Chapter 7
Gilded Cage
I am really getting sick of being startled and confused. I should be expecting these things by now. Shouldn’t I?
The faces of my exes fill each one the squares before me. There is a moment of silence where I just can’t think of what to say.
“How are you enjoying your new cage Anthony?” Tatiania finally asks. “Are you comfortable? We hope that the trip there wasn’t terribly...unpleasant. But by the looks of it, you are lucky to have survived..” She looks over her folded hands. I can see her clearly now, she is dressed in delicate finery that is decorated with polished metals. Most likely silver, bronze, and gold. Iron is poison to the fae..
Kylie speaks up. “Awww! She looks so adorable! I just want to take her out of the box and play with her.” Her eyes light up. “Oh wait! I can!” She ducks off screen and pulls out a pony figurine that looks all too creepily like myself right now.
A few others on the screen haven’t said anything but they are barely holding back their laughter. I can’t take it any more.
“Y-YOU!” I shout at all of them.
“That’s all you can say then?” Doug asks. “I send you clear across inter-dimensional voids bending the very fabric of the universe and all you can say is “Y-YOU”? I would be insulted if not for the fact that you’re an anthropomorphic miniature horse.”
A girl with bright red hair and a sharp toothed grin speaks. I recognize her sweet southern accent as that of Amber’s. A girl who I proposed to...the one who actually took my virginity. In her spiked black leather biker jacket, I don’t even recognize her.. But her voice...
“A Filly at that Warp-Warp. How’s that treating ya sweetie? Looks like ya’ve been through a tenderizer.” She licks her lips. “If it weren’t for the fact that ya’re a universe away, ah could go for some horse meat right about now...”
I feel sickened as her eyes roam over me. I back away and turn only to find that the screens follow me.
“Awww what’s the matter? Ah’d just take a nibble. Ya used to love it when ah did that..” The screen zipped up close to me and Amber licked the other side. “Ah know Ah loved it when ya did it to Me...”
“Gah! Get away from me!” I shout turning again, only to be met by another glowing square. The figure on this one
is truly terrifying. A horrifying red wolf beast whose teeth look as if they are going to come out and strike me down.
The screen nearly flies at me and then stops just before reaching the end of my muzzle.
“Boo!” She says in a playful teasing manner. I jump back and fall on my butt while screaming. I sound like a little girl.
A gaggle of the screens burst into laughter. I can’t take this any more. I charge the nearest screen.
“You think this is Funny!?” I shout at them only to find that the screens just can zip out of my reach. “You Find This Funny?!” I kick, I punch, I scream, I shout, and finally I cry out exhausted.
They start to hover around me.
“How...” I begin.
“How what?” Tatiania asks.
“How could you do this to me?” I ask looking up at the...eight screens? Then I spot number nine off in the corner away from the rest.
“As easy as it was for you to lose interest in us.” She replies smiling a large smile. She then looks miffed for a moment. Her screen turns to the corner where the lone screen hides.
“Spiderfly! Thy Queen Commands that you join us for what is to come. The Final Preparations are still to be Had.”
The screen floats slowly but surely to join the others. Her face is so sad, her long black hair. Then I see the goggles. This does nothing to soften the blow of who this is.
“Yes my Queen.” She replies.
“S-Sabrina?” I quiver. My mind is light headed. We were best friends through out high school. She hung around me all the time, I never knew why until graduation. Then she told me that she had a strange crush on me. My only words that I could think to say was “Why me?” The weight of all this hurts.
“Now the time has come!” Tatiania commands. “Now we bring the Final Resolution to a close.”
I snap back to attention. I am feeling so many mixed emotions. I glare angrily at all of them.
“What more...” I begin. “What more do you want?! I’m already a Universe away, that-that Voice in the nothing stripped me of everything! What more could you possibly take!?”
I realize only too late the stupidity of my statement. I’m dealing with the Fae. The Fair Folk, the people from under the hills. There is always more that they can take. They are all silent.
And then Dave speaks. “While it is true that the void stripped you of a many great things. It could not take one thing...Your way back.” He said.
My heart jumped into my throat, there is a way back.
“There’s a way back?” I ask.
“Right now there is.. But that will change.. You see, I rather like you out of the picture. The Void took your Identity, and with it everything of you that was in this world. And I mean," His screen flies up at me. "Everything. My wife is now my own again. And she remembers you Not. It is as if you were long held in death's embrace, or at the very least, never were to begin with...not only to her, but to the world...”
“Come on...” I begin. “Dave...just let me come back. I’ll leave you and your family alone, I’ll move cross country! I’ll go to Canada!”
He glowers at me.
“If I did that then the memories of you and the feelings that she feels for you would return. Never. Again. My wife might prefer having more than one partner, but I find you repugnant, repulsive and deserving of the fate that you have garnered for yourself!” He holds up what looks like a black razor and holds it against his wrist. “And As such, I cut the cord that binds us. I cast you out!”
I can’t tell if the blade cuts him or not, but there is a squelching noise and then his screen blips out.
As it does so, I feel a cold shiver cross my spine.
