3 - When You Stare Into The Abyss, The Abyss Licks Back
Chapter 3: When You Stare Into The Abyss, The Abyss Licks Back
In the broadest sense there are two things in life that can cure chronic depression. Friends, family, and immense support from both the community and the government... or 500 cc of Sugarcube Corner’s finest.
Pinkie likes to think of herself as a magical cure all for unhappiness and un-joy and un-fun. Yes, those are words and they will in the next edition of Clawfoot’s Dictionary if she had any say in the matter. Which she did. Surprisingly.
However this is not the tale of Pinkie Pie, well, not in the sense of Pinkie as a main character, but rather as a convenient plot device in the terrorification of ponies. At least it would be, if a certain strange bipedal creature had any say about it. Which it did. Not surprisingly.
Sugarcube Corner had been winding down business for the end of the day, and the Cakes were shifting and moving confectionary delights and things that would be considered the best way to die, if one were to overindulge in such things. In either case, neither of the Cakes were expecting a visit from anypony so late in the day. As fate would have it, the Cakes received a strangely rattling entrance from a mostly innocuous visitor. If innocuous could describe anypony in Ponyville, that is.
The doors burst open with a sudden and resounding bang that made both the Cakes nearly jump out of their skin in fright. As soon as they spotted the obviously distressed unicorn they relaxed slightly.
“Goodness me, Twilight," called out Mrs. Cake as she rushed forward to meet the swaying form of the jumpy unicorn.
“What happened?” she asked in concern as she lent a supporting backside to the lavender mare with nervously knocking limbs.
Twilight was silent for an extensive period of time. Taking the initiative, Mrs. Cake led the edgy pony to a table and a chair and settled her in. After waiting a few more moments with no response forthcoming from Twilight, Mrs. Cake quietly excused herself to finish closing the store. As Mrs. Cake rose from the table a mumble from Twilight stopped her.
Mrs. Cake flicked an ear in curiosity.
“What was that, dear?”
Twilight mumbled something again.
Mrs. Cake leant forwards, perking her ears and straining to make out what Twilight was saying.
“I still can’t hear you, dear," Mrs. Cake prompted, her face now mere inches from Twilight’s own.
“It’s coming…” Twilight whispered in a hoarse voice.
“I’m sorry, dear. I don’t understand. What is coming?” Mrs. Cake inquired.
Twilight whimpered.
“It’s coming… I have to warn my friends…” Twilight murmured. Suddenly her glazed eyes snapped into focus and she drew a sharp breath, startling Mrs. Cake.
“Oh! I have to warn Pinkie!” Twilight exclaimed as Mrs. Cake back peddled a few hoofsteps from the disturbed mare.
Twilight’s eyes finally seemed to recognise Mrs. Cake standing there.
“Mrs. Cake! I have to talk to Pinkie, where is she?” Twilight shot up from her seat rapidly, getting up from the table in an explosive motion. A chair toppled over but Twilight ignored it, gaining on Mrs. Cake.
Mrs. Cake’s brow knitted in concern.
“Pinkie isn’t here," she replied slowly. She’d read that speaking to crazy ponies in a slower voice could help. “She’s gone to help Cranky Doodle with something, but she should be on her way back.”
Twilight turned around and trotted straight out of the door.
“Wait!” Mrs. Cake called back to the frightened unicorn. Twilight paused, her face etched with something mixed between anxiety and impatience.
“Are you alright, Twilight?” Mrs. Cake asked gently, taking half hoofsteps forward. It was clear she wasn’t, but it had to be said. A pony couldn’t be helped if they didn’t want it.
Twilight stood in silence for a while before she replied.
“Thank you, Mrs. Cake… to answer your question, I don’t think I am alright, but I think I can save my friends from suffering the same fate as I had— No, sorry I don’t have answers to your questions right now, just tell Pinkie... that it is coming. Be on guard.”
With that ominous message, Twilight cantered out of the store with the door clanging shut with a belated rattle. With the bells still ringing in her ears, Mrs. Cake gave the door a lingering glance before reluctantly turning back to her chores.
