The Shadow Of Death
Chapter Nine: The Shadow Of Death
~BlackRoseRaven
Last Call breathed slowly in and out, looking across at Toadsfall with all the courage he could muster up. He felt Furor shift uncertainly on his back, but the stallion straightened as much as possible to keep the Changeling safe as he muttered: “Just shut up and trust me.”
He took a slow breath, then rose his head high before he said quietly: “No.”
“What?” Toadsfall straightened slightly in surprise, then he growled in disgust, the large unicorn framed in the light spilling in through the doorway as the glow from Last Call's flashlight danced over his features, making him seem ghoulish and distorted. “I think that I misheard you, Last Call. You would not be stupid enough to pretend you are not a coward at this point, are you?”
Last Call looked back and forth, at Pink and Schmisse, then he looked back at Toadsfall. There was no way he was going to just hand over Furor to this psychopath: there was no way that even if they listened to him, Toadsfall was just going to politely let them walk away, after all.
But what could he do? He couldn't protect Pink and Schmisse and Furor all at once, especially not with the rope around his neck. He could feel Toadsfall's telekinetic grip tightening slowly, angrily on the leash, and he wasn't strong enough to resist both Toadsfall's strength and his magic, especially as beaten-up and exhausted as he already was. And if Toadsfall got his hooves on any of them...
“Furor, get this leash off me. I don't care how.” Last Call muttered, and Furor grimaced before the Changeling gave a short nod as Last Call rose his head slightly and said clearly: “I am not going to give you Furor. And I'm... I'm going to give you one warning. I'll... I'll protect these ponies from you if I have to. It won't end well for you.”
Toadsfall laughed incredulously at this, staring in disbelief as he stepped forward. And Last Call shivered as he felt Furor fidgeting uselessly at the rope, but for the moment the ominous unicorn was too busy gawking at them to yank on the leash, asking disbelievingly: “Do you really think you can fight me, Last Call? You could not even... oh, do you care more about the pretty stallion on your back than your own wife? Are you a big stallion now, Last Call? Has buggering the bug made you brave?”
Last Call grimaced, before he looked back and forth as he realized they weren't alone. Monsters twisted and swarmed at the edges of the flashlight's glow, hissing softly, whispering among themselves. And as horrific and awful as they were, all their attention was on Toadsfall.
Schmisse and Pink, meanwhile, were edging away from Toadsfall towards the open door.: it wouldn't be long before the crazed unicorn took stock of the situation, though, and stopped them-
The leash fell away from around his neck, and Toadsfall snarled as he yanked on the rope when he realized it was no longer around Last Call's throat. He began to open his mouth, but Last Call whistled sharply, cutting him off before he mocked as brazenly as he could: “Who's the... the dumbass now, you dumbass!”
Toadsfall stared at him, and then Last Call reached up and clicked off his flashlight before he turned and bolted through the near-pitch-blackness down the way he remembered coming, cursing as he bounced off a wall as he ran back into the catacombs of the museum. Toadsfall gave a roar of rage, his horn lighting up brightly with a hellish radiance as he dashed after them, shouting angrily: “You will not escape me, Last Call! I will break every last bone in your body!”
Last Call cursed as he banged painfully into a wall, before he blinked in surprise as a dim, ill green light lit up the floor around him, Furor whispering: “Can't do much. Sorry.”
“It's enough.” Last Call muttered as Toadsfall blazed into the room behind them, looking back and forth with a snarl before he charged straight at them through the darkness. Last Call managed to shoulder through a door and slam it behind him, however, and then he winced as Toadsfall smashed into the other side of it before he heard a double-thump as the enraged unicorn bounced off and fell over with a curse, screaming profanities at them.
Last Call looked back and forth, then he grabbed what looked like a shelf beside him, yanking it over. It crashed down in front of the door, papers of some kind spilling out of it before Last Call stumbled back with a wince as Toadsfall smashed into the door. The frame rattled violently, and Last Call gritted his teeth before another smash knocked the fallen shelf back a bit, Toadsfall sticking his head into the frame with a snarl-
Last Call spun around and slammed both rear hooves as hard as he could into the door, and he was rewarded with a scream of pain as it smashed shut on Toadsfall's face. But his pleasure only lasted a moment before a swearing, furious Toadsfall began to pelt the door with blasts of magic, shaking the door with the force of his power as unnatural, toxic fire began to spread over it.