Wisp’O’Willow dives at me next. She looks human again, her blood red finger nails still seem almost claw like.
“You wasted my time! Played with my Emotions. My Feelings, My passions! I cut friendships because of you! Missed Opportunities because of you! And then you called me Old.” Her screen moves in close upon me. I can almost feel her heated breath. “My Rage still burns from that Anthony...If Ever I see you again, You will not even live to hear another call you ‘old’...” She grows claws and slashes across her wrist. And her screen too blips away.
Sara...WindRunner...revolves around me.
“I neither felt too much loss or remorse when you left, when you were fired, I was disappointed to be sure. How I wanted you. The fact that you were so shy only made me want you the more. But then when you rejected me, I was hurt and pained. In time I moved on, or so I thought. I started gathering tales. And when I came across your name again and again the hurt came back.” She sighs. “I hold no ill will to you now, However my fellow court members are right. Let this be a lesson to you and the fragile nature of hearts..” Before I could say anything, as quick as the wind she has brandished a curved blade from her orange sash and already made the cut across her wrist. Seconds later her screen flickers off.
Titania screen expands and she dwarfs the other five screens. With every slice of the wrist, I can feel something growing colder inside of me. Like something is actually growing distant.
“What’s the matter?” She asks. “Winter chill in your bones? You feel the sharp tang of fear encroaching upon you?”
I look at her frightened. The glint of her crown, the yellow silk in her dress which is offset by black so black you’d swear that it was plucked from the night. Two small two-inch horns curl in her hair. For a being of great beauty, everything about her is now menacing..
“Don’t even try to bargain with me as you did Neckros. I am the Queen of the Fae. I know every trick in the book because I wrote nearly all of them.” She smirks. “You crossed half a country for me...You spoke of undying love and of many wondrous things. You promised the moon and stars, and then when the time came to give them, you gave me nothing.” Her eyes flicker in the direction of Doug’s screen. “He told you about my little plot, my little coup to get you to leave our game that you attended didn’t he? I tried to warn him of the dangers that you posed and what you could do to him. But he did not heed my warnings. Now look at you. A pathetic little mewling pony from a cartoon show meant for little girls.” She smiled a cruel smile in that. It hurt. Not because of the words she had said, but how she had said them. She lifted up a dagger. “May we not ever meet again as you are now. Or Else.” The dagger came down quickly and swift. Her screen dissipated away and my eyes adjusted back to the darkness.
Dougs’ screen replaced Titania's’...He wasn’t the nice, quiet boy that I had casually flirted with, or the one that I had a passionately made out with. He looked like a cross between a mad scientist and some insane wizard. His eyes were covered by small black goggles. He is wearing a leather lab coat that has a green trim. His hair frazzles in random directions.
“Experiment number 8472 successful. Test subject has been mostly transported cross dimensionally, all that needed is to sever the connecting cosmic filaments that keep “her” entangled with the Council of Nine.” He said. His words were cold and methodical.
“What...what happened to you Doug?” I asked. Part of me was genuinely concerned, the other part of me was trying to delay whatever it was they were doing.
“Test Subject appears to be attempting-”
“Please Doug! I didn’t mean what I said.” Gods. That sounded like a horrible line from some terrible teen drama. So overly emotional. Then again it might be from the fact that I sound like a twenty something college girl. “I...” The words are there why the hell can’t I bring myself to say them? “I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
His brow furrows and I swear his hair crackles.
“You Weren’t Thinking Clearly?” He begins, his hand is shaking, he too apparently is having trouble saying what is really on his mind. He takes a deep breath. And then the look on his face regains composure. “Test Subject is attempting to distract me, experimentation would continue but it appears that conditioning is no longer having any affect. Termination of the Experiment is in order.” He says as his hand picks up a scalpel. “This Will be rather messy. But it must be done.” The scalpel cuts into his wrist and there is a splattering of blood before the screen turns off.
The girl with the red hair and sharp teeth replaces it. She smiles a sharp sharp toothed smile.
“Feeling a bit down there ..ma precious?” She says looking at me with glittering yellowish eyes. Her southern accent is thicker and kinda reminds me of horror stories that are passed around the Appalachians.
“Ah would be if ah where were ya are. Ponies are herbivores.. and ah,” She picks something out of her teeth. “Ah likes ma meat. Ah hope ya can go without...”
She looks at me in a faux display of sympathy.
“Don’t let those others get ya down ma Precious...Ah’m sure that our love story wasn’t that tragic. Ah’m sure it was for the best.” She looks at her sharp claw like fingernails. “It’s not like ya left me for some married Tart.”
“A-a-mber..” I start out. I get the idea of where this is going. They are going to ditch me here. They are going to leave me here. Why am I analyzing this so? Why am I thinking about these things in such a cold detached manner? Am I really that horrible of a person? The sight of each of these people once brought a bubble of different emotions, now I am feeling horrified at the thought of just being abandoned here and am resorting to bargaining. “I just...I just want to go home...” I say pressing a hoof against the wall. Looking at it once again just reminds me. It’s always reminding me that I am no longer human and it’s putting me on the verge of tears, so again I look away.
