The Last Something Sweet to Bite

by Knackerman

Memories

She woke up coughing, gasping for air. Everything hurt, from the tips of her hooves down to her tail. An unpleasant burning in her throat let her know that it had been some time since she'd had any water, and the hollowness in her stomach told her that food was something she also was in dire need of. Food... For some reason the thought of food was enough to turn her stomach and make her gag. It make her wish she would never hear the word again, let alone lay eyes on anything that remotely resembled 'food'. It was an odd reaction given how weak and hungry she clearly was.

It felt like she had been dreaming. Or perhaps she was dreaming still? Everything had the familiarity of an old nightmare. The kind that would be almost comforting if it wasn't for your inability to prevent everything from going wrong. She tried to look around, figure out where she was. The light hurt her eyes. It was so bright here that there were no shadows. As she got up on wobbly legs, her own shadow was nothing but a smudge beneath her body. Where... Where exactly was she?

Her thoughts were so sluggish and hazy, from sleep or dehydration, she wasn't sure. Just remembering, the act of attempting to remember made her head ache in ways that forbade any recollection. There were fragments, of nightmares or memories she wasn't sure, of something in the dark calling her name... something laughing. All she truly knew was that she was alone, that the featureless white walls and barren floor that surrounded her were devoid of any sign of an exit, and that she must have been here for some time. Well, perhaps she was right about two out of three. As she continued to look up, she could see that the walls were not entirely featureless. A dark glass panel set high in one wall flickered from darkness to light. She could see through the thick glass that, in actuality, she was not alone. Not at all.

"Ah, I see that you are already conscious subject. Very good, that saves us the time and trouble it normally takes to rouse you for testing," said a well dressed unicorn. Indeed he was not simply well dressed, but well spoken. 'Nobel' was the word that came to mind as she looked up at the handsome stallion's golden eyes as they gazed back, though rather more indifferently upon her. His mane was elegantly coiffed, a shock of brown against a yellow coat and a horn that shimmered with golden hued magic. For a moment she wondered why it was that he wasn't helping her. Why he wasn't trying to get her out of this pit she was clearly trapped in. Then the memories rushed back with a lurch, along with a name.

Lemon Drop.

He had been her captor now for some time. Time... it had lost all its meaning, impossible to measure here, buried far away from any natural light. She couldn't even mark its passing by her sleep, as Lemon Drop had a habit of waking her at odd hours to continue his never ending 'tests'. Unbidden, words formed on her lips, "Please mister. Please stop this," it hurt to speak. Her teeth felt chalky in her mouth and her tongue was covered in blisters. Just breathing was painful, the cold air on her teeth felt like hooks scraping across exposed nerves. "What you did to my... to my father... I can't forgive you, but I can forget about it. About it and what you made me do... made me eat. Just please don't do this anymore. I swear I'll never tell a soul what happened. I'll take it to my grave, I will. Just...just let me go home to... to my mum..."

"And do you really think your parental unit would want you back, subject?" asked Lemon Drop dispassionately. "The way you are now? Swollen and fat, teeth rotten, bones brittle. You are unsuitable for work in the fields any longer. The one thing an earth pony is good for is scrounging in the dirt for food, and now you can't even do that. Indeed you, would only be a burden upon any else who could be persuaded to take you in. Is that something you truly want? I think not. No this, my great work, is all that you are useful for now subject. This and fertilizing the fields once we are done."

Tears stung the edges of her eyes. This was cruel, far too cruel, but she knew that even though his heartless words were meant to break her will, they were not wrong. She could feel it. Her swollen stomach practically touched the ground. Her legs trembled, trying to support her own weight. She wouldn't be any use to anypony. But that wasn't her fault. That wasn't her fault at all. It was this man, this unicorn that looked down on her and refused to address her by name. Who refused to even regard her as anypony worth addressing save when it suited his own twisted needs. She had given into despair long ago, the moment she had been fed food she would later learn had been her father, but this cruel existence had continued to drag on and on. Despair did nothing for her plight, but now something new blossomed in her fragile heart. Something cold and bitter, but burning at the same time. She had never before known 'hatred' in her short life, but she knew it now.