Last Call looked desperately back and forth before he hurried towards a divider on the other side of the office, grunting as he half-flung Furor over this before jackknifing it himself. He grabbed the Changeling to haul him back onto his back, but even as Furor clambered on, he rasped: “You don't have to-”
“You don't have to talk. Shut up and light the way, I can't see in the dark.” Last Call retorted, and Furor gave a wry smile as they stumbled across another office to a door, Last Call biting his lip and hesitating for a moment, hoof on the handle, before he shoved it open as he heard the door in the other office smash down.
He kept low, moving as quietly and quickly as he could across the room before he turned a corner, risking a look back: the eerie glow of poisonous fire and magic lit the area around the twin offices with ghastly radiance, and Last Call could see monstrous shadows dancing as Toadsfall rampaged around the office... but also the lurking, fearful shapes of the strange monsters, who seemed drawn to Toadsfall's madness.
Last Call quickly turned his focus back to escaping, hurrying back down the hall and into one of the large display rooms. He could hear Toadsfall moving again, snarling and spitting curses angrily at the air, and Last Call gritted his teeth as he stumbled quickly around a corner and headed towards the front of the museum, hurrying past displays and ignoring the things that shifted in the darkness at the edge of his vision.
He stumbled into the front lobby as Toadsfall roared from behind them: “I found you! Stop running, cowards!”
Last Call ignored Toadsfall as he hurried for the front doors: maybe if they fled back down the tunnels, he would be able to escape.
He yanked the doors opened, and he felt Furor's heartbeat stop as he stumbled to a stupid halt, the two staring in horror at the floating, hideous black blob that all-but-glowed in the light shining in from the tunnel lamps. Its stone mask cocked almost curiously as sludge and mire dripped from its trashbag body, the entity staring over them silently as Last Call trembled and stumbled backwards, then tripped with a wince, Furor spilling off his back.
He could faintly hear what sounded like screams of fear as monsters fled in all directions, and he was vaguely aware of Toadsfall coming up behind them, but the two could only stare as the awful, hideous thing studied them silently, judging them, Last Call thought. They only stared, shaking in fear, until Toadsfall stormed into the room, then snarled: “What is this?”
His magic lit up the entire area as he strode towards Last Call, before he frowned, then looked sharply up through the doorway. Toadsfall cocked his head, then he looked down with a snarl as he grabbed Last Call and slapped him roughly across the face, but Last Call only shook his head weakly, barely giving Toadsfall a glance even as the unicorn snarled: “What? What is it?”
“I don't know. It's... it's right there. Can't you see it?” asked Last Call disbelievingly, and Toadsfall snarled before he flung Last Call down, then he kicked Furor savagely in the side, making him gasp, but he barely looked up at the unicorn.
It infuriated Toadsfall, his horn glowing brighter as he stormed in front of the two, trying uselessly to get their attention as he turned his back to the hideous thing he couldn't see, screaming: “What are you idiots doing? Cowards, look at me! There are no monsters, there are no ghosts, there is no such thing! Look at me! I am your death! I am what you should be afraid of, you-”
A slimy, muddy tentacle twisted out of the thing and seized around one of Toadsfall's legs, and the unicorn shivered, frowning and yanking at it. He looked down, then snarled in surprise, jerking and tugging angrily at his hoof before he glared at Furor, spitting: “Your bug magic won't-”
Furor only shook his head weakly, crawling backward, as Last Call whispered: “That's not-”
“Shut up!” Toadsfall's horn lit up with hellfire as he snarled in rage, beginning to focus his violent magic-
Tentacles snapped viciously out all around his body, hefting him into the air like a toy, splattering him with black ichor and muck, and Toadsfall shrieked as his eyes went from maddened to terrified. His magic whiffed out as he struggled helplessly, jerking his limbs back and forth, but the tentacles moved with him, the floating, awful thing only cocking its stone face the other way as Toadsfall looked wildly back and forth, screaming: “Bug! No, S-Schmisse, I know it's you! Unicorn! This is...”
Toadsfall looked down at himself, then back over his shoulder, shaking his head wildly as he screamed: “There's nothing there! Where is the magic? Who is doing this? There's nothing there, nothing there, you fools! This is impossible!”