“Awwww, Shhhh, don’t cry Ma Precious...See...Unlike all those others, Ah could take ya home. Just like that.” She snaps her fingers and then holds up her hand to show me a small thin blue cord tethered to her wrist. “See this? All Ah have to do is yank on this, and ya wake up from Oz, Dorothy. Then Ah can take ya home, hide ya away and no..pony would be, ta wizer.”
I blink, is she messing with me? The horrible face on the screen looks like it would be the kind of being that would do that. But she looks rather serious.
“Y-you would do that?” I ask half hoping.
“Ya bet yar sweet little pony ass ah would Ma Precious.” She says smiling sweetly. She really would, this isn’t some fae nightmare I am talking to. It’s Amber. Amber loved me, Amber.. still loves me.. I wait a little with bated breath.
“Ah Would, But Ah’m not guna. Ya done and gone and hurt me Ma Precious. An we ain’t gunna have any of that.” She says, her expression does not change a hair as she quickly bites down on her wrist.
The last thing I see before my hopes are shattered is blood and the thin blue cord being severed. The screen goes blank.
My face twitches involuntarily. She dangled the hope of being back home right in front of my eyes and bit its face off. But now I know how I could possibly get back home. There are three screens left. I still have a chance. Right, Ignore that feeling of just to bursting into tears and running off crying into a dark corner. Steel yourself Anthony. You can do this..
But then I see her face. She is as beautiful as I remember her in high school, even if she looks different. Perhaps this reflection adds a bit more beauty to her seeming. Her hair is raven black and a bit long, her face is pale and white like a flower, with rosy cheeks, there are little black streams of mascara marring her face and she seems to be dressed in some vintage Victorian dress that looks dark blue. Wait.. maybe not blue but another colour like blue...not quite purple.. indigo. Indigo velvet. But it’s her eyes that are hurting me the most. I can see the pain in them. Did I hurt her that badly that she would push vengeance on a high school grudge after this long?
“S-s-Sabrina...” I choke out. “Please...Y-y-you don’t have to do this!”
There is a moment of silence before she speaks. Like Dave, I can hardly hear her.
“Yes I do. I am oath bound to my queen. I have no choice.” She holds up what appears to be an envelope opener. She apparently just wants to get it out of the way.
“B-But you! You of all p-p-p-poooonii! I-I mean…but...you?” Damn it! What the hell? I am not stuttering because of my crying. I am stuttering because I am trying to use a word and something isn’t letting me. Why can’t I say something as simple as ‘people’?! “I thought you said that you put it behind you. We were just teenagers and I was emotionally immature!” I sigh and rub my face.
She pauses. She doesn’t look at me but for the moment she isn’t going to cut the cord.
“They needed nine for their council. I am connected to you but I am bound by My Queen as I have taken an oath to her. If I do not follow through it will mean my death and her wrath Anthony.” She finally looks at me. “However. You are clever. If there is a way to adapt to this world you are in now, a place where you can belong, or even away back to this world. You will find it. You can over come the challenges you will face with ingenuity and compassion. You are after all, an inkwell of creativity.”
After abusive jabs being thrown my way, I am left speechless at her words of encouragement.
“Good bye Anthony.” She says, her gaze and letter opener coming down.
“SABRINA!” I pound on the wall.. Two screens remain.
“For a Slaugh, she was quite the talker wasn’t she my sweet.” Chimes a musical voice.
A thin face takes her turn on the screen. I don’t recognize her thin face, her deep hazel eyes that lay behind wire frame glasses, her golden hair from which two pointed elfin ears peek out from. But her voice. I remember that voice trickling into my ears for months. I bought phone card after phone card just to talk with her. She looks at me casually.
“Hello Love.” She says. “You know, if you had just been able to get your arse over the pond, you wouldn’t be in this mess.”
I am looking down. I don’t know what to say. After Sabrina cut me off, I feel numb. Not that I could say anything to Bethany.
“What? No pleasant chat? No promises to see me ‘one of these days’? No trying to pull at my heart strings?”
I don’t reply. I know what is coming. I can’t stop her from doing anything, she’s over there and I am over here.
“Fine Then.” She picks up a knife. “I thought we could have a fling or at least a nice conversation one last time. But that’s not happening. Just like everything else you promised.”
“Bethany wa-” But everything is cut short as her screen turns black.
There is one screen left. On it is a twelve year old puppy dog girl. And right now I haven’t been more frightened of young girls or puppies. She is playing with that little pony figure still. She looks up and smiles at me.
“Oh hi! Sooooo how are you doing?” She asks.
“How do you think I’m doing Kylie?” I ask bitterly.
“I don’t know, let’s ask and see.” She has the little figure walk to the middle of the screen. “So A-N-T-H-O-N-Y, how are you doing?”
“Oh I’m just terrible Kylie! I can’t have any stable relationships, my love Life is ka-put, I got transported to an alternate universe where I am now not only a pony but a girl pony!” says the toy pony. “And I might be stuck here forever too! But what’s this!?”
Kylie has the pony pick up a silvery white cord that is attached to her wrist.
