A Bridge to Somewhere

by Skywriter

Equestria

"I guess I never realized how terrible a mess Equestria was in before this!

"I mean, these... all these books! I mean, I can read, of course I can. But I just never got into actual reading. Too busy hitting the slopes, I guess. I never knew half the stuff in these books even went on!

"Are all books like this?

"How about that. Hah, no wonder smart ponies read 'em all the time! You can, I dunno, feel the ideas digging in. Thanks for helping me with some of the words in here, by the way. I swear, I've never heard some of these. 'Egalitarian,' I was thinking it was, like... um... somepony who rides giant eagles everywhere?

"Yeah, funny, huh? Anyhow, thanks for setting me straight.

"Could you please turn the page?

"Thanks, that's great. I mean, this whole experience has been... like, hugely awakening for me. Something about having your body be so still. It... like... makes your mind free to wander. Am I making sense?

"Okay, good. Sometimes I don't, like, express myself very well. Always been more of a doer, not a talker, right? Not like the ponies in those movies you showed me. Those ponies can talk! Wow! It's like... I always just accepted that cutie marks were a thing, but I never realized the, uh, tyranny they had over us.

"That's the right word, right? 'Tyranny'?

"Okay! 'Close enough' works for me! Turn, again?

"Thanks. This is a pretty good read. I gotta say, though, I'm starting to get a little tired, so maybe if you don't mind—

"Huh? Yeah, okay. I guess I can go a few more pages. Could I, uh, maybe get a glass of water?

"Few more pages, okay. I can do that. Ready for you to turn.

"Wow. That is... that is a lot of words, right there.

"No, I can do it. It'll just take me a bit. Heh. Not like I got anything else going on, right?

"Yeah.

"Hey, isn't it funny how one little moment can change, like, the whole direction of your life? Like, if I'd gone right instead of left, followed the trail that headed crossways down the mountain instead of the steep one by that gnarly old ridge, I'da just sailed on past this little town. Celestia only knows what I'd be doing today. Probably downing some ciders, a hot little ski bunny on each shoulder. Just wasting days.

"Instead, I made one wrong turn, one little slip, and boom! Here I am!

"Honestly, it's a blessing you all were here at all. All those broken bones. Ponyfeathers. I could've died, y'know?

"Why do you have a full traction bed out here in the middle of nowhere?

"Right, right, I know. Too many questions! Not enough reading! Sorry, miss.

"It's just—those musta been some some pretty bad breaks I got, right? I mean, I knew ponies who took spills like mine. Pretty sure most of them had their casts off by this point...

"Oh, I know. I mean, you're the expert. If you say I'm not healed yet, I figure you know what you're talking about. And you're being nice enough to keep me entertained in the meantime. But it's frustrating, y'know?"

I struggle a little against the wicked collection of pulleys and weights, and try to imagine that little itch way down deep in my leg cast didn't exist. Willpower it away. It helps a little.

"Starlight?"

"Yes, Double Diamond?"

"Do you think... do you think I'm not healing because part of me is still clinging to my cutie mark? That once I truly get rid of the bad thoughts, once and for all, that my body'll make itself healthy again?"

"It's possible!" she says, cheerily. "We have yet to understand the full extent of damage that cutie marks do to ponies, but yes, I believe that the 'special talent'-obsessed mind creates disruptive harmonics that can interfere with the body's natural healing processes. Why? Do you feel yourself backsliding?"

"Yeah. Maybe. I dunno." I sigh. "I gotta get out of here, Starlight. Out of this bed. I want to move again. Maybe it's different for unicorns, but earth ponies aren't made for sitting still. We gotta move. We gotta work."

"Rest assured, Double Diamond, there will be plenty of work in the days to come. I'm building something glorious here, and I'll need a good, strong, loyal pony to stay by my side and help other lost ponies to see the light. Do you think you can be that pony?"

"I can sure try."

"Good." Starlight plucks the book off my trussed-up form. "I think that's enough reading for the day. I'll set up the gramophone; you can listen to it as you drift to sleep." She smiles. "I've got a wonderful lecture picked out, just for you."

"Thank you. You're so nice."

"Aw." She pats my bandaged head with one hoof. "How sweet." She begins bustling with the gramophone stand, placing the bell maybe just a little closer to my ear than I'd like. But then again, she prolly knows best.

"Hey, about that glass of water...?"

Starlight's smile does not slip an inch.

"We'll see," she says.

Comments

[nightwalker]

Hey, nice to see this get another update! The Starlight here was different than we'd see, you can see her sinister edge coming in. Diamond's personality here certainly seems to fit what we'd seen of him.

Nice job!

[FanOfMostEverything]

This is interesting on several levels. Not just Starlight's manipulation—though that is horrifying—but also how Double Diamond bucks the trend. While the others all came to Starlight of their own volition, he just happened by. Possibly with a little intervention in ensuring the crash, but still, he was happy with his talent. It took weeks in the propaganda hut to get him on board, and even then, his attitude was generally positive. That attitude would carry on later on; while those who questioned their purposes would go on to question the regime, he would blithely coast along as he always had.

No wonder he was Starlight's loyal enforcer. There's no zeal like that of the newly converted, especially the newly converted who isn't exactly the deepest of thinkers to begin with.

[Lurks-no-More]

I wish I may, I wish I might
Have just one little thing
Oh, would you please finally bring
Me that tiny glass
Of water?!

More seriously, Starlight's getting worse here, her utopian dream already starting to slide into that dystopic cult thing... I really want to see the finale!

[Emperor]

This is definitely a different take compared to the other ponies. Double Diamond appeared to be actually satisfied with his life, but since Starlight had him as basically a willing captive (even if he wasn't aware of it, given that she was looking after his health), she was able to manipulate his reading materials and their conversations until she altered his very perception of things. When the time came, it certainly made him her right-hoof pony, a lot harder to shake out of the Equalist ideology (well, at least until Starlight's deception was revealed for all to see).

[part]

Eddie the Eagle reference is appropriate.

[Skywriter]

8509676
Accidental!

[Stonecrop Sedum]

It got creepier.

[Skywriter]

8650285
Indeed it did.

[mishun]

Were his legs really broken in the first place? The amount of attention she spends on him is so insanely high that is't still kinda cute (it was at the very beginning of Our Town, so she didn't yet have many other responsibilities, I presume)

[Skywriter]

9029217
The narrative leaves this open to interpretation...

[ArgonMatrix]

I'm currently in the process of reading Stephen King's Misery, and this chapter drew an eerie parallel with that novel. Sent chills down my spine. Well done on this and all the other parts! A very thought-provoking read.

And I'm years late, but I caught one tiny thing in the previous chapter:

...right in the middle of makin' horseappples in bags...

[Skywriter]

9997121
The parallels to Misery are inevitable, yes. Thanks for the typo correction l!