Last Call and Furor only stared in horror, watching as Toadsfall was swayed, almost rocked gently back and forth in the air by the horrific appendages that were now beginning to steam and sear into his body, and Toadsfall shook his head, shrieking, screaming, his eyes filling with tears, his chest beginning to heave as his eyes stared wildly around. As his fear grew, Last Call saw his little sanity visibly ebbing away, as he screamed: “N-No! No, there's nothing... I can't see... what are you doing? No... m-m-mutter! Mama, no!”
Toadsfall's eyes rolled in his head, pupils dilating, foaming at the mouth as he stared at the ceiling in horror, struggling and gasping as he screamed: “Mama, no! No, no, p-please! I promise I'll be good! D-Don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no, nein, nein, mama! Schmissy! Daddy! Schmisse, save me! Schmisse! Daddy! Please! Please! Please!”
Last Call heard a gurgling, wet chuckle, and then Toadsfall was suddenly yanked backwards, and the doors of the museum slammed violently shut, a moment before both Last Call and Furor flinched as the lights flashed on.
They were alone in the museum's front room, the lights on, everything peaceful and quiet... except for the strange, dark slime rolling down the front doors, that was. Last Call shivered, not wanting to get close in case that horrific thing came back for seconds, before he glanced to the side as Furor laughed weakly before he said tiredly: “Guess we are friends, huh?”
“We assholes have to stick together, Furor.” Last Call stopped, then he added dryly: “I thought you Changelings fed on love. I hope you don't think-”
“You did just save my life.” Furor stopped, then the Changeling lowered his head slightly, eyes shifting away as he murmured: “You saved my life and I won't forget that. But no. Some of us feed on different emotions... anger, for example. But we have to be careful not to lose ourselves to these emotions, because... well, I suppose you can imagine why.”
“Yes.” Last Call said, as he looked at the muddy doors, before he murmured: “Come on. Let's get out of here.”
“Yes. Yes.” Furor nodded briefly, before he grimaced a bit when Last Call stood up and walked over to him, offering a hoof. He half waved at him, mumbling: “I can walk-”
“Then walk.” Last Call grabbed his hoof before he could protest, grunting as he pulled him up to stand before he said quietly: “We're all in this together, asshole.”
“Yeah. Alright.” Furor offered him a hesitant smile, before he added: “I can't feel those things anymore... why do you think they left?”
“I don't know. Maybe the monsters can't stand each other. It feels a little like... we're shaping the horrors we see.” Last Call couldn't find the right phrase for it, shaking his head as he muttered: “The good and the bad, I mean. The things we believe or we're tricked into believing become real, or... maybe we're just experiencing personal hells. It was explained to me once that as reality bends, it bends us back, and strips us away until we become who we really are at our core. Maybe some of us bend reality more, some of us less. Maybe we're... maybe some of us are just better people when there's other ponies around to keep an eye on us, and in turn...”
“You don't know, is what you're saying.” Furor said, and Last Call smiled wryly.
“Yeah, pretty much.” he admitted, before he added quietly as he glanced around the lobby: “Still. Lights are on and Toadsfall is gone for now. Let's get going.”
Furor nodded, and then he and Last Call slowly made their way, side-by-side, back through the halls of the museum. And while the damage was still present from Toadsfall's rampage across the halls, there was no sense of distortion, and no fires burned, no shadows crawled, no monsters were hiding in the corners.
Even with their limping and stumbling, it was a short walk to the other side of the building. Pink and Schmisse were gone, but Last Call was half-glad for it: hopefully they had been able to hurry out to safety. They would be able to join up with them again later, he felt, as long as things didn't go terribly wrong.
The stallion shook his head briefly, and then he glanced over at Furor and asked: “You ready to leave, or do you need a minute?”
“The sooner we get out, the better. Don't worry. I'll walk the worst of it off.” Furor answered with a brief shake of his head, grimacing a little as he glanced back over his shoulder.
Last Call nodded a bit, and then he hesitated a moment, glancing back at the museum before he shook his head as he approached the doorway. He peered nervously out it, before blinking in surprise as Furor said: “Fast thinking. Turning the flashlight off. Nearly getting everyone killed.”
Last Call couldn't help but smile despite himself, asking: “So is this whole asshole thing just a Changeling thing, or...”