“Oh Kylie! All you have to do is pull it and I can go home! Will you do that even if I am an undeserving wretch of a human being?”
“Kylie...Please stop that...” I ask her trying to assert myself.
“Hmmm No, I will not stop that A-N-T-H-O-N.” She says.
“Come on K-Y-L-I-E, it’s not very nice to throw salt in pon-...in others wounds...” I say sadly.
“Kinda how it’s not nice to tell others what to do A-N-T-H-O?” She asks.
“I was an adult Kylie. I might not have been your father, but I was trying to help you out...really I was..” I try to explain, It doesn’t sound too genuine due to the fact that I am still sniffling.
“An Adult...and you solved your problems in an adult manner too, A-N-T-H, I should follow your example and run away from things.” She says a wide smile on her face. She proceeds to take out a candle and sets it upright.
“I didn’t run from your mother! I tried to help her!”
“Yes, our couch needed a lot of laying on. And our dishes needed a lot of not doing, and I think that my dad’s social anxiety skills and my mom’s stressing skills had room for improvement too, A-N-T..” She then takes out what looks like a metal stamp of some kind. I blink..something is wrong but I can’t place what it is.
“Kylie, didn’t we have fun?” I ask, the desperation apparent in my voice. “I taught you things! Fun things! What the planets were, what the stars were, even some math! I bought you lots of different snacks and even a computer!”
The puppy dog girl looks up twiddling the little metal stamp in her hands.
“Oh yes, we did have fun. A-N, like when you would push me around..”
“I never Pushed you around!” I protest.
“Or when you told me what to do...”
“It was for your own good! You had to do your homework and things like eat! How was it my fault you wouldn’t wake up when I got food for all of us?!” I shouted slamming my hooves on the ground in frustration.
“Or how you nearly destroyed my family. My mom going to the hospital, that was really helping, A?” She asks me.
I feel a wash of panic hit me. I’m not sure why but now I am more scared than I was a few seconds ago.
“P-p-please. Kylie...Just pull the string and send me home. I promise never to bother you, or push you around. I’ll do like I told your father Dave. I’ll go to Canada! You’ll never see me again.” I beg.
She looks up at me while lighting the candle.
“Tell you what...” She starts. “I’ll pull you back...If...”
“If?” I look at her hopefully.
She sticks the metal stamp in the candle flame. “If you can tell me your name.” She says. I look at her taken aghast.
“That’s all?” I ask. “I tell you my name and I can go home?”
She smiles a large puppy dog smile, smoke curls above the candle flame.
“Yup Yup!” She replies. “I mean come on, is this the face of a pooka that would lie to you?”
I take a deep breath. All will be well, I’ll go back home, and in a few moments I’ll have my hands and my gender back. Yes. All I have to do is tell her my name.
“Right.” I take a deep breath. “My name is …” I blink. I’m drawing a blank. “Um...My name is...”
She looks at me holding the red hot stamp. “Yes....?”
"That was j-j-just a practice..." I push myself and close my eyes. "My name is...
"What? Who?" Kylie says in a bemused manner.
“MY. NAME. IS....” What the hell...I should know my own name It wasn’t told to me but a few moments ago! Something is wrong!
“I’m waaaaaiting...” She says. Then it hits me like a ton of bricks.
“...Why were you dropping letters in my name?” I ask.
She puts the stamp under the flame again. “Oh, that little thing? You are just catching on to that little thing? Oh that was nothing, it’s not like I was stealing your name or anything...” I feel a hard panic grip me.
“Y-you stole my name?” I squeak. “You Stole My Name?!”
“Oh you wouldn’t have missed it any way...” She says pondering the candle flame. I charge at the screen, but it only zips away from me.
“ You Stole My Name! Give it back!” My name was the only thing left they could really take from me. Plus there is what a fae being could do with ones’ name. Legends tell that if you have a fairies name, you could command it to do three favors, but if the fairy has your name...You’re screwed. They could warp you to their will. They could enslave you for fifty years, dance like a puppet or even worse..
“Give what back?” She asks innocently, the screen retreating against a wall.
“The Name! MY Name!” I shout lividly.
“Pffffffft. You’re a pony without a name?” She giggles at my frustration.
“Give Me The Name!” I scream, pounding my hooves on the wall.
She looks amused..That is never a good sign. I cover my mouth. That is the worst possible thing ever. I said something wrong in that. Something that she can use. She picks up the little pony figurine.
“We can’t have a pony walking around the great land of Equestria without a name. Even the background ponies have names...” She starts.
“Wait...what are you...” I start to ask putting my hoof up in a failing attempt to stop whatever she is about to do.
“We better give you a name then..” She picks up the red hot metal stamp.
“That’s really hot, Kylie...somep-p-ony could hurt themselves...”
“And I got just the one too. Describes you perfectly, I’ll spell it out for you so that you will never forget it. H-E-A-R-T-B-R-E-A-K. Heartbreak. And don’t worry...Heart-Break. I’m not going to feel a thing..” And with that she presses it to the flank of the little pony.
I dive at the wall and at the screen. I don’t know what she is doing but quickly I find out. As the little bit of pony shaped plastic burns, I can feel a searing pain forming in the same place on my flank.
