location, hopeful nopony would ever find it.” Lock nodded. “Yes, very fascinating story,” he said. “Tell me how you’re going to get rid of the super scary demon-box-thing.” Silver flipped the page and looked it over. “It says there are two ways to get rid of it,” she said. “The first is to, well, die. The second is to sacrifice a family member or friend.” “How wonderful,” Lock grumbled. “To save one’s hide, you must reduce a loved one to the role of a sacrificial lamb.” Silver let out a heavy, uneasy sigh and buried her face into her forelegs. “I can’t do that…” Lock wrapped a leg around his friend as a tears slowly slid down from his eyes. “I’m sorry, Silver.” Silver looked at Lock Picker with a sorrowful expression and watery eyes. “I just wanted this nightmare to end,” she said weakly. “It can’t end like this… right?” Lock Picker shook his head. “It won’t,” he said. “I don’t know how, but I’ll make sure it won’t.” Silver gave a small smile and shut her eyes. “Thank you,” she said as a few tears rolled down her face. Lock smiled and hugged his friend. “How about we get dinner on the way home,” he asked as he broke away from the hug and stood up. Silver nodded and the duo levitated the books away before they both walked towards the front entrance. --- A while later, Silver and Lock Picker arrived back at the latter’s house. “Would you like to come in?” Lock asked; a look of uncertainty on his face. Silver nodded and slowly trotted up to her friend’s side. “Do you still think the princesses could do anything to help?” she asked as she entered the home. “Silver, you asked me that four times on the way back,” Lock answered with a hint of irritation in his voice. “The answer is the same as it was the past four times: I don’t know. I’m not a wizard, nor am I psychic.” “Sorry,” Silver replied sheepishly as she walked into the living room and sat on the couch. “I’ll be quiet now.” Lock let out a heavy sigh and took a seat on a recliner chair. There has to be something I can do to help, he thought as he stared blankly at the ceiling; the sound of the nearby clock ticking filling the room, along with the faint whimpering from Silver. Silver let out an uneasy sigh. “Do you think there’s an unwritten way to get rid of the box?” she asked as she looked up from a pillow, her eyes red from crying. “Maybe… maybe there’s a reason the box was thrown into my house.” Lock raised an eyebrow. “Are you suggesting that we could simply throw it into someone’s house and you’d be free?” Silver nodded. “Maybe if I were to throw it into somepony house, I could rid myself of the box forever.” Lock rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I can’t see that working,” he said. “Most curses follow the person they’re put up. If anything, this thing would just find its way back to you, through Tartarus or highwater.” “It’s worth a shot though!” Silver protested. “I mean, it’s that or I sacrifice you.” “Either one will result in jail time,” Lock retorted. “Look, how about, tomorrow, we go pay a visit to Ponyville. Maybe Twilight will have a book in her castle on this thing and we can just end it then and there.” Silver let out a sigh. “Fine,” she groaned. “For now, I’m going to sleep…” Lock nodded and walked over to a closet. “Here,” he said as he levitated over two pillows and a blanket. “If you need anything, I’ll be in my bedroom.” “I’ll… hopefully be fine,” Silver replied with a half-smile. “Thanks though.” With that, she shut her eyes and, after a bit, fell fast asleep. ~~~ Silver found herself back in her home. The air was hot, as though a raging fire burned all around her. As she looked around, Silver saw a horrific sight. Decayed walls, rotted bones, and countless claw marks—a few of which were so deep that they broke through to the other side of the wall, which revealed a dark, purple smoke. It moved ever so slightly as she stared at it. Silver frantically looked around the room, which had an intense odor—like rotten flesh—emitting from all directions. She covered her nose and slowly inched forward, the floor creaking with her every step, and eventually made her way towards a coffee table, which was in pristine condition. On it was a knife, and a clock, with both hands pointed to at the ‘five’. Silver raised an eyebrow. “O-kay,” she said to herself. She levitated the knife up and looked around the room, which was largely empty. She let out a sigh and walked towards the doorway, which lead to a long, winding staircase. Numerous holes lined the wall leading up—as though something had punched through it. Well, guess the only way is up, Silver thought as she began the trip up. “Silver…” a low voice said. Silver felt her blood run cold. The hair on her back stood up as she looked around herself slowly. “Who said that?” she asked. “Why not look outside?” Silver slowly walked to a nearby hole and peered outside to see more of the purple smoke extended what looked to be thousands of feet up and down. “I don’t…” Silver felt her heart sink as the smoke rose up and revealed a hand, which rested atop the building, and shook it violently. She staggered backwards and slid down the wall as a large, bright yellow eye peered inside. “So nice to finally see you, Silver, the being said, its voice echoing throughout the stairway. “Why don’t you continue your journey up? There’s a reward for you up there. “I… what…?” The being lowered its hand and slammed it through the wall. “Don’t test my patience, Silver. I do not wish to answer questions. Silver ran up the stairway as the air around grew hotter and hotter. “Just a little bit longer, Silver,” the being’s voice echoed. “I can’t wait…” After a few minutes of running, Silver arrived at a wrought iron door, which swung open and revealed a spotless, elegant, and kitchen. The walls were ivory colored, and the counters were made of diamond, and shined with the radiance of the sun. The drapes were sapphire colored, and swayed as though a breeze blew against them. “About time…” The stairway behind Silver was ripped away by the enormous hand. “Sweet Celestia!” Silver screamed as the hand rested inside the kitchen. It swiped away the right side the kitchen before it rose up. “Time for that reward.” Silver looked up to see the colossal hand come slamming down. The floor below her was obliterated. Chunks of wall were turned into shrapnel, which were pelted against Silver, as though they were being hurled at her by an unseen force, before she began to fall. Far. For several brutal minutes of ever increasing heat searing against her body, Silver fell. The world around her was little more than a haze of smoke and