She hoped that Twilight would be alright and she hoped that Pinkie could handle whatever threat Twilight had been talking about.
——
Pinkie stuck her tongue out at an odd angle as she placed the cherry on top of the triple decker cake.
Cranky Doodle gave Pinkie a grateful smile as Pinkie finished the masterpiece of baked goods. The triple decker cake was layered with a chocolate base, a strawberry midsection and a vanilla top. It was an unusual combination, however Cranky had specifically ordered it because it was Matilda’s birthday today, and he wanted to do something especially special.
Pinkie gave a wide face splitting grin as she somersaulted from the small step ladder to land on her hind hooves and spread out her forelimbs in the air, in a classic starfish pose. Her deep sapphire eyes sparkled as she giggled a response.
“Aww, Cranky you don’t have to thank me," Pinkie laughed as she dropped back to a comfortable all fours. Well, comfortable in the sense that Cranky felt more comfortable that she dropped back to her hooves. I mean seriously, how does that mare do these things?!
Cranky cleared his throat and answered in a bemused tone with a hint of long-suffering annoyance, although the hint was almost friendly in nature.
“I never actually said thank you," he answered wryly.
Pinkie gave a wide grin and bopped Cranky on the nose, much to his displeasure.
“But you were thinking it, and really, it’s the thought that counts," she replied, bouncing to the doorway.
“Wait!” Cranky called back to Pinkie. Pinkie upturned her head so she was inspecting Cranky upside down. He shook his head as he remembered the question he was about to ask.
“Do you think she’ll like it?” he queried, heart in his throat.
Pinkie giggled once more.
“Of course, silly! I already told you, it’s the thought that counts!”
Cranky smiled to himself as he watched the excitable pink party pony bounce away.
Pinkie can be pretty perceptive sometimes, he reflected happily.
——
Pinkie thought she heard her name on the way back to Sugarcube Corner but she was too excited to notice. She had made Cranky smile, not only once, not only twice, but a few times today. She loved it when ponies, or in this case, donkeys were happy. Happy ponies, or donkeys, were the best type of ponies.
Pinkie burst in through the front door to meet a startled Mr. Cake as he was sweeping the front of the store.
“Hello, Pinkie, welcome back," he greeted as the pink mare gaily trotted into the store.
Pinkie gave a wide smile and positively lilted back her response.
“Hello Mr. Cake! Cranky was really super happy about the cake we made for him, he smiled three whole times!”
Mr. Cake grinned back, pleased.
“Oh that’s quite good news," he commented, moving to make another sweep when he paused. He cocked his head with a frown. Then his face cleared as he remembered.
“Ah Pinkie, my wife wants to have a word with you, she’s worried about something, would you mind meeting her in your room?” Mr. Cake asked but Pinkie was already nodding and bouncing at the same time up the stairs.
“Okie Dokie Lokie!” she called back down as Mr. Cake chuckled.
Pinkie found Mrs. Cake seated on her bed. Mrs. Cake was patting the bed on her left. Pinkie took the cue to sit down beside her.
“So, what seems to be the problem Mrs. Cake?” she asked sweetly.
Mrs. Cake sighed softly and gave Pinkie a lopsided smile.
“I’m worried about your friend, Twilight. Did you see her on the way here?” Mrs. Cake asked but Pinkie shook her head.
“I thought I heard somepony…” Pinkie trailed off, tapping a hoof to her chin and pouting her lips.
“Twilight came in, she looked quite unwell—” Mrs. Cake began, but Pinkie cut in excitedly.
“Oh no! Is she hurt? Did she get into an experiment again? Did she hit the books? She should just read them, I told her! Maybe she—”
Mrs. Cake frantically held a hoof out to stem the tide coming out from the pink pony’s mouth.
“No, no nothing like that," Mrs. Cake assured Pinkie but then paused. “At least as far as I know it’s nothing like that. She told me to tell you something. It was a warning, if you didn’t see her.”