“AAAAAAAH!” Looking back I see twin curls of smoke rising off either side of my butt. And on the near center of my flank a symbol is forming. It starts as a darkened patch of fur, but quickly grows into a stylized heart shape with a large menacing crack down the middle.
“Please! Stop! It burns!” I plead. She plucks the brand away from the little figurine.
“All done Heartbreak.” She says giggling. I am breathing heavily, I feel like I have cried so much that I can’t cry any more, instead a steady stream of hiccups follows.
“M-my n-n-name isn’t H-h-heartbreak!” I say insistently.
“Of course your name isn’t H-h-heartbreak.” She picks up what looks like a bone white makeshift knife. “It’s Heartbreak.”
“My Name Isn’t Heartbreak.” I say quietly.
She runs the knife along the silvery white thread. “What’s that?” I push myself up, my anger is starting to rekindle itself.
“M-my. Name. I-it Isn’t Heartbreak.” I say trying to reaffirm what I said.
“I’m sorry Heartbreak. But dad says it’s time to put away my toys. Toys like my little ponies named Heartbreak.” She lifts the thread up with the knife and then has it follow back down the path to where it ties to her wrist. “So, I’m sorry Heartbreak, but it looks like I won’t be able to play with you anymore.” I pound my hoofs at the screen only to find that they pass harmlessly through it.
“MY Name Isn’t Heartbreak!” I scream as my vision clouds red.
“Bye Heartbreak. Have a nice life...” She grins widely and then flicks her knife against her wrist, cutting it and the white cord. “Heartbreak.”
“NO! My Name Isn’t Heartbreak!” I keep pounding on the wall. “MY Name Isn’t Heartbreak!” But the screen has dissipated away. “No! My Name isn’t Heartbreak!”
The lights flicker back on and suddenly the door behind me bursts open. A quartet of ponies are standing there.
“Ah hope that Twi’ can forgive me for wrecking her door...” Says an orange pony with blonde hair and green eyes.
Rarity enters the room. “So, Heartbreak is it? Well now that we have a name,we’ll have no more of this fuss Heartbreak!” Every mention of that name just stokes my anger, my frustration, the burning pain of the brand on my ass.
“AAAAARGH!” I bellow out rearing up, my nostrils flaring. “MY NAME ISN’T HEARTBREAK!” I charge at Rarity.
“Eeek!” She reacts and using her magic grabs a thin blanket. Quicker than I can react, she wraps me up in said blanket. I struggle and kick trying to free myself. She regains her composure.
“Right then Heartbreak. Please do calm down. I’ve promised Twilight that I wouldn’t take you to the hospital. Please don’t make me regret or break that promise.” She walks up to me. “Do you understand Heartbreak?”
I am infuriated. And she is close enough for me to headbutt. So I take a chance and do so. There is a light pain that happens when our heads make contact. But that’s alright, it’s enough to knock her off her concentration.
“MY. NAME. IS. NOT. HEARTBREAK!” I shout ripping and breaking out of the loosened confines. I rear up, I am seeing nothing but red right now.. They are about to come down on Rarity when I feel them bound back together.
“WhaaaAAA!?” There is a lasso binding my two front hooves together. I can’t break free, and before I can even try, I feel tugged down to my right side. I scream as bumps and bruises are re-awoken. There is a flash of orange and then I find myself fully hogtied. I can’t do anything now, well anything but scream.
“AAAAH! AHHHHHH!”
“Well Golly! She can raise quite the fuss there then now, can’t she?” Applejack looks back at Rarity. “Rarity hun are you alright?”
“Yes...thank you for taking care of that...Brute Heartbreak for me..” She replies.
“AAAH! My Name Isn’t Heartbreak!” I insist.
AJ looks back at Rarity.
“What?” She asks.
“If ya can’t tell, Ah don’t think she likes to be called that sugarcube.” Applejack explains while I struggle and scream. She walks over to me.
“Now, if you’re a good little filly, ah just might untie ya and we can git this whole mess sorted out, alright?” She asks me.
I try to bellow out once more, but all that comes out is a low groan. Then something happens. I realize that I am incredibly tired. Did I hit my head so hard on Rarity’s that I gave myself a concussion? No...there isn’t ...pain.. but I feel just...so sleepy.
“Apple...jack...” I start out. “My...n-n-name.. isn’t…isn’t...Heartbreak...” Darkness sweeps over me and I pass out.
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Applejack looked at the strange pony that she had just tied down.
“Oh my, Applejack did you knock her out?” Fluttershy asked.
“She isn’t...”Rarity saw the rise and fall of Heartbreaks’ rib cage. “Oh good. I was afraid that she was dead.”
“No...She just passed out like that. Doesn’t that beat all..” She looked at her friends adjusting her hat..
“So Applejack, do you know her? Cause if you do I can start planning the party for her arrival in Ponyville!” Pinkie said bouncing.
“What? Ah haven’t seen this pony in ma life.” She replied.
“Then how did she know your name?” Fluttershy asked.