Furor gave maybe the smallest smile back in return, before he said: “I'm glad you're not too upset. Or afraid.”
“Furor, I hate to say it, but the last thing I'm afraid of right now is you.” Last Call stopped, then he couldn't help but laugh a little, shaking his head and giving another small smile to the Changeling. In any other circumstances, maybe, he'd be betrayed, and terrified, but... after everything I've seen tonight... “I'll be mad at you later. I just hope the others.”
“Schmisse knew. I don't know how he knew, but he saw through my disguise.” Furor said with a brief shake of his head, and Last Call frowned in surprise. “Look, can we get out of here? Those... monsters might still come back.”
“You said they were angry. I thought you fed off anger. Why would you be so afraid of them?” asked Last Call even as he stepped apprehensively out into the tunnel... but the public route was well-lit by the lamps cabled along the walls, and everything was smooth and quiet and... normal, and it felt good to keep up the conversation.
“Ponies only have to worry about stomachaches and dying when they overeat. We have to worry about being permanently turned by that emotion. Imagine if you were filled up with nothing but anger, all the time. Imagine how you would lash out.” Furor shook his head, grimacing a bit before he murmured: “But I guess I learned tonight there are worse things to be filled with.”
There was silence for a moment as the two limped on, and in the light of the tunnel, Last Call took the opportunity to actually study the Changeling beside him. He looked like the same old Furor in some ways: smaller than average, with small wings, and his horn wasn't all that much different: just a few jigs and jags, not the 'terrible maelspike' he had heard it described as by ponies who claimed they had seen the 'evil beasts.' He saw why ponies called them bugs, but his hide was smooth and the holes in his legs weren't as glaring as he thought they would be.
His large, round eyes shifted towards Last Call, and he smiled briefly before he said finally: “Going to start thinking Toad was right if you keep giving me those eyes.”
“Can't help it, Furor, you're just so cute.” Last Call replied wryly, and Furor glowered at him, with made the stallion grin slightly. “Guess I understand a bit more why you were always pissing everyone off. Must make it hard to keep friends, though.”
“Yeah. But at least some ponies seem hard to piss off.” Furor shrugged, and then he turned his eyes back down the tunnel as Last Call nodded briefly.
They limped their way to the end of the tunnel in peace, and found themselves standing at the exit of the caverns beneath a single flickering lamp, a broken guideboard creaking quietly as it swayed in the faint wind on the single support still struggling to hold it up.
“No sign of them.” Furor remarked, and Last Call nodded briefly before he reached up and turned his flashlight on, grimacing a bit as a sharp breath of wind cut across the mountain, stirring his mane and making them both shiver a little.
“Do you think...” started Furor, and he halted for a moment, then asked as Last Call cocked his head towards him: “Can we trust Schmisse? I felt a lot of conflicting emotions from him. And if Toadsfall really is his brother...”
“Yeah. I think we can. Look, if we find them and Pink is still in one piece, I'm pretty sure that'll clinch it. Besides, Toad seemed like he was ready to kill him, too.” Last Call shook his head, muttering: “Can you imagine growing up with that asshole as your brother?”
Furor only smiled wryly, and Last Call glanced at him for a moment before he grimaced as another sharp wind blew by, before his eyes widened slightly as he realized that the wind had brought white flakes with it. They faded before they hit the ground, but... it's a little early in the season for snow. “We better hurry.”
“Yeah. But I... I'll need to stop and rest a little.” Furor said with a hint of apology, glancing awkwardly away, and Last Call nodded as he smiled wryly, rubbing a bit of dried blood from his face.
“You and me both.” The stallion paused, then he approached the guide board, looking over it quickly before he muttered: “Okay. Where the trails rejoin, there should be another ranger station. Let's hope this one is intact.”
Furor only nodded, and he followed as Last Call slowly began up the steep slow, grimacing a bit: even if there was a guard rope, the path curled out on a dangerous, narrow ledge, and he knew that rope wasn't going to hold if one of them slipped and fell into it.
Something was off about their journey, though: it wasn't as dark as Last Call thought it should be, and while the snow seemed to be getting heavier, the stars were all glowing above, as if there were no clouds in the sky. Where was the snow coming from, then? Or was it just like nature itself had been warped by the powers of the whatever-this-was, and turned against them?