Mrs. Cake couldn’t help it. She paused theatrically. Even Pinkie was silent as she waited for the big reveal.
“She told me that ‘it’ was coming and to ‘be on guard’," Mrs. Cake told her gravely.
Pinkie burst out into laughter.
“Pfft, hahaha! That’s silly, silly filly!” Pinkie giggled and snorted.
Mrs. Cake was not amused.
“Pinkie, Twilight looked very, very scared. It didn’t look like a natural response to stress or something mundane. I suggest you take her advice cautiously," she warned, getting up from the bed.
Pinkie was somewhat mollified by the gentle rebuke.
She nodded giving Mrs. Cake a solemn expression.
“I trust Twilight," she said, giving Mrs. Cake a salute. “I’ll be on guard.”
Mrs. Cake smiled as she trotted out of the room.
“Alright, that’s all I have to say, make sure you see the poor mare soon, she’s frightened out of her wits," Mrs. Cake commented, closing the door.
——
That night, Pinkie had formulated a plan. She had strapped a miniature helmet on Gummy’s head as he sat unblinking for most part on a three-legged stool. Pinkie didn’t know when ‘it’ was coming so she kept on guard for the latter part of the day and she had holed herself in her room.
Pinkie had her green sergeant’s hat on and she stayed next to Gummy, vigilantly keeping an eye on the room, listening intently for any sounds. Over time though, Pinkie couldn’t keep up her concentration and the full day of helping Cranky had taken its sweet toll on her, admittedly vast, energy reserves. Pinkie blinked wearily as the day shifted slowly to night.
She was aware of the ticking noise on the wall-mounted clock, the slight whispers of a breeze from the small gaps in her window and even the slightly slick sounds of Gummy’s eyes slowly drooping closed and back open again. Pinkie yawned. Her eyelids seemed so heavy, maybe if she dozed off a little…
A rattling sound disturbed her from her sleep.
Pinkie opened bleary eyes as she realised that the angle of the room was wrong. Oh, she was on the floor. She struggled to her hooves as the sound of rattling was heard again. This time, she could hear that it was from the window. Eyes shooting wide open, Pinkie picked up an improvised weapon, which was basically a broom and crept towards the window.
The window latched open with a quiet snick and there was the sound of cautious scrabbling outside. Pinkie waited until she eventually spotted a shadowy figure stealthily making its way through the viewing aperture.
Pinkie readied the broom, about to swing it at the invader, when the intruder caught a limb on the window frame, let loose a squeal and tripped over itself, laying in a sprawl in her room.
“Pony feathers," the intruder cursed in a familiar voice. Pinkie relaxed with a sigh.
“Twilight! Why are you here?” Pinkie asked excitedly. She gasped.
“Is it a sleepover, a surprise sleepover? You shouldn’t have climbed through the window, you should use the door, silly," she chattered as Twilight shook her head and got to her hooves. Pinkie turned the light on and took in Twilight.
Her jaw dropped as she observed the drooping bags under Twilight’s bloodshot eyes, the shaky hooves and her mane in a disarray.
“Twilight!” she exclaimed, rushing over to the poor mare. “What happened to you?”
Twilight gave a cough and in a hoarse voice, replied with difficulty.
“Warned, others. Couldn’t… find you… Sugar…cube… closed… had to… use… window… sorry," Twilight croaked, favouring her left side. Pinkie quickly led Twilight to her bed, pushing the exhausted mare into the soft embrace of her sheet covers.
Twilight fought to stay awake.
“Pinkie…” she started, but Pinkie cut her off.
“I know. Don’t you worry, Pinkie is on guard!” Pinkie exclaimed, saluting the purple unicorn. Twilight smiled weakly and coughed a little, or was it a laugh?
“Thanks Pinkie, you always cheer… meee… up…” Twilight slurred and then she was gone, sleeping quietly.
Pinkie trotted over to the switch and flipped off the light.
“Goodnight, Twilight," she said as they both drifted into a pleasant sleep.