“Ah figured that one of ya’ll made mention of me.” Applejack said. The three others shook their heads.
“However, you’re not the only pony whom she has recognized as soon as they walked into the door. Apparently she knew all our names, and even recalled the time Rainbow Dash won the Best Flyer competition. In startling Detail.” Rarity explained.
“Weird. And then she gone an passed out faster Rainbow Dash in Cider Season.” She said. “So … All our names?”
“Yeah! Even mine!” Spike said coming in from out of the hall.
“That there’s spooky..” Applejack said inspecting Heartbreaks head. “She don’t look like she got any bruises on her head. My guess is that she was just plum tired.”
“Hopefully when she wakes up she’ll be out of the Anger stage and into Bargaining.” Spike commented looking over the book Twilight had given him.
“Say what?” Applejack asked.
“Twilight believes that some traumatic event happened to our little .. Heartbreak here.” Rarity explained.
“And now she has to go through the five states of grief.” Fluttershy said.
Applejack looked confused. “Five stages?”
“Pleeeease, there are Six stages of grief!” Pinkie Pie beamed. “First there’s Denial, ‘This can’t possibly be happening!’ .” She raised a hoof, “Then Anger, ‘Grrrr! I am Really Mad that This is happening!” She raised another hoof. “Then Bargaining, ‘Somepony please stop this from happening!’” Another hoof went up. “Then Depression, ‘I’m sad that this happening....’” Another hoof went up. “And finally Acceptance! ‘Well...I guess I’m ok with this happening..’ But if you ask me they are forgetting the very last stage!”
Rarity rolled her eyes. “Right, and what would that be Pinkie Darling?”
Pinkie put all her hooves down. “Why a Party of Course!” She said throwing some colourful confetti and blowing on a party favor.
“Pinkie..” Fluttershy started. “Maybe we should be a bit quieter. If Heartbreak is angry, she might be even angrier if she’s woken up by a loud noise..”
Applejack sighed. She had chores to do, but when Fluttershy had zipped over to Sweet Apple Acres needing help busting down a door, she had no idea about all of this...
“Right.. So we know what her name Possibly is..” Applejack started.
“No, We know what her name is. Heartbreak.” Rarity corrected.
“Now Sugar, we don’t know that for sure. After all she did raise a fuss and fight when you started calling her that.” Applejack said glowering at Rarity.
“Hmph, I told you that was hearing voices from the other side of the door before you kicked it in Applejack. One of them clearly said that her name was Heartbreak.” Rarity insisted.
Applejack sided. “Right, ok, still, Her name for what we know now is Heartbreak. But no pony here knows her, where’s she’s from or anything about her?” The others shook their heads.
“The only thing that Twilight and I know is that she crashed through our window after falling from Cloudsdale.” Spike said looking up from the book.
“Now how in tarnation did she get all the way up there? Better yet, how in the name of Celestia did she even survive that fall?” Applejack asked.
Spike shrugged. “That’s what Twilight and Rainbow Dash are trying to find out right now...”
Wow, that was horrifying, I feel like I can imagine this happening to Scott Pilgrim.
I'm surprised at how well this has held up, kudo's to you Jet. AJ in this also seems like she's the most... understanding. Not really changed from the current AJ but she does feel more... Sympathetic(?) here then she does in the current story
dude poor heart-break
This shit made me shudder. And only two things make me shudder: The thought of being Pinkamena's ingredients for a pastry, and something with dark stuff like this. I salute you for managing that. Time to strengthen my shudder nerve.
Note to self don't piss off fae
2350364 No. The note is 'Kill on Sight'.
You know, I utterly loath bullies, particularly supernatural bullies. These fae that you've created are the pettiest and cruelest childish beings I have ever come across. I am full of such utter hatred and rage against these beings I had to take a very long break from my computer to avoid smashing it to bits. I applaud you on your approximation of true cruelty. You have also given me some very lovely targets for expressing my therapeutic inner rage against beings like this. Without being long winded or going into unnecessary detail, let's just say that watching their childish work be undone before their eyes and thrown into the abyss of a reality being destroyed by the pure rage and hatred of one being is still too good for them. And now that I have that out of my system, back to the story.
Why in Epona's name is Rares insisting on calling our inteped victim that name despite the raeg it provokes? is she geased or just still mad at her?
Hopefully that answer will be coming in the next few chapters...
... I shall suppress the anger this chapter has given me in the hopes of being able to read some certain comeuppances further down in the story.
Also who threw Rairity the idiot ball?
reminded me of this clip
Strangly I find myself without any sort of sympathy towards him...her. Guess it was a bit on the cruel side of the Faes, but he had something coming to him.... I mean her.
I've blazed through all the chapters up to this one in a single sitting. Can't believe I never read this before...
But yeah... This is what we get from a society where people are taught to covet instead of love. That's what Marriage is: Ownership. A carryover from the dawn of agrarianism that, for the past ten thousand years, has fought tooth and nail against our instinct to form affectionate bonds with those in our group and express those bonds without favor, without fear. Since the dawn of civilization, we've used love as a tool, as a weapon, as a currency, and those blundersome affronts to the sanctity of love still wound us today.