It reminded him of that awful day..
He shivered violently, shaking his head, not wanting to think about it. Instead, he asked over his shoulder: “Are you okay?”
“Fine.” grumbled Furor, before he and Last Call both grimaced and leaned into the cliff wall as the whole mountain seemed to shake with the gust of wind that ripped by, a wave of snow washing over them both before it settled back into a chilling rasp. “I hope Happenstance is still alive so I can kick his ass.”
“Me too.” muttered Last Call, before he sighed in relief as they rounded a corner; half-skidding down a gentle slope to a wide plateau. There was actually snow on the ground here, but the high walls around them guarded them from the wind, and Last Call could clearly see where the other mountain paths fed in.
At the back of this safe little niche was a ranger's cabin, which looked peaceful and undisturbed, lights shimmering happily within. Last Call and Furor traded looks, and then the Changeling gestured with his head at the cabin, saying dryly: “You're the boss.”
“I should have left you back there.” Last Call grumbled, but then he nodded, gesturing at the Changeling to follow.
Furor did so, nervously, but at the door, Last Call motioned for him to wait by the door, and the Changeling nodded with relief as he rested against the wall. Last Call hesitated for only a moment before knocking, and then he frowned as he felt a strange sensation of something brushing against him before a familiar voice called: “Yes?”
Last Call's eyes widened, and he flung the door open, leaping through before he stumbled stupid to a halt as he stared around at familiar walls that he hadn't seen for months, but that to this day, he still missed. Sure, when you lived in Canterlot, you didn't actually own anything but the empty space inside the apartment... but they had made the best of it. It had been some of the best days of their lives, until it had been... their worst.
He stumbled down the eggshell corridor to the living room, staring at the mare resting back on the little couch that had seemed so big in that little cozy room. He laughed faintly as he stared at her, but she only smiled, saying softly as her eyes met his with such love, such warmth, such misplaced faith: “I got the job.”
“No!” Last Call blurted out, and the mare blinked in surprise before her eyes widened when Last Call ran towards her and hugged her fiercely, burying his head against her as he whispered: “Please don't. I know you don't want to stay in Canterlot, and I'm happy to go anywhere with you... anywhere, but there. Let's start over. A new life. I love you.”
“What's wrong, honey? Did something happen?” she asked in confusion, and Last Call laughed faintly as he straightened, hesitating for a moment before he blushed when she stroked worriedly over his face. “Is this blood? Did you get in a fight again?”
“It's okay.” Last Call laughed faintly, shaking his head and smiling as he leaned back, grasping her shoulders and gazing longingly down into her eyes, before he licked his lips slowly. His trembles increased as she looked back up at him worriedly, before he let out a slow exhale, lowering his head and whispering: “This isn't real, is it?”
“Call, come on. You're scaring me. No, I don't have to take the job if it's going to stress you out, but... I mean, I never said that I wanted to move away from Canterlot-”
“But I know you wanted to get away, because...” Last Call opened his eyes, gazing into hers before he bit his lip, then he shook his head quickly as he looked up, asking weakly: “What is this? Is this a second chance, or is this just another piece of hell? Has reality fallen backwards on itself or...”
She looked up at him silently for a few moments, then she reached up and gently stroked his face before she grasped his hoof and pulled him, in that soft, easy, implacable way she had, out of the living room and back to the bedroom.
She sat him down on the bed, and he rested his front hooves in his lap, looking silently after her as she vanished into the bathroom, then came back with a wet cloth. It felt wonderful on his head, soothing him as she wiped the dirt and the blood away from his face, the mare asking after a moment: “Eddie's?”
“No. I promise. I was... I was trying to protect a friend. For once that's the truth.” Last Call said, and he gave a brief smile as she looked at him with a slight frown, then she winced a bit as he blew gently against her face. “See?”
She touched her lips, then smiled faintly as she touched the hoof she'd unconsciously kissed to his cheek, and he closed his eyes, resting his face against it as she asked: “Doesn't mean I should trust you, mister. You don't always need to be drinking to be starting fights.”
“I know. But I've been... trying a lot harder.” Last Call answered, giving another small smile as he lowered his eyes, then closed them as she silently kissed his forehead. “I missed you. I missed this. I want to make it all up to you, everything. I just... I don't know if I can sometimes. Is getting through this hell... will it be enough?”