"So what? So what if I'm worthless? So what if I can't serve you horrible unicorns anymore!? It was you that did this to me! It's you who has done all these horrible things, made me suffer, made me scream and not even so much as batted an eye!" she was yelling now, which hurt her throat and her teeth even more, but she didn't care. Torrents of vitriol burned more painfully in her heat than anything physical ever could, and there was no way to stop the pain but to give vent to it. To let it out. To let it sing! "You prancing, preening, parasites don't deserve to eat our food. You and the pegasi are just leeches, feeding off the life blood of our land and not understanding it one bit! You and your kind are the worthless ones! The ones who deserve to rot in the fields... to bring forth new life from your worthless corpse!"

"And what does a child now of such things?" asked Lemon Drop dismissively, continuing to go about his preparations without so much as glancing in her direction. Was he even truly paying attention at all?

"I know enough, I do! I know your lot do nothing but warp the world with your unnatural magic! Same for the pegasi with the weather! And the earth ponies just cower and scrape in the dirt. They should've rose up against your tyranny long ago. They should've smashed your high towers and castle towns to the ground! They should've ripped the pegasi out of the skies!" she was in tears now, hot wet blobs spilling from her cheeks as her bellowed hatred echoed off the walls and painfully back into her own ears. Her legs wobbled beneath her as she swallowed frigid air in great quivering gulps. Was it growing colder in here? "We were stupid! So stupid for looking up to you. I was so...so stupid... for ever trusting you. For ever even wanting to see you and your stupid sweet shop! If you won't let me leave at least let me die! Put an end to this misery!"

A thin laugh floated down from above. A chortle? A sigh? "My unfortunate subject, you seem to be under the false impression that what you think matters," said Lemon Drop, turning his cold eyes on her again at last. "You were stupid? Of course. We are tyrants? Of course. You want to die? Of course. That is just how things are. You have no control over these things. There's nothing you could ever hope to do about them. So do cease this unsightly blubbering. As I've told you before, your mouth is for eating, not for crying." There was the sound of a switch being flipped, and the familiar scratch of the phonograph's needle as it began to carve sound into a blank cylinder. "Testing Phase Theta twelve. Subject is lucid, though disturbed. I note this now in case there is any deviation in our results, but I doubt it will have any measurable effect on today's testing. We start with batch seven seven seven seven. A lucky number I am given to understand, though I find such superstitions coarse, trite, and hardly worth mentioning. I annotate it here merely for 'humors' sake, as this is a subject I have been told I am rather remiss in. Be that as it may, batch seven seven seven seven consists of the following: cocoa butter, milk solids, milk fats, vanilla extract, and sugar. A preservation spell has been utilized to keep the milk from souring as subject mentioned a certain foul taste from a similar batch produced previously. A cooling spell has been applied as well to chill the confection and help it maintain it's shape. Administering now."

The candy floated down from above on a tray that was shoved through a small slot. The sweetie itself floated from the tray and towards her mouth. She held her mouth shut. She had done this many times before, but now she clenched her jaw so tightly she feared she might pass out from the pain. If so, that was fine. Anything to resist this horrible unicorn. Anything to rebel against the lot in life he seemed to think was the only thing she had ever been destined for.

She knew it didn't matter.

If just shutting her mouth were enough she wouldn't be in such poor health as she was now. No, she could already feel the magic seeping into her bones as it slowly pried her teeth apart. She tried to clench down harder, straining, grunting, fresh tears streaming down her face. She felt her muscles spasm, her jaw shiver and shake. The pull intensified until, with a terrible crack, her eyes flew open wide.

He'd done it. He'd done it at last.

He'd broken her jaw.