darkness, until she landed on a large, brown rock with a sickening crunch. Her body was broken and bruised. She looked up and felt an unimaginable amount of fear course through her body. A colossal demon masked in unseen shadow—far larger than anything she’d ever seen before—or even heard of—loomed mere inches from her. It stretched out an arm and wrapped a hand around her broken body as Silver attempted to let out a scream, but let out little more than a raspy, dry heave “Very soon, Silver,” a voice boomed. “You’ll be here—forever.” ~~~ Silver’s eyes shot open. She was back in Lock Breaker’s living room, though the world around her looked as though it’d be fused with a kaleidoscope. Every which way Silver looked, the world around her changed; bending and twisting in ways that should otherwise be possible. Without any warning, Silver felt her legs start to move forward. Despite the world’s incoherent layout, it seemed to be superficial—as though Discord had done the decor for the house. “W-What’s going on?” Silver asked as she felt herself unlock the front door. “We’re going for a little walk, Silver,” the being’s voice boomed inside her head. “Now, come with me, won’t you? I’d love to see the inside of your house when I’m not having to get escapees.” Silver exited her friend’s abode and admired the outside world, which looked equally as peculiar and trippy as Lock’s house. However, her admiration for the ever changing designs was short lived as she felt herself jerk forward. “Enough sightseeing, Silver! the voice growled as Silver fell face first into Lock’s lawn. “Any longer and I’ll burn your insides to ash.” With a gulp, made her way towards her home. “What is this place?” she asked as she unlocked her front door. “It’s how I see the world from inside my prison,” the voice boomed as Silver stepped into her home. “I, however, am currently in possession of your body. And somehow, this is less comfortable than that accursed place.” “Wait, so-” Before Silver could finish her sentence, she was jerked towards the box, which still lay in her living room. Around it was a dark-purple aura. From it, she could hear the same screams and cries of anguish she heard when she attempted to levitate it. “You’re giving that as a gift,” the voice said. “Go on. Don’t be shy.” Before Silver could even retort, she levitated the box up, which once again filled her head with the horrific, agonizing screams of the trapped souls. As Silver stood gritting her teeth, she felt a leg snap towards her door. “I’m in no mood to wait, Silver! Besides, far worse pain awaits you after this!” Despite her best efforts to resist the entity’s control, Silver felt her body move towards the door and back to Lock’s. With what little strength she had left, she hurled the box through the window before she collapsed to the ground as tears streamed down her face. “I await you in paradise, Silver.” ~~~ Silver awoke on a couch. A candle flickered and danced near her as she looked around. “Hello?” she called out. “Lock?” “Ah, you’re finally awake,” the being said. “Allow me to finally introduce myself: I am trapped inside that box you have,” the being said as the back door swirled. “And I want to show you something.” Silver’s eyes shot open in fear. “H-hey, what are you doing?” she asked as she was dragged towards the portal began unseen force. “Answer me!” The being chuckled. “Beauty awaits you,” it said as the room shook. Silver’s vision blurred for a few seconds. When it cleared, she found herself in a long hallway. Torches lined the walls, each of the flames roared violently. The floor was metallic, rusted, and brutally hot. The wails and cries of ponies filled the air, each filled with anguish and despair. Silver hissed in pain from the heat as she sweat profusely. Slowly. she walked down the hallway. “S-so… w-where am I?” She asked through her hisses and whimpers of pain. “My domain,” the being said. “The box you happen to be in possession of.” “Just what are you?” Silver asked as she began to gallop down the hallway, her breathing increasing rapidly. “I am something even the princesses fear greatly. I am from the darkest and hottest depths of Tartarus, the being bellowed. “You’re kind have called me by many names over many life times. You, however, may simply call me ‘Verthanil’.” Silver stopped galloping and attempted to catch her breath, her hooves burning from the intense heat. “How… how come I’ve never heard of you?” she asked. “I have been in this box ever since your princesses were but fillies,” Verthanil said. “I now reside in this box, waiting for the day that a soul frees me. “What… what makes you think I will free you?!” “I don’t think you will, Verthanil said. “In fact, I know you won’t. That doesn’t mean I can’t have fun with you, though.” “Listen, I… I just want to live my life.” Silver staggered forward, her vision blurred and her throat dry. “You can live a whole new life,” Verthanil said softly. “In my domain.” A large shadow appeared over Silver. She looked up to see a colossal arm loom over her. She slowly backed away as a dark purple aura covered the floor around her. Slowly, the floor in front of her vanished, revealing a monstrous inferno below, full of anguished screams and cries for help. “Come, Silver,” Verthanil said as the floor below the mare vanished. Silver fell into the gaping chasm, and into the roaring inferno. “Your friends will be joining you soon enough. ~~~ Meanwhile, Lock Breaker’s eyes shot open as the sound of a loud CRASH filled the air. He sat up and, without a word, levitated over a bat. He listened closely, but heard nothing. He got out of bed and exited his bedroom. Once again, silence. Slowly, he walked downstairs and cautiously entered the hallway. To his horror, a line of carpet was scorched away, and his front door—while closed shut—was unlocked. He gulped and turned his head towards to his living room. His living room was a disheveled mess. The carpet was burnt away—along with most of his furniture. The pillows and blanket he’d given to Silver were shredded—as though a rabid animal had attacked them. A sole single window above his now destroyed recliner had been shattered. From it, the light of the moon illuminated the scene before him—like a scene straight out of an opera. However, one thing above all else caught the stallion’s eyes. It was rested on now destroyed couch which his friend had once slept on. A small, wooden box. Lock began to laugh hysterically as a twisted smile formed on his face. “Looks like you were kinda right, Silver,” he said as he fell onto his back. “You did have to share the love with another pony!”