“That's up to you.” answered the mare gently, as she took one of his hooves and squeezed it slowly. And when Last Call opened his eyes, he was in a hospital bed, and she was in her gown, so tired and pallid, and yet beside him. He remembered this, too: how the doctors and nurses had glared at him like he was the scum of the earth, and oh, he had been, but she had been an angel, the same as always, there beside him, to comfort him, incorruptible. Beautiful. Perfect and radiant.
He didn't deserve her.
She didn't deserve the hell he put her through.
That's why he tried to kill himself. He'd gotten drunk, and then jumped off the tallest building he could climb.
He'd been drunk out of his mind, so he'd imagined it was a lot taller than it actually was, and he'd landed on some poor farmer's fruit wagon, so he'd ended up more or less okay.
That happened the day after she'd miscarried their baby.
What an idiot he was.
What a fucking idiot.
But it had all make sense back then, he thought. He was broken and needed to be removed. Or maybe, in some drunken stupor, he'd thought if he died, the baby would somehow live. A life for a life; or maybe he had just been trying to apologize to her, he thought, for all the ways he'd ruined her life. For everything he'd taken away from her. For how he made her suffer, even when he tried so hard to help, to make her happy.
She had wanted a baby so badly.
They'd tried, so hard.
She had been so happy.
But because it was him, it had all gone to hell.
She silently wiped the tears away from his face, and he smiled faintly before he looked up at her and whispered: “I don't understand, still.”
“Because I love you. I love you so, so much. And I'm here for you.” The same as she'd said in the hospital. Going through an unknown, untold hell, and there she was, sitting at his bedside, the cause of all her trouble, telling him, him, that it was going to be okay.
How did he deserve her?
Well, the truth was, he really didn't.
He bit his lip, studying her for a few moments before he murmured: “I wish this had never happened. It was so stupid of me. I've always.. I've always been selfish, and I hate that. Even now, some part of me wants to say that you enabled that, encouraged that even...”
“You haven't always been selfish, though. You were always here with me. You always took care of me when I needed you to. You balanced me out. You always have, and you were always someone I could count on. You still are.” She smiled at him, and the stallion closed his eyes, trembling a little, before he opened them.
And now they were laying in bed together, side-by-side, and he wrapped his forelegs around her and hugged her fiercely as she clung back to him, whispering: “I trust you. I love you, and I know you'll keep me safe. But you need to take care of yourself, too. How can you save me if you can't save yourself?”
The stallion looked down, then he nodded once before he closed his eyes and murmured: “I don't know who I am anymore. I've done good things and bad things tonight. I've been smart, and I've been stupid, and I've been crazy. I just... I know it's all for you.”
“I know. I know. But it's not going to mean much to me to be saved if you die in the process. I'd be alone without you, Last Call. You're the only pony who's ever really understood me: who didn't care about... who I was, or where I came from, or the good, the bad, the in-between that I've done.” She looked at him with a faint smile, murmuring: “I know you have your flaws. But more than ever, I really believe in you. That tonight, you'll prove...”
She fell silent, looking towards the foot of the bed, and Last Call frowned before he half-turned as well, shivering a little as he realized there was no more room, no more apartment, no more reality around them: just a sea of blackness in which their tiny island of light floated, alone, so far away from the candlelight of the stars that watched them in the distance.
But they were not alone. Things moved in the darkness, shapes both real and not as she clung a little tighter to her stallion, whispering: “You'll be the stallion I knew you could be. Just remember... there are worse things in the darkness than the Kiz.”
They both looked down at the thing lurking just beyond their island of light, the unholy beast shifting menacingly through the shadows. It tossed its maneless head, strange antlers gleaming unnaturally in the light, its eyes so dark and vapid and black that they swallowed even the night around them.
Last Call could feel the menace, the hatred emanating from this thing, and the cold it brought with it. It shifted, and it was like two halves moved instead of one whole, threaded together by a coiling snake of blackness.
The thing whispered promises to them, but Last Call shuddered as he buried his face against his wife, who hugged him tightly as she murmured: “It won't tempt you. But it will try to take you. It's awake now because reality has bent, because the Kiz wandered across things that should have been left buried and frozen beneath the earth.”