For a moment her jaw hung loose, dangling from the sinew and muscle that burned as they twisted and snapped. The pain was immense, a white knife piercing either side of her face. Even so, she couldn't scream, couldn't vent the terrible agony she was in... Not with her mouth full of candy. Not with Lemon Drop's magic forcing her to chew with broken teeth, making her taste her own blood mixed with chocolate. She sputtered, choking, spewing the filth from her mouth, but even what splattered on the floor rose again and drifted towards her mechanically chewing mouth. "Now now, subject. There's no call for that. Waste not, want not." She wanted to scream, wanted to bellow her rage and impotence to the stars. But all she could do, all she could ever do... was eat.
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Hours, that felt like days, passed at glacial pace before the testing finally ended. After the customary degradation of being forced to void her stomach, Lemon Drop had activated the cleansing spells and the room that had been splattered with the contents of her guts had returned to pristine white. There was even a lemon fresh scent. She was left, hollow and hungry as before, her jaw broken, and her heart hammering in her tiny chest from both the sugar and the harrowing experience she had just endured. The lights, the blinding lights, at last were shut off. Only a rectangular square of illumination shown down on her from the mad unicorn's work shop above. He had quickly lost interest in her, moving on to analyzing the data she had provided for him today. If she had any tears left to cry, she would've started crying then, as she had done after many testing sessions past.

But not tonight.

Tonight something was different. She could feel it. Her heart beat faster as she realized her pain was fading. It started with her limbs, stiff from lack of use already, as they slowly grew rigid. It spread upwards through her body and into her chest. She could feel it like a fist, squeezing her heart. The organ just refused to stop beating, though it stuttered and stopped it still continued to beat. She had begged for death in the throes of her agony, in the grip of pain and despair the likes of which no little pony should ever have to endure, but now as she felt that icy fist squeeze tighter she realized that wasn't what she wanted at all. She had never truly wanted to die. She wanted to live. She wanted to live and live and live and live, no matter what it cost.

"So live," said a familiar voice.

Her eyes darted around in the darkness, blurry and weak though they were. She tried to turn her head, but the creeping stiffness held reign their as well. It was probably just as well given how sore her jaw still was, but a cold lance of fear arched across her spine as she realized, for the first time since she had found herself in this room, she was no longer alone. "Who's... there?" she tried to rasp, though all that came out was a thin gurgle. Her tongue was going numb now, but with it at least came relief from the mass of needle sharp shards of bone that had become her teeth.

"Just a dream," came the voice again. "A dream of something better. A dream of freedom. A dream of revenge." As all other sounds began to fade away from her ears, she realized now why the voice had sounded so familiar. Though she couldn't speak with her ruined mouth, though she had just proven she could barely form even the simplest of words, the voice was her own. What was happening? Was she losing her mind? "Yes. And so much more. So much has already been taken from you. You're mind is the least of what you can lose."

'Who are you?' she thought to herself, still uncertain of what was going on. Her heart skipped a bit with the reply.

"I told you I am a dream. Your dream. The dream of a life that won't end in a few short moments," the voice laughed. It was not a comforting sound. "And I am a nightmare for those who have done this to you," She could feel the grip tightening on her heart. She thought that she could see, just barely see, someone standing beside her. Someone leaning down and smiling. "Tonight. This is our night... Nightmare Night! Oh what a fright! And how frightening we will be... you'll see."

'What's happening? What's going on!?' she thought, alarmed. It was harder to breathe now. She couldn't feel much but she could feel her lungs burning. Each shallow breath was a monumental effort. They were coming further and further apart now. Why couldn't she move? Why couldn't she even breathe? Why wouldn't her body obey her? She was frightened. Terribly frightened. She wanted her mum. She wanted to be far away from here. Anywhere but here!