Thus we have a fellow who did not understand how he could go hurting person after person, while merely following his heart and intending no actual harm. It's because the logistics of civilization punish the old ways, ways older than the fae themselves, let alone their legends.
Why would you ever leave someone you love again if you did not have to?
Why are we taught to envision our love as a box that can be simply filled and be done with?
We treat goodwill as a scarce resource to be carefully regulated, and then, surprise! We discover the world to be a cruel place! No. We made it this way. But Equestria? Equestria's not like that.
That's why these nine individuals manufactured an affront and claimed victimhood while lashing out at another. We're all victims of this parasitic tradition of likening love to a prison. Names. Labels. Identity. They put such lofty value upon these concepts in the Courts, as if they truly matter to a soul. These are not treasures; they are HOOKS. They hurt when torn away... but can no longer control the soul they once restrained. Heartbreak doesn't know it, and certainly doesn't feel it, but in being thrust into Equestria, what those silly changelings really did was free him/her. A possibly just as apt name would have been Jailbreak.
Those nine changelings may pat themselves on the back, but their life will never improve as a result of such pettiness; no, reclining in their personal hells, when their miseries return they'll just find some new pettiness to make a scapegoat. Anthony could have reminded them that what they do now changes nothing; they ravage the memories of an entire world, manipulate a child who could not know better, and tear a rift in the firmament that holds the Unmaking out of the cosmos (and laughably believe that disassociating themselves from the act removes the consequence!) because their widdle feewings got hurt by social customs he had no control over. Ideally he would have looked at the big picture, resolved upon the foregone conclusion and put it behind him, and found the strength to seize a sense of gracefulness in his last moments of connection with their doomed causal shade, giving them the gift of the final taunt that where they could have grown and learned, they instead chose ignorance and wrath. But we could never expect HB to know that. Part of a good story is a protagonist who doesn't know the answers. He, now She, has a lot of learning to do. I am eager to see this happen.
5260895 A more simple way to put that is that Anthony was the victim of a magical kangaroo court. I might add that the Council of Nine may have irritated some entities or gods in or beyond the void with their intrusion, and now they know their names and magic signatures as per the council's final contact with Anthony. I don't know, perhaps it already happened. There's more than one of these stories.
Wherein none questions where these voices were coming from.
And this chapter is a prime example of why fae are dicks.
I would've just said fuck you all to the fae as they made that fucked up speech about how I supposedly wronged them. If you're going to punish me do it and be done with it. Sadistic fucks.
okay the fae should be wary. they did act as judge, jury, and executioners. and, there's only one thing that really is allowed to do that to the living, that being karma or more accurately for the fae is the rule of three. no matter how you argue it they acted out of vengeance with the singular exception of Sabrina who was forced to betray her friend. i wonder if they'll even bother putting up warding to protect themselves. it would be kind of funny for reality and by extension nature itself, what they serve and protect, were to deal out their punishments.
also, i thought the name thing was because of the reality warping of the fae stealing his name and Applejack being the element of honesty being able to see through it. especially with how the author described him falling unconscious, until i read what Rarity said.
he was an asshole to them, so they steal everything that he is and erase him from the universe? And here I thought the Greek gods were petty
Wow this was screwed up. This reminds me of Berserk, the Eclipse Arc. Where Guts loses everything, his friends, his lover and any peace he may have been able to gain. That sense of lose is just heartbreaking. That is probably just me.
mlpforums.com/uploads/monthly_12_2014/post-12867-0-83685200-1419665772.jpg
Wow. Everyone in this story is an unlikeable ass thus far. Good to know.
Possible exception given to Twilight.
So Rarity heard the other voices, but nobody questions it? But maybe this will come in the next chapter, so I will have to take a look first.
What is even with the non-human faces of these presumably human people the protagonist knows from his past? I just don't know what to think when they come up. It's just utterly confusing to me.
Those council folk are getting under my skin tho'.
5567040
He doesn't even seem like that much of an asshole. Just really bad with women.
And that's why I wear iron
5276595
Yes. This. This was so irritating.
5260895
Regarding the last bit of this comment, I completely agree. Better yet, since the screens are mostly intangible, he could have wandered off to where Rarity et al were. It's the fae; once you're screwed, best to man up and deny them the satisfaction.
6909555 Well that and the fact that in general the fae can be a bunch of fucks. There's also the question of how in the hell did Anthony end up involved with fae so many times? One would almost think it was deliberate on the part of the fae. Seriously, what the hell was Titania doing out there trawling for a human lover?
That was so cruel of the Far to do that. Naming her Heartbreak wsa jus beyond evil and vindictive, giving her no chance to be happy. So sad
You know, I think I just noticed their major screw up here. They were supposed to cut all binds to their world, but isn't what Kylie did a problem? I mean if there are supposed to be no links, then I would think leaving behind a huge chunk of magic like that would be a bad idea. Of course for now only one being is feeling the painful bite in their behind, but Kylie might in the future, too. .
8357598
Such are the ways of the fey. Do not trifle with them, mortal, for in their eyes, you are but a toy.
And the do so like to break their toys.