Last Call shivered, then opened his mouth to ask a question, and the world twisted around him. He blinked, slowly, and then he took a quiet, uneasy breath before he half-closed his eyes, leaning shakily against the frame of the open door, tears rolling down his cheeks as Furor asked uneasily: “Call?”
“I'm okay. I'm... I'm here. I'm back. I never left.” Last Call murmured, and then he shook his head as he looked down at his bloody, tear-stained hoof, saying quietly: “I just wish that I had.”
“It's okay.” said a voice, and Last Call looked up, unsurprised, to see Silent Wish standing in front of him in the middle of the empty cabin, her poncho missing, her wings and body bare. She smiled at him, and after a moment, Last Call smiled weakly back before the filly said softly: “You need to be careful. Just because things seem okay, it doesn't mean they are. Reality twists and bends, and while there are things here that will help you... there are monsters that will help themselves, too.”
“Yes.” Last Call halted, then he shook his head before murmuring: “Furor, it's okay. Silent Wish is here. It's... safe?”
He looked querulously at the filly, and she shook her head, biting her lip nervously, and Last Call noticed, for the first time, that she had fangs. “No. It's never safe, not really. But there's enough time to rest. I don't know where Pink and Schmisse have gone, though... but I wasn't keeping very good watch. I was... scared.”
It was such a strange, naked statement from a filly who Last Call thought most ponies would call a monster, but as he studied her, he thought of how everything else had been afraid of Toad, too... except for that... that thing. But I guess... “I guess if anything proves you're just a pony like the rest of us, Silent Wish, it's that.”
The filly gave a brief smile, and Furor nervously poked his head in before he winced a bit at the sight of Silent Wish. But then he nodded and hesitantly strode inside. He gave another awkward nod to Silent Wish, then he turned and hauled himself over to an overstuffed armchair and dropped into it with a wheeze, rubbing slowly at his bruised ribs as he muttered: “I guess I can't really judge.”
Silent smiled a little, and Last Call laughed a bit before he closed the door. He nervously headed over to the one of the windows for a moment, gazing out at the plateau, but thanks to the shape of the mountain, it was hard to see much: if you looked away from the path for a moment, he thought, anypony could slip by.
That thought gave him a chill he did his best to throw off, shaking his head before he muttered: “We'll stay here for a little while, then head up to the summit. Are you going to come with us?”
“As much as I can, yes. But I might still have to run away, if things get too... intense.” Silent Wish said, her eyes shifting away.
Last Call studied her silently, and then he simply nodded before he turned to join Furor in the little sitting room, grunting a bit as he sat down on a bench and rubbing at his face. He smiled when Silent offered him a towel, nodding to her before he wiped at his muzzle and eyes, then he simply balled it up between his hooves and looked down at it, murmuring: “Just a few minutes to catch our breath. Are there any medical supplies here? There should be an emergency kit, at least. I'll patch you up a little, Furor. I was in Sun Scouts.”
“Of course you were.” Furor muttered, before he rubbed at his face and said dryly: “I think I've probably had a little more survival training than you.”
“Just shut up and let me help you.” Last Call answered, before a smile quirked at his muzzle. “Or what, are you trying to make me angry so you can, what, nibble?”
Furor chuckled a little despite himself, looking down and shaking his head briefly before he murmured: “Maybe later. But you've always been hard to snatch more than a bite or two from, Call. You're bitter. Not angry. You never stay mad for long. Makes me a little jealous.”
Last Call only smiled briefly, then he looked back over his shoulder in surprise at a clunking to see Silent Wish digging through a supply cabinet, before she turned around with a clearly-labelled emergency kit held in her little claws, asking: “This?”
“Thanks. But rest for a bit, kiddo. We're... we're going to be okay.” Last Call said: he didn't entirely believe that yet, and he felt drained and confused and a little empty... but there was a spark there, an ember, the first real beginnings of a belief that maybe he could pull through this.
Furor grunted a little and glanced away, and Silent Wish only smiled as she lowered her eyes a little, but neither spoke. Because whether it was delusion or honest belief, it was what they all maybe needed to believe a little, as they approached the summit of the mountain, as they wrestled their way through the darkness that had consumed reality.
Things were going to be okay.