"It's alright. Your old body is dying," said the disembodied voice, in mock comfort. It sounded less and less like her own. There were strange echoes to it. The being that stood beside her looked even stranger. It was like everything she had been forced to choke down, all the candy she had eaten, had fused together into one bizarre pony shaped entity. She knew what she was looking at couldn't possibly be real. That didn't stop it from smiling back at her with a sharp candy corn grin. "Don't worry, this won't take long."
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Flashes. There were just flashes. She was eating. Eating more and eating faster than she ever had before. Her broken jaw didn't matter. Her splintered teeth felt fine. All she knew is that she had to eat. Eat and eat and eat and grow strong. Strong enough to keep eating. Strong enough to eat right through the world. The next thing she knew she was out of the room that had been her prison. It was so wonderful to be free, so fantastic, the feeling bubbling up inside her threatened to make her pop... Just like the warm salty thing between her teeth. Just like Lemon Drop's heart. It tasted sooo good. Everything tasted good in fact... And everypony. She couldn't stop with just one, but weirdly she couldn't seem to recall how she was finding them. Or really where she was going. One after the other she crunched through bone and swam through blood, all the while the strange song dancing through her head "Nightmare Night, what a fright. Give us something sweet to bite!" But she was done with sweets.

There was only one thing that was sweet to her now.

Only one thing.
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The taste of raw flesh welled up in Sunset Shimmer's mouth, though she had never tasted it before. Nor had she ever known the torments that Pumpkin Patch had endured, but she knew them now. The smell of it alone would've been enough to make her gag, but tasting it? Living it? There were no words to describe her revulsion. All of this, from the moment she had awakened in Lemon Drop's torture chamber of a laboratory to the first Nightmare Night, the entire experience had passed through Sunset's mind in a matter of seconds.

Pumpkin Patch withdrew her hoof from Sunset's forehead. There was no wound, not even a scratch. How could there be when Pumpkin Patch was nothing more than a ghost?

Now that Sunset knew what she was, she didn't bother hiding her appearance anymore. Pumpkin Patch's wild, unkempt red hair shimmered and danced in a nimbus around her withered features. Only her eyes still appeared alive, a bright glowing green, while the rest of her body was faded and transparent. "Your understanding is all I wanted," the dead girl said. "It's my fault that Equestria has come to this. It's my fault that you and your friends have been hurt... have been killed. I know what she's been doing, spreading herself like a disease where ever she can. If you can stop her, I won't stand in your way... I'll even help you! You wanted to find her original body? My body? Well it's sealed in this statue, just as you discovered," she said, gesturing to the avatar of Victory. "I always wondered why I couldn't stray far from it, and now I know. It seems it was I that was bound here. I fear that the Candy Mare found a way to avoid the fate Luna had planned for her."

"Everything... everything that you showed me," said Sunset Shimmer, choosing her words carefully, the taste of rancid flesh still fresh in her mouth. "Did that really all happen? Is that really all true?" Her face was lost in shadows under her hood, but the green light from her horn suggested she was about to cast a spell.

That seemed to take the little ghost off guard. She looked down sadly, "Yes. Yes miss, and I'm terribly sorry I put you through that. I know you can't forgive me, and I'm sure you are very angry with me... But just telling you would've taken far too long. You needed to know what you were dealing with. If there were a faster way I..." Her voice broke off as Sunset Shimmer embraced her.

The spell Sunset had cast on herself was one that allowed her to interact with ethereal bodies. It had originally been used as a means to fight Windigo's and Shadow Ponies on equal footing. In this case it allowed her to touch a shade like Pumpkin Patch. Though the specter had just submitted Sunset to the torments of her last moments of life, to the horror that it was to be engulfed by the Candy Mare, Sunset had responded not with an attack but instead this warm embrace. Pumpkin hadn't known the touch of another pony in hundreds of years. She had forgotten what it felt like.

"What are you doing?" the phantom asked, confused.

"It's not your fault!" cried Sunset Shimmer, tears streaming from her eyes. "It's not you. I saw what he did to you. I saw what he forced you to do! I lived it! And now you think I'd be angry with you!?" Sunset Shimmer locked eyes with Pumpkin Patch. "I am so sorry for what happened to you. If it had been me...if that had happened to me, I'm not sure there would be this much of Equestria left! But you... You were fighting against her the whole time, weren't you? You were trying to hold her back. And then Luna... oh no. She thought she beat the Candy Mare but all she did was suppress you!"