Two comments:
1. The five stages of grief are fallacious.
2. There seems to he arbitrary capitalization of some words.
Otherwise, this story is good. Also, what is up with this bloke's relationships?
8924731
Stuff happens in your life. And sometimes? It comes back to bite you.
8924731
Also, Equestria, while it would be like Twilight to have the best and newest of books on certain subject matter.
It would also be like her to have outdated stuff too.
I've read much HiE in my time on Fimfiction. Many of them, the reason for how they got there is vague or sometimes not explained at all. This fanfic in particular has possibly the most fucking bonkers exposition I've ever seen on this site. I'm actually wondering if that was a goal of the author's for this story.
I also read what other users said about the exes being petty, and I agree with them - Real dick move. Anthony didn't really seem like an asshole to me, but I guess Anthony is dead now - Pretty much erased. This is a seriously harsh condemnation. All that remains now is Heartbreak. Hopefully, she can salvage some kind of relief in this situation.
9271033
The only way to find out... is to read more...
When HB passed out in the chapter "Gilded Cage" (number 6) — "Darkness sweeps over me and I pass out." — that moment inspired me to compose something.
And I did exactly that:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3how_5cAw_s
It is supposed to be played inside of the HB's head while she's unconscious.
Thank you!
Aaand now i feel too bad to keep doing a okey heartbreak counter. dang.
Using their name jokingly in previous comments.
Fear not Anthony! I shall perverse your name until you accept a new one!
Suddenly i dont feel so bad about the foundation suppressing the fae from existence... dreadful petty creatures. At least we wont have to see them again. Hopefully.
9271033
The Fae are notoriously prickly and fickle.
This legit pisses me off..... like I feel like this was written BY a vengeful ex...... and I hate people like that.... even if the person deserves it doing something horrible to them in return just makes you EXACTLY like them..... secondly for this to be even SLIGHTLY okay he would have to have done a LOT worse than just break there hearts he would have to DESTORY their hearts on purpose!
9647237
There's always more to a story than meets the eye... But if that's how you feel, that's how you feel. Tisn't my job to change your mind. Only to keep reading. And writing. I'm still writing. There's going to be like 13 books. ^.^
"To be united by hatred is a... fragile alliance at best."
--Kreia, Knights of the Old Republic 2
"The opposite of love is not hate; it is apathy."
--Various sources
"So you would do nothing!? Apathy is death! Worse than death! At least a rotting corpse will feed the beasts and insects!"
--Kreia again
I'm typing this up a day later, and hooo boy, this fic is probably going to take me a while to get through. Lotsa feels in here.
I must recommend the Knights of the Old Republic series to you, especially if you are a Star Wars fan. The first story follows pretty clear lines of light and dark, good and evil, and sets you the player up nicely for the second game to flip that all on its head as you take on the story of The Exile--a Jedi whose very connection to the Force has been severed. While running from a new Sith threat, will you convince the remaining Jedi masters to come out of hiding for answers or for revenge? Follow the tutelage of your morally ambiguous mentor Kreia, who is not quite as dissimilar to your character as you may think, and you may yet find what you seek.
"Take the greatest Jedi Knight, strip away the Force, and what remains? They rely on it. Depend on it, more than they know. Watch as one tries to hold a blaster, as they try to hold a lightsaber, and you will see nothing more than a woman – or a man. A child. In many ways, even you are more capable than they."
--Kreia
9841788
Who the fet downvoted you? This is some good stuff here!
After reading this I have to say it pisses me off while simultaneously making me to read more but I have a serious question that NEEDS to be answered DOES A-N-T-H-O-N-Y get back to get revenge with an iron dagger in each hand please let it be so cause in this case what the Fae did was unfair to the highest degree especially that BRAT in the end now I know what name I WONT be naming my little girl if I ever have daughters that is.
9945502
To know more of this tail... You're going to have to keep reading...
Seriously, some of these people had no good reason.
Hopefully some cold iron finds each of them.
Well I sure hope your intent was to make us hate those fae, and I *really* hope they get what’s coming to them one by one
This portrayal of the fae makes me want to drop rocks from orbit onto them.
Well, the nine of them can just go bite iron, as the oath from <i>Mendacity</i> goes! (Well, except maybe for Sabrina. She didn't seem as if she really wanted to inflict such cruelty upon Anthony, and she seems to have tried to give him-now-her hope that she'll find a way to find some sort of success and happiness one way our another, so she gets a pass from me.)
10712685
One day... book nine...
Save for the minor grammar issues, this story is good for when it was written.
Those fae are petty as fuck, i mean seriously, stripping somones name, forcibly altering there species and seemingly gender, making them suffer through a impossible fall, tormenting them with a guilt trip, forcing a new name on them, branding them with a cutie mark and removing the oppertunity of finding out there own destiny for themselves, traping them in a seperate dimension, and then mocking them with false hope and leaving.
That is just pointlessly cruel and they desrve to go to tartarus while suffering the pain of one million deaths
Wow... Rarity's a fucking asshole, have some fucking respect and decency, then she has the sheer fucking nerve to call heartbreak a brute