Toadsfall stumbled through the forest, terrified and afraid, fleeing from the hideous thing. But it chased him relentlessly, and sometimes he heard the click-clack of heels against tile, and in those moments, he was a little colt again, running from mother, running from his punishment.
But she always caught up, and he always cried. Cried, like a little filly. Cried, cried, cried. Crybaby, crybaby!
Toadsfall stumbled, leapt down a muddy hill, and he landed at the bottom of a trench. He was covered in blood, fleeing from a platoon of soldiers. Not the enemy, but his own troops, who had mutinied against him.
No, that had never happened. They had been scared. He had owned the battlefield! If he was at war, he was safe, because in war there were no rules, no laws, no games to play!
There was only the killing, and he grinned, insane, as he charged out of the other side of the trench. They ran down on the zebra, and he laughed as he lashed out with magic, fortified by the focus ring around his horn, eyes mad and wild with excitement, and they screamed as he set them on fire and they shrieked for mercy when he beset upon their villages, but he burned them all. Every last one of them, he killed. And those who survived, he savoured crushing beneath his hooves.
It was exciting.
He slipped in the mud and he stumbled into a tree, and he gasped and inhaled the forest air, and he was running again, and he was scared again.
He stumbled and tripped and fell, rolling down another embankment. He landed at the bottom of a gorge with a curse, looking wildly back and forth: the little sanity left in his mind screamed at him, asked desperately how he could have fallen into a canyon when the only valley in the entire park was a dozen miles away from the mountain.
He scrabbled up to his hooves, shaking himself desperately off, before his ears twitched, and his body trembled, and he realized that everything had gone completely silent. The air was frozen, and the world was still, and there was no more sense of being pursued. Beneath his hooves, the ground trembled, and grew hard; the wind rasped through the trench, and then the air itself seemed to freeze, becoming like glass around him. He was afraid that if he moved, it would shatter.
Something breathed on his neck, but the breath was cold.
There was no more fear, as a hoof gently grasped his shoulder. There was only serenity and acceptance and a strange, hollow relief, as a voice said: “We offer you freedom. We offer you strength. We bestow our blessing upon you. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” Toadsfall said weakly, and he smiled as his head tilted back. There was no more thought or thinking. He was stripped bare, naked, helpless, essential. He was empty, and it was good. “Yes.”
It touched him. Reached into him.
There was no more Toadsfall. There was just a hollow shell, drooling and broken, alone in a place where even the beings from beyond the stars did not dare to reach. Alone with only a horror from the coldest depths of the loneliest of hells for company; alone with a thing that should not be.
The thing smiled.
The thing leaned in and whispered soothingly into the pony-shell's ear.
The thing breathed its poison into him.
The thing slipped away with one last lover's caress, before it faded from sight, content that its work had been done; delighted with the host that the foolish Kiz had chased right into its waiting embrace.
For a few minutes, the pony shell only stood, vapid and drooling, staring into nothing. Then, what had once been Toadsfall twisted and twitched, gurgled, then screamed. It rasped, hissed, then howled again, foam spilling from its jaws before it stumbled forward. It shook and raged violently against the darkness in the canyon, looking wildly back and forth as his blood froze in his veins, as his hooves and skin cracked as frost spread through his body and made it brittle, as bones contorted and twisted themselves.
He screamed as skin blackened and burnt with cold, as flesh rotted away. He stumbled, gurgling, a hell-shape in the darkness with an eerie, broken grin, consumed with madness and hatred as he chuckled and rasped, eyes that burned black with hate and hunger looking back and forth before he began to stagger eagerly out of the gorge, leaving a trail of frostbite and horsehair in his wake.
The wretched, soon-hairless thing ran eagerly, guided only by hunger, driven by faint shapes in memory and a desire to feed, and most deliciously to feed upon what had once been its kin. But it was beyond that now, without either family or friend.
All was food. All was to feed its hungers.
All would be consumed.
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That final scene... yikes.
And I'm choosing B1.
B2
(also holy shit his wife is a cultist or something maybe?)
Go B1. It may not make much sense, but I ain't gonna take any chances with cults.
'he see'?
Huh, that went... reasonably well, for now. Well, besides the sudden godawful backstories (That mare really is something, going through all of that and still smiling). And I have a feeling that Abomination-Toadsfall is really going to bite the story in the ass later (which probably didn't happen if A was chosen.)
For choice, A1.