Pumpkin Patch couldn't reply. It was true she had gone along with the Candy Mare's desires for some time. It was hard for her to resist. But after the whirlwind of destruction that had consumed the castle town was over... all she had really wanted was her mum. All she had desired was to be left alone. "Don't. Don't do this. Please, don't forgive me just like that."

"I'll do whatever I want," replied Sunset Shimmer squeezing the dead girl tight. "You do know that if I do this... I'm not sure what's going to happen to you. It will destroy the Candy Mare, but it may do the same to you. You might... cease to exist."

The filly smiled at her. Now there were the ghost of tears in her glowing eyes as well, "Do you really think I want to keep existing like this miss? Watching the world rot underneath a candy shell? I would gladly cease to exist if it meant an end to this long nightmare."

Sunset Shimmer let her go. The enormity of what she had experienced had left her reeling, but this was no time for dwelling in the past... in another ponies past at that. No, she knew very well now what she was dealing with, and she knew more than ever what she was about to do was the right thing.

She just hoped she had time.

"I thought I felt something. An irritable little itch, like an ant crawling across my skin," said a booming voice that seemed to come from every direction. The sugar coated earth roiled beneath Sunset Shimmer's hooves. Without warning, Pumpkin Patch shoved her onto the cleared patch of ground around the victory inspired statue. It was the last thing she did before the ground opened up and a giant set of jaws erupted from the soil to swallow the spirit whole. Her banshee wail of anguish was drowned by peals of laughter that threatened to deafen Sunset Shimmer.

Comments

[Lucy_Marigold]

Oh Pumpkin Patch...

[Arcanum -Phantasy]

" I thought I felt something. An irritable little itch, like an ant crawling across my skin ," said a booming voice that seemed to come from every direction. The sugar coated earth roiled beneath Sunset Shimmer's hooves. Without warning, Pumpkin Patch shoved her onto the cleared patch of ground around the victory inspired statue. It was the last thing she did before the ground opened up and a giant set of jaws erupted from the soil to swallow the spirit whole. Her banshee wail of anguish was drowned by peals of laughter that threatened to deafen Sunset Shimmer.

Pumpkin Patch...
..................................KILL THAT CANDY COTED LOVECRAFTIAN BITCH!!!

[Rose_Flame]

Pumpkin Patch, seems i was wrong about you. Rest In Peace, kid. May your soul know the peace it deserves.

[zjadez]

Pumpkin Patch you poor soul

[lochbessie]

Pumpkin Patch couldn't reply. It was true she had gone along with the Candy Mare's desires for some time. It was hard for her to resist. But after the whirlwind of destruction that had consumed the castle town was over... all she had really wanted was her mum. All she had desired was to be left alone. "Don't. Don't do this. Please, don't forgive me just like that." "I'll do whatever I want," replied Sunset Shimmer squeezing the dead girl tight. "You do know that if I do this... I'm not sure what's going to happen to you. It will destroy the Candy Mare, but it may do the same to you. You might... cease to exist." The filly smiled at her. Now there were the ghost of tears in her glowing eyes as well, "Do you really think I want to keep existing like this miss? Watching the world rot underneath a candy shell? I would gladly cease to exist if it meant an end to this long nightmare." Sunset Shimmer let her go. The enormity of what she had experienced had left her reeling, but this was no time for dwelling in the past... in another ponies past at that. No, she knew very well now what she was dealing with, and she knew more than ever what she was about to do was the right thing. She just hoped she had time. " I thought I felt something. An irritable little itch, like an ant crawling across my skin ," said a booming voice that seemed to come from every direction.

IT HAPPENED AGAIN GAAAAH. Have you learned nothing from Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash? Why do you people do this crap?

[Moosetasm]

This is like what happened with Pinhead in Hellraiser. Kill the rational part and you just get a psycho murder demon.

[KingSombraTheTyrantRuler]

And here I am, slightly disappointed that it was just memories...