——
Twilight woke with a start and found herself face to face with the gentle sleeping features of a pink party pony. She sighed in relief. She laughed to herself. What was she so worried about?
It was still dark, the middle of the night.
Twilight could hear the faint chirps of the crickets, the small flutter of night birds fluttering in the trees near the window and the steady tick tock of the clock.
She settled in, feeling the gentle stroke of Pinkie’s hind leg on her tail.
Her eyes widened.
Her tail.
Twilight rose quickly from her sleeping position to find the evil monstrosity laying casually beside her using a free hand to stroke her tail. Once again, it shot a long, slender digit out to press gently on her trembling, moist and tender lips.
“Shh," it lulled softly, locking hellish eyes with her own. It took its finger back and gave her a long, slow lick on her right cheek. Twilight whimpered softly.
“No tears," it whispered quietly. “Just dreams.”
Looking below at the still sleeping form of Pinkie, it gave her a gentle pat and then softly opened the door and closed it behind it with a soft click.
Twilight was frozen solid for a few seconds before she scrabbled to the door, whipping it open with her magic and scanning the hall for the nightmarish creature.
There was nothing there, save a familiar note.
Twilight shook her head.
Panicked as she was, she knew the note was evidence. She couldn’t simply pick it up and read it again, only to have it dissipate into the wind. Then none of her friends would ever believe it happened.
Twilight stepped back into Pinkie’s room, determined to wake the mare up and investigate the note together.
She took a hoof step in and realised something was wrong.
The room was covered in notes, each one scribbled with one word, but all different.
Tears. One said near her hoof.
Dreams. Said another.
Why? Said one more.
Remember. Another one read.
Twilight backed away from the room. She lifted her hoof but a note was stuck to it. Frantically, she waved her hoof around, trying to rid herself of the note. It wouldn’t budge.
Carefully she brought it face up, but she hesitated, she didn’t want to read it.
Like iron filings to a magnet, her gaze was drawn to the scribblings on the small piece of parchment.
You taste nice, Twilight Sparkle.
Perhaps I will indulge myself in dessert, later.
All the while Pinkie smiled pleasantly as she dreamed of colourful things.
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Wow! ... okay
umm 
no sleep for me today
5138538 Sleep? What's that?
I always thought Twilight tasted like hair. Good to know I was wrong.
At first this was kind weird, but then the second chapter hit, and it got serious and not bad. The suspense factor is amazing.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
5138688 It only gets better. Unless it doesn't. Sorry, I presume the mind of the reader too much. Hope you enjoy it though.
5138693 It feels like a psychological horror fic, and psychological is the only horror I like. And this does a good job on the psychological aspects in the last two chapters especially, and if you wanted to, you could re-write the entire thing without the comedy tag (as in go serious with it), and make this absolutely amazing.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
5138697 I've been meaning to do that, actually. This started as more of an experiment but then I got a bit more serious as it moved forward, as you can probably tell in the writing. The third chapter is a masterpiece in my own opinion and completely encapsulates what I wanted from this if it were serious. Then again, the comedy gives the fic a little padding as we ease into more and more disturbing aspects of this story.
So, I may amend this to be amazingly creepy in time for Halloween (even though we don't have that here), or I could keep it as is and concentrate on darkening it with each chapter.
Thanks for your comments, by the way, I like good opinion on the story and the direction.
5138712 I say just re-write the first two chapters, but have that as a kind of back burner thing, while still working on new chapters in a serious tone.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
BAD TOUCH. BAD TOUCH.
Salt and holy water every where!
5138712
You know, if you wanted to re-write the first two chapters, but keep the comedy tag...
You could have the "nightmare creature" be a dream-creation Luna's using to troll Twilight with.
Heck, whether or not that's what you intended, that's now my headcanon when it comes to this fic.
Oh my god, I'm enjoying this more than I should be!
if Twilight taste like concord, what could Discord taste like?
5138991
You and me baby, we're nothing but mammals- oh, sorry